TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
In the text version Italic is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by
=this=.
The book cover was modified by the Transcriber and added to the public
domain.
The Table of Contents was added by the Transcriber.
The spelling of Spanish names and places in Spain mentioned in the
text has been adjusted to the rules set by the Academia Real Española.
However, ancient text quoted in the book has been left unchanged.
At the end of the book, in the original there is an ERRATA section
included, which lists misspellings detected during the printing process
of the book. The ERRATA has been kept for completeness, but those
misspellings have been fixed during the transcription process.
A number of words in this book have both hyphenated and non-hyphenated
variants. For the words with both variants present the one more used
has been kept.
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[Illustration]
Joannes Morenus, pinx. London, R. Bentley, 1848. Joseph Brown, sc.
EL BUSCAPIÉ
BY
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
WITH THE ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES
OF DON ADOLFO DE CASTRO.
TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH,
WITH A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR,
AND SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS WORKS,
BY THOMASINA ROSS.
LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
1849.
LONDON:
W. OSTELL, PRINTER, HART STREET, BLOOMSBURY SQUARE;
AND BURLINGTON MEWS, REGENT STREET.
CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE v
LIFE OF CERVANTES 1
EL BUSCAPIÉ 99
NOTES 149
ERRATA 236
PREFACE.
In presenting the _Buscapié_ to the English public, it may not be
superfluous, first to explain the title of this literary curiosity, and
next to offer a few observations relative to its nature and origin.
The title _Buscapié_ seems to have been suggested by one of those
quaint conceits common to the Spanish writers of the sixteenth century.
The word etymologically considered, is compounded of _busca_ (seek;
from the verb _buscar_ to seek), and _pie_ (foot); and it signifies
in the Spanish language a squib or cracker, which, being thrown down
in the streets by boys and mischievous persons, rolls about and gets
between the feet of passers-by. Towards the close of the Work itself
Cervantes thus explains his reason for selecting this title. “I call
this little book _Buscapié_,” he says, “to show to those who _seek_ the
_foot_ with which the ingenious Knight of La Mancha limps, that he does
not limp with either, but that he goes firmly and steadily on both, and
is ready to challenge the grumbling critics who buzz about like wasps.”
Everyone acquainted with Spanish literature has regretted the
disappearance and supposed total loss of this little Work, which was
known to have been written by Cervantes after the publication of the
First Part of _Don Quixote_. Whether or not this production ever was
submitted to the press by its author is exceedingly doubtful; but, be
that as it may, no printed copy of it has been extant for the space
of two centuries. Though manuscript copies were supposed to exist
among the hidden treasures of the Biblioteca Real in Madrid, or in the
unexplored recesses of Simancas, yet the _Buscapié_ has always been
alluded to by writers on Spanish literature as a thing inaccessible
and known only by tradition. Great interest was consequently excited
a short time ago, by the announcement that a copy of the _Buscapié_
had been discovered in Cádiz. It was found among some old books and
manuscripts, sold by auction, previously to which they had been the
property of an advocate named Don Pascual de Gándara, who resided
in the neighbouring town of San Fernando. Some writers on Spanish
literature have hazarded the conjecture that the _Buscapié_ was a
sort of key to _Don Quixote_, and that in it were indicated, if not
named, the persons whom Cervantes is supposed to have satirized in his
celebrated romance.[1] But such is not the fact. The _Buscapié_ is a
vindication of _Don Quixote_ against the unjust critical censure with
which that Work was assailed on the appearance of its First Part, which
was published in 1604. In the same year there is reason to believe
that Cervantes wrote the _Buscapié_. The manuscript copy of this little
Work, recently discovered in Cádiz, is in the scriptory character
commonly in use about the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the
seventeenth centuries. On the title page it is styled:--
“El muy donoso Librillo llamado
Buscapié
Donde, demas de su mucho y excellente
Dotrina, van declaradas
Todas Aquellas Cosas Escondidas y no
Declaradas en el Ingenioso Hidalgo
Don Quijote de la Mancha
Que compuso
un tal de Cervantes Saavedra.”[2]
Lower down, and in the same handwriting, are these words:--
“Copióse de otra copia el año de 1606 en Madrid 27 de Ebrero año
dicho. Para el Señor Agustin de Argota, hijo del muy noble señor
(que sancta gloria haya) Gonzalo Zatieco de Molina, un caballero de
Sevilla.”[3]
Next are written the following words in the Portuguese language, and in
characters, the apparent date of which may be assigned to the beginning
of the eighteenth century:--
“Da Livraria do Senhor Duque de Lafões.”[4]
How this manuscript found its way to Portugal, and came back to Spain,
there is no evidence to show. It was, however, purchased in Cádiz, (at
the sale of the books and manuscripts of the Advocate Gándara), by its
present possessor, Don Adolfo de Castro, to whom literature is now
indebted for its appearance in a printed form, accompanied by some
valuable and interesting bibliographic notes.
