"Keep to your own station, Sancho," replied Teresa; "don't try to raise

yourself higher, and bear in mind the proverb that says, 'wipe the nose

of your neigbbour's son, and take him into your house.' A fine thing it

would be, indeed, to marry our Maria to some great count or grand

gentleman, who, when the humour took him, would abuse her and call her

clown-bred and clodhopper's daughter and spinning wench. I have not been

bringing up my daughter for that all this time, I can tell you, husband.

Do you bring home money, Sancho, and leave marrying her to my care; there

is Lope Tocho, Juan Tocho's son, a stout, sturdy young fellow that we

know, and I can see he does not look sour at the girl; and with him, one

of our own sort, she will be well married, and we shall have her always

under our eyes, and be all one family, parents and children,

grandchildren and sons-in-law, and the peace and blessing of God will

dwell among us; so don't you go marrying her in those courts and grand

palaces where they won't know what to make of her, or she what to make of

herself."

"Why, you idiot and wife for Barabbas," said Sancho, "what do you mean by

trying, without why or wherefore, to keep me from marrying my daughter to

one who will give me grandchildren that will be called 'your lordship'?

Look ye, Teresa, I have always heard my elders say that he who does not

know how to take advantage of luck when it comes to him, has no right to

complain if it gives him the go-by; and now that it is knocking at our

door, it will not do to shut it out; let us go with the favouring breeze

that blows upon us."

It is this sort of talk, and what Sancho says lower down, that made the

translator of the history say he considered this chapter apocryphal.

"Don't you see, you animal," continued Sancho, "that it will be well for

me to drop into some profitable government that will lift us out of the

mire, and marry Mari-Sancha to whom I like; and you yourself will find

yourself called 'Dona Teresa Panza,' and sitting in church on a fine

carpet and cushions and draperies, in spite and in defiance of all the

born ladies of the town? No, stay as you are, growing neither greater nor

less, like a tapestry figure--Let us say no more about it, for Sanchica

shall be a countess, say what you will."

"Are you sure of all you say, husband?" replied Teresa. "Well, for all

that, I am afraid this rank of countess for my daughter will be her ruin.

You do as you like, make a duchess or a princess of her, but I can tell

you it will not be with my will and consent. I was always a lover of

equality, brother, and I can't bear to see people give themselves airs

without any right. They called me Teresa at my baptism, a plain, simple

name, without any additions or tags or fringes of Dons or Donas; Cascajo

was my father's name, and as I am your wife, I am called Teresa Panza,

though by right I ought to be called Teresa Cascajo; but 'kings go where

laws like,' and I am content with this name without having the 'Don' put

on top of it to make it so heavy that I cannot carry it; and I don't want

to make people talk about me when they see me go dressed like a countess

or governor's wife; for they will say at once, 'See what airs the slut

gives herself! Only yesterday she was always spinning flax, and used to

go to mass with the tail of her petticoat over her head instead of a

mantle, and there she goes to-day in a hooped gown with her broaches and

airs, as if we didn't know her!' If God keeps me in my seven senses, or

five, or whatever number I have, I am not going to bring myself to such a

pass; go you, brother, and be a government or an island man, and swagger

as much as you like; for by the soul of my mother, neither my daughter

nor I are going to stir a step from our village; a respectable woman

should have a broken leg and keep at home; and to be busy at something is

a virtuous damsel's holiday; be off to your adventures along with your

Don Quixote, and leave us to our misadventures, for God will mend them

for us according as we deserve it. I don't know, I'm sure, who fixed the

'Don' to him, what neither his father nor grandfather ever had."




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