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The dead

by

James Joyce

Release Date: Sep, 2001 [Etext#2814] [Most recently updated:January 10, 2002] Michael S.Hart Prepared by David Reedharadda@aol.com ordavidr@inconnect.comUpdates by Karol Pietrzak.

Lily, the caretaker ’sdaughter, was l i teral lyr u n o f f h e r f e e t .Hardly had she broughtone gent leman into thel i t t le pa n t r y b e h i n dt h e o f f i c e o n t h eg r o u n d f l o o r a n dh e l p e d h i m o f f w i t hh i s o v e r c o a t t h a nt h e wheezy ha l l -doorbell clanged again ands h e h a d t o s c a m p e ralong the bare hallwayto let in another guest.It was well for her shehad not to attend to thel a d i e s a l s o . But MissKate and Miss Julia hadthought of that and hadconverted the bathroomupstairs into a ladies’dressing-room. Miss Kateand Miss Julia were there,gossiping and laughingand f u s s i n g , w a l k i n ga f t e r each other to theh e a d o f t h e s t a i r s ,p e e r i n g d o w n o v e rt h e b a n i s t e r s a n dcalling down to Lily toask her who had come.

I t w a s a l w a y s ag r e a t a f f a i r , t h eM i s s e s M o r k a n ’sa n n u a l d a n c e .E v e r y b o d y w h o knew

‘Los muertos’

de

James Joyce

tr. de Fernando Galván

Cátedra, Madrid, 2002

Lily, la hija de la guardesa,tenía los p i e s l i t e r a l -m e n t e h e c h o s p o l v o .A p e n a s h a b í a c o n d u -cido a un caballero a lapequeña despensa juntoa l a c o c i n a e n e lp r i m e r p i s o ,_______ _______ ______________ _______ c u a n d oy a sonaba de nuevo la viejacampana de la puerta y teníaque atravesar corriendo e ld e s n u d o v e s t í b u l o p a r ad a r p a s o a o t r o i n v i t a d o .Menos mal que no era cosasuya atender también a lasdamas. Pensando en eso ,l a s e ñ o r i t a K a t e y l as e ñ o r i t a J u l i a h a b í a nconver t ido e l cua r to deb a ñ o d e a r r i b a e n u nvestidor de señoras. La señorita Katey la señorita Julia se encontrabanallí, chismorreando y riendo ym e t i e n d o b u l l a , y e n d ouna de t r á s de l a o t r a a l oa l t o d e l a e s c a l e r ap a r a a s o m a r s e s o b r el a b a r a n d i l l a y l lamara Lily y preguntarle quiénacababa de llegar.

E l b a i l e a n u a l d el a s s e ñ o r i t a s M o r k a ne r a s i e m p r e u n g r a na c o n t e c i m i e n t o .A s i s t í a n t o d o s s u s

‘Los muertos’

de

James Joyce

tr. de Guillermo Cabrera-Infante

Alianza, Madrid, 1974,…, 1991

Escaneado por: Hypnerotomachia Poliphili;Corregido por: Filobiblion

Lily, la hija del encargado,tenía los pies literalmentemuertos. No había toda-v í a a c a b a d o d e h a c e rpasar a un inv i tado a lcuarto de desahogo, de-trás de la oficina de laplanta baja, para ayudar-lo a quitarse el abrigo,cuando de nuevo sonabala quejumbrosa campa-na de la puerta y teníaque echar a correr por elzaguán vac ío para de jare n t r a r a o t r o . E r a u na l i v i o n o t e n e r q u eatender también a las in-vitadas. Pero Miss Kate yMiss Julia habían pensa-do en eso y convirtieronel baño de arriba en uncuarto de señoras. Allá es-taban Miss Kate y MissJ u l i a , r i é n d o s e yc h i s m e a n d o yaje treándose ________________una tras la o t r ah a sta el rellano de la es-calera, para mirar abajo_________ y p regun-t a r a L i l y q u i é na c a b a b a d e entrar.

E l b a i l e a n u a l d el a s M o r k a n e r a s i e m -p re l a g r a n o c a s i ó n .Ve n í a n t o d o s l o s c o -noc idos , l o s miembros

caretaker: portero, vigilante

run off her feet: so occupied that she could not sit fora moment; common among many people, particularly

those with Lily’s minimal educationhardly had she brought...than: she had just

guided...when

pantry: room adjacent to a kitchen, cuarto ropero

helped...off with aided to take off

wheezy: asthmatic, resollante, jadeante, sibilanteclanged: resounded

scamper: run rapidlybare: denuded

hallway: corridorlet in: admit

guest: person invitedwell for her: a common Irish phrase for «fortunate for her.»

had not to: was not obliged toattend to: assist, receive

thought of that: considered the problemconverted: transformed

bathroom upstairs: only the very best houses hadindoor bathrooms

o

gossiping: conversing familiarlyfussing: being agitated, atareadas

head: toppeering down over: trying to see from

banisters: balustrade, hand-rail

dance velada

always: invariablygreat affair: important ceremony

Lily: In choosing this name Joyce wants the readerto make the associations that the flower has with: 1)death (it is frequently used at funerals); 2) theArchangel Gabriel (it is symbolic of this guardianof the gates of death); and 3) Easter, and thus withrebirth. The reader will want to decide whether ornot there is a rebirth at the end of this story.

always a great affair:Note that the voice telling thestory is no longer Lily’s, but rather the voice of thepeople of a certain Dublin class who knew about andattended parties where their fellow guests would be,as they are at this party, writers, educators, musicians,lovers of the «finer» things Dublin has to offer.

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t h e m c a m e t o i t ,m e m b e r s o f t h efami ly, o ld f r i ends o ft h e f a m i l y , t h em e m b e r s o f J u l i a ’ sc h o i r , a n y o f K a t e ’sp u p i l s t h a t w e r eg r o w n u p e n o u g h ,a n d e v e n s o m e o fM a r y J a n e ’ s p u p i l stoo . Never once had i tfal len f lat . Fo r y e a r sa n d y e a r s i t h a dg o n e o f f i n s p l e n d i ds ty le, as long as anyonec o u l d r e m e m b e r ;e v e r s i n c e K a t e a n dJulia, after the death ofthe i r b ro the r Pa t , hadleft the house in StoneyBatter and taken MaryJane, their only niece,to l ive with them in theda rk , gaunt house onU s h e r ’ s I s l a n d , t h eu p p e r p a r t o f w h i c hthey had rented f romMr. Fulham, the corn-factoro n t h e g r o u n d f l o o r.T h a t w a s a g o o dt h i r t y y e a r s a g oi f i t w a s a d a y .M a r y J a n e , w h o w a sthen a little girl in shortc l o t h e s , w a s n o w t h em a i n p r o p o f t h ehousehold , for she hadthe organ in HaddingtonR o a d . S h e h a d b e e nthrough the Academya n d g a v e a p u p i l s ’conce r t eve ry yea r i nthe upper room of theAntient Concert Rooms.M a n y o f h e r p u p i l sbelonged to the better-c l a s s f a m i l i e s o n t h eKingstown and Dalkeyline. Old as they were,her aunts also did theirshare . Julia, though shewas quite grey, was stillthe leading soprano inAdam and Eve’s , a n dKate, being too feebleto go about much , gavem u s i c l e s s o n s t ob e g i n n e r s o n t h e o l ds q u a r e p i a n o i n t h eb a c k r o o m . L i l y, t h e

c o n o c i d o s , f a m i -l i a r e s , v i e j o s a m i g o sd e l a f a m i l i a , l o sm i e m b r o s d e l c o r od e J u l i a , c u a l q u i e r ad e l o s a l u m n o s d eK a t e c o n e d a d s u f i -c i e n t e e i n c l u s o t a m -b i é n a l g ú n a l u m n o d eMary Jane . Ni una so lav e z h a b í a d e j a d o d es e r u n é x i t o . A ñ o s yaños con un r e su l t adoesp lénd ido po r cuan tos e p u d i e r a r e c o r d a r ,i n c l u s o d e s d e q u eK a t e y J u l i a , t r a s l amuer t e de su he rmanoPa t , de j a ran l a ca sa enStoney Ba t t e r y se l l e -va ran a Mary Jane , suún ica sobr ina , a v iv i rcon ellas a la sombría ye s c u á l i d a c a s a d eU s h e r ’s I s l a n d c u y aparte superior les habíaa l q u i l a d o e l s e ñ o rFulham, el asentador de granoq u e v iv ía en e l piso deabajo. De eso hacía susb u e n o s t r e i n t a a ñ o s ,por poner una fecha .Mary Jane, que enton-ces era una chiquil la defalda corta, era ahora elprincipal sostén de lafamilia, pues se encar-g a b a d e l ó r g a n o e nHaddington Road. Ha-bía pasado por la Aca-demia y todos los añosdaba un concierto a losalumnos en la sala supe-rior del auditorio Antient.Muchos de sus alumnospertenecían a familias muybuenas, como los de la lí-nea Kingstown y Dalkey.A pesar de los años, sust ías también hacían losuyo. Con todos sus cabe-llos grises, Julia aún era lasoprano principal en laiglesia de Adán y Eva, yKate, demasiado delicadapara manejarse bien ,daba lecciones de músicapara principiantes en elviejo piano de mesa delcuarto de atrás. Lily, la

d e l a f a m i l i a , l o sv i e j o s a m i g o s d e l af a m i l i a , l o s i n t e -g r a n t e s d e l c o r o d eJ u l i a , c u a l q u i e ra l u m n a d e K a t e q u ef u e r a l o b a s t a n t e m a -y o r c i t a y h a s t a a l u m -n a s d e M a r y J a n et a m b i é n . N u n c aq u e d a b a m a l . P o ra ñ o s y a ñ o s y t a na t r á s c o m o s e t e n í am e m o r i a h a b í a r e s u l -t a d o u n a o c a s i ó n l u -c i d a ; d e s d e q u e K a t ey J u l i a , c u a n d o m u -r i ó s u h e r m a n o P a t ,d e j a r o n l a c a s a d eS t o n e y B a t t e r y s el l e v a r o n a M a r y J a n e ,l a ú n i c a s o b r i n a , av i v i r c o n e l l a s e n l as o m b r í a y e s p i g a d ac a s a d e l a i s l a d eUsher, cuyos a l tos a l -qui laban a Mr. Fulham,un comerciante en granosque v iv ía en los ba jos .E s o o c u r r i ó h a c e s u sb u e n o s t r e i n t a a ñ o s__ _ _ _ ______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .M a r y J a n e , e n t o n c e su n a n i ñ i t a v e s t i d a d ec o r t o , e r a a h o r a e lpr inc ipa l sos tén de l acasa , ya que t ocaba e lórgano en Hadd ing tonR o a d . H a b í a p a s a d opor la Academia y dabasu conc ie r to anua l dea lumnas en e l sa lón dear r iba de las Ant igu a sS a l a s d e C o n c i e r t o .M u c h a s d e s u s a l u m -n a s p e r t e n e c í a n a lasmejores familias de la rutade Kingstown y Dalke y .S u s t í a s , aunque v ie -j a s , con t r ibu ían con losuyo . Ju l i a , a pesa r desus cana s , t o d a v í a e r al a p r i mera soprano d eA d á n y E v a , l a i g l e -s i a , y Ka te , muy de l i -cada para sa l ir afuera ,d aba l ecc iones de mú-s i ca a p r inc ip ian tes ene l v i e jo p i ano ve r t i ca lde l fondo . L i ly, l a h i j a