In the following English version of the _Buscapié_, care has been taken
to adhere with all possible fidelity to the spirit of the original;
some occasional redundancy of expression has been compressed, and here
and there passages have been abridged, which, if literally rendered,
would in our language appear prolix and tedious.
With the highly curious bibliographical notes of Don Adolfo de
Castro, (appended to the Volume), the translator has used the freedom
of embodying additional illustrative matter, derived from sources
furnished by her own acquaintance with Spanish literature. In notes
affixed to the text, she has supplied information on some points,
with which the Spanish reader, being presumed to be acquainted, were
very naturally passed over unnoticed by Don Adolfo de Castro. It is,
however, hoped that these notes may not appear superfluous to the
English reader.
It has been thought desirable that the publication of this curious
Work should be accompanied by some account of the author. The universal
celebrity of Cervantes, and the biographical sketches prefixed to the
various English editions of _Don Quixote_, have long since made the
reader acquainted with some particulars of the life of that great
writer. Nevertheless, it has been deemed advisable to attempt a new
narrative of his life. That prefixed to the present Volume has been
carefully compiled from the most authentic sources. The writer has
drawn largely from the Spanish lives of Navarrete, Pellicer and De los
Ríos: she has also attentively perused several German works of high
authority; and by carefully comparing and collating the facts recorded
by various writers, she has endeavoured to produce a more complete
account of the great Spanish writer than has hitherto been offered to
the English public.
A more skilful pen would, doubtless, have invested the narrative
with that graceful colouring which its subject so well deserves;
but, whilst fully conscious of her own deficiencies, the writer of
the following Life feels that she may claim the merit of having
industriously put together a number of curious and well authenticated
facts relative to Cervantes;--facts the more interesting, inasmuch as
they have hitherto been only very partially known.
_London,
December 1, 1848._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] It has been conjectured, though without any satisfactory ground,
that Cervantes wrote his _Don Quixote_ as a satire upon the Emperor
Charles V. and the Duke de Lerma, the favourite of Philip III.
[2] “The very pleasant little book called _Buscapié_, in which, besides
its excellent doctrine, are unfolded all those things which are hidden,
and not declared in the History of the ingenious Knight, Don Quixote de
la Mancha, written by one De Cervantes Saavedra.”
[3] “This was copied from another copy in the year 1606, in Madrid,
27th of February of the same year, by the Señor Agustin de Argota, son
of the most noble Señor, (now in glory) Gonzalo Zatieco de Molina, a
gentleman of Seville.”
[4] “From the library of the Duke de Lafôes.”
LIFE OF CERVANTES.
The History of Literature records numberless instances in which genius,
regarded with indifference in its own time, has received only from
after generations the tribute of just appreciation. Of this sort of
contemporary neglect, and posthumous honour, Cervantes is a remarkable
example; for even the popularity of Don Quixote which, on its first
appearance, met with unparalleled success, did not materially better
the circumstances or elevate the position of its author.
It is not very easy to reconcile this literary success with the poverty
with which Cervantes struggled even to the latest period of his life,
and of which he oftener than once complains in his writings; for it
is a well-known fact that though Don Quixote, in the lifetime of its
author, attracted an extraordinary share of public attention, yet
Cervantes remained poor and neglected. Whilst the book was universally
read and admired, the author would appear to have been a person of so
little note, that his early biographers did not even think it worth
while to put on record the name of his birth-place.
As if anxious to escape from the reproach of knowing little or nothing
of the man who shed such lustre over their literature, the Spaniards
of the last century entered upon diligent researches, with the view
of elucidating every fact connected with the life of Cervantes. These
investigations resulted in the collection of a mass of interesting
and curious information, which De los Ríos, Pellicer, and Navarrete
have severally embodied in their lives of the great writer. The warm
discussions which have at various times arisen out of the doubtful
question of Cervantes’ place of nativity have been likened to the
disputes of the seven Greek cities, when contending for the honour of
having given birth to Homer. Madrid, Seville, Valladolid and Esquivias
by turns claimed Cervantes as their own, until the question was finally
set at rest by his latest and most trustworthy biographers. On the
authority of indisputable evidence it appears that Miguel de Cervantes
Saavedra was born at Alcalá de Henares, in the year 1547. The day
of his birth is not known; but it has been ascertained that he was
baptized on the 9th of October.
