They cannot fail to have a
considerable
effect upon conduct.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v11 - Fro to Gre
Lecoq.
Therefore Fanfer-
lot told the exact truth,—which was not his custom. However,
before the end of his recital, his vanity prevented him from tell-
ing how he had been tricked by Mademoiselle Nina Gypsy and
the stout gentleman.
Unfortunately, M. Lecoq was never informed by halves.
"It seems to me, Master Squirrel," he said, "that you have
forgotten something. How far did you follow the empty cab? "
Fanferlot, despite his assurance, blushed to his ears, and
dropped his eyes like a schoolboy caught in a guilty act.
"O patron,” he stammered, "you know that too? How could
you have — »
Suddenly a thought flashed through his brain: he stopped,
and bounding from his chair, cried, "Oh, I am sure that stout
gentleman with the red whiskers was you! "
Fanferlot's surprise gave such a ridiculous expression to his
face that M. Lecoq could not help smiling.
"Then it was you," continued the amazed detective, "it was
you, that fat man at whom I stared. I did not recognize you!
Ah, patron, what an actor you would make if you pleased! And
I was disguised also! "
"But very poorly, my poor boy, I tell you for your own good.
Do you think a heavy beard and a blouse sufficient to evade
detection? But the eye, stupid fellow, the eye! It is the eye
that must be changed. There is the secret. "
This theory of disguise explains why the official, lynx-like
Lecoq never appeared at the police office without his gold spec-
tacles.
- -
"But then, patron," continued Fanferlot, working out the
idea, “you have made the little girl confess, although Madame
Alexandre failed? You know then why she left 'The Grand-
Archange; why she did not wait for M. Louis de Clameran;
and why she bought calico dresses for herself? »
"She never acts without my instructions. "
"In this case," said the detective, greatly discouraged, "there
is nothing more for me to do except acknowledge myself a
fool. "
## p. 6149 (#119) ###########################################
ÉMILE GABORIAU
6149
"No, Squirrel," replied M. Lecoq with kindness; "no, you
are not a fool; you are simply wrong in undertaking a task
beyond your powers. Have you made one progressive step since
you began this case? No. This only proves that you are in-
comparable as a lieutenant, but that you have not the sang-froid
of a general. I will give you an aphorism; keep it, and make it
a rule of conduct - Some men may shine in the second who
are eclipsed in the first rank. '»
Egotist, like all great artists, M. Lecoq had never had, nor
did he wish to have, a pupil. He worked alone. He despised
assistants; for he did not wish to share the pleasures of triumph
nor the bitterness of defeat.
Therefore Fanferlot, who knew his patron so well, was aston-
ished to hear him, who had heretofore given nothing but orders,
helping him with counsel.
He was so mystified that he could not help showing his sur-
prise.
«<
"It seems to me, patron," he risked saying, that you take a
strong personal interest in this case, that you study it so closely. "
M. Lecoq started nervously,- which motion escaped his de-
tective, and then, frowning, he said in a hard voice: -
-
"It is your nature to be curious, Master Squirrel; but take
care that you do not go too far. Do you understand? »
Fanferlot began to offer excuses.
"Enough! Enough! " interrupted M. Lecoq. "If I lend
you a helping hand, it is because I wish to. I wish to be the
your preconceived
If we two do not
head while you are the arm. Alone, with
ideas, you never would find the guilty one.
find him together, then I am not M. Lecoq. "
"We shall succeed, if you make it your business. "
"Yes, I am entangled in it, and during four days I have
learned many things. However, keep this quiet. I have reasons
for not being known in this case. Whatever happens, I forbid
you to mention my name. If we succeed, the success must be
given to you. And above all, do not seek explanations. Be
satisfied with what I tell you. "
These charges seemed to fill Fanferlot with confidence.
"I will be discreet, patron," he promised.
"I depend upon you, my boy. To begin: Carry this photo-
graph of the strong box to the examining magistrate. M. Patri-
gent, I know, is as perplexed as possible upon the subject of
## p. 6150 (#120) ###########################################
6150
ÉMILE GABORIAU
the prisoner. You must explain, as if it were your own discov-
ery, what I have just shown you. When you repeat all this to
him with these indications, I am sure he will release the cashier.
Prosper Bertomy, the accused cashier, must be free before I
begin my work. "
"I understand, patron. But shall I let M. Patrigent see that
I suspect another than the banker or the cashier? "
«< Certainly. Justice demands that you follow up the case.
M. Patrigent will charge you to watch Prosper; reply that you
will not lose sight of him. I assure you that he will be in
good hands. "
"And if he asks news of
Mademoiselle Gypsy? "
M. Lecoq hesitated for a moment.
"You will say to him," he said finally, "that you have de-
cided, in the interest of Prosper, to place her in a house where
she can watch some one whom you suspect. "
The joyous Fanferlot rolled the photograph, took his hat, and
prepared to leave. M. Lecoq detained him by a gesture: -“ I
have not finished," he said. "Do you know how to drive a car-
riage and take care of a horse?
"Why, patron, you ask me that -an old rider of the Bouthor
Circus? "
"Very well. As soon as the judge has dismissed you, return
home, and prepare a wig and livery of a valet de chambre of the
first class; and having dressed, go with this letter to the Agency
on the Rue Delorme. "
"But, patron —
"There are no 'buts,' my boy; for this agent will send you
to M. Louis de Clameran, who needs a new valet de chambre, his
own having left yesterday evening. "
"Excuse me if I dare say that you are deceived. Clameran
will not agree to the conditions: he is no friend of the cashier. "
"How you always interrupt me," said M. Lecoq, in his most
imperative tones. "Do only what I tell you, and let everything
else alone. M. Clameran is not a friend to Prosper. I know
But he is the friend and protector of Raoul de Lagors.
Why? Who can explain the intimacy of these two men of such
different ages? We must know this. We must also know who
is M. Louis de Clameran-this forge-master who lives in Paris
and never goes to his own factories! A jolly dog who has taken
it into his head to live at the Hôtel du Louvre and who mingles
— »
## p. 6151 (#121) ###########################################
ÉMILE GABORIAU
6151
in the whirling crowd, is difficult to watch. Through you, I shall
have my eye on him. He has a carriage; you will drive it; and
in the easiest way you will know his acquaintances, and be able
to give me an account of his slightest proceedings. "
"You shall be obeyed, patron. "
"Still another word. M. De Clameran is very irritable and
suspicious. You will be introduced to him as Joseph Dubois.
He will ask for your recommendations. Here are three, show-
ing that you have served the Marquis de Sairmeuse, the Count
de Commarin, and your last place the house of the Baron de
Wortschen, who has just gone to Germany. Keep your eyes
open, be correct, and watch his movements. Serve well, but
without excess of manner. But don't be too cringing, for that
would arouse suspicion. "
-
"Make yourself easy, patron: now, where shall I report ? »
"I will come to see you every day. Until you have an order,
don't step inside of this house: you might be followed. If any
thing unforeseen occurs, send a dispatch to your wife, and she
will advise me. Now go; and be prudent. "
The door shut behind Fanferlot, and M. Lecoq passed quickly
into his bedroom.
In the twinkling of an eye he stripped off all traces of the
official detective chief, the starched cravat, the gold spectacles,
and the wig, which when removed released the thick black hair.
The official Lecoq disappeared; the true Lecoq remained, a
person that no one knew,—a handsome young man with brill-
iant eyes and a resolute manner.
Only a moment was he visible. Seated before a dressing-
table, on which were spread a greater array of paints, essences,
rouge, cosmetics, and false hair than is required for a modern
belle, he began to substitute a new face for the one accorded
him by nature.
He worked slowly, handling his little brushes with extreme
care, and in about an hour had achieved one of his periodical
masterpieces. When he had finished, he was no longer Lecoq:
he was the stout gentleman with the red whiskers, not recog-
nized by Fanferlot.
"There," he exclaimed, giving a last glance in the mirror, "I
have forgotten nothing; I have left nothing to chance. All my
threads are tied, and I can progress. I hope the Squirrel will
not lose time. "
―――
## p. 6152 (#122) ###########################################
6152
ÉMILE GABORIAU
But Fanferlot was too joyous to squander a moment. He did
not run,- he flew along the way toward the Palais de Justice
and M. Patrigent the judge.
At last he had the opportunity of demonstrating his own
superior perspicacity.
It never occurred to him that he was striving to triumph
through the ideas of another man. The greater part of the world
is content to strut, like the jackdaw, in peacock's feathers.
The result did not blight his hopes. If M. Patrigent was not
altogether convinced, he at least admired the ingenuity of the
proceeding.
"This is what I will do," he said in dismissing Fanferlot: "I
will present a favorable report to the council chamber, and to-
morrow, most likely, the cashier will be released. "
Immediately he began to write one of those terrible decisions
of "Not Proven," which restores liberty to the accused man, but
not honor; which says that he is not guilty, but which does not
declare him innocent:
"Whereas, against the prisoner Prosper Bertomy sufficient
charges do not exist, in accordance with Article 128 of the Crim-
inal Code, we declare there are no grounds at present for prose-
cution against the aforesaid prisoner: we therefore order that he
be released from the prison where he is now detained, and set
at liberty by the jailer," etc.
