—33→
With the exception of the brief though interesting comments made by Hinterhäuser on the element of pastiche in the style of the Episodios nacionales, little attention has been paid to the conscious literary craftsmanshipthat Galdós demonstrated in the process of writing these novels.92 Our knowledge of Galdós' own view of his creative activity still depends almost entirely on a small number of comments scattered through his work. There is a brief description of his historical documentation in the Memorias.93 Unlike pulp-novelists like Pérez Escrich, Galdós did not reveal all to his readers.94 He was very spare in his public comments on the central problem of fusing history and fiction, but in 1910 he did make the following remarks: «Ahora estoy preparando el cañamazo, es decir el tinglado histórico... Una vez abocetado el fondo histórico y político de la novela, inventaré la intriga.»95 This suggests the primacy of historical theme over stylistic nuance and fictional verisimilitude in the composition of the novels. In relation to the style of the novels, Galdós revealed an unsophisticated, almost neo-classical view in an interview recorded by Luis Bello:
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Para mí el estilo empieza en el plan... En general, los arrepentimientos que tengo no son por errores de estilo, sino por precipitaciones de plan... Sería demasiada inocencia si yo me entretuviera en estos perfiles con tantas cosas como tengo que contar. Pero me resigno. Acepto la limitación.96 |
The remarks show how Galdós accepted the possible structural defects which might arise simply from the amount of material he had to relate.
However, it is now possible to go beyond these generalities and the hazy picture of Galdós producing the Episodios at a rate of one every two months in order to make a quick peseta in the best tradition of the feuilletoniste.97 All the proofs, and six manuscripts of the Third Series are now accessible.98 A study of these and the plans, memoranda and notes in the Las Palmas archive gives a much clearer view of the particular artistic problems Galdós had in composing the novels of this Series. Since the blending of a large amount of historical data and imaginative material presents difficulties peculiar to the historical novel, specialised extra-textual information gathered from the novelist's plans and progressive revisions can help the reader to assess his own reaction to the text. An understanding of Galdós at work will thus enrich the literary evaluation of the final product. The analysis of the writer's creative activity will clarify what he actually achieved. It win also provide a valuable insight into the effect of his readership's taste on this achievement.
The effect of the novels is not what knowledge of Galdós' method of composition would suggest. Although Galdós the researcher sorted out history —34→ first in the novels, the historical events are not always necessarily in the foreground. All the Series abound in orphans, romantic intrigue, eccentric characters and coincidence. Fictional characters are given an importance at least equal to that of historical figures. The reader's interest is maintained by developments in the lives of the fictional characters as well as by the course of Spanish history. Their personal crises reflect on the crisis of Spain. This aspect of the Episodios is itself an expression of Galdós' view that history is not simply dates, big events and the activities of the nobility or politicians, but these things as experienced by ordinary people.99
Galdós' method in developing the narrative was not to prepare a masterplan for every part of the Series. He had the general historical scheme which he outlined in his letter to Maura.100 As he went along, he would draw up memoranda of political and historical facts, and bring together sources on important events. The events in the private lives of his fictional characters would be worked out step-by-step with the historical Progression. He would also assemble memoranda of the dates and family relations of his fictional characters, so that he could have a general idea of their development. In the Galdós archive there is a memorandum concerning don Beltrán, and in carpeta 35, legajo 1, there are also the following genealogical details of the Sariñán family:
—35→
These are two possible chronologies for the family of Pilar Loaysa and Juana Teresa. The outlines show how the novelist took care to establish as precisely as possible imaginary dates for his minor branch of the aristocracy so that they would be consistent with historical fact and the internal history of his fiction. In this case, he decided not to make the question of age a feature of the rivalry between Pilar and Juana. The scheming, mercenary attitudes of Juana are the result of her «sangre de los Almontes de Tarazona» (OC, III, 431b). The chronological detail in the outline is not present in the novels themselves.
Galdós' actual bringing together of the movement of history and the fortunes of his fictional families is a crucial factor in the evaluation of the Episodios' structure. Contemporary critics of the stature of Leopoldo Alas and Gómez de Baquero accepted Galdós' use of the techniques of popular serial fiction.101 Their judgement must surely reflect the feelings of the reading public of the day. Nor will the modern critic reject the Episodios as works of art merely because of their use of the techniques of melodramatic fiction. Galdós himself has spoken of the «precipitaciones de plan» imposed by the historical material he had to relate. He was resigned to this limitation which he saw as unavoidable. Characters have to move from one part of Spain to another in order to allow Galdós to describe all major historical developments. This is a limitation of the genre of the historical novel.
One can trace through the first three Series of Episodios a significant development in Galdós integration of his fiction. For example, a common technique he uses is to introduce information about contemporary cultural life in order to add to local colour. In La Corte de Carlos IV, the second novel of the First Series, Gabriel Araceli has become the servant of the actress, Pepita González. The opening chapters are packed with information about Madrid theatre life, and there is a description of the first performance of El sí de las niñas. This material never becomes more than interesting background (OC, I, 255-64). By Los apostólicos, the penultimate novel of the Second Series, the details of literary fashions are more sensitively handled and become much more than just background. Jenara Baraona's search for her lover provides a thread in the plot which forms both an ironic commentary on the feuilleton plot and on the life of the Romantic radicals. When she hears of the imprisonment of a conspirator, she thinks it must be him, and is continually disappointed (OC, II, 646-47). Galdós consciously plays with the absurdities of some of the fictional developments. In a serious digression on the young French Romantics, Hernani is described as a play full of nonsensical psychological twists which nevertheless expresses the vigorous idealism of the movement. This provides an ironic counterpoint to the extremely unlikely reason for Benigno Cordero's visit to La Granja and to earlier typically Romantic coincidences (OC, II, 654-58). Similarly, the long well-written description of neo-classical man's attempt to control Nature in the design of the gardens is not just an interesting digression. There is an ironic contrast between the formal control exercised by the Spanish monarchy over its gardens and its inability to control in an orderly way the affairs of Spanish society, so evident in the intrigue surrounding the moribund Fernando VII (OC, II, —36→ 658-67). The growing literary sophistication presages the novelist's use of irony in Mendizábal and elsewhere in the Third Series.
* * *
An analysis of a variety of passages from this Series will reveal in a detailed way the extent to which Galdós successfully sustained that development. The significant changes which he made at the manuscript and proof stages help show how he developed the fiction.102 Sometimes, he worked as a conscious artist. Sometimes, he adapted uncritically the ways of the feuilletonistes and pandered to what seem to a modern reader the worst aspects of Restoration taste. There will be an anlysis of two set-scenes which are almost entirely fictional, and this will be followed by the analysis of a major historical setpiece, the siege of Bilbao. Such set-scenes are an important part of the narrative of the Episodios.
