Note footnotes — Front matter

[1] León, an allusion to the lion on the Spanish coat of arms.

[2] su, i.e., de los campeones.

[3] hace. The subject is Marte in line 2.

[4] Inca. When the Spanish Conquistadores came to America, all of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and north-western Argentina were inhabited by the Quichua Indians. These Indians were divided into seven tribes, from one of which came the Incas who became the rulers of the vast territory occupied by the Quichuas. The Inca was the head of the ruling class and consequently the emperor of all the Quichuas. The reference here is to Atahualpa, the last Inca, who was strangled in 1533 by order of Pizarro, conqueror of Peru.

[5] sus, i.e., del Inca.

[6] lo que, trans., as: As he sees his sons renewing the old splendor of the Fatherland. Vide Bello-Cuervo, Gramática, §§ 976, 977; and Cuervo, Apuntaciones críticas, § 337.

[7] se sienten, are heard. The student should exercise special care in noting the difference between the use of the reflexive as a substitute for the passive voice and the true use of the reflexive; the first use is confined almost entirely to the third person, singular and plural.

[8] Méjico. From 1810 to 1820 the Mexicans fought bravely, but with scant success, to free themselves from the Spanish yoke. During that period three great leaders of Mexican independence were captured and shot by the Spaniards: the priest Miguel Hidalgo, in 1811; the priest Morelos, in 1815; and Francisco Xavier Mina, in 1817. Under the leadership of Santa Ana, in 1823, the Mexicans were finally successful in driving out the Spaniards and establishing a republican form of government.

[9] Quito. Until the beginning of the sixteenth century the present republic of Ecuador was the kingdom of Quito, ruled over by the Incas. After Pizarro’s conquest in 1533 it became the Audiencia of Quito, subject to the rule of the Viceroy of Peru. Ecuador was the last South American country to obtain its independence from Spain. From 1810 to 1822, when the Spaniards were defeated at the battle of Pichincha, it was the scene of much ruthless and fierce fighting.

[10] cuál, trans., how.

[11] Potosí, Cochabama, la Paz, cities in Bolivia. Most of the fighting against the Spaniards in Bolivia took place in the triangle formed by those three cities. V. map.

[12] Caracas, capital of Venezuela, the first South American country to declare its independence from Spain, in 1811. About that time the terrors of an earthquake, which destroyed the greater part of the city, were added to those of war.

[13] cual, trans., like.

[14] a, trans., against.

[15] vencedor, trans., as a conqueror; note absolute construction.

[16] San José, Piedras, La Colonia, battles fought by the Uruguayans in coöperation with the Argentineans. At Las Piedras there were two engagements, hence ambas Piedras.

San Lorenzo, name of the first battle fought by San Martín against the Spaniards.

Suipacha, Salta, Tucumán. General Balcarce defeated the Spaniards at Suipacha, as did General Belgrano at the battles of Salta and Tucumán.

[17] la Banda Oriental, popular name for the republic of Uruguay. Until the period of the Revolution, Uruguay was one of the Provinces of the Plata, and from its location on the eastern bank of the Uruguay River it received the name of “Eastern District.”

[18] su, i.e., del guerrero argentino.

[19] sus, i.e., del tirano.

[20] por, trans., as.

[21] su, i.e., de la libertad.

[22] les, i.e., a los hombres.

[23] trono dignísimo, i.e., independence from Spain.

[24] ¡..., salud! hail!

[25] para responder al título de la propiedad, to insure claim to the property.

[26] sequedades, abstract noun used as a concrete noun; trans., sterile lands.

[27] absoluto, taken in its literal sense here, apart, by himself.

[28] volteadas, Argentinism; separation and selection of cattle without previously rounding them up; hasty selection of cattle. Cf. Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle: “About two leagues beyond this curious tree we halted for the night; at this instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the lynx-eyed gauchos, who set off in full chase, and in a few minutes dragged her in with their lazos, and slaughtered her.”

[29] leyes positivas, established laws.

[30] con sendas o vados, etc., i.e., cerca de su choza, nearby.

[31] género de vida que hacían, kind of life they led.

[32] lo hacían... tiempo, gave him an air of mystery and dignity at the same time.

[33] voz cubierta, soft voice.

[34] con el monosílabo, by a monosyllabic remark.

[35] introdujo una revolución social, i.e., the internal revolution that followed immediately upon the heels of the struggle for independence.

[36] por esto, on this account.

[37] vecindarios. This word means both district or ward of a town, and vicinity; hence the statement that follows.

[38] si es que, i.e., si es verdad que.

[39] a la altura... se nutren, on a par with the social milieu in which they are born and grow.

[40] Eso sí, Of course, Most assuredly.

[41] Tomaba partido... y por pasión, He took sides, guided by his personal sentiments and emotions.

[42] a su modo, peculiar to himself.

[43] por escapar, lit., for the sake of escaping; translate as if it were para escapar. There is very little difference between por and para when followed by an infinitive: para is by far the commoner preposition used.

[44] San Martín, Belgrano, the two greatest military leaders of Argentina during the period of the struggle for independence.

[45] cuerpo de doctrina, system of dogmas.

[46] sui generis, Latin for a su modo. V. note 18, 10.

[47] de que no se daba otra cuenta... superior, lit., of which he gave himself no other account save as of a superior fact, i.e., of which he knew nothing save that it was a divine fact.

[48] le venía impuesto, was imposed upon him. Venir is here used as an auxiliary for the passive voice instead of ser.

[49] doctrina. Notice the use of a general term for a concrete term. What is meant here by doctrina is not teaching but teachers.

[50] Motto. The steppes, like the ocean, fill the soul with the feeling of the infinite. Taken from Humboldt’s Voyages aux régions équinoxiales du nouveau continent.

[51] no puede... negarse, it cannot be denied. Cf. 2, 9.

[52] lucha imponente. The indefinite article is regularly omitted in Spanish with nouns in apposition.

[53] están combatiendo. The first edition of Sarmiento’s Facundo, the work from which this extract is taken, appeared in 1845; hence the use of the present.

[54] Echeverría, one of Argentina’s foremost poets.

[55] La Cautiva, name of the poem for which Echeverría is best known. It marks a departure from Spanish classical traditions, depicting a struggle typical of the pampas, its scenery, its inhabitants, and its poetry.

[56] Dido and Argía, the titular heroines of dramas by Juan Cruz Varela, the foremost Argentine poet of the classical school; the first is based on the fourth book of Virgil’s Æneid; the second on Alfieri’s Antigone.

[57] proporciona. The subject is el espectáculo.

[58] a ellos. The use of the prepositional object pronoun adds emphasis to the sentence.

[59] Ojo de Halcón, Hawkeye, character in Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans.

[60] Mingos, epithet applied to the Huron Indians in Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales.

[61] “van a tapar el arroyo,” “they are going to dam the brook.” Cf. Chapter XXI of The Last of the Mohicans.

[62] La Pradera, Cooper’s novel, The Prairie.

[63] el Trampero, the Trapper; known also in the other works of Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales as Deerslayer, Hawkeye, Pathfinder, Settler.

[64] lo mismo que el Trampero sugiere. Cf. The Prairie, Chapter XXIII.

[65] los incendios del pasto. The dangers from such fires will be evident when it is known that not infrequently grass grows so tall in the pampas as to cover a man on horseback.

[66] la misteriosa operación del Pawnie. Cf. The Prairie, Chapter XXIV. The Pawnie is an Indian character in The Prairie, friend of the Trapper.

[67] A cowhide, fashioned so as to give it buoyancy, is often used in the pampas to cross streams. An improvised craft of this type is called a pelota, i.e., ball. Though the pelota is often mentioned and described by Argentine travelers and explorers, nowhere other than in this passage of Sarmiento have the editors read that they were towed by women. Cf. The Prairie, Chapter XXIV.

[68] con la pelota... lazo, with the pelota towed by means of a rope seized between the teeth.

[69] El procedimiento para asar una cabeza de búfalo. For reference V. The Prairie, Chapter IX. Sarmiento has evidently made a mistake here, meaning not the head but the hump of a buffalo.

[70] En fin,... In his Voyage of the Beagle, Chapter III, Darwin, writing almost contemporaneously of conditions on the pampas, says: “It is curious how similar circumstances produce such similar results in manners. At the Cape of Good Hope the same hospitality, and very nearly the same points of etiquette, are universally observed.”