The family of Cervantes was of noble descent, Father Sarmiento[5]
states, that its earliest members were settled in Gallicia, and that
their place of residence was within the Bishoprick of Lugo. Their rank
was that of Ricoshombres, (grandees). Subsequently, a branch of the
family removed to Castile, and, in the Spanish annals of the beginning
of the thirteenth century, the names Cervates and Cervantes are
frequently mentioned with honourable distinction. Gonzalo de Cervantes,
the founder of the branch whence the great writer was descended, fought
gallantly at the storming of Seville, under Ferdinand III., and was
endowed with some estates on the partition of the territories wrested
from the Moors. A descendant of Gonzalo de Cervantes married a daughter
of the house of Saavedra, from which circumstance some members of the
Cervantes family added the name Saavedra to their own. On the invasion
of South America by the Spaniards, the name of Cervantes was carried to
the New World by the emigration of several members of the family.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century we find a Juan de Cervantes
filling the post of Corregidor in the town of Ossuna. He had a son
named Rodrigo, who, in the year 1540, married Doña Leonora de Cortinas,
the daughter of a noble family residing in Barajas.[6] Four children
were the issue of this marriage. The eldest was a son named Rodrigo;
the second and third, two daughters, named Andrea and Luisa; and
the fourth and youngest child was Miguel, who subsequently became
illustrious in the annals of literature.
Miguel de Cervantes received from nature a combination of mental
endowments such as rarely falls to the share of one individual. To
a lively fancy, and great power of inventive genius, he united an
extraordinary amount of sound and discriminating judgment. Such was
his inherent fondness for reading, that in his very earliest boyhood he
was accustomed to pick up all the little scraps of paper he might find
in the streets, and to employ himself in perusing whatever happened
to be written on them. His gay and humorous disposition was tempered
by refined taste; and, to quote the remark of his biographer, Antonio
Pellicer, the character of his mind altogether resembled that ascribed
by Horace to Lucilius.
Of the boyhood of Cervantes little is known, beyond the few particulars
here and there scattered through his writings. Alluding to his early
taste for poetry, he says, in the _Journey to Parnassus_:--“Even from
my earliest years, I loved the sweet art of graceful poesy.”[7] In
another of his works he tells us how, when a boy, he was taken to a
theatre, where he saw Lope de Rueda act. That the performance of that
celebrated comedian and dramatist made a powerful impression on his
mind is evidently shewn in his maturer years: it is not impossible that
his taste for dramatic literature received its first impulse from the
acting of Lope de Rueda.
It would seem that Cervantes was destined for one of the learned
professions, and on attaining a suitable age, he was sent by his
parents to the University of Salamanca, where he remained for the space
of two years. Some of the lights and shades of his student life are
interwoven in the _Novelas exemplares_,[8] and also in the second part
of _Don Quixote_. The comic interlude, called _La Cueva de Salamanca_,
seems also to have been suggested by some of the author’s college
adventures.
The first person who observed and fostered the dawning talent of
Cervantes in poetic composition, was Juan López de Hoyos, who had been
his tutor before he entered the University. It happened that Hoyos was
commissioned to compose a funeral poem on the occasion of the death of
Queen Isabel de Valois, the Consort of Philip II.; and he transferred
some portions of this task to his pupils.
Hoyos wrote a narrative of the death and funeral of the Queen,[9]
and in that narrative are inserted an elegy, a sonnet, and some
redondillas, by Miguel de Cervantes, who is styled by his old tutor,
“_mi claro y amado discipulo_,”--(my clever and beloved pupil). At this
time Cervantes was twenty-one years of age; and the praise bestowed
on the first effusions of his muse encouraged him to take a loftier
poetic flight. There is reason to believe that about this period of
his life he produced _Filena_, a pastoral romance, in the style of
Montemayor and Gil Polo; but this, together with most of his early
productions, are now lost; a few only being preserved in the _Romancero
General_.
The time soon arrived when the young poet felt the necessity of
directing his talents and energies to the means of obtaining a
livelihood; for his father, though in circumstances which enabled him
to pay for his education, was not sufficiently rich to maintain him. An
opportunity which placed it in his power to gain some little emolument
occurred in the year 1568, when Cardinal Julio Acquaviva visited the
Court of Castile in the quality of Legate from Pope Pius V. Cervantes
entered the service of the Cardinal, and in the same year accompanied
him to Rome. He filled the situation of Camarero, which may be presumed
to have been an office partaking somewhat of a domestic character;
but it is a well-known fact that even young Spanish nobles did not, at
that period, disdain to accept similar appointments in the households
of popes and cardinals. The desire of seeing the world, or the prospect
of gaining a powerful patron and a good ecclesiastical appointment were
inducements for filling situations which otherwise might have been
considered degrading. The vivid impressions produced by this first
great journey on the mind of Cervantes are obvious even in the works
of his later life. In _Persiles y Sigismunda_ he makes two pilgrims
wend their course through Valencia, Catalonia, and Provence to Italy,
the route by which there is reason to infer he himself travelled to
Rome. The descriptions of scenery in the production just named, bear
the stamp of personal recollections. That he was particularly charmed
with Catalonia, is evident from the interesting sketches of scenery
and manners of that part of Spain, interspersed through the _Galatea_,
as well as from those in the novel of _Las dos Doncellas_ and _Don
Quixote_.
