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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924088646454
SPAIN.
 SPAIN
BY

THE BARON CH. DAVILLIER

ILLUSTRATED BY

GUSTAVE DORE

TRANSLATED BY J. THOMSON, F.R.G.S.

LONDON «

BICKERS & SON, i LEICESTER SQUARE

1881
DP
v-v

Jl - zv<?^
DEFILE OF DESPEifArEREOS IN THE SIERRA JIORENA ipa(/e 358). Frontispiece,
 — —A

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER T.
PAGE
From Perpignan Figueras— The night watchman— The irrigation wheel— From Gerona to Barcelona The
to —
— — —
capital of Catalonia The churches The beggars— A Spanish cemetery The Eambla The ancient prisons —
—
of the Inquisition The convent of Monserrat -Tarragona — — —
Spanish brigands Tlie diligence ^The galera,
—
— —
and other vehicles The mayoral, the zagal, and the delamtero Reus and Poblet Tortosa Vinaroz and the — —
Due de Vend6me —The —Benicarlo, how the wine of Bordeaux was made a century ago — Ancient
Saguntum —^Murviedro and
algarrohos
its theatre ... .... ... . i

CHAPTER II.

Valencia del Cid —Agricultural —Valencian costume —The Llotja de seda—Tl'aQ Sew and the Micalet—
labours
The Guadalaviar and aqueducts —Tribunal of the waters — The singers of the oraciones—The handarria and
the cUara —Valencia, the birthplace of printing in Spain —The Gallede la PZaferw —Ancient delf Hispano-
Moresques —Manises —The Valencian tartana . . 22

CHAPTER III.
Antiquity of bull-fighting —
Royal toreros— K feast on the Plaza Mayor of Madrid— Costillares Romero Pepe — —
Illo — — — —
and his book The ganaderias The herradura The novillos The vaqueros and the cahestros The —
midnight journey of the bulls— The Plaza de foros— Bills and programmes of the corridas— The toreros . . 38

CHAPTER IV.
A bull-fight at —The despejo —The defile of the Cuadrilla—The alguaciles—The
Valencia— Aspect of the arena
—The chulos —The picadores—The release of the bull —The suerfes and the cogidas
espadas— The banderilleros
— The picador Calderon wounded—An obstacle —The Gordito—The Tato —The sword and the muleta—
is

The estocada volapi^—A shower of somhreros^Vhe cachetero~The

a, of mules— The banderillas de fuego
tiros

—The sobresaliemte— The suertes de capa—The Gordito and his chair—A banderillero in danger— The bull-
vaulter .... 46

CHAPTER V.

The Albufera— Shooting and fishing— The sportsmen — Alcira—Carcagente—The oranges of the kingdom of
Valencia—The Mierta of Gandia—Aloes and their uses—The papel de —The of George— Combat hilo f§te St.

between Moors and Spaniards — Jativa —Almanza — The pyramid —-Albacete, the Sheffield of Spain N'avajas,
eeaipunales — The poniard in the garter — From Albacete to Alicante —^ViUena— Alicante — Elche and
cuchillos,

its forest of palms— The dates and palms .

65

CHAPTER VI.

Orihuela —Extraordinary —The Segura— Murcia—Popular costumes—The fete of Corpus—Cartagena

fertility

From Murcia to —The galera atartanada—Totana—The gipsies —Lorca— CuUar de Baza —

Granada
population of cave-dwellers — Baza — The Inn of Gor— Guadiz — Arrival at Granada 57
h
 — —;

vi CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE VII.
PAGE
Granada, the ancient Karnattah-
Granada-The Casa de ^»pifos-Musicians and their music-Origin of

decadence the Moorish capital-lhe 6a«e de

Phoenicians, Komans, Goths, and Arabs-Grandeur and
of

loB Gomeres-1h^ Puerta de las Granadas-.The hill of the

Alhambra-The Gate of Judgment-The hand
of Charles V.-The Adarves-The
and the key-The Flaza de los Algibes-The Puerta del Fmo -The palace
the Alhambra-The foundation of the Alhambra-The
governments and their devastat.ons-ihe
vases of
Gohernador Manco .... 113

CHAPTER VIII.
The tower de los Siete ^wZos-The Alhambra-Tho headless horse and the hairy phantom-The
ghosts of the
Alcazaha-'Y\iB Torre del Homenage and that of the FeZa-The bell and the
young spinsters-The fall of
Granada-The palace of the Alhambra-The Patio de los Arrayanes-Hhs Patio and the Taza de los Leones
the blood-stains— The Abencerrages and the Zegris— Massacre in the Court of the Lions— The Hall of the
Ambassadors-The azidejos— The beautiful
Abencerrages— The Sala de las Bos Hermanas-ThB Hall of
and that of
Galiana— The Tocador de la Peina— The garden and balcony of Liiidaraja— The Sala de, Secretos
i37
the nymphs— The baths of the Sultana— The paintings of the Sala del Tribunal

CHAPTEE IX.
The Generalife the cypresses of the Sultana— The Silla del Mora— The Fuente el Avellano—The Darro— The
;

Zacatin— The Cathedral of Granada— The Capilla real; the tombs of the Catholic sovereigns— The
Bibrambla more about the Abencerrages and the Zegris burning of Arabic books— The Ear arcade and
; ;

the street of Knives— The Alcaiceria— The Museum— The Cariuia— The church and promenade of las
Aiigmtias—The Plaza de Bailen ; Maria Pineda— The Salon— The Genii Boabdil and the Catholic sove- ;

reigns—The Moorish baths- Sacro-Monte— The gipsies of Granada— An improvised ball; the Pelra—
Excursion to the Sierra Nevada— The neveros— The harrancos and the ventisqueros The Picacho de Veleta 164 — .

CHAPTEE X.
From Granada to Jaen — The Javalcuz and the Pandera —Jaen ; the Santo Rostro — Excursion to the Alpujarra
— Alhendin ; el 'Ultimo Suspire del Mora— The Valley of Lecrin — Padul —The Venta de los Mosquitos —
Durcal —Atrocities of the Moorish War —Fernando del Valor and Aben-Humeya — Ginez Perez de Hita,
soldier and — Lanjaron— Ujijar — The Barranco de Poqueria — Abeu Abu—The Sierra de Gador—
historian
Tlie Pio Verde — Berja —Almeria the Sacro Catino — The Moor Tuzani—Adra and Motril tropical vegetation
; ;

— Salobrena and the goddess Salambo —Almunecar— The cartas dulces and the sugar mills—Velez-Malaga
Garcilaso and the Veja — Malaga — The malaguenas— The Cathedral— Andalucian fencing punal and navaja — ;

The javeque, the desjarretazo, the plu7nada, the floreiazo, the corrida, — The molinete, lanzar la etc. etc. ;

navaja — Types of Jfa/ag'MeBos the cAa?Tare the arrisTO and the ounce of gold The harateros
; / . . .
195

CHAPTEE XL
Environs of Malaga — Loja—The Peiia de Enamorados—Archiduna —Tlie Andalucian bandoleros; the Niiios
los

of Ecija ;
— Antequera—Ronda the Rondehas— The contrahandistas and the contraband trade
Jose Maria :

of Andalucia— Gaucin— Gibraltar— San Roque —Aljeciras — Tarifa the Tarifenas — Vejer and the tardios—
:

Chiclana— Cadiz the "improbae Gaditanse" of Martial — Lord Byron and the bulls — The Puerta Santa Maria
;

—Jarez de Frontera—The Jarezanos—The Plaza—The toro del aguardiente—The vineyards— The wines
la

of Jarez —Arcos de Frontera— San Lucar de Barrameda the manzanilla— Bonanza— The Guadalquivir
la ;

-An herradero—The novilladas de lugar— San Juan de Alfarache— Arrival at Seville 223

CHAPTEE XI I.
The origin of Seville— The calk de las Sierpes— The Sevillians— The Mantilla de fo'm- The Correo— Christian
names— The Ayuntamiento—The arms of Seville— Streets in Seville the calle de Genoa ; the calle de Mar—
;

The calle de Feria—The plaza de la Magdalena; the puestos de agua

Candidejo and Peter the Cruel— The
—The Alemeda de Ilercides—The Giralda—The Cathedral— The Alcdzar ; the hanos de Padilla—The Capilla
de Azidejos— The Casa de Pilatos— The University— The Museum Murillo— The FAbrica de Tahacos
cigarreras ... •
the ;