[71] acaba. The verb is in the singular because lo palpable y vulgar are taken to be one and the same thing.

[72] se aleja. The subject of this verb and the following verbs of the sentence is horizonte.

[73] despierto, with concessive force, though awake.

[74] es poeta, is poetical. Notice the use of a noun with the force of an adjective.

[75] y cómo ha de dejar de serlo, and how can it help being so. Lo refers to the previous statement, es poeta.

[76] mientras se cruzan dos palabras, in the twinkling of an eye.

[77] atraerse. The reflexive is here the indirect object of the verb.

[78] Masas de tinieblas..., masas de luz lívida, in loose apposition with colores of the preceding sentence.

[79] y muestra... poder, and shows the limitless stretches of the pampa as they are vividly pierced by the lightning, the symbol of power.

[80] Añádase, Let it be added.

[81] una atmósfera cargada de electricidad. “On a second night we witnessed a splendid scene of natural fireworks; the masthead and yard arm ends shone with St. Elmo’s light; and the form of the vane could almost be traced, as if it had been rubbed with phosphorus. The sea was so highly luminous that the tracks of the penguins were marked by a fiery wake, and the darkness of the sky was momentarily illuminated by the most vivid lightning.”—Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle, describing the entrance to the estuary of the Plata.

[82] como el pelo contrariado del gato, like a cat’s hair when stroked the wrong way.

[83] la vista, subject of the verbs gira, reconcentra, encuentra, in the preceding lines.

[84] Paraná and Uruguay (next line). Two rivers. V. map.

[85] arrojan. Strictly speaking, the subject is ceibos y palmas, though the meaning is clearly that all the trees overhanging the banks, i.e., the aromo and the orange tree, shower their flowers.

[86] flor del aire, flower of the air; popular name for a plant of the genus Tillandsia, very common in Argentina. There are many varieties, with flowers of different colors. The striking characteristic of this plant is that it will grow without having its roots in the ground, getting its sustenance from the air when tied to or suspended from anything.

[87] Guazú, one of the rivers of the Paraná delta.

[88] es un canto frigio. The well-known archeologist, Sir William Mitchell Ramsay, in his article on Phrygia in the Encyclopædia Britannica says: “The scenery is generally monotonous; even the mountainous districts rarely show striking features or boldness of character; where the landscape has beauty it is of a subdued melancholy character. The circumstances of the country are well calculated to impress the inhabitants with a sense of the overwhelming power of nature and of their complete dependence on it. Their mythology, so far as we know it, has a melancholy and mystic tone, and their religion partakes of the same character.”

[89] Rousseau (Jean Jacques), the celebrated French philosopher of the eighteenth century (1712-1778), in his youth wrote a Dissertation on Modern Music, in which he attempted to introduce a new system of musical notation.

[90] Copiapó, city in Chile. V. map.

[91] no lo han de haber adoptado, cannot have adopted it.

[92] y lo populariza... exige, and popularizes it by the audiences which his song gathers.

[93] andaluz genuino. Most of the Spanish colonizers of Argentina were Andalusians. To this day their influence is noticeable in the pronunciation of Spanish throughout South America. The most striking difference in the pronunciation of the Castilians and that of the Andalusians is that the latter pronounce the z, and the c when followed by e or i, like an s. The Andalusians do not make the s as sibilant as the Castilians; with them it is very often a light aspirate sound.

[94] algunos refers to especialidades in the preceding sentence. It is made masculine because the word is used to denote males, i.e., the tipos and caracteres which are described in detail later on.

[95] guerra civil. The revolutionary struggle between Buenos Aires and the provinces of the interior, which broke out close upon the heels of Argentine independence, is referred to here. V. Introduction.

[96] es de muy buena silla, she is a very good mount.

[97] ha pasado ayer. A Spaniard would say here pasó ayer. This use of the perfect instead of the preterite is a common Gallicism in South America.

[98] sierra de San Luis, in the province of San Luis. V. map.

[99] fallarle, pass sentence against him. Le is dative of disadvantage.

[100] que, object of considera.

[101] si le sucedía momentáneamente extraviarse, if he happened to lose the track for a moment.

[102] “¡Dónde te mi-as-dir!” stands for “¡Dónde te me has de ir!” Where do you think you will get away from me?

[103] unas hierbas, some blades of grass.

[104] baquiano, also spelled baqueano. This adjective is derived from the verb vaquear, which in Argentina means to round up cattle. In the course of their work, the baquianos, or cattlemen, acquired an intimate knowledge of the country, and it was only natural, therefore, that the pathfinders, the sense in which the word is used here, should come from their midst. To-day it is also used to denote a person who is an expert in anything.

[105] Imaginaos. The final d of the second person plural imperative is dropped in reflexive verbs.

[106] el camino que lleva, the road he is following.

[107] si no los hay, if there aren’t any.

[108] el camino ha de ir al Sur, the road must be to the south.

[109] lago o arroyo de agua salada o dulce. Salt streams and lakes are common in Argentina, particularly in the central provinces. “One day I rode to a large salt lake, or salina, which is distant fifteen miles from the town. During the winter it consists of a shallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field of snow-white salt.... One of these brilliantly white and level expanses, in the midst of the brown and desolate plain, offers an extraordinary spectacle.”—Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle.

[110] El general Rosas. V. Introduction.

[111] lo. Cf. 29, 2.

[112] Cuando se aproxima. The subject is el enemigo.

[113] observa los polvos, observes the clouds of dust.

[114] el jefe obra bajo este dato, the chief makes his plans in accordance with this information.

[115] las aciertan, succeed in them.

[116] Creeráse. The object pronoun is placed after the verb for stylistic effect. The student should avoid this use.

[117] El general Rivera. José Fructuoso Rivera (1790-1854), famous gaucho leader of the revolutionary movement in Uruguay. He was twice elected to the presidency of his country. Defeated in 1845 by Urquiza, he fled to Brazil.

[118] Banda Oriental. V. 5, 1.

[119] Oribe (Manuel), one of the famous “Thirty-three” liberators of Uruguay. V. Introduction.

[120] Lavalleja (Juan Antonio), leader of the liberating expedition of the “Thirty-three”.

[121] con toda su ciencia. The possessive adjective su refers to Ojo de Halcón and el Trampero, which are different names for the hero in Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales.

[122] La justicia, i.e., its emissaries, the police.

[123] enlaza una vaca.... This is hardly so to-day, save perhaps occasionally in the depths of the pampas. But in the days of Sarmiento it was far from being an uncommon event. Cf. 9, 22.

[124] se provee de los vicios. He supplies himself with tobacco and mate. In the simple life of the gaucho, tobacco and mate are luxuries, vices (!).

[125] entra en baile con su pareja, confúndese en las mudanzas del cielito, joins in the dance with his partner, mingles with the others in the steps of the cielito.

[126] su morada sin limites, i.e., los cardales, the thistle fields of the pampa.

[127] en la provincia, i.e., in whichever province the gaucho malo may be living, or better, roving.

[128] Si no se le pide, If he is not asked.

[129] a menos que él lo solicite. Él refers to alguno; lo, to acercársele; trans., unless the traveler wishes the gaucho to approach him.

[130] valiente Rauch, popular hero and gaucho leader; comparable to Custer in American history.

[131] catástrofe de Facundo. Reference to the assassination of this rival of Rosas. He was murdered by the outlaw gaucho Santos Pérez at the instigation of Rosas. His death was a favorite theme of the cantores.

[132] el infeliz, a term of mild contempt, the poor fellow.

[133] de lo que tiene sobre su cabeza, i.e., the cultured city element.

[133a] No es fuera de propósito recordar aquí las semejanzas notables que presentan los argentinos con los árabes. En Argel, en Orán, en Máscara y en los aduares del desierto, ví siempre a los árabes reunidos en cafés, por estarles prohibido el uso de los licores, apiñados en derredor del cantor, generalmente dos que se acompañan de la vihuela a duo, recitando canciones nacionales plañideras como nuestros tristes. La rienda de los árabes es tejida de cuero y con azotera, como las nuestras; el freno de que usamos es el freno árabe, y muchas de nuestras costumbres revelan el contacto de nuestros padres con los moros de la Andalucía. De las fisonomías no se hable: algunos árabes he conocido que jurara haberlos visto en mi país.—El Autor.

(Orán, port in Algeria.

