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Para oponerse a la insensata determinación de su marido, Doña Francisca no se fundaba sólo en las razones anteriormente expuestas; tenía, además de aquéllas, otra poderosísima, que no indicó en el diálogo anterior, quizá por demasiado sabida. |oppose|||senseless||||husband|||||was basing|||||previously|exposed|had|||those||very powerful|||indicated|||||perhaps||too|well-known To oppose the foolish determination of her husband, Doña Francisca was not based solely on the reasons stated above; He had, in addition to those, another very powerful one, which he did not indicate in the previous dialogue, perhaps because it was too well known.

Pero el lector no la sabe y voy a decírsela. ||reader|||||||tell it to you But the reader does not know and I am going to tell him.

Creo haber escrito que mis amos tenían una hija. |||||masters||| I think I wrote that my masters had a daughter. Pues bien: esta hija se llamaba Rosita, de edad poco mayor que la mía, pues apenas pasaba de los quince años, y ya estaba concertado su matrimonio con un joven oficial de Artillería llamado Malespina, de una familia de Medinasidonia, lejanamente emparentada con la de mi ama. |||||||||||||||barely|||||||||arranged||||||||||Malespina||||||remotely|related||||| Well, this daughter was called Rosita, a little older than mine, as she was barely fifteen years old, and her marriage was already arranged with a young artillery officer named Malespina, from a family from Medinasidonia, distantly related to the of my mistress. Habíase fijado la boda para fin de Octubre, y ya se comprende que la ausencia del padre de la novia habría sido inconveniente en tan solemnes días. It had been|fixed||wedding||||||||understand|||absence|||||||||||solemn| The wedding had been fixed for the end of October, and it is already understood that the absence of the father of the bride would have been inconvenient on such solemn days. Voy a decir algo de mi señorita, de su novio, de sus amores, de su proyectado enlace y... |||something|||||||||loves|||projected|link| I'm going to say something about my lady, her boyfriend, her loves, her projected marriage and...

¡ay!, aquí mis recuerdos toman un tinte melancólico, evocando en mi fantasía imágenes importunas y exóticas como si vinieran de otro mundo, despertando en mi cansado pecho sensaciones que, a decir verdad, ignoro si traen a mi espíritu alegría o tristeza. ||||take||shade|melancholic|evoking|||||intrusive|||||they came||||awakening|||tired|chest||||||I ignore||bring||||joy|| Alas, here my memories take on a melancholic cast, evoking in my fantasy importunate and exotic images as if they came from another world, awakening in my tired chest sensations that, to tell the truth, I do not know if they bring joy or sadness to my spirit. Estas ardientes memorias, que parecen agostarse hoy en mi cerebro, como flores tropicales trasplantadas al Norte helado, me hacen a veces reír, y a veces me hacen pensar... Pero contemos, que el lector se cansa de reflexiones enojosas sobre lo que a un solo mortal interesa. |burning||||to wither|||||||tropical|transplanted||||||||||||||||let's count|||reader||tire|||annoying|||||||| These ardent memories, which seem to be fading in my brain today, like tropical flowers transplanted to the frozen North, sometimes make me laugh, and sometimes make me think... But let's count, that the reader gets tired of annoying reflections on what a only mortal is interested. Rosita era lindísima. ||very pretty Rosita was beautiful.

Recuerdo perfectamente su hermosura, aunque me sería muy difícil describir sus facciones. |||beauty||||||||features I perfectly remember her beauty, although it would be very difficult for me to describe her features. Parece que la veo sonreír delante de mí. |||I see|smile|in front of|| I seem to see her smile in front of me. La singular expresión de su rostro, a la de ningún otro parecida, es para mí, por la claridad con que se ofrece a mi entendimiento, como una de esas nociones primitivas, que parece hemos traído de otro mundo, o nos han sido infundidas por misterioso poder desde la cuna. |||||face||||||similar to||||||||||offers|||understanding|||||notions|primitive|||we have|brought||||||||infused||mysterious||||cradle The singular expression of his face, similar to that of no other, is for me, because of the clarity with which it offers itself to my understanding, like one of those primitive notions, which seem to have been brought from another world, or have been instilled in us by mysterious power from the cradle. Y sin embargo, no respondo de poderlo pintar, porque lo que fue real ha quedado como una idea indeterminada en mi cabeza, y nada nos fascina tanto, así como nada se escapa tan sutilmente a toda apreciación descriptiva, como un ideal querido. ||||||to be able to||||||||stayed||||indeterminate|||||||fascinates||||||||subtly|||appreciation|descriptive|||| And yet, I am not responsible for being able to paint it, because what was real has remained an indeterminate idea in my head, and nothing fascinates us so much, just as nothing escapes all descriptive appreciation so subtly, as a beloved ideal. Al entrar en la casa, creí que Rosita pertenecía a un orden de criaturas superior. |to enter|||||||belonged|||||| Upon entering the house, I thought that Rosita belonged to a higher order of creatures.

