1547-1616.
It is most certain, that all those capable of feeling a generous
interest in the fate of genius will turn with eager curiosity to the
page inscribed with the name of Cervantes: not even Shakspeare has so
universal a reputation. While the sublime character of Don Quixote warms
the heart of the enthusiast, the truth of the sad picture which his
fortunes present tickles the fancy of the man of the world. Children
revel in the comedy, old men admire the shrewdness, of Sancho Panza.
That this work is written in prose increases its popularity. Imperfect
as all translations must be, none fail so entirely as those which
attempt to transfuse the etherial and delicate spirit of verse into
another language. But though to read "Don Quixote" in its native Spanish
infinitely increases the pleasure it affords, yet so does its mere
meaning speak to all mankind, that even a translation satisfies those
who are forced thus to content themselves.
For the honour of human nature, and to satisfy our own sense of
gratitude, we desire to find that the author of "Don Quixote" enjoyed as
much prosperity as is consistent with humanity, and that he tasted to
its full the triumph due to the writer of the most successful hook in
the world. This satisfaction being denied us--for he was "fallen on evil
days," a poor and neglected man--we are anxious, even at this distance
of time, to commiserate his misfortunes, and sympathise in his sorrows.
We desire to learn with what spirit he endured adversity--whether, like
his heroic creation, he consoled himself at the worst by the sense of
conscious worth and virtuous intention. We feel sure that his romantic
imagination, and keen sense of humour, must often have elevated him
above his griefs or blunted their sting; but we wish to learn whether
they were borne with moral courage; and how far, like his hero, he
preserved a serene and undaunted spirit in the midst of blows and
derision.
We are disappointed at the outset by finding how little is known of so
renowned an author. Neglected during life, his memory also was
unhonoured. His contemporaries gave themselves no trouble to collect and
bequeath the circumstances of his life, so that they quickly became
involved in obscurity. When, at last, it was endeavoured to do honour to
his name, eulogy, rather than biography, was written; and it was only
towards the end of the last century that pains were taken to make
researches, which so far succeeded, that such discoveries were made as
place various portions of his life in an interesting and romantic light.
The Spanish Academy published an edition of "Don Quixote," to which is
prefixed a biography, written by don Vicente de los Rios, who, with all
the ardour of an admirer of genius, spared no pains to render his work
full and accurate. At about the same time, don Juan Antonio Pellicer
made similar researches, and threw some new lights on his situation and
circumstances. Much more, however, has been done lately by a French
gentleman of the name of Viardôt. He travelled in Spain, and exerted
himself to the utmost to discover the yet hidden circumstances of
Cervantes's life. By searching the archives of various cities where he
had resided, and by a careful examination of contemporary writers, he
has brought a mass of information together, the authenticity of which
adds to its interest. Some circumstances, indeed, are important only as
they are true, and appertain to Cervantes; others throw a great light on
his character, and show his fortitude in suffering, his devoted courage
when others depended on him, his cheerful content in poverty, his
benevolence, and the dignity and animation of his mind, which raised him
above his fortunes.
The first point to be decided was the place of his birth: this had been
attributed to various cities and towns of Spain--to Madrid, Seville,
Esquivias, and Lucena. An allusion in "Don Quixote" led one of his
biographers (Sarmiento) to conjecture that he was born at Alcalà de
Henares, a town of some consequence, not far from Madrid. Another
writer, following up this trace, discovered a baptismal register in the
parish church of Santa Maria la Mayor of that town, which certified,
that on Sunday, the 9th of October, 1547, the reverend señor Bachiller
Serrano baptized Miguel, the son of Rodrigo Cervantes and donna Leonora,
his wife.
While the question seemed thus put to rest, it was unsettled again by
the discovery of another register. This was found in the parish books of
Santa Maria, of Alcanzar de San Lugar, a town of La Mancha. It
certified, that on the 9th November, 1558, was baptized, by the
licentiate Alonso Diaz Pajares, a son of Blas Cervantes Saavedra and
Catalina Lopez, who received the name of Miguel. A marginal note to this
register declared, "This was the author of 'Don Quixote.'" In addition,
there were various traditions in Alcanzar of the house in which he was
born. The name of Saavedra was another testimony in its favour.
Cervantes always adopted this additional name; and no trace of it is to
be found in the town of Alcalà; however, it would seem that the
different families of these two towns were connected, as Cervantes had
an uncle, Cervantes Saavedra, of Alcanzar. And thus, on minute
examination, and bringing the aid of chronology to decide the question,
the balance inclined uncontrovertibly in favour of Alcalà: the date of
the battle of Lepanto, and the mention Cervantes makes of his own age in
several of his later works, prove that he was born in 1547, and not so
late as 1558. Another document, hereafter to be mentioned, discovered by
Los Rios in the archives of the society for the redemption of captives
in Algiers, declares him to be a native of Alcalà de Henares, and the
son of Rodrigo Cervantes and donna Leonora de Cortina.
[Sidenote: 1547.]
Thus the question is set at rest; and it becomes matter of positive
history that Cervantes was born at Alcalá de Henares, and baptized
(probably on the day of his birth, as is usual in catholic countries,)
on Sunday, the 9th of October, 1547.
His family, originally of Gallicia, and afterwards established in
Castile, belonged to the same class in society, in which he places Hon
Quixote. They were hidalgos (hijos de algo, sons of somebody,) and,
therefore, by right of birth, gentlemen, though not noble. The name of
Cervantes is honourably mentioned in the Spanish annals, as far back as
the thirteenth century. Warriors bearing that appellation fought under
the banners of St. Ferdinand, and had a part in the taking of Baeza and
Seville, and received a share in the distributions of land conquered
from the Moors, then made. Others of that name figure among the first
adventurers in the New World. His grandfather, Juan de Cervantes, was
corregidor of Osuna. The mother of Miguel was of a noble family of
Barajas; she married his father about the year 1540. Four children were
the fruit of the union; donna Andrea and donna Luisa, daughters;
Rodrigo, and youngest of the four, Miguel. His parents were poor, and he
could inherit little from them except his honourable rank.[55]
Very little is known of his early life. The town of Henares is but a few
miles distant from Madrid, and it contains a university, where it is
probable that Cervantes prosecuted his early studies. He tells us, in a
poem written late in life,
"From my most tender years I loved
The gentle art of poesy,--
and this taste gave the bias to his life. While still a boy he was
attracted by the drama, and frequented the representations of Lope de
Rueda; these recitations, and his taste for reading, which was such that
he never passed the meanest bit of paper in the streets without
deciphering its contents, were the early proofs he gave of that love of
inquiry which always accompanies genius.