•
.
. . . _
;

^.^
 — — — — 1

CONTENTS. vii

XI 11. CHAPTER
PAGE
The feria de Seville — The clialmies and the cJialanerias— The Noche buena — The bunoleras— The majos and majas—
The Aiidalucian dialect —The feria de Torrijos popuhir scenes—A gipsy in liquor — The Roinerias— The Virrjen
:

del ^oao— Sante-Ponce, the ancien* Italica— The religious fetes of Seville ; the Pasos— The Crista del Gran
/"ocfer— The Girio Fascual —The Passion-week processions— The brotherhoods— The theatres of Seville
Zarzuelas and saime^es—The Barateros of Seville : Barbers of Seville— Triana and its inhabitants —The potteries
of Triana —Gipsies of Triana, their funeral ceremonies and their language . . 278

CHAPTER XIV.
Antiquity of Spanish dances —Martial and the puellce gaditance—The crotalia and the eastanuelas— A treatise on
the castanets —The —The pavana of Spain The paspil, the pasacalle, and the folias—The zara-
tambourine
banda opinion of Padre Mariana —The zarabanda at the Courts of Spain and of France —Ancient Arabian
;

dances — The fandango — A Dancing Academy— The boleras robadas, and the jaleo de Jerez— An improvised
musician — A de candil in the suburb of Triana— The cantadores— The polo — Supper in a gipsy tavern
baile
The caleseras de Cadiz—The cana—The zapateado at the of Seville — An old gipsy— The bolero— The fair
national dancers and the ancient Spanish engravings — The seguidillas — The seguidillas manchegas — The Jota
Aragonesa—Religious coplas— The Valencianjoto — Dancing a funeral The jota of Navarre and Catalonia
—Tiie danza prima—The Carmago . . ... .... at

. .
302

CHAPTER XV.
A bull-fight a la Portugiiesa—Don Joaquin de Santos Gaballero en Plaza —Jose Bo,
los Tigre — The ; el el rejoncillos
—The Pegadores—The Indians, or Negroes—Maria Rosa Carmona—The Gorrito and his —Repartee of a stilts

picador to the actor Maiquez — A torera: Teresa Bolsi— Olive plantations in environs of Seville — Spanish the-
olive —From Seville to Cordova Carmona—Excursion to Ecija—Palma the Genii—Arrival at Cordova
oil ; ;

Antiquity of the town — Cordova during the Roman epoch— Abdul-Rahman and the Califat of the West
Entering Cordova in olden times by diligence — The Mezquita the court the orange-trees — Interior of the : of
Mosque the Mihr4b
: zancarron— Riches of the Mosque during the Arab epoch — The choir— Marble
; el pillar
sculptured by a Christian captive — Curious tombs — The Puerta del Perdon — Decadence of Cordova . . 338

CHAPTER XVI.
The environsof Cordova the mills of the Guadalquivir — The Palace of Az-Zarah— Luxury of the Califs of Cordova
:

—Serenading in Andaluoia the novia and the novio—Pelar la pava, " Plucking the turkey Mascar hien-o,
;
"

" Chewing iron — Some couplets — Andalucian devotion to the Virgin —Andujar and
"
alcarrazas—The Sierra its

Morena and ermitanos— More about Jose Maria— The Venta de Cdrdenas— Spanish beggars — La Maiicha
its

and inhabitants — Causes of the misery of the population — Santa Cruz de Mudela and
its cutlery— The wine its

of La Mancha— Ciudad-Real and Valdepenas — Manzanares . . . . . 353

CHAPTER XVI I.

—
The Campo de Montiel Peter the Cruel and Henry of Trastamare The Venta of Quesada The windmills of La — —
—
Mancha Souvenirs of Don Quixote and of Sancho Toboso Tembleque Estremadura and its inhabitants — — —
— —
Deserts and pasturages Tlie convent of Guadalupe Trujillo Merida and its ancient monuments Badajoz — —
Spanish inns fonda, parador,posada, meson, venta, etc. Picturesque names Accounts of ancient travellers —
: — —
— —
Why the inns are so miserable Montanchez Flocks of sheep and the Mesta The merinos Organisation of — —
— — —
nomadic flocks Shepherds and dogs Caceres The b&caros of Estremadura Bridge of Alconetar Bridge of — —
— —
Alcantara Plasencia The retreat of Charles V. why named Yuste and not Saint Just Talavera de la —
Reina, anciently famed for its /ai'eraccs .... :

356 . . . . .

CHAPTER XVIII.
Antiquity of Toledo the city under the Romans, the Visigoths, and the Arabs — The Cathedral — Wealth of the
;

ancient clergy—The Zocodover—The Alcdzar—Ancient synagogues Santa Maria la Blanca—The ancient Jews :

of Spain —Ancient convents of Toledo — Monks — Some proverbs — Saint-Simon and the monks of Toledo — The
crowns of Guarrazar— The Fdbrica de Armas — Ancient fame of the blades Toledo —Their temper — The iron of

of Spain — Decadence of the arms of Toledo . . • . 38

 —

VIU CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIX. PAGE

the palace and gardens-Bull and tiger fighting-Arrival at Madrid historical

From Toledo to Madrid-Aranjuez :
;

decorations— Some strophes of Madrid ridicule— The climate—

The Pa erfa
notes— The ancient houses ; interior
the Spanish press— The news-
del Sol— Go%i of building materials— The shops and shopkeepers— Notes- on
Journals of Barcelona and
papers—The petty journals— Satirical papers— Theatrical and sporting sheets—
the provinces — The Kepublican press •
.... • 394

CHAPTER XX
The Calk de ^fca^o—Academy San Fernando and the GaUnete de Historia N'atural—The Calle J/ayor—Silver-
of
ware of the ancient Palace of Madrid— Theatres of Madrid— Theatrical success— The Flaza Mayor and its
fetes the Festas reales ; the Autos de Fd ; the great Acte de Foi of 1680—The bull-fights—Politicians of the
;

Plaza Mayor— The Maragaios— The Escribanos of the Calle Mayor— The prison of Francis I. The Calle de —
Toledo— Street merchants— The cries of Madrid— The Kastro— The Fdhrica de Tahacos—The Cigarrera
—
and the Manola The Frado and the Fuente Castellana The Buen Retiro — 4°^

CHAPTER XXI.
The Museum of Madrid — The foreign schools —The Spanish school —Velazquez : his portraits ; abuse of paint
at the court of Philip IV. —Murillo — The churches —The Processions of Madrid : penitents, scourgers, and
others—The Brotherhood of Faz y Caridad a capital execution—The Palacio Real, and ancient Alcdzar
;

of Madrid—The prison of Francis —The Armaria historical arms the casque of Charles and that of
I. : ; V.,
Francis —The Manzanares public baths —The environs of Madrid—Sportsmen—The Casa del Campo
and the Prado
I.

.... ;

.... 417

CHAPTER XXII.
The Escurial —Theof Phillipvow— The patio de Reyes—The Relicario—The Panteon—The Library
II. los

Alcala de Heuarfes —The University—The Students —From Madrid to Cuenga—The pine forests—The
Cathedral of Cuei) 9a— Segovia the aqueduct the Alcazar and the Cathedral
. ; -431 . .

CHAPTER XXIII.
Avila — — —
The Cathedral An inn Salamanca its university Alba de Tormes The Charros and Charras From
: — — —
— —
Salamanca to Zamora Toro Medina del Campo Charles V. at Medina The Braseros Valladolid — the — — ;

— —
Plaza Mayor The Museum Pompeo Leoni Berruguete and Gregorio Hernandez Houses of historic fame 444
; —

XXIV. CHAPTER
Palencia : the Cathedral— The Cathedral of Leon —Astorga — Some words about Spanish cookery The
temperance of Spaniards — The olla podrida and the puchero — The chocolate of Astorga antiquity of
;

chocolate in Spain— Curious traits— Philip V. and Saint-Simon— Galicia—Villafranca del Fierzo— Lugo—
The segadores gallegos—Topul&v songs and sayings about the Galicians— Santiago— Saint James of Com-
postelle— The Cathedral— Oviedo— The Asturias— Covadonga— The inscription of the King Silo— The pass
of Pajares .

