pudence; then he calmly
sat down and wrote a letter to a friend of his in Barcelona, telling
him of the early arrival there of the famous Don Quixote of La Mancha,
of whose exploits in knight-errantry the whole world knew; and, to be
exact, he fixed Saint John the Baptist's day as the very day on which
our knight would make his first appearance in the very midst of the
city of Barcelona under the auspices of him to whom he addressed this
letter, and who would be grateful for the infinite joy Don Quixote and
his droll squire Sancho Panza would afford him and the city. He sent
the letter by one of his trusted followers, who, disguised as a
peasant, made his way into Barcelona and delivered the letter to the
right person.

CHAPTER LXI

OF WHAT HAPPENED TO DON QUIXOTE ON ENTERING BARCELONA,
TOGETHER WITH OTHER MATTERS THAT PARTAKE OF THE TRUE RATHER
THAN THE INGENIOUS

Don Quixote remained with Roque for three days, and they were hectic
days for our knight. Roque always slept apart from his men, for the
viceroy of Barcelona had placed a great price on his head, and Roque
was in constant fear that some one in his band would be tempted to
deliver him up. On the fourth day he and Don Quixote, accompanied by
Sancho and six of the band, made their way toward Barcelona; and on
the night of St. John's Eve they reached the city. There Roque took
farewell of the knight and his squire, and returned to his haunts in
the woods.

Throughout the night Don Quixote-kept guard over the city; and there
he was still sitting on Rocinante when dawn appeared on the horizon,
and Don Quixote and Sancho Panza for the first time in their lives
beheld the sea. It seemed to them it was ever so much greater than any
of the lakes they had seen in La Mancha. As the sun rose it was
suddenly greeted with the ringing of bells, the din of drums, the
sound of clarions, and the trampling and clatter of feet on the
streets; and from the galleys along the beach a mass of streamers in
varied colors waved its welcome, to the music and the noise of bugles,
clarions and trumpets from shipboard. Then cannons on ship and shore
began to thunder, and a constant fire was kept up from the walls and
fortress of the city. It was a noise and a spectacle that might have
over-awed any one, even a less simple-minded person than Sancho, who
stared open-mouthed at the wonders he beheld. He gasped when he saw
the galleys rowed about by their oarsmen on the water, and