Rambling

I am thoroughly enjoying Don Quixote at the moment. Last night I read a few scenes that made me laugh. DQ has been suffering from the wooing of Altisadora and has gotten his face all scratched up from a cat. Now, imagine him in his bedchamber in the middle of the night and the door opening slowly and quietly. He thinks it is the maiden who just won't take no for an answer. He is terrified, and so

He stood on his bed, wrapped from head to toe in a yellow satin bedspread, a two-cornered beretta on his head, and his face and mustache bandaged: his face on account of the scratches, his mustache so that it wouldn't droop and fall, and in this garb he seemed the most extraordinary phantom that anyone could imagine.

It is not the maiden but a duenna coming to ask a favor. But she is dressed all in white and DQ thinks she is a phantom and starts conjuring her. The Duenna, seeing DQ, is so terrified she screams. After much mayhem, they get it all figured out, but oh, what a picture! Meanwhile Sancho is turning out to be a better governor than anyone could have imagined. He sends a letter to his wife and we learn that both she and her daughter have a thing for proverbs like Sancho. This prompts the village priest to remark, "'I can't help thinking that everyone in the Panza family was born with a sack of proverbs inside; I've never seen one of them who isn't always scattering proverbs around in every conversation they have.'" Tee-hee. On a different note, will anyone be going to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath 17-25 September? Looks like there is going to be a special advance screening of the new Pride and Prejudice movie. I've heard rumors that the new version isn't very good. I can't imagine how it could come close the BBC version with Colin Firth. My sister had taped it for me off the TV long ago and I watched it so many times the tape wore out. She made me a new copy and I wore that one out too. Finally, a few Christmases ago she gave it to me on DVD. Haven't worn that one out--yet! Oh, and here I find that the Guardian has an article about the new movie. Darcy does not look very dashing in the photo. I'm sure I'll see the movie when it comes out if for no other reason than to complain about it.