Máscara, town in Algeria, to the southeast of Orán.

azotera. In Argentina reins are often made long enough so that the ends may be used as a whip; these constitute the azotera.

no se hable, let us not speak.)

[134] de lo que tiene a los pies, i.e., the semicivilized gaucho element of the country.

[135] Dondequiera que, Wherever.

[137] con ser, though being.

[138] no está libre de..., is not free from having some accounts to settle with the police.

[139] lo del rapto, the story of the abduction.

[140] el poncho. The poncho used by the gauchos is a thick woolen blanket of oblong shape, with a slit in the center so that it may fall over the wearer’s shoulders. It is an inseparable accouterment of the gaucho. It is his winter coat, his raincoat, and his shield to boot, for in his dueling, to which he is much given, the gaucho fights with the knife in one hand and the poncho wrapped around the other hand and arm.

[141] se veía salir, there was seen emerging.

[142] tomado de la cola, clinging to the tail.

[143] la sangrienta lucha, i.e., the struggle between the unitarians and federalists. V. Introduction.

[144] Andando esta historia, As this history goes on.

[145] En el capítulo primero, i.e., of the author’s Facundo, from which this and the preceding selection are taken.

[146] No se olvide, Let it not be forgotten.

[147] que en éstos. Translate as if it were y que en éstos.

[148] a su tiempo, at the proper time.

[149] ocupa. The subject is labrador.

[150] lo variado, the variety.

[151] Todo lo contrario, Just the opposite.

[152] Los límites de la propiedad no están marcados. Later on, when Sarmiento became president, he introduced wire fences to indicate the boundary lines of the estancias.

[153] aunque no sepan qué hacerse, though they may not know what to do with themselves.

[154] la corbata. To a gaucho the cravat is the mark of the city man.

[155] El año 41, i.e., 1841.

[156] ¡Cómo me ha de ir! How do you suppose!

[157] estas dos frases, i.e., ¡En Chile! ¡y a pie! In a foreign land! and on foot! Chile, moreover, being a mountainous country, ill suits the gaucho accustomed as he is to the plains of Argentina. Being horseless is of course always a calamity for a gaucho, whether in the pampa or far from it.

[158] se dan. V. 2, 9.

[159] dónde se le han visto rastros al león, where the tracks of the lion (puma) have been seen.

[160] se fraterniza, lit., it is fraternized; trans., there drinking and the prodigality of those with means induce comradeship.

[161] empiezan a echarse, begin to be laid.

[162] la Península, i.e., Spain.

[163] ¡guerra a cuchillo! war to the knife! The Spanish general, José Palafox Melfi, defender of the city of Zaragoza against the besieging troops of Napoleon (1808-1809), being asked by the French general to surrender, answered with the famous words above mentioned. For this heroic defense of Zaragoza he was made Duke of Zaragoza.

[164] a más de un arma, besides being a weapon.

[165] a la par de jinete. After the words a la par the words de hacer alarde are understood and ser is understood before jinete and valiente.

[166] una esgrima, a form of dueling.

[167] Así se ve a estos gauchos, thus these gauchos are seen.

[168] por brillar. V. 18, 15.

[169] si corre a la partida, if he gets the better of the rural guards.

[170] si su conducta posterior..., i.e., Rosas protected murderers because he himself turned out to be the greatest of murderers later on when he became dictator.

[171] En cuanto a los juegos de equitación. Darwin, speaking of the horsemanship of the gaucho, says: “General Rosas is also a perfect horseman—an accomplishment of no small consequence in a country where an assembled army elected its general by the following trial: a troop of unbroken horses, being driven into a corral, were let out through a gateway, above which was a crossbar; it was agreed that whoever should drop from the bar on one of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able, without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it back to the door of the corral, should be their general. The person who succeeded was accordingly elected; and doubtless made a fit general for such an army. This extraordinary feat has also been performed by Rosas.”

[172] Uno le arroja un tiro de bolas, Some one takes a shot at him with the bolas. The bolas used by the gauchos to catch cattle and game are of two kinds; they may consist of two round stones covered with leather and united by a leather thong about seven or eight feet long; or they may consist of three balls united to a common center. The balls differ in size and weight, depending on the kind of game the gauchos wish to catch. They are twirled around the head and hurled at the feet of the fleeing animal. Light bolas of the first kind are called lives. Cf. 82, 12.

[173] vese salir al jinete corriendo, the rider is seen to emerge running.

[174] que han parado en bandidos, who have ended by becoming bandits.

[175] van a perderse en el crimen, are lost in crime.

[176] que conquistara, trans., that once conquered.

[177] Lagos Pontinos, the Pontine Marshes, the low country surrounding Rome.

[178] los Zumalacárregui, los Mina. Tomás de Zumalacárregui (1788-1835) and Javier Mina (1789-1817) were intrepid guerrilla fighters who distinguished themselves in the Peninsular War against Napoleon, and later died in struggles against their own compatriots.

[179] Sierra Leona, British colony on the western coast of Africa, between French Guinea and Liberia.

[180] que, apocopated form of porque.

[181] capataz de carretas, foreman of a train of ox-carts. For boldness and ruggedness these foremen may well be compared with the American pioneers who crossed the prairies in the forties.

[182] algún famoso de tiempo atrás, some one famous in former days.

[183] Por supuesto, que. The que is redundant.

[184] suele haber, there are wont to be.

[185] lo. Cf. 29, 2.

[186] lo arbitrario, the arbitrariness.

[187] sin que sus secuaces duden de ello, without his followers doubting it. The student must bear in mind that, whereas without in English is used only as a preposition, in Spanish its equivalent sin is used as a conjunction when, as in this case, it is followed by que. Spanish clauses introduced by sin que, therefore, must be translated by the preposition without plus the gerund of the verb.

[188] comandante de campaña, an officer exercising both civil and military authority in the country; trans., country prefect.

[189] Todavía una circunstancia nueva, Still another circumstance.

[190] en su obediencia. Su refers to el gobierno.

[191] Así el gobierno papal. The pontificate of Gregory XVI (1831-1846) was notoriously ill-advised.

[192] el sultán. Mustafa IV in 1806, by imperial firman, ratified the election of Mehemet Ali by the sheiks to the pashalik of Egypt. Mehemet Ali (1769-1849), pasha and afterwards viceroy of Egypt, though an illiterate of humble birth, was an extraordinarily clever and astute man. It was only through the intervention of the powers that in 1849, after the rout of the Ottoman forces at the battle of Nezib, he was forced to be satisfied with only the hereditary Viceroyalty of Egypt.

[193] destronase. The subject is Mehemet Ali.

[194] revolución, i.e., the social revolution after the war of independence.

[195] López e Ibarra, Artigas y Güemes, Facundo y Rosas. V. Introduction.

[196] la ciudad, i.e., Buenos Aires.

[197] el camino que él había traído, the path he had followed.

[198] otros tantos, so many. The naming of such worthless men as those mentioned to the post of prefect was the equivalent of eliminating that number of prefects.

[199] la revolución de las ciudades, i.e., against the Spaniards.

[200] la desasociación, i.e., de la campaña.

[201] en la desocupación, originating in idleness.

[202] Estos focos, i.e., la pulpería, la estancia, la venta.

[203] en Facundo Quiroga,... For translation rearrange the sentence thus: últimamente en Facundo Quiroga veremos (understood) la campaña triunfante en todas partes sobre las ciudades, y éstas, siendo (understood) dominadas en su espíritu, gobierno, civilización, veremos (understood) formarse, al fin, el gobierno, etc. In the series espíritu, gobierno, civilización the conjunction y is omitted by asyndeton.

[204] montaña, i.e., the Andes.

[205] Santiago del Estero. V. map.

[206] descollaran, had excelled.

[207] Cuzco, city in Peru, capital of the ancient empire of the Incas. V. map.

[208] Es su... vagabunda, The entire forest traversed by him in his wanderings is the scene of his activities.

[209] Si parece que, etc., It seems indeed as if the treble string, etc.

[210] Zupay. It is of interest to note in this connection that the gaucho of the pampa calls this spirit Mandinga, who, although evilly inclined toward men, does at times do them favors.

[211] Salamanca. The University of Salamanca was famous in the Middle Ages as a great center of learning. Its motto was Salamanca, maestra de todas las ciencias. In the thirteenth century Pope Alexander IV, by a bull, made it one of the four great academies of the world. In Argentina, the word Salamanca has become synonymous with learning used for evil purposes, and means both witchcraft and the school where witchcraft is taught.