When this was finished, M. Patrigent remarked to his regis-
trar Sigault:-"Here is one of those mysterious crimes which
baffle justice! This is another file to be added to the archives
of the record office. " And with his own hand he wrote upon
the outside the official number, "File No. 113. ”
Translated for 'A Library of the World's Best Literature. '
## p. 6153 (#123) ###########################################
6153
BÉNITO PEREZ GALDÓS
(1845-)
BY WILLIAM HENRY BISHOP
I
HE Contemporary school of Spanish fiction dates from about
the revolution of 1868, which drove out Isabel II. and
brought in a more liberal form of government. Without
this revolution, it would scarcely have found opportunity for the free
expression of opinion and the bold critical tone towards ancient insti-
tutions which are among its leading characteristics. It is a fresh
stirring of the human intellect, a distinctly new product, and a val-
uable contribution to the world's literature. It has affiliation with the
Russian, the English, and other vital modern movements in fiction,
and yet it can by no means be confused with that of any other
country. Its method is realistic; but one of its leading figures, De
Pereda, a strong delineator of rural life, protests, as to him and his
works, against the use of the word,-"if," he says vigorously, "it
means to rank me under the triumphal French banner of foul-
smelling realism. " That is to say, they consider the best material for
fiction to be the better and sweeter part of life and its higher aspira-
tions, and not that coarse part of it to which the French would seem
to have devoted an undue amount of attention. The reader of
Anglo-Saxon origin approaches this fiction with ease and sympathy;
he has not to acquire any new point of view in order to understand
it, nor to unlearn any wonted standards of taste or morals.
An informing Spanish critic, Emilia Pardo Bazan, herself a novel-
ist of talent, points out that the present Spanish school cannot be
said to have a "yesterday," but only "a day before yesterday. " She
means that it has skipped a certain interval, and connects itself with
remoter, and not with recent, tradition. It really comes down from a
time antedating even the great "Golden Age. " It takes its rise in
the wonderful naturalness of the 'Celestina,' a quaint “tragi-comedy»
of the year 1499. It bears a close relationship, next, to Don Qui-
xote and to the "Novelas Picarescas," the stories of amusing knaves
in very low life, of which 'Lazarillo de Tormes' and 'Guzman de
Alfarache' are the best examples, and that French imitation, Gil
## p. 6154 (#124) ###########################################
6154
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
Blas,' better than the originals. A period of very stiff Classicism in
the eighteenth century, and of extravagant Romanticism in the
beginning of the nineteenth, followed, constituting the omitted "yes-
terday"; and then arrived the vigorous literature of the present time,
here in question. The qualities of truth to nature, practical good
sense, genuine humor, and play of imagination, have nearly always
characterized Spanish fiction, and these qualities seem possessed by
the contemporary novelists in a higher degree than ever before. The
Picaresque or Rogue stories seem to be- their naturalness admitted
—a mere string of disconnected adventures, written to the taste of a
period that had not the habit of keeping its attention fixed upon
anything long; and we scarcely know any leading character more
intimately at the end than at the beginning. As against this, we
have now complete and lengthy novels, in which situations and char-
acters are all worked out upon a symmetrical plan, and in which
the conclusions generally follow like those of fate; that is to say,
they are not arbitrary, but inevitably result from the conditions and
circumstances given.
In
So far as there is English influence in this literature, it may be
said to be more in the form of example than as a direct component.
It has given the Spanish movement courage and persistence, to see
the same ideals elsewhere affording profit and pleasure to millions
of men. Otherwise it is a mere coloring, a superficial trace.
particular, Pérez Galdós is fond of introducing English characters.
Some of them have the Dickens-like trait of a beaming, exuberant
benevolence, and the athletic parson in Gloria' who risks his life
pulling out to the rescue of a wrecked steamer is like Barrie's Little
Minister. Many of his leading characters are of that mixed blood, at
Cadiz and elsewhere in the South, where one parent is English and
the other Spanish, and the offspring have had the advantage of an
education in England. He admires English types and ways, and yet
with a reluctance too; which brings it about that they are generally
introduced subject to considerable satire and mockery. English steadi-
ness and thrift,—yes, very well; but he has a lingering tenderness still
for Spanish levity and improvidence. In 'Halma,' all the Marquis
de Feramor's children have English names, as «Sandy» (Alexandrito),
"Frank" (Paquito), and "Kitty" (Catalanita). The Marquis has been
a student at Cambridge, and he imports into his career in Spanish
politics the thorough study of the question at issue, the conservative
temper and abhorrence of extremes, and the correct "good form" of
some finished English statesman. These ideas of English policy and
conservatism are talked over again, in the tertulias of the amusing
family in 'El Amigo Manso,' who have come back wealthy from Cuba,
the head of the household with the purpose of going into Parliament
## p. 6155 (#125) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6155
and securing a title.
The English and the Spanish literary move-
ments may be said to accompany each other amicably, much as
Wellington's red-coats and the Spanish troops marched side by side
in the War of Independence, which has left a feeling of friendship
between the two nations ever since.
At the head of the school of fiction in question are four writers,
namely, José María de Pereda, Armando Palacio Valdés, Benito
Pérez Galdós, and Juan Valera. They may be considered, in their
various ways, as of well-nigh equal merit; each one has some very
distinguished and distinguishing quality, in virtue of which he cannot
justly be rated below the others. De Pereda occupies a position
apart in devoting himself wholly to the lives of humble people, the
mountaineers and fishermen of the Biscayan Provinces.
He never
willingly departs from these scenes either in his literary or personal
excursions; he has his home among them, near Santander. Valera
stands apart in a different way, and would occupy himself by prefer-
ence with the opposite class of society. He is the most learned and
scholarly of the quartette, and his writing is the most carefully pol-
ished in style. He is a scholarly critic and essayist as well as a
novelist. He is a realist like the rest, yet eschews, for instance, the
imitation of dialect: he is not a realist in quite the same energetic
and conscientious way; his atmosphere, while no doubt equally true,
is rather dreamy and poetic. Valdés and Galdós are much more
vividly modern, and they treat many of the same kind of subjects,
the events of real life such as we see it all around us. Of the four,
Valdés has perhaps, in certain passages, the truest tenderness and
most delicate pathos, and the most genuine humor, of that sunny
kind which allows us to laugh without bitterness. He can sometimes
be bitter too, and such a severe social satire as 'Froth' and such
books as The Grandee' and 'The Origin of Thought' leave, like
many of those of Galdós, an impression of gloom; yet even in these
we are charmed on the way by his light touch and easy grace of
treatment. Galdós is he who takes the gravest attitude; many great
problems of life and destiny occupy him seriously; he not only is
very earnest, but seems so, which does not however preclude a
plentiful use of humor, as will be seen in the examples given. Fur-
thermore, he is much the most prolific of the distinguished group,
and to that extent he may be said to have the widest range.
These writers are a highly beneficent influence in Spain at the
present time, spreading over it as they do a multitude of stimulat-
ing pictures and liberalizing ideas, cast into charming literary form.
They cannot fail to have a considerable effect upon conduct. In its
manner, its aversion to obscurity, and fondness for floods of daylight
that almost abolish shadow, this fiction is like the Spanish-Roman school
-
## p. 6156 (#126) ###########################################
6156
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
of art, the painting of Fortuny, the two Madrazos, and others: the two
seem but manifestations of a common impulse. On another side it is
to be recommended to foreigners, as affording a body of information
about Spain such as the mere traveler could never attain, and which
it is useless to look for in fiction depending for its interest upon
clever devices of plot and fantastic adventure. It lets an illumination
into the heart of what has been the most reserved and mysterious
country of Europe. It shows the true Spain, and not merely the
conventional one of strumming guitars and jingling mule bells. With
all its strangeness, we see it full of that genuine human nature that
makes the world akin; and we see, with pleasure and hope, the
breaking up of the forces of medievalism, the working of a mental and
moral turmoil that is preparing the way for a general betterment.
It would not be reasonable to suppose that Spanish literature re-
mained wholly unaffected by the vigorous French movement just
across the border. On the contrary, it clearly shows the trace of the
robust modern style that has prevailed in France from Balzac to Zola.
This trace, however, is in the style and not in the matter.
It may
possibly have aided the plainness of speech in the Spanish work,
which is greater than in English books; and yet this plainness of
speech is probably not greater than all books should be allowed, in
the interest of their own usefulness, and in order not to be narrow
instead of broad pictures of life. The tone towards sexual problems
is never flippant; immorality is never put in an attractive light; there
is hardly anywhere a more severe homily on the text that "the wages
of sin is death" than is found in the wretched career of the trans-
gressors in such books as Galdós's 'Lo Prohibido,' Tormento,' and
'La Desheredada. '
Just as in English books, the young girl, her aspirations and her
innocent love affairs before marriage, figure largely in these novels.
It is not necessary for her to wait until she is married in order
to become a suitable heroine for fiction. Religious revolt or dissent,
again, is one of the features most often used. There is still a very
close union of Church and State in Spain, and life has a very ecclesi-
astical coloring. Nearly every family has ties of relationship or inti-
macy with some ecclesiastical person of either sex. This brings it
about that such figures are as frequent in books as, correspondingly,
in real life. In Valera's 'Pepita Ximenez' we find an earnest young
student, a candidate for the priesthood, son of a noble house, turned
aside from his holy career-through his father's connivance - by the
fascinations of a most charming woman, their neighbor. In Valdés's
'Sister San Sulpicio' it is a young novice, a delightfully gay and
bright creature, whom love and matrimony withdraw from her con-
vent. In the same author's 'Marta y Maria' a fair young girl is seen
## p. 6157 (#127) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDOS
6157
endeavoring to conform in the midst of modern life to the ascetic
ideals of the mediæval saints, even to the point of wearing hair-
cloth and beating her tender shoulders with a scourge. Galdós's 'Doña
Perfecta' and 'The Family of Leon Roch' combat the undue influ-
ence of the confessor, or religious adviser, in the family, and Gloria'
combats the immemorial bitter prejudice against the Jews. As may
be seen, many of these subjects, if approached in a flippant way,
might easily lend themselves to grossness and scandal; but such is
not the Spanish spirit. The tone towards the Church is severely crit-
ical, but not destructive. It is the true secular tone of this century,
which holds that a conventional attention to the things of the next
world is only due when all demands for benevolence towards living
men are satisfied. Howells points out that Galdós attacks only the
same intolerant eccelesiastical spirit that elsewhere would be known by
another name. These critics would "reform the party from within";
and as they handle with so much skill and consideration the sensi-
bilities of their countrymen who still adhere to the fold, their efforts
are the more likely to have a potent effect. It seems a curious an-
omaly that Pereda, the one of them who is the most modern and
stirring in the intellectual way, professes himself the champion of
monarchy in its most absolute form.
