fragments of English language novels

data/benito_english_fragment.txt

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+The sun had set. After the brief interval of twilight the night fell
+calm and dark, and in its gloomy bosom the last sounds of a sleepy
+world died gently away. The traveller went forward on his way,
+hastening his step as night came on; the path he followed was narrow
+and worn by the constant tread of men and beasts, and led gently up a
+hill on whose verdant slopes grew picturesque clumps of wild cherry
+trees, beeches and oaks.--The reader perceives that we are in the north
+of Spain.
+
+Our traveller was a man of middle age, strongly built, tall and
+broad-shouldered; his movements were brisk and resolute, his step
+firm, his manner somewhat rugged, his eye bold and bright; his pace
+was nimble, considering that he was decidedly stout, and he was--the
+reader may at once be told, though somewhat prematurely--as good a
+soul as you may meet with anywhere. He was dressed, as a man in easy
+circumstances should be dressed for a journey in spring weather, with
+one of those round shady hats, which, from their ugly shape, have been
+nicknamed mushrooms (_hongo_), a pair of field-glasses hanging to a
+strap, and a knotted stick which, when he did not use it to support his
+steps, served to push aside the brambles when they flung their thorny
+branches across so as to catch his dress.
+
+He presently stopped, and gazing round the dim horizon, he seemed vexed
+and puzzled. He evidently was not sure of his way and was looking
+round for some passing native of the district who might give him such
+topographical information as might enable him to reach his destination.
+
+"I cannot be mistaken," he said to himself. "They told me to cross the
+river by the stepping-stones--and I did so--then to walk on, straight
+on. And there, to my right, I do in fact, see that detestable town
+which I should call _Villafangosa_ by reason of the enormous amount of
+mud that chokes the streets.--Well then, I can but go 'on, straight
+on'--I rather like the phrase, and if I bore arms, I would adopt it
+for my motto--in order to find myself at last at the famous mines of
+Socartes."
+
+But before he had gone much farther, he added: "I have lost my way,
+beyond a doubt I have lost my way.--This, Teodoro Golfin, is the
+result of your 'on, straight on.' Bah! these blockheads do not know
+the meaning of words; either they meant to laugh at you or else
+they did not know the way to the mines of Socartes. A huge mining
+establishment must be evident to the senses, with its buildings and
+chimneys, its noise of hammers and snorting of furnaces, neighing of
+horses and clattering of machinery--and I neither see, nor hear, nor
+smell anything. I might be in a desert! How absolutely solitary! If I
+believed in witches, I could fancy that Fate intended me this night to
+have the honor of making acquaintance with some. Deuce take it! why is
+there no one to be seen in these parts? And it will be half an hour
+yet before the moon rises. Ah! treacherous Luna, it is you who are to
+blame for my misadventure.--If only I could see what sort of place I
+am in.--However, what could I expect?" and he shrugged his shoulders
+with the air of a vigorous man who scorns danger. "What, Golfin, after
+having wandered all round the world are you going to give in now? The
+peasants were right after all: 'on, straight on.' The universal law of
+locomotion cannot fail me here."
+
+And he bravely set out to test the law, and went on about a kilometre
+farther, following the paths which seemed to start from under his feet,
+crossing each other and breaking off at a short distance, in a thousand
+angles which puzzled and tired him. Stout as his resolution was, at
+last he grew weary of his vain efforts. The paths, which had at first
+all led upwards, began to slope downwards as they crossed each other,
+and at last he came to so steep a slope that he could only hope to get
+to the bottom by rolling down it.
+
+"A pretty state of things!" he exclaimed, trying to console himself for
+this provoking situation by his sense of the ridiculous. "Where have
+you got to now my friend? This is a perfect abyss. Is anything to be
+seen at the bottom. No, nothing, absolutely nothing--the hill-side has
+disappeared, the earth has been dug away. There is nothing to be seen
+but stones and barren soil tinged red with iron. I have reached the
+mines, no doubt of that--and yet there is not a living soul to be seen,
+no smoky chimneys; no noise, not a train in the distance, not even a
+dog barking. What am I to do? Out there the path seems to slope up
+again.--Shall I follow that? Shall I leave the beaten track? Shall I go
+back again? Oh! this is absurd! Either I am not myself or I will reach
+Socartes to-night, and be welcomed by my worthy brother! 'On, straight
+on.'"
