condesa de Emilia Pardo Bazán

“ The very personality of these recollections lent them a singular charm in Rogelio’s eyes. While he listened to the girl’s words, it seemed as if the vanished memories of his childhood took definite and distinct shape in his mind. The room seemed to be filled with rural scents of mint, anise, new-mown hay. The illusion was so strong that he drew Esclava’s{223} head toward him and smelled it. “Your hair smells like—like the fields,” he said. While the girl talked, his determination to go home grew every moment stronger. “If I don’t go home,” he thought, “I shall never be a man. ”

“ The sarcastic Don Nicanor called Rojas a “puppet of the law.” He said that everything about him, mind and character alike, was wooden, neither seeing nor wishing to see that this kind of men, if laws were perfect as far as it is possible for human laws to be, might, by their firmness and integrity in applying them, bring back the golden age.
Often, of an afternoon, especially if it was very cold, or if it snowed or rained, Rogelio, instead of going out, would settle himself comfortably in a corner of the broad sofa and listen to the drowsy chat of the old people. ”

“ Rogelio was still laughing at himself at the idea of his engagement when they were nearing the bottom of the stairs, for which reason he neglected to offer Doña Aurora his arm, as was his custom. A sudden cry and the sound of a fall froze the blood in his veins as he saw his mother slip and fall headlong down the stairs on the tiled floor of the hall. It is only on supreme occasions that the real depth of our sentiment is revealed to us. ”

“ Don’t be afraid but that our friend Doña Aurora will be well taken care of by the sympathetic Esclavita. You may be sure she will wait on her like a sister of charity. Don’t pity Doña Aurora; pity a poor fellow like me, rather, who will have no Esclavita at his pillow to close his dying eyes, when his last hour comes.”
The company here all protested, with the exception of Lain Calvo, whose attention seemed to be occupied in adjusting his trumpet in his ear.
“You, Don Gaspar, why, you will live to bury us all! Why you are only in the prime of life! You are as vigorous as a boy.” ”

“ And when the good man, owing to the presence of others, was unable to dilate on his favorite theme, he gave his excellent friend glances and winks of intelligence. He smiled at her without any cause, and, in short, sought to give vent to his exuberant and boyish gayety. “Heaven grant he may keep his reason,” said Señora de Pardiñas to herself. “I don’t know why we should wonder at the craziness of youth, when old men can act in this way. No boy could be more deeply smitten. I declare, if he is not wild for his daughter to take herself off, so that he may get Esclavita at once. ”

“ I am not satisfied with Pepa, and I have taken a liking to this girl.”
Rita Pardo smiled maliciously, as she smoothed out the lace of her left sleeve, a little crumpled with use. She arched her eyebrows, and made a grimace difficult of interpretation.
“Um! Good antecedents may mean much or little, as you know. What is good for one is only middling for another. In that matter, some people are more particular than others. If the girl pleases you so much——”
“No, not so fast!” exclaimed Señora de Pardiñas, alarmed. “For me good antecedents are good antecedents, neither more nor less. ”

“ She is a true Galician: she keeps everything to herself, and one can never be sure of her, for she never lets you see what is passing in her mind. Well, then, against deceit greater deceit. Wait, wait for awhile; I shall find a way to get rid of you, and to get rid of you decently, in a way that will give you no room for complaint; on the contrary, you will be obliged to say that you are contented. And now—one nail drives out another, and boys will be boys—I am going to provide Rogelio with an amusement. I am going to give you a rival. Wait, girl; against wiles, counter-wiles. ”

“ When you look at the sea, it seems the same as if you were looking at the grandeur of God. Isn’t it true that only God could create a thing so grand as the sea, and all that comes out of it? Those pretty little shells; so many, many kinds of fishes, the sardines, that are the maintenance of the poor.”
“You talk like a book, Esclavita. I am not surprised that your devoted Nuño Rasura——”
“Who?”
“Señor de Febrero, child.”
“The old man with the crutch?”
“Yes. Well, he says that you are a treasure. You must know that he is head over ears in love with you.”
“Nonsense. Don’t make sport of me.” ”

“ The commandant, dressed in the costume of a peasant, unceremoniously entered the room with his niece, who was the apple of his eye, his arm encircling her waist as if he was going to dance a waltz with her. In the salutation he exchanged with his sister, however, Doña Aurora could detect a shade of coldness, not far removed from dislike, a feeling which can sometimes be dissimulated where strangers are concerned, but never where its object is a member of one’s family. ”