The beginnings of the present fiction are somewhat feebly found
in Antonio de Trueba, and Madame Böhl de Faber, who signed herself
"Fernan Caballero, "— one of the first of those who took a man's
name, after the fashion of George Sand. These first wrote of other
things than the romantic knights and castles, Moors and odalisques,
of Scott and Victor Hugo. Fernan Caballero (1797 to 1877), a genial
optimist who wrote idealized descriptions of nature, still has a certain
vogue. Perez Escrich produced a large number of novels of a hu-
manitarian cast; Fernandez y Gonzalez poured them out, of a cheap
order, in a torrent, and became the very type of hasty production.
Pedro de Alarcon figures as a kind of link uniting the earlier period
to the present, and such a book as his 'El Sombrero de Tres Picos'
(The Three-Cornered Hat) is said to be read by some of the present
generation with admiration. But it seems to others a trifle, of no
great merit, marred by an excessive straining after effect; nothing
in it is simply or naturally said. Students of the more realistic side
of the movement should read Madame Pardo Bazan's valuable critical
study, 'La Cuestion Palpitante' (The Vital Question). Various books
by the leading authors named have been well translated into English
by Clara Bell, Mrs. Mary J. Serrano, Mary Springer, Rollo Ogden,
Nathan Haskell Dole, and others.
## p. 6158 (#128) ###########################################
6158
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
II
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS was born May 10th, 1845, in the Canary Islands.
Las Palmas, his birthplace, capital of the Grand Canary, is a well-
built little town of about eighteen thousand people, and the island is
the most fertile of the group. In climate and situation the islands
belong rather to Africa than Europe. The people are considered
descendants of the Gothic inhabitants of Spain, who sought refuge
there from the Saracen invasion. Their existence was all but lost to
sight for some centuries, and they were only brought under European
sway about the time of the discovery of America. These Fortunate
Islands, the somewhat unusual scene where Galdós was born and
passed his youth, would seem to offer a fresh literary field, yet no
word of description or reminiscence concerning them appears in any
of his books. This is perhaps part of the policy of reserve that
induces him to deny, even by implication, any biographical details
concerning himself,- a reserve so marked as to have been generally
noted as an eccentricity. Leopoldo Alas, his biographer, in the 'Cele-
bridades Españolas Contemporanéas,' assures us that it was only with
the greatest difficulty he drew from him the bare admission that he
was born in the Canary Islands. He made his studies there in the
State college, and came to Madrid at the age of eighteen to study
law. He had no great liking for it, and did not follow it further,
unless as it became a step for entrance into political life, for he has
been a deputy in the National Cortes, for Porto Rico. He did not
acquire skill in forensic eloquence; his biographer, above, states that
he cannot put four words together in public, nor in private either.
A reticent man, he is forced to write in order to find expression.
He wrote his first book in 1867 and '68, but it was not published
till 1871. In the mean time the revolution of 1868 took place, which
enlarged the boundaries of freedom in literature as in many other
directions; and Galdós at Barcelona had some small part in it. The
book was 'La Fontana de Oro (The Fount of Gold). It treats
of the aspirations of the "ardent youth" of 1820, who rebelled
against the reactionary policy brought in by Ferdinand VII. after the
expulsion of the French from the country; and in the student hero
Lázaro he perhaps displays his own ideas at the period. Violent
political clubs were formed, on the model of the Jacobin Clubs of
the French Revolution, and it is from the name of a café that was
the meeting-place of the most famous of these clubs that the name
of the story is derived. His next book was 'El Audaz' (The Fear-
less: 1872). The period is the same. The hero is an utterly fearless
young radical, who has been driven to revolt through wrongs done
## p. 6159 (#129) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6159
his family by the Count de Cerezuelo. By a peculiar hazard, though
far below her in social station, he meets the daughter of the count,
a very proud and disdainful beauty. It is her caprice to fall in love
with him, and she remains true to him to the end, when he dies in
a street tumult, having first gone mad with his superheated enthu-
siasm. These early books are conceived upon conventional romantic
lines, and hardly gave promise of their author's future fame. They
contain however passages of strong character-drawing, like that of
the Porreños, three ancient spinster sisters of a fallen patrician
house in 'El Audaz,' which are equal to his later work.
He next entered upon an extensive enterprise which soon began
to give him both reputation and profit. This was the writing of a
score of historical romances, after the model of those of Erckmann-
Chatrian, called 'Episódios Nacionales (National Episodes). They
are divided into two series, the first beginning with Trafalgar›
(1873).
the second with 'El Equipaje del Rey José (King Joseph's
Baggage: 1875). They deal with the two modern periods comprising
the deliverance of the country from the usurpation of the French,
and the more obscure struggles against Ferdinand VII. , who sought
to reduce the country under the same absolutist rule that had pre-
vailed before the ideas of the French Revolution liberalized the whole
of Europe.
The history in these romances is intermingled with
personal interests and adventures, to give it an air of informality:
and though each is complete in itself, some knowledge of Spanish
history is desirable as an aid to understanding them. They are con
siderably interlinked among themselves, the same characters appear-
ing more or less in successive volumes.
is one Gabriel, who narrates them all in the first person. He is a
poor boy who becomes servant to a family near Cadiz. He accom-
panies his master on board the huge Santissima Trinidad, the
largest ship of her age, and is able to describe in detail the action
of Trafalgar, the description being the more interesting for us as
coming from the Spanish point of view.
IV. (The Court of Charles IV. : 1873), we find him page to a leading
actress, and an eye-witness to the degeneracy of that monarch and
favorite Godoy, which resulted in the seizure of the country by
In 'La Batalla de los Arapiles'
The hero of the first series
In 'La Corte de Carlos
Napoleon for his brother Joseph.
(translated by Rollo Ogden as The Battle of Salamanca': 1875), the
of the series, the same Gabriel is a major, and performs an
important commission for Wellington. He has risen to this level step
his
last
Step, and on the way has had as many adventures as one of
Dumas's guardsmen, and has carried them off as gallantly. In the
second series of 'Episódios,' Salvador Monsalud is the principal char-
He is a young fellow who is led by dire want- and also by
acter.
by
## p. 6160 (#130) ###########################################
6160
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
sharing the liberalized French view of the decadence and worth-
lessness of the Spanish form of rule-to take service in the body-
guard of Joseph Bonaparte. A chapter full of strength and pathos,
in King Joseph's Baggage,' shows him disowned by his mother and
cast off by his village sweetheart on account of such service, both of
them frantic with a spirit of independence like that which animated
the Maid of Saragossa. A feature of this book that gives it ori-
ginality is that the action turns not upon the usual principal features
of battle, but upon the fate of the rich baggage train of booty with
which Joseph Bonaparte had hoped to escape to France after his
brief, disastrous reign.
The 'Episódios' have had an extensive influence, and have been
imitated, under a like title, in the Spanish Americas. The author's
tone toward the past is generally severe and disdainful. "Had Spain,
perchance, a 'constitution' when she was the foremost nation in the
world? " he puts into the mouth of one of his characters, with sar-
donic intent. He has been called unappreciative, and his attitude
towards Spanish antiquity has been protested against by other lead-
ing writers, of more conservative feeling, as unwarranted. These
romances contain some passages showing aversion to the barbarities
of war, but in general they are less humanitarian than those of
Erckmann-Chatrian: they are principally devoted to glorifying Span-
ish fortitude and courage. These books are a great advance upon
the two earlier novels; from the first they showed literary workman-
ship of a high order: they possess ingenuity of plot, sufficient proba-
bility, and graphic power of description, movement, and conversation.
In the latter respects, indeed, they surpass some of the author's later
works that make more serious pretensions.
The wider and more definitely literary reputation of Pérez Galdós
rests upon more than a score of other works, in addition to the above.
These are distinctly novels, as contrasted with romances; and they
treat of contemporary life, in a method that aims to be conscien-
tiously observant and impartial. It is often said, without much reflec-
tion, that we see enough of the things close about us, and need
our literary recreation in the remote and strange. But it must be
recalled that we see those things without the eyes of genius, and he
is a true benefactor who poetizes and dignifies life in making evident
that all of life is vivid with interest, even that part of it nearest to
us, which without such illumination we may have thought devoid
of it. The words in which the ostensible narrator of 'Lo Prohibido'
(Forbidden Fruit: 1885), explains the purpose of his journal may well
enough be taken to exhibit the method of Galdós. It was to set
down "my prosaic adventures, events that in no way differ from
those that fill and make up the lives of other men. I aspire to no
## p. 6161 (#131) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6161
further effects than such as the sincere and unaffected presentation
of the truth may produce; and I have no design upon the reader's
emotions by means of calculated surprises, frights, or conjurer's
tricks, through which things look one way for a time and then turn
out in a manner diametrically opposite. "
The titles of a number of his principal books, not hitherto given,
with dates, are as follows. The dates are those when they were
written, and they were generally published shortly after: 'Doña
Perfecta, 1876; Gloria,' 1876; Torquemada en la Hoguera' (Tor-
quemada at the Stake: 1876); Marianela,' 1878; 'La Familia de Leon
Roch' (Leon Roch's Family: 1878); 'Los Cien Mil Hijos de San Luis'
(The Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis: 1877) of the Episódios;
'Un Faccioso Más' (A Rebel the More: 1879) the completion of the
Episódios; 'La Desheredada' (The Disowned: 1881); 'El Amigo
Manso (Friend Mildman: 1882); El Doctor Centeno,' 1883; Tor-
mento, 1884; 'La de Bringas' (That Mrs. de Bringas: 1884); Fortu-
nata y Jacinta,' 1886; 'Miau,' 1888; 'La Incógnita' (The Unknown:
1889); Realidad' (Reality: 1890); Angel Guerra,' 1891; Torquemada
en la Cruz' (Torquemada on the Cross: 1894); Torquemada en el
Purgatorio (Torquemada in Purgatory: 1894); Torquemada y San
Pedro, 1895; 'Nazarin,' 1895; 'Halma,' 1896.
