2.[{188-2}] que poder, that she could.
[Page 190.]—1.[{190-1}] For the life of Díaz Garcés, see [page xviii] of the Introduction.
The text of Juan Neira is taken from Pájinas Chilenas, por D. Joaquín Díaz Garcés (Ánjel Pino), Santiago de Chile, 1907.
Juan Neira is a description of conditions that existed till recently in the rural districts of Chile. To-day the large estates are being divided into small farms, the towns are growing, and education is becoming general. Chile and Argentina are among the few Spanish-American countries in which the majority of the inhabitants are of European stock. This fact, together with their moderate climate, explains the relatively greater progress of these two states, as compared with the other Spanish-American countries. See also Chile in Vocab.
The student should note the difference of language and style in the two Spanish-American stories. Un alma is written in classical Spanish, with only a few "Americanisms" that are used consciously and with due apologies; while the story of Juan Neira is told in the current language of the upper classes of Chile, with many dialectic words and other "Americanisms." The Spanish of Un alma resembles the English of Nathaniel Hawthorne, while that Juan Neira is more like the language of much contemporaneous fiction in the United States.
Juan Neira is given with the orthography that prevails in the South-American countries that face the Pacific. Note especially:
(1) j, before e, i, for g: jente (gente), jesto (gesto), sarjento (sargento), enérjico (enérgico);
(2) i final for y: mui (muy), rei (rey);
(3) es, before consonant, for ex: estenso (extenso), sesto (sexto), testo (texto), esperiencia (experiencia);
(4) os- for obs-: oscuro (obscuro);