A GUERRA

THE WAR

Logo abaixo dos açudes, ficava de uma banda do rio a azenha do Euzebio moleiro, e da margem opposta, um pouco mais abaixo, a azenha do tio Anselmo.

Just below the dams, on one side of the river stood the watermill of Euzebio the miller, and on the opposite bank, a little further down, Uncle Anselmo's watermill.

Eram dous velhotes viuvos, de bons sessenta annos, e amigos desde creanças.

They were two widowed old men, a good sixty years old, and friends since childhood.

Para contradicção do anexim popular, estes dois moleiros queriam-se como dois irmãos, a despeito de serem do mesmo officio.

Contradicting the popular saying, these two millers loved each other like brothers, despite being in the same trade.

Parece que o rio, n'aquelle sitio, era até mais pittoresco!

It seemed that the river in that spot was even more picturesque!

Por detraz das azenhas descia a enfesta de uma cerrada deveza de carvalhos e sobreiros, com o atalho aberto ao meio, que era por onde seguiam os machos carregados com os taleigos da fornada.

Behind the watermills ran down the slope of a dense grove of oaks and cork oaks, with a path cut through the middle, which was where the pack mules laden with sacks of grain passed.

Mesmo á ourela havia alguns amieiros e choupos, que se debruçavam sobre o rio.

Right along the bank were a few alders and poplars, leaning over the river.

As aguas cahidas nos açudes, vinham costeando uma gandara, escondiam-se em meio de um canavial, e surgiam depois mais limpidas até ás rodas do moinho, que as marulhavam e batiam constantemente.

The waters cascading from the dams skirted a wasteland, hid amidst a reed bed, and then emerged clearer right up to the mill wheels, which constantly churned and pounded them.

No verão, quando a levada era minguada, os dois velhotes visitavam-se a miudo, atravessando destemidamente pelas poldras; mas, quando as chuvas do outomno principiavam a tornar o rio caudaloso, limitavam-se então a falar d'um lado para o outro.

In summer, when the watercourse was low, the two old men visited each other often, fearlessly crossing over the stepping stones; but when the autumn rains began to swell the river, they limited themselves to shouting across from one side to the other.

Era triste!

It was sad!

Já tão velhotes!

Already so old!

E depois dizia o Euzebio:

And then Euzebio would say:

--Anselmo, fala mais alto, que te não oiço.

“Anselmo, speak louder, I can't hear you.”

--O que é?--perguntava o outro, inclinando o pavilhão da orelha.

“What is it?” asked the other, cupping his hand to his ear.

O Euzebio fazia um porta-voz com as mãos, e gritava:

Euzebio would funnel his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and shout:

--Não te intendo.

“I can't understand you!”

Quando chegavam a falar, concordavam sempre que era o barulho das rodas do moinho, que os não deixava ouvir.

When they did manage to converse, they always agreed that it was the noise of the mill wheels that prevented them from hearing.

Isso sim!

Right, sure!

Era o peso dos annos que os tinha quasi surdos de todo.

It was the weight of the years that had made them almost completely deaf.

Pobres velhos!

Poor old men!

O Euzebio tinha um filho, que era um rapagão de vinte e dois annos, como um castello!

Euzebio had a son, a big, fine lad of twenty-two, built like a fortress!

Ainda o dia vinha longe, já elle estava a trabalhar, que era um regalo a gente vel-o.

Long before daybreak, he was already hard at work, a sight that was a true delight to see.

--Lida como um moiro!--diziam os conhecidos.

“He works like a horse!” the acquaintances would say.

E se havia esfolhada, ou espadellada, quem lá não faltava era elle.

And if there was a corn-husking or a flax-beating gathering, he was sure to be there.

O pae, que, n'outros tempos, tinha sido um folião, dizia-lhe, á bôcca da noite:

His father, who in former days had been a merrymaker himself, would say to him at nightfall:

--Simão, se tens de ir a algures, parte, que eu cá fico, para aviar os freguezes.

“Simão, if you have to go somewhere, go ahead; I’ll stay here to serve the customers.”

--Estava arranjado!--respondia o moço a rir.--Vocemecê já deu o que tinha a dar.

“That’s a good one!” the young man replied, laughing. “You’ve already done your fair share.”

Agora coma e beba, e deixe-me cá com a vida!

“Now eat, drink, and leave the work to me!”

Primeiro que tudo estava a sua obrigação.

First and foremost came his duty.

O rapaz assim que não tinha mais freguezes a aviar, fechava a ucha do moinho, e partia então para a brincadeira.