Even in his new departure, Galdós did not at once enter upon his
final manner. 'Doña Perfecta,' The Family of Leon Roch,' and
'Gloria' are quite distinctly didactic, or "novels with a purpose";
while Marianela' is somewhat cloyingly sentimental, a prose poem
after the manner of Ouida. In spite of all this, however, 'Doña Per-
fecta' has been pronounced by many his best work. It is the one that
has obtained greatest celebrity abroad, and it is the one, all things con-
sidered, likely to be the most satisfactory example of his work to the
English reader. 'La Desheredada' marks the transition to his final
period, and he has put it upon record that with this book the real
difficulties of his vocation began. It is a poignantly affecting story
of a poor girl who was brought up, by a parent half knave and half
insane, to believe that she was not his daughter but that of a noble
house. After his death she undertakes in all good faith to prose-
cute her claim, and is thrown into prison as an impostor. Her heart
is broken by the disillusionment; she cannot adjust herself to life
again without the sweetness of that beguiling belief, and so, in the
end, not having the boldness to die, she throws herself upon the street,
a social outcast. Both in the person of Isidora and others, the
book is a moving treatise on false education. Other leading figures
are her brother, a young "hoodlum" and thief, the burden of whose
career she has also to bear upon her slender shoulders, and the pam-
pered son of the poor Sastres, who have denied themselves bread that
XI-386
## p. 6162 (#132) ###########################################
6162
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
he might have an education and luxuries. He has a hundred fine
schemes for getting a living, but never a one of them includes turn-
ing his hand to a stroke of honest labor.
'El Amigo Manso' is an extended piece of character-drawing, self-
told, in a gently humorous vein. It gives an account of a college
instructor, very benevolent, very methodical and prudent, and a trifle
conceited and patronizing, who is in love with a pretty governess.
By the time he has settled all his judicious pros and cons, the pretty
governess, who really cared nothing about him, is engaged to a suitor
of a more dashing sort. The scenes of Tormento,' 'La de Bringas,'
and 'Miau' are laid chiefly among the class of minor office-holders,
with whose manners the author shows an exhaustive familiarity, and
each has its peculiar tragic situation in itself. 'Realidad,' written
once in the form of a novel, and again as a drama, treats of the
subject of a wife's infidelity, as it might pass in real life, instead of
in the conventional and hackneyed way. Its title seems to propose
to adhere even closer to the exact truth than do the others. There
come to mind, in its suppressed passion and its calm, intellectual,
and bitter philosophy, suggestions both of Ibsen and Suderman.
The banker Orozco, a noble and reserved nature, does not slay his
wife, does not banish her from him, nor even make her reproaches.
Augusta, on her side, wonders if his mind is not giving way. This
bitter commentary on life is as near as her smaller mind can approach
to a comprehension of his magnanimous conduct. The same Augusta,
earlier, has said in conversation, "Real life is the greatest of all
inventors; the only one who is ever ready, fresh, and inexhaustible
in resource. " In these books, however serious, the purpose does not
obtrude to the detriment of art; the reader is left free to draw his
own conclusions, as from events in actual life; the author ostensibly
is neither for nor against, and yet he leaves us in no doubt as to
his decision, always a moral and stimulating one.
The favorite scenes of Galdós's books are in Madrid and the small
suburban resorts round about it, or at the numerous mineral springs
which are so important a feature of Spanish summer life. He him-
self lives at Madrid, but goes for the season to a summer place he
owns on the bold cliffs of the Bay of Biscay, at Santander. There,
too he is near to Pereda, between whom and himself a remarkable
friendship exists. A friendship so strong, warm, and long continued
has been recognized as a notable feature in the careers of both.
is the more remarkable because except in literature, which both set
above everything else, he is violently opposed to most of the views of
Pereda-a conservative of the conservatives, even to the point of
preferring the absolutist pretender Don Carlos for king. Even at
Madrid and at Santander, however, Galdós's scenery is mere stage
It
## p. 6163 (#133) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6163
setting; he does not describe nature sympathetically nor aim to ren-
der local color in an accurate way.
As the action must pass some-
where, he gives it just as much of a setting as will suffice, and seems
satisfied with that. The impression of his books, on the whole, is a
gloomy one. He who sees life clearly must perchance see it darkly,
and few see it more clearly than Galdós. Yet his admirers will not
have it that he is pessimistic, because Nature herself is not pessi-
mistic. Even the sadness of nightfall ought not to be considered
gloomy, they say, with much show of reason, since it is only the
preparation for another day.
William Henry Bishop
THE FIRST NIGHT OF A FAMOUS PLAY, IN THE YEAR 1807
From The Court of Charles IV. Copyright 1888, by W. S. Gottsberger.
Reprinted by permission of George G. Peck, publisher, New York
[Gabriel, a boy of sixteen, has taken service as page with a very charming
actress of the Principe Theatre. Between this theatre and La Cruz exists
the same sort of hostility as between the rival theatres at Venice when Goldoni
inaugurated his reform. La Cruz represents the new and "natural" spirit in
the drama, as against the absurd artificial tradition that had prevailed up to
that time. A part of Gabriel's duties is to go and hiss the plays at that thea-
The principal occasion of this kind is when he accompanies a band, led
by a rival playwright, to the first performance of 'El Sí de las Niñas (The
Maidens' Yes), by the famous Moratin, the leading piece of the new school. ]
tre.
"WHA
THAT an opening! " he [the rival poet and playwright] ex-
claimed, as he listened to the first dialogue between
Don Diego and Simon. "A pretty way to begin a
comedy! The scene a village inn! What can happen of any
interest in a village inn? In all my plays, and they are many,
- though never a one has been represented,- the action opens in
a Corinthian garden, with monumental fountains to the right and
left, and a temple of Juno in the background; or in a wide square
with three regiments drawn up, and in the background the city
of Warsaw, with a bridge, and so forth. And just listen to the
twaddle this old man is made to talk! He is about to marry a
young girl who has been brought up by the nuns of Guadalajara.
Well, is that very remarkable? Is not that a matter of every-
day occurrence ? »
## p. 6164 (#134) ###########################################
6164
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
Pouring out these remarks, that confounded poet did not allow
me to hear a word of the piece, and though I answered all his
comments with humbly acquiescent monosyllables, I only wished
that he would hold his tongue, deuce take him! .
"What a vulgar subject! what low ideas! " he exclaimed, loud
enough for every one to hear. "And this is how comedies are
written! "
on.
"But let us listen to it," said I, finding my chief's comments
quite intolerable. "We can laugh at Moratin afterwards. "
"But I cannot bear such a medley of absurdities," he went
"We do not come to the theatre to see just what is to be
seen any day in the streets, or in every house you go into. If
instead of enlarging on her matrimonial experiences, the lady
were to come in invoking curses on an enemy because he had
killed one-and-twenty of her sons in battle, and left her with
only the twenty-second, still an infant at the breast, and if she
had to carry that one off to save him from being eaten by the
besieged, all dying of famine - then there would be some inter-
est in the plot, and the public would clap their hands till they
were sore. Gabriel, my boy, we must protest, protest vehe-
mently. We must thump the floor with our feet and sticks to
show that we are bored and out of patience. Yawn; open your
mouth till your jaws are dislocated; look about you; let all the
neighbors see that we are people of taste, and utterly weary of
this tiresome and monstrous piece. "
.
No sooner said than done: we began thumping on the floor,
and yawning in chorus, exclaiming, "What a bore! "
"What a
dreary piece! " "What waste of money! " and other phrases to
the same effect; all of which soon bore fruit. The party in the
pit imitated our patriotic example with great exactness.
A gen-
eral murmur of dissatisfaction was presently audible from every
part of the theatre; for though the author had enemies, he had
no lack of friends too, scattered throughout the pit, boxes, and
upper tiers, and they were not slow to protest against our dem-
onstration, sometimes by applauding, and then again by roaring
at us with threats and oaths, to be silent; till a stentorian voice
from the very back of the pit bellowed, "Turn the blackguards
out! " raising a noisy storm of applause that reduced us to silence.
Our poetaster was almost jumping out of his skin with indig-
nation, and persisted in making his remarks as the piece went
on.
## p. 6165 (#135) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6165
"A pretty plot indeed! It seems hardly credible that a civilized
nation should applaud it. I would sentence Moratin to the gal-
leys, and forbid his writing such coarse stuff as long as he lives.
So you call this a play, Gabrielito? There is no intrigue, no
plot, no surprise, no catastrophe, no illusion, no quid pro quo; no
attempt at disguising a character to make it seem another — not
even the little complication that comes of two men provoking
each other as enemies, and then discovering that they are father
and son.
If Don Diego now, were to catch his nephew and kill
him out of hand in the cellar, and prepare a banquet and have
a dish of the victim's flesh served up to his bride, well disguised
with spice and bay leaves, there would be some spirit in the
thing. "
I could not, in fact, conceal my enjoyment of the scene, which
seemed to me a masterpiece of nature, grace, and interesting
comedy. The poet however called me to order, abusing me for
deserting to the hostile camp.