Having attained the proper age, Miguel repaired to Salamanca, where he
entered himself as a student, and remained for two years.[56] It is
ascertained that he lived in Calle los Moros. He afterwards returned to
Madrid, and was placed to study with the learned Joan Lopez de Hoyos, a
theologian, who filled the chair for Belles Lettres in that city. It is
conjectured that in giving him a literary education his parents meant
that he should pursue one of the liberal professions; but we have no
other token that such was intended. He acquired, however, a taste for
literature, and aspired in his turn to be an author. He wrote, he tells
us, an infinite number of what in Spain are called romances, being
ballads and ditties; of which later in life, he says, he considered a
few good among many bad. He wrote also a pastoral, called "Filena,"
which he boasts attained celebrity. "The woods resounded with her name,"
he says; "and many a gay song was echoed by them;--my many and pleasant
rhymes and the light winds were burdened with my hopes, which were
themselves light as the breezes, and shifting as the sands."
His master, Juan Lopez de Hoyos, admired and encouraged him in these
pursuits, and, it would seem, endeavoured to bring him into notice. The
death of Isabella of Valois, wife of Philip II., which happened in 1569,
elicited the tribute of many an elegy from the poets of Madrid. The name
of this queen is rendered romantic to us by its association with that of
the unfortunate prince don Carlos, and the legend of his unhappy
attachment and consequent death. Of course these circumstances were not
the subject of verse intended for the royal ear; but Isabella was
beloved and mourned with more sincerity than queens usually are. Lopez
de Hoyos published a book called "History and true relation of the
sickness, pious death, and sumptuous funeral obsequies, of the serene
queen of Spain, donna Isabella of Valois." This publication includes
various elegies, one of which is thus introduced:--"These Castilian
redondillas on the death of her majesty, which, as appears, indulge in
rhetorical imagery, and at the conclusion address her majesty, are by
Miguel de Cervantes, cur dear and beloved pupil." Besides this, the book
contains another elegy addressed by the whole school to the cardinal
Espinosa, also written by Cervantes. Neither of these poems give
promise; they are common-place, wordy, and deficient both in sentiment
and imagination.
In the same year that these poems were published Cervantes quitted
Madrid. It is usually supposed that he left it in despair, to seek his
fortune elsewhere; but there can be no doubt that he left it in the
service of cardinal Acquaviva. On the death of the queen, pope Pius V.
sent a nuncio to Madrid to condole with Philip II., and to seek
compensation for certain dues of the church, denied by the king's
ministers at Milan. The nuncio was a Roman prelate, named Giulio
Acquaviva son of the duke of Atri, who was created cardinal on his
return to Italy. His mission displeased the king, who, bigot as he was,
never yielded any point to the court of Rome. He remained, therefore,
but a short time, receiving an order, two months after his arrival, to
return to Italy by way of Valencia and Barcelona. As Cervantes himself
mentions that he was at Rome immediately after in the household of the
cardinal, there can be little doubt that he was preferred to this
situation while he was at Madrid.
[Sidenote: 1568.
Ætat.
21.]
Preferred, we say, because in those days the sons of poor gentlemen
often began their early career in the households of princes, thus
forming high connections, and securing a patron for life. We may believe
that the recommendation of De Hoyos, and the talents of the youth,
induced the cardinal to choose him. In the suite of his new master
Cervantes visited Valencia and Barcelona, and traversed the south of
France,--places which he afterwards described in his writings, and which
he at no other time had an opportunity of visiting.
[Sidenote: 1569.
Ætat.
22.]
What hopes and views he nourished in his own heart on visiting Rome we
cannot tell. He was now in his twenty-third year. His temperament was
ardent and aspiring, his tastes decidedly literary; but with no bent
towards the clerical profession. That he had hopes we cannot doubt; and
little doubt is there that these hopes proved, as he says; "light as the
winds and shifting as the sands;" for he had not been a year at Rome
when he changed the whole course of his life, and volunteered as a
soldier. "The war against the Turks," his biographer, Los Rios,
observes, "which was declared in 1570, gave him an opportunity of
adopting a more noble profession, and one more consonant to his birth
and valour;" and we may remark, that whatever hardships he suffered in
his military career, Cervantes prided himself upon it to the end of his
life. He always calls himself a soldier; and his heart is in the
argument, when Don Quixote, comparing the student's and the soldier's
life, gives preference to the latter as the more noble.
[Sidenote: 1570.
Ætat.
23.]
To return to the Turkish war, during which he served. The sultan Selim,
being desirous of possessing himself of the island of Cyprus, broke the
peace which he had made with the Venetian republic, and sent an armament
for the conquest of this island. The Venetians implored the aid of the
Christian sovereigns. Pope Pius V., in consequence, sent a force,
commanded by Marco Antonio Colonna, duke of Paliano. Cervantes enlisted
under this general, and served during the campaign, which began late in
the year, the object of which was to succour Cyprus, and raise the siege
of Nicosia. The dissentions among the commanders sent by the various
Christian princes prevented, however, the good they were sent to do. The
Turks took Nicosia by assault, and proceeded to other conquests.
[Sidenote: 1571.
Ætat.
24.]
During the following year greater efforts were made by the Christians.
The combined fleet of Venice, Spain, and of the pope, assembled at
Messina. Marco Antonio Colonna continued to command the papal galleys,
Doria the Venetians; while the combined forces of all parties were
placed under the command of don John of Austria, a gallant prince, the
natural son of the emperor Charles V. Cervantes served in the company of
the brave captain Diego de Urbino, a detachment of the tercio (regiment)
of Miguel de Moncada.
Don John collected at Barcelona all the veteran troops whom he had tried
in the war against the Moriscos in Andalusia; and among others, the
renowned tercios of don Miguel de Moncada and don Lope de Figueroa; and,
sailing for Italy, cast anchor off Genoa on the 26th June with
forty-seven galleys. Thence he proceeded to Messina, where the combined
fleet met. In the distribution now made of the troops on board the
various vessels, the two new companies of veterans, taken from the
tercios of Moncada, those of Urbina and Rodrigo de Mora, were embarked
on board the Italian galleys of Doria. Cervantes followed his captain on
board the Marquesa, commanded by Francesco Santo Pietro.[57]
The fleet of the confederates, after having succoured Corfu, went in
pursuit of the enemy, and found the Turkish fleet, on the morning of the
7th October, in the entrance of the gulph of Lepanto. The battle began
about noon: the confederates achieved a splendid victory; but it was a
very sanguinary one, and, not being followed up by other successes, it
remained a useless trophy of Christian valour.
