(The first figures refer to pages of text, and second figures to the
reference figures in text).
1-1: =Capitanía general=: headquarters of the Captain general, who
has supreme military authority in his district.
1-2: =Granada=: a province (and its principal city), the former
bordering on the Mediterranean. It is full of Moorish remains, including
the Alhambra.
1-3: =echado que hubo=: a very common construction = _asi que hubo
echado_.
1-4: =edecán=: a corruption of the French _aide-de-camp_.
1-5: =Sr. D.=: _Señor Don_.
1-6: =toitico= = _todito_, diminutive of _todo_. This diminutive
ending often adds emphasis.
2-1: =a que= = _para que_.
2-2: =se persigue=: _they have pursued_. The perfect tense value is
often represented by the present (and the pluperfect by the imperfect)
after _después_ or _hace_ (ago).
2-3: =se volvió a reír= = _volvió a reírse_, laughed again. _Volver
a_, followed by an infinitive, is to be rendered as a formula of
repetition, as, _again, once more_, etc.
2-4: =no hay quien lo haga=: _there is no one who can do it_.
2-5: =conoce nadie=: _does anybody know_? Observe that _nadie_ is not
necessarily negative. Cf. use of _jamás_, etc.
3-1: =me matan=: a vivid use of the present for the future.
3-2: =vestido de macareno=: _dressed in a loud or striking fashion_.
The _macareno_ is a native of one of the districts of Seville.
3-3: =caerme de espaldas=: _to fall on my back_.
3-4: =había de conocer= = _conocería_. _Haber de_ followed by the
infinitive denotes (_a_) obligation: as: _ha de ser_, it must be; _habrá
de hacerlo_, he will have to do it; (_b_) futurity (present tense of
_haber de_ + infinitive), as: _he de hablar_, I will speak: (_c_)
conditioned action (imperfect of _haber de_ + infinitive), as: _quién
había de creer_? who would believe?
3-5: =que haya madre=: _and_ (to think) _that there should be a
mother_!
3-6: =Jesús=: the Spaniard, the most Catholic of men, is in the habit
of interlarding his speech with copious expletives derived from his
religion, such as _Jesús, Ave María purísima_, etc., which may often be
rendered by the mildest of English substitutes.
3-6: =¡Que... muera!=: _may I die! let me die_! As the subjunctive
used with imperative value, depends on some desiderative verb
understood, the _que_ which would follow that verb is usually retained
in Spanish (as in French), though not when _V._ or _VV._ is used.
3-7: =para decirte la buenaventura=: _to tell your fortune_.
4-1: =a todo trapo=: _under full sail_ (lit. _rag_), i.e.
_unrestrainedly_.
4-2: =si son de alegría=: _why! they are tears of joy_. _Si_ is often
used to introduce an emphatic assertion. It may be translated by an
expletive or omitted entirely. Cf. p. 45, line 31 and note.
4-3: =tomado a este hombre=: (_a = from_). The preposition _a_ is
regularly used with the value of the English _from_, after verbs like
_steal, deprive, buy_, etc.
4-4: =burro en pelo=: _a bare-backed donkey_ (_pelo_ = hair).
4-5: =la mano=: observe the usual idiomatic mode of expressing
possession of parts of the body, wearing apparel, etc., by the use of
the definite article instead of the possessive adjective _his, her_,
etc., the dative pronoun also being often added to indicate the
possessor, as: _Yo me corté el dedo_, I cut my finger.
4-6: =se la=: for the possessive value of _se_ cf. the preceding
note. Observe also the regular use of _se_ instead of _le_ or _les_ when
followed by _la, le, lo_ or their plurals.
4-7: =con todas las veras=: _with all the sincerity_ or
_earnestness_. Cf. _de veras_, truly.
4-8: =tarde que (usually _o_) temprano=: _sooner or later_.
4-9: =ya me... ya me=: _whether... or_. For _me_ cf. note p. 4, 3.
5-1: =doy el cante=: _I denounce him_.
5-2: =dices que cuándo=: _do you ask when_? _Que_ redundant is
required after _decir_ introducing an indirect question. Cf. _digo que
no, que sí_; I say no, yes.
5-3: =el mes que entra=: _next month_.
5-4: =salir por la tapa de los sesos=: cf. _levantarse la tapa de los
sesos_, to blow out one's brains.
5-6: =te ahorco=: cf. note _me matan_, p. 3, 1.
5-7: =para esa fecha=: _by that time (date)_.
5-8: =después de muerto=: _after (he is) dead_.
5-9: =de haber echado tan corto el plazo=: _for having set so near_
(lit. _short_) _a time_.
5-10: =tomó el tole=: _departed hurriedly_.
5-11: =vamos=: (imperative) and _vaya_ (subjunctive) are often used,
regardless of their original meaning, as mere interjections. Translate:
_come now, well, etc_. Cf. French _allons_.
5-12: =a lo que me contó=: _in view of what... told me_.
5-13: =se va al infierno=: translate _disappears_. (_Infierno_ =
infernal regions.)
