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D. D one

Alonso Gutiérrez de Cisniega pertenecía a una antigua familia del mismo Vejer. Alonso|Gutiérrez|of|Cisniega|belonged|to|an|ancient|family|of the|same|Vejer Alonso Gutiérrez de Cisniega belonged to an old family of the same Vejer. Consagráronle a la carrera naval, y desde su juventud, siendo guardia marina, se distinguió honrosamente en el ataque que los ingleses dirigieron contra la Habana en 1748. They consecrated him||the|career|naval|and|since|his|youth|being|naval officer|naval|he|he distinguished|honorably|in|the|attack|that|the|English people|they directed|against|the|Havana| They consecrated him to the naval career, and from his youth, being a marine guard, he distinguished himself honorably in the attack that the English led against Havana in 1748. Formó parte de la expedición que salió de Cartagena contra Argel en 1775, y también se halló en el ataque de Gibraltar por el Duque de Crillon en 1782. He/She/It formed|part|||expedition||left||Cartagena||Algiers|||also||found|in||attack||Gibraltar|for||Duke||Crillon| He was part of the expedition that left Cartagena against Algiers in 1775, and was also found in the attack on Gibraltar by the Duke of Crillon in 1782. Embarcose más tarde para la expedición al estrecho de Magallanes en la corbeta  Santa María de la Cabeza , que mandaba Don Antonio de Córdova; también se halló en los gloriosos combates que sostuvo la escuadra anglo-española contra la francesa delante de Tolón en 1793, y, por último, terminó su gloriosa carrera en el desastroso encuentro del cabo de San Vicente, mandando el navío  Mejicano , uno de los que tuvieron que rendirse. Embark|more|late|for the|||to the|narrow||Magellan|||corvette|Saint|Mary|||Head||commanded|Sir|Antonio de Córdova||Cordova|||found|||glorious|battles||held|the|squadron|Anglo|Spanish||the|French|in front of||Toulon|||for|last|he finished||glorious|career|||disastrous|battle||cape||Saint|Vincent|commanding||ship|Mexican|one||||had to||to surrender Later he embarked for the expedition to the Strait of Magellan in the corvette Santa María de la Cabeza, commanded by Don Antonio de Córdova; He was also found in the glorious combats that the Anglo-Spanish squadron held against the French in front of Toulon in 1793, and, finally, ended his glorious career in the disastrous meeting of Cape San Vicente, commanding the Mexican ship, one of the they had to surrender.

Desde entonces, mi amo, que no había ascendido conforme a su trabajosa y dilatada carrera, se retiró del servicio. Since|then|my|master|that|not|had|promoted|according to|||laborious||lengthy|||retired||service Since then, my master, who had not been promoted in accordance with his laborious and extensive career, retired from service.

De resultas de las heridas recibidas en aquella triste jornada, cayó enfermo del cuerpo, y más gravemente del alma, a consecuencia del pesar de la derrota. |results||the|wounds|received||that||day|fell||||||||||||sorrow|||defeat As a result of the wounds received in that sad day, he fell ill from the body, and more seriously from the soul, as a result of the regret of the defeat. Curábale su esposa con amor, aunque no sin gritos, pues el maldecir a la marina y a los navegantes era en su boca tan habitual como los dulces nombres de Jesús y María en boca de un devoto. Heal him|||||||||for||to curse|||||||navigators|||||||||||||||||||devout He treated his wife with love, although not without shouting, because cursing the navy and the sailors was as habitual in his mouth as the sweet names of Jesus and Mary in the mouth of a devotee.

Era Doña Francisca una señora excelente, ejemplar, de noble origen, devota y temerosa de Dios, como todas las hembras de aquel tiempo; caritativa y discreta, pero con el más arisco y endemoniado genio que he conocido en mi vida. ||||lady||exemplary||||devout||fearful of God||||||females||||charitable||discreet|||||sullen and fierce||demonic temper|temper||he|||| Doña Francisca was an excellent, exemplary lady, of noble origin, devoted and God fearing, like all the females of that time; Charitable and discreet, but with the most grim and devilish genius I have ever met.