Explicaré mis pensamientos para que se admiren ustedes de mi simpleza. I will explain||||||admire|you|||simplicity I will explain my thoughts so that you can admire my simplicity. Cuando somos niños, y un nuevo ser viene al mundo en nuestra casa, las personas mayores nos dicen que le han traído de Francia, de París o de Inglaterra. |we are||||||comes||||||||||||||brought||||||| When we are children, and a new being comes into the world in our house, the older people tell us that they have brought him from France, Paris or England. Engañado yo como todos acerca de tan singular modo de perpetuar la especie, creía que los niños venían por encargo, empaquetados en un cajoncito, como un fardo de quincalla. Fooled||||about||||||to perpetuate||species|||||||order|packaged|||little box|||bundle||junk Deceived like everyone else about such a unique way of perpetuating the species, I believed that children came by order, packed in a little box, like a bundle of hardware. Pues bien: contemplando por primera vez a la hija de mis amos, discurrí que tan bella persona no podía haber venido de la fábrica de donde venimos todos, es decir, de París o de Inglaterra, y me persuadí de la existencia de alguna región encantadora, donde artífices divinos sabían labrar tan hermosos ejemplares de la persona humana. ||contemplating||||||daughter||||I reasoned||||||||come|||factory|||we come|||||||||||I persuaded|||||||charming||artisans|divine||to craft|||specimens|||| Well, looking for the first time at the daughter of my masters, I thought that such a beautiful person could not have come from the factory where we all come from, that is, from Paris or England, and I persuaded myself of the existence of some charming region , where divine craftsmen knew how to carve such beautiful examples of the human person. Como niños ambos, aunque de distinta condición, pronto nos tratamos con la confianza propia de la edad, y mi mayor dicha consistía en jugar con ella, sufriendo todas sus impertinencias, que eran muchas, pues en nuestros juegos nunca se confundían las clases: ella era siempre señorita, y yo siempre criado; así es que yo llevaba la peor parte, y si había golpes, no es preciso indicar aquí quién los recibía. ||both|||||||we treated|||trust||||||||happiness|consisted|||||suffering|||impudences|||||||games|||mixed up||||||||||servant|||||||worse|||||||||indicate||||received As children, both of us, although of different conditions, we soon treated each other with the confidence proper to age, and my greatest happiness consisted in playing with her, suffering all her impertinences, which were many, because in our games the classes were never confused: she she was always a young lady, and I was always a servant; so it is that I had the worst part, and if there were blows, it is not necessary to indicate here who received them.

Ir a buscarla al salir de la escuela para acompañarla a casa, era mi sueno de oro; y cuando por alguna ocupación imprevista se encargaba a otra persona tan dulce comisión, mi pena era tan profunda, que yo la equiparaba a las mayores penas que pueden pasarse en la vida, siendo hombre, y decía: «Es imposible que cuando yo sea grande experimente desgracia mayor». ||to look for her|||||||to accompany her|||||dream|||||||occupation|unexpected||was entrusted||||||commission||sorrow|||||||equated|||||||to be experienced||||being|man||||||||||experience|misfortune| Picking her up after school to walk her home was my golden dream; and when for some unforeseen occupation such a sweet commission was entrusted to another person, my sorrow was so deep that I compared it to the greatest sorrows that can be suffered in life, being a man, and said: «It is impossible that when I grow up experience greater misfortune.

