  THROUGH FRANCE AND ITALY; EMBELLISHED WITH BEAUTIFUL FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS DESIGNED BY TONY JOHANNOT.SPECIMEN PAGE of "DON QUIXOTE,"Demy 8vo., cloth, gilt edges, PRICE 10s. 6d. With nearly 800 Engravings. have now, sir," quoth Sancho to his master, "reluced my wife to consent that I should go with your worship wherever you please to carry me." "Reduced, thou shouldst say, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "and not 'reluced.'" "Once or twice already," answered Sancho, "I have besought your worship not to mind my words, when you know my meaning; and when you do not, say, Sancho, or devil, I understand thee not; and then if I do not explain myself, you may correct me, for I am so focile."—"I do not understand thee now, Sancho," said Don Quixote; for I know not the meaning of 'focile.'" "So focile," answered Sancho, "means, I am so much so." "I understand thee still less now," replied Don Quixote. "Why, if you do not understand me," answered Sancho, "I cannot help it; I know no more, so God help me!" "O! now I have it," answered Don Quixote, "thou wilt say that thou art so docile, so pliant, and so tractable, that thou wilt readily comprehend whatever I say, and wilt learn whatever I shall teach thee." "I will lay a wager," quoth Sancho, "you took me from the first, only you had a mind to puzzle me, that you might hear some more of my blunders." "Perhaps thou mayest be right there," answered Don Quixote; "but tell me, what says Teresa?" "Teresa," quoth Sancho, "says that fast bind, fast find, and that we must have less talking, and more doing: for he who shuffles is not he who cuts, and, 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the Note[1] There is a curious Scandinavian legend extant, relative to this subject. The god Balder dreamt that his life, although made to be immortal, was threatened with an imminent danger. The gods agreed to exercise all the perils which might have the power of injuring Balder. The goddess Frigga, the mother of Balder, undertook this task; and she exacted an oath from fire, from water, from all the metals, from the stones, from land, from the fishes, from all the animals, and from all the vegetables, that they would do no harm to Balder. On the conclusion of this solemn compact, the deities, in one of their grand meetings, amused themselves with throwing at Balder, arrows, stones, lighted torches, and with striking him tremendous blows with the sword, his invulnerability protecting him from injury. Loke, an evil genius, and an enemy of the gods, in the disguise of an old woman, went to Frigga, and claimed her hospitality. The kind goddess related the story of her son to the impostor, who enquired whether everything in nature, without exception, had taken the required oath. Frigga replied, that there was only one small shrub, (the mistletoe,) from which she had exacted no promise, because, it being so feeble, she did not dread its power. Loke then departed, and, cutting the mistletoe, converted it into a sharp pointed arrow. He returned to the assembly of the gods, darted his weapon against Balder, and killed him. Everything in nature wept for Balder, and especially the trees, which were for a long time inconsolable.—Madame de Genlis. |
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