[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.
[390] =Bolívar= (Simón). Together with San Martín he brought about
South American independence. He had been triumphant in the North and
founded the republic of Gran Colombia, now Colombia, Venezuela, and
Ecuador. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1783, and died in 1830.
The hopes and ambitions for which he had fought (a great republic by
the name of Gran Colombia) had been set at naught in his own times by
the revolt of the constituent members.
[391] =Chimborazo=, lofty mountain and volcano in Ecuador.
[392] =Pichincha=, volcano in Ecuador; the allied troops of Bolívar and
San Martín won a decisive victory over the Spaniards in this vicinity
in 1822. Cf. 126, 1.
[393] =que=. The antecedent is =genio=, referring to =Bolívar= in line
3.
[394] =todo lo refería a=, _considered everything in relation to_.
[395] =Astrea=, the goddess of Justice in Greek mythology.
[396] =vaso opaco de la Escritura=, _unassuming chosen vessel of the
Scriptures_.
[397] This sentence has no principal verb. Supply =murió=--.
[398] =la una=, _i.e._, =de Bolívar=.
[399] =la otra=, _i.e._, =de San Martín=.
[400] =su=, _i.e._, =del Perú=.
[401] =su=, _i.e._, =de San Martín=.
[402] =Macabeo=. Judas Maccabeus, of the Maccabees, led the Jews
against the tyrant Antiochus IV, assuming the leadership of the revolt
in B.C. 164, upon the death of his father Matathias.
[403] =Moreno= (Mariano), Argentine patriot and statesman. Cf. 195.
[404] =todos cuantos=, _all who_.
[405] =Misiones=. V. map.
[406] =Alto Perú=, old name of the present republic of Bolivia.
It became an independent state in 1825, with Bolívar as its first
president.
[407] =Artigas= (José, 1746-1826). Although Mitre speaks thus of
Artigas, present-day Uruguayans regard him as their national hero.
Works published lately on his life show that he was misunderstood.
The federal system of government for which he stood obtains to-day in
Argentina, though not in Uruguay.
[408] =Güemes= (Martín), Gaucho leader in northern Argentina, whose
deeds are commemorated in many tales. He may be compared with Marion,
the American guerrilla fighter in the Carolinas during the American War
of Independence.
[409] =Rivadavia= (Bernardino), first president of Argentina and
supporter of the unitarian or centralized form of republican
government. During his presidency he established primary education and
encouraged the University of Buenos Aires, which had come into being
under his tutelage. He was far in advance of his time.
[410] =en tal sentido=, _of this type_.
[411] =cuyo sentimiento=, _the sentiment for which_.
[412] =Cuyo=. Previous to his invasion of Chile, San Martín was
ostensibly Governor of Cuyo, a region including the present provinces
of Mendoza, San Juan, and San Luis. It was in this capacity that he
made ready his _Ejército de los Andes_ to attack the Spaniards in Chile.
[413] =las del Norte=. This includes the provinces of Salta, Tucumán,
Jujuy, and what was known as Alto Perú, or Bolivia.
[414] =_encabezar partidos_=, _i.e._, =secundarios=. Cf. 181, 17.
[415] =dos derrotas=. The Argentine army of the North had been defeated
twice: at Huaquí in June, 1811, and in the battle of Nazareno in
January, 1812.
[416] =haciendo por último pie firme=, _making at last a resolute
stand_.
[417] =como el vacío de la máquina neumática que apaga los oídos=,
_like the vacuum of the pneumatic pump which deadens the hearing_.
[418] =tres Repúblicas=. Argentine by birth, Las Heras fought for the
independence of Peru and Chile besides that of his own country.
[419] =en ella=, _i.e._, =en la época colonial=.
[420] =Bayardo=, famous French knight of the fifteenth century who was
called "_le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche_", "_the fearless and
faultless knight_".
[421] =No se le vió nunca=, _He was never seen_.
[422] =y no... manifestaciones=, _and were felt only through the hidden
and persevering force of their cold manifestations_.