Francamente, yo no considero como ingénito aquel iracundo temperamento, sino, antes bien, creado por los disgustos que la ocasionó la desabrida profesión de su esposo; y es preciso confesar que no se quejaba sin razón, pues aquel matrimonio, que durante cincuenta años habría podido dar veinte hijos al mundo y a Dios, tuvo que contentarse con uno solo: la encantadora y sin par Rosita, de quien hablaré después. Frankly|||consider||innate||irascible|temperament|||||||displeasures|||caused||bland or tasteless|||||||it's necessary|||||was complaining||||||||||would|been able||twenty|||||||||to be content|||||charming||||little rose|||I will talk| Frankly, I do not consider that irate temperament as innate, but rather, created by the displeasures caused by the unprofessional profession of her husband; and it must be confessed that he did not complain without reason, because that marriage, which for fifty years could have given twenty children to the world and to God, had to be content with only one: the charming and unparalleled Rosita, of whom I will speak later. Por éstas y otras razones, Doña Francisca pedía al cielo en sus diarias oraciones el aniquilamiento de todas las escuadras europeas. |these||||||was asking|||||daily|prayers||annihilation||||squadrons|European For these and other reasons, Doña Francisca asked heaven in her daily prayers for the annihilation of all the European squads.

En tanto, el héroe se consumía tristemente en Vejer viendo sus laureles apolillados y roídos de ratones, y meditaba y discurría a todas horas sobre un tema importante, es decir: que si Córdova, comandante de nuestra escuadra, hubiera mandado orzar a babor en vez de ordenar la maniobra a estribor, los navíos  Mejicano ,  San José ,  San Nicolás y  San Isidro no habrían caído en poder de los ingleses, y el almirante inglés Jerwis habría sido derrotado. |so much||hero||was consuming|sadly||Vejer|seeing||laurels|moth-eaten||gnawed||||was meditating||thought about||||||||||||Cordova|commander|||squadron|would have|commanded|to tack||port||||order||maneuver||starboard||ships||||||||San Isidro||would have|fallen||power||||||admiral||Jerwis|||defeated Meanwhile, the hero was consumed sadly in Vejer seeing his laurel moths and gnawed by mice, and meditated and talked at all hours on an important subject, that is: that Córdova, commander of our squad, had commanded luffing to port instead Had the maneuver to starboard been ordered, the Mexican, San José, San Nicolás and San Isidro ships would not have fallen into the hands of the English, and the English Admiral Jerwis would have been defeated.

Su mujer, Marcial, hasta yo mismo, extralimitándome en mis atribuciones, le decíamos que la cosa no tenía duda, a ver si dándonos por convencidos se templaba el vivo ardor de su manía; pero ni por ésas: su manía le acompañó al sepulcro. ||||||overstepping|||attributions|||||||had|||||giving us||convinced||calmed down|||fervent passion|||mania||||those||mania||accompanied||grave His wife, Marcial, even myself, exceeding myself in my attributions, we told him that the thing had no doubt, to see if by giving us the conviction he tempered the lively ardor of his mania; but not for those: his mania accompanied him to the grave.

Pasaron ocho años después de aquel desastre, y la noticia de que la escuadra combinada iba a tener un encuentro decisivo con los ingleses, produjo en él cierta excitación que parecía rejuvenecerle. They passed||||||disaster|||||||squadron|||||||decisive||||produced||||excitement|||to rejuvenate him Eight years passed after that disaster, and the news that the combined squad was going to have a decisive encounter with the English, produced in him a certain excitement that seemed to rejuvenate him.

Dio, pues, en la flor de que había de ir a la escuadra para presenciar la indudable derrota de sus mortales enemigos; y aunque su esposa trataba de disuadirle, como he dicho, era imposible desviarle de tan estrafalario propósito. |because|||||||||||squad||||undeniable|defeat|||mortal||||||was trying||to dissuade him|||said|||to divert him|||outlandish| So he gave in the flower that he had to go to the square to witness the undoubted defeat of his mortal enemies; and although his wife tried to dissuade him, as I have said, it was impossible to deviate him from such a bizarre purpose. Para dar a comprender cuán vehemente era su deseo, basta decir que osaba contrariar, aunque evitando toda disputa, la firme voluntad de Doña Fransisca; y debo advertir, para que se tenga idea de la obstinación de mi amo, que éste no tenía miedo a los ingleses, ni a los franceses, ni a los argelinos, ni a los salvajes del estrecho de Magallanes, ni al mar irritado, ni a los monstruos acuáticos, ni a la ruidosa tempestad, ni al cielo, ni a la tierra: no tenía miedo a cosa alguna creada por Dios, más que a su bendita mujer. ||||how|vehement|||wish|it's enough|||dared|to contradict||avoiding||dispute|||will|||Fransisca|||to warn||||have||||obstinacy|||||||||||||||||||Algerians||||savages||strait||||||irritated|||||aquatic||||noisy|storm||||||||||||||created|||||||blessed| To convey how vehement his desire was, suffice it to say that he dared to oppose, although avoiding any dispute, the firm will of Doña Fransisca; and I must warn, in order to get an idea of my master's stubbornness, that he was not afraid of the English, or the French, or the Algerians, or the savages of the Strait of Magellan, or the irritated sea, or to the aquatic monsters, nor to the noisy storm, nor to the sky, nor to the earth: he was not afraid of anything created by God, more than his blessed wife.

