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Title: Don Francisco de Quevedo
       Drama en Cuatro Actos

Author: Eulogio Florentino Sanz

Editor: R. Selden Rose

Release Date: November 17, 2006 [EBook #19847]

Language: Spanish

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

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                    DON FRANCISCO DE QUEVEDO


                     DRAMA EN CUATRO ACTOS

                              POR

                    EULOGIO FLORENTINO SANZ

                 EDITED BY R. SELDEN ROSE, PH.D.

     INSTRUCTOR IN SPANISH IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

                         GINN AND COMPANY
                BOSTON--NEW YORK--CHICAGO--LONDON
             ATLANTA--DALLAS--COLUMBUS--SAN FRANCISCO
               COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY R. SELDEN ROSE
                       ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
                       =The Athenum Press=
           GINN AND COMPANY--PROPRIETORS--BOSTON--U.S.A.

                 *       *       *       *       *




    PREFACE


The features of "Don Francisco de Quevedo" that led to its selection as
a text for the use of students of the second or even first year are its
historical background, its ease and purity of style, and the sustained
interest of the plot. As regards the chief character, Quevedo, he is in
a large measure the embodiment of the whole literary spirit of the first
half of the seventeenth century and at the same time the champion of
political reform. The play is written in Castilian of such simplicity
that it presents almost no syntactical difficulties, and at the same
time embodies a useful vocabulary. The development of the plot, the
struggle between Olivares and Quevedo, is thoroughly logical and is
aided by scenes so intensely dramatic that they hold the interest of the
reader at all times. Some of these scenes, so characteristic of even the
best plays of the Romantic School, to-day seem to verge on the
melodramatic. For this reason the student should be reminded that the
heroic thunder of this kind of play was most acceptable to the
theater-goers of the middle of the last century. A sense of humor, then,
should temper any critical attitude on the part of those who may be
inclined to take our play's shortcomings or exaggerations too seriously.

The fact that Florentino Sanz is comparatively unknown will justify the
detailed Biographical Sketch.

The text is a careful reproduction of that of the first edition, Madrid,
1848, except, of course, for frequent corrections in punctuation. Only
the important stage directions have been retained; others that in great
profusion specify the facial expression and tone of voice of the actors
have been rejected in many places as more cumbersome than useful.

R.S.R.




    CONTENTS


EULOGIO FLORENTINO SANZ
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
VERSIFICATION
DON FRANCISCO DE QUEVEDO
NOTES
VOCABULARY




              EULOGIO FLORENTINO SANZ

                BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH


The name of Eulogio Florentino Sanz is little known outside of Spain,
where for more than seventy years it has been closely linked with his
chief dramatic achievement, "Don Francisco de Quevedo," and with his
translations from Heine. Now and then the plea that something be done
toward bringing out an edition of his works has found expression but met
with no response. To read his scattered verses it is necessary to search
the pages of that wilderness of papers, dailies, weeklies, monthlies,
and annuals, which appeared in Madrid between 1840 and 1870. Though we
are told that he wrote much, it is none the less true that he published
next to nothing. In 1848, at the age of twenty-seven he was freely
spoken of as one of the most promising of his generation of poets and
dramatists. Vanity and indolence at maturity prevented his fulfilling
the promise.

His boyhood was spent in Arvalo in the province of vila, where he was
born March 11, 1821. The village priest taught him Latin, and later he
may have been a student at the University of Valladolid. Of the years
that passed before he came to Madrid we know little besides a few
anecdotes. According to one of these Sanz paid youthful court to the
daughter of a glazier whose ruin was threatened by lack of business. The
daughter told young Florentino of her father's difficulties in the
course of an evening interview, whereupon the ambitious lover quickly
organized a band of followers and broke all the windows in Arvalo.

Early in February of 1843 he was in Madrid, where he began to write for
the newspapers. Two years later a few poems published in the _Semanario
Pintoresco_, _El Heraldo_, and _La Risa_ won him some recognition. He
now identified himself with the group of romantic poets who held their
meetings in the famous Caf del Prncipe. His sonnet "La Discordia,"
published in the _Semanario Pintoresco_, February, 1843, furnishes
indisputable evidence of his romantic tendencies. In it a waning moon,
fratricide, corpses, "infernal sonrisa," and an agonized mother provide
all the thrills of romantic horror; but it may be wiser to pass over in
silence such outbursts as this.

As a member of a circle which gathered in the Caf del Recreo (1846) he
lived in the very thick of romanticism. Its meetings are thus described:

     At that time there existed in Madrid a club of literary fledglings.
     The majority of the young men who ten years later had won
     conspicuous places in the world of letters gathered there without
     knowing exactly why. The nucleus at the Caf del Recreo had been
     formed by no one, nobody was formally presented, no one of our
     number had been a friend or schoolmate of any one of the others;
     the gathering was there _because it was there_, it existed _because
     it existed_. The company included besides Sanz himself the poets
     Mariano Cazurro, Antonio Trueba, Ventura Ruiz Aguilera, Antonio
     Hurtado, Jos Albuerne, Antonio Arnao, the journalist Eduardo
     Asquerino, the statesman Cnovas, and the dramatist Fernndez y
     Gonzlez.--Jos de Castro y Serrano, _Prlogo_ (pp. ix-x) to "Obras
     de Francisco Zea," Madrid, 1858.

The movements and activities of Sanz in the literary world began to be
chronicled in such papers as the _Fandango_, published by Wencelao
Ayguals de Izco and Francisco Villegas. They speak of him as "our friend
and collaborator." From them we learn that he was occupied in writing
_semblanzas_, or portraits, of the most conspicuous literary lights of
the hour. Though these _semblanzas_ seem to have circulated in
manuscript, they never were printed. Eduardo de Lusto declared[1]
that Sanz was always a presumptuous person and particularly so in 1845.
Lusto wrote a squib, stupid enough to be sure, in which he implies
that the purpose of the _semblanzas_ was to ridicule the pedants.
Lusto enrolled him as private soldier in what he called his "Regiment
of Men of Letters," but it was an unconscious tribute to the ability of
Sanz to admit him even as a private in a regiment whose officers were:
Colonel, Quintana; Majors, Hartzenbusch, Tassara; Captains, Bretn,
Rivas; Lieutenants, Campoamor, Mesonero Romanos, and Fras,--all of whom
have won enduring fame.

On the night of February 1, 1848, "Don Francisco de Quevedo" was
presented in the Teatro del Prncipe. The distinguished actor and poet
Don Julian Romea chose the occasion for a benefit performance. The play
was an instant success. The number of the _Semanario Pintoresco_ which
followed the first performance printed a flattering review:

     The drama "Don Francisco de Quevedo," presented at the Prncipe for
     the benefit of Don Julian Romea, has won for its author, Don
     Eulogio Florentino Sanz, a place of distinction among our
     dramatists. Success in portraying the personage from whom the piece
     takes its name, resourceful stagecraft, daring situations, and a
     versification now serious, now gay, frolicsome or sorrowful, but
     always agreeable, facile, and correct, these are the distinguishing
     features of the play with which Seor Sanz has made himself known
     to the theater-going public. Don Julian Romea gave an able
     interpretation of the part of Don Francisco de Quevedo, Seora Daz
     was excellent as the Infanta Margarita. The rest of the cast
     contributed ably to the success of the drama.

This notice conveys some idea of the striking enthusiasm with which the
piece was received.

In keeping with his literary predilections Sanz had already identified
himself politically with the progressive liberal party.

[Footnote 1: _Imparcial de Madrid_, December 3, 1901.]

In the years immediately preceding the overthrow of the Conservatives
(1845) Sanz gave his services to the progressive liberal cause. In 1849
he was editor of _La Patria_, whose first number appeared on January 2.
It announced a policy of political moderation, but its real purpose was
the most strenuous opposition to the government of the reactionary
conservatives. Sanz was generally believed to be editor-in-chief.
Suddenly on the fourth of January he resigned[2] with no explanation
whatsoever to the subscribers. A little later he appeared on the staff
of _La Vbora, peridico venenoso redactado por los peores literatos de
Espaa, bajo la direccin de nadie_ ("The Viper, a venomous paper,
edited by the worst scribblers in Spain, under the management of
nobody"). The censorship was as crushing as in the days of Larra. Later,
in September, _La Patria_ announced another periodical, _La Stira_,
adding that it was to be under the direction of the editors of the
short-lived _Vbora_. This second attempt also met with disaster. Again
in June of 1851 Sanz resigned from another paper, _El Mundo Nuevo_.

[Footnote 2: Notices of the appearance of this paper and of Sanz's
resignation will be found in _La Gua_ of January 3 and 4, 1849.]

In 1854 the tide turned. The revolution of July found him writing his
second play, "Los Achaques de la Vejez."[3] The conclusion of the last
act had to be postponed while Sanz was taking part in the popular rising
which he had so earnestly sought. While he was waiting for his share of
the rewards of victory the play was produced at the Prncipe on the
evening of October 13. On the fourteenth there appeared in _La Iberia_
the following notice, written probably by his devoted friend Pedro Calvo
Asensio:

     _Los Achaques de la Vejez_. This notable comedy by the gifted and
     well-known author Don Eulogio Florentino Sanz was played

[Footnote 3: The original manuscript of this play is preserved in the
Biblioteca Nacional at Madrid. At the end of Act I appears the date
Junio 13, 1854. At the end of the second Julio 5, 1854, and on the last
sheet Setiembre 25, 1854.]

     last night with brilliant success. At the end of the second act the
     author was called upon the stage, and at the end of the play the
     enthusiasm of the audience grew to such extraordinary proportions
     that Sr. Sanz was again called upon to appear. However, we were
     denied the satisfaction of seeing him, as he had left the theater.
     The actors also were called before the curtain amidst tumultuous
     applause as a just reward for their signal success in the
     presentation of the play. The audience was as we had expected,
     large and select. Our conviction that the management may look
     forward to well-filled houses gives us great satisfaction.

The writing of this play was in a measure Sanz's answer to the challenge
of his enemies and detractors to repeat the success of "Don Francisco de
Quevedo." By this second triumph his fame and reputation were firmly
established. This time the theme is a domestic one developed with even
greater skill than that displayed in the earlier play. As might be
expected, Act I, scene iv, contains a pessimistic and cynical allusion
to the tangled politics that preceded the revolution.

By a royal order of November 11 Sanz was appointed secretary of the
first class to the Spanish legation in Berlin.[4] This appointment he
probably owed to the good offices of his friend Nicomedes Pastor Daz.
Sanz took possession of his new post on the ninth of January, 1855,
after having made the journey from Madrid in the company of Gregorio
Cruzada Villamil. In June he was granted four months' leave of absence
on account of ill health due to the severity of the climate. In August
he was made Commander of the Order of Charles III in recognition of his
distinguished service. His final resignation from the post was received
in November of 1856. He left Berlin for Madrid on February 1, 1857.

[Footnote 4: All the papers relating to Sanz's diplomatic career are
preserved in the Archivo del Ministerio del Estado. They were collected
at the instance of his "widow," who desired that she be accorded a
pension in keeping with the dignity of the posts held by her
distinguished husband. The papers are filed under _Personal Espaol,
Letra S, Ao 1853. Nmero 159. Expediente relativo a Sanz, don Eulogio
Florentino_.]

His only poem surely written in Berlin is the "Epstola a Pedro."[5] It
is a tender tribute to the memory of the poet Enrique Gil, who had died
in Berlin ten years before. Its verses are among the most delicately
beautiful that Sanz ever wrote. The poem opens with an expression of the
longing which Sanz feels for his beloved Spain, and above all for
Madrid:

    Pues recuerda la patria, a los reflejos
    de su distante sol, el desterrado
    como recuerdan su niez los viejos.

[Footnote 5: Pedro is Don Pedro Calvo Asensio, the editor-in-chief of
_La Iberia_, in which the poem first appeared. It was later republished
in 1881 in the "Almanaque de _La Iberia_."]

He stands before the grave of Enrique Gil and mourns for the poet who
died unwept in a foreign land. In deep sincerity of feeling no other
poem of Sanz approaches the "Epstola." Fortunately it has been given to
the public both in Menndez y Pelayo's "Cien Mejores Poesas" and in
"The Oxford Book of Spanish Verse."

These two years of residence in Berlin had a profound effect upon the
temper of Sanz's later verse. It was only natural that his removal from
the turmoil of life in Madrid, with its petty jealousies and quarrels,
literary and political, should exercise a broadening and sobering
influence upon his muse. After this date the flow of idle humorous verse
ceased. Inspired chiefly by the exquisite delicacy of Heine's lyrics, he
set himself to imitation and translation of his German model. It is not
too much to say that all his published verse after this was deeply
tinged with this side of Heine.

In the spring of 1857 he was in Madrid again, enjoying his prestige as a
poet, diplomat, and political writer. His presence at a gathering of
literary men in May to do honor to the memory of the great Quintana was
an event.[6] A week earlier his translation of fifteen of Heine's lyrics
had appeared in the _Museo Universal_ under the caption "Poesa Alemana,
Canciones de Enrique Heine." What a grateful contrast they furnish to
the undisciplined bursts of romantic thunder that he was writing only a
few years before! Sanz had been completely won over to the intense
refinement of emotion and diction of Heine. From this time on, the
expression of gentle melancholy and spiritual sensitiveness dominates
the few poems that he published.

[Footnote 6: Cf. _La Iberia_, May 22, 1857.]

The brief taste of diplomatic life which he had had seems to have put an
end to any really creative activity. A tribute to the memory of the
young poet Francisco Zea, written in May, 1858,[7] contains what is
really his farewell to a life of letters. Therein, after discussing the
pessimistic statement of Larra that in Spain "No se lee porque no se
escribe, y no se escribe porque no se lee," he declares that people in
Spain are writing, but that no one is reading. It is not the fault of
those who write, he continues, and waste the treasures of their youth in
a fruitless struggle. In Spain one must write for pure love of letters,
and unfortunately this is the most platonic of loves. There are few
readers of literature in general, and of lyric poetry almost none. He
resents the intrusion of the latter into the drama, where it is heard
with pleasure by people, comfortably seated in stalls, who in the
morning could not endure Fray Luis de Len or Francisco de la Torre. His
small stock of patience exhausted, Sanz turned to diplomatic life.

[Footnote 7: "Obras En Verso y Prosa de Don Francisco Zea." Madrid, pp.
552, 556.]

On the eleventh of August of 1859 he was appointed Minister to the
Empire of Brazil, and on the same day he was named representative in the
Cortes. A month later he wrote to the Secretary of State to say that he
must resign the post "for reasons which I have had the honor to submit
verbally to your Excellency's consideration." At this time he seems to
have gone into complete retirement, resisting the entreaties of
theater-managers and actors to write again for the stage. In the next
fourteen years he published only a half-dozen or more poems, although
his name appeared in the list of _colaboradores_ of several papers,
among them the _Gaceta Literaria_, _Espaa Literaria_, and _La Amrica_.
Apparently his disillusionment was complete. In the _Versos a Amalia_
(_La Amrica_, Sept. 8, 1858) are these significant lines:

    Sonre de ambicin ante la vana
      Sombra de mi deseo;
    Y al despuntar el sol de mi maana,
    Vi mi horizonte azul (que ya no veo!)...

           *       *       *       *       *

    Yo fu persiguiendo la lmpida estrella
      Que all en lontananza
      Resplandece entre todas; aquella
      Que deslumbra con locos reflejos,
    Que siempre se sigue, que nunca se alcanza.
    Prfida estrella de la esperanza
    Que alumbra slo, slo de lejos!

           *       *       *       *       *

    Yo en la mar busqu la gloria
    Y de all torno sin ella.

In September of 1872 Sanz was drawn from his retreat by an appointment
to Tangier as Minister Plenipotentiary at a salary of 15,000 pesetas
annually. He began his duties in December and continued at his post for
exactly a year. Again he pleaded ill health and was granted two months'
leave of absence. That he did not return immediately to Madrid is clear
from his request of February 12 to be allowed to bring into Cadiz, duty
free, a hundred bottles of wine. Early in January, 1873, his appointment
to Tangier was confirmed by Amadeo. On the establishment of the
republic in February Sanz tendered his resignation, but Castelar himself
refused to accept it. In June he finally left his post at Tangier after
having been appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of
Mexico. As usual he excused himself on the ground of ill health, and his
resignation was accepted in the following September. Sanz certainly
could not complain that his merits were unrecognized. In the decree
appointing him to the post at Tangier his honors are mentioned as _Gran
Cruz de la Real y Distinguida Orden de Carlos III, Orden Civil de Maria
Victoria, Caballero de la nclita de San Juan de Jerusalem, ex Diputado
a Cortes_.

His movements from this time forward are extremely difficult to follow.
In 1878 his name appears in the official list of members of the
_Asociacin de Escritores y Artistas_, and his domicile is given as 45
Calle de Atocha. The men that knew him in the closing years of his life
agree that he dragged out a miserable existence in the utmost poverty,
dependent upon the generosity of his friends. They speak highly of his
moral integrity, deploring at the same time the weakness of character
which prevented his realizing the promise of his early years. He died
April 29, 1881, and was buried in the cemetery of San Lorenzo.




                 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION


When Philip IV became king of Spain in 1621 he inherited a kingdom whose
resources had been recklessly wasted. His father, Philip III, had been
ruled by the most inept of ministers, the Duke of Lerma. Great sums of
money, wrung from the productive lower classes, had been spent to carry
on a fruitless war in the Netherlands, to provide amusement for an idle,
frivolous court, and to fill the pockets of the minister's creatures.
Government was in the hands of a bureaucracy of parasites. The
collective conscience of the governing class had withered and died. The
office-holders in this bureaucracy had come to regard the acquisition of
riches at the expense of the state as one of their official privileges.

If Spain were to maintain her preminent position as the greatest power
in Europe the most radical economic reform was necessary. Stimulus must
be given to the productive activity of the country by relief from
oppressive taxation, and expenditure must be wisely restrained and
administered.

The situation demanded a man of exceptional keenness of vision, great
energy, and absolute integrity. There were not lacking men who foresaw
the disaster that threatened, men who still kept some of that energy and
fearlessness that had made America a Spanish dependency, but such
individuals were silenced as menaces rather than encouraged as helpers.
In Philip himself the mental vigor and physical stamina of the Spanish
Hapsburgs had been greatly diminished. The consanguineous marriages of
his immediate ancestors had weakened the stock. There can be no doubt
that he loved his people in his own pitiful, ineffectual way, but he
was hopelessly weak; lacking in the ability and even the will to rule,
he delegated government to Don Gaspar de Guzmn, Count of Olivares and
soon to be the first Duke of San Lcar.

Here, on the other hand, was a man of undoubted energy and courage. Yet
his weakness was his utter lack of vision and his inability to profit by
the mistakes of his predecessors. He had many a lesson to learn in the
failure of the reigns of Philip II and Philip III; he should have seen
that the reason for the disasters of the former was the continuance of a
hopeless war in the Netherlands for the sake of an ideal of religious
unity which the progress of the sixteenth century had made impossible;
above all he should have realized the economic folly of a system of
taxation and industrial repression that was choking the nation.

Olivares himself was to blame for the initial appearance in the
machinery of the State of only a few vital weaknesses, for at the
beginning of his administration many fatal tendencies were already at
work. But because he failed to check those tendencies he must ever be
the scapegoat. To be sure he signalized his arrival by a few months of
rigid economy, but he did not cut deep enough. He soon realized the
futility of saving where there was nothing to save. Then, either because
he failed to see the source of the evil or because he lacked the
constructive ability to attack it, he went to the extreme of lavish
expenditure. As the situation grew more and more hopeless he temporized,
striving to hide the internal decay beneath a gilded exterior of
ostentatious wealth. As he plunged deeper his critics grew bolder, and
to silence them his rule became more barbarously arbitrary.

Moreover, he found himself face to face with the great Richelieu at the
head of a rich and well-administered France. Under him France was to
become organized and to extend her dominions to her natural physical
boundaries--at the expense of Spain. Olivares ruled Spain from 1621
until 1643, Richelieu ruled France from 1622 until 1642; it was a
life-long duel between the two ministers. Richelieu laid the foundation
for the greatness of Louis XIV, while Olivares made inevitable the
abject impotence of Spain under Charles II.

The culminating disasters began to arrive in 1640 with the rebellion of
Catalonia. The determination of the Catalans in 1626 to grant Philip no
more arbitrary taxes marks the beginning of the revolt that ended with
the entire loss of Catalonia. Olivares could never forget its opposition
to his will. While the Catalans in 1639 were bravely resisting the
entrance of French troops into Roussillon, Santa Coloma, the viceroy of
Olivares, made even more severe his policy of sternness and repression.
The Catalans were to be driven against the French and to be made to
understand by the application of brute force that the welfare of their
particular province was of small importance beside the prosperity of the
kingdom in general. The Spanish soldiers quartered upon them behaved
with such lawlessness that in May of 1640 the population of Barcelona
broke into open rebellion. Santa Coloma was cut down in his attempt to
escape the consequences of his lack of diplomacy and tact. From
Barcelona the revolt soon spread through the entire province. It has
been said that the gentle measures of repression inaugurated by the new
viceroy, the Duke of Cardona, particularly displeased Olivares, who saw
at last what he believed to be his opportunity utterly to crush Catalan
liberty. The answer of the Catalans was to throw themselves into the
hands of the French and Richelieu, by seeking foreign aid against
Castile.

In September 1640 an army under the Marqus de los Vlez was sent north
to straighten out the tangled affairs of Catalonia. At first he was
successful, but in January 1641 he was beaten back from Barcelona itself
after a bloody defeat at the hands of the local soldiery.

To make sure of French aid the rebels offered their allegiance to Louis
XIII of France, and the revolt was kept alive with French money and
soldiers, while Philip's armies were invariably defeated.

To complete our picture of the political situation we must turn for a
moment to Portugal. There reluctant allegiance to the Spanish crown had
already been severely strained during the previous reign by the
high-handed procedure of Lerma, the favorite of Philip III. Portuguese
administrative offices had been filled in Madrid, and the country was
inconsiderately taxed to maintain Castilian sovereignty. Under Philip IV
the regent of the kingdom was Doa Margarita, Duchess of Mantua and
granddaughter of Philip II.[8] While she was ostensibly in control of
the difficult Portuguese situation, the real ruler was Don Miguel
Vasconcellos, a Portuguese of scant ability and bloodthirsty instincts;
he was kept in command by Olivares dictating from Madrid. The
announcement of Vasconcellos to the nation that it was the intention of
Olivares to remove the last vestige of constitutional rule in Portugal
by the suppression of the Portuguese Cortes drove the patriots to rally
about the Duke of Braganza. A well-planned conspiracy was set on foot to
place Braganza on the throne of Portugal and thus to rid the country
forever of the hated Castilian sovereignty.

[Footnote 8: Philip II had married his daughter, the infanta Catalina,
to Charles Emmanuel of Savoy.]

After the failure of all his attempts to bring Braganza to Madrid,
Olivares tried desperately to win his favor by apparently putting the
fate of Portugal entirely in his hands. It was a fatal course. Olivares
sent him large sums of money to raise troops to keep the Portuguese
situation in control and help in the repression of the Catalans; then he
put Braganza at the head of them.

In November of 1640 Braganza proclaimed himself king. The regent
Margaret was imprisoned. Vasconcellos was killed by the mob.

The news was received in Madrid with the deepest dismay. Pellicer[9]
wrote: "These announcements should be written with blood, and deserve to
be wept over rather than written, for they contain nothing less than the
rebellion of Portugal and the coronation of Don Juan, whom they call
Juan IV, the Duke of Braganza." It is commonly stated that Olivares
announced the news of the rebellion to Philip by congratulating him upon
the opportunity thus offered to seize the property of Braganza.

[Footnote 9: _Avisos de 11 de Diciembre de 1640._]

To add to the troubles in Portugal and Catalonia just described, a plot
by the Duke of Medina Sidonia to make himself independent sovereign of
Andalusia was discovered only just in time to prevent a serious rising.

The advisability of Philip's putting himself in person at the head of
the troops in the north had long been the subject of earnest and bitter
discussion between Olivares and his enemies. The latter had urged upon
Philip the necessity of seeing with his own eyes the pass to which
matters had been brought by the ineptitude and recklessness of his
minister. This could best be accomplished by a visit of inspection to
the revolted provinces. Moreover, with Philip and Olivares away from the
capital the queen and those of the nobility who were working for the
downfall of Olivares could proceed with a freer hand.

When once the royal party had left, Doa Isabel set about her task with
true nobility and great energy. She was almost heroic in her efforts to
encourage and inspire with loyalty to the crown the troops garrisoned in
Madrid. She even sold her jewels to raise money for the campaign in
Aragon.

Philip, meanwhile, was traveling slowly northward with great pomp and
ceremony. Olivares was straining every nerve to prevent the king's
realizing the desperateness of the situation. The monarch was denied to
all visitors, and his attention was distracted by elaborate hunting
expeditions. As he progressed toward Aragon, the French, moving
southward, occupied Monzn.

December of 1642 found Philip again in Madrid. Portugal was hopelessly
lost, Roussillon was in the hands of the French, while Catalonia and
Aragon were in open revolt. Briefly sketched, this was the political
situation at the opening of our play.

       *       *       *       *       *

While Spain was at this time economically bankrupt, the reigns of Philip
III and Philip IV comprise nevertheless the most brilliant decades of
the Golden Century. These are the years that are marked by the greatest
literary activity of Lope de Vega, Cervantes, and Quevedo. Lope had made
the theater national and had prepared the way for the romantic genius of
Caldern, while a throng of lesser lights, such as Tirso de Molina and
Juan Ruiz de Alarcn, were delighting the capital with plays in great
profusion. For all this a great stimulus had come from the
theater-loving Philip III, who lavished money without stint upon the
gorgeous production of comedies, pageants, and masques.

Cervantes had shown the way to the novelists. In prose fiction true
characterization had developed to keep pace with extensive and elaborate
narrative elements. At the same time the outburst of lyric poetry was no
less striking. The ability to write verse had become truly a necessary
qualification for social success and even for political advancement.
Great magnates surrounded themselves with a retinue of poets and men of
letters who depended upon them for their support.

Don Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas, the central figure of our play, was
one of the greatest personalities in this brilliant court. He was born
in 1580. At barely twenty he left the University of Alcal and plunged
immediately into the life of the magnificently corrupt court of Philip
III at Valladolid. When the capital was moved to Madrid in 1606 he had
already won fame as a poet. The manuscripts of his satirical writings
in prose and verse were eagerly sought and widely read. His thrusts were
aimed at the ridiculous aspects of court life. His own indulgence in a
career of thorough dissipation filled him with contempt for his wretched
companions. Intimate association with men in high positions reached by
either noble birth or corrupt influence made him familiar with the vices
of Philip's government and with the ineffectiveness of the Spanish
bureaucratic administration. In his "Sueos" (Visions) he satirized
unsparingly men from all the walks of life. His attacks were at times
mocking jeers at human weaknesses and at others outbursts of desperate
fury against current injustice and stupidity.

After a short period of retirement from the capital he became the firm
friend of Don Pedro Tllez Girn, Duke of Osuna, who had been named
viceroy of Sicily in 1610. The uncommonly strong bond of friendship
between these two men was founded upon mutual admiration of common
qualities of fearlessness and red-blooded dash and spirit. In 1616
Quevedo followed Osuna to Naples, where he was of great service to him
as adviser and confidential emissary. These years of semi-official
activity brought Quevedo into the very midst of the tangle of politics
involving France, Italy, and Spain, and above all into the bog of
bureaucratic corruption. Osuna's business in Madrid with the prime
minister, Lerma, was managed by Quevedo. Now Lerma and his creatures
were amenable to reason only when accompanied by bribes. Access to him
was denied to all who brought no gifts. Quevedo's disgust at these
methods was boundless, but there was no avoiding them.[10] In
recognition of his distinguished services Quevedo was made a knight of
the order of St. James in 1618.[11]

[Footnote 10: No less a person than the Attorney General wrote to Osuna
of a prominent person at court, "Your Excellency may be quite sure of M.
He wants a carpet; send him two, and pray God that some one else does
not give him three."]

[Footnote 11: In the play there is a trifling anachronism according to
which we are to believe that in 1643 Quevedo had not yet received this
honor.]

In 1620 Osuna came to Madrid to answer the charge of having conspired to
make himself independent viceroy of Naples. On his arrival he was thrown
into prison, while Quevedo was held in custody at a distance from
Madrid. Osuna died in 1624 before his guilt or innocence could be
clearly proved. Quevedo afterward fought to clear his protector's name.
At least he has secured his fame to posterity by the famous sonnet,

    Faltar pudo su patria al grande Osuna,
    Pero no a su defensa sus hazaas;
    Dironle muerte y carcel las Espaas,
    De quien el hizo esclava la Fortuna.
    Lloraron sus invidias una a una
    Con las propias naciones las extraas;
    Su tumba son de Flandes las campaas,
    Y su epitafio la sangrienta luna.

       *       *       *       *       *

While Quevedo was enduring his enforced retirement Philip III died
(March, 1621) and was succeeded by his son Philip IV. Uceda, the
former's minister, was sent to follow his father Lerma into retirement
and disgrace. Olivares, who had already won the confidence of young
Philip, was installed as prime minister.

Superficial reforms by which Olivares signalized his arrival momentarily
led Quevedo to hope for better things. He wrote to celebrate the wisdom
of the new minister and to assure him of his loyalty. He was soon at
liberty to enjoy the fame and wholesome respect that his political
prominence and keen satire had won him. His enemies were numerous, but
they dared not attack him. Olivares himself courted Quevedo, but the
latter, grown discreet for the moment, lent his ear and not his heart:
he could not give himself to a minister who was already beginning to
show his unwillingness to go to the root of the evils that were ruining
the country.

During these years of comparative political inactivity Quevedo had
greater opportunity to study the vicious standards of living that stain
this period of Spanish history. His writings are full of the scathing
irony of his youth on the one hand, or of passionate religious fervor on
the other. At other moments he indulges his tendency to seek refuge and
comfort in the gentle stoicism of Seneca.

His reckless slurs on women did not prevent his taking a wife in 1633.
Perhaps Doa Esperanza de Aragn possessed the qualities that Quevedo
had flippantly demanded:

     Noble, virtuous, and of good understanding, neither ugly nor
     beautiful; of these two extremes I prefer her beautiful, because it
     is better to have something to guard than some one to flee from.
     Neither rich nor poor, that she may not be buying me, nor I her. I
     desire her cheerful, for in our daily life we shall not lack for
     gloom. I wish her neither a young girl nor an old woman, cradle nor
     coffin, because I have forgotten my lullabies and not yet learned
     the prayers for the dying. I should thank God infinitely if she
     were deaf and a stammerer. But after all I shall esteem a woman
     such as I desire _y sabr sufrir la que fuere como yo la merezco_.

Their married life was cut short by the death of Doa Esperanza in the
middle of the following year.

There can be no doubt of Quevedo's thinly-veiled distrust of the
administration of Olivares during these years, nor that he foresaw the
impending catastrophe. The campaign which he was now carrying on against
the favorite drew upon him not only the fear but the hatred of Olivares.
Philip himself was blind to the state of the peninsula, thanks to
Olivares' successful efforts to keep him amused.

Finally one day early in December of 1639 Philip found in his napkin a
petition in verse. It contained an eloquent description of the wretched
condition of the country and a bitter arraignment of Olivares. Every
circumstance pointed to Quevedo as the author. On the seventh of
December he was arrested and his papers were confiscated. His
disappearance was so sudden and complete that it was generally believed
that he had been summarily done to death, but in reality he had been
rushed to a dungeon in the monastery of San Marcos just outside the
walls of the city of Len. Here he received treatment probably intended
to cause his death, for he wrote to his friend Adn de la Parra:

     Although at first I had a tower of this holy dwelling for my
     prison... within a short time I was brought to another a great deal
     more comfortless. There I remain. It is nothing more than an
     underground room, as damp as a spring, so dark that it is almost
     always night in it, and so cold that it never ceases to seem
     January. Clear enough! they that take pleasure in seeing me suffer
     do not wish to cut once for all that which they must finally cut,
     but they wish rather that the frequency of their blows may make my
     martyrdom more painful by its longer continuance; for thus their
     satisfaction gains in length.

     The tomb where I am buried alive is barely twenty-four feet long
     and nineteen wide. The vault and walls are in many places crumbling
     with dampness, and everything is so miserable that it appears
     rather the refuge of outlaw robbers than the prison of an honest
     man.

     To enter it one must pass through two doors equally strong. One is
     at the level of the monastery floor and the other at the level of
     my cell, after twenty-eight steps that have the look of a
     precipice. Both are always closed except at moments when, more by
     courtesy than through confidence, they leave one open but the other
     doubly guarded.

     In the middle of the room there stands a table where I am writing.
     It is large enough to permit of thirty or more books, with which my
     holy brothers keep me provided. At the right (to the south) I have
     my neither very comfortable nor extremely wretched bed.


     The furniture of this miserable habitation consists of four chairs,
     a brasier, and a lamp. There is always noise enough, for the sound
     of my fetters drowns other greater ones, if not by its volume, by
     its pitifulness.... Not long ago I had two pairs, but one of the
     monks obtained permission to leave me with only one pair. Those
     that I am wearing now weigh about eight or nine pounds; the ones
     they took off were much heavier.... Such is the life to which I
     have been reduced by him who because I would not be his favorite is
     to-day my enemy.

He endured his confinement with fortitude, sustained by the conviction
that he had given his best for the cause of justice.

The series of disasters that ultimately caused the fall of Olivares on
January 23, 1643, has been discussed in another part of this
introduction. Quevedo's release followed in June, but the iron had
already entered his soul. A little more than two weeks before his death
he wrote to his friend Francisco de Oviedo in a tone of profound
discouragement:

     They write bad news from everywhere, desperate news; and the worst
     of it is that every one expected it. All this, Don Francisco, I
     know not if it be drawing to its close or if it be already ended.
     God knows, for there are many things which, though they seem to
     exist and to have being, are no longer more than a word and a form.

He died at the age of sixty-five on September 8, 1645, at Villanueva de
los Infantes.

Even the bare enumeration of the more important events of Quevedo's life
suggests his eager activity. This characteristic is the most striking
feature of his style. An idea is no sooner suggested than it is left
undeveloped to make way for another, set down often in a sentence which
in its turn is without a satisfactory conclusion; or the expression of
it is so condensed that we marvel at its retaining any lucidity. Many of
his earlier writings are little more than a series of sketches that
appear to have been written with feverish impatience but at the same
time with great penetration. In his satirical verses there is a world of
double meanings and allusions that leaves the reader's mind dizzy. The
variety of his works is great. His facile creative brain passed from a
ribald ballad or _letrilla_ to a life of St. Francis de Sales or a
treatise on Divine Providence. But through them all one can discern the
motif of patriotism in the form of virulent satire against the vices
that were gnawing at the life of the nation, or of a fervent plea for
better standards in public and private life. When he felt the impotence
of his rage or the fruitlessness of his pleas he turned earnestly and
longingly to his cherished Seneca. But even in this frame of mind we
cannot help feeling that there is something intensely passionate in his
very patience. He gave his best years to the battle against national
decay. Perhaps it is not too much to say that he died of disappointment
and disgust.

Quevedo's life, then, is by no means devoid of aspects that would appeal
strongly to a romantic poet like Florentino Sanz. The most striking
feature, of course, is his struggle with Olivares, followed by apparent
defeat and imprisonment at San Marcos de Len, which in reality meant a
moral victory in the face of persecution. This in itself was an ideal
situation to call forth the heroics of a romantic poet. Furthermore,
Quevedo could properly complain that he had been misunderstood. He was
giving himself to a great cause while many of his contemporaries
recognized only the superficial wit or the obscenity of his satire. His
proud scorn of stupidity and all mediocrity was easily susceptible of a
romantic twist into a lofty contempt for the miserable human creatures
that drag out their darkened groveling lives. To make the play an
unqualified success it was necessary that Quevedo succumb to the gentle
passion, although in reality Quevedo's stern heart had little room for
it. There can be no denying his cynical disbelief in feminine virtue.
Associations of his own choice gave him little opportunity for illusions
on that score. To be sure, he married at fifty-two, but circumstances
lead us to doubt his happiness. Quevedo in love is thorny ground for
any author. It is difficult to understand how Sanz succeeded in making
this innovation as plausible as it is. It is his surrender to virtues so
sterling as those of Margarita de Saboya that saves him from being
ridiculous. Perhaps one may be pardoned for a furtive smile at the
implication that Quevedo must depart to mope in his tower, while
Margarita, herself a widow, pines in the convent.

The name Quevedo has come to connote vaguely a personage of achievements
as fabulous as those of Robin Hood. His undoubted skill as a swordsman
has made him the hero of a thousand nocturnal escapades. His proverbial
wit has forced upon him the responsibility for doubtful puns and
innumerable bits of repartee. Unfortunately this is true to such a
degree that to the uninitiated Quevedo is little more than a buffoon or
a swaggering swordsman. It is easy to see that in his play Sanz intended
to combat this mistaken conception. When it was first presented in 1848
there existed no authoritative and accessible edition of Quevedo's
works[12] where he could be adequately studied and a fair estimate of
him made. Such works of his as were spread broad-cast were usually the
more objectionable excerpts from his less creditable works. They
appeared in wretched volumes bearing a close resemblance to some that
are published even now under such titles as "Quevedo, His Wittiest
Prose, His Funniest Verses." Sanz felt the injustice deeply and set
about its correction.

[Footnote 12: The first volume of Fernndez-Guerra's splendid edition
appeared in 1852.]

Those who knew Sanz personally[13] have been left with the clear
impression that through the medium of Quevedo, Sanz poured forth his
invective against those that refused to recognize his own ability.

[Footnote 13: I speak especially of Don Juan Perez de Guzman and Don
Julio Nombela, both of whom have been kind enough to give me all the
data at their disposal.]

There can be no doubt that the ultimate source, or rather the
inspiration, of the play was the appeal to Sanz of the personality of
Quevedo. There are other more tangible sources that may be briefly
indicated. An important element in the plot is Queen Isabel's struggle
to obtain from Olivares a certain letter which had been written in blood
by the Conde de Villamediana and which would prove her fidelity to her
husband, Philip. The existence of such a valuable document is pure
invention. Villamediana's contemporaries are unanimous in saying that
after being stabbed he died almost instantly and that his only words
were "Esto es hecho." The romantic circumstances of Villamediana's
attachment to the queen had been rehearsed to the public only a few
years before the production of "Don Francisco de Quevedo." In 1841 the
Duke of Rivas had published his four ballads, "Los Toros," "Las Mscaras
y Caas," "El Sarao," and "Final," under the title "El Conde de
Villamediana." The affair then would be fresh in the minds of Sanz and
his public. Don Juan de Tassis y Peralta, Count of Villamediana, was
born in Lisbon in 1580, and was brought up in the court of Philip III.
In 1614 he served in Italy, and the end of 1618 found him again in
Madrid, where he lived magnificently, indulging freely his tastes for
paintings, jewels, and horses. His satirical pen, attacking even the
Duke of Lerma and the royal confessor, Fray Luis de Aliaga, was the
cause of his exile from Madrid in 1618. At the accession of Philip IV he
was recalled to Madrid and made a gentleman in waiting to the queen.
Fallen ministers and the favorites of Philip III continued to be marks
for his attacks. Olivares, the enemy of Villamediana and Doa Isabel,
probably brought his libels to the attention of Philip. On August 21,
1622, as Villamediana was driving through the Calle Mayor, a man halted
his coach, and, as the count was descending, ran him through the heart.
The gossips of Madrid attributed the murder to Olivares, giving as his
motive his hatred and fear of Villamediana. Others laid the blame upon
Philip, whose jealousy had been aroused, they said, by Villamediana's
marked attentions to Doa Isabel.

Further historical material for the play Sanz took from two arraignments
of the administration of Olivares published by Valladares. The use of
these sources by Sanz will be pointed out as briefly as possible. The
circumstances of the imprisonment of Doa Margarita in Ocaa, her flight
to Madrid, and her subsequent treatment at the hands of Olivares are
presented in detail in the "Cada de su Privanza y Muerte del
Conde-Duque de Olivares, Gran Privado del Seor Rey Don Felipe IV, el
Grande, con los motivos y no imaginada disposicin de dicha Cada,"[14]
and in the "Memorial de Don Francisco de Quevedo contra el Conde-Duque
de Olivares. Dado al Rey Don Felipe Quarto."[15] According to the
account in the latter she had received no reply to her complaints
against the evil conduct of Vasconcellos and the suicidal policy of
Olivares toward the Duke of Braganza.[16]

[Footnote 14: _Sem. Erud._, III, pp. 1-62.]