choir: choral, societyany...that: all those who

grown up enough: sufficiently adultand even: but also never: on no occasion

fallen flat: been a fiasco, a flop

gone off: taken placelong: far in the past

ever since: exactly from the moment

left (leave, left, ): quitted

dark, gaunt: sombre, sinisterUsher’s Island: name of a quay along the river Liffey

rented: occupied in exchange for moneycorn-factor: a merchant agent who transacts business

for otherso

a good thirty...a day: thirty is a moderate numberago: in the past

thirty years ago if it was a day: Another example ofthe conversational style of Dubliners that takes part inJoyce’s narration.o

then: at that timeo clothes: costume

main prop: principal supporthousehold: family

for: becausehad the organ: was the organist of the church

been through the Academy: studied at the Academy of music

upper: situated upstairsAntient Concert Rooms: building where concerts

were given

better-class: distinguished

on the...line: in the direction ofold: aged

did their share: participatedthough: in spite of the fact that

grey: (her hair)leading: chief, first

Adam and Eve’s: name of a church

go about: circulate, go here and theremuch: considerably

square piano # concert pianoback: situated at the back

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care taker ’s daugh te r,did housemaid’s workfor them. Though theirl i f e was modes t , t heybelieved in eating well ;the best of everything:diamond-bone sirloins ,three-shi l l ing tea andthe best bot t led stout .But Lily seldom made amistake in the orders ,so that she got on wellw i t h h e r t h r e em i s t r e s s e s . T h e yw e r e f u s s y , t h a t w a sa l l . B u t t h e o n l yt h i n g t h e y w o u l dn o t s t a n d w a sb a c k a n swers .

Of course, they hadgood reason to be fussyon such a n ight . Andthen it was long after teno’c lock and yet the rewas no sign of Gabrieland h i s w i fe . Bes idest h e y w e r e d re a d f u l l ya f r a i d t h a t F r e d d yMalins might turn ups c re w e d . T h e y w o u l dnot wish for worlds thata n y o f M a r y J a n e ’spup i l s should see himunder the influence; andwhen he was like that itwas sometimes very hardto manage him. F r e d d yM a l i n s a l w a y s c a m el a t e , b u t t h e yw o n d e r e d w h a t c o u l db e k e e p i n g G a b r i e l :a n d t h a t w a s w h a tb r o u g h t t h e m e v e r yt w o m i n u t e s t o t h eb a n i s t e r s t o a s k L i l yhad Gabr ie l o r Freddycome.

“ O , M r. C o n r o y, ”s a i d L i l y t o G a b r i e lw h e n s h e o p e n e d t h ed o o r f o r h i m , “ M i s sK a t e a n d M i s s J u l i athought you were neverc o m i n g . G o o d - n i g h t ,Mrs. Conroy.”

“ I’ll engage they did, ”s a i d G a b r i e l , “ b u t

hija de la guardesa, tra-bajaba para ellas comoas i s t en t a . A u n q u e s uv i d a e r a m o d e s t a , l e sgustaba la buena comi-da , l o me jo r de t odo :solomillos impecables,té de a tres chelines y lamejor cerveza embote-l l ada . L i l y r a r a v e zs e e q u i v o c a b a e ns u s e n c a r g o s , d em o d o q u e s e l l e v a b ab i e n c o n e l l a s . L e sg u s t aba meter bulla, e s oe r a t o d o . L o ú n ico q u en o s o p o r t a b a ne r a q u e s e l e sr e p l i c a r a .

Tenían razón, natural-mente, para meter bullaen una noche como ésa.Y a d e m á s eran las diezbien pasadas, y Gabriely su mujer seguían sin darseñales de vida». Ademásestaban aterrorizadasante la posibilidad de queF r e d d y M a l i n s a p a r e -c i e r a b o r r a c h o . P o rn a d a d e l m u n d o q u e -rrían que algún alumnode Mary Jane le v ieraen semejante estado; ycuando e s t aba a s í e r am u y d i f í c i l h a c e r s ec o n é l . F r e d d yMalins l legaba siempretarde, pero se pregunta-ban lo que podía retra-sar a Gabrie l , y por esos e a b a l a n z a b a n c a d ad o s m i n u t o s s o b r e l ab a r a n d i l l a p a r a p r e -guntar a Li ly s i habíal l e g a d o G a b r i e l oFreddy.

—Oh, señor Conroy—di jo L i ly cuando l ea b r i ó l a p u e r t a — , l a sseñor i tas Kate y Ju l iapensaban que no iba allegar usted nunca. Bue-n a s n o c h e s , s e ñ o r aConroy.

—No me extraña —dijo Gabr ie l—, pero se

de l encargado , l e s ha -c í a l a l i m p i e z a . A u n -que l l evaban una v idam o d e s t a , l e s g u s t a b ac o m e r b i e n ; l o m e j o rde lo me jo r : cos t i l l a sd e r i ñ o n a d a , t é d e at r e s c h e l i n e s y s t o u te m b o t e l l a d o d e l b u e -n o . P e r o L i l y n u n c ah a c í a u n m a n d a d om a l , p o r l o q u e s el l e v a b a m u y b i e n c o nl a s s e ñ o r i t a s . E r a nquisquillosas, e s o e st o d o . L o ú n i c oq u e n o s o p o r t a -b a n e r a q u e l e sc o n t e s t a r a n .

[120] Claro que teníanrazón para dar t a n t a l a t ae n u n a n o c h e a s í ,p u e s e r a n m á s d el a s d i e z y n i s e ñ a sd e G a b r i e l y s u e s -p o s a . A d e m á s , q u et e n í a m u c h í s i m om i e d o d e q u e F r e d d yM a l i n s s e l e s a p a r e -c i e r a t o m a d o . P o rn a d a d e l m u n d oq u e r í a n que l a s a lum-n a s d e M a r y J a n e l ov ie ran en ese es tado ; ycuando e s t aba a s í e r amuy dif íc i l de manejar,a veces . Freddy Mal insl legaba s iempre ta rde ,p e r o s e p r e g u n t a b a np o r q u é s e d e m o r a r í aG a b r i e l : y e r a e s o l oque las hací a a s o m a r s e_____________ ____ a l ae s c a l e r a p a r a p r e -g u n t a r l e a L i l y s iG a b r i e l y F r e d d y h a -b í a n l l e g a d o .

— A h , M r . C o n r o y— l e d i j o L i l y aG a b r i e l c u a n d o l eabr ió la puer ta—, MissK a t e y M i s s J u l i acre ían que us ted ya novenía . Buenas noches ,Mrs . Conroy.

—Me apuesto a quecreían eso —di jo

did housemaid’s work: acted as a servant

believed: were sure of the value ofeating well: consuming good food

sirloin(s): best part of beefthree-shilling tea: The sirloin is of course an expensive cut,and good everyday tea sold for one-fourth of this price.

stout: strong beerseldom: rarely

mistake: errororder(s): command

so that: in consequencegot on well: had gopd relations

fussy: obsessed by details, exigentes, meticulosas

would not stand: did not tolerateback answer(s): impolite reply

back answers: Another example of a character’s voicebecoming the author’s voice. «Back answers» wouldbe tart or short tempered responses.

such a night: a night like thatlong: a long time

and yet: but

dreadfully afraid: terrified

might: possibilityturn up: arrive

screwed: full of alcohol; drunk, or fast on his way tobecoming drunk.

wish for worlds: desire at all

should: conditionalinfluence: of alcohol

sometimes: frequentlyhard: difficult

manage: control

late: after the usual time

wondered: wished to knowkeeping: stopping

that was what: it was the cause which

had Gabriel...come: if Gabriel...had come

were never coming: would never come

Good night: used as both hello and goodbye.

I’ll engage they did Seguro que lo estabanI’ll engage they did: I am convinced they thought that

I’ll engage they did: Gabriel frequently usespretentious and psuedo-elegant words in an attempt

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t h e y f o r g e t t h a t m yw i f e h e r e t a k e sthree mor ta l hours t od ress herse l f . ”

H e s t o o d o n t h em a t , s c r a p i n g t h es n o w f r o m h i sg o l o s h e s , w h i l e L i l yl e d h i s w i f e t o t h ef o o t o f t h e s t a i r s a n dc a l l e d o u t :

“ M i s s K a t e , h e r e ’sMrs. Conroy.”

K a t e a n d J u l i ac a m e t o d d l i n g d o w nt h e d a r k s t a i r s a to n c e . B o t h o f t h e mk i s s e d G a b r i e l ’ sw i f e , s a i d s h emust be perished alive,a n d a s k e d w a sG a b r i e l w i t h h e r.

“ H e r e I a m a sr i g h t a s t h e m a i l ,A u n t K a t e ! G o o nu p . I ’ l l f o l l o w , ”c a l l e d o u t G a b r i e lf r o m t h e d a r k .

H e c o n t i n u e ds c r a p i n g h i s f e e tv i g o r o u s l y w h i l e t h et h r e e w o m e n w e n tupstairs, laughing, to theladies’ dressing-room. Alight fringe of snow layl i k e a c a p e o n t h es h o u l d e r s o f h i so v e rc o a t a n d l i k et o e c a p s o n t h et o e s o f h i sg o l o s h e s; and, as thebuttons of his overcoats l i p p e d w i t h as q u e a k i n g n o i s et h r o u g h t h e s n o w -s t i f f e n e d f r i e z e , acold, fr a g ran t a i r f romout-of -doors e s c a p e df r o m c r e v i c e s a n df o l d s .

“ I s i t s n o w i n ga g a i n , M r. C o n r o y ? ”asked Lily.

o l v i d a n d e q u ea q u í , m i m u j e r, t a r d atr e s m o r t a l e s h o r a sen a r r eg la r se .

Se restregó los piescontra el felpudo paraquitarse la nieve de lasgalochas , y Lily condu-jo a su mujer al pie dela escalera, desde dondeavisó de su llegada.

—Señorita Kate, aquíestá la señora Conroy.

K a t e y J u l i a ba-jaron por la ____ escale-ra a la vez como si fue-sen chiquillas. Besarona la mujer de Gabriel, ledijeron que debía de es-tar muerta de frío y lepreguntaron si Gabriel seencontraba con ella.

— A q u í e s t o y, t a npuntual como el correo,t í a K a t e — g r i t óGabriel desde la oscu-r i d a d — . S u b i d , q u eahora voy.

Y s iguió r e s t r e -gándose vigorosamentelos pies mientras las tresmujeres subían la esca-l e r a r i é n d o s e hacia elvestidor de señoras. Unatenue capa de nieve se ex-tendía como una esclavi-na sobre los hombros desu abri g o , y c o m op u n t e r a s e n l o s e x -t r e m o s d e s u sg a l o c h a s . A l d e s a -b o t o n a r s e e l a b r i g o ,l a t e l a , t i e s a p o rl a n i e v e , c r u j i ó ye x h a l ó e n t r es u s p l i e g u e s yr e n d i j a s u n ah e l a d a f r a g a n -c i a a i n t e m p e -r i e .

—¿Está nevando denuevo, señor Conroy? —preguntó Lily.

Gabriel—, pero es que se ol-vidaron que acá mi mujer setoma tres horas mortalespara vestirse.