[212] “payar”. Music plays an important part in all the gatherings among Argentine countrymen. Two payadores, or bards, engage in a musical contest: each man sings in turn, accompanying himself on the guitar on any improvised subject, and at the end the audience expresses its approval of the winner by its applause.

[213] enano de la siesta, the dwarf of the noonday nap. Tradition has it that ghosts walk about in the quiet hours of the noonday nap. This is not surprising if one bears in mind the deep stillness that pervades small Spanish-American towns, particularly those in the interior.

[214] montes saladinos, saline mountains. Cf. 42, 14.

[215] evoca. The subject is ave in the preceding sentence.

[216] Turay, Quichua for brother.

[217] atrapado a garrote, clubbed to death.

[218] pescado en fisga en el remanso del río, harpooned in the still waters of the river.

[219] si no, if not; or else.

[220] ashpa-mishqui, tiu-simi, cayanes, queyas, also moro-moros (83, 3), Quichua names of different varieties of bees.

[221] en escasez, without game.

[222] boleada a lives, brought down with light bolas. Cf. 64, 5.

[223] tupo, Quichua name for a measure of any sort; trans., jar.

[224] el locro de su refrigerio habitual, his customary ration of locro.

[225] The brother has taken a position on some branch of the tree beneath la horqueta más alta, so that he could pull on his lasso in the manner of a pulley. From this point, when his sister had reached the horqueta más alta, he could pretend he was going up, although in reality he was going down.

[226] En progresiva nitidez de sombra, With gradual and clear-cut shadows.

[227] Note omission of es after ninguna.

[228] payador. Cf. 79, 16.

[229] “payadas de contrapunto”. A contest such as the one described in the note to page 79, line 16, is called a payada de contrapunto.

[230] Hácese... silencio, Silence falls again.

[231] Juan sin Ropa, picturesque name given to the devil by the gauchos.

[232] le ha encontrado, i.e., a la leyenda; trans., has found in it.

[233] la doctrina bíblica del Génesis, i.e., the downfall of man.

[234] su orgullo, i.e., the pride of Santos Vega.

[235] Juan Díaz de Solís, a famous Spanish explorer of the sixteenth century who discovered the Río de la Plata, in 1516, and called it Mar Dulce, thinking he had discovered a sea. Landing on the island of Martín García, he was killed by the Charrúa Indians, a very warlike tribe that occupied the Plata basin.

[236] Sebastián Gaboto. The name Cabot is usually connected with Newfoundland, but it has historical importance for Argentina also. Sebastian was the son of the well-known North American explorer, John Cabot. He explored the Plata and Paraná rivers during the reign of Charles V.

[237] suyos, i.e., los hombres de don Nuño de Lara.

[238] brindando... amistad, in which Spaniards and Indians, mingling freely, drank to the god of friendship.

[239] entrada ya la noche, when night had already fallen.

[240] luego que supo su cautividad, as soon as he learned of her captivity.

[241] llegó a permitirles, went so far as to permit them.

[242] a saetazos, by arrow shots.

[243] pudo. Translate as if it were hubiera podido.

[244] Corral. As with the English stage the first theatrical performances in Argentina were produced in a courtyard, or open lot.

[245] Una chispa... rancho. Religious holidays in Catholic countries are often celebrated with display of fireworks, particularly St. John’s day, June 24.

[246] “pacui”. Quichua Indian name for owl, same as kacuy.

[247] ¿oísteis hablar de María? have you heard people speak of Mary?

[248] asomado, appearing or looking out.

[249] me habéis prometido. The pronoun understood is vos, equivalent here to tú. This usage is very common in Argentina. From a very dignified form of address, employed as a rule in addressing kings, it has come to be used in Argentina as the most familiar and colloquial form of address.

[250] Será, trans., Can it be? Note use of the future to denote probability or possibility.

[251] pero mientras más grande, mientras más sublime..., menos digna..., but the greater, the more sublime..., the less worthy....

[252] confiada, trusting or in confidence.

[253] ¡Vaya un gran mérito! Well, that is indeed a great virtue!

[254] cámara, i.e., de diputados, chamber of deputies.

[255] ¡Bendición del cielo! Thank heaven!

[256] ¡Dejar la fría...! The infinitive is used elliptically with exclamatory force: trans., What a joy to leave...!

[257] Manuela Rosas. The daughter of the Dictator Juan Manuel Rosas.

[258] si su amistad con la mía, if her friendship toward me.

[259] de esa austera integridad, i.e., de Alberto.

[260] contra él, i.e., Alberto.

[261] a lo alto de la sala, i.e., the speaker’s platform.

[262] desolados, panic-stricken.

[263] Palermo, a suburb of Buenos Aires.

[264] como Isaac. Reference to the sacrifice of Isaac. Cf. Genesis 22:9.

[265] desolada, grief-stricken.

[266] la mostró. The commoner usage (so also 100, 28, rasgóla) is le.

[267] Luján. V. map.

[268] pudiendo... momento, since he might be recognized and denounced at any moment.

[269] Amigo también, Being also a friend.

[270] contestó... ofrecimiento, replied expressing his thanks for the offer.

[271] De vuelta en su casa, When he had returned home.

[272] póngase en salvo, take refuge.

[273] Colonia, city in Uruguay. V. map.

[274] Mendoza. San Martín made ready his army in this province prior to the invasion of Chile. V. map.

[275] ¿Se trabaja ahora? Are they working now?

[276] cuerpo de guardia, headquarters of the guard.

[277] de servicio, on duty.

[278] ratificándose en que, reiterating that.

[279] es que no. The no is redundant; omit it in translating.

[280] ¡Que... semejante! Never let such an occurrence happen again in your life!

[281] Río Bamba, city in Ecuador. V. map.

[282] Lavalle (Juan, 1794-1841), one of the heroes of the war of independence.

[283] bajo los fuegos de la infantería, under the protection of the (Spanish) infantry fire.

[284] habiendo pasado. The subject is Lavalle.

[285] Sucre. V. 239, 14.

[286] dejamos dicho, we have said.

[287] por ser. Note the difference in the use of por here and in line 23 where it means in order to; translate here, because the hour was.

[288] saltándosele las lágrimas, with tears in his eyes.

[289] ¡Cómo se pierde un escuadrón tan valiente! To think that such a brave squadron is being destroyed!

[290] permítamelo. The pronoun lo refers to ir con mis guías.

[291] Poníanse recién. Argentinism for acababan de ponerse.

[292] sin que... laureles, lit., without its falling to the lot of more than fifty to gather the laurels.

[293] anfiteatro de la Edad Media. That is, the condition and civilization of Ecuador were then medieval; trans., medieval amphitheater.

[294] algunos, i.e., ombús.

[295] madrastra, lit., stepmother, hence unkindly, harmful.

[296] su follaje, i.e., de los demás árboles.

[297] montes. Note the pun on the word monte, which may mean a wood or a mountain.

[298] no ansiaba. The negative is redundant.

[299] lo estamparon. Lo refers to pie.

[300] los leones de Necochea. Reference to mounted troops of this famous leader during the war of independence. Necochea was in command of the Argentine forces at the battle of Junín (1824), where he and his mounted grenadiers covered themselves with glory at a moment when the success of the battle seemed to be in danger.

[301] The apparent contradiction in dates, 6 de mayo and 31 de marzo (134, 10), is due to the fact that a part of the author’s letter, at the end of the second paragraph, has been omitted, and that the third paragraph refers to events which took place the year following the first date.

[302] nuestra bandera, i.e., the Argentina flag, the colors of which are sky-blue and white.

[303] días de capa, lit., days of cloak, i.e., of clouds; trans., bad weather.

[304] cabo, acabador. Notice pun on cabo, end or cape, and acabador, that which puts an end to anything.

[305] Aconcagua, province of Chile opposite the Argentine province of Mendoza.

[306] del bípedo delantero, i.e., del arriero.

[307] para adelante o para atrás, forward or backward.

[308] me parecía... revés, for it seemed to me that the animal was headed in a direction opposite to mine.

[309] con envidia del aficionado a jardines, an object of envy to the lover of gardens.

[310] de rojo y amarillo guirnaldas preciosas. The commoner word order is guirnaldas preciosas de rojo y amarillo.

[311] en otros, i.e., en otros cactus.

[312] remedaban. The subject is guirnaldas.

