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The narrator is already old and suffers from several illnesses. Even so, his most costly love is his love of old books. He spends on them the money left over from medicines. He jokes about the illnesses of the body and the ageing of the mind.
One day, he hears about Joaquina de Vilalva's old books. They are in a basket between two barrels in the cellar. The man who brings the news calls all large books missals. He calls the small books primers.
The narrator asks for permission to see the books. Joaquina lets him choose and offers him everything. The books are greasy, damp and covered in dust. To that lover of books, they are still attractive.
There are Latin sermons, works on rhetoric and theology, classics and a book of geometry. He leaves almost all of them in the cellar. He takes a Spanish translation of Virgil. He also takes a rare Portuguese commentary on Horace, printed in 1639.
The books had belonged to Joaquina's brother-in-law. The young man was studying to be a priest and had died of a chest illness. After his death, his brother moved his belongings to the cellar.
As she tells him this, Joaquina strokes a pregnant cat. The narrator is also very fond of animals. Joaquina promises him one of the kittens of the cat called Velhaca.
She wraps the books in old papal permits from 1816 and 1817. She laughs at her father-in-law's old faith and criticises the priests. Later, the narrator is told that a clerk taught her those ideas. That man also took property from her and part of her faith.
At home, the narrator examines the two books he chose. He is afraid of finding pages missing or eaten by rats. On page 154 of the Horace volume, he finds a yellowed sheet of paper. The paper had been folded and the handwriting is clear.
It is a short letter addressed to José. Marta says that she left the church that day. She had asked Our Lady for José's life or for her own death. José's brother had told her that she would soon pray for his soul.
Marta can no longer cry or pray. Now she asks God to take her too. She is afraid that she will go mad if she does not die. She asks José to forgive her and wants to go quickly to be with him. The letter is signed by Marta.
The narrator immediately wants to know the story of the two people.
At the top of the book's first page is the name José Dias de Vilalva. The narrator thinks that the former student received the letter. He quickly returns to Joaquina's house. She confirms that her brother-in-law was called José Dias.
She also says that he died around the time of the Maria da Fonte rising. For a moment, the narrator thinks that José loved a woman called Maria da Fonte. Joaquina explains that she means the time of the uprisings. Her dates are only approximate.
She remembers that José was very fond of Marta. Marta is now known as the brasileira of Prazins. She is the wife of Feliciano da Retorta, who owns fifteen estates. According to Joaquina, Marta never leaves her room.
For many years she has seemed confused and suffered fits. Joaquina tells this as a local impression, not as a medical certainty. She says that Feliciano is the richest man in the area. Despite this, the couple live on broth and maize bread.
Feliciano walks to Porto to collect money from Brazil. He takes bread and apples so that he need not spend money at an inn. Joaquina cannot say when Marta's suffering began. She only remembers hearing that José developed a chest illness because of her.
She advises the narrator to ask the rector of Caldelas. That priest had studied with José and knew the story. Before he leaves, Joaquina announces that the kitten has been born. She asks whether she should cut off its ears and tail.
The narrator asks her not to cut anything off. Soon afterwards, he obtains an introduction to Father Osório. He meets him at the Santo Tirso fair.
Osório's clean cassock inspires respect. He is a sad old man and has led a poor parish for thirty-two years. For some time, he preached without payment at religious festivals. He spoke well, but the narrator doubts that sinners changed.
Osório said that God had given the body strength to resist illness. He saw nature as a great miracle of the Creator. For fevers and abscesses, he also trusted medicine. A rich abbot accused him of denying miracles.
Osório replied that science was also a miracle of God. The abbot called him a follower of Voltaire and Alexandre Herculano. Saddened, the rector stopped preaching.
The narrator then asks him about José Dias. Osório remembers his dead friend as if he could still feel the weight of his head on his arm. About thirty-five years have already passed.
When he sees the letter, he recognises Marta's signature. It was Osório who kept the letter between the pages of the book. José could no longer read it when it reached his sickbed. He was in a deep stupor and asked no questions.
Osório read the paper but said nothing to his friend. During the intervals, he read the commentary on Horace beside the bed. Now he understands that the narrator wants to know Marta's story.
The narrator thinks that he knows only of a courtship, a death and a wealthy marriage. He therefore doubts that there is material for a great novel. Osório says that he does not yet know Marta well. For the priest, a love that endures within madness can be more terrible than a quick death.
Osório's sister had read many novels and wanted to write Marta's story. Osório calls the letter the beginning of an original agony.
The narrator promises to tell the scenes without sentimental decoration. He wants to show them as bare as a mountain after a fire. At the same time, he laughs at the old images that he still uses. At that point, the validated source breaks off after the words 'rejuvenescimento dos'.