S e p a r ó s o b r e e lf e l p u d o a l i m p i a r s el a n i e v e d e l a sg a l o c h a s , m i e n t r a sL i l y c o n d u c í a a l am u j e r a l p i e d e l a e s -c a l e r a y g r i t a b a :

— M i s s K a t e , a q u íestá Mrs. Conroy.

Kate y Julia bajaronen seguida la oscura es-ca l e ra dando tumbos .L a s d o s b e s a r o n al a esposa de Gabriel , ledijeron que de b í a e s t a ra t e r i d a e n v i d a y l ep r e g untaron si Gabrielhabía venido con ella.

— A q u í e s t o y , t í aK a t e , ¡sin un rasguño!S u b a n u s t e d e s , q u ey o l a s a l c a n z o —g r i t ó Gabr i e l desde l ao s c u r i d a d .

S igu ió l impiándosel o s p i e s c o n v i g o rmient ras las t res muje-r e s sub ían l a s e sca l e -r a s , r i e n d o , h a c i a e lc u a r t o d e v e s t i r. U n al e v e f r a n j a d e n i e v er e p o s a b a s o b r e l o sh o m b r o s d e l a b r i g o ,como una esc lavina , yc o m o u n a p e z u ñ as o b r e e l e m p e i n e d el a s g a l o c h a s ; ya l d e s l i z a r l o sb o t o n e s c o n u nr u i d o c r i s p a n t e p o rlos ojales h e lados d e la b r i g o , d e e n t r es u s p l i e g u e s yd o b l e c e s s a l i ó e lv a h o f r a g a n t e d e l des-campado.

—¿Está nevando otravez, Mr. Conroy? —pre-guntó Lily.

forget # remember

wife: married womanthree mortal hours: Joyce does not have to strain forsymbols and allusions, but finds them in natural phrasesand objects. Here, a common expression carries with itovertones of life and death appropriate to this story.

dress herself: put on her clothes

mat: small strong carpet placed at the doorscraping: detaching by friction

goloshes: snow boots made of rubber, to put on overregular shoes.

led: went with

called out: announced audibly

toddling down: a nice touch on Joyce’s part to suggestthe childlike, even infantile, character of the two womenat walking in that manner with difficulty.

stairs: for passing from one floor to anotherat once: immediately

both: the two

perished alive: dead with coldmust be perished alive: again, a common expressionfurnishes associative effects.

right as the mail: Astonishing to us nowadays but theturn-of-the-century Dublin equivalent of email: fivepickups of mail and five deliveries each day! Regular,in order, like the post

follow : precedecalled out: cried

the dark: the obscurity

while: during the time that

laughing: showing their amusementdressing-room: where guests take off their coats

lay: rested

shoulders: upper part

toecap(s): cover protecting the front part of a shoe

as: whileovercoat: long coat used in winter

slipped—through: opened with a brief light sound

snow-stiffened: made rigid by the snowfrieze: tejido de la a espesa

fragrant: pleasant, odoriferous

crevices and folds: curves and lines of his overcoat

scraping the snow: Note how Gabriel is presented assomeone who tries to rid himself of nature, in contrastto the sympathetic and romantic Michael at theconclusion of the story who is presented as standingout in the rain. Throughout the story Gabriel observesthe snow and the weather through windows, and welearn that he makes his family wear goloshes.

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Joyce’s The dead tr. de Fernando Galván tr.de G. Cabrera-Infante

She had preceded himinto the pantry to helph i m o f f w i t h h i sovercoat. Gabriel smiledat the three syllables shehad given his surnameand glanced at her. Shewas a slim; growing girl,pale in complexion andwith hay-coloured hair.The gas in the pantrym a d e h e r l o o k s t i l lpa ler. Gabriel had knownh e r w h e n s h e w a s ac h i l d a n d u s e d t o s i to n t h e l o w e s t s t e pnursing a rag dol l .

“ Ye s , L i l y , ” h ea n s w e r e d , “ a n d It h i n k w e ’ r e i n f o r an i g h t o f i t . ”

He looked up at thepantry ceiling, w h i c hw a s s h a k i n g w i t h t h es t a m p i n g a n ds h u f f l i n g o f f e e t o nt h e f l o o r a b o v e ,l i s t e n e d f o r am o m e n t t o t h e p i a n oa n d t h e n g l a n c e d a tt h e g i r l , w h o w a sf o l d i n g h i s o v e r c o a tc a r e f u l l y a t t h e e n do f a s h e l f .

“Te l l me . L i ly, ” hesaid in a friendly tone,“ d o y o u s t i l l g o t oschool?”

“O no, sir,” sheanswered. “I’m doneschooling this year andmore.”

“ O , t h e n , ” s a i dGabriel gaily, “I supposewe’ll be going to yourwedd ing one o f t he sef i n e d a y s w i t h y o u ryoung man, eh? “

The girl glanced backat him over her shouldera n d s a i d w i t h g re a tbitterness:

“ T h e m e n t h a t i s

L e c o n d u j o a l adespensa para ayudarlea q u i t a r s e e l a b r i g o .Gabr ie l sonr ió por lastres sílabas con que ha-bía pronunciado su ape-llido y la miró. Era unachica delgada, en plenodesarrollo, de piel páli-da y pelo color heno. Elgas de la despensa ha-c ía que parec iese máspálida. Gabriel la cono-ció cuando era una niñaq u e s o l í a s e n t a r s e a lp i e d e l a e s c a l e r a yacunar una muñeca de trapo.

S í , L i l y — r e s p o n -dió—. Y me da la impre-sión de que tendremostoda una noche de nieve.

L e v a n t ó l a m i r a d aa l t e c h o d e l a d e s -p e n s a , q u e t r e p i d a b ap o r l o s ______ p a s o s ye l a r r a s t r a r d e p i e se n e l p i s o d e a r r i b a ,e s c u c h ó d u r a n t e u nm o m e n t o e l p i a n o , yd e s p u é s m i r ó a l am u c h a c h a , q u e c o l o -c a b a s u a b r i g o c u i d a -d o s a m e n t e d o b l a d oe n u n a n a q u e l .

— D i m e , L i l y —d i j o e n u n t o n o a m i s -t o s o — , ¿ v a s t o d a v í a al a e s c u e l a ?

— O h , n o , s e ñ o r —r e s p o n d i ó e l l a — . H et e r m i n a d o e s t e a ñ o ypara siempre.

— O h , e n t o n c e s— d i j o G a b r i e lj o v i a l m e n t e —s u p o n g o q u e u n d í ad e e s t o s i r e m o s________ a t u b o d a .

L a m u c h a c h a l em i r ó s o b r e e l h o m -b r o y d i j o c o n g r a na m a r g u r a :

— L o s h o m b r e s d e

S e l e h a b í a a d e l a n t a d ohasta el cuarto de desahogopara ayudarle a quitar-se el abrigo, y Gabrielsonrió al oír que añadía,una sí laba más a su ape-llido. Era una muchachadelgada que aún no habíaparado de crecer, de tezpál ida y pelo color depaja. El gas del cuarticol a h a c í a l u c i r l í v i d a .G a b r i e l l a c o n o c i ós i e n d o u n a n i ñ aq u e s e s e n t a b a e ne l ú l t i m o e s c a l ó n aacunar su muñeca de trapo.

—Sí , L i ly —le res -pondió—, y me pareceque tenemos para todala noche.

M i r ó a l c i e l or a s o , q u e t e m b l a -b a c o n l o st a c o n a z o s y e ld e s l i z a r s e d e p i e se n e l p i s o d e a r r i b a ,a t e n d i ó u n m o m e n t oa l p i a n o y l u e g oe c h ó u n a o j e a d a a l am u c h a c h a , q u e y ad o b l a b a s u a b r i g oc o n c u i d a d o a l f o n -d o d e l e s t a n t e .

—Dime , L i ly —di joe n t o n o a m i s t o s o — ,¿ v a s t o d a v í a a l a e s -c u e l a ?

— O h , n o , s e ñ o r— r e s p o n d i óe l l a — , y a n o m á sy n u n c a .

— A h , p u e s e n t o n -ces —di jo Gabr i e l , j o -v i a l— supongo que und í a d e é s t o s a s i s t i r e -mos a e s a b o d a contu nov io , ¿no?

[ 1 2 1 ] L a m u c h a -c h a l o m i r óe s q u i n a d a y d i j o c o nh o n d a a m a r g u r a :

— L o s h o m b r e s d e

pantry cuarto ropero

smiled at: was amused bythree syllables: Con-na-roy

given: pronouncedsurname: family name

glanced: looked quicklyslim # fat

growing: adolescent

with hay-coloured hair: blond

paler: more palehad known: pluperfect of know

used to: was accustomed tostep: element of stairs

nursing: having tenderly in her hands

we’re in for a night of it: it will continue to snow all night

ceiling: top of the roomshaking: trembling

stamping and shuffling: loud or soft sounds of feet

above: upstairs

folding: arranging in order

carefully: with great attentionend: extremity

shelf: plank

in a friendly tone: amicably

still: at the moment, now as in the past

I’m done schooling...: I finished school more than ayear ago

we’ll be going to: we will be present at (futurecontinuous)

wedding: marriage ceremony

one...days: in the futureyoung man: boyfriend, fiancé

glanced back: looked at him in returnover her shoulder: with her head turned

great bitterness: deep resentment

the men that is...: the men of my generation talk a lotand...

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n o w i s o n l y a l lpalaver and what theycan get out of you.”

G a b r i e l c o l o u r e d ,a s i f h e f e l t h e h a dm a d e a m i s t a k e a n d ,w i t h o u t l o o k i n g a th e r , k i c k e d o f f h i sg o l o s h e s a n d f l i c k e da c t i v e l y w i t h h i sm u ff l e r a t h i s p a t e n t -l e a t h e r s h o e s .

H e w a s a s t o u t ,tallish young man. Theh i g h c o l o u r o f h i scheeks pushed upwardse v e n t o h i s f o r e h e a d ,where it scattered itselfi n a f e w f o r m l e s spatches of pale red; ando n h i s h a i r l e s s f a c et h e r e s c i n t i l l a t e drest less ly the pol ishedlenses and the bright giltr i m s o f t h e g l a s s e sw h i c h s c r e e n e d h i sd e l i c a t e a n d r e s t l e s seyes. His glossy blackhair was par ted in themiddle and brushed in along curve beh ind h i se a r s w h e r e i t c u r l e ds l i g h t l y b e n e a t h t h egroove left by his hat.

W h e n h e h a df l i c k e d l u s t r e i n t oh i s s h o e s h e s t o o du p a n d p u l l e d h i sw a i s t c o a t d o w nm o r e t i g h t l y o n h i sp l u m p b o d y . T h e nh e t o o k a c o i nr a p i d l y f r o m h i sp o c k e t .

“ O L i l y, ” h e s a i d ,thrusting it into her hands,“it’s Christmastime, isn’ti t ? J u s t . . . h e r e ’s alittle....”

He walked rapidlytowards the door.

“ O n o , s i r ! ”c r i e d t h e g i r l ,f o l l o w i n g h i m .

hoy en día sólo saben deengatusamientos , y to-dos quieren lo mismo.

