pero sin rencores ya.
Contrarios fuimos los dos;
pero aquí cesa mi encono.
Matarme quisisteis vos...
pues bien... que os perdone Dios, 2850
lo mismo que yo os perdono.
Y pensad en vuestra cuita,
que si audaz un caballero
hoy hasta el sombrero os quita,
yo, la infanta Margarita, 2855
hoy... os devuelvo el sombrero.
(Da el sombrero a OLIVARES)
REINA (a QUEVEDO que ha leído ya el pliego)
¿Órdenes del rey serán?
QUEVEDO
Que se cumplan sin demora
quiere el rey.
REINA
Se cumplirán.
(QUEVEDO la ofrece el pliego)
Bien en vuestra mano están. 2860
Vos...
QUEVEDO
Obedezco, señora.
(A OLIVARES)
Y vos no os hagáis rehacio;
por orden del rey, salid
sin más término ni espacio
ahora mismo de palacio, 2865
y mañana de Madrid.
(OLIVARES se dirige a la puerta como maquinalmente)
MENDAÑA (a QUEVEDO)
Bien, mejor.
QUEVEDO
Vos a su lado;
como un perro, y más puntual,
seguisteis siempre al privado...
seguid, pues, al desterrado 2870
y seréis perro leal.
MENDAÑA
¡Para mí tanta dureza!
QUEVEDO
Comprended, si no sois perro,
que uno acaba y otro empieza;
os dió sombra en su grandeza... 2875
dadle sombra en su destierro.
MENDAÑA
¡Pero... hacerme desterrar!...
QUEVEDO
Eso según vuestro humor,
es mejor.
MENDAÑA (con asombro)
¡Mejor!
QUEVEDO
Mejor
que si os hiciesen ahorcar.
MENDAÑA
¡Mejor, mejor, por mi vida!
OLIVARES
¡Todo convertido en nada!
MENDAÑA (dando el brazo a OLIVARES)
Conde-duque, de partida.
OLIVARES
¿Dónde?
MENDAÑA
A buscar la salida,
porque se cerró la entrada. 2885
(Los dos se dirigen a la puerta de la derecha)
Si el verdugo ha de apretaros...
OLIVARES
¡Ay, Mendaña!
MENDAÑA
Ea, valor.
OLIVARES
¡Desterrarme!
MENDAÑA
¡Desterrarnos!
OLIVARES
¡Nos destierra!
MENDAÑA
¡Pudo ahorcarnos!
Conque mejor que mejor. (Vanse) 2890
QUEVEDO
El rey anuncia además
que no ha de haber favoritos
ya en su palacio jamás... (Rumor lejano)
Pero ese rumor... quizás
llega ya el rey.
REINA
Esos gritos... 2895
QUEVEDO
De gozo, señora, son:
el pueblo con sus clamores
celebra su redención...
GRANA
Pues que el rey llega...
REINA
Es razón;
id a su encuentro, señores. 2900
QUEVEDO (a CASTILLA)
Decid a Mendaña vos
que si el destierro le es duro,
vuelva a entrar del rey en pos.
(Vanse CASTILLA y GRANA por la derecha)
MARGARITA
¿Dejará solo ¡gran Dios!
a Olivares?
QUEVEDO
De seguro. 2905
MARGARITA
¡Qué barbarie!
QUEVEDO
No, es piedad....
El dolor, por el contrario,
diz que ama la soledad...
por eso la humanidad
deja al dolor solitario. 2910
ESCENA XIII
QUEVEDO, MARGARITA, LA REINA
QUEVEDO (a MARGARITA sacando la carta del conde)
Vos, señora...
MARGARITA
Dadme luego.
QUEVEDO
Al paso en cualquiera parte.
MARGARITA
Sepa el rey que estuvo ciego....
(Dirígese a las gradas rápidamente)
REINA
¿Dónde vas?
MARGARITA
Voy a salvarte. (Entra)
QUEVEDO
Esa carta salvadora 2915
de vuestra virtud responde:
la escribió con sangre el conde,
y el rey va a leerla ahora.
REINA
Será inútil... Tantos días
de olvido y separación... 2920
Ya del rey el corazón
entre torpes mancebías...
QUEVEDO
Ya su ángel malo en el cieno
no podrá hundirle en el vicio.
REINA
Le dejó en el precipicio... 2925
QUEVEDO
Que le salve su ángel bueno.
Sedlo vos...
REINA
¿Y su desdén?
Del bien le alejaron ya.
