That the Ingenioso Hidalgo made his way to court, and even attracted the notice of the monarch, is shown by an anecdote which, though often related, may be repeated here, since it bears evidence to the general popularity which attended the publication of the great work of Cervantes. The anecdote is as follows: “King Philip III. standing one day in the balcony of his palace in Madrid, observed on the opposite bank of the Manzanares, a student who was earnestly engaged in reading a book. At intervals the reader raised his eyes from the volume, and striking his forehead with his hand, burst into fits of laughter, and made other movements indicative of extreme pleasure and mirth. ‘That student,’ observed the King, ‘is either crazy, or he is reading the history of Don Quixote.’ The King’s conjecture proved to be correct, for some of the courtiers ascertained on enquiry that it was the masterpiece of Cervantes that occasioned the student’s merriment.”[40]

The first part of Don Quixote was dedicated to Don Alonso López de Zuñiga y Sotomayor, Duke de Bexar, a literary nobleman who was ambitious to be thought the Mecænas of his age and who patronised Cervantes, though without extending to the poor author the generosity which his wealth gave him the means of exercising. It is related that the duke was at first reluctant to receive the homage of dedication offered by Cervantes. Under the mistaken impression that the book was merely one of those romances of chivalry then so much in fashion, he was unwilling to lend the sanction of his name to a work which he supposed to be of that class. Cervantes requested permission to read a chapter of the book to his patron. The request was granted, and with this specimen of the work the duke was so delighted that he readily consented to accept a dedication, which has transmitted his name to posterity.

The misapprehension of the Duke de Bexar respecting the nature of the work prevailed for a time among a portion of the public; and some individuals of the educated class refrained from reading it, under the supposition that it was merely a narrative of romantic chivalrous adventure. Others again, and these were the unlearned, perused the book, and were pleased with it, though without perceiving the delicate vein of satire which constitutes its very essence and spirit. Finding that his book was read by persons who did not understand it, and not read by some who were capable of fully comprehending it, Cervantes devised a plan for explaining its real nature and purpose; and for rendering it an object of interest to those who had regarded it with indifference. This plan he carried out in a very effective manner in the manuscript opuscule which forms the principal subject of this volume. Alluding to El Buscapié, Navarrete, the author’s able Spanish biographer, styles it una obra anonima, pero ingeniosa y discreta.

Cervantes was fifty-seven years of age when he completed the first part of Don Quixote; and it is a fact worthy to be mentioned, that several of our eminent English novelists have produced their best works in the latter part of their lives. Fielding was between forty and fifty when he wrote Tom Jones. Richardson was somewhere about sixty when he produced Clarissa; and Scott was upwards of forty when he commenced Waverley. These facts fully verify the observation of an able literary critic, who says—“The world, the school of the novelist, cannot be run through like the terms of a university, and the knowledge of its manifold varieties must be the result of long and diligent training.”

The gleam of sunshine which dawned upon Cervantes, through the popularity of his Don Quixote, was partially overclouded by the malignity of his literary rivals. Success arrayed against him a host of enemies, whose attacks annoyed him and disturbed his peace. Many of these assailants were men of no literary distinction, and their censure was characterized merely by that petty envy which finds pleasure in depreciating superiority of every kind;—others, though actuated by unbecoming jealousy, were nevertheless men of talent. Several of them ranked among the most distinguished poets of the time, for example, Góngora, Christoval, Suárez de Figueroa, and Estevan Manuel de Villegas.

The freedom of Cervantes’ literary criticisms doubtless went far to draw upon him the vengeance of a host of poets whose vanity he had offended. It has frequently been alleged that Lope de Vega arrayed himself among the enemies of Cervantes; and that eminent writer is accused of being the author of a sonnet which predicted that the works of his great rival would speedily find their way into the kennel. But there is every reason to doubt the justice of this imputation; Lope de Vega renders due homage to his illustrious contemporary in several passages of his works.

But these literary contests were not the only troubles in which Cervantes was involved during his abode in Valladolid: an affair of a very serious nature, in which he innocently became implicated, must have caused him more annoyance than the assaults of his poetic adversaries. This new misfortune was nothing less than his apprehension on the charge of being concerned in a homicide, committed by some unknown person in a street affray.

