The four stories comprising this little volume are, by kind permission of the author, taken from Aguas fuertes, a volume of novelas y cuadros. They were selected for class use because the language is smooth and easy, being almost entirely free from troublesome idiomatic expressions and constructions.
I realize that the notes are not exhaustive, but I have endeavored to explain every serious difficulty either in the notes or in the vocabulary, by the aid of which the student should be able to arrive at a perfect comprehension of the text.
The volume is intended for first year students, and as it has been my experience that the first year's reading is rather for the acquisition of a vocabulary than for a study of grammatical constructions, I have avoided all grammatical explanations.
W. T. F.
Columbian University.
Washington, D.C., 1904.
INTRODUCTION
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Armando Palacio Valdés was born in 1853 in the province of Asturias.
He is one of the most prominent contemporary novelists of Spain. He belongs to that school of writers known as naturalists, and in the opinion of some, he deserves to stand at the head of that school.