452

CHAPTER XXV.
Burgos— Costumes of the peasants the Moute7-a— The Mercado de la Llendre— The Casa del
;
Cordon and the
—
Arco de Santa Maria The Ayuntamiento ; the bones of the Cid The Cathedral A statue of Christ
cov 1
— —
with human skin el Co/re de Cid—The monastery of Las Huelgas and the Cartvja de
;
Miraflores the
—
nuns San Pedro de Cordova the tomb of the Cid The Cid did he really exist ?— Miranda de—
—
Ebro The Calahorra Tudela —
;

....Ebr TI
:
—
466
 — — ——
;

CONTENTS. ix

CHAP TEE XXV I.

PAGE
The Aragonese and tlieir costume; the cinta morada; the aZ/jar^ates— Kick Carinena Teruel legend — — :

of los Amantes de Teruel Calatayud — —

the Moreria The Castillo del Beloj Medina-Celi Siguenza— The
: — —
popular physicians of Spain Barberos, sangradores, sacamuelas, curanderos ; and other charlatans
:

Bleeding the arm and the foot satirical couplets on the doctors Guadalajara the palace of the dukes
; ; ;

of the Infantado —
Saragossa the Torre Nueva (leaning tower) Our Lady del Pilar The popular saints
; — — ;

San Antou and the loaves and ladies a saint in a well some coplas—San Juan de Dios, San Hoque, etc.
; ; 478 .

CHAP TEE XX VI I.

Sale or the Jewels op oue Lady del Filar. — The Catalogue ; duration of sale ; the adjudication ;
principal
objects sold. The Goldsmith's Art. —The crowns of gold of Guarrazar—The jewels of the sixteenth century
— The art of enamelling in Spain, etc. Arms and Ieon-Woek. Spanish Ceramic and Glass-ware. —
^2MZe/os— Hispano-Moresque Ware —Arab potteries — Spanish porcelains of Buen Ketiro, Alcora, and Madrid.
— —
Wood-carving. The wood-carving of the sixteenth century The Arabian ivories — Carvings of the Middle
— —
Ages Decadence of the art. Furniture. Fabrics. Kichness of the stuffs made by the Arabs of Spain—
— —
The silks of Toledo, Valencia, Talavera, etc. The tapestries of Alcaraz Kich embroideries of the Cathedrals.
—
Illuminadoees. Illuminated chronicles, romances, and other writings— Collectors of objects of antiquity
—
Portrait of a collector The trade in curiosities in the Peninsula— Counterfeits 490 .... . .

CHAPTEE XXVIII.
The provincias Vascongadas : Alava, Guipilzcoa, and Vizcaya Thsfueros — Ancient nobility—The Basque language
—Vitoria : ; the market
the Plaza nueva —
A proverb touching figs False money and counterfeit coiners —
— — — —
Zumarraga Mondragon Gipsies Vergara The Carlists popular pictures la Historia de Cabrera ; Mozen
; ;

— —
Anton Tolosa church of Santa-Maria Ancient devotion to souls in purgatory Some anecdotes Philip IV.
: — :

and his hundred thousand masses the Count of Villa Mediaua and the priest The mountains Basque carts
; — — ;

singular noise produced by their wheels some details on the subject Saint Sebastian Bilbao Irun
; —
495 — — . .

CHAPTEE XXIX.
The Balearic Islands —Their ancient civilisation the Gyrrmesis of the Greeks—Wealth of Majorca during
;

the Middle Ages —The Majolica—Printing introduced in Majorca— Palma the cathedral —The Llotja — :

The convent of San Francisco de Asis and Raymond LuUe — Ancient reputation for beauty of the
women of Majorca— Cardinal de Ketz at Palma—Ancient dwellings of Palma—The palace of Montenegro ;

Mme. Sand — The ancient Jews of Majorca la Chueteria —Excursion round the island — Valldemosa
:

souvenirs of the author of " Indiana — The peasants and their costume — Deya— Seller and
"
oranges — The
island of Minorca . • .... its

.512
 LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.

FACING PACING
PAGE PAGE
Defile op DbspeSaperros in the Siehea The Generalipe
MoRENA Frontis;piece Banks op the Darro .... 164
168

A
OF Barcelona .....
Beggars in the Cloister op the Cathedral Tomb op Ferdinand and Isabella
Cathedral op Granada .
in the
172

An
Burial at Barcelona
Prison of the Inquisition at Barcelona
Accident
12
16
Monte
An Adventure
......
The Grottoes op the Gipsies at

at Sacro-Monte .
Sacro-
176
180
Working Men op Valencia . 22 A Gipsy dancing the Zorongo 184
Market-Gardeners, Valencia 26 Dance op Gipsy Children at Sacro-Monte 188
—
Young Valencians
Tribunal of the Waters, Valencia
Drove op Fighting Bulls Midnight
30
34
40 A
TO Jaen
Relay at Jaen
......
The Puerta de Arenas Eoutb from Granada

... 192

The Picador Calderon ....: .

46 A Family op Mendicants
196
200
Arrival of Picadores
The Cachetero
A
.....
Banderillbro in Danger
.

.
5°
54
58
The Barranco of Poqueria
JARRAS .

The Cathedral and Port of Malaga

in the Alpu-

.
204
210
A Bull clearing the Barrier 62 Charranes and Marineros on the Beach 216
The Torero's Narrative after a Bull-fight 66 A Baratero exacting the Barato 218
The Banks of the Guadalaviar Smugglers of the Serrania de Eonda.
The Lake of Albufera. ....
Flamingo-shooting on the Lake of Albufera
.
70
74 The Eock op Gibraltar
Cadiz ... ...
230
234

F£te of Alcoy
78
82 Arcos de la Fronteea
The Herradero on the Banks
.... 238
242
Orange-trees at Carcagente

.......
Peasants in the Neighbourhood of Carca-
86
Guadalquivir ..... op the
246

A
gente
.....
Street in Albacete
Forest of Palms at Elchb ....
90
94
Palacio del Ayuntamiento, Seville
The Giralda, Seville ....
Puerta del Perdon, Seville Cathedral
250
254

A Gipsy's Toilet at ....

Dibzma
Ladies of Granada listening to Itinerant
98
108 Interior op Seville Cathedral
Moorish Arches op the Alcazar, Seville
.
258
262

Dwarf Musicians
Balconies at Granada
....
..... 114
T18
La Fabrica de Tabacos, Seville
La Sala de Embajadores, Alcazar,
.

Seville
266
270
274
A Family of Beggars at Granada .122 Peasants going to the Fair.
General View of the Alhambra
Gate of the Torre de las Infantas
.
.

. .126
130
A Paso at Seville ....
Penitents accompanying a Paso
278
286
. . .
290
The Vase of the Alhambra . . .
134 GipsiesMourning (Suburb of Triana) . 296
.138
The Tower of Comares .

Patio de los Array anes (Court of Myrtles)

Gallery of the Patio de los Arrayanes
.

.
144
148 A
Seville ......
The Fandango at the Theatre San Fernando,

Dancing Academy, Seville

304
310
Patio de los Lbones (Court op Lions) . 152 Gipsy dancing the Vito Sbvillano 314
The Torres Bermejas and the Generalipe . 156 Gipsies dancing in a Court op Seville 318
Gate op the Sala de Justicia . . 160 A Funereal Jota (Province of Alicante) 324
Xll LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
FACING FACINO
PAGE PAGE
Portuguese Corrida at Seville the Pega- The Palacio Eeal op Madrid 420
DORES ....
Teresa Bolsi, Akdalucian Toreka
:

. . 330 La Fuente del Cisnb (Fountain

Swan), Madrid
of the
424
.
334
Exterior of the Mosque op Cordova . -342 General View op the Escurial . 428
Chapel op the Zancarron, Mosque of Cor-
dova ...
Interior op the Mosque of Cordova
. .
346
Library of the Escurial
Students serenading
Segovia
.....
the Alcazar and Cathedral
432
436
440
.
350 : .

A Sbrbnata at Cordova . .
354 Peasant's Funeral, Old Castile . 448
Defile of the Despbnaperros, in the Sierra Sahagun, Province of Leon 452
...
.