G a b r i e l e n r o j e c i ócomo si se percatara dehaber cometido una fal-ta y, sin mirarla, se qui-tó las galochas de sen-dos puntapiés, y repasócon enérgicos golpes dela bufanda el bri l lo desus zapatos de charol.

Era un hombre fuer-t e y un poco a l to . E lc o l o r s u b i d o d e s u smej i l l a s l l egaba has tala f ren te donde se es -p a r c í a e n u n a s p o c a sm a n c h a s i n c o n c r e t a sde un ro jo apagado . Ensu ros t ro imberbe cen-t e l l e a b a n i n c a n s a b l e slos pu l idos l en t e s y l at enue mon tu ra do radade l as ga fas que p ro te -g í a n s u s o j o s d e l i c a -dos e i n fa t igab le s . Subril lante pelo negro sed i v i d í a e n d o s l a rg a sondas has t a de t r á s desus ore jas , donde se r i -zaba l igeramente ba jola seña l de jada por e lsombrero .

C u a n d o s u s z a p a t o ses tuv i eron lus t rosos ,s e i rg u i ó y t i r ó d e s uc h a l e c o h a c i a a b a j op a r a a j u s t a r l o m e j o ra s u c u e r p o r e g o r d e -t e . S a c ó e n t o n c e s u n am o n e d a d e s u b o l s i -l l o y l a i n t r o d u j o e n l a smanos de la muchacha.

— E s N a v i d a d ,L i l y , ______ _____________ _____ d em o d o q u e . . . a q u ít i e n e s . . .

Y caminó rápidamen-te hacia la puerta.

— ¡ O h , n o , s e ñ o r !— g r i t ó l a m u c h a -c h a , s i g u i é n d o l e —

ahora no son más quelabia y lo que puedanechar mano.

G a b r i e l s e s o n ro j óc o m o s i c r e y e r a h a -b e r c o m e t i d o u ne r r o r y , s i n m i r a r l a ,s e s a c u d i ó l a sg a l o c h a s d e l o s p i e sy c o n s u b u f a n d af r o t ó f u e r t e s u s z a -p a t o s d e c h a r o l .

Era un hombre joven,más bien alto y robusto.El color encarnado desus mej i l l as le l l egabaa l a f r e n t e , d o n d e s eregaba en parches ro j i -zos y s in fo rma; y ensu cara desnuda br i l la -ban s in cesar los lentesy los aros de oro de lose s p e j u e l o s q u e a m p a -raban sus o jos inquie-tos y de l icados . Lleva-b a e l b r i l l a n t e p e l onegro par t ido a l medioy pe inado hac i a a t r á sen una la rga curva pord e t r á s d e l a s o r e j a s ,donde se ondeaba levedebajo de la es t r ía quel e d e j a b a m a r c a d a e lsombrero .

C u a n d o l e s a c ób a s t a n t e b r i l l o a l o sz a p a t o s , s e e n d e r e -z ó y s e a j u s t ó e lc h a l e c o t i r a n d o d eé l p o r s o b r e e lv i e n t r e r o l l i z o .L u e g o e x t r a j o c o nr a p i d e z u n a m o n e d ad e l b o l s i l l o .

— A h , L i l y — d i j o ,p o n i é n d o s e l a e n l am a n o — , e s N a v i d a d ,¿no es cierto? Aquí t ie-nes… esto…

Caminó rápido haciala puerta.

—¡Oh, no, señor! —pro tes tó l a muchacha ,c a y é n d o l e d e t r á s —.

can get out of you: try to take advantage of girlscoloured: became red perhaps because of the harshnessof Lily’s reply, perhaps because he recognizes that thewords could apply to him. He appears to be all wordsand no action.

felt : sensedwithout: not

kicked off: took off using his footflicked...at: brushed

muffler: scarfpatent leather: de cuero brillante

stout: big, corpulenttallish: not small

high # palecheeks: part of face under the eyes

pushed upwards: extended

scattered: separated irregularly

formless patches: indistinct marks

hairless: Gabriel has no moustache

restlessly: all the timelenses...rims: essential parts of a pair of glasses

screened: protectedrestless: nervousglossy: lustrousparted: divided

behind: at the back ofear(s): organ of hearingslightly: not very much

beneath: undergroove: line, trace

flicked lustre into his shoes: made his shoes lustrousby brushing them

pulled...down: adjustedwaistcoat: chaleco

plump: fat, stoutcoin: metal money

thrusting: putting rapidlyisn’t it: mini-question asking for approval

towards: in the direction of

The men that is now is only all palaver: Lily’s reply isan ungrammatical — plural noun and singular verb —but common usage among those of Lily’s educationalbackground. Palaver means «idle chatter», particularlywhen the aim is to charm, flatter, or beguile, and it isunclear whether this, or the sexual suggestion that follows,is what makes the remark so upsetting to Gabriel’s ears.

high colour: in the following sentences, through the phrase «flicked lustre» in the next paragraph, note the many words suggesting that Gabriel is the Archangel: among them, «scintillated», «bright», and «glossy».

[lo que puedan obtener de una.]

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“ R e a l l y , s i r , Iw o u l d n ’ t t a k e i t . ”

“ C h r i s t m a s - t i m e !C h r i s t m a s - t i m e ! ”s a i d G a b r i e l , a l m o s tt r o t t i n g t o t h e s t a i r sa n d w a v i n g h i s h a n dt o h e r i nd e p r e c a t i o n .

T h e g i r l , s e e i n gt h a t h e h a d g a i n e dt h e s t a i r s , c a l l e do u t a f t e r h i m :

“Well, thank you, sir.”

H e w a i t e d o u t s i d ethe drawing-room doorun t i l t he wa l t z shou ldf in i sh , l i s t en ing to thes k i r t s t h a t s w e p ta g a i n s t i t a n d t o t h es h u f f l i n g o f f e e t . H ewas s t i l l d i s composedby the g i r l ’s b i t t e r ands u d d e n r e t o r t . I t h a dcas t a g loom ove r h imw h i c h h e t r i e d t od i s p e l b y a r r a n g i n gh i s cu ff s and the bowso f h i s t i e . H e t h e nt o o k f r o m h i sw a i s t c o a t p o c k e t al i t t l e p a p e r a n dg l a n c e d a t t h ehead ings he had madefo r h i s speech . He wasu n d e c i d e d a b o u t t h el i n e s f r o m R o b e r tB r o w n i n g , f o r h ef e a r e d t h e y w o u l d b eabove the heads o f h i sh e a r e r s . S o m eq u o t a t i o n t h a t t h e ywou ld r ecogn i se f romS h a k e s p e a r e o r f r o mthe Melod ies would bebe t t e r . The i nde l i c a t ec l ack ing o f t he men’shee l s and the shufflingo f t h e i r s o l e sr e m i n d e d h i m t h a tthe i r g rade o f cu l tu red i f f e r ed f rom h i s . Hew o u l d o n l y m a k eh i m s e l f r i d i c u l o u s b yquot ing poe t ry to themw h i c h t h e y c o u l d n o tu n d e r s t a n d . T h e y

¡No es necesar io! ¡Deverdad, señor!

— ¡ E s N a v i d a d ¡ E sN a v i d a d ! — d i j oGabr ie l , t ro tando cas ihacia la escalera y qui-t a n d o i m p o r t a n c i a a la s u n t o c o n u n m o v i -miento de la mano.

— B u e n o . G r a c i a s ,s e ñ o r — g r i t ó l a m u -c h a c h a , v i e n d o q u eG a b r i e l a l c a n z a b a l ae s c a l e r a .

Gabriel se quedó jun-to a la puerta del salónesperando a que termina-ra el vals y escuchandolas faldas que se arras-traban por el suelo y elpataleo de los bai lar i -n e s , t o d a v í a d e s c o m -puesto por la súbi ta ya m a r g a r é p l i c a d e l am u c h a c h a , q u e h a b í ae j e r c i d o s o b r e é l u nefecto melancól ico quet r a t ó d e d i s i p a r a r r e -glándose los puños dela camisa y e l lazo del a c o r b a t a . D e s p u é ss a c ó d e l b o l s i l l o d e lcha leco un pape l i to ye c h ó u n v i s t a z o a lencabezamien to de sud i s c u r s o . N o a c a b a b ade decidirse en cuantoa las l íneas de Rober tB r o w n i n g p u e s t e m í aque quedaran fuera dela l cance de su aud i t o -r i o . Q u i z á r e s u l t a r í am e j o r a l g u n a c i t a d eS h a k e s p e a r e o d e l a sMelodías que pudieranreconocer. El indecoro-s o t r a q u e t e o d e l o stacones de los hombresy e l res tregar de sussue las con t ra e l sue lole recordaron el gradod e c u l t u r a q u e l ed i f e renc iaba de e l lo s .Sólo conseguir ía hacerel r idículo s i les c i tabauna poesía que no pu-d i e r a n c o m p r e n d e r .

De veras, señor, no creoque deba.

—¡Es Navidad! ¡Na-vidad! —di jo Gabr ie l ,casi t rotando hasta lase s c a l e r a s y m o v i e n d osus manos hacia ella in-d i c a n d o q u e n o t e n í aimportancia.

La muchacha, viendoque ya había ganado laescalera, gri tó tras él:

—Bueno, gracias en-tonces, señor.

E s p e r a b a f u e r a aq u e e l v a l s t e r m i n a -r a e n l a s a l a , e s c u -c h a n d o l a s f a l d a s yl o s p i e s q u e s ea r r a s t r a b a n , b a -r r i é n d o l a . T o d a v í as e s e n t í a d e s c o n c e r -t a d o p o r l a s ú b i t a ya m a r g a r é p l i c a d e l am u c h a c h a , q u e l oe n t r i s t e c i ó . T r a t ó d ed i s i p a r l o a r r e g l á n -d o s e l o s p u ñ o s y e ll a z o d e l a c o r b a t a .L u e g o s a c ó d e l b o l -s i l l o d e l c h a l e c o u np a p e l i t o y e c h ó u n ao j e a d a a l a l i s t a d et e m a s p a r a s u d i s -c u r s o . S e s e n t í a i n -d e c i s o s o b r e l o s v e r -s o s d e R o b e r tB r o w n i n g p o r q u e t e -m í a q u e e s t u v i e r a nm u y p o r e n c i m a d es u s o y e n t e s . S e r í am e j o r u n a c i t a q u ep u d i e r a n r e c o n o c e r ,d e S h a k e s p e a r e o d el a s M e l o d í a s d eT h o m a s M o o r e . E lg r o s e r o c l a q u e t e o d el o s t a c o n e s m a s c u l i -n o s y e l a r r a s t r e d es u e l a s l e r e c o r d óq u e e l g r a d o d e c u l -t u r a d e e l l o s d i f e r í ad e l s u y o . H a r í a e lr i d í c u l o s i c i t a b ap o e m a s q u e n o p u -d i e r a n e n t e n d e r .P e n s a r í a n q u e e s t a b a

wouldn’t take: can’t accept

almost: practicallytrotting: going at a rapid pace

waving: making a signal with his hand

deprecation: (he wanted Lily to accept the money)

waited outside: did not enterdrawing-room: room for reception

skirt(s): woman’s costumeswept against it: touched the door in turning around

rapidly during the dance

discomposed: troubled

retort: replycast a gloom...: invaded him with melancholy

dispel: dissipate cuff(s): puñosbows of his tie: his cravat

heading(s): notemade: written

speech: orators make speechesundecided: hesitating

lines: lines of verse

feared: had apprehension

hearers: audiencesome quotation: a certain passage

Melodies: poems by the Irish poet and composer Th. Mooreindelicate: vulgar

clacking: clack-clackheel(s): back part of shoe

sole(s): under surface of shoereminded him: made him conscious

his: his grade (degree) of culture

only: just by

quoting: if he citedwhich (relative object) = poetry

understand: comprehend

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w o u l d t h i n k t h a t h ewas a i r ing h is super iore d u c a t i o n . H e w o u l dfa i l w i th them jus t a she had f a i l ed wi th theg i r l i n t he pantry . H eh a d t a k e n u p aw r o n g t o n e . H i sw h o l e s p e e c h w a s am i s t a k e f r o m f i r s tt o l a s t , a n u t t e rf a i l u r e .