The particulars of this affair, extracted from the magisterial records of Valladolid, are given at great length by the Spanish biographers of Cervantes. They are too curious to be passed over in silence, but without wearying the reader with the details, the following brief recapitulation of the principal facts may be given:—

Don Gaspar de Ezpelete, a young gentleman of Navarre, and a Knight of the Order of Santiago, was in Valladolid in the year 1605. He was a young man much devoted to pleasure, and, according to a phrase then in fashionable use in Spain as well as in our own country, “he followed the Court.” He had probably been attracted to Valladolid merely by the festivities which had a short time previously taken place there, in honour of the birth of the young Infante, afterwards Phillip IV. On the night of the 27th of June, 1605, Don Gaspar was proceeding through the streets of Valladolid, after having supped with his friend, the Marquis de Falces, when he encountered a man who accosted him rudely, and in consequence a quarrel ensued. Both drew their swords, and after interchanging a few passes, Don Gaspar received a severe wound, and cried out for help.

This occurrence took place near the foot of a wooden bridge, (Puentecilla), which at that period crossed the river Esgueva, and in near proximity to the house in which Cervantes and his family resided. This house, which was let in separate suites of apartments, must have been of considerable size, judging from the number of its occupants, whose names appear in the records of the judicial proceedings, now about to be referred to. Among the fellow-lodgers of Cervantes was Doña Luisa de Montoya, the widow of the celebrated chronicler, Esteban de Garabay; and her two sons resided with her. On hearing the outcries in the street, one of this lady’s sons, Don Luis de Garabay ran down stairs, with the intention of going out to ascertain the cause of the disturbance. Before he could reach the street, he met Don Gaspar de Ezpelete staggering into the portal or porch of the house. He was bleeding profusely, and holding his unsheathed sword in his hand. Don Luis called Cervantes to assist him, and they carried the wounded gentleman to the apartments of Doña Luisa. It was found that he had received a severe thrust in the side. A surgeon immediately attended, and the wound was dressed; but though every effort was made to save him, Don Gaspar died in the course of a few days.

This affair caused much sensation in Valladolid, where it immediately became the subject of magisterial investigation. The first evidence submitted to the Alcalde, was the deposition of Miguel de Cervantes. It was as follows:—

“The undersigned, Miguel de Cervantes, having been sworn in due form, testifies that he is upwards of fifty years of age,[41] and that he lives in one of the new houses near the Rastro, that he knew by sight a Knight of the Order of Santiago, whose name, he understood was Don Gaspar. That on the night of the 27th of June, about eleven o’clock, the witness, being then in bed, was disturbed by a great noise in the street; that presently he heard Don Luis de Garabay calling to him, and begging he would come to his assistance; that on going out the witness saw a wounded gentleman, whom he recognized to be Don Gaspar. He was helped up stairs, and, shortly after there entered a surgeon (barbero) who dressed the wound; the gentleman could not answer any questions being scarcely able to utter a word. All this I declare to be true, on my oath, and I hereby sign this deposition.

“MIGUEL DE CERVANTES.”[42]

No evidence of any greater importance was obtained from the testimony of the other deponents, one of whom was Maria de Cevallos, the maid-servant of Cervantes’ family, now consisting of himself, his wife and daughter, with the addition of his two sisters and a niece.

In course of the investigation some circumstances transpired which, it would seem, led to the inference that Don Gaspar, on the night when he received his fatal wound, was on his way to visit either the daughter or the niece of Cervantes, or some other lady residing in the same house with them. The ground of this suspicion is not very clearly made out in the depositions, but it was deemed a sufficient reason for putting under arrest a considerable number of persons, among whom was Cervantes, his daughter, his niece, and one of his sisters. They were imprisoned for a short time, but after some further examination, they were set at liberty and the Alcalde’s declaration honorably acquitted them of any knowledge of the circumstances which had led to the death of Don Gaspar de Espelete.