The first passage is from Mendizábal. It consists of a tertulia, a scene constantly recurring in the novels since it provides an obvious way of introducing characters and describing a particular historical and social milieu. In the course of his mysterious entry into Madrid society, Calpena has to take a box to Carlos Maturana, the well-known Madrid jeweller. The box contains a jewel and a fan of great fame. The historical colour of the episode appealed to the fin-de-siècle Madrid nostalgia for the bric-à-brac and finery of the European aristocracy. Galdós heightens the nostalgic element of the conversation in which Maturana describes the contents of Fernando's box, by broadening the historical reference and sharpening the flow of dialogue.
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-Esto que es un joyel de pelo convertido en alfiler de pecho con poco arte [?] prenda que conozco como a mis propios dedos. No me equivoco, no es la misma esmeralda de aguas medianas con cerco de brillantes en plata. [...] Es la misma joya, la que perteneció con otras del mismo estilo, a la Vallabriga, la esposa del Infante D. Luis [...] ¡Caramba, qué hermoso brillante! Talla antigua de Amsterdam, bastante mejor que la que se hace ahora... Vea usted. |
| ME, proof 4 | ||
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-Esto es un joyel de los que usaban en los peinados Pompadour, convertido en alfiler de pecho con poco arte; conozco esta prenda como a mis propios dedos. No me equivoco, no; es la misma. Esmeralda hialina del Perú, superior, con cerco de brillantes en plata. [...] Es la misma joya, la que perteneció, con otras del propio estilo, a la Vallabriga, la esposa del infante don Luis [...] ¡Caramba, qué hermoso brillante!... Talla de Amsterdam, 64 facetas... Vea usted qué tabla y qué culata... |
| OC, II, 949a | ||
(The changes introduced by Galdós are italicized.)
The jewel is changed from the anonymous «joyel de pelo» to the kind worn on «peinados Pompadour». From a modest emerald «de aguas medianas» it becomes a superior Peruvian variety, South American exoticism is added to local colour. The breaking up of the sentence «No me... en plata» adds undoubtedly to the sense of real dialogue. The semi-colon after the second «no» was necessary to avoid the ambiguity of the sentence as it stood. A touch of humour comes with the lively invention of the adjective «hialina» after Maturana's dealer, Madame Aline. The changing of «mismo» to «propio» —37→ avoids the repetition of «mismo» in the same sentence. The dialogue is further strengthened by the elimination of the flat-sounding «bastante mejor que la que se hace ahora», which is replaced by lively exclamations far more appropriate from a knowledgeable jeweller. This is the section of the description of the tertulia most changed by Galdós, but the same pattern of improvements can be traced elsewhere. Historical detail is added and enlarged upon during the conversation about the fan. The names of Lancret and Lefebvre are inserted as makers of the fan. The name of one previous owner is changed -Lola Montes is replaced by a Poniatowsky as a proud possessor for fouryears. This detail links up the fan with feuilleton revelations much later in the series about Prince Poniatowsky being the father of Fernando Calpena.103
The critic of Blanco y negro, in his review of Mendizábal, singled out the episode of the fan for special comment and dwelt lyrically on Fernando's valuables and their past adventures in the salons and boudoirs of the European nobility.104 That is certainly one response Galdós hoped to arouse. At the same time, he has made the dialogue crisper, and created a style which is richer in specific detail than that of the feuilleton. He is fully in control of the description of the Madrid salons. Such scenes are important in Mendizábal in creating the historical atmosphere. Within the Series, they help build up the image of the artificiality of Madrid life, contrasting both with the brutality of civil war and the industrial endeavours of the Basque provinces.
The second passage I wish to analyse is in a completely different mood and comes from the later stages of De Oñate a la Granja (OC, II, 1104b-1109a). It is typical of a highly-charged sentimental scene from serial fiction and typical of the emotional episodes which Galdós injects into his historical narrative. Calpena has had to flee from Oñate as the liberal troops approach and has agreed to look after Demetria, Gracia and their quixotic father. The route home to La Guardia must pass through Aránzazu. Galdós completely rewrote this account of the experiences of the refugees in the heart of the Basque countryside. The first version is crossed out on the back of later folios of the De Oñate a la Granja manuscript.105 The basis of the change is a desire for greater historical accuracy. According to the first version, the refugees wait outside the monastery of Aránzazu, where at day-break they are given shelter by the monks. The girls' father is buried in the monastery. In fact, the monastery was destroyed by General Rodil in August 1834. Galdós must have discovered this at a late stage in the writing of the novel and was forced to rewrite the sequence. Whatever the source of his correct information may have been, in the final version he changed not only the facts but also the mood of the description, revealing more than a concern for historical accuracy.
The refugees' guide recounts the destruction of the monastery by Rodil as soon as Aránzazu is sighted. A ruined monastery with the accompanying Romantic symbolism of death and melancholy provides a resting place for the weary travellers. The description of the sombre atmosphere contrasts with the peaceful harmony awaiting them in La Guardia. The tranquillity, comfort and consolation, the restful «albergue de peregrinos»106 of the first version disappear: what remain in the ruins are novels made of «vigas medic, quemadas y pedazos de cascote». The surprising praise of the Virgin from the radical Calpena is removed, and in its place he gives the sisters humorous, almost —38→ mocking advice: «Sí, sí -les dijo Calpena-, recen un ratito. Aunque no lo parece, aquí están en la iglesia. Vean estos machones de sillería gótica...» They are welcomed not by the Prior and his monks, but by the humble «carboneros». Demetria loses her opportunity for a sentimental dialogue with the Prior on the genealogy of the Barrabustes and the fine, patriarchal reputation of the Castro-Amézagas (the detail shows how fond Galdós was of creating extensions to his fictional world of rural nobility in the Third Series). However, the charcoal-burner who cannot speak Castilian, and the man from Burgos who can, add some realistic local colour. In the final version, Calpena plays a more active role and begins his long journey on the road to marriage with great seriousness. This provides a balance to the last section of the novel when it is Demetria who looks after his welfare.
Although these are improvements, the final version remains artistically trapped within the limitations of the feuilleton. The tearful upper-class orphans sense their loss in the most stylised language. The travellers emerge from «la inmensa obscuridad». The girls cry «encalmadas en la hondura de su pena con resignación sublime». God wills that they must «apurar hasta el fin las amargas heces del cáliz». Galdós caters for his readership's taste by intensifying the sentimentality in the final version, a sentimentality which fills out so many of the family dramas of the Episodios. The new historical circumstance poses a problem. In the absence of the monks, Don Alonso will not receive last rites. The Castro-Amézagas of noble Christian lineage would have expected them, as would the readers who liked this aspect of the Episodios. Galdós' response to the new situation makes it clear that he was more concerned with Catholic formality than with creating an artistically convincing death-scene. The end of the Aranzazu sequence moves from a predictable portrayal of anguish («Y se lanzó como una loca fuera del cuarto...») to the long moral sermon delivered by Demetria to Calpena. She combines a lament on the lack of final rites with a repetition of the commonplace that «con estas lecciones nos dice el Señor que no somos nada». A stylistic analysis of the following extract from this sequence will show the Galdós who was capable of writing in the style of popular sentimental melodrama.