Morena .
358 The Poplars of the Country round Leon .
456
Arrival of the Diligence at the Inn, Santa Native Cart and Chestnut Merchant. 460
Cruz de Mudbla . . . . -362 The Poor db Solemnidad, Burgos 466
The Mills op La Mancha . . 366 Old Clothes Market, Burgos 470
The Jars of La Mancha .
370 Gorges of Pancorbo 474
EuiNS OF THE ancient ThEATRE OP MlSRIDA
A Shepherd of Estremadura
Interior op Toledo Cathedral
. .
.

-378
.382
374
fantado ......
Court of the Palace of the Duo de

The Leaning Tower op Saragossa

l'In-

478
482
Alcazar op Toledo
The Puerta del Sol (Gate op the
.... . ,

Sun),
386 Church op Ocr Lady del Pilar, Saragossa
Balconies of Vitoria .... 486
496
Toledo . . .
.390 Market at Vitoria . ._ . . 500
The Queen's Avenue, Aranjuez . .
-394 Basque Shepherd, Province of Alava .
504
General View of Madrid .
.398 Basque Dairymaid, San Sbbasxian 508
Scene prom the " Tio Canititas '
. 406 EocKS OP Aumalluch, Majorca 516

OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
The
The
Noria ......
Col de Pertus; the Cork-trees .
PAGE
I

2
Eh INS
The Navaja ......
of the Castle op Chinchilla 82
85
The
Col
Custom-house Officers op Junquera
de Pebtus (Chateau de Bellegabde)
EuiNS OP the Eoman Theatre op Murviedro
3
4
20
Alicante .....
Sketch in Albacete

Traders of Alicante....
86
89
90
Passage of a Torrent . 21 Two Ladies. — Sketch made at Alicante 93
A Quarrel at the Game op Ball, Valencia 22 Binding up the Palm- leaves
Valencian Labourers
An Old Woman
.

op Valencia
25
26
The Gip,sy's Breakfast

Peasant op Obihuela
....
....
.
94
97
98
Valencian Labourer 29 Eeapers in the Fields op Muecia lOI
Boatmen of the Port of Valencia 30 Sketch made at Murcia 102
Musicians at the Gate of the Cathedral, Market-gardeners, Murcia
Valencia
A Tartanero .
33
37
Peasants op Totana
Aguadorbs op Loeoa
....
....
.
103
104
108
The Espada .
38 Peasant op the Environs op Granada. 112
Pose of Bandbbillas 45 The Gate op Justice, Alhambra .
"3
The Gordito .
46 Family of Travelling Musicians . 121
The Triumph op the Espada 58 Dbspoilers of the Azulejos op the Alhambra
134
Play op the Cape 62 The Balcony op Lindaraja
137
Toreros in the Calle Zabagoza 65 Sketch in the Suburbs op Granada
164
Wandering Musicians .
69 The Gipsy Eico . . , _
183
Preparation op the Aloes .
74 The Panderon in the Sierra Nevada
.
188
Peasant op Alcoy .
77 Nevbro op the Sierra Nevada
192
A Sketch at the FSte of Alcoy 78 View of Lanjaron in the Alpujarras.
195
 1

OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS. xin

PAGE PAGE
An Aged Mendicant and his Grandchild Peasant in the Environs op Madrid
A Duel with the Navaja
Throwing the Navaja
.... . 209
214 A Barber and his Customers
Peasants in the Neighbourhood of Madrid
4'S
406

The Charean of Malaga

Fencing with the Punal
.... 217
222
Valencian Waitress
Jar Merchant, Madrid
.... 411
412
413
Arranco the Sierra de Eonda
in

EoMAN Bridge at Eonda

The young Toreros a Scene in Eonda
.... 223
227
228
EoASTiNG Chestnuts
Weighing Charcoal
Fountain of the Four Seasons, Madrid
.... 415
416
: 417
Majo and Peasants in the Environs of
Jerez
CiGARRERAS AT
.....
WoRK
249
Interior of the Armeria, Madrid
Peasant of the Environs of Madrid
Shepherdess, Environs op Madrid
.
424
427

Tabacos of Seville
IN THE
.... FaBRICA DE
250 Students de la Tuna .... 428
431
Inhabitants
Seville
of the Suburb

cigarreras of the tobaoco factory, seville

Macarena,

277
CuENfA .....
Students Travelling with Muleteers

Pine Forest of Cuenja

.
436
440
443
Majos and Majas at THE Fair of Eocio, the Town and Eoman Bridge
Environs of Seville
EuiNS op Italica, near Seville
.... 278
285
Salamanca

Mendicants
:

Charro of Salamanca .
444
446
. . ." . .
45
A Box in the Principal Theatre of Seville 301 Banks of the Carrion, Palencia 452
The Bolero 302 Grajal, near Leon 456
Andalucian Dancers 3°9 Galician, Holiday Costume .
464
An Andalucian Bolera and her Mother .
313 Interior op a Country Inn .
465
The Aragonbse Jota 322 The Cid's Coffer, Burgos Cathedral 466
GUITARRERO AND PoOR DaNCING GiRL .
327 Gorges of Pancorbo the Tunnel :
474
Miguel Lopez Gorrito, Mounted on Stilts, The Monastery of Las Huelgas, near Burgos 477
Killing a Bull in the Plaza of Seville Olive Plantations near Saragossa
Andalucian Santbeo
Cattle Merchant of Cordova
.... 328
339 An Aeagonese Pedlar .

Head of Medusa,
478
489

Sketch at Valdepenas
A
....
—
Youthful Mendicant. Sketch made at
35°
353
Buckler, with the
Armoury of Madrid
HispANO Moresque Vase
in the

490
494
THE VeNTA de CarDINAS . 365 Mieanda de Ebro .
495
Ancient Aqueduct at Merida 366 Castilian Shepherd 496

RERO ......
An Unfortunate Day Despair op a Guitar-
:

Idlers on the Bridge of Alicante

378
381
The Sierra de Oca, near Miranda de Ebro
Fowl Merchant, Vitoria
Gipsy Camp, near Zumareaga
499
503
504
Bridge of Saint Martin, Toledo .
385 Basque Peasant 5°7
An Arabian Well, Toledo . 386 Village on the Eoad to San Sebastian 5"
Interior of San Juan de los Eeyes, Toledo 390 View in Majorca 512
A Door of the Middle Ages, Toledo .
393 Environs of Valldemosa, Majorca 515
A Eelay between Toledo and Madrid 394 Peasant Woman, Majorca .

Combat between a Bull and a Tiger .

397 Peasants, Majorca 519
Vendor of "Wax Matches 403 Peasant, Majorca 520
 " —

THE NOHIA.

SPAIN.
CHAPTER I.

—
From Perpignan to Figueras —The night watchmen The irrigation wheel— From Gerona to Barcelona— The capital of
— —
Catalonia The churches The heggars — A Spanish cemetery The Eambla — The ancient prisons of the Inquisition
—
The Convent of Monserrat — Tarragona— Spanish brigands — The diligence — The galera, and other vehicles— The mayoral,
the za^al and the delantero—VieviS and Poblet— Tortosa —^Vinaroz and the Due de Venddme — The algarrohos — Benicarlo,
—
how the wine of Bordeaux was made a century ago— Ancient Sagrintum Murviedro and its theatre.

My old friend Dor^ had been talking to me for a long time of his desire to visit Spain. At
first it was only a vague project negligently thrown out between the whiflFs of a cigar ; but
it soon became a fixed idea, one of those dreams that leave no lest to the mind until they
are realised. I never saw him at any time but he put the question, " When shall we set

out for Spain ?

" My dear friend," I replied, " you forget that twenty times already, if I remember
rightly, I have traversed the classic land of the Castanet and bolero."
"All the more reason," he said ; " seeing that you know Spain so well, there should be
no further cause for delay." I own I could raise no objection to his forcible pleading, and
our departure was speedily resolved upon. Is it not one of the greatest pleasures of a
journey to revisit familiar scenes in the company of an excellent and sympathetic friend ?