[Footnote 15: Ibid., XV, pp. 215-245.]

[Footnote 16: It should be noted here that Quevedo's journey to Lisbon
to bring back the proofs of Margarita's story is an ingenious fiction
concocted by Sanz. In reality Quevedo was a prisoner in San Marcos de
Len.]

The interview between Olivares and the queen about the establishment of
the young Prince of the Asturias in separate apartments with an
independent household (Act II, scene ii) was evidently taken from the
"Memorial" (p. 214) and from the "Cada" (p. 49). Says Philip, "And why,
Conde-Duque, would he not be better off in the apartment that you
yourself occupy? It is especially for the firstborn of the king, and is
the one in which my father and myself were when we were princes." There
also is mentioned the removal of the Count of Lemos, the Marquis of
Castel Rodrigo, and Don Fernando de Borja from the palace.

In Act III, scene ii, Margarita laments the loss of Spanish possessions
through the ineptitude of Olivares:

                por l perdimos
    a Esthin, Wiranzan y Dola,
    y a ms las Islas Terceras,
    y el Ducado de Borgoa
    y el Brasil y el Roselln,
    y Ormuz, Pernambuco y Hoa;
    y no ha mucho Portugal...

The same catalogue of losses, even to the peculiar spelling of Hesdin
and Bisanzn (Besanon), appears in the "Cada."

The intensely dramatic episode of the presentation of the golden cup to
Olivares as a memorial from Philip is founded upon fact. Pellicer's
_Avisos_ contain even the detail of the note.[17] There too is the
account of the ceremonial at the first presentation.

[Footnote 17: V de Junio de 1639; _Sem. Erud._, XXXI, p. 25.]




                      VERSIFICATION


The meters used by Sanz in Don Francisco de Quevedo are the following:

_Redondilla_, strophe of four eight-syllable or seven-syllable verses,
riming _abba_.

_Romance_, eight-syllable or seven-syllable verses, indefinite in
number, with even lines in assonance.

_Romance Heroico_ or _Real_, romance of eleven-syllable verses.

_Quintilla_, strophe of five eight-syllable verses with but two rimes.
Of the possible combinations we have only _abaab_.

_Cuarteto_, strophe of four eleven-syllable verses rimed _abba_.

_Cuarteta_, strophe of four eight-syllable verses rimed _abab_.

_Silva_, eleven-syllable and seven-syllable verses, mixed with wide
liberty. There is wide liberty in the use of rime as well.




    SCHEME OF METERS


Verses 1-124     Redondillas
Verses 125-226   Romance
Verses 227-246   Quintillas
Verses 247-626   Redondillas
Verses 627-804   Romance
Verses 805-1276  Redondillas
Verses 1277-1292 Cuartetos
Verses 1293-1352 Romance
Verses 1353-1368 Redondillas
Verses 1369-1644 Romance
Verses 1645-1768 Redondillas
Verses 1769-1838 Quintillas
Verses 1839-1866 Romance
Verses 1867-1876 Quintillas
Verses 1877-1912 Romance
Verses 1913-2079 Silva
Verses 2080-2323 Redondillas
Verses 2324-2423 Romance
Verses 2424-2643 Redondillas
Verses 2644-2728 Quintillas
Verses 2729-2806 Romance Real
Verses 2807-2876 Quintillas
Verses 2877-2880 Cuarteta
Verses 2881-2910 Redondillas
Verses 2911-2914 Cuarteta
Verses 2915-2950 Redondillas
Verses 2951-3020 Quintillas
Verses 3021-3060 Redondillas

       *       *       *       *       *




                       DON FRANCISCO DE QUEVEDO

                        DRAMA EN CUATRO ACTOS

    PERSONAJES


DON FRANCISCO DE QUEVEDO
MARGARITA DE SABOYA
LA REINA
EL CONDE-DUQUE DE OLIVARES
DOA INS
DON JUAN DE CASTILLA
DON PABLO MENDAA
MEDINA
EL MARQUS DE LA GRANA
UN CAPITN
UN ALCALDE DE CASA Y CORTE
UN UJIER

Ronda de capa, guardias, damas, meninas, caballeros, pajes, etc.

La escena en Madrid, ao de 1643




ACTO I

Noche.--Una plazuela que se supone ser la de San Martn, conforme estaba
en la poca del drama. A la izquierda, en primer trmino, la fachada y
gradera del templo; en segundo, una calle, y otra en el fondo, que
parte casi en la misma direccin. A la derecha, en segundo trmino, otra
calle que cae en frente de la de la izquierda; en primero, una casa con
puerta y balcn practicables, y delante de la casa una imagen en su
nicho sobre la pared, alumbrada por un farolillo, nica luz que hay en
la escena.


ESCENA PRIMERA

MENDAA, CASTILLA, GRANA, que al levantarse el teln aparecen mirando
con curiosidad a varias damas, que a su espalda se dirigen hacia el
templo, todas con el velo levantado. Con las damas se vern tambin
algunos caballeros

CASTILLA

Todas sin manto!

MENDAA

                Mejor.

CASTILLA

No digis eso, Mendaa;
siempre el manto fu en Espaa...

MENDAA

Tapa-enredijos de amor.

GRANA

Si antes fueron permitidos                                             5
los velos...

CASTILLA

            Sigan como antes
para bien de los amantes...

MENDAA

Para mal de los maridos.

GRANA

Vos, por lo visto, don Pablo,
dado sois al matrimonio.                                              10

MENDAA

No dir que no.

CASTILLA

            Demonio!

MENDAA

Ni dir que s.

CASTILLA

          Pues diablo!...
Diris... qu s yo!

MENDAA

                Quien forme
otros juicios mucho yerra;
que al fin y al cabo, en la tierra                                    15
todo es... segn y conforme.

GRANA

Ah! ya...

CASTILLA

          No os entiendo an.

MENDAA

Todo en el mundo es mejor.

GRANA

Todo, decs?

MENDAA

          S, seor;
todo, conforme y segn.                                               20

GRANA

De lo que decs infiero...

MENDAA

Que es mejor vivir casado.

CASTILLA

Mas yo en limpio habr sacado...

MENDAA

Que es mejor vivir soltero.

GRANA

Gran sentencia!

CASTILLA

            Gran sandez!                                             25

GRANA

Tal razn me deja mudo.
Siendo viudo...

MENDAA

            Ah! para el viudo
lo mejor es la viudez.

GRANA (rindose)

Profunda filosofa!...

MENDAA

Por profunda y verdadera                                              30
es mejor que otra cualquiera.

CASTILLA

Si la cede en mejora.

MENDAA

Es verdad!

CASTILLA

            Tenis razn.
Voto a veinticinco santos!...
Pero volviendo a los mantos,                                          35
que es aqu nuestra cuestin...

GRANA

Nadie a comprenderlo acierta.
Cual si fuesen a sus bodas,
andan hoy las damas todas
con la cara descubierta.                                              40

MENDAA

Es que el rey lo manda as.

CASTILLA

Mas por qu lo manda el rey?

MENDAA

Yo no interpreto su ley.

CASTILLA

Corren voces por ah...
Lo dir pronto y clarito:                                             45
esa injusta ley...

MENDAA

              Prudencia!
Su majestad...

CASTILLA

              Su excelencia...

MENDAA

Dila el rey...

CASTILLA

              No; el favorito.

MENDAA

Es lo propio, segn creo.

CASTILLA

S... Olivares...

MENDAA

                Gran seor!                                          50

CASTILLA

Pues, os protege...

MENDAA

                Mejor.

CASTILLA

Eso s que es mejoreo.
Pero, volviendo a Olivares,
l, que al soberano engaa,
le arranc ley tan extraa                                            55
por fines particulares.

MENDAA

Es un falso testimonio.

CASTILLA

No; tan ridcula ley...

MENDAA

Dila en servicio del rey.

CASTILLA

O en servicio del demonio.                                            60
No conspiran las tapadas;
y es esa ley singular.

MENDAA (con calor)

La mejor... para evitar
enredos y cuchilladas.

CASTILLA (colrico)

Vive Dios!...



ESCENA II

Dichos, QUEVEDO

QUEVEDO (entrando por la derecha)

                    Paz, caballeros;                                  65
no haya duelo ni quebranto,
ni en noche de Jueves Santo
se ensangrienten los aceros.

GRANA

Noble cisne de Madrid!

QUEVEDO

Cisne pues!... El de Guzmn                                          70
dice que soy alcotn.

GRANA

Oh, venid ac, venid!
Qu hay de nuevo por la corte?

QUEVEDO

Por Madrid?

GRANA

          No; por palacio.

QUEVEDO

No s nada.

GRANA

        Qu rehacio!                                                 75

QUEVEDO

Nada que a nadie le importe;
pero cuando aqu llegu,
percib en frases cortadas
no s qu de cuchilladas...

CASTILLA

Conque osteis?...

QUEVEDO

                No s qu.                                            80

GRANA

Eran Castilla y Mendaa
disputando con calor
que esa ley...

MENDAA

            Es la mejor.

CASTILLA

La peor que hubo en Espaa.

QUEVEDO

Cmo! Hablis sobre los mantos?                                     85
Eso es andar por las ramas.

CASTILLA

Tal rigor contra las damas...

QUEVEDO

Nos descubre sus encantos.
No os paris en frioleras.
Tal negocio no es de rey                                              90
ni de ministro... Esa ley
es cuestin de costureras.
Leyes de tan ruin vala
no son de gobierno, a fe;
son leyes no ms...

CASTILLA

                De qu?                                              95

QUEVEDO

Leyes... de guardarropa.

GRANA

Bien dicho, bien!... Pero ya
ruido en el templo se siente.
Las tinieblas...

MENDAA

            Ciertamente.
Vamos, seores, all.                                                100

QUEVEDO

Vamos, pues.

CASTILLA (aparte)

            Quevedo, od.



ESCENA III

QUEVEDO y CASTILLA, que le detiene cuando se diriga al templo

QUEVEDO

Qu es lo que tanto os agita?

CASTILLA

Oh! La infanta Margarita
vino ayer tarde a Madrid.

QUEVEDO

Pero entonces dnde est?                                           105
En palacio no.

CASTILLA

            Lo s.
Donde Olivares est
nunca la infanta cabr.

QUEVEDO

Mas quin vino en su compaa?

CASTILLA

Sola de Ocaa se huy;                                               110
y sabis por qu?... Por no
morirse de hambre en Ocaa.

QUEVEDO

Es imposible.

CASTILLA

              Por Cristo
yo os juro que vino ayer,
y que entr al anochecer,                                            115
y que mis ojos la han visto.

QUEVEDO

Equivocacin, don Juan.

CASTILLA

Yo s bien que se halla aqu;
pero tengo para m
que otros tambin lo sabrn.                                         120
Olivares vive alerta;
teme que aborten sus tramas...
Tal vez... Quin sabe?... Hoy las damas
van con la faz descubierta.      (Entra en el templo)


ESCENA IV

QUEVEDO

Ella es, sin duda... Castilla                                        125
dice que se huy de Ocaa...
Cierto: ayer entr en la corte,
y hoy me dirige esta carta.
Dimela con tal misterio
aquel hombre de la capa...                                           130
Ni se descubri el embozo
ni me dijo una palabra.
De ella es, sin duda... Imposible...
No; la duquesa de Mantua,
del gran Felipe Segundo                                              135
nieta, del rey prima hermana,
la que en Portugal virreina
fu tambin; la ilustre infanta
Margarita de Saboya...
No, no puede ser la dama                                             140
que me escribe... Sin embargo,
ella es hoy bien desgraciada...
Y aun as yo... qu podra
para endulzar su desgracia?
El pensarlo fu quimera...                                           145
Mas de quin es esta carta?
De quin?... Cuanto ms la leo
menos mi mente lo alcanza.      (Leyendo a la luz del farol)

     Una dama ilustre a quien vos conocis y que os estima en mucho, ha
     menester hablaros esta misma noche. Estad en San Martn y la veris
     al fin de las tinieblas. A pesar de la prohibicin de los velos ir
     rebozada y encubierta, porque le importa no ser de nadie conocida;
     y porque vos la conozcis su nombre os dir ella misma. Adis.

(Durante la lectura de la carta MEDINA se asoma al balcn, y despus de
observar a QUEVEDO, desaparece)

Su nombre... su nombre... Cierto...
Margarita... S, la infanta...                                       150
Ella en Madrid! Oh! Castilla
dice que se huy de Ocaa...
S... ya sabr el conde-duque
su venida... y para hallarla
mand que desde hoy sin velo                                         155
anden por Madrid las damas.
Cunto la aborrece ese hombre!...      (Mira la carta)


ESCENA V

QUEVEDO y MENDAA, que sale del templo

MENDAA

Quevedo... Mas calla, calla!
Componis versos? Por vida!...
Vamos, ya entiendo... Una stira!                                   160
Ah mejor, mejor!

QUEVEDO

                  (Imbcil!)

MENDAA

Llenos estarn de gracia
picante... Vamos, leedme.

QUEVEDO

No me buscabais, Mendaa?

MENDAA

Ciertamente; las tinieblas                                           165
dieron principio, y La Grana,
Castilla y dems amigos,
notando vuestra tardanza...

QUEVEDO

Vamos, pues.

MENDAA

              S; mas primero
leedme...

QUEVEDO

              Ved que me aguardan.                                   170

MENDAA

Bien; pero despus...

QUEVEDO

                          Despus...
      (Dirigindose al templo y con conviccin)
(Es la duquesa de Mantua.)


ESCENA VI

OLIVARES, que ha estado en la esquina de la derecha y con el embozo a la
cara durante la escena anterior; despus MEDINA

OLIVARES

Gracias a Dios que me dejan
libre un momento la plaza.
      (Llamando a la casa de la derecha)
Medina!

MEDINA (saliendo)

          Seor?

OLIVARES

                      La hora                                        175
llega.

MEDINA

        La espero con ansia.

OLIVARES

Los has conocido?

MEDINA

                    A todos.

OLIVARES

Qu hablaron?

MEDINA

                Con la distancia
no he conseguido cazarles
ni siquiera una palabra.                                             180

OLIVARES

Bien, poco importa. Quevedo...

MEDINA

Leyendo estuvo la carta.

OLIVARES

Ser la misma?

MEDINA

                  Sin duda.
No habr conocido nada.
Luego que vos la lesteis,                                           185
volv de nuevo a cerrarla,
y al punto se la entregaron
como si estuviese intacta.
Oh! Con tan buenos espas...
no hay que interceptar las cartas,                                   190
cuando l mismo que las lleva
se encarga de interceptarlas.

OLIVARES

Est bien. Cuando del templo
la dama del manto salga...
ya lo sabes.

MEDINA

              Ciertamente.                                           195
Mas si alguno la acompaa...

OLIVARES

La sigues y...

MEDINA

                  Ya, ya entiendo:
en cualquier calle excusada...

OLIVARES

Discrecin y mano firme.

MEDINA

Podis rezar por su alma.                                            200

OLIVARES

Golpe seguro.

MEDINA

               Seguro
lo llev Villamediana.

OLIVARES

Pero aun pudo en su agona
escribir cuatro palabras
con su propia sangre, y pudo                                         205
perdernos.

MEDINA

        Pero a Dios gracias,
el escrito a vuestras manos
fu derecho y...

OLIVARES

                    No fu mala
suerte el que yo aquella noche
como un alcalde rondara                                              210
cuando se hall su cadver
tendido junto a las tapias,
cerrando el papel sangriento
entre sus manos crispadas.

MEDINA

Pero nunca me habis dicho                                           215
lo que en l Villamediana
escribi al morir.

OLIVARES

                    Medina,
eso ya no importa nada;
lo que importa es que esta noche
no escriba tambin la dama...                                        220

MEDINA

No dir: Jess!

OLIVARES

                  Confo...

MEDINA

Podis tener confianza.

OLIVARES

Pues a palacio en seguida;
mira que aguardo con ansia.

MEDINA

Grande es, sin duda, el servicio...                                  225

OLIVARES

No ser menor la paga.
      (MEDINA a una sea de OLIVARES saluda
       y entra en la casa)


ESCENA VII

OLIVARES

Dura pensin del poder!...
Oh! luchar... siempre luchar!
Enemigos por doquier!...
Mas no es fcil sorprender                                           230
a quien se empea en velar.
T, con tu ardid, ests hoy,
noble duquesa, en Madrid;
pero yo tambin estoy,
y han de luchar, por quien soy,                                      235
el ardid contra el ardid.
Quisiste, al dejar a Ocaa,
decir al rey, por mi mal:
Miente Olivares, te engaa:
por su culpa el rey de Espaa                                        240
no es ya rey de Portugal.
Dbil, incauta mujer!...
Vanos tus intentos son,
y muy pronto hemos de ver
si me arrancas el poder                                              245
o te arranco el corazn.      (Se dirige al fondo)


ESCENA VIII

OLIVARES, MARGARITA por el fondo con el velo echado

MARGARITA

Ah!

OLIVARES

      Seora, perdonad.      (Dejndola paso)
(Con velo?... Es ella.)

MARGARITA

                            Id con Dios.

OLIVARES

Yo me holgara de ir con vos.

MARGARITA

Plceme la soledad.                                                  250

OLIVARES

Dbeos ser muy halagea
esa soledad, seora,
cuando por aqu a tal hora
vais sin rodrign ni duea.
Mas, ya entiendo: alguna cita...                                     255

MARGARITA

Adis, que se me hace tarde.

OLIVARES

Un momento.

MARGARITA

            Dios os guarde.      (Se dirige al templo)

OLIVARES (despus de un momento)

(Oh, qu idea!) Margarita!
      (MARGARITA que empieza a subir las gradas, vuelve al punto la cabeza)
Bien; acert vuestro nombre.

MARGARITA

(Gran Dios!)

OLIVARES

              Vais a San Martn?                                    260
Ya dan las tinieblas fin.
No vayis.

MARGARITA

            (Quin es este hombre?)

OLIVARES

Os habis quedado muda?

MARGARITA

Quin sois vos?

OLIVARES

                Nada os importe:
soy... un cualquiera de la corte.                                    265

MARGARITA

Conocis?...

OLIVARES

                  S, a cierta viuda,
conocida en toda Espaa,
que en secreto...

MARGARITA

                      Proseguid.

OLIVARES

Vino ayer tarde a Madrid.

MARGARITA

Desde dnde?

OLIVARES

              Desde Ocaa.                                           270

MARGARITA

(Gran Dios! Soy perdida!)

OLIVARES

                            (Oh, cunto,
cunto con su angustia gozo!)

MARGARITA

Echad abajo el embozo.

OLIVARES

Cuando echis atrs el manto.

MARGARITA

Y os atrevis?

OLIVARES

                Damas mil                                            275
van hoy sin velo; es de ley:
ved que lo ha mandado el rey.

MARGARITA

Sois, por ventura, alguacil?

OLIVARES

Soy, seora, un poco ms:
un hombre que ve y observa,                                          280
que siente crecer la hierba;
soy...

MARGARITA

          El mismo Satans!

OLIVARES (rindose)

Bien decs.

MARGARITA

            (l es... Ay Dios!
Quin otro pudiera... quin!)
Hidalgo, os conozco bien.                                            285

OLIVARES

Bien os conozco yo a vos.

MARGARITA

Causa sois de mis pesares.

OLIVARES

Mi nombre...

MARGARITA

                Nombre maldito!
Os llamis... el favorito.      (Con desprecio)

OLIVARES (desembarazndose)

Conde-duque de Olivares.                                             290

MARGARITA

(No me enga!... Siempre ese hombre!)

OLIVARES

Algo suspensa os dej
mi nombre...

MARGARITA

                (Me insulta. Oh!...)
Yo desprecio vuestro nombre.

OLIVARES

Nadie le humill en el mundo;                                        295
nombre es que Espaa respeta...
Quin no teme?...

MARGARITA (descubrindose con arrogancia)

                      Yo... la nieta
del gran Felipe Segundo.

OLIVARES (saludndola con irona)

Dama de la sangre real
que altas prendas atesora;                                           300
por el rey gobernadora
del reino de Portugal.

MARGARITA

Algn da... Ya hace meses      (Con amargura)
que el rey, mi primo y seor,
no tiene gobernador                                                  305
en dominios portugueses.
All fuimos soberanos;
mas gracias a vos, despus
ese reino portugus
se nos fu de entre las manos.                                       310
Y por eso Margarita
sufre tantas penas hoy!...

OLIVARES (como esquivando la conversacin)

Vais al templo?

MARGARITA

                Al templo voy...
Tengo en el templo una cita.

OLIVARES

En el mismo templo?... A fe...                                      315

MARGARITA

Fuera de casa o del templo
mal segura me contemplo,
y adivinad vos por qu.

OLIVARES

(Si yo pudiese obligarla
a volverse desde aqu                                                320
a Ocaa otra vez... S, s...
Qu inters tengo en matarla?)

MARGARITA

(Qu estar tramando ahora?)

OLIVARES

(As triunfo y no asesino.)
Habis hecho un desatino;                                            325
volved a Ocaa, seora.

MARGARITA

Conde-duque, deliris.

OLIVARES

Yo por vuestro bien lo anhelo.

MARGARITA

Por mi bien! No hay en el cielo
rayos de Dios?

OLIVARES

                Qu intentis?                                      330

MARGARITA

Ver al rey de cualquier modo.

OLIVARES

No lo lograris acaso.

MARGARITA

Quin ha de cerrarme el paso?

OLIVARES

Yo, que aqu lo puedo todo.

MARGARITA

Todo!... Por eso, por eso                                           335
tanto en Ocaa he sufrido,
que soportar no he podido
de mi desventura el peso.
Ved estos prpados rojos
de llorar... Os dan espanto?...                                     340
Es que han vertido por llanto
gotas de sangre mis ojos.
Sola en Ocaa, ay de m!
faltme en tan negro afn
hasta un pedazo de pan...                                            345
Oh! tuve hambre!

OLIVARES

                    Vos!

MARGARITA

                          S, s,
hombre sin Dios y sin ley,
fu de convento en convento
mendigando mi sustento!...

OLIVARES

Vos!

MARGARITA

      Yo!... La prima del rey.                                      350

OLIVARES

Yo ignoraba... De hoy en ms
os juro... Tomad un coche...
Idos a Ocaa esta noche...

MARGARITA

A palacio ir quizs.

OLIVARES

Duquesa, volved a Ocaa;                                             355
ya entraris, cuando haya espacio,
como entrar debe en palacio
toda una infanta de Espaa.

MARGARITA

Si no me abandona Dios,
entrar maana... Oh! s...                                         360
Pronto el rey sabr por m...

OLIVARES

Nada el rey sabr por vos.

MARGARITA

Sabr por culpa de quin
ya no es suyo el Portugal.

OLIVARES

Vos... le gobernasteis mal...                                        365

MARGARITA

Y vos... le perdisteis bien.

OLIVARES

Pero...

MARGARITA

            Basta ya. Cobarde
sois, aunque diestro adalid.
Hoy comienza nuestra lid...
Nunca para el bien fu tarde!                                       370

OLIVARES

Soy poderoso enemigo...

MARGARITA

No siempre triunf el poder.

OLIVARES

Sois una dbil mujer.

MARGARITA

Dios combatir conmigo!

OLIVARES

Es muy desigual el duelo.                                            375

MARGARITA (con orgullo)

Desigual?

OLIVARES

            Yo en esta guerra
soy el poder de la tierra.

MARGARITA

Yo la venganza del cielo.
      (Con solemnidad y dirigindose al templo)

OLIVARES

Pues que nadie os acompaa,
mi mano aceptad ahora.                                               380

MARGARITA

Sois... muy galn.

OLIVARES

                      Soy, seora,
espaol.

MARGARITA

          Juds de Espaa.      (Subiendo)

OLIVARES (queriendo asirla de la mano)

Si no lo habis por enojo,
mi mano hasta arriba...

MARGARITA (desviando la mano con altivez y desprecio)

                            Ah, no!

OLIVARES

Quin ha de serviros?

ESCENA IX

MARGARITA, OLIVARES, QUEVEDO

QUEVEDO (apareciendo entre las columnas y dando la mano a MARGARITA)

                          Yo.                                        385

MARGARITA

Gracias.

OLIVARES

          (l es... Qu sonrojo!)
Con gusto la mano os dan,
don Francisco de Quevedo.
      (MARGARITA sube las gradas. El conde-duque permanece abajo)

QUEVEDO

Decir lo propio no puedo
yo a don Gaspar de Guzmn.                                           390

OLIVARES

Jams compet con vos:
vuestro ingenio y vuestra fama...

QUEVEDO

Ved que me espera esta dama.

OLIVARES

No os detengo.

QUEVEDO

                Adis.

OLIVARES

                        Adis.

QUEVEDO (en el atrio)

Qu anhelis en tanto apuro?                                        395

MARGARITA

Ver al rey.

QUEVEDO

            No encuentro modo...

MARGARITA

Oh!

QUEVEDO

      Mas le veris con todo;
por mi salvacin lo juro.
      (Condcela al interior del templo)

OLIVARES

Quien no convence asesina.
No quiso a Ocaa volver...                                           400
Hice cuanto pude hacer...
lo dems lo har Medina.


ESCENA X

OLIVARES y MEDINA, que aparece a la puerta de la casa al tiempo que
aqul se dirige a paso largo a la calle del fondo

MEDINA (en voz baja)

Conde-duque?

OLIVARES

              Y bien!

MEDINA

                      Lo siento;
mas no la mato, seor.

OLIVARES

Pues no dijisteis, traidor?...                                      405

MEDINA

De lo dicho me arrepiento.

OLIVARES

Y qu causa?...

MEDINA

                    No os asombre.
Cuanto hablasteis escuch,
de la dama el nombre s,
y est muy alto su nombre.                                           410

OLIVARES

Qu te importa?

MEDINA

                  Friolera!
Su nombre, pardiez, me espanta;
no se asesina a una infanta
como a una mujer cualquiera.

OLIVARES

Ya comprendo. Cosa es clara:                                         415
si es que ha de ser bien vendida,
cuanto ms valga una vida
debe venderse ms cara....
Golpes das a mi tesoro
que han de agotarle quizs;                                          420
pero, en fin, pues quieres ms
oro... te dar ms oro.

MEDINA

No, no es oro lo que quiero.

OLIVARES

De escucharte me confundo.

MEDINA

Es que... no todo en el mundo                                        425
se paga con el dinero.

OLIVARES

Tambin te colm de honores:
en palacio, como iguales,
te hablan damas principales
y principales seores.                                               430
Mira bien si bien te pago:
del polvo te alc a la altura,
y hoy tu condicin obscura
tapa esa cruz de Santiago.
      (Sealando la capa de MEDINA)

MEDINA

No niego vuestra largueza.                                           435

OLIVARES

Pues a servirme... Es tu oficio.

MEDINA

Es que exigs un servicio
en que arriesgo la cabeza.

OLIVARES

Por mi vida!... Esa traicin...

MEDINA

Os equivocis, a fe,                                                 440
yo a la infanta matar...
mas con una condicin.

OLIVARES

Condicin?... Nunca recibo...

MEDINA

Sin ella... por Lucifer,
que no mato a esa mujer,                                             445
aunque me desuellen vivo!

OLIVARES

(El infierno se desata
contra m esta noche.)

MEDINA

                        En fin...

OLIVARES

(Alma cobarde y ruin!)
Di tu condicin... y mata.                                           450

MEDINA

Para mi seguridad
he escrito arriba un papel:
falta vuestra firma en l;
ste es el papel, firmad.

OLIVARES

Qu dice?

MEDINA (acercndose al farol)

            Od.

OLIVARES

                  (Negra suerte!)                                   455
Ya la tardanza me irrita.

MEDINA (leyendo)

A la infanta Margarita
dars hoy mismo la muerte.

OLIVARES

Vive Dios!

MEDINA

            Firmad y mato.

OLIVARES

(Maldito seas, amn!)                                               460
Nunca!... A ese precio...

MEDINA

                                  Est bien;
otro lo har ms barato.

OLIVARES

Traidor... Te vas?...

MEDINA

                              Ya mi hazaa
es intil y me voy.

OLIVARES

(Oh! Si ella no muere hoy                                          465
todo lo pierdo maana!...)

MEDINA

Resolved.

OLIVARES

          Oye, Medina.
(Voy a perder el juicio.)
Aunque es duro el sacrificio...
(Fuerza es conjurar mi ruina!)                                      470

MEDINA

Pues firmad.

OLIVARES

              Dame el papel.      (Dselo MEDINA)
(Oh, su contacto me abrasa!)

MEDINA

Entrad, pues, en esta casa.

OLIVARES

(No hay medio... Trance cruel!)
      (Dirigindose a la casa)

MEDINA

Luz os tengo en el portal                                            475
y recado de escribir:
conque...

OLIVARES (entra)

              (Tal mengua sufrir!)

MEDINA (despus de una pausa)

No va el asunto muy mal.
Conde-duque, ello por ello;
ya somos quin para quin.                                           480
      (OLIVARES sale y alarga el papel a MEDINA)
      (Acercndose al farol y leyendo)
Olivares; est bien.
(Tiene su firma y su sello.)

OLIVARES

Cuida bien que no se borre.

MEDINA

Pues ya que os hice firmar...

OLIVARES

Falta slo...

MEDINA

                  Pues matar;                                        485
y eso de mi cuenta corre.

OLIVARES

En parte segura!

MEDINA

                  Oh, s!

OLIVARES

Todo el pual!

MEDINA

                Eso es.

OLIVARES

Lbrame de ella!      (Marchndose)

                  (Despus...
yo me librar de ti.)                                                490

(Vase por la calle del fondo)


ESCENA XI

MEDINA; despus QUEVEDO

MEDINA

Ya te tengo bien seguro:
partes el crimen conmigo...
Partir el poder contigo,
por mi pual te lo juro.
Nuestra horrible comunin                                            495
hoy con sangre he de sellar...
Quiero mi ambicin saciar,
y alas diste a mi ambicin.
Pues bien... All se ve un bulto.
      (Mirando al templo)
Ya sin duda en San Martn                                            500
dieron las tinieblas fin.
Debo mantenerme oculto.      (Se oculta en la izquierda)

QUEVEDO (baja las gradas con preocupacin)

En palacio a la duquesa
por mi fe de caballero
promet poner... Bien; pero                                          505
cmo cumplir mi promesa?
Con audacia... Desatino!
Por ardid... Ese Guzmn
es tan cauteloso y tan...
Dios me ensear el camino.                                          510
Con fuertes contrarios lucho...

Pueden y... Tambin yo puedo!
Quin me auxilia? Quin? Quevedo!
      (Tocndose la frente y el pecho)
S... s. Los dos podis mucho:
grande el pensamiento aqu,                                          515
y aqu grande el corazn;
armas de victoria son,
venzo de seguro... s.
Tal vez no... S! No!... Comienzo
a dudar... No! vencer.                                             520
Cmo?... Cmo?... No lo s;
pero... de seguro venzo.      (Pausa)
La duquesa en su posada
me cit para las diez...
Ya encontraremos tal vez                                             525
puertas que la den entrada.
Por Dios!... De cualquier modo,
la ha de ver su majestad...
pero antes debo... Es verdad;
debe calcularse todo.                                                530
      (Vase por el fondo despus de dirigir una
       mirada a las puertas del templo)

MEDINA (observndole)

l es, y se aleja; bien.
Gente sale.      (Vuelve a esconderse)


ESCENA XII

MEDINA, oculto; MENDAA, CASTILLA y GRANA saliendo del templo

MENDAA

            Pues, seor,
si a palacio vais, mejor:
yo a palacio voy tambin.

GRANA

Y Quevedo?... En algn lance...                                     535

MENDAA

Como esta tambin abierta,
sin duda por la otra puerta
fuse, detrs de un romance.

GRANA

Por all las damas van.

MENDAA

Mejor, si se fu tras ellas.                                         540

GRANA

Hbolas, a fe, muy bellas.

MENDAA

Mejor sin el manto estn.

GRANA (a CASTILLA)

Triste andis vos.

CASTILLA

                    S, un acceso.

MENDAA

Nunca os encontr tan lacio.

CASTILLA (de mal humor)

En fin, vamos a palacio?                                            545

MENDAA

Lo mejor, sin duda, es eso.
      (Vanse los tres por la derecha)

MEDINA

Qu escuch?... Por la otra puerta
salen las damas... Quizs
ella tambin... Satans
tvola esta noche abierta!                                           550
      (Con furor)
Marchse por ella... Oh, s!
Todo se ha perdido...
      (MARGARITA aparece a las puertas del templo)
                          Ah!... No!

(MEDINA se oculta, MARGARITA baja lentamente las gradas y despus
se dirige, como hablando consigo misma, a la calle de la derecha)

MARGARITA
Slo en l confo... Yo
nada puedo hacer por m.

MEDINA

(Lleg su vez al pual.)                                             555

MARGARITA
No debo tener recelos...
Hoy velan por m los cielos
y Dios me libra de mal.          (Dirgese a la derecha)
Ni se ve ni se oye nada.
Qu soledad!... Tengo miedo....                                     560
      (Al volver MARGARITA la esquina MEDINA
        se lanza detrs cautelosamente)
Es tarde.... Tal vez Quevedo
se impacienta en mi posada.
Voy al punto... Qu rumor?...
      (Volvindose a MEDINA, que estar a dos pasos)
Un hombre!... Atrs! Qu queris?

MEDINA (haciendo un movimiento bajo la capa)
Vengo de paz...

MARGARITA

                    No os lleguis...                                565

MEDINA (lanzndose sobre ella pual en mano)

A mataros.

MARGARITA

            Ah!


ESCENA XIII

Dichos y QUEVEDO, que, saliendo de la calle de la derecha, sujeta por
detrs el brazo de MEDINA que va a herir


QUEVEDO

                  Traidor!
      (Sujetndole el brazo con una mano)

MEDINA (soltando el pual)

Jesucristo!

QUEVEDO

              Por all...
      (Sealando a la duquesa la calle de la izquierda
        y sacando a MEDINA la espada)
Al punto os sigo... Alejaos.
      (Volvindose a MEDINA que va a escapar y sujetndole por su capa)
Vos, no os alejis... quedaos!
      (QUEVEDO dirige otra vez los ojos a la calle por donde ha desaparecido
MARGARITA, y en tanto MEDINA suelta la capa en sus manos)

MEDINA

Oh! Me salv!          (Huyendo)

QUEVEDO

    (Con voz de trueno y levantando la espada de MEDINA, que se queda inmvil)
                Quieto ah!                                         570
    (QUEVEDO tira al suelo la capa de MEDINA y dice, arrojndole su espada)
Ahora hierro contra hierro,
nueva lid.

MEDINA

            Mas vuestro nombre...

QUEVEDO (desenvainando)

Si no lidiis como un hombre,
vais a morir como un perro.

MEDINA

Ved... que... el duelo... no es igual.                               575

QUEVEDO

La espada tenis desnuda.

MEDINA

Cierto...

QUEVEDO

              Yo tambin.

MEDINA

                          Sin duda.

QUEVEDO

No hay ventaja pues.

MEDINA

                      S tal.
(Qu dir?...) Por de contado...
yo estoy... sin capa...

QUEVEDO

                              Es muy cierto.                         580

MEDINA

Conocisme descubierto;
yo no os conozco embozado.

QUEVEDO

Ya que tanto alambicis,
pronto una capa se quita.

(QUEVEDO se desembaraza de la capa, y, al arrojarla, MEDINA
saca una pistola, dispara y se afogona el tiro)

MEDINA

Ay de vos!...        (Arrojando la pistola)
                  Suerte maldita!                                   585

QUEVEDO (Con frescura, ponindose en guardia en tanto que MEDINA recobra
su acero y se defiende en retirada)

Mala plvora gastis.

MEDINA

Que el cielo os maldiga a vos!

QUEVEDO

Tiemblas!...

MEDINA

                  De rabia!

QUEVEDO

                              De miedo!

MEDINA (con espanto y retrocediendo)

Oh, perdonadme!

QUEVEDO

                  No puedo.

MEDINA (con voz ahogada y cayendo dentro de la calle de la derecha)

Ay!

QUEVEDO

      Que te perdone Dios.                                           590
      (Pausa)
He matado a un hombre. Fu
con razn... S... pero pesa
el crimen... Ah! la duquesa...
por aqu la alcanzar.

(Toma la capa de MEDINA que est a sus pies y vase por el fondo. La
escena queda un momento sola. Despus aparece MARGARITA por
la misma calle que tom al marcharse)


ESCENA LTIMA

MARGARITA, luego OLIVARES y ronda

MARGARITA

Nada se oye.... Tras de m                                           595
dijo que ira.... Un momento
le aguard junto al convento...
Muerta vengo!

VOZ (dentro)

                Por aqu....

MARGARITA

Oh, la ronda!...      (Quiere huir y vacila)

ALCALDE (dentro)

                      Ved si acaso...
Mas un hombre en esta esquina                                        600
yace tendido.
      (La calle de la izquierda aparece iluminada por la luz de una linterna)

OLIVARES (dentro)

              Es Medina!

MARGARITA

(Oh, no puedo dar un paso!)

OLIVARES (saliendo)

Por Jesucristo en la cruz!

ALCALDE (saliendo seguido de corchetes)

Muerto.... Registradle.

OLIVARES (detenindoles)

                            No.                                      604
Debo registrarle yo.      (Tropieza en la capa de QUEVEDO)
Mas qu es esto? Aqu una luz!      (Recoje la capa)
Pronto, la luz necesito.

ALCALDE (a los alguaciles y acercndose a OLIVARES)

Ved que el matador se escapa.
      (Los corchetes desaparecen por la derecha)

OLIVARES

De Quevedo es esta capa.

MARGARITA

Muerto!... Gran Dios!      (Cae dentro)

OLIVARES

                            Ese grito...                             610

ALCALDE (dentro)

Una dama hay en el suelo.

OLIVARES

Muerta?

ALCALDE

          Desmayada...

OLIVARES

                          A ver...
(Oh, la infanta!) A esa mujer
nadie la levante el velo.

ALCALDE

Bien, seor.

OLIVARES

              Una litera.                                            615

ALCALDE (a los corchetes que vuelven por la derecha)

Id por ella y no tardis...          (Vanse)

OLIVARES

Dentro a la dama pondris...
mas sin mirarla siquiera.

ALCALDE

Despus?

OLIVARES

          (Mi triunfo es completo.)
Conducidla en breve espacio...                                       620

ALCALDE

Dnde?

OLIVARES

          A palacio.

ALCALDE

                      A palacio?

OLIVARES

Por el caracol secreto.

ALCALDE

Quin la escolta?

OLIVARES

                    Slo vos.

ALCALDE

Mas vuecencia...

OLIVARES

                    Ir detrs.
      (Vase el alcalde por la izquierda)
Duquesa, a palacio vas...                                            625
desde all... sbelo Dios!

      (Dirgese con precipitacin hacia la calle
        donde cay MEDINA, y cae el teln)




ACTO SEGUNDO


Saln en el palacio del Buen Retiro. Puerta en el fondo que por la
derecha conduce a las habitaciones de OLIVARES, y por la izquierda, a la
capilla. A la derecha, en primer trmino, puerta que conduce a la
escalera y corredores de palacio; a la izquierda, en primer trmino, la
cmara de la reina; en segundo, la del rey. Es de noche. La escena est
iluminada por un candelabro de cinco ramales colocado sobre un mueble de
la poca.


ESCENA PRIMERA

LA REINA, DOA INS

REINA

Doa Ins, todo es intil:
no hay en el mundo consuelo
para m; padezco mucho,
porque inocente padezco.                                             630
Infeliz! Otras que sufren,
en su desventura, al menos,
viven ay! con esperanzas...
Yo sin esperanzas muero.

INS

Mas...

REINA

          Con esperanzas locas,                                      635
es verdad, so algn tiempo;
se han desvanecido todas
por mi mal, y ya no sueo.
El dolor vela... Mis horas
son tan largas!... Yo las cuento                                     640
por los ahogados latidos
de este corazn enfermo.

INS

No os aflijis...

REINA

                      Tantos das,
tantas noches de tormento,
siempre lo mismo!...

INS

                        Seora...                                    645

REINA

Ni un instante de sosiego.
Viene el da y no reposo,
viene la noche y no duermo...
Si he de descansar... Dios mo,
dame tu descanso eterno!                                             650

INS

Cmo! Lloris?

