notes of a short trip to spain. part vi: seville on the festival of corpus christi

Irish Jesuit Province

Notes of a Short Trip to Spain. Part VI: Seville on the Festival of Corpus ChristiAuthor(s): John FallonSource: The Irish Monthly, Vol. 13, No. 143 (May, 1885), pp. 248-260Published by: Irish Jesuit ProvinceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20497260 .

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( 248 )

NOTES OF A SHIORT' TRIP TO SPAIN.

BIY JOH1N FALLON.

PAin VI.-SEVILLE ON THE FESTi'VAL OF CORPUS CHrnSTI.

Joy bells fill the air this morning, from the earliest hour: and, as

I sally out, I find the universal care is to have the streets, through

which the procession is to pass, carefully swept and sprinkled with rose-scented water, then strewn with myrtle leaves and shaded

with awning. The cool frag,rance is delicious. IHere and there, hundreds of chairs are being clustered and

ranged, in every advantageous positioln, either as private specula tions, or to accommodate privileged guests. Gradually, as the

momenlts fly, the streets become lined with infantry, mostly under

aged, with their uniiforms ill-filled, but evidently the material of fine and brave men. Their officers, mnost of them youthful also,

look gentlemtien all over; the profusioin of war miedals which they

wear is a problemn to me, spreading across their chests from shoulder to shoulder. In front of the archlishop's palace a squadron of

cuirassiers of the guard is drLawn up, all spleindid men: and a

battery of artillery, equally select, is railged in the cathedral

square, to thunider out its salvoes as timie draws on.

It was myt happy fortune, shortly after I reached the noble

cathedral, to witniess the far-fained daince before the Blessed Sacra

meult, a slubject of such legitimate curiosity to believers, and of such unireasoniilg ridicule to aginostics who have not seen, or who

have failed to appreciate, the sylmbolism. of the reality. I confess

that, for miiy ownvi part, I had previously imagined something very different fromn what I now saw. To inc, the dream was of acolytes, in

red soutanie anid wvhite surplice, waltziig in couples round the sanc tuary, to somtie quainit old nmeasure, moie3 or less appropriate. Wlhat

was m1y surpris- to see eig,ht sm:all choristers, dressed in the grace ful page costutme of the seventeenth century, in striped pink-and

white silk, with plumned hats to match, walkingt, a stately minuet with mneasured steps, to the music of their own young voices and clattering castagnettes, accompanied by the organ's softest tones.

And they sing their different parts with truth and boldness, and

with all the clear joyous ring of boyhood. Nor does this take place within the sanctuary, but in front of



Notes o0a Short tri to Span. 249

an altar erected for the festival on a gig,antic scale, near the-exit

in the west end, and almost over where the Bson of Christopher Columbus lies buried. Originally this unique dance was performed by six court pages, hence its name: " i baile de los asis s" (the

dance of the six.) Now the pages have given way to choriters, and the number is iniereased to eight, but the name, and tbe.

costume, remain. I have already mentioned that Seville claims the glory of having been foremost in obtaining for the whole wor-ld the separate celebration of this festival apart from that of Holy

Thursday. And this historic fact is what this courtly dance is meant to commemorate, even in the teeth of this prosaic age, which scoffs and siniles, but understands not.

The music is simple, and I am glad that I took it down, for I

tried in vain to procure it afterwards, either in print or manuscript. It is as follows:

V_I A' AI I lp, 1

1T-~~ mu- 0~

II J

/Y I _t_ _ IL _ _ _ -o

During the first four bars the young pages, four on each side,

slowly advance as if to meet, taking two steps to each bar. During

the second four bars each side slowly retires backwards to its original

place. During the third four bars each side again advances half

way. During the last four bars each side comes over to the oppo

site, and each p-age turns Yharply rouniid. Strange as you may

think it, this simlple movemenit, joyously done, is most effecti-ve,

and the castagnettes, marked by the dotted accelnts over the notes,

give historic character andC digudity to the figure, and render it a

complete success.

And as it ends, the organs peal forth in all their majesty of



250 Notes of a Short TfDp to Spaib.

aound, like thunders that would burst the vault of heaven, and the procession begins to move off.