Some days later we took our tickets for Perpignan, where we arrived on the following
 SPAIN.

evening. In the same way Bayonne is half-Basque, Perpignan is semi-Catalonian

as
;

the popular dialect is almost the same as that spoken in

Ca.talonia. Our conveyance,
comman-lookmg
which started next dav, had nothing Spanish in its appearance: a
in famous Andalusian
driver, crowned with a "vulgar cap, took the place of the mayoral
mules, we had six strong
costume. Instead of the ten or twelve handsomely caparisoned
horses, with which we made an unpretentious start. Our path lay along a road hedged
in with aloes, whose sharp
leaves stood up like a bristling

array of poniards ; and being

in the most southern latitude
of France, we could already
descry the snowy summits
of Canigou rising above a
vast horizon of blue and rose-
coloured mountains. Soon we
left the plain, and passing
through the little village of
Boulou, entered the defile of
Pertus. Here, as our vehicle
made its slow and tortuous
way up the stony steeps, we
were enabled to proceed on
foot, and found leisure to sketch

one or two gigantic specimens

of the cork-tree, which twines
its noble branches into a cover-
ing for the mountain sides.

The trunk, before it is denuded

of its bark, is as rough as an un-
hewn rock, but when stripped
it has a bright rose tint, as if

bleeding from its wounds. The

picturesque ruins which border
the pass, with their charming
contrasts of light and shade,
also afforded excellent subjects
for the pencil. These old
towers and strongholds have
THE COL DE PERTUS ; THE COEK-TREES. stood unmoved on their rocky
foundations, the grim witnesses
of many a conflict. The Col de
Pertus has always been the natural passage across the eastern extremity of the chain
of the Pyrenees. . Pompey and Caesar passed through, and Iberia became a Eoman province.
Many centuries later the Goths made their way through this defile, and established them-
selves in the land in place of the Romans. They in their turn were driven out by the
Arabs ; the latter entered France through the Col de Pertus, and their progress was only
arrested by Charles Martel. Louis XIV., in order to secure the possession of the province
 JUNQUERA.
built the castle of Bellegarde, whose towers we could just see crowning a high peak,
whence it overlooks and commands the approach.
Junquera is the first village at which we stopped after, crossing the frontier. Here
our passports were adorned with new signatures, and a delay of two hours enabled us
to make the acquaintance of the Custom-

house officers, who only differed from

our own in their dress, and in the more
startling name of carabineros. To do
justice to the zeal of these functionaries,

they overhauled our luggage most con-

scientiously, turned everything upside
down, and, in the trouble they caused,
gave us the full benefit of their official

power. We were now in Spain, or

more correctly Catalonia, for many of
the Catalonians hardly consider them-
THE CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICERS OF JUNQUEEA.
selves Spanish. They speak a peculiar
dialect, which bears a strikino- resem-
blance to the Limousine language of the Middle Ages; this dialect Las not only .its

grammar and its dictionaries, but a literature of its own. The Catalonians are accounted
the most thrifty and industrious people in Spain. Their industry has indeed become
proverbial ; thus in some provinces the common phrase for going to shop or market is, " Go
to the Catalonians." Another proverb says,

" Dicen que los Catalanes

De las piedras saoan panes."

" If you give stones to the Catalonian he will extract bread from them."

After passing through Junquera the country xesembles a forest of olives, forming
large greyish masses ; soon we arrive at Figueras, one of the strongest towns in Spain.
Gerona, through which we also made our way, is equally well defended, and has survived
many a desperate siege ; it is a quaint old town, and historically most interesting.
Often in traversing its narrow and tortuous streets one notices the fronts of the old
houses covered with the most grotesque sculptures of the Middle Ages. The cathedral
stands upon a height which overlooks the town, and is reached by a handsome staircase
of one b undred steps. The principal doorway, named Puerta de los Apostoles, is ornamented
with rare terra-cotta statues representing the apostles, and
. it bears the date 1458.
Towards midnight, in one of the dark streets of Gerona, we heard for the first time
the melancholy voices of the serenes; these guardians of the night, wrapped in their
stone-coloured mantles, and with their lanterns dangling from the end of a pole, carried
one back to the heart of the Middle Ages. Not content with watching over the sleeping
townsmen, they, in a manner peculiar to themselves, announce the passing hours, and as
watchmen have naturally received the name serenos.
the nights in Spain are usually calm, the
These men remind one of the Nachtwachters of Amsterdam, who parade the streets armed
with a sabre and a staff, and cry the hours to the inharmonious accompaniment of a
wooden rattle. The serenos, devoid of this instrument, herald the hours with a sort of
chant full of originality; sometimes they lead off with a few words to the praise of God,
Alabado sea Dios ! or Ave Maria purisima ! This last form is more especially used in
 SPAIN.

Andcalusia, where the Virgin is the object of veneration under the name Santisima. Before
commenciDg theiT nocturnal promenade they generally meet at the town-hall, from which
they disperse to their wards. These watclimen render many and varied services to the
townsfolk; they not only see that the doors of the houses are properly secured, but in
cases of extremity they fetch the monthly nurse, doctor, or priest ; at times they are charged
with missions of a more profane order, and lost strangers find in them trusty friends. One
night, losing ourway in a
labyrinth of streets, we came
across a brave sereno, who
recounted to us his many
troubles. He was, above all,
afraid of losing his post, as
situations of this dignified
order were much coveted by
his countrymen. Having taken
leave of our communicative
friend, we retraced our steps
to the station, and took our
places for Barcelona.
We had already made our
way so far along a detestable
road, when our progress was
stopped by a sudden rise in the

torrent del Manol, which is

usually passed by a ford, and

we were obliged to wait until
the water had subsided. Hap-
pily day began to dawn, and
profiting by our forced delay,
we set out to explore the envi-
rons. The vegetation was mag-
nificent, thanks to the noria
so common in this rejjion.
The noria, the an-naoHra of
the Arabs, is a machine of
primitive simplicity, used to
raise water for the purposes of
irrigation. The water is col-
lected in tanks several yards
COL DB PERTUS (CHATEAU DB BELLEGARDE).
deep, lined with mortar. A
cord like an endless
circular
chain descends into the tank; to this cord terra-cotfca buckets are attached at regular
intervals. Eacli bucket is made to hold six or eight quarts of water. An immense WQoden
wheel, turning horizontally on its axis, communicates its motion to a vertical wheel,
over which the endless chain of buckets has been passed. The buckets when descendin fl-

and when ascending are emptied into a reservoir placed on a higher

are filled in the tank,
level, which communicates with a network of canals cut through the fields
requirino-
 ;

BARCELONA. 7

irrigation. These buckets are so arranged that four or five discharge their contents while
an equal number are filliug. The motive power which drives this curious macliine is

usually supplied by some poor superannuated horse. Often a tawny child, clad in rags or
else entirely nude, directs this jaded brute ; sometimes the child is required for other work,
when an ingenious piece of mechanism is brought into play : it consists of a long stick
so arranged that it comes down with fearfully persuasive force upon the jaded animal
whenever it stops, leaving the borse but little inducement to prolong its rest. It is

said that a single noria will irrigate land sufficient to maintain an entire family.
In a lieighbouring village not far from the scene of our accident we made the
acquaintance of a country priest, an excellent man, who had a joyous and prosperous
appearance. It was Sunday, and he was strolling along peacefully, smoking iu the society
of several of his parishioners on the Plaza de la constitucion ; in Spain no town or village
is without its Plaza de la constitucion. In France people would be very much surprised to
encounter a priest smoking iu public ; here no one pays the slightest attention. We once
even saw a priest light his cigar at the censer in the sacristy.
The railway to Barcelona follows the seashore : the journey is most agreeable, recalling
the route from Naples to Castellamare. On the left the sea, blue as a sapphire, was dotted
with fishing craft, whose long lateen sails were spread out to the morning breeze, white
and smooth as the wings of a seagull ; on the right, the vast plain was mantled with the
dark foliage of the orange and other fruit trees. We passed through about twenty
villages and towns, of which the most industrious is Matard, celebrated for its glass
factories. On each side the road was bordered with cactus, forming a fence that is strong
and at the same time picturesque.
The railway is only slightly above sea-level : thus during high tides the rails seem
to be submerged. When the sea has risen it produces a singular perspective efiect, which-
we noticed when one day sailing in a boat off the coast near Barcelona; the train
appeared to be running through the water just in the same way as when, sailing on the
Dutch coast, the laud disappears and the trees and dwellings of the Hollanders seem to
rise up out of the sea.