QUEVEDO
Vuestra mano bastará
para conducirle al bien. 2930
Ya no hay quien siembre cizaña;
amadle y que os ame a vos;
y haced, unidos los dos,
la felicidad de España.
REINA
Fuera en ello tan dichosa... 2935
MARGARITA (apareciendo en el fondo)
El rey...
REINA
¿Quiere ver quizás
a la reina?
MARGARITA
¡Mucho más!
Quiere abrazar a la esposa.
(LA REINA y QUEVEDO suben las gradas)
REINA
El rey...
MARGARITA (señalando al fondo por entre las hojas entreabiertas)
Mírale... hacia aquí
con toda su corte avanza... 2940
REINA
El temor y la esperanza...
MARGARITA
¡Ven a su encuentro!...
QUEVEDO
¡Sí, sí!
Y a la clara luz del sol
al rey amando leal,
dadle tan solo un rival... 2945
(Gritos del pueblo)
ese buen pueblo español.
(LA REINA, conducida por MARGARITA, entra y se dirige a la izquierda. Al
abrirse las hojas, en el fondo aparecen caballeros, y en primera MENDAÑA,
CASTILLA y GRANA; pajes y guardias que van desfilando hacia la izquierda)
MARGARITA
Ven.
REINA (dentro)
¡Mi esposo!... ¡Dicha entera!
¡Que mis brazos te reciban!
MENDAÑA
¡Vivan nuestros reyes!...
TODOS
¡Vivan!
MENDAÑA
¡Todos adentro!
QUEVEDO (saliendo y cerrando tras de sí las puertas)
Y yo fuera. 2950
ESCENA XIV
QUEVEDO, luego MARGARITA
QUEVEDO
Todos se van; yo me quedo.
Bien; importe que importe,
si se restan con el dedo,
debe la corte a Quevedo
lo que Quevedo a la corte. 2955
Todos en tan fausto día
van adonde el viento va
en revuelta algarabía...
Quevedo, en tanta alegría
¿quién de ti se acuerda ya? 2960
(MARGARITA aparece, y al ver que QUEVEDO comienza a bajar
por la izquierda, baja por la derecha, mirándole con afán)
Con su ayer y sus historias,
un recuerdo... está perdido
siempre en el hoy de las glorias...
que al fin siempre las memorias
son merienda del olvido. 2965
Tu presencia en tal morada
fuera un recuerdo importuno...
y hoy al fin de la jornada,
al pensar todos en nada,
ya no piensa en ti ninguno. 2970
En ti, ni aun después de todo,
si a buena luz lo escudriñas,
pensarán... como el beodo
piensa, al empinar el codo,
en el que plantó las viñas. 2975
¿Quién se acuerda ya? Lo sé...
Ninguno, ninguno... (Viéndola) ¡Ah, sí!...
En este momento, a fe,
pensaba...
MARGARITA
Comprendo en qué...
y errasteis pensando así. 2980
QUEVEDO
Perdonadme... En tal momento...
MARGARITA
¡Que así me ofendieseis vos!
QUEVEDO
Yo siento.
MARGARITA
También yo siento.
QUEVEDO
Dulce y común sentimiento
que es el alma de los dos. 2985
MARGARITA (señalando el corazón)
¡Siempre aquí!
QUEVEDO (ídem)
¡También aquí!
inmenso, ideal, profundo...
MARGARITA
Digno de vos y de mí.
QUEVEDO
¡Y eterno, eterno!
MARGARITA
Sí, sí...
pero que lo ignore el mundo. 2990
QUEVEDO
A ser nacimos quizás
siempre amantes...
MARGARITA
Siempre buenos...
¡Ay... venturosos... jamás!
QUEVEDO
¿Por qué yo no nací más?
MARGARITA
¿Por qué yo no nací menos? 2995
Lo hizo Dios... y él nos lo advierte:
un loco amor dió por fruto,
no siendo común su suerte,
a Villamediana muerte
y a la reina llanto y luto.... 3000
Tales son sus condiciones...
mi sosiego y vuestra vida
por fugaces ilusiones...
¡Dense nuestros corazones
su postrera despedida! 3005
QUEVEDO
¡Qué desventurado soy!
MARGARITA
Muerto fué Villamediana...
y la reina...
QUEVEDO
Basta. Hoy
mismo a mi villa voy.
MARGARITA
Bien. Yo a un convento mañana. 3010
QUEVEDO
Y allí con honda querella
diré a mi suerte cruel:
«¿Por qué me separas de ella?»
Y vos...