As soon as the boy had no more customers to serve, he would lock up the mill bin and head off to join the fun.

E o velhote do pae, quando alguem lhe contava as diabruras do filho, parece que até a alma se lhe ria na menina dos olhos.

And his old father, whenever someone told him of his son’s antics, seemed to laugh with his very soul shining in his eyes.

O Anselmo tinha uma filha.

Anselmo had a daughter.

Chamava-se ella Margarida, e era formosa, d'aquella formusura campesinha, sem artificio, jovial e expansiva.

Her name was Margarida, and she was beautiful with that artless, cheerful, and open country beauty.

Em dotes do coração--que é a principal belleza!--nem as mais virtuosas a excediam.

In virtues of the heart—which is the chief beauty!—not even the most virtuous surpassed her.

Desde pequenina foi Margarida creada com Simão.

From early childhood, Margarida was raised alongside Simão.

Se não ficasse mal estabelecer agora parallelos já sabidos e repetidos, estava em dizer que os dois se queriam e estimavam como Paulo e Virginia.

If it were not in bad taste to draw comparisons already well-known and repeated, I would go so far as to say that the two loved and cherished each other like Paul and Virginia.

Quando os quinze annos de Margarida, que era mais nova dois do que Simão, vieram pôr termo aos brinquedos d'infancia, então principiou elle a olhal-a com aquelle respeito com que se olha para uma irmã mais velha.

When Margarida turned fifteen—she being two years younger than Simão—putting an end to childhood games, he then began to look at her with that respect reserved for an older sister.

Mas vá-se desde já sabendo que esse respeito não estorvava, antes acrysolava um outro sentimento, que principiava a exercer e a avultar no generoso coração do rapaz.

But let it be known straight away that this respect did not hinder, but rather refined, another feeling that was beginning to grow and take hold in the lad’s generous heart.

Margarida, quando Simão lhe falava na sua tristeza e no seu amor, fingia-se contrariada, carregava o sobr'olho e mudava de conversa.

Margarida, when Simão spoke to her of his sadness and his love, pretended to be annoyed, frowned, and changed the subject.

D'estas esquivanças repetidas ateou-se o fogo da paixão na alma do moleiro.

From these repeated evasions, the fire of passion caught flame in the miller’s soul.

--Margarida--dizia-lhe elle d'uma vez--se não quizeres casar comigo, hei de morrer solteiro.

“Margarida,” he said to her once, “if you will not marry me, I shall die a bachelor.”

--Não te faltam mulheres, Simão.

“You’ve no shortage of women, Simão.”

--E se te vejo ser d'outro--protestava o rapaz com as lagrimas nos olhos--não sei que faça, que me não mate.

“And if I see you belong to another,” protested the boy with tears in his eyes, “I don’t know what I might do to keep from killing myself.”

E Margarida era tão cruel, que assim despresasse o seu amigo e companheiro d'infancia?!

And could Margarida be so cruel as to thus despise her friend and childhood companion?!

Nós veremos já até onde vae a dedicação de uma mulher.

We shall soon see how far a woman’s devotion goes.

* * * * *

Isto passava-se no tempo em que se guerreavam os partidos de D. Pedro e de D. Miguel.

This took place in the days when the factions of Dom Pedro and Dom Miguel were at war.

Quando ás aldeias chegavam noticias aterradoras, as mães estremeciam ao contemplar os filhos afadigados na lavoura.

When terrifying news reached the villages, mothers shuddered as they gazed upon their sons toiling in the fields.

--De mortos nem a conta se sabe!--diziam os mensageiros.

“The dead are beyond counting!” said the messengers.

Vae por ahi a fim do mundo!

There it goes, off to the end of the world!

--Jesus, Senhor!

“Lord Jesus!”

E então diz que é guerra d'irmão contra irmão!

“And to think it's a war of brother against brother!”

Valha-nos Deus!

“God help us!”

De uma vez, oito soldados e um furriel pararam á porta da azenha do Euzebio.

On one occasion, eight soldiers and a quartermaster sergeant stopped at the door of Euzebio's watermill.

Passado um instante, a gente da aldeia chorava com brados afflictivos, vendo o Simão do moleiro atravessar no meio da escolta com os braços presos, como um degredado!

A moment later, the village folk were weeping with distressing cries, seeing Simão the miller's son march in the middle of the escort with his arms bound, like an exile!

O velho, assim que lhe arrebataram o filho, ainda tentou abraçal-o; mas--coitadinho!--como já lhe custava a andar, quando chegou á porta, ia o rapaz a subir a encosta.