The residence of Cervantes in Rome, though not long in duration, was
permanent in his remembrance. In his novel of the _Licenciado Vidriera_
he apostrophises Rome as the “sovereign of the world and the queen of
cities.” “As the claws of the lion,” he adds, “denote the animal’s bulk
and strength, so may the magnitude and power of Rome be judged by her
fragments of marble, her ruined arches, her baths and her colonnades,
her colossal amphitheatres, and her river--that river which is rendered
sacred by the many relics and martyrs buried beneath its waves.”
After the lapse of a short time, Cervantes exchanged the tranquil
occupations he pursued in the service of his spiritual patron for the
more stirring duties of a soldier’s life. That he always cherished
a peculiar predilection for military adventure is evident from many
observations scattered through his writings. Like many of his
countrymen in that age, his taste seems to have disposed him to the
profession of arms no less than to that of letters. Cervantes was of
opinion that military courage and literary talent are more nearly
allied than is generally supposed. In _Persiles_ he says,--“There are
no better soldiers than those who have been transplanted from the field
of study to the field of war. There never has been an instance in which
students have taken up arms, that they have not proved themselves to be
the bravest and best of soldiers, for when courage is joined to genius,
and genius is allied to courage, thereby is formed a combination of
qualities in which Mars rejoices.”[10]
Cervantes entered the army as a private soldier, and he served in one
of the numerous Spanish regiments then in Italy.[11] It would appear
that he was quartered either in Naples or its vicinity. In 1571 the
threatened incursions of the Turks and the depredations of the African
corsairs disturbed the tranquillity of the southern states of Europe,
and once more raised up a league of the Cross against the Crescent.
Pope Pius V. conjointly with Phillip II. and the Republic of Venice,
entered into a coalition, and fitted out a combined fleet of galleys
for the subjugation of the common enemy of Christendom. Marco Antonio
Colonna had the command of the Pope’s galleys; those of King Phillip
were commanded by Giovanni Andrea Doria, and those of the Republic by
Sebastian Veniero. Don John of Austria, son of the Emperor Charles V.
was appointed commander of the whole combined squadrons.
Cervantes, with many other young Spaniards, left Naples and proceeded
to Messina, then the mustering place of the combined fleets. He
enlisted in the corps of Diego de Urbina, which sailed in Colonna’s
galleys to the Gulf of Lepanto, and he took part in the celebrated
battle fought there on the 7th of October, 1571. During the voyage he
had suffered from a fever, and he had not recovered when the action
commenced. His commander as well as his comrades recommended him to
remain quietly in his cabin; but this he refused to do, declaring his
wish to die in the service of God and his King rather than to save his
life by ingloriously keeping aloof from danger. He entreated that one
of the most exposed posts might be assigned to him. His urgent desire
was complied with; and it is stated that he fought with more resolute
courage than any man on board the vessel. By the fire of that galley
alone it is said more than five hundred Turks were killed. Cervantes,
who exposed himself to the fiercest assault of the enemy, received
three wounds from arquebus balls, two entered his breast, and the
other so dreadfully shattered his left hand that he subsequently had
it amputated. But so far from regretting this mutilation, he prided
himself on it, and regarded it as an insignia of honour. In his preface
to the second part of _Don Quixote_, he declares that he views his
maimed hand as “a memorial of one of the most glorious events that past
or present ages have seen, or that the future can hope to see;[12]
and,” he adds, “could an impossibility be rendered practicable, and
could the same opportunity be recalled, I would rather be again present
in that prodigious action than whole and sound without sharing in the
glory of it.”
The memorable 7th of October, 1571, was to Cervantes like a ray of
light beaming through the clouds of his past recollections. Even in the
_Journey to Parnassus_, which he wrote in his latter years, he says,
alluding to the battle of Lepanto, “My eye wandered over the smooth
surface of the sea, which recalled to my memory the heroic exploit of
the heroic Don John; when aided by courage, and by a heart throbbing
for military glory, I had a share (humble though it was) in the
victory.”[13]
Cervantes was four and twenty years of age when the Battle of Lepanto
was fought. The signal courage he displayed on that occasion obtained
for him the complimentary notice of Don John of Austria. On the
day after the battle that Prince reviewed the combined fleet, and
visited the wounded, presenting to each soldier who had particularly
distinguished himself, a sum of money over and above the amount of
his pay. Cervantes received from the hand of the prince one of these
honourable gratuities.