MARGARITA
Yo diré a mi estrella:
«¿Por qué me separas de él?» 3015
QUEVEDO
Adiós.
MARGARITA
Adiós.
QUEVEDO
(En la orilla
morir ahogado... ¡Oh tormento!)
MARGARITA
(¡Arde el llanto en mi mejilla!)
QUEVEDO
¡No os olvidéis de la villa!
MARGARITA
¡Pensad vos en el convento! 3020
ESCENA ÚLTIMA
Dichos y MENDAÑA, CASTILLA, GRANA con varios caballeros que en
este momento aparecen abriendo las hojas del fondo, y bajan a la
escena. Al verlos QUEVEDO, que ya iba a salir, se detiene notando un
movimiento de terror en MARGARITA, que se esfuerza para ocultar su
turbación y sus lágrimas
MENDAÑA
Su alteza...
QUEVEDO
Mirad... la infanta
llora... de risa.
MARGARITA
Eso es...
chistes de Quevedo...
QUEVEDO
Pues...
MENDAÑA
Mejor, ¡cuánta gracia, cuánta!
QUEVEDO
Pues hoy con gracioso porte 3025
yo que mil gracias ensarto,
al fin, de mis gracias harto,
dejo, por gracia, la corte.
MENDAÑA
Y aun muy gracioso al marchar...
QUEVEDO
Y chiste acerté a decir...
MENDAÑA
Que hizo a su alteza reír...
QUEVEDO
Pues, y de risa llorar;
que, unidos en un engaste,
por lo alegre y por lo triste
una lágrima y un chiste 3035
son... un chistoso contraste.
GRANA
¡Es verdad!
QUEVEDO
Si bien lo mira
la excelente humanidad,
todo en el mundo es verdad...
CASTILLA
¡Cómo!
QUEVEDO
Cuando no es mentira. 3040
MENDAÑA
Ya que sin vuestra persona
en la corte nos quedamos,
¡qué de chistes aguardamos
de esa musa juguetona!...
Desde allá vos... ya lo sé: 3045
sois en el chiste muy ducho.
QUEVEDO
¡Mucho, mucho!
(A MARGARITA)
¡Mucho!
(A todos)
¡Mucho!
MENDAÑA
Escribid.
QUEVEDO
Escribiré;
que al surcar simples y mansos
las cortesanos espumas, 3050
me han provisto ya de plumas
muchos, muchísimos gansos.
Y van dispuestos y prontos
en mi alquitara mental...
mil sonetos.
MENDAÑA
¡Mil! ¿Qué tal? 3055
¿Sobre qué?
QUEVEDO
Sobre los tontos.
Ya os tendré presente a vos....
(A todos)
¡La amistad!... entre los dientes....
Yo os tendré a todos presentes...
porque...
MARGARITA
¡Ay!
(A QUEVEDO, despidiéndose en la meseta)
¡Adiós!
QUEVEDO (íd. besándola la mano)
¡Adiós!
(A todos)
¡Adiós! 3060
(QUEVEDO atraviesa la escena, cálase el sombrero, se emboza y vase
por la derecha; los cortesanos se miran unos a otros, y cae el telón)
Fin del Drama
NOTES
ACTO I, STAGE DIRECTION. =la de San Martín=: Sanz has associated the
Iglesia de San Martín with the Plazuela de San Martín. The square in
front of the Iglesia de San Martín was in reality the Plazuela de las
Descalzas. The present Plaza de Antón Martín, at the intersection of the
Calle del León and the Calle de Atocha, is in quite another part of the
city.
The church of San Martín was built in the seventeenth century. Its
richness attracted the attention of the French soldiers in 1809, when it
was sacked and destroyed by them.
=5-6.= In 1583 Philip II gave orders that no woman in all his kingdom,
whatever her state, quality, or condition, should go about with her face
covered (Nov. Recop., ley 8, t. 13, lib. vi). The same order went forth
again in 1593, 1610, and 1693. The prohibition was obviously to prevent
scandal and intrigue.
=32.= =mejoría=: Castilla early shows his scorn for the empty-headed
sycophant Mendaña by thus punning on the word =mejoría=. Here, in addition
to the meaning of 'advancement', it alludes to the exaggerated use by
Mendaña of the exclamation =mejor=.
=47.= =Su excelencia=: the conde-duque de Olivares.
=52.= =mejoreo=: another jibe at Mendaña, cf. l. 32. The suffix =-eo= is
generally used to form nouns only from verbs in =-ear=.
=66.= =no haya duelo ni quebranto=: 'let there be no dueling or damage
done.'