Subir por orden suya al naranjo del patio para coger los azahares de las más altas ramas, era para mí la mayor de las delicias, posición o preeminencia superior a la del mejor rey de la tierra subido en su trono de oro; y no recuerdo alborozo comparable al que me causaba obligándome a correr tras ella en ese divino e inmortal juego que llaman escondite. Climb|||yours||orange tree||courtyard||to pick||orange blossoms|||||branches||||||||delights|||preeminence||||||||||raised|||||||||joy||||||forcing me|||||||||immortal||||hide and seek Going up by his order to the orange tree in the patio to pick the orange blossoms from the highest branches was for me the greatest of delights, a position or pre-eminence superior to that of the best king on earth on his golden throne; and I do not remember joy comparable to that caused me by forcing me to run after her in that divine and immortal game they call hide-and-seek. Si ella corría como una gacela, yo volaba como un pájaro para cogerla más pronto, asiéndola por la parte de su cuerpo que encontraba más a mano. |||||gazelle|||||bird||to catch her|||holding her||||||||||| If she ran like a gazelle, I flew like a bird to catch her faster, grabbing her by the part of her body that was closest to hand. Cuando se trocaban los papeles, cuando ella era la perseguidora y a mí me correspondía el ser cogido, se duplicaban las inocentes y puras delicias de aquel juego sublime, y el paraje más obscuro y feo, donde yo, encogido y palpitante, esperaba la impresión de sus brazos ansiosos de estrecharme, era para mí un verdadero paraíso. ||they swapped||roles|||||chaser|||||belonged to|||caught||they doubled||innocent||pure|||||sublime|||place||dark|||||shrinking||pulsating|I was waiting||||||anxious||to hug me|was|||||paradise When the roles were exchanged, when she was the pursuer and it was up to me to be caught, the innocent and pure delights of that sublime game were doubled, and the darkest and ugliest place, where I, shrunken and throbbing, waited for the impression of her arms eager to embrace me, was a true paradise for me. Añadiré que jamás, durante aquellas escenas, tuve un pensamiento, una sensación, que no emanara del más refinado idealismo. I will add||||||I had|||||||emanated||most|refined|idealism I will add that never, during those scenes, did I have a thought, a feeling, that did not emanate from the most refined idealism. ¿Y qué diré de su canto? ||I will say|||singing And what shall I say of his song?

Desde muy niña acostumbraba a cantar el  olé y las  cañas , con la maestría de los ruiseñores, que lo saben todo en materia de música sin haber aprendido nada. |||used to||||olé|||canes|||mastery|||nightingales||||||subject||||having|learned| From a very young age she used to sing the olé and the cañas, with the mastery of nightingales, who know everything about music without having learned anything. Todos le alababan aquella habilidad, y formaban corro para oírla; pero a mí me ofendían los aplausos de sus admiradores, y hubiera deseado que enmudeciera para los demás. ||praised||skill||formed|circle of people||hear her|||||offended|||||admirers|||desired||silenced|||others All praised her skill, and formed a circle to hear her; but I was offended by the applause of his admirers, and I wished he would be silent for the others. Era aquel canto un gorjeo melancólico, aun modulado por su voz infantil. ||song||chirping|||modulated||||childlike That song was a melancholy warble, still modulated by his childlike voice. La nota, que repercutía sobre sí misma, enredándose y desenredándose, como un hilo sonoro, se perdía subiendo y se desvanecía alejándose para volver descendiendo con timbre grave. |||was reverberating||||entangling||unraveling|||thread|sound||was getting lost|rising|||was fading|away from|||descending||timbre| The note, which reverberated on itself, entangling and unraveling, like a sonorous thread, was lost going up and faded away to come back down with a grave timbre. Parecía emitida por un avecilla, que se remontara primero al Cielo, y que después cantara en nuestro propio oído. |emitted|||little bird|||would rise|||||||would sing||||ear It seemed to be emitted by a little bird, which first soared to Heaven, and then sang in our own ear. El alma, si se me permite emplear un símil vulgar, parecía que se alargaba siguiendo el sonido, y se contraía después retrocediendo ante él, pero siempre pendiente de la melodía y asociando la música a la hermosa cantora. ||||||to employ||simile|vulgar||||was stretching|following|||and||contracted||pulling back|||||dependent on|||melody||associating||||||singer The soul, if I may use a vulgar simile, seemed to lengthen following the sound, and then contracted, receding before it, but always attentive to the melody and associating the music with the beautiful singer. Tan singular era el efecto, que para mí el oírla cantar, sobre todo en presencia de otras personas, era casi una mortificación. |||||||||||||||||||||mortification So singular was the effect that for me to hear her sing, especially in the presence of other people, was almost mortifying. Teníamos la misma edad, poco más o menos, como he dicho, pues sólo excedía la suya a la mía en unos ocho o nueve meses. ||||||||||said|||exceeded||his||||||||| We were about the same age, more or less, as I said, for his was only eight or nine months older than mine.

