[Illustration: D. JOSÉ DE ESPRONCEDA]

 ESPRONCEDA

 EL ESTUDIANTE DE SALAMANCA AND OTHER SELECTIONS

 EDITED BY GEORGE TYLER NORTHUP, PH. D. PROFESSOR OF SPANISH LITERATURE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

PREFACE

The selections from Espronceda included in this volume have been editedfor the benefit of advanced Spanish classes in schools and universities. The study of Espronceda, Spain's greatest Romantic poet, offers the bestpossible approach to the whole subject of Romanticism. He is Spain's"representative man" in that movement. Furthermore, the wealth of metershe uses is such that no other poet provides so good a text for anintroduction to the study of Spanish versification. The editor hastherefore treated the biography of Espronceda with some degree ofcompleteness, studying his career as one fully representative of thehistorical and literary movements of the period. A treatment of the mainprinciples of Spanish versification was also considered indispensable. It is assumed that the text will be used only in classes where thestudents are thoroughly familiar with the rudiments of Spanish grammar. Therefore only the more difficult points of grammar are dealt with inthe notes, and little help, outside of the vocabulary, is given thestudent in the translating of difficult passages. 

The editor makes no pretense to having established critical texts ofthe poems here printed, although he hopes that some improvement will benoted over previous editions. A critical edition of Espronceda's workshas never been printed. Espronceda himself gave little attention totheir publication. Hartzenbusch and others intervened as editors in someof the earliest editions. Their arbitrary changes have been repeated inall subsequent editions. The text of "El Estudiante de Salamanca" hasbeen based upon the "Poesías de D. José de Espronceda, " Madrid, 1840, the so-called _editio princeps_. This edition, however, cannot beregarded as wholly authoritative. It was not prepared for the press bythe poet himself, but by his friend José García de Villalta. Thoughfar more authentic in its readings than later editions, it abounds ininaccuracies. I have not followed its capricious punctuation, and havestudied it constantly in connection with other editions, notably theedition of 1884 ("Obras Poéticas y Escritos en Prosa, " Madrid, 1884). Toprovide a really critical text some future editor must collate the 1840text with that version of the poem which appeared in _La Alhambra_, anobscure Granada review, for the year 1839. "El Mendigo" and "El Cantodel Cosaco" I also base upon the 1840 edition, although the former firstappeared in _La Revista Española_, Sept. 6, 1834. I base the "Cancióndel Pirata" upon the original version published in _El Artista_, Vol. I, 1835, p. 43. I take the "Soneto" from "El Liceo Artístico y LiterarioEspañol, " 1838. For "A Teresa, Descansa en Paz, " I follow the Madridedition of 1884. The text of this, as for the whole of "El DiabloMundo, " is more reliable than that of the earlier poems. 

I desire to thank Professors Rudolph Schevill, Karl Pietsch, and MiltonA. Buchanan for helpful suggestions, and the latter more particularlyfor the loan of rare books. The vocabulary is almost entirely thework of my wife Emily Cox Northup, whose collaboration is by no meansrestricted to this portion of the book. More than to any other oneperson I am indebted to Mr. Steven T. Byington of the staff of Ginnand Company, by whose acute and scholarly observations I have oftenprofited. 

CONTENTS

 INTRODUCTION THE LIFE OF ESPRONCEDA THE WORKS OF ESPRONCEDA "THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA" BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE NOTES ON ESPRONCEDA'S VERSIFICATION

 EL ESTUDIANTE DE SALAMANCA CANCIÓN DEL PIRATA EL CANTO DEL COSACO EL MENDIGO SONETO A TERESA

 NOTES VOCABULARY

INTRODUCTION

THE LIFE OF ESPRONCEDA

Don José de Espronceda y Lara, Spain's foremost lyric poet of thenineteenth century, was born on the 25th of March, 1808, the year of hiscountry's heroic revolt against the tyranny of Napoleon. His parentswere Lieutenant-Colonel Don Juan de Espronceda y Pimentel and Doña Maríadel Carmen Delgado y Lara. Both were Andalusians of noble stock, and, aswe learn from official documents, were held to be Christians of cleanblood "without taint of Jews, heretics, Moors, or persons punished bythe Holy Inquisition, and who neither were nor had been engaged in meanor low occupations, but in highly honorable ones. " This couple of suchhighly satisfactory antecedents had been married four years previously. In 1804 Don Juan, a mature widower of fifty-three, was still mourninghis first wife when he obtained the hand of Doña María, a young widowwhose first husband, a lieutenant in the same regiment, was recentlydeceased. The marriage was satisfactory in a worldly way, for Doña Maríabrought as a dower four hundred thousand reales to be added to the twohundred thousand which Don Juan already possessed. By his first marriageDon Juan had had a son, Don José de Espronceda y Ramos, who becameensign in his father's regiment, then studied in the Artillery School atSegovia, and later entered the fashionable Guardia de Corps regiment. He died in 1793 at the early age of twenty-one, soon after joining thisregiment. By the second marriage there were two other children, both ofwhom died in infancy: Francisco, born in 1805, and María, born in 1807. During the early months of 1808 the Bourbon cavalry regiment in whichDon Juan served was stationed in the little hamlet of Villafranca de losBarros, Estremadura, and there the future poet was born. We do not knowwhere the mother and son found refuge during the stormy years whichfollowed. The father was about to begin the most active period of hiscareer. We learn from his service record that he won the grade ofcolonel on the field of Bailén; that a year later he recaptured thecannon named Libertad at the battle of Consuegra (a feat which wonhim the rank of brigadier), and fought gallantly at Talavera as abrother-in-arms of the future Duke of Wellington. The mere enumerationof the skirmishes and battles in which he participated would requiremuch space. In 1811 he distinguished himself at Medina Sidonia andChiclana, and sought promotion to the rank of field-marshal, which wasnever granted. After the Peninsular War he seems to have been stationedin Madrid between 1815 and 1818. His family were probably permanentlyestablished in that city, for we know that mother and son residedthere during the time that the brigadier was doing garrison duty inGuadalajara (1820-1828), and there is no evidence that they followed himto Coruña during his term of service in that city (1818-1820). Possiblythe old soldier preferred the freedom of barrack life, where hisauthority was unquestioned, to the henpecked existence he led at home. "Ella era él y él era ella, " says Patricio de Escosura in speaking ofthis couple; for Doña María was something of a shrew. She was a goodbusiness woman who combined energy with executive ability, as she laterproved by managing successfully a livery-stable business. But, howeverformidable she may have been to her hostlers, her son José found herindulgent. He, the only surviving son of a mature couple, rapidlydeveloped into a _niño consentido_, the Spanish equivalent of aspoiled child. Parallels are constantly being drawn between Byron andEspronceda. It is a curious fact that both poets were reared by motherswho were alternately indulgent and severe. 

In 1820 the Espronceda family occupied an apartment in the Calle delLobo. It was there and then that Patricio de Escosura firmed hisintimacy with the future poet. He describes graphically his firstmeeting with the youth who was to be his lifelong friend. He first sawJosé sliding down from a third-story balcony on a tin waterspout. In thelight of later years Escosura felt that in this boyish prank the childwas father of the man. The boy who preferred waterspouts to stairways, later in life always scorned the beaten path, and "the illogical road, no matter how venturesome and hazardous it was, attracted him to it byvirtue of that sort of fascinating charm which the abyss exercises overcertain eminently nervous temperaments. " The belief that Esproncedastudied at the Artillery School of Segovia in 1821 appears to rest uponthe statement of Solís alone. Escosura, who studied there afterwards, never speaks of his friend as having attended the same institution. Solís may have confused the younger José with his deceased, like-namedbrother, who, we know, actually was a cadet in Segovia. On the otherhand, Solís speaks with confidence, though without citing the source ofhis information, and nothing would have been more natural than for theboy to follow in his elder brother's footsteps, as he did later when hejoined the Guardia de Corps. However, the matter is of slight moment, for if he studied in Segovia at all he cannot have remained there formore than a few weeks. 

What little education Espronceda was able to acquire in the course ofhis stormy life was gained mostly in the Colegio de San Mateo betweenthe years 1820 and 1830. This was a private school patronized by sons ofthe nobility and wealthy middle class. Two of the masters, José GómezHermosilla and Alberto Lista, were poets of repute. Lista was the bestteacher of his time in Spain. The wide range of his knowledge astonishedhis pupils, and he appeared to them equally competent in the classics, modern languages, mathematics, philosophy and poetics, all of whichsubjects he knew so well that he never had to prepare a lecturebeforehand. Plainly Lista was not a specialist of the modern stamp; buthe was something better, a born teacher. In spite of an unprepossessingappearance, faulty diction, and a ridiculous Andalusian accent, Listawas able to inspire his students and win their affection. It is nocoincidence that four of the fellow students of the Colegio de SanMateo, Espronceda, Felipe Pardo, Ventura de la Vega, and Escosura, afterwards became famous in literature. 

Espronceda's school reports have been preserved. We learn that hestudied sacred history, Castilian grammar, Latin, Greek, French, English, mythology, history, geography, and fencing, which last he waslater to turn to practical account. He showed most proficiency inFrench and English, and least in Greek and mathematics. His talent wasrecognized as unusual, his industry slight, his conduct bad. Calleja, the principal, writes in true schoolmaster's fashion: "He is wasting thevery delicate talent which nature gave him, and is wasting, too, theopportunity of profiting by the information of his distinguishedprofessors. " It cannot be denied that Espronceda's conduct left much tobe desired. According to Escosura he was "bright and mischievous, the terror of the whole neighborhood, and the perpetual fever of hismother. " He soon gained the nickname _buscarruidos_, and attractedthe notice of police and night watchmen. "In person he was agreeable, likable, agile, of clear understanding, sanguine temperament inclinedto violence; of a petulant, merry disposition, of courage rash evenbordering upon temerity, and more inclined to bodily exercise than tosedentary study. " The two friends were much influenced by Calderón atthis time. The height of their ambition was to be like the gallants ofa cape-and-sword play, equally ready for a love passage or a fight. Lista's influence upon his pupils was not restricted to class exercises. In order to encourage them to write original verse and cultivate a tastefor literature, he founded in April, 1823, the Academy of the Myrtle, modeled after the numerous literary academies which throve in Italy andSpain during the Renaissance period and later. Lista himself presided, assuming the name Anfriso. Was Delio, the name Espronceda assumed in his"Serenata" of 1828, his academic designation? The models proposed forthe youthful aspirants were the best poets of antiquity and such modernclassicists as Meléndez, Cienfuegos, Jovellanos, and Quintana. Two ofEspronceda's academic exercises have been preserved. They are as insipidand jejune as Goethe's productions of the Leipzig period. As an imitatorof Horace he was not a success. What he gained from the Academy was thehabit of writing. 

The Academy lasted until 1826, when many of its members had been driveninto exile; but its later meetings must have seemed tame to spiritedboys engrossed in the exciting political events of those times. The year1823 is famous in Spanish history for the crushing out of liberalism. This was effected by means of the Holy Alliance, an infamous associationof tyrants whose main object was to restore absolutism. Louis XVIII, theBourbon king of France, sent a force of one hundred thousand men underthe Duke of Angoulême who met with little resistance, and in short ordernullified all that had been accomplished by the Spanish liberals. Beforethe end of the year Ferdinand VII, who had been virtually deposed, wasrestored to his throne, and the constitution of 1820 had been abolished. Espronceda, the son of a hero of the War of Liberation, felt that thework of the men of 1808 had been undone. They had exchanged a foreignfor a domestic tyrant. What his feelings were we may gather from hisode in commemoration of the uprising of the Madrid populace against thetroops of Murat, "Al Dos de Mayo":

 ¡Oh de sangre y valor glorioso día! Mis padres cuando niño me contaron Sus hechos, ¡ay! y en la memoria mía Santos recuerdos de virtud quedaron. 

But, as he says later in the poem, El trono que erigió vuestra bravura, Sobre huesos de héroes cimentado, Un rey ingrato, de memoria impura, Con eterno baldón dejó manchado. ¡Ay! para herir la libertad sagrada, El Príncipe, borrón de nuestra historia, Llamó en su ayuda la francesa espada, Que segase el laurel de vuestra gloria. 

These verses were written in later life; but already in 1827 he dates apoem "fourth year after the sale of Spanish liberty. "

It was an age of political conspiracy and secret societies. Manyliberals were members of Masonic lodges, and in addition there werecircles like the Friends of Liberty, the Friends of the Constitution, the Cross of Malta, the Spanish Patriot, and others. Nothing morenatural than that boys whose age made them ineligible to join theseorganizations should form one of their own. The result was La Sociedadde los Numantinos. The prime movers were Miguel Ortiz Amor and Patriciode Escosura, who drew up its Draconic constitution. Other founders wereEspronceda, Ventura de la Vega, and Núñez de Arenas. All told, thesociety had about a dozen members. Their first meetings were held in asand-pit, until the curiosity of the police forced them to seek saferquarters. One of the members was an apothecary's apprentice, who, unknown to his master, installed the club in the shop cellar. Therethey built an altar bearing all the romantic paraphernalia of skull andcross-bones, swords, and pistols. The members stood wrapped in blackgarments, their faces muffled with their long Spanish capes, wearingVenetian masks, each one grasping a naked dagger. There they sworebinding oaths and delivered fiery orations. Red paper lanterns cast aweird light over the scene. How tame the sessions of the Myrtlemust have seemed by comparison! Yet the two organizations throvesimultaneously. 

With the return of Ferdinand in September the persecution of theliberals began. The boys witnessed the judicial murder of Riego, thehero of the constitutional movement, November 8, 1823. This made theimpression upon them that might have been expected. That night anextraordinary session of the Numantinos was held at which Esproncedadelivered an impassioned oration. Then all signed a document in whichthe king's death was decreed. Some of the members' parents seem tohave learned what was happening. The father of Ortiz, the club's firstpresident, prudently sent him away to Oñate. Escosura became the secondpresident, and held office until September of 1824, when his father senthim to France. Espronceda then became the club's third president, buthis term was brief. The boys had made the mistake of admitting onemember of mature years whose name we do not know; for, in spite of histreachery, the Numantinos even in their old age chivalrouslyrefrained from publishing it. This Judas betrayed the secrets of hisfellow-members, and placed incriminating documents, among them theking's "death warrant, " in the hands of the police. The latter, however, displayed less rigor and more common sense than usual. While all theyouths implicated were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment invarious monasteries scattered throughout Spain, nothing more wasintended than to give the conspirators a salutary scare. They were allreleased after a few weeks of nominal servitude. Ortiz and Escosura, theringleaders, were sentenced to six years of seclusion, and Esproncedareceived a term of five years to be served in the Monastery of SanFrancisco de Guadalajara in the city of Guadalajara. His term waspronounced completed after a very few weeks of confinement. That he hada father prominent in the government service stood him in good stead, and this probably accounts for the fact that his place of confinementwas in the city where Don Juan was garrisoned. The latter, as an oldsoldier in the wars against Napoleon, sympathized in a general way withliberal ideas; yet, placed as he was in a very difficult position, hemust have found his son's escapades compromising. His record shows thathe was "purified, " that is his loyalty to the crown was certified to, onAugust 8, 1824. He seems to have maintained a "correct" attitude towardhis rulers to the end, with all the unquestioning obedience of amilitary man. 

While undergoing this easy martyrdom Espronceda improved his time bybeginning what was to be a great patriotic epic, his _Pelayo_. Like manyanother ambitious project, this was never completed. The few fragmentsof it which have been printed date mostly from this time. The style isstill classic, but it is the pseudo-classicism of his model, Tasso. Thepoet had taken the first step leading to Romanticism. Hence this workwas not so sterile as his earlier performances. Lista, on seeing thefragments, did much to encourage the young author. Some of the octavesincluded in the published version are said on good authority to havecome from the schoolmaster's pen. Lista's classicism was of thebroadest. He never condemned Romanticism totally, though he deploredits unrestrained extravagances and the antireligious and antidynastictendencies of some of its exponents. He long outlived his brilliantpupil, and celebrated his fame in critical articles. After his returnfrom exile Espronceda continued to study in a private school which Listahad started in the Calle de Valverde. Calleja's Colegio de San Mateo hadbeen suppressed by a government which was the sworn enemy of every formof enlightenment. The new seminary, however, continued the work ofthe old with little change: While there José carried his mathematicalstudies through higher algebra, conic sections, trigonometry, andsurveying, and continued Latin, French, English, and Greek. If we mayjudge from later results, a course in rhetoric and poetics must havebeen of greatest benefit to him. 

Espronceda's schooling ended in 1826, when he began what Escosura terms"his more or less voluntary exile. " Escosura thinks he may have beenimplicated in a revolutionary uprising in Estremadura, and thisconjecture is all but confirmed by a recently found report of theSpanish consul in Lisbon, who suspected him of plotting mischief withGeneral Mina. If Espronceda was not a revolutionary at this time, he wascapable of enlisting in any enterprise however rash, as his past andsubsequent record proves all too clearly, and the authorities were notwithout justification in watching his movements. In a letter datedLisbon, August 24, 1827, he writes to his mother: "Calm yourselves andrestore papa to health by taking good care of him, and you yourself stopthinking so sadly, for now I am not going to leave Portugal. " In thesewords the boy seems to be informing his parents that he has given upthe idea of making a foray from Portugal into Spain as Mina was thenplotting to do. He had left home without taking leave of his parents, made his way to Gibraltar, and taken passage thence to Lisbon on aSardinian sloop. The discomforts of this journey are graphicallydescribed in one of his prose works, "De Gibraltar a Lisboa: viajehistórico. " The writer describes with cynical humor the overladen littleboat with its twenty-nine passengers, their quarrels and seasickness, the abominable food, a burial at sea, a tempest. When the ship reachedLisbon the ill-assorted company were placed in quarantine. The healthinspectors demanded a three-peseta fee of each passenger. Esproncedapaid out a duro and received two pesetas in change. Whereupon he threwthem into the Tagus, "because I did not want to enter so great a capitalwith so little money. " A very similar story has been told of Camoens, so that Espronceda was not only a _poseur_ but a very unoriginal one atthat. Some biographers suspect that while parting with his silver he wasprudent enough to retain a purse lined with good gold _onzas_. This ispure speculation, but it is certain that he knew he could soon expect aremittance from home. 

Portugal was at the time rent with civil war. The infanta Isabel Maríawas acting as regent, and her weak government hesitated to offend theking of Spain. The liberal emigrants were kept under surveillance; somewere imprisoned, others forced to leave the kingdom. Espronceda wasforced to Live with the other Spanish emigrants in Santarem. There is noevidence that he was imprisoned in the Castle of St. George, as has sofrequently been stated. He appears to have been free to go and comewithin the limits assigned him by the police; but he was constantlywatched and at last forced to leave the country. It was in Portugal thatthe nineteen-year-old boy made the acquaintance of the Mancha family. Don Epifanio Mancha was a colonel in the Spanish army who, unlike theelder Espronceda, had been unable to reconcile himself to existingconditions. He had two daughters, one of whom, Teresa, was to play alarge part in Espronceda's life. He undoubtedly made her acquaintance atthis time. We are told that she embroidered for him an artillery cadet'shat; but the acquaintance probably did not proceed far. The statementthat vows were exchanged, that the Mancha family preceded Espronceda toLondon, that on disembarking he found his Teresa already the brideof another, all this is pure legend. As a matter of fact, Esproncedapreceded the Manchas to London and his elopement with Teresa did nottake place until 1831, not in England but in France. All this SeñorCascales y Muñoz has shown in his recent biography. 

Espronceda's expulsion from Portugal was determined upon as early asAugust 14, 1827; but the execution of it was delayed. He must havereached England sometime within the last four months of 1827. The firstof his letters written from London that has been preserved is datedDecember 27 of that year. What his emotions were on passing "the immensesea . . . Which chains me amid the gloomy Britons" may be observed byreading his poem entitled "La Entrada del Invierno en Londres. " In thispoem he gives full vent to his homesickness in his "present abode ofsadness, " breathes forth his love for Spain, and bewails the tyranniesunder which that nation is groaning. It is written in his early classicmanner and exists in autograph form, dedicated by the "Citizen" José deEspronceda to the "Citizen" Balbino Cortés, his companion in exile. Thedate, London, January 1, 1827, is plainly erroneous, though this facthas never before been pointed out. We can only suppose that, like manyanother, Espronceda found it difficult to write the date correctly onthe first day of a new year. We should probably read January 1, 1828. When he assures us in the poem: "Four times have I here seen the fieldsrobbed of their treasure, " he is not to be taken literally. Who willbegrudge an exiled poet the delight of exaggerating his sufferings?

Five letters written from London to his parents have been preserved, thanks to the diligence of the Madrid police who seized them in hisfather's house in their eagerness to follow the movements of thisdangerous revolutionary. They are the typical letters of a schoolboy. The writer makes excuses for his dilatoriness as a correspondent, expresses solicitude for the health of his parents, and suggests theneed of a speedy remittance. In fact _la falta de metálico_ is theburden of his song. Living is excessively dear in London. So much sothat a suit of clothes costs seventeen pounds sterling; but there willbe a reduction of three pounds if the draft is promptly sent. He asksthat the manuscript of his "Pelayo" be sent to him, as he now hasabundant leisure to finish the poem. He asks that the remittances besent to a new agent whom he designates. The first agent was a brute whorefused to aid him to get credit. He wonders that his father shouldsuggest a call upon the Spanish ambassador. Not one word as to hispolitical plans, a discretion for which Don Juan must have thanked himwhen these interesting documents fell into the hands of the police. 

We have information that in London Espronceda became a fencing-master, as many a French _émigré_ had done in the century before. This callingbrought him in very little. He may have profited by the charityfund which the Duke of Wellington had raised to relieve the Spanish_emigrados_. His more pressing needs were satisfied by Antonio Hernáiz, a friend with whom he had made the journey from Lisbon; but theremittances from home came promptly and regularly, and Espronceda musthave been one of the most favored among the refugees of Somers Town. Ifwe may take as autobiographical a statement in "Un Recuerdo, " he wasentertained for a time at the country seat of Lord Ruthven, an oldcompanion-in-arms of his father's. Ruthven is not a fictitious name, as a glance into the peerage will show. During all this time he wasimproving his acquaintance with Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, and otherEnglish poets. What is more surprising is that, if we may judge fromhis subsequent speeches as a deputy, he gained at least a superficialacquaintance with English political thought and became interested ineconomics. He was a convert to the doctrine of free trade. 

Meanwhile the parents, who appear to have formed a bad opinion of a landwhere a suit of clothes cost seventeen pounds, were urging the son togo to France. He himself thought of Holland as a land combining theadvantages of liberty and economy. But before leaving London he requireda remittance of four thousand reales. This bad news was broken to thefamily bread-winner, not by José himself, but by his banker Orense. Thedebt, it was explained, had been incurred as the result of a slightillness. The four thousand reales were duly sent in December, butEspronceda lingered in London a few months longer; first because he wastempted by the prospect of a good position which he failed to secure, and second on account of the impossibility of obtaining a passport toFrance direct. He finally made his way to Paris via Brussels, from whichcity he writes, March 6, 1829. All this effectually dispels the legendthat he eloped from England with Teresa by way of Cherbourg. The arrivalin Paris of the revolutionary fencing-master put the Madrid police in aflutter. On the seventeenth of that same month the consul in Lisbon hadreported that Espronceda was planning to join General Mina in an attackupon Navarra; and by the middle of April the ambassador to France hadreported his arrival in Paris. It was then that the brigadier's paperswere seized. Measures were taken to prevent Espronceda's receivingpassports for the southern provinces of France, and for any othercountry but England. The friendly offices of Charles X, who hadsucceeded Louis XVIII on the throne of France, checked for a time theefforts of the patriotic filibusters. The latter, therefore, must havefelt that they were aiding their own country as well as France when theyparticipated in the July revolution of 1830. Espronceda fought bravelyfor several days at one of the Paris barricades, and wreaked whatprivate grudge he may have had against the house of Bourbon. After thefall of Charles X, Louis Philippe, whom Espronceda was in after years toterm _el rey mercader_, became king of France. As Ferdinand refused torecognize the new government, the designs of Spanish patriots werenot hindered but even favored. Espronceda was one of a scant hundredvisionaries who followed General Joaquín de Pablo over the pass ofRoncevaux into Navarra. The one hope of success lay in winning overrecruits on Spanish soil. De Pablo, who found himself facing his oldregiment of Volunteers of Navarra, started to make a harangue. The replywas a salvo of musketry, as a result of which De Pablo fell dead. Aftersome skirmishing most of his followers found refuge on French soil, among them Espronceda. De Pablo's rout, if less glorious than that ofRoland on the same battlefield, nevertheless inspired a song. Esproncedacelebrated his fallen leader's death in the verses "A la Muerte de D. Joaquín de Pablo (Chapalangarra) en los Campos de Vera. " This poem, which purports to have been written on one of the peaks of the FrenchPyrenees which commanded a view of Spanish soil, and when the poet wasstrongly impressed by the events in which he had just participated, is nevertheless a weak performance; for Espronceda in 1830 was stillcasting his most impassioned utterances in the classic mold. Ferdinandhad now been taught a lesson and lost little time in recognizing the newrégime in France. This bit of diplomacy was so cheap and successfulthat Louis Philippe tried it again, this time on Russia. His governmentfavored a plot, hatched in Paris, for the freeing of Poland. Espronceda, who had not yet had his fill of crack-brained adventures, enlisted inthis cause also, desiring to do for Poland what Byron had done forGreece; but the czar, wilier than Ferdinand, immediately recognizedLouis Philippe. The plot was then quietly rendered innocuous. Esproncedamust have felt himself cruelly sold by the "merchant king. "

Espronceda's literary activity was slight during these events, but histransformation into a full-fledged Romanticist begins at this time. Hugo's "Orientales, " which influenced him profoundly, appeared in 1829, and the first performance of "Hernani" was February 25, 1830. Thereis no record that he formed important literary friendships in eitherEngland or France, but, clannish as the _emigrados_ appear to havebeen, an impressionable nature like Espronceda's must have been as muchstirred by the literary as by the political revolution of 1830; the moreso as the great love adventure of his life occurred at this time. TheMancha family followed the other _emigrados_ to London, just whenwe cannot say. In course of time Teresa contracted a marriage ofconvenience with a Spanish merchant domiciled in London, a certainGregorio de Bayo. Churchman has discovered the following advertisementin _El Emigrado Observador_, London, February, 1829: "The daughters ofColonel Mancha embroider bracelets with the greatest skill, gaining bythis industry the wherewithal to aid their honorable indigence. " Fromthis it is argued that the marriage to Don Gregorio and the consequentend of the family indigence must have come later than February, 1829. Espronceda had met the girl in Lisbon, he may later have resumed theacquaintance in London. She may or may not be the Elisa to whom Deliosings in the "Serenata. " According to Balbino Cortés in an interviewreported by Solís, Teresa and her husband, while on a visit to Paris inOctober, 1831, happened to lodge at the hotel frequented by Espronceda. Shortly afterwards Teresa deserted her husband and an infant son andeloped with Espronceda. She followed him to Madrid in 1833, wherea daughter, Blanca, was born to them in 1834. Within a year Teresaabandoned Espronceda and her second child. She sank into the gutter anddied a pauper in 1839. This sordid romance occupied only about threeyears of Espronceda's life, a much shorter time than had been supposed. Churchman was the first to break the long conspiracy of silence whichwithheld from the world Teresa's full name. Cascales y Muñoz has sincethrown more light upon this episode. But these gentlemen have donenothing more than to tell an open secret. Escosura, long ago, all butbetrayed it in the following pun: "Tendamos el velo de olvido sobreesa lamentable flaqueza de un gran corazón, " he says, referring to theaffair with Teresa, "y recordemos, de paso, que el sol mismo, ese astrode luz soberano, tan sublimemente cantado por nuestro vate, _manchas_tiene que si una parte de su esplendor anublan, a eclipsarlo no bastan. "Señor Cascales publishes a reproduction of Teresa's portrait. We seea face of a certain hard beauty. We are struck with the elaboratecoiffure, the high forehead, the long nose, the weak mouth. Theexpression is unamiable. It is the face of a termagant ready to abandonhusband and child. Espronceda seems to have returned to England for abrief period in 1832, as we may infer from the fact that the poem"A Matilde" is dated London, 1832. Corroboration of this belief wasdiscovered by Churchman, who found that the paper on which "Blanca deBorbón" was written shows the water-mark of an English firm of thatdate. 

In 1833 Ferdinand VII died, and his daughter Isabel II ascended to thethrone under the regency of her mother Cristina. As the conservativesespoused the cause of the pretender, Don Carlos, the regency was forcedto favor the liberals. The rigid press censorship was abolished, and ageneral amnesty was granted all the victims of Ferdinand's tyranny. Inpolitics the year 1833 marks the beginning of the Carlist war, andin literature of Spanish Romanticism. Espronceda was one of many_emigrados_ who returned to Spain, bringing with them new ideas for therevitalizing of Spanish literature. He did not arrive soon enough tosee his aged father. Brigadier Espronceda's death certificate is datedJanuary 10, 1833. 

Shortly after José's arrival he joined the fashionable Guardia de Corpsor royal guard regiment. This step, apparently so inconsistent withhis revolutionary activities, has puzzled all his biographers. ButEspronceda was only following the family tradition. His elder brotherhad done the same. Doubtless he believed, in his first enthusiasm, thatSpain was now completely liberalized. Besides, he was a dandy alwayseager for social distinction, and he had to live down the fact that hismother was proprietress of an _establecimiento de coches_. The conductof his fellow-Numantino, Escosura, who had found it possible to accepta commission under Ferdinand, is far more surprising. Espronceda'ssnobbishness, if he had any, cannot have been extreme, for he took upresidence with his mother over the aforementioned livery stable, in theCalle de San Miguel. Teresa was prudently lodged under another roof. Doña Carmen was as indulgent as ever, and especially desirous that herson dress in the most fashionable clothes procurable. What with herrent from the house, her widow's pension, and the yield of her businessventure, she was comfortably circumstanced. When Teresa abandoned thechild Blanca, Doña Carmen became a mother to her. When Doña Carmen diedin 1840 everything went to her son. 

Espronceda's career as a guardsman was brief. As a result of reading asatirical poem at a public banquet, he was cashiered and banished to thetown of Cuéllar in Old Castile. There he wrote his "Sancho Saldaña oel Castellano de Cuéllar, " a historical novel in the manner of WalterScott, describing the quarrels of Sancho el Bravo with his fatherAlfonso X. This six-volume work was contracted for in 1834 and completedand published the same year. For writing it the author received sixthousand reales. Many writers in Spain were striving to rival the Wizardof the North at this time. Ramón López Soler had set the fashion in1830 with "Los Bandos de Castilla. " Larra's "Doncel de Don Enriqueel Doliente" appeared in the same year with "Sancho Saldaña. " ButEspronceda was probably most influenced by his friend Escosura, who hadprinted his "Conde de Candespina" in 1832. The latter's best effort inthis genre, "Ni Rey ni Roque, " 1835, was written when its author wasundergoing banishment for political reasons in a corner of Andalusia. Toemploy the enforced leisure of political exile in writing a historicalnovel was quite the proper thing to do. The banishment to Cuéllar musthave taken place in late 1833 or early 1834, for Espronceda's novel isunquestionably inspired by his enforced visit to that town, and thecontract with his publisher is dated in Madrid, February 5, 1834. Onreading the contract it is apparent that the novel had hardly been begunthen, as it was to be paid for in installments. Whether it was writtenmostly in Cuéllar or Madrid we do not know and care little. In Januaryof that year _El Siglo_ was founded, a radical journal with whichEspronceda was prominently connected. During the brief existence of thisincendiary sheet (January 21 until March 7) Espronceda contributed to itseveral political articles. The last issue came out almost wholly blankas an object lesson of the censor's activity. There follow a fewmonths of agitation and political intrigue, the upshot of whichwas Espronceda's imprisonment for three weeks without trial. Afterprotesting in the press and appealing to the queen regent, he wasreleased and banished to Badajoz. How long he was absent from thecapital we do not know, except that this banishment, like the others, was of short duration. During all this commotion there was produced atthe Teatro de la Cruz, in April, an indifferent play, "Ni el Tío ni elSobrino, " whose authors were Espronceda and his friend Antonio Ros yOlano. It is difficult to paint anything but a confused picture ofEspronceda's life during the remaining years of this decade. We catchglimpses of him debating questions of art and politics at cafés andliterary _tertulias_ like the Parnasillo, where Mesonero Romanos saw himfaultlessly attired and "darting epigrams against everything existing, past, and future. " Córdoba in his memoirs bears witness that he wasstill the _buscarruidos_ of old. Espronceda with Larra, Escosura, RosDe Olano, and Córdoba constituted the "Thunder Band" of the Parnasillo(_partida del trueno_). After a long literary discussion they wouldsally forth into the streets, each armed with a peashooter and onmischief bent. A favorite prank was to tie a chestnut vender's table toa waiting cab and then watch the commotion which followed when the cabstarted to move. On one occasion, finding the Duke of Alba's coachmanasleep on the box, they painted the yellow coach red, so altering itthat the very owner failed to recognize it when he left the house wherehe had been calling. In politics Espronceda is always a leader inrevolt, fighting with pen and sword for his none-too-clearly-definedprinciples. Even the Mendizábal ministry, the most advanced that Spainhas ever had, does not satisfy him. His ideal is a republic and thedownfall of "the spurious race of Bourbon. " His love affairs are equallystormy. In literature he is attempting everything, plays, a novel, polemical articles, lyric poems, and one supreme work which is to be thevery epic of humanity. 

In 1835 Espronceda became an officer in the National Militia. In Augustof that year the militiamen were defeated in an unsuccessful revoltagainst the Toreno ministry. In 1836 he was equally unfortunate in arevolt against the Istúriz ministry. It was then, when pursued by thepolice, that a friend secreted him in the safest possible place, thehome of a high police official. Espronceda employed his leisure hours inthis refuge by writing "El Mendigo" and "El Verdugo. " Two years laterhe traveled extensively through Andalusia engaged in revolutionarypropaganda. He was probably trying to bring about a republican form ofgovernment. In September, 1838, his play "Amor venga sus agravios, "written in collaboration with Eugenio Moreno López, was produced at theTeatro del Príncipe. Its success was moderate. The next year, while inGranada, he and his friend Santos Álvarez were guests of honor at aliterary soirée. Espronceda's contribution was the reading of "ElEstudiante de Salamanca. " This poem was first printed, at least in part, in _La Alhambra_ for 1839. The great political event of this year wasthe ending of the first Carlist war. The victories of the nationaltroops were celebrated by a huge public demonstration in Madrid on thenational holiday, May 2, 1840. For this occasion Espronceda wrote hispatriotic poem "El Dos de Mayo. " Only three days later his volume of"Poesías" was placed on sale, and, like Byron, he awoke to find himselffamous. His old teacher Lista wrote a favorable review. From then onEspronceda was a man of note. The Madrid revolution of September 1forced an unwilling regent to make Espartero, hero of the Carlist war, prime minister. A radical sheet, _El Huracán_, was accused of attackingCristina and of advocating republicanism. Espronceda, though not alawyer, was chosen to defend the journal. This he did with completesuccess. His speech has not come down to us, but we are told that in ithe appeared in the rôle of an uncompromising republican. 

Nevertheless he was soon to compromise. He was now a man of mark, andthe liberal régime in power were not slow to see that it would beadvantageous to enlist his services. In November, 1841, he accepted anappointment to serve as secretary to the Spanish legation at the Hague. He served in this capacity exactly five days. Arriving at the Hagueon January 29, 1842, he departed for Madrid on February 3. A certainCarrasco had been elected deputy of the province of Almería. He was nowurged to resign to make room for Espronceda. This he did, and Esproncedawas elected and served in his stead. Of course all this had beenprearranged. After his return he continued to hold his diplomaticposition and receive pay for it, a not very honorable course on the partof one who pled so eloquently for the abolition of useless officesand the reform of the diplomatic service. In this way the Esparterogovernment conciliated Espronceda with two offices. Henceforth hisrepublicanism was lukewarm. Escosura tells us that concern for hisdaughter Blanca's financial future had rendered him prudent. 

I am inclined to think that Espronceda's biographers underrate hisservices in the Chamber of Deputies. The trouble is that in his rôle ofdeputy their hero failed to justify preconceived notions regarding hischaracter. Those who looked for revolution in his speeches found onlysound finance. We seek in vain for anything subversive. There is nothingsuggestive of the lyric poet or even of the fiery defender of _ElHuracán_. As a poet he had praised the destructive fury of the Cossackswho swept away decadent governments. In defending _El Huracán_ he hadused the word Cossack as a term of reproach, applying it to thoseself-seeking politicians who were devouring the public funds. By thistime he had himself become a Cossack on a small scale. Yet we must dohim the justice to point out that he had had sufficient firmness ofprinciple to refuse office under Mendizábal, Istúriz, and the Duque deRivas. Fitzmaurice-Kelly is possibly going too far in intimating thathe was degenerating into a hidebound conservative and opportunist. Something of the old reforming zeal survived. Though manydisillusionments may have rendered him less eager for a republican formof government, his latest utterances show him zealous as ever for socialand economic reform. Espronceda's parliamentary career lasted less thanthree months (March 1 to May 23, 1842). One can only wonder that in sobrief a time a man already stricken with a fatal illness should havetaken so able a part in an assembly in which he was a newcomer. Norshould we complain that his speeches lack eloquence. It is fairer togive him credit for not falling into the abuse of _palabrería_, thebesetting sin of most _diputados_. 

His views were sober and sound. Travel had given him a wideroutlook than most of his colleagues possessed. He was the enemy of_españolismo_, wanted his nation to take a prominent part in Europeanaffairs, and no longer to lead the life of a hermit nation. But he is nojingo. He speaks against the bill to add fifty thousand to the standingarmy. Spain had passed through too many upheavals. What she needed tomake her a European power was tranquility and opportunity to developfinancial strength. Give the producing classes their long-awaitedinnings. But he is bitter against the magnates of the bourse and thosepoliticians who legislate to produce an artificial rise in values. Thetrue policy is to better the condition of the masses, to encourageagriculture and manufactures: even the construction of railways shouldwait until there is first something to haul over them. But manufacturesshould not be protected by a tariff. In his speech against the tariffon cotton he shows himself an out and out free-trader. He praises theEnglish for their policy of free trade, enlightened self-interest hedeems it, which tends to make the world one large family. As a writer hehad inveighed against commercialism. But he now discerns a future wherecommerce shall replace war. He was unable to foresee that in the futuretrade was to be a chief cause of war. 

That he was a ready debater is shown by his neat rejoinder to DeputyFontán. This gentleman had made sneering allusions to men of letterswho dabbled in diplomacy. Far from accepting the remark as a thrust athimself, as it was intended, Espronceda resented it as an insult to thethen American minister Washington Irving, "novelist of the firstrank, known in Europe through his writings even more than through thebrilliancy of his diplomatic career. "

Espronceda's health had been failing for some months. It is said thatchronic throat trouble had so weakened his voice as to make his remarksin the Cortés scarcely audible. On May 18, 1842, he journeyed onhorseback to Aranjuez to visit Doña Bernarda Beruete, a young lady towhom he was then engaged. Hastily returning to Madrid on the afternoonof the same day, so as not to miss a night session of the Cortés, hecontracted a cold which soon turned into a fatal bronchitis. Others sayhe was taken ill at a reception given by Espartero. He died May 23, 1842, at the early age of 34. He was honored with a public funeral inkeeping with his position as deputy and distinguished man of letters. His first place of burial was the cemetery of San Nicolás; but in 1902his remains, together with those of Larra, were exhumed and reburied inthe Pantheon for Distinguished Men of the Nineteenth Century, situatedin the Patio de Santa Gertrudis in the Cementerio de la Sacramental deSan Justo. 