This is the time for us to fly by a side -entrance, to secure

teats before all traffic is suspended, and this we do with rare success, of which I shall tell you presently, but first, the pro cession !

To appreciate it correctly I think you should bear in mind the spoliatioins and suppressions of convents and monasteries which have taken place in this land, almost within living memory. The various banners of the religious orders, the picturesque variety of their habits, the children whom they reared, the guilds and sodali ties which they fostered, the trains of nobles of highest lineage xvho were proud to follow in their wake in humblest disguise, all that is gone, utterly vanished. You can study it in old pictures,

you can read of it in old books, but you will see none of it to-day.

What you actually witness is simply this:

The whole length of the streets lined on each side with

infantry in file, along the line selected for the pocession. Within

the space thus kept open, all sprinkled with myrtle leaves, there

comes an apparently endless stream of boys, walking two and two

each carrying a lighted taper. The first little processionists are

tiny; gradually and steadily they grow, and with them their

tapers, as the stream flows on, in hundreds and bhundreds, till

at last they are full-grown men, with stout tapers as tall as them

selves, and with flags and bannerets interspersed, I suppose de

noting their guilds. All are dressed in plain black coats or

jackets, and white trousers; and not a single taper but is light

ing, such is the marvellous climate. Next come liveried repre sentatives of the nmunicipality, in costume more or less varied, but scarcely picturesque; and thus ends the lay element of the pro cession. Judging by the faces, I should say its components belong to the artisan or middle class, but nobility of race is impressed on

them all.

Now come long double files of acolytes, in crimson soutane and

surplice of white lace, each with a curious diadem of brass, gilt and

embossed, encircling his forehead; each, also, with his hair gum med over and sprinkled with gold dust. Strange and weird this fashion looks, like some relic of the Gothic days!

And now, between the acolytes, the clergy advance, some two

and two, some four abreast, some in soutane and surplice, others

in gorgeously embroidered limp vestments of mediwval type, the loving and almost matchless labour of an age of faith. Many



Notes of a Short TIrip to Spain. 251

are mitred, and all, including the archbishop, hold heavy, lighte tapers in their hands, which they use as walking itaffs, or oriero.

At intervals, between the clergy, the historic statues- of the cathedral, and perhaps of the city, are borne on the shoulders of strong men concealed beneath the ingeniously contrived platforms on which those statues are erected. Thus the dead past revives, and unirolls before you its speaking record of heroes whom the church has canonized. You see St. Leander and St. Isidore, the brother archbishops of Seville, one after alnother, before the Moors

invaded Spain, themselves Gothic princes of the blood, and historic giants in an age of great men. You see their royal and martyred

nephew, St. Hermenegilde. You see their grandest pupil, St. Hildefonse (niow softenied inito AlonIzo), whomn Toledans claim as their archbishop, beloved of lheiaven. You see St. Ferdinand,

wlho rescued the city from the Miloors, after a loncg and most roinantic siege: his bronze effigy is literally weighted with emer

alds and rubies, and he looks all over a king. You see Saints Rufina anid Justina, like two sisters, sustaininig the Giralda with

their armis during, a hurricane which swept over the city in the year of Isabella's death (1504). And you see other statues, of saints. all unknown to me, and several have movable heads, which bow benignantly from side to side, as they are mutely borne along: this is a survival of the realistic tastes of another day; but in

this latter quarter of the dry nineteenth century, it looks passing strange.

And now, borne on the shoulders of many men, you see a superb statue of the Blessed Virgin, in silver or gold, it matters,

little which, for it is literally encrusted with brilliants . . . Then comes the " niubo Jesu " . . . and finally the Blessed Sacrament7 under a massive canopy of silver, resplendent with diatmonds and gems of rarest water. When I tell you that sixteen men are

straining in reverential silence, supporting the hugue weight, you

will agree that I may well call it inassive. In froint of it acolytes, walkingr backwards, are fillinig the air with incense fioin their golden thuribles. All the hugo assemblage kneels low, while softened harmnonies swell on the air, till drowned with the loud salvoes fiomi the cathedral fronit, proclaiming the passage of the

Lord of hIosts. A mounted guard of honiour brings in the rere: the ranks close in, the crowds break up, and all is over.

