=Antonio de Trueba y Quintana=, b. 1821, in the Basque country of
northern Spain; d. 1889. Trueba was a poet and writer of popular tales.
He was conservative and monarchic; but he loved the common people and
delighted in collecting their traditions, which he worked over and
embellished to suit his taste before publishing. His works are pervaded
by a genial, kindly humor. Works: verse,--_El libro de los cantares_ and
_El libro de las montañas_; tales,--_Cuentos populares_, _Nuevos cuentos
populares_, _Cuentos de color de rosa_, _Cuentos campesinos_,
_Narraciones populares_, _Cuentos de madres é hijos_, et al.
=Casilda= is one of the prettiest,--perhaps the prettiest,--of the many
Spanish-Moorish traditions. Trueba took the story from a Spanish poem by
the Jesuit Pedro de Reynosa (printed at Madrid in 1727), and he put it
into simple, graceful prose. Saint Casilda is held in especial
veneration in the province of Burgos.
The student of Spanish literature must keep in mind that the Mohammedan
Moors and Arabs entered Spain from Africa in 711 and became possessed of
a large part of the peninsula, and it was only after seven centuries of
warfare that the Spaniards were able to reconquer the entire country
(with the capture of Granada, in 1492). The Moorish invasion has left a
deep impress on the Spanish race,--on the character of the people, and
on their languages and customs.
=8.=--[8.2] =Fernando el Grande=, the first king of Castile (1037-1065).
[8.11] =pierden á la que=, 'lose the one who.'
[8.12] =María.= The Spaniards worship the Virgin Mary perhaps more than
any other people do.
[8.13] =fué creciendo=, was growing (=fué= is pret. ind. of _ir_: see
_ir_ in Vocab.).
[8.14] =Se le murió su madre=, 'her mother died.'
[8.18] =había=, 'there were.' Cf. the pres. ind. _hay_.
[8.22] =oyó=, etc. The English order would be: _oyó [á] los pobres
cautivos gemir_. Usually, a dependent infinitive immediately follows
_oir_, _ver_, _mirar_, _hacer_, etc.
[8.23] =lleno su corazón==_su corazón lleno_.
=9.=--[9.3] =¡Señor padre!= 'My lord and father!'
[9.4] =Quítales=, 'take from them': _les_ is dative of separation.
[9.6] =lloran= the subjects (=padres=, etc.) follow.
[9.14] =lloraba=, etc., 'he had been mourning for a year.'
[9.18] =Profeta==Mohammed.
[9.23] =que=, 'for.'
[9.24] =quien=, 'he who.' Note that =quien= is the subject of both
=merece= and =aboga=.
=10.=--[10.5] =no habrá=, 'there will not be': cf. the pres. ind.
_hay_.--=que=, 'for.'
[10.7] =extermine= is subjunctive because the antecedent of =que= is
indefinite ('any believer who does not destroy').
[10.14] =pasear su tristeza=, 'to walk sadly.'
[10.16] =Cuentan=, 'it is told,' or 'they tell.' The subject is
indefinite.
[10.26] =nazarenos= is subject of =gemían= above.
=11.=--[11.5] =volvió á presentarse á su paso=, 'appeared before her again.'
For this use of _volver_, see Vocab.
[11.9] =al volver=, 'upon turning the corner of.'
[11.14] =aura= is subject of =mecía=.
[11.16] =oir=: see note, page 8, l. 22.
=12.=--[12.3] =historia= is subject of =cuenta=.
[12.4] =coloraba... perlas=, 'gushing forth, it reddened the string of
white pearls' (teeth).
[12.8] =viendo=: see note, page 8, l. 22.
[12.13] =Pero si impotente=, etc.=_pero si la ciencia de los primeros
había sido impotente, la ciencia de los segundos era también impotente_.
[12.16] =al que salve=, 'to any one that will save.'
[12.20] =que=, 'for.' Note that =que= often=the conjunction 'for.'
[12.24] =hay quien pueda=, 'there is any one who can.'
[12.25] =que venga=, 'let him come.'
=13.=--[13.2] =al que devolviera=, 'to him' (or 'the one) who would restore.'
[13.9] =bondad= is subject of =inspiraba=.
[13.22] =designando al médico su hija=, 'pointing out his daughter to
the physician.'
[13.25] =han de completar=, 'shall complete,' or 'are to complete.' See
_haber_ in Vocab.
=14.=--[14.9] =parecido... niñez=, 'like that which in her childhood.' Note
also that =esclava= is the subject of =había contado=, and
=bienaventurados= of =sentían=.
[14.21] =el que=, 'he who.'--=hija de Jairo=: see Mark v., 22-43.