[313] Arauco, province of Chile, scene of the struggles between the Spaniards and the Araucanian Indians in Ercilla’s epic, La Araucana.

[314] que tal parece, for such it appears.

[315] estos instrumentos pedestres, i.e., las espuelas in line 4. The use of pedestre in the sense of the feet is not accurate.

[316] El pobre, i.e., animal.

[317] teatro de Carlos Alberto, theater in Buenos Aires.

[318] Bellini (Vincenzo), Italian composer, born in Catania, Sicily, in 1801. His most famous operas are I Puritani, La Sonnambula, and Norma. His music is characterized by sweetness and melancholy.

[319] ¡Casta Diva! one of the best known arias of the opera Norma, sung by the priestess Norma after whom the opera is named.

[320] se ofreció a los ojos de Norma, i.e., as the author sings the famous aria he identifies himself with the priestess who is supposed to sing it in the opera.

[321] Murillo (Bartolomé Esteban, 1617-1682), famous Spanish painter, born in Seville. His Asunción de la Virgen is one of the great masterpieces of art.

[322] original como pocos, lit., original as few; trans., unique in its originality.

[323] nos encontramos hasta tener, we went along till we had.

[324] El Salto. Reference to the falls of the river Mapocho, in the province of Santiago, Chile.

[325] formas redondas dadas contra la voluntad del granito, round shapes assumed despite the resistance of the granite.

[326] “la gota horada la piedra, non vi sed saepe cadendo.” The whole Latin expression is “non vi sed saepe cadendo gutta cavat lapidem”. Trans., “not through violence but by constant dripping a drop of water hollows stone.” Ovid’s Epistolae ex Ponto, IV, 60, 5.

[327] Cambray, city in northern France, also spelled Cambrai; famous for its manufactories of cloth, from which we get the English word cambric.

[328] fábrica de Monpelas, a firm in France, famous for its perfumes and soaps.

[329] y de ella, i.e., de la lucha, in 139, 18.

[330] (no puede por menos), trans., (without a doubt).

[331] “soñar e imaginar con desaliño”, “to dream and give free rein to the imagination”.

[332] El camino a vapor, The railroad.

[333] el Valdivia, el Hernán Cortés, el Pizarro, names of Spanish conquistadores; the first conquered Chile and died in combat against the Araucanian Indians; the second conquered Mexico, despite the opposition of his own countrymen under Narváez, who had been sent to capture Cortés for disobeying orders; Pizarro conquered Peru. Cf. 2, 6.

[334] en manos de los misioneros. Reference to the missionaries who always accompanied Spanish expeditions. One of the hard things in history is to reconcile the cruelty of the conquistadores and the gentle, patient endeavor of the missionaries to convert the Indians to Christianity.

[335] elementos antiguos, allusion to belief in the elements, air, fire, earth, water, by the ancient philosophers of Greece.

[336] está llamada. The subject is la ciencia de la mecánica, 141, 6.

[337] Anfiones. Amphion, a Theban prince, was reputed to have built Thebes by charming the stones into their places with his lyre.

[338] el fiat, the will.

[339] La América. The definite article may be used in Spanish before the name of a continent or country for personification.

[340] las columnas de ningún Hércules. The pillars of Hercules is the name applied to the Strait of Gibraltar in Greek mythology. Hercules, among his other feats, separated the mountains Calpe, the promontory of Gibraltar in Spain, and Ábila, ancient name of a mountain in Morocco. Calpe and Ábila are the pillars of Hercules. Previous to Columbus’ time, it was thought that these pillars were the end of the world and the barrier to exploration.

[341] la tierra... California, i.e., from Tierra del Fuego (land about the Straits of Magellan) to upper California.

[342] El inca Garcilaso. He was the son of one of the conquistadores of Peru and a princess of Inca descent. He wrote Comentarios Reales del Perú and La Florida del Inca.

[343] sin salir de casa, i.e., de la Argentina.

[344] Betis, ancient name of the Guadalquivir, a river in Andalusia, southern Spain.

[345] Góngora. He was the chaplain of Philip III of Spain; his writings have given rise to the term Gongorism, which is applied to a metaphorical and far-fetched style. Cf. euphuism in English.

[346] Bufón, Buffon, French naturalist (1707-1788).

[347] un ave. With feminine words beginning with an initial stressed a it is common to use an old apocopated form of the feminine article, which looks like the modern masculine form of the article.

[348] “fruta del monte”. Peaches are so common in the province of Buenos Aires that they are called “fruit of the woods”. In this connection Darwin says: “Among the introduced kinds may be enumerated poplars, olives, peach, and other fruit trees; the peaches succeed so well that they afford the main supply of firewood to the city of Buenos Aires.”—The Voyage of the Beagle.

[349] ab initio, from the beginning; a stock Latin quotation.

[350] “caminos que caminan”, descriptive of the Plata and the Paraná, rivers which move continuously and are highways of travel and commerce.

[351] la Escritura: i.e., Job 39:17.

[352] se convierta. The subject is el espacio, line 3.

[353] Calvario, mountain on which Christ was crucified; here synonymous with suffering.

[354] las Conchas. V. map.

[355] la Recoleta. V. map.

[356] sería. Note use of the conditional to express probability in past time.

[357] la vela de las armas. In the days of chivalry the squire kept watch over his arms the night before being knighted.

[358] y a fe... quien, and indeed it did not ill befit one who.

[359] Poitiers. The English under the Black Prince in 1356 defeated the French here. As a descendant of the defeated French, Santiago de Liniers had an opportunity to avenge the defeat of his forefathers.

[360] invasión de Popham. In 1806 Popham, a famous British admiral, proposed the seizure of Buenos Aires to the English government. For this purpose he was sent in command of a fleet to attack Buenos Aires.

[361] se debía oír a Liniers, heed should be given to Liniers.

[362] Caballero de Malta. In the eleventh century the Knights Hospitalers were established in Jerusalem to furnish shelter to the pilgrims. The order became successively the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Rhodes, and, in 1530, the Knights of Malta, when Charles V ceded that island to them. Now it exists as an honorary order only.

[363] Gibraltar y Menorca. During the War of American Independence France and Spain attempted to wrest these two places from England, but succeeded only in recovering Minorca. Liniers took an active part in both these campaigns.

[364] amaneciendo... Buenos Aires, finding themselves at dawn in view of Buenos Aires.

[365] Olivos. V. map.

[366] San Isidro. V. map.

[367] Corrales de Miserere. V. map.

[368] el jefe, i.e., Liniers.

[369] Beresford. He was in command of the British infantry forces landed by Popham.

[370] dejaban entrever, showed. The subject is pedidos.

[371] Pueyrredón. Later chosen Director of Argentina.

[372] Vencedor, if victorious; vencido, if vanquished.

[373] era. The imperfect is used here, instead of the conditional, for emphasis.

[374] el Retiro. V. map.

[375] salvó. The object is las dos millas.

[376] calle del Correo. To-day known as calle Florida, the Fifth Avenue of Buenos Aires.

[377] Plaza Mayor. To-day Plaza de Mayo.

[378] había que prevenirse, preparation had to be made.

[379] no resolviéndose a abandonar, being unable to bring themselves to abandon.

[380] con rendirse a discreción, provided he surrendered unconditionally.

[381] afirmándola con una salva, asserting its power with a salvo.

[382] Callao, city and port of Peru.

[383] era nacido. The more common usage is había nacido.

[384] recuerdo. Reference to the statue of Falucho in Buenos Aires.

[385] Tablada de Lurín, tollhouse of Lurín; in the suburbs of Lima.

[386] la independencia del Perú. San Martín declared the independence of Peru in 1821.

[387] se caracteriza como... militar, can be characterized as a profound political and military plan.

[388] con la espada de Chacabuco y Maipo, i.e., the two most decisive battles fought by San Martín in Chile, in 1817 and 1818. These victories gave Chile its independence.

[389] emancipación de un mundo, i.e., South America.

[390] Bolívar (Simón). Together with San Martín he brought about South American independence. He had been triumphant in the North and founded the republic of Gran Colombia, now Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1783, and died in 1830. The hopes and ambitions for which he had fought (a great republic by the name of Gran Colombia) had been set at naught in his own times by the revolt of the constituent members.

[391] Chimborazo, lofty mountain and volcano in Ecuador.

