[91], 4. que venga a preguntar: should it come to ask. The subjunctive may be taken as a condensed conditional construction, or as characteristic; in either case it is a subjunctive of result: if so be it should come, in case it should come, or should it be of such a kind as to come.
[91], 8, 9. ¡caza mayor!—¡mayúscula! big game!—game with a big G.!
[91], 28. ¡Guarda, Pablo! Expression denoting at once surprise and the recognition of need for caution. Translate, Hold on, fellows! Easy there! Go slow, Johnny! or something of the sort.
[95], 17. albarca. The more usual form of the word is abarca. It is the roughest kind of a sandal, a simple rawhide sole, with straps covering two of the toes and fastening about the instep and ankle. The abarca is very old in Spain: it is mentioned in the General Chronicle of Alfonso the Learned, ed. 1541, folio cclxii verso, and at least one King of Navarre, Sancho Abarca (905-927), had his surname from the use of it among his followers.
[98], 25. ¡Dale, bola! A very familiar expression, denoting the irritation or disgust experienced at hearing a thing much repeated. See vocabulary, bola.
[100], tit. XXIX. Post nubila... Diana: After storm-clouds, moonlight.
[100], 5. balcón. The Spanish balcón is not always, or indeed usually, a balcony in the English sense of the word. What is generally to be understood is a window with a railing upon which one may lean, either with or without a very slight projection beyond the wall of the house.
[102], 26. había moros en la costa. The expression dates from the time when raids by the Moorish pirates of North Africa were frequent on the eastern and southern coasts of Spain. It has been generalized to signify the nearly impending, and is of frequent use.
[105], 5. mantilla: shawl or scarf worn as a head-covering by women of Spanish countries. There are many different kinds of mantillas. Those worn in the cities are usually of lace, while in the country they are frequently of other materials. The one here spoken of is evidently of flannel covered with a mesh of chenille and bordered with a fringe of balls of the same.
[107], 17. me is dative of interest.