REINA

                  No, no lloro...

INS

No me lo neguis... No... Veo
hmedos ya vuestros ojos...

REINA

Pronto los vers bien secos.

INS

Oh, qu horror!

REINA

                  Padezco mucho,                                     655
porque inocente padezco.

INS

Inocente... Y quin lo duda?...

REINA

Felipe... mi esposo... miento:
ya no es mi esposo... el rey...
Rey para m bien severo!                                            660

INS

Si l vuestro amor comprendiera...

REINA

Nunca podr comprenderlo.
Negras sospechas le turban;
y aunque es generoso y bueno,
para m tan solo tiene                                               665
rencor y amargo desprecio.
Y es que ve sobre mi frente
ese imaginario sello
del crimen...

INS

                  No ve ese llanto?

REINA

Sus dudas le tienen ciego.                                           670

INS

Pues bien, habladle.

REINA

                      Es intil:
sordo le tienen sus celos.

INS

Tal vez sus negras sospechas
se disipen con el tiempo.

REINA

Imposible: cada da                                                  675
toman, Doa Ins, ms cuerpo;
y es natural: Olivares,
por odios que no comprendo,
le habla siempre de ese crimen.

INS

Pura invencin del infierno.                                         680
Vos sois la virtud, seora.

REINA

Mi virtud... es un misterio;
t solamente lo sabes.

INS

No, tambin lo sabe el cielo;
esperad en l.

REINA

                Es tarde:                                            685
para mi mal no hay remedio.

INS

Si al rey llegara ese escrito...

REINA

Cul?

INS

        El del conde.

REINA

                      Silencio!
No pronuncies ese nombre...
Villamediana!... Su espectro                                        690
me persigue noche y da,
cual tenaz remordimiento.

INS

Sois inocente.

REINA

                Inocente...
mas di causa, sin saberlo,
a que el buen Villamediana                                           695
fuese a pualadas muerto.

INS

Celos del rey le mataron.

REINA

Quin di pbulo a esos celos?

INS

Dicen que el conde os amaba...

REINA

Pues call prudente y cuerdo;                                        700
y si ese amor desdichado
fu, como suponen, cierto,
jams la reina lo supo,
y en la tumba est el secreto.

INS

No, que el conde moribundo                                           705
se arranc el pual del pecho...

REINA

Calla!

INS

        Y con su propia sangre
pudo escribir...

REINA

                  Tal recuerdo!...

INS

Puede salvaros... El conde
dicen que escribi un momento                                        710
con su sangre, y ese escrito
se encontr sobre su cuerpo.

REINA

Desdichado!

INS

              Vos, seora,
sois pura, y lo sabe el cielo.

REINA

Cmo hacer que el rey lo sepa?                                      715

INS

Con ese escrito sangriento.

REINA

Ay! En manos de Olivares
cay, segn dicen... Cierto...
ese papel ya no existe...
le habr consumido el fuego.                                         720

INS

Eso temis?

REINA

              Olivares
goza en mis padecimientos...
Por qu me aborrece ese hombre?

INS (mirando al fondo)

Viene por aqu.

REINA

                Retirmonos.


ESCENA II

DICHAS y OLIVARES, que entra por el fondo

OLIVARES

Si mi presencia importuna...                                         725

REINA

No, Conde-duque...      (Con violencia)

OLIVARES

                      Sospecho
que Su Majestad se aleja
slo porque yo me acerco.

REINA

Yo...

INS

          La reina est indispuesta.

OLIVARES

Sabe Dios cunto lo siento.                                          730

REINA

Gracias.

OLIVARES

          (Sabr la venida
de la duquesa? Indaguemos.)

REINA

Cmo est el rey?

OLIVARES

                    Siempre triste.

REINA

No le he visto en tanto tiempo!

OLIVARES (mirando fijamente a LA REINA)

La duquesa Margarita...                                              735

REINA

Aun sola en Ocaa!

OLIVARES

                    Cierto.

REINA

Haced que vuelva a la corte;
dadme ese dulce consuelo:
que vuelva... Me quiere tanto!...
Tanto como yo la quiero!                                            740
Prima del alma... Es tan buena!...
S, s, que vuelva al momento....
Oh! Lo haris?

OLIVARES

                  Si no os enoja,
de conversacin mudemos.      (Pausa)

REINA

Yo de otra os hablara...                                             745
Me comprendis?

OLIVARES

                  Os comprendo.

REINA

Pues ese sangriento escrito...

OLIVARES

Sangriento, es verdad, sangriento.

REINA

Conque existe pues?

OLIVARES

                      Existe.

REINA

Lo tenis vos?

OLIVARES

                Yo lo tengo;                                         750
ya os lo repet mil veces.

REINA

Entregdmelo.

OLIVARES

              No puedo.

REINA

Prueba la inocencia ma....

OLIVARES

No del todo, segn pienso.

REINA (con altivez)

Conde-duque!

OLIVARES (con hipocresa)

              Para m                                                755
sois de virtudes modelo;
mas el rey...

REINA

                  Dadle ese escrito.

OLIVARES

Ya se lo dar a su tiempo.
Para darle la triaca,
dejad que apure el veneno:                                           760
hoy las sospechas le acosan...
ya se irn desvaneciendo,
y entonces ver ese escrito
ya sin prevencin, y espero...

REINA

Es que van ya muchos aos                                            765
desde que vivo muriendo
despreciada de mi esposo,
que escucha vuestros consejos;
y en palacio, viuda y sola,
sufro su amargo desprecio,                                           770
porque aduladores viles
le han trastornado el cerebro.

OLIVARES

Qu exaltacin!... Ved, seora,
que est dbil en extremo
vuestra salud...

REINA

                    Conde-duque,                                     775
no insultis mi sufrimiento.

OLIVARES

Vamos a otra cosa: el prncipe
nio, sucesor del reino,
por su edad...

REINA

                  Hijo del alma!

OLIVARES

Ya del regazo materno                                                780
debe separarse.

REINA

                Oh, nunca!

OLIVARES

Es el prncipe heredero,
y ha resuelto el rey, su padre...
lo os?... el rey lo ha resuelto,
darle servidumbre propia,                                            785
libros, armas y maestros,
y, por fin, cmara digna
de su carcter excelso.

REINA

Me arrancis el hijo mio!

OLIVARES

Elegid el aposento                                                   790
que ms le cuadre en palacio.

REINA

Gran Dios!

OLIVARES

              Yo os ir diciendo:
el del jardn... el de Osorio...
el de Ripalda... el de Lemus...
el de Borja... el de la infanta...                                   795
Elegid...

REINA

              Elijo... el vuestro!

OLIVARES

Cmo!

REINA

        Ocupis en palacio
el ms ostentoso y regio;
y entre prncipe y vasallo
lo primero es lo primero.                                            800

             (LA REINA se retira por la puerta de su
             cmara; DOA INS la sigue despus)

INS

Oh, respetadla!

OLIVARES

                  Me arroja
de aqu!... Por Dios la prometo!...

INS

No!... Qu intentis?

OLIVARES (reprimindose)

                            Nada, nada...
buscar otro alojamiento.


ESCENA III

OLIVARES

Entre prncipe y vasallo                                            805
lo primero es lo primero,
me dijo, y call... S; pero
yo para obrar siempre callo.
Vasallo quien da la ley!...
Reina, me hiciste un ultraje;                                        810
que no rinde vasallaje
quien hizo vasallo al rey.
Qu genio malo te acosa?
Cmo no te dice el alma
que quien destruy tu calma                                          815
aun puede hacerte dichosa?
Dbil, incauta mujer...
en tu desamparo triste
nunca tan altiva fuiste...
ni lo volvers a ser.                                                820
Yo tu dicha tengo aqu:
s, se encierra en esta carta
sangrienta que no se aparta
un solo instante de m.              (Pausa)
El rey te abrir sus brazos                                          825
si a ver llega tal escrito;
mas primero el favorito
se lo comer en pedazos.

Te amaba el rey con pasin;
mas roto el lazo nupcial                                             830
por mi astucia, sin rival
reino yo en su corazn.
Nadie mi secreto sabe:
muerto Medina, segura
guardar en la sepultura                                             835
de este secreto la llave.
Medina!... Fatal recuerdo!...
El papel que me arranc
dnde ese hombre lo guard?
S alguien da con l, me pierdo.                                     840
La incertidumbre me abrasa....
No; lo que pens es verdad:
para ms seguridad
lo guard en aquella casa....
S; mi presuncin es cierta:                                         845
el papel oculto est
dentro de la casa... y ya
sell yo mismo la puerta.
Y no s por qu me apuro....
Maana busco el papel                                                850
en la casa, y doy con l....
S, doy con l, de seguro.
Todo va bien: la duquesa
se halla, pues, a buen recaudo,
y yo por el fin me aplaudo                                           855
de tan arriesgada empresa.

(Mirando a la derecha)

Pero all viene Mendaa
con el marqus y don Juan
de Castilla; siempre van
juntos en buena compaa.                                             860

Y por Dios que el tal Castilla
tiene lengua de escorpin,
y hacia m poca aficin,
segn cuentos de la villa.


ESCENA IV

OLIVARES, MENDAA y CASTILLA por la derecha. Al entrar, MENDAA se
dirige a OLIVARES con solicitud exagerada; GRANA le saluda afectuoso, y
CASTILLA hace una leve inclinacin y se queda algo separado del grupo

OLIVARES

Buenas noches, caballeros.                                           865

MENDAA

Que el cielo os guarde, seor.

OLIVARES

Solo me encontris.

MENDAA

                    Mejor.

OLIVARES

Mucho me contenta el veros.

GRANA

Gracias.

MENDAA

          Honor singular.

OLIVARES

Triste anduve todo el da.                                           870

MENDAA

Mejor...

GRANA (interrumpindole)

            Qu?

MENDAA

                      Mejor sera
que os fueseis a descansar.

OLIVARES

No, son tristezas...

CASTILLA

                        (Historia!)

OLIVARES

Y de divertirlas trato.
Conque... hablemos, pues, un rato.                                   875

MENDAA

Rato mejor... ni en la gloria.

CASTILLA

(Tanta humillacin ya es mengua.)

OLIVARES

Contadme algo de la villa
los tres... los dos, pues Castilla
se ha venido sin la lengua.                                          880
      (CASTILLA se encoge de hombros desdeosamente)
Nada respondis?

MENDAA

                  Don Juan!...

OLIVARES

No me hablis?... Ved que yo os hablo.

CASTILLA

(Lleve tu palabra el diablo.)

GRANA (aparte a Mendaa)

Mucho me temo un desmn.

MENDAA

Al ministro...

CASTILLA

                  (Fuera mengua.)                                    885

OLIVARES

Responded.

GRANA

            (Mal humor gasta.)

CASTILLA

Vos lo dijisteis, y basta:
me he venido sin la lengua.

OLIVARES

Ligero anduve en decir,
y mi error he conocido.                                              890
Con lengua os habis venido...
                   (Con clera)
Sin lengua os debierais ir!
                   (OLIVARES se retira por el fondo con aire sombro,
                   seguido de GRANA y MENDAA)


ESCENA V

CASTILLA; despus QUEVEDO

CASTILLA

Vive Dios, me la arrancara
yo mismo, juro a mi nombre,
porque no ha lanzado a ese hombre                                    895
cien insultos a la cara!
      (QUEVEDO entra por la derecha en el mayor desorden y pasa junto
      a CASTILLA sin reparar en l, yendo a quedarse en medio de la
      escena como abismado en sus pensamientos)
Por Cristo en la cruz, Quevedo!...
A ocasin dichosa viene.

Quiero hablarle... mas qu tiene?
Su rostro me infunde miedo.                                          900
Desde aqu le he de observar.
Qu temblor!

QUEVEDO

              Pesquisa vana!
      (Despus de una pausa)
Ruin inteligencia humana,
no sabes adivinar!      (Pausa)
Oh, me pierdo en el abismo                                          905
de mi propia confusin,
y vacila mi razn!

CASTILLA

(Qu hablar consigo mismo?)

QUEVEDO

Ni en la calle ni en su casa
dar he podido con ella....                                           910
Si... naci con mala estrella...
tal vez... mi frente se abrasa!
La libr de un asesino,
y otro quizs tan cruel
la mat... Msero de l                                             915
si le encuentro en mi camino!
Muerta!... No.... Presa?... Quizs....
Olivares... l la esconde....
S, s... pero en dnde, en dnde?
Mas... razn, discurre ms.                                          920
T, de tan altas ideas
creadora... Oh, mente ma,
si hallas luz, alumbra y gua!...
Y si no... maldita seas!


ESCENA VI

Dichos, MENDAA y GRANA que salen por el fondo derecha. CASTILLA,
al verlos, les hace seas para que guarden silencio

GRANA

Calla... Quevedo...

MENDAA

                          Mejor...                                   925
Nos dir alguna letrilla.

GRANA

Seas nos hace Castilla.

MENDAA

Chist... al buen entendedor...
      (MENDAA y GRANA durante esta escena hablan
            como si quisieran no ser odos)

GRANA

Entendido.

MENDAA

            Claro est:
Don Francisco en este instante                                       930
busca un feroz consonante.
Mejor.

GRANA

        Pues lo encontrar.
No le interrumpamos, pues.

MENDAA

Eso es lo mejor.

CASTILLA

                  Ah quietos!

MEDAA

Lo menos quince sonetos                                              935
nos guarda para despus.

QUEVEDO

Nada: o salvarla o morir.

CASTILLA

(Es ya mucho meditar.)

QUEVEDO

S... s, s!

CASTILLA

                  (Me hace temblar.)

MENDAA

Mucho nos har rer.                                                 940

QUEVEDO

Gran Dios, un rayo de luz
entre en esta oscuridad!

MENDAA

Pero qu miro?... Es verdad:
brilla en su capa una cruz.

GRANA

Y es la de Santiago... Pero                                          945
cundo el hbito alcanz?

QUEVEDO

Mis sienes estallan... Oh!...

MENDAA

Hoy, sin duda, caballero
le hizo Olivares y... Ved:
ya con la cruz de Santiago,                                          950
versos le dedica en pago
de tan cumplida merced.

QUEVEDO

Terrible ser la lucha!
Bien; me sobra corazn.
      (QUEVEDO, al decir esto, se vuelve y se encuentra entre MENDAA,
      GRANA y CASTILLA, que han ido acercndose lentamente, aqullos
      por la izquierda y ste por la derecha)
Quin es?

MENDAA (con grito de jbilo)

            Letrilla... Atencin!                                   955
Tendr gracia?              (A QUEVEDO)

QUEVEDO

                Mucha, mucha!
Tiene tanta... que yo mismo
crujo de risa...

MENDAA

                    Al instante
recitdnosla. Picante
ser?

QUEVEDO

      Ms que un sinapismo.                                          960

MENDAA

La acabasteis?

QUEVEDO

                Falta poco.

MENDAA

Stira?

QUEVEDO

          Contra los necios.
Qu golpes les doy tan recios!

MENDAA

Siempre alegre!

CASTILLA

                  (O siempre loco.)

QUEVEDO

(Cunto sufro!)

MENDAA

                  Nadie triste                                       965
puede estar donde estis vos.
Hacednos rer...

QUEVEDO

                    (Ay, Dios!)

MENDAA

Con un chiste.

QUEVEDO

                Con un chiste
quisiera haceros rer,
y rer hasta rabiar,                                                 970
y de risa reventar,
y a risotadas morir.

GRANA

Qu ocurrencia!

MENDAA

                  Me enamora;
nadie las tiene mejores.

QUEVEDO

(Necios!)

INS (saliendo)

            La reina, seores.                                       975


ESCENA VII

Dichos, LA REINA y DOA INS, que salen de su cmara;
despus OLIVARES

GRANA

Dnde ir la reina ahora?

QUEVEDO

(Pobre mrtir!)

REINA (a INS)

                  _Pon mi silla._
      (DOA INS se dirige a la capilla. Los cuatro
      hacen una reverencia a LA REINA)
      (Saludndoles)
Adis. Orando un momento,
voy a ver el monumento
que hoy adorna mi capilla.         (Dirgese a ella)                 980

CASTILLA (a QUEVEDO)

Siempre triste.

QUEVEDO

                A Dios le plugo.
(Pobre vctima!)
 (Reparando en OLIVARES, que sale por el fondo derecha y se dirige a LA REINA)
                   (Esto ms?)

OLIVARES

Seora.        (Saludando)

QUEVEDO

        (Siempre detrs
de la vctima el verdugo!)

OLIVARES

Vais a orar?

REINA

                Es cosa extraa?                                    985
La oracin presta consuelo.

OLIVARES

Iris a pedir al cielo?...

REINA (interrumpiendo)

La felicidad de Espaa.

OLIVARES

Que eso le pidis es llano,
y eso le pedimos todos.                                              990

REINA

S, de diferentes modos.

QUEVEDO

(Tngame Dios de su mano.)
      (LA REINA se halla en el fondo, OLIVARES a su izquierda, y los
      dems a su derecha, siendo MENDAA el ms prximo)

OLIVARES

Si oye Dios vuestra plegaria
cuando oris en la capilla;
lstima que vuestra silla                                           995
est all tan solitaria!

REINA (con exaltacin y dolor)

Otra tuvo de igual porte
en esa mansin bendita...

OLIVARES

Quin?

REINA (mirando a su alrededor y como sintiendo haber dicho demasiado)
        La infanta Margarita...

QUEVEDO

(Aparte a LA REINA y por detrs de MENDAA, volviendo
a quedarse en su puesto inmediatamente)

(Dicen que se halla en la corte.)                                   1000

(LA REINA, al oir a QUEVEDO, vuelve la cabeza y se fija en MENDAA)

MENDAA

Cmo me mira!... Mejor!

REINA

(Ser cierto lo que o?)      (Agitada)
Es cierto, es cierto?

QUEVEDO (con nfasis e intencin)

                        S!
       (Con indiferencia)    S!...
silla tuvo...

OLIVARES

                  Es un error.

REINA

(Mirando a QUEVEDO, el cual se ha quedado inmvil,
aparentando la mayor frialdad)

(Comprendo... Quevedo ha sido                                       1005
quien en voz baja...)

OLIVARES

                          La tuvo
el rey....

REINA

              (A mi lado estuvo...
l fu quien me habl al odo.)

(LA REINA se dirige hacia la capilla con los ojos fijos en QUEVEDO.
OLIVARES hace un movimiento como para detenerla)

OLIVARES

Yo una splica he de haceros.

REINA

Decid. (Cmo hablar a ese hombre?)                                 1010

OLIVARES

Os la dirijo en mi nombre
y en el de estos caballeros:
pues sola vais a marcharos
hacia la capilla ahora,
nos concederis, seora,                                           1015
el honor de acompaaros?

REINA

Plceme la cortesa;
y acepto. (Hablar con l.)

OLIVARES

Pues todos hasta el cancel
os haremos compaa.                                                1020
      (MENDAA, GRANA y CASTILLA se inclinan en seal de asentimiento.
      QUEVEDO se va apartando poco a poco, hasta quedarse junto a la
      puerta de la derecha)

REINA

Gracias...

OLIVARES

              Es nuestro el honor.

REINA

(Me colocar a su lado.)

OLIVARES

Para hacer ms sealado
tan eminente favor
un caballero escoged...                                             1025
su mano hasta all aceptad.

REINA (con visibles muestras de alegra)

S, s....

OLIVARES

            Dichoso en verdad
el que obtenga tal merced.
      (Todos se inclinan, menos QUEVEDO)

QUEVEDO

(Ya estn de orgullo beodos.)

OLIVARES (mirando a LA REINA con aire de triunfo)

(Hoy mi mano has de tocar.)                                         1030
          (A LA REINA)
A esa distincin sin par
todos aspiramos... todos...      (Inclnanse de nuevo)

REINA (mirando alrededor)

Todos... menos vos, Quevedo?

QUEVEDO

Yo, incapaz de merecerla,
nunca osara pretenderla.                                            1035

REINA

Pues a vos os la concedo.
      (QUEVEDO se adelanta hacia LA REINA y todos le abren paso. Al llegar
      a ella, que le alarga la mano, dobla una rodilla y besa)

QUEVEDO (con emocin)

Pues tal honra merec,
      (Levantndose y mudando de tono repentinamente)
gracias, Olivares. Oh,
brava idea os ocurri!...
mas otra me ocurre a m:                                            1040
sin pajes la reina est,
sola viene... y es costumbre
que su camino se alumbre
cuando a la capilla va...

OLIVARES

Esa observacin...       (Con disgusto)

CASTILLA

                      Es cierta.                                    1045

QUEVEDO

Pues cual buenos servidores,
justo es que todos, seores,
la alumbris hasta la puerta.
Luces...                   (Sealando al candelabro)

MENDAA

            Ocurrencia sabia.
      (Tomando una luz de las cinco que habr en el candelabro, accin que
      imitan los dems, menos OLIVARES, que mira a QUEVEDO con
      asombro)

QUEVEDO (con frialdad a OLIVARES)

Otra queda para vos;                                                1050
y si os place, aun quedan dos....

OLIVARES

Bien contis.
      (Tomando furioso y con mano trmula una de las dos luces
      que quedan, como dominado por la mirada de QUEVEDO)

QUEVEDO

              (Tiembla de rabia.)

REINA

Gracias, gracias.
      (A OLIVARES, MENDAA, CASTILLA y GRANA que la rodean
      con las luces, pero sin dejar de mirar a QUEVEDO)

QUEVEDO

                  Bien, por Dios!
Alumbrad... Sois, caballeros,
excelentes...      (Inclnanse MENDAA, GRANA y CASTILLA)
                  candeleros....                                    1055
          (A OLIVARES)
Y el ms excelente... vos.
      (OLIVARES se inclina tambin con despecho. QUEVEDO, que ha dado
      la mano a LA REINA, se dirige a la capilla entre los cuatro
      alumbradores, que se colocan a la puerta para darles paso, entrando
      tambin despus. Al desaparecer la comitiva se presenta el CAPITN
      por la derecha hacindose cruces)


ESCENA VIII

CAPITN; luego los mismos, menos LA REINA

CAPITN (despus de seguirlos con la vista)

Qu es esto? Vaya un retablo!
Todos van en procesin...
Cosas de Quevedo son....
Si es el mismsimo diablo.                                          1060
Cuando empieza... Qu pedrisco!
Cada letra es una pulla.
Y Olivares... pues... de bulla:
le divierte don Francisco.
      (Viendo salir a OLIVARES que vuelve; despus aparecen GRANA,
      MENDAA y CASTILLA, que traen en medio a QUEVEDO)
Hola, bien; me har presente.                                       1065

OLIVARES

Capitn, estad alerta
a mi voz, junto a esa puerta.         (Sealando la derecha)

CAPITN

Solo?

OLIVARES

        No, con vuestra gente.      (Vase el CAPITN)
Caro pagar el desmn.

GRANA (a QUEVEDO)

Recibid mi parabin.                                                1070

MENDAA (id.)

De Santiago... Bien, muy bien.

QUEVEDO (preocupado)

Qu habr dicho al capitn?

OLIVARES (a QUEVEDO)

Bien tocis vuestros registros.

QUEVEDO

Nunca me voy por las ramas.

OLIVARES

Muy bien os va con las damas.                                       1075

QUEVEDO

Y mejor con los ministros.

MENDAA (yendo a sealar la cruz que lleva QUEVEDO en la capa)

Dgalo si no...

GRANA (a QUEVEDO)

                    Contento
estaris.... Os da vala.

QUEVEDO

(No los comprendo, a fe ma.)
                     (Mira alternativamente a los dos)

MENDAA

Os la columbr al momento.                                          1080

GRANA

La merecis.

MENDAA

              Quin lo ignora?

QUEVEDO

(Maldito si entiendo nada.)

MENDAA

Y os est que ni pintada.

QUEVEDO

(Menos los entiendo ahora.)

GRANA

El talento es una mina.                                             1085
      (Poniendo en el hombro la mano a QUEVEDO, que le mira con asombro)

MENDAA (a OLIVARES)

Mirad... Ya puesta la tiene.

OLIVARES

Cmo! (Esa cruz... Oh, se viene
con la capa de Medina!)

QUEVEDO

(Me ahogo!)
      (Adelantndose del grupo con marcado fastidio)

OLIVARES (aparte a GRANA, que se dirige a hablar a QUEVEDO)

Callad!
      (Id. a MENDAA)
Silencio!

QUEVEDO

(Pues a nacer hallas prontos                                        1090
con tal perfeccin los tontos,
yo, gran Dios, te reverencio.)

MENDAA (a OLIVARES)

Ya le tendris que pedir
versos por tan gran favor....

OLIVARES

Tengo que hablarle....

MENDAA

Mejor,                                                              1095
mejor... Os har rer.

OLIVARES

Pronto acabamos, a fe.

QUEVEDO

(Esperanzas... y temores.)

OLIVARES

A mi habitacin, seores;
yo mismo os conducir.                                              1100
      (Dirgense mirando a QUEVEDO al marchar)
(No saldrs bien de este apuro.)

QUEVEDO

A solas tengo que hablaros.      (Con tono brusco)

OLIVARES

Ya pensaba yo en buscaros.

QUEVEDO

(Yo saldr a puerto seguro...
si no muero entre las olas....)                                     1105
      (A OLIVARES que aun permanece observndole desde la puerta)
Os aguardo aqu.

OLIVARES

Est bien;
vuelvo al punto; yo tambin
tengo que hablaros a solas.      (Entra en su cmara)


ESCENA IX


QUEVEDO

Dios nos clava frente a frente;
para leer en lo escondido                                           1110
de ese corazn podrido,
Dios alumbrar mi mente.
Valedor de la duquesa,
debo salvarla o morir...
Lo primero es inquirir                                              1115
en dnde la tiene presa.
Presa! Quin sabe?... Es verdad;
en su vengativa saa
tal vez la condujo a Ocaa...
O la hundi en la eternidad!                                       1120
No, no... tan negro delito
deja helado el corazn...
Cabe en la ruin ambicin
de ese torpe favorito?
La di muerte... Ah, de los dos                                    1125
uno tambin morir!
l... y muy pronto ser...
Msero de l! Si, gran Dios,
si he de morir a las penas
de tu infierno condenado,                                           1130
muera rojo y remojado
con la sangre de sus venas!

(Apyase convulsivamente en el mueble donde se halla el candelabro,
en el cual habr ya una luz solamente, y aparece OLIVARES)


ESCENA X

QUEVEDO, OLIVARES

OLIVARES

(Hoy me le entrega esa cruz.)      (Se acerca lentamente)

QUEVEDO

Oh!

OLIVARES

      (Pero le siento hablar.)

QUEVEDO

Es necesario matar!...                                             1135

OLIVARES

Matar!      (A QUEVEDO con extraeza)

QUEVEDO

        S, matar la luz.
      (Soplando inmediatamente la luz y con acento de
      indiferencia. La escena queda en tinieblas)

OLIVARES

Luces!

QUEVEDO

        (Bien, me importa poco;
ya mi rostro est sereno....
Oste y no viste.... Bueno.)      (Entran luces)

OLIVARES

(O es muy hbil o muy loco.)                                        1140
Ya con luces...

QUEVEDO

                    S... se ve;
(pero no mi turbacin.)

OLIVARES

Ocurrencias vuestras son;
matar la luz... para qu?

QUEVEDO

Segn las reglas seguras                                            1145
de un autor que de eso trata,
siempre que la luz se mata
es... para quedarse a oscuras.

OLIVARES

Esta noche estis de humor.

QUEVEDO

S, porque volc mi coche.                                          1150

OLIVARES

Noto adems que esta noche,
Quevedo, estis matador.

QUEVEDO

(S; lo dice por Medina.)
Ya sabis?

OLIVARES

            Qu duda cabe?
Todo en el mundo se sabe.                                           1155

QUEVEDO

Pues... y si no, se adivina.

OLIVARES

Vos, segn llego a saber,
sois de un hombre el asesino.

QUEVEDO

Y por lo que yo adivino,
vos lo sois de una mujer.                                           1160

OLIVARES

Vuestras pruebas dnde estn?

QUEVEDO

Y las vuestras?

OLIVARES

                  Quedo, quedo;
dadme las vuestras, Quevedo.

QUEVEDO

Dadme las vuestras, Guzmn.

OLIVARES

Y Medina?

QUEVEDO

            Y la duquesa?                                          1165

OLIVARES

No nos entendemos pues.

QUEVEDO

Lstima, lstima es.

OLIVARES

Mucho, por cierto, me pesa.

QUEVEDO

Tengo pruebas, y no en vano.

OLIVARES

Pues las tendremos los dos.                                         1170

QUEVEDO

Y dnde tenislas vos?

OLIVARES

Yo? Las tengo ya en mi mano.
      (Ponindola sobre la cruz de QUEVEDO)

QUEVEDO

La conservis tan cerrada...

OLIVARES

Vaya, al seguir una pista,
como sois corto de vista,                                           1175
nunca reparis en nada.

QUEVEDO

Qu queris decir?

OLIVARES

                    Os digo
que un hombre por vos fu muerto.

QUEVEDO

Me dais pruebas?

OLIVARES

                  Os lo advierto;
pruebas os dar y castigo.                                          1180
      (QUEVEDO se encoge de hombros)
Escuchad con atencin:
siempre que es muerto un cristiano
al golpe de ajena mano,
sin hacer su confesin,
los vivos que en la infinita                                        1185
bondad esperan con fe,
donde el hombre muerto fu
clavan una cruz bendita.

QUEVEDO

Si no hallis mejores modos
de probar...

OLIVARES

                Y esa cruz santa                                    1190
lgubre all se levanta
para repetir a todos,
por tragedia tan cruel,
del cielo invocando el nombre:
Aqu mataron a un hombre...                                       1195
rogad al cielo por l!

QUEVEDO

A mi comprensin se escapa
vuestra idea, y... dadme luz,
porque esa cruz...

OLIVARES

                      Esa cruz...
      (Pnesele delante de los ojos)
la llevis en vuestra capa.                                         1200

QUEVEDO (asiendo la capa con ambas manos)

Qu miro? Gran Dios!

OLIVARES

                        El dedo
de Dios sigue al que asesina.

QUEVEDO

Es la capa de Medina!

OLIVARES

Hoy le asesin Quevedo!      (Pausa)
Pues ya mis pruebas os di,                                          1205
a dar mis rdenes voy.
Capitn!

QUEVEDO

          Perdido estoy!


ESCENA XI

Dichos y CASTILLA, MENDAA; GRANA por el fondo; despus CAPITN con
guardia por la derecha

CASTILLA (entrando)

Qu diablos sucede aqu?

OLIVARES

Llegis a tiempo, seores.
      (Dirgese a la puerta de la derecha con impaciencia. Los otros
      tres se miran con extraeza y encogindose de hombros)

QUEVEDO

(Su capa!... Cambio funesto!...                                   1210
Me ha perdido.... Mas qu es esto?
En sus pliegues interiores...      (Palpndola con afn)
tiene un bolsillo... un papel.
Veamos...)      (Le saca y lee)

OLIVARES

              Mucha atencin:
Capitn, sin dilacin                                               1215
prended a Quevedo.

QUEVEDO

      (Volvindose de improviso y sealando a OLIVARES con la mano derecha,
       mientras lee en voz alta el papel que tiene en la izquierda)
                    A l!...      (Lee)
A la infanta Margarita
dars hoy mismo...

OLIVARES (lanzndose a l)

                      Oh, callad!

QUEVEDO (a OLIVARES completando la oracin)

La muerte.

OLIVARES (al CAPITN)

              Vos, apartad.

QUEVEDO

Y firmis!      (Sealando el papel)

OLIVARES

            (Carta maldita!)                                       1220

GRANA

(Cosas se ven singulares.)

CASTILLA (abalanzndose a QUEVEDO)

Quevedo!...

MENDAA (id. a OLIVARES)

                Seor!...

QUEVEDO (detenindole)

                              Templanza.
Suponis?... Todo fu chanza...
chanza del buen Olivares....
      (A los dems)
Vos... ya lo veis... tiene das...                                  1225
      (Llegndose de nuevo a OLIVARES y aparte, como lastimndose)
Casualidades siniestras...
por buscar las pruebas vuestras
fuisteis a dar con las mas.
      (MENDAA, CASTILLA y GRANA en el fondo hablan acaloradamente)

OLIVARES

Qu intentis?

QUEVEDO

                Soy temerario.
Y la infanta?

OLIVARES

                Vive.

QUEVEDO

                      Oh!                                          1230
Vive?      (Seal afirmativa de OLIVARES)
        A tiempo mat yo
a vuestro infernal sicario;
mas otro tal vez...

OLIVARES

                        Lo juro:
vive en palacio y est
presa y oculta... No, ya                                            1235
segn mand... de seguro
se la habrn llevado...

QUEVEDO

                            A dnde?

OLIVARES

A Ocaa... No, no... de cierto
sabr el capitn...

QUEVEDO

                        Si ha muerto,
de ella este papel responde.                                        1240
Maana... Ahora!
      (Volvindose a los dems)
                    Escuchad!

OLIVARES (deteniendo a QUEVEDO con terror)

(Vive, s!)

CASTILLA

              (Qu podr ser?)

OLIVARES

(Vive!)

MENDAA

          Nos vais a leer?...

OLIVARES

Nada... un soneto...

QUEVEDO

                            Es verdad.

MENDAA

Mejor, me place la idea.                                            1245

CASTILLA (aparte a GRANA)

Yo me pierdo en conjeturas;
qu es esto?

GRANA (id.)

              Yo estoy a oscuras.

MENDAA

Que se lea, que se lea.

QUEVEDO

Lo que me peds negu
a Olivares ya, y por eso                                            1250
trat de ponerme preso...

OLIVARES

Chanza...

QUEVEDO

              Muy pesada, a fe.
Y yo, por tomar venganza,
mi soneto he de guardar.

MENDAA

No nos deis ese pesar.                                              1255

QUEVEDO

Es que me asust la chanza.

OLIVARES

Por ella os pido perdn.

MENDAA

Pues dad principio, Quevedo;
vamos, conceded...

QUEVEDO

                      Concedo...
mas con una condicin:                                              1260
pues que a prenderme ha venido,
aunque en chanza, el capitn,
con los que a su mando van,
chanza tambin, muy erguido
marchar luego ante m,                                             1265
dndome guardia de honor.

MENDAA

Brava ocurrencia.

CAPITN (a OLIVARES)

                  Seor...?

OLIVARES

Capitn, hacedlo as.

QUEVEDO (al CAPITN)

Lo entendis?... Y con buen modo
que me obedezcis espero                                            1270
en todo y por todo...

OLIVARES

                          Pero...

QUEVEDO (desdoblando el papel con aire amenazante)

Conde-duque...

OLIVARES (al CAPITN)

                  En todo, en todo.

CAPITN (a QUEVEDO)

Fiel obediencia os prometo.

QUEVEDO

Pues od.

MENDAA

          Al punto, al punto.

QUEVEDO (leyendo)

A... una... nariz.

MENDAA

                            Bravo asunto.                           1275

QUEVEDO (aparte a OLIVARES)

Y escuchadme bien.            (A todos, leyendo)

                    Soneto.

(QUEVEDO se acerca a la luz al lado de OLIVARES; los dems permanecen
a cierta distancia. QUEVEDO leer con lentitud y voz sonora los ocho
versos del conocido soneto _A Una Nariz_, que estn subrayados,
diciendo a OLIVARES aparte y con el tono conveniente los intercalados
en los dos cuartetos. Los otros, y en particular MENDAA,
escuchan la lectura con gran contentamiento)

_rase un hombre a una nariz pegado_;
Como al rey el privado que aqu priva.
_rase una nariz superlativa_;
Como la audacia loca del privado.                                   1280
_rase una nariz sayn y escriba_;
Estis verde... amarillo... jaspeado.
_rase un peje-espada muy barbado_;
Os veis como un ratn en una criba.
_Era un reloj de sol mal encarado_;                            1285
Como vos al tragar tanta saliva.
_rase una alquitara pensativa_;
De ver a un favorito... alquitarado.
_rase un elefante boca arriba_;
Como estn hoy las cosas del estado.                                1290
_Era Ovidio Nasn ms narizado_.

      (En tono amenazante)

(Rogad al cielo que la infanta viva!)

OLIVARES

(Vive!)

QUEVEDO

          (Si ha muerto, ay de vos!)

MENDAA

Proseguid...

QUEVEDO (volvindose a los dems de improviso)

                Torpe y confusa
mi cabeza, estoy sin musa.                                          1295

(En actitud y tono militar)

Capitn, en marcha!... Adis!

      (A los dems con majestad grotesca al retirarse.
      Vase por la derecha con la guardia)


ESCENA XII

OLIVARES, MENDAA, CASTILLA y GRANA

MENDAA

Siempre alegre don Francisco.

OLIVARES

(Maldito de Dios su nombre!)

MENDAA

Y al fin no acab el soneto...
voto a Polimnia y Caliope...                                        1300

GRANA (mirando a la derecha)

Ya atraviesa con su guardia
los ltimos corredores.

MENDAA

Dejarnos as... por vida!...
Si es un torbellino ese hombre.

OLIVARES

(No me burlar maana                                               1305
como me burl esta noche.)

GRANA

Slo ocho versos nos dijo.

MENDAA

Y un soneto... da catorce.

GRANA (a CASTILLA)

Vos... nada hablis?

CASTILLA

                          Nada, nada.
No quiero que me la corten.                                         1310
      (Sealando la lengua)

GRANA

Callad... prudencia.

MENDAA

                        A Olivares
quizs la musa le sople
tambin, y... mejor; miradle,
por su actitud se conoce:
quiere dar fin al soneto,                                           1315
y discurre el estrambote.

OLIVARES

(Maana ser otro da!)

MENDAA

Silencio, atencin, seores.

GRANA

Hacia aqu la reina sale.

OLIVARES

(Largas son sus oraciones.)                                         1320


ESCENA XIII

Dichos y LA REINA, que sale de la capilla apoyndose en DOA INS

REINA

Es verdad, me siento dbil,
dbil, cual nunca, esta noche.
      (Reparando en ellos)
Aun estis aqu?

OLIVARES

                  Seora,
nuestro deber nos lo impone.
Antes con luces servimos                                            1325
a la reina, y como entonces,
bien que sin luces, estamos
prontos a cumplir sus rdenes.
      (Todos se inclinan. LA REINA escucha con distraccin)
Como veis, solo, seora,
de entre tantos servidores                                          1330
falta vuestro caballero...
y, por Dios, que anduvo torpe,
que el honor de dar la mano
a una reina hermosa y joven
ni un galn lo cede nunca,                                          1335
ni jams lo olvida un noble.

REINA

Basta ya... basta, Olivares.

INS

Es hora de que repose
vuesa Majestad.

OLIVARES

                Pues disteis
fin a vuestras devociones                                           1340
debis descansar....

REINA

                        Es cierto.

OLIVARES

Tristes sern vuestras noches!

REINA (sin orle)

(Oh, la infanta Margarita
dicen que vino a la corte!...)
                    (Dirigindose a su cmara)

OLIVARES

Permitidnos...

REINA

                  No, quedaos.                                      1345
      (Todos se inclinan. MENDAA, CASTILLA y GRANA hablan para s;
      OLIVARES contempla con una sonrisa a LA REINA, que se encamina
      lentamente a su cmara)
(Quin la detiene y en dnde?
Cunto consuelo hallaran
juntos nuestros corazones!...
Margarita... alma sublime!...
Cul mis acerbos dolores                                           1350
calmara! l nos separa...
Dios su maldad le perdone!)


ESCENA LTIMA

Dichos y QUEVEDO; despus MARGARITA y guardia

QUEVEDO

Hoy de vuesa Majestad
una audiencia solicita...

REINA

Quin?

QUEVEDO

        La infanta Margarita.                                       1355
      (Introducindola de la mano seguida de la guardia)

REINA

Gran Dios!      (Precipitndose en sus brazos)

MARGARITA (id.)

            Qu felicidad!

OLIVARES

(Ella!... Aun estaba en palacio!)

REINA

Soy feliz!

MARGARITA

            Te he vuelto a ver!...

REINA

Pero cmo, cmo?

MARGARITA

                  Ayer...
      (Reparando en OLIVARES)
Todo lo sabrs despacio.                                            1360
      (LA REINA conducida por MARGARITA se dirige a su cmara por entre
      los guardias, que les abren paso, y seguidas de MENDAA, CASTILLA
      y GRANA, que las acompaan hasta la puerta)

QUEVEDO (a OLIVARES con sarcasmo)

Prevenidla con afn
flores, festejos y galas...

