Part 25
[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.