Pero yo era pequeñuelo y raquítico, mientras ella se desarrollaba con mucha lozanía, y así, al cumplirse los tres años de mi residencia en la casa, ella parecía de mucha más edad que yo. |||little one||scrawny||||was developing|||lushness||||to turn three||||||||||||||||| But I was small and rickety, while she was developing very vigorously, and so, at the end of three years of my residence in the house, she seemed much older than me. Estos tres años se pasaron sin sospechar nosotros que íbamos creciendo, y nuestros juegos no se interrumpían, pues ella era más traviesa que yo, y su madre la reñía, procurando sujetarla y hacerla trabajar. ||||||to suspect|||we were going|growing||||||were interrupting|||||naughty|||||||scolded|trying to|to hold her||make her| These three years passed without us suspecting that we were growing up, and our games were not interrupted, because she was more naughty than me, and her mother scolded her, trying to hold her down and make her work. Al cabo de lo tres años advertí que las formas de mi idolatrada señorita se ensanchaban y redondeaban, completando la hermosura de su cuerpo: su rostro se puso más encendido, más lleno, más tibio; sus grandes ojos más vivos, si bien con la mirada menos errátil y voluble; su andar más reposado; sus movimientos no sé si más o menos ligeros, pero ciertamente distintos, aunque no podía entonces ni puedo ahora apreciar en qué consistía la diferencia. |end||||years|I noticed|||shapes|||idolized|||were widening||rounded|completing||beauty|||body||face||||flushed||full||warm||||||||||look||erratic||volatile||walk||calm|||||||||light|||||||||||appreciate||||| After three years, I noticed that the forms of my idolized young lady widened and rounded, completing the beauty of her body: her face became more fiery, fuller, warmer; his large eyes more alive, although with a less erratic and fickle gaze; his more relaxed walk; their movements I do not know if more or less light, but certainly different, although I could not then nor can I now appreciate what the difference consisted of.

Pero ninguno de estos accidentes me confundió tanto como la transformación de su voz, que adquirió cierta sonora gravedad bien distinta de aquel travieso y alegre chillido con que me llamaba antes, trastornándome el juicio, y obligándome a olvidar mis quehaceres, para acudir al juego. ||||accidents||confused|||||||||acquired||||||||mischievous|||squeal||||||disturbing my judgment||judgment||forcing me||||chores||to go to|| But none of these accidents confused me so much as the transformation of his voice, which took on a certain sonorous gravity quite different from that mischievous and cheerful screech with which he called me before, upsetting my judgment, and forcing me to forget my chores, to go to the game. El capullo se convertía en rosa y la crisálida en mariposa. |cocoon|||||||cocoon||butterfly The cocoon turned into a rose and the chrysalis into a butterfly. Un día mil veces funesto, mil veces lúgubre, mi amita se presentó ante mí con traje bajo. ||||funereal|||gloomy||little lady||||||dress| One day a thousand times fatal, a thousand times gloomy, my little friend appeared before me in a low suit.