OLIVARES

(Yo le cortar las alas.)
(Oh, su prisin!...) Capitn!

QUEVEDO

Pajes prevenidla y coches.                                          1365

OLIVARES (al CAPITN)

Llevad!...

QUEVEDO

                Soneto.
      (Desdoblando un papel y con el aire ms natural)

OLIVARES

                        (Oh, me espanta!)

QUEVEDO (al CAPITN)

Guardia de honor a la infanta.
Conde-duque, buenas noches.

Fin del Acto Segundo




ACTO TERCERO

La decoracin del anterior


ESCENA PRIMERA

MARGARITA

Un mes ya!... Tan largo plazo
para jornada tan corta...                                           1370
La tardanza de Quevedo
me desconcierta y me asombra.
Qu podra ser? El camino
desde Madrid a Lisboa
no es hoy seguro, y acaso...                                        1375
Vagas sospechas me acosan:
vengativo el conde-duque,
nunca olvida ni perdona;
y si a su fin le conducen,
poco los medios le importan.                                        1380
En el mundo hay asesinos
que con el oro se compran...
Olivares es malvado...
Tal vez Quevedo a estas horas...
Oh, Dios mo!... Dios lo sabe.                                     1385
Nunca fu supersticiosa;
pero esta idea terrible
es un dogal que me ahoga.
Varonil y fuerte, nunca
tembl de terror... y ahora                                         1390
al pensar en l ay! tiemblo
como en el rbol la hoja...
Qu pasa por m?... Quevedo...
siempre fijo en mi memoria!
Oh, la gratitud... sin duda!...                                    1395
No puede ser otra cosa...
Cierto! La altiva duquesa
Margarita de Saboya
que no conoci en su vida
ms voluntad que la propia;                                         1400
la que nunca dominada
siempre fu dominadora,
con su voluntad de hierro
y su corazn de roca;
esa mujer... soberana,                                              1405
con su altivez por corona,
siempre es la misma, la misma...
No... delante de l es otra...
otra, s.... Nadie en el mundo
logr lo que ese hombre logra....                                   1410
Quevedo ay, Dios! me fascina....
Jams... Qu digo? Estoy loca!
No, delante de Quevedo
mis mejillas se coloran
y mis ojos se humedecen                                             1415
y mi mente se trastorna...
S... siempre al sentir sus pasos
tembl!... como tiemblo ahora
sin sentirlos... sin sentirlos...
No... los siento en mi memoria.                                     1420


ESCENA II

MARGARITA y LA REINA, que sale de su cmara

REINA

Margarita...

MARGARITA

                Oh! Me buscabas?

REINA

S, y el hallarte tan sola
me sorprende. T llorando!

MARGARITA

Cmo!

REINA

       T que nunca lloras!

MARGARITA

Qu ilusin!... T lo dijiste:                                     1425
nunca del llanto las gotas
por mis mejillas corrieron.

REINA

Plegue a Dios que nunca corran!

MARGARITA

Yo as lo espero... las lgrimas
siempre son infructuosas.                                           1430

REINA

El llanto calma las penas.

MARGARITA

El valor triunfa de todas.
En eso mismo pensaba
cuando llegaste. La hora
de vencer a la desgracia                                            1435
se acerca para nosotras.

REINA

Loca esperanza.

MARGARITA

                Qu dices?
Si hoy mismo Quevedo torna,
para triunfar de Olivares,
armas traer de Lisboa.                                             1440

REINA

Esas armas...

MARGARITA

                  Son seguras,
y han de darnos la victoria,
descubriendo del ministro
las maquinaciones sordas.
Bien lo sabes: Portugal,                                            1445
antes provincia espaola,
se hizo reino independiente,
siendo yo gobernadora;
que no fu por culpa ma
bien en mis despachos consta.                                       1450
Con tiempo avis el peligro
y ped dinero y tropas;
pero sordo el conde-duque
a mis peticiones todas,
juzg sueos mis temores,                                           1455
me crey dbil o loca.
Pues bien, ya que la experiencia,
aunque por mi mal, me abona,
por las cartas de Olivares,
llenas para el rey de mofa,                                         1460
sabr el rey que ese ministro
con escndalo de Europa,
necio o traidor, ha vendido
un joyel de su corona.
Quevedo hallar esas cartas                                         1465
que ocultas dej en Lisboa.
Una sola puede darnos
venganza terrible y pronta!

REINA

Me haces temblar.

MARGARITA

                  El malvado,
por dar fin a sus zozobras,                                         1470
quiso asesinarme...

REINA

                        Cielos!...
no recuerdes esa historia.

MARGARITA

S, y a no ser por Quevedo,
que brot de entre la sombra,
el sicario de Olivares...                                           1475

REINA
Y a qu recordarlo ahora?
Vives y ests a mi lado...
Ya Olivares no lo estorba...
Oh! tal vez arrepentido
ya de su accin se sonroja...                                       1480

MARGARITA

Le conoces mal.

REINA

                    Con todo,
de ello responden sus obras.
El es el rey... y en palacio
desde aquella noche moras,
y hace un mes que el de Olivares                                    1485
te consagra sus lisonjas,
te distingue...

MARGARITA

                    Y, sin embargo,
en su corazn me odia.

REINA

Y cmo explicar?...

MARGARITA

                        Quevedo,
al partir para Lisboa,                                              1490
ensendole un papel,
le dijo con risa irnica:
Pues con vos queda la infanta
Margarita de Saboya,
conmigo va este soneto                                              1495
para que de ella responda.

REINA

No comprendo...

MARGARITA

                    De mi vida
l responde con la propia;
tiene las manos atadas,
y si, al fin, Quevedo torna,                                        1500
la ruina del favorito
ser inevitable y pronta.

REINA

Qu intentas?

MARGARITA

                Salvar a Espaa
de un yugo que la deshonra,
comprar tambin el castigo                                          1505
del tirano...

REINA

                  Si es a costa
de mi eterna desventura,
caro su castigo compras.

MARGARITA

Oh! Qu dices?

REINA

                  La esperanza
jams al triste abandona,                                           1510
y yo en mi delirio a veces
aun espero ser dichosa.
Solo hay un medio: Olivares
con intencin cautelosa
guarda ese escrito sangriento                                       1515
en que mi inocencia consta...
Y en m tomar venganza
si t su rencor provocas,
aniquilando ese escrito,
que es ay! mi esperanza sola.                                      1520

MARGARITA

Calla, calla!

REINA

                Margarita,
t, tan buena y generosa,
no hars uso de tus armas
si han de volverse en mi contra.

MARGARITA

Qu dices? Espaa sufre...                                         1525
Dios en mis manos coloca
su remedio... Antes que todo
es esta nacin heroica.

REINA

Y tu amor?

MARGARITA

            El mismo siempre.

REINA

Salva mi vida y mi honra!                                          1530

MARGARITA

Despus...

REINA

              Ay, ser muy tarde!

MARGARITA

(Gran Dios, mis fuerzas se agotan!
No puedo ms!)

REINA

                Margarita,
t sers mi salvadora.
El castigo de Olivares                                              1535
puede aplazarse y...

MARGARITA

                        Qu importa
si en tanto ese hombre...? ...Imposible!
La corte y Espaa toda
sufren su tirano yugo
y sus desafueros lloran.                                            1540

REINA

Hombre fatal!

MARGARITA

                Por su causa
la Espaa, terror de Europa
y del mundo en otro tiempo,
duerme en el olvido ahora.
Por l lloramos perdidas                                            1545
tantas conquistas gloriosas,
unas al hierro entregadas,
y al oro vendidas otras.
Ms de trescientos navos
tragaron del mar las olas                                           1550
por l, y por l perdimos
a Esthin, Wiranzan y Dola,
y a ms las Islas Terceras,
y el Ducado de Borgoa
y el Brasil y el Roselln,                                          1555
y Ormuz, Pernambuco y Hoa!...
Y no ha mucho Portugal,
siendo yo gobernadora,
por su rey al de Braganza
coron en Villaviciosa...                                           1560

REINA

Calla!      (Mirando hacia la derecha)


ESCENA III

Dichas y OLIVARES, MENDAA, GRANA y CASTILLA, que entran muy engolfados
en su conversacin por la derecha. Al verlos LA REINA se va retirando
hacia su cmara acompaada de MARGARITA

OLIVARES

        Sabr quin ha sido.

MENDAA

Mejor, morir en la horca!

REINA

(Pinsalo bien.)

MARGARITA

                  Hasta luego.
      (LA REINA entra en su cmara; MARGARITA
      la contempla con expresin de ternura)

OLIVARES

Fu slo un susto.

GRANA

                    No importa.

MENDAA

Mejor, mejor.

OLIVARES

              Mas la infanta...                                     1565

MENDAA

La infanta?... Mejor.
      (Todos saludan a MARGARITA, que va acercndose hacia ellos)

OLIVARES

                          Seora...

MARGARITA

Plido estis, Conde-duque.

MENDAA

No es para menos la cosa.

MARGARITA

Pues qu ha habido?

OLIVARES

                      Nada, nada.

MENDAA

Un disparo a quemarropa!                                           1570

OLIVARES

Bien, no me ha herido.

MENDAA

                        Mejor.

MARGARITA

Conde-duque, estoy absorta.

OLIVARES

No nos ocupemos de ello.      (A los tres)
Sobre asuntos de ms monta
tengo que hablar a su alteza;                                       1575
conque... dejadnos a solas....
Hasta despus.          (Saludndolos)
      (Los tres se inclinan y vanse por la derecha)

MENDAA (marchndose)

                Despacito
voy a examinar ahora
el estrago que las balas
hicieron en su carroza.                                             1580


ESCENA IV

MARGARITA, OLIVARES

MARGARITA

Conde-duque, mal os quieren.

OLIVARES

Vos interpretis las cosas
de una manera... Ese tiro
fu casualidad, seora.

MARGARITA

Eso pensis?

OLIVARES

                Quin lo duda?                                     1585
En honor a mi persona,
como siempre, en las Salinas
hizo una salva la tropa...

MARGARITA

Si hay plomo en los arcabuces,
las salvas son peligrosas.                                          1590

OLIVARES

Nada temis.

MARGARITA

              No os conviene
gastar en salvas la plvora.

OLIVARES

La torpeza de un bisoo
no nos debe causar zozobra.

MARGARITA

No; mas tened vos en cuenta                                         1595
que hay mucha gente bisoa.

OLIVARES

Vivid tranquila: las balas
no han de quemarme la ropa.
Para tiros ms seguros
pienso prevenir mi cota.                                            1600

MARGARITA

Otros temis, Conde-duque?

OLIVARES

Certeros y de arma sorda:
son los tiros de la infanta
Margarita de Saboya...

MARGARITA

Oh! Pues diz que ella dispara                                      1605
siempre al corazn.

OLIVARES

                    Hay otras
opiniones.... Diz que apunta,
y al tirar... tiembla o perdona.

MARGARITA

Mal la conocis.

OLIVARES

                  Con todo,
un mes hace por ahora                                               1610
que a mi privanza la guerra
declar en debida forma,
y hasta el presente no he visto
las hostilidades rotas...
y es que en ausencia de Marte                                       1615
duerme, sin duda, Belona.

MARGARITA

Los plazos al fin se cumplen;
las deudas al fin se cobran.

OLIVARES

Yo, a la verdad, no comprendo
cmo os estis tan ociosa.                                          1620

MARGARITA

Vos lo habis dicho: le aguardo.

OLIVARES

Ya... no os atrevis vos sola...

MARGARITA

A todo!

OLIVARES

          Pues qu os detiene?

MARGARITA

Tenis preguntas muy hondas.

OLIVARES

Conque le aguardis?

MARGARITA

                      Le aguardo                                    1625
como el labrador la aurora.

OLIVARES

Y si acaso no volviese?

MARGARITA

(Gran Dios!)

OLIVARES

              La fortuna es loca,
y a veces por sus caprichos
el plan ms hbil aborta,                                           1630
y se pierden como el humo
las ms diestras maniobras.

MARGARITA

La justicia triunfa siempre!

OLIVARES

Cuando el ardid no lo estorba;
bien lo sabis.

MARGARITA

                Conde-duque,                                        1635
s que hay puales.

OLIVARES

                    (!Oh, llora!)

MARGARITA

Pero s tambin, y acaso
lo debo a vuestra persona,
que una espada de buen temple
para cien puales sobra.                                            1640

OLIVARES

Pues no aguardis a Quevedo!

MARGARITA

(Oh, Virgen... misericordia!)


ESCENA V

Dichos y QUEVEDO por la derecha y en traje de camino

QUEVEDO

Aqu estoy porque he venido.

OLIVARES

(!Oh, furor!)

MARGARITA (mirando al cielo y con las manos juntas)

              !Gracias, Seora!

OLIVARES

Vos, don Francisco...

QUEVEDO

                          Acabad;                                   1645
Quevedo y Villegas....

OLIVARES

                          Pues
caballero santiagus...
gracias...

QUEVEDO

              Al diablo.

OLIVARES

                          Es verdad.

QUEVEDO

Y a la cruz, y a todos pago:
que si de Santiago soy                                              1650
caballero, gracias doy...

OLIVARES

S, a Medina.

QUEVEDO

              No, a Santiago.
Al tornar de mi viaje,
por veniros pronto a ver,
no me quise detener                                                 1655
ni aun para cambiar de traje.

OLIVARES

Mucho estimo tal fineza.

QUEVEDO

Seora...       (Reparando en MARGARITA)
      (A OLIVARES)
              Plida est!...
Si un ultraje...

OLIVARES

                    Ella os dir.

MARGARITA

Adis.

QUEVEDO

        Servir a su Alteza.                                        1660
      (Acompala hasta la puerta)

MARGARITA (aparte a QUEVEDO)

Y bien?

QUEVEDO

          Nuestra es la jornada.

MARGARITA

Vienen los papeles?

QUEVEDO

                      S;
mas no vienen sobre m
por temor de una emboscada.

MARGARITA

Bien... La reina est mortal...                                     1665
Teme...

QUEVEDO

            Con razn, a fe.

MARGARITA

!Salvadla!

QUEVEDO

            La salvar.

MARGARITA (despus de despedirse)

(Tiene un alma celestial.)


ESCENA VI

QUEVEDO, OLIVARES

QUEVEDO (contemplndola al partir)

(Es mujer o es ilusin?
Oh, por ella, con fe pa                                           1670
gota a gota vertera
la sangre del corazn!)

OLIVARES

(Vive Dios que est despacio!)
      (Pnele la mano sobre el hombro)

QUEVEDO

Quin?...

OLIVARES

              Tan ceudo y suspenso
qu es lo que pensis?

QUEVEDO

                        No pienso;                                  1675
nunca se piensa... en palacio.

OLIVARES

Pues qu hacais de ese modo?

QUEVEDO

Repasaba mi memoria
cierta peregrina historia.

OLIVARES

De amores?

QUEVEDO

              Tiene de todo.                                        1680

OLIVARES

Ser entretenida?

QUEVEDO

                    Oh, mucho!
Queris la historia saber?

OLIVARES

Me ser de gran placer.

QUEVEDO

Pues escuchadme.

OLIVARES

                  Os escucho.

QUEVEDO

ranse un rey muy celoso                                            1685
y una reina muy hermosa;
la reina del rey esposa,
y el rey... de la reina esposo.
Y as unidos ante Dios,
como a un rbol dos races,                                         1690
eran los dos muy felices,
porque se amaban los dos.

Pero un hombre... un favorito...
que en la dicha y el poder
solo ambicionaba ser...
      (Movimiento de OLIVARES)
Od: ese hombre maldito,
por influir sin rival
del rey en el corazn,
alz de infamia un padrn
entre la pareja real:                                               1700
con habilidad cruel...
le hizo muy hbil su estrella...
mintiendo culpas en ella,
encendi celos en l.
Y el rey maldijo en sus celos                                       1705
a la reina por impura,
y la reina era tan pura
como un ngel de los cielos.
Y desde entonces los dos
no se han vuelto a unir jams,                                      1710
y l vive... triste quizs,
y ella... dudando de Dios.

OLIVARES

Permitidme que os ataje;
porque o miente mi memoria
o vos, al contar la historia,                                       1715
olvidis un personaje.
Y esa historia me cont
no s quin, cmo ni dnde,
y anda en ella cierto conde...
el amante.

QUEVEDO

            No!

OLIVARES

              S!

QUEVEDO

                    No!                                            1720

OLIVARES

De ese buen conde afirmaron
que con la reina le vieron
amante feliz...

QUEVEDO

                    Mintieron.

OLIVARES

Pues as me lo contaron.

QUEVEDO

Yo os lo contar mejor.                                             1725

OLIVARES

El conde a la reina amaba.

QUEVEDO

Pero la reina ignoraba
su desatinado amor.

OLIVARES

Y quin lo podr probar?...

QUEVEDO

Hay una prueba sangrienta...                                        1730

OLIVARES

Como nadie la presenta...

QUEVEDO

No la quieren presentar.
Escuchadme: el favorito
que a la reina calumni,
tal delito coron                                                   1735
con otro nuevo delito.
Sabedor de la verdad
el conde, slo poda
poner en claro algn da
tan cobarde iniquidad.                                              1740
Era un testigo harto fiel....
Pero ya resuelto a todo,
hall el favorito modo
para deshacerse de l.
Y al pie del alczar real                                           1745
diz que una noche a traicin
pas al conde el corazn...

OLIVARES

S, una espada.

QUEVEDO

                No, un pual!
Lo os?... Para hazaas tales
no presta el valor espadas...                                       1750

OLIVARES

Mas...

QUEVEDO

          Para muertes compradas
la traicin vende puales.

OLIVARES

Basta.

QUEVEDO

        Od: al expirar
el conde escribi un papel
con sangre... Vengo por l.                                         1755

OLIVARES

Cmo!

QUEVEDO

        Y me le vais a dar.

OLIVARES

Nunca!

QUEVEDO

        S, s, por quien soy...      (Saca un papel)
de ella esta firma responde...

OLIVARES

Pero...

QUEVEDO

            El escrito del conde!

OLIVARES (Despus de un momento y sealando con timidez
          el papel de QUEVEDO)

Dadme se en cambio.

QUEVEDO (Despus de un movimiento de extraeza y con tono despreciativo)

                      Os le doy.                                    1760

OLIVARES

Me le dais?

QUEVEDO

              Lo dije ya.

OLIVARES (dirigindose a la izquierda)

Vuelvo...

QUEVEDO

              Sin ste... lo s...
ya sin armas quedar;
mas qu importa?

OLIVARES

                  Bien est.      (Vase)

QUEVEDO

Entre hacer el bien del bueno                                       1765
y el mal del malo, dudara
slo un hombre que abrigara
ese corazn de cieno.


ESCENA VII

QUEVEDO; despus MENDAA, CASTILLA y GRANA, que entran por la derecha y
vuelven a salir por el fondo, izquierda

QUEVEDO

Bravo, corazn, muy bien!
Estoy contento de ti.                                               1770
      (Mirando a la derecha)
Mas... que a punto siempre estn
los necios!... Si ahora me ven
no podr echarlos de m.      (Se oculta)

MENDAA (entrando con los otros dos)

Conde-duque... Pues no est.

GRANA

Sin duda en aquellas salas....                                      1775

MENDAA

Vamos a buscarle all.

CASTILLA

Pues con eso nos dir
cmo le suenan las balas.      (Vanse)

QUEVEDO

No me han visto. Es fuerte apuro
que me hayan de perseguir                                           1780
necios siempre, y de seguro
con este infame conjuro:
Quevedo, hacednos rer.
Y es, por Dios, contraste horrendo
y aun viceversa nefando,                                            1785
y hasta sarcasmo estupendo,
que ellos escuchen riendo
lo que yo digo rabiando.
Tal vez, porque se desven,
suelto un chiste insulso y fro...                                  1790
mas de gusto se deslen,
y tanto a voces se ren,
que al fin... yo tambin me ro.
Risas hay de Lucifer,
risas preadas de horror...,                                        1795
que en nuestro mezquino ser,
como su llanto el placer,
tiene su risa el dolor.
Necios, los que abrs las bocas,
abrid los ojos... quizs                                            1800
veris que mis risas locas
son de lstima no pocas,
y de tedio las dems....
No! Con su chata razn
no comprenden, cosa es clara,                                       1805
que mis chistes gotas son
de la hiel del corazn
que les escupo a la cara.
Y jams librarme puedo
de ese infernal retintn                                            1810
que ya me produce miedo:
Divertidnos vos, Quevedo.
Y hablo... y los divierto al fin.
Qu tal? Me divierto mucho,
dice, al divertirse, un bicho                                       1815
ya en diversiones muy ducho...
Y con qu temblor lo escucho!...
yo que en mi vida lo he dicho....
S... los necios de mil modos
que se diviertan, discurro                                          1820
hasta por cogote y codos.
Y yo al divertirse todos,
siempre me canso y me aburro.      (Pausa)
Cansado estoy de cansarme
y aburrido de aburrirme...                                          1825
Necios, venid a ensearme
cmo tengo de arreglarme
para saber divertirme!
Y si en torno hasta el morir
slo necios me he de hallar                                         1830
y con necios sonrer
y entre necios divertir,
viendo a los necios bailar:
padre Adn,... tu parentela
mire yo en corro infinito,                                          1835
a la luz de una pajuela,
bailando la tarantela...
pues... y el baile de San Vito!...


ESCENA VIII

QUEVEDO, OLIVARES

OLIVARES (dndole un papel)

Carta pstuma, Quevedo.

QUEVEDO
      (Despus de mirarla por todos lados y entregando a OLIVARES el otro)

Carta indita, Olivares.                                            1840

OLIVARES

Plceme, por Dios, el trueque.

QUEVEDO

Por Dios, que tambin me place.

OLIVARES (leyendo)

A la infanta Margarita...

QUEVEDO

La orden era terminante...

OLIVARES

dars al punto la muerte.                                         1845

QUEVEDO

Sentencia que vos firmasteis.

OLIVARES

Es verdad. Y este soneto,
como dimos en llamarle,
s, me ha puesto algunas veces
descolorido el semblante.                                           1850

QUEVEDO

Pues este escrito sangriento...
ved lo que son los contrastes!...
ha de volver los colores
al puro rostro de un ngel.

OLIVARES

Soneto impo! Quevedo,                                             1855
permitidme que le rasgue
sin demora... No, imagino
que es ms seguro quemarle.

QUEVEDO

Carta feliz! Conde-duque,
permitidme que repase                                               1860
sus renglones... de la reina
quiero en la dicha gozarme.

OLIVARES

Y esperis?

QUEVEDO (con tono solemne)

              En este escrito
hoy habla al rey un cadver...
      (Leyendo)
Al Rey,... Od cmo escriben                                      1865
los moribundos con sangre:
Muero, es justo; la beldad
am que en el trono vi;...
pero siempre, es la verdad,
ignor su majestad                                                 1870
este ciego frenes.
Jams hablamos los dos...
lo jura un alma cristiana
ya en la presencia de Dios!
Muero; perdonadme vos...                                           1875
con sangre... Villamediana.
De la fe de un moribundo
ni el rey dudar ni nadie.

OLIVARES

Pero vos al recibirla
me parece que dudasteis...                                          1880

QUEVEDO

De su origen, Conde-duque!
Porque sois tan hbil,
me asalt al punto un recelo.

OLIVARES

Pues me hicisteis un ultraje.
No falsifica papeles                                               1885
la raza de los Guzmanes!

QUEVEDO

Pero si un Guzmn se nombra
conde-duque de Olivares...

OLIVARES

Nunca falsifica!

QUEVEDO

                  Cierto...
cartas escritas con sangre;                                         1890
y es que tal vez le repugna...

OLIVARES

S... envilecerse!

QUEVEDO

                        O sangrarse.

OLIVARES

Nunca, y lo sabris muy pronto,
nunca pequ de cobarde.

QUEVEDO

Sois audaz... y aun est en pleito                                  1895
el valor de los audaces.      (Pausa)

OLIVARES

Quevedo, un mes hace ahora,
no quisiera equivocarme,
que en esta cmara misma...
cierto en sta fu...

QUEVEDO

                Adelante.                                           1900

OLIVARES

Yo entonces para prenderos...

QUEVEDO

Pues a la guardia llamasteis,
que por venir a prenderme
tuvo despus que escoltarme.

OLIVARES

Un soneto os salv entonces.                                        1905

QUEVEDO

Sonetos de vos me salven.

OLIVARES

Hoy os falta ya el soneto.

QUEVEDO

Pues... me salvar un romance.
      (OLIVARES vase por la derecha)


ESCENA IX

QUEVEDO; despus MARGARITA. Al desaparecer OLIVARES, QUEVEDO se dirige
con rapidez a la puerta de la cmara de LA REINA

QUEVEDO (llamando)

Duquesa... Duquesa... quiero
darle estas letras de sangre                                        1910
sin demora... Mas... Duquesa,
salid. Oh, dicha, ya sale!

MARGARITA

Erais vos?

QUEVEDO

            Perdonad si anduve osado.

MARGARITA

Que eso digis!

QUEVEDO

                  Como ofrec, seora,
sin grande desazn para el privado                                  1915
esta carta sangrienta he rescatado,
y os la presento ahora.

MARGARITA

Sois el genio del bien!

QUEVEDO

                          Dadme otro nombre.
Mezquino entre los hombres me confundo,
y hombre frgil tambin...

MARGARITA

                              S, sois un hombre;                   1920
habis nacido para honrar el mundo.

QUEVEDO

Callad, por compasin!

MARGARITA

                        Cunto os admiro!
Alma tenis de celestial esencia....
Oh, bendita de Dios vuestra existencia
consagrada!...

QUEVEDO

                  Al estudio y al retiro,                           1925
seora, y nada ms.

MARGARITA

                    Y a los que gimen
consagrada tambin.... Oh, s, bendita
un alma cual la vuestra, que se agita
en pro de la virtud y contra el crimen!
      (Movimiento de QUEVEDO)
Y no me lo neguis!... De la ventura                               1930
nuncio mortal, por bien de los mortales,
desterris de las almas la amargura;
y olvidado tal vez de vuestros males,
vivs por dar alivio a los ajenos,
y amparo a la virtud y al crimen guerra.                            1935
Oh, seris muy feliz!

QUEVEDO

                        Nunca! En la tierra
nadie es feliz, seora.

MARGARITA

                        Ni aun los buenos?

QUEVEDO

De una madre nacimos
los que esta comn aura respiramos,
todos muriendo en lgrimas vivimos                                  1940
desde que en el nacer lloramos.

MARGARITA

Tenis harta razn; mas yo crea
que a vos el cielo con largueza os daba
ventura y alegra,
que a vos eterno el bien os sonrea...                              1945

QUEVEDO

Oh, tarde empieza el bien y pronto acaba!...

MARGARITA

Yo pens que el placer, libre de enojos,
era en Quevedo condicin precisa...

QUEVEDO

Nunca busquis la flor en los rastrojos.

MARGARITA

Yo vi siempre el contento en vuestros ojos,                         1950
y en vuestros labios contempl la risa...

QUEVEDO

Risa fatal de la tristeza loca!

MARGARITA

(Oh, qu aspecto y qu voz! Me ha enternecido.)

QUEVEDO

Me comprendisteis mal... (Es una roca.)

MARGARITA

Estis descolorido....                                              1955

QUEVEDO

Tal vez....

MARGARITA

                Quevedo!

QUEVEDO

                          Comprenderme os toca!

MARGARITA

Mas siempre una sonrisa en esa boca...

QUEVEDO

Y en este corazn siempre un gemido.

MARGARITA

(Resonaba en su voz el sentimiento.)

QUEVEDO

(Yo he de perder al cabo la cabeza.)                                1960
Vuesa Alteza... tal vez...

MARGARITA

                            (Fltame aliento.)

QUEVEDO

De mi loca tristeza
no haga caso ninguno vuesa Alteza...

MARGARITA

Dejad la _alteza_ ahora...
escusad nombres vanos...                                            1965
amiga y no seora...

QUEVEDO

La carta salvadora
que puse en vuestras manos
a la reina entregad... Con razn harta
ser alivio a sus penas esa carta.                                  1970

MARGARITA

Es verdad.

QUEVEDO

            Ante todo,
como amigo os lo ruego,
haced que al punto y de cualquier modo
a las manos del rey pase este pliego.
      (Dala un pliego grande y sellado)

MARGARITA

Bien, bien.

QUEVEDO

            (Me reconcilia                                          1975
con la ruin sociedad alma tan pura.)

MARGARITA

Ser de Portugal?

QUEVEDO

                    Es de Sicilia.
Llegado a Portugal, en derechura
me encamin a Palermo mi ventura,
y ese pliego es de all.

MARGARITA

                          Vuestra tardanza                          1980
comprendo bien ahora.
Qu contiene este pliego?

QUEVEDO

                          Una esperanza.

MARGARITA

Voy a entregarle al rey.

QUEVEDO

                          Gracias, seora.
Y luego estad alerta
de la cmara real junto a la puerta.                                1985
      (Entra MARGARITA en la cmara del rey)


ESCENA X

QUEVEDO; despus OLIVARES

QUEVEDO

Y ella tambin, cual todos, se ha engaado,
y muy feliz, cual todos, me ha credo....
Cmo insultan mi ser desventurado
_los que ciego me ven de haber llorado
y las lgrimas saben que he vertido_!                            1990
Ellos!... Prole raqutica y liviana!...
Si ojos hoy para verme no ha tenido,
claros su prole los tendr maana.
Es verdad... yo lo espero,
vive Dios!... en el tiempo venidero                                1995
al nombrarme las gentes,
se reirn mandbulas batientes...
De pensarlo no ms me inunde el gozo!...
S, Quevedo, los hombres, oh ventura!
all en la edad futura,                                             2000
te honrarn con chacota y alborozo;
y al ver tu calavera, alegre risa
llamarn a su gesto, y por laureles,
al son de un tamboril, despus de misa,
ceirn a tu frente blanca y lisa                                   2005
corona de juglar... con cascabeles.

OLIVARES (entrando por la derecha)

Ya me tenis aqu.

QUEVEDO

                    Tal compaa
me era intil, a fe.

OLIVARES

                      Por vida ma,
que de vos me ocupaba hace un instante.

QUEVEDO

Gracias.

OLIVARES

          Caprichos. Me divierte veros                              2010
en regia majestad y aire triunfante
con escolta imperial de alabarderos...
un mes hace que hicisteis esta escena,
y hoy la haris otra vez... porque es muy buena.
Ya mis rdenes di...

QUEVEDO

                        S, hablemos claros:                        2015
para prenderme.

OLIVARES

                Pues para escoltaros.

QUEVEDO

Tambin me escoltarn.

OLIVARES

                        De otra manera.
Hoy para honraros os saldr al encuentro
la guardia en la escalera...
Y hoy no con vos la guardia se ir fuera,                           2020
porque vos con la guardia os vendris dentro.

QUEVEDO

Muy bien trazado, a fe.

OLIVARES

                        Para este lance
no tenis un soneto...

QUEVEDO

                          Y quin se aflije?
Al fin, y ya os lo dije,
yo en cualquiera ocasin tendr un romance.                         2025

OLIVARES

Estis loco, sin duda.
De m pensis libraros? Algn da
un ilustre seor os protega;
mas ya en esta ocasin no os dar ayuda.
Ese altivo Girn, a quien se nombra                                 2030
el gran duque de Osuna, ya no existe....
El que grande y feliz os prest sombra,
ya muri pobre y olvidado y triste.

QUEVEDO

Respetad a los muertos!

OLIVARES

                            Sus pesares
de su gloria nacieron...

QUEVEDO

                            Olivares!                              2035
Faltar pudo su patria al grande Osuna;
pero no a su defensa sus hazaas;
dironle tumba y crcel las Espaas,
de quien l hizo esclava la fortuna.
Lloraron sus envidias una a una                                    2040
con las propias naciones las extraas...
Su tumba son de Flandes las campaas
y su epitafio la sangrienta luna.

OLIVARES

Muy bien contis su gloria.

QUEVEDO

Y quin la vuestra contar?

OLIVARES

                              La historia                           2045
repasad, buen Quevedo, y pues en Flandes
a los Girones encontris tan grandes,
buscad a los Guzmanes en Tarifa,
y ensead a la gente
Guzmanes y Girones frente a frente.                                 2050

QUEVEDO

Guzmanes!... Si tan nclitos varones
crecido hubieran con bastardos planes
como vos, que heredasteis sus blasones,
frente a frente Guzmanes y Girones
no diera yo un Girn por cien Guzmanes.                             2055

OLIVARES

Vive Dios!

QUEVEDO

            Un Guzmn con su herosmo
nombre de Bueno conquist en Tarifa....
Hicierais vos lo mismo?
Ese ilustre Guzmn de pecho fuerte,
ms fuerte que su malla,                                            2060
su cuchillo arroj por la muralla,
y a su hijo di la muerte...
Padre noble y leal!... Msero padre,
si en el hondo porvenir leyera,
la muerte a todos con sus manos diera,                              2065
y ahogando en pos a la inocente madre,
su lanzn por un bculo trocara
y en un claustro muriera,
y extinguida su raza, nunca hubiera
un Guzmn como vos que le afrentara!                                2070

OLIVARES

Basta, basta!... Parts?

QUEVEDO

                              S... por no veros.

OLIVARES

Al fin logro perderos!...
Entrasteis... no saldris... no, por mi vida!

QUEVEDO

Yo por la entrada buscar salida.

OLIVARES

No! Y aunque hallis salida por la entrada                         2075
despus os prendern por asesino...

QUEVEDO

Libre la puerta.

OLIVARES

                  La hallaris cerrada.

QUEVEDO

Yo me abrir camino con la espada.

OLIVARES

Despus...

QUEVEDO

              El cielo me abrir camino.      (Vase)


ESCENA XI

OLIVARES, luego MENDAA, CASTILLA y GRANA

OLIVARES

Qu placer! Sin dilacin                                           2080
preso le traern aqu...
Yo quiero testigos, s,
que vean su humillacin.
      (Llamndoles)
Mendaa, Grana! S, a fe.
Os llamo, seores... Oh!                                           2085
l ante ellos me burl,
yo ante ellos le humillar.
Ya se acercan. Mi venganza
ser solemne.

MENDAA (entrando con GRANA y CASTILLA)

              Seor...

OLIVARES

Os hice venir...

MENDAA

                    Mejor.                                          2090

OLIVARES

Para una famosa chanza.

MENDAA

Una chanza?

OLIVARES

              S... Har un mes
que aqu con discretos modos
nos burl Quevedo a todos...
y yo por burlarle...

MENDAA

                        Pues!                                      2095

OLIVARES

Voy a prenderle.

MENDAA

                  Es razn:
pendiente dej un soneto....
Si hoy no lo dice, y completo,
diez minutos de prisin;
y eso conforme y segn.                                             2100

OLIVARES

Od....       (Ruido dentro a la derecha)

CAPITN (dentro)

            La espada!...

QUEVEDO (id.)

                              Oh, jams!

CAPITN

Soldados, matadle!

QUEVEDO (entrando espada en mano acosado por el CAPITN y GUARDIA)

                    Atrs!...

MENDAA (sujetndole la espada por detrs y rindose)

Faltan seis versos an.
      (Los soldados rodean a QUEVEDO. El CAPITN le arranca la espada,
      y OLIVARES le contempla con aire de triunfo. QUEVEDO permanece
      impasible mirando a todos lados. Rapidez)


ESCENA LTIMA

Dichos y MARGARITA, que aparece a las hojas de la cmara del rey al
tiempo de prender a QUEVEDO

OLIVARES (vindola y con alegra)

(Ella!... Hoy todo lo concilia
para mi triunfo el destino.)                                        2105

MARGARITA  (Que al ver a QUEVEDO entre los guardias ha hecho un movimiento
            de terror)

Al embajador que hoy vino
de la corte de Sicilia
quiere ver su majestad.

OLIVARES

Dnde est ese embajador?

QUEVEDO

Aqu, con guardia de honor!...                                     2110

OLIVARES

Cmo!

MARGARITA

        Es verdad!
      (Los soldados dan en tierra con el cuento de sus alabardas puestas
      antes en alto. QUEVEDO pasa por entre ellos, que le dejan paso,
      y el CAPITN le entrega la espada, rodilla en tierra)

QUEVEDO (a OLIVARES con sorna)

                    Es verdad.

OLIVARES

(Msero de m!)

QUEVEDO (aparte a OLIVARES)

                  Del lance
sal con dicha completa.

OLIVARES

Sois!...

QUEVEDO

              Embajador-poeta,
con mi credencial romance.                                          2115
      (En alta voz)
Paso a la cmara real.
Seores... Pero es de ley
que hoy el ministro del rey
me acompae.      (Aparte a OLIVARES)
              Hasta el umbral.
      (Dirgense los dos a la cmara del rey)

MENDAA

Qu Quevedo y qu Olivares!...                                     2120

OLIVARES

Ved lo que hacis.

QUEVEDO

                    Tenis miedo?

OLIVARES

Eso imaginis, Quevedo?

QUEVEDO

Mucho se encrespan los mares.

OLIVARES

Soy piloto.

QUEVEDO

             Conde-duque...
dije mal... seor piloto,                                           2125
sopla furibundo el noto,
y hace agua ya vuestro buque.

OLIVARES

(Oh, me hace temblar!)

QUEVEDO

                         Qu manos
tan fras!... Cosa ms rara!...
Red.... Ponis una cara...                                         2130
Qu dirn los cortesanos?
Vedlos ya mustios y tristes...
Tal vez harn ya un misterio
de que os mantengis tan serio,
mientras yo os abrumo a chistes.                                    2135
Red, red....      (A todos)
                  Oh, seores,
su excelencia honra a mi numen!...
Dice que de este cacumen
nunca oy chistes mejores.
Y os habis quedado a oscuras....                                   2140
Pues ved... de risa Olivares
aun se aprieta los ijares
y va a echar las asaduras.
Gracias le dije a montones;
si os las cuenta bien contadas,                                     2145
ya veris... qu carcajadas!
      (Aparte a OLIVARES al entrar)
Ya veris... qu convulsiones!      (Saluda y entra)

MENDAA

Va que se le lleva el aire.

OLIVARES

(Hombre infernal!... Tengo miedo....)

MENDAA

Qu donaire el de Quevedo!                                         2150

OLIVARES

Quevedo... s, qu donaire!




ACTO CUARTO


Saln del Palacio del Buen Retiro. En el fondo una galera de poca
altura, a la cual conduce una ancha gradera con dos ramales a derecha
e izquierda. Sobre la meseta, a donde parten estas tres escaleras, se
abre en el fondo una puerta de dos hojas que conduce a la antecmara
y habitaciones del rey, de modo que abiertas las hojas, dejan ver un
rompimiento de salones al nivel de la meseta. A la derecha en primer
trmino puerta que gua a la parte exterior del palacio; en segundo la
cmara de LA REINA; a la izquierda en primer trmino las habitaciones
de OLIVARES; en segundo una puerta secreta


ESCENA PRIMERA

QUEVEDO, MARGARITA, OLIVARES. Al levantarse el teln aparecen
QUEVEDO y MARGARITA subiendo a la meseta por los ramales de
derecha e izquierda con papeles en la mano. Al llegar ellos arriba
se abren las dos hojas y sale OLIVARES, que los detiene al tiempo
ya de entrar

OLIVARES

Cmo!... Adentro?... Pues afuera.
Ambos subs a par;
volved ambos a bajar....
Son percances de escalera....                                       2155
Tres pasos hay expeditos.      (Sealando las tres bajadas)
Conque...      (Comenzando a bajar por la de en medio)

QUEVEDO (a MARGARITA con resignacin afectada)

              Acatemos sus leyes...
      (Bajan los tres cada cual por su lado)

MARGARITA (a OLIVARES, sealando el centro)

Por all bajan los reyes.

OLIVARES

Y tambin los favoritos.
A las puertas principales                                           2160
prefiriendo estos canceles,
ibais al rey con papeles...
Son, por dicha, memoriales?

QUEVEDO

S; y el que tengo en la mano
dice al rey: Seor, piedad                                         2165
para Espaa... Del tirano
slvenos su Majestad.

OLIVARES (a MARGARITA)

Y el vuestro?

QUEVEDO

                Con sangre escrito
dice al esposo: Seor,
en la virtud no hay delito;...                                      2170
Castigad al impostor.

OLIVARES

Y esperis?
      (Seal afirmativo de QUEVEDO; MARGARITA aparece pensativa)
              Mucho me alegro.
Lo pintis de azul? Distintas
son de las vuestras mis tintas,
yo os lo pintar de negro.                                          2175

MARGARITA

(Qu designios?)