Barcelona, as we approached, was bathed in bright sunlight. " Barcelona," says

Cervantes, " is the home of courtesy, asylum of strangers, shelter of the poor, land of the
brave, refuge of offenders ; the common centre of all that is sincere in friendship
a city unequalled for situation and beauty." It stands at the foot of Mont-Juich — ^the

mountain of the Jews — an immense rock, whose summit, bristling with fortifications, rises

above a forest of Gothic spires. Cervantes said truly that Barcelona was during the
Middle Ages, and in his own time, one of the most flourishing cities and frequented
ports in the Mediterranean, equal to Venice, Genoa, or Pisa, with which places it held
intimate trading relations. During the fifteenth century it was celebrated for its

sculpture, and its early masterpieces are still admired ; it had also a well-merited
reputation for the beauty of its work in bronze and iron. Barcelona boasted a numerous
corporation of rejeros, the artists who forged and cut the marvellous iron gates of
the churches aud cloisters, which are so finely wrought that they have been compared
to microscopic filigree-work.
The capital of Catalonia, the first industrial city in the Peninsula, has lost
nothing of its commercial activity, and its port is still as animated as in the days of the
valiant Don Quixote and his faithful attendant. Steamers have now however replaced the
galleys which the brave Sancho mistook for monsters ploughing their way with a hundred
 "

SPAIN.
•

crimson feet across the Avater. He would have died of panic-fear had he beheld the great
steamships of the Mediterranean calmly advancing against wind and waves.
Barcelona nowadays resembles Marseilles ; it presents nearly the same activity, the

same mixture of diverse nationalities, and the same absence of any distinctive type. The
mantilla is rarely seen, and it is in vain we have tried to discover the least trace of the
" Andalouse au teint bruni " of Alfred de Musset. Even in Andalusia they become rarer
every day, and Dor^ never lost an opportunity of studying those we came across, for
a day will come when railways, forming a network over Spain, will cause them to

disappear.
Some of the old parts of the town still retain their original features, such as the
Calle de la Plateria — street of the goldsmiths. Most Spanish towns have their Calle de
la Plateria, where one can study the gold and silver work, which forms an important
feature in the costume of the people. The shops display an attractive array of gold and
silver ornaments, coarse and heavy in workmanship, but whose angular designs have
a charming originality. There are earrings so ponderous that they require to be partly
suspended by strong thread ; rings with red and green stones, and all sorts of ex-voto ;

figures also of the Madonna de Monserrat, held in great veneration by the Cata-
lonians. All this jewelry is designed for the use of the peasantry. Side by side with
these are the jewels al estilo de Paris, for people who pride theniselves on following the
Parisian fashions.
The Cathedral of Barcelona, called the Seti, (pronounced Seou), from the Latin
sedes, while outwardly unattractive, has at the same time a most imposing interior.

Beneath the choir, tapers are kept constantly burning in honour of the patron saint of
the city.
" Esta es la Eulalia, la de Barcelona,

De la rica ciiidad la rica joya !

"It is Saint Eulalia," says the popular refrain, "that of Barcelona, rich jewel of a
rich city."
The organ pipes, in place standing
as in our churches, are ranged
of upright,
horizontally,and resemble the pointed cannons of some infernal machine. The base
supporting them is terminated with a huge Saracen's head, wearing a long red beard
which looks as if it had been dipped in blood. This singular ornament, the symbol of the
deep-rooted hatred which the Spaniards felt for their Moorish foes, is frequently met with
in Spain.
The cloister adjoining the churcli contains a number of chapels shut off by the
beautiful iron rejas of which we have already spoken. It is impossible to find anywhere
more carefully finished and patiently elaborated work happily the rejeros who executed ;

these masterpieces have left us their names. In the centre of the cloister there is a
charming fountain shaded by orange-trees. Here we felt as if transported to the midst of
a scene in the Middle Ages ; and to complete the illusion this cloister is a sort of Cour des
Miracles, where found a motley crew of importunate whining vagrants, who, although
is

now almost unknown with us, still flourish in some parts of the Peninsula. There is
indeed hardly any civilised country, unless it be Italy, where one sees mendicity establish
itself in broad daylight, and with less ceremony than in Spain. Full of dignity, one
might almost say pride, the Spanish beggar wraps himself in the remains of his mantle,
and is seen armed with an immense stick, used to drive off the dogs, which by instinct
are hostile to men of his type. Shrouded in his rags, he philosophically carries on his
A BUEIAL AT BAECELONA. To face paje
 ;

THE EAMBLA. ii

profession or his art —wbicli you please — as Lis highest ambition is to be accounted an
accomplished mendicant. A modern Spanish author who has paid special attention to
this subject assures us that in many families the profession becomes hereditary; the
children religiously observe the precepts of those who have grown old in the arts of
mendicity, and are not slow to profit by the hard-won experience of their teachers. Thus
the veteran knows full well how to portion out his time and lay his plans for each day's
campaign, so that by appearing in a certain place at a time carefully determined before-
hand, his tatters, tricks, and misery will meet with their fullest reward.
After the churches we visited the cemetery, where the path lies through long parallel
alleys hedged in on each side by high walls pierced with a multitude of compartments, one
above the other, at regular intervals, not unlike the niches of a Roman columbarium, or
pigeon-house ; each one of these compartments is destined for the reception of a corpse,
enclosed in a coffin, and when an interment has been effected, masous are employed to wall
up the opening with bricks and mortar. This cit)^ of the dead contains many streets,

which form a singular perspective. The sepulchres of the rich are closed with slabs of
white marble, adorned with bas-reliefs and inscribed with the names of the defunct. When
an interment takes place, the parents and friends of the deceased repair to the cemetery
to lend their aid in placing the coffin in its niche. We were witnesses of a scene of this
kind; the masons had just placed the large and heavy ladder by means of which they
were enabled to reach an elevated opening in the wall. A scpulturero approached, bearing
a child's coffin decked with artificial flowers ; then followed a group of mourners, who
halted at the foot of the ladder, in vain attempting to console the poor mother, who burst
into an agony of grief as she caught the last glimpse of the coffin passing out of sight.
Leaving this sad scene, we were led to an apartment where the bodies of the dead are
required to rest for twenty-four hours before interment, in order to make certain that life

is extinct. Here a precaution is used which seemed strange to us : a cord fastened to

the arm of the corpse is attached to a bell, in such a way that the least motion sounds
an alarm and summons the guard, who watches day and night in this waiting-room
of the dead. The attendant assured us that never in the memory of man had they heard
the sound of the bell.
The Eambla is the great promenade, the Boulevard des Italiens of Barcelona
where one can form some notion of the Catalonians of all classes, from the senora
covered with satin and lace, to the simple fisherman in a red cap and with his jacket
carelessly thrown over his shoulder, or the Catalonian exquisite strutting daintily along,

the slave of capricious fashion. Not far frOm the Rambla rises the Palace of Justice, a
charming structure of the fifteenth century ; the patio, or inner court, is shaded by orange-
trees, whose topmost branches reach nearly to the roof of the edifice. Under a covered
gallery are ranged a number of tables for the use of the lawj^ers, who there give their
professional advice in public.
The ancient prison of the Inquisition may still be seen in Barcelona ; it is a massive
gloomy building, pierced with a number of narrow windows. There the terrible tribunal
sat in all its splendour. We were shown the Frado de San Sebastian, beyond the walls
of the town, the site of the Quemadero, where heretics were consumed by fire for the good
of the faith. Never was edifice more purely in harmony with its design, and the famous
Torquemada, the model inquisitor, the great burner of heretics, ought to have found it

to his taste.
Before bidding adieu to Barcelona we visited the convent of Monserrat, where the
 ;

12 SPAIN.

Virgin, lield in great veneration by tlie Catalonians, is supposed to work innumerable

miracle,?. This convent on a peak more than a thousand feet in height, and not
is built

far off rises a group of conical mountains, whose jagged summits

remind one of the teeth
of a saw, which accounts for the name Monserrat. Since the suppression of the Spanish

convents, more than thirty years ago, that of Monserrat has lost much of
its ancient

splendour; nevertheless the view from the terrace of the convent amply repays
a visit.
grandest
In the distance there is a bright blue line of sea which borders one of the
panoramas of the Pyrenees.
Tarragona, nearly the same distance from Barcelona, but to the south, is a small city,
which we reached by sea in a few hours. During the Roman period it was the most
important city of the Peninsula, when its population is said to have been about a mdlion.
Tarragona as it now almost entirely built out of the ruins of the Eoman city
stands is

at each step one stumbles on some fragment of ancient bas-relief. The cathedral is one of
the oldest in Spain, and in its cloister we noticed a remarkable arch of horse-shoe shape,
whose finely sculptured ornaments and inscriptions date from the tenth century. In spite
of the early fame of the city and its environs, the only trace we could discover of its great

works was an ancient aqueduct in partial preservation, and the ruins of a tomb near the
sea, to which tradition has given the name Torre de los Escipiones.
At the time of our first visit to Spain the railway from Barcelona to Valencia, now
many years completed, was hardly commenced. Taking our place in the coach, drawn by
a team of six mules, a hailstorm of blows with the whip gave the signal for departure.
The heavy machine unexpectedly kept on its wheels, notwithstanding the violent jerks and
plunging motion to which it was subjected along the rough road, and night was falling as

we lost sight of the ancient capital of Catalonia.