In forming our estimate of the man, we must carefully distinguishbetween the Espronceda of legend and the Espronceda of fact; for alegend sprang up during his own lifetime, largely the result of his ownself-defamation. Like many other Romanticists, Espronceda affected areputation for diabolism. He loved to startle the bourgeois, to pose asatheist, rake, deposer of tyrants. Escosura sums up this aspect of hischaracter by branding him "a hypocrite of vice. " Many have been ledastray by Ferrer del Río's statement that in drawing the character ofthe seducer, Don Félix de Montemar, Espronceda was painting his ownportrait. Such criticism would have delighted Espronceda, but theimputation was indignantly denied by his close friend Escosura. Moderncritics are careful to avoid this extreme; but, in the delight ofsupporting a paradox, some are disposed to go too far in the oppositedirection. Señor Cascales, for instance, is unconvincing when he seeksto exonerate Espronceda from all blame in the Teresa episode. Like thedevil, Espronceda was not so black as he was painted, not so black ashe painted himself; but he was far from being a Joseph. It is easy tominimize the importance of the part he played in the national militia. Doubtless much of his plotting was puerile and melodramatic. Hisactivities as a revolutionist cannot have greatly affected the course ofevents. But it is unfair to deny him credit for constant willingnessto risk his life in any cause which seemed noble. That his conduct wasinconsistent merely proves that he followed no calmly reasoned politicalsystem. He reflects in his conduct the heated sentiment of the time, varying as it did from day to day. He sometimes compromised with hisideals, his sense of honor was not always of the highest, but he neverseems to have grown lukewarm in his desire to serve the people. He isa liberal to the last, a liberal with notions of political economy andEnglish constitutional practice. His quarrel with the church seems tohave been political rather than theological. He hated the friars and thechurch's alliance with Carlism. That the last rites were administered tohim shows that he died a professing Catholic. In appearance Esproncedawas handsome, if somewhat too effeminate-looking to suggest thefire-eater. He never cultivated slovenliness of attire like mostmembers of the Romantic school; on the contrary, he was the leadingrepresentative in Spain of dandyism. To sum up, Espronceda's was atempestuous and very imperfect character. "Siempre fuí el juego de mispasiones, " is his own self-analysis. The best that can be said of himis that he was a warm, affectionate nature, generous, charitable to thepoor, a loyal friend, and one actuated by noble, if sometimes mistaken, ideals. Years afterward, when Escosura passed in review the littlecircle of the Colegio de San Mateo, Espronceda was the only one of themwhom he could truly say he loved. 

THE WORKS OF ESPRONCEDA

Of all the Spanish poets of the period of Romanticism, Espronceda is themost commanding figure. Piñeyro, adopting Emerson's phrase, calls himthe Representative Man of that age of literary and political revolt. More than that, criticism is unanimous in considering him Spain'sgreatest lyric poet of the nineteenth century. 

First of all he interests as the poet of democracy. The Romantic poetswere no more zealous seekers for political liberalism than theclassic poets of the previous generation had been; but their greatersubjectivity and freedom of expression rendered their appeal morevigorous. Espronceda's hatred for absolutism was so intense that inmoments of excitement he became almost anti-social. The pirate, thebeggar, the Cossack, were his heroes. The love of this dandy for thelower classes cannot be dismissed as mere pose. He keenly sympathizedwith the oppressed, and felt that wholesale destruction must precedethe work of construction. We look in vain for a reasoned politicalphilosophy in his volcanic verse. His outpourings were inspired by theirresponsible ravings of groups of café radicals, and the point of viewconstantly changed as public sentiment veered. According to his lightshe is always a patriot. Liberty and democracy are his chief desires. 

Like most Romanticists, Espronceda was intensely subjective. Heinterests by his frank display of his inner moods. Bonilla, in hisilluminating article "El Pensamiento de Espronceda, " states that thefour essential points in the philosophy of Romanticism were: doubt, the first principle of thought; sorrow, the positive reality of life;pleasure, the world's illusion; death, the negation of the will to live. Espronceda shared all of these ideas. It is often impossible to say howmuch of his suffering is a mere Byronic pose, and how much comes fromthe reaction of an intensely sensitive nature to the hard facts ofexistence. There is evidence that he never lost the zest of living;but in his writings he appears as one who has been completelydisillusionized by literature, love, politics, and every experienceof life. Truth is the greatest of evils, because truth is always sad;"mentira, " on the other hand, is merciful and kind. He carries doubt sofar that he doubts his very doubts. Such a philosophy should logicallylead to quietism. That pessimism did not in the case of Esproncedabring inaction makes one suspect that it was largely affected. There isnothing profound in this very commonplace philosophy of despair. It isthe conventional attitude of hosts of Romanticists who did littlebut re-echo the _Vanitas vanitatum_ of the author of Ecclesiastes. Espronceda's thought is too shallow to entitle him to rank high as aphilosophic poet. In this respect he is inferior even to Campoamorand Núñez de Arce. Genuine world-weariness is the outgrowth of a morecomplex civilization than that of Spain. Far from being a Leopardi, Espronceda may nevertheless be considered the leading Spanish exponentof the _taedium vitae_. He has eloquently expressed this commonplace andconventional attitude of mind. 

Like so many other writers of the Latin race, Espronceda is moreadmirable for the form in which he clothed his thoughts than for thosethoughts themselves. He wrote little and carefully. He is remarkable forhis virtuosity, his harmonious handling of the most varied meters. Henever, like Zorrilla, produces the effect of careless improvisation. Inthe matter of poetic form Espronceda has been the chief inspiration ofSpanish poets down to the advent of Rubén Darío. Fitzmaurice-Kelly, withhis happy knack of hitting off an author's characteristics in a phrase, says: "He still stirs us with his elemental force, his resonant musicalpotency of phrase, his communicative ardor for noble causes. "

Much harm has been done Espronceda's reputation for originality by thosecritics who fastened upon him the name of "the Spanish Byron. " Nothingcould be more unjust than to consider him the slavish imitator of asingle author. In literature, as in love, there is safety in numbers, and the writer who was influenced by Calderón, Tasso, Milton, Goethe, Béranger, Hugo, Shakespeare, and Scott was no mere satellite to Byron. Señor Cascales is so sensitive on the point that he is scarcely willingto admit that Byron exerted any influence whatsoever upon Espronceda. The truth is that Byron did influence Espronceda profoundly, asChurchman has sufficiently proved by citing many instances of borrowingsfrom the English poet, where resemblance in matters of detail is whollyconclusive; but it is another matter to assert that Espronceda wasalways Byronic or had no originality of his own. 

In considering Espronceda's writings in detail, we need concernourselves little with his dramatic and prose writings. The quickest roadto literary celebrity was the writing of a successful play. Esproncedaseems never to have completely relinquished the hope of achieving such asuccess. His first attempt was a three-act verse comedy, "Ni el Tío niel Sobrino" (1834), written in collaboration with Antonio Ros de Olano. Larra censured it for its insipidity and lack of plan. A more ambitiouseffort was "Amor venga sus agravios" (1838), written in collaborationwith Eugenio Moreno López. This was a five-act costume play, in prose, portraying the life at the court of Philip IV. It was produced withoutregard to expense, but with indifferent success. Espronceda's mostambitious play was never staged, and has only recently become easilyaccessible: this was "Blanca de Borbón, " a historical drama of the timesof Peter the Cruel in five acts, in verse. The first two acts werewritten in Espronceda's early Classic manner; the last three, writtenat a later period, are Romantic in tone. The influence of "Macbeth" isapparent. "Blanca de Borbón" could never be a success on the stage. Theverse, too, is not worthy of the author. Espronceda was too impetuousa writer to comply with the restrictions of dramatic technique. Thedramatic passages in "El Estudiante de Salamanca" and "El Diablo Mundo"are his best compositions in dialogue. 

"Sancho Saldaña" is Espronceda's most important prose work. It is ahistorical novel of the thirteenth century, written frankly in imitationof Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. The romance contains many tiresomedescriptions of scenery, and drags along tediously as most old-fashionednovels did. But Espronceda had none of Sir Walter's archaeologicalerudition, none of his ability to seize the characteristics of an epoch, and above all none of his skill as a creator of interesting characters. The personages in "Sancho Saldaña" fail to interest. The most that canbe said of the work is that among the numerous imitations of Scott'snovels which appeared at the time it is neither the best nor the worst. Of his shorter prose works only two, "De Gibraltar a Lisboa, viajehistórico" and "Un Recuerdo, " are easily accessible. They are vividportrayals of certain episodes of his exile, and may still be readwith interest. His most important polemical work is "El MinisterioMendizábal" (Madrid, 1836). In this screed we find the fiery radicalattacking as unsatisfactory the ultra-liberal Mendizábal. This andshorter political articles interest the historian and the biographer, but hardly count as literature. His rare attempts at literary criticismhave even less value. 

Espronceda shows true greatness only as a lyric poet. For spirit andperfection of form what could be more perfect than the "Canción delPirata"? Like Byron in the "Corsair, " he extols the lawless liberty ofthe buccaneer. Byron was here his inspiration rather than Hugo. The"Chanson de Pirates" cannot stand comparison with either work. ButEspronceda's indebtedness to Byron was in this case very slight. Hehas made the theme completely his own. "El Mendigo" and "El Canto delCosaco, " both anarchistic in sentiment, were inspired by Béranger. Oncemore Espronceda has improved upon his models, "Les Gueux" and "Le Chantdu Cosaque. " Compare Espronceda's refrain in the "Cossack Song" withBéranger's in the work which suggested it:

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto! ¡Hurra! La Europa os brinda espléndido botín Sangrienta charca sus campiñas sean, De los grajos su ejército festín. 

 Hennis d'orgueil, o mon coursier fidèle! Et foule aux pieds les peuples et les rois. 

The "Canto del Cosaco" was a prime favorite with the revolutionary youthof Spain, who thundered out the "hurras" with telling effect. "El Reo deMuerte" and "El Verdugo" are in a similar vein, though much inferior. "Serenata, " "A la Noche, " "El Pescador" (reminiscent of Goethe), "A unaEstrella, " and "A una Rosa, soneto" are lighter works. They make up ingrace what they lack in vigor. "El Himno al Sol" is the most perfectexample of Espronceda's Classic manner, and is rightly considered one ofhis masterpieces. It challenges comparison with the Duque de Rivas' verysimilar poem. Of the numerous patriotic poems "Al Dos de Mayo" and "Ala Patria" deserve especial mention. He attempted satire in "El PastorClasiquino, " recently reprinted by Le Gentil from "El Artista. " Inthis poem he assails academic poetry like that produced by his oldfellow-academicians of the Myrtle. It betrays the peevishness of aRomanticist writing when Romanticism was already on the wane. 

"El Diablo Mundo, " Espronceda's most ambitious work, is commonlyconsidered his masterpiece; an unfinished masterpiece, however. Evenif death had spared him, it is doubtful if he could have finished soall-embracing a theme as he proposed:

 Nada menos te ofrezco que un poema Con lances raros y revuelto asunto, De nuestro mundo y sociedad emblema. . . . Fiel traslado ha de ser, cierto trasunto De la vida del hombre y la quimera Tras de que va la humanidad entera. Batallas, tempestades, amoríos, Por mar y tierra, lances, descripciones De campos y ciudades, desafíos, Y el desastre y furor de las pasiones, Goces, dichas, aciertos, desvaríos, Con algunas morales reflexiones Acerca de la vida y de la muerte, De mi propia cosecha, que es mi fuerte. 

Adam, hero of the epic, is introduced in Canto I as an aged scholardisillusioned with life, but dreading the proximity of Death, with whomhe converses in a vision. The Goddess of Life grants him the youth ofFaust and the immortality of the Wandering Jew. Unlike either, he hasthe physical and mental characteristics of an adult joined to thenaïveté of a child. In Canto III Adam appears in a _casa de huéspedes_, naked and poor, oblivious of the past, without the use of language, withlongings for liberty and action. Here his disillusionment begins. Hisnakedness shocks public morality; and the innocent Adam who is hostileto nobody, and in whom the brilliant spectacle of nature producesnothing but rejoicing, receives blows, stonings, and imprisonment fromhis neighbors. Childlike he touches the bayonet of one of his captors, and is wounded. This symbolizes the world's hostility to the innocent. In Canto IV we find Adam in prison. His teachers are criminals. He wasborn for good; society instructs him in evil. In Canto V he experienceslove with the _manola_ Salada, but sees in this passion nothing butimpurity. He longs for higher things. Circumstances abase him to crime. He joins a band of burglars, and, falling in love with the lady whosehouse they are pillaging, protects her against the gang. In Canto VI hecontinues along his path of sorrow. He enters a house where a beautifulgirl is dying, while in another room revelers are making merry. Thisleads him to speculate on life's mysteries and to reason for himself. The poem ends where Adam has become thoroughly sophisticated. He is nowlike any other man. 

Evidently it was the poet's intention to make Adam go through a seriesof adventures in various walks of life, everywhere experiencingdisillusionment. In spite of the elaborate prospectus quoted above, we may agree with Piñeyro that the poet started writing with only thehaziest outline planned beforehand. Espronceda frankly reveals to us hismethods of poetic composition:

 ¡Oh cómo cansa el orden! no hay locura Igual a la del lógico severo. 

And again:

 Terco escribo en mi loco desvarío Sin ton ni són, y para gusto mío. . . . Sin regla ni compás canta mi lira: Sólo mi ardiente corazón me inspira!

"El Diablo Mundo" is no mere imitation of Byron's "Don Juan" andGoethe's "Faust, " though the influence of each is marked. It hasnumerous merits and originalities of its own. Inferior as Esproncedais to Byron in wit and to Goethe in depth, he can vie with either as aharmonious versifier. 

The philosophy of "El Diablo Mundo" is the commonplace pessimism ofRomanticism. The following excerpt shows how the author's skepticismleads him to doubt his very doubts; hence his return to a questioningacceptance of Christianity:

 Las creencias que abandonas, Los templos, las religiones Que pasaron, y que luego Por mentira reconoces, ¿Son quizá menos mentira Que las que ahora te forges? ¿No serán tal vez verdades Los que tú juzgas errores?

Canto II of "El Diablo Mundo" consists of the poem "A Teresa. Descansaen Paz. " This has not the slightest connection with the rest of thepoem, and can only be understood as a separate unity. It is includedin the present collection because it is the supreme expression of ourpoet's subjective method. As such it stands in excellent contrast to "ElEstudiante de Salamanca, " which is purely objective. No reader knowsEspronceda who has read merely his objective poems. For self-revelation"A Jarifa en una Orgía" alone may be compared with "A Teresa. " We mayagree with Escosura that Espronceda is here giving vent to his rancorrather than to his grief, that it is the _menos hidalgo_ of all hiswritings. But for once we may be sure that the poet is writing under thestress of genuine emotion. For once he is free from posing. 

"THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA"

"El Estudiante de Salamanca" represents the synthesis of two well-knownSpanish legends, the Don Juan Tenorio legend and the Miguel Mañaralegend. The first of these may be briefly stated as follows: Don JuanTenorio was a young aristocrat of Seville famous for his dissolute life, a gambler, blasphemer, duelist, and seducer of women. Among numerousother victims, he deceives Doña Ana de Ulloa, daughter of the Comendadorde Ulloa. The latter challenges Don Juan to a duel, and falls. Later DonJuan enters the church where the Commander lies buried and insults hisstone statue, after which he invites the statue to sup with him thatnight. At midnight Don Juan and his friends are making merry when aknock is heard at the door and the stone guest enters. Don Juan, whodoes not lose his bravery even in the presence of the supernatural, plays the host, maintaining his air of insulting banter. At the end ofthe evening the guest departs, offering to repay the hospitality thefollowing night if Don Juan will visit his tomb at midnight. Thoughfriends try to dissuade him, Don Juan fearlessly accepts the invitation. At the appointed hour he visits the tomb. Flames emerge from it, and DonJuan pays the penalty of his misdeeds, dying without confession. 

This is the outline of the story as told by Tirso de Molina in "ElBurlador de Sevilla o el Convidado de Piedra. " The same theme has beentreated by Molière, Goldoni, Mozart, Byron, and Zorrilla, to mention buta few of the hundreds of writers who have utilized it. In the hands ofnon-Spanish writers the character of Don Juan loses the greater part ofits essential nobility. To them Don Juan is the type of libertine andlittle more. He was a prime favorite with those Romanticists who, likeGautier, felt "Il est indécent et mauvais ton d'être vertueux. " Butas conceived in Spain Don Juan's libertinage is wholly subsidiary andincidental. He is a superman whose soaring ambition mounts so high thatearth cannot satisfy it. The bravest may be permitted to falter in thepresence of the supernatural; but Don Juan fears neither heaven norhell. His bravery transcends all known standards, and this one virtue, though it does not save him from hell, redeems him in popular esteem. 

Don Félix de Montemar is the typical Don Juan type, a libertine, gambler, blasphemer, heartless seducer, but superhumanly brave. Yet theplot of Espronceda's poem bears closer resemblance to the story told ofMiguel Mañara. 

Miguel Mañara (often erroneously spelled Maraña) Vicentelo de Leca(1626-1679) was an alderman (_veintecuatro_) of Seville and a knight ofCalatrava. As a youth his character resembled that of Don Juan. One daysome hams sent to him from the country were intercepted by the customs. He started out to punish the offending officers, but on the way repentedand thenceforth led a virtuous life. In 1661, after his wife's death, he entered the Hermandad de la Caridad, later becoming superior of thatorder. In his will he endowed the brotherhood with all his wealth andrequested that he be buried under the threshold of the chapel of SanJorge. His sole epitaph was to be "Here repose the bones and ashes ofthe worst man who ever existed in the world. " Don Miguel's biography waswritten by his friend the Jesuit Juan de Cardeñas and was added to byDiego López de Haro, "Breve relación de la muerte, de la vida y virtudesde Don Miguel de Mañara, " Seville, 1680. 

There soon sprang up a legend around the name of Mañara. He is saidto have fallen in love with the statue on the Giralda tower. On oneoccasion the devil gave him a light for his cigar, reaching acrossthe Guadalquivir to do so. Again, he pursued a woman into the verycathedral, forcibly pulled aside her mantilla and discovered a skeleton. Yet more surprising, he was present, when still alive, at his ownfuneral in the Church of Santiago. But these stories associated with thename of Mañara are much older than he. Antonio de Torquemada, "Jardín deFlores Curiosas, " Salamanca, 1570, tells of an unnamed knight who fellin love with a nun. He enters her convent with false keys only to find afuneral in progress. On inquiring the name of the deceased, he is toldthat it is himself. He then runs home pursued by two devils in the formof dogs who tear him to pieces after he has made pious repentance. Cristóbal Bravo turned this story into verse, Toledo, 1572. One or otherof these versions appears to have been the source of Zorrilla's "ElCapitán Montoya. " Gaspar Cristóbal Lozano, "Soledades de la Vida yDesengaños del Mundo" (Madrid, 1663), tells the same story, and is thefirst to name hero and heroine, Lisardo and Teodora. Lozano, too, is thefirst to make the male protagonist a Salamanca student. Lozano's versioninspired two ballads entitled "Lisardo el Estudiante de Córdova. " Thesewere reprinted by Durán, _Romancero general_, Vol. I, pp. 264-268, wherethey are readily accessible. 

This ballad of Lisardo the Student of Cordova was undoubtedlyEspronceda's main source in writing "The Student of Salamanca, " and toit he refers in line 2 with the words _antiguas historias cuentan_. Yetthe indebtedness was small. Espronceda took from the ballad merely theidea of making the hero of the adventure a Salamanca student, andthe episode of a man witnessing his own funeral. Needless to sayEspronceda's finished versification owed nothing to the halting meter ofthe original. Lisardo, a Salamanca student, though a native of Cordova, falls in love with Teodora, sister of a friend, Claudio. Teodora issoon to become a nun. One night he makes love to her and is only mildlyrebuked. But a ghostly swordsman warns him that he will be slain if hedoes not desist. Nevertheless he continues his wooing in spite of thefact that Teodora has become a nun. She agrees to elope. While on hisway to the convent to carry out this design, his attention is attractedby a group of men attacking an individual. This individual proves to behimself, Lisardo. Lisardo, then, witnesses his own murder and subsequentfuneral obsequies. This warning is too terrible not to heed. He givesover his attempt at seduction and leads an exemplary life. 

There are many other examples in the literature of Spain of the man whosees his own funeral. Essentially the same story is told by Lope deVega, "El Vaso de Elección. San Pablo. " Bévotte thinks that Mérimée in"Les Ames du purgatoire" was the first to combine the Don Juan and theMiguel de Mañara legends, so closely alike in spirit, into a singlework. But Said Armesto finds this fusion already accomplished in aseventeenth-century play, "El Niño Diablo. " Dumas owed much to Mériméein writing his allegorical play "Don Juan de Maraña, " first acted April30, 1836. This became immediately popular in Spain. A mutilated Spanishversion appeared, Tarragona, 1838, Imprenta de Chuliá. It is doubtfulwhether Espronceda owes anything to either of these French works, although both works contain gambling scenes very similar to that inwhich Don Félix de Montemar intervened. In the Dumas play Don Juanstakes his mistress in a game, as Don Félix did his mistress's portrait. It seems likely that Espronceda derived his whole inspiration for thisscene from Moreto's "San Franco de Sena, " which he quotes. 

The legend of the man who sees his own funeral belongs to the realm offolk-lore. Like superstitions are to be found wherever the Celtic racehas settled. In Spain they are especially prevalent in Galicia andAsturias. There the _estantigua_ or "ancient enemy" appears to thosesoon to die. These spirits, or _almas en pena_, appear wearingwinding-sheets, bearing candles, a cross, and a bier on which a corpseis lying. Don Quijote in attacking the funeral procession probablythought he had to do with the _estantigua_. Furthermore, Said Armesto inhis illuminating study "La Leyenda de Don Juan" proves that the customof saying requiem masses for the living was very ancient in Spain. Onerecalls, too, how Charles V in his retirement at Yuste rehearsed his ownfuneral, actually entering the coffin while mass was being said. 

Of all Espronceda's poems "El Estudiante de Salamanca" is the mostpopular. It has a unity and completeness lacking in both the "Pelayo"and "El Diablo Mundo. " Every poet of the time was busy composing_leyendas_. Espronceda attempted this literary form but once, yet ofall the numerous "legends" written in Spain this is the most fittedto survive. Nowhere else has the poet shown equal virtuosity in thehandling of unusual meters. Nowhere among his works is there greatervariety or harmony of verse. Though not the most serious, this is themost pleasing of his poems. Espronceda follows the Horatian preceptof starting his story "in the middle of things. " In the first part hecreates the atmosphere of the uncanny, introduces the more importantcharacters, and presents a striking situation. Part Second, the mostadmired, is elegiac in nature. It pleases by its simple melancholy. Thispart and the dramatic tableau of Part Three explain the cause of theduel with which Part One begins. Part Four resumes the thread of thenarration where it was broken off in Part One, and ends with the Danceof Death which forms the climax of the whole. The character of Don Félixde Montemar is vigorously drawn. Originality cannot be claimed for it, as it is the conventional Don Juan Tenorio type. The character of DoñaElvira hardly merits the high praise of Spanish critics. She isa composite portrait of Ophelia, Marguerite, and two of Byron'scharacters, Doña Julia and Haidée, a shadowy, unreal creation, asghostly in life as in death. "The Student of Salamanca" tells a storyvigorously and sweetly. It does not abound in quotable passages like the"Diablo Mundo. " It is neither philosophic nor introspective. It teachesno lesson. Its merit is its perfection of form. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The best biography of Espronceda is that of José Cascales y Muñoz, "D. José de Espronceda, su época, su vida y sus obras, " Madrid, 1914. Thisis an expansion of the same author's "Apuntes y Materiales para laBiografía de Espronceda, " _Revue hispanique_, Vol. XXIII, pp. 5-108. Seealso a shorter article by the same author in _La España Moderna_, Vol. CCXXXIV, pp. 27-48. Less critical, but useful, is Antonio Cortón, "Espronceda, " Madrid, 1906. The very uncritical book by E. RodríguezSolís, "Espronceda: su tiempo, su vida y sus obras, " Madrid, 1883, ischiefly valuable now as the best source for Espronceda's parliamentaryspeeches. J. Fitzmaurice-Kelly's "Espronceda, " _The Modern LanguageReview_, Vol. IV, pp, 20-39, is admirable as a biography and acriticism, though partially superseded by later works containing theresults of new discoveries. P. H. Churchman, "Byron and Espronceda, "_Revue hispanique_, Vol. XX, pp. 5-210, gives a short biography, thoughthe study is in the main a penetrating investigation of Espronceda'ssources. E. Piñeyro has written two articles on Espronceda: "PoetasFamosos del Siglo XIX, " Madrid, 1883, and "El Romanticismo en España, "Paris, 1904. This last was first printed in the _Bulletin hispanique_for 1903. The older biography of D. A. Ferrer del Río, "Galería de laLiteratura, " Madrid, 1846, still has a certain value; but the mostimportant source for Espronceda's youthful adventures is "El Discursodel Excmo. Señor D. Patricio de la Escosura, individuo de número de laAcademia Española, leído ante esta corporación en la sesión públicainaugural de 1870, " Madrid, 1870. This matter is expanded in fivevery important articles which appeared in "La Ilustración Española yAmericana" for 1876 (February 8, February 22, June 22, July 8, September22), partially reproduced in the book of Cascales y Muñoz. See alsoLópez Núñez, "José de Espronceda, Biografía Anecdótica, " Madrid, 1917and A. Donoso, "La Juventud de Espronceda, " _Revista Chilena_, July, 1917. The best study of Espronceda's philosophy is Bonilla y SanMartín's, "El Pensamiento de Espronceda, " _La España Moderna_, Vol. CCXXXIV. For a recent short article see Cejador y Frauca, "Historia dela Lengua y Literatura Castellana, " VII, Madrid, 1917, PP. 177-185. 

The best bibliography of Espronceda's writings is that of Churchman, "AnEspronceda Bibliography, " _Revue hispanique_, XVII, pp. 741-777. Thisshould be supplemented by reference to Georges Le Gentil, "Les Revueslittéraires de l'Espagne pendant la première moitié du XIXe siècle, "Paris, 1909. The least bad edition of Espronceda's poems is "ObrasPoéticas y Escritos en Prosa, " Madrid, 1884. (The second volume, whichwas to contain the prose writings, never appeared. ) See also the "ObrasPoéticas de Espronceda, " Valladolid, 1900, and "Espronceda, " Barcelona, 1906. Also "Páginas Olvidadas de Espronceda, " Madrid, 1873. There hasbeen a recent reprint of "Sancho Saldaña, " Madrid, 1914, Repullés. Churchman has published "Blanca de Borbón, " _Revue hispanique_, Vol. XVII, and also "More Inedita" in the same volume. There is said to bean English translation of "The Student of Salamanca, " London, 1847. Anexcellent French version is that of R. Foulché-Delbosc, "L'Étudiant deSalamanque, " Paris, 1893. Mary J. Serrano has made splendid translationsof "The Pirate" and "To Spain: An Elegy, " Warner's Library of theWorld's Best Literature, Vol. XIV. 

For a very full treatment and bibliography of the Don Juan Tenoriolegend see G. G. De Bévotte, "La Légende de Don Juan, " Paris, 1911. Also Farinelli, _Giornale Storico_, XXVII, and "Homenaje a Menéndezy Pelayo, " Vol. I, p. 295; A. L. Stiefel, _Jahresberichte für neueredeutsche Litteraturgeschichte_, 1898-1899, Vol. I, 7, pp. 74-79. 

NOTES ON ESPRONCEDA'S VERSIFICATION

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

To enjoy the work of so musical an artist as Espronceda, the studentmust be able to read his verse in the original. This cannot be donewithout some knowledge of the rules which govern the writing of Spanishpoetry. It therefore becomes necessary to give some account of theelementary principles of Spanish prosody. This is not the place for acomplete treatment of the subject: only so much will be attempted as isnecessary for the intelligent comprehension of our author's writings. Aknowledge of English prosody will hinder rather than help the student;for the Spanish poet obeys very different laws from those which governthe writer of English verse. 

The two essentials of Spanish poetry are (1) a fixed number of syllablesin each verse (by verse we mean a single line of poetry); (2) arhythmical arrangement of the syllables within the verse. Rime andassonance are hardly less important, but are not strictly speakingessential. 

SYLLABLE-COUNTING

FINAL SYLLABLES

When a verse is stressed on the final syllable, it is called a _versoagudo_ or masculine verse. 

When a verse is stressed on the next to the last syllable, it is calleda _verso llano_ or feminine verse. 

When a verse is stressed on the second from the last syllable, theantepenult, it is called a _verso esdrújulo_. 

For the sake of convenience, the _verso llano_ is considered the normalverse. Thus, in an eight-syllable verse of this type the final stressalways falls on the seventh syllable, in a six- syllable verse on thefifth syllable, etc. , always one short of the last. In the case of the_verso agudo_, where the final stress falls on the final syllable, averse having actually seven syllables would nevertheless be counted ashaving eight. One syllable is always added in counting the syllables ofa _verso agudo_, and, contrariwise, one is always subtracted from thetotal number of actual syllables in a _verso esdrújulo_. These threekinds of verses are frequently used together in the same strophe(_copla_ or stanza) and held to be of equal length. Thus:

 Turbios sus ojos, Sus graves párpados Flojos caer. 

Theoretically these are all five-syllable verses. The first is a _versollano_, the normal verse. It alone has five syllables. The second is a_verso esdrújulo_. It actually has six syllables, but theoretically isheld to have five. The third is a _verso agudo_. It actually has butfour syllables, but in theory is designated a five-syllable verse. Allthree verses agree in having the final stress fall upon the fourthsyllable. 

It would be simpler if, following the French custom, nothing after thefinal stress were counted; but Spaniards prefer to consider normalthe verse of average length. It follows from this definition that amonosyllabic verse is an impossibility in Spanish. Espronceda writes:

 Leve, Breve Són. 

He is not here dropping from dissyllabic to monosyllabic verse, but thelast verse too must be considered a line of two syllables. 

Espronceda never uses a measure of more than twelve syllables in theselections included in this book. Serious poets never attempt anythinglonger than a verse of sixteen syllables. 

DIPHTHONGIZATION

Spanish vowels are divided into two classes: the strong vowels, _a_, _o_, _e_, and the weak vowels, _u_, _i_. According to the Academy rules, followed by most grammarians, there can be no diphthongization of twostrong vowels in the proper pronunciation of prose; only when a strongunites with a weak or two weaks unite can diphthongization take place. In verse, on the other hand, diphthongization of two strong vowels isnot only allowable but common. This would probably not be the case ifthe same thing did not have considerable justification in colloquialpractice. As a matter of fact we frequently hear _ahora_ pronounced_áora_ with diphthongization and shift of stress. 

Of the three strong vowels, _a_ is "dominant" over _o_ and _e_; _o_ isdominant over _e_; and any one of the three is dominant over _u_ or _i_. A dominant vowel is one which has the power of attracting to itself thestress which, except for diphthongization, would fall on the othervowel with which it unites. The vowel losing the stress is called the"absorbed" vowel. This principle, which we find exemplified in theearliest poetic monuments of the language, must be thoroughly understoodby the student of modern Spanish verse. 

SYNERESIS

Syneresis is the uniting of two or three vowels, each of which isordinarily possessed of full syllabic value, into a diphthong or atriphthong, thereby reducing the number of syllables in the word; _h_does not interfere with syneresis. Thus, _aérea_ is normally a word offour syllables. In this verse it counts as three. 

 Mística y aérea dudosa visión (12)

(The numbers in parentheses indicate the syllables in the verse. Remember that the figure represents the theoretical number of syllablesin the line, and indicates the actual number only in the case ofthe _verso llano_. Furthermore, the figure has been determined by acomparison with adjacent lines in the same stanzas, verses which offerno metrical difficulties. ) So likewise in:

 Y en aérea fantástica danza (10)

In the following we have double syneresis, and the word has but twosyllables:

 Aerea como dorada mariposa (11)

Examples of syneresis after the tonic stress:

 Rechinan girando las férreas veletas (12) Todos atropellándoos en montón (11) Palpa en torno de sí, y el impio jura (11)

_Impio_, usually _impío_, is one of a number of words admitting of twostresses. Such are called words of double accentuation. The principle isdifferent from that governing the stress-shift explained above. The wordhas its ordinary value in the following:

 «Bienvenida la luz, » dijo el impío (11)

Examples of syneresis before the tonic stress:

 Se siente con sus lágrimas ahogar (11) Tu pecho de roedor remordimiento (11) ¡Ay! El que la triste realidad palpó! (12) Toda la sangre coagulada envía (11) ¿Quién en su propia sangre los ahogó? (11) Tanto delirio a realizar alcanza (11) Ahogar me siento en infernal tortura (11)

Examples of syneresis under stress:

 El blanco ropaje que ondeante se ve (12) Las piedras con las piedras se golpearon (11) Ahora adelante?» Dijo, y en seguida (11)

In the first two examples there is no stress-shift. In the third, thestress travels from the _o_ of _Ahora_ to the initial _a_. In thefollowing example _ahora_ has three syllables:

 Será más tarde que ahora (8)

The rule regarding syneresis under stress is that it is allowable, withor without resulting stress-shift, except when the combinations _éa_, _éo_, _óa_, are involved. Espronceda violates the rule in this instance:

 Veame en vuestros brazos y máteme luego (12)

This is a peculiarly violent and harsh syneresis. The stress shifts fromthe first _e_ to the _a_, giving a pronunciation very different fromthat of the usual _véame_. Such a syneresis is more pardonable at thebeginning of a verse than in any other position; but good modern poetsstrive to avoid such harshnesses. Espronceda sometimes makes _río_monosyllabic:

 Los rios su curso natural reprimen (11)

In the poetry of the Middle Ages and Renaissance such pronunciations as_teniá_ for _tenía_ are common. 

DIERESIS

Dieresis is the breaking up of vowel-combinations in such a way asto form an additional syllable in the word. It is the opposite ofsyneresis. Dieresis never occurs in the case of the diphthongs _ie_ and_ue_ derived from Latin (e), and (o), in words like _tierra_, _bueno_, etc. _Uá_ and _uó_ are regularly dissyllabic except after _c_, _g_, and_j_. Examples:

 Y en su blanca luz süave (8) En la playa un adüar (8) En vez de desafïaros (8) Compañero eterno su dolor crüel (12) Grandïosa, satánica figura (11) El carïado, lívido esqueleto (11) La Luna en el mar rïela (8) Cólera, impetuoso torbellino (11) Horas de confianza y de delicias (11) En cárdenos matices cambiaban (11) Rüido de pasos de gente que viene (12)

The same word without dieresis:

 Por las losas deslízase sin ruido (11)

In certain words, such as _cruel_, metrical custom preserves apronunciation in which the adjacent vowels have separate syllabic value. Traditional grammar, represented by the Academy, asserts that such isthe correct pronunciation of these words to this day; but the actualspeech of the best speakers diphthongizes these vowels, and theirseparation in poetry must rank as a dieresis. In printing poetry it iscustomary to print the mark of dieresis on many words in which dieresisis regular as well as on those in which it is exceptional. 

SYNALEPHA

Synalepha is the combining into one syllable of two or more adjacentvowels or diphthongs of different words. It is the same phenomenonas syneresis extended beyond the single word. _H_ does not preventsynalepha. The number of synalephas possible in a single verse istheoretically limited only by the number of syllables in that verse. Asimple instance:

 De alguna arruinada iglesia (8)

The number of vowels entering into a synalepha is commonly two or three;rarely four, and, by a _tour de force_, even five:

 Ni envidio a Eudoxia ni codicio a Eulalia (11)

Synalepha is not prevented by any mark of punctuation separating thetwo words nor by the caesural pause (see below). In dramatic verse asynalepha may even be divided between two speakers. In the short linesof "El Mendigo, " Espronceda mingles four- with five-syllable verses. But as the five-syllable verses begin with vowels and the precedingfour-syllable verses end with vowels, the former sound no longer thanthe rest. In very short lines synalepha may occur between one verseand another following it. See also line 1389 of "El Estudiante deSalamanca. "

1. The simplest case is where both vowels entering into synalepha occurin unstressed syllables:

 Informes, en que se escuchan (8)

When the two vowels coming together are identical, as here, they fuseinto a single sound (_s'escuchan_), with only a slight gain in thequantity of the vowel. _Se_ here has no individual accent in thestress-group. Where the vowels in synalepha are different, each issounded, but the stronger or more dominant is the one more distinctlyheard:

 Vagar, y aúllan los perros (8)

2. The second case is where the vowel or diphthong ending the first wordin the synalepha bears the stress, and the initial vowel or diphthongof the second word is unstressed. Examples which do not involvestress-shift:

 Del que mató en desafío (8) Que no he seguido a una dama (8)

(_He_ is without stress in the group. )

 JUGADOR PRIMERO No tardará. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO Envido. 

 JUGADOR PRIMERO Quiero. (8)

In the following examples stress-shift occurs, because the unstressedvowel is dominant while the stressed vowel is absorbed. Suchstress-shifts as these are sanctioned only when they do not coincidewith a strong rhythmic stress (see below) in the verse. They are lessoffensive at the beginning than at the end:

 Allí en la triste soledad se hallaron (11) Tú el aroma en las flores exhalas (10) Al punto aquí castigaré al medroso (11)

The following are disagreeably harsh:

 Que estas torres llegué a ver (8) ¿De inciertos pesares por qué hacerla esclava (12)

3. The third case is where the second vowel or diphthong bears thestress, while the first is unstressed:

 Teñida de ópalo y grana (8)

In cases like these we are dealing with a form of synalepha which, if not true elision, approaches it closely. According to Benot, thepronunciation is not quite _d'ópalo_, but "there is an attempt atelision. " In other words, the second vowel or diphthong, if dominant, so predominates over the first that it is scarcely audible. Under thiscase, too, there may arise stress-shift:

 Se hizo el bigote, requirió la espada (11)

This is a very bad verse. But such instances are rare in Espronceda andgood modern poets. They are never sanctioned in connection with a strongrhythmic stress. In such a case hiatus (see below) is favored as thelesser of two evils. 

4. The fourth case is where each of the two vowels bears the stress:

 Así, ante nosotros pasa en ilusión (12)

What happens here is that one of the two stresses becomes subordinate tothe other, the stress being wholly assumed by the more dominant of thetwo. 

Where three or more vowels unite in a synalepha, two things must beborne in mind: (1) Stress-shift is not harsh to the Spanish ear, andis always permissible, if more than two vowels are involved. This isEspronceda's justification in the following:

 Si se murió, a lo hecho, pecho (8) Necesito ahora dinero (8) Su pecho ahogado (5)

(2) The vowels of three words may not combine if the middle word is y, e, he, o, or u. Examples:

 ¡Pues no ha hecho mal disparate! (8) Que conduce a esta mansión (8)But: Cuando en sueño | y en silencio (8) Si tal vez suena | o está (8) Alma fiera | e insolente (8)

There is one case in the text where _he_ as middle word does enter intosynalepha, but this is merely the fusion of three identical vowels:

 Yo me he echado el alma atrás (8)

HIATUS

Hiatus is the breaking up into two syllables of vowel combinations inadjacent words capable of entering into synalepha. It is an extension tothe word-group of dieresis, which applies only to a single word. 

Many authorities on Spanish versification recognize as hiatus variouscases which should not be so classified. In words like _yo, yerro, hierro, huevo_, etc. , the first phonetic element is in each case asemi-vowel, and these semi-vowels have the value of consonants in thewords cited. To classify the following as examples of hiatus is to bephonetically unsound:

 Perdida tengo | yo el alma (8) Ponzoñoso lago de punzante | hielo (12) Me he de quejar de este | yerro (8) Levantóse en su cóncavo | hueco (10) Cual témpanos de | hielo endurecidos (11) Tierno quejido que en el alma | hiere (11)

In none of these cases could there possibly be synalepha. Consequentlyby definition there can be no hiatus. 

Hiatus most frequently occurs to avoid the greater cacophony which wouldarise from stress-shift under case 3 of synalepha:

 Era la hora | en que acaso (8)

Lack of hiatus would here produce a stress-shift resulting in anunharmonious stressing of two successive syllables. 

 Reposaba, y tumba | era (8)

The same principle applies here as in the above, except that the effectwould be even worse, because the stress shift would come under therhythmic stress. (See below. )

 Su mejilla; es una | ola (8) (Ditto. ) ¡Pobres flores de tu | alma! (8)

Probably to give the pronominal adjective greater emphasis. 

 Y huyó su | alma a la mansión dichosa (11)

Probably to avoid two successive stresses, though possibly there may bedieresis in _mansión_. 

 Don Félix, a buena | hora (8)

Again to avoid stress-shift under the rhythmic stress. 

 ¡El as! ¡el as! aquí está (8) Y si Dios aquí os envia (8)

In these two examples instead of hiatus there is synalepha withstress-shift, but we have to do with case 2 of synalepha, not case 3. 

 Que un alma, una vida, | es (8) Cuando | hacia él fatídica figura (11) Y el otro ¡Dios santo! y el otro era | él! (12) ¡Villano! mas esto | es (8) En cada | hijo a contemplar un rey (11)

In some instances hiatus seems to occur for no other reason than topreserve the verse-measure:

 Resonando cual lúgubre | eco (10) Y palacios de | oro y de cristal (11) ¡Y tú feliz, que | hallaste en la muerte (11)

In general hiatus is most likely to occur before the principal rhythmicstress in a verse; that is, before the final stress. 

RHYTHM, RHYTHMIC STRESS, THE CAESURAL PAUSE

In English poetry the foot, rather than the syllable, is the unit. Thenumber of feet to a verse is fixed, but the number of syllables varies. In Spanish poetry the number of syllables to a verse is fixed, subjectonly to the laws of syllable-counting given above. But if in thisrespect the Spanish poet has less freedom than the English versifier, hehas infinitely greater liberty in the arrangement of his rhythms. Thesing-song monotony of regularly recurring beats is intolerable to Latinears. The greater flexibility of Spanish rhythm can best be shown byillustrations:

 The Assy'rian came do'wn like the wo'lf on the fo'ld, And his co'horts were gle'aming in pu'rple and go'ld; And the she'en of their spe'ars was like sta'rs on the se'a, When the blu'e wave rolls ni'ghtly on de'ep Galile'e. 

