Romantic legends of Spain

A word regarding the circumstances under which this translation was made will be pardoned by all children of dear mothers.

Mrs. Cornelia Frances Bates (1826-1908), a graduate of Mount Holyoke in the days of Mary Lyon and the widow of a Congregational minister, took up the study of Spanish at the age of seventy-one. Until her death ten years later, the proverbial ten years of “labor and sorrow,” her Spanish readings and translations were a keen intellectual delight. Her Spanish Bible, from which she had committed many passages to memory, was found at her death no less worn than her English one. Even a few hours before dying, she repeated in Spanish, without the failure of a syllable, the Shepherd’s Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer.

So youthful was her spirit that, of the various modern Spanish works with which she became acquainted, nothing fascinated her so much as Becquer’s strange, romantic tales. The wilder they were, the brighter would be the eager face, under its soft white cap, bent over the familiar little green volumes and the great red dictionary. Seeing the pleasure she took in these legends and learning that no complete English translation existed, I suggested that we unite in a “Becquer Book.” Her full share of the work was promptly done; mine was delayed; and the volume--which we had meant to inscribe to my sister--becomes her own memorial.

Gratitude for helpful suggestions is due to the late Mr. Frederick Gulick of Auburndale, Mass., formerly of San Sebastian, and to Señorita Carolina Marcial, formerly of Seville and now of Wellesley College. Especial and most cordial acknowledgment is made of the critical reading given the entire manuscript by Miss Alice H. Bushée of the Colegio Internacional, Madrid.

K. L. B.

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE v

GUSTAVO ADOLFO BECQUER xi

FOREWORD 1

MASTER PÉREZ THE ORGANIST 5

A Tale of Seville

THE EMERALD EYES 23

A Legend of the Moncayo

THE GOLDEN BRACELET 32

A Tale of Toledo

THE RAY OF MOONSHINE 40

A Tale of Soria

THE DEVIL’S CROSS 52

A Legend of the Eastern Pyrenees

THREE DATES 72

Reminiscences of Toledo

THE CHRIST OF THE SKULL 93

A Legend of Toledo

THE WHITE DOE 105

A Legend of Aragon

THE PASSION ROSE 126

A Legend of Toledo

BELIEVE IN GOD 137

A Legend of the Montagut Valley in Tarragona

THE PROMISE 151

A Legend of Soria

THE KISS 163

A Tale of Toledo

THE SPIRITS’ MOUNTAIN 179

A Legend of Soria

THE CAVE OF THE MOOR’S DAUGHTER 189

A Legend of Fitero

THE GNOME 196

A Tale of the Moncayo

THE MISERERE 214

A Legend of Fitero

STRANGE! 226

A Story of Madrid

WITHERED LEAVES 239

A Phantasy

THE SET OF EMERALDS 244

A story of Madrid

THE TAVERN OF THE CATS 252

An Idyl of Andalusia

ALL SOULS’ NIGHT 266

In Madrid

ILLUSTRATIONS

THE CATHEDRAL, TOLEDO Frontispiece

PAGE

THE CATHEDRAL, SEVILLE 8

A CITY SQUARE, TOLEDO 32

THE BRIDGE OF TOLEDO 40

CLOISTER OF SAN JUAN DE LOS REYES 74

THE VISAGRA GATE 94

A MOORISH WINDOW 126

THE MONASTERY OF MONTSERRAT 146

AN ANCIENT CASTLE 156

PALACE OF CARLOS V, TOLEDO 164

A MOUNTAIN PASS 182

A MOUNTAIN GROTTO 190

GIRLS AT THE FOUNTAIN 198

A MONASTERY COURT 216

A SEÑORITA 246

A RUINED CLOISTER 266

GUSTAVO ADOLFO BECQUER