Have I created disappointmen-t in thus suinmarisincg the pro

cession, such as I saw it. If you can read between the lines, you will fill up the gaps which no dotubt you feel-gaps created by the

VOL. xiii. No. 143. 20



252 Notes of a Shior-t Trip to Spain.

spirit of Voltaire, and the robberies of his proselytes. Thus you

can reconstruct the procession as it wvas, in the days of its former,

and pirhaps unique splendour. My poor pen has only tried to give you the framiiework of what remains, such as " mine own

eyes " saw it to-day. To see this procession, no places would satisfy the proud ambi

tion of miy youing, Cambridlge friend and self but the most select

in the "' 1laza de la Constitution," and we took them in honest

simplicity, fully expecting to pay for them in gold. What was

our surprise, when all was over, to find that coin was not in the

question. Like truie foreign barbarians we had intruded exactly

into the seats specially reserved for the nobility, one of the

prouidest in Europe, where special cards were the sole passport,

and servants gorgeously arrayed in plush and gold were the sole

ushers. Elsewhere our mistake would have been all too speedily

notified to us. Here not one single one of those perfectly bred

Sevilians would allow us to be disabused of our audaciously blissful ig,norance, though each precious seat was in most obvious

demand, anid thus we remained undisturbed till all was over. I

dare not venture to describe the fair ones that wandered out from

this select circle: such tLCiemes are for poets. People in Northern

Europe sing of dream faces! Here they are in the reality,

dozens and scores of them, rich in the inherited charms of fifty

generat,ions, still as the poets of classic Rome tried to paint them, all in vain! If you have studied the ideal faces of Murillo, I can

only add that their archetjypes are still here, full of fresh life, and

light, and joy, and probably thiinking of the afternoon's amuse

ments, and . . . an early dinner !

Ramnbling throurh the streets, like all the rest, we see people

ascending the Giralda, and mount, paying a small fee at entrance.

There are no steps of stairs within the old Moorish minaret, but

simply inclined planes along the four faces, so that literally you

might ride a horse to the top of the Moorish work. When that

is reached, a small spiral staircase, exceedingly steep and narrow,

brings you farther up amidst the Christian addition, to the bells, till your conscience is satisfied that you can ascend no further.

Those bells are now pealing in all their might, turning head over

heels in their eagerness, all except the big one of all, which

merely swings in solitary dignity of its own. The revolving is done

by ropes, coiled round wheels of huge diameter attached to the

beams. This sounds plain enough, but the acrobatic feats of the

bell-ringers are a sight perhaps unique. As each revolving bell



Notes of a Shlort THI) to Sjnin. 253

coils upwards, there comes a moment when no more rope remains

to spare: then up goes the bell-ringer, as if shot from a rocket,

holding on to his hemp like grim death, till he reaches some fifteen

or twenty feet in the air antd then finds himself perched on the

oscillating bell-beam, like a Blondin! Ile seems as if tho least

playful effort, or mistake, would send him toppling over a neat little

vertical drop of thrce hundred feet or more, to scatter into frag

ments through the court of oranges. But of this he never dreams:

for oscillating merely to draw breath, with one joyous bouild he

springs backwards, with the uncoiling rope hard in hand, descend

ing by his own mere weight. If you do not mnind, he will come

down on your head: then, with acceleratinig movemient, he uncoils, and uncoils, till at last he is coiled and caught up again, and so he

goes on, up and down, with deafening zeal, " por cazar el di'ablo"

(to hunt the devil). You fly from the overwhelming sound, but it mieets you fresh

and renewed at every face, as if all the world were ill conspiracy

to hunt yourself: and presenltly one of the bell-ringers pauses, and

looks at you smiling, as if to offer you a mount!