The victory of Lepanto, though for a time fatal to the Turks, was not
succeeded by any permanent advantage to the coalesced powers. Sultan
Selim speedily found a strong ally in the dissentient spirit which
prevailed among the Christian rulers. By command of Philip II. Don
John returned to Messina, where the victorious fleet was received with
public rejoicings. Cervantes, not yet recovered from his wounds, was
consigned to the hospital, and he remained in Messina whilst most
of the troops were dispersed about in the interior of Sicily. In the
following year, his military ardour being unabated, he joined another
expedition fitted out by the Chiefs of the League, and sailed this time
to the Archipelago. He was present at the storming of Navarino; but
the expedition having failed in its object, he once more returned to
Messina.
The following winter was spent in preparations for a new armament; but
owing to the secession of the Republic of Venice from the league, the
Spanish and Papal forces alone were found insufficient for attacking
the Turks; and in consequence King Philip determined to fit out an
expedition against Tunis. The object of the king was merely the
dethronement of Aluch Ali in favour of Muley Mahomet; but John of
Austria, to whom was entrusted the command of the expedition, hoped
to found for himself an independent sovereignty in Africa; and in
furtherance of this object, the pope promised his aid. No sooner did
the fleet appear within sight of Goletta than the garrison retired from
the fort and the inhabitants of Tunis took to flight. A single regiment
then sufficed to take possession of the fortress and the city; and
there is good reason to conjecture that Cervantes was in the ranks of
that regiment. Don John having erected a new fort took possession of
Biserta, and leaving behind him a portion of his force he returned once
more to Sicily.
Cervantes, with the regiment to which he belonged, proceeded to
Sardinia, where he remained during the winter of 1573 to 1574. He was
afterwards sent to Genoa, which was then agitated by insurrectionary
movements. To quell those outbreaks, Don John was on the point of
leaving Lombardy, when he learned that the Turks were actively
assembling their forces with the view of regaining possession of Tunis
and Goletta. Without delay the prince embarked at Spezzia, with a
division of his troops, in which was Cervantes. He proceeded first to
Naples and Messina, and then sailed for the African coast. But the
little armada had not advanced far on the voyage, when a violent storm
which threatened destruction to the galleys drove them back to the
Sicilian shore. Meanwhile Goletta and Tunis, after a gallant defence,
were retaken by the Turks, an event which at once crushed the hopes of
Don John of Austria.
Cervantes, with his regiment remained for a time in Sicily, under the
command of the Duke de Sesa. It would appear that he was afterwards
removed to Naples, for he says in the _Journey to Parnassus_, “that he
paced the streets of that city for upwards of a year.”[14] There is,
however, good reason for believing that his time was not spent in idly
pacing the streets, but that during his stay in Naples, he employed
his intervals of respite from military duty, in studying the Italian
language and reading the works of the best Italian writers; for it is
well known that he possessed an erudite knowledge of the literature of
Italy.
Urged by an irresistible desire to revisit his native country, and
probably dissatisfied with the scanty recompense awarded to his
military services, Cervantes solicited leave to return to Spain. His
request was granted in a manner highly gratifying to him, in the year
1575, when Don John and the Duke de Sesa furnished him with letters,
recommending him to the notice of King Phillip, as a man whose courage
had gained the respect of his officers as well as of his comrades.
With a joyful heart Cervantes embarked in the galley _El Sol_,
accompanied by his brother, Rodrigo, who had joined him in Naples. From
that port they both sailed on their return to Spain. But the wished
for happiness of revisiting his native land was more remote than was
anticipated. On the 26th of September, 1575, the Sol was attacked by
an Algerine Corsair. After a brave resistance the galley was captured,
and all on board were conveyed to Algiers. In the distribution of the
prisoners Cervantes fell to the share of Dali-Mami, a Greek renegade,
who, by reason of his lameness, was surnamed “the cripple.” The
letters addressed to Phillip II., which Cervantes carried with him,
led Dali-Mami to believe that his slave was a Christian knight of
distinguished rank; and he treated him with the utmost rigour in the
hope of extorting a large sum of money for his ransom. But with the
fortitude which marked his character Cervantes patiently endured his
misery, whilst his thoughts were occupied by schemes for effecting his
own liberation and that of his companions. Having devised a plan of
escape to Oran, he prevailed on his friends to join him in carrying it
into effect. The fugitives succeeded so far as actually to get away
from Algiers, when they were betrayed by a Moor who had undertaken to
be their guide. They were conveyed back to their prison and confined
with more rigour than before. Cervantes as the ringleader was treated
with so much severity, that as he afterwards observed, “he learned in
that school of suffering to have patience under misfortune.”[15]
Two descriptions of labour were assigned to the Christian captives
in Algiers. Some were employed in rowing the galleys and chebeques,
others, and these shared the hardest lot, were kept within the city,
in places called the bagnios or baths, which were in reality prisons,
and which received their names from the numerous baths they contained.