Aquella transfiguración produjo en mí tal impresión, que en todo el día no hablé una palabra. |transfiguration|produced||||||||||||| That transfiguration produced such an impression on me that I did not speak a word all day. Estaba serio como un hombre que ha sido vilmente engañado, y mi enojo contra ella era tan grande, que en mis soliloquios probaba con fuertes razones que el rápido crecimiento de mi amita era una felonía. ||||||||vilely|fooled|||anger|||||||||soliloquies|I tried||||||||||mistress|||felony I was as serious as a man who has been vilely deceived, and my anger against her was so great that in my soliloquies I proved with strong reasons that my mistress's rapid growth was a felony. Se despertó en mí la fiebre del raciocinar, y sobre aquel tema controvertía apasionadamente conmigo mismo en el silencio de mis insomnios. |awoke||||fever||reasoning|||||controversial|passionately||||||||insomnias The fever of reasoning awoke in me, and on that subject I passionately argued with myself in the silence of my insomnia. Lo que más me aturdía era ver que con unas cuantas varas de tela había variado por completo su carácter. ||||dazed||||||how many|yards||fabric|||||| What stunned me the most was to see that with a few yards of cloth he had completely changed his character. Aquel día, mil veces desgraciado, me habló en tono ceremonioso, ordenándome con gravedad y hasta con displicencia las faenas que menos me gustaban; y ella, que tantas veces fue cómplice y encubridora de mi holgazanería, me reprendía entonces por perezoso. ||||unfortunate|||||ceremonial|ordering me||||||disdain||chores|||||||||||accomplice||cover-up|||laziness||rebuked|||lazy That day, a thousand times miserable, he spoke to me in a ceremonious tone, ordering me gravely and even nonchalantly about the tasks that I liked least; and she, who was so many times an accomplice and cover-up for my laziness, then reprimanded me for being lazy. ¡Y a todas éstas, ni una sonrisa, ni un salto, ni una monada, ni una veloz carrera, ni un poco de  olé , ni esconderse de mí para que la buscara, ni fingirse enfadada para reírse después, ni una disputilla, ni siquiera un pescozón con su blanda manecita! |||||||||jump|||cute thing|||fast|race|||||cheer||to hide||||||would look for||pretend to be|angry||to laugh||||little dispute||even||little shove|||soft|little hand And to all of these, not a smile, not a jump, not a cutie, not a quick run, not a bit of olé, not hiding from me to look for her, not pretending to be angry to laugh later, not a dispute, not not even a fish with her soft little hand! ¡Terribles crisis de la existencia! Terrible crises of existence!

¡Ella se había convertido en mujer, y yo continuaba siendo niño! She had become a woman, and I was still a child! No necesito decir que se acabaron los retozos y los juegos; ya no volví a subir al naranjo, cuyos azahares crecieron tranquilos, libres de mi enamorada rapacidad, desarrollando con lozanía sus hojas y con todo lujo su provocativa fragancia; ya no corrimos más por el patio, ni hice más viajes a la escuela, para traerla a casa, tan orgulloso de mi comisión que la hubiera defendido contra un ejército, si éste hubiera intentado quitármela. |||||finished||frolicking||||||||||orange tree||orange blossoms|grew|||||in love|greedy desire|developing||lushness||leaves||||luxury||provocative||||we ran||||courtyard||I did|||||||bring her|||||||mission||||defended|||army||||attempted|take it away Needless to say, the frolics and games are over; I no longer climbed the orange tree, whose orange blossoms grew calmly, free from my enamored rapacity, developing their leaves with freshness and their provocative fragrance with luxury; We ran around the yard no more, I made no more trips to school, to bring her home, so proud of my commission that I would have defended it against an army, had it tried to take it from me.

Desde entonces Rosita andaba con la mayor circunspección y gravedad; varias veces noté que al subir una escalera delante de mí, cuidaba de no mostrar ni una línea ni una pulgada más arriba de su hermoso tobillo, y este sistema de fraudulenta ocultación era una ofensa a la dignidad de aquel cuyos ojos habían visto algo más arriba. |||was walking||||circumspection|||||I noticed|||||ladder|in front of|||was careful|||||||||inch||||||ankle|||||fraudulent|concealment|||offense|||||||||||| Since then, Rosita walked with the greatest circumspection and gravity; several times I noticed that when climbing a ladder ahead of me, she was careful not to show a line or an inch above her beautiful ankle, and this system of fraudulent concealment was an offense to the dignity of one whose eyes had seen something higher. . Ahora me río considerando cómo se me partía el corazón con aquellas cosas. |||||||was breaking||||| Now I laugh considering how my heart broke with those things. Pero aún habían de ocurrir más terribles desventuras. |||||||misadventures But still more terrible misadventures were to occur.