Cervantes was at this time suffering from an intermittent fever, and his
captain and comrades would have persuaded him to abstain from mingling
in the fight; but he spurned the idea, and requested, on the contrary,
to be placed in the post of honour, where there was most danger. He was
posted near the shallop with twelve chosen soldiers. The galley, on
board of which he was, distinguished itself in the action: it boarded
the Captain of Alexandria, killed near five hundred Turks with their
commander, and took the royal standard of Egypt. In this bloody fray
Cervantes received three arquebuse wounds; two in the chesty and one
that broke and destroyed his left hand. He always, however, regarded
this loss with pride, and says, in one of his works, that the honour of
having been at the battle of Lepanto was cheaply bought by the wounds he
there received.
The advance of the season, the want of provisions, the number of their
wounded, and the express orders of king Philip, prevented the victorious
fleet from following up its victory; and don John returned to Messina on
the 31st of October. The troops were distributed in various quarters,
and the tercio of Moncada was posted in the south of Sicily. Cervantes
himself, sick and wounded, remained in the hospital at Messina for at
least six months. Don John of Austria had shown a lively interest in his
fate on the morning succeeding to the battle, and did not forget him
during his long confinement. The industrious Viardôt has discovered
mention of various small sums given him by the pay office (pagaduria) of
the fleet, under the dates of the 15th and 25th of January, and the 9th
and 17th of March, 1572. When at last he recovered, an order was
addressed by the generalissimo, on the 29th of April, to the
pay-masters, that the soldier Cervantes should receive the high pay of
four crowns per month, and be passed into a company of the tercio of
Figueroa.
[Sidenote: 1572.
Ætat.
25.]
The campaign of the following year was a failure. Of the three allied
powers, the pope was dead, the Venetians grown cold,--the Spaniards
alone remained to prosecute the war. Marco Antonio Colonna set sail on
the 6th of June for the Archipelago, with a part of the allied fleet;
and, among others, the thirty-six galleys of the marquis of Santa Cruz,
on board of which was embarked the regiment of Figueroa, in which
Cervantes served.
Don John sailed on the 9th of August following; but the only enterprise
they attempted was an unsuccessful assault on the castle of Navarino;
thus the account given of this disastrous campaign in the story of the
captive in "Don Quixote" was related by Cervantes as an eye-witness.
[Sidenote: 1573.
Ætat.
26.]
During the following year the Venetians signed a peace with Selim; and
the league being broken up, Philip was obliged to renounce all direct
attack upon the Ottoman power; but having assembled a large force, he
determined to employ it on a descent on Algiers or Tunis. Since the time
of Charles V., the Spaniards possessed Goletta, a fortress near Tunis.
Having, therefore, disembarked his troops, he sent the marquis de Santa
Cruz to possess himself of Tunis, which might easily have been done; but
Philip, jealous of the views of his brother, recalled him in haste from
Africa. Feeble garrisons were left in Goletta, which the Turks took by
assault the same year.
Cervantes had entered Tunis with the marquis of Santa Cruz, and returned
to Palermo with the fleet. He made one of the force which, under the
duke of Sesa, vainly attempted to succour Goletta: he afterwards
wintered in Sardinia, and was brought back to Naples in the galleys of
Marcel Doria. In the month of June, 1575, he obtained leave from don
John of Austria to return to Spain, after an absence of seven years.
Viardôt assures us, that in the intervals of military service, or
during the various expeditions, Cervantes visited Rome, Florence,
Venice, Bologna, Naples, and Palermo. He became accomplished in the
Italian language: the anti-Petrarchists of his time detected the
influence of Italian literature, and accused him, as Boscan and
Garcilaso had been accused, of corrupting his native Castilian.
[Sidenote: 1575.
Ætat.
28.]
Cervantes, now twenty-eight years of age, having served in many
campaigns, maimed and enfeebled, no doubt pined to revisit his native
country. He had left it to seek his fortune; he was to return a simple
soldier; yet the military profession continued dear to him; and when he
speaks of the many misfortunes a soldier encounters,--his poverty so
great that he is poor among the poor; ever expecting his slender pay,
which he seldom receives, or is obliged to seize on, at the hazard of
his life, and to the injury of his conscience; the hardships he
encounters, the dangers he risks, and the small reward he gains,--yet he
looks on all these circumstances as redounding to his glory, and
rendering him deserving of honour and esteem from all men. We may
believe also that Cervantes quitted Italy with well-founded hopes of
preferment in his native country: he had distinguished himself in a
manner that deserved reward. Don John appreciated his worth, and gave
him letters to the king his brother, in which he gave due praise for his
conduct at the battle of Lepanto, and begged Philip to confide to him
the command of one of the regiments which were then being raised in
Spain to serve in Italy or Flanders. The viceroy of Sicily, don Carlos
of Aragon, and the duke of Sesa, also recommended him to the benevolence
of the king and his ministers as a soldier whose valour and worth
deserved recompence.[58]
Such recommendations promised fair. Cervantes embarked on board the
Spanish galley el Sol (the Sun) with his elder brother Rodrigo, also a
soldier, and with various officers of distinction; but disaster was near
at hand to dash all his hopes, and devote him to years of adversity. On
the 26th of September the galley was surrounded by an Algerine squadron,
under the command of the Arnaout Mami, who was captain of the sea. The
Turkish vessels attacked and boarded el Sol. The combat was obstinate,
but numbers overpowered. The galley was taken and carried into Algiers.
In the subsequent division of prisoners, Cervantes fell to the share of
the Arnaout captain himself.