[392] Pichincha, volcano in Ecuador; the allied troops of Bolívar and San Martín won a decisive victory over the Spaniards in this vicinity in 1822. Cf. 126, 1.

[393] que. The antecedent is genio, referring to Bolívar in line 3.

[394] todo lo refería a, considered everything in relation to.

[395] Astrea, the goddess of Justice in Greek mythology.

[396] vaso opaco de la Escritura, unassuming chosen vessel of the Scriptures.

[397] This sentence has no principal verb. Supply murió—.

[398] la una, i.e., de Bolívar.

[399] la otra, i.e., de San Martín.

[400] su, i.e., del Perú.

[401] su, i.e., de San Martín.

[402] Macabeo. Judas Maccabeus, of the Maccabees, led the Jews against the tyrant Antiochus IV, assuming the leadership of the revolt in B.C. 164, upon the death of his father Matathias.

[403] Moreno (Mariano), Argentine patriot and statesman. Cf. 195.

[404] todos cuantos, all who.

[405] Misiones. V. map.

[406] Alto Perú, old name of the present republic of Bolivia. It became an independent state in 1825, with Bolívar as its first president.

[407] Artigas (José, 1746-1826). Although Mitre speaks thus of Artigas, present-day Uruguayans regard him as their national hero. Works published lately on his life show that he was misunderstood. The federal system of government for which he stood obtains to-day in Argentina, though not in Uruguay.

[408] Güemes (Martín), Gaucho leader in northern Argentina, whose deeds are commemorated in many tales. He may be compared with Marion, the American guerrilla fighter in the Carolinas during the American War of Independence.

[409] Rivadavia (Bernardino), first president of Argentina and supporter of the unitarian or centralized form of republican government. During his presidency he established primary education and encouraged the University of Buenos Aires, which had come into being under his tutelage. He was far in advance of his time.

[410] en tal sentido, of this type.

[411] cuyo sentimiento, the sentiment for which.

[412] Cuyo. Previous to his invasion of Chile, San Martín was ostensibly Governor of Cuyo, a region including the present provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, and San Luis. It was in this capacity that he made ready his Ejército de los Andes to attack the Spaniards in Chile.

[413] las del Norte. This includes the provinces of Salta, Tucumán, Jujuy, and what was known as Alto Perú, or Bolivia.

[414] encabezar partidos, i.e., secundarios. Cf. 181, 17.

[415] dos derrotas. The Argentine army of the North had been defeated twice: at Huaquí in June, 1811, and in the battle of Nazareno in January, 1812.

[416] haciendo por último pie firme, making at last a resolute stand.

[417] como el vacío de la máquina neumática que apaga los oídos, like the vacuum of the pneumatic pump which deadens the hearing.

[418] tres Repúblicas. Argentine by birth, Las Heras fought for the independence of Peru and Chile besides that of his own country.

[419] en ella, i.e., en la época colonial.

[420] Bayardo, famous French knight of the fifteenth century who was called “le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche”, “the fearless and faultless knight”.

[421] No se le vió nunca, He was never seen.

[422] y no... manifestaciones, and were felt only through the hidden and persevering force of their cold manifestations.

[423] sin que él reclamase jamás su competencia, without his ever putting forward his fitness.

[424] Huaquí. The Argentine forces under the command of Balcarce suffered here a severe defeat, after which Pueyrredón took command of the retreating forces.

[425] algo de interno y de poderoso, something profound and powerful.

[426] lo manejaba... severidad, he wielded it even in the extremes of firmness and severity.

[427] compañero de Logia. Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot, had been the prime mover in establishing a vast secret society with branches in Europe and America. The purpose of this society was to bring about a republican form of government in all South America. San Martín established a chapter of it in Buenos Aires under the name of Logia de Lautaro, and with its support carried through his invasion of Chile and Peru, despite party opposition. Lautaro was synonymous with patriotism because it was the name of an Araucanian chief famous for his fierce resistance against Valdivia, the conqueror of Chile.

[428] con quien... personal, with whom he held political views in common and whom he resembled in his personal character.

[429] solemnidades patrias, national holidays.

[430] sol. The Argentine flag has two horizontal blue stripes and in the middle a white one with the image of the sun in it.

[431] mayo de 1810. A reference to the 25th of May, 1810. The first cry of independence was heard in Buenos Aires, and Cisneros, then Viceroy, was put out of power. V. Introduction.

[432] no él, i.e., he made no efforts at self-glorification.

[433] Quiere... propios, He wishes as it were to do away with the very names.

[434] Colonia, i.e., Argentina, prior to its independence.

[435] Tácito, Tacitus, famous Roman historian (55-120 A.D.).

[436] y... chispa, hardly any light.

[437] Vieytes (Hipólito), one of the leaders of the Argentine revolution and member of the Junta Gobernativa.

[438] Virreinato, i.e., Spanish rule in Argentina.

[439] árbitro de, free to.

[440] ejerciendo, by exercising.

[441] Manzanares, river in Spain, on the banks of which Madrid is located; here synonymous with Spain.

[442] Congreso, reference to the Congress of Tucumán, in 1816, which declared the independence of Argentina. Cf. 222.

[443] El rumbo... estrella, The course was pointed toward the best star, i.e., democracy.

[444] su modo de ser definitivo, its established form of government.

[445] Salta, province of Argentina, and its capital. Güemes used to refer to Salta as mi provincia.

[446] sea que..., sea que, whether... or.

[447] país accidentado. Salta and Jujuy, as can be seen from the map, are in a mountainous region.

[448] la resistencia de la población en masa. While San Martín was conquering Chile in 1817 and invading Peru in 1821, the Spaniards were trying to fight their way down from Peru into Argentina. Güemes’ efforts were most important in holding the Spanish forces back until San Martín struck at the heart of their power, Lima.

[449] dirección más inteligente, i.e., de San Martín.

[450] se veía... entrañas, saw its very vitals torn.

[451] un ejército, i.e., el ejército del Norte under Belgrano’s command.

[452] de otro, i.e., San Martín’s army.

[453] guerra civil. From the very beginning there was, as in the United States, a “Tory” party in Argentina that stood against independence.

[454] aquél, i.e., Belgrano, who defeated the Spaniards in the battles of Salta and Tucumán.

[455] el general La Paz (José María), Argentine statesman and general who, in defense of the unitarian cause, fought against Rosas and made himself famous during the eight-year siege of Montevideo (1835-1843).

[456] el Dr. Vélez Sársfield, famous Argentine statesman and jurist; author of the Argentine Civil Code.

[457] constituído, placed.

[458] Alí-Bajá de Monvoisin, reference to the painting by the French artist Monvoisin of Ali Pasha, who was known for his cruelty in Albania and put to death in 1822.

[459] Ravel (Pierre-Alfred), French actor of the nineteenth century.

[460] estudiante de Brienne, i.e., Napoleon, who studied at the military school of that name.

[461] Mameluco oscuro, i.e., Mehemet-Ali, who, though not a Mameluke himself, fought with the Mamelukes against Napoleon in 1798, and later became Viceroy of Egypt. Cf. 70, 3.

[462] Medusa, one of three sisters in Greek mythology, whose hair was turned into a tangle of serpents because she incurred the wrath of Minerva. Any one who looked at her was turned to stone.

[463] no había cómo hacerlo callar, there was no way of making him keep quiet.

[464] famoso expediente. When two women came before Solomon, each claiming a newly born child as hers, he ordered that the child be cut into two parts so that each claimant might have a half. The true mother was found to be the one who, for the love of her son, abandoned her claim rather than cause his death.

[465] amanezca mañana, appears at dawn tomorrow.

[466] ¡tú eres...! you are the culprit!

[467] que está... The antecedent is él, referring to Facundo.

[468] que nada desmiente, that nothing can belie.

[469] Júpiter Tonante. Jupiter was represented as the Thunderer in Greek mythology.

[470] después de habérselo anunciado. The more correct usage is, después que se lo han anunciado.

[471] continuando de, unusual for continuando a.

[472] el movimiento revolucionario de nuestra literatura. The publication of Echeverría’s La Cautiva in 1837 inaugurated a movement towards the Americanization of literature in Argentina. Cf. 24, 13.

[473] Podría presentársele, He might be presented.

[474] las obras de Echeverría. His most important works are Elvira o la novia del Plata, Los Consuelos, Lara o la Partida, Las Rimas (which contain among other shorter poems La Cautiva), El Dogma Socialista, and Cantos a Mayo.