Al año de su transformación, la tía Martina, Rosario la cocinera, Marcial y otros personajes de la servidumbre, se ocupaban un día de cierto grave asunto. |||||||aunt Martina||||||||||servants||occupied||||||matter A year after her transformation, Aunt Martina, Rosario the cook, Marcial, and other servants were dealing with a certain serious matter one day. Aplicando mi diligente oído, luego me enteré de que corrían rumores alarmantes: la señorita se iba a casar. Applying||diligent||||I found out|||||alarming|||||| Applying my diligent ear, I later learned that alarming rumors were circulating: the young lady was getting married. La cosa era inaudita, porque yo no le conocía ningún novio. |||unheard of||||||| The thing was unheard of, because I didn't know any boyfriend. Pero entonces lo arreglaban todo los padres, y lo raro es que a veces no salía del todo mal. |||they fixed||||||||||||||| But then the parents fixed everything, and the strange thing is that sometimes it didn't go all wrong. Pues un joven de gran familia pidió su mano, y mis amos se la concedieron. ||||||asked||||||||they granted Well, a young man from a great family asked for her hand, and my masters granted it to him.

Este joven vino a casa acompañado de sus padres, que eran una especie de condes o marqueses, con un título retumbante. ||came||||||||||||counts||marquesses||||resounding This young man came home accompanied by his parents, who were a kind of counts or marquises, with a resounding title. El pretendiente traía su uniforme de Marina, en cuyo honroso Cuerpo servía; pero a pesar de tan elegante jaez, su facha era muy poco agradable. |suitor|brought|||||||honorable|||||spite||||attire||appearance||||pleasant The suitor was wearing his Marine uniform, in whose honorable Corps he served; but in spite of such elegant appearance, his appearance was very unpleasant. Así debió parecerle a mi amita, pues desde un principio mostró repugnancia hacia aquella boda. ||seem to her|||little aunt|because|from|||showed|disgust|||wedding That's how it must have seemed to my mistress, since from the beginning she showed repugnance towards that wedding. Su madre trataba de convencerla, pero inútilmente, y le hacía la más acabada pintura de las buenas prendas del novio, de su alto linaje y grandes riquezas. ||was trying||||uselessly||||||finished|painting||||garments||||||lineage||| Her mother tried to convince her, but to no avail, and made her the most complete painting of the groom's good clothes, his high lineage and great wealth. La niña no se convencía, y a estas razones oponía otras muy cuerdas. ||||was convincing|||||opposition|||sensible The girl was not convinced, and to these reasons she opposed other very sane ones. Pero la pícara se callaba lo principal, y lo principal era que tenía otro novio, a quien de veras amaba. ||sly||was silent||||||||||||||really loved| But the naughty girl kept quiet about the main thing, and the main thing was that she had another boyfriend, whom she really loved.

Este otro era un oficial de Artillería, llamado D. Rafael Malespina, de muy buena presencia y gentil figura. ||||||Artillery|||Rafael|||||||gentle| This other was an artillery officer, named D. Rafael Malespina, with a very good presence and a kind figure. Mi amita le había conocido en la iglesia, y el pérfido amor se apoderó de ella, mientras rezaba; pues siempre fue el templo lugar muy a propósito, por su poético y misterioso recinto, para abrir de par en par al amor las puertas del alma. |little friend|||||||||perfidious|||took hold of||||was praying|||||temple|||||||poetic|||enclosure||||||for|||||| My friend had met him in church, and perfidious love took possession of her, while she was praying; because the temple was always a very appropriate place, due to its poetic and mysterious enclosure, to open wide to love the doors of the soul. Malespina rondaba la casa, lo cual observé yo varias veces; y tanto se habló en Vejer de estos amores, que el otro lo supo, y se desafiaron. |was roaming|||||I observed|||||||||||||||||knew|||challenged Malespina prowled the house, which I observed several times; and so much was said in Vejer about these loves, that the other knew it, and they challenged each other. Mis amos supieron todo cuando llegó a casa la noticia de que Malespina había herido mortalmente a su rival. |uncles|knew||||||||||||wounded|mortally|||rival My masters knew everything when the news reached home that Malespina had mortally wounded his rival. El escándalo fue grande. |scandal|| The scandal was great.