+
+He took a step, and his foot sank in the soft and crumbling soil.
+"What next, ye ruling stars? Am I to be swallowed up alive? If only
+that lazy moon would favor us with a little light we might see each
+other's faces--and, upon my soul, I can hardly expect to find Paradise
+at the bottom of this hole. It seems to be the crater of some extinct
+volcano.... Nothing could be easier than a slide down this beautiful
+precipice. What have we here?... A stone; capital--a good seat while I
+smoke a cigar and wait for the moon to rise."
+
+The philosophical Golfin seated himself as calmly as if it were a
+bench by a promenade, and was preparing for his smoke, when he heard a
+voice--yes, beyond a doubt, a human voice, at some little distance--a
+plaintive air, or to speak more accurately, a melancholy chant of a
+single phrase, of which the last cadence was prolonged into a "dying
+fall," and which at last sank into the silence of the night, so softly
+that the ear could not detect when it ceased.
+
+"Come," said the listener, well pleased, "there are some human beings
+about. That was a girl's voice; yes, certainly a girl's, and a lovely
+voice too. I like the popular airs of this country-side. Now it has
+stopped.... Hark! it will soon begin again.... Yes, I hear it once
+more. What a beautiful voice, and what a pathetic air! You might
+believe that it rose from the bowels of the earth, and that Señor
+Golfin, the most matter-of-fact and least superstitious man in this
+world, was going to make acquaintance with sylphs, nymphs, gnomes,
+dryads, and all the rabble rout that obey the mysterious spirit of the
+place.--But, if I am not mistaken, the voice is going farther away--the
+fair singer is departing.... Hi, girl, child, stop--wait a minute!..."
+
+The voice which had for a few minutes so charmed the lost wanderer with
+its enchanting strains was dying away in the dark void, and at the
+shouts of Golfin it was suddenly silent. Beyond a doubt the mysterious
+gnome, who was solacing its underground loneliness by singing its
+plaintive loves, had taken fright at this rough interruption by a human
+being, and fled to the deepest caverns of the earth, where precious
+gems lay hidden, jealous of their own splendor.
+
+"This is a pleasant state of things--" muttered Golfin, thinking that
+after all he could do no better than light his cigar.--"There seems no
+reason why it should not go on for a hundred years. I can smoke and
+wait. It was a clever idea of mine that I could walk up alone to the
+mines of Socartes. My luggage will have got there before me--a signal
+proof of the advantages of 'on, straight on.'"
+
+A light breeze at this instant sprang up, and Golfin fancied he
+heard the sound of footsteps at the bottom of the unknown--or
+imaginary--abyss before him; he listened sharply, and in a minute felt
+quite certain that some one was walking below. He stood up and shouted:
+
+"Girl, man, or whoever you are, can I get to the mines of Socartes by
+this road?"
+
+He had not done speaking when he heard a dog barking wildly, and then a
+manly voice saying: "Choto, Choto! come here!"
+
+"Hi there!" cried the traveller. "My good friend--man, boy, demon, or
+whatever you are, call back your dog, for I am a man of peace."
+
+"Choto, Choto!..."
+
+Golfin could make out the form of a large, black dog coming towards
+him, but after sniffing round him it retired at its master's call;
+and at that moment the traveller could distinguish a figure, a man,
+standing as immovable as a stone image, at about ten paces below him,
+on a slanting pathway which seemed to cut across the steep incline.
+This path, and the human form standing there, became quite clear now to
+Golfin, who, looking up to the sky, exclaimed:
+
+"Thank God! here is the mad moon at last; now we can see where we are.
+I had not the faintest notion that a path existed so close to me, why,
+it is quite a road. Tell me, my friend, do you know whether the mines
+of Socartes are hereabout?"
+
+"Yes, Señor, these are the mines of Socartes; but we are at some
+distance from the works."
+
+The voice which spoke thus was youthful and pleasant, with the
+attractive inflection that indicates a polite readiness to be of
+service. The doctor was well pleased at detecting this, and still
+better pleased at observing the soft light, which was spreading through
+the darkness and bringing resurrection to earth and sky, as though
+calling them forth from nothingness.