=70.= =El de Guzmán=: Don Gaspar de Guzmán, conde-duque de Olivares.
=103.= =La infanta Margarita=: cf. Historical Introduction.
=110.= =Ocaña=: an old town in the northeast corner of the province of
Toledo, not far from Aranjuez. During the Middle Ages it was a town of
considerable importance. As late as the early years of the seventeenth
century it was still a resort for the fashionables of Madrid.
=134.= =la duquesa de Mantua=: cf. Historical Introduction. Mantua is a
province that formed part of ancient Lombardy. The succession to the
duchy of Mantua caused a bitter war. The legitimate heir was Charles,
duke of Nevers. His heritage was disputed by Ferdinand and Cæsar
Gonzaga, dukes of Guastalla, and by the duke of Savoy. Charles caused
Mantua to be occupied by his son contrary to the wishes of the Emperor
Ferdinand II. France and Venice supported Charles and ousted the
Savoyards and Spaniards who were besieging Casale (1629). In July, 1630,
the city of Mantua was taken and sacked by the imperial troops. At the
diet of Ratisbon the Emperor Ferdinand gave in, putting Charles in
possession of his duchies. Spain at first refused to accept this
decision, but later, by the treaty of Cherasco (1631), recognized it.
=139.= =Saboya=: Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy married Marguerite of Valois, a
sister of Henry II of France. The son of this marriage, Charles Emmanuel
I, married the infanta Catalina, daughter of Philip II of Spain. The
ambitions of Charles Emmanuel to extend his dominions westward were
severely punished by Henry IV in the treaty of Lyons (1601). Savoy
mingled in most of the wars of the early part of the century. Charles
Emmanuel's shifting politics were always guided by his desires of
aggrandizement.
=153.= =el conde-duque=: not a legal title. When Philip IV made him duke of
San Lúcar, he should according to custom have dropped the lower title of
count of Olivares; but he asked leave to keep the title which was
already well known to the nation. Thenceforth he was popularly called
"the count-duke."
=202.= =Villamediana=: cf. Historical Introduction.
=266.= =¿Conocéis?...=: i.e. =¿Conocéis ...?= In the Romance languages the
suspensive points take the place, for many purposes, of the dash in
English. The most authoritative usage is that when these points are used
with an exclamation or interrogation point, as here, they (like the dash
in English) are put before the exclamation or interrogation point if
they mean that the sentence is broken off, but after it if they mean
that there is a break between this and the next sentence. But it is
commoner to put the exclamation or interrogation point invariably before
the suspensive points, as the comma in English is always put before the
dash, regardless of the sense. When this is done, it expresses the sense
rightly in most places, but there will generally be a considerable
minority of places where the punctuation must be understood as if
transposed, i.e. as indicating an uncompleted sentence. Since Sanz, or
his printer, followed this more mechanical rule, it is followed in this
edition; but the student must take care not to be misled by it.
=303-306.= =Ya hace meses=, etc.: cf. Historical Introduction.
=336 ff.= Cf. Historical Introduction.
=434.= =cruz de Santiago=: a red cross to represent a sword with
fleurs-de-lis at hilt and guard, on a field of white. The order of St.
James was founded in the twelfth century as a combatant order to fight
the Moors. Later membership in the order was purely honorary. It carried
with it an =encomienda= or estate from which income was derived.
ACTO II, STAGE DIRECTION. =el palacio del Buen Retiro=: built by Olivares
to flatter the whims of Philip IV. It stood beyond what were then the
eastern limits of Madrid. Work on it was begun in 1621, and in 1632
Olivares presented the keys of the new palace to his sovereign amidst
great rejoicing. During the French occupation of Madrid after 1808 it
was used as a fortress by the troops of Napoleon. The palace and
buildings were destroyed later by the French. What were the palace
grounds now form the nucleus of the Parque del Retiro.
=627-634.= An allusion to Philip's suspicion of Doña Isabel's guilt in the
affair with Villamediana. Cf. Historical Introduction.
=687.= =ese escrito=: cf. Historical Introduction.
=707.= =Y con su propia sangre=: cf. Historical Introduction.
=765.= =van ya muchos años=: Villamediana was murdered in 1622.
=782.= =el príncipe heredero=: Don Balthasar Carlos received a separate
establishment in 1643. A boy of rare promise, his early death in 1646
was a serious blow to the hopes of Philip and of the Spanish people.