The frightful system of cruising for captives, and taking them to
Algiers to sell them into slavery, which continued for so many hundred
years, had not long before been carried to greater height than ever by
two pirates, who possessed themselves of Algiers and Tunis. The horror
of this warfare had excited the emperor Charles V. to undertake to crush
it. He made two expeditions into Africa, the second of which was
unsuccessful, and the Algerine corsairs pursued their nefarious traffic
with greater cruelty and success than ever: every particular connected
with it was frightful and deplorable: the weak and unoffending were its
chief victims: the sea coasts were ravaged for prisoners; and these, if
too poor for ransom, became slaves for life, under the most cruel
masters. The abhorrence excited by these unprovoked attacks caused the
Mahometan name to be held in greater odium than ever; and in Spain,
particularly, this detestation was visited on the Moriscos: the
cruelties and oppression they endured, again excited the Moors of Africa
to reprisals; and innocence and helplessness became on all sides the
victims of revenge and hatred. Still the piracies carried on by the
Algerines, and the system to which they reduced their practice of
slavery, raised them to a "bad height" in this war of reciprocal
cruelty. None, also, were more pitiless than the renegades; Christians
who, taken prisoners, bought their freedom by the sacrifice of their
faith. These men, often the most energetic and prosperous among the
corsairs, were also the most cruel towards their prisoners; and, among
them all, none was so cruel as the Arnaout Mami.
Fortunately, interesting details of Cervantes's captivity have come down
to us from undoubted and impartial sources, as well as from his own
accounts; and these place him in the brightest light as a man of
sagacity, resolution, and honour. That these details are not fuller we
must lament; but, such as they are, they display so much gallantry and
magnanimity on Cervantes's part, that they must be read with the
greatest pleasure.
In his tale of the "Captive," Cervantes gives an account of the mode in
which captives were treated at Algiers. He says, "There is a prison or
house, which the Turks call a bagnio, in which the Christian captives
are confined,--those belonging to the king as well as to various
individuals; and also those of the Almacen, or slaves of the council,
who labour for the town at the public works, or are employed in other
offices; who, as they belong to the city, and not to any particular
master, have no one with whom to treat concerning their ransom, and are
worse off than the others. As I have said; various individuals place
their slaves in this bagnio, and principally those whom they expect to
be ransomed, because they are kept there more securely. The captives of
the king, who expect to be ransomed, are not sent out to work with the
rest; and they wear a chain, more as a sign that they are to obtain
their freedom than from any other cause: and here many cavaliers and men
of birth live, thus marked, and kept for redemption; and although hunger
and nakedness might well weary them, nothing brought so much pain as
witnessing the unspeakable and frightful cruelties practised towards the
Christians. Each day, the dey, who was a Venetian renegade, hanged or
impaled some among them; and this from such trifling causes, and often
from none at all, that the Turks themselves were aware that he inflicted
these cruelties in wantonness, and because it was his natural
disposition to be the enemy of the human race. One man only did he treat
well, a soldier, by name Saavedra, who, having achieved things that will
remain for many years in the memory of that people, and all for the sake
of gaining his liberty, yet never received a blow nor an ill word;
though it was often thought that for the slightest of the things he did
he would be impaled, and he himself often expected it; and, if it were
not that I have no time nor place, I would recount what this soldier
did, which would indeed excite your admiration and wonder."[59]
In these terms does Cervantes speak of himself in his captivity; and so
often are writers accused of boasting that this might have been brought
forward as a proof of his vanity merely, but that we have another
testimony in a book named "Topography and general History of Algiers, by
Father Diego de Haedo[60]," a contemporary; and his account, though not
full enough to satisfy our curiosity, yet proves that Cervantes spoke of
his deeds with no exaggeration; and that, to attain his liberty, he
incurred every risk, and endured a thousand hardships and perils with
dauntless courage. As Cervantes often alludes to himself, it is strange
that he did not write an account of his years of captivity; but the
truth is, that, though we may be led to mention ourselves, it is ever a
tedious task to write at length on the subject: recollections come by
crowds; hopes baffled, our dearest memories discovered to have a taint,
our lives wasted and fallen into contempt even in our own eyes: so that
we readily turn from dispiriting realities to such creatures of the
imagination as we can fashion according to our liking. But to return.
The account above given of the situation of the captives refers to those
best off. The rest were either employed as galley slaves, or in other
hard labours. Among the latter Cervantes was probably numbered, as Haedo
mentions that his captivity was one of peculiar hardship. Driven to
resistance by his sufferings, Cervantes several times endeavoured to
obtain his liberty.
[Sidenote: 1576.
Ætat.
29.]
His first attempt was made in conjunction with several others, under the
design of reaching Oran (a town of Africa, then in possession of Spain,)
by land. He and his comrades even contrived to get out of the town of
Algiers; but the Moorish guide whom they had engaged deserted them, and
they were obliged to return and deliver themselves up to their masters.
Some of his companions, and among them ensign Gabrièl de Castañeda,
were ransomed in the middle of the year 1576. Castañeda took letters
from the captive brothers to their father, Rodrigo Cervantes, describing
their miserable situation. He instantly sold or mortgaged his little
property, and, indeed, every thing he possessed, even to the dowry of
his daughters, who were not yet married; the whole family being thus
reduced to penury.
[Sidenote: 1577.
Ætat.
30.]
The entire sum, unhappily, did not suffice for the redemption of both
brothers. Miguel accordingly gave up his share to secure the freedom of
Rodrigo, who was set free in August, 1577. He promised at parting to get
an armed vessel equipped at Valencia or the Balearic isles, which,
touching at a place agreed on, near Algiers, would facilitate the escape
of his brother and other captives; and he carried with him to this
effect several letters from men of high birth, now fallen into the
miserable condition of slaves, to various persons in power in Spain.
Meanwhile Cervantes was arranging another plan for escape, nay, he was
far advanced in its execution at the time of his brother's departure.
The alcayd Hassan, a Greek renegade, possessed a garden three miles from
Algiers, close to the sea: in this garden Juan, a slave from Navarre,
had contrived to dig a cavern; and here, under the conduct of Cervantes,
a number of runaway captives hid themselves till an opportunity should
offer for final evasion. Some of them had taken up their abode in the
cave since the month of February, 1577: it was dark and damp, but it
proved a safe asylum. The numbers increased till they amounted to
fifteen. They had only two confidants, both Christians. Juan, the
gardener of the alcayd Hassan, who worked near the mouth of the cave,
and kept watch for them; and another, a native of Villa de Melilla, a
small town of Barbary, subject to the king of Spain. He had become a
renegade when a boy, and then again turned Christian, and was now
captured for the second time. This man, who was commonly surnamed el
Dorador, or the Gilder, had it particularly in charge to supply the
fugitives with food and necessaries, buying them with the money given
him, and bringing them secretly to the cavern.
