e
with the messenger, who told them he had to leave that evening; and
Teresa Panza wanted to know whether the curate had heard of any one in
the village going to Madrid or Toledo, for she thought that she at
least ought to provide herself with a hooped petticoat, now that she
was the wife of a distinguished governor and no doubt destined to be
made a countess.

And while mother and daughter were contemplating and worrying about
their new position in life, they interspersed their sentences with so
many proverbs that the curate felt obliged to remark that he thought
that all the Panzas were born with a sackful of proverbs in their
insides. The page told them here that the Governor uttered them most
frequently and spontaneously, much to the amusement of the Duke and
the Duchess; and then he reminded the Governor's lady of his hunger.
But the curate softly took him by the arm and whispered to him that
poor Teresa Panza had more will to serve than she had means, and
invited him to sup at his own house.

In order not to lose weight or starve, the page consented; and the
curate was glad to have an opportunity to talk with him alone.

Sanchica again expressed her desire to travel with the page; and the
page tried to persuade her not to come along, for, he said, the
daughters of governors must travel in a coach and in style, with many
attendants. The girl thought that was nonsense, however, and it was
not until her mother hushed her up with her proverbial logic that she
ceased arguing. Said mother Teresa Panza to her daughter: "As the time
so the behavior: when it was Sancho it was Sanchica, when it is
governor it is senorita." And that settled it.

The bachelor offered to write letters for Teresa Panza to her husband
and the Duchess; but, somehow, she did not seem to trust him, for she
refused his offer. Instead she induced a young acolyte to write the
epistles for her, paying him with the eggs which she was to have used
for the page's supper.

CHAPTER LI

OF THE PROGRESS OF SANCHO'S GOVERNMENT; AND OTHER SUCH
ENTERTAINING MATTERS

The thing that troubled Sancho most was not his manifold duties nor
his judgments, but his appetite. It was as keen as ever, yet he got
next to nothing to eat. The morning after he had made his round, they
gave him only some water and a little conserve for breakfast, the
doctor advising him that light food was the most nourishing for the
wits, and especially to be recommended to peo