The old man, as soon as they snatched his son away, still tried to embrace him; but—poor soul!—since walking was already hard for him, by the time he reached the door, the boy was already going up the slope.

Aos gritos da visinhança acudiu Margarida ao postigo da azenha.

At the shouts of the neighbours, Margarida rushed to the watermill's wicket window.

Perguntou o que tinha acontecido da outra banda; e, quando lhe disseram que o Simão tinha sido levado para a guerra, a pobre rapariga soltou um grito agonisante e cahiu desfallecida nos braços do pae.

She asked what had happened on the other side; and when they told her that Simão had been taken off to war, the poor girl uttered an agonizing scream and collapsed fainting into her father's arms.

As aguas tinham engrossado com as ultimas chuvas, e os dois velhos, quando se avistavam de longe, desatavam a chorar, como duas creancinhas!

The waters had swollen with the recent rains, and the two old men, whenever they caught sight of each other from afar, would burst into tears like two little children!

Decorridos oito dias, a gente da aldeia acordou sobresaltada com o tiroteio, com o rufo das caixas e o som dos clarins.

Eight days later, the village folk woke startled by the sound of gunfire, the rattling of drums, and the blast of bugles.

Feria-se uma batalha a pequena distancia.

A battle was raging a short distance away.

Quando a tropa alli passou, todos viram o Simão moleiro, que parecia outro!

When the troops passed through, everyone saw Simão the miller, who looked like a completely different person!

Ia magro, esfalfado, com os sapatos rotos, coberto de pó, a espingarda ao hombro, a mochila ás costas e a chorar!

He went along thin, exhausted, with torn shoes, covered in dust, his musket over his shoulder, his knapsack on his back, and weeping!

Ao passar rente das casas ia saudando os conhecidos, e dizia ás raparigas que pedissem a Deus por elle.

As he passed close by the houses, he greeted those he knew and asked the girls to pray to God for him.

Sahiu do povoado sem ter visto o pae nem Margarida.

He left the village without having seen his father or Margarida.

Levava o coração retalhado!

His heart was torn to pieces!

Assim que a filha do Anselmo o soube, quiz logo ir ter aonde podesse falar-lhe.

As soon as Anselmo's daughter heard of it, she wanted to go right away to where she could speak to him.

--Isso, Deus te livre!--disse-lhe do lado uma visinha.--Se lá vaes, lá ficas!

“Heaven forbid!” a neighbour said to her from the side. “If you go there, you'll never come back!”

E, de mais a mais, teres de falar com soldados!

“And besides, having to talk to soldiers!”

credo!

“Lord preserve us!”

--Lá isso--atalhou a moça--tambem o Simão é soldado, tia Joaquina!

“As for that,” the girl interrupted, “Simão is a soldier too, Aunt Joaquina!”

Ao fim da tarde principiaram a chegar as ambulancias dos mortos e feridos.

At the end of the afternoon, the carts carrying the dead and wounded began to arrive.

Vinham apinhados, uns com as cabeças ligadas, com as faces empastadas de sangue, outros com os braços ao peito, mutilados, outros com as pernas partidas, quasi todos moribundos!

They came crammed together, some with their heads bandaged, their faces caked with blood, others with arms pinned to their chests, mutilated, others with broken legs, nearly all of them dying!

Nunca se tinha visto uma cousa assim!

No one had ever seen such a sight!

Aos gemidos dos feridos reuniam-se os clamores da gente que se agglomerava para os vêr.

To the groans of the wounded were joined the cries of the people crowding together to see them.

Destacavam-se algumas phrases das ambulancias:

A few phrases stood out from the wagons:

--Ai!

“Ah!”

minha pobre mãe!

“My poor mother!”

--Ai!

“Ah!”

meus ricos filhos!

“My dear children!”

E as mulheres, quando isto ouviam, de cada vez choravam mais.

And the women, whenever they heard this, wept all the more.

Alguem d'entre o povo ouviu gemer de uma das carretas da ambulancia:

Someone among the crowd heard a groan from one of the transport wagons:

--Meu... pae!

“My... father!”

Marga... rida!

“Marga... rida!”

Eu morro!

“I am dying!”

E viu-se que um dos feridos, que ia reclinado, deixou pender a cabeça sobre o peito, e descahir um braço fóra do carro.

And one of the wounded, who was reclining, was seen to let his head droop onto his chest and an arm fall limp outside the wagon.