La religiosidad de mis amos se escandalizó tanto con aquel hecho, que no pudieron disimular su enojo, y Rosita fue la víctima principal. |religiosity|||||scandalized||||||||to hide||anger|||||| The religiosity of my masters was so scandalized by that fact that they could not hide their anger, and Rosita was the main victim. Pero pasaron meses y más meses; el herido curó, y como Malespina fuese también persona bien nacida y rica, se notaron en la atmósfera política de la casa barruntos de que el joven D. Rafael iba a entrar en ella. |||||||wounded|healed||||were||||||||||||||||omens||||||||||| But months and more months passed; the wounded man was cured, and since Malespina was also a well-born and wealthy person, there were suspicions in the political atmosphere of the house that the young Don Rafael was going to enter it. Renunciaron al enlace los padres del herido, y en cambio el del vencedor se presentó en casa a pedir para su hijo la mano de mi querida amita. They renounced||link||||wounded||||||winner||||||to ask for||||||||dear| The parents of the wounded man renounced the bond, and instead the victor came home to ask for the hand of my dear amita for their son. Después de algunas dilaciones, se la concedieron. |||delays|||they granted After some delay, it was granted. Me acuerdo de cuando fue allí el viejo Malespina. ||||was|||| I remember when old Malespina went there.

Era un señor muy seco y estirado, con chupa de treinta colores, muchos colgajos en el reloj, gran coleto, y una nariz muy larga y afilada, con la cual parecía olfatear a las personas que le sostenían la conversación. ||||dry||stiff||jacket|||||dangling pieces|||watch||double chin|||nose||||sharp|||||to sniff||||||held|| He was a very dry and stiff man, with a jacket of thirty colors, many flaps on his watch, a large ponytail, and a very long and sharp nose, with which he seemed to sniff out the people who were holding conversations with him. Hablaba por los codos y no dejaba meter baza a los demás: él se lo decía todo, y no se podía elogiar cosa alguna, porque al punto salía diciendo que tenía otra mejor. |||elbows|||let||input|||others||||||||||to praise||||||||||| He talked the hell out of it and didn't let the others get in the way: he told them everything, and you couldn't praise anything, because he immediately came out saying he had something better. Desde entonces le taché por hombre vanidoso y mentirosísimo, como tuve ocasión de ver claramente más tarde. |||crossed out|||vain||very lying|||||||| Since then I have branded him as a vain and most lying man, as I had occasion to see clearly later. Mis amos le recibieron con agasajo, lo mismo que a su hijo, que con él venía. |||||hospitality||||||||||was coming My masters received him with entertainment, as well as his son, who came with him. Desde entonces, el novio siguió yendo a casa todos los días, sólo o en compañía de su padre. |||||going|||||||||||| Since then, the boyfriend continued to come home every day, alone or in the company of his father. Nueva transformación de mi amita. New transformation of my friend.

Su indiferencia hacia mí era tan marcada, que tocaba los límites del menosprecio. |indifference|||||marked||touched||||contempt His indifference towards me was so marked that it touched the limits of contempt. Entonces eché de ver claramente por primera vez, maldiciéndola, la humildad de mi condición; trataba de explicarme el derecho que tenían a la superioridad los que realmente eran superiores, y me preguntaba, lleno de angustia, si era justo que otros fueran nobles y ricos y sabios, mientras yo tenía por abolengo la Caleta, por única fortuna mi persona, y apenas sabía leer. |I noticed|||||||cursing her||||||was trying||to explain to myself|||||||superiority|||||||||full||anguish|||just||||||||wise|||||ancestry||Cove|||||||barely|| Then I saw clearly for the first time, cursing her, the humility of my condition; He tried to explain to me the right to superiority of those who were really superior, and he asked me, full of anguish, if it was fair that others were noble and rich and wise, while I had La Caleta as my ancestry, my only fortune being my person, and he barely knew how to read. Viendo la recompensa que tenía mi ardiente cariño, comprendí que a nada podría aspirar en el mundo, y sólo más tarde adquirí la firme convicción de que un grande y constante esfuerzo mío me daría quizás todo aquello que no poseía. Seeing||reward||||burning|love||||||to aspire||||||||I acquired||||||||||effort|||would give|quiz|||||possessed Seeing the reward that my ardent affection had, I understood that I could aspire to nothing in the world, and only later did I acquire the firm conviction that my great and constant effort would perhaps give me everything that I did not possess. En vista del despego con que ella me trataba, perdí la confianza; no me atrevía a desplegar los labios en su presencia, y me infundía mucho más respeto que sus padres. |||takeoff||||||I lost|||||dared||to part||||||||instilled|||||| In view of the detachment with which she treated me, I lost confidence; I dared not open my lips in his presence, and he commanded far more respect than his parents.