6-1: =ello es=: _the fact is_.
6-2: =llevarían=: _would live_. Cf. _lleva diez años de casado_, he
has been married ten years.
6-3: =de servicio=: _on service, on duty_.
6-4: =hijos=: _children_.
6-5: =voy de vuelta=: _I am returning_.
6-6: =cómo he de perder=: _how am I to suffer the loss_? Cf. note
_había de conocer_, p. 3, 4.
6-7: =no seas=: _don't be_. Observe that the imperative is never used
negatively, being then replaced by the subjunctive.
7-1: =Alicante=: a port on the eastern coast of Spain.
7-2: =Sevilla=: a city of southern Spain (Andalusia) on the
Guadalquivir River. Also (as here) the province in which this city is
situated.
7-3: =Preparen=: (sc. _ustedes_). This is an order addressed to the
bandit's comrades.
7-4: =Tengo seis hijos=: observe that _tener_ (to have) does not take
the preposition _a_ before its personal direct object, which likewise
omits _a_ when preceded by a numeral, unless certain specific persons
are referred to.
7-5: =lo que me digo=: _me_ is an ethical dative (indicating the
person interested). Omit in translating.
7-6: =ustedes=: the polite form _ustedes_ is in this single instance
substituted in the peasant's speech for _vosotros_, by attraction after
the ceremonious word _Caballeros_. Observe that the bandits end by
addressing the peasant as _usted_ likewise.
7-7: =mis hijos...¡Hijos míos!=: observe the variant forms _mis_ and
_míos_. For explanation see any grammar (possessive adjectives).
7-8: =el rey Nerón=: (i.e. _el emperador_). The Roman emperor Nero
(reigned A.D. 54-68) persecuted the Christians, burning them as torches
before his palace and making them fight with wild beasts in the arena.
8-1: =¡Pues no quiere su dinero!=: _well! if he doesn't actually want
his money too_!
8-2: =No sé cómo=: _I don't know why_.
8-3: =le habéis robado=: for dative _le_ cf. note _tomado a este
hombre_, p. 4, 3.
8-4: =se los=: cf. note _se la_, p. 4, 6.
8-5: =¡A la paz de Dios!=: (a familiar formula of leavetaking) _God
be with you, good-by_, etc.
8-6: =No habría andado=: _he could not have gone_. The conditional
mood is often employed to express conjecture as to a (usually) past
event, just as the future indicative is used to express conjecture about
a (usually) present event.
8-7: =volver pies atrás=: _retrace his steps_.
9-1: =estupefacto=: words having originally an initial _s_ followed
by a consonant prefix an _e_ on becoming Spanish, as: _estupor_, stupor;
_escuela_, school.
9-2: =se echó... a la cara=: _brought up to a level with his face_.
Cf. also note _la mano_, p. 4, 5.
9-3: =cayó redondo=: _fell suddenly_ (collapsed).
9-4: =maldito seas=: a rather exceptional use of the subjunctive for
the imperative, though common with the verb _ser_. Cf. last line, page
124.
9-5: =unos canallas=: _canalla_ is feminine in its usual collective
meaning: _rabble_. Applied to an individual, however, it agrees in
gender.
9-6: =Si conforme soy yo=: _if, just as it was_ (lit. _is_) _I_.
9-7: =se=: (ethical dative). Cf. note _lo que me digo_, p. 7, 5.
9-8: =migueletes=: _militiamen_, serving as police for the
suppression of brigandage.
9-9: =dándome la espalda=: _turning his back on me_. Cf. note _la
mano_, P. 4, 5.
9-10: =a todo escape=: _with the utmost velocity_.
9-11: =se ha quedado con=: _has kept_ (lit. _has remained with_).
10-1: =a otro=: observe that the indefinite article is never used
before _otro, -a_.
10-2: =a fe mía=: _upon my word_. Cf. note _á fe que_, p. 12, 6.
10-3: =nadie=: cf. note _conoce nadie_, p. 2, 5.
10-4: =con sus cinco sentidos=: _with his five senses_, i.e. _with
all his heart_.
11-1: =El llamado Manuel=: _the one named Manuel_.
11-2: =Cuesta del Perro=: _Dog's Hill_.
11-3: =Van once=: _that makes eleven_.
11-4: =Sierra de Loja=: a mountain named from _Loja_, a town halfway
between the cities of _Granada_ and _Málaga_.
11-5: =la lista nominal=: _the roll-call_.
12-1: =arrancó a correr=: _started to run_.
12-2: =del arma=: cf. note _al ave_, p. 25, 3.
12-3: =¡Qué Conde del Montijo ni qué niño muerto!=: the expression
_niño muerto_ is often thus used in contemptuous rejection of an idea.
Translate _the count del Montijo! fiddlesticks_!
12-4: =lo que hay que hacer=: _what must be done_.
12-5: =lo mismo me da=: _it's all one to me_. Cf. _no se me da nada_,
I don't care at all.
12-6: =A fe que=: _upon my word; surely_. Cf. note _a fe mía_, p. 10,
2.