On being liberated from his brief but vexatious incarceration, Cervantes formally lodged in the hands of the Alcalde, the effects of the deceased gentleman, which had been placed in his care. They consisted of his clothes, a little money and some jewels which he wore on his person. These articles are curiously described in an inventory taken by one of the Alguazils. The dress, which is stated to be the hábito de noche (evening costume) of a fashionable cavalier of the time, was composed of an under vest of satin laced with gold, to which was fastened the badge of the Order of Santiago, a doublet also of satin with sleeves of taffety, black hose ornamented with embroidery, and a cloak of a kind of mixed cloth called mezcla. In the pockets of the deceased were found seventy-two reals, three small keys and two little bags, (bolsillos), the one filled with relics and the other containing a flint, a steel, and some tinder (probably used in smoking). On his fingers were two gold rings, one set with diamonds forming an Ave Maria, the other set with emeralds; suspended from his neck was a rosary of ebony.

The court removed from Valladolid to Madrid in 1606, and shortly after that time we find Cervantes with his family settled in the capital. The poor author’s worldly affairs were in no respect improved, yet nevertheless he continued to maintain his two sisters and his niece, who had now became entirely dependent on him: of his brother Rodrigo nothing is known subsequently to the time when he left Spain to join the army in Flanders. Between Cervantes and his elder sister, Doña Andrea, the most cordial affection always prevailed. That lady had appropriated her little dowry to the pious purpose of aiding the ransom of her two brothers from Algiers, and when in her widowhood, she fell into straitened circumstances, Cervantes gave her and her daughter an asylum in his home. They, together with the younger sister of Cervantes, Doña Luisa, had lived with him and his family in Seville and Valladolid and they accompanied him in his removal to Madrid.

With old age advancing upon him, Cervantes now tranquilly resigned himself to the penury which fate seemed to have irrevocably assigned as his lot. In conformity with a custom very common at that time, he enrolled himself among the members of a religious fraternity, that of the Franciscans of the third class; and he sought in literary retirement to forget the world’s ingratitude. He began to prepare for the press some of the works, which at previous periods had occasionally occupied his pen. The Novelas Exemplares, (Moral or Instructive Tales), several of which had been written during the author’s residence in Seville were published in 1612. These Novelas, which have gained for Cervantes the title of the Boccacio of Spain, are romances in miniature, some serious, some comic, and all written in a light conversational style. No compositions of a similar kind had previously existed in Spanish literature; and the author, to use his own expression, opened a path (abierto camino) for other writers to pursue.

Cervantes, who was prone to comment on his own works, makes the following remarks in alluding to the Novelas Exemplares. “I was the first to write novels in the Spanish language; for though many novels have been printed in Spanish, they have all been translated from foreign languages. These are my own: I have neither copied nor stolen them. They were engendered in my fancy, brought forth by my pen; and they will grow in the fostering arms of the press.”[43] The Novelas Exemplares were speedily followed by the publication of the Viaje del Parnaso (Journey to Parnassus), a work which is regarded as one of the most extraordinary productions of its author. It is a satirical poem directed against the false pretenders to the honours of the Spanish Parnassus. In a prose Appendix (Adjunta) to this poem, Cervantes directs attention to some of his early dramatic writings. He complains of the ingratitude of actors and of the misjudgment of audiences, and he mentions in commendatory terms some of the plays he had written at a recent period. He was evidently desirous once more to try his fortune as a dramatic author; and above all to have his plays successfully performed in the theatres of the capital. But the managers positively declined to bring his dramas upon the stage; and in the hope of turning them to some little profit, he offered a few to the bookseller Villaroel for publication. Villaroel at first hesitated, but at length offered a trifle for the manuscripts, and the result was the publication of the Ocho Comedias y Entremeses,[44] with the celebrated Preface.

