Novelas Cortas

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3-3: =caerme de espaldas=: _to fall on my back_.

3-4: =habia de conocer= = _conoceria_. _Haber de_ followed by the
infinitive denotes (_a_) obligation: as: _ha de ser_, it must be; _habra
de hacerlo_, he will have to do it; (_b_) futurity (present tense of
_haber de_ + infinitive), as: _he de hablar_, I will speak: (_c_)
conditioned action (imperfect of _haber de_ + infinitive), as: _quien
habia de creer_? who would believe?

3-5: =que haya madre=: _and_ (to think) _that there should be a
mother_!

3-6: =Jesus=: the Spaniard, the most Catholic of men, is in the habit
of interlarding his speech with copious expletives derived from his
religion, such as _Jesus, Ave Maria purisima_, etc., which may often be
rendered by the mildest of English substitutes.