[423] =sin que él reclamase jamás su competencia=, _without his ever
putting forward his fitness_.
[424] =Huaquí=. The Argentine forces under the command of Balcarce
suffered here a severe defeat, after which Pueyrredón took command of
the retreating forces.
[425] =algo de interno y de poderoso=, _something profound and
powerful_.
[426] =lo manejaba... severidad=, _he wielded it even in the extremes
of firmness and severity_.
[427] =compañero de Logia=. Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot,
had been the prime mover in establishing a vast secret society with
branches in Europe and America. The purpose of this society was to
bring about a republican form of government in all South America. San
Martín established a chapter of it in Buenos Aires under the name of
=Logia de Lautaro=, and with its support carried through his invasion
of Chile and Peru, despite party opposition. =Lautaro= was synonymous
with patriotism because it was the name of an Araucanian chief famous
for his fierce resistance against Valdivia, the conqueror of Chile.
[428] =con quien... personal=, _with whom he held political views in
common and whom he resembled in his personal character_.
[429] =solemnidades patrias=, _national holidays_.
[430] =sol=. The Argentine flag has two horizontal blue stripes and in
the middle a white one with the image of the sun in it.
[431] =mayo de 1810=. A reference to the 25th of May, 1810. The first
cry of independence was heard in Buenos Aires, and Cisneros, then
Viceroy, was put out of power. V. Introduction.
[432] =no él=, _i.e._, he made no efforts at self-glorification.
[433] =Quiere... propios=, _He wishes as it were to do away with the
very names_.
[434] =Colonia=, _i.e._, Argentina, prior to its independence.
[435] =Tácito=, Tacitus, famous Roman historian (55-120 A.D.).
[436] =y... chispa=, _hardly any light_.
[437] =Vieytes= (Hipólito), one of the leaders of the Argentine
revolution and member of the Junta Gobernativa.
[438] =Virreinato=, _i.e._, Spanish rule in Argentina.
[439] =árbitro de=, _free to_.
[440] =ejerciendo=, _by exercising_.
[441] =Manzanares=, river in Spain, on the banks of which Madrid is
located; here synonymous with Spain.
[442] =Congreso=, reference to the Congress of Tucumán, in 1816, which
declared the independence of Argentina. Cf. 222.
[443] =El rumbo... estrella=, _The course was pointed toward the best
star_, _i.e._, democracy.
[444] =su modo de ser definitivo=, _its established form of government_.
[445] =Salta=, province of Argentina, and its capital. Güemes used to
refer to Salta as mi provincia.
[446] =sea que..., sea que=, _whether... or_.
[447] =país accidentado=. Salta and Jujuy, as can be seen from the map,
are in a mountainous region.
[448] =la resistencia de la población en masa=. While San Martín was
conquering Chile in 1817 and invading Peru in 1821, the Spaniards
were trying to fight their way down from Peru into Argentina. Güemes'
efforts were most important in holding the Spanish forces back until
San Martín struck at the heart of their power, Lima.
[449] =dirección más inteligente=, _i.e._, de San Martín.
[450] =se veía... entrañas=, _saw its very vitals torn_.
[451] =un ejército=, _i.e._, =el ejército del Norte= under Belgrano's
command.
[452] =de otro=, _i.e._, San Martín's army.
[453] =guerra civil=. From the very beginning there was, as in
the United States, a "Tory" party in Argentina that stood against
independence.
[454] =aquél=, _i.e._, Belgrano, who defeated the Spaniards in the
battles of Salta and Tucumán.
[455] =el general La Paz= (José María), Argentine statesman and general
who, in defense of the unitarian cause, fought against Rosas and made
himself famous during the eight-year siege of Montevideo (1835-1843).
[456] =el Dr. Vélez Sársfield=, famous Argentine statesman and jurist;
author of the Argentine Civil Code.
[457] =constituído=, _placed_.
[458] =Alí-Bajá de Monvoisin=, reference to the painting by the French
artist Monvoisin of Ali Pasha, who was known for his cruelty in Albania
and put to death in 1822.