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Aunque Demetria, perdida toda esperanza, se abrazaba a la resignación, le miró a la cara, atenta a las impresiones de él para modificar o sostener las suyas. Pero el rostro del caballero sólo expresaba un dolor calmoso. -No necesita usted decirnos que somos huérfanas... Ya lo sabemos... Pero aunque lo sepamos y usted nos lo diga, yo lo dudo..., no puedo creerlo, no, no es verdad: mi padre vive. Y se lanzó como una loca fuera del cuarto, antes de que pudieran sujetarla. Juzgó Calpena inconveniente que por sí misma se cerciorase de la tremenda verdad, y corrió tras ella; no quería llevarla y la llevó, sintiéndose sin autoridad para impedir escena tan aflictiva. Tuvo ánimo Demetria para examinar el rostro del que fue don Alonso, para besarle una y mil veces cara y manos, y no perdió el conocimiento y la firmeza de su alma, hecha sin duda para los grandes empeños de la vida. Con dificultad apartáronla del carro, que había venido a ser lecho fúnebre, y volvió por su pie al mísero albergue donde había dejado a su hermana vencida del dolor... -Somos huérfanas -le dijo abrazándose las dos estrechamente-, somos huérfanas; Dios no ha querido que entremos en casa con nuestro padre. Ninguno de los presentes dejó de poner de su parte cuanto le inspiraba la compasión para calmar tanta pena. Palabras tiernas, ofrecimientos de proporcionar a las señoritas descanso, comodidad, alguna distracción, todo lo agotaron aquellos infelices. Reunido lo mejor de cada casa, arreglaron dos camas bastante bien apañaditas para que las huérfanas descansasen. |
| (OC, II, 1107a) | ||
—39→
The description of Demetria's reaction to the news of her father's death opens with a sentence whose syntax could not be more awkward. The trite balancing of the abstract «resignación» and «esperanza» is not enhanced by the second half of the sentence with the ugly «impresiones de él» and «las suyas». The general vocabulary of grief is predictable - «dolor calmoso», «tremenda verdad», «escena tan aflictiva», «lecho fúnebre», «mísero albergue», «vencida del dolor».
Demetria's response is stylised and operatic. The short pieces of parallel dialogue are pure sentimentality. The first introduces the refrain «somos huérfanas». One may doubt that girls of this age and a Demetria about to take over so masterfully her father's estates come into that category at all. However, Galdós had struck this chord before and recognised its immense appeal: the pathetic cry is repeated twice in Demetria's next utterance.
The dramatic action sandwiched between this anguish develops in a typical pulp-fiction mixture of styles. There are the melodramatic verbs - «Y se lanzó como una loca... corrió tras ella... con dificultad apartáronla del carro...» Yet Calpena's paralysis is phrased in solemn, leaden, language, prosaic, circurnvoluted and not a little comic given the speed with which Demetria has just left the room - «Juzgó Calpena inconveniente que por sí misma se cerciorase...» Neither he nor the reader need have feared. After kissing her dead father, the «loca» recovers, and the reader's confidence in her moral fibre is restored, as Galdós returns to the vocabulary of pious, moral abstraction. She has not lost «el conocimiento y la firmeza de su alma», a goodly, moral state rounded out even further by the «hecha sin duda para los grandes empeños de la vida». Who could doubt that the idealised character will set Fernando on the right path in life? In the next paragraph, all those present have rallied round so that the orphans may rest in «dos camas bastante bien apañaditas». The diminutive adds a final warm glow to the dolorous scene, a detail which exemplifies the particular streak of Victorian-type sentimentality which runs through the Episodios.
Galdós' revision enables him to elaborate another description of a religious community destroyed in the course of a religious war, as well as satisfy the requirements of historical truth. His moral criticism of civil war is softened by the persistence of trite language in the characterisation of the orphans and the cloying sermon of Demetria. No real sense of personal loss is conveyed in this episode. No reference is made back to the quixoticism which caused Don Alonso to join in the war. It is striking how the novelist's concern for historical «accuracy» is not matched by the concern for psychological accuracy shown in the novelas contemporáneas; for example, in the convincing description of the deaths of Mauricia and Fortunata in Fortunata y Jacinta (OC, Novelas, II, 826-28 and 968-77). It is true that the novelist is giving the readers what they want in order to sugar the pill of the historical lesson he wishes them to draw. Here it is obvious that the sugar ruins the pill.
Two sequences have been analysed which are representative of the kind of set-scene deriving from the fictional plot which Galdós blends into his historical narrative. One was an example of a lively tertulia and the other of sentimental crises. Another important set-scene in the Episodios is the —40→ description of major historical events like the siege of Villafranca by Zumalacárregui (OC, II, 797b-806a), the siege of Bilbao (OC, II, 1198a-1259b), the Burjasot massacre (OC, II, 1305-1309b), or the riots in Barcelona (OC, III, 374a-388a). Galdós' reconstruction of the siege of Bilbao illustrates both his careful searching out of historical material and his integration of this into the fictional narration of the historical drama. Evidence from the Las Palmas archive and the manuscripts can again help evaluation of the seriousness of purpose behind Galdós' writing of the Third Series.
The bilbaínos represent an opposite to the empty dreamers of Madrid. Their qualities were expressed in the siege as described by Galdós. In a letter to Maura, Galdós stressed how hard he had worked to give his description of Bilbao a historical basis:
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La obra es larguísima, al principio verá V. el motín o revolución de La Granja referido en cartas y más adelante el sitio 2.º y 3.º de Bilbao y la acción llamada de Luchana. Me propuse reconstruir la vida de Bilbao en aquellos días que ahora nos parece de una grandeza épica, y en ello he puesto los cinco sentidos. Todo lo que refiero es histórico; todas las personas (fuera de las novelescas...) son reales.107 |
Maura praised the section which re-created critically the events of the siege, after noting that the text had more density than other volumes in the series. He also warned the novelist that such richness of detail, which slowed the action, might deter less serious readers.108
In the fictional reconstruction of a major historical event Galdós had to carry out extensive research if he were to present the event with an accuracy that would convince his contemporary readership. However, historically correct fact had to be transformed by his imagination in order to create a successful fiction. If Galdós had read twenty histories of the siege, that would not necessarily have lead to a better novel, The inclusion into fiction of lengthy, undigested passages from history books was a feature of the writers of pulpfiction who hoped to bolster up the melodramatic unrealities of their narrative by such recourse to historical truth. The historical content of the Episodios has been severely criticised from a narrow factual point of view by critics like Bataillon and Boussagol. The accuracy of Galdós' presentation of the siege of Bilbao has also been challenged in this way. Hinterhäuser makes a brief comparison of Luchana and Paz en la guerra by Unamuno. He claims that Unamuno's record is more accurate since it reflects that writer's childhood memories of a Bilbao dominated by traditionalism. He also mentions an anecdote of Pérez de Ayala to the effect that Galdós had only visited Bilbao once before writing Luchana.109 H. Bone has emphasised the liberal nature of Galdós' Bilbao and criticised the lack of interplay between historical and fictional characters, He suggests that Galdós was only able to conceive of madrileños as true Spaniards.110 In the only reference which Unamuno himself made to the Third Series he commented on the difficulties he himself had in creating a historical novel and not on any lack of historical knowledge on Galdós' part.111 Galdós, on the other hand, approached such fiction with relish and years of experience. The following description of the novelist's knowledge of Bilbao establishes that Galdós did his historical research as thoroughly as one could expect from a novelist. More importantly from the —41→ point of view of critical analysis, it is a necessary prelude to an examination of his imaginative transformation of this historical knowledge.