Having chosen to write this poem in the anapestic tetrameter, Byronnever varies the rhythm except to substitute an occasional iambic at thebeginning of a verse:

 And the're lay the ste'ed with his no'stril all wi'de. 

Notice how much more freely Espronceda handles this meter in Spanish:

 Su fo'rma galla'rda dibu'ja en las so'mbras El bla'nco ropaj'e que ondea'nte se ve', Y cua'l si pisa'ra mulli'das alfo'mbras, Deslí'zase le've sin rui'do su pie'. 

 Tal vi'mos al ra'yo de la lu'na lle'na Fugiti'va ve'la de le'jos cruza'r Que ya' la' hinche en po'pa la bri'sa sere'na, Que ya' la confu'nde la espu'ma del ma'r. 

The first of these stanzas has the true Byronic swing. But note howfreely the rhythm is handled in the second. Spanish rhythm is soflexible and free that little practical advantage is gained by countingfeet. We distinguish only two sorts of verse-measure, the binary, wherein general there is stress on one syllable out of two--that is thereare trochees (__' __) or iambics (__ __') in the verse, or the twointermingled--and second the ternary measure, where one of a group ofthree syllables receives the stress. Such a verse is made up of dactyls(__' __ __), anapests (__ __ __'), or amphibrachs (__ __' __), or somecombination of these. Of course, a three-syllable foot is often found inbinary verse, and, _vice versa_ a two-syllable foot in ternary measure. By binary verse we mean only a form of verse in which the twofoldmeasure predominates, and by ternary one in which the threefold measurepredominates. The extract last quoted is an example of ternary verse. The following will serve as a specimen of the binary movement:

 En de'rredo'r de u'na me'sa Ha'sta se'is ho'mbres está'n, Fi'ja la vi'sta' en los na'ipes, Mie'ntras jue'gan a'l para'r;

Every word in Spanish has its individual word-accent: _habí'a, habla'do_. Now if we join these two words in a phrase, _habí'ahabla'do_, we note that while each of the words still retains itsindividual word-accent, _hablado_ is more strongly stressed than_había_. In addition to its word-accent _hablado_ bears what we terma phrase-accent. In any line of verse some of the word-stresses arestronger than others, and these stronger stresses are termed rhythmicstresses. They correspond to the phrase-stresses of prose. The principalrhythmic stress is the last stress of the line. In general the rhythmicstress must coincide with a word-stress. It always does except wherestress-shift comes into play. We have already seen that a stress-shiftcoinciding with the rhythmic stress is intolerable, and hiatus ispreferred. It is very unharmonious for two stresses to fall together atthe end of a verse:

 Que estas torres llegué a ver (8)

This is a very bad verse, because _a_ is dominant over _é_ and bringsabout stress-shift, and the two consecutive syllables _a_ and _ver_ areboth stressed. The result is unharmonious. A syllable bearing stress andstanding immediately before the final stress is called an obstructingsyllable (_una sílaba obstruccionista_). Every effort is made by a goodpoet to avoid such a cacophony. The above is a good example of one. Ihave emended llegué to _llegue_ in the text. 

A short verse can easily be spoken without pause, but above tensyllables it becomes necessary for the reader to rest somewhere withinthe line. The resting-place is called the caesural pause. The longer theverse, the greater its importance. It does not prevent synalepha. Thestress immediately before the caesura must be the second most importantrhythmic stress of the verse. 

RIME AND ASSONANCE

The regularity of the beats in English verse is of itself sufficient toindicate when a line of poetry is ended, even though there be no rime tomark that end. Hence blank verse has been highly developed by Englishpoets, and many, like Milton, have held it to be the noblest form ofverse. Blank verse is impossible in French, because French with its lackof verbal stress has no other device than rime to mark the end of averse. Without rime French blank verse would be indistinguishable fromrhythmic prose. In Spanish the stress is not so heavy as in the Germaniclanguages, but, on the other hand, is much stronger than in French. Spanish blank verse is not unknown, but has never been cultivated withgreat success. It is evident that in this language too, lacking as itdoes regular rhythm in its versification, rime is much more necessarythan in English. However, an occasional _verso suelto_, or blank verse, intermingled with rimed ones, is very common. 

Two words rime with one another when there is identity of sound betweenthe last stressed vowels and between any letters which may follow thesevowels. Rime is masculine (in Spanish _rima aguda_) when the lastsyllables bear the stress: _mal_--_cristal_; or feminine when anunstressed vowel follows the stressed one (in Spanish _rima llana_):_hermosura_--_locura_. Inasmuch as _b_ and _v_ represent the same sound, they rime. The weak vowel of a diphthong is ignored for riming purposes;thus _vuelo_ rimes with _cielo_. Good poets avoid obvious or easyrimes such as those yielded by flexional endings and suffixes. It ispermissible to rime two identically-spelled words if they are in factdifferent words in meaning: _ven_ (they see) rimes with _vén_ (come). 

Assonance is the identity of sound of two or more stressed vowels andthe final following vowels, if there are any. In case consonants standafter the stressed vowel they are disregarded. 

Assonance is of two sorts: single assonance (_asonante agudo_), _están_--_va_--_parar_--_jamás_, etc. ; and double assonance (_asonantellano_), _cuentan_--_tierra_--_dejan _or _coronada_--_gasa_--_baña_. Inassonanced verse the assonanced words end the even lines. The odd areusually blank, though sometimes rimed. A _voz aguda_ cannot assonatewith a _voz llana_, but there is no objection to the introduction of_voces esdrújulas_ into _asonante llano_. In this case only the stressedand the final vowels of the _esdrújula_ are counted; for example, _América_ assonances with _crea_. When diphthongs enter into assonance, the weak vowel is ignored: _pleita_ assonances with _pliega_. 

Assonance is not unknown in English, especially in popular or folkverse; but we generally regard it as a faulty rime. Thus in the Britishnational anthem we read:

 Send him victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the king!

"Over us" plainly assonates, rather than rimes, with "glorious, " butthis is dangerously close to doggerel. Assonance is unsuited to thegenius of any language possessed of a rich vowel-system. This is evidentto any one who has read Archbishop Trench's attempt to render Calderon'sverse into English assonance. 

STROPHES

I shall not attempt to list the innumerable verse-forms to be found inSpanish poetry, but shall only indicate the forms used by Espronceda inthe selections contained in this volume. Some of these are fixed andconventional, and others are of his own contrivance. Spanish uses theterms _estrofa_ and _copla_ to designate an arrangement of verses in astanza. _Copla_ must not be confused with English "couplet. " These aregeneral terms; most verse-forms are designated by special names. Thefollowing verse-forms are found in the selections contained in thisbook:

"EL ESTUDIANTE DE SALAMANCA"

Lines 1-40. Ballad meter or _verso de romance_ (8 syllables) withassonance in _é_-_a_. 

Lines 41-48. _Verso de romance_ with assonance in _ó_. 

Lines 49-63. Irregular 3-syllable meter with assonance in _ó_ occurringirregularly; lines 53 and 55 rime, and 59 and 61 assonate in _é-a_. 

Lines 64-75. _Verso de romance_ with assonance in _ó_. 

Lines 76-99. Quatrains or _cuartetas_ of 12-syllable verse; rime-scheme_abab_ (this arrangement of the rime is called _rima cruzada_);alternation of masculine and feminine rime. 

Lines 100-139. _Octavillas italianas_ (8-syllable verse); lines 2 and3, 6 and 7, 4 and 8 rime; lines 1 and 5 either assonate or are blank(_sueltos_). 

Lines 140-179. _Octavas reales_ (11-syllable verse); rime-scheme_abababcc_; the rimes must be feminine. 

Lines 180-257. _Verso de romance_, printed in the form of _cuartetas_;assonance in _á-a_. 

Lines 258-302. _Quintillas_ (8-syllable verse); the rime-scheme varies;the rule is that there shall be two rimes to a _quintilla_, and the samerime must not occur in three consecutive verses. 

Lines 303-330. _Cuartetas_ (11-syllable verse); rime-scheme _abab_;occasionally assonance replaces rime in the even verses. 

Lines 331-338. _Octava real_. 

Lines 339-370. _Cuartetas_ (11-syllable verse). 

Lines 371-418. _Octavas reales_. 

Lines 419-434. _Cuartetas_ (11-syllable verse). 

Lines 435-454. _Verso de romance_, printed as _cuartetas_; assonance in_á_. 

Lines 455-558. _Redondillas_ (8-syllable verse); rime-scheme _abba_;this arrangement of rimes is called _versos pareados en el centro_. 

Lines 559-578. _Cuartetas_ (11-syllable verse); _rima cruzada_. 

Lines 579-590. _Redondillas_. 

Lines 591-600. _Décima_ (8-syllable verse); rime-scheme _abbaaccddc_. 

Lines 601-692. _Redondillas_. 

Lines 693-792. _Cuartetas_ (12-syllable verse); odd verses rime; theeven either form a masculine rime or are in assonance. 

Lines 793-820. _Cuartetas_ (8-syllable verse); the rime-scheme varies:some _coplas_ are _redondillas_; others have the crossed rime. 

Lines 821-884. _Cuartetas_ of 12-syllable verse resumed; samerime-scheme as above. 

Lines 885-894. _Quintillas_ (8-syllable verse); rime-scheme _abaab_. 

Lines 895-910. _Cuartetas_ (11-syllable verse); rime-scheme either_abba_ or _abab_. 

Lines 911-938. _Cuartetas_ of 12-syllable verse; rime-scheme _abab_;even verses form either a masculine rime or assonance. 

Lines 939-942. _Cuarteta_ (11-syllable verse); even verses in assonance;the odd verses rime. 

Lines 943-961. Irregular meter (6-syllable verse); a mixture of rime, assonance, and blank verse. 

Lines 962-1033. _Verso de romance_; assonance in _á_. 

Lines 1034-1063. _Quintillas_. 

Lines 1064-1115. _Cuartetas_ (12-syllable verse); rime in the oddverses; assonance or masculine rime in the even. 

Lines 1116-1145. _Quintillas_. 

Lines 1146-1149. _Cuarteta_ (11-syllable verse); rime-scheme _abab_. 

Lines 1150-1164. _Quintillas_. 

Lines 1165-1196. _Cuartetas_ (11-syllable verse); rime-scheme _abab_;feminine rime. 

Lines 1197-1364. _Octavas reales_. 

Lines 1365-1384. _Quintillas_. 

Lines 1385-1390. Irregular blending of 2-and 3-syllable meter; assonanceand rime; the _crescendo_ effect begins here. 

Lines 1391-1399. Irregular 4-syllable meter; assonance and rime. 

Lines 1400-1412. Irregular 5-syllable meter; assonance, rime, and blankverse. 

Lines 1413-1439. Irregular 6-syllable meter; assonance, rime, blankverse. 

Lines 1440-1447. Irregular 7-syllable meter; assonance, rime, blankverse. 

Lines 1448-1469. _Verso de romance_; assonance in _é-o_. 

Lines 1470-1485. Irregular 9-syllable meter; assonance in _ó_. 

Lines 1486-1501. _Cuartetas_ (10-syllable verse); rime-scheme _abab_;even verses assonate or form a masculine rime. 

Lines 1502-1521. _Cuartetas_ (11-syllable verse); rime-scheme _abab_;even verses assonate or form a masculine rime. 

Lines 1522-1553. _Cuartetas_ (12-syllable verse); rime-scheme _abab_;even verses assonate or form a masculine rime; the _crescendo_ is now atits height. 

Lines 1554-1569. _Octavillas italianas_ (11-syllable verse); see abovefor description of this verse form. 

Lines 1570-1585. _Octavillas italianas_ (10-syllable verse). 

Lines 1586-1601. _Octavillas italianas_ (9-syllable verse). 

Lines 1602-1617. _Octavillas italianas_ (8-syllable verse). 

Lines 1618-1633. _Octavillas italianas_ (7-syllable verse). 

Lines 1634-1649. _Octavillas italianas_ (6-syllable verse). 

Lines 1650-1661. An irregular 12-verse stanza of 5-syllable verse inwhich verses 3 and 4, 8 and 9 rime as couplets; 6 and 12 also rime;the other verses are blank. 

Lines 1662-1669. Variant of the _octavilla italiana_; 4-syllable verse;verse 6 is blank instead of 5. 

Lines 1670-1677. _Octavilla italiana_; 3-syllable verse; rime-schemenormal. 

Lines 1678-1680. Irregular meter of 2-syllable verse; rime and blank;the _diminuendo_ effect ends here. 

Lines 1681-1704. _Octavas reales_. 

"CANCIÓN DEL PIRATA"

Lines 1-16. _Octavillas italianas_ (8-syllable verse). 

Lines 17-22. _Sextina_ (8-syllable verse, except that verse 2 is a_verso quebrado_ or "broken verse" of 4 syllables). The _sextina_admits of the greatest variety of form; those in this poem are all ofthe same pattern; rime-scheme _abaccb_. 

Lines 23-30. _Octavilla italiana_ (4-syllable verse). 

Lines 31-34. _Cuarteta_ (8-syllable verse); verses 1 and 3 are blank;2 and 4 assonate. 

Lines 35-40. _Sextina_. 

Lines 41-48. _Octavilla italiana_, same as above. 

Lines 50-55. _Sextina_. 

Lines 56-63. _Octavilla italiana_. 

Lines 65-70. _Sextina_. 

Lines 71-78. _Octavilla italiana_. 

Lines 80-85. _Sextina_. 

Lines 86-93. _Octavilla italiana_. 

Lines 94-97. _Cuarteta_. 

"EL CANTO DEL COSACO"

This poem is written in _cuartetas_ of 11-syllable verse with _rimacruzada_. Verses 1 and 3 rime and 2 and 4 assonate, except in therefrain, where 1 and 3 are blank. 

"EL MENDIGO"

Lines 1-4. _Cuarteta_ (11-syllable verse); verses 1 and 3 are blank;2 and 4 assonate. 

Lines 5-10. _Sextina_ (8-syllable verse, except 2, the _versoquebrado_, which has 4 syllables); rime-scheme _abcaac_; the _versoquebrado_ is blank. 

Lines 11-28. Irregular 4-syllable meter; a wholly irregulararrangement of rime, assonance, and blank verse. 

Lines 29-32. Irregular _cuarteta_ of two 8-syllable verses followed bytwo of 11; verses 1 and 3 are blank; 2 and 4 assonate. 

Lines 34-39. _Sextina_, same as above. 

Lines 40-57. Irregular 4-syllable meter, same as above. 

Lines 58-61. _Cuarteta_, same as the irregular one above. 

Lines 63-68. _Sextina_, same as above. 

Lines 69-88. Irregular 4-syllable meter, same as above. 

Lines 89-92. _Cuarteta_, same as the irregular ones above. 

Lines 94-99. _Sextina_, same as above. 

Lines 100-117. Irregular 4-syllable meter, same as above. 

Lines 118-121. _Cuarteta_, same as the irregular ones above. 

Lines 122-125. _Cuarteta_, like the normal one above. 

"SONETO"

Lines 1-14. Sonnet. 11-syllable verse. Rime-scheme _abba, abba, cde, cde_. 

"A TERESA. DESCANSA EN PAZ"

Written throughout in _octavas reales_ (11-syllable verse); rime-scheme_abababcc_. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

For a fuller treatment of Spanish prosody the student may profitablyconsult the following works:

BENOT. "Prosodía Castellana y Versificación, " 3 vols. , Madrid, no date. 

ROBLES DÉGANO. "Ortología Clásica de la Lengua Castellana, " Madrid, 1905. 

BELLO. "Ortología y Arte Métrica" (Vol. 4 of "Obras Completas"), Madrid, 1890. 

For more or less summary treatments of the subject the American studentmay profitably consult:

OLMSTED. "Legends, Tales, and Poems by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer" (Ginn andCompany). 

FORD. "A Spanish Anthology" (Silver, Burdett and Company). 

HILLS and MORLEY. "Modern Spanish Lyrics" (Henry Holt and Company). 

"EL ESTUDIANTE DE SALAMANCA"AND OTHER SELECTIONSFROM ESPRONCEDA

 CUENTO. 

 EL ESTUDIANTE DE SALAMANCA

 PARTE PRIMERA

 Sus fueros, sus bríos; sus premáticas, su voluntad. --"Quijote, " Parte Primera

 Era más de media noche, Antiguas historias cuentan, Cuando, en sueño y en silencio Lóbrego envuelta la tierra, Los vivos muertos parecen, [5] Los muertos la tumba dejan. Era la hora en que acaso Temerosas voces suenan Informes, en que se escuchan Tácitas pisadas huecas, [10] Y pavorosas fantasmas Entre las densas tinieblas Vagan, y aúllan los perros Amedrentados al verlas; En que tal vez la campana [15] De alguna arruinada iglesia Da misteriosos sonidos De maldición y anatema, Que los sábados convoca A las brujas a su fiesta. [20] El cielo estaba sombrío, No vislumbraba una estrella, Silbaba lúgubre el viento, Y allá en el aire, cual negras Fantasmas, se dibujaban [25] Las torres de las iglesias, Y del gótico castillo Las altísimas almenas, Donde canta o reza acaso Temeroso el centinela [30] Todo en fin a media noche Reposaba, y tumba era De sus dormidos vivientes La antigua ciudad que riega El Tormes, fecundo río, [35] Nombrado de los poetas, La famosa Salamanca, Insigne en armas y letras, Patria de ilustres varones, Noble archivo de las ciencias. [40] Súbito rumor de espadas Cruje, y un «¡ay!» se escuchó; Un «¡ay!» moribundo, un «¡ay!» Que penetra el corazón, Que hasta los tuétanos hiela [45] Y da al que lo oyó temblor; Un «¡ay!» de alguno que al mundo Pronuncia el último adiós. 

 El ruido Cesó, [50] Un hombre Pasó Embozado, Y el sombrero Recatado [55] A los ojos Se caló. Se desliza Y atraviesa Junto al muro [60] De una iglesia, Y en la sombra Se perdió. 

 Una calle estrecha y alta, La calle del Ataúd, [65] Cual si de negro crespón Lóbrego eterno capuz La vistiera, siempre oscura Y de noche sin más luz Que la lámpara que alumbra [70] Una imagen de Jesús, Atraviesa el embozado, La espada en la mano aún, Que lanzó vivo reflejo Al pasar frente a la cruz. [75]

 Cual suele la luna tras lóbrega nube Con franjas de plata bordarla en redor, Y luego si el viento la agita, la sube Disuelta a los aires en blanco vapor, Así vaga sombra de luz y de nieblas, [80] Mística y aérea dudosa visión, Ya brilla, o la esconden las densas tinieblas, Cual dulce esperanza, cual vana ilusión. 

 La calle sombría, la noche ya entrada, La lámpara triste ya pronta a espirar, [85] Que a veces alumbra la imagen sagrada, Y a veces se esconde la sombra a aumentar, El vago fantasma que acaso aparece, Y acaso se acerca con rápido pie, Y acaso en las sombras tal vez desparece, [90] Cual ánima en pena del hombre que fué, Al más temerario corazón de acero Recelo inspirara, pusiera pavor; Al más maldiciente feroz bandolero El rezo a los labios trajera el temor. [95]

 Mas no al embozado, que aun sangre su espada Destila, el fantasma terror infundió, Y el arma en la mano con fuerza empuñada, Osado a su encuentro despacio avanzó. 

 Segundo Don Juan Tenorio, [100] Alma fiera e insolente, Irreligioso y valiente, Altanero y reñidor: Siempre el insulto en los ojos, En los labios la ironía, [105] Nada teme y todo fía De su espada y su valor. 

 Corazón gastado, mofa De la mujer que corteja, Y hoy, despreciándola, deja [110] La que ayer se le rindió. Ni el porvenir temió nunca, Ni recuerda en lo pasado La mujer que ha abandonado, Ni el dinero que perdió. [115]

 Ni vió el fantasma entre sueños Del que mató en desafío, Ni turbó jamás su brío Recelosa previsión. Siempre en lances y en amores, [120] Siempre en báquicas orgías, Mezcla en palabras impías Un chiste a una maldición. 

 En Salamanca famoso Por su vida y buen talante, [125] Al atrevido estudiante Le señalan entre mil; Fueros le da su osadía, Le disculpa su riqueza, Su generosa nobleza, [130] Su hermosura varonil. 

 Que su arrogancia y sus vicios, Caballeresca apostura, Agilidad y bravura Ninguno alcanza a igualar; [135] Que hasta en sus crímenes mismos, En su impiedad y altiveza, Pone un sello de grandeza Don Félix de Montemar. 

 Bella y más pura que el azul del cielo, [140] Con dulces ojos lánguidos y hermosos, Donde acaso el amor brilló entre el velo Del pudor que los cubre candorosos; Tímida estrella que refleja al suelo Rayos de luz brillantes y dudosos, [145] Ángel puro de amor que amor inspira, Fué la inocente y desdichada Elvira. 

 Elvira, amor del estudiante un día, Tierna y feliz y de su amante ufana, Cuando al placer su corazón se abría, [150] Como al rayo del sol rosa temprana, Del fingido amador que la mentía La miel falaz que de sus labios mana Bebe en su ardiente sed, el pecho ajeno De que oculto en la miel hierve el veneno. [155]

 Que no descansa de su madre en brazos Más descuidado el candoroso infante Que ella en los falsos lisonjeros lazos Que teje astuto el seductor amante: Dulces caricias, lánguidos abrazos, [160] Placeres ¡ay! que duran un instante, Que habrán de ser eternos imagina La triste Elvira en su ilusión divina. 

 Que el alma virgen que halagó un encanto Con nacarado sueño en su pureza [165] Todo lo juzga verdadero y santo, Presta a todo virtud, presta belleza. Del cielo azul al tachonado manto, Del sol radiante a la inmortal riqueza, Al aire, al campo, a las fragantes flores, [170] Ella añade esplendor, vida y colores. 

 Cifró en Don Félix la infeliz doncella Toda su dicha, de su amor perdida; Fueron sus ojos a los ojos de ella Astros de gloria, manantial de vida. [175] Cuando sus labios con sus labios sella, Cuando su voz escucha embebecida, Embriagada del dios que la enamora, Dulce le mira, extática le adora. 

 PARTE SEGUNDA

 No dirge except the hollow sea's Mourns o'er the beauty of the Cyclades. BYRON, "Don Juan, " Canto 4

 Está la noche serena [180] De luceros coronada, Terso el azul de los cielos Como trasparente gasa. 

 Melancólica la luna Va trasmontando la espalda [185] Del otero, su alba frente Tímida apenas levanta, Y el horizonte ilumina, Pura virgen solitaria, Y en su blanca luz süave [190] El cielo y la tierra baña. 

 Deslízase el arroyuelo. Fúlgida cinta de plata, Al resplandor de la luna, Entre franjas de esmeralda. [195]

 Argentadas chispas brillan Entre las espesas ramas, Y en el seno de las flores Tal vez aduermen las auras, Tal vez despiertas susurran, [200] Y al desplegarse sus alas Mecen el blanco azahar, Mueven la aromosa acacia, Y agitan ramas y flores, Y en perfumes se embalsaman. [205] Tal era pura esta noche Como aquélla en que sus alas

 Los ángeles desplegaron Sobre la primera llama Que amor encendió en el mundo, [210] Del Edén en la morada. 

 ¡Una mujer! ¿Es acaso Blanca silfa solitaria, Que entre el rayo de la luna Tal vez misteriosa vaga? [215]

 Blanco es su vestido, ondea Suelto el cabello a la espalda, Hoja tras hoja las flores Que lleva en su mano arranca. 

 Es su paso incierto y tardo, [220] Inquietas son sus miradas, Mágico ensueño parece Que halaga engañosa el alma. 

 Ora, vedla, mira al cielo, Ora suspira, y se pára; [225] Una lágrima sus ojos Brotan acaso y abrasa

 Su mejilla; es una ola Del mar que en fiera borrasca El viento de las pasiones [230] Ha alborotado en su alma. 

 Tal vez se sienta, tal vez Azorada se levanta; El jardín recorre ansiosa, Tal vez a escuchar se pára. [235]

 Es el susurro del viento, Es el murmullo del agua, No es su voz, no es el sonido Melancólico del arpa. 

 Son ilusiones que fueron: [240] Recuerdos ¡ay! que te engañan, Sombras del bien que pasó. . . . Ya te olvidó el que tú amas. 

 Esa noche y esa luna Las mismas son que miraran [245] Indiferentes tu dicha, Cual ora ven tu desgracia. 

 ¡Ah! llora, sí, ¡pobre Elvira! ¡Triste amante abandonada! Esas hojas de esas flores [250] Que distraída tú arrancas, ¿Sabes adónde, infeliz, El viento las arrebata? Donde fueron tus amores, Tu ilusión y tu esperanza. [255]

 Deshojadas y marchitas, ¡Pobres flores de tu alma! Blanca nube de la aurora, Teñida de ópalo y grana, Naciente luz te colora, [260] Refulgente precursora De la cándida mañana. Mas ¡ay! que se disipó

 Tu pureza virginal, Tu encanto el aire llevó [265] Cual la ventura ideal Que el amor te prometió. 

 Hojas del árbol caídas Juguete del viento son; Las ilusiones perdidas [270] ¡Ay! son hojas desprendidas Del árbol del corazón!

 ¡El corazón sin amor! Triste páramo cubierto Con la lava del dolor, [275] Oscuro, inmenso desierto Donde no nace una flor!

 Distante un bosque sombrío, El sol cayendo en la mar, En la playa un adüar, [280] Y a lo lejos un navío, Viento en popa navegar, Óptico vidrio presenta En fantástica ilusión, Y al ojo encantado ostenta [285] Gratas visiones que aumenta Rica la imaginación. 

 Tú eres, mujer, un fanal Trasparente de hermosura; ¡Ay de ti! si por tu mal [290] Rompe el hombre en su locura Tu misterioso cristal!

 Mas ¡ay! dichosa tú, Elvira, En tu misma desventura, Que aun deleites te procura, [295] Cuando tu pecho suspira, Tu misteriosa locura:

 Que es la razón un tormento, Y vale más delirar Sin juicio, que el sentimiento [300] Cuerdamente analizar, Fijo en él el pensamiento. 

 Vedla, allí va, que sueña en su locura Presente el bien que para siempre huyó; Dulces palabras con amor murmura, [305] Piensa que escucha al pérfido que amó. 

 Vedla, postrada su piedad implora Cual si presente le mirara allí; Vedla, que sola se contempla y llora, Miradla delirante sonreír. [310]

 Y su frente en revuelto remolino Ha enturbiado su loco pensamiento, Como nublo que en negro torbellino Encubre el cielo y amontona el viento;

 Y vedla cuidadosa escoger flores, [315] Y las lleva mezcladas en la falda, Y, corona nupcial de sus amores, Se entretiene en tejer una guirnalda. 

 Y en medio de su dulce desvarío Triste recuerdo el alma le importuna, [320] Y al margen va del argentado río, Y allí las flores echa de una en una;

 Y las sigue su vista en la corriente Una tras otra rápidas pasar, Y, confusos sus ojos y su mente, [325] Se siente con sus lágrimas ahogar;

 Y de amor canta, y en su tierna queja Entona melancólica canción, Canción que el alma desgarrada deja, Lamento ¡ay! que llaga el corazón: [330]

 «¿Qué me valen tu calma y tu terneza, Tranquila noche, solitaria luna, Si no calmáis del hado la crudeza, Ni me dais esperanza de fortuna?

 ¿Qué me valen la gracia y la belleza, [335] Y amar como jamás amó ninguna, Si la pasión que el alma me devora, La desconoce aquél que me enamora?»

 Lágrimas interrumpen su lamento, Inclina sobre el pecho su semblante, [340] Y de ella en derredor susurra el viento Sus últimas palabras, sollozante. 

 Murió de amor la desdichada Elvira, Cándida rosa que agostó el dolor, Süave aroma que el viajero aspira [345] Y en sus alas el aura arrebató. 

 Vaso de bendición, ricos colores Reflejó en su cristal la luz del día, Mas la tierra empañó sus resplandores, Y el hombre lo rompió con mano impía. [350]

 Una ilusión acarició su mente, Alma celeste para amar nacida, Era el amor de su vivir la fuente, Estaba junta a su ilusión su vida. 

 Amada del Señor, flor venturosa, [355] Llena de amor murió y de juventud; Despertó alegre una alborada hermosa, Y a la tarde durmió en el ataúd. 

 Mas despertó también de su locura Al término postrero de su vida, [360] Y al abrirse a sus pies la sepultura, Volvió a su mente la razón perdida. 

 ¡La razón fría! ¡la verdad amarga! ¡El bien pasado y el dolor presente!. . . ¡Ella feliz! ¡que de tan dura carga [365] Sintió el peso al morir únicamente!

 Y conociendo ya su fin cercano, Su mejilla una lágrima abrasó; Y así al infiel, con temblorosa mano, Moribunda su víctima escribió: [370]

 «Voy a morir: perdona si mi acento Vuela importuno a molestar tu oído; Él es, Don Félix, el postrer lamento De la mujer que tanto te ha querido. La mano helada de la muerte siento. . . . [375] Adiós: ni amor ni compasión te pido. . . . Oye y perdona si al dejar el mundo, Arranca un ¡ay! su angustia al moribundo. 

 «¡Ah! para siempre adiós. Por ti mi vida Dichosa un tiempo resbalar sentí, [380] Y la palabra de tu boca oída Éxtasis celestial fué para mí. Mi mente aun goza en la ilusión querida Que para siempre ¡mísera! perdí. . . . ¡Ya todo huyó, despareció contigo! [385] ¡Dulces horas de amor, yo las bendigo!

 «Yo las bendigo, sí, felices horas, Presentes siempre en la memoria mía, Imágenes de amor encantadoras Que aun vienen a halagarme en mi agonía. [390] Mas ¡ay! volad, huíd, engañadoras Sombras, por siempre; mi postrero día Ha llegado, perdón, perdón, ¡Dios mío! Si aun gozo en recordar mi desvarío. 

 «Y tú, Don Félix, si te causa enojos [395] Que te recuerde yo mi desventura, Piensa están hartos de llorar mis ojos Lágrimas silenciosas de amargura. Y hoy, al tragar la tumba mis despojos, Concede este consuelo a mi tristura: [400] Estos renglones compasivo mira, Y olvida luego para siempre a Elvira. 

 «Y jamás turbe mi infeliz memoria Con amargos recuerdos tus placeres; Goces te dé el vivir, triunfos la gloria, [405] Dichas el mundo, amor otras mujeres; Y si tal vez mi lamentable historia A tu memoria con dolor trajeres, Llórame, sí; pero palpite exento Tu pecho de roedor remordimiento. [410]

 «Adiós, por siempre, adiós: un breve instante Siento de vida, y en mi pecho el fuego Aun arde de mi amor; mi vista errante Vaga desvanecida . . . ¡calma luego, Oh muerte, mi inquietud!. . . ¡Sola . . . Espirante!. . . [415] Ámame; no, perdona; ¡inútil ruego! Adiós, adiós, ¡tu corazón perdí --¡Todo acabó en el mundo para mí!»

 Así escribió su triste despedida Momentos antes de morir, y al pecho [420] Se estrechó de su madre dolorida, Que en tanto inunda en lágrimas su lecho. 

 Y exhaló luego su postrer aliento, Y a su madre sus brazos se apretaron Con nervioso y convulso movimiento, [425] Y sus labios un nombre murmuraron. 

 Y huyó su alma a la mansión dichosa Do los ángeles moran. . . . Tristes flores Brota la tierra en torno de su losa; El céfiro lamenta sus amores. [430]

 Sobre ella un sauce su ramaje inclina, Sombra le presta en lánguido desmayo, Y allá en la tarde, cuando el sol declina, Baña su tumba en paz su último rayo. . . . 

 PARTE TERCERA

 CUADRO DRAMÁTICO

 SARGENTO ¿Tenéis más que parar? FRANCO Paro los ojos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Los ojos, sí, los ojos: que descreo Del que los hizo para tal empleo. MORETO, "San Franco de Sena"

 PERSONAS

 D. FÉLIX DE MONTEMAR D. DIEGO DE PASTRANA SEIS JUGADORES

 En derredor de una mesa [435] Hasta seis hombres están, Fija la vista en los naipes, Mientras juegan al parar;

 Y en sus semblantes se pintan El despecho y el afán: [440] Por perder desesperados, Avarientos por ganar. 

 Reina profundo silencio, Sin que lo rompa jamás Otro ruido que el del oro, [445] O una voz para jurar. 

 Pálida lámpara alumbra Con trémula claridad Negras de humo las paredes De aquella estancia infernal. [450]

 Y el misterioso bramido Se escucha del huracán, Que azota los vidrios frágiles Con sus alas al pasar. 

 ESCENA I

 JUGADOR PRIMERO El caballo aun no ha salido. [455]

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO ¿Qué carta vino?

 JUGADOR PRIMERO La sota. 

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO Pues por poco se alborota. 

 JUGADOR PRIMERO Un caudal llevo perdido. ¡Voto a Cristo!

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO No juréis, Que aun no estáis en la agonía. [460]

 JUGADOR PRIMERO No hay suerte como la mía. 

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO ¿Y como cuánto perdéis?

 JUGADOR PRIMERO Mil escudos y el dinero Que Don Félix me entregó. 

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO ¿Dónde anda?

 JUGADOR PRIMERO ¡Qué sé yo! [465] No tardará. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO Envido. 

 JUGADOR PRIMERO Quiero. 

 ESCENA II

 Galán de talle gentil, La mano izquierda apoyada En el pomo de la espada, Y el aspecto varonil, [470] Alta el ala del sombrero Porque descubra la frente, Con airoso continente Entró luego un caballero. 

 JUGADOR PRIMERO (_al que entra_) Don Félix, a buena hora [475] Habéis llegado. 

 D. FÉLIX

 ¿Perdisteis?

 JUGADOR PRIMERO El dinero que me disteis Y esta bolsa pecadora. 

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO Don Félix de Montemar Debe perder. El amor [480] Le negara su favor Cuando le viera ganar. 

 D. FÉLIX (_con desdén_) Necesito ahora dinero, Y estoy hastiado de amores. (_Al corro con altivez_) Dos mil ducados, señores, [485] Por esta cadena quiero. (_Quítase una cadena que lleva al pecho_. )

 JUGADOR TERCERO Alta ponéis la tarifa. 

 D. FÉLIX (_con altivez_) La pongo en lo que merece. Si otra duda se os ofrece, Decid. (_Al corro_) [490] Se vende y se rifa. 

 JUGADOR CUARTO (_aparte_) ¿Y hay quien sufra tal afrenta?

 D. FÉLIX Entre cinco están hallados. A cuatrocientos ducados Os toca, según mi cuenta. Al as de oros. Allá va. [495] (_Va echando cartas que toman los jugadores en silencio_. ) Una, dos . . . (_Al perdidoso_) Con vos no cuento. 

 JUGADOR PRIMERO Por el motivo lo siento. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO ¡El as! ¡el as! aquí está. 

 JUGADOR PRIMERO Ya ganó. 

 D. FÉLIX Suerte tenéis. A un solo golpe de dados [500] Tiro los dos mil ducados. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO ¿En un golpe?

 JUGADOR PRIMERO (_a Don Félix_) Los perdéis. 

 D. FÉLIX Perdida tengo yo el alma, Y no me importa un ardite. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO Tirad. 

 D. FÉLIX Al primer envite. [505]

 JUGADOR TERCERO Tirad pronto. 

 D. FÉLIX Tened calma: Que os juego más todavía, Y en cien onzas hago el trato, Y os lleváis este retrato Con marco de pedrería. [510]

 JUGADOR TERCERO ¿En cien onzas?

 D. FÉLIX ¿Qué dudáis?

 JUGADOR PRIMERO (_tomando el retrato_) ¡Hermosa mujer!

 JUGADOR CUARTO No es caro. 

 D. FÉLIX ¿Queréis pararlas?

 JUGADOR TERCERO Las paro. Más ganaré. 

 D. FÉLIX Si ganáis, (_Se registra todo_. ) No tengo otra joya aquí. [515]

 JUGADOR PRIMERO (_mirando el retrato_) Si esta imagen respirara. . . . 

 D. FÉLIX A estar aquí, la jugara A ella, al retrato y a mí. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO Vengan los dados. 

 D. FÉLIX Tirad. 

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO Por Don Félix cien ducados. [520]

 JUGADOR CUARTO En contra van apostados. 

 JUGADOR QUINTO Cincuenta más. Esperad, No tiréis. 

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO Van los cincuenta. 

 JUGADOR PRIMERO Yo, sin blanca, a Dios le ruego Por Don Félix. 

 JUGADOR QUINTO Hecho el juego. [525]

 JUGADOR TERCERO ¿Tiro?

 D. FÉLIX Tirad con sesenta De a caballo. 

 _(Todos se agrupan con ansiedad al rededor de la mesa. El tercer jugador tira los dados. )_

 JUGADOR CUARTO ¿Qué ha salido?

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO ¡Mil demonios, que a los dos Nos lleven!

 D. FÉLIX _(con calma al primero)_

 ¡Bien, vive Dios, Vuestros ruegos me han valido! [530] Encomendadme otra vez, Don Juan, al diablo; no sea Que si os oye Dios, me vea Cautivo y esclavo en Fez. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO Don Félix, habéis perdido [535] Sólo el marco, no el retrato; Que entrar la dama en el trato Vuestra intención no habrá sido. 

 D. FÉLIX ¿Cuánto dierais por la dama?

 JUGADOR TERCERO Yo, la vida. [540]

 D. FÉLIX No la quiero. Mirad si me dais dinero, Y os la lleváis. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO ¡Buena fama Lograréis entre las bellas, Cuando descubran altivas Que vos las hacéis cautivas [545] Para en seguida vendellas!

 D. FÉLIX Eso a vos no importa nada. ¿Queréis la dama? Os la vendo. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO Yo de pinturas no entiendo. 

 D. FÉLIX _(con cólera)_ Vos habláis con demasiada [550] Altivez e irreverencia De una mujer . . . ¡y si no. . . . !

 JUGADOR TERCERO De la pintura hablé yo. 

 TODOS Vamos, paz; no haya pendencia. 

 D. FÉLIX _(sosegado)_ Sobre mi palabra os juego [555] Mil escudos. 

 JUGADOR TERCERO Van tirados. 

 D. FÉLIX A otra suerte de esos dados; Y el diablo les prenda fuego. 

 ESCENA III

 Pálido el rostro, cejijunto el ceño, Y torva la mirada, aunque afligida, [560] Y en ella un firme y decidido empeño De dar la muerte o de perder la vida, Un hombre entró embozado hasta los ojos, Sobre las juntas cejas el sombrero; Víbrale al rostro el corazón enojos, [565] El paso firme, el ánimo altanero. Encubierta fatídica figura. -- Sed de sangre su espíritu secó, Emponzoñó su alma la amargura, La venganza irritó su corazón. [570] Junto a Don Félix llega, y, desatento, No habla a ninguno, ni aun la frente inclina; Y en pie y delante de él y el ojo atento, Con iracundo rostro le examina. Miró también Don Félix al sombrío [575] Huésped que en él los ojos enclavó, Y con sarcasmo desdeñoso y frío, Fijos en él los suyos, sonrïó. 

 D. FÉLIX Buen hombre, ¿de qué tapiz Se ha escapado--el que se tapa-- [580] Que entre el sombrero y la capa Se os ve apenas la nariz?

 D. DIEGO Bien, Don Félix, cuadra en vos Esa insolencia importuna. 

 D. FÉLIX _(al tercer jugador sin hacer caso de Don Diego)_ Perdisteis. [585]

 JUGADOR TERCERO Sí. La fortuna Se trocó; tiro y van dos. _(Vuelven a tirar. )_

 D. FÉLIX Gané otra vez. _(Al embozado)_ No he entendido Qué dijisteis, ni hice aprecio De si hablasteis blando o recio Cuando me habéis respondido. [590]

 D. DIEGO A solas hablar querría. 

 D. FÉLIX Podéis, si os place, empezar, Que por vos no he de dejar Tan honrosa compañía; Y si Dios aquí os envía [595] Para hacer mi conversión, No despreciéis la ocasión De convertir tanta gente, Mientras que yo humildemente Aguardo mi absolución. [600]

 D. DIEGO _(desembozándose con ira)_ Don Félix, ¿no conocéis A Don Diego de Pastrana?

 D. FÉLIX A vos no, mas sí a una hermana Que imagino que tenéis. 

 D. DIEGO ¿Y no sabéis que murió? [605]

 D. FÉLIX Téngala Dios en su gloria. 

 D. DIEGO Pienso que sabéis su historia, Y quién fué quien la mató. 

 D. FÉLIX (_con sarcasmo_) ¡Quizá alguna calentura!

 D. DIEGO ¡Mentís vos! [610]

 D. FÉLIX Calma, Don Diego, Que si vos os morís luego, Es tanta mi desventura Que aun me lo habrán de achacar, Y es en vano ese despecho. Si se murió, a lo hecho, pecho. [615] Ya no ha de resucitar. 

