"Very good," said he of the Grove; "God will send the dawn and we shall

be all right."

And now gay-plumaged birds of all sorts began to warble in the trees, and

with their varied and gladsome notes seemed to welcome and salute the

fresh morn that was beginning to show the beauty of her countenance at

the gates and balconies of the east, shaking from her locks a profusion

of liquid pearls; in which dulcet moisture bathed, the plants, too,

seemed to shed and shower down a pearly spray, the willows distilled

sweet manna, the fountains laughed, the brooks babbled, the woods

rejoiced, and the meadows arrayed themselves in all their glory at her

coming. But hardly had the light of day made it possible to see and

distinguish things, when the first object that presented itself to the

eyes of Sancho Panza was the squire of the Grove's nose, which was so big

that it almost overshadowed his whole body. It is, in fact, stated, that

it was of enormous size, hooked in the middle, covered with warts, and of

a mulberry colour like an egg-plant; it hung down two fingers' length

below his mouth, and the size, the colour, the warts, and the bend of it,

made his face so hideous, that Sancho, as he looked at him, began to

tremble hand and foot like a child in convulsions, and he vowed in his

heart to let himself be given two hundred buffets, sooner than be

provoked to fight that monster. Don Quixote examined his adversary, and

found that he already had his helmet on and visor lowered, so that he

could not see his face; he observed, however, that he was a sturdily

built man, but not very tall in stature. Over his armour he wore a

surcoat or cassock of what seemed to be the finest cloth of gold, all

bespangled with glittering mirrors like little moons, which gave him an

extremely gallant and splendid appearance; above his helmet fluttered a

great quantity of plumes, green, yellow, and white, and his lance, which

was leaning against a tree, was very long and stout, and had a steel

point more than a palm in length.

Don Quixote observed all, and took note of all, and from what he saw and

observed he concluded that the said knight must be a man of great

strength, but he did not for all that give way to fear, like Sancho

Panza; on the contrary, with a composed and dauntless air, he said to the

Knight of the Mirrors, "If, sir knight, your great eagerness to fight has

not banished your courtesy, by it I would entreat you to raise your visor

a little, in order that I may see if the comeliness of your countenance

corresponds with that of your equipment."




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