Galdós' experience of the city was not limited to the visit he made early in 1897 at the end of his fact-finding mission in the Basque provinces. In July and August 1884, he visited the city and recorded his impressions in two letters to La Prensa of Buenos Aires. He described the importance of the industrial port and the growing strength of liberal institutions and practices. The shadow of civil war was still in the background, in the surrounding countryside where the population remained dominated by a fanatical clergy. This early description shows Galdós' conciousness of Bilbao's history and his understanding of the political contrast between city and country worked out by Unamuno in Paz en la guerra (1897).112 Throughout the prosperous years of the Restoration, darker forces were still at work. Although there is no record of a further visit, there may have been several. Whilst he was living in Santander, he was always within easy reach of Bilbao. On 11 February 1899 Pereda wrote to tell him that he was going to Bilbao for a couple of days, in case Galdós wished to accompany him or give him some task in relation to his new series.113 Luchana was written from January to March 1899.114
He had also a correspondent, Valentín Gorbeña, who supplied him with information about historical figures and details of local colour. The first letter in the archive was written probably in December 1898, or January 1899, at an early stage in writing the novel. Gorbeña had sent Galdós early maps of Bilbao.115 In February 1899, Galdós received a letter in reply to a series of questions mainly about customs in Bilbao.116 There is a description of the four main cafés in Bilbao in 1836, and the wines and dishes which were most popular at the time. The cafés are described in OC, II, 1232. The details are used by Galdós to give authenticity to his description of the off-duty discussions of the liberal soldiers. The popular dishes help to bring to life the fictional portrayal of Vildósola and Blas de Arana, two historical figures in the siege who appear also as «famosos entre la gente bilbaína por sus anchas comederas así como por su inteligencia en artes gastronómicas» (OC, II, 123la). Galdós must have posed his next questions to Gorbeña in person, since the next letter does not mention another epistolary questionnaire but gives precise information of the most famous doctors during the 1836 siege which the novelist then incorporated into his description.117 D. Miguel Medina is mentioned as pushing out visitors to the wounded Fernando Cotones (OC, II, 1227a) and Nicolás Ledesma as accompanying Aura to don Francisco Bringas' house (OC, II, 1212b). D. José Cano recommended that Negretti's scientific fantasies should be indulged (OC, II, 1210a). It is a mark of Galdós' attention to detail in his fictional re-creation of history that he should worry about the historical accuracy of characters who make only the briefest appearance.
It seems likely that Gorbeña gave the novelist the copy of a letter giving an eye-witness account of the events of the siege.118 Galdós did not adopt the latter's version of the last days of the siege. He was careful to make Espartero the prominent figure. General Oráa, the protagonist in the letter, always acts on the orders of his commander-in-chief (OC, II, 1252b, 1253b, 1254b).
—42→The «archivo viviente» was able to provide material to enliven the narrative which could not be found in the histories of the siege. However, it was not always reliable or sympathetic to the novelist's own personal vision, as Galdós' final experiences with Gorbeña and his correspondent from Oñate testify. Inevitably, he had to depend on the histories for the historical facts of the «tinglado histórico». The crucial question for critical evaluation is again the success with which Galdós fused history and imagination in his description of liberal heroism. The discovery of facts from personal acquaintances was not an end in itself. These facts were given a fictional life through their integration into the imaginative whole of the episodio. An examination of Galdós' use of his main historical source will extend further the understanding of how his imagination worked in this respect.
Galdós' main source of factual information for the siege of Bilbao was Flórez' Espartero: Historia de su vida militar y política y de los grandes sucesos contemporáneos.119 A comparison of his marginal notes in Flórez' description of the siege with the historical framework of the novel show that the novelist worked with Flórez' book by his side. Place-names, dates and details of military actions coincide in those passages which maintain the movement of the historical developments. The novelist's wording may reflect that of the historian but the history is seen, and given a fictional life, through the eyes of a character. For example, at an early stage of the siege, Flórez observed in his rather dry, step by step account: «al amanecer del 9 se observó esta gente sobre las alturas de Archanda y Banderas» (p. 364). In Galdós, the flat commentary becomes a point of development in Zoilo's response to the situation: «Cumpliéronse hacia el 8 de noviembre los deseos de Zoilo, que tuvo la satisfacción de ver en los altos de Archanda numeroso ganado carlista [...] amenazando a Banderas.» The raw material of historical fact is transformed by Galdós' imagination. I want to confirm this by looking at two more passages from Flórez which have Galdós' pencil mark by them. On page 375 Flórez narrates how, after the deaths of the governor of the town, don Santos San Miguel, and brigadier Araoz, «se reunió en sesión la junta de armamento y defensa, o más bien la comisión de ésta, con sólo aquel objeto...», that is the election of a new leader. Brigadier Arechevala «que se hallaba en el punto de Larrinaga» was elected and «Nombrar a Arechevala, salir en su busca dos individuos de la junta y venir con él a la plaza de San Agustín, todo fue obra de instantes». In the novel, it is Valentín Arriate who goes in search of the new leader. He gives his gun to Churi, meets a procession of stretcher-bearers coming from the hospital, and on his return from Larrinaga, anxious women in the street ask him the latest news from La Cendeja. He begins an epic chorus with his shout of «¡Viva Isabel II, viva la Libertad!» (OC, II, 1218-19). There is some more imaginative detail in the source which the novelist also elaborates: a short description of the misery and lack of money (p. 406) and a longer one of the snow storm: «acrecentando la naturaleza sus furias, azotando el viento, apedreando el granizo, agobiando y confundiendo bajo su peso enojoso el agua y la nieve, más que una batalla dada acá en la tierra, parecía aquello una escena propia de los infiernos» (p. 408).120
It is important to stress that Galdós had different problems to solve when writing the dialogue of the Madrid tertulia, the Aránzazu sequence, and the —43→ account of the siege of Bilbao. Each of these parts of his fiction has a distinctive relation to his imaginative re-creation of history. The characters at the tertulia are entirely fictional, but their dialogue creates a sense of the frivolity of Madrid life. They themselves are part of the entourage of Mendizábal, and their activities reflect the historical atmosphere of the time. There was for Galdós' contemporaries a degree of nostalgia in his description of the bour, geois salons of the 1830s. The fictional re-creation of major historical events was not necessary since the episode was entirely fictional. This was also the case with the Aránzazu sequence. Historical accuracy only intruded into the writing of the former in so far as it presented an embarassing point of propriety. The flight of the sisters and the death of their father were consequences of the civil war; their motives and emotions are described in a series of clichés as melodramatic fantasy takes over. The success of such writing depends not on any factual accuracy or fictionally convincing portrayal of suffering but on Galdós' ability to re-create a conventional Romantic atmosphere which would be appreciated by his readership. The final revisions worked in an opposite way to the revisions of the narration of the siege of Bilbao: verbosity and moralising were strengthened in the text. It is plain that Galdós' contemporary readership was not homogeneous, and that even his «serious» readers were prepared to accept the romanesque elements. Modern critical taste would place more emphasis on the fictional re-creation of history within the Episodios, and the ironic treatment of political idealism and Madrid life.