[475] Cuando se trata de evitar que los hombres de letras se puerilicen, When it is a question of keeping men of letters from becoming childish.

[476] desdeñoso como Horacio. The Latin poet Horace has expressed his distaste for the rabble in his often-quoted verse: Odi profanum vulgus, “I hate the ignorant rabble.”

[477] el bienvenido, i.e., el escritor bienvenido, the favorite writer.

[478] el malogrado argentino. Besides his voyage to Europe in 1825, Echeverría had to exile himself from his country twice owing to the persecution of the Dictator Rosas.

[479] que se refieren al bien de la sociedad, which deal with the welfare of society.

[480] la invisible confidente, i.e., la musa.

[481] Rompió la tradición clásica. Cf. 24, 13.

[482] perdiendo, with concessive force, though losing.

[483] Tucumán. V. map.

[484] las Provincias Unidas de la Plata. Until 1853, the date of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, the republic of Argentina was known by the above name.

[485] del pueblo que la realizaba. The pronoun la refers to declaración, in the previous sentence; trans., of the people that proclaimed it.

[486] seis años después, etc. The first revolutionary uprising took place the 25th of May, 1810. The great victories of Chacabuco and Maipo did not come until 1817 and 1818.

[487] las armas, the armies—by metonymy.

[488] Proclamada, with concessive force, Though proclaimed.

[489] que habría de retardar por otro medio siglo, which was to retard for another half century. It was not till 1853 that the Constitution was adopted. Even then it took some ten years more before the old feud between federalists and unitarians was settled.

[490] las dos grandes revoluciones, i.e., in North and in South America.

[491] a que se lanzara Francia, upon which France had embarked.

[492] un gobierno propio, a government of their own.

[493] imperio militar, i.e., of Napoleon Bonaparte.

[494] Año Terrible. The period in French history from May 31, 1793, (that is, from the fall of the Girondins), to July 27, 1794, (date of the fall of Robespierre), is known as the “Reign of Terror”.

[495] antes bien, emphatic form of antes, rather.

[496] a la del Sur, i.e., por lo que toca a la América del Sur, as regards South America.

[497] una como presunción, a certain superior assumption.

[498] se aguardan. V. 2, 9.

[499] se apresura, is anxious.

[500] y de aquí, and hence it is. The verb es is understood.

[501] esos próceres, i.e., the leaders of the Revolution.

[502] habría pecado por exceso, would have gone too far.

[503] excepto en cuanto reconocían, except in so far as they recognized.

[504] por razón de su origen, i.e., by reason of their common nationality.

[505] hace notar, brings out.

[506] el cabildo abierto, the town meeting.

[507] nunca se insistirá demasiado, one can never insist too much. Notice that insistirá is future of probability or possibility.

[508] cuando no, if not.

[509] puesto que, since.

[510] plantea. The subject is democracia.

[511] haciendo que los representantes lo sean en común de las grandes divisiones políticas, lit., bringing it about that the representatives be so in common from the great political divisions; trans., electing their representatives at large from the great political divisions, i.e., the representatives represent a province and not a district.

[512] se pretendía hacerle desempeñar, they (la gente culta de las ciudades) intended to have it (the people) play.

[513] exteriorizando los cuales, upon manifesting which.

[514] Aunque figuras menores. The verb son is understood.

[515] habiendo algunos, there being some.

[516] o sea el voto secreto, that is, the secret ballot. Mr. Hipólito Irigoyen, the present incumbent of the presidency, is the first Argentina president to have been elected by the secret or Australian ballot.

[517] esa ley, i.e., of the Australian ballot.

[518] su refers to poder.

[519] inhibiendo, trans., to prevent.

[520] de cuya presión... los sirven, the results of whose pressure oftentimes are laws favorable to them, though ostensibly not meant to be such.

[521] que en el acto de celebrarse el Congreso de Tucumán, than on the occasion when the Congress of Tucumán was held.

[522] después de seis años de rotas las hostilidades, six years after the breaking out of hostilities.

[523] llevaba involucrados, carried within itself.

[524] de este último, i.e., el proceso idealista.

[525] Uno de ellos, i.e., one of the caudillos. V. Introduction.

[526] a su alrededor, around it.

[527] que habría de regir, which was to rule.

[528] Córdoba. V. map. Its university, having been founded in 1613, is the third oldest in South America, that of San Marcos in Lima (which was founded in 1551) and that of Bogotá (founded in 1572) having preceded it.

[529] Charcas, capital of Bolivia, to-day called Sucre. It used to be known also under the names of Chuquisaca and La Plata. Its famous university was founded in 1623. It has a school of law, theology, and medicine.

[530] Santiago de Chile, capital of Chile. V. map. The university was founded in 1738.

[531] Colegio de San Carlos, in Lima, Peru.

[532] véase el estado general del país, see the general condition of the country.

[533] uno de los más ilustres miembros del Congreso, i.e., Fray Cayetano Rodríguez. Cf. 240, 3.

[534] chocados, clashing.

[535] negándose algunos, some being opposed.

[536] habría que agregar, there ought to be added.

[537] Alto Perú, name applied to the present republic of Bolivia during the colonial and revolutionary period.

[538] la aproximación del enemigo. The last secret session of the Congress of Tucumán was held January 17, 1817, when the Spanish forces were advancing from the north, after invading the province of Jujuy.

[539] Lima, capital of Peru, was founded in 1535 by Pizarro. It was by far the most important South American city during the colonial period.

[540] a quien tocaría, whose lot it would be.

[541] el golpe definitivo. The battle of Ayacucho (1824), fought between the Spaniards and the combined Colombian and Argentine forces under the command of Sucre, Bolívar’s lieutenant, put an end to Spanish domination in South America. As a feat of arms it stands among the most brilliant of those recorded in the annals of South American history. Sucre, though his forces numbered but half those of the Spaniards, completely routed them, capturing about one-third of their army, including La Serna, the commander-in-chief, as well as all their baggage and ammunition.

[542] describiera. Cf. 66, 16; 223, 16.

[543] Fray Cayetano Rodríguez (1761-1823), historian of the proceedings at the Congress of Tucumán. As a poet he wrote a sonnet Al 25 de Mayo, and versified on other events of his time.

[544] no es de extrañar, it is not to be wondered at.

[545] Se pensó en traer, Some thought of bringing.

[546] San Martín, Belgrano. Cf. 18, 17, and Introduction.

[547] uno de los detractores de la monarquía. One of the few voices raised against the monarchical idea was that of the deputy Anchorena, but his arguments were so specious that they rather strengthened the supporters of the monarchy.

[548] una mano firme. Argentina owes in large measure her present republican form of government to Fray Justo de Santa María de Oro, who at the Congress of Tucumán stood out firmly and energetically in behalf of a republic.

[549] la vía, i.e., of democracy.

[550] de aquél, i.e., del Congreso.

[551] la larga noche de la anarquía. The period of internecine struggles, from the expulsion of the Spaniards till the downfall of Rosas and the subsequent adoption of the Federal Constitution.

[552] el tercero del sur. On rainy days the streets of Buenos Aires were turned into veritable brooks, which were named numerically, first, second, third, etc.

[553] D. Juan María Gutiérrez. Cf. Biographical Notes, p. liii.

[554] se reducía. The verb is in the singular because the subjects, la mesa y el mantenimiento, are taken to be one and the same thing.

[555] En toda la línea del norte, All along the northern boundary.

[556] prebostes de la Hermandad. The Santa Hermandad was a police institution founded in the fifteenth century in Spain, and carried over into her colonies. Its purpose was to keep the highways and the country clear of robbers. A preboste was an officer of the Hermandad; he exercised both judicial and police powers.

[557] revolucionaria. The term revolutionary, after the French Revolution, was synonymous with progressive.

[558] brazos aptos, men suited for the task.

[559] hacían que apenas hubiese una que otra calle, malísimamente empedrada, were the cause of there being only a few paved streets, and very poorly paved at that.

[560] calle del Empedrado, Paved Street.

[561] las había, were there any.

[562] la reputación de la belleza, a reputation for beauty.

[563] su revolución. The revolution for independence in 1810 was mainly the work of the population of Buenos Aires, whereas the civil revolution that followed later was started by the provinces.

[564] el poeta de la revolución, i.e., Vicente López y Planes, the author of the Himno Nacional.

[565] el centro, the “down-town” section.