“ That she did not brush and beat too vigorously, annoying everybody in the house, under pretense of cleaning, was an additional merit in the eyes of Doña Aurora, who could not bear rough or noisy people. But what the new maid excelled most in was the mending. It was evident that she was less accustomed to cooking, ironing, or housework than to sedentary tasks. Seated in a low chair by the window, in a couple of hours she would empty the basket of linen, and her invisible darns, her skillful patches, her firmly sewed strings and her well-fastened buttons were Doña Aurora’s admiration. ”

“ It is as natural for one who is sad to seek consolation as it is for one who is hungry to seek food.
“Mamma is very fond of you,” he{200} repeated. “You don’t seem to believe me. Silly girl! why, she herself scolded me because I treated you—well—a little coldly at first. She told me you were unhappy on that account.”
Esclavita lowered her eyes, doubtless lest they should betray her thoughts and forebodings regarding the future.
“See,” said Rogelio, softly, “if you knew how well I feel with you here beside me! ”

“ She would be treated with every kind of consideration. The labor of waiting on one person only would not kill her; by taking a little trouble to please that excellent gentleman she would be in heaven—almost as if she were in her own house. Finally, Don Gaspar, too, was from Galicia. There would be no cause for her to feel lonesome there, as she had felt in the house of the Señoritas Romera.
When she had brought forward all these arguments she felt her mind relieved and, still apparently intent on the symmetrical arrangement of the rows of pens, gave a side glance at the girl. ”

“ She came on tiptoe with an air of gayety and animation that contrasted with her usual reserve of manner, and curled herself up on the floor like a pet kitten, at the foot of her master’s bed. The latter, however, did not dedicate his first words to her, but instinctively consecrated them to the real love of his life, the mother who had borne him; who was sleeping close by in the next room.
“Only think what happiness, Esclavita! Mamma is almost entirely well. ”

“ But no sooner had the hypocritical Lain Calvo taken his departure than Doña Aurora, whose agitation had now subsided, and in whose mind anger had given place to reflection, scratched her head with her knitting needle, as was her habit, and put to herself the question invariably suggested by mistrust.—“And why should it not be true?” Without the need of any great perspicacity, without possessing the Crown Solicitor’s evil-mindedness, her own good sense suggested to her that such proverbs as, ‘Fire and tow,’ etc., were not without foundation. ”

“ In every woman, in the most innocent and frankest even, there is the germ of the detective. The habits of dissimulation, practiced from childhood, make it easy for her to play the part. In order not to awaken suspicion, Doña Aurora resolved to exercise her surveillance over one only of the supposed criminals. And, indeed, in the circumstances it cannot be denied that watching Esclavita it was unnecessary to watch Rogelio. And this was what Señora de Pardiñas did. ”

“ If I should not be able to take you myself, I will look for a place for you with some other Galician family. Tell me your conditions, in case any one else should want to know.”
Esclavita, meantime, stood rolling an end of her black silk handerchief between her thumb and forefinger.
“May God reward you!” she answered. “As for the wages, a dollar more or a dollar less makes no difference to me. Work does not frighten me. I would not engage as a cook, for I don’t know how to make those fine dishes that are the fashion now. I understand simple dishes like those of my native place. ”

“ And the examinations came, and Rogelio found that he had passed in two branches, but in one—the most difficult and uncongenial to him—there came upon him, like a dash of cold waiter, a conditioned. “I know who is to blame for this!” thought his mother, looking through the half-closed door at Esclava, who was dusting the pictures in the parlor. “This is what comes of flirtation; but what is to be done? every age has its tastes. ”

“ God has always looked on you with disfavor. Didn’t you know it, Señorito?”{197}
“Yes, I knew it, Suriña. But it is dreadful to say that. Why should God look on you with disfavor?”
The girl half raised herself in her place, her eyes wide open, terrified at seeing that the fact which she was trying to bring herself to disclose was already known.
“Don’t be foolish,” murmured Rogelio, kindly. “What fault is it of yours, child? The same thing might have happened to me or to any one. We don’t choose our parents. Foolish girl!” ”