J u s t t h e n h i s a u n t sand his wife came outof the ladies’ dressing-room. H i s aun t s we ret w o s m a l l , p l a i n l yd r e s s e d o l d w o m e n .Aunt Jul ia was an incho r s o t h e t a l l e r . H e rh a i r , d r a w n l o w o v e rt h e t o p s o f h e r e a r s ,w a s g r e y ; a n d g r e ya l s o , w i t h d a r k e rshadows, was her largef l a c c i d f a c e . T h o u g hshe was s tout in bui lda n d s t o o d e r e c t , h e rs l o w e y e s a n d p a r t e dl i p s g a v e h e r t h eappearance of a womanw h o d i d n o t k n o wwhere she was or wheres h e w a s g o i n g . A u n tK a t e w a s m o r ev i v a c i o u s . H e r f a c e ,h e a l t h i e r t h a n h e rs i s t e r ’s , w a s a l lpu c k e r s a n d cr e a s e s ,l i k e a s h r i v e l l e d r e da p p l e , a n d h e r h a i r ,b r a i d e d i n t h e s a m eold-fashioned way, hadn o t l o s t i t s r i p e n u tcolour.

T h e y b o t h k i s s e dG a b r i e l f r a n k l y . H ew a s t h e i r f a v o u r i t enephew the son of theird e a d e l d e r s i s t e r ,El len, who had marr iedT. J . C o n r o y o f t h ePor t and Docks .

“ G r e t t a t e l l s m eyou’re not going to takea cab back to Monkstowntonight , Gabriel ,” said

P e n s a r í a n q u e e s t a b aevidenciando su mejoreducac ión . F r aca sa r í ac o n e l l o s c o m o h a b í af r a c a s a d o c o n l a m u -chacha en la despensa .Había adoptado un tonoe q u i v o c a d o . To d o s udiscurso era una equi-vocación del pr incipióal f in, un absoluto fra-caso.

_____ S u s t í a s y s um u j e r s a l i e r o n d e lv e s t i d o r d e s e ñ o r a s .Sus t ías e ran dos v ie -j e c i t a s s e n c i l l a m e n t eves t idas . T ía Ju l ia e rala más a l ta , una pulga-da más o menos. Su ca-be l lo , pe inado en mo-ñ o s s o b r e l a s o r e j a s ,e r a g r i s ; y g r i s e r at ambién , con sombrasmás oscuras , su f lácidor o s t r o a l a rg a d o . A u n -que era de const i tuciónf u e r t e y s e m a n t e n í ab i e n t i e s a , s u s o j o sm u e r t o s y s u s l a b i o sh e n d i d o s l e d a b a n e la s p e c t o d e u n a m u j e rque no sup i e r a dóndese encont raba o a dón-de se d i r ig ía . T ía Kateera más v ivaz . Su ros-t ro , más sano que e l des u h e r m a n a , e r a t o d opl iegues y rayas , comouna ro ja re ine ta , y suc a b e l l o , p e i n a d o d e lm i s m o m o d o a n t i c u a -do, no había perdido e lco lor de las ave l lanasmaduras .

Ambas le besaron encuanto le vieron. Era susobrino favorito, el hijode su difunta hermanamayor, Ellen, que se ha-b í a c a s a d o c o n T. J .Conroy del Puerto y losDiques

—Gretta me ha dichoque no vais a tomar uncoche pa ra r eg re sa r aMonkstown esta noche

a l a r d e a n d o d e s uc u l t u r a . C o m e t e r í au n e r r o r c o n e l l o sc o m o e l q u e c o m e t i óc o n l a m u c h a c h a e ne l cuarto de desahogo.S e e q u i v o c ó d et o n o . T o d o s u d i s -c u r s o e s t a b a e q u i -v o c a d o d e a r r i b aa b a j o . U n f r a c a s ot o t a l .

Fue en tonces cuan-do sus t ías y su mujersa l ie ron de l cuar to dev e s t i r . S u s t í a s e r a ndos anc ianas pequeñasque ves t ían con senc i -l l e z . T í a J u l i a e r acomo una pulgada mása l t a . L l e v a b a e l p e l ogr i s , hac ia a t rás , en un[122] moño a la a l turad e l a s o r e j a s ; y g r i st ambién , con sombraso s c u r a s , e r a s u l a rg aca ra f l ácc ida . Aunqueera robusta y caminabae rgu ida , l o s o jos l án -guidos y los lab ios en-t reabier tos le daban laapar ienc ia de una mu-je r que no sab ía dóndees taba n i a dónde iba .T í a K a t e s e v e í a m á sviva . Su cara , más sa-l u d a b l e q u e l a d e s uhermana , e ra toda bul-t o s y a r r u g a s , c o m ouna manzana ro ja perof r u n c i d a , y s u p e l o ,p e i n a d o t a m b i é n a l aan t igua , no había per-d ido su co lor de cas ta -ña madura .

L a s d o s b e s a r o n aGabriel , cariñosas . Erae l s o b r i n o p r e f e r i d o ,hi jo de la hermana ma-yor, la difunta El len, laque s e ca só con T. J .Conroy, de los Muellesdel Puerto .

—Gretta me acaba dedecir que no va a regre-s a r e n c o c h e aMonkstown esta noche,

airing: making an exhibition of, showing off

fail # make a successjust as: exactly in the manner that

taken up: adoptedwrong # correct, right

whole: entirefrom first to last: from the beginning to the end

utter: total, completefailure: fiasco

just then: at that precise moment

plainly: simply

an inch or so: one or two inchestaller: higher in stature

drawn low...: covered her ears and ended in achignon

darker shadow(s): more intense grey in parts

flaccid # firmbuild: proportions of her body

erect: rigid and dignifiedslow: moving slowly

parted lips: her mouth was half open

where she was going: in what direction she wanted to go

vivacious: animatedhealthier: more healthy or flourishing

puckers and creases: folds and crevicesshrivelled: old and dry braided: arranged in tresses

old-fashioned way: obsolete mannerlost # maintainedripe nut: auburn

frankly: cordially, afectuosamente

son: male childelder: senior

had married: was married to; # not with!

cab: vehicle pulled by a horseback: to return

Monkstown: about 8 km from the centre of Dublin

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Aunt Kate.

“No ,” sa id Gabr i e l ,t u r n i n g t o h i s w i f e ,“we had qu i t e enougho f t h a t l a s t y e a r ,hadn’ t we? Don’t youremember, Au n t K a t e ,w h a t a c o l d G r e t t ag o t o u t o f i t ? C a bw i n d o w s r a t t l i n ga l l t h e w a y, a n d t h ee a s t w i n d b l o w i n g i na f t e r w e p a s s e dMer r ion . Very jo l ly i tw a s . G r e t t a c a u g h t ad read fu l co ld . ”

A u n t K a t ef r o w n e d s e v e r e l ya n d n o d d e d h e rh e a d a t e v e r yw o r d .

“Quite right, Gabriel,qui te r ight ,” she sa id .“ Yo u c a n ’ t b e t o ocareful.”

“ B u t a s f o r G r e t t at h e r e , ” s a i dG a b r i e l , “ s h e ’ dw a l k h o m e i n t h es n o w i f s h e w e r el e t . ”

Mrs. Conroy laughed.“ D o n ’ t m i n d h i m ,

Aunt Ka te , ” she sa id .“He’s r ea l ly an awfu lbother, what with greenshades for Tom’s eyes atnight and making him dot h e d u m b - b e l l s , a n dforcing Eva to eat thes t i r a b o u t . T h e p o o rchi ld! And she s implyhates the sight of it!... O,but you’l l never guesswhat he makes me wearnow!”

She broke out into ap e a l o f l a u g h t e r a n dglanced at her husband,w h o s e a d m i r i n g a n dh a p p y e y e s h a d b e e nw a n d e r i n g f r o m h e rd r e s s t o h e r f a c e a n dh a i r . T h e t w o a u n t s

—dijo tía Kate.

— N o , y a t u v i m o sbastante con lo del añopasado, ¿no es así? —dijo Gabriel, volviéndo-s e h a c i a s u m u j e r — .¿ N o r e c u e r d a s , t í a ,Kate, el catarro que co-gió Gretta? Las venta-nas del coche sonabanc o m o c a r r a c a s y e lviento del este comenzóa soplar en cuanto pasa-mos Merrion. ¡Menudanochecita! Gretta cogióun catarro tremendo.

Tía Kate frunció se-v e r a m e n t e e l c e ñ o yasintió con la cabeza acada una de sus pa la -bras.

— A s í e s , G a b r i e l ,a s í e s — d i j o — . L a sp r e c a u c i o n e s n u n c as o n p o c a s .

— A u n q u e s i f u e r ap o r G r e t t a — d i j oG a b r i e l — , r e g r e s a r í aa ca sa caminando po rl a n i eve , s i l a de j á ra -mos .

—No le hagas caso ,t ía Kate —dijo la seño-ra Conroy, riendo—. Esun pejiguera horrible. ¡Deverdad! No permite a Tomque lea por las noches sinuna visera verde,_______________ _________yobliga a Eva a comerse to-das las gachas. ¡A la po-bre chica, que se ponemala en cuanto las ve!...Y n o o s i m a g i n á i s l oque me obl iga a poner-me.

S e r i ó c o n u n ac a r c a j a d a ym i r ó a s u m a r i d oc u y o s f e l i c e s ya d m i r a t i v o s o j o sr e c o r r í a n sus ropas ,su rostro y su pelo. Last ías r ieron cordia lmen-

Gabriel —dijo tía Kate.

—No —dijo Gabriel,volviéndose a su espo-sa—, ya tuvimos bastan-t e con e l año pasado ,¿no es así? ¿No te acuer-das, tía Kate, el catarroque cogió Gretta enton-ces? Con las puertas delc o c h e traqueteandot o d o e l v i a j e y e lv i e n t o del Este dándo-nos de lleno en cuanto pa-samos Merrion. Lindísi-m o . G r e t t a c o g i ó u nca ta rro de lo más malo.

T í a K a t ef r u n c í a e lc e ñ o y a s e n t í aa c a d a p a l a -b r a .

— M u y b i e n d i c h o ,Gabriel, muy bien dicho— d i j o — . N o h a y q u edescuidarse nunca.

—Pero en cuan to aGretta —dijo Gabriel—, ésta es capaz de regre-sar a casa a pie por en-tre la nieve, si por ellafuera.