Most of the captives in the bagnios were the slaves of the dey or king,
but private persons were occasionally permitted to send their slaves
thither, especially those who were expected to be ransomed; the bagnios
being considered the most secure places of confinement. The slaves
whose ransoms were looked for, were not sent out to labour like the
rest: but they wore a chain and, moreover, were wretchedly fed and
clothed. Of this number was Cervantes, whose condition as a Spanish
Hidalgo, gave his master reason to hope that a large sum would be
offered for his liberation.[16]
A Spaniard who had passed some years of slavery in Algiers, and who
was ransomed in the year 1639, by the monks of the Order of the
Santissima Trinidad, drew up, after his return to Spain a narrative
of his captivity. He gives a curious description of the treatment of
the Christian slaves in Algiers, together with details respecting
the manners and customs of the Moors. This narrative has never been
printed; but from a manuscript copy of it in the Biblioteca Real at
Madrid, the following extracts have been obtained.
“The Christians in Algiers,” says the writer, “have four churches,
in which mass is performed. In my time there were twelve priests who
officiated daily. In the principal church, which is situated within
the King’s Bagnio, and dedicated to the Santissima Trinidad, there are
five priests and a Provisor, appointed by his Holiness. There are seven
brotherhoods (cofradías), and in each mass is performed daily. Every
day alms are begged from the captives for the purchase of wax tapers
and altar decorations. Each priest receives out of these alms one real
and a half; this with the money paid for masses is all the priests have
to subsist on. In the churches the religious service is very properly
performed, and sermons are always preached. The Christians are very
ill-treated, especially the priests, who are frequently pelted with
stones and dirt by the boys as they pass through the streets. At this
present time, 10th of March, 1639, Algiers contains 20,000 Christian
slaves, 10,000 soldiers, and 1000 counsellors-of-war. These counsellors
act as judges in all trials relating to matters connected with the army
or navy; and they never take longer than two days to deliberate on any
question. The inhabitants of Algiers, both men and women, live very
miserably. Their principal food consists of rice and wheat boiled, with
a very small portion of salted meat. Even the richest individuals do
not live much better. The daily food of the captives consists only of a
small loaf of bread. They are treated very cruelly, especially by the
Tagarinos, the descendants of the Moors, expelled from Spain. To force
them to press their friends for ransom, their daily tasks of labour
are augmented, and they are put in chains--the strongest being sent
to the galleys. In every part of the city there are mosques, which the
women are not suffered to enter: some of these mosques have a tower or
minaret, on which a flag is hoisted at noon, lowered at one o’clock,
and then hoisted again at dusk. From these minarets the Moors call the
people to prayers. The most profound silence prevails during worship
in the mosques; no one dares to speak or even to cough. The prayers
are short; and whilst they are repeated, the people are squatted
cross-legged on the ground, at intervals rising up and then bowing down
to the earth. The mosques are hung with great numbers of glass lamps;
but they have no other ornaments. The floors are covered with mats, and
the walls and ceilings are arched. Within the mosques there are orange
trees, and alcoves for the Morabites, who are held in high veneration;
they receive presents from the women, whose husbands, strange to say,
do not disapprove of this practice. There is a religious festival on
Friday in every week. At their meals the Moors place their food on
the ground, without spreading any cloth under the dishes, which are
of copper, tinned over; even the richer class do not use utensils of
silver. The out-door dress of the women consists of long trousers,
reaching to the feet, and fastened round the ankles by rings of gold or
silver; their outward garment consists of a large cloak enveloping them
from head to foot, and leaving only their eyes uncovered. Their dress
is decorous, though their manners are not so. Within doors they wear a
long tunic, reaching to the ankle, and made of rich damask, satin or
silk; they wear many rich jewels, consisting of bracelets, necklaces,
and earrings. Many of these Moorish women are very beautiful; but they
indulge much in the habit of smoking.”
It happened that a Spaniard, who had been for some time one of the
fellow-captives of Cervantes, having been ransomed, was suffered to
return to his native country. On his arrival in Spain, he lost no time
in conveying to the father of Cervantes intelligence of the unhappy
condition of his two sons Rodrigo and Miguel. The old man, without
hesitation mortgaged his little property, though by so doing he reduced
himself and the other members of his family to a condition bordering
on want, and having raised a considerable sum of money he transmitted
it to Algiers. The two brothers were thus placed in a condition to
treat for their liberation. But Dali-Mami demanded so high a ransom
for Miguel de Cervantes, that the latter generously resigned his share
of the money sent from Spain, in favour of his brother Rodrigo, who
obtained his deliverance in August, 1577. On his departure, Rodrigo
promised to spare no exertions for making known the condition of the
captives to persons of influence in Spain, so that some effectual
measure might be adopted for their liberation. It was proposed that
a ship, despatched from Valencia or from the Balearic Islands, should
cruise along the African coast, keeping watch so as to be in readiness
to receive the captives whenever they might have an opportunity of
effecting their escape. Rodrigo Cervantes carried with him, on his
departure from Algiers, a letter from one of the prisoners, a Spanish
nobleman, related to the house of Alba;--this letter, it was hoped,
would have great weight in furthering the execution of the enterprise.
