A few days after the publication of my first book, _Sombre Lives_,
Miguel Poveda, who was responsible for printing it, sent a copy to
Martínez Ruiz, who was at that time in Monóvar. Martínez Ruiz wrote me a
long letter concerning the book by return mail; on the following day he
sent another.
Poveda handed me the letters to read and I was filled with surprise and
joy. Some weeks later, returning from the National Library, Martínez
Ruiz, whom I knew by sight, came up to me on the Recoletos.
"Are you Baroja?" he asked.
"Yes."
"I am Martínez Ruiz."
We shook hands and became friends.
In those days we travelled about the country together, we contributed to
the same papers, and the ideas and the men we attacked were the same.
Later, Azorín became an enthusiastic partisan of Maura, which appeared
to me particularly absurd, as I have never been able to see anything but
an actor of the grand style in Maura, a man of small ideas. Next he
became a partisan of La Cierva, which was as bad in my opinion as being
a Maurista. I am unable to say at the moment whether he is contemplating
any further transformations.
But, whether he is or not, Azorín will always remain a master of
language to me, besides an excellent friend who has a weakness for
believing all men to be great who talk in a loud voice and who pull
their cuffs down out of their coat sleeves with a grand gesture whenever
they appear upon the platform.