About this time the appearance of an extraordinary literary production created a great sensation throughout Spain. This was a pretended continuation of Don Quixote, by a writer who assumed the name of Avellaneda. This production though not absolutely devoid of talent has received from some critics more approbation than it deserves. One marked difference may be noticed as existing between the great work of Cervantes and the spurious production of his imitator; it is that the wild fancies of Don Quixote are prepared by circumstances likely to lead to them, in a mind subject to such aberrations as that of the Knight of La Mancha; whereas Avellaneda’s hero plunges into all sorts of extravagance without any sufficient cause. It is merely a narrative of marvellous incidents, of a nature calculated to gratify puerile taste; but the ingenuity requisite to please the intelligent reader is totally wanting. The work was translated into French by Le Sage, who, as Mr. Prescott justly observes “has given a substantial value to gems of little price in Castilian literature, by the brilliancy of his setting.”[45] The real name of the author of this literary imposture, was never discovered. He was supposed to be an Arragonian priest.

Instead of indulging in idle complaint or bitter invective, Cervantes nobly resented this injury by producing the second part of his Don Quixote. This second part, which was published in 1615, obtained even a greater share of public approbation than that which had greeted the first part. The proceeds derived from the sale, could not have been inconsiderable, and must have proved an acceptable addition to the author’s pecuniary resources. It is also ascertained that at this period his income was augmented by the liberality of the Count de Lemos and the Archbishop of Toledo, whose friendship Cervantes, amidst all his misfortunes, had secured; and there appears reason to hope that his latter years were in some degree exempt from the struggles which at various times embittered the earlier periods of his life.

The leisure which his improved circumstances afforded was employed in completing some of his unfinished works, and in writing those which he had previously only sketched in outline. He gave the finishing touch to his Galatea, and he produced several poetic works, of which the romance of Persiles y Sigismunda is the only one preserved. This poem, an avowed imitation of the style of Heliodorus, was preferred by the author himself to any of his other works; a preference at variance with the unanimous judgment of literary criticism. But with all its faults, its paramount beauties must be admitted;—and the writer, who at the age of sixty-eight could produce so glowing a creation of poetic fancy, may, to borrow Calderón’s simile, be likened to a volcano, in which, beneath a cap of snow, flow streams of fire.

Cervantes dedicated Persiles to his patron, the Count de Lemos, in a prólogo or preface, which is one of the most graceful pieces of writing its author ever produced.

This poem was finished in the spring of 1616, at which time the declining health of Cervantes began to excite the alarm of his friends. Hoping to derive benefit from change of air, he occasionally made visits to Esquivias, where his wife’s family still resided. He went on one of those excursions only a few days prior to his death; and he himself related that whilst returning home to Madrid, in company with some friends, they were overtaken by a student, who joined in their conversation, and they all rode on together. This student, on recognising Cervantes, greeted him with the titles of, “Pleasant writer! the favourite of the Muses!” (¡Escritor alegre! ¡el regocijo de las Musas!). In the course of conversation, Cervantes acquainted the student that he was suffering from dropsy, and that he feared the disorder would speedily reach a fatal crisis, adding, as it were prophetically, he thought he should not live beyond the following Sunday.

The malady speedily assumed so formidable an aspect as to preclude all hope of recovery. On the 18th of April, 1616, Cervantes received extreme unction, and on the day following he finished the dedicatory preface to Persiles. When about to depart on the long journey of death, his memory reverted to some old Spanish coplas, which commence with the words, “Puesto ya el pie en el estribo,” (with one foot already in the stirrup). To these quaint old lines, he playfully alludes in the dedication of his last work, where, addressing the Count de Lemos, he observes:—“These old coplas, so popular in their day, may perhaps come opportunely into this epistle, which I might commence almost in the same words, saying—

“Yesterday they gave me the extreme unction, and to-day I write this.”

After an illness of seven months’ duration, Cervantes expired on the 23rd of April, 1616, in his sixty-ninth year. It is a curious fact, and one that will not escape the observation of the English reader, that Cervantes and Shakespeare, two writers whose genius exhibits more than one trait of resemblance, both died on the same day.[47]

In conformity with his own desire, Cervantes was interred in the Convent of the Trinitarias, situated in the Calle del León, in Madrid, in which street he himself resided at the period of his death. The quiet and unostentatious style of his funeral corresponded with his humble circumstances, and no monument or even inscription of any kind marks the spot where the ashes of Cervantes repose.