"I beg your pardon," said I. "It was a mistake. And yet-
does it not strike you, too, that this scene is not altogether bad? "
"How should you be able to judge? a mere novice who never
wrote a line in your life! Pray what is there in this scene in the
least remarkable, or pathetic, or historical ?
lot told the exact truth,—which was not his custom. However,
before the end of his recital, his vanity prevented him from tell-
ing how he had been tricked by Mademoiselle Nina Gypsy and
the stout gentleman.
Unfortunately, M. Lecoq was never informed by halves.
"It seems to me, Master Squirrel," he said, "that you have
forgotten something. How far did you follow the empty cab? "
Fanferlot, despite his assurance, blushed to his ears, and
dropped his eyes like a schoolboy caught in a guilty act.
"O patron,” he stammered, "you know that too? How could
you have — »
Suddenly a thought flashed through his brain: he stopped,
and bounding from his chair, cried, "Oh, I am sure that stout
gentleman with the red whiskers was you! "
Fanferlot's surprise gave such a ridiculous expression to his
face that M. Lecoq could not help smiling.
"Then it was you," continued the amazed detective, "it was
you, that fat man at whom I stared. I did not recognize you!
Ah, patron, what an actor you would make if you pleased! And
I was disguised also! "
"But very poorly, my poor boy, I tell you for your own good.
Do you think a heavy beard and a blouse sufficient to evade
detection? But the eye, stupid fellow, the eye! It is the eye
that must be changed. There is the secret. "
This theory of disguise explains why the official, lynx-like
Lecoq never appeared at the police office without his gold spec-
tacles.
- -
"But then, patron," continued Fanferlot, working out the
idea, “you have made the little girl confess, although Madame
Alexandre failed? You know then why she left 'The Grand-
Archange; why she did not wait for M. Louis de Clameran;
and why she bought calico dresses for herself? »
"She never acts without my instructions. "
"In this case," said the detective, greatly discouraged, "there
is nothing more for me to do except acknowledge myself a
fool. "
## p. 6149 (#119) ###########################################
ÉMILE GABORIAU
6149
"No, Squirrel," replied M. Lecoq with kindness; "no, you
are not a fool; you are simply wrong in undertaking a task
beyond your powers. Have you made one progressive step since
you began this case? No. This only proves that you are in-
comparable as a lieutenant, but that you have not the sang-froid
of a general. I will give you an aphorism; keep it, and make it
a rule of conduct - Some men may shine in the second who
are eclipsed in the first rank. '»
Egotist, like all great artists, M. Lecoq had never had, nor
did he wish to have, a pupil. He worked alone. He despised
assistants; for he did not wish to share the pleasures of triumph
nor the bitterness of defeat.
Therefore Fanferlot, who knew his patron so well, was aston-
ished to hear him, who had heretofore given nothing but orders,
helping him with counsel.
He was so mystified that he could not help showing his sur-
prise.
«<
"It seems to me, patron," he risked saying, that you take a
strong personal interest in this case, that you study it so closely. "
M. Lecoq started nervously,- which motion escaped his de-
tective, and then, frowning, he said in a hard voice: -
-
"It is your nature to be curious, Master Squirrel; but take
care that you do not go too far. Do you understand? »
Fanferlot began to offer excuses.
"Enough! Enough! " interrupted M. Lecoq. "If I lend
you a helping hand, it is because I wish to. I wish to be the
your preconceived
If we two do not
head while you are the arm. Alone, with
ideas, you never would find the guilty one.
find him together, then I am not M. Lecoq. "
"We shall succeed, if you make it your business. "
"Yes, I am entangled in it, and during four days I have
learned many things. However, keep this quiet. I have reasons
for not being known in this case. Whatever happens, I forbid
you to mention my name. If we succeed, the success must be
given to you. And above all, do not seek explanations. Be
satisfied with what I tell you. "
These charges seemed to fill Fanferlot with confidence.
"I will be discreet, patron," he promised.
"I depend upon you, my boy. To begin: Carry this photo-
graph of the strong box to the examining magistrate. M. Patri-
gent, I know, is as perplexed as possible upon the subject of
## p. 6150 (#120) ###########################################
6150
ÉMILE GABORIAU
the prisoner. You must explain, as if it were your own discov-
ery, what I have just shown you. When you repeat all this to
him with these indications, I am sure he will release the cashier.
Prosper Bertomy, the accused cashier, must be free before I
begin my work. "
"I understand, patron. But shall I let M. Patrigent see that
I suspect another than the banker or the cashier? "
«< Certainly. Justice demands that you follow up the case.
M. Patrigent will charge you to watch Prosper; reply that you
will not lose sight of him. I assure you that he will be in
good hands. "
"And if he asks news of
Mademoiselle Gypsy? "
M. Lecoq hesitated for a moment.
"You will say to him," he said finally, "that you have de-
cided, in the interest of Prosper, to place her in a house where
she can watch some one whom you suspect. "
The joyous Fanferlot rolled the photograph, took his hat, and
prepared to leave. M. Lecoq detained him by a gesture: -“ I
have not finished," he said. "Do you know how to drive a car-
riage and take care of a horse?
"Why, patron, you ask me that -an old rider of the Bouthor
Circus? "
"Very well. As soon as the judge has dismissed you, return
home, and prepare a wig and livery of a valet de chambre of the
first class; and having dressed, go with this letter to the Agency
on the Rue Delorme. "
"But, patron —
"There are no 'buts,' my boy; for this agent will send you
to M. Louis de Clameran, who needs a new valet de chambre, his
own having left yesterday evening. "
"Excuse me if I dare say that you are deceived. Clameran
will not agree to the conditions: he is no friend of the cashier. "
"How you always interrupt me," said M. Lecoq, in his most
imperative tones. "Do only what I tell you, and let everything
else alone. M. Clameran is not a friend to Prosper. I know
But he is the friend and protector of Raoul de Lagors.
Why? Who can explain the intimacy of these two men of such
different ages? We must know this. We must also know who
is M. Louis de Clameran-this forge-master who lives in Paris
and never goes to his own factories! A jolly dog who has taken
it into his head to live at the Hôtel du Louvre and who mingles
— »
## p. 6151 (#121) ###########################################
ÉMILE GABORIAU
6151
in the whirling crowd, is difficult to watch. Through you, I shall
have my eye on him. He has a carriage; you will drive it; and
in the easiest way you will know his acquaintances, and be able
to give me an account of his slightest proceedings. "
"You shall be obeyed, patron. "
"Still another word. M. De Clameran is very irritable and
suspicious. You will be introduced to him as Joseph Dubois.
He will ask for your recommendations. Here are three, show-
ing that you have served the Marquis de Sairmeuse, the Count
de Commarin, and your last place the house of the Baron de
Wortschen, who has just gone to Germany. Keep your eyes
open, be correct, and watch his movements. Serve well, but
without excess of manner. But don't be too cringing, for that
would arouse suspicion. "
-
"Make yourself easy, patron: now, where shall I report ? »
"I will come to see you every day. Until you have an order,
don't step inside of this house: you might be followed. If any
thing unforeseen occurs, send a dispatch to your wife, and she
will advise me. Now go; and be prudent. "
The door shut behind Fanferlot, and M. Lecoq passed quickly
into his bedroom.
In the twinkling of an eye he stripped off all traces of the
official detective chief, the starched cravat, the gold spectacles,
and the wig, which when removed released the thick black hair.
The official Lecoq disappeared; the true Lecoq remained, a
person that no one knew,—a handsome young man with brill-
iant eyes and a resolute manner.
Only a moment was he visible. Seated before a dressing-
table, on which were spread a greater array of paints, essences,
rouge, cosmetics, and false hair than is required for a modern
belle, he began to substitute a new face for the one accorded
him by nature.
He worked slowly, handling his little brushes with extreme
care, and in about an hour had achieved one of his periodical
masterpieces. When he had finished, he was no longer Lecoq:
he was the stout gentleman with the red whiskers, not recog-
nized by Fanferlot.
"There," he exclaimed, giving a last glance in the mirror, "I
have forgotten nothing; I have left nothing to chance. All my
threads are tied, and I can progress. I hope the Squirrel will
not lose time. "
―――
## p. 6152 (#122) ###########################################
6152
ÉMILE GABORIAU
But Fanferlot was too joyous to squander a moment. He did
not run,- he flew along the way toward the Palais de Justice
and M. Patrigent the judge.
At last he had the opportunity of demonstrating his own
superior perspicacity.
It never occurred to him that he was striving to triumph
through the ideas of another man. The greater part of the world
is content to strut, like the jackdaw, in peacock's feathers.
The result did not blight his hopes. If M. Patrigent was not
altogether convinced, he at least admired the ingenuity of the
proceeding.
"This is what I will do," he said in dismissing Fanferlot: "I
will present a favorable report to the council chamber, and to-
morrow, most likely, the cashier will be released. "
Immediately he began to write one of those terrible decisions
of "Not Proven," which restores liberty to the accused man, but
not honor; which says that he is not guilty, but which does not
declare him innocent:
"Whereas, against the prisoner Prosper Bertomy sufficient
charges do not exist, in accordance with Article 128 of the Crim-
inal Code, we declare there are no grounds at present for prose-
cution against the aforesaid prisoner: we therefore order that he
be released from the prison where he is now detained, and set
at liberty by the jailer," etc.