Mrs. Conroy sonrió.— N o l e h a g a c a s o ,

t í a K a t e — d i j o — , q u ee s d e m a s i a d o p r e c a v i -d o : o b l igando a Tom ausar visera verde cuan-d o l e e d e n o c h e y ah a c e r e j e r c i c i o s , yf o r z a n d o a E v a a c o -m e r potaje . ¡Pobreci ta!¡ Q u e n o l o p u e d e n iv e r ! … A h , ¿ p e r o aq u e n o a d i v i n a n l oq u e m e o b l i g a a l l e -v a r a h o r a ?

S e d e s h i z oe n c a r c a j a d a sm i r a n d o a s u m a r i -d o , c u y o s o j o s a d m i -r a d o s y c o n t e n t o si b a n d e s u v e s t i d o as u c a r a y s u p e l o . L a sd o s t í a s r i e r o n t a m -

we had...of that: we do not want to repeat theexperience

last year: the year beforehadn’t we? Gabriel wants confirmation

cold: coryzagot: had

out of: because ofrattling: making sounds of vibration

all the way: all along the wayblowing in: penetrating

jolly: pleasant (said with irony)caught: got

dreadful: terrible

frowned: contracted her foreheadnodded: moved up and down in approbation

quite right: entirely correct

you can’t be too careful: every precaution isnecessary

as for Gretta: concerning Gretta personally

she’d: she would

if she were let: if she was permitted

mind: pay attention to

awful bother: annoying manwhat with: for example

shade(s): viseramaking him do: forcing him to usedumb-bells: pesas (de halterofilia)

stirabout: porridge, oatmeal

hates the sight...: looking at it disgusts herguess: find, discover

wear: put on (my body)

broke out into a peal of laughter: gave a long andmelodious expression of gaiety

whose...eyes: the eyes of whom (Gabriel)

wandering: moving successively

[ Todo el cuidado es poco.]

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laughed heartily, too, forGabriel’s solicitude wasa s t a n d i n g j o k e w i t hthem.

“ G o l o s h e s ! ” s a i dM r s . C o n r o y. “ T h a t ’st h e l a t e s t . W h e n e v e ri t ’s w e t u n d e r f o o t Im u s t p u t o n m ygaloshes. Tonight even,h e w a n t e d m e t o p u tt h e m o n , b u t Iw o u l d n ’ t . T h e n e x tthing he’ l l buy me wil lbe a diving sui t .”

G a b r i e l l a u g h e dn e r v o u s l y a n d p a t t e dh i s t i e r e a s s u r i n g l y,while Aunt Kate nearlyd o u b l e d h e r s e l f , s ohear t i ly d id she enjoyt h e j o k e . T h e s m i l esoon faded f rom AuntJ u l i a ’s f a c e a n d h e rm i r t h l e s s e y e s w e r ed i r e c t e d t o w a r d s h e rnephew’s face. After apause she asked:

“ A n d w h a t a r egoloshes, Gabriel?”

“ G o l o s h e s , J u l i a ! ”e x c l a i m e d h e r s i s t e r“Goodness me, don’t youknow what goloshes are?Yo u w e a r t h e m o v e ryour... over your boots,Gretta, isn’t it?”

“ Ye s , ” s a i d M r s .C o n r o y .“ G u t t a p e r c h at h i n g s . W e b o t hh a v e a p a i r n o w .G a b r i e l s a y se v e r y o n e w e a r s t h e mon the Cont inent .”

“ O , o n t h eCont inent ,” murmuredAunt Julia, nodding herhead slowly.

Gabrie l knitted hisbrows and said, as if hewere slightly angered:

t e t a m b i é n , p u e s l as o l i c i t u d d e G a b r i e le ra una broma normalent re e l las .

—¡Galochas! —dijola señora Conroy—. ¡Loú l t i m o ! E n c u a n t o e lp iso es tá húmedo , met e n g o q u e p o n e rgalochas. Incluso queríaque me las pusiera estanoche, pero me he nega-d o . E s t á d i s p u e s t o acomprarme un traje debuzo.

G a b r i e l r i ó n e r v i o -s amente y se tocó la cor-bata para tranquilizarse,mientras la tía Kate casis e p a r t í a d e r i s a . ________ ____ ____ __ __ ____________ La son r i s adesapareció rápidamentedel rostro de la tía Julia,y sus ojos sin vida se di-rigieron directamente a lacara de su sobrino. Hizouna pausa y preguntó:

— ¿ Y q u é s o ngalochas, Gabriel?

—¿Galochas? —ex-c l a m ó s u h e r m a n a — .Dios me bendiga ¿no sa-bes lo qué son galochas?Se ponen sobre... sobrel a s b o t a s , ¿ n o e s a s í ,Gretta?

— A s í e s — d i j o l as e ñ o r a C o n r o y — . S o nc o s a s d e g u t a p e r c h a .A h o r a t e n e m o s u n p a rc a d a u n o . G a b r i e ld i c e q u e t o d o e l m u n -d o l a s l l e v a e n e l c o n -t i n e n t e .

—Oh, en el continen-te —murmuró la tía Ju-l i a , a s in t i endo suave -mente con la cabeza.

Gabriel frunció las ce-jas como si estuviera lige-ramente enfadado, y dijo:

b i én con ganas, ya que las o l i c i t u d d e G a b r i e lformaba parte del reper-torio familiar.

—¡Galochas! —dijoMrs. Conroy—. La últ i-ma moda. Cada vez quee s t á e l s u e l o m o j a d ot e n g o q u e l l e v a rg a l o c h a s . Q u e r í a q u em e l a s p u s i e r a h a s t aesta noche, pero de eson a d a . S i m e d e s c u i d ome compra un traje debañista.

G a b r i e l s e r i ó n e r-vioso y, para darse con-f i a n z a , s e a r r e g l ó l aco rba t a , m ien t r a s quet ía Kate se doblaba dela r isa de tanto que legus t aba e l cuen to . Lasonrisa desapareció ensegu ida de l a ca ra det ía Jul ia y f i jó sus ojostr is tes en la cara de sus o b r i n o . D e s p u é s d euna pausa preguntó:

— ¿ Y q u é s o ngalochas, Gabriel?

—¡Ga lochas , Ju l i a !—exclamó su hermana—. Santo cielo, ¿tú no sa-bes lo que son galochas?Se ponen sobre los… so-bre las botas, ¿no es así,Gretta?

— S í — d i j o M r s .C o n r o y — . U n a s c o s a sd e g u t a p e r c h a . L o sd o s t e n e m o s [ 1 2 3 ] u np a r a h o r a . G a b r i e ld i c e q u e t o d o e l m u n -d o l a s u s a e n e l c o n t i -n e n t e .

— A h , e n e l c o n t i -n e n t e — m u r m u r ó t í aJ u l i a , m o v i e n d o l ac a b e z a l e n t a m e n t e .

Gab r i e l f r unc ió l a sc e j a s y d i j o , c o m o s ies tuv iera enfadado:

heartily: cordiallysolicitude cuidado, afán, ansiedad

standing joke: permanent source of amusement,pleasantry

latest: most recent ideawhenever: every time

it’s wet underfoot: the ground is humid

wanted me to: wanted that I (infinitive clause)

the next thing: after thisbuy me: offer me

diving suit: special costume for going under water

patted: tappedreassuringly: to disguise his embarrassment nearly:

almost

doubled herself: was convulsed with laughter enjoy:appreciate

soon faded: disappeared rapidly

mirthless: sad

pause: moment of silence

what are goloshes?: inversion of the verb (question)

goodness me: exclamation expressing surprise

what goloshes are: no inversion of the verb!over: on

GUTTAPERCHA Nowadays galoshes (overshoes) areusually plastic, but they were first made of rubber, andthus the word derives from the Malaysian for gum tree— getah percha.

both: Gabriel and I

everyone: everybodyon the Continent: in Europe; the Continentincludes all Europe except the British Isles

slowly: in a reflective manner

knitted his eyebrows: frowned

he were: he wasslightly angered: displeased but not extremely

displeased

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“ I t ’ s n o t h i n g v e r yw o n d e r f u l , b u tG r e t t a t h i n k s i t v e r yf u n n y b e c a u s e s h es a y s t h e w o r dr e m i n d s h e r o fC h r i s t y M i n s t r e l s . ”

“ B u t t e l l m e ,G a b r i e l , ” s a i d A u n tKa te , w i th b r i sk t ac t .“Of course, you’ve seenabout the room. Grettawas saying...”

“ O , t h e r o o m i sa l l r i g h t , ” r e p l i e dG a b r i e l . “ I ’ v e t a k e no n e i n t h eG r e s h a m . ”

“ To b e s u r e , ” s a i dAunt Kate, “by far thebest thing to do. And thechildren, Gretta, you’ren o t a n x i o u s a b o u tthem?”

“O, fo r one n igh t , ”s a i d M r s . C o n r o y.“ B e s i d e s , B e s s i e w i l llook after them.”

“ To b e s u r e , ” s a i dAunt Kate again. “Whata comfort it is to have agir l l ike that , one youcan depend on! There’st h a t L i l y, I ’ m s u r e Id o n ’ t k n o w w h a t h a sc o m e o v e r h e r l a t e l y.She’s no t the g i r l shewas at all.”

Gabriel was about toa s k h i s a u n t s o m eq u e s t i o n s o n t h i sp o i n t , b u t s h e b r o k eo f f s u d d e n l y t o g a z ea f t e r h e r s i s t e r , w h oh a d w a n d e r e d d o w nt h e s t a i r s a n d w a scraning her neck overthe banis te rs .

“Now, I ask you,” shes a i d a l m o s t t e s t i l y ,“where is Jul ia going?Julia! Julia! Where areyou going?”

— N o s o n u n am a r a v i l l a , p e r oG r e t t a l o t o m a ar i s a p o r q u e l a p a -l a b r a l e s u e n ac o m o l o s c a n t o sd e n e g r o s .

—Pero dime, Gabriel—dijo la t ía Kate, ani-mada por la duda—, ha-b r á s b u s c a d o a l o j a -mien to , na tu ra lmen te .Gretta nos decía. . .

—Oh, el alojamientoestá resuelto —respon-dió Gabriel—. He reser-vado una habitación enel Gresham.

— H a s h e c h o l o m e -j o r — d i j o l a t í aK a t e — . P a r a m a y o rs e g u r i d a d . ¿ Y l o s n i -ñ o s , G r e t t a , n o o sp r e o c u p a n ?

—Oh, por una noche— d i j o l a s e ñ o r aConroy—. Además, estáBessie para cuidarles.

—Para mayor seguri-dad —dijo otra vez la tíaKate—. ¡Qué agradableresulta tener una chicaasí, en la que poder con-fiar! Ahí tenéis a Lily,que no sé muy bien loque le pasa últimamen-t e . N o e s l a c h i c a d esiempre.

G a b r i e l e s t a b a ap u n t o d e h a c e r a l g u -n a p r e g u n t a a l r e s -p e c t o c u a n d o s u t í as e l a n z ó s ú b i t a m e n t ed e t r á s d e s u h e r m a n aq u e b a j a b a r á p i d a -m e n t e p o r l a e s c a l e r as a c a n d o e l c u e l l o s o -b r e l a b a r a n d i l l a .

— Y a h o r a — d i j oc a s i e n o j a d a —¿ a d ó n d e v a J u l i a ?¡ J u l i a ! ¡ J u l i a !¿ a d ó n d e v a s ?