The runaways had now been hidden for seven months: the confinement was
irksome and unhealthy, and they never breathed the free air of heaven
except in the dead of night, when they stole out for a short time into
the garden. They often incurred the greatest dangers,--as Haedo says,
"what these men suffered in the cavern, and what they said and did,
would deserve a particular account." Several fell sick, and all endured
incredible hardship; while through all they were supported and
encouraged by the firmness and dauntless courage of Cervantes. In the
month of September, an opportunity offered itself, as they hoped, for
effecting their ultimate escape. A Mallorcan captive, of the name of
Mana, accustomed to the sea, and well acquainted with the coast of
Barbary, was ransomed; and the captives of the cave agreed with him that
he should hire a vessel, either in Mallorca or Spain, and bring it to
the neighbourhood of the garden by night, where they could unperceived
embark, and sail for their native country. When this was arranged,
Cervantes, who had hitherto thought that he served his friends best by
remaining in Algiers, made his escape and repaired to the cavern, and
remained there.
Viana performed his part with celerity and success. He hired a
brigantine at Mallorca, and arrived with it at Algiers on the 28th of
September. As had been concerted, he made, in the middle of the night,
for the part of the coast where the garden and the cavern were situated.
Most unfortunately, however, at the moment when the prow of the
brigantine bore down on shore, several Moors passed by, and, perceiving
the vessel, and that the crew were Christians, gave the alarm, crying
out "Christians! Christians! a vessel! a vessel!" When those on board
heard this they were obliged to put out to sea again, and to give up
their attempt for that time.
The captives in the cave were, however, undiscovered; and they still put
their trust in God, and believed that Viana as a man of honour, would
not fail them; and though suffering through sickness, confinement, and
disappointment, they still supported themselves with the hope of
succeeding at last in their attempt. Unfortunately the Dorador turned
traitor. The ill success of Viana's attempt perhaps made him imagine
that all would be discovered and he be implicated in the dangers of the
enterprise, while, on the other hand, he hoped to gain large rewards
from the masters of the runaway slaves by giving them up. Two days only
after Viana left the coast, he sought an audience with the dey, declared
his wish to turn Mahometan, and asked his permission; while, as a proof
of his sincerity, he offered to betray into his hands fifteen Christian
captives, who lay concealed in a cavern, expecting a vessel from
Mallorca for their deliverance.
The dey was delighted with this account. As a tyrant, he resolved,
against all custom and right, to appropriate the runaways to himself; so
sending immediately for Bashi, the gaoler of the bagnio, he commanded
him to take a guard, and, guided by the renegade, to seize on the
Christians hidden in the cave. Bashi did as he was ordered; and,
accompanied by eight mounted Turks and twenty-four on foot, armed, for
the most part, with muskets and sabres, he, guided by the traitor,
repaired to the garden. The first man they seized on was the gardener;
they then made for the cave, and captured all the Christians.
The traitor Dorador had mentioned Cervantes, whom Haedo names "a
distinguished hidalgo of Alcalá de Hernares," as the originator and the
heart and soul of the whole enterprise. He, therefore, was singled out
to be more heavily ironed than the rest; and when the dey, seizing on
the whole number as his own, ordered them to be carried to the bagnio,
he detained Cervantes in the palace, and, by entreaties and terrible
menaces, tried to induce him to declare the true author of their
attempt. His motive in this was to implicate, if possible, a friar of
the order of mercy, established at Algiers as redeemer of slaves for the
kingdom of Aragon, on whom he desired to lay hands for the purpose of
extorting money.
But all his endeavours were vain; and though his merciless disposition
gave Cervantes every cause to apprehend a cruel death, he, with
undaunted firmness, continued to reiterate that the whole enterprise
originated in, and was carried on by, himself, heroically incurring the
whole blame, and running the risk of the heaviest punishment. Finding
all his endeavours fail, the dey sent him also to the prison of the
bagnio.
As soon as these circumstances became known, the former masters of the
captives claimed each his slave: the dey resisted where he could; but he
was obliged to give up three or four, and among them Cervantes, who was
restored to the Arnaout Mami, who had originally captured him. The
alcayd Hassan hastened also to the dey to obtain leave to punish the
gardener, who was hung with his head downwards, and left to die.
Cervantes, meanwhile, returning to his old state of slavery, was by no
means disposed to submit to it. Ardent and resolute, his schemes for
procuring his liberation were daring in the extreme. Many times he
reiterated his attempts, and ran risk of being impaled or otherwise put
to death; and how he came to be spared cannot be guessed, except that
the gallantry of his spirit excited the respect of his masters, and,
perhaps, associating the ideas of bravery and resolution with noble
birth, it was supposed that in the end he would be ransomed at a high
price.
[Sidenote: 1578.
Ætat.
31.]
Soon after Hassan Aga himself purchased him from Mami, either hoping to
gain through his ransom, or to keep a better watch over his restless
attempts. At one time he sent letters through a Moor to don Martin de
Cordova, governor of Oran; but this emissary was taken, and brought with
his despatches before the dey. The unfortunate man was condemned to be
impaled, and Cervantes was sentenced to the bastinado; but, from some
undiscovered influence, his punishment on this occasion, as well as
every other, was remitted.[61]
[Sidenote: 1579.
Ætat.
32.]
This ill success did not daunt his courage. In September, 1579, he
formed acquaintance with a Spanish renegade, the licentiate Giron, born
at Granada, who had taken the name of Abd-al-Rhamen. This renegade was
eager to return to his native country, and reassume the Christian faith.
With him Cervantes concerted a new plan of escape: they had recourse to
two Valencian merchants, established at Algiers,--Onofrio Exarch; and
Bathazar de Torres: they assisted in the plot; and the former
contributed 1500 doubloons for the price of an armed frigate with twelve
banks of oars, which Abd-al-Rhamen bought under the pretence of going on
a cruise as corsair. The vessel was ready, and the captives were on the
alert to get on board, when they were betrayed. Doctor Juan Blanco de
Paz, a Dominican monk, for the sake of a reward, denounced the scheme to
the dey.
Hassan Aga at first dissimulated: his desire was, as in the former
instance, though then frustrated, to confiscate the slaves to the state,
by which means he should become possessed of them; nevertheless it
became known that they were betrayed; and Onofrio, fearful that if
Cervantes were taken, he would be tortured into making confessions
injurious to him; offered to buy him at any price and send him to Spain.