Cervantes had concocted the scheme for the escape of himself and his
friends, and every preparation had been made for enabling them to carry
it into effect.
A little to the west of Algiers, there was a garden, close to the
sea shore. It was attached to a villa belonging to Aga Hassan, then
Dey of Algiers. Hassan, who was a Venetian by birth, had originally
been the slave of the celebrated Uchali. He turned Mahometan, and his
apostacy helped him to rise to wealth and distinction in the Ottoman
Empire. At the time of the Battle of Lepanto, Aga Hassan filled
the high post of Captain-General of the Turkish fleet, and he was
afterwards elected Dey of Algiers. This turbulent and cruel man ruled
his temporary sovereignty with a rod of iron. His tyranny and barbarity
were exercised alike on Moors and Christians; for, as Cervantes makes
the captive in _Don Quixote_ remark, “he was the homicide of the whole
human race.” _Era homocida de todo el género humano._
Aga Hassan’s garden was under the care and superintendence of a
gardener, who was a Christian slave and a native of Navarre. Cervantes
having made himself acquainted with this man, induced him to make
an excavation under the garden in the form of a cave. As early
as February, 1577, some months prior to the departure of Rodrigo
Cervantes, this excavation was in progress, and several Christian
slaves, who had escaped from bondage had taken refuge in it. The
number of the fugitives gradually augmented, and in September of the
same year Cervantes himself succeeded in eluding the watchful eye of
his master, and joining his friends in their subterraneous retreat.
He had accurately calculated the time when the expected ship would
near the African coast. It did so on the 28th of September; but stood
off during the day, so as to keep out of sight, and at night standing
close in shore, the vessel gave the signal to the captives. This being
unluckily observed by some Moorish slaves, who happened to be on the
spot, they gave the alarm. The vessel immediately put back, but shortly
afterwards made a second attempt to near the shore, which ended in
failure, and she was captured.
But this disaster, discouraging as it was, did not subdue the hopes of
Cervantes and his companions, who determined to remain in their hiding
place to await another opportunity for attempting their escape. But
their schemes were frustrated by the treachery of a slave, who had
been a renegade from Islamism to Christianity, and whom the fugitives
had incautiously admitted to their confidence. This slave, who was
surnamed _El Dorador_, again turned renegade, and by renouncing
Christianity entitled himself to the reward of his twofold apostacy
and treachery. The Dey, who claimed all runaway slaves as his own,
dispatched a troop of soldiers to the garden. The cave was searched and
the fugitives captured.
The details of this event are related by Father Diego de Haedo, a
Spanish ecclesiastic, who was contemporary with Cervantes, and who
wrote a history of Algiers. Alluding to the seizure of the fugitives
in the cave, Haedo says, “The Dey’s emissaries took especial care to
secure Miguel de Cervantes, a Hidalgo of Alcalá de Henares, who was
the contriver of the whole scheme.”[17] He then adds, “It was a most
marvellous thing that these Christians remained hidden in the cave,
without seeing the light of day, some for five or six, and others
for so long as seven months;--sustained all that time by Miguel de
Cervantes; and this too at the peril of his own life, for several
times he was on the point of being hanged, empaled, or burnt alive,
for the bold adventures by which he attempted to restore his comrades
to freedom. Had his good fortune been equal to his courage, enterprise
and skill, Algiers would at this day have been under Christian rule;
for to no less an object did his designs aspire. The gardener, who
was a native of Navarre, was hanged by the feet. He was a very good
Christian. Of the incidents which occurred in that cave, during the
seven months that those Christians remained within it--and of the bold
enterprises hazarded by Miguel de Cervantes--a particular history might
be composed.”[18]
Finding that himself and his friends were in the power of their
captors, and that it was fruitless to attempt resistance, Cervantes at
once declared himself the sole contriver of the scheme, and begged
that, as he alone was guilty, the whole punishment might devolve on
him. This avowal caused him to be put in chains, and amidst the scoffs
and insults of the populace, he was conducted to the presence of Aga
Hassan. With fearful threats the tyrant sought to intimidate him into
a confession that he had accomplices, and to denounce them; for his
object was to make it appear that Father Jorge Olivar, the _Redentor_,
or Slave Ransomer, of the crown of Aragón, was implicated in the
affair. But Cervantes persisted in affirming that no one could be
accused but himself.
Nevertheless, the barbarous Hassan forthwith condemned all the
fugitives to death. The unfortunate gardener was hanged, and Cervantes
and his friends would doubtless have shared the same fate, but that,
luckily for them, Hassan’s cupidity triumphed over his cruelty. The
prospect of ransom money saved the lives of the prisoners; but they
were thrown into one of the most loathsome prisons in Algiers, and
subjected to all sorts of privation and misery.