+
+"_Fiat lux!_" he said, going forward down the slope. "I feel as if I
+had just emerged into existence from primeval chaos.... Indeed, my good
+friend, I am truly grateful to you for the information you have given
+me, and for the farther information you no doubt will give me. I left
+Villamojada as the sun was setting.--They told me to go on, straight
+on...."
+
+"Are you going to the works?" asked the strange youth, without stirring
+from the spot or looking up towards the doctor, who was now quite near
+him.
+
+"Yes, Señor; but I have certainly lost my way."
+
+"Well, this is not the entrance to the mines. The entrance is by the
+steps at Rabagones, from which the road runs and the tram-way that
+they are making. If you had gone that way you would have reached the
+works in ten minutes. From here it is a long way, and a very bad road.
+We are at the outer circle of the mining galleries, and shall have to
+go through passages and tunnels, down ladders, through cuttings, up
+slopes, and then down the inclined plane; in short, cross the mines
+from this side to the other, where the workshops are and the furnaces,
+the machines and the smelting-house."
+
+"Well, I seem to have been uncommonly stupid," said Golfin, laughing.
+
+"I will guide you with much pleasure, for I know every inch of the
+place."
+
+Golfin, whose feet sank in the loose earth, slipping here and tottering
+there, had at last reached the solid ground of the path, and his first
+idea was to look closely at the good-natured lad who addressed him.
+For a minute or two he was speechless with surprise.
+
+"You!" he said, in a low voice.
+
+"I am blind, it is true, Señor," said the boy. "But I can run without
+seeing from one end to the other of the mines of Socartes. This stick I
+carry prevents my stumbling, and Choto is always with me, when I have
+not got Nela with me, who is my guide. So, follow me, Señor, and allow
+me to guide you."
+
+

data/emilia_english_fragment.txt

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+Behind the pine grove the setting sun had left a zone of fire
+against which the trunks of the pine trees stood out like bronze
+columns. The path was rugged and uneven, giving evidence of the
+ravages wrought by the winter rains; at intervals loose stones,
+looking like teeth detached from the gum, rendered it still more
+impracticable. The melancholy shades of twilight were beginning to
+envelop the landscape; little by little the sunset glow faded away
+and the moon, round and silvery, mounted in the heavens, where the
+evening star was already shining. The dismal croaking of the frogs
+fell sharply on the ear; a fresh breeze stirred the dry plants and
+the dusty brambles that grew by the roadside; and the trunks of the
+pine trees grew momentarily blacker, standing out like inky bars
+against the pale green of the horizon.
+
+A man was descending the path slowly, bent, apparently, on
+enjoying the poetry and the peace of the scene and the hour. He
+carried a stout walking-stick, and as far as one could judge in the
+fading light, he was young and not ill-looking.
+
+He paused frequently, casting glances to the right and to the
+left as if in search of some familiar landmark. Finally he stood
+still and looked around him. At his back was a hill crowned with
+chestnut trees; on his left was the pine grove; on his right a small
+church with a mean belfry; before him the outlying houses of the
+town. He turned, walked back some ten steps, stopped, fronting the
+portico of the church, examined its walls, and, satisfied at last
+that he had found the right place, raised his hands to his mouth and
+forming with them a sort of speaking trumpet, cried, in a clear
+youthful voice:
+
+"Echo, let us talk together!"
+
+From the angle formed by the walls, there came back instantly
+another voice, deeper and less distinct, strangely grave and
+sonorous, which repeated with emphasis, linking the answer to the
+question and dwelling upon the final syllable:
+
+"Let us talk togethe-e-e-e-r!"
+
+"Are you happy?"
+
+"Happy-y-y-y!" responded the echo.
+
+"Who am I?"
+
+"I-I-I-I!"