It does seem in much of the Third Series that Galdós creates a more convincing fiction when he has had to grapple with historical sources. In Luchana Galdós successfully writes the action-based narrative structure of the popular adventure story and a detailed reconstruction of the events of the Bilbao siege. The historical narrative comes to life through the eyes and daily fives of major and minor fictional characters and re-created historical figures. The reader's attention is held by the flow of action, incidents and characters and at the same time is directed to the more symbolic value of the description within Galdós' overall vision of Spanish history.
* * *
The impression of authorial care is confirmed by the number of last minute revisions of the manuscripts and proofs where Galdós tried to enhance both literary elegance and historical accuracy. Reference has already been made to some of the detailed changes at manuscript stage. Reference will now be made to the thousands of small final revisions. Galdós' correspondence during the years 1898 to 1901 includes many apologies for his slowness in replying to letters or his inactivity in polite society on account of his involvement in the writing of the Third Series. It is no wonder that in a note on the reverse of one folio Galdós turned down an invitation to socialise on the grounds of «abrumador trabajo».121
Galdós made numerous changes in the historical detail of the Third Series whilst revising manuscripts and proofs. Sometimes they are small changes in factual content, sometimes they develop the historical texture of his characters.
—44→In this aspect of his editing Galdós gives the lie once more to Baroja's criticism of the historical accuracy of the Episodios and of his frivolous attitude towards the scholarly pursuit of facts. Galdós was improving factual accuracy even at the last stage of writing the novels.
In the first novel of the Series, Zumalacárregui, the main changes in the proofs concern its historical content. They occur in Chapter X (OC, II, 815b). Whilst Fago is waiting to see Zumalacárregui, the latter's chaplain mistakes Fago for a nephew of the commander-in-chief of the liberal forces, Espoz y Mina: «Aquilino Errazu, el cura de Elizondo, sobrino carnal de Mina, digo, de su primera mujer» (OC, II, 816a). On the proof, the priest was originally described -mistakenly- as «el cura de Lecumberri». The detail is now changed throughout the passage. The chaplain invents for Fago the role of mediator between the two leaders. Fago is quickly ushered into the presence of the Carlist general who immediately informs him of his mission to pick up the cannon, El Abuelo, abandoned by the liberals on a beach near Ondárroa. The changes Galdós made here are a good example of his development of the historical texture of his characters. At the proof stage, Fago's task is made to seem even more unrealistic than it is in the novel itself. Originally, Zumalacárregui chose six of the dozen soldiers in Fago's contingent, and himself organised six carpenters to get the cart ready, which did not reveal much confidence in the man he had chosen to lead the important expedition. Fago is now given the responsibility for choosing his own men. He will also have more money and time: eight rather than four «onzas», eight rather than six days. The warrior-priest opts in the end for a small band of eight trusty Guipuzcoans. The drama of the exploit is enriched by the emphasis laid by the Carlist leader on the dangers involved -the risk of meeting the troops of Carratalá, Jáuregui, or Espartero and the unlikelihood of help from Eraso. Galdós added the following on the margin of Zumalacárregui, proof 42:
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Tenga V. presente que corre el riesgo de encontrar las columnas cristianas de Carratalá, de Jáuregui, o de Espartero. En cambio, puede favorecerle la columna nuestra que manda Eraso. Pero le advierto que se ve obligada a operar constantemente, y que tan pronto está en Vizcaya como en Guipúzcoa. Procure V. indagar sus movimientos y aproximarse a ella. Y por último, no- (sic). |
It is clear from the additions to the text at proof stage that Galdós decided to include material about Eraso to bring to life the civil war background to Fago's journey. In the margin of proof 43 Galdós wrote: «Y ningún auxilio debían esperar de la columna de Eraso que según les dijeron había tenido que replegarse a Eibar, y de aquí a Durango, acosado por Espartero. Mas sin acobardarse por este desamparo, y esperándole todo de la Providencia divina, franquearon...» (OC, II, 818b). This replaces the weak follow-on to a second statement about the dangers of meeting with Liberal troops: «La suerte les fue favorable en la noche» (Z, proof 43). As the expedition nears Elosua on their return journey, labouring under the burden of the gun, a band of musketeers appears hot from a fight with the troops of Carratalá. These men belong to the force commanded by Bidaurre, a name inserted in the blank spaces left on the proofs (Z, proof 49). In an addition to the same proof, Fago tells them how his General had promised them support in any tight —45→ situation from «las partidas volantes que operaban en combinación con la columna de Eraso» (OC, II, 820b). Thus, the references to Elizondo, Bidaurre and Eraso are consistent revisions which make the historical setting morespecific and accurate. The comments on Eraso in particular enhance the courage of Fago and his men, who complete their mission in a hostile environment where Eraso and his «partidas», fully equipped for guerilla skirmishes, are kept very occupied.122
In Montes de Oca there is another kind of revision of historical material: an extremely consistent sifting out of general statements on the political situation. This is true both of references to the interference by the French and English governments in Spanish politics and to the political crisis in Madrid. These are integrated into the novel through the conversations of the characters. Political comments by the narrator still remain but they are concentrated on the dangers of excessive idealism and petty opportunism. Galdós went through the proofs of Montes de Oca very conscious that repetitious references to the problems of the Regency would slow the pace of his narrative and blunt the impact of his political material.123
There are many other changes of historical detail in manuscripts and proofs of the Third Series. Names of politicians, soldiers, newspapers and other aspects of life in Spain in the 1830s were revised and checked in order to remove anachronisms and to give a more exuberant portrait of the times. The changes discussed above are typical of the way in which the novelist went through the galley proofs consistently altering certain features. They show how he took pains to make the historical dimension of fictional characters as convincing as possible.