But in spite of their bitter sufferings, the captives, most of whom
were Spaniards, did not yield to despondency. Each one cheered himself
and his companions, by pleasant stories and recollections of their dear
native land. The song and the dance, diversions ardently loved by every
Spaniard, were not wanting to enliven the gloom of their prison-house.
By turns they recited or sang their old national romances, and the
heroic deeds of their ancestors inspired them with courage. Their
religious festivals, too, were celebrated with all the ceremony which
circumstances admitted of, and the prisoners even succeeded in getting
up some dramatic representations.[19]
In those palmy days of the Spanish drama, the passion for histrionic
performance had taken firm root in the public mind. So popular and
universally admired were the comedies of Lope de Rueda, that Spaniards,
who had been for years out of their native country, could recollect and
repeat by heart favourite passages and scenes from them.
It is well known that Cervantes drew from his captivity in Algiers
the subjects of two plays which he wrote at a subsequent period of
his life, and in which he depicts the sufferings of the Christian
slaves. In one, _Los Baños de Argel_, a pastoral dialogue, (Coloquio
Pastoril) is introduced. It is stated to be from one of Lope de Rueda’s
comedies, and is curious from the fact of its being in verse, whilst
all the dramas, or as they are called, _comedias_, of Lope de Rueda,
now extant, are in prose. The other play by Cervantes, founded on the
subject of Algerine captivity, is entitled _La Gran Sultana_. The
heroine is a Spanish lady, Doña Catalina de Oviedo, supposed to have
been captured by corsairs.
Undaunted by failure, Cervantes determined on the first favourable
opportunity to renew his efforts to obtain his own deliverance and
that of his companions. Increasing difficulties had no other effect
than that of strengthening his resolution to surmount them. He felt an
irresistible longing for that freedom, which, to quote his own words,
is “the dearest gift which Heaven has bestowed on man. For freedom,”
he adds, “as well as for honour, it is our duty to sacrifice life.
Captivity, on the other hand, is the greatest misfortune which man can
be doomed to bear.” He gained over to his interests a Moorish slave,
whom he persuaded to convey a letter from him to the Spanish governor
of Oran. The object of this communication was to facilitate a plan
for the liberation of himself and three of his fellow-prisoners. The
letter was however intercepted, and the messenger, by order of Hassan,
was immediately shot. Cervantes, as the writer of the missive, was
sentenced to receive two thousand stripes; and only by the urgent
and repeated intercession of the Christians in Algiers, was the noble
slave saved from the infliction of that barbarous punishment. The
three Spaniards who were comprehended in the projected plan of escape
were put to death; and the extension of Hassan’s mercy to Cervantes
may be attributed in a great measure to the influence which an exalted
character exercises even on the most uncivilized of mankind.
Another, and to all appearance, a more practicable plan of escape,
contrived in 1579, was foiled by the treachery of a Dominican monk.
Hassan, to whom the design was disclosed, affected at first to have
no suspicion of it; hoping by that means to ensure its detection. The
Christians, however, soon learned that their project was discovered.
A native of Valencia, settled as a merchant in Algiers, had promised
to aid the escape of the prisoners. This man spared no endeavours
to prevail on Cervantes to slip away furtively and unknown to his
companions. He even undertook to convey him safely on board a vessel
about to sail for Spain; for knowing that the Moors would resort to
every extremity to extort a confession, the merchant feared that his
own life and property might be endangered. Cervantes had by this
time broken from prison, and was concealed in the house of a friend;
consequently he might with perfect ease and safety have effected his
escape on board the ship in the manner proposed. But he would not
listen to the suggestion of deserting his companions, and he quieted
the apprehensions of the merchant by the most solemn assurance, that
neither the fear of torture or death would wring from him a word
of avowal that could in any degree compromise a friend. Meanwhile,
an order of the Dey was proclaimed through the streets of Algiers,
commanding the Slave Cervantes to deliver himself up, and warning those
who might harbour him, that they would incur the punishment of death.
The fugitive, anxious to screen his friends from all risk, surrendered
himself. Aga Hassan, without a moment’s hesitation, ordered him to be
hanged. After his hands were tied behind his back, and the rope put
round his neck, he was informed that he might yet save his own life by
the disclosure of his accomplices. But, faithful to that generosity
of feeling, which was one of the most prominent traits in his
character, Cervantes persisted in declaring that he alone had wished
to escape; but to avoid being further pressed by questions, he named
as the accomplices of his design, four Spaniards who had, some time
previously, obtained their liberation by the payment of ransom-money.
The intercession of an influential renegade, who was an attached friend
of Cervantes, induced the Dey once more to spare his life; but he was
thrown into a dungeon of the Bagnio, heavily fettered, and watched
with the strictest vigilance.