La Gaviota--the Sea-Gull, or, the Lost Beauty - Fernán Caballero

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1877 edition. Excerpt: ...marry the Grand Turk. My uncle, said Arias, is like St. Thomas; he must see to believe. Let us come back to our baron: we must admit he is a very handsome man, and of noble deportment, although he has, like me, ceased to grow. His character is one of the most amiable; he has it as a man of learning and as a writer; he converses with the same ease on music, statistics, philosophy, agriculture, and the fashions. He is occupied at this moment in writing a serious book, which may serve as a ladder by which to mount to the Chamber of Deputies. This book is to be entitled: 'Travels, scientific, philosophical, artistic, and geological, in Spain, formerly Iberia; with critical observations on the government, the cooks, the literature, the routes, the agriculture, the dances, and the system of imposts of that country.' With an affected negligence in his toilet, he is grave, circumspect, economical in the extreme; it is an imperfect fruit of that warm greenhouse of public men, who give precocious products without spring, without vivifying breezes, and without free air--products without savor or perfume. These men precipitate themselves into the future blindly, at the discovery of what they call a position; and it is for that they sacrifice all: sad, tormented existences, for which life has no aurora. Raphael, you talk like a philosopher, said the duke, smiling; do you know that if Socrates existed in our 0 time, you would more likely be his disciple than my aid-de-camp? I would not change my place of aid-de-camp for an apostleship, my general, replied Arias. But the truth is, that were there not so many ignorant disciples, there would not be so many bad masters. Well said, my good nephew, cried the old general. What of new masters ...