 D. DIEGO Os estoy mirando y dudo Si habré de manchar mi espada Con esa sangre malvada, O echaros al cuello un nudo [620] Con mis manos, y con mengua, En vez de desafïaros, El corazón arrancaros Y patearos la lengua; Que un alma, una vida, es [625] Satisfacción muy ligera, Y os diera mil si pudiera Y os las quitara después. Jugo a mi labio han de dar Abiertas todas tus venas, [630] Que toda tu sangre apenas Basta mi sed a calmar. ¡Villano!

 (_Tira de la espada; todos los jugadores se interponen_. )

 TODOS Fuera de aquí A armar quimera. 

 D. FÉLIX _(con calma levantándose)_ Tened, Don Diego, la espada, y ved [635] Que estoy yo muy sobre mí, Y que me contengo mucho, No sé por qué, pues tan frío En mi colérico brío Vuestras injurias escucho. [640]

 D. DIEGO _(con furor reconcentrado y con la espada desnuda)_ Salid de aquí; que a fe mía, Que estoy resuelto a mataros, Y no alcanzara a libraros La misma Virgen María. Y es tan cierta mi intención, [645] Tan resuelta está mi alma, Que hasta mi cólera calma Mi firme resolución. Venid conmigo. 

 D. FÉLIX Allá voy; Pero si os mato, Don Diego, [650] Que no me venga otro luego A pedirme cuenta. Soy Con vos al punto. Esperad Cuente el dinero . . . _uno_ . . . _dos_. . . . _(A Don Diego)_ Son mis ganancias; por vos [655] Pierdo aquí una cantidad Considerable de oro Que iba a ganar . . . ¿y por qué? _Diez_ . . . _quince_ . . . Por no sé qué Cuento de amor . . . ¡un tesoro [660] Perdido! . . . Voy al momento. Es un puro disparate Empeñarse en que yo os mate: Lo digo como lo siento. 

 D. DIEGO Remiso andáis y cobarde [665] Y hablador en demasía. 

 D. FÉLIX Don Diego, más sangre fría. Para reñir nunca es tarde. Y si aun fuera otro el asunto, Yo os perdonara la prisa. [670] Pidierais vos una misa Por la difunta, y al punto. . . . 

 D. DIEGO ¡Mal caballero!. . . 

 D. FÉLIX Don Diego, Mi delito no es gran cosa. Era vuestra hermana hermosa; [675] La vi, me amó, creció el juego, Se murió, no es culpa mía; Y admiro vuestro candor, Que no se mueren de amor Las mujeres hoy en día. [680]

 D. DIEGO ¿Estáis pronto?

 D. FÉLIX Están contados. Vamos andando. 

 D. DIEGO _(con voz solemne)_ ¿Os reís? Pensad que a morir venís. 

 D. FÉLIX _(sale tras de él, embolsándose el dinero con indiferencia)_ Son mil trescientos ducados. 

 ESCENA IV

 LOS JUGADORES

 JUGADOR PRIMERO Este Don Diego Pastrana [685] Es un hombre decidido. Desde Flandes ha venido Sólo a vengar a su hermana. 

 JUGADOR SEGUNDO ¡Pues no ha hecho mal disparate! Me da el corazón su muerte. [690]

 JUGADOR TERCERO ¿Quién sabe? acaso la suerte. . . . 

 JUGADOR CUARTO Me alegraré que lo mate. 

 PARTE CUARTA

 Salió, en fin, de aquel estado, para caer en el dolor más sombrío, en la más desalentada desesperación y en la mayor amargura y desconsuelo que pueden apoderarse de este pobre corazón humano, que tan positivamente choca y se quebranta con los males, como con vaguedad aspira en algunos momentos, casi siempre sin conseguirlo, a tocar los bienes ligeramente y de pasada. --"La protección de un sastre, " novela original por D. MIGUEL DE LOS SANTOS ÁLVAREZ

 SPIRITUS QUIDEM PROMPTUS EST; CARO VERO INFIRMA. --S. MARCOS, "Evangelio"

 Vedle, Don Félix es, espada en mano, Sereno el rostro, firme el corazón; También de Elvira el vengativo hermano [695] Sin piedad a sus pies muerto cayó. 

 Y con tranquila audacia se adelanta Por la calle fatal del Ataúd; Y ni medrosa aparición le espanta, Ni le turba la imagen de Jesús. [700]

 La moribunda lámpara que ardía Trémula lanza su postrer fulgor, Y, en honda oscuridad, noche sombría La misteriosa calle encapotó. 

 Mueve los pies el Montemar osado [705] En las tinieblas con incierto giro, Cuando, ya un trecho de la calle andado, Súbito junto a él oye un suspiro. 

 Resbalar por su faz sintió el aliento, Y a su pesar sus nervios se crisparon; [710] Mas, pasado el primero movimiento, A su primera rigidez tornaron. 

 «¿Quién va?» pregunta con la voz serena. Que ni finge valor, ni muestra miedo, El alma de invencible vigor llena, [715] Fïado en su tajante de Toledo. 

 Palpa en torno de sí, y el impio jura, Y a mover vuelve la atrevida planta, Cuando hacia él fatídica figura Envuelta en blancas ropas se adelanta. [720]

 Flotante y vaga, las espesas nieblas Ya disipa, y se anima, y va creciendo Con apagada luz, ya en las tinieblas Su argentino blancor va apareciendo. 

 Ya leve punto de luciente plata, [725] Astro de clara lumbre sin mancilla, El horizonte lóbrego dilata Y allá en la sombra en lontananza brilla. 

 Los ojos, Montemar, fijos en ella, Con más asombro que temor la mira; [730] Tal vez la juzga vagorosa estrella Que en el espacio de los cielos gira;

 Tal vez engaño de sus propios ojos, Forma falaz que en su ilusión creó, O del vino ridículos antojos [735] Que al fin su juicio a alborotar subió. 

 Mas el vapor del néctar jerezano Nunca su mente a trastornar bastara, Que ya mil veces embriagarse en vano En frenéticas orgias intentara. [740]

 «Dios presume asustarme; ¡ojalá fuera», Dijo entre sí riendo, «el diablo mismo! Que entonces ¡víve Dios! quién soy supiera El cornudo monarca del abismo. »

 Al pronunciar tan insolente ultraje [745] La lámpara del Cristo se encendió, Y una mujer, velada en blanco traje, Ante la imagen de rodillas vió. 

 «Bienvenida la luz, » dijo el impío, «Gracias a Dios o al diablo;» y, con osada, [750] Firme intención y temerario brío, El paso vuelve a la mujer tapada. 

 Mientras él anda, al parecer se alejan La luz, la imagen, la devota dama; Mas si él se pára, de moverse dejan; [755] Y lágrima tras lágrima derrama

 De sus ojos inmóviles la imagen. Mas sin que el miedo ni el dolor que inspira Su planta audaz, ni su impiedad atajen, Rostro a rostro a Jesús Montemar mira. [760]

 --La calle parece se mueve y camina, Faltarle la tierra sintió bajo el pie; Sus ojos la muerta mirada fascina Del Cristo, que intensa clavada está en él. 

 Y en medio el delirio que embarga su mente, [765] Y achaca él al vino que al fin le embriagó, La lámpara alcanza con mano insolente Del ara do alumbra la imagen de Dios;

 Y al rostro la acerca, que el cándido lino Encubre, con ánimo asaz descortés; [770] Mas la luz apaga viento repentino, Y la blanca dama se puso de pie. 

 Empero un momento creyó que veía Un rostro que vagos recuerdos quizá Y alegres memorias confusas traía [775] De tiempos mejores que pasaron ya, Un rostro de un ángel que vió en un ensueño, Como un sentimiento que el alma halagó, Que anubla la frente con rígido ceño, Sin que lo comprenda jamás la razón. [780]

 Su forma gallarda dibuja en las sombras El blanco ropaje que ondeante se ve, Y cual si pisara mullidas alfombras, Deslízase leve sin ruido su pie. 

 Tal vimos al rayo de la luna llena [785] Fugitiva vela de lejos cruzar, Que ya la hinche en popa la brisa serena, Que ya la confunde la espuma del mar. 

 También la esperanza blanca y vaporosa Así ante nosotros pasa en ilusión, [790] Y el alma conmueve con ansia medrosa Mientras la rechaza la adusta razón. 

 D. FÉLIX «¡Qué! ¿sin respuesta me deja? ¿No admitís mi compañía? ¿Será quizá alguna vieja [795] Devota?. . . ¡Chasco sería!

 En vano, dueña, es callar, Ni hacerme señas que no; He resuelto que sí yo, Y os tengo de acompañar. [800]

 Y he de saber dónde vais Y si sois hermosa o fea, Quién sois y cómo os llamáis, Y aun cuando imposible sea, Y fuerais vos Satanás [805] Con sus llamas y sus cuernos, Hasta en los mismos infiernos, Vos delante y yo detrás, Hemos de entrar; ¡vive Dios! Y aunque lo estorbara el cielo, [810] Que yo he de cumplir mi anhelo Aun a despecho de vos;

 Y perdonadme, señora, Si hay en mi empeño osadía, Mas fuera descortesía [815] Dejaros sola a esta hora;

 Y me va en ello mi fama, Que juro a Dios no quisiera Que por temor se creyera Que no he seguido a una dama. » [820]

 Del hondo del pecho profundo gemido, Crujido del vaso que estalla al dolor, Que apenas medroso lastima el oído, Pero que punzante rasga el corazón, Gemido de amargo recuerdo pasado, [825] De pena presente, de incierto pesar, Mortífero aliento, veneno exhalado Del que encubre el alma ponzoñoso mar, Gemido de muerte lanzó, y silenciosa La blanca figura su pie resbaló, [830] Cual mueve sus alas sílfide amorosa Que apenas las aguas del lago rizó. 

 ¡Ay! el que vió acaso perdida en un día La dicha que eterna creyó el corazón, Y en noche de nieblas y en honda agonía [835] En un mar sin playas muriendo quedó!. . . 

 Y solo y llevando consigo en su pecho, Compañero eterno su dolor crüel, El mágico encanto del alma deshecho, Su pena, su amigo y su amante más fiel; [840]

 ¡Miró sus suspiros llevarlos el viento, Sus lágrimas tristes perderse en el mar, Sin nadie que acuda ni entienda su acento, Insensible el cielo y el mundo a su mal!

 Y ha visto la luna brillar en el cielo [845] Serena y en calma mientras él lloró, Y ha visto los hombres pasar en el suelo Y nadie a sus quejas los ojos volvió!

 Y él mismo, la befa del mundo temblando, Su pena en su pecho profunda escondió, [850] Y dentro en su alma su llanto tragando Con falsa sonrisa su labio vistió!!. . . 

 ¡Ay! quien ha contado las horas que fueron, Horas otro tiempo que abrevió el placer, Y hoy solo y llorando piensa como huyeron [855] Con ellas por siempre las dichas de ayer;

 Y aquellos placeres, que el triste ha perdido, No huyeron del mundo, que en el mundo están; Y él vive en el mundo do siempre ha vivido, Y aquellos placeres para él no son ya! [860]

 ¡Ay del que descubre por fin la mentira! ¡Ay del que la triste realidad palpó! Del que el esqueleto de este mundo mira, Y sus falsas galas loco le arrancó!. . . 

 ¡Ay de aquel que vive sólo en lo pasado! [865] ¡Ay del que su alma nutre en su pesar! Las horas que huyeron llamará angustiado, Las horas que huyeron jamás tornarán!. . . 

 Quien haya sufrido tan bárbaro duelo, Quien noches enteras contó sin dormir [870] En lecho de espinas, maldiciendo al cielo, Horas sempiternas de ansiedad sin fin. . . . 

 Quien haya sentido quererse del pecho Saltar a pedazos roto el corazón, Crecer su delirio, crecer su despecho, [875] Al cuello cien nudos echarle el dolor, Ponzoñoso lago de punzante hielo, Sus lágrimas tristes que cuajó el pesar, Reventando ahogarle, sin hallar consuelo, Ni esperanza nunca, ni tregua en su afán. [880]

 Aquél, de la blanca fantasma el gemido, Única respuesta que a Don Félix dió, Hubiera, y su inmenso dolor, comprendido, Hubiera pesado su inmenso valor. 

 D. FÉLIX «Si buscáis algún ingrato, [885] Yo me ofrezco agradecido; Pero o miente ese recato, O vos sufrís el mal trato De algún celoso marido. 

 ¿Acerté? ¡Necia manía! [890] Es para volverme loco, Si insistís en tal porfía; Con los mudos, reina mía, Yo hago mucho y hablo poco. »

 Segunda vez importunada en tanto, [895] Una voz de süave melodía El estudiante oyó que parecía Eco lejano de armonioso canto, De amante pecho lánguido latido, Sentimiento inefable de ternura, [900] Suspiro fiel de amor correspondido, El primer sí de la mujer aun pura. 

 «Para mí los amores acabaron; Todo en el mundo para mí acabó; Los lazos que a la tierra me ligaron [905] El cielo para siempre desató, »

 Dijo su acento misterioso y tierno, Que de otros mundos la ilusión traía, Eco de los que ya reposo eterno Gozan en paz bajo la tumba fría. [910]

 Montemar, atento sólo a su aventura, Que es bella la dama y aun fácil juzgó, Y la hora, la calle y la noche oscura Nuevos incentivos a su pecho son. 

 «--Hay riesgo en seguirme. --Mirad ¡qué reparo! [915] --Quizá luego os pese. --Puede que por vos. --Ofendéis al cielo. --Del diablo me amparo. --Idos, caballero, no tentéis a Dios. 

 --Siento me enamora más vuestro despego, Y si Dios se enoja, pardiez que hará mal; [920] Veame en vuestros brazos y máteme luego. --¡Vuestra última hora quizá ésta será!. . . 

 Dejad ya, Don Félix, delirios mundanos. --¡Hola, me conoce!--¡Ay! ¡temblad por vos! ¡Temblad no se truequen deleites livianos [925] En penas eternas!--Basta de sermón, Que yo para oírlos la cuaresma espero; Y hablemos de amores, que es más dulce hablar; Dejad ese tono solemne y severo, Que os juro, señora, que os sienta muy mal. [930]

 La vida es la vida: cuando ella se acaba, Acaba con ella también el placer. ¿De inciertos pesares por qué hacerla esclava? Para mí no hay nunca mañana ni ayer. 

 Si mañana muero, que sea en mal hora [935] O en buena, cual dicen, ¿qué me importa a mí? Goce yo el presente, disfrute yo ahora, Y el diablo me lleve siquiera al morir. 

 --¡Cúmplase en fin tu voluntad, Dios mío!--» La figura fatídica exclamó; [940] Y en tanto al pecho redoblar su brío Siente Don Félix y camina en pos. 

 Cruzan tristes calles, Plazas solitarias, Arruinados muros, [945] Donde sus plegarias Y falsos conjuros, En la misteriosa Noche borrascosa, Maldecida bruja [950]

 Con ronca voz canta, Y de los sepulcros Los muertos levanta, Y suenan los ecos De sus pasos huecos [955] En la soledad; Mientras en silencio Yace la ciudad, Y en lúgubre són Arrulla su sueño [960] Bramando Aquilón. 

 Y una calle y otra cruzan, Y más allá y más allá; Ni tiene término el viaje, Ni nunca dejan de andar. [965] Y atraviesan, pasan, vuelven, Cien calles quedando atrás, Y paso tras paso siguen, Y siempre adelante van; Y a confundirse ya empieza [970] Y a perderse Montemar, Que ni sabe a dó camina, Ni acierta ya dónde está; Y otras calles, otras plazas Recorre, y otra ciudad, [975] Y ve fantásticas torres De su eterno pedestal Arrancarse, y sus macizas, Negras masas caminar, Apoyándose en sus ángulos, [980] Que en la tierra en desigual, Perezoso tranco fijan; Y a su monótono andar, Las campanas sacudidas Misteriosos dobles dan, [985] Mientras en danzas grotescas, Y al estruendo funeral, En derredor cien espectros Danzan con torpe compás; Y las veletas sus frentes [990] Bajan ante él al pasar, Los espectros le saludan, Y en cien lenguas de metal, Oye su nombre en los ecos De las campanas sonar. [995] Mas luego cesa el estrépito, Y en silencio, en muda paz Todo queda, y desparece De súbito la ciudad: Palacios, templos, se cambian [1000] En campos de soledad, Y en un yermo y silencioso, Melancólico arenal, Sin luz, sin aire, sin cielo, Perdido en la inmensidad. [1005] Tal vez piensa que camina, Sin poder parar jamás, De extraño empuje llevado Con precipitado afán; Entretanto que su guía, [1010] Delante de él sin hablar, Sigue misteriosa, y sigue Con paso rápido, y ya Se remonta ante sus ojos En alas del huracán, [1015] Visión sublime, y su frente Ve fosfórica brillar Entre lívidos relámpagos En la densa oscuridad, Sierpes de luz, luminosos [1020] Engendros del vendaval; Y cuando duda si duerme, Si tal vez sueña o está Loco, si es tanto prodigio, Tanto delirio verdad, [1025] Otra vez en Salamanca Súbito vuélvese a hallar, Distingue los edificios, Reconoce en dónde está, Y en su delirante vértigo [1030] Al vino vuelve a culpar, Y jura, y siguen andando, Ella delante, él detrás. 

 «¡Vive Dios! dice entre sí, O Satanás se chancea, [1035] O no debo estar en mí, O el Málaga que bebí En mi cabeza aun humea. 

 «Sombras, fantasmas, visiones. . . . Dale con tocar a muerto, [1040] Y en revueltas confusiones, Danzando estos torreones Al compás de tal concierto. 

 «Y el juicio voy a perder Entre tantas maravillas. [1045] ¡Que estas torres llegue a ver, Como mulas de alquiler, Andando con campanillas!

 «¿Y esta mujer quién será? Mas si es el diablo en persona, [1050] ¿A mí qué diantre me da? Y más que el traje en que va En esta ocasión le abona. 

 «Noble señora, imagino Que sois nueva en el lugar: [1055] Andar así es desatino; O habéis perdido el camino, O esto es andar por andar. 

 «Ha dado en no responder, Que es la más rara locura [1060] Que puede hallarse en mujer, Y en que yo la he de querer Por su paso de andadura. »

 En tanto Don Félix a tientas seguía, Delante camina la blanca visión, [1065] Triplica su espanto la noche sombría, Sus hórridos gritos redobla Aquilón. 

 Rechinan girando las férreas veletas, Crujir de cadenas se escucha sonar, Las altas campanas, por el viento inquietas, [1070] Pausados sonidos en las torres dan. 

 Rüido de pasos de gente que viene A compás marchando con sordo rumor, Y de tiempo en tiempo su marcha detiene, Y rezar parece en confuso són, [1075]

 Llegó de Don Félix luego a los oídos, Y luego cien luces a lo lejos vió, Y luego en hileras largas divididos, Vió que murmurando con lúgubre voz

 Enlutados bultos andando venían; [1080] Y luego más cerca con asombro ve Que un féretro en medio y en hombros traían Y dos cuerpos muertos tendidos en él. 

 Las luces, la hora, la noche, profundo, Infernal arcano parece encubrir. [1085] Cuando en hondo sueño yace muerto el mundo, Cuando todo anuncia que habrá de morir

 Al hombre que loco la recia tormenta Corrió de la vida, del viento a merced, Cuando una voz triste las horas le cuenta, [1090] Y en lodo sus pompas convertidas ve, Forzoso es que tenga de diamante el alma Quien no sienta el pecho de horror palpitar, Quien como Don Félix, con serena calma, Ni en Dios ni en el diablo se ponga a pensar. [1095]

 Así en tardos pasos, todos murmurando, El lúgubre entierro ya cerca llegó, Y la blanca dama, devota rezando, Entrambas rodillas en tierra dobló. 

 Calado el sombrero y en pie, indiferente [1100] El féretro mira Don Félix pasar, Y al paso pregunta con su aire insolente Los nombres de aquellos que al sepulcro van. 

 Mas ¡cuál su sorpresa, su asombro cuál fuera, Cuando horrorizado con espanto ve [1105] Que el uno Don Diego de Pastrana era, Y el otro ¡Dios santo! y el otro era él!. . . 

 Él mismo, su imagen, su misma figura, Su mismo semblante, que él mismo era en fin; Y duda, y se palpa, y fría pavura [1110] Un punto en sus venas sintió discurrir. 

 Al fin era hombre, y un punto temblaron Los nervios del hombre, y un punto temió; Mas pronto su antiguo vigor recobraron, Pronto su fiereza volvió al corazón. [1115]

 «Lo que es, dijo, por Pastrana, Bien pensado está el entierro; Mas es diligencia vana Enterrarme a mí, y mañana Me he de quejar de este yerro. [1120]

 «Diga, señor enlutado, ¿A quién llevan a enterrar?» «--Al estudiante endiablado Don Félix de Montemar, » Respondió el encapuchado. [1125]

 «--Mientes, truhán. --No por cierto. --Pues decidme a mí quién soy, Si gustáis, porque no acierto Cómo a un mismo tiempo estoy Aquí vivo y allí muerto. [1130]

 «--Yo no os conozco. --Pardiez, Que si me llego a enojar, Tus burlas te haga llorar De tal modo que otra vez Conozcas ya a Montemar. [1135]

 «¡Villano!. . . Mas esto es Ilusión de los sentidos, El mundo que anda al revés, Los diablos entretenidos En hacerme dar traspiés. [1140]

 «¡El fanfarrón de Don Diego! De sus mentiras reniego, Que cuando muerto cayó, Al infierno se fué luego Contando que me mató. » [1145]

 Diciendo así, soltó una carcajada, Y las espaldas con desdén volvió; Se hizo el bigote, requirió la espada, Y a la devota dama se acercó. 

 «Conque, en fin, ¿dónde vivís? [1150] Que se hace tarde, señora. --Tarde, aun no; de aquí a una hora Lo será. --Verdad decís, Será más tarde que ahora. 

 «Esa voz con que hacéis miedo [1155] De vos me enamora más. Yo me he echado el alma atrás; Juzgad si me dará un bledo De Dios ni de Satanás. 

 «--Cada paso que avanzáis [1160] Lo adelantáis a la muerte, Don Félix. ¿Y no tembláis Y el corazón no os advierte Que a la muerte camináis?»

 Con eco melancólico y sombrío [1165] Dijo así la mujer, y el sordo acento, Sonando en torno del mancebo impío, Rugió en la voz del proceloso viento. 

 Las piedras con las piedras se golpearon, Bajo sus pies la tierra retembló, [1170] Las aves de la noche se juntaron, Y sus alas crujir sobre él sintió;

 Y en la sombra unos ojos fulgurantes Vió en el aire vagar que espanto inspiran, Siempre sobre él saltándose anhelantes, [1175] Ojos de horror que sin cesar le miran. 

 Y los vió y no tembló; mano a la espada Puso y la sombra intrépido embistió; Y ni sombra encontró ni encontró nada, Sólo fijos en él los ojos vió. [1180]

 Y alzó los suyos impaciente al cielo, Y rechinó los dientes y maldijo, Y, en él creciendo el infernal anhelo, Con voz de enojo blasfemando dijo:

 «Seguid, señora, y adelante vamos: [1185] Tanto mejor si sois el diablo mismo, Y Dios y el diablo y yo nos conozcamos, Y acábese por fin tanto embolismo. 

 «Que de tanto sermón, de farsa tanta, Juro, pardiez, que fatigado estoy; [1190] Nada mi firme voluntad quebranta: Sabed, en fin, que, donde vayáis, voy. 

 «Un término no más tiene la vida: Término fijo; un paradero el alma: Ahora adelante. » Dijo, y en seguida [1195] Camina en pos con decidida calma. 

 Y la dama a una puerta se paró, Y era una puerta altísima, y se abrieron Sus hojas en el punto en que llamó, Que a un misterioso impulso obedecieron; [1200] Y tras la dama el estudiante entró; Ni pajes ni doncellas acudieron; Y cruzan a la luz de unas bujías Fantásticas, desiertas galerías. 

 Y la visión, como engañoso encanto, [1205] Por las losas deslízase sin ruido, Toda encubierta bajo el blanco manto Que barre el suelo en pliegues desprendido; Y por el largo corredor en tanto Sigue adelante, y síguela atrevido, [1210] Y su temeridad raya en locura, Resuelto Montemar a su aventura. 

 Las luces, como antorchas funerales, Lánguida luz y cárdena esparcían, Y en torno, en movimientos desiguales, [1215] Las sombras se alejaban o venían Arcos aquí ruinosos, sepulcrales, Urnas allí y estatuas se veían, Rotas columnas, patios mal seguros, Yerbosos, tristes, húmedos y oscuros. [1220]

 Todo vago, quimérico y sombrío, Edificio sin base ni cimiento, Ondula cual fantástico navío Que anclado mueve borrascoso viento. En un silencio aterrador y frío [1225] Yace allí todo: ni rumor, ni aliento Humano nunca se escuchó: callado, Corre allí el tiempo, en sueño sepultado. 

 Las muertas horas a las muertas horas Siguen en el reloj de aquella vida, [1230] Sombras de horror girando aterradoras, Que allá aparecen en medrosa huída; Ellas solas y tristes moradoras De aquella negra, funeral guarida, Cual soñada fantástica quimera, [1235] Vienen a ver al que su paz altera. 

 Y en él enclavan los hundidos ojos Del fondo de la larga galería, Que brillan lejos cual carbones rojos, Y espantaran la misma valentía; [1240] Y muestran en su rostro sus enojos Al ver hollada su mansión sombría; Y ora en grupos delante se aparecen, Ora en la sombra allá se desvanecen. 

 Grandïosa, satánica figura, [1245] Alta la frente, Montemar camina, Espíritu sublime en su locura, Provocando la cólera divina: Fábrica frágil de materia impura, El alma que la alienta y la ilumina [1250] Con Dios le iguala, y con osado vuelo Se alza a su trono y le provoca a duelo. 

 Segundo Lucifer que se levanta Del rayo vengador la frente herida, Alma rebelde que el temor no espanta, [1255] Hollada sí, pero jamás vencida: El hombre, en fin, que en su ansiedad quebranta Su límite a la cárcel de la vida, Y a Dios llama ante él a darle cuenta, Y descubrir su inmensidad intenta. [1260]

 Y un báquico cantar tarareando, Cruza aquella quimérica morada, Con atrevida indiferencia andando, Mofa en los labios, y la vista osada; Y el rumor que sus pasos van formando, [1265] Y el golpe que al andar le da la espada, Tristes ecos, siguiéndole detrás, Repiten con monótono compás. 

 Y aquel extraño y único rüido Que de aquella mansión los ecos llena, [1270] En el suelo y los techos repetido, En su profunda soledad resuena; Y espira allá cual funeral gemido Que lanza en su dolor la ánima en pena, Que al fin del corredor largo y oscuro [1275] Salir parece de entre el roto muro. 

 Y en aquel otro mundo y otra vida, Mundo de sombras, vida que es un sueño, Vida que, con la muerte confundida, Ciñe sus sienes con letal beleño; [1280] Mundo, vaga ilusión descolorida De nuestro mundo y vaporoso ensueño, Son aquel ruido y su locura insana La sola imagen de la vida humana. 

 Que allá su blanca, misteriosa guía, [1285] De la alma dicha la ilusión parece, Que ora acaricia la esperanza impía, Ora al tocarla ya se desvanece; Blanca, flotante nube que en la umbría Noche en alas del céfiro se mece [1290] Su airosa ropa, desplegada al viento, Semeja en su callado movimiento;

 Humo süave de quemado aroma Que al aire en ondas a perderse asciende; Rayo de luna que en la parda loma [1295] Cual un broche su cima al éter prende; Silfa que con el alba envuelta asoma Y al nebuloso azul sus alas tiende, De negras sombras y de luz teñidas, Entre el alba y la noche confundidas. [1300]

 Y ágil, veloz, aérea y vaporosa, Que apenas toca con los pies al suelo, Cruza aquella morada tenebrosa La mágica visión del blanco velo: Imagen fiel de la ilusión dichosa [1305] Que acaso el hombre encontrará en el cielo, Pensamiento sin fórmula y sin nombre Que hace rezar y blasfemar al hombre. 

 Y al fin del largo corredor llegando, Montemar sigue su callada guía, [1310] Y una de mármol negro va bajando De caracol torcida gradería, Larga, estrecha y revuelta, y que girando En torno de él y sin cesar veía Suspendida en el aire y con violento, [1315] Veloz, vertiginoso movimiento. 

 Y en eterna espiral y en remolino Infinito prolóngase y se extiende, Y el juicio pone en loco desatino A Montemar que en tumbos mil desciende, [1320] Y, envuelto en el violento torbellino, Al aire se imagina, y se desprende, Y sin que el raudo movimiento ceda, Mil vueltas dando, a los abismos rueda;

 Y de escalón en escalón cayendo, [1325] Blasfema y jura con lenguaje inmundo, Y su furioso vértigo creciendo, Y despeñado rápido al profundo, Los silbos ya del huracán oyendo, Ya ante él pasando en confusión el mundo, [1330] Ya oyendo gritos, voces y palmadas, Y aplausos y brutales carcajadas, Llantos y ayes, quejas y gemidos, Mofas, sarcasmos, risas y denuestos; Y en mil grupos acá y allá reunidos, [1335] Viendo debajo de él, sobre él enhiestos, Hombres, mujeres, todos confundidos, Con sandia pena, con alegres gestos, Que con asombro estúpido le miran Y en el perpetuo remolino giran. [1340]

 Siente por fin que de repente pára, Y un punto sin sentido se quedó; Mas luego valeroso se repara, Abrió los ojos y de pie se alzó; Y fué el primer objeto en que pensara [1345] La blanca dama, y alredor miró, Y al pie de un triste monumento hallóla Sentada en medio de la estancia, sola. 

 Era un negro solemne monumento Que en medio de la estancia se elevaba, [1350] Y, a un tiempo a Montemar ¡raro portento! Una tumba y un lecho semejaba: Ya imaginó su loco pensamiento Que abierta aquella tumba le aguardaba; Ya imaginó también que el lecho era [1355] Tálamo blando que al esposo espera. 

 Y pronto, recobrada su osadía, Y a terminar resuelto su aventura, Al cielo y al infierno desafía Con firme pecho y decisión segura: [1360] A la blanca visión su planta guía, Y a descubrirse el rostro la conjura, Y a sus pies Montemar tomando asiento Así la habló con animoso acento:

 «Diablo, mujer o visión, [1365] Que, a juzgar por el camino Que conduce a esta mansión, Eres puro desatino O diabólica invención, «Siquier de parte de Dios, [1370] Siquier de parte del diablo, ¿Quién nos trajo aquí a los dos? Decidme, en fin, ¿quién sois vos? Y sepa yo con quién hablo:

 «Que más que nunca palpita [1375] Resuelto mi corazón, Cuando en tanta confusión, Y en tanto arcano que irrita, Me descubre mi razón

 «Que un poder aquí supremo, [1380] Invisible se ha mezclado, Poder que siento y no temo, A llevar determinado Esta aventura al extremo. »

 Fúnebre [1385] Llanto De amor Óyese En tanto En son [1390]

 Flébil, blando Cual quejido Dolorido Que del alma Se arrancó: [1395] Cual profundo ¡Ay! que exhala Moribundo Corazón. 

 Música triste [1400] Lánguida y vaga, Que a par lastima Y el alma halaga; Dulce armonía Que inspira al pecho [1405] Melancolía, Como el murmullo De algún recuerdo De antiguo amor, A un tiempo arrullo [1410] Y amarga pena Del corazón. 

 Mágico embeleso, Cántico ideal, Que en los aires vaga [1415] Y en sonoras ráfagas Aumentado va; Sublime y oscuro, Rumor prodigioso, Sordo acento lúgubre, [1420] Eco sepulcral, Músicas lejanas, De enlutado parche Redoble monótono, Cercano huracán, [1425] Que apenas la copa Del árbol menea Y bramando está; Olas alteradas De la mar bravía [1430] En noche sombría, Los vientos en paz, Y cuyo rugido Se mezcla al gemido Del muro que trémulo [1435] Las siente llegar; Pavoroso estrépito, Infalible présago De la tempestad. 

 Y, en rápido _crescendo_, [1440] Los lúgubres sonidos Más cerca vanse oyendo Y en ronco rebramar; Cual trueno en las montañas Que retumbando va, [1445] Cual rugen las entrañas De horrísono volcán. 

 Y algazara y gritería, Crujir de afilados huesos, Rechinamiento de dientes [1450] Y retemblar los cimientos, Y en pavoroso estallido Las losas del pavimento Separando sus junturas Irse poco a poco abriendo, [1455] Siente Montemar; y el ruido Más cerca crece, y a un tiempo Escucha chocarse cráneos, Ya descarnados y secos, Temblar en torno la tierra, [1460] Bramar combatidos vientos, Rugir las airadas olas, Estallar el ronco trueno, Exhalar tristes quejidos Y prorrumpir en lamentos: [1465] Todo en furiosa armonía, Todo en frenético estruendo, Todo en confuso trastorno, Todo mezclado y diverso. 

 Y luego el estrépito crece [1470] Confuso y mezclado en un són, Que ronco en las bóvedas hondas Tronando furioso zumbó; Y un eco que agudo parece Del ángel del juicio la voz, [1475] En tiple, punzante alarido Medroso y sonoro se alzó; Sintió, removidas las tumbas, Crujir a sus pies con fragor, Chocar en las piedras los cráneos [1480] Con rabia y ahinco feroz, Romper intentando la losa, Y huir de su eterna mansión, Los muertos, de súbito oyendo El alto mandato de Dios. [1485]

 Y de pronto en horrendo estampido Desquiciarse la estancia sintió, Y al tremendo tartáreo ruido Cien espectros alzarse miró:

 De sus ojos los huecos fijaron [1490] Y sus dedos enjutos en él; Y después entre sí se miraron, Y a mostrarle tornaron después;

 Y, enlazadas las manos siniestras, Con dudoso, espantado ademán [1495] Contemplando, y, tendidas sus diestras, Con asombro al osado mortal, Se acercaron despacio, y la seca Calavera, mostrando temor, Con inmóvil, irónica mueca [1500] Inclinaron, formando en redor. 

 Y entonces la visión del blanco velo Al fiero Montemar tendió una mano, Y era su tacto de crispante hielo, Y resistirlo audaz intentó en vano: [1505]

 Galvánica, crüel, nerviosa y fría, Histérica y horrible sensación, Toda la sangre coagulada envía Agolpada y helada al corazón. . . . 

 Y a su despecho y maldiciendo al cielo, [1510] De ella apartó su mano Montemar, Y temerario alzándola a su velo, Tirando de él la descubrió la faz. 

 _¡Es su esposo!!_ los ecos retumbaron, _¡La esposa al fin que su consorte halló!!_ [1515] Los espectros con júbilo gritaron: _¡Es el esposo de su eterno amor!!_

 Y ella entonces gritó: _¡Mi esposo!!_ ¡Y era (¡Desengaño fatal! ¡triste verdad!) Una sórdida, horrible calavera, [1520] La blanca dama del gallardo andar!. . . 

 Luego un caballero de espuela dorada, Airoso, aunque el rostro con mortal color, Traspasado el pecho de fiera estocada, Aun brotando sangre de su corazón, [1525]

 Se acerca y le dice, su diestra tendida, Que impávido estrecha también Montemar: «--Al fin, la palabra, que disteis, cumplida, Doña Elvira, vedla, vuestra esposa es ya;

 «Mi muerte os perdono. --Por cierto, Don Diego, [1530] Repuso Don Félix tranquilo a su vez, Me alegro de veros con tanto sosiego, Que a fe no esperaba volveros a ver. 

 «En cuanto a ese espectro que decís mi esposa, Raro casamiento venísme a ofrecer: [1535] Su faz no es por cierto ni amable ni hermosa; Mas no se os figure que os quiera ofender. 

 «Por mujer la tomo, porque es cosa cierta, Y espero no salga fallido mi plan, Que, en caso tan raro y mi esposa muerta, [1540] Tanto como viva no me cansará. 

 «Mas antes decidme si Dios o el demonio Me trajo a este sitio, que quisiera ver Al uno u al otro, y en mi matrimonio Tener por padrino siquiera a Luzbel: [1545]

 «Cualquiera o entrambos con su corte toda, Estando estos nobles espectros aquí, No perdiera mucho viniendo a mi boda. . . . Hermano Don Diego, ¿no pensáis así?»

 Tal dijo Don Félix con fruncido ceño, [1550] En torno arrojando con fiero ademán Miradas audaces de altivo desdeño, Al Dios por quien jura capaz de arrostrar. 

 El carïado, lívido esqueleto, Los fríos, largos y asquerosos brazos, [1555] Le enreda en tanto en apretados lazos, Y ávido le acaricia en su ansiedad; Y con su boca cavernosa busca La boca a Montemar, y a su mejilla La árida, descarnada y amarilla [1560] Junta y refriega repugnante faz. 

 Y él, envuelto en sus secas coyunturas, Aun más sus nudos que se aprietan siente, Baña un mar de sudor su ardida frente, Y crece en su impotencia su furor. [1565] Pugna con ansia a desasirse en vano, Y cuanto más airado forcejea, Tanto más se le junta y le desea El rudo espectro que le inspira horror. 

 Y en furioso, veloz remolino, [1570] Y en aérea fantástica danza, Que la mente del hombre no alcanza En su rápido curso a seguir, Los espectros su ronda empezaron, Cual en círculos raudos el viento [1575] Remolinos de polvo violento Y hojas secas agita sin fin. 

 Y elevando sus áridas manos, Resonando cual lúgubre eco, Levantóse en su cóncavo hueco [1580] Semejante a un aullido una voz Pavorosa, monótona, informe, Que pronuncia sin lengua su boca, Cual la voz que del áspera roca En los senos el viento formó. [1585]

 «Cantemos, dijeron sus gritos, La gloria, el amor de la esposa, Que enlaza en sus brazos dichosa Por siempre al esposo que amó; Su boca a su boca se junte, [1590] Y selle su eterna delicia, Süave, amorosa caricia Y lánguido beso de amor. 

 «Y en mútuos abrazos unidos, Y en blando y eterno reposo, [1595] La esposa enlazada al esposo, Por siempre descansen en paz; Y en fúnebre luz ilumine Sus bodas fatídica tea, Les brinde deleites, y sea [1600] La tumba su lecho nupcial. »

 Mientras, la ronda frenética, Que en raudo giro se agita, Más cada vez precipita Su vértigo sin ceder; [1605] Más cada vez se atropella, Más cada vez se arrebata, Y en círculos se desata Violentos más cada vez;

 Y escapa en rueda quimérica; [1610] Y negro punto parece Que en torno se desvanece A la fantástica luz, Y sus lúgubres aullidos Que pavorosos se extienden [1615] Los aires rápidos hienden Más prolongados aún. 

 Y a tan continuo vértigo, A tan funesto encanto, A tan horrible canto, [1620] A tan tremenda lid, Entre los brazos lúbricos Que aprémianle sujeto Del hórrido esqueleto, Entre caricias mil, [1625]

 Jamás vencido el ánimo, Su cuerpo ya rendido Sintió desfallecido Faltarle Montemar; Y a par que más su espíritu [1630] Desmiente su miseria, La flaca, vil materia Comienza a desmayar. 

 Y siente un confuso, Loco devaneo, [1635] Languidez, mareo Y angustioso afán; Y sombras y luces, La estancia que gira, Y espíritus mira [1640] Que vienen y van. 

 Y luego a lo lejos, Flébil en su oído, Eco dolorido Lánguido sonó, [1645] Cual la melodía Que el aura amorosa Y el agua armoniosa De noche formó;

 Y siente luego [1650] Su pecho ahogado Y desmayado, Turbios sus ojos, Sus graves párpados, Flojos caer; [1655] La frente inclina Sobre su pecho, Y, a su despecho, Siente sus brazos Lánguidos, débiles [1660] Desfallecer. 

 Y vió luego Una llama Que se inflama Y murió; [1665] Y perdido Oyó el eco De un gemido Que espiró. 

 Tal, dulce [1670] Suspira La lira Que hirió En blando Concento [1675] Del viento La voz, Leve, Breve Són. [1680]

 En tanto en nubes de carmín y grana Su luz el alba arrebolada envía, Y alegre regocija y engalana Las altas torres el naciente día: Sereno el cielo, calma la mañana, [1685] Blanda la brisa, trasparente y fría, Vierte a la tierra el sol con su hermosura Rayos de paz y celestial ventura. 

