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sometimes by playing along with his mad
ideas. In one notable episode Sancho at last
has his reward as a faithful squire when a
nobleman, who is in on the “game,”
appoints the peasant governor of a district,
where he amazes everyone by the common
sense and compassion of his administrative
decisions. After a week Sancho has to be
driven out by a fake enemy attack before
the local folk become too attached to him.
Ultimately the don and his companion
arrive in B
ARCELONA
where a ship-board
battle finally persuades the now aged Quix-
ote that it is time to quit his chivalric mis-
sion. Back home at last he accepts that the
age of knight errantry is over, returns to a
tranquil sanity, and dies peacefully.
The story of Don Quixote gave the world
the word
quixotic
to describe the sort of pur-
suit of ideals in the face of inevitable frus-
tration and centuries of amused perception
of the truths that underlie the hidalgo's
quest for honor and beauty. While the
novel fell out of fashion during the Age of
Reason, by the late 19th century it was
being hailed for its “realism.” During the
20th century it grew steadily in the admira-
tion of readers and writers throughout the
world and was transformed into many new
versions including works for opera and bal-
let, cinema, musical comedy, and children's
illustrated topics. Virtually every major
Spanish novelist of the modern era has
avowed his or her esteem for, and indebt-
edness to, the achievement of Cervantes.
Spanish Empire. He took part in naval
operations in support of the Moroccan War
of 1859-60, served in the Philippines and
adjacent Far Eastern seas, and did patrol
duty in the West Indies. He also distin-
guished himself on the coasts of Spain dur-
ing the Second Carlist War and the other
civil conflicts of the 1870s. Steadily pro-
moted and repeatedly decorated for valor
and steadiness under fire, Cervera won a
reputation for honesty and frankness as
well as professional skill. By 1892, having
attained the rank of rear admiral, he was
named minister of marine. He resigned
from the cabinet, however, when he found
his colleagues unwilling to support the
administrative reforms or the budgetary
allocations that he considered absolutely
necessary for the proper maintenance of
the navy.
At the outbreak of the S
PANISH
-A
MERI
-
CAN
W
AR
in 1898 Cervera was ordered to
take command of a squadron consisting of
four cruisers and auxiliary vessels that was
being dispatched to the West Indies. On
joining his ships, and again as he reached
the C
ANARY
I
SLANDS
, Cervera notified the
government about severe shortages in sup-
plies including coal and ammunition.
Ordered to press on to his destination, he
entered the harbor of Santiago, C
UBA
, and,
in effect, waited to be attacked. During the
U.S. assault on the landward defenses of
the city he lent artillery pieces and sailors to
the commanders who were resisting the
siege, but after Santiago fell he had no
option but to undertake a doomed sortie
from the harbor against a fleet three times
as strong as his own. On July 3, 1898, in a
running fight along the Cuban coast, the
entire squadron was sunk or driven
aground. Cervera was plucked from the sea
Cervera y Topete, Pascual
(1839-1909)
Spanish admiral
Cervera's naval career brought him experi-
ence in every corner of the diminished
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