[459] =Ravel= (Pierre-Alfred), French actor of the nineteenth century.
[460] =estudiante de Brienne=, _i.e._, Napoleon, who studied at the
military school of that name.
[461] =Mameluco oscuro=, _i.e._, Mehemet-Ali, who, though not a
Mameluke himself, fought with the Mamelukes against Napoleon in 1798,
and later became Viceroy of Egypt. Cf. 70, 3.
[462] =Medusa=, one of three sisters in Greek mythology, whose hair
was turned into a tangle of serpents because she incurred the wrath of
Minerva. Any one who looked at her was turned to stone.
[463] =no había cómo hacerlo callar=, _there was no way of making him
keep quiet_.
[464] =famoso expediente=. When two women came before Solomon, each
claiming a newly born child as hers, he ordered that the child be cut
into two parts so that each claimant might have a half. The true mother
was found to be the one who, for the love of her son, abandoned her
claim rather than cause his death.
[465] =amanezca mañana=, _appears at dawn tomorrow_.
[466] =¡tú eres...!= _you are the culprit!_
[467] =que está=... The antecedent is =él=, referring to =Facundo=.
[468] =que nada desmiente=, _that nothing can belie_.
[469] =Júpiter Tonante=. Jupiter was represented as the Thunderer in
Greek mythology.
[470] =después de habérselo anunciado=. The more correct usage is,
=después que se lo han anunciado=.
[471] =continuando de=, unusual for =continuando a=.
[472] =el movimiento revolucionario de nuestra literatura=. The
publication of Echeverría's _La Cautiva_ in 1837 inaugurated a movement
towards the Americanization of literature in Argentina. Cf. 24, 13.
[473] =Podría presentársele=, _He might be presented_.
[474] =las obras de Echeverría=. His most important works are _Elvira o
la novia del Plata_, _Los Consuelos_, _Lara o la Partida_, _Las Rimas_
(which contain among other shorter poems _La Cautiva_), _El Dogma
Socialista_, and _Cantos a Mayo_.
[475] =Cuando se trata de evitar que los hombres de letras se
puerilicen=, _When it is a question of keeping men of letters from
becoming childish_.
[476] =desdeñoso como Horacio=. The Latin poet Horace has expressed
his distaste for the rabble in his often-quoted verse: _Odi profanum
vulgus_, "_I hate the ignorant rabble_."
[477] =el bienvenido=, _i.e._, =el escritor bienvenido=, _the favorite
writer_.
[478] =el malogrado argentino=. Besides his voyage to Europe in 1825,
Echeverría had to exile himself from his country twice owing to the
persecution of the Dictator Rosas.
[479] =que se refieren al bien de la sociedad=, _which deal with the
welfare of society_.
[480] =la invisible confidente=, _i.e._, =la musa=.
[481] =Rompió la tradición clásica=. Cf. 24, 13.
[482] =perdiendo=, with concessive force, _though losing_.
[483] =Tucumán=. V. map.
[484] =las Provincias Unidas de la Plata=. Until 1853, the date of the
adoption of the Federal Constitution, the republic of Argentina was
known by the above name.
[485] =del pueblo que la realizaba=. The pronoun =la= refers to
=declaración=, in the previous sentence; trans., _of the people that
proclaimed it_.
[486] =seis años después=, etc. The first revolutionary uprising took
place the 25th of May, 1810. The great victories of Chacabuco and Maipo
did not come until 1817 and 1818.
[487] =las armas=, _the armies_--by metonymy.
[488] =Proclamada=, with concessive force, _Though proclaimed_.
[489] =que habría de retardar por otro medio siglo=, _which was to
retard for another half century_. It was not till 1853 that the
Constitution was adopted. Even then it took some ten years more before
the old feud between federalists and unitarians was settled.
[490] =las dos grandes revoluciones=, _i.e._, in North and in South
America.
[491] =a que se lanzara Francia=, _upon which France had embarked_.
[492] =un gobierno propio=, _a government of their own_.
[493] =imperio militar=, _i.e._, of Napoleon Bonaparte.