The route from Catalonia to Valencia enjoyed an unenviable fame for brigandage. If

we can credit travellei-s' tales no one ever set out without preparing for some adventure, and
those who lived to return, if they had not been actually attacked, had barely escaped, and
could tell at least one tale of mysterious Spaniards, wrapped alike in their mantles and the
gloom of night, or disappearing suddenly, on some deed of darkness bent, with their up-
lifted swords or daggers gleaming in the pale moonlight. These were the good old times,
when the coaches were regularly stopped, and no one ever settled in his seat without having
his ransom ready at hand. The brigand's profession was then a lucrative one, carried on
in broad daylight, and each highway was scoured by its own peculiar band, who regarded it
as private property. It is even said that the cosarios — drivers—were in league with the
bandits, and agreed with them to share their booty, or rather the coachman paid a regular
blackmail, which was contributed by the passengers ; and curiously enough the members of
the band always knew when and where to receive this tribute. Sometimes the chief of a
band, having earned a competency by the exercise of his noble profession, would settle down
to an uneventful life of simple respectability, but before abandoning the king's highway
he was careful to sell the goodwill of his business to some enterprising successor, who
probably inspected the accounts, and was fully instructed in the secrets of the profession.
In spite of these attractive stories, alas we have never seen, far or near, the figure of
!

a single brigand, although we have frequently traversed the roads and rocky defiles re-
commended as the most likely and dangerous.
For example, on the road from Gerona to
Figueras, where the coach stopped on the evening of our journey in May 1872, we had not
the good fortune to encounter a single armed adventurer, which is much to be regretted, as
we had nothing to lose, and a few words from the lips of a living bandit would have greatly
PBISON OF THE INQUISITION AT BARCELONA. To face page 12.
 " " ;

FEOM BARCELONA TO TARRAGONA. 15

enlivened our narrative. At times we did meet men wearing a fierce and defiant expression
of countenance, and armed with nothing more formidable than a blunderbuss but in ;

passing, instead of demanding our purse or our life, they greeted us with the traditional
salutation, " Vayan ustedes con Dios," God be with you \

But everything has improved in this age of progress ; they have found the means of
stopping the railway trains in this the year of grace 1872, as actually happened near
Sierra-Morena hardly more than twelve months ago.
We had already passed through the country watered by the Llobregat (Rubricatus),
a name appropriate to this red muddy stream. Our rumbling vehicle raised clouds of
white dust, but it hardly reached us, as we had taken our seats on the box, where we
were enabled to study at leisure all the arrangements of a Spanish coach. It was well for
us that body was strongly braced with iron, in a manner calculated to resist the
its

roughest shocks. The interior diff"ers but slightly from our diligence there are two ;

compartments, separated by a partition fitted with a shutter, which may be opened or closed
at pleasure, while Venetian blinds afi'ord protection against the heat. The horses or
mules, numbering from six to fourteen, are clipped, so as to leave the upper half of the coat
intact, and are harnessed in pairs. Coaching is very costly in Spain ; we had frequently to
pay at the rate of tM'o pesetas a mile, that is to say nearly five times the cost of a first-class
railway fare. Baggage is charged at the same exorbitant rates, and the traveller is only
allowed to carry a nominal weight free. Mr. Barriuger, United States Minister, stated
in a report to his Government that about fifteen years ago he had to pay three hundred
— —
duros more than fifteen hundred francs for the transport of a carriage from Cadiz to
Madrid, which had only cost fifty duros from New York to Cadiz. The attendants of the
diligence are invariably made up of the mayoral, the zagal, and the delantero. The
common type of mayoral is a big man with a broad florid face, encased in chop-cut whiskers
his head is protected by a silk kerchief knotted behind, and topped by a sombrero calanes, an
Andalusian hat with upturned brim, and decked with two tufts of black silk. He wears ,

the marsille, a short jacket embroidered and tagged at the elbows with pieces of red and
green cloth and a great embroidered pot of flowers, which spread their charms over the
middle of the back. The pantaloons, descending a little below the knees, are edged with
velvet or sheepskin calzon de pellejo, while his feet are encased in white shoes covered with
a sort of buskin or leathern gaiter, which leaves the calf half exposed.
The mayoral is a most important personage, and knowing this, he abuses his power
by tyrannising not only over his subordinates, but over the unfortunate traveller as
well.

Here is a short dialogue jotted down on the spot by a Spaniard between a mayoral
and a traveller.
"Mayoral, will you have the goodness to listen to me for an instant?"
" What's the matter ?

" Hombre! I wish to leave with this coach; if there is no room inside may I have
a seat on the box ?

" Impossible " !

" Consider, mayoral. Do not leave me thus in the lurch ; could I not at least sit

under the tilt?"

"^Ye shall see."
"
" How much will that cost ?

" The inside fare."

B
 6

1 SPAIN.

It is said tliat the name zagal was derived from an Arabic word which signifies agile,

or quick. Indeed the work of the zagal is of the most active description : half his time

at least is speut in running by the side of the mules, and in urging them on ;
at times

he leaps from the first to the List mule, distributing to each in turn a blow with his stick.

Sometimes he darts off in advance in order to discharge a store of small pebbles, which
he adroitly shoots into the ears of the most sluggish mules. These missiles rarely miss
their mark, and the mules, electrified and tickled by the unwelcome projectiles, kick
vigorously right and left there is then a jumble of legs tangled in the traces, and the
;

spirited zagal, to restore order, begins anew a distribution of the pebbles, and succeeds
as if by a miracle.
It is wonderful how the Spanish mules survive the blows with which they are over-
whelmed. If they had only to bear the brunt of the zagal's blows it would not matter,
but the established usage of the country secures to them a large additional supply, and
no one armed with a stick fails to contribute his share. The zagal. wears a light and
simple costume : a kerchief tied round the head, a coloured shirt, cotton velvet pants, a
striped waistband, and sandals of spun flax. This functionary is always furnished with
a supple stick, stuck in his waistband and carried behind his back ; like the wand of a
harlequin, the badge of his profession.
The delantero, or postillion, is thus named because he rides in front on the leading near-

side mule. He rejoices in thc: cognomen of " the condemned," as his toil is incessant.

Formerly he spent forty-eight hours in the saddle, and at times more ; from Madrid to
Bayonne the delantero was not relieved a single time during the long journey. He
usually wears a cap of lambskin, -which imparts a most savage expression to his bronzed
face. TJie staff of attendants was formerly considered incomplete without the escopeteros,
a name given to two gendarmes charged with the protection of the travellers in case of
attack, and who, seated on the top of the coach, commanded the route.
Throughout the entire journey the mayoral and zagal kept shouting to the mules,
addressing them each by name, sometimes in friendly, sometimes in threatening tones,
according to circumstances, in this style :
" Colonel, on arriving I will make me a cap
of your skin." Night did not stop the discordant sounds, and even when the mayoral
had succumbed to sleep one heard him murmuring :
" Capitanaaa .... comisariooo . . . raa
.... puliaaa .... bandolero . . . arre carboneraaa," &c., until he was quite overcome,
when he was ably supported by the zagal.
The diligence offers the most aristocratic mode of travelling, as it is only foUiid on
the king's highways. More correctly, its journeys have become extremely select, for
since railways have furrowed Spain, this superannuated vehicle has almost entirely disap-
peared. Besides the inconvenience we have pointed out, there is the constant danger of the
coach upsetting at such times the mayoral escapes by paying a fine of about sixty francs.
;

Twice we were upset without suffering any serious inconvenience; but passengers are not
always so fortunate. When travelling from Barcelona to Valencia we passed a frightful
ravine, into which a diligence had been precipitated, carrying in its fall both travellers
and horses.

