: Agamenón: Agamemnon, in Greek legendary history, the most powerful ruler in Greece. He led the Greek expedition against Troy, and on his return was slain, according to Aeschylus, by his wife Clytemnestra.
San José de la Penitencia: the fictitious name of a convent; suggested, perhaps, by the Franciscan nunnery of San Juan de la Penitencia at Toledo, built with the partial incorporation of the semi-Moorish palace of the Pantojas.
9
Amortizable: the name of some stock, probably imaginary
Don Juan Tenorio, who lived in the fourteenth century, was the son of an illustrious family of Seville. Don Juan is the type of skeptical libertinism, and, as such, has been made the subject of the drama "El burlador de Sevilla," by Molina; of Molière's comedy, "Don Juan ou le festin de Pierre"; of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni"; of Byron's poem "Don Juan"; and of works by several other authors.
14
Satanás: because Satan would be sorry to lose so good a worker.
Bilbao: capital of the province of Vizcaya, Spain.
17
Barcelona: capital of the province of Barcelona, Spain. Said to have been founded or rebuilt by Hamilcar Barca, and named for him. It is the second city in Spain and one of the principal commercial places in the peninsula.
18
Año Cristiano: "Lives of the Saints." There are several publications with this title, being either year-books giving the Saints' days, or an account of the lives of the saints.
Valencia: the chief town of the province of Valencia. It is the third city in Spain, and the seat of a university.
21
Cádiz: the capital of the province of Cádiz; an important commercial city.
22
emplear…en dobles: see emplear. An expression of the Stock-exchange referring to the interest on stocks, and the broker's commission.
23
a prima: see prima. A privilege secured by the payment of a certain premium, either (1) of calling for the delivery, or (2) of making delivery, of a certain specified amount of some particular stock, at a specified price, and within specified limits of time.
¡Virgen del Carmen! an exclamation, with a suggested allusion to the Procesión de la Virgen del Carmen, from the church of San José, which is among the ecclesiastical festivals of Madrid.
hacen el oso: see hacer. In Spain it is customary for a young man to walk back and forth before the house of his fair one, watching the windows, thus hoping to obtain a glimpse of her. Hence the comparison to a bear pacing back and forth in his cage.