=793-800.= It was customary for members of the nobility to have lodgings
in the palace, especially those who enjoyed honorary positions as
personal servants to the sovereign. In this passage no particular
significance attaches to the names mentioned other than that their
hostility to Olivares was the cause of their removal. For this episode
cf. Historical Introduction.
=926.= =letrilla=: a letrilla is usually divided into strophes at the end of
each of which the central thought of the whole composition is repeated
as a refrain. This form was effectively used by Quevedo as a vehicle for
satire.
=928.= =al buen entendedor=: the whole proverb is "Al buen entendedor, pocas
palabras," or "A buen entendedor, breve hablador." The English
equivalent is "A word to the wise is sufficient."
=944.= It should be recalled that Quevedo, Act I, Scene XIII, had picked
up by mistake Medina's cloak instead of his own.
=1070.= Grana calls attention to the cross of St. James and congratulates
Quevedo on receiving it.
=1277-1292.= As the stage direction explains, Sanz has cleverly taken
eight lines from Quevedo's sonnet _A Una Nariz_, and introduced asides
to Olivares. The sonnet continues:
Érase un espolón de una galera,
érase un pirámide de Egipto,
las doce tribus de narices era.
Érase un naricísimo infinito,
muchísima nariz, nariz tan fiera,
que en la cara de Anás fuera delito.
=1281.= =una nariz sayón y escriba=: the two nouns =sayón= ('executioner') and
=escriba= ('scribe,' 'notary') used as adjectives convey the idea that
this nose was a sharp one, even a deadly one. The notary with his
affidavits was as much to be dreaded as the executioner himself.
=1291.= =Ovidio Nasón más narizado=: the allusion is to the Latin poet
Publius Ovidius Naso; the pun is on the word =Nasón= (Naso); _naso_ in
Latin = =narizado=.
=1445-1468.= Cf. Historical Introduction.
=1552.= =Esthin=: Hesdin, a fortified town near the English Channel, in
Artois; taken by the French in 1639.--=Wiranzan=: probably Besançon in
Franche-Comté.--=Dola=: Dôle, a fortified town, capital of Franche-Comté
till 1648.
=1553.= =Islas Terceras=: the name given to the central group of the Azores;
it may apply as well to the entire archipelago. Portuguese territory
until 1582, it passed with Portugal to the control of Spain and was not
restored to Portugal until the mother country regained her independence.
=1554.= =el Ducado de Borgoña=: an error; the _duchy_ of Burgundy, west of
the river Saône, had not been a Spanish possession. It was the _county_
of Burgundy, east of the Saône, better known in English as
Franche-Comté, that came to the Spanish crown from the house of Austria.
It was largely occupied by the French about 1643, though it was restored
to Spain at the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 and did not become
permanently a part of France till thirty years later.
=1555.= =el Brasil=: Brazil was a Portuguese possession until 1822. In
1630-1644 the Dutch occupied the northern provinces almost down to the
capital, Bahia.--=el Rosellón=: Roussillon, north of the eastern end of
the Pyrenees, was formerly a dependency of the crown of Aragon. Louis
XIII began its conquest in 1639 and concluded it in 1642.
=1556.= =Ormuz=: a Portuguese trading station on the East India route until
1622, when it was captured and destroyed by the Persians and English. It
was on the strait of the same name, which connects the Persian Gulf and
the Sea of Oman.--=Pernambuco=: a Brazilian state whose colonization dates
from the second decade of the sixteenth century. The Dutch seized it in
1630 and held it till 1654.--=Hoa=: for Goa, a Portuguese trading station
in India.
=1559.= =Braganza=: the house of Braganza was founded by John I of Portugal
in the person of his illegitimate son Alfonso. The dukes of Braganza
played important rôles in the history of Portugal during the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries. Tedosio II served Philip II faithfully as long
as Portugal was a Spanish dependency. In 1630 his son John II succeeded
him, and in 1640 was proclaimed king of Portugal as John IV.
=1560.= =Villaviciosa=: Villa Viçosa, a city of Portugal about twenty miles
from Elvas. It is famous for its connection with the house of Braganza.
=1587.= =las Salinas=: I am unable to identify this place.
=1615-1616.= Mars and Bellona, the god and goddess of war in Latin
mythology. Margarita and Quevedo are leading the attack on Olivares.
While Quevedo is absent Margarita is idle.
=1685.= =Éranse etc.=: the stereotyped manner of beginning a story. It has
the same touch of quaintness as the English "once upon a time there
was," etc.