— N o s o n n a d a d e lotro mundo, pero Grettacree que son muy cómi-cas porque dice que ler e c u e r d a n a l o sm i n s t r e l s n e g r o s d eChristy.

— P e r o d i m e ,Gabr ie l —di jo t ía Katec o n t a c t o b r u s c o — .Claro que te ocupas tede l cuar to . Gre t ta noscontaba que…

— O h , l o d e l c u a r -t o e s t á r e s u e l t o — r e -p l i c ó G a b r i e l — .T o m é u n o e n e lG r e s h a m .

— C l a r o , c l a r o —di jo t í a Ka te—, lo me-j o r q u e p o d í a s h a b e rh e c h o . Y l o s n i ñ o s ,Gre t t a , ¿no t e p reocu-pan?

—Oh, no es más quep o r u n a n o c h e — d i j oM r s . C o n r o y — . A d e -más, Bessie los cuida.

— C l a r o , c l a r o —d i j o t í a K a t e d e n u e -v o - — . ¡ Q u é c o m o d i -d a d t e n e r u n a m u c h a -c h a a s í , e n q u i e n s ep u e d e c o n f i a r ! A h ít i e n e n a e s a L i l y, q u en o s é l o q u e l e p a s aú l t i m a m e n t e . N o e s l ad e a n t e s .

Gabriel estuvo a pun-to de hacer le una pre-gunta a su tía sobre esteasunto , pero e l la de jód e p r e s t a r l e a t e n c i ó npara observar a su her-mana, que se había es-currido escaleras abajo,sacando la cabeza porsobre la baranda.

—Ahora d ime tú —dijo ella, como molesta—, ¿dónde irá Julia aho-ra? ¡Julia! ¡Julia! ¿Dón-de vas tú?

it’s nothing very wonderful: there is nothingextraordinary in it

funny: amusing

Christy Minstrels: famous group of dancers andmusicians disguised as Blacks

with brisk tact: because Gabriel is annoyed shechanges subject rapidly

seen about: made arrangements for

all right: acceptable

the Gresham: first-class hotel in Dublin

to be sure: assuredlyby far: no comparison is possible

anxious about: feeling anxiety for

besides: in additionlook after: be responsible for, take care of

said...again: repeated

comfort: satisfaction # what a!one: a girl

depend on: have confidence in # place of onthere’s: considerI’m sure: really

come over her: influenced her suddenlylately: recently

was about to: was on the point of

broke off: stopped talkinggaze after: look fixedly at

wandered down: gone down in an uncertain manner

craning: extendingneck: support of the head

now: well!testily: irritably

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Julia, who had goneh a l f w a y d o w n o n ef l igh t , came back andannounced blandly:

“Here’s Freddy.”

At the same moment aclapping of hands and af i n a l f l o u r i s h o f t h ep i a n i s t t o l d t h a t t h ew a l t z h a d e n d e d . T h edrawing-room door wasopened from within andsome couples came out.Aunt Kate drew Gabriela s i d e h u r r i e d l y a n dwhispered into his ear:

“Slip down, Gabriel,like a good fellow and seeif he’s all right, and don’tlet him up if he’s screwed.I’m sure he’s screwed .I’m sure he is.”

Gabr ie l went to thestairs and l is tened overthe banis ters . He couldh e a r t w o p e r s o n sta lk ing in the pantry .T h e n h e r e c o g n i s e dFreddy Mal ins’ laugh .H e w e n t d o w n t h es ta i r s no is i ly.

“I t ’s such a re l ief ,”said Aunt Kate to Mrs.Conroy, “that Gabriel ish e r e . I a l w a y s f e e leasier in my mind whenh e ’s h e r e . . . . J u l i a ,there’s Miss Daly andM i s s P o w e r w i l l t a k es o m e r e f r e s h m e n t .T h a n k s f o r y o u rb e a u t i f u l w a l t z , M i s sD a l y. I t m a d e l o v e l ytime.”

A t a l l w i z e n - f a c e dm a n , w i t h a s t i f fgrizzled moustache andswarthy skin, who wasp a s s i n g o u t w i t h h i spartner, said:

“ A n d m a y w e h a v esome refreshment, too,

Julia, que ya andabacasi por la mitad de lae s c a l e r a , r e g r e s ó yanunció suavemente:

—Aquí está Freddy.

U n a p l a u s o y u n afloritura final del pianoanunciaron en ese mo-mento que el vals habíat e r m i n a d o . L a p u e r t adel salón se abrió y porella salieron unas cuan-t a s p a r e j a s . T í a K a t el levó apar te precipi ta-damente a Gabriel y lesusurró al oído:

Ve t e a b a j o c o m ou n b u e n c h i c o y m i r as i e s t á b i e n , y s i e s t áb ebido no le dejes subir.Estoy segura de que lo está.____________

Gabr ie l se acercó al a e sca l e r a y e scuchós o b r e l a b a r a n d i l l a .Pudo oír a dos personasq u e h a b l a b a n e n l adespensa. Reconoció larisa de Freddy Malins yb a j ó p o r l a e s c a l e r aruidosamente .

— M e n o s m a l q u eGabriel está aquí —dijola t ía Kate a la señoraConroy—. Siempre mes i e n t o m á s t r a n q u i l acuando está aquí. . . Ju-lia, aquí tienes a la se-ñorita Daly y a la seño-rita Power que tomaránalgún refresco. Graciaspor su hermoso vals, se-ñorita Daly. Ha sido ma-ravilloso.

U n h o m b r e a l t o d emustias facciones, pielatenazada y engominadob igo te en t r ecano , quepasaba con su pa re j a ,dijo:

—¿Podemos tomar unrefresco nosotros tam-

Julia, que había baja-do más de media esca-l e r a , r e g r e s ó a d e c i r ,zalamera :

—Ahí está Freddy.

En el mismo instanteunas palmadas y un flo-reo final del piano anun-ció que el vals acababade terminar. La puertade la sala se abrió desdedentro y salieron algu-nas parejas. Tía Kate sellevó a Gabriel apresu-radamente a un lado y lesusurró al oído:

—Sé bueno, Gabriel,y v e te a b a j o a v e r s iestá bien y no le dejessub i r s i e s t á tomado .Estoy segura de que está tomado.Segurísima.

Gabriel se llegó a laescalera y escuchó másal lá de la balaustrada.Podía oír dos personasconversando en el cuartode desahogo. Luego reco-noció la risa de FreddyMalins. Bajó las escale-ras haciendo ruido.

—Qué a l iv io —di jot í a K a t e a M r s .Conroy— que Gabr ie lesté aquí… Siempre mesiento más descansadam e n t a l m e n t e c u a n d oanda por aquí… Jul ia ,aquí están Miss Daly yMiss Power, que van at o m a r r e f r e s c o s . G r a -cias por e l l indo vals ,Miss Daly. Un ritmo en-cantador.

U n h o m b r e a l t o , d ec a r a m u s t i a , b i g o t ed e c e r d a s ________ ________ y piel oscura, quepasaba con su pare ja ,dijo:

—¿Podríamos tambiéntomar nosotros un refresco,

half-way: to the middle offlight: group of stairs

came back: returned to her sister upstairsblandly: calmly

clapping of hands: applausefinal flourish: ostentatious finale told: announced

from within: from the interior of the room

drew...aside: took, Gabriel aparthurriedly: with precipitation

whispered: murmured

slip down: go downstairs secretlylike a good fellow: if you please

all right: in an acceptable statelet him up: permit him to go upstairs

he could hear: can, could used with verbs ofperception (see, hear, smell, taste, feel)

noisily: with a lot of noise, not at all discreetly

such a: a greatrelief: assistance, aid, reassurance

feel easier in my mind: am less anxious

will take: who would like to take

some refreshment: a drink

it made lovely time: the rhythm was excellent

wizen-faced: looking shrivelledstiff grizzled: rigid and grey

swarthy: tanned

out: (of the drawing room)partner: dancing partner, woman he has been

waltzing with

may: expression of polite request (can is more usual)

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Miss Morkan?”

“ J u l i a , ” s a i d A u n tK a t e s u m m a r i l y, “ a n dh e r e ’ s M r . B r o w n ea n d M i s s F u r l o n g .Ta k e t h e m i n , J u l i a ,w i t h M i s s D a l y a n dM i s s P o w e r. ”

“ I ’ m t h e m a n f o rt h e l a d i e s , ” s a i d M r .B r o w n e , p u r s i n g h i sl i p s u n t i l h i sm o u s t a c h e b r i s t l e da n d s m i l i n g i n a l lh i s w r i n k l e s . “ Y o uk n o w , M i s sM o r k a n , t h e r e a s o nt h e y a r e s o f o n d o fm e i s — — ”

He did not f in ish hiss e n t e n c e , b u t , s e e i n gtha t Aunt Kate was outof earshot , a t once ledthe three young lad iesi n t o t h e b a c k r o o m .T h e m i d d l e o f t h eroom was occupied byt w o s q u a r e t a b l e sp laced end to end , andon these Aunt Jul ia andt h e c a r e t a k e r w e r es t r a i g h t e n i n g a n dsm o o t h i n g a l a r g ec l o t h . O n t h esideboard were arrayeddishes and p la tes , andglasses and bundles ofk n i v e s a n d f o r k s a n dspoons . The top of thec l o s e d s q u a r e p i a n os e r v e d a l s o a s as i d e b o a r d f o r v i a n d sa n d s w e e t s . A t as m a l l e r s i d e b o a r d i none corner two youngmen were standing, drinkinghop-bi t ters .

Mr. Browne l ed h i scha rges t h i t h e r a n di n v i t e d t h e m a l l ,in jest, to some lad ies ’punch , ho t , s t rong ands w e e t . A s t h e y s a i dt h e y n e v e r t o o ka n y t h i n g s t r o n g , h eo p e n e d t h r e e b o t t l e s

bién, señorita Morkan?

—Julia —dijo la t íaKate de modo tajante—, aqu í t i enes a l s eño rBrowne y a la señoritaFur long . L léva los conl a s s e ñ o r i t a s D a l y yPower.

—Yo me encargaré delas damas —dijo el se-ñor Browne, frunciendolos labios hasta que elbigote perdió su com-postura y la sonrisa seextendió por todos susp e l o s e r i z a d o s — . Yas a b e u s t e d , s e ñ o r i t aMorkan, que me apre-cian porque...

N o t e r m i n ó l a f r a s es i n o q u e , v i e n d o q u et í a K a t e e s t a b a l e j o spara escucharle, condu-jo a las t res jóvenes ala habi tación de at rás .Un par de mesas cua-dradas colocadas juntasocupaban la mitad de lah a b i t a c i ó n , s o b r e l a sq u e l a t í a J u l i a y l ag u a r d e s a e s t i r a b a ny a l i s a b a n u ne n o r m e m a n t e l .E n e l aparador se orde-naban fuentes y platos y cu-chillos y tenedores y cucha-ras sujetas en m a z o s .Una vez cerrado, la par-te super i o r d e l p i a n os e r v í a t a m b i é nc o m o a p a r a d o r p a r ad u l c e s y v i a n d a s .Junto a un aparador más pe-queño colocado en una esqui-na, se encontraban dos ___h o m b r e s b e b i e n d ocerveza amarga de lúpulo.