Os artilheiros que levavam pela camba dos freios os cavallos insoffridos, voltaram-se para uma formosa rapariga que os interrogava afflicta.

The gunners holding the impatient horses by the bit-shanks turned toward a beautiful girl who was questioning them anxiously.

O retinir das molas da carreta, rodando nas lagens irregulares de uma vereda, não os deixou ouvir.

The clatter of the wagon springs, rolling over the uneven flagstones of a trail, drowned out her voice.

Mas, de repente, a moça aproximou-se mais de um carro, pegou no braço que bambaleava, estendido fóra da ambulancia, á mercê dos solavancos, reparou attentamente n'um annel que o morto levava, e principiou a gritar:

But suddenly, the girl stepped closer to a wagon, took hold of the dangling arm that hung outside at the mercy of the jolts, looked closely at a ring the dead man was wearing, and began to cry out:

--O Simão!

“It’s Simão!”

Morreu!

“He died!”

morreu!

“he died!”

E debatia-se angustiada nos braços das amigas que a seguravam.

And she thrashed about in anguish in the arms of her friends who held her back.

Quando um visinho entrou na azenha do Euzebio, para lhe dar a noticia da morte do filho, encontrou o moleiro sentado na ilharga da cama, a resar, com os olhos postos n'um crucifixo, e um rosarío entre os dedos.

When a neighbour entered Euzebio’s watermill to break the news of his son’s death, he found the miller sitting on the side of his bed, praying, his eyes fixed on a crucifix, and a rosary between his fingers.

--Rese-lhe por alma!--disse o visinho a chorar.

“Pray for his soul!” said the neighbour, weeping.

O velhote, que estava muito mais surdo, ergueu-se, e perguntou espantado:

The old man, who was much deafened, stood up and asked in astonishment:

--O que é?--e applicou os quatro dedos da mão direita ao ouvido correspondente.

“What is it?” and he cupped the four fingers of his right hand to his ear.

--Morreu!--gritou-lhe o outro.

“He died!” shouted the other.

O Euzebio empallideceu subitamente, aprumou-se, fitou os olhos no visinho; e, sem pestanejar, dirigiu-se apressadamente á cabeceira da cama, e tirou detraz uma espingarda.

Euzebio suddenly turned pale, drew himself up, fixed his eyes on the neighbour, and, without blinking, made his way hastily to the head of the bed and pulled a gun from behind it.

--Isso para que é, tio Euzebio?--perguntou-lhe o outro ao ouvido.

“What is that for, Uncle Euzebio?” asked the other into his ear.

--Vou matal-os!--respondeu o moleiro com uma voz convulsa.--Vou matal-os!

“I'm going to kill them!” replied the miller in a convulsed voice. “I'm going to kill them!”

Mas quando ia, com a espingarda ao hombro, a transpôr a soleira da porta, cambaleou, e cahiu fulminado para a outra banda...

But as he was crossing the threshold of the door with his shotgun over his shoulder, he staggered and fell dead to the ground...

Na madrugada do dia seguinte, um moço de lavoura chegou afflicto a casa, a esbofar, dizendo que, pouco abaixo da azenha, vira um corpo de mulher levado na corrente do rio, a fugir, a fugir!...

At dawn the following day, a farm boy arrived home distraught and out of breath, saying that, just below the watermill, he had seen a woman's body carried away by the river's current, floating away, floating away!...

* * * * *

Ainda conheci, ha muitos annos, o pae de Margarida.

Many years ago, I still knew Margarida's father.

Era por uma formosa manhã de abril.

It was on a lovely April morning.

O velho estava fóra da azenha, sentado n'uma cadeira de entrevado, com os pés estendidos a uma restea de sol.

The old man was outside the watermill, sitting in an invalid's chair with his feet stretched out into a ray of sunshine.

Em volta d'elle, chilreavam os passarinhos na ramaria frondente do arvoredo.

Around him, little birds chirped in the leafy branches of the trees.

Referia-me, ao certo, a morte do Simão e do seu amigo Euzebio; e, depois, quando chegava ao lance de ter perdido a filha, voltava a cabeça para o rio, e perguntava baixo, de si para si:

He recounted to me with certainty the death of Simão and his friend Euzebio; and then, when he reached the point of having lost his daughter, he would turn his head toward the river and ask quietly to himself:

--E a Margarida?!...

“And Margarida?!...”

E ficava como mentecapto, com os olhos turvos a contemplar as aguas do rio, que derivavam mansamente entre os salgueiros!

And he would remain like a madman, his dim eyes gazing at the river waters, drifting gently among the willows!