OLIVARES

                  Desde ayer
os observo sin cesar,
y es difcil engaar
a la astucia y al poder.

QUEVEDO

Contra el poder hay poderes...                                      2180

OLIVARES

No los teme mi privanza.

MARGARITA

Aun nos queda la esperanza...

OLIVARES

Prendida con alfileres.
Ni la astucia ni el ardid
os salvan.... Por vuestro mal,                                      2185
el rey parte al Escorial,
y yo me quedo en Madrid...

MARGARITA

Oh!

OLIVARES

      Tarde dais la batalla.
Cuando ayer al rey hablasteis
dnde ese escrito dejasteis?                                       2190

QUEVEDO

Es buen can de metralla!

OLIVARES

Pero intil ya.

MARGARITA

                  (Gran Dios!)

OLIVARES

Hoy para m solo abiertas,
cirranse del rey las puertas
para vos... y para vos....                                          2195

Como encontrasteis cerrada
ya la puerta principal,
para la cmara real
elegisteis la excusada....
Pues todas, todas lo estn.                                         2200
No entraris, no.

MARGARITA

                  (Dios eterno!)

QUEVEDO

Aunque se oponga el infierno,
estas cartas entrarn.

OLIVARES

Mucho confiis.... La infanta
confa menos.... Sin duda                                           2205
al ver la verdad desnuda,
vuestra situacin la espanta.
Reparad en su afliccin.
Mirad... ella es el espejo
donde se ve, por reflejo,                                           2210
vuestra pobre situacin.
Vedla... temblando quizs...

MARGARITA

No!... La infanta Margarita
noble ante el crimen se irrita;
pero no tiembla jams.                                              2215

QUEVEDO

(Bien, muy bien!)

MARGARITA

                    Valor, Quevedo!

QUEVEDO

Nunca me asustan azares.

MARGARITA

Yo nunca tiemblo, Olivares.
        (A QUEVEDO)
Estoy temblando de miedo!
Guardadme esta carta.... Ay, Dios!                                 2220

QUEVEDO

(Confiad en vos.)

MARGARITA

                  (Oh, s!
yo confo mucho en m;
pero ms confo en vos.)
         (Dale el papel y entra en la cmara de LA REINA)


ESCENA II

OLIVARES, QUEVEDO

QUEVEDO

De la corte de Sicilia
soy a esta corte enviado...                                         2225

OLIVARES

A tratar cosas de estado
y no asuntos de familia.

QUEVEDO

Pues al rey quiero hablar hoy;
conque introducidme al punto.

OLIVARES

Yo, si es de estado el asunto,                                      2230
ministro de estado soy.

QUEVEDO

Queris jugar un albur?...

OLIVARES

S, somos quin para quin.

QUEVEDO

Nos conocemos muy bien.

OLIVARES

Va de tahur a tahur.                                                2235
As, pues, hablemos claros.

QUEVEDO

Es verdad, seamos sinceros.

OLIVARES

Yo hice voto de perderos.

QUEVEDO

Voto hice yo de arruinaros.
Oh, siempre os quise infinito!                                     2240

OLIVARES

Hoy lo veo.... Y lo v antes
por cien stiras picantes
que contra m habis escrito.
Yo siempre os tuve aficin.

QUEVEDO

S, s.... Me responden de eso                                      2245
los aos que estuve preso
en San Marcos de Len:
mucho fro, hambre no poca,
y con grillos en los pies,
slo me faltaba...

OLIVARES

                      Pues                                          2250
una mordaza en la boca.

QUEVEDO

Vive Dios!

OLIVARES

            Si hoy u otro da
volvis all, por fortuna,
mandar poneros una,
y enmudecer Tala.                                                 2255

QUEVEDO

Es que no pienso volver
a San Marcos de Len.
Pienso, y yo s la razn,
derrocar vuestro poder.

OLIVARES

Ya... lo pensis...

QUEVEDO

                          Este escrito                              2260
prueba de un modo fatal
que el rey perdi a Portugal
por culpa del favorito;
y aunque segn las razones
de ste Espaa en aquel da                                         2265
por un cetro que perda
ganaba muchos millones,
sabido de todos es
que el buen monarca llor
cuando Braganza se alz                                             2270
con el cetro portugus.
Pues bien, tenedlo presente:
cuando el rey lea este escrito...

OLIVARES

Bien, se pierde el favorito,
lo confieso llanamente;                                             2275
pero el rey no lo leer.

QUEVEDO

Lo adivinis?

OLIVARES

                Lo adivino.

QUEVEDO

Ya buscaremos camino...

OLIVARES

No os queda ninguno ya.
El rey saldr por la puerta                                         2280
principal.... En este espacio
para cruzar el palacio
no hallaris ninguna abierta.
Los que entren hasta las salas
que por este lado estn                                             2285
ya al otro lado no irn,
a no ser que tengan alas.
Saldr el rey... y ni all fuera
podris hablarle al partir,
pues no os dejarn salir                                            2290
ni a los zaguanes siquiera.

QUEVEDO

Es decir...

OLIVARES

                Que en mi opinin
no derrocis mi poder;
y que, al fin, vais a volver
a San Marcos de Len.                                               2295

QUEVEDO

No; mi esperanza...

OLIVARES

                        Est ya,
como dije antes...

QUEVEDO

                        Perdida?

OLIVARES

Con alfileres prendida.
Ja... Ja...!      (Saluda y vase por el fondo)


ESCENA III

QUEVEDO; luego GRANA, MENDAA y CASTILLA

QUEVEDO (despus de un momento de reflexin)

                    Ja, ja, ja, ja, ja!
Con alfileres.... A ver....                                         2300
S, Conde-duque... sin duda...
vuestra ocurrencia es aguda...
como... punta de alfiler.

GRANA (por la derecha)

Don Francisco de Quevedo...

QUEVEDO

Seor Marqus de la Grana...                                        2305

GRANA

Cmo, os vais?

QUEVEDO

                De mala gana
si os quedis vos.

GRANA

                  S, me quedo.

QUEVEDO

Y hacis bien. Yo aunque me voy,
volver aqu.... Lo deseo,
porque mucho, segn creo,                                           2310
nos divertiremos hoy.

MENDAA (entrando con CASTILLA)

Hoy en palacio es gran da.

QUEVEDO

Juntos os dejo a los tres.
Contad, Mendaa, al marqus
eso de Fuenterraba.                                                2315
Conque hasta luego, seores....

MENDAA

Qu llevis en el magn?

QUEVEDO

Nada.

MENDAA

      Neququam. En fin,
qu trazis?

QUEVEDO

              Varias labores...
s, labores de mujeres...                                           2320

MENDAA

Mejor!... Siempre estis de chanza.

QUEVEDO

Quiero prender la esperanza,
y ando... en busca de alfileres.      (Vase por la derecha)


ESCENA IV

Dichos, menos QUEVEDO

MENDAA

Siempre zumbn y chancero.

CASTILLA

Siempre ventico y loco.                                            2325
Vive Dios, que hemos de verle!...

MENDAA

Dnde?

CASTILLA

        En Toledo y muy pronto.
S, pardiez, esa cabeza
tiene ya seco el meollo.

GRANA

S, don Francisco...

CASTILLA

                        Por menos                                   2330
estn enjaulados otros.

GRANA

Y ahora recuerdo: me dijo
que hoy aqu debemos todos
ver...

MENDAA

          Una gran ceremonia:
s, la copa de oro.                                                 2335

GRANA

Qu copa es sa?

MENDAA

                    Ignoris?
Yo os enterar de todo.
Es una gran ceremonia
que ha de llenaros de asombro.
El consejo de Castilla                                              2340
en el ao treinta y ocho
consult... mejor que nadie
s lo que hubo en el negocio.
Es el caso que Olivares,
mandando socorrer pronto,                                           2345
nos salv a Fuenterraba,
que a no ser por l... demonio!
Pues bien; en premio debido
a su proceder heroico...

CASTILLA

Pues, qu? Socorrila l mismo?                                   2350

MENDAA

No; pero envi el socorro;
y en recompensa y por juro
de heredad alcaide propio
y perpetuo le nombraron
de la ciudad... pero cmo?                                         2355
con el tem de que el rey,
de su amor en testimonio,
siempre al ministro en tal da,
por recuerdo tan glorioso,
le ha de enviar un presente                                         2360
digno de su real decoro,
para honrar de tal jornada
los aniversarios todos.
Y hoy, lo mismo que otros aos,
como es pblico y notorio,                                          2365
el rey enva a Olivares
un sin par copa de oro;
y, adems, en un billete,
billete de puo propio,
colocado en tres dobleces                                           2370
de la gran copa en el fondo...

CASTILLA

Pues el rey Felipe Cuarto
con exquisitos piropos
da las gracias a Olivares
de lo que sudaron otros.                                            2375

MENDAA

Mejor es callar. El caso
es que el rey de puo propio,
escribiendo al de Olivares,
le dice con mil encomios:
que al aceptar en tal da                                          2380
de su rey la copa de oro,
brinde con ella tres veces
por la patria y por el trono.

CASTILLA

Por el trono y por la patria!...
l los ha hundido en el polvo...                                    2385
Vive Dios!...

MENDAA

                  El rey, Castilla,
sabr mejor que nosotros...

GRANA

Conque hoy es la ceremonia?...

MENDAA

Ciertamente; si es famoso
este gran aniversario.                                              2390

GRANA

Yo, como extranjero, ignoro.

MENDAA

Pues ya veris... a las cinco
por all...          (Sealando al fondo)
                Si es un asombro:
oh, qu pompa, qu aparato!...
Ni la procesin del Corpus!...                                     2395


ESCENA V

Dichos y OLIVARES por el fondo y cerrando las hojas tras de s

OLIVARES

Seores, plceme veros
hoy en palacio tan pronto.

MENDAA

Como es la gran ceremonia...

OLIVARES

Sois muy puntuales.

MENDAA

                    El gozo...

OLIVARES

Desde aqu a las cinco hay tiempo.                                  2400
Hoy me ocupan mil negocios....
Ah! Su majestad hoy mismo
parte al Escorial.

GRANA

                    Supongo
que iris con l.

OLIVARES

                  No, por cierto.

MENDAA

Ya... Conque el rey parte solo?...                                 2405

OLIVARES

Yo con vosotros me quedo.

MENDAA

Pues mejor para nosotros.

OLIVARES

Pero el rey a su partida
sabio dispondr que como
siempre, al sonar hoy las cinco,                                    2410
se me d la copa de oro.

MENDAA

Mejor que mejor.

GRANA

                  Y cundo
parte el rey?

OLIVARES

              Dentro de pocos
momentos. Si su salida
queris presenciar vosotros,                                        2415
a las puertas de palacio
acudid, y acudid pronto.

MENDAA

Es verdad.

OLIVARES

            Para su marcha
ya est prevenido todo;
conque...

GRANA

              Vamos, pues.

MENDAA

                            Al punto.                               2420

OLIVARES (abriendo la puerta secreta con una llave pequea)

Venid, por aqu es ms corto.

MENDAA

Vos mismo!... Gracias.... Sois el
hombre mejor que conozco.      (Pasan los tres)


ESCENA VI

OLIVARES, MARGARITA, LA REINA. sta, conducida por aqulla de la mano,
sale de su cmara al tiempo que OLIVARES est cerrando la puerta secreta

MARGARITA

(Pero eres la reina...)
      (A OLIVARES con acento imperioso)
                            Od,
que os habla su majestad.                                           2425
      (Aparte a LA REINA)
Valor!

REINA

        (Yo tiemblo...) Es verdad
que hoy... parte el rey... de Madrid?

OLIVARES

Verdad, seora.

REINA

                  Pues... yo...
quisiera... verle un momento,
conque as...

OLIVARES

                  Mucho lo siento,                                  2430
es imposible.

REINA

              Ay!

MARGARITA

                    No, no!

REINA

Concededme esa demanda...

OLIVARES

El rey a todos la niega.

REINA

S, s... la reina os lo ruega.

MARGARITA

No, no... la reina os lo manda!                                    2435

OLIVARES (sonrindose)

La obediencia...

MARGARITA

                    En vos es ley.

OLIVARES (dirigindose al fondo)

Si el rey lo manda, seora,
entraris luego...

MARGARITA

                      No, ahora!

OLIVARES

Luego que lo mande el rey.      (Sube y entra)


ESCENA VII

MARGARITA, LA REINA; despus QUEVEDO

REINA

Lo ves? Tan intil paso...                                         2440

MARGARITA

Veo con grande afliccin
que no tienes corazn
de reina...

REINA

                Y lo soy acaso?

MARGARITA

No sabes serlo. Has pedido,
y l con razn ha negado;                                           2445
mas si t hubieras mandado,
l hubiera obedecido.

REINA

Ese hombre me infunde miedo.

MARGARITA

Qu plida ests!

REINA

                    Ay, Dios!

MARGARITA (mirando a la derecha)

Alguien se acerca. Sois vos?...                                    2450
Ah, venid, venid, Quevedo!

QUEVEDO (entrando)

Vuesa Majestad...

MARGARITA

                        Un modo
discurrid vos...

QUEVEDO

                    Ni una puerta
hay por ese lado abierta.

MARGARITA

Todo se ha perdido, todo!                                          2455

QUEVEDO

El rey partir al momento...
si es que no ha partido ya....
Y Olivares dnde est?

MARGARITA

Vedle.      (Sealando al fondo, por donde aparece OLIVARES)


ESCENA VIII

Dichos y OLIVARES

OLIVARES (a LA REINA, bajando)

        Seora, lo siento.

REINA

Qu trais?

OLIVARES

              La despedida                                          2460
del rey traigo; y no os asombre:
dice el rey que yo en su nombre
de la reina me despida.

MARGARITA

Sois!...

OLIVARES

              Un sbdito obediente
que del rey cumple el mandato.                                      2465

REINA

Mas el rey...

OLIVARES

                  Dentro de un rato
partir.

QUEVEDO

          (Perfectamente...
no ha partido el rey an.)

REINA

Me retiro.

OLIVARES

            Gurdeos Dios.

MARGARITA (a LA REINA que con ella se dirige a la cmara)

Lloras?

REINA

          Ay!      (Entra)

OLIVARES (a QUEVEDO)

                Pobre de vos!...                                   2470

QUEVEDO

Eso... conforme y segn,
como se suele decir.

OLIVARES

El rey parte.

QUEVEDO

              Bien, que parta.
Pienso escribirle una carta.

OLIVARES

Si os la dejan escribir.                                            2475

QUEVEDO

Pienso... que la tengo escrita.

OLIVARES

Quin va a llevarla adems?

QUEVEDO

Quin?... El demonio quizs.

OLIVARES

Bien. La infanta Margarita,
      (Dirigiendo una mirada a MARGARITA que despus de acompaar a
      LA REINA hasta el umbral, se ha quedado inmvil a la espalda como
      dominada por la situacin)
que ya el desengao toca,                                           2480
ved... no acude como vos
al demonio.... Acude a Dios,
ya con el credo en la boca.

MARGARITA

(Me insulta!)

OLIVARES

                Rezis?

MARGARITA

                          No rezo...
no.... Pues al ver que en su abismo                                 2485
Dios no os confunde... ahora mismo
a dudar de Dios empiezo.
No, no, Dios mo, perdn!

OLIVARES

Deliris... y no lo extrao:
vctima de un desengao...                                          2490

MARGARITA

Os lo dice el corazn?
Vctima ser la infanta
Margarita de Saboya;
pero en su valor se apoya
como una vctima santa.                                             2495

OLIVARES

Vctima.

MARGARITA

          Firme y enhiesta,
capaz, porque a Dios le plugo,
de humillar a su verdugo
con una risa... Oh, como sta!      (Risa violenta)

OLIVARES

Vive Dios!... El soberano                                          2500
va a partir... y yo me quedo....
Ay de vos y de Quevedo!...

QUEVEDO

Puede que el rey parta en vano.

OLIVARES

Aun esperis que el demonio
lleve al rey aquel escrito?                                         2505

QUEVEDO

S.

OLIVARES

    Pues me alegro infinito,
dadme despus testimonio.

QUEVEDO

Puede que lo tenga ya.

OLIVARES

Pues, aunque al demonio encuentre,
temo que el papel no entre.                                         2510

QUEVEDO

Lo ofrec yo, y entrar.

OLIVARES

Lo ofrecisteis?

QUEVEDO

                  Lo ofrec.

OLIVARES

Cumplidlo.

QUEVEDO

            Lo cumplir.

OLIVARES

No, a fe, Quevedo.

QUEVEDO

                    S, a fe.

OLIVARES

No, por Dios.

QUEVEDO

              Por Dios que s!                                     2515

OLIVARES

La esperanza es en los seres...

QUEVEDO

Todo; y cual decs en chanza,
yo por tener esperanza,
la prend con alfileres.

OLIVARES

Pues la esperanza guardad,                                          2520
y el papel tambin... los dos....
      (Hace movimiento para retirarse)

MARGARITA (aparte a QUEVEDO)

Quin lleva el papel?

QUEVEDO

                    Y adis.
      (OLIVARES se retira haciendo una cortesa irnica)

MARGARITA

Quin?

QUEVEDO

        El demonio... mirad!
      (Sealando a OLIVARES que al volverse y subir la gradera, ensea el
      papel que QUEVEDO le ha prendido en la espalda. Entra OLIVARES)


ESCENA IX

QUEVEDO, MARGARITA

MARGARITA

Gran Dios!...

QUEVEDO

                  A muerte o a vida.
Ya no quedaba otro medio.                                           2525

MARGARITA

Nuestra suerte...

QUEVEDO

                      Sin remedio,
ya est ganada o perdida.

MARGARITA

Si viese el papel...

QUEVEDO

                        Propicios
sern los cielos...

MARGARITA

                        Mas l...

QUEVEDO

Lleva a la espalda el papel,                                        2530
como el saco de sus vicios.
Desechad, seora, el miedo.

MARGARITA

Ay! Esto a nadie lo digo...
sino a vos... que sois mi amigo:
yo estoy temblando, Quevedo!      (Pausa)                          2535
Y vos no temblis?
      (Asindole de una mano como para cerciorarse)

QUEVEDO

                    Seora...

MARGARITA

Sereno... (ahora no...)

QUEVEDO

                              (Ay de m!)

MARGARITA

Temblis como yo....

QUEVEDO

                        S, s....
Comienzo a temblar ahora...

MARGARITA

Tambin!...

QUEVEDO

                Tambin... ya lo veis...                            2540
tiemblo... mas no de terror,
de...

MARGARITA

          No lo digis...      (Alejndose)

QUEVEDO

                              (De amor.)

MARGARITA

No me hablis... ni me miris!

QUEVEDO

(Tiene razn.)
      (QUEVEDO queda a la izquierda; MARGARITA
      se ha apartado bastante hacia la derecha)

MARGARITA

                (Estoy loca!)
(Qu hice yo?... Su mano arda...                                  2545
tal vez la abras la ma...)

QUEVEDO

(Al fin me estrell en la roca.)

MARGARITA

(No le quiero hablar ni aun ver.)
Pedir fuerzas al cielo.

QUEVEDO

(Corazn, si eres de hielo,                                         2550
cmo es que hoy te siento arder?
El amor! Cierto; as empieza...
y este afn, esta zozobra...
Ay! El corazn me sobra,
y me falta la cabeza.                                               2555
Amor... t dices que s...
t has dicho siempre que no.
Cierto, yo tengo otro yo
que combate contra m.
El corazn y la mente,                                              2560
el sentimiento y la idea...
el espritu que crea,
y el espritu que siente...
si entrambos contrarios son,
quin?... Segn lo que aqu pienso,                                2565
mal sujeta el pensamiento
las alas del corazn.)
Vos... (La tendiera mis brazos!)

MARGARITA

Vos...

OLIVARES (apareciendo en el fondo)

          Mientras yo, como es ley,
voy a despedir al rey...                                            2570
id uniendo estos pedazos....
      (Arroja al pasar varios pedazos de papel y desaparece por
      la puerta secreta. MARGARITA da un grito de terror)

MARGARITA

Todo perdido!... Mirad...

QUEVEDO

S; por mi culpa. Y ahora
no me aborrecis, seora?

MARGARITA

Callad, Quevedo, callad!                                           2575

QUEVEDO

Yo que so en mi delirio
la palma del triunfo daros,
y al fin logro coronaros
con la palma del martirio.

MARGARITA

Comn nos ser esa palma.                                           2580

QUEVEDO

Yo soy quien os pierde a vos;
yo s.... Confndame Dios.

MARGARITA

Me estis desgarrando el alma.

QUEVEDO

Maldecidme, y de ese modo...

MARGARITA

Nunca!

QUEVEDO

        Mi tormento veis                                            2585
pero no comprendis...

MARGARITA

Todo, lo comprendo todo!

QUEVEDO

Ved mi dolor!

MARGARITA

                Ved mi llanto!
(Ya fuera un crimen callar.)

QUEVEDO

Causa tenis para odiar                                             2590
al hombre... que os ama tanto.

MARGARITA

Odiaros!... Tenis razn...
y para saberlo bien,
preguntadlo...

QUEVEDO

                  A quin, a quin?

MARGARITA

A mi pobre corazn!                                                2595

QUEVEDO

Yo...

MARGARITA

          Yo tambin, ay de m!
yo que no tengo suspiros,
yo... no s cmo deciros...
cmo expresaros... oh, as!
      (Tendiendo una mano a QUEVEDO)
No... no hablis... no, por piedad!                                2600
Ya perdidos, un deber
santo nos resta: poner
en salvo a su majestad.
Id, que esa prueba sangrienta
guarde ella misma....

QUEVEDO

                          S, s...                                 2605
pero ella viene hacia aqu.


ESCENA X

QUEVEDO, MARGARITA, LA REINA; despus OLIVARES, MENDAA, CASTILLA y
GRANA por la puerta secreta

REINA

Ya parti el rey.

MARGARITA

                  La tormenta
sobre nosotros avanza....
Perdidos Quevedo y yo...

REINA

Todo se ha perdido...

MARGARITA

                          No!                                      2610
Todo menos tu esperanza!

QUEVEDO

Y pues slo en vuestra mano
estar sin riesgo ahora,
vos... guardadla vos, seora....

REINA

Sangre! No... vos....

QUEVEDO

                              Y el tirano?                         2615
Ved que estoy bajo su ley.

REINA (a MARGARITA)

Gurdala t.

MARGARITA

              Cmo, en dnde?

QUEVEDO

Tomad la carta del conde.

OLIVARES      (Apareciendo por la puerta secreta con MENDAA, CASTILLA y GRANA)

sta primero.... Es del rey.
      (LA REINA que iba ya a tomar la carta de QUEVEDO, toma la que le
      ofrece OLIVARES. QUEVEDO guarda la suya con despecho)
Al entrar en la carroza,                                            2620
Para la reina, me dijo.

REINA (despus de leer un momento)

No estuvo el rey muy prolijo.
(Cunto en mi dolor se goza!)
rdenes son que en su ausencia
el rey me encomienda a m.                                          2625

OLIVARES

Seora, todos aqu
os debemos obediencia.
Con la puerta principal
hice abrir har un momento
la que une vuestro aposento                                         2630
a la cmara real.

REINA

Cuanto al dejar su morada
mand el rey...

OLIVARES

                    En cierto modo
fu para la reina todo.

REINA

(Y para la esposa nada!)                                           2635

OLIVARES

Hoy, humildes servidores,
al rey miramos en vos.

REINA

Basta, Olivares. Adis.      (Despidindose)

OLIVARES

Saludo... a mi rey. Seores,
id.... Muy contentos y ufanos                                       2640
hoy con un rey de ese porte,
pienso que le haris la corte
como buenos cortesanos.
      (LA REINA entra en su cmara acompaada de MARGARITA
      y seguida de MENDAA, CASTILLA y GRANA)


ESCENA XI

QUEVEDO, OLIVARES

OLIVARES

Vos, no vais?...

QUEVEDO

                      Porque me quedo.

OLIVARES (sealando los pedazos de papel)

Ved... trocitos de esperanza...                                     2645
no los unisteis, Quevedo?
      (QUEVEDO se siente en un silln)
Cmo! Os sentis? Yo no puedo
permitir...

QUEVEDO

                Parece chanza,
y as estoy ms descansado.

OLIVARES

Venzo al fin, y estis perdido.                                     2650

QUEVEDO

Pues me perder sentado.
Mas si venzo, estoy ganado...

OLIVARES

Cmo vos ganaris?

QUEVEDO

                    Tendido.

OLIVARES

Al respeto me faltis!

QUEVEDO

Nada temo si perdis;                                               2655
nada espero si ganis;
y en m, ganis o perdis,
ya no quitis ni ponis.

OLIVARES

Parece que estis de humor.

QUEVEDO

Mucho!

OLIVARES

        Os le quiero seguir.                                        2660

QUEVEDO

Bravo!... Mejor que mejor,
como en placer y en dolor
suele Mendaa decir.

OLIVARES

La esperanza que os rasgu
y ah en trocitos est...                                           2665
la de la espalda...

QUEVEDO

                        Ya s...

OLIVARES

Cay en mis manos... a fe,
que el cmo gracia os har:
el buen rey se paseaba,
y yo en su mesa escriba;                                           2670
pero l, que a mi espalda estaba,
muy curioso me miraba,
y al fin con sorpresa ma,
Quin a mi buen favorito
pone mazas sin respeto?,                                           2675
dijo, y me di el papelito.

QUEVEDO

Cmo! El rey os di el escrito?

OLIVARES

S.

QUEVEDO

    Pues... anduvo discreto.

OLIVARES

Suponis?...

QUEVEDO

                  Que lo ley.

OLIVARES

Eso al pronto me tem;                                              2680
mas conmigo se ri
de la gracia y... v que no.

QUEVEDO

Pues luego veris que s.

OLIVARES

No; al partir muy lisonjero
me habl el rey.... Bes su mano...                                 2685

QUEVEDO

Pues as besa el cordero
la mano del carnicero.

OLIVARES

Deliris.... El soberano
con su real mano despus
puso una carta en las mas                                          2690
para la reina...

QUEVEDO

                    Eso es...
Y no os ha ocurrido, pues,
que era la carta de Uras?

OLIVARES

Eso pensis?

QUEVEDO

              S, por Dios!
Todo el rey lo sabe ya.                                             2695
Ya no sois uno los dos;
ya el rey os execra a vos,
y en su carta...

OLIVARES

                    Claro est:
prevendr el rey, Dios le guarde,
a la reina con decoro,                                              2700
que ella misma en regio alarde
a las cinco de esta tarde
me ofrezca la copa de oro.

QUEVEDO

No.

OLIVARES

    Las cinco van a dar.
El rey a la reina ha escrito,                                       2705
y hoy la reina, a su pesar,
debe al favorito honrar...

QUEVEDO

O perder al favorito.
Ya no hay copa de oro... no.
      (Da la primera campanada de las cinco)

OLIVARES

Escuchad... lleg el momento.                                       2710

QUEVEDO

(Me asesina ese reloj.)      (Pausa)
Cinco campanadas...

OLIVARES

                        Oh!

QUEVEDO

No hay copa!

OLIVARES

              (Estoy sin aliento!)

QUEVEDO

Di la postrer campanada...
mas no se abre aquella puerta...                                    2715
No... no se abre... nada... nada...
Mirad... cerrada... cerrada!...      (La puerta se abre)
Oh!

OLIVARES

      Mirad... abierta... abierta!...


ESCENA XII

Dichos, y al abrirse la hojas del fondo aparece MENDAA trayendo en
una bandeja una copa de oro con un billete cerrado en el fondo. Al
lado de MENDAA salen GRANA y CASTILLA. Durante los versos que
siguen el primero baja la gradera del centro seguido de un UJIER, y los
otros dos por los ramales de derecha a izquierda, abriendo la marcha
a dos filas de caballeros, pajes, damas y meninas, que se colocan luego
en semicrculo, dejando en el centro a MENDAA con un UJIER a la
espalda. Al bajar la comitiva LA REINA aparece en la galera entre
MARGARITA y DOA INS

QUEVEDO

Siempre la loca fortuna
mala fu para los buenos...                                         2720
El cielo... all est la luna,
y sa no da luz ninguna
cuando la noche es de truenos.

OLIVARES

Mato, al fin, vuestra esperanza.
En San Marcos de Len                                               2725
ser horrible mi venganza....

QUEVEDO

Tenis...

OLIVARES

              Poder y privanza....
Mirad!...

UJIER

              Silencio, atencin!

REINA

Conde-duque, sentos y cubros.
(Me querr ver el rey ms humillada?)                              2730
Gozis de tan cumplida preeminencia
desde que el rey os concedi esa gracia.
Hoy al partir el rey a San Lorenzo,
para la reina os entreg una carta;
me la disteis; en ella me previene                                  2735
el rey, bajo su firma soberana,
que en honor vuestro y en servicio suyo,
yo, que la reina soy de las Espaas,
solemnice tambin la ceremonia
que l dej a su partida preparada;                                 2740
y as, con mi presencia enalteciendo
una regia merced que es ya tan alta,
yo, la reina, a ofreceros he venido,
porque el rey, mi seor, as lo manda,
ese presente real, que sobre el trono,                              2745
bajo el rico dosel, en la real cmara,
dej para este fin el soberano,
que os acuerda merced tan sealada.
Como todos los aos en la copa
un pliego para vos puso el monarca....                              2750
Recibid esa copa y ese pliego,
y Dios... os d...      (Pausa)

MARGARITA

                          Lo que de Dios os falta!

OLIVARES

Como sbdito fiel, cumplir me toca
la voluntad del rey, siempre sagrada.
Hoy me prescribe que su copa acepte;                                2755
y la acepto a mi vez. Debo aceptarla.
  (Toma la copa que MENDAA le presenta con una rodilla en tierra. El UJIER
  toma tambin la bandeja y se retira, seguido de la gente palaciega, subiendo
  las escaleras laterales por detrs de LA REINA. Entretanto MENDAA y los
  dems van pasando delante de OLIVARES para hacerle un saludo de parabin;
  QUEVEDO pasa el ltimo, y al llegar a su lado se vuelve a la meseta y saluda
  a LA REINA. Todo esto durante el tiempo que se tarden en decir los versos
  que siguen)

MARGARITA (aparte a LA REINA)

Lloras... Reina, valor... ojos enjutos
y frente real, desprecio y arrogancia!

REINA

Angustia, humillacin!

MARGARITA

                        Orgullo, reina,
que el orgullo engrandece la desgracia!                             2760

OLIVARES

Como siempre, en la copa viene un pliego,
todo de puo real, con regias armas,
en que recuerda los servicios mos,
bien escasos, a fe, nuestro monarca.
En este pliego, como siempre, ahora                                 2765
el gran Felipe Cuarto, honor de Espaa,
frases de amor sincero me dirige,
que yo, sbelo el rey, grabo en el alma.
Segn uso y costumbre, un caballero,
el ms ilustre y distinguido que haya                               2770
presente a la sazn, debe a su turno
abrir el pliego real y en voz bien alta
delante de la corte repetirme
su contexto, palabra por palabra....
Si Quevedo se digna...

QUEVEDO

                          Yo!... Me digno.                         2775
      (Aparte a OLIVARES)
Por respeto a esa reina desgraciada.

OLIVARES

Pues tomad el papel.
      (Aparte a QUEVEDO)
                      Bravo soneto.

QUEVEDO (idem)

Sonetos hay, pardiez...

OLIVARES

                            Sin consonancia.
Tales los hay a veces, y se es uno,
que al lector ms robusto le atragantan.                            2780
Seores, atencin. Leed, Quevedo,
en voz sonora y halagea y clara...

QUEVEDO

Sonora y halagea y clara, como
el rgano y el cfiro y el agua.

MARGARITA

(Su amor consagra el rey a su enemigo.)                             2785

REINA

(Y a su esposa infeliz qu le consagra?)

MARGARITA

(No llores, por piedad!)

QUEVEDO

                          (Cario imbcil,
el de ese imbcil rey.) Dice la carta:
      (Leyendo)
A nuestro muy querido... el Conde-duque.

OLIVARES

Proseguid, proseguid.

QUEVEDO (leyendo)

                      Salud: (Tercianas!)                        2790
      (OLIVARES se inclina)

OLIVARES

Sobrescrito feliz.... Romped la nema,
pues lo ms principal es lo que falta.
Las lisonjas del rey... esos elogios
que al nivel de su trono me levantan...
Hoy el rey, mi seor, me hace dichoso.                              2795

QUEVEDO

(Desgarrando a la reina las entraas!)
      (Rompe el sello con clera)

OLIVARES

Repetidme esas frases cariosas.

REINA

(El corazn del pecho se me arranca.)

OLIVARES

Seores, atencin. Leed, Quevedo,
en voz sonora y halagea y clara.                                  2800

QUEVEDO (aparte a OLIVARES)

Conde-duque...

OLIVARES

                  Leed. (Mirad mis ojos
radiantes de rencor y de venganza.)

QUEVEDO

(Os desprecio.)      (A todos)
                Escuchad. (No, no hay justicia!)

MARGARITA (a LA REINA)

Valor, valor!

REINA

              (Mi espritu desmaya.)

OLIVARES

Ya veris cunto honor... Al punto...

QUEVEDO (preparndose a leer)

                                            Al punto!              2805

REINA

(Ciegan mis ojos.)

QUEVEDO (a todos)

                    Escuchad. (Oh, rabia!)

(Leyendo)

Mi buen Olivares: no he menester encarecerte mi gran cario,
que es superior, y t lo sabes, a todo encarecimiento. Aunque
pblicas son en estos reinos las pruebas del amor con que te
distingo, hoy he de darte una mayor que todas, y drtela quiero
como amigo, que no como monarca. Muy luego dar a Madrid
la vuelta, y como cumple a mis designios que t conozcas antes
esa prueba de mi buena amistad, no debo diferirla. Es un
aviso carioso de mi corazn; ten en cuenta el aviso porque
te importa mucho. Olivares... si estuvieses en mi alczar
a mi regreso el amigo te dar sus brazos... el rey... su
verdugo.

(Movimiento general de asombro)

OLIVARES

Ah!

REINA

      Gran Dios!

MARGARITA

                  Silencio!

QUEVEDO   (Poniendo a OLIVARES el papel delante de los ojos, pero con dignidad)

                            Ved.

OLIVARES

Msero de m!
      (QUEVEDO se dirige a LA REINA; MENDAA y GRANA, separndose
      de OLIVARES, le salen al encuentro. CASTILLA permanece cruzado
      de brazos cerca de QUEVEDO)

MENDAA (a QUEVEDO)

                Qu asombro!

QUEVEDO

Y as le dejis? Volved!...
Si os di arrimo un pared                                           2810
y se hunde... arrimadle un hombro.
Sombra y nido a vuestro gusto
os di un rbol... cay all!
Mas si al dejarle con susto,
buscis otro ms robusto,...                                        2815
no le encontraris en m...
nunca, no. Sobre cascajos,
tronco soy de rudas quiebras
que, creciendo entre espantajos,
ni ofrece nido a los grajos,                                        2820
ni da sombra a las culebras.
Ya en la cortesana grey
no hay reyezuelos.... Hay dos
reyes... la reina y el rey.
      (Volvindose a LA REINA)
Seora, cambi la ley.                                              2825

REINA

Quevedo, que os oiga Dios!

QUEVEDO

Hoy que Dios en su bondad
la luz del bien nos enva
tras de tanta oscuridad,
para vuesa Majestad,                                                2830
grande seora, es el da.
Hoy ante el solio espaol
se dilata el horizonte,
y entre nubes de arrebol,
ms claro amanece el sol,                                           2835
porque se derrumba el monte.
      (A todos)
El rey... la reina despus!

CASTILLA

Si hoy por fin de sus pesares
ya la reina reina es,
sirva de alfombra a sus pies                                        2840
el sombrero de Olivares.
      (Se lo arranca de la cabeza y lo arroja a los pies de LA REINA,
      que baja las gradas con MARGARITA y DOA INS)

PAJE (entrando)

Para la reina este pliego
del rey, que en Atocha est.
      (QUEVEDO lo presenta a LA REINA)

REINA (a QUEVEDO)

Yo en vuestras manos lo entrego.
      (QUEVEDO lo abre y lee)

MARGARITA      (Acercndose a OLIVARES despus de tomar el sombrero del suelo)

Conde-duque, a vos me llego,                                        2845
pero sin rencores ya.
Contrarios fuimos los dos;
pero aqu 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 ledo ya el pliego)

rdenes del rey sern?

QUEVEDO

Que se cumplan sin demora
quiere el rey.

REINA

                Se cumplirn.
      (QUEVEDO la ofrece el pliego)
Bien en vuestra mano estn.                                         2860
Vos...

QUEVEDO

          Obedezco, seora.
      (A OLIVARES)
Y vos no os hagis rehacio;
por orden del rey, salid
sin ms trmino ni espacio
ahora mismo de palacio,                                             2865
y maana de Madrid.
      (OLIVARES se dirige a la puerta como maquinalmente)

MENDAA (a QUEVEDO)

Bien, mejor.

QUEVEDO

              Vos a su lado;
como un perro, y ms puntual,
seguisteis siempre al privado...
seguid, pues, al desterrado                                         2870
y seris perro leal.

MENDAA

Para m tanta dureza!

QUEVEDO

Comprended, si no sois perro,
que uno acaba y otro empieza;
os di sombra en su grandeza...                                     2875
dadle sombra en su destierro.

MENDAA

Pero... hacerme desterrar!...

QUEVEDO

Eso segn vuestro humor,
es mejor.

MENDAA (con asombro)

          Mejor!

QUEVEDO

                  Mejor
que si os hiciesen ahorcar.

MENDAA

Mejor, mejor, por mi vida!

OLIVARES

Todo convertido en nada!

MENDAA (dando el brazo a OLIVARES)

Conde-duque, de partida.

OLIVARES

Dnde?

MENDAA

        A buscar la salida,
porque se cerr la entrada.                                         2885
      (Los dos se dirigen a la puerta de la derecha)
Si el verdugo ha de apretaros...

OLIVARES

Ay, Mendaa!

MENDAA

              Ea, valor.

OLIVARES

Desterrarme!

MENDAA

              Desterrarnos!

OLIVARES

Nos destierra!

MENDAA

                Pudo ahorcarnos!
Conque mejor que mejor.      (Vanse)                                2890

QUEVEDO

El rey anuncia adems
que no ha de haber favoritos
ya en su palacio jams...      (Rumor lejano)
Pero ese rumor... quizs
llega ya el rey.

REINA

                  Esos gritos...                                    2895

QUEVEDO

De gozo, seora, son:
el pueblo con sus clamores
celebra su redencin...

GRANA

Pues que el rey llega...

REINA

                            Es razn;
id a su encuentro, seores.                                         2900

QUEVEDO (a CASTILLA)

Decid a Mendaa vos
que si el destierro le es duro,
vuelva a entrar del rey en pos.
      (Vanse CASTILLA y GRANA por la derecha)

MARGARITA

Dejar solo gran Dios!
a Olivares?

QUEVEDO

            De seguro.                                              2905

MARGARITA

Qu 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, seora...

MARGARITA

                  Dadme luego.

QUEVEDO

Al paso en cualquiera parte.

MARGARITA

Sepa el rey que estuvo ciego....
      (Dirgese a las gradas rpidamente)

REINA

Dnde vas?

MARGARITA

            Voy a salvarte.      (Entra)

QUEVEDO

Esa carta salvadora                                                 2915
de vuestra virtud responde:
la escribi con sangre el conde,
y el rey va a leerla ahora.

REINA

Ser intil... Tantos das
de olvido y separacin...                                           2920
Ya del rey el corazn
entre torpes mancebas...

QUEVEDO

Ya su ngel malo en el cieno
no podr hundirle en el vicio.

REINA

Le dej en el precipicio...                                         2925

QUEVEDO

Que le salve su ngel bueno.
Sedlo vos...

REINA

                Y su desdn?
Del bien le alejaron ya.

QUEVEDO

Vuestra mano bastar
para conducirle al bien.                                            2930
Ya no hay quien siembre cizaa;
amadle y que os ame a vos;
y haced, unidos los dos,
la felicidad de Espaa.

REINA

Fuera en ello tan dichosa...                                        2935

MARGARITA (apareciendo en el fondo)

El rey...

REINA

              Quiere ver quizs
a la reina?

MARGARITA

            Mucho ms!
Quiere abrazar a la esposa.
      (LA REINA y QUEVEDO suben las gradas)

REINA

El rey...