 Y huyó la noche y con la noche huían Sus sombras y quiméricas mujeres, [1690] Y a su silencio y calma sucedían El bullicio y rumor de los talleres; Y a su trabajo y a su afán volvían Los hombres y a sus frívolos placeres, Algunos hoy volviendo a su faena. [1695] De zozobra y temor el alma llena;

 ¡Que era pública voz, que llanto arranca Del pecho pecador y empedernido, Que en forma de mujer y en una blanca Túnica misteriosa revestido, [1700] Aquella noche el diablo a Salamanca Había, en fin, por Montemar venido!. . . _Y si, lector, dijerdes ser comento, Como me lo contaron, te lo cuento. _

 CANCIÓN DEL PIRATA

 Con diez cañones por banda, Viento en popa, a toda vela, No corta el mar sino vuela Un velero bergantín: Bajel pirata que llaman [5] Por su bravura el _Temido_, En todo mar conocido Del uno al otro confín. 

 La luna en el mar rïela, En la lona gime el viento, [10] Y alza en blando movimiento Olas de plata y azul; Y ve el capitán pirata, Cantando alegre en la popa, Asia a un lado, al otro Europa, [15] Y allá a su frente Stambul. [1]

[Nota 1: Nombre que dan los Turcos a Constantinopla]

 «Navega, velero mío, Sin temor, Que ni enemigo navío, Ni tormenta, ni bonanza [20] Tu rumbo a torcer alcanza, Ni a sujetar tu valor. 

 «Veinte presas Hemos hecho A despecho [25] Del Inglés, Y han rendido Sus pendones Cien naciones A mis pies. [30]

 «Que es mi barco mi tesoro, Que es mi Dios la libertad, Mi ley la fuerza y el viento, Mi única patria la mar. 

 «Allá muevan feroz guerra [35] Ciegos reyes Por un palmo más de tierra; Que yo tengo aquí por mío Cuanto abarca el mar bravío, A quien nadie impuso leyes. [40]

 «Y no hay playa, Sea cualquiera, Ni bandera De esplendor, Que no sienta [45] Mi derecho Y dé pecho A mi valor. 

 «Que es mi barco mi tesoro. . . . 

 «A la voz de '¡barco viene!' [50] Es de ver Cómo vira y se previene A todo trapo a escapar; Que yo soy el rey del mar, Y mi furia es de temer. [55]

 «En las presas Yo divido Lo cogido Por igual: Sólo quiero [60] Por riqueza La belleza Sin rival. 

 «Que es mi barco mi tesoro. . . . 

 «¡Sentenciado estoy a muerte! [65] Yo me río. No me abandone la suerte, Y al mismo que me condena Colgaré de alguna entena, Quizá en su propio navío. [70]

 «Y si caigo, ¿Qué es la vida? Por perdida Ya la di, Cuando el yugo [75] Del esclavo, Como un bravo, Sacudí. 

 «Que es mi barco mi tesoro. . . . 

 «Son mi música mejor [80] Aquilones; El estrépito y temblor De los cables sacudidos; Del negro mar los bramidos Y el rugir de mis cañones. [85]

 «Y del trueno Al són violento, Y del viento Al rebramar, Yo me duermo [90] Sosegado, Arrullado Por el mar. 

 «Que es mi barco mi tesoro, Que es mi Dios la libertad, [95] Mi ley la fuerza y el viento, Mi única patria la mar. »

 EL CANTO DEL COSACO

 Donde sienta mi caballo los pies no vuelve a nacer yerba. --Palabras de Átila

 CORO ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto! ¡Hurra! La Europa os brinda espléndido botín: Sangrienta charca sus campiñas sean, De los grajos su ejército festín. 

 ¡Hurra! a caballo, hijos de la niebla! [5] Suelta la rienda, a combatir volad. ¿Veis esas tierras fértiles? las puebla Gente opulenta, afeminada ya. Casas, palacios, campos y jardines, Todo es hermoso y refulgente allí; [10] Son sus hembras celestes serafines, Su sol alumbra un cielo de zafir. 

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto. . . . 

 Nuestros sean su oro y sus placeres, Gocemos de ese campo y de ese sol; [15] Son sus soldados menos que mujeres, Sus reyes viles mercaderes son. Vedlos huír para esconder su oro, Vedlos cobardes lágrimas verter. . . . ¡Hurra! volad: sus cuerpos, su tesoro [20] Huellen nuestros caballos con sus pies. 

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto. . . . 

 Dictará allí nuestro capricho leyes, Nuestras casas alcázares serán, Los cetros y coronas de los reyes [25] Cual juguetes de niños rodarán. ¡Hurra! volad a hartar nuestros deseos; Las más hermosas nos darán su amor, Y no hallarán nuestros semblantes feos, Que siempre brilla hermoso el vencedor. [30]

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto. . . . 

 Desgarraremos la vencida Europa Cual tigres que devoran su ración; En sangre empaparemos nuestra ropa Cual rojo manto de imperial señor. [35] Nuestros nobles caballos relinchando Regias habitaciones morarán; Cien esclavos, sus frentes inclinando, Al mover nuestros ojos temblarán. 

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto. . . . [40]

 Venid, volad, guerreros del desierto, Como nubes en negra confusión, Todos suelto el bridón, el ojo incierto, Todos atropellándoos en montón. Id, en la espesa niebla confundidos, [45] Cual tromba que arrebata el huracán, Cual témpanos de hielo endurecidos Por entre rocas despeñados van. 

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto. . . . 

 Nuestros padres un tiempo caminaron [50] Hasta llegar a una imperial ciudad; Un sol más puro es fama que encontraron, Y palacios de oro y de cristal. Vadearon el Tibre sus bridones, Yerta a sus pies la tierra enmudeció; [55] Su sueño con fantásticas canciones La fada de los triunfos arrulló. 

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto. . . . 

 ¡Qué! ¿No sentís la lanza estremecerse, Hambrienta en vuestras manos de matar? [60] ¿No veis entre la niebla aparecerse Visiones mil que el parabién nos dan? Escudo de esas míseras naciones Era ese muro que abatido fué; La gloria de Polonia y sus blasones [65] En humo y sangre convertidos ved. 

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto. . . . 

 ¿Quién en dolor trocó sus alegrías? ¿Quién sus hijos triunfante encadenó? ¿Quién puso fin a sus gloriosos días? [70] ¿Quién en su propia sangre los ahogó? ¡Hurra, Cosacos! ¡Gloria al más valiente! Esos hombres de Europa nos verán. ¡Hurra! nuestros caballos en su frente Hondas sus herraduras marcarán. [75]

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto. . . . 

 A cada bote de la lanza ruda, A cada escape en la abrasada lid, La sangrienta ración de carne cruda Bajo la silla sentiréis hervir. [80] Y allá después en templos suntüosos, Sirviéndonos de mesa algún altar, Nuestra sed calmarán vinos sabrosos, Hartará nuestra hambre blanco pan. 

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto. . . . [85]

 Y nuestras madres nos verán triunfantes, Y a esa caduca Europa a nuestros pies, Y acudirán de gozo palpitantes, En cada hijo a contemplar un rey. Nuestros hijos sabrán nuestras acciones, [90] Las coronas de Europa heredarán, Y a conquistar también otras regiones El caballo y la lanza aprestarán. 

 ¡Hurra, Cosacos del desierto! ¡Hurra! La Europa os brinda espléndido botín. [95] Sangrienta charca sus campiñas sean, De los grajos su ejército festín. 

 EL MENDIGO

 Mío es el mundo: como el aire libre, Otros trabajan porque coma yo; Todos se ablandan si doliente pido Una limosna por amor de Dios. 

 El palacio, la cabaña [5] Son mi asilo, Si del ábrego el furor Troncha el roble en la montaña, O que inunda la campaña El torrente asolador. [10]

 Y a la hoguera Me hacen lado Los pastores Con amor, Y sin pena [15] Y descuidado De su cena Ceno yo; O en la rica Chimenea, [20] Que recrea Con su olor, Me regalo Codicioso Del banquete [25] Suntüoso Con las sobras De un señor. 

 Y me digo: el viento brama, Caiga furioso turbión; [30] Que al són que cruje de la seca leña, Libre me duermo sin rencor ni amor. 

 Mío es el mundo: como el aire libre. . . . 

 Todos son mis bienhechores, Y por todos [35] A Dios ruego con fervor; De villanos y señores Yo recibo los favores Sin estima y sin amor. 

 Ni pregunto [40] Quiénes sean, Ni me obligo A agradecer; Que mis rezos Si desean, [45] Dar limosna Es un deber. Y es pecado La riqueza, La pobreza [50] Santidad; Dios a veces Es mendigo, Y al avaro Da castigo, [55] Que le niegue Caridad. 

 Yo soy pobre y se lastiman Todos al verme plañir, Sin ver son mías sus riquezas todas, [60] Que mina inagotable es el pedir. 

 Mío es el mundo: como el aire libre. . . . 

 Mal revuelto y andrajoso, Entre harapos Del lujo sátira soy; [65] Y con mi aspecto asqueroso Me vengo del poderoso, Y adonde va, tras él voy. 

 Y a la hermosa Que respira [70] Cien perfumes, Gala, amor, La persigo Hasta que mira, Y me gozo [75] Cuando aspira Mi punzante Mal olor. Y las fiestas Y el contento [80] Con mi acento Turbo yo, Y en la bulla Y la alegría Interrumpen [85] La armonía Mis harapos Y mi voz, Mostrando cuán cerca habitan El gozo y el padecer, [90] Que no hay placer sin lágrimas, ni pena Que no transpire en medio del placer. 

 Mío es el mundo: como el aire libre. . . . 

 Y para mí no hay _mañana_, Ni hay _ayer_; [95] Olvido el bien como el mal, Nada me aflije ni afana; Me es igual para mañana Un palacio, un hospital. 

 Vivo ajeno [100] De memorias, De cuidados Libre estoy; Busquen otros Oro y glorias, [105] Yo no pienso Sino en hoy. Y doquiera Vayan leyes, Quiten reyes, [110] Reyes den; Yo soy pobre, Y al mendigo, Por el miedo Del castigo, [115] Todos hacen Siempre bien. 

 Y un asilo dondequiera Y un lecho en el hospital Siempre hallaré, y un hoyo donde caiga [120] Mi cuerpo miserable al espirar. 

 Mío es el mundo: como el aire libre, Otros trabajan porque coma yo; Todos se ablandan, si doliente pido Una limosna por amor de Dios. [125]

 SONETO

 Fresca, lozana, pura y olorosa, Gala y adorno del pensil florido, Gallarda puesta sobre el ramo erguido, Fragrancia esparce la naciente rosa. 

 Mas si el ardiente sol lumbre enojosa [5] Vibra del can en llamas encendido, El dulce aroma y el color perdido, Sus hojas lleva el aura presurosa. 

 Así brilló un momento mi ventura En alas del amor, y hermosa nube [10] Fingí tal vez de gloria y de alegría. 

 Mas ¡ay! que el bien trocóse en amargura, Y deshojada por los aires sube La dulce flor de la esperanza mía. 

 A TERESA DESCANSA EN PAZ

 Bueno es el mundo, ¡bueno! ¡bueno! ¡bueno! Como de Dios al fin obra maestra, Por todas partes de delicias lleno, De que Dios ama al hombre hermosa muestra; Salga la voz alegre de su seno A celebrar esta vivienda nuestra; ¡Paz a los hombres! ¡gloria en las alturas! ¡Cantad en vuestra jaula, crïaturas! DON MIGUEL DE LOS SANTOS ÁLVAREZ, "María"

 ¿Por qué volvéis a la memoria mía, Tristes recuerdos del placer perdido, A aumentar la ansiedad y la agonía De este desierto corazón herido? ¡Ay! que de aquellas horas de alegría, [5] Le quedó al corazón sólo un gemido, Y el llanto que al dolor los ojos niegan Lágrimas son de hiel que el alma anegan!

 ¿Dónde volaron ¡ay! aquellas horas De juventud, de amor y de ventura, [10] Regaladas de músicas sonoras, Adornadas de luz y de hermosura? Imágenes de oro bullidoras, Sus alas de carmín y nieve pura, Al sol de mi esperanza desplegando, [15] Pasaban ¡ay! a mi alredor cantando. 

 Gorjeaban los dulces ruiseñores, El sol iluminaba mi alegría, El aura susurraba entre las flores, El bosque mansamente respondía, [20] Las fuentes murmuraban sus amores. . . . ¡Ilusiones que llora el alma mía! ¡Oh! ¡cuán süave resonó en mi oído El bullicio del mundo y su ruïdo!

 Mi vida entonces cual guerrera nave [25] Que el puerto deja por la vez primera, Y al soplo de los céfiros süave, Orgullosa despliega su bandera, Y al mar dejando que a sus pies alabe Su triunfo en roncos cantos, va velera [30] Una ola tras otra bramadora Hollando y dividiendo vencedora;

 ¡Ay! en el mar del mundo, en ansia ardiente De amor volaba, el sol de la mañana Llevaba yo sobre mi tersa frente, [35] Y el alma pura de su dicha ufana. Dentro de ella el amor cual rica fuente, Que entre frescura y arboledas mana, Brotaba entonces abundante río De ilusiones y dulce desvarío. [40]

 Yo amaba todo: un noble sentimiento Exaltaba mi ánimo, y sentía En mi pecho un secreto movimiento, De grandes hechos generoso guía: La libertad con su inmortal aliento, [45] Santa diosa, mi espíritu encendía, Contino imaginando en mi fe pura Sueños de gloria al mundo y de ventura:

 El puñal de Catón, la adusta frente Del noble Bruto, la constancia fiera [50] Y el arrojo de Scévola valiente, La doctrina de Sócrates severa, La voz atronadora y elocuente Del orador de Atenas, la bandera Contra el tirano macedonio alzando, [55] Y al espantado pueblo arrebatando;

 El valor y la fe del caballero, Del trovador el arpa y los cantares, Del gótico castillo el altanero, Antiguo torreón, do sus pesares [60] Cantó tal vez con eco lastimero ¡Ay! arrancada de sus patrios lares, Joven cautiva, al rayo de la luna, Lamentando su ausencia y su fortuna;

 El dulce anhelo del amor que aguarda, [65] Tal vez inquieto y con mortal recelo, La forma bella que cruzó gallarda, Allá en la noche entre el medroso velo, La ansiada cita que en llegar se tarda Al impaciente y amoroso anhelo, [70] La mujer y la voz de su dulzura, Que inspira al alma celestial ternura, A un tiempo mismo en rápida tormenta Mi alma alborotaban de contino, Cual las olas que azota con violenta [75] Cólera, impetüoso torbellino; Soñaba al héroe ya, la plebe atenta En mi voz escuchaba su destino; Ya al caballero, al trovador soñaba, Y de gloria y de amores suspiraba. [80]

 Hay una voz secreta, un dulce canto, Que el alma sólo recogida entiende, Un sentimiento misterioso y santo, Que del barro al espíritu desprende, Agreste, vago y solitario encanto, [85] Que en inefable amor el alma enciende, Volando tras la imagen peregrina El corazón de su ilusión divina. 

 Yo, desterrado en extranjera playa, Con los ojos, extático seguía [90] La nave audaz que argentada raya Volaba al puerto de la patria mía; Yo cuando en Occidente el sol desmaya, Solo y perdido en la arboleda umbría, Oír pensaba el armonioso acento [95] De una mujer, al suspirar del viento. 

 ¡Una mujer! En el templado rayo De la mágica luna se colora, Del sol poniente al lánguido desmayo Lejos entre las nubes se evapora; [100] Sobre las cumbres que florece el mayo Brilla fugaz al despuntar la aurora, Cruza tal vez por entre el bosque umbrío, Juega en las aguas del sereno río. 

 ¡Una mujer! Deslízase en el cielo [105] Allá en la noche desprendida estrella; Si aroma el aire recogió en el suelo, Es el aroma que le presta ella. Blanca es la nube que en callado vuelo Cruza la esfera y que su planta huella, [110] Y en la tarde la mar olas la ofrece De plata y de zafir donde se mece. 

 Mujer que amor en su ilusión figura, Mujer que nada dice a los sentidos, Ensueño de suavísima ternura, [115] Eco que regaló nuestros oídos; De amor la llama generosa y pura, Los goces dulces del placer cumplidos, Que engalana la rica fantasía, Goces que avaro el corazón ansía; [120]

 ¡Ay! aquella mujer, tan sólo aquella Tanto delirio a realizar alcanza, Y esa mujer, tan cándida y tan bella, Es mentida ilusión de la esperanza; Es el alma que vívida destella [125] Su luz al mundo cuando en él se lanza, Y el mundo con su magia y galanura Es espejo no más de su hermosura;

 Es el amor que al mismo amor adora, El que creó las sílfides y ondinas, [130] La sacra ninfa que bordando mora Debajo de las aguas cristalinas; Es el amor que recordando llora Las arboledas del Edén divinas, Amor de allí arrancado, allí nacido, [135] Que busca en vano aquí su bien perdido. 

 ¡Oh llama santa! ¡celestial anhelo! ¡Sentimiento purísimo! ¡memoria Acaso triste de un perdido cielo, Quizá esperanza de futura gloria! [140] ¡Huyes y dejas llanto y desconsuelo! ¡Oh mujer! que en imagen ilusoria Tan pura, tan feliz, tan placentera, Brindó el amor a mi ilusión primera. . . !

 ¡Oh Teresa! ¡Oh dolor! Lágrimas mías, [145] ¡Ah! ¿dónde estáis que no corréis a mares? ¿Por qué, por qué como en mejores días No consoláis vosotras mis pesares? ¡Oh! los que no sabéis las agonías De un corazón, que penas a millares [150] ¡Ay! desgarraron, y que ya no llora, ¡Piedad tened de mi tormento ahora!

 ¡Oh! ¡dichosos mil veces! sí, dichosos, Los que podéis llorar y ¡ay! sin ventura De mí, que, entre suspiros angustiosos, [155] Ahogar me siento en infernal tortura! Retuércese entre nudos dolorosos Mi corazón, gimiendo de amargura!. . . También tu corazón, hecho pavesa, ¡Ay! llegó a no llorar, ¡pobre Teresa! [160]

 ¿Quién pensara jamás, Teresa mía, Que fuera eterno manantial de llanto Tanto inocente amor, tanta alegría, Tantas delicias y delirio tanto? ¿Quién pensara jamás llegase un día, [165] En que, perdido el celestial encanto, Y caída la venda de los ojos, Cuanto diera placer causara enojos?

 Aun parece, Teresa, que te veo Aerea como dorada mariposa, [170] Ensueño delicioso del deseo, Sobre tallo gentil temprana rosa, Del amor venturoso devaneo, Angélica, purísima y dichosa, Y oigo tu voz dulcísima, y respiro [175] Tu aliento perfumado en tu suspiro. 

 Y aun miro aquellos ojos que robaron A los cielos su azul, y las rosadas Tintas sobre la nieve, que envidiaron Las de mayo serenas alboradas; [180] Y aquellas horas dulces que pasaron Tan breves ¡ay! como después lloradas, Horas de confïanza y de delicias, De abandono, y de amor y de caricias. 

 Que así las horas rápidas pasaban, [185] Y pasaba a la par nuestra ventura; Y nunca nuestras ansias las contaban, Tú embriagada en mi amor, yo en tu hermosura; Las horas ¡ay! huyendo nos miraban, Llanto tal vez vertiendo de ternura, [190] Que nuestro amor y juventud veían, Y temblaban las horas que vendrían. 

 Y llegaron en fin. . . . ¡Oh! ¿quién impío ¡Ay! agostó la flor de tu pureza? Tú fuiste un tiempo cristalino río, [195] Manantial de purísima limpieza; Después torrente de color sombrío, Rompiendo entre peñascos y maleza, Y estanque, en fin, de aguas corrompidas, Entre fétido fango detenidas. [200]

 ¿Cómo caíste despeñado al suelo, Astro de la mañana luminoso? Ángel de luz, ¿quién te arrojó del cielo A este valle de lágrimas odioso? Aun cercaba tu frente el blanco velo [205] Del serafín, y, en ondas fulgoroso, Rayos al mundo tu esplendor vertía, Y otro cielo el amor te prometía. 

 Mas ¡ay! que es la mujer ángel caído O mujer nada más y lodo inmundo, [210] Hermoso ser para llorar nacido, O vivir como autómata en el mundo. Sí, que el demonio en el Edén perdido Abrasara con fuego del profundo La primera mujer, y ¡ay! aquel fuego [215] La herencia ha sido de sus hijos luego. 

 Brota en el cielo del amor la fuente Que a fecundar el universo mana, Y en la tierra su límpida corriente Sus márgenes con flores engalana; [220] Mas ¡ay! huíd: el corazón ardiente Que el agua clara por beber se afana Lágrimas verterá de duelo eterno, Que su raudal lo envenenó el infierno. 

 Huíd, si no queréis que llegue un día, [225] En que, enredado en retorcidos lazos El corazón, con bárbara porfía Luchéis por arrancároslo a pedazos: En que al cielo en histérica agonía Frenéticos alcéis entrambos brazos, [230] Para en vuestra impotencia maldecirle, Y escupiros, tal vez, al escupirle. 

 Los años ¡ay! de la ilusión pasaron; Las dulces esperanzas que trajeron Con sus blancos ensueños se llevaron, [235] Y el porvenir de oscuridad vistieron: Las rosas de amor se marchitaron, Las flores en abrojos convirtieron, Y de afán tanto y tan soñada gloria Sólo quedó una tumba, una memoria. [240]

 ¡Pobre Teresa! al recordarte siento Un pesar tan intenso. . . ! embarga impío Mi quebrantada voz mi sentimiento, Y suspira tu nombre el labio mío: Pára allí su carrera el pensamiento, [245] Hiela mi corazón punzante frío, Ante mis ojos la funesta losa, Donde vil polvo tu beldad reposa. 

 ¡Y tú feliz, que hallaste en la muerte Sombra a que descansar en tu camino, [250] Cuando llegabas, mísera, a perderte, Y era llorar tu único destino: Cuando en tu frente la implacable suerte Grababa de los réprobos el sino. . . ! ¡Feliz! la muerte te arrancó del suelo, [255] Y otra vez ángel te volviste al cielo. 

 Roída de recuerdos de amargura, Árido el corazón sin ilusiones, La delicada flor de tu hermosura Ajaron del dolor los Aquilones: [260] Sola, y envilecida y sin ventura, Tu corazón secaron las pasiones, Tus hijos, ¡ay! de ti se avergonzaran, Y hasta el nombre de madre te negaran. 

 Los ojos escaldados de tu llanto, [265] Tu rostro cadavérico y hundido, Único desahogo en tu quebranto, El histérico ¡ay! de tu gemido: ¿Quién, quién pudiera, en infortunio tanto, Envolver tu desdicha en el olvido, [270] Disipar tu dolor y recogerte En su seno de paz? ¡Sólo la muerte!

 ¡Y tan joven, y ya tan desgraciada! Espíritu indomable, alma violenta, En ti, mezquina sociedad, lanzada [275] A romper tus barreras turbulenta. Nave contra las rocas quebrantada, Allá vaga, a merced de la tormenta, En las olas tal vez náufraga tabla, Que sólo ya de sus grandezas habla. [280]

 Un recuerdo de amor que nunca muere Y está en mi corazón; un lastimero Tierno quejido que en el alma hiere, Eco süave de su amor primero: ¡Ay! de tu luz en tanto yo viviere [285] Quedará un rayo en mí, blanco lucero, Que iluminaste con tu luz querida La dorada mañana de mi vida. 

 Que yo como una flor que en la mañana Abre su cáliz al naciente día, [290] ¡Ay! al amor abrí tu alma temprana, Y exalté tu inocente fantasía: Yo inocente también: ¡oh! ¡cuán ufana Al porvenir mi mente sonreía, Y en alas de mi amor con cuánto anhelo [295] Pensé contigo remontarme al cielo!

 Y alegre, audaz, ansioso, enamorado, En tus brazos en lánguido abandono, De glorias y deleites rodeado, Levantar para ti soñé yo un trono: [300] Y allí, tú venturosa y yo a tu lado, Vencer del mundo el implacable encono, Y en un tiempo sin horas y medida Ver como un sueño resbalar la vida. 

 ¡Pobre Teresa! Cuando ya tus ojos [305] Áridos ni una lágrima brotaban, Cuando ya su color tus labios rojos En cárdenos matices cambïaban, Cuando de tu dolor tristes despojos La vida y su ilusión te abandonaban, [310] Y consumía lenta calentura Tu corazón al par de tu amargura, Si en tu penosa y última agonía Volviste a lo pasado el pensamiento, Si comparaste a tu existencia un día [315] Tu triste soledad y tu aislamiento; Si arrojó a tu dolor tu fantasía Tus hijos ¡ay! en tu postrer momento, A otra mujer tal vez acariciando, Madre tal vez a otra mujer llamando, [320]

 Si el cuadro de tus breves glorias viste Pasar como fantástica quimera, Y si la voz de tu conciencia oíste Dentro de ti gritándote severa, Si, en fin, entonces tú llorar quisiste, [325] Y no brotó una lágrima siquiera Tu seco corazón, y a Dios llamaste, Y no te escuchó Dios, y blasfemaste, ¡Oh! ¡crüel! ¡muy crüel! ¡martirio horrendo! ¡Espantosa expiación de tu pecado! [330] ¡Sobre un lecho de espinas maldiciendo, Morir el corazón desesperado! ¡Tus mismas manos de dolor mordiendo, Presente a tu conciencia lo pasado, Buscando en vano con los ojos fijos, [335] Y extendiendo tus brazos a tus hijos!!

 ¡Oh! ¡crüel! ¡muy crüel!. . . ¡Ah! yo entre tanto, Dentro del pecho mi dolor oculto, Enjugo de mis párpados el llanto Y doy al mundo el exigido culto: [340] Yo escondo con vergüenza mi quebranto, Mi propia pena con mi risa insulto, Y me divierto en arrancar del pecho Mi mismo corazón pedazos hecho. 

 Gocemos, sí; la cristalina esfera [345] Gira bañada en luz: ¡bella es la vida! ¿Quién a parar alcanza la carrera Del mundo hermoso que al placer convida? Brilla radiante el sol, la primavera Los campos pinta en la estación florida: [350] Truéquese en risa mi dolor profundo. . . . ¡Que haya un cadáver más! ¿Qué importa al mundo?

 NOTES

EL ESTUDIANTE DE SALAMANCA

PARTE PRIMERA

Instead of =Cuento=, later editions read =Leyendas=. 

The introductory quotation is taken from the "Don Quijote, " Part I, chap. 45. The words were addressed by Don Quijote to members of therural police who were arresting him for depredations committed on thehighway. The full sentence in Ormsby's translation reads: "Who washe that did not know that knights-errant are independent of alljurisdictions, that their law is their sword, their charter theirprowess, and their edicts their will?" This Spanish declaration ofindependence was frequently used as a slogan by the Romanticists. Espronceda is here making the quotation apply more particularly to hislawless hero. 

=1. Era más de media noche=: the poet begins with a characteristicRomantic landscape, gloomy, medieval, fantastic, uncanny. He is tryingto create a mood of horror. He follows the Horatian precept of beginningthe plot in the middle (_in medias res_). The situation here introducedis not resumed until Part Four is reached. Parts Two and Three supplythe events leading up to the duel. The Duque de Rivas's "Candil" beginsin similar fashion:

 Más ha de quinientos años En una torcida calle, Que de Sevilla en el centro Da paso a otras principales; Cerca de la media noche, Cuando la ciudad más grande Es de un grande cementerio En silencio y paz imagen; De dos desnudas espadas Que trababan un combate Turbó el repentino encuentro Las tinieblas impalpables. El crujir de los aceros Sonó por breves instantes Lanzando azules centellas, Meteoro de desastres. Y al gemido _¡Dios me valga! ¡Muerto soy!_ y al golpe grave De un cuerpo que a tierra vino El silencio y paz renacen, etc. 

This was first published in "El Liceo, " 1838. The Duque de Rivas mayhave been influenced by our text, but such introductions were a Romanticcommonplace. See M. Fernández y González, "Crónicas romanescas deEspaña. Don Miguel de Mañara, memorias del tiempo de Carlos V, " Paris, 1868. The story begins "Era la media noche"; and, later, "Hacía muchotiempo que Sevilla estaba entregada al sueño y al silencio. " Esproncedais here following his sources closely. 

=2. Antiguas historias=: not a mere rhetorical statement. These oldstories actually existed. See the study of sources in the Introduction. 

=4. Lóbrego=: I follow the reading of the 1840 edition. Later editionschanged to =lóbrega=, making the adjective agree with =tierra= insteadof =silencio=. Either reading makes good sense, but in cases of doubt Ifollow the Editio Princeps. 

=11. Fantasmas=: this noun is usually masculine, but is often femininein popular speech. The distinction between the masculine and femininemeanings given in most dictionaries does not apply in Espronceda. Heuses both genders indifferently. 

=19. Sábados=: Saturday was the usual day when, according to popularbelief, witches attended their yearly =aquelarre= or sabbath. Thefavorite meeting-place for Spanish witches was said to be the plainaround Barahona (Soria). 

=27. Gótico=: admiration for the Gothic was a characteristic ofRomanticism. 

=37. Salamanca=: the famous university city of Spain. Its foundingantedates the Carthaginians and the Romans. The university of Palenciawas transferred to Salamanca by Fernando III in 1239. Neither theuniversity nor the city retains much of its ancient importance. SeeGustave Reynier, "La Vie universitaire dans l'ancienne Espagne, " Paris, 1902. 

=38. Armas y letras=: these words summarize the Renaissance ideal ofculture. The perfect gentleman must combine literature and arms. Letterswere not considered to be apart from active life. Cervantes, Lope deVega, Quevedo, and many others of Spain's great writers of the classicperiod exemplify this ideal. 

=53. Embozado=: to avoid breathing the cool mountain air of his country, a Spaniard frequently draws the corner of his cape over his face, concealing it. He is then =embozado=, 'muffled. ' When a woman is heavilyveiled she is =tapada=. This national custom has been effectively usedby Spanish poets, novelists, and dramatists. It offered a plausibleexcuse for the concealment or confusion of identity. 

=64. Calle=: this word is the object of =atraviesa=, l. 72. 

=65. La calle del Ataúd=: this dismal name does not seem to be ofEspronceda's own invention. It is found in José Gutiérrez de la Vega's"Don Miguel de Mañara, " 1851. Espronceda probably used some earlieredition of the prose romance of Don Miguel de Mañara. 

=96. Que=: a relative adverb used with the force of a genitive Translate'whose. '

=100. Segundo Don Juan Tenorio=: see the Introduction. 

PARTE SEGUNDA

The quotation is taken from Byron's "Don Juan, " Canto IV, stanza 72, thedescription of Haidée's tomb. I restore the first two words, omitted inall previous editions, without which the passage is devoid of meaning. The way in which this passage has been garbled was pointed out byPiñeyro, "El Romanticismo en España, " Paris, 1904. 

=181. De luceros coronada=: this verse occurs also in Meléndez Valdés'"Rosana en los fuegos. " See Foulché-Delbosc, "Quelques Réminiscencesdans Espronceda, " _Revue Hispanique_, XXI, p. 667. 

=218. Hoja tras hoja=, etc. : in the first part of "Faust, " Margaretepulls out one by one the petals of a daisy to determine whether ornot Faust loves her. Is this a reminiscence of Margarete's _Er liebtmich--liebt mich nicht?_

=242. Pasó=: translate by the English perfect tense. There are manyother cases in these poems where the preterit had best be rendered bythe perfect. 

=245. Miraran=: here and elsewhere the second (=-ra=) tense of theimperfect subjunctive is equivalent to a simple past. This use of thetense is frequent. At other times this tense is better rendered by apluperfect indicative, when the common subjunctive meaning does notserve. 

=268. = These verses are the most frequently quoted of the whole poem. 

=268. Juguete=: I retain, though with some doubt, the reading of theoriginal. Later editions have changed to juguetes. 

=278. = The thought of these verses is that mean objects may present abeautiful appearance when viewed through a telescope. "Distance lendsenchantment. " So woman when viewed through the illusion of fancy isbetter than the woman of reality. This thought is developed farther in"A Teresa. "

=298. = A frequently recurring thought in Espronceda, typical of Romanticpessimism. Truth is man's greatest enemy, he holds. Illusion isfriendly. 

=318. = In this and what follows, Elvira is plainly a copy of Ophelia. The influence of Hamlet cannot be doubted. Churchman has pointed outthat Elvira is a composite of Goethe's Margarete, Shakespeare's Ophelia, and the Haidée and Doña Julia of Lord Byron. See "Byron and Espronceda, "_Revue Hispanique_, Vol. XX, p. 164. 

=324. Otra=: I retain the original reading. Later editions erroneouslyread _otras_. 

=347. Vaso de bendición=: `blessed vessel, ' i. E. An individualpeculiarly favored with the divine blessing. The phrase _vaso deelección_ is commoner, meaning one chosen for a particular mission orappointed task. The latter term is frequently applied to the ApostlePaul (Acts ix, 15). 

=359. Mas despertó también de su locura=, etc. : Ophelia did not recoverher reason before dying. Likewise she was drowned, while Elvira dies oflove. 

=364. El bien pasado y el dolor presente=: an obvious reminiscence ofDante's:

 Nessun maggior dolore Che ricordarsi del tempo felice Nella miseria. --"Inferno, " Canto V, ll. 121-123. 

There is no greater sorrow than to recall the happy time in the midst ofmisery. 

=371. = The letter which follows represents Espronceda's most importantborrowing from Byron. It is based upon Doña Julia's letter of adieu toDon Juan: see "Don Juan, " Canto I, stanzas 192-197. The circumstancesattending the writing of the two letters are entirely different. Thetone of Doña Julia's letter is cynical; she is a married woman whose sinhas been discovered and whose husband is forcing her to enter a convent. Doña Elvira's letter, written with death in view, is tender andpathetic. For details see Churchman, "Byron and Espronceda, " _RevueHispanique_, Vol. XX, p. 161. 

PARTE TERCERA

In giving this quotation from the second act of Moreto's "El Lego delCarmen o San Franco de Sena, " Espronceda is either quoting erroneouslyor following some edition not known to me. In the Rivadeneyra editionthe passage is as follows:

 SARGENTO ¿Tiene más que parar?

 FRANCO Tengo los ojos, Y los juego en lo mismo; que descreo De quien los hizo para tal empleo. 

As this play influenced Espronceda, it is well to give a synopsis of it. Like the "Rufián dichoso" of Cervantes, the "San Franco de Sena" dealswith the sinful life and conversion of one who was destined to be asaint. Franco of Siena, a youth noted for his wild conduct, falls inlove with the inappropriately named Lucrecia. He kills her lover Aurelioin a duel, and, passing himself off for Aurelio, elopes with her andgets possession of her jewels. A cross with a lighted lamp before it isplaced on a wall to mark the spot where Aurelio fell. One night, as heis passing, Franco sacrilegiously attempts to extinguish the light. Ahand issues from the wall and seizes him by the wrist. Words of warningaccompany this action. Franco shows neither fear nor compunction. Hekills all the officers of justice who try to arrest him. Again passingthe wall, he hears a ghostly voice urge him to try his hand at play, for by losing he will win. Franco hopes to win in a material way, anddecides to follow this advice. He loses all and then stakes his eyes, making the blasphemous remark quoted above. He loses and is strickenblind. His conversion follows immediately. In the weak third act hebecomes a Carmelite monk, and his companions in sin experience a likechange of heart. 

The legend of the saint of Siena has many points of similarity withthe legends of Don Juan Tenorio, Don Miguel de Mañara, and Lisardo theStudent; but Espronceda has been only slightly influenced by Moreto'splay. If he gained from it, rather than from Dumas or Mérimée, the ideaof his gambling scene, he does not follow his model closely. In eachcase a chain is played for, but in Moreto the game is =pintas=, not=parar= or dice, and the other details are different. Moreto (1618-1659)was one of the most graceful but least original of the dramatists of theclassic period. 

=438. = The game of =parar=, =carteta=, or =andaboba=, as it wasvariously called, was played as follows: The dealer, who also serves asbanker, places two cards face up at his left. The third card he placesin front of himself. The fourth card, called the réjouissance card inthe French form of the game, he places in the middle of the table. Theplayers stake on this card whatever bets they desire to make, and thesethe banker is obliged to cover. He then deals a fifth. If this matcheshis own card, he wins all the money staked. If, on the contrary, itmatches the réjouissance card, those who have staked money upon it winfrom the bank. If it matches neither, it is laid face up on the table, and money may be staked upon it precisely as upon the réjouissance card. So with all successive cards. The deal ends as soon as the banker's cardis matched. He then surrenders the bank to the winner, unless the twocards laid to his left are matched before the third card dealt, his own, is duplicated. In this latter case he is privileged to keep the bank foranother deal. This game, by reason of its swift action and the largenumber of players who could engage in it, was called =el juego alegre=. As results depended upon the turn of a single card, it lent itselfreadily to cheating. It is mentioned in a _pragmática_ of Philip II, 1575, among a list of games to be prohibited. The modern games of monteand baccarat have points of similarity. In France and England the gameis known as _lansquenet_, and is supposed to have been invented by theGerman _Landsknechte_, mercenary foot-soldiers of the sixteenthcentury. For further information see Hazañas y la Rúa, "Los Rufianesde Cervantes, " Sevilla, 1906, p. 44, and Monreal, "Cuadros Antiguos, "Sevilla, 1906, p. 342. For a similar gambling scene see Tirso de Molina, "Tanto es lo de más como lo de menos, " Act II, sc. Vii. 

=455. El Caballo=: to understand what follows some knowledge of Spanishplaying-cards is necessary. In Spain the =baraja=, or deck, consists, according to the game played, of 48 or 40 cards (=cartas, naipes, cartones=), and not of 52 as with us. The ten spot is unknown, and whenthe deck consists of but 40 the eight and nine spots are also wanting. The =palos=, or suits, are four: =oros= (gold coins, corresponding toour diamonds), =copas= (cups, corresponding to our hearts), =espadas=(swords, corresponding to our spades), and =bastones= (clubs). Thesefigures are not conventionalized. The face cards are three: =el rey=(the king), =el caballo= (representing a mounted cavalryman, andcorresponding in value to our queen), and =la sota= (a standinginfantryman, sometimes called also =el infante=, and corresponding invalue to our knave). These figures are unreversible. The First Gambleris dealer and banker, as is shown by the fact that he covers the bets(line 466). He is losing in spite of the fact that the banker had anadvantage. The =caballo= is clearly the card that has turned up in frontof the dealer. The turning up of a second =caballo= would end the deal. 

=457. Pues por poco=, etc. : the Second Gambler is mocking the First. "You want the =caballo=, and the =sota=, the card next under it in thesuit, has turned up. This is so close that you should be satisfied. " Allthis is implied in his remark. 

=459. = The Second Gambler strikes an irreligious note by pretending tobelieve that the First Gambler's oath is a pious remark. He suggeststhat prayer and repentance should be deferred until one is dying. Gentlemen of equal rank formerly addressed each other in the secondperson plural. 

=466. = The Third Gambler stakes upon the =sota=. Each new card, notmatching previous ones, was the occasion for new bets. 

=480. = An allusion to the world-wide superstition that he who is luckyat love is unlucky at cards and vice versa. 

=490. Se vende y se rifa=: Don Félix, who has no ready cash, raffles offhis chain. He places on it a value of 2000 ducats, and announces thateach of the five gamblers who are in funds must contribute 400 ducatsto the raffle. The First Gambler, a heavy loser, does not engage in theplay; and Don Félix, too, enters into this first transaction merely asa seller. The chain is to go to the player to whom he deals the ace of=oros=, and he himself will get the 2000 ducats. After this he willbegin to gamble on his own account. The game of =parar= ceased upon theentrance of Don Félix. 

=491. Afrenta=: the affront lies in Don Félix's insolent manner andthe masterful way in which he forces them to accept his terms withoutquestion. Indignant as the Fourth Gambler is, he dares not offer openobjection. 

=496=. I restore =una= from the 1840 edition instead of =uno=, found inthe later prints. The agreement is with =carta=, understood, not with=naipe=. So likewise when the cards are dealt out in Moreto's "SanFranco de Sena, " the first numeral is =una=. 

=498. = Three is the lucky number. The third card falls to the ThirdGambler, who wins. The grief of the First Gambler is increased by thefact that the winning card would have fallen to him, if he had been inthe game. Line 496 indicates that D. Félix passes him in dealing. 

=500. = Having now come into possession of his 2000 ducats, Don Félix, always a reckless gambler, proposes to stake them all upon a singlethrow of the dice. 

=516. Si esta imagen respirara=: the First Gambler is so unlucky atcards that he may be supposed to be lucky in love. Hence sentimentalremarks are placed in his mouth. 

=520. = The Second Gambler makes a side bet with the Fourth and then asecond one with the Fifth. These bets will be decided by the same throwthat decides the bet between Don Félix and the Third Gambler. 

=526. Tirad con sesenta=, etc. : "Throw in the name of sixty horsemen. "Some word like =hombres= or =demonios= needs to be supplied. 

=529. = Don Félix, who has again lost, speaks with ironic blasphemy. Heblames the First Gambler for addressing his prayer to God rather than tothe devil. 