Cervantes refused to avoid the common peril. He had escaped from the
bagnio, and was hidden at the house of one of his old military comrades,
the ensign Diego Castillano. The dey made a public proclamation of him,
threatening with death any one who afforded him refuge. Cervantes, on
this, delivered himself up, having first secured the intercession of a
Murcian renegade, Morato Raez Matrapillo, who was a favourite with
Hassan Aga. The dey demanded the names of his accomplices of Cervantes,
and threatened him with immediate execution if he refused. Cervantes was
not to be moved; he named himself and four Spanish gentlemen already at
liberty, but fear of death extracted no other word. Despite his cruelty
there must have been a touch of better things about Hassan Aga. He was
moved by the constancy and fearlessness of his captive: he spared his
life, but imprisoned him in a dungeon, where he was kept strictly
guarded and chained. The ensign Luis Pedrosa, an ocular witness of his
countryman's conduct, exclaims on this, that his noble conduct deserved
"renown, honour, and a crown among Christians."
The dey had now become thoroughly frightened. Cervantes's late plots
were not limited merely to the attainment of freedom; he aimed at
raising the whole captive population in revolt, and so gaining
possession of Algiers for the crown of Spain. Hassan Aga, in his fear,
was heard to exclaim, that "he only held his city, fleet; and slaves
secure, while he kept that maimed Christian in safe custody."
The courage and heroism of Cervantes excited the respect of the friars
of the Order of Mercy, who resided at Algiers for the purpose of
treating for the ransom of the Christian captives. This order had been
established as far back as the twelfth century by pope Innocent III. It
was originally founded by two French hermits, who, dedicated to a holy
life in solitude, believed themselves called upon by God to take more
active service in the cause of religion. They repaired to Rome, and were
well received by pope Innocent, who saw the benefits that might arise to
Christianity from the pious labours of these men. He instituted an
order, therefore, whose members were to dedicate themselves to the
liberating of Christian slaves out of the hands of the infidels. It was
called the order of the most Holy Trinity, for the Redemption of
Captives. At first its labours were probably most in use to ransom
crusaders, taken prisoners in the wars of Palestine. Africa afterwards
became the scene of their greatest labours and dangers: various members
of the order were regularly appointed, and resided in Algiers, for the
purpose of carrying on treaties for the ransom of captives in
particular. Each kingdom of Spain had its peculiar holy officer, a sort
of spiritual consul, who transacted all the affairs of redemption and
liberation for the unfortunate slaves.
Cervantes's case was peculiar: distinguished among his fellow slaves,
the dey paid him the inconvenient compliment of rating his ransom
highly, and set the price of 1000 golden crowns on him; application was
made in Spain, and it was endeavoured to collect his ransom. His father
was now dead, and his mother, donna Leonora, a widow, could only
contribute 250 ducats, his sister 50 more. This sum was placed in the
hands of the friars Juan Gil and Antonio de la Vella, who arrived in
Algiers in May, 1580, for the purpose of treating for the redemption of
various captives. For a long time they were unable to bring the dey into
any terms with regard to Cervantes: the sum of 1000 golden ducats was
exorbitant, yet during several months he refused to take less. At last
he received an order from the sultan, which appointed him a successor,
and enforced his return to Constantinople. At first he threatened to
take Cervantes, whom he kept on board his galley, with him; and the
friars raised their offers to prevent this disaster: at last he agreed
to receive 500 golden crowns as his ransom: on the 19th of September,
1580, the bargain was completed. Hassan sailed for Constantinople, and
Cervantes was set on shore at Algiers, free to return to Spain.[62]
The first use, however, that he made of his liberty was to refute, in
the most determined manner, certain calumnies of which he was the
object. The traitor, Juan Blanco de Paz, who falsely pretended to belong
to the inquisition, cast on him the accusation of betraying the
conspiracy, and of causing the exile of the renegade Giron. The moment
that Cervantes was free he entreated father Juan Gil to examine the
whole affair. In consequence, the apostolic notary, Pedro de Ribera,
drew out twenty-five questions, and received the depositions of eleven
Spanish gentlemen, the most distinguished among the captives, in answer.
These examinations, in which all the events of Cervantes's captivity are
minutely recounted, give besides the most interesting details concerning
his understanding, his character, the purity of his life, and the
devoted sacrifices he made to his companions in misfortune, which gained
for him so many friends.
Viardôt, who has seen this document, not mentioned by any other author,
cites among the depositions that of don Diego de Benavides. Having made
inquiries, he says, on his arrival at Algiers concerning the principal
Christian captives, Cervantes was mentioned to him as honourable, noble,
virtuous, of excellent character, and beloved by all the other
gentlemen. Benavides cultivated his friendship, and he was treated so
kindly, that he says, "he found both a father and a mother in him." The
carmelite monk, Feliciano Enriquez, declared, that having discovered the
falsehood of an accusation made against Cervantes, he, in common with
all the other captives, became his friend; his noble, Christian,
upright, and virtuous conduct raising a sort of emulation among them.
Finally, the ensign Luis de Pedrosa declares, "that of all the gentlemen
resident at Algiers, he knew not one who did so much good to their
fellow captives as Cervantes, or who showed a more rigid observance of
the point of honour; and that in addition, all that he did was adorned
with a peculiar grace, through his understanding, prudence, and
forethought, in which few people could equal him."
Such was the natural elevation of Cervantes over his fellow-creatures,
when, all being placed on an equality, the qualities of the soul alone
produced a difference of rank. It inspires infinite contempt for the
arbitrary distinctions of society when we find this prince and leader
among his fellows was, when restored to his native country, depressed by
poverty and obscured by want; and when we find no spirit of repining
displayed during his after life, though he had dignity of soul to assert
his worth, we are impelled to give Cervantes as high a place for moral
excellence as his genius has secured for him in the world of intellect.
[Sidenote:1581.
Ætat.
34.]
Cervantes landed in Spain early the following year. He so often
expresses the excessive joy imparted by a restoration to freedom, that
we may believe that his heart beat high with exultation when he set his
foot on the shores of his native country. "On earth," he says, "there is
no good like regaining lost liberty." Yet he arrived poor, and if not
friendless yet his friends were poor also. His mother's purse had been
drained to contribute to his ransom. As a literary man he was not known,
nor, indeed, had he written any thing since he left Spain eleven years
before. He evidently did not at first look upon literature as a resource
by which to live. He was still a soldier in heart, and such he became
again by profession, though it would seem that his long captivity erased
the recollection of, and deprived him of all reward for, his past
services.
