Page:The History of the Valorous and Wity Knight-Errant, Don-Quixote of the Mancha. Volume three.djvu/31

Rh politic warrior, in looking to his dominions in time, lest the enemy might take him at unawares; but, if my counsel might prevail, I would advise him to use a prevention which he is far from thinking on at present." The vicar scarce heard this, when he thought with himself, "God defend thee, poor Don Quixote! for methinks thou fallest headlong from the high-top of thy madness into the profound bottom of thy simplicity." But the barber presently, being of the vicar's mind, asks Don Quixote what advice it was he would give; "for peradventure," said he, "it is such an one as may be put in the roll of those many idle ones that are usually given to princes." "Mine, good-man shaver," quoth Don Quixote, "is no such." "I spoke not to that intent," replied the barber, "but that it is commonly seen that all or the most of your projects that are given to his Majesty are either impossible or frivolous, either in detriment of the king or kingdom." "Well, mine," quoth Don Quixote, "is neither impossible nor frivolous, but the plainest, the justest, the most manageable and compendious that may be contained in the thought of any projector." "You are long a-telling us it. Master Don Quixote," said the vicar. "I would not," replied he, "tell it you here now, that it should be early to-morrow in the ears of some privy councillor, and that another should reap the praise and reward of my labour." "For me," quoth the barber, "I pass my word, here and before God, to tell neither king nor keisar, nor any earthly man, what you say, — an oath learnt out of the Ballad of the Vicar, in the Preface whereof he told the king of the thief that robbed him of his two hundred double pistolets and his gadding mule." "I know not your histories," said Don Quixote; "but I presume the oath is good, because master barber is an honest man." "If he were