Of course you will expect that the view from the Giralda is

superb, withi the " huerta " on every side, the Guadalquivir flow

ing through, and the Sierra Mor6na in the near distance; and

people who have the good fortune to see it in early sprinig describe

it as such, when the land is bursting into fresh verdure, like the

garden of the Hesperides. But remember that I am in the full

glare of midsummer, and that Andalusia, in this respect, is next

door to Africa. The dog-days, thank goodness, are yet far away, but already the spring cereals are all reaped, and the far-famed

Guadalquiver, reflecting its surroundings, flows yellow, through a landscape of pale buff. The Sierra Morena is enveloped in a dry

and thirsty haze of white. Of all the thousands who are on foot

to-day through the streets, scarcely a soul is visible, for the awnings

that overspred the streets now screen them all. Awnings likewise cover the charming "c patios" of the houses, screening the fountailns

and plants. All that the eye can see, through the wide breadth of

queenly Seville, is a wilderness of yellow and brown, canvass and

tiles! Such is the city from the Giralda, as I saw it to-day!

A few hours are now for rest, before the bull-fight." The pro

[* The following description will be relished not less but more hy those of our readers who remember Mr. Nathanael Oolgan's extremely graphic account of " A Bull Fight at Granada in 1880

" (Irish Monthly, Vol. ix., p. 491). Ed.

I.M.]



254 .Yote8 of a Short Trip to Spain.

priettess of the hotel, half wild with excitement, forgets her si6sta, and strikes up lovely Sevillalias, Malaguefias, and Gaditanfis,. singing

boldly at her piano, to her own accompaniment. We, pilgrims,

from the northern isles, together with two Oxonians just homeward boundl from Nubia, form the appreciating audience, and,try in vain

to form a chorus. She can sing like Trebelli, and her piano was the beloved of Tamberlik, when that matchless tenor was abiding here.

I regret to note, as a faithful historian, that this fair hostess

is already stout and fat, although much under the proverbial forty! Her mother sometimes drags her unwieldy weight across the marble hall like a ball of tallow, painfully panting in the effort! While her daughter skips along, like a thing of air, in the full glory of

her teens! . . In a few short years the daughter will be gradually assuming the ponderosity of our fair hostess: she will be gradually becoming what the mother is now: while the old lady, from sheer

expansion, will have " gone over to the majority!" Such is the

fate of those sylph-like fair ones, whose step to-day " is light as

the breezy air," as they bound through the gladsome streets: premature obesity is their too general doom.

But peace to those saddening reflections: the hour of the bull

fight is approaching. We had engaged seats last week, next the

' barrera " (wooden barrier which encireles the arena), and had got

them "a la sombra " (in the shade), and in the very first row. Five

oeclock was the hour fixed, and it was still only three. Notwith

standing, all this, the whole world was already in notion: so, imitating contag,ious example, we got under weigh.

Chariots of another age flew past us as we drove along; some

drawn by siK mules, some by eight, all decorated with tassels and bells which shook and 'tinkled as they galloped along. Soon the

"plaza de toros ' is reached, a perfect colloseum, only circular.

Built throughout of solid stone, the seats rise in concentric circles, tier above tier, and most of the top row is arcaded above. I had

ample time to explore the outer precincts before entering: the stables and stalls, the hospital for emergencies, the numerous modes

of ingress and egress all numbered; everything is systematically arranged on tLe plan of a Roman amphitheatre. Gradually, but

quickly, the immense and highly classic interior, made to hold

eleven thousand people, becomes densely filled with a mass of

expectant humanity, all buzzing and fanning, till not a vacant

place is left. Fans, for this occasion, seem in immense demand, and paper ones, procurable for a fraction at the entrances, are.



Notes of a Shlort Trip to Spain. 265

eagerly bought even by the mesn of the humbler classes, who Bhae

to sit it out in the sun. So that you can picture the simy side

of the arena quite a moving mass of fans, yellow, blue, an red.