Galdós also made many minor last minute stylistic changes. They generally strengthen the text by introducing a more striking or appropriate word. The number of small changes certainly has an effect on the overall impact of the novels on the reader although perhaps only one or two words are changed each time.
Galdós strengthens the ironic description of the split between the military and clerical cliques at the Carlist court. In the manuscript version the military wing is carried to church by the «gran devoción» (DO, folio 238) of their King which finally becomes his «santurrona piedad» (OC, II, 1067b). The monarch's affected religiosity is pinpointed by the adjective denoting hypocrisy. In the same vein, Galdós refers to the «santurronerías sin substancia» (OC, II, 1080b) of Don Carlos rather than his «devociones rutinarias» (DO, folio 291). The irony of the narrative is often strengthened by such changes which introduce colloquial or colourful language appealing to the ear through rhythm and alliteration. In Luchana Prudencia Arratia worries about Aura not as «una niña refacia» (LU, proof 179) but as a «bestezuela bonita y respingona» (OC, II, 1235b). The alliteration of the «b» and the «on» and the colloquial «bestezuela» and «respingona» bring out more clearly Prudencia's attitude to the difficult young lady from Madrid. The alliteration is sometimes the result of the replacing of a weak adjective or noun by a strong one. The description of bitter exchanges at the Carlist court becomes «palabrotas picantes» (OC, II, 1067b) not «interjecciones picantes» (DO, folio 238). The arm-chair politicians in Madrid discuss «la política palpitante» (OC, II, 1034b) —46→ rather than the drab «política del día» (DO, folio 102). The substance of such conversations is often the hunt for jobs which will hopefully provide «pan perpetuo» (OC, III, 217a) rather than «pan continuo» (MO, folio II).
Other changes are not ironic in their impact but instead are introduced in order to strengthen the feuilleton atmosphere. At the beginning of De Oñate a la Granja Galdós had the problem of how to refer to the secret instigator of the events in Calpena's life -Pilar Loaysa. In the manuscript, she is monotonously «la incógnita». In his revisions, he played with the vocabulary of intrigue and brought in a range of synonyms to keep the reader amused by his ingenuity. Thus, «la incógnita» becomes in turn «invisible» (DO, folio 4; OC, II, 1011b), «velada» (DO, folio 4; OC, II, 1012a), «la mascarita» (DO, folio 13; OC, II, 1014a), and «la máscara con su careta puesta» (DO, folio 26; OC, II, 1017a). Other small changes increase the emphatic, melodramatic tone of the narrative and in that way Galdós moves the style closer to the feuilleton. This is particularly true of La campaña del Maestrazgo, where the nature of Carlism lends itself to this approach. In the account of the horrors of war at the beginning of the novel, the «crímenes» (LCM, folio 48) become «tan salvajes crímenes» (OC, II, 1272b); their «lógicas» (LCM, folio 62), their «infernal lógica» (OC, II, 1274a). Carlist crimes reach a peak with the Buriasot massacre. At this celebration, «alegre desorden» (LCM, folio 200) turns to «jovialidad frenética» (OC, II, 1307a) as the relatively civilized «embriaguez» (LCM, folio 203) becomes «la borrachera» (OC, II, 1307b). The actions of the mob, which did not eat and drink «antes aquel espectáculo» (LCM, folio 204) but «pateaban sobre el propio Calvario...» (OC, II, 1308a), lead to a horrible scene when smoke «cubría la hecatombe» (OC, II, 1308a) rather than the feeble «lo envolvía todo» (LCM, folio 205). The small stylistic changes sharpen the general tone of the narrative.
* * *
The success of the narrative of the Third Series depends also on Galdós' creation of a miniature comédie humaine of the 1830's and 40's in which the imaginary and the historical come together on an equal basis in the rapid movements of Spanish history. Galdós' imagination was fertile in creating picturesque or whimsical minor characters, or eccentric behaviour for his central figures, even if in so doing he ran the danger of excessive whimsy or picturesque local colour. The changes in the Aránzazu episode build up the sentimental moralising style which works against the central aim of portraving the ravages of civil war. There is evidence in the Las Palmas archive anj the manuscripts and proofs of the novelist's efforts to discipline his imagination. The material reveals more about Galdós' development and method of characterisation and his wedding of history and fiction as he went along.
One character whose genesis can be followed is don Beltrán de Urdaneta, the archetypal eccentric in the quixotic mould. He can count amongst his literary forebears such characters as Nomdedeu in Gerona. Unwelcome at the family home in Cintruénigo because of his gambling and past life of pleasureseeking, he sets out to discover what is left of his fortune in Aragón.
In carpeta 35, legajo 4 in the Las Palmas archive, there are the following details concerning the meeting of Calpena and don Beltrán. They show how the —47→ novelist prepared his plot, the many coincidences necessary for its development and the matching of the chronology of fictional and historical characters.
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36. Calpena nace 1810 Recibe una carta de Negretti? Mejor recado verbal por un espía de la Maestranza que logra evadirse. Negretti le dice que se ha trasladado a Bilbao y que no puede decirle adónde va. Manda también de reconocimiento para emplazar las piezas.
y dirígese Fern. a Bilbao por Balmaseda y Orduño o Ramales. Allí se encuentra a D. Beltrán, el cual tiene una hija en Bilbao y va a verla porque le han echado de Cintruénigo, el egoísta de su suelo. A un viejo? Pasa por La Guardia. Vive de lo que le dan.
¿Está Aura en Bilbao? D. Beltrán puede estar en Villarcayo o en Valmaseda. |
These notes represent the working-out in rough of the feuilleton development in Chapters VIII-XII in Luchana: the basis of the fiction is a series of actions. In the final version, Calpena does not receive any letter from Negretti in reply to the three he has written (OC, II, 1151a). He meets Bonifacio Gay who has escaped from the Maestranza after being imprisoned for insulting the Virgin (OC, II, 1155b) and he tells Calpena that Negretti has gone to Bilbao. On the way to Balmaseda, he meets don Beltrán at an inn in Trepaderne. The brief description of the reasons for his leaving Cintruénigo is filled out in his conversation with Calpena.
On the same sheet is the chronology of don Beltrán and the dates of his famous historical contemporaries. These are brought together as the old man tells Calpena of his life and introduces himself to the reader. In this case, Galdós did use most of his notes in the final text:
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The historical experience of Beltrán is an important ingredient in his characterisation. as a heroic remnant from the days of the French Revolution. It is this which will later enable him to become the confidant of Cabrera. He is a fictional character who gets his historical texture from a golden past:
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Sí, señor: yo vine al mundo en la noble ciudad de Olite, en 1758. Eche usted una mirada a todo lo que comprende el espacio entre esa fecha y este pícaro 36. Sí, señor, en 1758: le llevo once años a Napoleón y a Wellington, que nacieron el 69; Mozart era más viejo que yo en dos años, y Schifier, un año más joven. |
| (OC, II, 1159b) | ||
Godoy, Goya, Beethoven and Talma are subsequently mentioned by the nostalgic aristocrat. He also speaks at length of his experiences in post-revolutionary Paris (OC, II, 1164b-1165a).