=546. Vendellas=: for =venderlas=. In Old Spanish the final =r= of theinfinitive frequently assimilates to the initial =l= of the encliticpronoun. 

=550. = Don Félix's perverted sense of honor will not brook the mosttrivial verbal slight to Elvira on the part of another, although he hascruelly wronged her himself by his deeds. 

=558. = The First Gambler is not sufficiently blasphemous to invoke thedevil, and Don Félix does so himself. This invocation changes his luck. 

=567. Encubierta fatídica figura=: one of those threadbare phrasesabused by Spain's romantic poets. Valera in his "Del Romanticismo enEspaña y de Espronceda" instances some of these, such as =negro capuz, lúgubre són, fúnebre ciprés=, etc. Mesonero Romanos in his "Románticos yRomanticismo" ridicules the abuse of the word =fatídica=. Espronceda wasless frequently guilty of this sort of unoriginality than other lessgifted poets were. 

=610. Mentís vos=: the usual formula for picking a quarrel. 

=625, 631. Que=: equivalent to =porque=. 

=653. Vos=: antiquated for =vosotros=. Don Diego alone is addressed. After =Esperad, que= may be understood; such omissions of theconjunction are common in poetry. Punctuating differently, we mightplace a period after =Esperad=, in which case =Cuente= might be taken asa first person imperative. 

=676. Juego=: such is the reading of the 1840 edition. Some later editoremended to =fuego=. Though this emendation is plausible, the changeseems to me both unnecessary and unhappy. It is characteristic of DonFélix's cool insolence that he should refer to his affair with Elvira asa "game" rather than as a "passion. "

=692. = The Fourth Gambler's remark is somewhat ambiguous, but the sensedemands that we take =lo= as referring to Don Félix. Remember that itwas the Fourth Gambler who had resented Don Félix's overbearing conduct. He acted the coward and now talks like a coward. The Third Gambler isthe most skeptical regarding changes of luck, because he himself hasexperienced the greatest ups and downs of fortune in the game justfinished. 

PARTE CUARTA

Miguel de los Santos Álvarez (1818-1892) was a friend and imitator ofEspronceda and the last surviving member of his school. He was one ofseveral who attempted the vain task of completing the "Diablo Mundo. "He was a guest of honor with Espronceda at the first reading of "ElEstudiante de Salamanca" at Granada in 1837. His verse is mediocre, and he is best known for the _Cuento en prosa_ here quoted. ThisFitzmaurice-Kelly terms "a charming tale, " and Piñeyro praises itfor the grace and naturalness of its irony. Rubén Darío gives someinteresting reminiscences of Santos Álvarez in his old age, "La vidade Rubén Darío escrita por él mismo", Barcelona, n. D. , chap. Xxvii. Apparently Santos Álvarez never outgrew the bohemianism of his youth. 

The second quotation is from Mark xiv, 38: "The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. "

=693. = The narrative begun in Part First is now resumed at the pointwhere it was interrupted. We now know that it was Don Diego Pastrana wholost his life in the duel described in the opening lines. 

=717. = The omission of the usual accent of =impio= is intentional andindicates how the word should be stressed in this verse. =Impío= is a"word of double accentuation". See Introduction. 

=729. = Notice how the absolute phrase =Los ojos fijos= is broken by theinsertion of the proper name. Poets depart from the usual word-orderwith the utmost freedom. 

=737. Néctar jerezano:= sherry wine. 

=738, 740. Bastara, intentara=: to be translated as pluperfects. 

=766. = It is necessary to supply a =que= to serve as the object of=achaca=. This is readily to be inferred from the =que= in the versebefore, which is, however, used as a subject. 

=793. = In this speech of Don Felix's there is rapid alternation betweendirect address, in the second person, and side remarks in the thirdperson about the person addressed. 

=800. Tengo de=: we would have he de in modern prose. 

=811. = The =que= in this verse is the =que= regularly following oathsand asseverations. Cf. Tobler, "Vermischte Beiträge zur französischenGrammatik, " Leipzig, 1912, Article 17, pp. 57 f. Tobler gives thefollowing example from Calderón: =¡Vive Dios! que no he salido. = ("ElMágico Prodigioso, " Act III, v. 387. ) In these examples, the =¡vivedios!= is hardly more than an emphatic =digo=, and is followed by =que=just as =digo= would be. Verse 810 is parenthetical. 

=828. Del=: construe with =mar=. 

=833. = For the conclusion of the sentence here begun it is necessary toturn to line 883. We have to do with a sentence of 54 lines. 

=840. = The 1840 edition lacks the third =su=. 

=853. Fueron=: 'are past and gone. '

=861. Del=: the later editions read =el=. Ditto in lines 862, 863, 866. =De= is also omitted in 865. 

=868. Jamás=: I restore the 1840 reading. Later editions read =y no=. 

=916. Que=: a conjunction introducing a clause, the verb of which(=pese=) has to be supplied. 

=921. = The usual accent is intentionally omitted from =veame=. To readthis verse correctly the second syllable, and not the first, mustbear the stress. The bad prosody of this verse is discussed in theIntroduction. 

=943. = The Dance of Death begins. 

=1012. Misteriosa=: late editors wrongly change to =misterioso=. Espronceda is using =guía= as a feminine. 

=1040. Dale=, etc. : 'plague take the tolling of the passing bell andthese towers dancing in tangled confusion to the measure of such aconcert. '

=1046. Llegue=: I have emended =llegué= (which I believe Esproncedadid not intend on account of the "obstructing syllable" which thataccentuation would give to the verse) to =llegue=. I take =llegue= to bethe subjunctive of emphatic asseveration. See Bello-Cuervo, "GramáticaCastellana, " paragraph 463. Other editors are perhaps right ininterpreting the passage differently. They suppress the period after=maravillas=, the exclamation point before =Que=, and write =llegué=. This makes equally good sense and is just as grammatical, but the verseis less harmonious. This last point, however, is not a vital objection. The two ways of editing this passage seem to me to offer little choice. 

=1062. = Construe =en que= with =ha dado=, above. 

=1112. = The quotation from Mark xiv, 38 applies especially to thispassage. Also to ll. 1626-1633. 

=1121. = The three forms of address used by Don Félix in addressing _elenlutado_ indicate his change of manner from politeness to insolence. Hebegins with the polite third person singular form. Then, enraged by theanswer, he is intentionally insulting in verse 1126, wishing to provokea duel. As the other puts up a brave front, he next addresses him as anequal (verse 1127) by using the second person plural. This was theusual form of address between gentlemen of equal standing during theRenaissance period. But, again losing his temper, he relapses into theinsulting second person singular (verse 1133 and following). 

=1133. Haga=: an instance of the use of the subjunctive after oaths andasseverations. See Bello-Cuervo, "Gramática Castellana, " paragraph 463. 

=1311. Una=: goes with =gradería= in the following verse. 

=1385. = Beginning with this verse and ending with l. 1680, the poetattempts to indicate the gathering and abating fury of the ghostly revelby the successive lengthening and shortening of the verses. The finalverses also express Don Félix's waning strength. This device is anattempt to imitate the _crescendo_ and _diminuendo_ effect of music. This whole passage is an obvious imitation of Victor Hugo's "LesDjinns, " a poem included in "Les Orientales. " Nowhere has Esproncedashown greater virtuosity in the handling of meter. 

=1448. = The nouns and infinitives in this and the following lines areobjects of =siente=, l. 1456. 

=1703. Y si, lector=, etc. : 'And if, reader, you say it is afabrication, I tell it to you as they told it to me. ' León Medina, "Frases literarias afortunadas, " _Revue hispanique_, Vol. XVIII, p. 226, states that these two verses are a quotation from Juan de Castellanos, an obscure poet of the sixteenth century, author of _Elegías de VaronesIlustres de Indias_. (The first three parts of this work may be foundin Vol. IV of the _Biblioteca de Autores Españoles_; Part IV has beenedited by Paz y Melia for the _Colección de Escritores Castellanos_, Vols. XLIV and XLIX. The passage in question may be found in Canto II, octave 8. ) Churchman, "Byron and Espronceda, " _Revue hispanique_, Vol. XX, p. 210, adds the information that Espronceda probably took the linesdirectly from Villalta, who had quoted them in his historical novel _ElGolpe en Vago_, Madrid, 1835. This is made probable by the fact thatwhereas Castellanos had written correctly =os lo cuento=, Villalta wrote=te lo cuento=, Espronceda following him in this grammatical error. 

The form =dijerdes=, an old form for the second plural of the futuresubjunctive (modern =dijereis=), represents the syncopation of a stillolder =dijéredes=. Grammatically the pronoun =os= should have been used. Evidently both Villalta and Espronceda considered =dijerdes= to be asecond singular form. A modern editor cannot undertake to correct amistake made by the author. In Old Spanish infinitives could be veryloosely used. It was not necessary that the subject of a dependentinfinitive should be the same as that of the verb on which it depended. 

The word =comento= here has the meaning "fiction, " "fabrication. " I findthis meaning given in none of the dictionaries, but it can readily beinferred from the word =comentador=, which had as one of its meanings"an inventor of false reports. " =Comento=, like Latin _commentum_, hasas one of its meanings "fiction, " "fabrication. "

The writers of =leyendas= were fond of stressing the traditional natureof their poems. Thus Zorrilla concludes his "Capitán Montoya":

 El pueblo me lo contó Sin notas ni aclaraciones, Con sus mismas espresiones Se lo cuento al pueblo yo. 

CANCIÓN DEL PIRATA

=7. En todo mar conocido=: I follow the reading of the text as itoriginally appeared in _El Artista_. The later version of 1840 ispeculiar in the reading =en todo el mar conocido=. We cannot be certainthat this is a change made by Espronceda himself. 

=84. = Instead of =negro= the 1840 edition reads =ronco=. 

EL CANTO DEL COSACO

Attila, king of the Huns, reigned from 433 until his death 453 A. D. Heis noted for the barbaric ferocity of his campaigns against the Easternand Western Roman Empires and the Germanic kingdoms of the West. In 447he ravaged seventy cities in Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece, and all butcaptured Constantinople. In 451 he crossed the Rhine and sacked thecities of Belgic Gaul. He was decisively defeated at Troyes by theGothic leader Theodoric in league with the Roman general Aëtius. He thenentered northern Italy, where he continued his depredations and advancedupon Rome. The Emperor Valentinianus II saved the city by payingtribute. Legend has it that while in Gaul a hermit called Attila to hisface the "scourge of God. " Attila accepted the designation and repliedwith the remark quoted in the text. This story is not found in Jordanes, Priscus, or any of the contemporary historians. Gibbon says: "It is asaying worthy of the ferocious pride of Attila that the grass never grewon the spot where his horse had trod" ("Decline and Fall of the RomanEmpire, " London, 1897, III, p. 469). This poem is a magnificentexpression of barbaric battle-lust. Espronceda felt as a youth thatwholesale destruction must precede the new order of things in Spain andEurope. 

=50. = The poet hopelessly confuses the exploits of the Huns, the Goths, and the Cossacks. Neither the Cossacks nor the Huns ever captured Rome. Alaric the Goth took Rome in 410 A. D. 

=65. = The principal Cossack invasion of Poland was in the first half ofthe seventeenth century, when Chmielnicki, hetman of the Cossacks, withthe aid of his Tartar allies ruthlessly devastated the Polish provinces. This war has been vividly described by Sienkiewicz in his novel "WithFire and Sword. "

=79. = The Huns are said to have carried raw meat beneath their saddlesas they rode. At the end of the day's ride they would eat it. 

EL MENDIGO

=108. = The poet has paraphrased the proverb =Allá van leyes do quierenreyes=, the idea of which is that a tyrant can twist the law to servethe purposes of his tyranny. 

A TERESA. DESCANSA EN PAZ

For an account of Teresa, see the Introduction. For Miguel de los SantosÁlvarez, see the note to "El Estudiante de Salamanca, " Part IV. 

=41. = The poet describes his three youthful passions: liberty, romanticliterature, and love. 

=49. Catón=: Caius Porcius Cato (95-46 B. C. ), commonly called Cato ofUtica, was a stalwart defender of Roman republicanism against Caesarand his party. His suicide after the defeat of the republican cause atThapsus was regarded as an act of stoic heroism. 

=50. Bruto=: it is not clear whether the poet refers to Lucius JuniusBrutus, who drove from power Tarquinius Superbus, founded the Romanrepublic, and displayed his rigid justice by condemning to death his ownsons, or Marcus Junius Brutus, who assassinated Cæsar in the name ofliberty. 

=51. Scévola=: a hero of early Rome who was captured by the enemyand threatened with death by fire if he refused to give importantinformation. He replied by deliberately holding his hand in a flame. 

=52. Sócrates= (469-400 B. C. ): the celebrated Grecian philosopher. Hebelieved in the immortality of the soul. 

=54. Del orador de Atenas=: Demosthenes (385-322 B. C. ), especiallyfamous for his Philippics, a series of twelve orations directed againstPhilip of Macedon, the _tirano macedonio_ here alluded to. All theseclassical allusions seem to show that Espronceda, like most of theleaders of the French Revolution, was influenced by Plutarch. 

=57. = In this octave the poet voices his enthusiasm for the Middle Agesand romantic literature in general. In his desire to embrace in his ownlife the careers of knight and troubadour, Espronceda is harking back tothe "arms and letters" ideal of many of Spain's greatest writers. 

=77. Soñaba al héroe=: =con= is the usual complement of =soñar= inprose. 

=89. = Espronceda's first meeting with Teresa took place in Portugal inthe beautiful region around Cintra. 

=131. La sacra ninfa que bordando=, etc. : according to Menéndez yPelayo, these two verses are taken from the "Fábula de Genil" ofPedro Espinosa, an author whom he says Espronceda knew by heart. (See"Discursos leídos ante la Real Academia Española en la recepción delexcmo. Señor D. Francisco Rodríguez Marín, el día 27 de octubre de1907, " Madrid, 1907, p. 86). The verses in question are:

 Corta las aguas con los blancos brazos La ninfa, que con otras ninfas mora Debajo de las aguas cristalinas En aposentos de esmeraldas finas. 

And farther down, El despreciado dios su dulce amante Con las náyades vido estar bordando. 

This in turn, it seems to me, may be reminiscent of Garcilaso de laVega's _Égloga Tercera_. Apparently P. Henríquez Ureña has made thisdiscovery independently. See _Revista de Filología Española_, IV, 3, p. 292. 

=170. = The usual accent has been intentionally omitted from =aerea=. 

=201. = "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. "Isaiah xiv, 12. 

=232. = The story of the man who spits upon himself while trying to spitupon the sky is as old as Berceo in Spanish literature. 

=238. = One has to supply a =se= with =convirtieron=. This may readily beinferred from the preceding verse. 

=352. = Foulché-Delbosc thinks that this last verse was suggested byHugo, "Les Feuilles d'automne, XXXV, Soleils couchants. " See _Revuehispanique_, XXI, p. 667. 

VOCABULARY

The sign "-" means the word which stands in black type at the head ofthe paragraph; thus, =-se= under =abrir= means =abrirse=. 

 _acc. _ = accusative. _adj. _ = adjective. _adv. _ = adverb. _art. _ = article. _card. _ = cardinal numeral. _cf. _ = compare. _conj. _ = conjunction. _dat. _ = dative. _dem. _ = demonstrative. _f. _ = feminine. _impers. _ = impersonal. _inf. _ = infinitive. _interj. _ = interjection. _interrog. _ = interrogation, interrogative. _Ital. _ = Italian. _m. _ = masculine. _neut. _ = neuter. _p. P. _ = past participle. _pers. _ = person, personal. _pl. _ = plural. _poss. _ = possessive. _pr. N. _ = proper noun. _prep. _ = preposition. _pron. _ = pronoun. _refl. _ = reflexive. _rel. _ = relative. _sc. _ = to wit. _sing. _ = singular. _viz. _ = namely. 

 =a= _prep. _ to, at, on, upon, over, in, towards, with, from, for, around, by, of, when, as; _as sign of the accusative, not to be translated_; =----= + _inf. _ if (=---- estar aquí= if she were here); =al= + _inf. _ upon, on, at, when. =abandonar= abandon, forsake, leave. =abandono= _m. _ abandonment, surrender, yielding. =abarcar= embrace, contain. =abatir= overthrow, lay low. =abierto, -a= open. =abismo= _m. _ abyss, hell, bottomless pit. =ablandarse= soften, relent, give. =abonar= improve, warrant, favor, become. =abrasado, -a= burning, hot. =abrasar= burn. =abrazo= _m. _ embrace. =ábrego= _m. _ southwest wind. =abreviar= shorten. =abrir= open, expand, cut; =--se= open, yawn, unfold, split. =abrojo= _m. _ thistle, thorn. =absolución= _f. _ absolution. =abundante= _adj. _ abundant, abounding, teeming. =acá= _adv. _ here, hither. =acabar= end, cease; =--se= come to an end. =acacia= _f. _ acacia. =acariciar= cherish, soothe, caress. =acaso= _adv. _ perchance, perhaps. =acción= _f. _ action, feat. =acento= _m. _ accent, voice, words, tone. =acercar= approach, bring near; =--se= approach. =acero= _m. _ steel. =acertar= guess aright, tell certainly, ascertain, divine. =acompañar= accompany, follow. =acudir= assist, hasten to assistance, come, appear. =achacar= blame, impute, attribute. =adelantar(se)= advance, proceed, hasten. =adelante= _adv. _ onward, on, farther, forward. =ademán= _m. _ gesture, attitude, look, manner. =adiós= _m. _ adieu, farewell. =admirar= wonder at, admire. =admitir= admit, accept, permit. =adónde= _adv. _ where? whither. =adorar= adore. =adormir= drop to sleep. =adornar= adorn. =adorno= _m. _ ornament, adornment. =aduar= _m. _ camp, camp of gypsies, horde of gypsies. =adusto, -a= austere, sullen, gloomy, solemn. =advertir= warn. =aéreo, -a= ethereal, aerial, airy. =afán= _m. _ eager desire, longing, anxiety, effort, toil, difficulty, bustle. =afanar= distress; =--se= desire eagerly, struggle for. =afeminado, -a= effeminate. =afilado, -a= sharp, slender, thin, tapering. =afligido, -a= troubled, distressed. =afligir= pain, grieve. =afrenta= _f. _ insult, affront. =ágil= _adj. _ nimble, light. =agilidad= _f. _ quickness, nimbleness, activity. =agitar= agitate, move, stir, stir up, sway, shake, disturb. =agolpado, -a= curdled. =agolpar= rush, gather. =agonía= _f. _ agony, death struggle, pangs of death. =agostar= parch, wither. =agradecer= be grateful, render thanks, be grateful for. =agradecido, -a= thankful, grateful. =agreste= _adj. _ wild, rude, rough. =agrupar(se)= cluster. =agua= _f. _ water. =aguardar= await, expect. =agudo, -a= sharp, keen. =¡ah!= _interj. _ ah! =ahínco= _m. _ energy, determination. =ahogar= stifle, smother, drown. =ahora= _adv. _ now, at present. =airado, -a= angry. =aire= _m. _ air, atmosphere, wind, breeze, manner. =airoso, -a= airy, lively, easy, genteel, elegant, graceful. =aislamiento= _m. _ isolation. =ajar= spoil, crumple, fade. =ajeno, -a= of another, ignorant, unaware; =---- de= free from. =ala= _f. _ wing, brim. =alabar= praise, extol. =alarido= _m. _ cry, shout, shriek. =alba= _f. _ dawn. =albo, -a= white. =alborada= _f. _ dawn. =alborotar= stir up, agitate, arouse, excite, disturb, confuse; =--se= get excited. =alcanzar= attain, succeed, achieve, reach, obtain, take; =---- a hacer= succeed in doing, be capable of doing. =alcázar= _m. _ castle, fortress. =alegrarse= rejoice, be glad. =alegre= _adj. _ happy, joyful, merry, beautiful, fair, clear. =alegría= _f. _ joy, merriment. =alejarse= move away, recede. =alentar= animate, foster, cherish. =alfombra= _f. _ carpet. =algazara= _f. _ shout, shouting, hubbub. =alguno, -a= _adj. Pron. _ some, some one. =aliento= _m. _ breath, spirit, exhalation. =alma= _f. _ soul, heart, person. =almena= _f. _ battlement. =almo, -a= holy. =alquiler= _m. _ hire; =de ----= hired, let for hire. =alrededor= _adv. _ around; =a mi ----= around me. =altanero, -a= soaring, haughty, arrogant, overbearing, proud. =altar= _m. _ altar. =alterar= change, disturb, stir up. =altísimo, -a= very high, lofty. =altivez= _f. _ arrogance, presumption. =altiveza= _f. _ arrogance, haughtiness. =altivo, -a= haughty, proud, lofty. =alto, -a= high, steep, tall, raised, lofty, erect, loud. =altura= _f. _ height; =----s= heavens, on high. =alumbrar= light, shed light, illumine. =Álvarez= _pr. N. _ Álvarez. =alzar= raise, lift, hoist; =--se= rise; =--se de pie= rise to one's feet. =allá= _adv. _ there, yonder, thither; =---- va= here goes; =---- voy= I am coming; =más ----= farther on, beyond. =allí= _adv. _ there. =amable= _adj. _ pleasing, lovely, kind. =amado, -a= beloved, loved (one). =amador= _m. _ lover. =amante= _adj. _ loving. =amante= _m. F. _ lover, sweetheart. =amar= love. =amargo, -a= bitter. =amargura= _f. _ bitterness, sorrow. =amarillo, -a= yellow. =amedrentar= frighten, terrify. =amigo= _m. _ friend. =amontonar= gather, pile up. =amor= _m. _ love, lady-love, sweetheart; =----es= love affairs, amours, intrigues. =amoroso, -a= loving, amorous, gentle. =amparar= protect; =--se= be protected, enjoy protection. =analizar= analyze. =anatema= _m. F. _ anathema. =anclar= anchor. =andado, -a= traversed. =andadura= _f. _ amble; =paso de ----= ambling gait. =andar= go, move, walk, be; =vamos andando= let us be off. =andar= _m. _ gait, walk. =andrajoso, -a= tattered. =anegar= drown. =ángel= _m. _ angel. =angélico, -a= angelic, heaven-born. =ángulo= _m. _ corner. =angustia= _f. _ anguish. =angustiado, -a= anguished, distressed. =angustioso, -a= full of anguish, miserable, painful. =anhelante= _adj. _ covetous, longing. =anhelo= _m. _ desire, longing, yearning. =ánima= _f. _ soul. =animarse= take courage, become animated. =ánimo= _m. _ spirit, courage, mind, intention. =animoso, -a= spirited, gallant, brave. =ansia= _f. _ longing, eagerness, anxiety, anguish. =ansiar= desire, yearn for, long for, crave. =ansiedad= _f. _ anxiety, eagerness, longing, anguish. =ansioso, -a= anxious. =ante= _prep. _ before. =antes= _adv. _ before; =---- de= _prep. _ before. =antiguo, -a= old, ancient, former. =antojo= _m. _ fancy, caprice. =antorcha= _f. _ torch, taper. =anublar= becloud, darken. =anunciar= announce, proclaim. =añadir= add. =año= _m. _ year. =apagado, -a= extinguished, softened. =apagar= extinguish. =aparecer(se)= appear. =aparición= _f. _ apparition, ghost. =apartar= remove, withdraw. =aparte= _adv. _ aside. =apenas= _adv. _ hardly, barely. =aplauso= _m. _ applause. =apoderarse de= take possession of. =apostar= bet, wager, stake. =apostura= _f. _ neatness, spruceness, appearance. =apoyar= rest, support. =aprecio= _m. _ regard; =hacer ---- de= note. =apremiar= press. =aprestar= make ready, prepare. =apretado, -a= tight, close. =apretar= press, clutch, tighten. =aquel, -la= _adj. Dem. _ that. =aquél, -la, aquello= _pron. Dem. _ that one. =aquí= _adv. _ here, now; =de ---- a una hora= an hour hence. =Aquilón= _m. _ north wind. =ara= _f. _ altar. =árbol= _m. _ tree. =arboleda= _f. _ grove. =arcano= _m. _ secret, mystery. =arco= _m. _ arch. =archivo= _m. _ archive, repository. =arder= burn, glow. =ardido, -a= burning. =ardiente= _adj. _ ardent, burning. =ardite= _m. _ ardite (an ancient coin); farthing. =arenal= _m. _ sandy place. =argentado, -a= silvery, silvered. =argentino, -a= silvery. =árido, -a= dry, dried up, barren. =arma= _f. _ arms, weapon. =armar= arm, start. =armonía= _f. _ harmony, music, rhythm, concord, peace. =armonioso, -a= harmonious, melodious. =aroma= _m. _ aroma, fragrance, scent, perfume. =aromoso, -a= aromatic, fragrant. =arpa= _f. _ harp. =arrancar= tear out, pluck out, wring, wrest, tear away, take away. =arrebatar= bear away, catch, snatch up, attract, captivate, charm; =--se= grow furious, rush headlong, give way to passion. =arrebolar= redden. =arrogancia= _f. _ arrogance. =arrojar= throw, cast, cast off. =arrojo= _m. _ daring, fearlessness. =arrostrar= face, fight, encounter. =arroyuelo= _m. _ little brook, brooklet. =arruinado, -a= ruinous, crumbling. =arrullar= lull. =arrullo= _m. _ lullaby. =as= _m. _ ace. =asaz= _adv. _ enough, sufficiently, very. =ascender= ascend, rise. =así= _adv. _ so, thus. =Asia= _f. _ Asia. =asiento= _m. _ seat. =asilo= _m. _ refuge, protection, shelter, haven, asylum. =asolador, -a= destroying, devastating. =asomar= appear. =asombro= _m. _ amazement, wonder. =aspecto= _m. _ aspect, appearance, sight. =áspero, -a= rough, rugged. =aspirar= breathe, inhale, aspire. =asqueroso, -a= loathsome, filthy. =astro= _m. _ heavenly body, orb, star. =astuto, -a= cunning, crafty. =asunto= _m. _ affair, business. =asustar= frighten. =atajar= head off, stop, check, confound. =ataúd= _m. _ coffin. =Atenas= _pr. N. F. _ Athens. =atento, -a= attentive, watchful, heedful, intent. =aterrador, -a= frightening, terrible. =Átila= _pr. N. M. _ Attila. =atrás= _adv. _ behind, backward. =atravesar= pass through, cross. =atrevido, -a= bold, daring. =atronador, -a= thundering. =atropellar= trample under foot, strike down; =--se= hasten, crowd. =audacia= _f. _ audacity. =audaz= _adj. _ bold, fearless. =aullar= howl. =aullido= _m. _ howl, cry of horror. =aumentar= increase, enlarge, magnify. =aún, aun= _adv. _ yet, still, even, nevertheless. =aunque= _conj. _ although. =aura= _f. _ breeze, zephyr. =aurora= _f. _ dawn, break of day, aurora. =ausencia= _f. _ absence. =autómata= _m. _ automaton, mere machine, puppet. =avanzar= advance, go forward. =avariento, -a= avaricious. =avaro, -a= avaricious, covetous. =avaro= _m. _ miser. =ave= _f. _ bird. =aventura= _f. _ adventure, affair. =avergonzarse de= be ashamed of, blush for. =ávido, -a= eager, covetous. =ay= _interj. _ alas, oh; =---- de= alas for. =ay= _m. _ groan. =ayer= _adv. _ yesterday, lately. =azahar= _m. _ orange blossom. =azorar= terrify. =azotar= lash, flog, whip. =azul= _adj. _ blue, azure. 

 =bajar= lower, descend, bow, hang down. =bajel= _m. _ ship. =bajo= _prep. _ under, beneath. =baldón= _m. _ reproach, insult. =banda= _f. _ side of a ship. =bandera= _f. _ banner, flag. =bandolero= _m. _ bandit. =banquete= _m. _ banquet. =bañar= bathe. =báquico, -a= Bacchanalian. =bárbaro, -a= barbarous, cruel, fierce. =barco= _m. _ vessel, ship; =---- viene a= sail! =barrer= sweep. =barrera= _f. _ barrier. =barro= _m. _ clay, mud. =base= _f. _ base, foundation. =bastar= suffice, be enough. =beber= drink, imbibe. =befa= _f. _ scoff, ridicule, taunt. =beldad= _f. _ beauty. =beleño= _m. _ henbane, poison. =belleza= _f. _ beauty. =bello, -a= beautiful, fair. =bendecir= bless, praise. =bendición= _f. _ blessing. =bergantín= _m. _ brigantine. =beso= _m. _ kiss. =bien= _adv. _ well, indeed, all right. =bien= _m. _ good, good thing, treasure, beloved one, blessing; =hacer ----= give alms, aid. =bienhechor, -a= _m. F. _ benefactor. =bienvenido, -a= welcome. =bigote= _m. _ mustache; =hacerse el ----= curl one's mustache. =blanca= _f. _ blanca (old copper coin). =blanco, -a= white, fair. =blancor= _m. _ whiteness. =blando, -a= soft, tender, gentle, pleasing. =blasfemar= blaspheme, curse. =blasón= _m. _ blazon, armorial bearings, honor, glory. =bledo= _m. _ blite, pigweed; =dar un ---- de= care a straw for. =boca= _f. _ mouth, lips. =boda= _f. _ marriage, wedding. =bolsa= _f. _ purse, money. =bonanza= _f. _ fair weather. =bordar= embroider, embellish. =borrasca= _f. _ storm, tempest. =borrascoso, -a= tempestuous, stormy. =borrón= _m. _ blot, stigma. =bosque= _m. _ forest, wood, bosk. =bote= _m. _ thrust. =botín= _m. _ booty, spoils. =bóveda= _f. _ arch, vault, cavern. =bramador, -a= roaring, bellowing, raging. =bramar= roar, rage, bluster, bellow. =bramido= _m. _ howling, roaring. =bravío, -a= wild, fierce. =bravo, -a= brave. =bravura= _f. _. Bravado, fierceness, ferocity, boasting. =brazo= _m. _ arm, embrace. =breve= _adj. _ brief, short. =bridón= _m. _ steed, bridle. =brillante= _adj. _ brilliant, bright. =brillar= glisten, shine. =brindar= drink to one's health, offer, pledge. =brío= _m. _ strength, courage, mettle, spirit, resolution. =brisa= _f. _ breeze. =broche= _m. _ clasp, brooch. =brotar= bud, bring forth, put forth, gush forth, shed. =bruja= _f. _ witch. =brutal= _adj. _ brutal. =Bruto= _pr. N. M. _ Brutus. =bueno, -a= good, fine, pleasant. =bujía= _f. _ candle, taper. =bulto= _m. _ dim form. =bulla= _f. _ bustle, throng, noise. =bullicio= _m. _ tumult, bustle. =bullidor, -a= restless, merry. =burla= _f. _ joke. =buscar= seek, hunt, look for. =buscarruidos= _m. _ quarrelsome fellow. =caballeresco, -a= gentlemanly. =caballero= _m. _ knight, gentleman, nobleman, sir; =¡mal ----!= scoundrel! =caballo= _m. _ horse, steed, figure on horseback in Spanish pack of cards, equivalent to the queen; =a ----= on horseback; =¡a ----!= to horse! =cabaña= _f. _ cottage, hut, hovel. =cabello= _m. _ hair, locks. =cabeza= _f. _ head. =cable= _m. _ cable. =cada= _adj. _ every, each. =cadáver= _m. _ corpse, dead body. =cadavérico, -a= cadaverous. =cadena= _f. _ chain. =caduco, -a= worn out, decrepit, broken down. =caer(se)= fall, set, sink, droop. =calar= penetrate; =--se= pull down; =--se el sombrero= pull down one's hat. =calavera= _f. _ skull. =calentura= _f. _ fever. =caliz= _m. _ chalice, calyx. =calma= _f. _ calm, quiet, calmness, coolness; =en ----= calm. =calmar= calm, mitigate, soften, still, quiet, slake, cool. =calmo, -a= calm, still. =callado, -a= silent, quiet. =callar= be silent. =calle= _f. _ street. =cambiar(se)= change, turn. =caminar= move, walk, go, go on, travel, march. =camino= _m. _ road, way, path, journey. =campana= _f. _ bell. =campanilla= _f. _ little bell. =campaña= _f. _ country. =campiña= _f. _ field. =campo= _m. _ field, country. =can= _m. _ dog, dog-star. =canción= _f. _ song. =cándido, -a= white, bright, pure. =candor= _m. _ ingenuousness. =candoroso, -a= candid, pure, innocent. =cansar= weary, bore. =cantar= sing, chant, sing of. =cantar= _m. _ song. =cántico= _m. _ canticle, song of praise. =cantidad= _f. _ amount, sum. =canto= _m. _ singing, song. =cañón= _m. _ cannon. =capa= _f. _ cape, cloak. =capaz= _adj. _ capable. =capitán= _m. _ captain. =capricho= _m. _ caprice, whim, fancy. =capuz= _m. _ cloak, hood, cape. =caracol= _m. _ snail, winding staircase; =gradería de ---- torcida= spiral staircase. =carbón= _m. _ coal. =carcajada= _f. _ burst of laughter; =soltar una ----= burst out laughing. =cárcel= _f. _ prison. =cárdeno, -a= livid. =carga= _f. _ burden. =cariado, -a= rotten, putrid. =caricia= _f. _ caress. =caridad= _f. _ charity, alms. =carmín= _m. _ carmine. =carne= _f. _ flesh. =caro, -a= dear, expensive. =carrera= _f. _ course. =carta= _f. _ card. =casa= _f. _ house, home, building; =---- de huéspedes= lodging-house. =casamiento= _m. _ marriage, wedding. =casi= _adv. _ almost. =caso= _m. _ case, matter, event; =hacer ---- de= take notice of, heed. =castigo= _m. _ punishment; =dar ----=punish. =castillo= _m. _ castle. =Catón= _pr. N. M. _ Cato. =caudal= _m. _ fortune, abundance. =causar= cause. =cautivo, -a= _m. F. _ captive. =cavernoso, -a= cavernous. =ceder= decrease, slacken, abate, diminish. =céfiro= _m. _ zephyr, breeze. =ceja= _f. _ eyebrow. =cejijunto, -a= close-knit. =celebrar= celebrate, praise. =celeste= _adj. _ celestial, heavenly. =celestial= _adj. _ celestial, heavenly. =celoso, -a= jealous. =cena= _f. _ supper. =cenar= sup. =centinela= _m. F. _ sentinel. =ceñir= gird. =ceño= _m. _ frown. =cerca= _adv. _ near, close. =cercano, -a= close by, near, approaching. =cercar= encircle, surround. =cesar= cease; =sin ----= incessantly, constantly. =cetro= _m. _ scepter. =ciego, -a= blind. =cielo= _m. _ sky, heaven. =ciencia= _f. _ science, knowledge. =ciento, cien=, _card. _ hundred. =cierto, -a= certain, sure, assured; =por ----= certainly, indeed. =cifrar en= place in, fix upon. =cima= _f. _ crest, summit, top. =cimiento= _m. _ foundation. =cinco= _card. _ five. =cincuenta= _card. _ fifty. =cinta= _f. _ ribbon, band, belt, girdle. =círculo= _m. _ circle, circling. =cita= _f. _ appointment, meeting, rendezvous. =ciudad= _f. _ city. =claridad= _f. _ light. =claro, -a= bright, clear, pure. =clavar= nail, fasten, fix. =coagular= coagulate, curdle. =cobarde= _adj. _ cowardly. =cobarde= _m. _ coward. =codicioso, -a= greedy, eager. =coger= seize, take, catch. =cogido (lo)= booty, plunder. =cólera= _f. _ anger, wrath. =colérico, -a= choleric, angry. =colgar= hang. =color= _m. _ color, hue, complexion. =colorar= color, tinge; =--se= become colored, color. =columna= _f. _ column, pillar. =combatido, -a= contending, struggling. =combatir= combat, attack, contend, fight. =comento= _m. _ comment, fiction, fabrication. =comenzar= commence. =comer= eat, dine. =como= _adv. _ like, as, how, about; =tan . . . ----= as . . . As; =---- cuánto= about how much. =cómo= _interrog. _ how. =compañero= _m. _ companion. =compañía= _f. _ company, companionship. =comparar= compare. =compás= _m. _ measure, time; =a ----= in time; =al ---- de= in the time of. =compasión= _f. _ pity. =compasivo, -a= compassionate, sympathetic. =comprender= comprehend, understand. =con= _prep. _ with, in, against, on. =cóncavo, -a= concave, hollow. =cóncavo= _m. _ concavity. =conceder= grant, give. =contento= _m. _ harmony. =conciencia= _f. _ conscience, consciousness. =concierto= _m. _ harmony. =condenar= condemn, sentence. =conducir= lead. =confianza= _f. _ confidence, intimacy. =confín= _m. _ confine, limit, border. =confundir= overwhelm, engulf, confuse, confound, mingle, heap up; =--se= be bewildered, be perplexed. =confusión= _f. _ confusion, disorder. =confuso, -a= confused, dim, indistinct, bewildering. =conjurar= conjure, implore. =conjuro= _m. _ conjuration, incantation. =conmigo= _pron. Pers. _ with me. =conmover= stir, affect. =conocer= know, be acquainted with, recognize; =--se= know each other. =conque= _conj. _ so then, and so. =conquistar= conquer, subdue. =conseguir= attain, obtain, gain. =consentido, -a= spoiled. =considerable= _adj. _ considerable. =consigo= _pron. Pers. _ with one's self, with himself, _etc. _. =consolar= console, comfort. =consorte= _m. F. _ husband, wife. =constancia= _f. _ constancy, firmness, determination. =Constantinopla= _pr. N. F. _ Constantinople. =consuelo= _m. _ consolation. =consumir= consume, burn out. =contar= recount, relate, tell, tell off, count, consider, look upon; =---- con= count upon, reckon with; =con vos no cuento= I pass you by. =contemplar= contemplate, behold, gaze at, look at, meditate. =contenerse= restrain one's self, keep one's temper. =contento= _m. _ contentment, joy, mirth. =contigo= _pron. Pers. _ with thee. =continente= _m. _ manner, mien, gait. =contino= _adv. _ constantly, continually; =de ----= continually. =continuo, -a= continual, constant. =contra= _prep. _ against; =en ----= against. =conversión= _f. _ conversion, reform. =convertir= convert, reform, change; =--se en= change to, become. =convidar= invite, entice, allure. =convocar= convoke, summon. =convulso, -a= convulsive. =copa= _f. _ foliage, branches. =corazón= _m. _ heart, breast, love, courage, spirit. =cornudo, -a= horned. =coro= _m. _ chorus. =corona= _f. _ crown. =coronar= crown. =corredor= _m. _ corridor, gallery. =correr= run, meet with, pass, pass away, flow. =corresponder= return, requite, reciprocate. =corriente= _f. _ current, stream. =corro= _m. _ group, circle. =corromper= pollute. =corrompido, -a= polluted, foul. =cortar= cut. =corte= _f. _ court, retinue. =cortejar= court, woo. =cosa= _f. _ thing, matter; =gran ----= much. =Cosaco= _m. _ Cossack. =cosecha= _f. _ harvest; =de mi ----= of my invention. =coyuntura= _f. _ joint. =cráneo= _m. _ skull. =crear= create. =crecer= grow, rage, increase. =creer= believe, think. =crescendo= _Ital. _ crescendo. =crespón= _m. _ crape. =criatura= _f. _ creature, being, man. =crimen= _m. _ crime. =crispante= _adj. _ shivery. =crisparse= twitch. =cristal= _m. _ crystal, glass. =cristalino, -a= crystalline, transparent, bright. =Cristo= _pr. N. M. _ Christ, image of Christ. =crudeza= _f. _ severity, cruelty. =crudo, -a= raw. =cruel= _adj. _ cruel, intolerable. =crujido= _m. _ crackling. =crujir= clash, click, clank, crack, crackle, creak, rustle. =cruz= _f. _ cross. =cruzar= cross, pass, pass through, cruise. =cuadrar= befit, suit. =cuadro= _m. _ picture, scene. =cuajar= coagulate, coat over. =cual= _adv. _ like, as. =cuál= _pron. Interrog. _ which, which one, what, what one. =cualquier, -a= any whatever; =---- . . . Que= whoever, whichever, whatever. =cualquiera= _pron. _ any one, either one. =cuán= _adv. _ how. =cuando= _conj. _ when, if, in case; =---- . . . ----= now . . . Now, at one time . . . At another. =cuanto= _adv. _ as much as, all that; =en ---- a= with regard to, as to; =---- más . . . Tanto más= the more . . . The more. =cuánto, -a= _prop. Interrog. _ how much; =como ----= about how much. =cuaresma= _f. _ Lent. =cuarto, -a= fourth. =cuatrocientos, -as= four hundred. =cubrir= cover, veil, shroud. =cuello= _m. _ neck, throat. =cuenta= _f. _ count, reckoning, account; =dar ----= explain, report, give account; =pedir ----= bring to account, demand account of. =cuento= _m. _ tale, story. =cuerdamente= _adv. _ sensibly. =cuerno= _m. _ horn. =cuerpo= _m. _ body; =---- muerto= corpse. =cuidado= _m. _ care, anxiety. =cuidadoso, -a= careful. =culpa= _f. _ fault. =culpar= blame, accuse. =culto= _m. _ worship, homage, veneration, respect. =cumbre= _f. _ summit, crest, peak. =cumplir= fulfill, accomplish, satisfy, keep; =cúmplase tu voluntad= thy will be done. =curso= _m. _ course. =cuyo, -a= _pron. Rel. _ whose. 