Oranges and iced water are the refreshments in vogue; and one of the diversions, during the cheerful interval of expectancy, is to see the oranges fly-ing, with unerring skill, from the orange

seller below the barrier, to some occupant of the middle benches, who has had the confidence, and the skill, to throw him down a

peseta. Hush ! the alealde has taken his seat in the state box, almost

over my head. The clarions sound, and out comes a gorgeous pro

cession, defiling through a side-door into the arena. Foremost is an alguazil, dressed all in black velvet and sable plumes, not

meant for fight, but looking very brave on his prancing Andalu sian. Next come the two complete "torero " bands, in sepa

rate " quadrilles." Each quadrille comprises four or six " chulos "

'pronounced tshoo-los) and a pair of "bancderilleros," under a

"primer espada," all on foot, followed by a suite of mounted

"picadors." The picadors, as their name implies, are armed each with a lance,

with a very short spike in the end. They are dressed in buckskin,

and their legs are protected with heavy greaves, strengthened with steel bands. In appearance they resemble, more than anything else, the troopers of the time of Oliver Cromwell. So ponderous is their costurne that when they are throw; from their steeds (or oftener with them) they require assistance even to rise from the ground.

As for the main body of each quadrille (chulos, banderilleros and primer espada, all alike), they wear the picturesque and well

known torero costume, each man in a colour of his own, all richlv

embroidered in silver or gold. One is in green, another is in pink

lilac. . . violet . .. crimson . . . &c. Each torero wears a chignon ! and a hanging plait of hair! the chignon is artificial,

but the plait of hair is genuine! HIis face is closely shaved. On

his head he wears a small black cap, with flapping peaks, which

sometimes remrind one of ears! On his left arm is caught a large

crimson cloak, with which to attract, or distract, the bull.

Lavender silk stockings, with richly buckled shoes, complete the nether man.

The " priiner espada " of one of the quadrilles, on this auspi

cious day, is Frascuelo, a man of quite universal reputation in

Spain; even the children have learned to lisp his name. (Yet his



256 fiNotes of a Short Trizp) to Spain.

real Dame is not Frascuelo, but Salvator Sanchez. Tauromachian fanit, however, like pet pugilists of the prize ring, must submit to-popular re-christening, and learn to glory in it.)

The " primer espada " of the other quadrille is a native of this

eity, and consequently a warm favourite with the bulk of the peo ple, on the sunny side of the arena. Infer from this that there will be to-day a fierce amount of rivalry between the two quadrilles.

Quickly the alguazil canters to the foot of the alcalde's state box; the key of the " toril " (where the bulls are kept) is thrown to him; with it he gallops across the moistened yellow sand, hands it to the keeper, and disappears. The clarions sound again; the ring is cleared of all but the quadrille which is to open the ball; the gates are unbolted, and out rushes a noble Andalusian bull, black and glistening as jet, not very much larger than a good

Kerry, but with immense horns and superb muscle. For a moment he pauses, to get attuned to the light-his tail

stiffens-he sniffs the air-then, with magnificent dash, unknown to our northern breeds, he charges at fll speed some picador or chulo who has had the luck to attract his attention, and the fight

begins. Picture to yourself bull No. 1. It is a picador that is the object

of his first attack. The picador receives him on the right sicle with his lance, and must only thrust it at the animial's shoulders. Back

darts the infuriated beast, and charges again. One moment, and

horse and man are in the air: the next, and both are stretched upon

the yellow sand, the poor horse, as if deliberately, between the picador and the enemy. On comes a chulo, with trailing cloak, to

distract the attention of the beast, and thus save the fallen picador. Right well he does it, for in a few seconds he himself has to fly for dear life: his feet scarcely touch the soil, he vaults like an Ariel over the high wooden barrier, leaving his crimson cloak behind him: and not one infinitesimal fraction of a second too soon, for in his wake the huge horns come crashing against the wood-work, with loud drumlike reverberation, while he is still in mid-air. This sort of thing brings down the plaudits of the multitude, on bull and

man alike, and thus the fight proceeds, an alternation of hair breadth escapes, and fallen picadors and horses, for six or seven minutes, till the clarions sound again, and the picadors retire. Even the chulos disappear, all, except one or two chosen ones, who with the banderilleros now re-enter the arena.

Each of the two banderilleros now holds a pair of barbed.