When this was finished, M. Patrigent remarked to his regis-
trar Sigault:-"Here is one of those mysterious crimes which
baffle justice! This is another file to be added to the archives
of the record office. " And with his own hand he wrote upon
the outside the official number, "File No. 113. ”
Translated for 'A Library of the World's Best Literature. '
## p. 6153 (#123) ###########################################
6153
BÉNITO PEREZ GALDÓS
(1845-)
BY WILLIAM HENRY BISHOP
I
HE Contemporary school of Spanish fiction dates from about
the revolution of 1868, which drove out Isabel II. and
brought in a more liberal form of government. Without
this revolution, it would scarcely have found opportunity for the free
expression of opinion and the bold critical tone towards ancient insti-
tutions which are among its leading characteristics. It is a fresh
stirring of the human intellect, a distinctly new product, and a val-
uable contribution to the world's literature. It has affiliation with the
Russian, the English, and other vital modern movements in fiction,
and yet it can by no means be confused with that of any other
country. Its method is realistic; but one of its leading figures, De
Pereda, a strong delineator of rural life, protests, as to him and his
works, against the use of the word,-"if," he says vigorously, "it
means to rank me under the triumphal French banner of foul-
smelling realism. " That is to say, they consider the best material for
fiction to be the better and sweeter part of life and its higher aspira-
tions, and not that coarse part of it to which the French would seem
to have devoted an undue amount of attention. The reader of
Anglo-Saxon origin approaches this fiction with ease and sympathy;
he has not to acquire any new point of view in order to understand
it, nor to unlearn any wonted standards of taste or morals.
An informing Spanish critic, Emilia Pardo Bazan, herself a novel-
ist of talent, points out that the present Spanish school cannot be
said to have a "yesterday," but only "a day before yesterday. " She
means that it has skipped a certain interval, and connects itself with
remoter, and not with recent, tradition. It really comes down from a
time antedating even the great "Golden Age. " It takes its rise in
the wonderful naturalness of the 'Celestina,' a quaint “tragi-comedy»
of the year 1499. It bears a close relationship, next, to Don Qui-
xote and to the "Novelas Picarescas," the stories of amusing knaves
in very low life, of which 'Lazarillo de Tormes' and 'Guzman de
Alfarache' are the best examples, and that French imitation, Gil
## p. 6154 (#124) ###########################################
6154
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
Blas,' better than the originals. A period of very stiff Classicism in
the eighteenth century, and of extravagant Romanticism in the
beginning of the nineteenth, followed, constituting the omitted "yes-
terday"; and then arrived the vigorous literature of the present time,
here in question. The qualities of truth to nature, practical good
sense, genuine humor, and play of imagination, have nearly always
characterized Spanish fiction, and these qualities seem possessed by
the contemporary novelists in a higher degree than ever before. The
Picaresque or Rogue stories seem to be- their naturalness admitted
—a mere string of disconnected adventures, written to the taste of a
period that had not the habit of keeping its attention fixed upon
anything long; and we scarcely know any leading character more
intimately at the end than at the beginning. As against this, we
have now complete and lengthy novels, in which situations and char-
acters are all worked out upon a symmetrical plan, and in which
the conclusions generally follow like those of fate; that is to say,
they are not arbitrary, but inevitably result from the conditions and
circumstances given.
In
So far as there is English influence in this literature, it may be
said to be more in the form of example than as a direct component.
It has given the Spanish movement courage and persistence, to see
the same ideals elsewhere affording profit and pleasure to millions
of men. Otherwise it is a mere coloring, a superficial trace.
particular, Pérez Galdós is fond of introducing English characters.
Some of them have the Dickens-like trait of a beaming, exuberant
benevolence, and the athletic parson in Gloria' who risks his life
pulling out to the rescue of a wrecked steamer is like Barrie's Little
Minister. Many of his leading characters are of that mixed blood, at
Cadiz and elsewhere in the South, where one parent is English and
the other Spanish, and the offspring have had the advantage of an
education in England. He admires English types and ways, and yet
with a reluctance too; which brings it about that they are generally
introduced subject to considerable satire and mockery. English steadi-
ness and thrift,—yes, very well; but he has a lingering tenderness still
for Spanish levity and improvidence. In 'Halma,' all the Marquis
de Feramor's children have English names, as «Sandy» (Alexandrito),
"Frank" (Paquito), and "Kitty" (Catalanita). The Marquis has been
a student at Cambridge, and he imports into his career in Spanish
politics the thorough study of the question at issue, the conservative
temper and abhorrence of extremes, and the correct "good form" of
some finished English statesman. These ideas of English policy and
conservatism are talked over again, in the tertulias of the amusing
family in 'El Amigo Manso,' who have come back wealthy from Cuba,
the head of the household with the purpose of going into Parliament
## p. 6155 (#125) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6155
and securing a title.
The English and the Spanish literary move-
ments may be said to accompany each other amicably, much as
Wellington's red-coats and the Spanish troops marched side by side
in the War of Independence, which has left a feeling of friendship
between the two nations ever since.
At the head of the school of fiction in question are four writers,
namely, José María de Pereda, Armando Palacio Valdés, Benito
Pérez Galdós, and Juan Valera. They may be considered, in their
various ways, as of well-nigh equal merit; each one has some very
distinguished and distinguishing quality, in virtue of which he cannot
justly be rated below the others. De Pereda occupies a position
apart in devoting himself wholly to the lives of humble people, the
mountaineers and fishermen of the Biscayan Provinces.
He never
willingly departs from these scenes either in his literary or personal
excursions; he has his home among them, near Santander. Valera
stands apart in a different way, and would occupy himself by prefer-
ence with the opposite class of society. He is the most learned and
scholarly of the quartette, and his writing is the most carefully pol-
ished in style. He is a scholarly critic and essayist as well as a
novelist. He is a realist like the rest, yet eschews, for instance, the
imitation of dialect: he is not a realist in quite the same energetic
and conscientious way; his atmosphere, while no doubt equally true,
is rather dreamy and poetic. Valdés and Galdós are much more
vividly modern, and they treat many of the same kind of subjects,
the events of real life such as we see it all around us. Of the four,
Valdés has perhaps, in certain passages, the truest tenderness and
most delicate pathos, and the most genuine humor, of that sunny
kind which allows us to laugh without bitterness. He can sometimes
be bitter too, and such a severe social satire as 'Froth' and such
books as The Grandee' and 'The Origin of Thought' leave, like
many of those of Galdós, an impression of gloom; yet even in these
we are charmed on the way by his light touch and easy grace of
treatment. Galdós is he who takes the gravest attitude; many great
problems of life and destiny occupy him seriously; he not only is
very earnest, but seems so, which does not however preclude a
plentiful use of humor, as will be seen in the examples given. Fur-
thermore, he is much the most prolific of the distinguished group,
and to that extent he may be said to have the widest range.
These writers are a highly beneficent influence in Spain at the
present time, spreading over it as they do a multitude of stimulat-
ing pictures and liberalizing ideas, cast into charming literary form.
They cannot fail to have a considerable effect upon conduct. In its
manner, its aversion to obscurity, and fondness for floods of daylight
that almost abolish shadow, this fiction is like the Spanish-Roman school
-
## p. 6156 (#126) ###########################################
6156
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
of art, the painting of Fortuny, the two Madrazos, and others: the two
seem but manifestations of a common impulse. On another side it is
to be recommended to foreigners, as affording a body of information
about Spain such as the mere traveler could never attain, and which
it is useless to look for in fiction depending for its interest upon
clever devices of plot and fantastic adventure. It lets an illumination
into the heart of what has been the most reserved and mysterious
country of Europe. It shows the true Spain, and not merely the
conventional one of strumming guitars and jingling mule bells. With
all its strangeness, we see it full of that genuine human nature that
makes the world akin; and we see, with pleasure and hope, the
breaking up of the forces of medievalism, the working of a mental and
moral turmoil that is preparing the way for a general betterment.
It would not be reasonable to suppose that Spanish literature re-
mained wholly unaffected by the vigorous French movement just
across the border. On the contrary, it clearly shows the trace of the
robust modern style that has prevailed in France from Balzac to Zola.
This trace, however, is in the style and not in the matter.
It may
possibly have aided the plainness of speech in the Spanish work,
which is greater than in English books; and yet this plainness of
speech is probably not greater than all books should be allowed, in
the interest of their own usefulness, and in order not to be narrow
instead of broad pictures of life. The tone towards sexual problems
is never flippant; immorality is never put in an attractive light; there
is hardly anywhere a more severe homily on the text that "the wages
of sin is death" than is found in the wretched career of the trans-
gressors in such books as Galdós's 'Lo Prohibido,' Tormento,' and
'La Desheredada. '
Just as in English books, the young girl, her aspirations and her
innocent love affairs before marriage, figure largely in these novels.
It is not necessary for her to wait until she is married in order
to become a suitable heroine for fiction. Religious revolt or dissent,
again, is one of the features most often used. There is still a very
close union of Church and State in Spain, and life has a very ecclesi-
astical coloring. Nearly every family has ties of relationship or inti-
macy with some ecclesiastical person of either sex. This brings it
about that such figures are as frequent in books as, correspondingly,
in real life. In Valera's 'Pepita Ximenez' we find an earnest young
student, a candidate for the priesthood, son of a noble house, turned
aside from his holy career-through his father's connivance - by the
fascinations of a most charming woman, their neighbor. In Valdés's
'Sister San Sulpicio' it is a young novice, a delightfully gay and
bright creature, whom love and matrimony withdraw from her con-
vent. In the same author's 'Marta y Maria' a fair young girl is seen
## p. 6157 (#127) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDOS
6157
endeavoring to conform in the midst of modern life to the ascetic
ideals of the mediæval saints, even to the point of wearing hair-
cloth and beating her tender shoulders with a scourge. Galdós's 'Doña
Perfecta' and 'The Family of Leon Roch' combat the undue influ-
ence of the confessor, or religious adviser, in the family, and Gloria'
combats the immemorial bitter prejudice against the Jews. As may
be seen, many of these subjects, if approached in a flippant way,
might easily lend themselves to grossness and scandal; but such is
not the Spanish spirit. The tone towards the Church is severely crit-
ical, but not destructive. It is the true secular tone of this century,
which holds that a conventional attention to the things of the next
world is only due when all demands for benevolence towards living
men are satisfied. Howells points out that Galdós attacks only the
same intolerant eccelesiastical spirit that elsewhere would be known by
another name. These critics would "reform the party from within";
and as they handle with so much skill and consideration the sensi-
bilities of their countrymen who still adhere to the fold, their efforts
are the more likely to have a potent effect. It seems a curious an-
omaly that Pereda, the one of them who is the most modern and
stirring in the intellectual way, professes himself the champion of
monarchy in its most absolute form.