Entre tanto, yo observaba con atención los indicios del amor que la dominaba. |||||||signs|||||controlled Meanwhile, I watched closely for the signs of the love that overwhelmed her. Cuando él tardaba, yo la veía impaciente y triste; al menor rumor que indicase la aproximación de alguno, se encendía su hermoso semblante, y sus negros ojos brillaban con ansiedad y esperanza. ||was late|||||||||rumor||indicate||||||would light up|||countenance||||||||| When he was late, I saw her impatient and sad; at the slightest sound of the approach of any, his handsome countenance lit up, and his black eyes shone with anxiety and hope. Si él entraba al fin, le era imposible a ella disimular su alegría, y luego se estaban charlando horas y más horas, siempre en presencia de Doña Francisca, pues a mi señorita no se le consentían coloquios a solas ni por las rejas. ||entered||||||||to hide|||||||talking||||||||||||||||||they allowed|conversations||alone||||bars If he finally came in, it was impossible for her to hide her happiness, and then they would chat for hours and hours, always in the presence of Doña Francisca, since my young lady was not allowed to talk alone or behind bars. También había correspondencia larga, y lo peor del caso es que yo era el correo de los dos amantes. ||correspondence||||worst||||||||mail|||| There was also long correspondence, and the worst of it was that I was the courier for the two lovers.

¡Aquello me daba una rabia...! ||||rage That made me angry... Según la consigna, yo salía a la plaza, y allí encontraba, más puntual que un reloj, al señorito Malespina, el cual me daba una esquela para entregarla a mi señorita. According||instructions||||||||||punctual|||clock||young gentleman|||||||note||to deliver it||| According to the slogan, I would go out to the square, and there I would find, more punctual than clockwork, Señorito Malespina, who would give me a obituary to deliver to my lady. Cumplía mi encargo, y ella me daba otra para llevarla a él. I was fulfilling||assignment|||||||to take it|| I fulfilled my order, and she gave me another one to take to him. ¡Cuántas veces sentía tentaciones de quemar aquellas cartas, no llevándolas a su destino! |||temptations||burn||letters||taking them||| How many times was he tempted to burn those letters, not taking them to their destination! Pero por mi suerte, tuve serenidad para dominar tan feo propósito. |||luck||||||| But luckily, I had the serenity to master such an ugly purpose. No necesito decir que yo odiaba a Malespina. |||||hated|| I need not say that I hated Malespina.

Desde que le veía entrar sentía mi sangre enardecida, y siempre que me ordenaba algo, hacíalo con los peores modos posibles, deseoso de significarle mi alto enojo. ||||||||inflamed|||||ordered||do it||the|worst|||eager to||to signify to him||| From the moment I saw him enter, my blood felt inflamed, and whenever he ordered me something, I did it in the worst possible ways, eager to signify my high anger to him. Este despego que a ellos les parecía mala crianza y a mí un arranque de entereza, propio de elevados corazones, me proporcionó algunas reprimendas y, sobre todo, dio origen a una frase de mi señorita, que se me clavó en el corazón como una dolorosa espina. |outburst|||||||upbringing|||||outburst||integrity|||elevated|||provided||reprimands|||||||||||||||stuck||||||painful|thorn This detachment, which to them seemed bad parenting and to me a burst of integrity, typical of lofty hearts, gave me some reprimands and, above all, gave rise to a phrase from my lady, which stuck in my heart like a painful thorn . En cierta ocasión le oí decir: ||||heard| I once heard him say: «Este chico está tan echado a perder, que será preciso mandarle fuera de casa». ||||spoiled||||||to send him||| "This boy is so spoiled, he will have to be sent away from home."

Al fin se fijó el día para la boda, y unos cuantos antes del señalado ocurrió lo que ya conté y el proyecto de mi amo. |||fixed|||||wedding||||||designated|||||I told|||||| At last the day for the wedding was set, and a few days before the appointed day, what I have already told happened and my master's project.

Por esto se comprenderá que Doña Francisca tenía razones poderosas, además de la poca salud de su marido, para impedirle ir a la escuadra. |||will understand||||||powerful||||||||||to prevent him|||| From this it will be understood that Doña Francisca had powerful reasons, in addition to her husband's poor health, to prevent him from going to the squadron.