Notes of a Short Tr>p to Spain. 267

javelins, with streamers attached. The bull has arrived at that stage, that it is scientifically practicable for an expert to look him almost in the face, just standing a little sideways, ancd to caloulate his movements to a nicety, by the position of his forelegs. A hulo, by means of his trailing cloak, draws the infuriated animal to the centre of the arena. Here one of the banderilleros is waiting to

meet him. It is no child's play, for the animal is full of fight, and the least mistake will be fatal. For one moment the banderillero poises his javelins, one in each hand: then, with a rapidity which the eye cannot follow, they are pendant from the shoulders of his enemy, while he is flying to the inearest barrier, which he clears at a bound. His companion follows suit; then he again, with fresh complications of danger and of skill.

For instance I saw one banderillero to-day sit on a chair till the bull camie right up to him. Onie's eyes grew dim inivoluntarily: next moment the chair was in the air, but the banderillas were in the shoulder, and the banderillero was coolly bOowvinigr to the applause of eleven thousaind throats. A great niany men have been killed, attempting this exploit.

Again the clarions sound; exeunt chulos and banderilleros; enters Frascue6lo, cool, calm, alone. He has left aside the, long crimson cloak with which he had joined and led his quadrille. H1e has now a bright Toledo sword, partly enveloped in a short bright scarlet cloth. Cap in hand, he mnakes a short formal speech in front of

the alcalde, then up to the bull he goes. The two seem to know

each other, and stand in mutual expectation. A chulo is signalled, to draw the bull into position, that the last act of the drama may be immediately under the eyes of some patron, or patroness, whom Frascuelo wishes to compliment. Even in this supremie moment the bull is full of danger, as Frascue'lo has often known to his cost. Still he advaiLces, cool, smiling, and " serene." . . . A few passes with the small scarlet cloak, a few magic steps aside, then, swift as the lightning flash, the steel is buried to the hilt, right between the shoulder blades, and the noble beast succumbs at last!

One great long cheer renids the firmament; fans, hats, and cigars go flying through the air, and down into the arena, while Frascuelo bows his smiling thanks. The fans, on the assumption that thev come from ladies' fingers, are tenderly handed back from bench to bench. The hats, sombreros all, are shot up to their

owners with unerring accuracy. The cigars are calmly appropri ated by the chulos, who have crowded in around their great master and to whom they ought to suffice for many a day.



258 Notes of a Short Trip to Spain.

And now teams of mules, four to each, gaily caparisoned as

umual with bells and tassels, enter at a smart gallop. Attendants, in Garibaldian red shirt, attach the ropes to the dead, and away they go at full speed. The sand is raked, the toreros whiff a

cigarette, and the clarions sound for a fresh foe and victim. Thus the fierce game proceeds till six bulls are despatched, and twelve

or fourteen horses are sent to their last long rest.

Some incidents oceurrei to-day which struck me as charac teristic; let me tell you one of them:

The local favourite bad slipped, and was down beneath the horns of his enemy: his doom, to all appearances, was sealed, for

his chulos tried all their craft in vain to distract the animial. Out

comes Frascuelo, cloak in hand: with fearless art he draws the

mantle right across the eyes and nose of the foe, stepping ever away with matchless skill, till he fascinates the animal to the other side of the arena, and given time to his rival to regain his feet, safe and

unhurt. "Aplausos y puros a granel!" (cheers and Ilavannahs in heaps). Such is the sequence of this freshi exploit, while the prince of toreros again retires, smiling, bowing and imrperturbed.

The presents do not always take the form of cigars: pocket books containing bank-notes to a considerable amouint, cases of

diamond-studs, &c., have been thrown down ere now. Nothing so grand fell from the gods to-day. But a box containing two

turtle doves, snow-white, and tied together with crim.son ribbon, was one of the gifts. And another, containing a iunumber of live

bats, quicklly followed, and opened with the shock. Up wenit the long-eared animals of twilight, carcering through the dazzling firmament, higher and higher, till lost to view and recollection, amidst the absorbing vicissitudes of the fight.

Does not this remind you somewhat of the bouquets to a prima donna at an opera, and' of the witty favours which used ere now to come down from our Dublin Olympus? and does it not show

you that mankind is more or lesE alike everywhere ?