At this time Portugal had been recently conquered by the duke of Alva.
It was now tranquil, but still occupied by Spanish troops. This army was
in preparation to attack the Azores, which still held out. Rodrigo de
Cervantes, after his ransom, had re-entered the service. His brother
found himself obliged to follow his example. That he had no powerful
friend is proved by the circumstance that he again volunteered. Maimed
of a hand, in a manner which proved his gallantry, while Algiers still
rang with the fame of his intrepidity and daring, poverty in his native
country hung like a heavy cloud over him. We must, however, at this
period consider that he was not known as the author of Don Quixote, and
a man of genius; he had shown himself only as a gallant soldier of
fortune. Such he continued to be. He served in three campaigns. In the
summer of 1581 he embarked in the squadron of don Pedro Valdes, who had
orders to make an attempt on the Azores, and to protect the commerce of
the Indies.
[Sidenote:1582.
Ætat.
35.]
The following year he served under the orders of the marquis de Santa
Cruz, and was in the naval battle which that admiral gained on the 25th
of July, within sight of the island of Terceira, over the French fleet,
which had taken part with the Portuguese insurgents. It is asserted,
that beyond a question Cervantes served in the regiment of the
camp-major-general, don Lope de Figueroa. This corps was composed of
veterans, and was embarked on board the galleon San Mateo, which took a
distinguished part in the victory.
[Sidenote:1583.
Ætat.
36.]
In the campaign of 1583 he and his brother were at the taking of
Terceira, which was carried by assault. Rodrigo distinguished himself
greatly on this occasion, and was one of the first to spring on shore;
for which, on the return of the fleet, he was promoted to the rank of
ensign.
It is characteristic of Spanish manners that, although only serving in
the ranks, Cervantes mingled in the society of the nobles of Portugal.
He was an hidalgo and, as such, freely admitted to the circles of the
well born, despite his poverty. He was engaged in a love affair at
Lisbon: the name of the lady is not known: it seems likely, from
attendant circumstances, that she was not possessed of either rank or
fortune. She bore him a daughter, whom he named donna Isabel de
Saavedra, and brought up; and she remained with him even after his
marriage till she took vows in a convent in Madrid, but a short time
before her father's death. He never had another child.
[Sidenote:1584.
Ætat.
37.]
In the year 1584 Cervantes appeared as an author. He seems to have
written rather under the excitement of his natural genius, which
impelled him to composition, than under the idea of earning a livelihood
by his pen. The most popular works then in Spain were the "Diana" of
Montemayor, and the continuation of the same work by Gil Polo. This last
was a particular favourite of Cervantes. In the scrutiny made by the
curate of Don Quixote's library, he thus speaks of these books:--"I am
of opinion that we do not burn the 'Diana' of Montemayor; let us only
erase from it all the part that concerns the wise Felicia and the
enchanted water, and almost all the poetry written in _versos mayores_,
and let the prose remain, and the honour it enjoys of being the first of
these species of books. As to the continuation by Gil Polo, take care of
it as if Apollo himself were the author. Of his own 'Galatea,' he makes
the curate say, "Cervantes has for many years been my intimate friend,
and I know he has more experience in disasters than good fortune. There
is the merit of invention in his book: he proposes something but
concludes nothing; and we must wait for the second part, which he
promises, when I hope he will merit the entire pardon which is as yet
denied."
When pastorals were the fashion, there was something very attractive in
the composition of them to a poetic mind. The author, if he were in
love, could so easily turn himself into a shepherd, musing on his
passion on the banks of rivulets, and all the lets and hindrances to his
happiness he could transform into pastoral incidents. Montemayor and Gil
Polo had acknowledgedly done this before, and it was but in good costume
to imitate their example. We are told that, at the time of writing this
work, Cervantes was already deeply in love with the lady whom he
afterwards married. She figured as the lovely shepherdess Galatea. Lope
de Vega asserts that Cervantes introduced himself as Elisio, the hero of
his work. Viardôt says, "It cannot be doubted but that the other
shepherds introduced in the romance as Tirsis, Damon, Meliso, Siralvo,
Lauso, Larsileo, Artidoro, are intended for Francisco de Figueroa, Pedro
Lainez, don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Luis Galvez de Montalvo, Luis
Barahona de Soto, don Alonzo de Ercilla, Andres Rey de Artieda. These
names all figure in the Spanish Parnassus, and it may be that they are
introduced, but we have no proof. That the allusions made both to
himself and his friends are very vague, is proved by the fact that Los
Rios declares that Damon was the name of the shepherd figuring
Cervantes, and Amarilis that of his lady-love. Of the pastoral itself we
shall mention more when we come to speak of all Cervantes's works;
suffice it now to say, that the purity of its style, and the ease of
invention, must at once have raised Cervantes in the eyes of his friends
to the rank of a writer of merit."
It certainly gained him favour in the eyes of the lady. Soon after the
publication of the "Galatea" she consented to become his wife. On the
8th December, 1584, Cervantes accordingly married, at Esquivias, donna
Catilina de Palacios y Salazar. Her family, though impoverished, was one
of the most noble of that town. She had been brought up in the house of
her uncle, don Francisco de Salazar, who left her a legacy in his will,
or which reason she assumed his name in conjunction with her own; for it
was the custom in those days for persons to call themselves after one to
whom they owed the obligation of education and subsistence. The father
of donna Catalina was dead, and the widow promised, when her daughter
was affianced, to give her a moderate dower. This was done two years
afterwards; the contract of marriage bearing date of August 9th, 1586.
This portion we find to consist of a few vineyards, a garden, an
orchard, several beehives, a hencoop, and some household furniture,
amounting in value to 182,000 maravedis, or about 5360 reals, being, in
English money, about 60_l_. This property was settled on donna Catalina,
the management of it only remaining with her husband, who also settled
on her 100 ducats, which are stated as the tenth of his property.
On his marriage, Cervantes took up his abode at Esquivias, probably from
some motive of economy. Still feeling within him the innate assurance of
genius, and the laudable desire of distinction which that feeling
engenders, he dwelt on the idea of becoming an author. Esquivias is so
near Madrid that he could pay frequent visits to the capital; and he
cultivated the acquaintance of the authors of that day, and in
particular of Vicente Espinel, one of the most charming romance writers
of Spain. A noble of the court had instituted a sort of literary academy
at his house, and it is conjectured that Cervantes was chosen a member.
