FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104  
105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   >>   >|  
an, which the people said ought to be exchanged for that of Del Alguazil del Alcalde de Corte. Olivarez divorced him from the woman to whom he was certainly married, and obliged him to marry the daughter of the Duca de Frias. He was called by the people of Madrid a man with two names, the son of three fathers, and the husband of two wives. Le Sage, by substituting the name of Valdeasar for that of Valcancel, proves that he was ignorant of the whole transaction. In the _auto da fe_ which Gil Blas sees at Toledo, and in which his old friends terminate their adventures in so tragical a manner--some of the guilty are represented as wearing _carochas_ on their heads. This is a word altogether without meaning; the real word was _corozas_, a cap worn by criminals as a badge of degradation. Another mistake deserves attention, as supplying the strongest proof of an inaccurate transcriber. "J'espere," says Maitre Joachim to his master, "que je vous servirai tantot un ragout digne d'un _can_tador mayor." The word was not "_can_tador," but "_con_tador mayor," the "ministro de hacienda," or chancellor of the exchequer; a situation under a despotic government of the highest dignity and opulence. So Don Annibal de Chinchilla exclaims--"Me croit-elle un contador mayor," when repelling a demand of a rapacious prostitute. But Le Sage mistook the _o_ of his manuscript for an _a_, and turned a phrase very intelligible into nonsense. We now come to the passage which M. Neufchateau quotes as decisive in favour of Le Sage's claims. It certainly was to be found in no Spanish manuscript. "Don Louis nous mena chez un jeune gentilhomme de ses amis, qu'on appeloit don Gabriel de Pedros. Nous y passames le reste de la journee; nous y soupames meme, et nous n'en sortimes que sur les deux heures apres minuit pour nous en retourner au logis. Nous avions peut-etre fait la moitie du chemin, lorsque nous rencontrames sous nos pieds dans la rue deux hommes etendus par terre. Nous jugeames que c'etoient des malheureux qu'on venoit d'assassiner, et nous nous arretames pour les secourir, s'il en etoit encore temps. Comme nous cherchions a nous instruire, autant que l'obscurite de la nuit nous le pouvoit permettre, de l'etat ou ils se trouvoient, la patrouille arriva. Le commandant nous prit d'abord pour des assassins, et nous fit environner par ses gens; mais il eut meilleure opinion de nous
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104  
105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

manuscript

 

people

 

appeloit

 
Pedros
 
passames
 

journee

 
soupames
 

sortimes

 

Gabriel

 

intelligible


nonsense
 

phrase

 

prostitute

 

mistook

 

turned

 
passage
 

Spanish

 

quotes

 

Neufchateau

 
decisive

favour

 
claims
 

gentilhomme

 

pouvoit

 

permettre

 

obscurite

 

autant

 
encore
 

instruire

 

cherchions


trouvoient

 

environner

 

opinion

 

meilleure

 

assassins

 

arriva

 

patrouille

 

commandant

 

secourir

 

arretames


moitie

 

rapacious

 

lorsque

 

chemin

 

avions

 

minuit

 
retourner
 

rencontrames

 

jugeames

 

etoient