“ If I did not know that he is a really excellent man and that the girl, on her part, is incapable of laying a trap for him, I should be a little uneasy, for no one can tell where these things will end, and if he should take it into his head to marry!—” The idea of Don Gaspar marrying a girl of twenty-five was so absurd{289} that Señora de Pardiñas laughed to herself, and the monologue ended by the good lady scratching her head with her knitting-needle, and saying, as a corollary of her reflections: “It won’t be my fault if anything extraordinary should happen. ”

“ She then placed a low chair at the head of the bed and seated herself in it. As Rogelio, who was sitting in an easy-chair in the dressing-room, made no motion to retire, she went to him and whispered to him, in tones of entreaty, “Go to bed, Señorito; don’t stay here.” The patient, who had begun to doze, overheard the words and added her entreaties to Esclavita’s, saying, “Child, do go to bed. You are not accustomed to sitting up; it will injure your health. Don’t be foolish; go to bed. Esclavita is taking the best possible care of me.” ”

“ While these thoughts were passing through her mind, the bell rang, and the voice of Rogelio, who had just returned from college, was heard in the hall. Esclavita’s cheeks grew redder than they were before, and she made an involuntary movement as if to run away and hide herself. “Ta, ta!” said Señora Pardiñas to herself, a sudden thought flashing across her mind, “I noticed that the lad seemed to have something against this girl. He speaks to her so coldly, which is unusual with him. That must be it. The poor girl is dejected because she sees that she has not fallen into the boy’s good graces. ”

“ We who were born there—it is foolishness—but our dearest wish is to go back to the old spot, and our love for it never changes.”
“And we who were not born there love it too,” added Don Nicanor Candás, armed with his trumpet. “I would give my little finger now to spend a year in Marineda; I would rather go there than to Oviedo or to Gijón.
“But with me,” continued Señora{34} Pardiñas, “something always occurred to prevent me from carrying out my plan, as if the witches had interfered in the matter. Do you long to see your native place again, before you die? ”

“ Nuño Rasura exclaimed angrily, striking the floor with his crutch. “When the honor of the fair sex is in question, one cannot be too careful; one should consider well what one says and not speak lightly of any one.”
“So, so!” replied the Crown Solicitor, taking refuge in his deafness. “I see this class of women give you, too, something to think about. It is not for nothing that we have lived all these years, and have lost our teeth and our hair. But tell me, Doña Aurora, how this wandering princess happened to come here. Was she forsaken by some Galician Æneas? ”

“ At breakfast, when Esclava brought Rogelio his pills or his syrup of iron, or when she handed him some favorite dish, there passed between them (and it would have been useless to try to persuade Doña Aurora to the contrary, for she had seen it only too well) an exchange of glances, at times languishing and sentimental, at times flashing and ardent. When Esclavita went to open the door at Rogelio’s ring she showed an eagerness which she was very far from showing when it was one of the tiresome old men who rang the bell ”

“ How slowly he walks, poor man. ’Tis easy to see that he suffers from rheumatism as I do. The more’s the pity! I like him on that account, and not on that account alone, but because I know that he is indulgent and that he will give Rogelio a good mark in his examination.{4} Now comes Ruiz del Monte, so stiff and so conceited. He looks as if he were made all in one piece. Poor us! Neither favor nor influence nor anything else is of any use with him. He would have the boys know the studies as well as he does himself. If he wants that let him give them his place in the college—and the pay as well. ”

“ Señora de Pardiñas started and let her knitting fall on her lap.”
“As for Rogelio,” continued the Asturian, with the same affectation of indulgence, “what has happened to him is so natural at his age that the wonder would be if it had not happened. It is plain. A woman of twenty-five, good-looking and affectionate; a boy of twenty, what was to happen? A glance to-day, a touch to-morrow, a{251} caress in the hall, a romp in the reception-room—youthful follies that come to an end of themselves.”
Señora de Pardiñas jumped in her chair as if she had been moved by a spring. ”

“ What delight to put it through all its paces,—passing from the measured pace to the quick trot, then to the fiery gallop, and, as he strokes with his palm the neck of the obedient brute, to hear it snort with pleasure, thrilling through{279} all its sensitive nerves and its vigorous and sinewy muscles like a young girl when the arm of her agile partner encircles her waist as he leads her to the dance! ”