And now, to conclude about the bull-fight of Seville, seen here at its best, and on its grandest day. The " correct thing "

for me would be to express my ineffable disgust at the whole per formance, sympathy with the bulls, disapprobation of the risks

which the tor4ros run, &c., a., &c.... But I will only say what

I think: The bull, to my mind, gives as much as he gets, and makes his

enemies pay well for his death before he dies. His rage, paradoxi cal as it may seem, is almost obviously a most effectual anodyne to



-Notes of a Short Trip to Spain. 269

the few prickly wounds which he receives, before the final one lays him low. Compare him with the salmon, that is "played" by lady's fingers for hours! Compare him with those of his own kind, who are driven into a knacker's yard, without even the option of one last brave stand for freedom; and ask yourself, if you were in his place, which fate would you prefer ?

As for the men, the dangers they ruin are unquestionable, as events yearly and monthly and, sometimes, weekly, prove, just the same as those of steeplechase-riders in England and Ireland: still they get no more than they bargain for, and they are almost too richly remunerat-ed. Frascuelo, for this day's performance, will get five hundred pounds, out of which he will, of course, pay a

handsome dividend to his quadrille, but from which he will reserve the lion's share for himself. This very night, or to-morrow, he

will be off to some other large city, to repeat the performance, for an equal fee! As he stands, he clears a larger income than the

foremost practitioner at the Irish bar, or, let us say, the Prime Minister of England: and he means to spend it right gaily during

the winter, at Biarritz and elsewhere. No! I pity neither the bulls nor the men; my sympathies are

solely and entirely with the horses. Their present treatment is the blot of the bull-ring, and, unless remedied, will be its doom. Nor is

it, historically speaking, an integ,ral or essential part of the sport or game, to have twelve or fourteen horses gored and slaughtered in a day! Time was, and not so long ago, when the picadors were

volunteers of the noblest blood, mounted on Arab horses wvho could turn and twist on a billiard table, and fly like the wind. Even

royalty disdained not to " condescend into the arena; " it was an

ordeal which almost every king of Spain -was expected to go through right joyously; and we read that Philip II., dreamy visionary as he was, and even his mighty father, the emperor Charles V., in all

the plenitude of his power, deemed such displays by no mneans beneath them. Even in the medikeval days of the Cid it was so, both on the Moorish side, and the Castilian: and I hope to tell vou a legend that will prove this, if you reach with me as far as

Madrid. But of late all this is changed: the picadors, like their mounts,

are of the lowest caste, and hence the holocaust. One obvious

alternative remains: improve the mounting of the picadors, or eliminate them altogether. One or other, or the doom of the bull

fight is sealed; for one of the redeeming points of our so much

censured age is an honest gentlemanly feeling for horse-flesh!



260 Notes of a S/tort Trip to Spain.

Having heard and read that the fair ones of Seville give tone

to this amusement, let me note, as a faithful chroniicler, that the "upper ten" of the fair sex were quite conspicuous by their absence. And, as I spoke of fans flying through the air, please

remenmber that most of them were waved, and thrown by men! Returning onl foot I had leisure to see the "paseo " (drive) flash

ing with bright open equipages, the ladies with small white lappets of la-ce, to represent the national mantilla, and just a flower in the

hair: nothing more ! Interpr et their abstention as a decree, that the sport mnust reform or die: a decree enacted by tyrants whose

will is law, destined to bind ministry and cort&z alike, without discus,sion as without argument, without the fuss of a pronuncia

mento or the inconvenience of a revolution, but with the calm

certainty of absolute and enduring success.

This evening the streets are again alive wvith festive throng.

The whole population seems on foot, but even in the narrowest lanies there is nlo crushing. Pedestrians, like horses and vehieles,

observe tlhe rule of the road, which here, as in all the other capitals

of Europe that I happen to know of, is exactly the reverse of

our owIn.

IHere and there, small open-air improvised theatres are giving concerts, or r epresentations in Anidalusian idiom. We stop awhile

at each, sip tan ice, and pass on.

No licghts now blaze from the Giralda tower, or from the

Cathedral-L battlements; but the flashing glories of last night, and

the va.ried scenes of to-day, will, I trust, remain with me a remem

brance for ever.



notes of a short trip to spain. part vi: seville on the festival of corpus christi

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