Beltrán is rapidly involved in the fringe activities inspired by the civil war. He becomes the main fictional character in La campaña de Maestrazgo linking that novel to the Calpena cycle. His ancien regime past opens the way into Cabrera's tent for himself and the reader. The sequence of bloody tales at the beginning of the novel provides a harsh introduction to the realities of the guerrilla war favoured by Cabrera. At the end of the revelations by Vicente Sancho of Carlist devastation in Liria, Chiva and Monreal, Galdós decided against asemi-bumorous exchange in which don Beltrán «resignación filosófica no exenta de humorismo», threatened to become too humorous and make Beltrán appear frivolous and heartless. The sequence is typical of feuilleton dialogue which would be extended over pages by authors of popular serial fiction:
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folio 42 Nada más que treinta y seis oficiales y diez miñones... Fuera de los que combaten, señor, hombres pocos hay mujeres y caballerías pocas. ¿Y casas? Contado es el pueblo donde hay más cenizas y ruinas que casas. ¿Y las moradas? Convertidas en yermo. ¿Y los ganados? Los que se han podido salvar están en tierra de Soria. ¿Y sale el sol y se pone, y llueve y ventea? Como siempre, señore. ¿Y los críos no salen de madre? Los veo lo mismo. ¿Y los lobos, y los javelines y gato-monteses, las cule- |
| On the back of MO folio 43 | ||
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-Cayeron 33 oficiales y 10 miñones. -Bien, hijo, bien. Y hay todavía humanidad, género humano quiero decir, en esa condenada tierra? -Fuera de los que combaten, señor, por ver quien reina, hombres, ninguno hay; mujeres y caballerías, pocas. -Ahora que hablamos de mujeres: mi amigo y protegido Juan Luco... |
| OC, II, 1270b | ||
—49→
Don Beltrán eventually runs into Carlist troops and finds himself in Cabrera's camp in Utiel where at first he suffers many humiliations, eating scraps from the officers' table, cleaning their boots... This is before Cabrera takes a friendly interest in him. Galdós ran his blue pencil through a picturesque possibility from his past, that he had lived as a gypsy roaming the streets of Valencia:
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Uno de los de arriba gritó dirigiéndose a Urdaneta: Tú, marqués del cuerno, ¿dónde has dejado el violín? -No entiendo lo que Vd. me dice, mi capitán, replicó Urdaneta. -Te conozco. Tan marqués eres como yo. El año pasado andabas por las calles de Valencia con un mico y un violín, vestido de húngaro. ¿Por qué has dejado aquel uniforme por los andrajos de Marqués? -Señor, el del mico no era yo. -No estás tu mal peine. Llevabas una niña muy linda, de diez y seis años que vendiste por cuatro duros- D. Beltrán calló no haciendo al capitán el honor de pasar para arriba. Luego, a una insinuación de Nelet, que parecía dicha en defensa del anciano se retiraron del balcón los oficiales. |
| MO, folio 177 | ||
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-Uno de los de arriba decía: -Ese marqués del cuerno paréceme un grandísimo pillastre... Don Beltrán calló, no haciendo al deslenguado ni el honor de mirarle. Luego, a una insinuación de Nelet, que parecía dicha en defensa del anciano, se retiraron del balcón de oficiales. |
| OC, II, 1301b | ||
Galdós was not always so discerning. At one stage, Beltrán is under threat of execution, and Galdós inflicts a long moralising confession on the reader (OC, III, 1337-43). This was a favourite vehicle for didacticism and must have appealed to his contemporary readership.
The manuscript of Montes de Oca enables us to form a clearer picture of the way Galdós was able to sketch out a wide-range of minor characters and define their limitations within the development of the whole plot. Innkeepers, café politicians, servants and soldiers and many others make only brief appearances in the narrative, but their presence an the background of hustle and bustle are a significant part of the fictional world of the Episodios.
A favourite kind of minor figure is the wise political commentator like Pacorro Chinita in El 19 de marzo y el 2 de mayo (OC, I, 410b). Don Nicolás is a character of this kind.124 He appears briefly on two occasions in the novel. He is a well-known amateur political pundit in Valencia. His main contribution to the novel is his witty suggestion at a tertulia given by the Palace Bodyguard that María Cristina's departure from Spain is the best way of preparing the downfall of Espartero. He has a special knowledge of Machiavelli which enables him to understand the cunning of the Queen from Naples. The whole of Valencia, we are told, laughed loudly «con el estribillo de cosas de Don Nicolás» (OC, III, 237a). Don Nicolás makes his second appearance towards the back of the crowds which swell on to the quayside to say their farewells to the Queen. At the end of the long line of public dignitaries stands —50→ «el 'administrador interino de ramos decimales'... aquel Don Nicolás, filósofo de la Historia y profesor de maquiavelismo» (OC, III, 241b).
The first sign of the existence of Nicolás comes on the reverse of MO, folio 100:
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folio 96 Cristina se mostró inflexible. El quedarse así era una tenacidad de mujer. Alguien, al hacer noticia de esto dijo, es que le ha tomado odio a Espartero, y no ve otra manera de hundirle, ponerle en la situación de que los españoles le hagan regente. Puñalada florentina. |
On folio 96 this unknown commentator is named:
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A la tertulia del Cuerpo de Guardia de Palacio asistía diariamente un señor de edad madura, a quien llamaban el General, no se sabe por qué, pues no era de tropa, ni lo había sido nunca. |
By folio 98 Galdós has thought of a second nickname: «Don Nicolás (que así le decían cuando no le llamaban General), expresó una opinión que fue motivo de risa y chacota». In the published text the mention of the first name disappears completely: «A la tertulia del Cuerpo de Guardia de Palacio asistía diariamente un señor de edad madura, a quien llamaban Don Nicolás, no se sabe por qué» (OC, III, 236b).
Don Nicolás, well-endowed with a Levantine sense of reality, is able to explain how the original «puñalada florentina» to be mentioned by «alguien» is concealed within María Cristina's ruse: «Para poseer esta ciencia sutil, hay que ser de la otra banda, haber nacido al pie del Vesubio o del Etna». That is the limit of the «cosas de Don Nicolás», a successful touch of light comedy combined with a knowing historical insight. It is a sign of the importance of the small changes which Galdós makes to the overall finish of the novels. He resisted the temptation of reintroducing Don Nicolás to deliver a prolonged peroration on how to accept historical change after the departure of María Cristina at the end of Chapter IX:
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Sí no pocos de éstos que miraban la partida de la reina como se llora una viuda o una orfandad les consolaba aquella tarde el filósofo maquiavélico D. Nicolás, diciendo con fría serenidad: No hay por qué afligirse tanto, que ya volverá. Debemos adaptar nuestros espíritus a la idea de que en nuestros tiempos de continua actividad, todo se va y todo vuelve, Es la vida, es la edad que nos ha tocado, es el país en que vivimos. Una ola que va, otra que viene, y entre estas olas tenemos que hacer equilibrios, aprovechándonos del movimiento de una y otra para no irnos al fondo. Lo que importa (continued on folio 23) es flotar siempre. Que viene el progreso pues flotemos en él; que viene el retroceso, pues el que puede agarrarse, que se agarre. Procurémonos un buen balcón donde veamos lo que se va y lo que viene y oigamos los himnos y las exclamaciones que con la música del mismo Calíope entren el pasado y el porvenir en el tablado de un presente que sin estas cosas sería muy fastidioso. |
| MO, folio 122 | ||
In the final version this is cut out completely.