Réstame hablar ahora del marinero, Marcial, objeto del odio más vivo por parte de Doña Francisca; pero cariñosa y fraternalmente amado por mi amo D. Alonso, con quien había servido. Let me subtract||||sailor||||||alive||||Lady|||affectionate||fraternally|beloved||||||||| Subtract me now to speak of the sailor, Marcial, object of the most intense hatred on the part of Doña Francisca; but lovingly and fraternally loved by my master D. Alonso, with whom he had served.

Marcial (nunca supe su apellido), llamado entre los marineros Medio-hombre, había sido contramaestre en barcos de guerra durante cuarenta años. ||I knew||surname|||||Half||||boatswain||||||| Marcial (I never knew his last name), called Half-man among sailors, had been a boatswain on warships for forty years.

En la época de mi narración, la facha de este héroe de los mares era de lo más singular que puede imaginarse. |||||narration||appearance||||||seas|||||||can|to imagine At the time of my narration, the face of this hero of the seas was the most unique that can be imagined. Figúrense ustedes, señores míos, un hombre viejo, más bien alto que bajo, con una pierna de palo, el brazo izquierdo cortado a cercén más abajo del codo, un ojo menos, la cara garabateada por multitud de chirlos en todas direcciones y con desorden trazados por armas enemigas de diferentes clases, con la tez morena y curtida como la de todos los marinos viejos, con una voz ronca, hueca y perezosa que no se parecía a la de ningún habitante racional de tierra firme, y podrán formarse idea de este personaje, cuyo recuerdo me hace deplorar la sequedad de mi paleta, pues a fe que merece ser pintado por un diestro retratista. Imagine you all|||mine|||||rather|||short|||leg||stick||arm||amputated||cut off||||elbow||||||scribbled||||scars||||||disorder|drawings||weapons|enemies||||||complexion|dark-skinned||tanned skin||||||mariners|||||hoarse|hollow and lazy||lazy|||||||||inhabitant|rational|||||they will be able to|to form|||||whose||||to lament||dryness|||palette|||||deserves||painted|||skilled|portrait artist Imagine, my lords, an old man, rather tall than short, with a wooden leg, his left arm severed below the elbow, one eye less, his face scrawled by a multitude of chirlos in all directions and in disorder traced by enemy weapons of different classes, with the tanned and tanned complexion like that of all the old sailors, with a hoarse, hollow and lazy voice that did not resemble that of any rational inhabitant of the mainland, and you can get an idea of this character, whose memory makes me deplore the dryness of my palette, because in faith it deserves to be painted by a skilled portrait painter. No puedo decir si su aspecto hacía reír o imponía respeto: creo que ambas cosas a la vez, y según como se le mirase. |||||||laugh||imposed||||both||||||according||||looked I can't say if his appearance made him laugh or imposed respect: I think both things at once, and depending on how you look at him.

Puede decirse que su vida era la historia de la marina española en la última parte del siglo pasado y principios del presente; historia en cuyas páginas las gloriosas acciones alternan con lamentables desdichas. |be said||||||||the|||||||||||principles||||||||glorious||alternate||lamentable|misfortunes It can be said that his life was the history of the Spanish navy in the last part of the last century and the beginning of the present; history in whose pages the glorious actions alternate with lamentable misfortunes.

Marcial había navegado en el  Conde de Regla , en el  San Joaquín , en el  Real Carlos , en el  Trinidad , y en otros heroicos y desgraciados barcos que, al parecer derrotados con honra o destruidos con alevosía, sumergieron con sus viejas tablas el poderío naval de España. ||sailed|||Count||Rule||||Joaquín|||||||Trinidad||||heroic||unfortunate|||||defeated||honor||destroyed||treachery|they sank|||old|boards||naval power||| Marcial had sailed in the Conde de Regla, in the San Joaquín, in the Real Carlos, in the Trinidad, and in other heroic and unfortunate ships that, apparently defeated with honor or destroyed with malice, submerged with their old boards the naval power from Spain.

Además de las campañas en que tomó parte con mi amo, Medio-hombre había asistido a otras muchas, tales como la expedición a la Martinica, la acción de Finisterre y antes el terrible episodio del Estrecho, en la noche del 12 de julio de 1801, y al combate del cabo de Santa María, en 5 de octubre de 1804. |||campaigns|||||||||||assisted||||such||||||Martinique||||Finisterre|||||||||||||||||||cape||||||| In addition to the campaigns in which he took part with my master, Half-man had attended many others, such as the expedition to Martinique, the action in Finisterre and before the terrible episode of the Strait, on the night of July 12, 1801 , and to the battle of Cape Santa María, on October 5, 1804.