 =chancearse= joke, jest. =charca= _f. _ pool. =chasco= _m. _ joke, fiasco, disappointment. =chimenea= _f. _ fireplace, hearth, stove. =chispa= _f. _ spark, flash. =chiste= _m. _ jest. =chocar= strike, combat, clash, encounter, collide. 

 =dado= _m. _ die. =dale= _interj. _ (_expressive of displeasure_) hang it, come, again; =---- con tocar a muerto= plague take this funeral tolling. =dama= _f. _ lady. =danza= _f. _ dance. =danzar= dance. =dar= give, give out, strike, cause, tell, make, grant, pay, render, forebode; =---- en= persist in; =---- por perdida= consider lost; =qué diantre me da= what the deuce do I care. =de= _prep. _ of, than, from, by, with, at, to, in, on account of, for, about, on, as; =más ----= past. =debajo de= _prep. _ under, underneath. =deber= have to, must, ought, can. =deber= _m. _ duty. =débil= _adj. _ feeble, weak. =decidido, -a= decided, devoted, determined. =decir= say, speak, tell, call. =decisión= _f. _ decision, determination, resolution. =declinar= decline, sink. =dedo= _m. _ finger. =dejar= leave, quit, abandon, forsake; =---- de= stop, cease. =delante= _adv. _ before, in front, ahead; =---- de= _prep. _ in front of, before. =deleite= _m. _ pleasure, delight. =delicado, -a= delicate, sweet. =delicia= _f. _ delight. =delicioso, -a= delicious, delightful. =delirante= _adj. _ delirious, raving. =delirar= rave, dote. =delirio= _m. _ delirium, madness, rapture, rant, idle talk. =delito= _m. _ crime. =demasía= _f. _ excess. =demasiado, -a= too much, too great. =demonio= _m. _ devil, demon. =denso, -a= dense, thick. =dentro= _adv. _ within; =---- de= _prep. _ within. =denuesto= _m. _ insult, abuse. =derecho= _m. _ right. =derramar= shed. =derredor= _m. _ circuit; =en ---- de= round about, around. =desafiar= challenge, defy. =desafío= _m. _ duel, combat. =desahogo= _m. _ relief, alleviation, comfort. =desalentado, -a= discouraged, abject. =desasirse= disengage one's self, break loose, extricate one's self. =desatar= untie, undo, loosen, let loose; =--se= break loose, break out. =desatento, -a= unmindful, heedless, rude. =desatino= _m. _ folly, wildness, reeling. =descansar= rest, repose, sleep. =descarnado, -a= emaciated, fleshless, bare. =descender= descend, go down, sink. =descolorido, -a= colorless, pale. =desconocer= not know, be ignorant of, ignore. =desconsuelo= _m. _ trouble, affliction. =descortés= _adj. _ discourteous, ill-bred, impudent. =descortesía= _f. _ discourtesy. =descreer= disbelieve, deny, discredit, disown. =descubrir= discover, reveal, expose, uncover, make known. =descuidado, -a= care-free. =desde= _prep. _ from. =desdén= _m. _ disdain, scorn, contempt. =desdeño= _m. _ disdain, scorn. =desdeñoso, -a= scornful, contemptuous. =desdicha= _f. _ unhappiness, wretchedness, misery. =desdichado, -a= unhappy, unfortunate, wretched. =desear= desire, covet. =desembozar= unmuffle. =desengaño= _m. _ disillusion. =deseo= _m. _ desire, longing. =desesperación= _f. _ despair. =desesperado, -a= desperate, despairing, hopeless. =desfallecer= weaken, swoon, fail, give way. =desgarrar= rend. =desgracia= _f. _ misfortune, sorrow, unhappiness. =desgraciado, -a= unfortunate, hapless, miserable. =deshacer= undo, break. =deshojado, -a= leafless, petalless, blighted. =desierto, -a= deserted, lonely. =desierto= _m. _ desert. =desigual= _adj. _ uneven, dissimilar. =deslizarse= glide along, slip along. =desmayado, -a= faint, swooning. =desmayar= be discouraged, be faint, swoon. =desmayo= _m. _ drooping, swooning, faltering. =desmentir= belie, deny, dissemble. =desnudo, -a= naked, unsheathed, drawn. =despacio= _adv. _ slowly. =desparecer= disappear, vanish. =despecho= _m. _ spite, insolence, anger, despair, dismay; =a ---- de= in spite of; =a su ----= in spite of himself. =despedida= _f. _ farewell. =despego= _m. _ indifference, coldness, coyness. =despeñado, -a= headlong. =despeñar= precipitate, fling down. =despertar= awaken, arouse, break, dawn. =despierto, -a= awake, brisk. =desplegado, -a= flowing. =desplegar= unfold, unfurl, hoist; =--se= unfold, spread. =despojos= _m. Pl. _ remains. =despreciar= spurn, neglect, reject. =desprender(se)= fall, tear, separate, issue from, arise, relax one's hold, let go. =desprendido, -a= loosened, falling, torn, broken. =después= _adv. _ afterward, then. =despuntar= begin to dawn. =desquiciarse= be unhinged, shake. =destellar= flash, twinkle. =desterrar= banish, exile. =destilar= drip. =destino= _m. _ destiny, fate, lot. =desvanecerse= vanish, disappear, fade away. =desvanecido, -a= dizzy, vague, faint. =desvarío= _m. _ delirium, raving. =desventura= _f. _ misfortune, misery. =detener= detain, stop, halt. =detenido, -a= stagnant. =determinado, -a= determined, resolute, resolved. =detrás= _adv. _ behind, after. =devaneo= _m. _ giddiness, frenzy, mad passion. =devorar= devour, consume. =devoto, -a= devout, pious. =día= _m. _ day; =----s= life; =hoy en ----= nowadays; =un ----= some day, once. =diablo= _m. _ devil. =diabólico, -a= diabolical. =diamante= _m. _ diamond, adamant. =diantre= _m. _ deuce. =dibujar= outline, delineate; =--se= be outlined, throw a shadow, be visible. =dictar= dictate, prescribe. =dicha= _f. _ happiness, delight. =dichoso, -a= happy, fortunate, precious, blessed. =Diego= _pr. N. M. _ James. =diente= _m. _ tooth. =diestra= _f. _ right hand. =diez= _card. _ ten. =difunto, -a= deceased (one), dead (one). =dilatar= overspread, suffuse, expand. =diligencia= _f. _ assiduity, effort, haste, business, affair. =dinero= _m. _ money. =Dios= _m. _ God. =diosa= _f. _ goddess. =disculpar= excuse, exonerate. =discurrir= flow, course. =disfrutar= enjoy, profit, reap the benefit. =disipar= dissipate, scatter, put to flight, drive away; =--se= be dissipated, be scattered. =disolver= dissolve, dissipate, scatter, disperse. =disparate= _m. _ folly, piece of folly, blunder. =distante= _adj. _ distant, afar. =distinguir= distinguish, see clearly. =distraído, -a= distracted, absentminded. =diverso, -a= various, dissimilar, different. =divertir= amuse. =dividir= divide, separate, cut, cleave. =divino, -a= divine, heavenly. =do= _adv. _ where; =a ----= whither, where. =dó= _adv. Interrog. _ where. =doblar= bend. =doble= _m. _ tolling; =dar ----s= toll. =doctrina= _f. _ doctrine, wisdom, teaching. =doliente= _adj. _ suffering, sorrowful. =dolor= _m. _ grief, sorrow, pain, anguish. =dolorido, -a= afflicted, grief-stricken, painful, doleful, heart-sick. =doloroso, -a= painful. =don= _m. _ Don, sir. =doncella= _f. _ maiden. =donde= _adv. _ where. =dónde= _adv. Interrog. _ where, whither; =en ----= where. =dondequiera= _adv. _ everywhere, anywhere. =doquiera= _adv. _ wherever, everywhere. =dorado, -a= golden. =dormido, -a= sleeping, slumbering. =dormir= sleep; =--se= go to sleep. =dos= _card. _ two; =los ----= both. =dramático, -a= dramatic. =ducado= _m. _ ducat (former coin worth about $3). =duda= _f. _ doubt. =dudar= doubt, hesitate. =dudoso, -a= doubtful, uncertain, indistinct, nebulous, hesitating. =duelo= _m. _ sorrow, grief, duel, combat. =dueña= _f. _ duenna. =dulce= _adj. _ sweet, soft, gentle, pleasant. =dulcísimo, -a= very sweet. =dulzura= _f. _ sweetness. =durar= last, endure. =duro, -a= hard, cruel, unbearable, heavy. 

 =e= _conj. _ and. =eco= _m. _ echo. =echar= throw, cast, cast away, deal, put. =Edén= _pr. N. M. _ Eden. =edificio= _m. _ building, edifice. =ejército= _m. _ army. =el, la, lo, los, las=, _art. _ the; =---- que=, _etc. , pron. Rel. _ he who(m), the one who(m), who, that which. =él, ella, ello=, _pron. Pers. _ he, him; she, her; it. =elevar= raise; =--se= rise. =elocuente= _adj. _ eloquent. =Elvira= _pr. N. F. _ Elvira. =ella= _pron. Pers. _ she, her, it. =ellas= _pron. Pers. _ they, them. =embalsamarse= be perfumed. =embargar= overwhelm, seize, overcome, impede. =embebecido, -a= absorbed, enraptured. =embeleso= _m. _ rapture. =embestir= assail, attack. =embolismo= _m. _ confusion, maze, embarrassment, falsehood. =embolsarse= pocket. =embozado= _m. _ muffled one. =embozar= cloak, muffle. =embriagar= intoxicate, transport, enrapture; =--se= get intoxicated. =empañar= dim, tarnish. =empapar= soak, steep. =empedernido, -a= hard-hearted. =empeñarse= persist, insist. =empeño= _m. _ determination, desire. =empero= _adv. _ however, notwithstanding. =empezar= begin. =empleo= _m. _ employment, use. =emponzoñar= poison, taint. =empuje= _m. _ impulse. =empuñar= grasp, grip. =en= _prep. _ in, into, at, for, among, on, upon, with, of, to, against, by, over, like; =---- que= when. =enamorado, -a= enamored, loving, in love. =enamorar= inspire love, woo; =--se de= fall in love with. =encadenar= enchain, shackle. =encantador, -a= enchanting, delightful. =encantar= charm, delight, fascinate. =encanto= _m. _ charm, fascination, enchantment, spell. =encapotar= cloak, cover. =encapuchado, -a= hooded one. =encender= light, kindle, enkindle; =--se= glow. =enclavar= nail, fasten. =encomendar= commend. =encono= _m. _ rancor, ill-will, malevolence. =encontrar= meet, meet with, find. =encubrir= cover, conceal, hide. =encuentro= _m. _ meeting, encounter; =a su ----= to meet him. =endiablado, -a= diabolical, bedeviled. =endurecer= harden, cake. =enemigo, -a= hostile, unfriendly. =engalanar= adorn. =engañador, -a= deceiving. =engañar= deceive, beguile. =engaño= _m. _ deception, illusion. =engañoso, -a= deceptive, false. =engendro= _m. _ abortion, monster, progeny. =enhiesto, -a= upright, erect. =enjugar= wipe. =enjuto, -a= lean, wasted, dried up. =enlazar= join, clasp. =enlutado, -a= in mourning, veiled, muffled. =enmudecer= grow dumb, grow silent. =enojarse= be angry, be displeased, get angry. =enojo= _m. _ anger, vexation, displeasure, annoyance. =enojoso, -a= troublesome. =enredar= entangle, ensnare. =ensueño= _m. _ dream, fantasy, illusion. =entena= _f. _ yard, spar. =entender= understand, know, hear; =---- de= be familiar with, be interested in. =entero, -a= entire, whole. =enterrar= bury. =entierro= _m. _ funeral, burial, funeral procession. =entonar= sing. =entonces= _adv. _ then. =entrada= _f. _ entrance, coming, beginning. =entrambos, -as= both. =entrañas= _f. Pl. _ entrails, bowels, recesses. =entrar= enter, come in, advance, begin. =entre= _prep. _ between, among, in, amid, within, to; =---- sí= to himself; =---- tanto= meanwhile; =de ----= out of; =por ----= through, between, among. =entregar= hand over, give, pay. =entretanto= _adv. _ meanwhile; =---- que= _conj. _ while. =entretener= entertain, divert, amuse, occupy. =enturbiar= disturb, derange, cloud. =envenenar= poison. =enviar= send. =envidar= stake, open a game of cards by staking a sum. =envidiar= envy. =envilecido, -a= degraded, disgraced. =envite= _m. _ stake, bet. =envolver= envelop, enwrap, enfold. =erguido, -a= erect, straight. =errante= _adj. _ wandering. =escaldar= scald. =escalón= _m. _ step. =escapar(se)= escape, flee. =escape= _m. _ escape, flight. =escena= _f. _ scene. =esclavo, -a= _m. F. _ slave. =escoger= choose, select, cull. =esconder= conceal, veil, hide. =escribir= write. =escuchar= hear, listen to, listen; =--se= be heard. =escudo= _m. _ escudo (a coin); shield, protection. =escupir= spit upon. =ese, -a= _adj. Dem. _ that. =ése, -a, eso=, _pron. Dem. _ that one, that. =esfera= _f. _ sphere, heaven, orb. =esmeralda= _f. _ emerald. =espacio= _m. _ space. =espada= _f. _ sword. =espalda= _f. _ back, shoulder; =----s= back. =espantado, -a= frightened, astonished. =espantar= frighten, terrify, intimidate. =espanto= _m. _ fright, consternation, fear. =espantoso, -a= frightful, horrible. =esparcir= scatter, shed, spread. =espectro= _m. _ specter, ghost. =espejo= _m. _ mirror. =esperanza= _f. _ hope. =esperar= await, wait for, expect, hope. =espeso, -a= thick, dense. =espina= _f. _ thorn. =espiral= _f. _ spiral line. =espirante= _adj. _ dying. =espirar= expire. =espíritu= _m. _ spirit, mind, soul, courage; =----s= spirits, demons. =espléndido, -a= splendid. =esplendor= _m. _ splendor, magnificence, glory; =de ----= glorious. =esposa= _f. _ wife, spouse, betrothed. =esposo= _m. _ husband, spouse, betrothed. =espuela= _f. _ spur. =espuma= _f. _ foam, froth. =esqueleto= _m. _ skeleton, framework. =estación= _f. _ season. =estado= _m. _ state, condition. =estallar= burst, crack, detonate. =estallido= _m. _ crackling. =estampido= _m. _ report, crash. =estancia= _f. _ room, mansion, abode. =estanque= _m. _ pond, pool. =estar= be; =---- en sí= be in one's senses. =estatua= _f. _ statue. =este, -a= _adj. Dem. _ this. =éste, -a, esto=, _pron. Dem. _ this one, this. =estima= _f. _ esteem, respect. =estocada= _f. _ stab. =estorbar= forbid, hinder. =estrechar= press, clasp. =estrecho, -a= narrow. =estrella= _f. _ star. =estremecerse= shake, tremble. =estrépito= _m. _ din, clamor, noise. =estruendo= _m. _ din, pomp, turmoil, clatter. =estudiante= _m. _ student. =estúpido, -a= stupid, dull. =éter= _m. _ ether, sky. =eterno, -a= eternal, everlasting. =Europa= _f. _ Europe. =evangelio= _m. _ gospel. =evaporarse= evaporate, pass away, vanish. =exaltar= exalt, praise. =examinar= examine, scrutinize. =exclamar= exclaim. =exento, -a= free. =exhalar= breathe forth, exhale, emit, utter. =exigir= demand, exact, require. =existencia= _f. _ existence, life. =expiación= _f. _ expiation, atonement. =éxtasis= _m. _ ecstasy. =extático, -a= ecstatic. =extender(se)= extend, stretch out, spread, prolong. =extranjero, -a= foreign. =extraño, -a= strange. =extremo= _m. _ end; =llevar al ----= terminate. 

 =fábrica= _f. _ structure. =fácil= _adj. _ easy, easily persuaded. =fada= _f. _ fairy, sprite. =faena= _f. _ task, work, labor, toil. =falaz= _adj. _ deceitful, deceptive, fallacious. =falda= _f. _ skirt, lap. =falso, -a= false, treacherous, feigned, simulated, mock. =faltar= fail, be missing, be lacking, give way. =fallido, -a= frustrated, amiss. =fama= _f. _ reputation, report, rumor; =es ----= it is said. =famoso, -a= famous, renowned, notorious. =fanal= _m. _ lantern, light, beacon. =fanfarrón= _m. _ boaster, bully. =fango= _m. _ mud, mire, slime. =fantasía= _f. _ fancy, imagination, caprice, whim. =fantasma= _m. F. _ phantom, ghost, specter, scarecrow. =fantástico, -a= fantastic, imaginary. =farsa= _f. _ farce, humbug. =fascinar= fascinate. =fatal= _adj. _ fatal, ominous, unfortunate. =fatídico, -a= baleful, sinister. =fatigado, -a= weary. =favor= _m. _ favor, protection, help. =faz= _f. _ face, aspect. =fe= _f. _ faith, honor, trust; =a -----= in truth; =a ---- mía= upon my word. =fecundar= fertilize, make fruitful. =fecundo, -a= fecund, teeming. =Félix= _pr. N. M. _ Felix. =feliz= _adj. _ happy, blessed, fortunate. =feo, -a= ugly, homely. =féretro= _m. _ bier. =feroz= _adj. _ fierce, cruel. =férreo, -a= iron. =fértil= _adj. _ fertile. =fervor= _m. _ fervor, ardor, zeal. =festín= _m. _ feast, banquet. =fétido, -a= fetid, stinking, foul. =Fez= _pr. N. F. _ Fez. =fiado, -a= trusting. =fiar= trust; =---- de= trust in. =fiel= _adj. _ faithful, true. =fiereza= _f. _ fierceness, hardness. =fiero, -a= fierce, cruel, savage, furious, terrible, rude. =fiesta= _f. _ festival, feast, celebration, rejoicing, merriment. =figura= _f. _ figure, face, form. =figurar= fashion, sketch, represent; =--se= imagine, fancy. =fijar= fix, fasten, determine. =fijo, -a= fixed, fastened, determined. =fin= _m. _ end; =al ----= at last, finally, after all; =en ----= at last, finally, in short, after all; =por ----= at last; =sin ----= endless, endlessly. =fingido, -a= feigned, false. =fingir= feign, imagine. =firme= _adj. _ firm, unswerving, unshaken, resolute, stout, stanch. =flaco, -a= frail, weak. =Flandes= _pr. N. F. _ Flanders. =flébil= _adj. _ mournful. =flojo, -a= feeble, weak. =flor= _f. _ flower, blossom. =florecer= blossom, bud, cover with flowers. =florido, -a= blooming, flower-filled, flowery. =flotante= _adj. _ floating. =fondo= _m. _ depth, farthest end. =forcejear= struggle. =forma= _f. _ form, shape, figure. =formar= form, make, engender. =fórmula= _f. _ formula, form. =fortuna= _f. _ fortune, fate, good fortune. =forzoso, -a= necessary. =fosfórico, -a= phosphorescent. =fragante= _adj. _ fragrant. =frágil= _adj. _ fragile, frail, weak. =fragor= _m. _ crash, noise. =fragrancia= _f. _ fragrance. =Franco= _pr. N. M. _ Franco. =franja= _f. _ fringe, band, border. =frenético, -a= frenzied, mad, furious, frantic. =frente= _f. _ brow, face, head, forehead, intellect; =---- a= opposite, in front of, before; =a su ----= straight ahead. =fresco, -a= fresh. =frescura= _f. _ coolness, luxuriant verdure, freshness. =frío, -a= cold, indifferent, unsympathetic, unruffled; =sangre fría= sang-froid, coolness, calmness. =frío= _m. _ cold. =frívolo, -a= frivolous. =fruncir= knit (the brow). =fuego= _m. _ fire, ardor, flame, passion; =prender ----= set fire. =fuente= _f. _ spring, fountain, source. =fuera= _adv. _ outside; =---- de= _prep. _ out of. =fuero= _m. _ privilege, statute law. =fuerza= _f. _ force, strength, might. =fugaz= _adj. _ fleeting. =fugitivo, -a= fugitive, fleeting, fleeing, flying. =fúlgido, -a= bright, resplendent. =fulgor= _m. _ gleam. =fulguroso, -a= shining, flashing. =fulgurante= _adj. _ shining. =fúnebre= _adj. _ funereal, lugubrious, mournful. =funeral= _adj. _ funeral, funereal, lugubrious. =funesto, -a= doleful, dismal, sinister, fatal. =furia= _f. _ rage. =furioso, -a= furious, mad, raging, violent. =furor= _m. _ rage, fury. =futuro, -a= future. 

 =gala= _f. _ grace, gem, choicest part (of a thing); =----s= finery. =galán= _m. _ gallant, dandy. =galanura= _f. _ elegance, showiness, gorgeousness. =galería= _f. _ gallery. =galvánico, -a= galvanic. =gallardo, -a= graceful, bold. =ganancia= _f. _ winning. =ganar= win. =gasa= _f. _ gauze. =gastar= waste, fling away, wear out. =gemido= _m. _ groan, moan, sigh. =gemir= moan, howl, whistle. =generoso, -a= noble, illustrious, excellent, generous. =gente= _f. _ people, race, nation. =gentil= _adj. _ elegant, handsome, graceful. =gesto= _m. _ face, expression, gesture. =girar= revolve, hover, whirl. =giro= _m. _ turn, motion, roll, circling. =gloria= _f. _ glory, fame, pleasure, bliss, honor, heaven. =glorioso -a= glorious. =goce= _m. _ joy. =golpe= _m. _ stroke, blow, knock, striking, clash, throw, cast. =golpear(se)= strike, hit, beat. =gorjear= warble, trill. =gótico, -a= Gothic. =gozar= rejoice, take delight, enjoy; =---- de= enjoy; =--se= rejoice. =gozo= _m. _ joy, pleasure, delight. =grabar= engrave. =gracia= _f. _ grace, charm, gracefulness; =----s= thanks. =gradería= _f. _ steps; =---- de caracol torcida= spiral staircase. =grajo= _m. _ jackdaw, crow. =grana= _f. _ scarlet. =grande= _adj. _ great, important. =grandeza= _f. _ greatness, grandeur. =grandioso, -a= great, impressive. =grato, -a= pleasing. =grave= _adj. _ heavy. =gritar= cry, shout, cry out. =gritería= _f. _ outcry, shouting, screaming. =grito= _m. _ cry, howl. =grotesco, -a= grotesque. =grupo= _m. _ group. =guarida= _f. _ den, lurking-place. =guerra= _f. _ war; =mover ----= wage war. =guerrero, -a= warlike, of war. =guerrero= _m. _ warrior, soldier. =guía= _m. F. _ guide, leader. =guiar= guide, direct. =guirnalda= _f. _ garland, wreath. =gustar= please. 

 =haber= have; _impers. _ be; =---- de= have to, be to, be going to, must, can; =hay= there is; =no haya= let there not be. =habitación= _f. _ dwelling, residence, room, suite. =habitar= live, reside, lie. =hablador, -a= talking, prattling. =hablador, -a= _m. F. _ talker, prattler. =hablar= talk, speak, address. =hacer= do, make, effect, bring about, cause, commit; =---- aprecio de= note; =---- bien= give alms, aid; =---- caso de= take notice of, heed; =---- juego= make the bets; =hecho el juego= bets closed; =---- pedazos= break to pieces, tear; =--se= become, turn to, get; =--se el bigote= curl one's mustache; _impers. _ =se hace tarde= it is growing late. =hacia= _prep. _ toward. =hado= _m. _ fate. =halagar= flatter, allure, soothe. =hallar= find; =-se= be. =hambre= _f. _ hunger. =hambriento, -a= hungry, eager. =harapo= _m. _ rag, tatter. =hartar= satisfy, gratify. =harto, -a= sated. =hasta= _adv. _ even; _prep. _ to, up to, down to, until, as many as; =---- que= _conj. _ until. =hastiar= bore, weary, disgust. =hecho, -a= made, done; =a lo ----, pecho= make the best of it. =hecho= _m. _ deed. =helado, -a= icy, cold, frozen. =helar= freeze, congeal. =hembra= _f. _ female, woman. =henchir= fill. =hender= cleave. =heredar= inherit. =herencia= _f. _ inheritance, heritage. =herir= strike, smite, wound, affect. =hermana= _f. _ sister. =hermano= _m. _ brother. =hermoso, -a= beautiful, fair. =hermosura= _f. _ beauty. =héroe= _m. _ hero. =herradura= _f. _ horseshoe, hoof-print. =hervir= boil, seethe, swarm. =hidalgo, -a= noble. =hiel= _f. _ gall, bitterness. =hielo= _m. _ ice. =hijo= _m. _ son; =----s= children. =hilera= _f. _ file. =hinchar= swell. =histérico, -a= hysterical. =historia= _f. _ history, tale, story. =hoguera= _f. _ bonfire. =hoja= _f. _ leaf, petal, wing of a door. =hola= _interj. _ hello. =hollar= tread upon, trample upon, ride over, humble. =hombre= _m. _ man; =buen ----= my good fellow. =hombro= _m. _ shoulder. =hondo, -a= deep, profound. =hondo= _m. _ bottom, depth. =honroso, -a= honorable. =hora= _f. _ hour, time; =a buena ----= opportunely; =en mal ---- o en buena= well and good; =----s muertas= idle hours. =horizonte= _m. _ horizon. =horrendo, -a= horrible, dreadful. =horrible= _adj. _ horrible. =hórrido, -a= hideous, horrible. =horrísono, -a= horrisonous. =horror= _m. _ horror, fright. =horrorizado, -a= stricken with horror. =hospital= _m. _ hospital, poorhouse. =hoy= _adv. _ to-day, now, the present time; =---- en día= nowadays. =hoyo= _m. _ hole, grave, pit. =hueco, -a= hollow, resounding, empty. =hueco= _m. _ hollow, hole, gap, concavity. =hueso= _m. _ bone. =huésped= _m. _ guest, stranger; =casa de ----es= lodging-house. =huida= _f. _ flight. =huir= flee, escape, disappear. =humano, -a= human. =humear= emit fumes, reek, smoke. =húmedo, -a= damp, wet. =humildemente= _adv. _ humbly. =humo= _m. _ smoke, fumes. =hundido, -a= sunken, hollow. =hundir= sink. =huracán= _m. _ hurricane, storm. =hurra= _interj. _ hurrah. 

 =ideal= _adj. _ ideal, imaginary. =iglesia= _f. _ church. =igual= _adj. _ equal; =me es ----= it is all the same to me; =por ----= equally. =igualar= equal, consider equal. =iluminar= illumine, enlighten, illuminate, light. =ilusión= _f. _ illusion, fancy, self-deception, mockery. =ilusorio, -a= illusory, delusive, deceptive. =ilustre= _adj. _ illustrious, noble, celebrated, distinguished. =imagen= _f. _ image, statue, likeness, picture, conception, fancy, appearance. =imaginación= _f. _ imagination, fancy, mind. =imaginar= imagine, fancy, believe, conceive. =impaciente= _adj. _ impatient. =impávid, -a= undaunted. =imperial= _adj. _ imperial. =impetuoso, -a= violent, fierce. =impiedad= _f. _ impiety, impiousness. =impío, -a= impious, profane, wicked, godless. =implacable= _adj. _ implacable, relentless. =implorar= implore. =imponer= impose. =importar= _impers. _ matter, concern. =importunar= disturb, harass. =importuno, -a= troublesome, ill-timed, vexatious, importunate, unreasonable. =imposible= _adj. _ impossible. =impotencia= _f. _ helplessness. =impulso= _m. _ impulse, force. =impuro, -a= impure, foul. =inagotable= _adj. _ never-failing, inexhaustible. =incentivo= _m. _ incentive. =incierto, -a= uncertain, unknown, doubtful, unsteady, wandering, restless. =inclinar= incline, bend, bow, droop, nod. =indiferencia= _f. _ indifference. =indiferente= _adj. _ indifferent. =indomable= _adj. _ indomitable. =inefable= _adj. _ ineffable, unutterable. =infalible= _adj. _ infallible. =infante= _m. _ child. =infeliz= _adj. _ unhappy, wretched. =infernal= _adj. _ infernal. =infiel= _adj. _ faithless (one). =infierno= _m. _ hell, infernal region. =infinito, -a= infinite, endless. =inflamarse= blaze. =informe= _adj. _ ill-shapen, uncanny, inarticulate. =infortunio= _m. _ misfortune, misery, calamity. =infundir= infuse, instill, inspire. =inglés, -a= English. =Inglés= _m. _ Englishman. =ingrato, -a= ungrateful (one), ingrate. =injuria= _f. _ insult. =inmensidad= _f. _ immensity, vastness, infinity, unbounded greatness. =inmenso, -a= immense, infinite, vast. =inmortal= _adj. _ immortal. =inmóvil= _adj. _ motionless, fixed, set, unaffected. =inmundo, -a= dirty, obscene, unclean. =inocente= _adj. _ innocent, young. =inquieto, -a= restless, uneasy, anxious, disturbed, agitated. =inquietud= _f. _ uneasiness, anxiety, disquietude, restlessness. =insano, -a= insane, mad. =insensible= _adj. _ indifferent, without feeling. =insigne= _adj. _ renowned, famed, distinguished. =insistir= insist, persist. =insolencia= _f. _ insolence. =insolente= _adj. _ insolent. =inspirar= inspire, impart. =instante= _m. _ instant, moment. =insultar= insult. =insulto= _m. _ insult. =intención= _f. _ intention, purpose, mind. =intenso, -a= intense, intent, keen. =intentar= attempt, endeavor, try. =interponerse= interpose, intervene. =interrumpir= interrupt. =intrépido, -a= courageous, dauntless. =inundar= flood, deluge. =inútil= _adj. _ useless. =invencible= _adj. _ invincible. =invención= _f. _ invention. =invisible= _adj. _ invisible, unseen. =ir= go, be, be at stake; =----= + _gerund_ go on, keep; =---- a= be about to, be going to; =--se= go away, go; =allá voy= I am coming; =me va en ello mi fama= my reputation is at stake in it; =quién va= who goes there; =vamos= come now, well; =vamos andando= let us be off; =van los cincuenta= I bet fifty. =ira= _f. _ anger, ire. =iracundo, -a= wrathful. =ironía= _f. _ irony. =irónico, -a= ironical. =irreligioso, -a= irreligious. =irreverencia= _f. _ irreverence, disrespect. =irritar= anger, excite, arouse, provoke, nettle, exasperate. =izquierdo, -a= left. 

 =jamás= _adv. _ never, ever. =jardín= _m. _ garden. =jaula= _f. _ cage. =jerezano, -a= of Jerez. =Jesús= _pr. N. M. _ Jesus. =joven= _adj. _ young, youthful. =joya= _f. _ jewel. =Juan= _pr. N. M. _ John. =júbilo= _m. _ glee, joy. =juego= _m. _ game, sport, play, playing; =hacer ----= make the bets; =hecho el ----= bets closed. =jugador= _m. _ player, gambler. =jugar= play, sport, frolic, gamble. =jugo= _m. _ juice. =juguete= _m. _ plaything, toy, sport. =juicio= _m. _ judgment, sense, reason, mind. =juntar= join, unite, touch, knit; =--se= gather, assemble, join, meet, approach. =junto, -a= joined, united, connected. =junto= _adv. _ near, close; =---- a= _prep. _ near, close to. =juntura= _f. _ joint, seam. =jurar= swear. =juventud= _f. _ youth. =juzgar= judge, think. 

 =la= _art. F. _ the; _pron. Pers. Acc. _ her, it; _pl. _ them; _pron. Pers. Dat. _ to her, to it; =---- que= _pron. Dem. And rel. _ she who, the one who, who. =labio= _m. _ lip. =lado= _m. _ side, place. =lago= _m. _ lake. =lágrima= _f. _ tear. =lamentable= _adj. _ deplorable. =lamentar= lament, bewail, bemoan. =lamento= _m. _ lament, lamentation, wail, wailing cry. =lámpara= _f. _ lamp, light. =lance= _m. _ incident, love-affair, affair of honor. =languidez= _f. _ languor, weakness, faintness. =lánguido, -a= languid, gentle, apathetic, faint, weak, feeble. =lanza= _f. _ lance, spear. =lanzar= throw, fling, cast, let loose, emit, utter; =--se= dart, rush. =lares= _m. Pl. _ lares, home. =largo, -a= long; _pl. _ many. =lastimar= hurt, wound, move to pity; =--se= grieve, be sorry, be moved to pity. =lastimero, -a= sad, mournful. =latido= _m. _ throbbing. =lava= _f. _ lava. =lazo= _m. _ bond, tie, knot; toils, web, snare. =le= _pron. Pers. Dat. Acc. _ him, her, it. =lector= _m. _ reader. =lecho= _m. _ bed, couch. =lejano, -a= distant. =lejos= _adv. _ far, far away, afar; =a lo ----= in the distance; =de ----= from afar, at a great distance. =lengua= _f. _ tongue. =lenguaje= _m. _ language, speech, tongue. =lento, -a= slow. =leña= _f. _ wood, firewood. =les= _pron. Pers. Dat. Acc. _ them. =letal= _adj. _ deadly. =letra= _f. _ letter; =----s= letters, literature, lore. =levantar= raise, lift up, erect, set up; =--se= rise, get up, stand up. =leve= _adj. _ light, slight, delicate. =ley= _f. _ law, religion. =libertad= _f. _ liberty, freedom. =librar= free, preserve, save. =libre= _adj. _ free, open, innocent, alone. =lid= _f. _ contest, conflict, fight. =ligar= bind. =ligeramente= _adv. _ slightly, lightly. =ligero, -a= slight. =límite= _m. _ limit, bound. =limosna= _f. _ alms, charity. =límpido, -a= limpid, pure, clear. =limpieza= _f. _ limpidity, purity, clearness. =lino= _m. _ linen. =lira= _f. _ lyre. =lisonjero, -a= flattering, pleasing, cajoling. =liviano, -a= frivolous, lewd. =lívido, -a= livid. =lo= _art. Neut. _ the; _pron. Pers. Acc. _ it, him; =---- que= _pron. Dem. And rel. _ what, that which; =---- que es por= as for, when it comes to. =lóbrego, -a= lugubrious, mournful, gloomy, obscure, dismal, dark, sad. =loco, -a= mad, wild, crazy. =locura= _f. _ madness, folly. =lodo= _m. _ mire. =lograr= attain, gain. =loma= _f. _ hillock, ridge. =lona= _f. _ canvas. =lontananza= _f. _ distance. =los= _art. Pl. M. _ the; _pron. Pers. Acc. _ them; =---- que= _pron. Dem. And rel. _ those who, the ones who. =losa= _f. _ slab, stone. =lozano, -a= luxuriant, sprightly. =lúbrico, -a= slippery, lewd. =lucero= _m. _ bright star, morning star, star. =luciente= _adj. _ shining. =Lucifer= _pr. N. M. _ Lucifer. =luchar= struggle. =luego= _adv. _ then, at once, presently, soon, next, subsequently. =lugar= _m. _ place, town. =lúgubre= _adj. _ sad, mournful, dismal. =lujo= _m. _ luxury, finery. =lumbre= _f. _ light. =luminoso, -a= luminous, shining, bright. =luna= _f. _ moon. =luz= _f. _ light, illumination, flame, taper, lamp. =Luzbel= _pr. N. M. _ Lucifer, Satan. 

 =llagar= wound. =llama= _f. _ flame, light. =llamar= call, summon, knock, name, call upon, invoke; =--se= be named; =cómo os llamáis= what is your name. =llanto= _m. _ weeping, tears. =llegar= arrive, come; =---- a= come to, succeed in, happen to, reach; _or simply takes the signification of the verb to which it is joined:_ =llegó a ver= he saw. =llenar= fill, pervade. =lleno, -a= full, filled. =llevar= carry, bear, bring, wear, take, carry away; =----= + _p. P. _ have; =---- al extremo= terminate; =--se algo= take something away. =llorar= weep, mourn, weep for, mourn for. 

 =macedonio, -a= Macedonian. =macizo, -a= solid, massive. =madre= _f. _ mother. =maestro, -a= masterly, principal, main; =obra ----a= masterpiece. =magia= _f. _ magic, charm. =mágico, -a= magic, magical, wonderful. =mal= _adv. _ badly, ill, hardly, poorly. =mal= _m. _ evil, wrong, harm, injury, sorrow, misfortune. =Málaga= _m. _ Malaga wine. =maldecido, -a= accursed, wicked. =maldecir= curse. =maldiciente= _adj. _ cursing, profane. =maldición= _f. _ malediction, curse. =maleza= _f. _ underbrush, thicket. =malo, a= bad, wicked, evil, obnoxious, poor; =¡mal caballero!= scoundrel! =malvado, -a= criminal, wicked, insolent. =manantial= _m. _ spring, source. =manar= flow, trickle. =mancebo= _m. _ young man, youth. =mancilla= _f. _ spot, blemish. =mancha= _f. _ spot, stain. =manchar= stain. =mandato= _m. _ command. =manía= _f. _ madness, whim. =mano= _f. _ hand. =mansamente= _adv. _ gently. =mansión= _f. _ mansion, abode. =manto= _m. _ mantle, cloak. =mañana= _adv. _ to-morrow. =mañana= _f. _ morning, morrow. =mar= _m. _ (_"Pirata" l. 39_), _f. _ (_l. 34_), sea, deep; =a ----es= abundantly. =maravilla= _f. _ wonder, marvel, miracle. =marcar= mark, stamp. =marco= _m. _ frame. =Marcos= _pr. N. M. _ Mark. =marcha= _f. _ march. =marchar= walk, march. =marchitado, -a= faded, withered. =marchitarse= wither, fade, die. =mareo= _m. _ nausea, dizziness. =margen= _m. F. _ edge, brink, bank, border. =María= _pr. N. F. _ Mary. =marido= _m. _ husband, spouse. =mariposa= _f. _ butterfly. =mármol= _m. _ marble. =martirio= _m. _ martyrdom, torture, grief. =mas= _conj. _ but. =más= _adv. _ more, most, rather; =---- de= past; =---- que= especially as; =el, la ----= the most; =no ----= only, no longer. =masa= _f. _ mass. =matar= kill, slay. =materia= _f. _ material, matter. =matiz= _m. _ tint, hue. =matrimonio= _m. _ marriage. =mayo= _m. _ May. =mayor= _adj. _ greater; =el, la ----= the greatest. =me= _pron. Pers. Dat. Acc. _ me, myself. =mecer= rock, sway; =--se= be rocked, rock. =medida= _f. _ measure; =sin ----= unmeasured. =medio, -a= half, middle; =media noche= midnight. =medio= _m. _ middle, midst; =en ----= in the midst, nevertheless; =en ---- de= in the midst of. =medroso, -a= terrible, terrifying, timid. =mejilla= _f. _ cheek. =mejor= _adj. _ better; =el -----= the best. =melancolía= _f. _ melancholy. =melancólico, -a= melancholy. =melodía= _f. _ melody. =memoria= _f. _ memory, mind, remembrance. =mendigo= _m. _ beggar, mendicant. =menear= stir, shake. =mengua= _f. _ shame, disgrace. =menos= _adv. _ less, least; =----- que= less than. =mente= _f. _ mind, thought, intellect. =mentido, -a= false. =mentir= lie, deceive. =mentira= _f. _ lie, falsehood, falsity. =mercader= _m. _ trader, merchant. =merced= _f. _ mercy; =a ---- de= at the mercy of. =merecer= merit, deserve, be worth. =mesa= _f. _ table. =metal= _m. _ metal. =metálico= _m. _ cash, money. =mezclar= mix, mingle, unite, jumble; =--se= be mingled, take part, meddle. =mezquino, -a= miserable, wretched, petty. =mi= _adj. Poss. _ my. =mí= _pron. Pers. _ me, myself. =miedo= _m. _ fear; =hacer ---- de= make afraid of. =miel= _f. _ honey. =mientras= _adv. _ meanwhile; _conj. _ while; =---- que= while. =Miguel= _pr. N. M. _ Michael. =mil= _card. _ thousand. =millar= _m. _ thousand. =mina= _f. _ mine, source of supply. =mío, -a= _pron. Poss. _ my, mine. =mirada= _f. _ glance, look, gaze. =mirar= look at, contemplate, regard, see, behold, watch, notice; =--se entre sí= look at each other. =misa= _f. _ mass. =miserable= _adj. _ miserable, wretched. =miseria= _f. _ misery, wretchedness. =mísero, -a= miserable, wretched. =mismo, -a= same, very, self, own. =misterioso, -a= mysterious. =místico, -a= mystical. =modo= _m. _ way, manner; =de tal ----= in such a way. =mofa= _f. _ sneer, jeer. =mofar de= scoff at, flout. =molestar= trouble, disturb, grate upon. =momento= _m. _ moment, instant; =al ----= in a moment, immediately. =monarca= _m. _ monarch. =monótono, -a= monotonous, slow, dull. =montaña= _f. _ mountain. =Montemar= _pr. N. _ Montemar. =montón= _m. _ heap. =monumento= _m. _ monument. =morada= _f. _ abode. =morador, -a= inhabitant. =morar= dwell, abide, inhabit, lodge in. =morder= bite. =Moreto= _pr. N. _ Moreto. =moribundo, -a= dying. =morir(se)= die, expire, go out. =mortal= _adj. _ mortal, deadly, fatal. =mortal= _m. _ mortal, being, man. =mortífero, -a= deadly, noxious. =mostrar= show, point out, indicate. =motivo= _m. _ motive, reason, cause. =mover= move, stir, sway, drive; =---- guerra= wage war; =---- la planta= walk; =---- los ojos= roll one's eyes; =---- los pies= walk; =--se= move, walk. =movimiento= _m. _ movement, motion, startled movement, agitation, thrill, stirring. =mucho= _adv. _ much. =mudo, -a= dumb, silent, still, mute. =mueca= _f. _ grimace. =muerte= _f. _ death. =muerto, -a= dead, lifeless, dying. =muerto, -a= _m. F. _ dead person, corpse. =muestra= _f. _ indication, token, proof. =mujer= _f. _ woman, wife. =mula= _f. _ mule. =mullido, -a= soft. =mundano, -a= worldly, of the world. =mundo= _m. _ world, earth, society. =murmullo= _m. _ murmuring, rippling. =murmurar= murmur. =muro= _m. _ wall. =música= _f. _ music, melody. =mutuo, -a= mutual. =muy= _adv. _ very, very much. 