+
+To these interrogations, framed so that the answer should make
+sense with them, succeeded phrases uttered without any other object
+than that of hearing them reverberated with strange intensity by the
+wall. "It is a lovely night."--"The moon is shining."--"The sun has
+set."--"Do you hear me, echo?"--"Have you dreams, echo, of glory,
+ambition, love?" The traveler, enchanted with his occupation,
+continued the conversation, varying the words, combining them into
+sentences, and, in the short intervals of silence, he listened to the
+faint murmur of the pines stirred by the evening breeze, and to the
+melancholy concert of the frogs. The crimson and rose-colored clouds
+had become ashen and had begun to invade the broad region of the
+firmament over which the unclouded moon shed her silvery light. The
+honeysuckles and elder-flowers on the outskirts of the pine grove
+embalmed the air with subtle and intoxicating fragrance. And the
+interlocutor of the echo, yielding to the poetic influences of the
+scene, ceased his questions and exclamations and began to recite, in
+a slow, chanting voice, verses of Becquer, paying no heed now to the
+voice from the wall, which, in its haste to repeat his words,
+returned them to him broken and confused.
+
+Absorbed in his occupation, pleased with the harmonious sounds of
+the verse, he did not notice the approach of three men of odd and
+grotesque appearance, wearing enormous broad-brimmed felt hats. One
+of the men was leading a mule laden with a leathern sack filled,
+doubtless, with the juice of the grape; and as they walked slowly,
+and the soft clayey soil deadened the noise of their footsteps, they
+passed close by the young man, unperceived by him. They exchanged
+some whispered words with one another. "Who is he,
+man?"--"Segundo."--"The lawyer's son?"--"The same."--"What is he
+doing? Is he talking to himself?"--"No, he is talking to the wall of
+Santa Margarita."--"Well, we have as good a right to do that as he
+has."--"Begin you ----"--"One--two--here goes----"
+
+And from those profane lips fell a shower of vile words and
+coarse and vulgar phrases, interrupting the _Oscuras Golondrinas_
+which the young man was reciting with a great deal of expression, and
+producing, in the peaceful and harmonious nocturnal silence, the
+effect of the clatter of brass pans and kettles in a piece of German
+music. The most refined expressions were in the following style:
+"D---- (here an oath). Hurrah for the wine of the Border! Hurrah for
+the red wine that gives courage to man! D----" (the reader's
+imagination may supply what followed, it being premised that the
+disturbers of the Becquerian dreamer were three lawless muleteers who
+were carrying with them an abundant provision of the blood of the
+grape).
+
+The nymph who dwelt in the wall opposed no resistance to the
+profanation and repeated the round oaths as faithfully as she had
+repeated the poet's verses. Hearing the vociferations and bursts of
+laughter which the wall sent back to him mockingly, Segundo, the
+lawyer's son, aware that the barbarians were turning his sentimental
+amusement into ridicule, became enraged. Mortified and ashamed, he
+tightened his grasp on his stick, strongly tempted to break it on the
+ribs of some one of them; and, muttering between his teeth, "Kaffirs!
+brutes! beasts!" and other offensive epithets, he turned to the left,
+plunged into the pine grove and walked toward the town, avoiding the
+path in order to escape meeting the profane trio.
+
+The town was but a step away. The walls of its nearest houses
+shone white in the moonlight, and the stones of some buildings in
+course of erection, garden walls, orchards, and vegetable beds,
+filled up the space between the town and the pine grove. The path
+grew gradually broader, until it reached the highroad, on either side
+of which leafy chestnut trees cast broad patches of shade. The town
+was already asleep, seemingly, for not a light was to be seen, nor
+were any of those noises to be heard which reveal the proximity of
+those human beehives called cities. Vilamorta is in reality a very
+small beehive, a modest town, the capital of a district. Bathed in
+the splendor of the romantic satellite, however, it was not without a
+certain air of importance imparted to it by the new buildings, of a
+style of architecture peculiar to prison cells, which an
+_Americanized_ Galician, recently returned to his native land with a
+plentiful supply of cash, was erecting with all possible expedition.
+
+Segundo turned into an out-of-the-way street--if there be any
+such in towns like Vilamorta. Only the sidewalks were paved; the
+gutter was a gutter in reality; it was full of muddy pools and heaps
+of kitchen garbage, thrown there without scruple by the inhabitants.