MARGARITA (sealando al fondo por entre las hojas entreabiertas)

              Mrale... hacia aqu
con toda su corte avanza...                                         2940

REINA

El temor y la esperanza...

MARGARITA

Ven a su encuentro!...

QUEVEDO

                            S, s!
Y a la clara luz del sol
al rey amando leal,
dadle tan solo un rival...                                          2945
      (Gritos del pueblo)
ese buen pueblo espaol.
    (LA REINA, conducida por MARGARITA, entra y se dirige a la izquierda. Al
    abrirse las hojas, en el fondo aparecen caballeros, y en primera MENDAA,
    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!

MENDAA

Vivan nuestros reyes!...

TODOS

                              Vivan!

MENDAA

Todos adentro!

QUEVEDO (saliendo y cerrando tras de s 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 da
van adonde el viento va
en revuelta algaraba...
Quevedo, en tanta alegra
quin de ti se acuerda ya?                                         2960
      (MARGARITA aparece, y al ver que QUEVEDO comienza a bajar
      por la izquierda, baja por la derecha, mirndole con afn)
Con su ayer y sus historias,
un recuerdo... est 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 despus de todo,
si a buena luz lo escudrias,
pensarn... como el beodo
piensa, al empinar el codo,
en el que plant las vias.                                         2975
Quin se acuerda ya? Lo s...

Ninguno, ninguno... (Vindola) Ah, s!...
En este momento, a fe,
pensaba...

MARGARITA

              Comprendo en qu...
y errasteis pensando as.                                           2980

QUEVEDO

Perdonadme... En tal momento...

MARGARITA

Que as me ofendieseis vos!

QUEVEDO

Yo siento.

MARGARITA

            Tambin yo siento.

QUEVEDO

Dulce y comn sentimiento
que es el alma de los dos.                                          2985

MARGARITA (sealando el corazn)

Siempre aqu!

QUEVEDO (dem)

                Tambin aqu!
inmenso, ideal, profundo...

MARGARITA

Digno de vos y de m.

QUEVEDO

Y eterno, eterno!

MARGARITA

                    S, s...
pero que lo ignore el mundo.                                        2990

QUEVEDO

A ser nacimos quizs
siempre amantes...

MARGARITA

                      Siempre buenos...
Ay... venturosos... jams!

QUEVEDO

Por qu yo no nac ms?

MARGARITA

Por qu yo no nac menos?                                          2995
Lo hizo Dios... y l nos lo advierte:
un loco amor di por fruto,
no siendo comn 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

Qu desventurado soy!

MARGARITA

Muerto fu Villamediana...
y la reina...

QUEVEDO

                  Basta. Hoy
mismo a mi villa voy.

MARGARITA

Bien. Yo a un convento maana.                                      3010

QUEVEDO

Y all con honda querella
dir a mi suerte cruel:
Por qu me separas de ella?
Y vos...

MARGARITA

            Yo dir a mi estrella:
Por qu me separas de l?                                        3015

QUEVEDO

Adis.

MARGARITA

        Adis.

QUEVEDO

                (En la orilla
morir ahogado... Oh tormento!)

MARGARITA

(Arde el llanto en mi mejilla!)

QUEVEDO

No os olvidis de la villa!

MARGARITA

Pensad vos en el convento!                                         3020


ESCENA LTIMA

Dichos y MENDAA, 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
turbacin y sus lgrimas

MENDAA

Su alteza...

QUEVEDO

                Mirad... la infanta
llora... de risa.

MARGARITA

                  Eso es...
chistes de Quevedo...

QUEVEDO

                          Pues...

MENDAA

Mejor, cunta gracia, cunta!

QUEVEDO

Pues hoy con gracioso porte                                         3025
yo que mil gracias ensarto,
al fin, de mis gracias harto,
dejo, por gracia, la corte.

MENDAA

Y aun muy gracioso al marchar...

QUEVEDO

Y chiste acert a decir...

MENDAA

Que hizo a su alteza rer...

QUEVEDO

Pues, y de risa llorar;
que, unidos en un engaste,
por lo alegre y por lo triste
una lgrima 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

Cmo!

QUEVEDO

        Cuando no es mentira.                                       3040

MENDAA

Ya que sin vuestra persona
en la corte nos quedamos,
qu de chistes aguardamos
de esa musa juguetona!...
Desde all vos... ya lo s:                                         3045
sois en el chiste muy ducho.

QUEVEDO

Mucho, mucho!
                (A MARGARITA)
                Mucho!
                        (A todos)
                        Mucho!

MENDAA

Escribid.

QUEVEDO

          Escribir;
que al surcar simples y mansos
las cortesanos espumas,                                             3050
me han provisto ya de plumas
muchos, muchsimos gansos.
Y van dispuestos y prontos
en mi alquitara mental...
mil sonetos.

MENDAA

              Mil! Qu tal?                                       3055
Sobre qu?

QUEVEDO

            Sobre los tontos.
Ya os tendr presente a vos....
            (A todos)
La amistad!... entre los dientes....
Yo os tendr a todos presentes...
porque...

MARGARITA

              Ay!
                    (A QUEVEDO, despidindose en la meseta)
                    Adis!

QUEVEDO (d. besndola la mano)

                            Adis!
                                    (A todos)
                                    Adis!                         3060

(QUEVEDO atraviesa la escena, clase el sombrero, se emboza y vase
por la derecha; los cortesanos se miran unos a otros, y cae el teln)

Fin del Drama




NOTES


ACTO I, STAGE DIRECTION. =la de San Martn=: Sanz has associated the
Iglesia de San Martn with the Plazuela de San Martn. The square in
front of the Iglesia de San Martn was in reality the Plazuela de las
Descalzas. The present Plaza de Antn Martn, at the intersection of the
Calle del Len and the Calle de Atocha, is in quite another part of the
city.

The church of San Martn 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.= =mejora=: Castilla early shows his scorn for the empty-headed
sycophant Mendaa by thus punning on the word =mejora=. Here, in addition
to the meaning of 'advancement', it alludes to the exaggerated use by
Mendaa of the exclamation =mejor=.

=47.= =Su excelencia=: the conde-duque de Olivares.

=52.= =mejoreo=: another jibe at Mendaa, 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 Guzmn=: Don Gaspar de Guzmn, conde-duque de Olivares.

=103.= =La infanta Margarita=: cf. Historical Introduction.

=110.= =Ocaa=: 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 Csar
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 Lcar, 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.= =Conocis?...=: i.e. =Conocis ...?= 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 Doa 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 aos=: Villamediana was murdered in 1622.

=782.= =el prncipe 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:

    rase un espoln de una galera,
    rase un pirmide de Egipto,
    las doce tribus de narices era.
    rase un naricsimo infinito,
    muchsima nariz, nariz tan fiera,
    que en la cara de Ans fuera delito.

=1281.= =una nariz sayn y escriba=: the two nouns =sayn= ('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 Nasn ms narizado=: the allusion is to the Latin poet
Publius Ovidius Naso; the pun is on the word =Nasn= (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 Besanon in
Franche-Comt.--=Dola=: Dle, a fortified town, capital of Franche-Comt
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 Borgoa=: an error; the _duchy_ of Burgundy, west of
the river Sane, had not been a Spanish possession. It was the _county_
of Burgundy, east of the Sane, better known in English as
Franche-Comt, 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 Roselln=: 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 rles 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 Viosa, 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.= =ranse 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 _Poesas
Morales_, "esto es que descubren y manifiestan las pasiones y costumbres
del hombre, procurndolas enmendar."

=1938-1941.= These lines are taken from the first strophe of Quevedo's
"Elogio al Duque de Lerma, Cancin Pindrica."

=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 Girn=: cf. Historical Introduction.

=2036-2043.= Sanz quotes the two quatrains of Quevedo's sonnet "Memoria
inmortal de Don Pedro Girn, Duque de Osuna, muerto en la prisin." The
concluding tercets are inferior to the quatrains.

=2048.= =los Guzmanes en Tarifa=: the allusion is to Alonso Prez de Guzmn,
called =el Bueno= (1256-1309). In the reign of Sancho IV of Castile,
Alonso Prez 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 Guzmn 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
Prez 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.= =enmudecer Tala=: Thalia is the muse of comedy; hence the passage
would mean 'your laughing satirical tongue will be silenced.'

=2256-2257.= Cf. Historical Introduction.

=2315.= Mendaa 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 Cmara or Cmara 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.= =Fuenterraba=: 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.

=2395.= =del Corpus=: Corpus Christi, the day upon which the institution of
the Holy Eucharist is commemorated. It is observed in Roman Catholic
countries with great pomp and ceremony.

=2511.= =Lo=: not the paper, but, as line 2513 shows, the proposition that
the paper should go in.

=2547.= =Al fin me estrell en la roca=: 'at last I have met my fate.'
Quevedo had always affected scorn for women. Sanz ignores the fact of
Quevedo's marriage.

=2565.= =quin?...=: the full form of the question is 'which will prove the
stronger?'

=2647.= It was a breach of etiquette for Quevedo to be seated without
permission in the presence of Olivares.

=2658.= =ya no quitis ni ponis=: this is a reminiscence of Bertrand du
Guesclin's "Ni quito ni pongo rey, pero ayudo a mi seor." Du Guesclin
with his White Companies came to the aid of Enrique de Trastamara in
the latter's rebellion against his half-brother Pedro el Cruel. Pedro,
besieged in the castle of Montiel, tried to save himself from Enrique by
making terms with Du Guesclin, but he was betrayed into the presence of
Enrique. In the struggle that necessarily ensued the two brothers fell
to the ground locked in each other's arms. Things were going badly for
Enrique when Du Guesclin interfered to give Enrique a chance to dispatch
Pedro with his dagger (1369).

=2693.= =la carta de Uras=: in order to have greater opportunity to indulge
his passion for Bathsheba, King David sent her husband Uriah to the
siege of Rabbah, and at the same time sent a letter giving orders that
Uriah be stationed in the place of greatest danger. Cf. II Samuel xii.

=2714.= =postrer=: we should expect =postrera= before a feminine noun, but the
meter demands =postrer=.

=2731.= =Gozis de tan cumplida preeminencia=: the right to cover the head
in the presence of the king was the special ceremonial distinction of
the grandees of Spain.

THE KING'S LETTER, last line: if Quevedo had not made pauses in reading
in order to hold his hearers in suspense, there would have been a
punctuation mark after =brazos= but not after =rey=.

=3009.= =mi villa=: la Villa de la Torre de Juan Abad, in the Campo de
Montiel, about one hundred miles from Madrid.




VOCABULARY


The sign ~ means a repetition of the word in black type at the beginning of the
paragraph; thus, under =acordar=, "=~se=" means =acordarse=.

=a= to, at, on, by, with, in, according to, within; _as sign of personal object
  is not to be translated_;
  =~ muerte= o =~ vida= it is life or death;
  =~ pesar de= in spite of;
  =~ qu= why;
  =~ no ser por= were it not for;
  =~ travs de= across, through

=abajo= below, beneath

=abalanzarse sobre= rush impetuously at

=abandonar= abandon, forsake

=abierto, -a= (_pp. of_ =abrir=) open

=abismado, -a= (_pp. of_ =abismar=) buried in thought, dejected

=abismo= _m._ abyss

=abonar= support, bear out

=aborrecer= _irreg._ abhor, hate

=abortar= miscarry, fail

=abrasar= burn, fire; madden

=abrazar= embrace

=abrigar= shelter

=abrir= _irreg._ open;
  =~ la marcha= go at the head, lead;
  =~ paso= clear the way

=abrumar= crush, weary

=absorto, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =absorber=) absorbed, amazed

=aburrido, -a= (_pp. of_ =aburrir=) bored

=aburrirse de= be bored with

=ac= here, hither

=acabar= finish, come to an end;
  =~ de= have just

=acaloradamente= heatedly, earnestly

=acaso= perhaps, perchance

=acatar= respect, observe

=acceso= _m._ access, attack (of illness or emotion)

=accin= _f._ action

=acento= _m._ accent, tone, voice

=aceptar= accept

=acerbo, -a= bitter

=acercarse= approach

=acero= _m._ steel; sword

=acertar= _irreg._ hit by chance, guess rightly; happen to, succeed in

=acompaado, -a= (_pp. of_ =acompaar=) accompanied

=acompaar= accompany, escort

=acordar= _irreg._ resolve, determine, grant (_used of king when he determines
  something which he will later authorize with his official seal
  and signature_);
  =~se= remember, recall;
  =~se de= remember

=acosado, -a= (_pp. of_ =acosar=) pursued closely

=acosar= harass, pursue, beset

=actitud= _f._ attitude, position;
  =en ~ de marcharse= as if about to go away

=acto= _m._ act

=actor= _m._ actor;
  =primer ~= leading man

=actriz= _f._ actress

=acudir a= go to, attend, repair to, have recourse to

=adalid= _m._ chief, champion

=Adn= Adam

=adelantar= advance;
  =~se= advance, approach

=adelante= ahead, forward

=ademn= _m._ look, appearance, expression, gesture

=adems= besides, moreover

=adentro= inside, within

=adis= good-by

=adivinar= guess, foretell

=admirable= admirable

=admirar= admire, wonder at

=adornar= adorn

=adulador= _m._ flatterer

=advertir= _irreg._ observe; give notice, give warning, acquaint

=afn= _m._ anxiety, eagerness

=afanoso, -a= anxious, eager

=afectado, -a= (_pp. of_ =afectar=) affected

=afectar= affect, feign

=afectuoso, -a= affectionate

=aficin= _f._ fondness, attachment

=afirmar= declare, assert

=afirmativo, -a= affirmative

=afliccin= _f._ affliction

=afligirse= grieve, repine

=afogonarse= miss fire

=afrentar= affront, insult, shame

=afuera= outside

=agitado, -a= (_pp. of_ =agitar=) agitated

=agitar= agitate, perturb; wave, shake;
  =~se= be busied

=agona= _f._ last moments, agony

=agotar= exhaust;
  =~se= become exhausted

=agua= _f._ water;
  =hacer ~= leak

=aguardar= wait for, await (expectantly)

=agudo, -a= acute, shrewd

=ah= ah, oh

=ah= there (near person addressed); here

=ahogado, -a= (_pp. of_ =ahogar=) stifled, drowned;
  =morir ~ en la orilla= _cf._ =orilla=

=ahogar= stifle;
  =~se= be smothered, be suffocated, be drowned

=ahora= now;
  =por ~= for the time being, now

=ahorcar= hang

=aire= _m._ air, expression, look, demeanor

=ajeno, -a= strange, foreign, belonging to another, of another

=al= = =a= + =el=

=ala= _f._ wing

=alabarda= _f._ halberd, pike

=alabardero= _m._ halberdier, pikeman

=alambicar= distill; be unnecessarily particular

=alarde= _m._ ostentation, boast, manifestation;
  =en regio ~= as if she were the sovereign himself, with royal show

=alargar= extend, hold out

=alborozo= _m._ gayety, joy, rejoicing

=albur= _m._ first draw at monte; chance, risk;
  =jugar un ~= take a risk, take a chance

=alcaide= _m._ governor (of castle), warden, guardian

=alcalde= _m._ mayor;
  =~ mayor de casa y corte= judge who with his fellows
  formed one fifth of chamber of Consejo de Castilla, _see note, l. 2340_

=alcanzar= overtake, grasp, obtain, attain

=alczar= _m._ castle, palace

=alcotn= _m._ lanner (hawk)

=alegrarse de= rejoice in, be delighted at

=alegre= cheerful, gay, joyous

=alegra= _f._ joy, gladness

=alejar= remove;
  =~se= move away, go away;
  =~ del bien= lead astray

=alerta= vigilantly, on the watch

=alfiler= _m._ pin;
  =prender con ~es= pin up, pin on, pin together, _fig._ put together flimsily

=alfombra= _f._ carpet

=algaraba= _f._ jargon, gabble, hubbub

=algo= something, anything, somewhat

=alguacil= _m._ constable, bailiff

=alguien= some one

=algn= _see_ =alguno=

=alguno, -a= some, any, some one

=aliento= _m._ breath

=alivio= _m._ relief

=alma= _f._ soul, heart;
  =del ~= beloved

=alojamiento= _m._ lodgings

=alquitara= _f._ still

=alquitarado= (_pp. of_ =alquitarar=) =-a= distilled,
  purified, put through a purifying process

=alrededor= around, round about;
  =~ de= about, around;
  =a su ~= around her _etc._

=alternativamente= alternately

=alteza= _f._ highness

=altivez= _f._ arrogance, pride

=altivo, -a= arrogant, proud, haughty

=alto, -a= high, noble; deep

=altura= _f._ height, summit, heights

=alumbrado, -a= (_pp. of_ =alumbrar=) lighted

=alumbrador= _m._ torch-bearer, light-bearer

=alumbrar= illuminate, enlighten, light

=alzar= raise;
  =~se= rise;
  rebel

=all= there, thither;
  =por ~= in that direction

=all= there;
  =por ~= that way, there

=amanecer= _irreg._ dawn

=amante= loving

=amante= _m. or f._ lover

=amar= love

=amargo, -a= bitter

=amargura= _f._ bitterness

=amarillo, -a= yellow

=ambicin= _f._ ambition

=ambicionar= pursue as an ambition; covet

=ambos, -as= both

=amn= amen

=amenazante= threatening, menacing

=amigo, -a= friend

=amistad= _f._ friendship

=amor= _m._ love; _pl._ love affair(s)

=amparo= _m._ protection, refuge

=ancho, -a= broad

=andar= _irreg._ go, walk, act, go about;
  _often equivalent to_ =estar=;
  =~ por las ramas= fix one's attention on
  the least important part of the question, beat about the bush

=ngel= _m._ angel;
  =~ malo= evil genius

=angustia= _f._ anguish, suffering

=anhelar= long for, desire anxiously

=aniquilar= annihilate, destroy

=aniversario= anniversary

=anochecer= _irreg._ become night, grow dark;
  =al ~= at nightfall

=ansia= _f._ anxiety, eagerness

=ansiedad= _f._ anxiety;
  =con ~= anxiously

=ante= before, in front of

=antecmara= _f._ antechamber

=anterior= preceding, former

=antes= formerly, before;
  =~ de= before

=anunciar= announce

=aadir= add

=ao= _m._ year;
  =al ~= yearly

=aparato= _m._ pomp, ostentation, show

=aparecer= _irreg._ appear

=aparentar= make a false show, feign, sham

=apartar= remove, put aside, part, withdraw;
  =~se= withdraw, move away, leave

=aparte= aside

=apasionadamente= passionately

=apelar= appeal

=aplaudir= applaud

=aplazar= postpone, delay

=aposento= _m._ room, apartment

=apoyarse= lean, rely on

=apresuramiento= _m._ hastiness, eagerness

=apretar= _irreg._ compress, hold, clutch;
  distress, harass

=aproximarse= approach

=apuntar= aim

=apurar= consume, drain, exhaust;
  =~se= worry, fret

=apuro= _m._ perplexity, difficulty, affliction, straits, want

=aquel, -lla= that, the former

=aqul, -lla= that one, the former

=aqu= here, now;
  =hacia ~= hither;
  =por ~= hither, this way

=rbol= _m._ tree

=arcabuz= _m._ harquebus

=arder= burn, glow

=ardid= _m._ stratagem, cunning, trick

=arma= _f._ arm, weapon;
  _pl_. troops;
  armorial bearings

=arrancar= pull, tear, force out

=arrastrar= drag, draw

=arrebol= _m._ red sky

=arreglar= arrange, dispose

=arrepentido, -a= (_pp. of_ =arrepentirse=) repentant

=arrepentirse= _irreg._ repent

=arriba= above;
  =hasta ~= (_l. 384_) as far as the top (of the steps)

=arriesgado, -a= (_pp. of_ =arriesgar=) risky, hazardous

=arriesgar= risk, venture

=arrimar= approach, place near;
  =~ un hombro= lend aid

=arrimo= _m._ protection, support

=arrodillarse= kneel

=arrogancia= _f._ arrogance;
  =con ~= arrogantly

=arrojar= throw, fling, cast, hurl (away)

=arruinar= ruin

=artista= _m. or f._ artist

=asaduras= _f. pl._ entrails;
  =echar las ~= laugh one's head off

=asaltar= assail; occur suddenly

=asentimiento= _m._ assent

=asesinar= assassinate, murder

=asesino= _m._ murderer, assassin

=as= thus, so, in this way

=asir= _irreg._ seize, take, grasp;
  =~se de= clutch, lean upon;
  take advantage of, have recourse to

=asomarse= show one's self, appear

=asombrar= surprise, astonish;
  =~se de= be astonished at, be surprised at

=asombro= _m._ surprise, astonishment

=aspecto= _m._ aspect, look

=aspirar= aspire

=astucia= _f._ astuteness, cunning

=asunto= _m._ subject, matter, affair

=asustar= frighten

=atado, -a= (_pp. of_ =atar=) bound

=atajar= stop, interrupt

=atar= bind

=atencin= _f._ attention

=atender= _irreg._ attend, pay attention;
  =atendiendo a= out of respect for

=atentamente= intently

=aterrado, -a= (_pp. of_ =aterrar=) terrified

=atesorar= treasure up, possess

=Atocha= formerly a suburb southeast of Madrid

=atragantar= choke

=atrs= back, backward

=atravesar= _irreg._ cross, traverse

=atreverse a= dare to

=atrio= _m._ porch, portico

=audacia= _f._ audacity, boldness

=audaz= (_pl._ =audaces=) bold

=audiencia= _f._ audience

=aun= _or_ =an= yet, still, notwithstanding, even;
  =ni ~= not even

=aunque= although

=aura= _f._ air

=aurora= _f._ dawn

=ausencia= _f._ absence

=autor= _m._ author

=auxiliar= help, aid

=avanzar= advance

=avisar= advise, warn, give notice of

=aviso= _m._ warning, notice

=ay= ah, alas;
  =~ de vos= _etc._ alas for you _etc._

=ayer= yesterday;
  =su ~= his past

=ayuda= _f._ help

=ayudar= help

=azar= _m._ accident, disappointment, hazard

=azorado, -a= (_pp. of_ =azorar=) terrified, confused

=azul= blue


=bculo= _m._ staff

=bailar= dance

=baile= _m._ dance

=bajada= _f._ descent

=bajar= lower, descend

=bajo, -a= low

=bajo= under, beneath, subject to

=bala= _f._ bullet

=balcn= _m._ balcony

=bandeja= _f._ tray, salver

=barato, -a= cheap, cheaply

=barbado, -a= bearded;
  =muy ~= with a very long chin

=barbarie= _f._ barbarousness, cruelty

=brbaro, -a= barbarous, cruel

=bastante= enough;
  considerably, sufficiently, quite

=bastar= be enough, suffice

=bastardo, -a= bastard, illegitimate

=batalla= _f._ battle

=batiente= _see_ =mandbula=

=beldad= _f._ beauty

=Belona= Bellona, goddess of war, sister or wife of Mars

=bello, -a= beautiful

=bendito, -a= blessed

=beneficiado, -a= (_pp. of_ =beneficiar=) object of benefit,
  person for whom a benefit performance is given

=beneficiar= benefit

=beneficio= _m._ benefit;
  =a ~ de= for the benefit of

=beodo, -a= drunk, intoxicated

=besamanos= _m._ act of kissing the hand, salute

=besar= kiss

=bicho= _m._ small insect;
  coxcomb

=bien= well;
  very;
  all right;
  =~ que= although;
  =ahora ~= now then;
  this being so;
  =ms ~= rather

=bien= _m._ good;
  =nunca para el ~ fu tarde= it is never too late to mend

=billete= _m._ note

=bisoo, -a= inexperienced

=bisoo= _m._ raw recruit, novice

=blanco, -a= white

=blasn= _m._ armorial bearings, blazon;
  glory

=boca= _f._ mouth;
  =~ arriba= face upward, flat on one's back

=boda(s)= _f._ wedding

=bolsillo= _m._ pocket

=bondad= _f._ goodness, kindness, clemency

=Borgoa= _f._ Burgundy (_see note_)

=Borja= _proper name_

=borrar= blot, erase

=Braganza= _see note_

=bravo, -a= brave, excellent, fine;
  bravo!

=brazo= _m._ arm

=breve= brief, short;
  =en ~= in short, in a few words

=brillar= shine, gleam

=brindar= drink a health, toast;
  offer

=brotar= bud, spring up;
  appear

=brusco, -a= brusque, gruff

=bueno, -a= good, faithful, noble, clear

=bulto= _m._ object not clearly seen, form

=bulla= _f._ crowd;
  noise, shouting (of crowd);
  =de ~= in high good humor

=buque= _m._ ship

=burlar= joke, make sport of, fool

=busca= _f._ search;
  =en ~ de= in search of, after

=buscar= seek, look for, try to get


=caballero= _m._ knight;
  gentleman

=caber= _irreg._ be contained in, fit, find room, have the right of admission;
  =qu duda cabe= what doubt can there be

=cabeza=, _f._ head;
  =con la ~ baja= with bowed head

=cabo= _m._ end;
  =al ~= finally;
  =al fin y al ~= after all is said and done

=cacumen= _m._ top, head; understanding

=cada= each;
  =~ cual= each one

=cadver= _m._ dead body, corpse

=caer= _irreg._ fall; be situated

=calar= penetrate;
  =~ el sombrero= press one's hat down tight

=calavera= _f._ skull

=calcular= calculate, reckon

=Caliope= the muse of eloquence and heroic poetry and chief of the muses

=calma= _f._ calm, peace

=calmar= calm, soothe

=calor= _m._ heat, warmth

=calumniar= calumniate, slander

=callar= be silent;
  =~se= be silent

=calle= _f._ street

=cmara= _f._ chamber

=cambiar (de)= change, exchange

=cambio= _m._ change, exchange

=camino= _m._ way, road

=campanada= _f._ stroke (of bell)

=campaa= _f._ campaign

=cancel= _m._ glass screen in a
  church or chapel behind which is the royal seat; extreme limit or boundary

=candelabro= _m._ candelabrum

=candelero= _m._ candlestick

=cansado, -a= (_pp. of_ =cansar=) tired, weary

=cansar= tire, weary;
  =~se= grow tired

=canto= _m._ song, singing

=can= _m._ cannon;
  =~ de metralla= long-barreled piece of artillery used
  formerly for firing grape-shot

=capa= _f._ cloak

=capaz= (_pl._ =capaces=) capable, able

=capilla= _f._ chapel

=capitn= _m._ captain

=capricho= _m._ whim

=cara= _f._ face

=caracol= _m._ snail; winding staircase

=carcter= _m._ character, condition

=caracterizar= characterize, act (a part), interpret (a part)

=carcajada= _f._ burst of laughter

=crcel= _f._ prison

=cario= _m._ affection

=carioso, -a= affectionate

=carnicero= _m._ butcher

=caro, -a= dear;
  =venderse caro= be sold at a high price

=carroza= _f._ state coach

=carta= _f._ letter

=casa= _f._ house

=casado, -a= (_pp. of_ =casar=) married

=casar= marry, give in marriage;
  =~se con= marry

=cascabel= _m._ bell

=cascajo= _m._ gravel; rubbish

=casi= almost

=caso= _m._ case;
  =hacer ~= pay attention;
  =es el ~ que= the fact is that

=castigar= punish

=castigo= _m._ punishment

=Castilla= _proper name_

=Castilla= _f._ Castile

=casualidad= _f._ chance, accident, coincidence

=catorce= fourteen

=causa= _f._ cause, reason;
  =por ~ de= because of

=causar= cause

=cautelosamente= stealthily, cautiously; guilefully

=cauteloso, -a= cautious, wary; stealthy, guileful

=cazar= hunt, obtain by exercise of particular skill, catch

=ceder= cede, grant, relinquish, give in

=cfiro= _m._ zephyr

=cegar= _irreg._ grow blind, be blinded

=celebrar= celebrate, applaud

=celestial= celestial, heavenly

=celo= _m._ ardor, zeal;
  =~s= jealousy

=celoso, -a= jealous

=centro= _m._ center

=ceir= _irreg._ gird, crown

=ceudo, -a= frowning, ominous

=cerciorar= assure, affirm;
  =~se de= make sure, ascertain

=cerebro= _m._ brain, mind;
  =trastornar el ~= turn one's head

=ceremonia= _f._ ceremony

=cerrado, -a= (_pp. of_ =cerrar=) closed, inclosed

=cerrar= close;
  =~ el paso a= stand in the way of, prevent

=certero, -a= well aimed, unerring

=cesar= cease;
  =sin ~= incessantly

=cetro= _m._ scepter

=ciego, -a= blind

=cielo= _m._ heaven, heavens, sky;
  =~s!= great heavens!

=cien= one hundred

=cieno= _m._ filth, mud, mire

=ciertamente= certainly, surely

=cierto, -a= certain; certainly;
  =por ~= to be sure;
  =de ~= certainly

=cinco= five;
  =las ~= five o'clock

=cisne= _m._ swan; singer, poet, bard

=cita= _f._ appointment, rendezvous, tryst

=citar= summon, make an appointment with

=ciudad= _f._ city

=cizaa= _f._ darnel;
  =sembrar ~= sow tares, sow discord

=clamor= _m._ clamor, uproar

=clarito, -a= (_dimin. of_ =claro=);
  =pronto y clarito= _see_ =pronto=

=claro, -a= clear;
  =claro est= it is evident

=claustro= _m._ cloister

=clavar= fix, nail, fasten, transfix

=cobarde= cowardly;
  =nunca pequ de ~= I was never guilty of cowardice

=cobarde= _m._ coward

=cobrar= gain, draw (pay); collect (debt)

=coche= _m._ coach, carriage

=codo= _m._ elbow;
  =por cogote y ~s= _see_ =cogote=

=cogote= _m._ back of neck;
  =discurro hasta por ~ y codos= I am racking my brains with a club

=clera= _f._ anger

=colrico, -a= choleric, angry

=colmar (de, con)= heap upon, bestow liberally, fill, lavish upon

=colocado, -a= (_pp. of_ =colocar=) placed

=colocar= place

=color= _m._ color;
  =~es= color

=colorar= paint, tinge, color;
  =~se= blush, redden

=columbrar= spy, discern at a distance, descry

=columna= _f._ column, pillar

=combatir= combat, fight

=comenzar= _irreg._ commence, begin

=comer= eat;
  =~se= _adds a little energy to the verb_

=comitiva= _f._ suite, retinue

=como= as, as if, like, if only, provided that;
  =~ puedo= as best I can;
  =~ si= as if

=cmo= how, why, what, is it possible;
  =el ~= the way of it

=compaa= _f._ company, escort

=compaa= _f._ company

=compasin= _f._ compassion, pity;
  =por ~= for pity's sake

=competir= _irreg._ compete, rival

=complacencia= _f._ complacency

=completar= to complete

=completo, -a= complete

=componer= _irreg._ compose

=comprado, -a= (_pp. of_ =comprar=) bought

=comprar= buy

=comprender= understand, grasp

=comprensin= _f._ comprehension

=comn= common

=comunin= _f._ communion, fellowship, association

=con= with, by, among; on account of;
  =~ todo= after all, nevertheless

=conceder= concede, grant

=concentrado, -a= (_pp. of_ =concentrar=) concentrated, tense

=conciliar= conciliate, compose, bring into agreement; arrange

=concluir= _irreg._ conclude, finish

=conde= _m._ count

=condenado, -a= (_pp. of_ =condenar=) condemned

=condicin= _f._ condition, rank, class; stipulation, circumstance;
  =~ oscura= obscure origin, low birth

=conducido, -a= (_pp. of_ =conducir=) led, conducted

=conducir= _irreg._ conduct, convoy, lead

=confesar= _irreg._ confess

=confesin= _f._ confession

=confianza= _f._ confidence

=confiar= trust, hope, have confidence

=conforme= alike, corresponding to, as;
  =~ a= consistent with;
  =segn y ~= _see_ =segn=

=confundir= confuse, confound;
  =mezquino entre los hombres me confundo= I am worthless as men
go;
  =~se= be bewildered, be perplexed, be puzzled

=confusin= _f._ confusion

=confuso, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =confundir=) confused, in confusion

=conjetura= _f._ conjecture, guess

=conjurar= conjure; implore; avert

=conjuro= _m._ incantation, charm; entreaty

=conmigo= with me, on my side

=conocer= _irreg._ know, be acquainted with, recognize

=conocido, -a= (_pp. of_ =conocer=) known, recognized, well known

=conque= so then

=conquista= _f._ conquest

=conquistar= win

=consagrado, -a= (_pp. of_ =consagrar=) consecrated

=consagrar= consecrate, devote; direct

=conseguir= _irreg._ obtain, attain, succeed

=consejo= _m._ council; advice, counsel

=conservar= keep

=consignar= consign, devote; state in writing

=consigo= with _or_ by himself _etc._

=consonancia= _f._ consonance, rime

=consonante= _m._ a rime

=conspirar= conspire, plot

=constar= _impers._ be clear, be evident, be recorded

=consuelo= _m._ consolation, comfort

=consultar= consult; advise; determine (of administrative body)

=consumir= consume

=contacto= _m._ contact, touch

=contado, -a= (_pp. of_ =contar=) counted, told;
  =por de ~= of course

=contar= _irreg._ count, tell, relate;
  =~ con= count upon, reckon with

=contemplar= contemplate, regard, watch

=contener= _irreg._ contain

=contentamiento= _m._ contentment, satisfaction

=contentar= content, please

=contento, -a= content, satisfied, happy, pleased

=contento= _m._ contentment

=contexto= _m._ context, contents

=contigo= with you

=continuacin= _f._ continuation;
  =a ~= below

=contra= against;
  =en mi ~= against me, to my disadvantage

=contrario, -a= opposed, contrary;
  =por el ~= on the contrary

=contrario= _m._ opponent, antagonist, adversary

=contraste= _m._ contrast

=convencer= convince

=conveniencia= _f._ convention, convenience

=conveniente= suitable, convenient

=convenir= _irreg._ suit, become, be advantageous

=convento= _m._ convent

=conversacin= _f._ conversation; subject of conversation

=convertido, -a= (_pp. of_ =convertir=) converted, changed

=convertir= _irreg._ convert

=conviccin= _f._ conviction, firm belief

=convulsin= _f._ convulsion

=convulsivamente= convulsively

=convulsivo, -a= convulsive

=copa= _f._ cup, goblet, vase

=copiar= copy

=corazn= _m._ heart; courage

=corchete= _m._ bailiff

=cordero= _m._ lamb

=corona= _f._ crown, diadem

=coronar= crown

=Corpus= _see note_

=corredor= _m._ corridor

=correr= run, circulate

=corro= _m._ group, circle

=cortado, -a= (_pp. of_ =cortar=) cut; broken (of phrase)

=cortar= cut, cut off, cut out

=corte= _f._ court; capital

=cortesano, -a= pertaining to the court, courtier

=cortesano= _m._ courtier

=cortesa= _f._ courtesy, compliment, attention, bow

=corto, -a= short;
  =~ de vista= near-sighted

=cosa= _f._ thing, matter, affair;
  =~s de Quevedo son= it is some folly of Quevedo's,
  it is some prank of Quevedo's;
  =~ es clara= it is clear enough

=costa= _f._ cost;
  =a ~ de= at the cost of

=costumbre= _f._ custom;
  =es ~= it is customary

=costurera= _f._ seamstress, dress-maker

=cota= _f._ coat of mail; armor

=creador, -a= creator

=crear= create

=crecer= _irreg._ grow

=credencial= lending credit, lending authority

=credencial= _f._ credential

=credo= _m._ creed;
  =con el ~ en la boca= facing death or danger

=creer= believe, think

=criba= _f._ crib

=crimen= _m._ crime, guilt

=crispado, -a= (_pp. of_ =crispar=) clenched

=cristiano, -a= Christian

=Cristo= Christ;
  =por ~= _an emphatic oath_, by heavens!

=cruel= cruel

=crujir= crackle, creak

=cruz= _f._ cross

=cruzado, -a= (_pp. of_ =cruzar=);
  =~ de brazos, con los brazos cruzados=, with folded arms

=cruzar= cross, traverse

=cuadrar= suit, be appropriate

=cual= like, as;
  =~ nunca= as never before;
  =cada ~= each one

=cul= which, which one

=cualquier= _see_ =cualquiera=

=cualquiera= whatever, whoever, anybody, any;
  =ser un ~= be of no account, be a nobody

=cuando= when, as, since

=cundo= when?

=cuanto, -a= how much (_pl._ how many), as much, as much as,
  all that, what, how;
  =~ ms... ms= the more... the more;
  =~ menos... menos= the less... the less

=cunto, -a= how much, how; _pl._ how many, how much, how!

=cuarteto= _m._ quatrain

=cuarto, -a= fourth

=cuatro= four

=cubierto, -a= (_pp. of_ =cubrir=) covered

=cubrir= _irreg._ cover;
  =~se= cover one's head

=cuchillada= _f._ knife-cut, slash with a knife; quarrel

=cuchillo= _m._ knife

=cuenta= _f._ account;
  =eso de mi ~ corre= that is my affair;
  =tener en ~= take into account, remember

=cuento= _m._ story, tale;
  =~ de alabarda= ferrule, end of halberd

=cuerdo, -a= sensible, wise

=cuerpo= _m._ body, substance;
  =tomar ms ~= grow firmer

=cuestin= _f._ question, subject, matter under consideration

=cuidado= _m._ care, pains

=cuidar= take care

=cuita= _f._ affliction, trouble

=culebra= _f._ serpent, snake

=culpa= _f._ blame, fault, guilt

=cumplido, -a= (_pp. of_ =cumplir=) large, full, ample;
  =cumplida merced= signal favor

=cumplir= fulfill, carry out, execute; be fit, be convenient

=curiosidad= _f._ curiosity

=curioso, -a= curious, inquiring


=chacota= _f._ uproarious mirth

=chancero, -a= jocose, merry

=chanza= _f._ joke, jest;
  =estar de ~= be joking, be in a joking mood

=chato, -a= flat, flat-nosed;
  =chata razn= stunted intellect

=chist= ssh, hush

=chiste= _m._ joke

=chistoso, -a= cheerful, funny


=dado, -a= (_pp. of_ =dar=) given to, devoted to

=dama= _f._ lady

=dar= _irreg._ give, cause;
  =~ con= find, come upon;
  =~ en= strike, touch, happen, come to;
  =~ fin= end, come to an end;
  =~ muerte= kill;
  =~ muestras= show signs;
  =~ un paso= take a step;
  =~ principio= begin;
  =~ la vuelta= return;
  =~ la hora= strike the hour;
  =un soneto da catorce= a sonnet makes fourteen

=de= of, from, for, through, at, in, by, with, than;
  =~ cierto= certainly;
  =~ improviso= unexpectedly;
  =~ nuevo= again, anew;
  =~ seguro= surely, undoubtedly

=deber= owe, ought, must, be to

=deber= _m._ duty

=debido, -a= (_pp. of_ =deber=) due

=dbil= weak, fragile, feeble

=decir= _irreg._ say;
  =es ~= that is

=declarar= declare

=decoracin= _f._ setting

=decoro= _m._ respect, reverence due a person

=dedicar= dedicate, devote

=dedo= _m._ finger

=defender= _irreg._ defend

=defensa= _f._ defense

=deferencia= _f._ deference, condescension

=dejar= leave, leave off, cease, let, permit;
  =~ de= (_infin._) cease _etc._;
  =~ caer= drop;
  =~ paso= give way before, let pass

=del= = =de= + =el=

=delante= in front, before;
  =~ de= before, in front of

=delirar= be delirious, rave; talk nonsense

=delirio= _m._ delirium

=delito= _m._ crime

=demanda= _f._ demand, petition, request

=dems= further, besides, in addition;
  =lo ~= the rest;
  =los ~= the rest, the others;
  _with a pl. without art._ other

=demasiado, -a= too much, too many

=demonio= _m._ devil; the devil! the deuce!

