n Quixote said
to the driver: "Now, friend, put on your mules again, and in Heaven's
name proceed; and, Sancho, give two crowns to him and the keeper, to
make them amends for this delay."

"That I will, with all my heart," answered Sancho; "but what has become
of the lions? are they dead or alive?"

The keeper then very minutely, and with due pauses, gave an account of
the conflict, enlarging, to the best of his skill, on the valor of Don
Quixote, at sight of whom the daunted lion would not, or durst not, stir
out of the cage, though he had held open the door a good while; and,
upon his representing to the knight that it was tempting God to provoke
the lion, and to force him out, he had at length, very reluctantly,
permitted him to close it again.

"What sayest thou to this, Sancho?" said Don Quixote; "can any
enchantment prevail against true courage? Enchanters may, indeed,
deprive me of good fortune, but of courage and resolution they never
can."

Sancho gave the gold crowns; the carter yoked his mules; the keeper
thanked Don Quixote for his present, and promised to relate this
valorous exploit to the king himself when he arrived at court.

"If, perchance, his majesty," said Don Quixote, "should inquire who
performed it, tell him the Knight of the Lions; for henceforward I
resolve that the title I have hitherto borne, of the Knight of the
Sorrowful Figure, shall be thus changed, converted, and altered; and
herein I follow the ancient practice of knights-errant, who changed
their names at pleasure."

It is a gallant sight to see a cavalier in shining armor prancing over
the lists at some gay tournament in sight of the ladies; it is a gallant
sight when, in the middle of a spacious square, a brave cavalier, before
the eyes of his prince, transfixes with his lance a furious bull; and a
gallant show do all those knights make, who, in military or other
exercises, entertain, enliven, and do honor to their prince's court; but
far above all these is the knight-errant, who, through deserts and
solitudes, through cross-ways, through woods, and over mountains, goes
in quest of perilous adventures, which he undertakes and accomplishes
only to obtain a glorious and immortal fame.

All knights have their peculiar functions. Let the courtier serve the
ladies, adorn his prince's court with rich liveries, entertain the
poorer cavaliers at his splendid table, order his jousts, manage
tournaments, and show himself great, libera