+Segundo avoided two things--stepping into the gutter and walking in
+the moonlight. A man passed so close by him as almost to touch him,
+enveloped, notwithstanding the heat, in an ample cloak, and holding
+open above his head an enormous umbrella, although there was no sign
+of rain; doubtless he was some convalescent, some visitor to the
+springs, who was breathing the pleasant night air with hygienic
+precautions. Segundo, when he saw him, walked closer to the houses,
+turning his face aside as if afraid of being recognized. With no less
+caution he crossed the Plaza del Consistorio, the pride of Vilamorta,
+and then, instead of joining one of the groups who were enjoying the
+fresh air, seated on the stone benches round the public fountain, he
+slipped into a narrow side street, and crossing a retired little
+square shaded by a gigantic poplar turned his steps in the direction
+of a small house half hidden in the shadow of the tree. Between the
+house and Segundo there stood a lumbering bulk--the body of a
+stage-coach, a large box on wheels, its shafts raised in air,
+waiting, lance in rest, as it were, to renew the attack. Segundo
+skirted the obstacle, and as he turned the corner of the square,
+absorbed in his meditations, two immense hogs, monstrously fat,
+rushed out of the half-open gate of a neighboring yard, and at a
+short trot that made their enormous sides shake like jelly, made
+straight for the admirer of Becquer, entangling themselves stupidly
+and blindly between his legs. By a special interposition of
+Providence the young man did not measure his length upon the ground,
+but, his patience now exhausted, he gave each of the swine a couple
+of angry kicks, which drew from them sharp and ferocious grunts, as
+he ejaculated almost audibly: "What a town is this, good Heavens!
+Even the hogs must run against one in the streets. Ah, what a
+miserable place! Hell itself could not be worse!"
+
+By the time he had reached the door of the house, he had, to some
+extent, regained his composure. The house was small and pretty and
+had a cheerful air. There was no railing outside the windows, only
+the stone ledges, which were covered with plants in pots and boxes;
+through the windows shaded by muslin curtains a light could be seen
+burning, and in the silent façade there was something peaceful and
+attractive that invited one to enter. Segundo pushed open the door
+and almost at the same instant there was heard in the dark hall the
+rustling of skirts, a woman's arms were opened and the admirer of
+Becquer, throwing himself into them, allowed himself to be led,
+dragged, carried bodily, almost, up the stairs, and into the little
+parlor where, on a table covered with a white crochet cover, burned a
+carefully trimmed lamp. There, on the sofa, the lover and the lady
+seated themselves.
+
+Truth before all things. The lady was not far from thirty-six or
+thirty-seven, and what is worse, could never have been pretty, or
+even passably good-looking. The smallpox had pitted and hardened her
+coarse skin, giving it the appearance of the leather bottom of a
+sieve. Her small black eyes, hard and bright like two fleas, matched
+well her nose, which was thick and ill-shaped, like the noses of the
+figures of lay monks stamped on chocolate. True, the mouth was
+fresh-colored, the teeth white and sound like those of a dog; but
+everything else pertaining to her--dress, manner, accent, the want of
+grace of the whole--was calculated rather to put tender thoughts to
+flight than to awaken them. With the lamp shining as brightly as it
+does, it is preferable to contemplate the lover. The latter is of
+medium height, has a graceful, well-proportioned figure, and in the
+turn of his head and in his youthful features there is something that
+irresistibly attracts and holds the gaze. His forehead, which is high
+and straight, is shaded and set off by luxuriant hair, worn somewhat
+longer than is allowed by our present severe fashion. His face, thin
+and delicately outlined, casts a shadow on the walls which is made up
+of acute angles. A mustache, curling with the grace which is peculiar
+to a first mustache, and to the wavy locks of a young girl, shades
+but does not cover his upper lip. The beard has not yet attained its
+full growth; the muscles of the throat have not yet become prominent;
+the Adam's apple does not yet force itself on the attention. The
+complexion is dark, pale, and of a slightly bilious hue.
+
+Seeing this handsome youth leaning his head on the shoulder of
+this woman of mature age and undisguised ugliness, it would have been
+natural to take them for mother and son, but anyone coming to this
+conclusion, after a single moment's observation, would have shown
+scant penetration, for in the manifestations of maternal affection,
+however passionate and tender they may be, there is always a
+something of dignity and repose which is wanting in those of every
+other affection.