A la edad de sesenta y seis años se retiró del servicio, mas no por falta de bríos, sino porque ya se hallaba completamente desarbolado y fuera de combate. ||||sixty|||||||||||lack||vigor|but||||found himself||defeated||out|| At the age of sixty-six he retired from service, but not because of lack of strength, but because he was already completely treeless and out of action.

Él y mi amo eran en tierra dos buenos amigos; y como la hija única del contramaestre se hallase casada con un antiguo criado de la casa, resultando de esta unión un nieto, Medio-hombre se decidió a echar para siempre el ancla, como un viejo pontón inútil para la guerra, y hasta llegó a hacerse la ilusión de que le gustaba la paz. ||||||||||||||||boatswain||was|married||||servant||||resulting|||||grandson|Half|Half-man||||to throw||||anchor||||pontoon|||||||||become||||||||peace He and my master were two good friends ashore; and as the bosun's only daughter was married to a former servant of the house, resulting from this union a grandson, Half-man decided to drop the anchor forever, like an old pontoon useless for war, and even came to illusion that he liked peace. Bastaba verle para comprender que el empleo más difícil que podía darse a aquel resto glorioso de un héroe era el de cuidar chiquillos; y en efecto, Marcial no hacía otra cosa que cargar, distraer y dormir a su nieto, para cuya faena le bastaban sus canciones marineras sazonadas con algún juramento, propio del oficio. It was enough|see him|||||employment|||||||||glorious|||||||to take care of|kids||||||||||to carry|to distract|||||||whose|task||was enough||songs|sailor songs|seasoned with|||oath|own||trade profession job It was enough to see him to understand that the most difficult job that could be given to that glorious remnant of a hero was to take care of children; and in fact, Marcial did nothing but carry, distract and put his grandson to sleep, for whose task his seafaring songs seasoned with some oath, proper to the trade, were enough for him.

Mas al saber que la escuadra combinada se apercibía para un gran combate, sintió renacer en su pecho el amortiguado entusiasmo, y soñó que se hallaba mandando la marinería en el alcázar de proa del Santísima Trinidad . ||||||||was preparing|||||felt|to be reborn|||chest||suppressed|||dreamed|||was found|commanding||crew|||forecastle||forecastle||Most Holy| But when he knew that the combined squad was preparing for a great combat, he felt the muted enthusiasm reborn in his chest, and he dreamed that he was commanding the seamen in the bow of the Holy Trinity.

Como notase en D. Alonso iguales síntomas de recrudecimiento, se franqueó con él, y desde entonces pasaban gran parte del día y de la noche comunicándose, así las noticias recibidas como las propias sensaciones, refiriendo hechos pasados, haciendo conjeturas sobre los venideros y soñando despiertos, como dos grumetes que en íntima confidencia calculan el modo de llegar a almirantes. |you noticed|||||symptoms||relapse||he opened up||||||they spent|||||||||communicating|||||||||referring||spent|doing|conjectures|||upcoming||daydreaming|awake|||cabin boys|||intimate|confidence|they calculate|||||to|admirals As he noted in D. Alonso the same symptoms of flare-up, he spoke with him, and since then they spent much of the day and night communicating, thus the news received as well as their own sensations, referring to past events, making conjectures about those to come and dreaming awake, like two cabin boys who in intimate confidence calculate the way to reach admirals.

En estas encerronas, que traían a Doña Francisca muy alarmada, nació el proyecto de embarcarse en la escuadra para presenciar el próximo combate. ||ambushes||they brought|||||alarmed|was born||||to embark|||||||| In these lockouts, which brought Doña Francisca very alarmed, the project to embark in the squadron to witness the next combat was born.

Ya saben ustedes la opinión de mi ama y las mil picardías que dijo del marinero embaucador; ya saben que D. Alonso insistía en poner en ejecución tan atrevido pensamiento, acompañado de su paje, y ahora me resta referir lo que todos dijeron cuando Marcial se presentó a defender la guerra contra el vergonzoso  statu quo de Doña Francisca. |||||||||||mischiefs||||sailor|swindler||||||was insisting||||execution||daring|||||pageboy||||remains to|||||said||Martial|||||||||embarrassing|status quo|status quo|of|| You already know the opinion of my mistress and the thousand mischief she said about the tricky sailor; You know that D. Alonso insisted on executing such a daring thought, accompanied by his page, and now it remains for me to refer to what everyone said when Marcial appeared to defend the war against the shameful status quo of Doña Francisca.