* * *
The relationship of historical presentation to imaginative re-creation is therefore more complex than the simple statement about the primacy of the —51→ political and the historical framework made by Galdós in his conversation with Luis Bello. Our analysis has shown some of the stages in the novelist's creative process. At almost every point, Galdós was concerned with achieving the maximum interpenetration of the fictional and the historical as he brought together a fictional adventure-story with the objective course of the events of Spanish history and society. Purely fictional characters are endowed with a historical chronology. The narrative of the history book is transformed by the «facts» becoming part of the lives of the fictional characters. Within the metaphor of the fiction, the latter have as much «truth» as historical characters.
Espartero, Mendizábal and the other historical leaders take on a fictional life as they mingle with the great range of fictional characters. Although the fictional life-stories of the Third Series have to bend according to historical events, the reader can accept these upsets and coincidences as part of a situation dominated by civil war and as part of a literary convention handled consciously by Galdós. Last-minute changes in the text provide ample evidence of the seriousness with which Galdós attempted to realise the successful fusion of fiction and history.
55 Manor Park Rd. London N Z
—52→ —53→ —54→(i)
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Compañía de los
Ferrocarriles Día 26 Querido Antonio, Te remito dos planes que creo podrán servirle a Don Benito. El impreso es del 49 y reformado el 75 el otro de 1802. En este último se ve la torre de Luchana pero como no está marcada en el índice puede ver la situación comparando con el impreso en que tiene el nombre. Como uno de estos días, iré allí di a D. Benito que si necesita alguna explicación lo traeré con mayor gusto. Valentín. |
(ii)
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Compañía de los
Ferrocarriles Feb. 18/99 Señor Benito Pérez Galdós Mi distinguido amigo, A sus preguntas puedo decirle, 1. El general D. Nazario de Eguía era manco del brazo izquierdo de resultas de un atentado siendo Capitán General de Galicia. 2. El año 36 existía en Bilbao por lo menos cuatro cafés. El Suizo que se hallaba donde hoy se encuentra el que sigue con el nombre de Suizo Viejo es decir entre la Plaza Nueva y la calle del Correo. Era frecuentado por la gente más pudiente. Fue aquí donde Antonio Arana, comandante de la Milicia pronunció el discurso de que V. me habló. El café «Gari-guchi» que quiere decir «poco trigo» situado hacia el centro de la calle Nueva a la derecha yendo hacia el río. Acudían a él los tipos más populares y jaraneros; tenía dos billares uno en la planta baja y otro en el principal. El café «Posi» que no han podido decirme el nombre del dueño o apodo. Estaba situado donde se encuentra hoy la librería de Eduardo Delmas. Había otro café frente al puente del Arsenal pero de éste no me han dado noticias. 3. No existía moneda foral. Como moneda [?] se usaban el doblón de 60 reales y el ducado de 11. El primero generalmente a las ferias para las transacciones de ganado. Las cuentas se llevaban siempre en reales y maravedíes. 4. Entre los platos populares figuraban en primer término la merluza en salsa roja, las angulas, los chimbos y los guibilurdines, especie de seta muy apreciada entonces y aun ahora que se freían y se fríen con aceite y ajo dentro —55→ de un papel blando de hilo con los lindes doblados para formar un sartén. El chacolí clásico de los bilbaínos de entonces era el de Quintana que se cosechaba en la falda de Archanda sobre el palacio de aquel nombre pero éste puede decirse que ha desaparecido. Como modelo de la literatura bilbaína de aquel tiempo y en comprobación de lo que digo más arriba le citaré con su ortografía un cantar muy popular entonces que decía
El próximo martes espero tener el gusto de ver a V. Siempre a sus órdenes y aquí servidor. V. Gorbeña. |
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Compañía de los
Ferrocarriles Feb. 23, 99. Mi distinguido amigo, Los médicos más afamados en Bilbao durante el sitio del 36 eran: D. Miguel Medina. D. José Gil y Caño conocido por su segundo apellido. D. Francisco Asua cirujano. El organista D. Nicolás Ledesma que obtuvo la plaza por oposición cuando dominaban en el Ayunt. de Bilbao los realistas era un exaltado furibundo estuvo en el sitio del 36 fue también veterano en la última guerra y hasta su muerte figuró en los partidos más avanzados. S. muy atento y afecto servidor. V. Gorbeña. |
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Compañía de los
Ferrocarriles Mi distinguido amigo, Anteayer de vuelta una excursión me entregaron su carta. Este es el motivo de no haberle contestado antes y lo hago hoy con el mayor gusto y siguiendo el orden de sus preguntas, 1. El autor de la carta cuya copia le entregué era D. Pedro Pascual Uhagón. Se la dirigió a su padre persona respetada en la provincia por haber sido diputado foral y por su ilustración. 2. La familia Uhagón es de origen vasco-francés. Se estableció en Bilbao en el comercio donde gozaba de gran prestigio. D. Pedro Pascual joven de 24 a —56→ 25 años discutía continuamente con los carlistas de Bilbao y para probar a éstos que no era un hojalatero pidió a su padre una carta para su amigo D. Luis Fern. de Córdova, y se incorporó al Cuartel General. No le recibió Córdova muy afectuosamente en el primer momento pero más tarde le hizo su secretaría de confianza por haber simpatizado con él y porque hablaba y escribía perfectamente el inglés y el francés. 3. Salió D. Pedro Pascual de Bilbao siendo oficial de milicianos y Córdova le hizo capitán de milicias. Siguió con esta graduación al lado de Espartero de quien nunca fue admirador, hasta la entrada de las tropas en Bilbao. Se retiró entonces y conservó grande amistad con Córdova. Es cuanto puedo decirle sobre este particular y ahora permitirme lo felicite por su Luchana que me hizo pasar muy buenas horas pero ignoro si aun es mayor la impresión que conservo de la campaña del Maestrazgo: [?] estos atrevimientos, que los elogios valen vengan de donde viniesen si son sinceros. Que sea V. tan afortunado con La estafeta romántica. Su atento amigo y admirador, V. Gorbeña. |