 =nacarado, -a= pearly, nacreous. =nacer= be born, spring up. =naciente= _adj. _ nascent, growing, budding, dawning. =nación= _f. _ nation. =nada= _pron. _ nothing, not anything. =nada= _adv. _ not at all, not. =nadie= _pron. _ no one, any one. =naipe= _m. _ card. =nariz= _f. _ nose, nostril. =náufrago, -a= wrecked, coming from a wreck. =nave= _f. _ ship, vessel. =navegar= sail. =navío= _m. _ ship. =nebuloso, -a= nebulous, hazy. =necesitar= need. =necio, -a= foolish. =néctar= _m. _ nectar. =negar= deny, refuse. =negro, -a= black, dark. =nervio= _m. _ nerve. =nervioso, -a= nervous. =ni= _conj. _ neither, nor, or; =---- . . . ----= neither . . . Nor. =niebla= _f. _ mist, haze, fog. =nieve= _f. _ snow, extreme whiteness. =ninfa= _f. _ nymph. =ninguno, -a= _adj. Pron. _ no, no one, none, not any. =niño= _m. _ child, boy. =no= _adv. _ not, no; =que -----= no. =noble= _adj. _ noble, eminent, worthy, honorable. =nobleza= _f. _ nobility. =noche= _f. _ night; =de ----= by night, at night; =media ----= midnight. =nombrar= name, mention. =nombre= _m. _ name. =nos= _pron. Pers. Dat. Acc. _ us. =nosotros, -as= _pron. Pers. _ we, us. =novela= _f. _ novel. =nube= _f. _ cloud. =nublo= _m. _ storm cloud. =nudo= _m. _ knot, noose. =nuestro, -a= _adj. Pron. _ our, ours, of ours. =nuevo, -a= new, unfamiliar, newly arrived, fresh, additional. =nunca= _adv. _ never, ever. =nupcial= _adj. _ nuptial. =nutrir= nourish. 

 =o= _interj. _ oh. =o= _conj. _ or, either; =---- . . . ----= either . . . Or. =obedecer= obey. =objeto= _m. _ object, thing. =obligarse= bind one's self, be obliged. =obra= _f. _ work; =---- maestra= masterpiece. =ocasión= _f. _ occasion, time, opportunity. =occidente= _m. _ west, occident. =oculto, -a= concealed, hidden, secret. =odioso, -a= odious, hateful. =ofender= offend, make angry, insult. =ofrecer= offer, present; =--se= offer, occur, present itself. =oh= _interj. _ oh. =oído= _m. _ ear, hearing. =oír= hear, listen, listen to; =--se= be heard. =ojalá= _interj. _ would to God. =ojo= _m. _ eye, sight. =ola= _f. _ wave, billow. =olor= _m. _ odor. =oloroso, -a= fragrant. =olvidar= forget. =olvido= _m. _ oblivion, forgetfulness, neglect. =onda= _f. _ wave. =ondeante= _adj. _ waving, flowing. =ondear= wave. =ondina= _f. _ undine, water-sprite. =ondular= undulate, rise and fall. =onza= _f. _ doubloon (former gold coin, = about $16). =ópalo= _m. _ opal. =óptico, -a= optical; =---- vidrio= telescope. =opulento, -a= rich, wealthy. =ora= _conj. _ now; =---- . . . ----= now . . . Again, at one time . . . At another. =orador= _m. _ orator. =orgía= _f. _ orgy. =orgulloso, -a= proud, haughty. =original= _adj. _ original, curious. =oro= _m. _ gold, gold coin, wealth, riches; =----s= diamonds (as a suit of playing-cards). =os= _pron. Pers. Dat. Acc. _ you, yourself. =osadía= _f. _ boldness, audacity, effrontery. =osado, -a= daring, bold, defiant. =oscuridad= _f. _ darkness, obscurity, gloom. =oscuro, -a= dark, gloomy, confused. =ostentar= show, display. =otero= _m. _ hill. =otro, -a= _adj. Pron. _ other, another. 

 =padecer= _m. _ suffering, pain. =padre= _m. _ father; =----s= fathers, parents, ancestors. =padrino= _m. _ sponsor. =paje= _m. _ page. =palabra= _f. _ word, promise. =palabrería= _f. _ wordiness. =palacio= _m. _ palace, mansion. =pálido, -a= pallid, pale, faint. =palmada= _f. _ slap, applause, clapping. =palmo= _m. _ span (8 inches). =palpar= feel, grope, know; =--se= feel, grope. =palpitante= _adj. _ quivering, throbbing. =palpitar= beat, quiver, flutter. =pan= _m. _ bread. =par= _adj. _ equal; =a ----= alike; =a ---- que= just as, while; =a la ----= at the same time, equally; =al ---- de= like, as well as. =para= _prep. _ for, to, in order to; =ser ----= be enough to. =parabién= _m. _ congratulation; =dar el ----= congratulate. =paradero= _m. _ halting-place, end. =páramo= _m. _ paramo, desert, wilderness. =parar= stop, halt, stake; =--se= stop, halt. =parar= _m. _ lansquenet (a game of cards). =parche= _m. _ drum. =pardiez= _interj. _ by God. =pardo, -a= dark gray, brown, dark. =parecer= appear, seem, resemble, look like; =al ----= seemingly, apparently. =pared= _f. _ wall. =párpado= _m. _ eyelid. =parte= _f. _ part; =de ---- de= from, by command of; =por todas ----s= everywhere. =pasada= _f. _ passing; =de ----= in passing. =pasado= _m. _ past. =pasar= pass, go by, end. =pasión= _f. _ passion. =paso= _m. _ step, gait, footstep, tread, passing; =---- de andadura= ambling gait; =al ----, de ----, = in passing. =pastor= _m. _ shepherd. =Pastrana= _pr. N. _ Pastrana. =patear= stamp upon. =patio= _m. _ court, courtyard. =patria= _f. _ native country, fatherland, home. =patrio, -a= paternal, native. =pausado, -a= deliberate, leisurely. =pavesa= _f. _ embers. =pavimiento= _m. _ pavement, floor. =pavor= _m. _ fear, terror. =pavoroso, -a= frightful, exciting fear, terrifying, terrible. =pavura= _f. _ fear, terror. =paz= _f. _ peace, quiet. =pecado= _m. _ sin. =pecador, -a= sinful, wicked, wretched. =pecho= _m. _ breast, chest, bosom, heart, courage; =a lo hecho, ----= make the best of it. =pecho= _m. _ tribute; =dar ----= pay tribute. =pedazo= _m. _ piece; =a ----s= to pieces, in pieces; =hacer ----s= break to pieces, tear. =pedestal= _m. _ pedestal, foundation. =pedir= ask, ask for, beg, demand; =---- cuenta= bring to account, demand account of. =pedrería= _f. _ precious stones. =pena= _f. _ punishment, penalty, agony, trouble, anxiety, sorrow, pain; =ánima en ----= soul in purgatory. =pendencia= _f. _ quarrel, dispute, row. =pendón= _m. _ banner, flag. =penetrar= penetrate, pierce. =penoso, -a= painful. =pensamiento= _m. _ thought, mind. =pensar= think, consider, plan, mean, intend; =---- en= think of. =pensil= _m. _ beautiful garden. =peñasco= _m. _ large rock. =perder= lose, squander, ruin, undo; =--se= be lost, go astray, disappear, vanish; =dar por perdido= consider lost. =perdido, -a= lost, ruined, done for, beside one's self, vanished, defeated, wandering. =perdidoso, -a= losing, loser. =perdón= _m. _ pardon, forgiveness. =perdonar= pardon, forgive. =peregrino, -a= strange, wonderful. =perezoso, -a= sluggish. =pérfido, -a= perfidious, treacherous. =perfumado, -a= sweet-scented, perfumed. =perfume= _m. _ perfume, fragrance, sweet odor. =pero= _conj. _ but, however. =perpetuo, -a= perpetual, continual. =perro= _m. _ dog. =perseguir= pursue, importune, beset. =persona= _f. _ person; =----s= dramatis personae. =pesar= weigh, consider, be valuable, repent. =pesar= _m. _ sorrow, trouble, repentance; =a su ----= in spite of himself. =peso= _m. _ weight. =pie= _m. _ foot; =alzarse de ----= rise to one's feet; =en ----= standing; =mover los ----s= walk; =ponerse de ----= arise, stand up. =piedad= _f. _ pity, mercy. =piedra= _f. _ stone. =pintar= paint, depict, describe; =--se= be painted, be depicted. =pintura= _f. _ picture, painting. =pirata= _m. _ pirate. =pisada= _f. _ footstep. =pisar= tread upon. =placentero, -a= pleasant, pleasing. =placer= please. =placer= _m. _ pleasure, rejoicing. =plan= _m. _ plan. =planta= _f. _ sole of foot, foot, project, design; =mover la ----= walk. =plañir= sob, whimper, lament. =plata= _f. _ silver. =playa= _f. _ shore, beach, strand; =sin ----= boundless. =plaza= _f. _ square. =plebe= _f. _ populace, common people. =plegaria= _f. _ prayer. =pliegue= _m. _ fold. =poblar= inhabit. =pobre= _adj. _ poor. =pobreza= _f. _ poverty. =poco= _adv. _ little; =---- a ----= little by little, gradually; =por ----= for a trifle. =poder= be able, may, can; _impers. _ be possible; =puede que= perhaps, maybe. =poder= _m. _ power. =poderoso, -a= powerful, mighty, wealthy. =poeta= _m. _ poet. =Polonia= _f. _ Poland. =polvo= _m. _ dust. =pomo= _m. _ pommel, hilt. =pompa= _f. _ pomp, splendor. =poner= put, place, instill, fix, set, make, turn, offer, give; =---- pavor a uno= make one afraid; =--se a= begin to; =--se de pie= arise, stand up. =poniente= _adj. _ setting. =ponzoñoso, -a= poisonous. =popa= _f. _ poop, stern; =en ----= astern, aft; =viento en ----= before the wind, with a wind from astern. =por= _prep. _ for, on account of, by, to, through, over, across, for the sake of, on, at; _conj. _ =---- qué= why. =porfía= _f. _ obstinacy, persistence. =porque= _conj. _ because, in order that. =portento= _m. _ prodigy, miracle, portent. =porvenir= _m. _ future. =pos= _adv. Prep. _: =en ----= behind, after. =positivamente= _adv. _ positively, certainly. =postrado, -a= prostrate, kneeling. =postrero, -a= last. =precipitado, -a= precipitate, headlong, rash, abrupt. =precipitar(se)= precipitate, hasten, rush headlong, hurry. =precursor, -a= _m. F. _ precursor, herald, harbinger. =preguntar= ask, inquire, question. =premática= _f. _ pragmatic (a law). =prender= catch, take, bind, fasten; =---- fuego= set fire. =presa= _f. _ capture, prize. =présago, -a= presaging, ominous. =présago= _m. _ presage, omen. =presentar= present, offer, show. =presente= _adj. _ present. =presente= _m. _ present. =prestar= lend, give, add, ascribe. =presumir= presume, imagine, dare. =presuroso, -a= prompt, quick, light. =prevenirse= prepare. =previsión= _f. _ foresight, foreboding, presentiment. =primavera= _f. _ spring. =primero, -a= first, former. =príncipe= _m. _ prince. =prisa= _f. _ haste. =proceloso, -a= tempestuous. =procurar= procure, obtain, secure. =prodigio= _m. _ prodigy, marvel. =prodigioso, -a= extraordinary, exquisite. =profundo, -a= deep, low, profound, great. =profundo= _m. _ abyss, hell. =prolongar(se)= prolong, continue, extend. =prometer= promise. =pronto, -a= ready. =pronto= _adv. _ quickly, soon; =de ----= suddenly. =pronunciar= pronounce, utter, say. =propio, -a= own. =prorrumpir= break out, burst forth. =protección= _f. _ protection. =provocar= provoke, rouse, incite. =público, -a= public, general, common. =pudor= _m. _ modesty. =pueblo= _m. _ people, town, nation. =puerta= _f. _ door, gateway, entrance. =puerto= _m. _ harbor, port. =pues= _adv. _ then, well; _conj. _ for, since. =puesta= _f. _ setting. =pugnar= struggle. =punto= _m. _ spot, speck, point, moment; =al ----= immediately, at once. =punzante= _adj. _ sharp, piercing, pricking, stinging, acrid. =puñal= _m. _ dagger. =pureza= _f. _ purity, chastity, innocence. =purísimo, -a= very pure, most pure. =puro, -a= pure, chaste, holy, clear, unsullied, unblemished, mere, sheer, absolute. 

 =que= _conj. _ than, for, as, since, that, so that, let; =de ----= that. =que= _pron. Rel. _ which, that, who, whom; =en ----= when. =qué= _interj. _ what, how. =qué= _interrog. _ what, why; =por ----= why. =quebrantar= break, transgress, shatter, split, weaken. =quebranto= _m. _ affliction, grief, sorrow. =quedar(se)= stay, remain, be left. =queja= _f. _ complaint, lamentation, plaintive cry, moan. =quejarse= complain, lament. =quejido= _m. _ moan, complaint. =quemado, -a= burning. =quemar= burn. =querer= love, like, desire, want, seek, wish, accept, cover, accept a challenge _or_ bet, be on the point of. =querido, -a= dear, beloved. =quien= _pron. Rel. _ who, which, whom, one who. =quién= _pron. Interrog. _ who. =Quijote= _pr. N. M. _ Quixote. =quimera= _f. _ chimera, fancy, quarrel, row. =quimérico, -a= chimerical, fantastic. =quince= _card. _ fifteen. =quinto, -a= fifth. =quitar(se)= take away, remove, take off. =quizá= _adv. _ perhaps. 

 =rabia= _f. _ rage, fury. =ración= _f. _ ration, allowance of food. =radiante= _adj. _ radiant. =ráfaga= _f. _ gust, blast, burst. =rama= _f. _ branch, bough. =ramaje= _m. _ branches. =ramo= _m. _ branch. =rápido, -a= rapid, quick, swift, nimble, fleeting. =raro, -a= strange, unusual. =rasgar= tear, rend. =raudal= _m. _ torrent, stream. =raudo, -a= rapid, swift, precipitate. . =raya= _f. _ stripe, streak. =rayar= border upon. =rayo= _m. _ ray, thunderbolt, beam, light. =razón= _f. _ reason, reasoning. =realidad= _f. _ reality. =realizar= realize, make real, bring about. =rebelde= _adj. _ rebellious. =rebramar= bellow. =recatado, -a= cautious, careful, prudent. =recato= _m. _ modesty, prudence, coyness. =recelo= _m. _ misgiving, apprehension, fear. =receloso, -a= distrustful, terrifying, fearsome. =recibir= receive, take, accept. =recio, -a= strong, loud, severe, rigorous. =recobrar= recover. =recoger= gather, collect, take in, receive, shelter. =recogido, -a= retired, absorbed, secluded. =reconcentrado, -a= concentrated, intense. =reconocer= recognize, know. =recordar= remember, recall. =recorrer= pass through, examine. =recrear= delight, gladden. =recuerdo= _m. _ recollection, memory. =rechazar= repel, reject. =rechinamiento= _m. _ gnashing. =rechinar= creak, gnash. =rededor= _m. _ environs; =al ---- de= around. =redoblar= redouble. =redoble= _m. _ roll. =redor= _cf. _ =rededor=; =en ----= round about. =reflejar= reflect. =reflejo= _m. _ light, gleam, glimmer. =refregar= rub. =refulgente= _adj. _ resplendent, brilliant. =regalar= make merry, cheer, entertain, delight; =--se= feast, make merry, fare sumptuously. =regar= lave, water. =regio, -a= royal, regal, magnificent. =región= _f. _ region, realm. =registrar= examine, scan. =regocijar= gladden, brighten. =reina= _f. _ queen. =reinar= reign. =reír= laugh; =--se= laugh; =---se de= laugh at. =relámpago= _m. _ lightning flash. =relinchar= whinny, neigh. =reloj= _m. _ clock, timepiece. =remiso, -a= slow. =remolino= _m. _ whirl, whirling, vortex, eddy, whirlwind. =remontarse= rise, soar, tower. =remordimiento= _m. _ remorse. =remover= remove, move, take away. =rencor= _m. _ grudge, hatred. =rendido, -a= worn out, overcome. =rendir= surrender, give up, overcome, yield. =renegar de= deny, abhor, denounce, curse, protest against. =renglón= _m. _ line. =reñidor, -a= quarrelsome. =reñir= quarrel, fight. =reparar= defend, recover. =reparo= _m. _ advice, warning, remark, objection. =repente= _m. _ sudden movement; =de ---- suddenly. =repentino, -a= sudden. =repetir= repeat. =reponer= reply. =reposar= repose, rest. =reposo= _m. _ rest, sleep. =réprobo, -a= reprobate, wicked one. =repugnante= _adj. _ repulsive, loathsome. =requerir= examine, lay hold of. =resbalar= slip away, glide, pass over, touch. =resistir= resist, endure, withstand. =resolución= _f. _ resolution, determination. =resolver= resolve, determine. =resonar= resound, ring out, echo. =respirar= breathe, exhale, inhale. =resplandor= _m. _ light, radiance, brightness, glow. =responder= respond, reply, answer. =respuesta= _f. _ reply, answer. =resucitar= return to life. =resuelto, -a= resolved, determined. =retumbar= tremble. =retorcer= twist; =--se= writhe, be wrung. =retrato= _m. _ portrait, picture. =retumbar= resound, reëcho. =reunir= unite, gather. =reventar= burst forth. =revés= _m. _ reverse; =al ----= contrariwise. =revestir= clothe, robe. =revuelto, -a= agitated, restless, disordered, topsy-turvy, winding, wrapped, clad. =rey= _m. _ king, monarch. =rezar= pray, recite. =rezo= _m. _ prayer, devotions. =rico, -a= rich, abundant, plentiful, fine. =ridículo, -a= ridiculous, strange, absurd. =rielar= shimmer, glisten. =rienda= _f. _ rein; =a ---- suelta= at full gallop. =riesgo= _m. _ danger. =rifar= raffle, bid. =rigidez= _f. _ rigidity. =rígido, -a= rigid, severe, rigorous. =río= _m. _ river, stream. =riqueza= _f. _ richness, riches, wealth. =risa= _f. _ laughter. =rival= _m. _ rival. =rizar= ripple. =robar= rob; =---- a= steal from. =roble= _m. _ oak tree. =roca= _f. _ rock, cliff. =rodar= roll, be tossed about, abound. =rodear= surround. =rodilla= _f. _ knee; =de -----s= kneeling. =roedor, -a= gnawing. =roer= gnaw, consume, harass. =rogar= pray. =rojo, -a= red, crimson, ruby. =romper= break, break down, destroy, shatter, dash. =ronco, -a= hoarse, raucous, harsh. =ronda= _f. _ rounds, circular dance, dance. =ropa= _f. _ garment, raiment, clothing. =ropaje= _m. _ apparel, gown, robe. =rosa= _f. _ rose. =rosado, -a= rosy, roseate. =rostro= _m. _ face, countenance. =roto, -a= broken, destroyed, shattered. =rudo, -a= rude, rough, hard. =rueda= _f. _ wheel, circle, turn. =ruego= _m. _ request, entreaty. =rugido= _m. _ roaring. =rugir= roar, bellow. =ruido= _m. _ noise, din, sound. =ruinoso, -a= ruinous, crumbling. =ruiseñor= _m. _ nightingale. =rumbo= _m. _ course. =rumor= _m. _ noise, sound. 

 =sábado= _m. _ Saturday, Sabbath. =saber= know, learn, find out. =sabroso, -a= tasty, delicious, palatable. =sacro, -a= holy, sacred. =sacudido, -a= harsh, jerky. =sacudir= shake, shake off, strike. =sagrado, -a= sacred, holy. =Salamanca= _pr. N. F. _ Salamanca. =salir= come out, go out, get out, emerge, issue, turn out, appear, show up; =---- de= leave, get out. =saltar(se)= jump, spring, flash. =saludar= salute, greet. =san (santo)= saint. =sandio, -a= foolish, stupid, silly. =sangre= _f. _ blood, gore; =---- fría= sangfroid, coolness, calmness. =sangriento, -a= bloody, gory. =santidad= _f. _ holiness, godliness. =santo, -a= holy, saint, blessed. =sarcasmo= _m. _ sarcasm. =sargento= _m. _ sergeant. =sastre= _m. _ tailor. =Satanás= _m. _ Satan. =satánico, -a= Satanic. =sátira= _f. _ satire. =satisfacción= _f. _ satisfaction. =sauce= _m. _ willow. =Scévola= _pr. N. M. _ Scaevola. =se= _pron. Refl. 3d pers. Dat. Acc. M. F. Sing. Pl. _ him, himself, herself, itself, themselves; one another, each other; _dat. Of 3d pers. Pron. _ to you. =secar= parch, consume, dry up, wither. =seco, -a= dry, dried up, barren, withered, lean, bony. =secreto, -a= secret, hidden. =sed= _f. _ thirst. =seductor, -a= seducing. =seductor= _m. _ seducer. =segar= mow, reap. =seguida= _f. _ continuation; =en ----= forthwith, immediately. =seguir= follow, succeed, pursue, go on, continue. =según= _prep. _ according to. =segundo, -a= second. =seguro, -a= secure, safe, confident, certain, unfailing, stanch; =mal ----= unsafe, insecure. =seis= _card. _ six. =sellar= seal, cover. =sello= _m. _ seal, stamp, mark. =semblante= _m. _ countenance, face. =semejante= _adj. _ similar, like, resembling. =semejar= resemble, be like. =sempiterno, -a= eternal. =Sena= _pr. N. F. _ Siena. =seno= _m. _ bosom, breast, depths. =sensación= _f. _ sensation, feeling. =sentar= suit, place, plant, become, set; =--se= sit down. =sentenciar= condemn. =sentido= _m. _ sense; =sin ----= senseless, unconscious. =sentimiento= _m. _ sentiment, feeling, emotion, regret, grief. =sentir(se)= feel, regret, be sorry, hear, perceive, foresee. =seña= _f. _ sign. =señalar= point out, mark out, make known, name. =señor= _m. _ lord, señor, gentleman, sir, Mr. . =señora= _f. _ lady, madam. =separar= separate, part. =sepulcral= _adj. _ sepulchral. =sepulcro= _m. _ grave, tomb. =sepultar= bury, entomb. =sepultura= _f. _ grave, tomb. =ser= be; =---- para= be enough to; =es de temer= it is to be feared; =es de ver= you should see; =no sea que= lest, for fear that; =sea . . . Sea= whether . . . Or. =ser= _m. _ being. =serafín= _m. _ seraph, angel. =sereno, -a= serene, quiet, calm, placid, fair, peaceful. =sermón= _m. _ sermon, talk, advice. =servir= serve; =---- de= serve as; =--se de= make use of. =sesenta= _card. _ sixty. =severo, -a= severe, stern, serious, rigorous, strict. =si= _conj. _ if, when, whether; =---- no= otherwise, unless; =---- . . . ----= whether . . . Or; =y ---- no= unless, otherwise. =sí= _pron. Refl. Sing. Pl. M. F. _ himself, herself, etc. . =sí= _adv. _ yes, ay, indeed, certainly; =que ----= yes. =sí= _m. _ assent, consent. =siempre= _adv. _ always, ever. =sien= _f. _ temple. =sierpe= _f. _ serpent. =silbar= whistle. =silbo= _m. _ whistling. =silencio= _m. _ silence, quiet, repose. =silencioso, -a= silent. =silfa= _f. _ sylph. =sílfide= _f. _ sylph. =silla= _f. _ saddle. =sin= _prep. _ without; =---- que= _conj. _ without. =siniestro, -a= left. =sino= _adv. Conj. _ but, only, except. =sino (signo)= _m. _ fate, mark. =siquier, siquiera, = _conj. _ whether, although, at least; =no ----= not even; =---- . . . ----= whether . . . Or. =sitio= _m. _ place, spot, site. =soberano, -a= sovereign, supreme. =sobra= _f. _ surplus; =----s= leavings. =sobre= _prep. _ over, above, on, upon; =estar ---- sí= be self- possessed. =sociedad= _f. _ society. =Sócrates= _pr. N. M. _ Socrates. =sol= _m. _ sun. =soldado= _m. _ soldier. =soledad= _f. _ solitude, loneliness; =de ----= deserted. =solemne= _adj. _ solemn, impressive, grave. =soler= be accustomed, be wont. =solitario, -a= solitary, lonely, isolated. =solo, -a= alone, single, solitary, only; =a solas= alone, privately. =sólo= _adv. _ only; =tan ----= only. =soltar= let go, loosen, utter; =---- una carcajada= burst out laughing. =sollozante= _adj. _ sobbing. =sombra= _f. _ shadow, shade, darkness, trace, vestige, wraith, spirit. =sombrero= _m. _ hat. =sombrío, -a= somber, dark, overcast, cloudy, gloomy, melancholy, sullen. =són= _m. _ sound, noise, manner. =sonar= sound, resound. =soneto= _m. _ sonnet. =sonido= _m. _ sound, peal. =sonoro, -a= sonorous, resounding, loud, harmonious. =sonreír= smile. =sonrisa= _f. _ smile. =soñar= dream, imagine, dream of. =soplo= _m. _ gust, breath. =sórdido, -a= dirty, nasty. =sordo, -a= dull, stifled, muffled, quiet. =sorpresa= _f. _ surprise. =sosegado, -a= calm, calmed, peaceful. =sosiego= _m. _ calmness, peace, quiet. =sota= _f. _ jack, knave. =Stambul= _pr. N. _ Stamboul. =su= _adj. Poss. _ his, her, its, their, your. =suave= _adj. _ soft, mellow, delicate, gentle. =suavísimo, -a= very soft, very gentle, very sweet. =subir= raise, mount, ascend, climb; =--se= mount, rise. =súbito, -a= sudden. =súbito= _adv. _ suddenly; =de ----= suddenly. =sublime= _adj. _ sublime, majestic, heroic. =suceder a= succeed, follow. =sudor= _m. _ sweat. =suelo= _m. _ ground, earth, floor. =suelto, -a= loose, flowing, swift; =a rienda suelta= at full gallop. =sueño= _m. _ sleep, slumber, dream, vision, fancy. =suerte= _f. _ luck, fortune, fate, lot; =a otra ---- de esos dados= another cast of those dice. =sufrir= suffer, permit, tolerate. =sujetar= subdue, overcome. =sujeto, -a= held fast, conquered. =suntuoso, -a= sumptuous, luxurious. =supremo, -a= supreme. =suspender= suspend, hang. =suspirar= sigh; =---- de= long for. =suspiro= _m. _ sigh. =susurrar= whisper, murmur. =susurro= _m. _ whispering, murmuring. =suyo, -a= _adj. Poss. _ his; =el ----= _pron. Poss. _ his. 

 =tabla= _f. _ board, plank. =tácito, -a= silent, quiet, stealthy. =tacto= _m. _ touch. =tachonado, -a= betrimmed. =tajante= _adj. _ keen-cutting (_sc. _ sword). =tal= _adj. Pron. _ such, so, thus; =---- vez= perhaps, occasionally, now and then. =tálamo= _m. _ bridal couch. =talante= _m. _ appearance, disposition. =talle= _m. _ figure, appearance. =taller= _m. _ factory, workshop. =tallo= _m. _ stalk, stem. =también= _adv. _ too, moreover, likewise. =tan= _adv. _ so, such; =---- . . . Como= as . . . As; =---- sólo= only. =tanto, -a= _adj. _ so much, so great; _pl. _ so many. =tanto= _adv. _ so much, so, such; =cuanto más . . . ---- más= the more . . . The more; =en ----= while, meanwhile; =entre ----= meanwhile; =---- como= as long as; =---- más= the more. =tapar= cover, veil, muffle. =tapiz= _m. _ tapestry. =tararear= hum. =tardar(se)= delay, take long, be long in coming, tarry. =tarde= _adv. _ late, too late; =se hace ----= it is growing late. =tarde= _f. _ afternoon, evening. =tardo, -a= slow, tardy, sluggish. =tarifa= _f. _ tariff, price. =tartáreo, -a= Tartarean, infernal. =te= _pron. Pers. _ thee, thyself. =tea= _f. _ torch. =techo= _m. _ roof, ceiling. =tejer= weave, contrive. =temblar= tremble at, fear, quiver, twitch, tremble. =temblor= _m. _ trembling, tremor, shiver. =tembloroso, -a= trembling. =temer= fear. =temerario, -a= rash, impetuous, reckless, daring. =temeridad= _f. _ rashness. =temeroso, -a= timid, fearful. =temor= _m. _ fear. =témpano= _m. _ sheet (of ice etc. ). =tempestad= _f. _ tempest, storm. =templado, -a= softened. =templo= _m. _ temple, church. =temprano, -a= early, premature. =tender= stretch out, extend, spread. =tenebroso, -a= shadowy, gloomy. =tener= have, keep, take, grasp; =---- de= + _inf. _ be going to, must. =Tenorio= _pr. N. M. _ Tenorio. =tentar= tempt. =teñir= tinge, color. =tercero, -a= third. =terco, -a= obstinate. =Teresa= _pr. N. F. _ Theresa. =terminar= end, consummate. =término= _m. _ term, end. =terneza= _f. _ softness. =ternura= _f. _ tenderness, affection. =terror= _m. _ terror. =terso, -a= smooth, glossy, unwrinkled. =tertulia= _f. _ assembly, club. =tesoro= _m. _ treasure, wealth, riches. =ti= _pron. Pers. _ thee. =Tibre= _pr. N. M. _ Tiber. =tiempo= _m. _ time, period, season; =a un ----= at once, at the same time; =a un ---- mismo= at the very same time; =de ---- en ----= from time to time; =un ----= once, formerly. =tienta= _f. _ probe; =a ----s= gropingly, feeling his way. =tierno, -a= tender, soft, affectionate, young. =tierra= _f. _ land, country, earth, ground. =tigre= _m. _ tiger. =tímido, -a= timid, shy. =tiniebla= _f. _ darkness, shadow. =tinta= _f. _ tint, hue, color. =tiple= _m. _ treble. =tirano= _m. _ tyrant. =tirar= throw, throw away, cast, draw, pull, win; =---- de= pull, draw. =tocar= touch, fall to one's share, hit; =---- a muerto= toll a funeral bell; =dale con ---- a muerto= plague take this funeral tolling. =todavía= _adv. _ nevertheless, still, yet. =todo, -a= all, every. =todo= _pron. _ everything, all; =----s= everybody, all. =todo= _adv. _ entirely. =Toledo= _f. _ Toledo. =tomar= take, take up. =tono= _m. _ tone, manner. =torbellino= _m. _ whirlwind. =torcer= twist, wind, bend, turn, divert. =torcido, -a= winding, twisting. =tormenta= _f. _ storm, tempest, hurricane, misfortune. =tormento= _m. _ torment, torture, anguish. =Tormes= _m. _ Tormes. =tornar= return; =---- a= + _inf. _ do again, repeat (an act). =torno= _m. _ turn; =en ----= round about; =en ---- de= around, about. =torpe= _adj. _ slow, dull, awkward. =torre= _f. _ tower, spire. =torrente= _m. _ torrent, avalanche. =torreón= _m. _ strong tower. =tortura= _f. _ torture. =torvo, -a= stern, severe, grim. =trabajar= work, toil. =trabajo= _m. _ work, task, toil, labor. =traer= bring, bear. =tragar= swallow. =traje= _m. _ garb, apparel. =tranco= _m. _ stride. =tranquilo, -a= tranquil, calm, peaceful, quiet. =transpirar= transpire, appear. =trapo= _m. _ rag, sails; =a todo ----= all sails set. =tras= _prep. _ behind, after; =---- de= behind. =traslado= _m. _ likeness, imitation. =trasmontar= sink beyond, set. =trasparente= _adj. _ transparent, clear. =traspasar= pierce. =traspié= _m. _ slip, stumble; =dar ----s= stumble, reel. =trastornar= disorder, confuse, upset. =trastorno= _m. _ disorder, confusion, disturbance. =trasunto= _m. _ likeness, copy. =trato= _m. _ agreement, bargain, treatment. =trecho= _m. _ distance. =tregua= _f. _ truce, respite. =tremendo, -a= awful, terrible. =trémulo, -a= trembling, flickering. =trescientos, -as= three hundred. =triplicar= triple. =triste= _adj. _ sad, sorrowful, dismal, gloomy, cheerless, wretched, sorry. =tristura= _f. _ sadness, sorrow. =triunfante= _adj. _ triumphant. =triunfo= _m. _ triumph, victory, success. =trocar= change; =--se= be changed, change. =tromba= _f. _ waterspout. =tronar= thunder. =tronchar= break off a trunk. =trono= _m. _ throne. =trovador= _m. _ troubadour. =trueno= _m. _ thunder. =truhán, -a= scoundrel. =tu= _adj. Poss. _ thy. =tú= _pron. Pers. _ thou. =tuétano= _m. _ marrow. =tumba= _f. _ tomb, grave. =tumbo= _m. _ fall, tumble, somersault. =túnica= _f. _ tunic, robe. =turbar= disturb, daunt, shake, upset. =turbio, -a= troubled, confused, dim, heavy. =turbión= _m. _ squall, heavy shower, hurricane. =turbulento, -a= turbulent, tumultuous, disorderly. =Turco, -a= _m. F. _ Turk. 

 =u= _conj. _ (_before_ =o= _or_ =ho=) or. =ufano, -a= proud, content. =último, -a= last, final. =ultraje= _m. _ outrage, insult. =umbrío, -a= dark, shady. =un, una= _art. _ a, an. =únicamente= _adv. _ only. =único, -a= only, sole, singular. =unir= unite, join, bind. =universo= _m. _ universe, world. =uno, -a= _adj. Pron. _ one; =----s= some; =de ----a en ---a= one by one. =urna= _f. _ urn. 

 =vadear= ford. =vagar= wander, roam, flit, drift, hover. =vago, -a= wandering, wavering, vague, indistinct, hazy. =vagoroso, -a= wandering, errant. =vaguedad= _f. _ vagueness; =con ----= vaguely, uncertainly. =valentía= _f. _ valor, courage. =valer= be worth, help, avail; =más vale= it is better. =valeroso, -a= valiant, brave. =valiente= _adj. _ valiant, brave, arrogant, blustering. =valor= _m. _ valor, courage, strength, force, might, amount, value. =valle= _m. _ vale. =vano, -a= vain, idle, useless, presumptuous; =en ----= in vain, useless. =vapor= _m. _ vapor, mist, fumes. =vaporoso, -a= ethereal, airy, shadowy, misty. =varón= _m. _ man. =varonil= _adj. _ manly, masculine. =vaso= _m. _ glass, vessel, vase. =vate= _m. _ bard. =veinte= _card. _ twenty. =vela= _f. _ sail, ship; =a toda ----= full sail. =velar= veil. =velero, -a= swift-sailing (ship). =veleta= _f. _ weathercock, vane. =velo= _m. _ veil. =veloz= _adj. _ swift. =vena= _f. _ vein. =vencedor, -a= conquering, victorious. =vencedor, -a= _m. F. _ conqueror, victor. =vencer= conquer, vanquish, overcome, subdue. =vencido, -a= conquered, submissive, subdued. =venda= _f. _ bandage. =vendaval= _m. _ strong wind from the sea. =vender= sell, set up for sale. =veneno= _m. _ poison, venom. =vengador, -a= avenging. =venganza= _f. _ vengeance, revenge. =vengar= avenge; =--be revenged. =vengativo, -a= avenging. =venir= come, advance, approach, go; =---- a= succeed in; =vengan los dados= let's have the dice. =ventura= _f. _ happiness, fortune; =sin ----= wretched, hapless; =sin ---- de mí= unfortunate me, woe is me. =venturoso, -a= fortunate, happy. =ver= see, behold, realize; =--se= be seen, can be seen, find one's self. =verdad= _f. _ truth. =verdadero, -a= true, real, genuine. =vergüenza= _f. _ shame. =verter= shed, cast. =vertiginoso, -a= giddy, vertiginous. =vértigo= _m. _ vertigo, dizziness, confusion, dizzy course. =vestido= _m. _ dress, raiment, robe. =vestir= dress, clothe, garb, enwrap. =vez= _f. _ time, turn; =a veces= at times; =cada ---- más= more and more; =en ---- de= instead of; =otra ----= again, once more; =tal ----= perhaps, occasionally, now and then. =viaje= _m. _ journey, passage, way, road. =viajero= _m. _ traveler. =vibrar= vibrate, dart, cast, throw, flicker. =vicio= _m. _ vice. =víctima= _f. _ victim. =vida= _f. _ life. =vidrio= _m. _ glass, window-pane; =óptico ----= telescope. =viejo, -a= _adj. _ old. =viejo, -a= _m. F. _ old man, old woman. =viento= _m. _ wind, breeze; =---- en popa= before the wind, with a wind from astern. =vigor= _m. _ vigor, strength, force. =vil= _adj. _ vile, base, despicable, mean, paltry. =villano= _m. _ low-born one, rustic, villain. =vino= _m. _ wine. =violento, -a= violent, impetuous, furious. =virar= tack, put about. =virgen= _adj. _ virgin, chaste. =virgen= _f. _ virgin. =virginal= _adj. _ virginal. =virtud= _f. _ power, virtue. =visión= _f. _ vision, sight, apparition, phantom. =vislumbrar= descry, glimpse. =vista= _f. _ sight, glance, eye, appearance, look. =vívido, -a= vivid, bright. =vivienda= _f. _ abode. =viviente= _adj. _ living. =viviente= _m. _ living being. =vivir= live; =vive Dios= as God lives. =vivir= _m. _ life, existence. =vivo, -a= living, alive, bright, quick. =volar= fly, take flight, hasten, vanish, sail. =volcán= _m. _ volcano. =voluntad= _f. _ will, determination, desire. =volver= return, come back, turn, direct, drive, restore; =---- a= + _inf. _ do again; repeat (an act); =--se= return, turn, become. =vos= _pron. Pers. _ you; yourself. =vosotros, -as= _pron. Pers. _ you, ye. =votar= vow; =voto a Cristo= by Christ. =voto= _m. _ vow, curse. =voz= _f. _ voice, word, shout, rumor, opinion. =vuelo= _m. _ flight, soaring. =vuelta= _f. _ turn; =dar mil ----s= turn a thousand times, whirl a thousand times, revolve a thousand times. =vuestro -a= your. 

 =y= _conj. _ and; =---- . . . ----= both . . . And. =ya= _adv. _ now, already, indeed, then, finally; =no . . . ----= no longer; =---- . . . ----= now . . . Now, at one time . . . At another. =yacer= lie. =yerba= _f. _ grass, weed. =yerboso, -a= grassy, weed-grown. =yermo, -a= waste, desert. =yermo= _m. _ wilderness, desert. =yerro= _m. _ mistake. =yerto, -a= rigid, motionless, petrified. =yo= _pron. Pers. _ I. =yugo= _m. _ yoke. 

 =zafir= _m. _ sapphire. =zozobra= _f. _ worry, anguish, anxiety. =zumbar= resound