At this time he wrote for the theatre. There was ever a lurking love for
the drama in Spain. In his youth Cervantes had frequented the
representations of Lope de Rueda, previously mentioned in this work, and
he felt impelled to contribute to the drama. He saw the defects of the
plays in vogue, which were rather dialogues than dramatic compositions.
He saw the miserable state of the stage and scenery. He endeavoured to
rectify these deficiencies, and in some measure succeeded. "I must
trespass on my modesty," he says, in one of his prefaces, "to relate the
perfection to which these things were brought when 'The Captives of
Algiers,' 'Numantia,' and 'The Naval Battle,' dramas written by me, were
represented at the theatre of Madrid. I then ventured to reduce the five
acts, into which plays were before divided, into three. I was the first
who personified imaginary phantoms and the secret thoughts of the soul,
bringing allegorical personages on the stage, with the universal
applause of the audience. I wrote at that time some twenty or thirty
plays, which were all performed without the public throwing pumpkins, or
oranges, or any of those things which spectators are apt to cast at the
heads of bad actors: my plays were acted without hissing, confusion, or
clamour."
Of the plays which Cervantes mentions, two only exist--"Numantia" and
"Life in Algiers." They are very inartificial in their plots, and
totally unlike the busy pieces of intrigue soon after introduced; but
the first, in particular, has great merit, as will be mentioned
hereafter. Still, his plays did not bring such profit as to render him
independent. He was now forty: he had run through a variety of
adventures, and remained unrewarded for his services, and unprotected by
a patron. He was married; and, though he had no children by his wife, he
maintained in his house his two sisters and his natural daughter:
despite his vineyard, his orchard, and his hencoop,--despite also his
theatrical successes--he felt himself straitened in circumstances.
[Sidenote:1588.
Ætat.
41.]
At this time, Antonio de Guevara, councillor of finance, was named
purveyor to the Indian squadrons and fleets at Seville, with the right
of naming as his assistants four commissaries. He was now employed in
fitting out the Invincible Armada. He offered the situation of
commissary to Cervantes, who accepted it, and set out for Seville with
his wife and daughter, and two sisters.[63]
Cervantes lived for many years at Seville fulfilling duties of his
employment.
[Sidenote:1591.
Ætat.
44.]
He served at first for ten years under Guevara, and then for two more
under his successor, Pedro de Isunza.
[Sidenote:1593.
Ætat.
45.]
That he was not contented with the situation, and that it was an
insignificant one, is proved by his having solicited the king to give
him the place of paymaster in New Granada, or of corregidor in the small
town of Gcetemala. His request bears the date of May, 1590. It was
refused fortunately; yet his funds and his hopes, also, must have been
low to make him turn his eyes towards the Indies; for, speaking of such
a design in one of his tales, he says of a certain hidalgo that,
"finding himself at Seville without money or friends, he had reccurse to
the remedy to which so many ruined men in that city run, which is going
to the Indies--the refuge and shelter of all Spaniards of desperate
fortunes, the common deceiver of many, the individual remedy of few." At
length the purveyor-ship being suppressed, his office was also
abolished, and he became agent to various municipalities, corporations,
and wealthy individuals: among the rest, he managed the affairs, and
became the friend, of don Hernando de Toledo, a noble of Cigales.
We have little trace of how he exercised his pen during this interval.
The house of the celebrated painter Francisco Pacheco, master and
father-in-law of Velasquez, was then frequented by all the men of
education in Seville: the painter was also a poet, and Rodrigo Caro
mentions that his house was an academy resorted to by all the literati
of the town. Cervantes was numbered among them; and his portrait is
found among the pictures of more than a hundred distinguished persons,
painted and brought together by this artist. The poet Jauregui, who also
cultivated painting, painted his portrait, and was numbered among his
friends. Here Cervantes became the friend of Herrera, who spent his life
in Seville, secluded from the busy world, but venerated and admired by
his friends. Cervantes, in after days, wrote a sonnet to his memory, and
mentions him with fond praise in his "Voyage to Parnassus." Viardôt
assures us, that it was during his residence at Seville that Cervantes
wrote most of his tales. This appears probable. Certainly he did not
lose the habit of composition. Much of the material of these stories was
furnished him by incidents that actually occurred in Seville; and when
we see the mastery of invention and language he had acquired when he
wrote "Don Quixote," we may believe that these tales occupied his pen
when apparently, in a literary sense, idle.
It seems that, at Seville, and during his distasteful employments there,
he acquired that bitter view of human affairs displayed in "Don
Quixote." Yet it is wrong to call it bitter. Even when his hopes were
crushed and blighted, a noble enthusiasm survived disappointment and
ill-treatment; and, though he looks sadly, and with somewhat of
causticity on human life, still no one can mistake the generous and
lofty aspirations of his injured spirit throughout. We have two sonnets
of his, written at Seville, which justify the idea, however, that there
was something in this city (as is usually the case with provincial
towns), that peculiarly excited his spirit of sarcasm. The first of
these sonnets was written in ridicule of some recruits gathered together
by a captain Bercerra to join the forces sent under the duke of Medina,
to repel the disembarcation of the earl of Essex, who hovered near Cadiz
with his fleet.
The second is more known. On the death of Philip II. in 1598, a
magnificent catafalque was erected in the cathedral of Seville, "the
most wonderful funereal monument," says a narrator of the ceremony,
"which human eyes ever had the happiness of seeing." All Seville was in
ecstasy, the catafalque was superb; it did honour to Spain; and they
built the catafalque: could provincial town have better cause to strut
and boast?[64] The Andalusians, also, are addicted to gasconading, and
Cervantes could not resist the temptation of ridiculing both the
monument and its vaunting erectors. In his "Voyage to Parnassus,"
Cervantes calls this sonnet "the chief honour of his writings." After
such an announcement it is hold to attempt a translation. This sort of
witty burlesque can never be transfused into another language, for its
point consists rather in association of ideas, which only those on the
spot can enter into, than, in witty allusions common to all the world.
The conclusion of the epigram is to this day the delight of the
Spaniards, who all know it by heart. The species of sonnet is named an
_Estrumbote_, having three verses more than the proper fourteen. The
following translation being tolerably literal, may serve to satisfy the
curiosity of the English reader, though it cannot do justice to the
composition itself. For the sake of the Spanish one, the original is
inserted underneath.