On the Trail of Don Quixote. By August F. Jaccaci.
Illus- trated by Daniel Verge. (Lawrence and Bullen. Ss. 6d. net.)—The village of Argamasilla, in the province of La Mancha, claims to be the birthplace of Don Quixote, and the claim has some founda- tion. Cervantes was imprisoned in the cellar of a certain house still standing, and known by the name of the "Casa de Medrant," and it was here, or anyhow in some such place, that the idea of the book was conceived. Furthermore, there is good reason to believe that the original of the knight was a certain magnate of Argamasilla, Don Rodrigo de Pacheco by name, whose portrait is still to be seen in the church, a votive offering to " Our Lady," who had cured him "of a great pain which he had in his head through a chilliness which had fallen into it." To this village accordingly the author made his way ; and this he made his head- quarters for some weeks, exploring the country round about, and making acquaintance with the people. It had been planned that writer and artist should go together ; but this could not be done ; the artist went in autumn, M. Jaccaci followed the next summer. Pen and pencil between them give a very vivid idea of the place, and of the people. The Spanish peasant is, it seems, an honest, hard-working fellow; but the upper classes are distinctly not the bettermost. Our author doubts, or rather positively disbelieves, the genuineness of the traditional portrait of Cervantes. He thinks that there is no contemporary portrait in , existence. Any reader who will compare this with the portrait of Francis Beaumont, the dramatist, can hardly fail to be struck with the close resemblance.
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