[566] mostrador democrático, a people’s store.

[567] de mostrador corrido, with its long counter.

[568] penetrar a, unusual for penetrar en.

[569] “ese caballero”, i.e., her husband.

[570] Something similar in the way of courtesy used to be the habit among shop-keepers in this country. Nowadays we find it only with the older generation. Although the author here complains that these pleasant customs have already disappeared in Argentina, it is nevertheless true that Spaniards and Spanish-Americans prefer to do business in a way that still savors of social relationship.

[571] para sentarse los tertulianos habituales del establecimiento, where the habitúes of the establishment could sit.

[572] de Aubusson y de Gobelinos. Aubusson, city in France, famous for tapestries; Gobelinos, the Gobelins, in the fifteenth century, established a tapestry factory in Paris which is now famous throughout the world.

[573] dejándolo amontonarse ampulosamente sobre el mostrador, permitting it (el lote vendido) to heap up in folds on the counter.

[574] La Argentina y sus grandezas.

[575] vivos de, alive with.

[576] la guitarra ibera. The guitar is the national musical instrument of Spain.

[577] grupa, here, poop, carrying out the figure implied in los gigantes marinos.

[578] El azul blanquecino del cielo. The verb is yace, understood.

[579] revelan únicamente, alone reveal.

[580] inmóvil, encantado en medio de la inmensidad. Cf. Ancient Mariner, Part II, 8:

[581] no sabe salirse de él, cannot leave it.

[582] tragaderos insaciables, i.e., las costas de una inmensa nación.

[583] Salomón, king of the Israelites, famous for his wealth as well as for his wisdom.

[584] la torre de Babel. According to biblical tradition Noah’s sons attempted to build a tower reaching unto heaven.

[585] Semíramis, legendary queen of Assyria, said to have founded Babylon and built its storied hanging gardens.

[586] ciudades-esperanza, cities of hope. A noun is seldom used in Spanish as an adjective to modify another noun, but when that occurs the modifying noun is placed after the noun modified, not before, as in English.

[587] que veían en ella un escenario sonoro de su actividad intelectual, who saw in her an attractive field for their intellectual activity.

[588] lo. Note the use of the neuter article to sum up a preceding idea. In this case the clauses beginning with lo que in lines 9 and 10 are recapitulated.

[589] Bagdad, city on the banks of the Tigris, in Arabia. It was the capital of an important caliphate, from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, and its name was synonymous with riches and wonders in the Moslem world.

[590] Toledo, city in Spain, famous for its Gothic cathedral, which contains many historical and artistic treasures. The metal industries of Toledo were justly renowned in the Middle Ages.

[591] próximos a, ready to.

[592] Salónica, city and port in northern Greece, captured from the Turks during the recent Balkan War (1912). When the Jews were expelled from Spain during the reign of Philip II, they took refuge in Turkish lands, particularly in Salonica, which to this day is largely populated by them. Their language, a form of Spanish corrupted by years of separation from Spanish-speaking peoples, is called ladino and can be easily understood by one speaking Spanish. In New York there is published to-day a ladino newspaper in Hebrew characters.

[593] Potosí, city in Bolivia famous for its silver mines.

[594] Midas, king of Phrygia about whom mythology has woven various legends. Besides the one referred to here, he is said to have irritated Apollo, who inflicted the ears of a donkey upon him.

[595] Vellocino, the Golden Fleece. Jason and the Argonauts, Greek mythological characters, went to Colchis and brought back the Golden Fleece, after slaying the dragon which kept guard over the fabled treasure.

[596] tierras de pan llevar, grain-producing lands.

[597] El Dorado. The early conquistadores imagined there existed a country marvelously rich somewhere in America, which they called El Dorado, i.e., The Golden.

[598] la famosa ciudad del Alto Perú, i.e., Potosí.

[599] Quimera, Chimera, monster in Greek mythology slain by Bellerophon, the Corinthian hero. The meaning of illusion has come as a result of the fantastical shape ascribed to the monster.

[600] la mísera máscara, i.e., the exhausted mines of Peru and California.

[601] que apenas si bastan, which barely suffice.

[602] Murat (Joaquín). He was the son of a humble inn-keeper, and rose to be one of Napoleon’s most trusted marshals, and was king of Naples from 1808 to 1814.

[603] Bernadotte (Carlos), another marshal of Napoleon, risen from the ranks. In 1818 he became king of Sweden.

[604] los más, the majority.

[605] Río Negro, river in the Argentine pampas. V. map.

[606] chiripá, gaucho trousers—composed of a piece of cloth wound around the loins and the lower end brought between the legs and fastened in front.

[607] las colonias de Entre Ríos. The province of Entre Ríos has many colonies of Jewish farmers.

[608] golondrinas, name given in Argentina to the immigrants who go back to their native land each year after the harvest.

[609] los cuatro terrones, the niggardly patch.

[610] parece escribir el sol... la callejuela oriental, the sun seems to write in arabesque characters trembling with lights and shadows upon the whitewashed walls of the narrow oriental streets.

[611] a altas horas de la noche, in the late hours of the night.

[612] una mujer blanca y azul, a woman clad in blue and white, i.e., the colors of the Argentine flag.

[613] Murillo, Spanish painter. Cf. 138, 19.

[614] a prevención, in their foresight.

[615] Van desapareciéndose, Gradually there disappear.

[616] ¡Lo que trabajará...! How he will work!

[617] Balzac (Honoré de), French novelist of the nineteenth century.

[618] “¡Tú serás mío!” Cf. Les Illusions Perdues, by Balzac, chapter entitled, Un Grand Homme de Province à Paris.

[619] entra por mucho, plays an important part.

[620] entre las temblonas pinceladas del gas, among the quivering gleams of gas lights.

[621] toma blancuras de leche, becomes milk-white.

[622] la Mancha, region in New Castile, Spain, birthplace of Don Quijote, hero of Cervantes’ novel, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha. The esforzado hidalgo mentioned in line 5 is Don Quijote.

[623] a su encuentro, to meet him.

[624] se pierden de vista, are lost to view.

[625] en cuesta, on a slope.

[626] Salambó, novel by Flaubert, the great French novelist of the nineteenth century. It depicts life in Carthage.

[627] les da con un pie en la amplia grupa, shoves them off.

[628] apartando puentes, causing bridges to be drawn.

[629] río abajo, downstream.

[630] en la oportunidad debida, at the proper time.

[631] habría que, one should.

[632] se advierte, it is clear.

[633] se cumplan, will be met.

[634] en este sentido, to this effect.

[635] la independencia y la acción, freedom of action.

[636] Otros, Different.

[637] Hamilton (Alexander), American statesman and economist (1754-1804).

[638] pueda ser llevada a juicio, can be indicted.

[639] se le prive, i.e., a la nación mentioned in line 16.

[640] de la de elegir, i.e., de la sentencia de elegir. Trans., of the power to select.

[641] porque el cobro... violencia, for preventing the collection of it from being carried out by means of violence.

[642] de tal, as such.

[643] de aquél, i.e., el capitalista.

[644] aparece contrariando visiblemente, seems to contradict outright.

[645] Véase el discurso pronunciado por el Ministro argentino en los Estados Unidos, don Domingo F. Sarmiento, en la fiesta oficial de la Sociedad Histórica de Rhode Island, en presencia del Gobernador del Estado.

[646] el memorable mensaje, i.e., the Monroe Doctrine.

[647] la anarquía y las convulsiones. Reference to period of civil strife in Argentina from 1818 to 1851. V. Introduction.

[648] The period from 1880 to 1890 was one of great financial stress in Argentina. The country became bankrupt during the administration of Juárez Celman (1886-1890). Confidence in Argentina was restored during the administration of Uriburu (1894-1898) by the nation’s decision to acknowledge the external indebtedness of the individual provinces.

[649] entregando a su fallo. Reference to boundary dispute with Chile regarding southern Patagonia and the region of Atacama in the northwest. The British crown settled the dispute during the summer of 1902.

[650] del excelentísimo señor presidente de la República. Julio Roca, who had been president from 1880 to 1886, was president at this time.

[651] transmita. The subject of this verb is el señor ministro in line 21.

[652] a fin de que se sirva tenerla, so that it (el gobierno de los Estados Unidos) may be pleased to consider it (nuestra manera de considerar los sucesos).

[653] Quiera el señor ministro aceptar, May it please the minister to accept.