=Pedro Antonio de Alarcón=, b. 1833 in Granada, d. 1891. Alarcón was a
journalist, poet, novelist, and writer of works of travel; member of the
Council of State, Minister to Turkey, etc. He had a lively vein and was
often humorous or ironical, but he was seldom a careful writer.
Beginning as a writer of frivolous tales for newspapers, he ended as a
conservative and a member of the Royal Spanish Academy. Works: _El
final de Norma_, _El escándalo_, _El niño de la bola_, _El sombrero de
tres picos_, _El capitán Veneno_, _Historietas nacionales_, et al.
=60=.--[60.2] =Rota=: the action begins at Rota, one of the many villages on
the Bay of Cadiz in southwestern Spain.
[60.4] =era que=, 'the fact was.'
[60.5] =llevaba cuarenta de labrar=, 'he had cultivated for forty
years.' See _llevar_, in Vocab.
[60.10] =había mediado el mes de junio=, 'it was the middle of June'
(lit., 'the month of June was half gone').
[60.12] =á los... ejemplares= is an object of =conocía= above.
[60.22] =¡Feliz quien se las coma!= 'happy he who eats them.' The
pronoun =se=, an ethical dative or dative of interest, is best not
translated.
=61=.--[61.1] =¡Lástima de mis calabazas!= 'my poor squashes!'
[61.5] =Gradúese... cuánto sería=, 'judge how great must have been'
(lit., 'let it judge itself...').
[61.12] =¡Si te encuentro!= See _Merchant of Venice_, Act I, Scene 3.
[61.16] =de que él las reconociese=, 'of his recognizing them.'
[61.18] =Como si lo viera=, '[as truly] as if I saw them' (lit., 'it').
[61.19] =debió de robármelas=, 'must have stolen them from me' (=me= is
dat. of separation).
[61.20] =se escaparía=: see note, page 2, l. 27.
[61.23] =maravilla será que=, 'it will be a wonder if.'
=62=.--[62.7] =villa..., Hércules==_Rota_, and _Cádiz_. The first belonged to
the Duke of Arcos; the second is so called, since tradition has it that
Cádiz was founded by Hercules.
[62.19] =contárselo=: note that lo denotes =eso=, and =se= denotes
=Alcalde=.
[62.21] =¡Que no!= 'no!'; =¡Que sí!= 'yes!' The full expressions would
probably be: _digo que no_, and _digo que sí_.
[62.23] =Tío=: see _tío_, in Vocab.
[62.25] =Vds.===ustedes=. Note _V._, _Vd._, and _Ud._,=_usted_.
=63.=--[63.3] =Á quién le...=, 'of whom....' The expletive le refers to
=quién=. Both are datives of separation.
[63.6] =¡Ése había de ser!= 'it must have been that very fellow!' See
_ese_, in Vocab.
[63.8] =en la del vecino=, 'in his neighbor's.' Note that =vecino=, in
line 4, means 'resident.'
[63.9] =admitida la hipótesis==_la hipótesis habiendo sido
admitida_.--=de que á V. le han robado=, 'that they stole from you.'
Note this use of the pres. perfect with the force of a preterite, which
is not uncommon in Spain today.
[63.12] =las suyas= ('yours') is more distinctive and emphatic than
_suyas_; but the article is usually omitted when the possessive is in
predicate.
[63.14] =conocerá=: see note, page 1, l. 24.
[63.20] =con que usted reconozca=, 'with your recognizing.'
[63.27] =hasta sentarse=, 'until he sat.'
=64.=--[64.10] =se lo impidieron=, 'prevented his going' (lit., 'impeded it to
him'): =lo= denotes =irse=.
[64.11] =el mismo Regidor==_el Regidor mismo_ ('himself').
[64.16] =ha de ver=, 'must consider,' or 'must be careful.'
[64.24] =por=, 'over.'
[64.31] =de donde va cortando=, 'from which he keeps on cutting.'
=65.=--[65.1] =comprobarse si tal ó cual=, 'be proved whether such and such a.'
[65.2] =ó no lo es==_ó no es falso_.
[65.19] =las que pudiéramos llamar cicatrices...=, 'the scars ..., as we
might call them': =cicatrices= is the subject of =presentaban=.
[65.26] =¡Nada!= 'by all means!' This positive force of the exclamatory
adverb _nada_ is not uncommon.
=66.=--[66.8] =fuese= (from _ir_), 'kept on.'
[66.9] =He debido traerme á Manuela=, 'I should have brought Emma away
with me.'