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His acceptance in his quality of realist was much more instant than his conversion, and vastly wider; for we are told by the critic whom I have been quoting that Galdos's earlier efforts, which he called Episodios Nacionales, never had the vogue which his realistic novels have enjoyed. These were, indeed, tendencious, if I may Anglicize a very necessary word from the Spanish tendencioso.
A few more minutes passed; the revéille had ceased to sound, and on the principal square of the town a strong military band played, with exquisite skill and unison, the beautiful and warlike air of the hymn of Valladolid. "A la lid, nacionales valientes! Al combate, á la gloria volad!"
His Episodes Nacionales, some fifty-six in number, attract by their close attention to detail, which gives an air of actuality to the most diffuse of his stories. They are careful and very accurate studies of different episodes of national life, in which the author introduces, among the fictitious characters round whom the story moves, the real actors on the stage of history of the time.
It is said of the great Duke of Marlborough, that in a conversation respecting the first introduction of cannon, he quoted Shakspeare to prove that it was in the reign of John. "O prudent discipline from north to south, Austria and France shoot in each other's mouth." Part VI. A la lid, nacionales valientes! Al combate á la gloria volad!
That is to say, his novels are his best-known and most widely read works. He has two distinct styles. His Sombrero de Tres Picos is a fascinating sketch of quaint old village life, full of quiet grace, while El Escándalo and La Pródiga are of the sensational order. He writes, like Galdós, in series, such as Historietas Nacionales, Narraciones Inverosímiles, and Viajes por España.
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