The beginnings of the present fiction are somewhat feebly found
in Antonio de Trueba, and Madame Böhl de Faber, who signed herself
"Fernan Caballero, "— one of the first of those who took a man's
name, after the fashion of George Sand. These first wrote of other
things than the romantic knights and castles, Moors and odalisques,
of Scott and Victor Hugo. Fernan Caballero (1797 to 1877), a genial
optimist who wrote idealized descriptions of nature, still has a certain
vogue. Perez Escrich produced a large number of novels of a hu-
manitarian cast; Fernandez y Gonzalez poured them out, of a cheap
order, in a torrent, and became the very type of hasty production.
Pedro de Alarcon figures as a kind of link uniting the earlier period
to the present, and such a book as his 'El Sombrero de Tres Picos'
(The Three-Cornered Hat) is said to be read by some of the present
generation with admiration. But it seems to others a trifle, of no
great merit, marred by an excessive straining after effect; nothing
in it is simply or naturally said. Students of the more realistic side
of the movement should read Madame Pardo Bazan's valuable critical
study, 'La Cuestion Palpitante' (The Vital Question). Various books
by the leading authors named have been well translated into English
by Clara Bell, Mrs. Mary J. Serrano, Mary Springer, Rollo Ogden,
Nathan Haskell Dole, and others.
## p. 6158 (#128) ###########################################
6158
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
II
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS was born May 10th, 1845, in the Canary Islands.
Las Palmas, his birthplace, capital of the Grand Canary, is a well-
built little town of about eighteen thousand people, and the island is
the most fertile of the group. In climate and situation the islands
belong rather to Africa than Europe. The people are considered
descendants of the Gothic inhabitants of Spain, who sought refuge
there from the Saracen invasion. Their existence was all but lost to
sight for some centuries, and they were only brought under European
sway about the time of the discovery of America. These Fortunate
Islands, the somewhat unusual scene where Galdós was born and
passed his youth, would seem to offer a fresh literary field, yet no
word of description or reminiscence concerning them appears in any
of his books. This is perhaps part of the policy of reserve that
induces him to deny, even by implication, any biographical details
concerning himself,- a reserve so marked as to have been generally
noted as an eccentricity. Leopoldo Alas, his biographer, in the 'Cele-
bridades Españolas Contemporanéas,' assures us that it was only with
the greatest difficulty he drew from him the bare admission that he
was born in the Canary Islands. He made his studies there in the
State college, and came to Madrid at the age of eighteen to study
law. He had no great liking for it, and did not follow it further,
unless as it became a step for entrance into political life, for he has
been a deputy in the National Cortes, for Porto Rico. He did not
acquire skill in forensic eloquence; his biographer, above, states that
he cannot put four words together in public, nor in private either.
A reticent man, he is forced to write in order to find expression.
He wrote his first book in 1867 and '68, but it was not published
till 1871. In the mean time the revolution of 1868 took place, which
enlarged the boundaries of freedom in literature as in many other
directions; and Galdós at Barcelona had some small part in it. The
book was 'La Fontana de Oro (The Fount of Gold). It treats
of the aspirations of the "ardent youth" of 1820, who rebelled
against the reactionary policy brought in by Ferdinand VII. after the
expulsion of the French from the country; and in the student hero
Lázaro he perhaps displays his own ideas at the period. Violent
political clubs were formed, on the model of the Jacobin Clubs of
the French Revolution, and it is from the name of a café that was
the meeting-place of the most famous of these clubs that the name
of the story is derived. His next book was 'El Audaz' (The Fear-
less: 1872). The period is the same. The hero is an utterly fearless
young radical, who has been driven to revolt through wrongs done
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BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6159
his family by the Count de Cerezuelo. By a peculiar hazard, though
far below her in social station, he meets the daughter of the count,
a very proud and disdainful beauty. It is her caprice to fall in love
with him, and she remains true to him to the end, when he dies in
a street tumult, having first gone mad with his superheated enthu-
siasm. These early books are conceived upon conventional romantic
lines, and hardly gave promise of their author's future fame. They
contain however passages of strong character-drawing, like that of
the Porreños, three ancient spinster sisters of a fallen patrician
house in 'El Audaz,' which are equal to his later work.
He next entered upon an extensive enterprise which soon began
to give him both reputation and profit. This was the writing of a
score of historical romances, after the model of those of Erckmann-
Chatrian, called 'Episódios Nacionales (National Episodes). They
are divided into two series, the first beginning with Trafalgar›
(1873).
the second with 'El Equipaje del Rey José (King Joseph's
Baggage: 1875). They deal with the two modern periods comprising
the deliverance of the country from the usurpation of the French,
and the more obscure struggles against Ferdinand VII. , who sought
to reduce the country under the same absolutist rule that had pre-
vailed before the ideas of the French Revolution liberalized the whole
of Europe.
The history in these romances is intermingled with
personal interests and adventures, to give it an air of informality:
and though each is complete in itself, some knowledge of Spanish
history is desirable as an aid to understanding them. They are con
siderably interlinked among themselves, the same characters appear-
ing more or less in successive volumes.
is one Gabriel, who narrates them all in the first person. He is a
poor boy who becomes servant to a family near Cadiz. He accom-
panies his master on board the huge Santissima Trinidad, the
largest ship of her age, and is able to describe in detail the action
of Trafalgar, the description being the more interesting for us as
coming from the Spanish point of view.
IV. (The Court of Charles IV. : 1873), we find him page to a leading
actress, and an eye-witness to the degeneracy of that monarch and
favorite Godoy, which resulted in the seizure of the country by
In 'La Batalla de los Arapiles'
The hero of the first series
In 'La Corte de Carlos
Napoleon for his brother Joseph.
(translated by Rollo Ogden as The Battle of Salamanca': 1875), the
of the series, the same Gabriel is a major, and performs an
important commission for Wellington. He has risen to this level step
his
last
Step, and on the way has had as many adventures as one of
Dumas's guardsmen, and has carried them off as gallantly. In the
second series of 'Episódios,' Salvador Monsalud is the principal char-
He is a young fellow who is led by dire want- and also by
acter.
by
## p. 6160 (#130) ###########################################
6160
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
sharing the liberalized French view of the decadence and worth-
lessness of the Spanish form of rule-to take service in the body-
guard of Joseph Bonaparte. A chapter full of strength and pathos,
in King Joseph's Baggage,' shows him disowned by his mother and
cast off by his village sweetheart on account of such service, both of
them frantic with a spirit of independence like that which animated
the Maid of Saragossa. A feature of this book that gives it ori-
ginality is that the action turns not upon the usual principal features
of battle, but upon the fate of the rich baggage train of booty with
which Joseph Bonaparte had hoped to escape to France after his
brief, disastrous reign.
The 'Episódios' have had an extensive influence, and have been
imitated, under a like title, in the Spanish Americas. The author's
tone toward the past is generally severe and disdainful. "Had Spain,
perchance, a 'constitution' when she was the foremost nation in the
world? " he puts into the mouth of one of his characters, with sar-
donic intent. He has been called unappreciative, and his attitude
towards Spanish antiquity has been protested against by other lead-
ing writers, of more conservative feeling, as unwarranted. These
romances contain some passages showing aversion to the barbarities
of war, but in general they are less humanitarian than those of
Erckmann-Chatrian: they are principally devoted to glorifying Span-
ish fortitude and courage. These books are a great advance upon
the two earlier novels; from the first they showed literary workman-
ship of a high order: they possess ingenuity of plot, sufficient proba-
bility, and graphic power of description, movement, and conversation.
In the latter respects, indeed, they surpass some of the author's later
works that make more serious pretensions.
The wider and more definitely literary reputation of Pérez Galdós
rests upon more than a score of other works, in addition to the above.
These are distinctly novels, as contrasted with romances; and they
treat of contemporary life, in a method that aims to be conscien-
tiously observant and impartial. It is often said, without much reflec-
tion, that we see enough of the things close about us, and need
our literary recreation in the remote and strange. But it must be
recalled that we see those things without the eyes of genius, and he
is a true benefactor who poetizes and dignifies life in making evident
that all of life is vivid with interest, even that part of it nearest to
us, which without such illumination we may have thought devoid
of it. The words in which the ostensible narrator of 'Lo Prohibido'
(Forbidden Fruit: 1885), explains the purpose of his journal may well
enough be taken to exhibit the method of Galdós. It was to set
down "my prosaic adventures, events that in no way differ from
those that fill and make up the lives of other men. I aspire to no
## p. 6161 (#131) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6161
further effects than such as the sincere and unaffected presentation
of the truth may produce; and I have no design upon the reader's
emotions by means of calculated surprises, frights, or conjurer's
tricks, through which things look one way for a time and then turn
out in a manner diametrically opposite. "
The titles of a number of his principal books, not hitherto given,
with dates, are as follows. The dates are those when they were
written, and they were generally published shortly after: 'Doña
Perfecta, 1876; Gloria,' 1876; Torquemada en la Hoguera' (Tor-
quemada at the Stake: 1876); Marianela,' 1878; 'La Familia de Leon
Roch' (Leon Roch's Family: 1878); 'Los Cien Mil Hijos de San Luis'
(The Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis: 1877) of the Episódios;
'Un Faccioso Más' (A Rebel the More: 1879) the completion of the
Episódios; 'La Desheredada' (The Disowned: 1881); 'El Amigo
Manso (Friend Mildman: 1882); El Doctor Centeno,' 1883; Tor-
mento, 1884; 'La de Bringas' (That Mrs. de Bringas: 1884); Fortu-
nata y Jacinta,' 1886; 'Miau,' 1888; 'La Incógnita' (The Unknown:
1889); Realidad' (Reality: 1890); Angel Guerra,' 1891; Torquemada
en la Cruz' (Torquemada on the Cross: 1894); Torquemada en el
Purgatorio (Torquemada in Purgatory: 1894); Torquemada y San
Pedro, 1895; 'Nazarin,' 1895; 'Halma,' 1896.