+
+Doubtless Segundo felt a longing to see the moon again, for he
+rose almost immediately from his seat on the sofa and crossed over to
+the window, his companion following him. He threw open the sash, and
+they sat down side by side in two low chairs whose seats were on a
+level with the flower-pots. A fine carnation regaled the sense with
+its intoxicating perfume; the moon lighted up with her silvery rays
+the foliage of the poplar that cast broad shadow over the little
+square. Segundo opened the conversation this wise:
+
+"Have you made any cigars for me?"
+
+"Here are some," she answered, putting her hand into her pocket
+and drawing from it a bundle of cigars. "I was able to make only a
+dozen and a half for you. I will complete the two dozen to-night
+before I go to bed."
+
+There was a moment's silence, broken by the sharp sound made by
+the striking of the match and then, in a voice muffled by the first
+puff of smoke, Segundo went on:
+
+"Why, has anything new happened?"
+
+"New? No. The children--putting the house in order--and
+then--Minguitos. He made my head ache with his complaining--he
+complained the whole blessed evening. He said his bones ached. And
+you? Very busy, killing yourself reading, studying, writing, eh? Of
+course!"
+
+"No, I have been taking a delightful walk. I went to Peñas-albas
+and returned by way of Santa Margarita. I have seldom spent a
+pleasanter evening."
+
+"I warrant you were making verses."
+
+"No, my dear. The verses I made I made last night after leaving
+you."
+
+"Ah! And you weren't going to repeat them to me. Come, for the
+love of the saints, come, recite them for me, you must know them by
+heart. Come, darling."
+
+To this vehement entreaty succeeded a passionate kiss, pressed on
+the hair and forehead of the poet. The latter raised his eyes, drew
+back a little and, holding his cigar between his fingers after
+knocking off the ashes with his nail, proceeded to recite.
+
+The offspring of his muse was a poem in imitation of Becquer. His
+auditor, who listened to it with religious attention, thought it
+superior to anything inspired by the muse of the great Gustave. And
+she asked for another and then another, and then a bit of Espronceda
+and then a fragment or two of Zorrilla. By this time the cigar had
+gone out; the poet threw away the stump and lighted a fresh one. Then
+they resumed their conversation.
+
+"Shall we have supper soon?"
+
+"Directly. What do you think I have for you?"
+
+"I haven't the least idea."
+
+"Think of what you like best. What you like best, better than
+anything else."
+
+"Bah! You know that so far as I am concerned, provided you don't
+give me anything smoked or greasy----"
+
+"A French omelet! You couldn't guess, eh? Let me tell you--I
+found the receipt in a book. As I had heard that it was something
+good I wanted to try it. I had always made omelets as they make them
+here, so stiff, that you might throw one against the wall without
+breaking it. But this--I think it will be to your taste. As for me, I
+don't like it much, I prefer the old style. I showed Flores how to
+make it. What was in the one you ate at the inn at Orense? Chopped
+parsley, eh?"
+
+"No, ham. But what difference does it make what was in it?"
+
+"I'll run and take it out of the pantry! I thought--the book says
+parsley! Wait, wait."
+
+She overturned her chair in her haste. An instant later the
+jingling of her keys and the opening and closing of a couple of doors
+were heard in the distance. A husky voice muttered some
+unintelligible words in the kitchen. In two minutes she was back
+again.
+
+"Tell me, and those verses, are you not going to publish them? Am
+I not going to see them in print?"
+
+"Yes," responded the poet, slowly turning his head to one side
+and sending a puff of smoke through his lips. "I am going to send
+them to Vigo, to Roberto Blanquez, to insert them in the _Amanecer_."
+
+"I am delighted! You will become famous, sweetheart! How many
+periodicals have spoken of you?"
+
+Segundo laughed ironically and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Not many." And with a somewhat preoccupied air he let his gaze
+wander over the plants and far away over the top of the poplar whose
+leaves rustled gently in the breeze. The poet pressed his companion's
+hand mechanically, and the latter returned the pressure with
+passionate ardor.
+
+"Of course. How do you expect them to speak of you when you don't
+put your name to your verses?" she said. "They don't know whose they
+are. They are wondering, likely----"
+
+"What difference does the name make? They could say the same
+things of the pseudonym I have adopted as of Segundo García. The few
+people who will trouble themselves to read my verses will call me the
+Swan of Vilamorta."
+