El señor Browne lle-vó hasta allí a las seño-ritas puestas a su cargoy, en broma, invitó a to-das a tomar un poco deldulce, fuerte y calientep o n c h e d e l a s d a m a s .Como dijeron que nun-ca tomaban nada fuerte,

Miss Morkan?

—Julia —dijo la t íaKate , sumariamente—,y a q u í e s t á n M r.Browne y Miss Furlong.Llévatelos adentro, Ju-l i a , c o n M i s s D a l y yMiss Power.

[ 1 2 4 ] — Yo m e e n -ca rgo de l a s damas —di jo Mr. Browne, apre-t ando sus l ab ios has t aque sus b igo tes se er i -zaron para sonre í r cont odas sus a r rugas .

—Sabe u s t ed , Mi s sMorkan, la razón por laque les caigo bien a lasmujeres es que…

N o t e r m i n ó l a f r a -s e , s i n o q u e , v i e n d oq u e l a t í a K a t e e s t a -b a y a f u e r a d e a l c a n -c e , e n s e g u i d a s e l l e -v ó a l a s t r e s m u j e r e sa l c u a r t o d e l f o n d o .D o s m e s a s c u a d r a d a sp u e s t a s j u n t a s o c u p a -b a n e l c e n t r o d e lc u a r t o , y l a t í a J u l i ay e l e n c a r g a d o e s t i -r a b a n y a l i s a b a n u nl a r g o m a n t e l s o b r ee l l a s . E n e l cristaleros e v e í a n e n e x h i b i -c i ó n p l a t o s y p l a t i l l o sy v a s o s y haces d e c u -c h i l l o s y t e n e d o r e s yc u c h a r a s . L a t a p a d e lp i a n o v e r t i c a l s e r v í ac o m o m e s a a u x i l i a rp a r a l o s e n t re m e s e s yl o s p o s t r e s . A n t e u na p a r a d o r p e q u e ñ oe n u n r i n c ó n d o s j ó -v e n e s b e b í a n d e p i emaltas amargas.

M r . B r o w n e d i r i -g i ó s u e n c o m i e n d ah a c i a e l l a y l a s i n v i -t ó , e n b r o m a , a t o m a ru n p o n c h e f e m e n i n o ,c a l i e n t e , f u e r t e yd u l c e . M i e n t r a s e l l a sp r o t e s t a b a n n o t o m a rt r a g o s f u e r t e s , é l l e s

summarily: briefly

take them in: make them enter the room where thebuffet was placed (buffet car on British Railways)

the man...ladies: a great admirer of women

pursing his lips: contracting his mouthuntil: so that

bristled: resembled a brush

wrinkle(s): line on the face due to age

fond of me: love me

sentence: what he was saying # a phrase is part of asentence

out of earshot: could not hearled (lead,): guided

back room: situated behind another room

square # roundend to end: touching, to form a long table caretaker:

straightening: arrangingsmoothing: making neat

cloth: table coversideboard: secondary table

arrayed: aligned

bundle(s): arrangement

viands (obsolete): food, nourishment sweet(s): dessertVIAND Joyce’s use of this rather dramatic, uncommonterm for «food» raises interesting questions. Unlike«food» it derives from the Latin vivere

hopbitters: sort of non-alcoholic beer or soft drink

charge(s): bajo su protecciónthither: in that direction

in jest: for a joketo: to drink

as: because # contrast as

strong: alcoholic

THITHER Again we wonder who is speaking here. Perhaps thesuccession of somewhat archaic terms (sideboard, viand,thither, and later «filled out» and «goodly measure») is meantto (re)construct the speech of Mr. Browne, or another characterfrom whom we haven’t heard (e.g. the caretaker).

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of l emonade fo r t hem.Then he a sked one o ft h e y o u n g m e n t om o v e a s i d e , a n d ,t a k i n g h o l d o f t h edecanter, f i l l ed out forh i m s e l f a g o o d l ym e a s u r e o f w h i s k y .T h e y o u n g m e n e y e dhim respec t fu l ly whi lehe took a t r i a l s ip .

“ G o d h e l p m e , ”h e s a i d , s m i l i n g ,“ i t ’ s t h e d o c t o r ’ so r d e r s . ”

H i s w i z e n e d f a c eb r o k e i n t o a b r o a d e rs m i l e , a n d t h e t h r e ey o u n g l a d i e s l a u g h e din mus ica l echo to h i sp l e a s a n t r y , s w a y i n gt h e i r b o d i e s t o a n df ro , wi th nervous jerksof the i r shoulders . Theboldes t sa id :

“O, now, Mr. Browne,I’m sure the doctor neverordered anything of thekind.”

M r. B r o w n e t o o ka n o t h e r s i p o f h i swhisky and sa id , withsidling mimicry:

“Well , you see , I ’ml i k e t h e f a m o u s M r s .Cassidy, who is reportedto have said: ‘Now, MaryGrimes, if I don’t take it,make me take i t , for Ifeel I want it.’”

H i s h o t f a c e h a dleaned forward a l i t t l etoo conf ident ia l ly andhe had assumed a veryl o w D u b l i n a c c e n t s otha t the young lad ies ,w i t h o n e i n s t i n c t ,rece ived h is speech ins i lence . Miss Fur long ,who was one o f MaryJ a n e ’s p u p i l s , a s k e dM i s s D a l y w h a t w a sthe name of the pre t tywal tz she had p layed ;

a b r i ó t r e s l i m o n a d a spara ellas. Después pi-dió a uno de los jóvenesque se apartara un pocoy, cogiendo un escancia-dor, se sirvió una consi-derable medida de whis-ky. Los jóvenes le mira-r o n r e s p e t u o s a m e n t emientras daba un sorbode prueba.

— P o r D i o s —d i j o , s o n r i e n d o — ,é s t a e s l a r e c e t a d e lm é d i c o .

Su rostro ajado se es-p o n j ó e n u n a a m p l i asonrisa, y las tres jóve-n e s r i e r o n e n u n e c omusical de su humorada,meciendo sus cuerpos deun lado para o t ro connerviosas sacudidas des u s h o m b r o s . L a m á sosada dijo:

—Oh, vamos , señorBrowne, estoy segura deque el médico jamás lerecetó nada de eso.

El señor Browne diootro sorbo a su whisky e,imitando sus movimien-tos con bufonería, dijo:

—Bueno, verá, yo soycomo la famosa señoraCassidy, de la que se diceque di jo: Ahora, MaryGrimes, si no lo tomo,haz que lo tome, puessiento que lo deseo.

S u r o s t r o c á l i d oi n c l i nado hacia adelan-te en un gesto de confi-dencia l igeramente ex-cesiva, y su utilizaciónde un acento dubl inésmuy bajo , hicieron quelas jóvenes a tendieranen si lencio a sus pala-bras . La señor i ta Fur-long, que era alumna deMary Jane, preguntó a laseñorita Daly cuál era elnombre del bonito vals

a b r í a t r e s b o t e l l a s d el i m o n a d a . L u e g o l e sp i d i ó a l o s j ó v e n e sq u e s e h i c i e r a n a u nl a d o y , t o m a n d o e lf r a s c o , s e s i r v i ó u nb u e n t r a g o d e w h i s -k y . L o s j ó v e n e s l om i r a r o n c o n r e s p e t om i e n t r a s p r o b a b a u ns o r b o .

—Alabado sea Dios—dijo, sonriendo—, talc o m o m e l o r e c e t ó e lmédico.

Su cara mustia se ex-t end ió en una son r i s aaún más abierta y las tresm u c h a c h a s r i e r o n h a -ciendo eco musical a suocurrencia, contoneandosus cuerpos en vaivén ydando nerviosos tironesa los hombros. La másaudaz dijo:

— A h , v a m o s , M r.Browne, estoy segura deque el médico nunca lerecetará una cosa así.

M r . B r o w n e t o m óo t r o s o r b o d e s uw h i s k y y d i j o c o nu n a m u e c a l a d e a d a :

—Bueno, ustedes sa-ben, yo soy como Mrs.Cassidy, que dicen qued i j o : « Va m o s , M a r yGrimes, s i no tomo unvasi to , dámelo tú , quees que lo necesi to . »

Su cara acalorada seinc l inó hac ia ade lan tee n g e s t o d e m a s i a d oconfidente y habló imi-tando un dejo de Dublíntan bajo que las mucha-chas, con idéntico ins-t into, escucharon su di-cho en s i l enc io . Mis sFurlong, que era una del a s a l u m n a s d e M a r yJane, le preguntó a MissDaly cuál era el nombred e e s e v a l s t a n l i n d o

aside: on the side, awaytaking hold of: seizing

decanter: carafefilled out: let fall in a glass

goodly: large eyed him: looked at him

took a trial sip: drank a small quantity to test thequality

God help me: good God

doctor’s orders: excellent panacea (literally:treatment ordered by doctor)

broke into...smile: accentuated his smile

laughed...to his pleasantry: answered his joke withmelodious laughter

swaying to and fro: inclining their busts forward andbackward

jerk(s): rapid movement

boldest: most intrepid now: exclamation ofreprobation

never: place of adverbanything of the kind: a thing of that sort

with sidling mimicry: imitating Mrs Cassidy’s voicein an insinuating manner; sidling con gestos furtivos,

escurridizos

I’m like: I resemblefamous: illustrious

Is reported to have said: said, but this may be arumour

it: whiskymake me: force me to

want: amusing amalgam of desire and necessity

hot: redleaned: been inclined

confidentially: in an intimate mannerassumed: taken

low Dublin accent: vulgar regional accent

with one instinct: in a common reaction

pretty: charmingplayed: on the piano

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a n d M r . B r o w n e ,s e e i n g t h a t h e w a si g n o r e d , t u r n e dp r o m p t l y t o t h e t w oy o u n g m e n w h o w e r emore apprec ia t ive .

A red- faced y o u n gw o m a n , d r e s s e d i np a n s y , c a m e i n t o t h er o o m , e x c i t e d l yclapping her hands andcrying:

“ Q u a d r i l l e s !Quadrilles!”

C lose on he r hee l scame Aunt Kate, crying:

“Two gentlemen andthree ladies, Mary Jane!”

“ O , h e r e ’ s M r .B e r g i n a n d M r.K e r r i g a n , ” s a i d M a r yJ a n e . “ M r. K e r r i g a n ,w i l l y o u t a k e M i s sPower? Miss Fur long ,may I get you a partner,Mr. Berg in . O, tha t ’ l ljus t do now.”

“Three ladies, MaryJane,” said Aunt Kate.

T h e t w o y o u n gg e n t l e m e n a s k e d t h eladies if they might havethe pleasure, and MaryJ a n e t u r n e d t o M i s sDaly.

“ O , M i s s D a l y ,y o u ’ r e r e a l l y a w f u l l ygood, a f te r p lay ing fort h e l a s t t w o d a n c e s ,b u t r e a l l y w e ’ r e s os h o r t o f l a d i e stonight .”

“ I d o n ’ t m i n d i nt h e l e a s t , M i s sM o r k a n . ”

“ B u t I ’ v e a n i c ep a r t n e r f o r y o u , M r.B a r t e l l D ’ A r c y, t h etenor. I’ll get him to singlater on. All Dublin is

que había interpretado;y el señor Browne, vien-do que era ignorado, sevolvió rápidame