=demora= _f._ delay

=dentro= within, inside;
  =~ de= within, inside of

=derecho, -a= straight; right (_opposed to_ =izquierdo=)

=derecho= straight, direct, directly

=derechura= _f._: =en ~= directly, straight

=derrocar= overthrow, demolish

=derrumbarse= fall headlong; crumble away

=desafuero= _m._ injustice, outrage

=desaliento= _m._ dismay, dejection

=desamparo= _m._ abandonment, helplessness

=desaparecer= _irreg._ disappear

=desatarse= break loose, break out

=desatinado, -a= (_pp. of_ =desatinar=) wild, incoherent, foolish

=desatino= _m._ foolish act, folly, error

=desazn= _f._ displeasure, annoyance, offense

=descansado, -a= (_pp. of_ =descansar=) easy, quiet; comfortable, at ease

=descansar= rest

=descanso= _m._ rest

=descolorido, -a= discolored, pale

=desconcertar= _irreg._ disconcert, disturb, confuse

=descubierto, -a= (_pp. of_ =descubrir=) uncovered, bare

=descubrir= _irreg._ reveal, discover, uncover

=desde= from, since;
  =~ luego= at once;
  =~ que= since, that

=desdn= _m._ disdain, scorn

=desdeosamente= disdainfully

=desdeoso, -a= disdainful, scornful

=desdichado, -a= unhappy, unfortunate

=desdoblar= unfold

=desear= desire, wish

=desechar= reject, put aside

=desembarazarse= uncover one's self, disembarrass one's self;
  =~ de= relieve one's self of

=desengao= _m._ discovery of an error, disillusionment, disappointment

=desentonado, -a= (_pp. of_ =desentonar=) out of tune, gruff

=desenvainar= unsheathe, draw

=desesperacin= _f._ desperation, despair; passion

=desfallecimiento= _m._ weakness, dejection

=desfilar= defile, march by files, pass in review

=desgarrar= rend, tear

=desgracia= _f._ misfortune;
  =por ~= unfortunately

=desgraciado, -a= unfortunate, object of misfortune

=deshacerse de= _irreg._ get rid of

=deshonrar= dishonor

=designio= _m._ design, plan, intention

=desigual= unequal

=deslerse= _irreg._ dilute, weaken, dissolve, melt

=desmn= _m._ excess in words or action, insulting breach of etiquette, affront

=desmayado, -a= (_pp. of_ =desmayar=) fainting, in a faint

=desmayar= be dispirited; dismay, discourage;
  =~se= faint, grow faint

=desnudo, -a= naked, bare, drawn

=desollar= _irreg._ flay, skin

=desorden= _m._ disorder, confusion, turmoil

=despacio= slow, slowly, at leisure

=despacito= (_dimin. of_ =despacio=) at leisure

=despacho= _m._ dispatch, official communication

=despecho= _m._ spite, malevolence

=despedida= _f._ good-by, farewell;
  =hacer ~= take leave of

=despedirse de= _irreg._ say good-by to, take leave of

=despreciado, -a= (_pp. of_ =despreciar=) scorned

=despreciar= scorn, despise

=despreciativo, -a= scornful

=desprecio= _m._ scorn

=despus= after, then, later, afterward;
  =~ de= after

=desterrado, -a= (_pp. of_ =desterrar=) banished

=desterrar= _irreg._ banish

=destierro= _m._ banishment, exile

=destino= _m._ destiny, fate

=destruir= _irreg._ destroy

=desvanecer= _irreg._ vanish

=desvaro= _m._ extravagant action, delirium;
  =con ~= distractedly, wildly

=desventura= _f._ ill fortune, calamity, misery, unhappiness

=desventurado, -a= unhappy, luckless

=desviar= turn aside, ward off, thrust aside;
  =~se= turn aside, turn away, take the wrong road

=detener= _irreg._ detain, stop;
  =~se= stop

=determinar= determine, decide

=detrs= back, behind;
  =~ de= after, in pursuit of;
  =por ~= behind, from behind

=deuda= _f._ debt

=devocin= _f._ devotion;
  _pl._ devotions (religious)

=devolver= _irreg._ return, restore

=da= _m._ day, light of day;
  =algn ~= some day, once;
  =todo el ~= all day

=diablo= _m._ devil;
  =qu ~s= what the deuce

=dicha= _f._ happiness

=dicho, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =decir=) said, (the) aforesaid, same

=dicho= _m._ saying

=dichoso, -a= happy, prosperous, fortunate

=diente= _m._ tooth

=diestro, -a= skillful, expert, prudent, cunning

=diez= ten;
  =para las ~= for ten o'clock

=diferente= different

=diferir= _irreg._ defer, delay, postpone

=difcil= difficult

=dignarse= deign, condescend

=dignidad= _f._ dignity

=digno, -a= worthy

=dilacin= _f._ delay

=dilatarse= broaden, grow broad

=dinero= _m._ money, funds

=dios= _m._ god, God;
  =vive ~= _see_ =vivir=;
  =gran ~= great heavens!
  =~ mo= heavens!

=direccin= _f._ direction

=director= _m._ director;
  =~ de escena= stage-manager

=dirigir= direct, address;
  =~se= go, turn (toward), make one's way (toward)

=discrecin= _f._ discretion, judgment, prudence

=discreto, -a= discreet; witty

=discurrir= reflect, reason; plan, scheme

=disgusto= _m._ disgust, annoyance, unpleasantness

=disiparse= fade away

=disparar= shoot, fire off

=disparo= _m._ discharge, shot (of firearm)

=dispensar= dispense, grant, excuse

=disponer= _irreg._ arrange, dispose, order, direct

=dispuesto, -a= (_pp. of_ =disponer=) prepared, ready

=disputar= dispute, debate, argue, quarrel

=distancia= _f._ distance

=distincin= _f._ distinction

=distinguido, -a= (_pp. of_ =distinguir=) distinguished, eminent

=distinguir= _irreg._ distinguish, single out

=distinto, -a= distinct, different

=distraccin= _f._ distraction, absent-mindedness

=diversin= _f._ diversion, amusement

=divertido, -a= (_pp. of_ =divertir=) amusing

=divertir= _irreg._ divert, turn away; amuse

=diz= it is said, people say

=doblar= double, bend

=doblez= (_pl._ =dobleces=) fold, crease;
  =en tres dobleces= thrice folded

=dogal= _m._ halter, noose, hangman's rope

=dolor= _m._ grief, sorrow, pain

=dominado, -a= (_pp. of_ =dominar=) dominated;
  =~ por la situacin= overwhelmed by the situation

=dominador, -a= dominating

=dominador= _m._ dominator

=dominar= dominate

=dominio= _m._ dominion

=dominin= _f._ dominion

=don, doa=, _title of courtesy given to gentleman or lady, now equivalent
to_ Mr. _etc., but used only before given names_

=donaire= _m._ witticism, joke, humor

=donde= where, in which;
  =en ~= in which;
  =a ~= whither

=dnde= where?
  =a ~= whither?
  =en ~= where?

=doquier= anywhere, wherever, everywhere

=dormir= _irreg._ sleep;
  =~se= fall asleep

=dos= two;
  =los (las) ~= both

=dosel= _m._ canopy, dais

=drama= _m._ drama, play

=ducado= _m._ duchy

=ducho, -a= skillful, experienced

=duda= _f._ doubt

=dudar= doubt, hesitate;
  =~ de= doubt

=duelo= _m._ duel, combat; sorrow;
  =duelo ni quebranto= _see note_

=duea= _f._ duenna, lady-in-waiting

=dulce= sweet, gentle

=dulzura= _f._ sweetness, gentleness;
  =con ~= graciously, gently

=duque= _m._ duke

=duquesa= _f._ duchess

=durante= during

=dureza= _f._ rigor, severity

=duro, -a= hard, cruel; thankless, costly


=e= and

=ea= come!

=eco= _m._ echo

=echado, -a= (_pp. of_ =echar=):
  =con el velo echado= with her veil drawn, with her veil let down

=echar= throw, cast;
  =~ el aliento= blow;
  =~ abajo= pull down, draw down;
  =~ a rer= burst out laughing

=edad= _f._ age

=el, la, lo=, _pl._ =los, las=, the

=l=, _pl._ =ellos=, he, him, it

=elefante= _m._ elephant

=elegir= _irreg._ choose

=elogio= _m._ eulogy, praise

=ella= she, her

=ello= it;
  =~ es que= the fact is that;
  =~ por ~= a fair exchange

=embajador= _m._ ambassador

=embargo=: =sin ~= nevertheless

=emboscada= _f._ ambuscade, surprise

=embozado, -a= _pp. of_ =embozar=

=embozarse= muffle one's self, fasten upper part (=embozo=) of cloak about
  neck and throat

=embozo= _m._ muffler, fold of cloak that covers lower part of face; disguise

=eminente= eminent, signal, distinguished

=emocin= _f._ emotion

=empearse en= persist, endeavor, insist upon

=empezar= _irreg._ begin

=empinar= raise;
  =~ el codo= raise the glass, crook one's elbow

=empresa= _f._ undertaking, enterprise

=en= in, on, upon, at, into, to;
  =~ mi contra= against me, to my disadvantage;
  =~ cuanto= as soon as;
  =~ pos de= after, behind;
  =~ torno de= about, around

=enaltecer= _irreg._ raise aloft, exalt;
  heighten

=enamorar= enamor, inspire love;
  charm;
  =~se de=, =~se con=, fall in love with

=encaminar= guide, direct;
  =~se= go toward, start

=encanto= _m._ charms, attractions

=encarado, -a= (_pp. of_ =encarar=):
  =mal ~= ill-featured, badly adjusted

=encarar= face, point;
  =~se con= face, confront

=encarecer= _irreg._ extol, exaggerate, emphasize

=encarecimiento= _m._ exaggeration

=encargar= recommend, charge, commend;
  =~se de= take charge of, take upon one's self

=encender= _irreg._ kindle

=encerrar= _irreg._ inclose, contain

=encoger= contract; discourage;
  =~se de hombros= shrug one's shoulders

=encomendar= _irreg._ commend, commit, entrust

=encomio= _m._ encomium, eulogy, praise

=encono= _m._ malevolence, ill will

=encontrar= _irreg._ find, encounter; see;
  =~se= be

=encresparse= grow rough, grow choppy (of sea)

=encubierto, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =encubrir=) hidden, masked

=encuentro= _m._ encounter, meeting;
  =salir al ~ de= come out to meet

=endulzar= sweeten, soften, lighten

=enemigo, -a= hostile

=enemigo= _m._ enemy

=nfasis= _m._ emphasis

=enfermo, -a= ill, sick, suffering

=engaar= deceive;
  =~se= make a mistake, be mistaken

=engaste= _m._ setting (of jewels)

=engolfado, -a= (_pp. of_ =engolfar=) engulfed, absorbed

=engrandecer= _irreg._ aggrandize, ennoble, exalt

=enhiesto, -a= upright, erect

=enjaulado, -a= (_pp. of_ =enjaular=) caged, confined

=enjuto, -a= dry

=enmudecer= _irreg._ become mute, become silent

=enojar= annoy, trouble, vex, offend;
  =~se= be annoyed, become angry

=enojo= _m._ annoyance, offense;
  =si no lo habis por ~= if it be not offensive to you

=enredijo= _m._ tangle

=enredo= _m._ tangle, entanglement; mischief

=ensangrentado, -a= blood-stained

=ensangrentar= _irreg._ stain with blood

=ensartar= string together, link together;
  =~ mil gracias= be full of jokes

=ensayo= _m._ assay, trial, experiment

=ensear= show

=ensimismado, -a= (_pp. of_ =ensimismarse=) absorbed in thought

=entendedor= _m._:
  =a buen ~= (_the full form of the proverb is_ =a buen entendedor,
  breve hablador=, _or_ =al buen entendedor, pocas palabras=)
  a word to the wise is sufficient

=entender= _irreg._ understand

=entendido, -a= (_pp. of_ =entender=) understood

=enterar= inform;
  =~se de= find out about

=enternecer= _irreg._ move to pity, soften, affect;
  =~se= soften, be affected

=entero, -a= complete, entire

=entonces= then

=entrada= _f._ entrance; admission, admittance

=entrambos, -as= both

=entraas= _f._ inmost feelings

=entrar= enter, bring in;
  =entra= (_in stage directions_) exit

=entre= between, in the midst of, in, among

=entreabierto, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =entreabrir=) half opened

=entregado, -a= (_pp. of_ =entregar=) surrendered

=entregar= deliver, hand over, surrender, entrust

=entretanto= in the meantime

=entretenido, -a= (_pp. of_ =entretener=) amusing, interesting

=envainar= sheathe

=enviado, -a= (_pp. of_ =enviar=) sent, envoy

=enviar= send

=envidia= _f._ envy

=envilecer= _irreg._ vilify, debase, degrade

=epitafio= _m._ epitaph

=poca= _f._ epoch, period

=equivocacin= _f._ mistake, misunderstanding

=equivocarse= be mistaken

=erguido, -a= (_pp. of_ =erguir=) erect, straight

=errar= _irreg._ err, wander, be mistaken

=error= _m._ error, mistake

=escalera= _f._ staircase

=escaln= _m._ step

=escndalo= _m._ scandal; astonishment

=escapar(se)= escape

=escaso, -a= scanty, trifling

=escena= _f._ scene, stage

=esclavo= _m._ slave

=escoger= choose

=escolta= _f._ escort

=escoltar= escort

=esconder= hide

=escondido, -a= (_pp. of_ =esconder=) hidden

=Escorial= _m._ the Escorial, _see note_

=escorpin= _m._ scorpion

=escriba= _m._ scribe

=escribir= _irreg._ write

=escrito, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =escribir=) written

=escrito= _m._ writing, manuscript; paper

=escuchar= listen, hearken to, hear

=escudriar= scrutinize, examine

=escupir= spit

=ese, -a=, _pl._ =esos, -as=, that (near person addressed); those

=se, -a=, _pl._ =sos, -as=, that one, those

=esencia= _f._ essence

=esforzarse= _irreg._ make efforts, struggle

=esfuerzo= _m._ effort

=eso= that;
  =~ es= that is right;
  =por ~= for that reason, that is why

=espacio= _m._ space, place; interval of time;
  =en breve ~= quickly

=espada= _f._ sword

=espalda= _f._ back, shoulders;
  =a ~s de= back of, behind;
  =a la ~= at the back, in the rear, up stage;
  =llevar a la ~= carry, wear on one's back

=espantajo= _m._ scarecrow

=espantar= terrify, frighten

=espanto= _m._ consternation, fright, wonder

=Espaa= _f._ Spain

=espaol, -a= Spanish

=espaol= _m._ Spaniard

=espectro= _m._ specter, shade

=espejo= _m._ mirror

=esperanza= _f._ hope

=esperar= await, expect, hope

=espa= _m. f._ spy

=espritu= _m._ spirit

=esposa= _f._ wife

=esposo= _m._ husband

=espuma= _f._ foam;
  =~s= waves, seas

=esquina= _f._ corner

=esquivar= shun, avoid, evade

=estado= _m._ state, nation

=estallar= burst

=estar= _irreg._ be; suit, become;
  =est bien= all right;
  =~ para= be about to;
  =no est= he is not here

=este, -a=, _pl._ =estos, -as=, this, these

=ste, -a=, _pl._ =stos, -as=, this one, these; the latter

=estimar= esteem;
  =~ en mucho= value highly

=esto= this

=estorbar= molest, prevent, interfere with, block

=estorbo= _m._ obstacle, hindrance

=estrago= _m._ damage

=estrambote= _m._ verses added to a sonnet or other
  metrical combination for the sake of greater emphasis or humor; envoy

=estrella= _f._ star; destiny;
  =con mala ~= ill-starred

=estrellarse= be dashed to pieces, be shivered, be shattered

=estremecerse= _irreg._ shudder

=estrenarse= be presented for the first time (of a drama)

=estrujar= press, crush, crumple

=estudio= _m._ study

=estupendo, -a= stupendous

=eternidad= _f._ eternity

=eterno, -a= eternal

=Europa= _f._ Europe

=evitar= avoid, shun, save

=exagerado, -a= (_pp. of_ =exagerar=) exaggerated

=exaltacin= _f._ exaltation, passion

=examinar= examine, investigate

=excelencia= _f._ excellence; Excellency (_usual
  title given to persons high in office or of istinction_)

=excelente= excellent

=excelso, -a= high, sublime

=excusado, -a= (_pp. of_ =excusar=) excused, reserved;
  =calle ~= unfrequented street

=excusar= excuse, omit

=execrar= execrate, abominate

=exhortar= exhort, admonish

=exigir= demand

=existencia= _f._ existence

=existir= exist

=expedito, -a= free, open

=experiencia= _f._ experience

=expirar= expire

=explicar= explain

=expresar= express

=expresin= _f._ expression

=exquisito, -a= exquisite

=exterior= exterior, outside

=extinguido, -a= (_pp. of_ =extinguir=) extinguished, extinct

=extinguir= extinguish

=extranjero, -a= foreign, strange

=extranjero= _m._ foreigner, stranger

=extraar= marvel at, astonish;
  =~se de= marvel at

=extraeza= _f._ strangeness; surprise, wonderment

=extrao, -a= strange, singular, extravagant, foreign

=extraordinario, -a= extraordinary

=extravo= _m._ deviation; disorder
  =con ~= incoherently

=extremo, -a= extreme;
  =en ~= extremely


=fcil= easy

=fachada= _f._ faade

=falsificar= falsify, forge

=falso, -a= false

=faltar= be lacking, fail;
  =lo que de Dios os falta= what God has in store for you

=fama= _f._ fame, reputation

=familia= _f._. family

=famoso, -a= famous; great, excellent

=farol= _m._ lantern

=farolillo= _m._ (_dimin. of_ =farol=) little lantern

=fascinar= fascinate

=fastidio= _m._ annoyance

=fatal= fatal, ominous

=fausto, -a= happy, prosperous

=favor= _m._ favor

=favorito= _m._ favorite

=faz= _f._ face

=fe= _f._ faith;
  =a ~= in truth, in good earnest;
  =por mi ~ de caballero= on my sacred honor, on my word as a gentleman

=febrero= _m._ February

=felicidad= _f._ happiness

=Felipe= Philip

=feliz= (_pl._ =felices=) happy, that brings happiness

=ferocidad= _f._ ferocity

=feroz= (_pl._ =feroces=) ferocious, wild, savage, rebellious

=festejo= _m._ feast, entertainment

=fiel= faithful, trustworthy

=fijamente= fixedly

=fijarse en= fix eyes _or_ attention on

=fijo, -a= fixed

=fila= _f._ rank, row, file

=filosofa= _f._ philosophy

=fin= _m. and f._ end, conclusion; purpose;
  =al ~ y al cabo= after all is said and done, finally;
  =dar ~= finish;
  =en ~= finally, after all, in short;
  =a ~ de que= in order that;
  =por ~= finally

=final= _m._ conclusion

=fineza= _f._ delicacy, favor

=firma= _f._ signature

=firmar= sign

=firme= firm, steady

=Flandes= _m._ Flanders

=flor= _f._ flower

=fondo= _m._ background (center), bottom, back (of stage)

=forma= _f._ form

=formar= form

=fortuna= _f._ fortune, chance;
  =por ~= perchance

=forzado, -a= (_pp. of_ =forzar=) forced

=frgil= fragile, frail, weak

=Francisco= _proper name_

=frase= _f._ phrase, sentence

=frenes= _m._ frenzy

=frente= _f._ forehead, brow;
  =en ~ de= in front of, opposite;
  =al ~ de= in front of, at the beginning of;
  =~ a ~= face to face

=frescura= _f._ coolness, tranquillity

=frialdad= _f._ coldness;
  =con ~= coldly

=fro, -a= cold

=friolera= _f._ trifle

=frotar= rub

=fruto= _m._ fruit

=fuego= _m._ fire

=Fuenterraba= _see note_

=fuera= outside;
  =~ de= outside of, beyond, away from, besides;
  =~ de s= beside himself

=fuerte= strong, powerful; bitter

=fuerza= _f._ force, strength, violence;
  =es ~= it is necessary

=fuga= _f._ flight, escape

=fugaz= (_pl._ =fugaces=) fleeting

=funesto, -a= sinister, fatal

=furibundo, -a= furious

=furioso, -a= furious

=furor= _m._ fury

=futuro, -a= future


=gala= _f._ parade, present, honor

=galn= gallant

=galn= _m._ gallant

=galera= _f._ gallery

=gana= _f._ desire;
  =de mala ~= unwillingly, reluctantly

=ganado, -a= (_pp. of_ =ganar=) won; winner

=ganar= gain, conquer, win

=ganso= _m._ goose

=Gaspar= _proper name_

=gastar= spend, waste; wear, use
  (habitually); act, behave (e.g. =~ mal humor= be ill-humored)

=gemido= _m._ groan, moan

=gemir= _irreg._ groan; suffer

=general= general

=general= _m._ general

=generoso, -a= generous, noble

=genio= _m._ genius, character, temper, humor; embodiment

=gente= _f._ people, men

=gesto= _m._ face, expression

=Girn= _proper name_

=gloria= _f._ glory;
  =ni en la ~= not even in heaven itself, what could be better?

=glorioso, -a= glorious

=gobernador, -a= governor

=gobernar= _irreg._ govern, rule

=gobierno= _m._ government

=golpe= _m._ blow, wound, shock, thrust

=gota= _f._ drop

=gozar en=, =de=, _or_ =con= rejoice in, enjoy, revel in

=gozo= _m._ joy, rejoicing, keen pleasure

=grabar= engrave

=gracia= _f._ grace, wit, joke; favor;
  =~s= thanks;
  =~s a Dios= thank heaven;
  =por ~= for a joke;
  =hacer ~ a= please, amuse;
  =tener ~= be witty, be funny

=gracioso, -a= free, graceful, easy;
  =gracioso porte= easy carriage

=grada= _f._ step, stair;
  =~s perron=

=gradera= _f._ steps

=grajo= _m._ jackdaw

=gran= _see_ =grande=

=grande= great, large

=grandeza= _f._ greatness, eminence

=gratitud= _f._ gratitude

=grey= _f._ flock

=grillos= _m. pl._ fetters, irons

=grito= _m._ shout, cry

=grotesco, -a= grotesque

=grupo= _m._ group

=guardar= guard, protect, keep, watch over;
  =gurdeos Dios= farewell;
  =~ silencio= remain silent

=guardarropa= _f._ wardrobe, clothes-press

=guardarropa= _f._ wardrobe (_theatrical_)

=guardia= _f._ guard, policeman;
  =ponerse en ~= put one's self on one's guard

=guerra= _f._ war

=guiar= guide, lead

=gusto= _m._ pleasure;
  =a vuestro ~= to your liking;
  =de ~= with pleasure

=Guzmn= _family name_;
  =el de ~= = =el Conde-Duque de Olivares=


=haber= _irreg._ have;
  =~ de= have to, be to, must;
  =hay, haba,= _etc._ there is, there are, _etc._;
  =~ menester= have need of;
  =hay= (_etc._) =que= it is necessary, one must;
  =qu ha habido= what has happened;
  =no ha mucho= not long ago

=hbil= capable, clever, cunning

=habilidad= _f._ ability, cunning

=habitacin= _f._ room, apartment, suite of rooms

=hbito= _m._ habit, custom; dress; insignia, order

=hablar= speak, talk, discuss;
  =qu hablar consigo mismo= what can he be muttering to himself;
  =~ para si= talk to one's self

=hacer= _irreg._ do, make, act, cause, have;
  =~se= become;
  =se hace tarde= it is getting late;
  =hace= (_in impers. expr. of time_) ago;
  =~ agua= leak;
  =~ compaa= accompany;
  =~ la corte a= do honor to, pay court to;
  =~ cruces= cross one's self;
  =~ gracia= please, amuse;
  =~ presente= present, state, bring to one's attention;
  =~ voto= vow;
  =~ una salva= fire a salute

=hacia= toward;
  =~ aqu= in this direction

=halageo, -a= attractive, alluring, flattering

=hallar= find;
  =~se= be (=estar=)

=hambre= _f._ hunger

=harto, -a= satiated

=harto= enough

=hasta= as far as, until, towards, even to, even;
  =~ que= until

=hazaa= _f._ deed

=hecho= (_pp. irreg. of_ =hacer=)

=hecho= _m._ deed, fact, action

=helado, -a= (_pp. of_ =helar=) frozen, chilled

=heredar= inherit

=heredero= _m._ heir;
  =prncipe ~= crown prince

=herir= _irreg._ wound, strike

=hermana= _f._ sister;
  =prima ~= first cousin

=hermano= _m._ brother

=hermoso, -a= beautiful

=heroico, -a= heroic

=herosmo= _m._ heroism

=hidalgo= _m._ nobleman

=hiel= _f._ bitterness, gall

=hielo= _m._ ice

=hierba= _f._ grass

=hierro= _m._ iron, steel; sword

=hijo= _m._ son, child

=hipocresa= hypocrisy, dissimulation

=hipcrita= _m._ hypocritical

=historia= _f._ history, story, fable, tale, yarn; rot!

=hoja= _f._ leaf;
  =~s= leaves of (folding or sliding) door

=hola= hello, ho

=holgarse de= _irreg._ take pleasure in

=hombre= _m._ man

=hombro= _m._ shoulder

=hondo, -a= deep, dark;
  =honda querella= bitter complaint

=honor= _m._ honor

=honra= _f._ honor

=honrar= honor

=honroso, -a= honorable, creditable

=hora= _f._ hour, appointed time;
  =es ~ de que= it is time that;
  =a estas ~s= now, at this moment

=horca= _f._ gallows

=horizonte= _m._ horizon

=horrendo, -a= dreadful, hideous

=horrible= horrible

=horror= _m._ horror;
  =qu ~= how horrible

=hostilidad= _f._ hostility

=hoy= to-day;
  =~ mismo= this very day;
  =de ~ en ms= from now on, henceforth

=huirse= _irreg._ flee, escape

=humanidad= _f._ humanity

=humano, -a= human

=humedecer= _irreg._ moisten; grow wet, grow moist

=hmedo, -a= damp, wet

=humilde= humble

=humillacin= _f._ humiliation, abjectness

=humillado, -a= (_pp. of_ =humillar=) humiliated, humbled

=humillar= humble, crush, degrade

=humo= _m._ smoke

=humor= _m._ humor;
  =de mal ~= ill-humoredly;
  =estar de ~= be in good humor

=hundir= plunge, crush;
  =~se= crumble, collapse


=idea= _f._ idea

=ideal= ideal

=dem= idem, the same

=ignorar= be ignorant of, be in ignorance

=igual= equal, similar, fair

=ijar= _m._ flank, side

=iluminado, -a= (_pp. of_ =iluminar=) illuminated

=iluminar= illuminate

=ilusin= _f._ illusion

=ilustre= illustrious, glorious

=imagen= _f._ image

=imaginar= imagine

=imaginario, -a= imaginary

=imbcil= imbecile, mad

=imbcil= _m._ imbecile, ass

=imitar= imitate

=impaciencia= _f._ impatience

=impacientarse= grow impatient

=impaciente= impatient

=impasible= impassible, motionless

=imperial= imperial

=imperio= _m._ empire, command, imperiousness;
  =con ~= arrogantly, in commanding tone

=imperioso, -a= imperious, commanding

=impo, -a= impious, wicked

=imponer= _irreg._ impose

=importar= be of importance, matter, concern;
  =importe que importe= matter what it may, at any rate

=importuno, -a= unseasonable, annoying

=imposible= impossible

=impostor= _m._ impostor

=improviso, -a= unexpected, unforeseen;
  =de ~= suddenly, unexpectedly

=impuro, -a= impure, unfaithful

=incapaz= (_pl._ =-ces=) incapable

=incauto, -a= incautious, rash

=incertidumbre= _f._ uncertainty

=incisivo, -a= incisive

=inclinacin= _f._ inclination, bow

=inclinarse= bow

=nclito, -a= renowned, illustrious

=incorporarse= join, mingle with

=indagar= investigate, inquire

=independiente= independent

=indiferencia= _f._ indifference

=indignado, -a= (_pp. of_ =indignar=) indignant, angry

=indispuesto, -a= indisposed, unwell

=indito, -a= unpublished

=Ins= _proper name_

=inevitable= inevitable

=infame= infamous, abominable

=infamia= _f._ infamy

=infante, -a= infante, infanta (legitimate child of Spanish royal blood)

=infeliz= unhappy, wretched

=inferir= _irreg._ infer

=infernal= infernal, hellish

=infierno= _m._ hell

=infinito, -a= infinite;
  _as adv._ immeasurably

=influir= _irreg._ influence, exercise influence

=infructuoso, -a= fruitless, vain

=infundir= imbue with, inspire

=ingenio= _m._ talent, cleverness, brilliancy

=iniquidad= _f._ iniquity, wickedness

=injusto, -a= unjust

=inmediatamente= immediately, instantly

=inmenso, -a= immense, unbounded, infinite

=inmvil= motionless

=inocencia= _f._ innocence

=inocente= innocent

=inquietud= _f._ disquietude;
  =con ~= restlessly

=inquirir= _irreg._ inquire into, investigate

=insistir (en)= insist (upon)

=instantneo, -a= instantaneous

=instante= _m._ instant

=insulso, -a= stupid, insipid

=insultar= insult

=insulto= _m._ insult

=intacto, -a= intact, untouched

=inteligencia= _f._ intelligence

=intencin= _f._ intention, meaning

=intentar= try, intend, mean

=intento= _m._ intent, purpose, design

=intercalado, -a= (_pp. of_ =intercalar=) interpolated

=intercalar= interpolate, insert

=interceptar= intercept

=inters= _m._ interest, advantage

=interior= interior, inside

=interior= _m._ interior

=interpretar= interpret

=interrumpir= interrupt

=introducir= _irreg._ introduce, lead in

=inundar= inundate, flood

=intil= useless;
  =me era ~= I had no occasion for

=invencin= _f._ invention, fabrication

=invocar= invoke

=ir= _irreg._ go; be (_with pres. part._);
  =~se= go away;
  =vase= exit;
  =vamos= come, why;
  =vaya= come, well, indeed;
  =vaya un= what a;
  =~ a= (_infin._) start to;
  =vamos a otra cosa= let's talk of something else;
  =van ya muchos aos que= it is many years now since;
  =todo va bien= everything is all right;
  =muy bien os va con= you are making fine progress with;
  =id con Dios= God be with you, good-by;
  =va de tahur a tahur= it is gambler against gambler;
  =va que se le lleva el aire= he goes as if he were walking on air;
  =se nos fu de entre las manos= slipped from our grasp

=irona= _f._ irony

=irnicamente= ironically

=irnico, -a= ironical

=irresistible= irresistible

=irritar= irritate;
  =~se= be stirred, be provoked, be aroused

=isla= _f._ island

=tem= also, moreover;
  =con el ~= with the additional circumstance

=izquierdo, -a= left (_opp. of_ derecho)


=ja= ha

=jams= never, ever

=jardn= _m._ garden

=jaspeado, -a= (_pp. of_ =jaspear=) spotted, mottled

=Jesucristo= Jesus Christ; good God!

=Jess= Jesus; Lord!

=jornada= _f._ journey, expedition; occasion;
  =nuestra es la ~= the day is ours;
  =al fin de la ~= the day's work done

=joven= young

=jovial= jovial

=joya= _f._ jewel

=joyel= _m._ jewel

=Juan= John

=jbilo= _m._ jubilation, joy

=Juds= Judas (Iscariot)

=jueves= _m._ Thursday;
  =~ santo= Maundy Thursday

=jugar= _irreg._ play

=juglar= _m._ buffoon

=juguetn, -a= playful, sportive

=juicio= _m._ judgment, opinion; good sense, prudence;
  =perder el ~= lose one's head, go mad

=junto, -a= near, close, beside;
  =~s= together, side by side;
  =~ a= beside, near, at the side of

=jurar= swear

=juro= _m._ right of perpetual property;
  =~ de heredad= hereditary and perpetual property

=justicia= _f._ justice

=justo, -a= just, right, proper

=juzgar= judge, consider


=la= the; her, it; to her, to it

=labio= _m._ lip

=labor= _f._ labor, undertaking;
  =~ de mujer= embroidery, needlework

=labrador= _m._ laborer, workman

=lacio, -a= faded, flaccid, languid

=lado= _m._ side

=La Grana= _proper name_

=lgrima= _f._ tear

=lance= _m._ incident, situation, affair, quarrel

=lanzar= hurl;
  =~se= rush, dart

=lanzn= _m. (augm. of_ =lanza=) great lance

=largo, -a= long;
  =a paso ~= quickly, hurriedly

=largueza= _f._ largess, generosity

=lstima= _f._ pity;
  =~ que= what a pity that;
  =es ~= it is a pity

=lastimarse= grieve, complain

=lateral= lateral

=latido= _m._ beat, beating (of heart)

=laurel= _m._ laurel

=lazo= _m._ bond

=le= him, it; to him, to her, to it

=leal= loyal, true

=lealtad= _f._ loyalty

=lector= _m._ reader

=lectura= _f._ reading

=leer= read

=lejano, -a= distant

=lengua= _f._ tongue

=lentamente= slowly

=lentitud= _f._ slowness, deliberation

=Len= _m._ city in northwestern part of Spain

=letra= _f._ letter

=letrilla= _f._ rondelet; usually humorous or satirical. It is divided into
  strophes, at the end of each of which the general thought of the composition
  is briefly repeated after the manner of a refrain

=levantado, -a= (_pp. of_ =levantar=) raised

=levantar= raise;
  =~se= rise

=leve= slight

=ley= _f._ law;
  =de ~= by law, by right;
  =sin dios y sin ~= godless and lawless

=librar= free

=libre= free, unoccupied

=libro= _m._ book

=lid= _f._ contest, fight

=lidiar= fight

=ligero, -a= light, hasty, thoughtless

=limpio, -a= clean, neat;
  =sacar en ~= find out definitely, come to a conclusion

=lnea= _f._ line

=linterna= _f._ lantern

=Lisboa= _f._ Lisbon

=liso, -a= smooth

=lisonja= _f._ flattery, compliment

=lisonjero, -a= flattering, complimentary, agreeable

=litera= _f._ litter, stretcher

=liviano, -a= light, fickle, frivolous

=lo= it, him; the

=loco, -a= mad, crazy

=lograr= obtain, succeed in, attain

=Lucifer= Lucifer

=lucha= _f._ struggle

=luchar= struggle, fight, contend

=luego= soon, then, presently, at once;
  =~ que= as soon as, when;
  =hasta ~= good-by (implies only a short separation)

=lgubre= sad, mournful, gloomy

=luna= _f._ moon

=luto= _m._ mourning

=luz= _f._ light;
  =luces= knowledge, enlightenment


=llamar= call, summon;
  =~se= be called, named

=llanamente= frankly

=llano, -a= clear, evident

=llanto= _m._ weeping, tears

=llave= _f._ key

=llegar= arrive, approach, reach;
  =~se= approach;
  =~ a= (_infin._) come to, succeed in

=lleno, -a= full

=llevar= carry, bear, wear;
  =~se= take, carry off;
  =~ un golpe= receive a blow;
  =lleve tu palabra el diablo= to the devil with what you've got to say

=llorar= weep, lament


=madre= _f._ mother

=Madrid= _m._ Madrid

=maestro= _m._ teacher, tutor

=magn= _m._ fancy, imagination

=majestad= _f._ majesty

=mal= badly, ill;
  =~ seguro, -a= unsafe, insecure

=mal= _m._ evil, harm, ill;
  =por mi ~= to my injury, to my misfortune, to my sorrow

=maldad= _f._ wickedness

=maldecir= _irreg._ curse

=maldito, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =maldecir=) cursed, accursed

=maliciosamente= maliciously, mischievously

=malicioso, -a= malicious, mischievous, sly

=mal(o), -a= bad, poor, ill, wicked

=malvado, -a= wicked, unscrupulous

=malla= _f._ coat of mail

=manceba= _f._ brothel

=mandar= command, order

=mandato= _m._ order, command

=mandbula= _f._ jaw;
  =rerse a ~s batientes= laugh loud and long

=mando= _m._ command, bidding

=manera= _f._ manner

=manifestar= _irreg._ manifest

=maniobra= _f._ maneuver

=mano= _f._ hand

=mansin= _f._ mansion

=manso, -a= tame, meek, placid

=mantener= _irreg._ maintain, keep;
  =~se= continue

=manto= _m._ mantle, cloak

=Mantua= _f._ Mantua

=maa= _f._ skill, cunning

=maana= to-morrow

=maana= _f._ morning;
  =~ ser otro da= to-morrow things will be different

=maquinacin= _f._ machination

=maquinalmente= mechanically

=mar= _m._ sea;
  _pl._ seas, waters

=marcado, -a= (_pp. of_ =marcar=) marked

=marcha= _f._ march, departure;
  =en ~= march

=marchar= march;
  =~se= go away

=Margarita= _proper name_

=marido= _m._ husband

=marqus= _m._ marquis

=Marte= Mars, god of war

=mrtir= _m. and f._ martyr

=martirio= _m._ martyrdom

=mas= but

=ms= more, most, further; of higher rank;
  =~ bien= rather;
  =a ~= further, besides;
  =de hoy en ~= from now on, henceforth;
  =mientras ~... ~= the more... the more;
  =por ~ que= however much

=matador= _m. and adj._ killer, murderer; murderously inclined

=matar= kill; put out, extinguish

=materno, -a= maternal

=matrimonio= _m._ matrimony, marriage

=mayor= (_comp. of_ =grande=) greater, greatest

=maza= _f._ object fastened to a person's clothing
  in order to make sport of him; something noisy tied to dog's tail

=me= me, to me

=Medina= _proper name_

=medio, -a= half, middle

=medio= _m._ middle, means, resort;
  =en ~ de= in the middle of

=meditar= meditate

=mejilla= _f._ cheek

=mejor= (_comp. of_ bueno) better, best; all the better; fine!
  =~ que ~= better than ever! great!

=mejoreo= _m._ advantage; constant use of the word =mejor=

=mejora= _f._ betterment, advantage; improvement, superiority

=memoria= _f._ memory

=memorial= _m._ petition

=Mendaa= _proper name_

=mendigar= beg

=menester= necessary

=mengua= _f._ diminution, wane; disgrace, shame

=menina= _f._ little girl-in-waiting

=menor= (_comp. of_ =pequeo=) smaller, less, least

=menos= (_comp. of_ =poco=) less, least; of lower rank;
  =por ~= at least;
  =al ~= at least;
  =lo ~= at least;
  =no es para ~ la cosa= the situation well warrants it

=menos= except

=mental= mental

=mente= _f._ mind, understanding, intelligence

=mentir= _irreg._ lie, misrepresent, attribute falsely

=mentira= _f._ lie, untruth; lies

=meollo= _m._ brain, marrow; understanding;
  =tener seco el ~= have lost one's wits, have gone crazy

=merced= _f._ favor, grace

=merecer= _irreg._ deserve; receive a favor at the hands of

=merienda= _f._ lunch; food;
  =siempre las memorias son ~ del olvido= memories were ever food for
forgetfulness

=mes= _m._ month

=mesa= _f._ table, desk

=meseta= _f._ landing (of stairs)

=metralla= _f._ grape-shot

=mezquino, -a= wretched

=mi= my

=m= me

=miedo= _m._ fear;
  =tener ~= be afraid

=mientras= while; during;
  =~ que= while;
  =~ ms (menos)... ms (menos)= the more (less)... the more (less)

=mil= thousand, a thousand

=militar= military, martial

=milln= _m._ million, a million

=mina= _f._ mine

=ministro= _m._ minister;
  =~ de Estado= Secretary of State

=minuto= _m._ minute

=mo, -a= my;
  =el mo, la ma,= mine

=mirada= _f._ glance, gaze, look

=mirar= look at, regard, gaze upon, see;
  =mira que= consider that, remember that

=misa= _f._ mass

=misericordia= _f._ mercy

=msero, -a= miserable, wretched;
  =~ de= alas for

=mismsimo, -a= selfsame;
  =el ~ diablo= the very devil himself

=mismo, -a= self, same, very

=misterio= _m._ mystery, mysteriousness, secrecy

=mitad= _f._ half; middle, midst

=modelo= _m._ model

=modo= _m._ way, manner;
  =de cualquier ~= in any way possible;
  =en cierto ~= in a certain sense;
  =de ~ que= so that, in such a way that;
  =con discretos ~s= cleverly

=mofa= _f._ mockery, ridicule

=momento= _m._ moment, instant;
  =al ~= instantly, at once

=monarca= _m._ monarch

=monta= _f._ importance, moment

=monte= _m._ mountain

=montn= _m._ heap;
  =a ~es= in great abundance

=monumento= _m._ monument

=morada= _f._ abode, dwelling

=morar= live, dwell

=mordaza= _f._ gag

=moribundo, -a= moribund, at point of death

=morir= _irreg._ die;
  =~se= die

=mortal= mortal; near death

=mostrar= _irreg._ show

=movimiento= _m._ movement, motion

=mucho, -a= much;
  _pl._ many

=mucho= much, very, greatly

=mudar= change;
  =~ de= change one's

=mudo, -a= mute, silent

=mueble= _m._ piece of furniture

=muerte= _f._ death;
  =a ~ o a vida= life or death! a forlorn hope

=muerto, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =morir= _or_ =matar=) dead, killed; exhausted

=muestra= _f._ sample; sign, indication

=mujer= _f._ woman

=mundo= _m._ world

=muralla= _f._ wall (of town)

=musa= _f._ muse, inspiration

=mustio, -a= sad; languid

=muy= very, very much


=nacer= _irreg._ be born

=nacin= _f._ nation

=nada= nothing, anything; enough

=nadie= no one, nobody, anybody, somebody

=nariz= _f._ nose

=narizado, -a= big-nosed

=narracin= _f._ narration, narrative, account

=Nasn= Publius Ovidius Naso, Latin poet, born 48 B.C., died 18 A.D.