Even in his new departure, Galdós did not at once enter upon his
final manner. 'Doña Perfecta,' The Family of Leon Roch,' and
'Gloria' are quite distinctly didactic, or "novels with a purpose";
while Marianela' is somewhat cloyingly sentimental, a prose poem
after the manner of Ouida. In spite of all this, however, 'Doña Per-
fecta' has been pronounced by many his best work. It is the one that
has obtained greatest celebrity abroad, and it is the one, all things con-
sidered, likely to be the most satisfactory example of his work to the
English reader. 'La Desheredada' marks the transition to his final
period, and he has put it upon record that with this book the real
difficulties of his vocation began. It is a poignantly affecting story
of a poor girl who was brought up, by a parent half knave and half
insane, to believe that she was not his daughter but that of a noble
house. After his death she undertakes in all good faith to prose-
cute her claim, and is thrown into prison as an impostor. Her heart
is broken by the disillusionment; she cannot adjust herself to life
again without the sweetness of that beguiling belief, and so, in the
end, not having the boldness to die, she throws herself upon the street,
a social outcast. Both in the person of Isidora and others, the
book is a moving treatise on false education. Other leading figures
are her brother, a young "hoodlum" and thief, the burden of whose
career she has also to bear upon her slender shoulders, and the pam-
pered son of the poor Sastres, who have denied themselves bread that
XI-386
## p. 6162 (#132) ###########################################
6162
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
he might have an education and luxuries. He has a hundred fine
schemes for getting a living, but never a one of them includes turn-
ing his hand to a stroke of honest labor.
'El Amigo Manso' is an extended piece of character-drawing, self-
told, in a gently humorous vein. It gives an account of a college
instructor, very benevolent, very methodical and prudent, and a trifle
conceited and patronizing, who is in love with a pretty governess.
By the time he has settled all his judicious pros and cons, the pretty
governess, who really cared nothing about him, is engaged to a suitor
of a more dashing sort. The scenes of Tormento,' 'La de Bringas,'
and 'Miau' are laid chiefly among the class of minor office-holders,
with whose manners the author shows an exhaustive familiarity, and
each has its peculiar tragic situation in itself. 'Realidad,' written
once in the form of a novel, and again as a drama, treats of the
subject of a wife's infidelity, as it might pass in real life, instead of
in the conventional and hackneyed way. Its title seems to propose
to adhere even closer to the exact truth than do the others. There
come to mind, in its suppressed passion and its calm, intellectual,
and bitter philosophy, suggestions both of Ibsen and Suderman.
The banker Orozco, a noble and reserved nature, does not slay his
wife, does not banish her from him, nor even make her reproaches.
Augusta, on her side, wonders if his mind is not giving way. This
bitter commentary on life is as near as her smaller mind can approach
to a comprehension of his magnanimous conduct. The same Augusta,
earlier, has said in conversation, "Real life is the greatest of all
inventors; the only one who is ever ready, fresh, and inexhaustible
in resource. " In these books, however serious, the purpose does not
obtrude to the detriment of art; the reader is left free to draw his
own conclusions, as from events in actual life; the author ostensibly
is neither for nor against, and yet he leaves us in no doubt as to
his decision, always a moral and stimulating one.
The favorite scenes of Galdós's books are in Madrid and the small
suburban resorts round about it, or at the numerous mineral springs
which are so important a feature of Spanish summer life. He him-
self lives at Madrid, but goes for the season to a summer place he
owns on the bold cliffs of the Bay of Biscay, at Santander. There,
too he is near to Pereda, between whom and himself a remarkable
friendship exists. A friendship so strong, warm, and long continued
has been recognized as a notable feature in the careers of both.
is the more remarkable because except in literature, which both set
above everything else, he is violently opposed to most of the views of
Pereda-a conservative of the conservatives, even to the point of
preferring the absolutist pretender Don Carlos for king. Even at
Madrid and at Santander, however, Galdós's scenery is mere stage
It
## p. 6163 (#133) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6163
setting; he does not describe nature sympathetically nor aim to ren-
der local color in an accurate way.
As the action must pass some-
where, he gives it just as much of a setting as will suffice, and seems
satisfied with that. The impression of his books, on the whole, is a
gloomy one. He who sees life clearly must perchance see it darkly,
and few see it more clearly than Galdós. Yet his admirers will not
have it that he is pessimistic, because Nature herself is not pessi-
mistic. Even the sadness of nightfall ought not to be considered
gloomy, they say, with much show of reason, since it is only the
preparation for another day.
William Henry Bishop
THE FIRST NIGHT OF A FAMOUS PLAY, IN THE YEAR 1807
From The Court of Charles IV. Copyright 1888, by W. S. Gottsberger.
Reprinted by permission of George G. Peck, publisher, New York
[Gabriel, a boy of sixteen, has taken service as page with a very charming
actress of the Principe Theatre. Between this theatre and La Cruz exists
the same sort of hostility as between the rival theatres at Venice when Goldoni
inaugurated his reform. La Cruz represents the new and "natural" spirit in
the drama, as against the absurd artificial tradition that had prevailed up to
that time. A part of Gabriel's duties is to go and hiss the plays at that thea-
The principal occasion of this kind is when he accompanies a band, led
by a rival playwright, to the first performance of 'El Sí de las Niñas (The
Maidens' Yes), by the famous Moratin, the leading piece of the new school. ]
tre.
"WHA
THAT an opening! " he [the rival poet and playwright] ex-
claimed, as he listened to the first dialogue between
Don Diego and Simon. "A pretty way to begin a
comedy! The scene a village inn! What can happen of any
interest in a village inn? In all my plays, and they are many,
- though never a one has been represented,- the action opens in
a Corinthian garden, with monumental fountains to the right and
left, and a temple of Juno in the background; or in a wide square
with three regiments drawn up, and in the background the city
of Warsaw, with a bridge, and so forth. And just listen to the
twaddle this old man is made to talk! He is about to marry a
young girl who has been brought up by the nuns of Guadalajara.
Well, is that very remarkable? Is not that a matter of every-
day occurrence ? »
## p. 6164 (#134) ###########################################
6164
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
Pouring out these remarks, that confounded poet did not allow
me to hear a word of the piece, and though I answered all his
comments with humbly acquiescent monosyllables, I only wished
that he would hold his tongue, deuce take him! .
"What a vulgar subject! what low ideas! " he exclaimed, loud
enough for every one to hear. "And this is how comedies are
written! "
on.
"But let us listen to it," said I, finding my chief's comments
quite intolerable. "We can laugh at Moratin afterwards. "
"But I cannot bear such a medley of absurdities," he went
"We do not come to the theatre to see just what is to be
seen any day in the streets, or in every house you go into. If
instead of enlarging on her matrimonial experiences, the lady
were to come in invoking curses on an enemy because he had
killed one-and-twenty of her sons in battle, and left her with
only the twenty-second, still an infant at the breast, and if she
had to carry that one off to save him from being eaten by the
besieged, all dying of famine - then there would be some inter-
est in the plot, and the public would clap their hands till they
were sore. Gabriel, my boy, we must protest, protest vehe-
mently. We must thump the floor with our feet and sticks to
show that we are bored and out of patience. Yawn; open your
mouth till your jaws are dislocated; look about you; let all the
neighbors see that we are people of taste, and utterly weary of
this tiresome and monstrous piece. "
.
No sooner said than done: we began thumping on the floor,
and yawning in chorus, exclaiming, "What a bore! "
"What a
dreary piece! " "What waste of money! " and other phrases to
the same effect; all of which soon bore fruit. The party in the
pit imitated our patriotic example with great exactness.
A gen-
eral murmur of dissatisfaction was presently audible from every
part of the theatre; for though the author had enemies, he had
no lack of friends too, scattered throughout the pit, boxes, and
upper tiers, and they were not slow to protest against our dem-
onstration, sometimes by applauding, and then again by roaring
at us with threats and oaths, to be silent; till a stentorian voice
from the very back of the pit bellowed, "Turn the blackguards
out! " raising a noisy storm of applause that reduced us to silence.
Our poetaster was almost jumping out of his skin with indig-
nation, and persisted in making his remarks as the piece went
on.
## p. 6165 (#135) ###########################################
BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
6165
"A pretty plot indeed! It seems hardly credible that a civilized
nation should applaud it. I would sentence Moratin to the gal-
leys, and forbid his writing such coarse stuff as long as he lives.
So you call this a play, Gabrielito? There is no intrigue, no
plot, no surprise, no catastrophe, no illusion, no quid pro quo; no
attempt at disguising a character to make it seem another — not
even the little complication that comes of two men provoking
each other as enemies, and then discovering that they are father
and son.
If Don Diego now, were to catch his nephew and kill
him out of hand in the cellar, and prepare a banquet and have
a dish of the victim's flesh served up to his bride, well disguised
with spice and bay leaves, there would be some spirit in the
thing. "
I could not, in fact, conceal my enjoyment of the scene, which
seemed to me a masterpiece of nature, grace, and interesting
comedy. The poet however called me to order, abusing me for
deserting to the hostile camp.
"I beg your pardon," said I. "It was a mistake. And yet-
does it not strike you, too, that this scene is not altogether bad? "
"How should you be able to judge? a mere novice who never
wrote a line in your life! Pray what is there in this scene in the
least remarkable, or pathetic, or historical ?
