The Purgatory of St. Patrick | Page 2

in this artisan to make trial
of the vanity of our life, whereof he had before discoursed with his
familiar friends. He therefore caused this sleeper to be taken up, and
carried into his palace; he commands him to be layed in one of the
richest beds; a riche night cap to be given him; his foule shirt to be
taken off, and to have another put on him of fine holland. When as this

dronkard had digested his wine, and began to awake, behold there
comes about his bed Pages and Groomes of the Duke's Chamber, who
drawe the curteines, make many courtesies, and being bare-headed,
aske him if it please him to rise, and what apparell it would please him
to put on that day. They bring him rich apparell. This new Monsieur
amazed at such courtesie, and doubting whether he dreamt or waked,
suffered himselfe to be drest, and led out of the chamber. There came
noblemen which saluted him with all honour, and conduct him to the
Masse, where with great ceremonie they give him the booke of the
Gospell, and the Pixe to kisse, as they did usually to the Duke. From
the Masse they bring him back unto the pallace; he washes his hands,
and sittes down at the table well furnished. After dinner, the Great
Chamberlain commands cards to be brought with a great summe of
money. This Duke in imagination playes with the chief of the Court.
Then they carry him to walke in the gardein, and to hunt the hare, and
to hawke. They bring him back into the pallace, where he sups in state.
Candles being light the musitions begin to play; and the tables taken
away, the gentlemen and gentlewomen fell to dancing. Then they
played a pleasant comedie, after which followed a Banket, whereat they
had presently store of Ipocras and pretious wine, with all sorts of
confitures, to this prince of the new impression; so as he was dronke,
and fell soundlie asleepe. Hereupon the Duke commanded that he
should be disrobed of all his riche attire. He was put into his old ragges,
and carried into the same place, where he had been found the night
before; where he spent that night. Being awake in the morning, he
began to remember what had happened before; he knewe not whether it
were true indeede, or a dream that had troubled his braine. But in the
end, after many discourses, he concludes that ALL WAS BUT A
DREAME that had happened unto him; and so entertained his wife, his
children, and his neighbours, without any other
apprehension."
It is curious to find that the same anecdote which formed the Induction
to the original "Taming of a Shrew", and which, from a comic point of
view, Shakespeare so wonderfully developed in his own comedy,
Calderon invested with such solemn and sublime dignity in "La Vida es
Sueno". He found it, as Senor Hartzenbusch points out in the edition of
1872 already quoted, in the very amusing "Viage
Entretenido" of

Augustin de Rojas, which was first published in 1603. Hartzenbusch
refers to the modern edition of Rojas, Madrid, 1793, tomo I, pp. 261,
262, 263, but in a copy of the Lerida edition of 1615, in my own
possession, I find the anecdote at folios 118, 119, 120. There are some
slight differences between the version of Rojas and that of Goulart, but
the incidents and the persons are the same. The conclusion to which the
artizan arrived at, in the version of Goulart, that all had been a dream, is
expressed more strongly by the Duke himself in the story as told by
Rojas.
"Y dijo entonces el Duque: 'veis aqui, amigos, "Lo que es el Mundo:
Todo es un Sueno", pues esto verdaderamente ha pasado por este, como
habeis visto, y le parece que lo ha sonado.'" --
The story in all probability came originally from the East. Mr. Lane in
his translation of the Thousand and One Nights gives a very interesting
narrative which he believes to be founded on an historical fact in which
Haroun Al Raschid plays the part of the good Duke of Burgundy, and
Abu-l-Hasan the original of Christopher Sly. The gravity of the
treatment and certain incidents in this Oriental story recall more
strongly Calderon's drama than the Induction to the "Taming of the
Shrew". "La Vida es Sueno" was first published either at the end of
1635 or beginning of 1636.
The "Aprobacion" for its publication along with eleven other dramas
(not nine as Archbishop Trench has stated), was signed on the 6th of
November in the former year by the official licenser, Juan Bautista de
Sossa. The volume was edited by the poet's brother, Don Joseph
Calderon. So scarce has this first authorised collection