=natural= natural

=naturalidad= _f._ naturalness

=navo= _m._ ship

=necesario, -a= necessary

=necesitar= need

=necio, -a= foolish, ignorant, stupid

=necio= _m._ fool

=nefando, -a= abominable

=negar= _irreg._ deny

=negocio= _m._ business, affair, occupation

=negro, -a= black, dark, gloomy, wretched;
  =negro afn= dire anxiety

=nema= _f._ seal

=neququam= by no means, not a bit of it

=ni= nor, neither, not even;
  =~ aun= not even

=nicho= _m._ niche

=nido= _m._ nest; berth

=nieta= _f._ granddaughter

=nieto= _m._ grandson

=nia= _f._ child, girl

=nio= _m._ child, boy

=nivel= _m._ level

=no= no, not

=noble= noble, illustrious

=noche= _f._ night;
  =de ~= at night;
  =esta ~= to-night;
  =buenas ~s= good night;
  =~ de truenos= stormy night, black night

=nombrar= name, appoint

=nombre= _m._ name, fame, reputation;
  =en su ~= for him;
  =juro a mi ~= upon my honor

=nos= us, to us

=nosotros, -as= we, us

=notar= note

=noto= _m._ south wind

=notorio, -a= notorious;
  =pblico y ~= _see_ =pblico=

=nube= _f._ cloud;
  =~s de arrebol= brilliant sky

=nuestro, -a= our, ours;
  =el nuestro, la nuestra,= our, ours

=nuevo, -a= new, fresh;
  =qu hay de ~= what is the news;
  =de ~= again, anew

=numen= _m._ divinity, muse; inspiration

=nunca= never

=nuncio= _m._ messenger, harbinger

=nupcial= nuptial


=o= or;
  =~... ~= either... or

=obedecer= _irreg._ obey

=obediencia= _f._ obedience

=obediente= obedient

=obligacin= _f._ obligation

=obligar= oblige, force

=obra= _f._ act;
  _pl._ behavior, actions

=obrar= operate, act

=observacin= _f._ observation, remark

=observar= observe

=obtener= _irreg._ obtain

=Ocaa= _f._ _see note_

=ocasin= _f._ occasion;
  =a ~ dichosa= at just the right moment

=ocioso, -a= idle

=ocultar= hide

=oculto, -a= hidden

=ocupar= occupy;
  =~se de= occupy one's self in, concern one's self about

=ocurrencia= _f._ occurrence; witty sally, idea

=ocurrir= occur

=ocho= eight

=odiar= hate

=odio= _m._ hatred;
  _pl._ hatred

=oficio= _m._ business, office, occupation

=ofrecer= _irreg._ offer, volunteer

=oh= oh

=odo, -a= (_pp. of_ =or=) heard

=odo= _m._ hearing, ear

=or= _irreg._ hear, listen

=ojo= _m._ eye

=ola= _f._ wave

=Olivares= _proper name_

=olvidado, -a= (_pp. of_ =olvidar=) forgotten; forgetful

=olvidar= forget;
  =~se de= forget

=olvido= _m._ forgetfulness; oblivion

=opinin= _f._ opinion

=oponer(se)= _irreg._ oppose

=opuesto, -a= (_pp. of_ =oponer=) opposite

=oracin= _f._ speech; sentence; prayer

=orar= pray

=rden= _f._ order, command, direction

=rgano= _m._ organ

=orgullo= _m._ pride

=origen= _m._ origin

=orilla= _f._ shore;
  =morir ahogado en la ~= fail with success within one's grasp

=Ormuz= _m._ Ormuz, _cf. note_

=oro= _m._ gold

=os= you, to you

=osado, -a= (_pp. of_ =osar=) daring, presumptuous

=osar= dare

=oscuridad= _f._ obscurity, darkness

=oscuro, -a= obscure, dark;
  =a oscuras= in the dark

=Osorio= _proper name_

=ostentoso, -a= ostentatious

=Osuna= Osuna, _cf. Hist. Introd._

=otro, -a= other, another

=Ovidio= _cf._ Nasn


=Pablo= _proper name_

=pbulo= _m._ food

=padecer= _irreg._ suffer

=padecimiento= _m._ suffering

=padre= _m._ father

=padrn= _m._ pattern, model; column, post with inscription;
  =~ de infamia= mark of infamy

=paga= _f._ pay, reward

=pagar= pay, pay for

=pago= _m._ pay, payment; fee

=paje= _m._ page

=pajuela= _m._ sulphur match; piece of wicking dipped in sulphur

=palabra= _f._ word

=palaciego, -a= of the palace

=palacio= _m._ palace

=Palermo= _m._ Palermo, _see note_

=plido, -a= pallid, pale

=palma= _f._ palm

=palpar= feel

=pan= _m._ bread

=papel= _m._ paper

=papelito= _m._ (_dimin. of_ =papel=) slip of paper

=par= _m._ pair, equal, peer;
  =sin ~= unequaled, matchless;
  =a ~= together

=para= for, to, in order to;
  =estar ~= be about to;
  =~ que= in order to, in order that

=parabin= _m._ congratulations

=parar= stop, put a stop to;
  =~se= stop, pause

=pardiez= by Jove

=parecer= _irreg._ seem;
  =me parece= I think;
  =al ~= apparently;
  =~se a= resemble

=pared= _f._ wall

=pareja= _f._ pair, couple

=parentela= _f._ kindred, relations

=prpado= _m._ eyelid

=parte= _f._ part, place, spot;
  =en cualquier ~= anywhere

=particular= particular, special; personal, private

=partida= _f._ departure;
  =de ~!= on our way!

=partir= part, divide; depart, start; share

=pasar= pass, happen; pierce; pass out;
  =qu pasa por m= what is happening to me, what is wrong with me

=pasearse= walk about

=pasin= _f._ passion

=paso= _m._ step, passage, way;
  =al ~= immediately;
  =a ~ largo= hurriedly, quickly;
  =abrir ~= make way for;
  =cerrar el ~= prevent, interfere;
  =dar un ~= take a step, move;
  =dar ~= make way;
  =dejar ~= let pass, make way for

=patria= _f._ country, fatherland

=pausa= _f._ pause

=paz= _f._ peace;
  =venir de ~= a friend (_answer to challenge of sentry_)

=pecar= sin, err

=pecho= _m._ breast, chest; heart

=pedazo= _m._ piece, fragment

=pedir= _irreg._ ask, ask for, demand

=pedrisco= _m._ hailstorm; shower of stones

=pegado, -a= (_pp. of_ =pegar=) fastened, joined

=peje= _m._ fish;
  =~ espada= swordfish

=peligro= _m._ danger

=peligroso, -a= dangerous

=pena= _f._ pain, trouble, affliction, penalty

=pendiente= pending, hanging in air; unfinished

=pensamiento= _m._ mind, thought

=pensar= _irreg._ think, intend

=pensativo, -a= pensive

=pensin= _f._ pension, toil

=peor= (_comp. of_ =malo=) worse, worst

=pequeo, -a= small

=percance= _m._ mischance, misfortune

=percibir= perceive, feel; collect

=perder= _irreg._ lose, ruin;
  =~se= be ruined, be lost

=perdido, -a= (_pp. of_ =perder=) lost, undone

=perdn= _m._ pardon

=perdonar= pardon

=peregrino, -a= strange

=perfeccin= _f._ perfection

=perfectamente= perfectly; all right, well and good

=permanecer= _irreg._ remain

=permitido, -a= (_pp. of_ =permitir=) permitted

=permitir= permit

=Pernambuco= _cf. note_

=pero= but

=perpetuo, -a= perpetual

=perro= _m._ dog

=perseguir= _irreg._ pursue, beset, persecute

=persona= _f._ person

=personaje= _m._ personage; character (in theater)

=persuasin= _f._ persuasion

=pesado, -a= heavy, stupid, serious

=pesar= weigh, cause regret, trouble

=pesar= _m._ regret, sorrow;
  =a ~ de= in spite of;
  =a su ~= in spite of herself

=peso= _m._ weight

=pesquisa= _f._ search, inquiry

=peticin= _f._ petition, appeal

=picante= piquant, keen, stinging, hot

=pie= _m._ foot;
  =al ~ de= at the foot of, beside;
  =al ~ de la letra= literally

=piedad= _f._ mercy;
  =por ~= for pity's sake

=piloto= _m._ pilot

=pinta= _f._ edge line on card denoting suit; outward appearance

=pintado, -a= (_pp. of_ =pintar=) painted;
  =os est que ni ~= nothing could be more becoming to you

=pintar= color, paint

=po, -a= pious, devout

=piropo= _m._ compliment

=pista= _f._ trail, track, clue

=pistola= _f._ pistol

=placer= _irreg._ please, content;
  =plega a Dios= God grant

=placer= _m._ pleasure;
  =ser de ~= be agreeable, be enjoyable

=plan= _m._ plan

=plantar= plant;
  =~se el sombrero= put on one's hat

=plaza= _f._ city square

=plazo= _m._ space of time, term

=plazuela= _f._ (_dimin. of_ =plaza=) little square

=plegaria= _f._ prayer, petition

=pleito= _m._ lawsuit;
  =estar en ~= be in the courts, be in doubt

=pliego= _m._ sheet of paper, folded paper

=pliegue= _m._ fold

=plomo= _m._ lead

=plugo= _pret. of_ =placer=

=pluma= _f._ feather, quill, pen

=pobre= poor, wretched

=poco, -a= little, _pl._ few, a few, some;
  =un poco= a little;
  =poco a poco= little by little

=poder= _irreg._ can, be able, be able to do, be powerful;
  =~lo todo= be all-powerful;
  =no puedo ms= I have reached the end of my resources;
  =puede que= it is possible that;
  =~se= be possible

=poder= _m._ power

=poderoso, -a= powerful

=podrido, -a= (_pp. of_ =podrir=) rotten, decayed

=podrir= _irreg._ decay

=poeta= _m._ poet

=Polimnia= the muse of pantomime

=polvo= _m._ dust

=plvora= _f._ powder;
  =gastar la ~ en salvas= waste one's strength

=pompa= _f._ pomp

=poner= _irreg._ place, put, put on;
  =~se= become;
  =~ en claro= clear up, explain;
  =~ en salvo= save;
  =~ en escena= stage;
  =me ha puesto descolorido el semblante= has made me turn pale;
  =~ preso= put under arrest

=por= by, for, in order to, from, for the sake of, through, over, on, in,
about, around;
  =~ debajo= beneath;
  =~ decirlo as= so to speak;
  =~ eso= that is why;
  =~ fin= finally;
  =poner ~ obra= execute;
  =~ este lado= on this side;
  =~ el contrario= on the contrary;
  =~ cierto= certainly, be sure;
  =~ qu= why

=porque= because, for, in order that

=portal= _m._ portal, entrance, vestibule

=porte= _m._ nobility; size, quality, nature; bearing

=Portugal= _m._ Portugal

=portugus, -a= Portuguese

=porvenir= _m._ future

=pos=:
  =en ~= afterward, behind;
  =en ~ de= after

=posada= _f._ inn, lodging

=postrer= _see_ =postrero=

=postrero, -a= last, final

=pstumo, -a= posthumous

=practicable= practicable, usable

=precio= _m._ price

=precipicio= _m._ precipice; brink

=precipitacin= _f._ precipitation

=precipitarse= rush

=preciso, -a= necessary, essential

=preeminencia= _f._ preminence

=preferencia= _f._ preference

=preferir= _irreg._ prefer

=pregunta= _f._ question

=preguntar= ask (question)

=premio= _m._ reward, prize

=prenda= _f._ pledge, noble characteristic

=prender= _irreg._ arrest; fasten

=preado, -a= (_pp. of_ =prear=) pregnant, charged with

=preocupacin= _f._ preoccupation

=preocupado, -a= (_pp. of_ =preocupar=) preoccupied

=preparado, -a= (_pp. of_ =preparar=) prepared

=preparar= prepare

=prescribir= _irreg._ prescribe

=presencia= _f._ presence

=presenciar= witness, be present at

=presentar= present, bring forward

=presente= present;
  =hacerse ~= make one's presence felt;
  =tener ~= bear in mind

=presente= _m._ present, gift

=preso, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ prender) imprisoned, prisoner, in custody

=prestar= lend, furnish

=presuncin= _f._ assumption

=pretender= pretend, claim, solicit

=prevencin= _f._ warning, prejudice

=prevenido, -a= (_pp of._ =prevenir=) prepared, arranged

=prevenir= _irreg._ prepare, provide; warn, notify

=prima= _f._ cousin;
  =~ hermana= first cousin

=primer= _see_ =primero=

=primero, -a= first, best

=primero= first, before

=primo= _m._ cousin

=principal= principal, of high rank, of high importance

=prncipe= _m._ prince

=principio= _m._ beginning

=prisin= _f._ prison, arrest

=privado= favorite

=privanza= _f._ favor at court; administration
  (of arbitrarily appointed official)

=privar= enjoy privileges of favorite

=pro=:
  =en ~ de= in behalf of

=probar= _irreg._ prove

=proceder= proceed

=proceder= _m._ procedure, conduct

=procesin= _f._ procession

=producir= _irreg._ produce, cause

=profundo, -a= profound, deep

=prohibicin= _f._ prohibition, interdict

=prole= _f._ offspring; race, children

=prolijo, -a= prolix, long-winded

=promesa= _f._ promise

=prometer= promise

=prontitud= _f._ promptness

=pronto, -a= ready, swift, prompt;
  =al pronto= at first

=pronto= soon, quickly, promptly;
  =~ y clarito= straight out, frankly

=pronunciar= pronounce

=propicio, -a= propitious

=propio, -a= own, same, self; natural; particular; becoming, proper;
  =amor propio= self-respect, conceit

=proseguir= _irreg._ pursue, continue

=proteger= protect

=proveer= _irreg._ provide

=provincia= _f._ province, dependency

=provocar= provoke, stir, arouse

=prximo, -a= nearest, next

=prudencia= _f._ prudence, moderation

=prudente= prudent

=prueba= _f._ proof

=pblico, -a= public;
  =~ y notorio= generally known

=pueblo= _m._ people, populace

=puerta= _f._ door, gate

=puerto= _m._ port, haven;
  =salir a ~ seguro= reach a safe port, come out all right

=pues= since, because, then, as; well, why;
  =~ que= since

=puesto, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =poner=) placed;
  =~ en alto= raised, raised on high;
  =ya ~ la tiene= he is wearing it already

=puesto= _m._ place

=pulla= _f._ witty saying, jest; dig

=punta= _f._ point

=punto= _m._ point, moment, matter, object;
  =a ~= on the spot;
  =al ~= immediately

=puntual= punctual, prompt

=pual= _m._ dagger

=pualada= _f._ dagger-blow

=puo= _m._ fist, hand;
  =de ~ propio= in his own handwriting

=puro, -a= pure, mere, sheer; chaste


=que= who, which, that;
  =el ~= he who, who, which;
  =la ~= she who, who, which;
  =lo ~= that which, what

=que= for, because, that, since; as, than

=qu?= which, what;
  =por ~= why;
  =~ de= what

=qu!= what, why, what a;
  =~ tan= what a, what

=quebranto= _m._ breaking, grief; damage

=quedar= remain, stay, be left; be;
  =~se= remain, be

=quedo, -a= quiet, still, gentle

=quedo= slowly

=quemar= burn

=quemarropa=:
  =a ~= point-blank

=querella= _f._ complaint

=querer= _irreg._ wish, want, be willing, like, try;
  =~ a= love;
  =~ decir= mean

=querido, -a= (_pp. of_ =querer=) beloved, loved

=Quevedo= _proper name_

=quiebra= _f._ crack, fissure, fracture

=quien= who, whom; the one who, he who _etc._;
  =por ~ soy= on my honor

=quin= who?
  =~ otro pudiera= would it were another;
  =~ para ~= man to man, on equal footing

=quieto, -a= quiet, still

=quimera= _f._ an impossibility which suggests
 itself to the mind as possible, chimera, futile idea, dream

=quince= fifteen

=quitar= take away, take off, ward off;
  =ya no quitis ni ponis= you can neither ruin me nor make me now

=quizs= perhaps


=rabia= _f._ rage, anger

=rabiar= rage, suffer great pain

=radiante= radiant, brilliant

=raz= _f._ root

=rama= _f._ branch;
  =andar por las ~s= beat about the bush

=ramal= _m._ branch, division

=rpidamente= rapidly, quickly

=rapidez= _f._ rapidity

=raqutico, -a= rickety, feeble

=raro, -a= rare, strange;
  =cosa ms rara!= how strange!

=rasgar= tear up

=rastrojo= _m._ stubble

=rato= _m._ while, short space of time

=ratn= _m._ mouse

=rayo= _m._ ray; thunderbolt

=raza= _f._ race, family

=razn= _f._ reason, intellect, argument,
  explanation; right, justice; way, method;
  =es ~= it is right

=real= real; royal

=rebozado,-a= _(pp. of_ =rebozar=) muffled; disguised

=rebozar= muffle; disguise

=recado= _m._ message, errand, outfit;
  =~ de escribir= writing materials

=recalcar= emphasize

=recaudo= _m._:
  =a buen ~= well guarded, in safe keeping

=recelo= _m._ misgiving, fear, suspicion

=recibir= receive, admit

=recio,-a= strong, stout; severe, hard

=recitar= recite

=recobrar= recover

=recoger= pick up, gather

=recompensa= _f._ recompense, reward

=reconcentrar= concentrate

=reconciliar= reconcile

=recordar= _irreg._ remember, recall

=recuerdo= _m._ memory, remembrance

=rechazar= repel, repulse, reject

=redencin= _f._ redemption

=reflejo= _m._ reflection

=reflexin= _f._ reflection

=regazo= _m._ lap; care

=regio,-a= regal, kingly

=registrar= search

=registro= _m._ search; register, organ stop

=regla= _f._ rule

=regreso= _m._ return

=rehacio,-a= stubborn, reluctant, obstinate

=reina= _f._ queen

=reinar= reign

=reino= _m._ kingdom

=rer= _irreg._ laugh;
  =~se= laugh

=reloj= _m._ watch, clock;
  =~ de sol= sun-dial

=remedio= _m._ remedy, help

=remojado,-a= (_pp. of_ =remojar=) steeped, soaked

=remordimiento= _m._ remorse, regret

=rencor= _m._ rancor

=rendir= _irreg._ render, surrender;
  =~ vasallaje= do homage

=rengln= _m._ line

=reparar en= notice

=repasar= review, peruse

=repentinamente= suddenly

=repetir= _irreg._ repeat

=reposar= repose, rest

=representacin= _f._ representation, performance

=representar= represent, perform, act (of drama)

=reprimir= repress, check

=reprochar= reproach

=repugnancia= _f._ repugnance, disgust

=repugnar= inspire with repugnance, inspire with loathing

=rescatar= rescue

=resignacin= _f._ resignation

=resolver= _irreg._ resolve, determine, decide

=resonar= _irreg._ resound, sound

=respetar= respect, revere, honor

=respeto= _m._ respect

=respirar= breathe

=responder= answer; =~ de= answer for, be responsible for, acknowledge

=restar= subtract, remain;
  =~ con el dedo= subtract on one's fingers

=resuelto, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =resolver=) determined, ready;
  =~ a todo= ready for anything, stopping at nothing

=retablo= _m._ series of figures that represent some historical
  occurrence, scene, picture

=retintn= _m._ tinkle, jingle

=retirada= _f._ retreat

=retirar(se)= retire, withdraw

=retiro= _m._ retirement, seclusion

=retroceder= retreat, give ground

=reventar= _irreg._ burst

=reverencia= _f._ reverence, courtly bow

=reverenciar= reverence, revere

=revuelto,-a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =revolver=) confused

=rey= _m._ king

=reyezuelo= (_dim. of_ =rey=) petty king

=rezar= pray

=rico, -a= rich

=ridculo, -a= ridiculous, absurd

=riesgo= _m._ risk, peril

=rigor= _m._ severity

=Ripalda= _proper name_

=risa= _f._ laugh, laughter

=risotada= _f._ loud laugh, burst of laughter

=risueo, -a= smiling, pleasing

=rival= _m._ rival

=robusto, -a= robust, strong, stout

=roca= _f._ rock, stone

=rodeado, -a= (_pp. of_ =rodear=) surrounded

=rodear= surround

=rodilla= _f._ knee;
  =~ en tierra= kneeling on one knee

=rodrign= _m._ elderly servant who accompanies ladies

=rogar= _irreg._ pray, beseech

=rojo, -a= red

=romance= _m._ ballad

=romper= break

=rompimiento= _m._ glimpse

=ronco, -a= hoarse

=ronda= _f._ night patrol of police

=rondar= patrol, walk about streets at night; prowl

=ropa= _f._ wearing apparel, clothes

=Roselln= _m._ Roussillon, _cf. note_

=rostro= _m._ face

=roto, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =romper=) broken;
  =hostilidades rotas= hostilities begun

=rudo, -a= rude, coarse, rough

=ruido= _m._ noise

=ruin= low, base, miserable, wretched, mean

=ruina= _f._ ruin, downfall

=rumor= _m._ rumor, sound, noise


=sabedor, -a= aware of, knowing

=saber= _irreg._ know, find out, hear, know how;
  =qu s yo= how do I know;
  =no s qu= something or other

=sabio, -a= wise, sage, cunning

=Saboya= _f._ Savoy

=sacar= take out, draw out, draw;
  =~ la espada a= draw on;
  =~ en limpio= find out, come to a conclusion

=saciar= sate, satiate

=saco= _m._ bag, sack; garment of rough cloth;
  =como el ~ de sus vicios= like the burden of his sins

=sacrificio= _m._ sacrifice

=sagrado, -a= sacred, holy

=sala= _f._ hall, room

=salida= _f._ departure; exit

=salina= _f._ salt-works

=salir= _irreg._ come out, go out; enter;
  =~ al encuentro= come to meet

=saliva= _f._ saliva

=saln= _m._ drawing-room, hall

=salud= _f._ health; greeting

=saludar= salute, greet, bow

=saludo= _m._ salute, bow, greeting

=salva= _f._ salute;
  =hacer una ~= fire a salute

=salvacin= _f._ salvation

=salvador, -a= saving

=salvador= _m._ savior

=salvar= save

=salvo, -a= safe;
  =poner en ~= save

=san= _see_ =santo=

=sandez= _f._ foolishness, stupidity

=sangrar(se)= bleed

=sangre= _f._ blood; stock

=sangriento, -a= blood-stained;
  =tono ~= bitter tone, mordant tone

=San Lorenzo= St. Lawrence (_l. 2733_, el Escorial)

=San Marcos= St. Mark, _cf. note_

=San Martn= St. Martin, church of St. Martin

=Santiago= _m._ St. James

=santiagus= of the order of St. James

=santo, -a= saint; saintly, holy

=San Vito= _m._ St. Vitus, _see note_

=saa= _f._ rage, fury

=sarcasmo= _m._ sarcasm; bit of irony, bit of sarcasm

=Satans= _m._ Satan

=stira= _f._ satire

=sayn= _m._ executioner

=sazn: a la ~= at the time

=se= himself, herself, itself; to himself _etc._;
  themselves, to themselves; each other, to each other

=se= (=lo, la,= _etc._) to him _etc._

=s= _see_ =saber=

=seco, -a= dry

=secreto, -a= secret

=secreto= _m._ secret

=seguida=:
  =en ~= at once, immediately

=seguido, -a= (_pp. of_ =seguir=) followed

=seguir= _irreg._ follow, continue;
  =os le quiero ~= I would follow your example there

=segn= according to, as, judging from;
  =~ y conforme= it depends;
  =~ dicen= according to what they say, so they say

=segundo, -a= second

=seguridad= _f._ security

=seguro, -a= secure, infallible, reliable, certain, unfaltering, sure,
safe;
  =de ~= surely, undoubtedly

=seis= six

=sellado, -a= (_pp. of_ =sellar=) sealed

=sellar= seal

=sello= _m._ seal, stamp, mark

=semblante= _m._ face, countenance

=sembrar= _irreg._ sow, scatter

=semicrculo= _m._ semicircle

=sentado, -a= (_pp. of_ =sentar=) seated

=sentarse= _irreg._ sit down, be seated

=sentencia= _f._ sentence, decision, maxim

=sentimiento= _m._ emotion, grief, concern

=sentir= _irreg._ feel, perceive, hear; regret, be sorry for

=sea= _f._ sign, signal

=seal= _f._ sign, indication;
  =en ~ de= as a sign of

=sealado, -a= (_pp. of_ =sealar=) marked, signal

=sealar= point out, point to

=seor= _m._ gentleman, lord, master; sir

=seora= _f._ lady; my lady (_in direct address_)

=separacin= _f._ separation

=separado, -a= (_pp. of_ =separar=) separated, removed

=separar= separate, remove

=sepultura= _f._ sepulcher, tomb, grave, burial

=ser= _irreg._ be;
  =a no ~ por= if it were not for;
  =es que= the fact is that, the reason is that;
  =rase= once upon a time there was, _see note, l. 1685_;
  =sea... sea...= whether... or

=ser= _m._ being, life

=sereno, -a= serene, calm, quiet

=serio, -a= serious, grave

=servicio= _m._ service, benefit

=servidor= _m._ servant, servitor, retainer

=servidumbre= _f._ attendance; household servants and dependents, suite

=servir= _irreg._ serve, be of service, wait upon, act as escort;
  =~ de= serve as, serve for;
  =pues a ~me= then do my bidding

=severo, -a= severe, stern

=si= if; indeed;
  =~ bien= although

=s= yes, indeed

=s= himself _etc._

=sicario= _m._ (paid) assassin

=Sicilia= _f._ Sicily

=siempre= always, ever;
  =~ que= whenever

=sien= _f._ temple

=silencio= _m._ silence

=silla= _f._ chair

=silln= _m._ armchair, easy chair

=simple= silly, idiotic; artless, ingenuous

=sin= without;
  =~ embargo= however, nevertheless;
  =~ que= without, except that

=sinapismo= _m._ sinapism, mustard plaster

=sincero, -a= sincere

=singular= singular, strange, special, particular

=siniestro, -a= sinister, unlucky, threatening, ominous

=sino= but, except;
  =~ que= but rather; without

=siquiera= even, at least;
  =ni tan ~= not even

=situacin= _f._ situation, plight

=soberano, -a= sovereign, ruling

=soberano= _m._ sovereign, ruler

=sobrar= be more than enough, be in excess, be left over;
  =me sobra...= I have plenty, I have more than enough

=sobre= over, on, about, to;
  =~ todo= above all

=sobrescrito= _m._ address, superscription; preliminaries (of letter)

=sociedad= _f._ society

=socorrer= succor, help; send renforcements; relieve

=socorro= _m._ help, reenforcements, relief

=sol= _m._ sun

=solamente= only

=soldado= _m._ soldier

=soledad= _f._ solitude

=solemne= solemn, impressive

=solemnidad= _f._ solemnity

=solemnizar= solemnize, celebrate; hold (of ceremony)

=soler= _irreg._ be customary, be accustomed to

=solicitar= solicit, beg

=solicitud= _f._ solicitude

=solio= _m._ canopied throne, throne

=solitario, -a= lonely, solitary, secluded

=solo, -a= alone, solitary, sole, single, empty;
  =a solas= alone

=slo= only, solely

=soltar= _irreg._ let go, let out, let loose; relinquish, release

=soltero, -a= single, unmarried

=soltero= _m._ bachelor

=sombra= _f._ shadow, darkness; shade, protection

=sombrero= _m._ hat

=sombro, -a= gloomy, dark

=son= _m._ sound

=sonar= _irreg._ sound

=soneto= _m._ sonnet

=sonoro, -a= sonorous

=sonrer= _irreg._ smile

=sonrisa= _f._ smile

=sonrojarse= blush

=sonrojo= _m._ blush, affront

=soar= (_irreg._ =con=) dream

=soplar= blow, blow out, breathe upon; inspire

=soportar= endure, suffer

=sordo, -a= deaf; silent, stealthy

=sorna= _f._ slowness, deliberation

=sorprender= surprise, take unawares

=sorpresa= _f._ surprise

=sosiego= _m._ tranquillity, calm; peace of mind

=sospecha= _f._ suspicion

=sospechar= suspect

=su= his, her, its, their

=sbdito= _m._ subject

=subir= ascend, rise; bring up

=sublime= sublime, heroic, grand

=subrayado, -a= (_pp. of_ =subrayar=) underlined, italicized

=suceder= happen, succeed

=sucesor= _m._ successor, heir

=sudar= sweat, toil

=suelo= _m._ ground, soil

=sueo= _m._ dream, fancy

=suerte= _f._ chance, fortune, destiny

=sufrimiento= _m._ suffering

=sufrir= suffer

=sujetar= subdue, hold fast, catch, restrain

=superior= superior, above

=superlativo, -a= superlative

=supersticioso, -a= superstitious

=splica= _f._ supplication, petition, request

=suplicante= supplicating

=suplicar= supplicate, beseech

=suponer= _irreg._ suppose

=surcar= plow, furrow

=suspenso, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =suspender=)
 surprised, astonished, distraught

=suspiro= _m._ sigh

=sustento= _m._ sustenance, food, maintenance

=susto= _m._ shock, surprise, astonishment

=suyo, -a= his, her, their


=tahur= _m._ gambler

=tal= such, such a, the aforesaid, this; so;
  =qu ~= how goes it, how about it;
  =si ~= surely, by all means

=talento= _m._ talent, genius

=Tala= Thalia, muse of comedy (_see note_)

=tambin= also

=tamboril= _m._ timbrel

=tan= so, such, so, as, such a;
  =~ slo= only;
  =~... como= as... as;
  =~... que= as... as

=tanto, -a= so, so much, as much;
  _pl._ so many, as many;
  =en ~= meanwhile;
  =en ~ que= while

=tapado, -a= (_pp. of_ =tapar=) covered (_see note, ll. 5-6_)

=tapa-enredijos= _m._ tangle-screener

=tapar= cover

=tapia= _f._ wall (of yard or garden)

=tarantela= _f._ tarantella

=tardanza= _f._ delay, tardiness

=tardar= delay, be late, be long

=tarde= late, too late

=tarde= _f._ afternoon

=Tarifa= _f._ Tarifa, _cf. note_

=te= you, to you

=teatral= theatrical

=teatro= _m._ theater

=tedio= _m._ tedium, weariness

=teln= _m._ curtain

=temblar= _irreg._ tremble

=temblor= _m._ trembling, agitation

=temer= fear, be afraid;
  =~se= fear, be afraid

=temerario, -a= daring, rash, imprudent

=temor= _m._ fear

=templanza= _f._ moderation

=temple= _m._ temper

=templo= _m._ temple, church

=tenaz= (_pl._ =~ces=) tenacious, obstinate

=tender= _irreg._ stretch forth, hold out

=tendido, -a= (_pp. of_ =tender=) stretched out, lying prone

=tener= _irreg._ have, hold, keep;
  =~ hambre= be hungry;
  =~ gracia= be funny, be witty;
  =~ razn= be right;
  =~ miedo= be afraid;
  =~ presente= bear in mind;
  =~ que= must;
  =~ de= must;
  =~ a bien= regard as advisable;
  =~ para s= have an opinion;
  =tengo para m= my own opinion is;
  =~ en cuenta= take into consideration;
  =ya te tengo bien seguro= now I have you where I want you;
  =tngame Dios de su mano= may heaven restrain me;
  =qu tiene= what is the matter with him

=tercero, -a= third;
  =Islas Terceras= Azores, _cf. note_

=terciana= _f._ tertian fever, chills and fever

=terminante= definite, final

=trmino= _m._ term, end;
  =primer ~= foreground (side);
  =segundo ~= background (side);
  =sin ms ~ ni espacio= without a moment of grace

=ternura= _f._ tenderness

=terrible= terrible

=terror= _m._ terror

=tesoro= _m._ treasure, treasury

=testigo= _m._ witness

=testimonio= _m._ testimony;
  =falso ~= false accusation

=ti= you

=tiempo= _m._ time;
  =a ~= on time, at the right time;
  =a ~ de= while, as;
  =al ~ que= at the same time as;
  =a su ~= at the proper time;
  =algn ~= some day, once;
  =en otro ~= once, formerly

=tierra= _f._ earth, world, ground

=timidez= _f._ timidity

=tinieblas= _f._ total darkness; Tenebr (morning prayers of the
  last three days of Holy Week; these prayers are recited not on
  the mornings to which they belong, but on the evenings of the
  preceding days)

=tinta= _f._ ink, tint, color

=tirano, -a= tyrannical

=tirano= _m._ tyrant

=tirar= throw, fling, hurl; fire (a gun)

=tiro= _m._ shot

=tocar= touch, belong to, behoove, be a duty, find out; play
  (of musical instrument);
  =el desengao toca= is discovering her mistake;
  =bien tocis vuestros registros= you pull your stops well, you play
your cards well

=todo, -a= all, whole, every, everything;
  =con todo= nevertheless;
  =del todo= entirely, completely;
  =toda una Infanta de Espaa= no less a personage than an infanta of
Spain

=Toledo= _m. or f._ Toledo, _see note_

=tomar= take;
  =~ ms cuerpo= increase

=tono= _m._ tone

=tonto, -a= foolish

=tonto= _m._ fool

=torbellino= _m._ whirlwind

=tormenta= _f._ storm

=tormento= _m._ torment, torture, anguish

=tornar= return

=torno= _m._ turn;
  =en ~= round, about

=torpe= infamous; dull, rude, clumsy

=torpeza= _f._ clumsiness, stupidity

=traer= _irreg._ bring, draw, carry

=tragar= swallow

=tragedia= _f._ tragedy

=traicin= _f._ treachery;
  =a ~= treacherously

=traidor= _m._ traitor

=traje= _m._ clothes, suit

=trama= _f._ deceit, plot, machination

=tramar= weave, plot

=trance= _m._ peril, extremity

=tranquilo, -a= tranquil, quiet

=tras (de)= after, behind

=trastornar= upset, disorder, confuse

=tratar= treat, handle;
  =~ de= try to

=trazar= plan, arrange; plot

=treinta= thirty

=trmulo, -a= tremulous, trembling

=tres= three

=trescientos, -as= three hundred

=triaca= _f._ antidote

=tributo= _m._ tribute

=triste= sad, gloomy, dejected

=tristeza= _f._ sadness, sorrow, affliction

=triunfante= triumphant

=triunfar= triumph;
  =~ de= triumph over

=triunfo= _m._ triumph;
  =la palma del ~= the palm of victory

=trocar= _irreg._ exchange

=trocito= _m._ (_dim. of_ =trozo=) small fragment, bit

=tronco= _m._ trunk (of tree etc.)

=trono= _m._ throne

=tropa= _f._ troops

=tropezar= _irreg._ stumble

=trueno= _m._. thunderclap, thunder;
  =noche de ~s= dark and threatening night

=trueque= _m._ exchange

=tu= your, thy

=t= you, thou

=tumba= _f._ tomb, grave

=turbacin= _f._ perturbation, confusion

=turbado, -a= (_pp. of_ =turbar=) perturbed, confused

=turbar= disturb, trouble, alarm

=tuyo, -a= your, thy;
  =el tuyo, la tuya= yours, thine


=u= or

=ufano, -a= proud; cheerful, content

=ujier= _m._ usher, doorkeeper

=ltimo, -a= last

=ultraje= _m._ outrage, insult

=umbral= _m._ threshold

=un= _see_ =uno=

=nico, -a= only, sole, unique

=unido, -a= (_pp. of_ =unir=) united

=unir= unite, join, connect

=uno, -a= one;
  _pl._ some;
  =unas... otras= some... others

=un(o), -a= a, an

=Uras= Uriah, _see note_

=uso= _m._ use


=vacilar= vacillate, waver, reel, hesitate

=vago, -a= vague

=valedor= _m._ protector, defender

=valer= _irreg._ be of value, be worth

=vala= _f._ credit, price, influence

=valor= _m._ valor, courage, value

=vano, -a= vain, in vain, fruitless

=vario, -a= various, several

=varn= _m._ male, man

=varonil= manly, spirited, courageous

=vasallaje= _m._ vassalage, servitude, homage

=vasallo= _m._ vassal, subject

=vehemencia= _f._ vehemence

=veinticinco= twenty-five

=velar= watch, be vigilant, keep vigil;
  =~ por= watch over

=velo= _m._ veil

=vena= _f._ vein

=ventico, -a= erratic

=vencer= conquer, win

=vender= sell

=veneno= _m._ poison

=venganza= _f._ revenge

=vengativo, -a= revengeful, vindictive

=venida= _f._ coming, arrival

=venidero, -a= future

=venir= _irreg._ come, occur; be (=estar=)

=ventaja= _f._ advantage

=ventura= _f._ chance, fortune, happiness;
  =por ~= by chance, perchance

=venturoso, -a= happy, fortunate

=ver= _irreg._ see;
  =~se= be;
  =ved= remember, bear in mind, see;
  =a ~= let's see

=verdad= _f._ truth;
  =es ~= it is true, that is so;
  =a la ~= truly, to tell the truth

=verdadero, -a= true

=verde= green

=verdugo= _m._ executioner

=verso= _m._ verse;
  _pl._ lines, poems

=verter= _irreg._ shed

=vez= _f._ time, turn;
  =otra ~= again;
  =tal ~= perhaps;
  =a su ~= in his turn;
  =a veces= at times

=viaje= _m._ journey

=viceversa= vice versa

=viceversa= _m._ contrast

=vicio= _m._ vice

=vctima= _f._ victim

=victoria= _f._ victory

=vida= _f._ life;
  =en mi ~= never in my life, never;
  =por ~= by Jove

=viento= _m._ wind

=vil= vile, base

=villa= _f._ town, country estate

=Villamediana= _proper name_ (_cf. Hist. Introd._)

=Villaviciosa= _f._ _cf. note_

=via= _f._ vineyard

=violencia= _f._ violence, force, intensity;
  =con ~= forcing the words

=violento, -a= violent, strained

=Virgen= _f._ the Virgin

=virreina= _f._ vicereine

=virtud= _f._ virtue, chastity

=visible= visible

=vista= _f._ sight, gaze;
  =corto de ~= near-sighted

=visto, -a= (_pp. irreg. of_ =ver=) seen;
  =por lo visto= apparently

=viuda= _f._ widow

=viudez= _f._ widowhood, widowerhood

=viudo= _m._ widower

=viveza= _f._ vivacity, spirit

=vivir= to live;
  =vive Dios= by heaven;
  =vivan nuestros reyes= long live our king and queen

=vivo, -a= living, alive, lively, keen

=volcar= _irreg._ overturn, upset

=voluntad= _f._ will, purpose

=volver= _irreg._ turn, return, restore;
  =~se= turn around, return;
  =~ a...= (_infin._) to... again;
  =~ sobre s= come to one's senses, collect one's self

=vos= you

=vosotros, -as= you

=votar= vow, vote, swear;
  =voto a= I swear by;
  =voto a veinticinco santos= I vow by all the saints

=voto= _m._ vow

=voz= _f._ voice; rumor, report;
  =en ~ alta= aloud;
  =en ~ baja= in an undertone

=vuecencia= your excellency

=vuelta= _f._ return

=vuesa= _archaic for_ =vuestra=

=vuestro, -a= your;
  =el vuestro, la vuestra,= yours


=Wiranzan= _m._ Besanon, _cf. note_


=y= and

=ya= already, now, by now, by this time;
  =~ que= now that, since

=yacer= _irreg._ lie

=yo= I

=yugo= _m._ yoke


=zagun= _m._ entrance, vestibule

=zozobra= _f._ anxiety, care, unrest

=zumbn, -a= waggish, jesting





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