=1837.= =tarantela=: the tarantella is a Neapolitan dance, particularly
animated and spirited. The sense of the passage is that Quevedo watches
his fellow mortals rush feverishly hither and thither with great stir of
activity, but accomplishing nothing of value.
=1838.= This name originally was applied to a German dancing mania. Sanz
uses it in its modern sense of a disease whose most conspicuous symptom
is interference with the control of the muscles.
=1882.= This line is faulty; two syllables are lacking.
=1908.= Quevedo is even more famous for his satirical =romances= (_ballads_)
than for his letrillas and sonnets.
=1926-1929.= Margarita here probably alludes to Quevedo's _Poesías
Morales_, "esto es que descubren y manifiestan las pasiones y costumbres
del hombre, procurándolas enmendar."
=1938-1941.= These lines are taken from the first strophe of Quevedo's
"Elogio al Duque de Lerma, Canción Pindárica."
=1977.= Sicily was at this time still ruled by a Spanish viceroy.
=1979.= Palermo, a city on the north coast of Sicily, formerly the capital
of the kingdom of Sicily and now the capital of the province of Palermo.
=1989-1990.= These lines are taken from one of Quevedo's cold and highly
artificial love sonnets, "Musa" IV, VII.
=2030.= =ese altivo Girón=: cf. Historical Introduction.
=2036-2043.= Sanz quotes the two quatrains of Quevedo's sonnet "Memoria
inmortal de Don Pedro Girón, Duque de Osuna, muerto en la prisión." The
concluding tercets are inferior to the quatrains.
=2048.= =los Guzmanes en Tarifa=: the allusion is to Alonso Pérez de Guzmán,
called =el Bueno= (1256-1309). In the reign of Sancho IV of Castile,
Alonso Pérez was entrusted with the defense of Tarifa against the Moors.
Tarifa was besieged by the traitorous infante Don Juan at the head of an
army of Moors and adventurers. Assaults proving fruitless, Don Juan
summoned Guzmán to a parley on the walls of the city, where he told him
that if Tarifa were not immediately surrendered, the son of the gallant
defender would be put to death before his eyes. The answer of Alonso
Pérez was to fling down the weapon with which his son should be
murdered. Don Juan promptly dispatched the boy and cast his head within
the walls.
=2153.= This line is faulty; one syllable is lacking.
=2173-2175.= Blue symbolizes perseverance, loyalty and recompense; while
black, as the symbol of grief and mourning, would signify despair.
=2186.= =al Escorial=: the Real Sitio or Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo del
Escorial lies thirty-one miles northwest of Madrid. It is traditionally
believed that during the battle of St. Quentin on St. Lawrence's day
(Aug. 10), 1557, Philip vowed that he would build a monastery and
dedicate it to St. Lawrence in order to make amends for the destruction
by Spanish artillery of a church that bore his name. However, as
Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy won the battle and Philip himself was not
present, we may suppose that the Escorial was built rather to fulfill
Philip's promise to his father Charles V that he would build a suitable
tomb as a final resting-place for the remains of the latter and of his
wife. In modern times the Escorial has been little used as a palace by
the kings of Spain. It is now a monastery in the care of Augustinian
monks.
=2242.= Cf. Historical Introduction.
=2247.= Cf. Historical Introduction.
=2255.= =enmudecerá Talía=: Thalia is the muse of comedy; hence the passage
would mean 'your laughing satirical tongue will be silenced.'
=2256-2257.= Cf. Historical Introduction.
=2315.= Mendaña gives the explanation in the following scene, cf. l. 2346
and note.
=2320.= Quevedo puns on the word =labores= 'embroidery' and the usual sense
of 'labor, work.'
=2327.= =en Toledo=: an allusion to the hospital for the insane at Toledo,
called =la Casa del Nuncio=.
=2340.= =el consejo de Castilla=: the Consejo de la Real Cámara or Cámara de
Castilla was an outgrowth of the reorganized Consejo Real of Ferdinand
and Isabella. It was established in 1588 by Philip II, who required that
its members be persons chosen for their prudence, piety, and zeal. Its
principal functions were to look after the royal revenues, to fill
ecclesiastical benefices, and to administer justice in Castile, Navarre,
and the Canary Islands.--For this action by the Consejo cf. Historical
Introduction.
=2346.= =Fuenterrabía=: the siege by the French began in July, 1638. The
town was supplied with provisions by sea from San Sebastian until a
fleet commanded by the archbishop of Bordeaux put an end to this source
of supplies with heavy loss to the Spaniards. Meanwhile a force was
being prepared to attack the French in their camp. The attack was
successful and the rout of the French was complete.