There is a mail-coach, which travels faster, and only

carries one or two passengers,
a badly suspended vehicle ;
also the coche de colleras, a small diligence, only covering
about thirteen miles a day. Next in order is the galera, and never M'as instrument of
torture more deserving of name.
Imagine a very long cart on four wheels, the bottom
its

made up of a strong network of ropes, which, curving downwards, nearly touches the
AN ACCIDENT. To face page i6.
 —
TAREAGONA AND TORTOSA. 19

ground. Into this airy receptacle are placed pell-mell botli merchandise and travellers
one ought rather to name the latter the condemned. The top of this waggon consists
of a series of parallel hoops covered with canvas. The interior of the galera is a pure
chaos, where the unfortunate travellers are compelled to struggle with the baggage which
keeps falling on them, and to which the mayoral gives the preference, as he is responsible
for its safety. As to the travellers, should they at their journey's end find their ribs
broken, it is their own affair. We once ventured into a galera, but did not remain long
in the vehicle, preferring rather to travel on foot, as it only makes about seven or eight
miles a day.
While we are on the highway we must not omit to say something about the peones
camineros ; this startling name simply denotes the men in charge of the road. The
ordinary peons have a brass plate fixed to their hat as an official badge. Besides pickaxe
and spade, they carry a short flint musket, which is supposed to secure for them the respect
of the rateros, or the sneaking robbers said to frequent almost every road in the country;
these rateros are many of them apprentice bandits. The Spanish road-mender spends
his entire leisure in smoking, and is careful to Liboiir as little as he possibly can.
Who is the traveller who has not seen him slowly transport his small wicker basket
(the wheelbarrow being unknown) of earth or pebbles, and, arrived at the end of his
journey, carefully deposit its fearfully inadequate contents in some yawning rut, which
he at times succeeds in filling up ?

We need say nothing more of the country between Barcelona and Tarragona than
that it is one of the most populous districts in Spain.
Villa Franca de Panades and Torredembara are two little towns with whitewashed
houses, of which -we caught a glimpse. Ou the occasion of a second visit to Tarragona
we by a branch railway, which conveyed us in half an hour to Reus, the home
profited
of General Prim, and of the celebrated painter Fortuny. Not far from Reus, standing
in a rich valley called La Conca, there is the famous convent of Poblet of the order of
Clteaux, in ancient times the St. Denis of Aragon. They say that the convent derived
its name from tbat of a hermit who lived on the spot at the time when the country was

under the dominion of the Arabs.

One day an Emir, when hunting, met Poblet, and ordered him to be cast into prison ;

but soon angels descended from heaven and broke his chains. The Emir, struck with the
miracle, not only gi-anted the recluse his liberty, but overwhelmed him with riches. Sooner
or later, according to tLe legend, the convent was raised over the hermit's tomb ; but it

is now almost abandoned, and this is all the more to be regretted, as the architecture is

excellent, and the sculpture marvellously elaborate.

After leaving Tarragona the winding and not unpicturesque road soon brought us
to Tortosa, whose waters are yellow and muddy, like those of the Tagus or Guadal-
quivir.

Tortosa is an interesting town : its cathedral, one of the oldest in Spain, was
built on the foundation of a mosque, and one may still see an ancient inscription
which points to the time when Tortosa was the capital of a small Arab kingdom. The
sacristan who accompanied us seemed proud to show the marvellous relic of Tortosa, the
veritable waistband of the Blessed Virgin, the cinta, which has worked numerous
miracles. In 1822 it was carried in great state, to facilitate the accouchement of a princess
of the royal family.
After quitting Tortosa our road lay through Amposta, and leaving on the left the
 ;

20 SPAIN.

Puerto de los Alfaques, we rested at Vinaroz, a small port whose environs produce an
abundance of rich black wine. There we saw the palace where the Due de Vendome died
of indigestion after —
an inordinate meal of fish an end hardly worthy of the great-grandson
of Henry IV. and of the conqueror of Villa-Vi,ciosa. Philip V., who owed him his throne,

had his remains transported to rest in the vault of the Escurial.

Not far from Vinaroz we enter the kingdom of Valencia, the much-vaunted terrestrial

paradise, and without doubt the richest province in Spain ; it is separated from Catalonia
by a small stream called the Ceuia. Here at each step we fell upon traces of the Moorish
dominion. The atalayas — square watch-towers — rise from place to place on the heights
which overlook the sea. Although it was September the heat was quite tropical
here aloes attain to gigantic proportions, and palms begin to be seen more frequently.

RUINS OF THE ROMAN THEATRE OF MURVIEDRO.

On the right roadway the mountains were covered with the dark-green
of the
foliage
of carob-trees ;
women and children, armed with long sticks, were beating the branches
to bring down the ripe pods, others were loading donkeys with the fruit until they almost
disappeared beneath their well-stocked wicker baskets. The carobs, or algarrohas, as they
are called in Spain, supply food for cattle, and are
much prized in those provinces where
forage is scarce. The pods grow in great abundance we have seen a siugle tree ;
yield
1 200 kilogrammes.
Benicarlo, where we rested some time,
famed for its wines.
is Swinburne, an English
tourist of the last century, assures us that cargoes of wine
were sent from Benicarlt to
Cette, where it was diluted and forwarded to Bordeaux
by the Languedoc canal, and thence
to England. That is how the wine of Bordeaux was made a century ago.
Truly there is
nothing new uuder the sun.
 ;

SA.GUNTUM. 21

The ancient Saguntum is now a small town of about one thousand inhabitants even ;

its old name has disappeared, and its modern substitute suggests nothing more than
the idea of an ancient wall.
Saguntum formed an alliance with Eome at the time of the Punic Wars, and, faithful
to the Eoman cause, it opposed Hannibal, and sustained one of the most terrible sieges
that history records. In order to end the determined resistance and compel speedy
capitulation, the Carthaginians surrounded the town with walls and towers. The besieged,
perishing from starvation, were at last forced to eat the leather of their bucklers ; but at
length, losing all hope, they raised a huge wooden pyre, and consigned their families and
their treasures to the flames.
Saguntum was rebuilt by the Eomans. After the fall of the Empire it belonged
successively to the Goths, the Arabs, and finally to the Spaniards ; the latter, using its

ruins as a quarry, rebuilt the town, which, in its turn, has fallen into decay. Nevertheless
the ancient theatre is so well preserved as to' enable one to form a correct idea of its

design ; it was said to have held nine thousand speetators. It is now a deserted spot
the hill on which it stands is overlooked by a grim crest of Arab walls, and the once
splendid arena is solely tenanted by owls amd lizards. Even the sea has retreated from the
old port of Saguntum, leaving the modern town of Murviedro about a mile from its shores.
The houses of Murviedro, as we have already said, are for the most part built out of the
ruins of ancient Saguntum. Leonardo de Argensola, a poet of the sixteenth century, says,
" Out of the marbles with their noble inscriptions, torn from the theatre and from the
ancient altars of Saguntum, they have built their taverns and ruinous ^abodes."

PASSAGE OP A TORRENT.
 A QUARREL AT THE GAME OF BALL, VALENCIA.

CHAPTEE 11.

Valencia del Cid— Asiicultuial labouieis— Valeiician costume— The Llotja de serfos— The Seu and the Micalet—TYie Giiada-
laviar and aqueducts— Tribunal of the Waters— The singers of the oracioraes— The bandurria and the cftara— Valencia,
the birthplace of printing in Spain—The Calle de la Pfafma—Ancient delf Hispano-Moresques— Manises— The Valen-
cian tartana.

"Valencia," says Victor Hugo in one of his Orientates, "lias spires to three hundred
churches:" but after the most painstaking and exhaustive searcli we failed to discover a

single example of the forest of spires described by the poet. We looked for them as a
mariner would for the friendly light that should guide him into port after the perils of a
long voyage. Since leaving Barcelona we had spent full forty hours stifled with dust and
heat in the diligence, and it was impossible to tell by what roads we travelled. At last

we descried a noble structure rearing its head above an enclosure of palm-trees ; it was
the convent of San Miguel de los Reyes, built during the sixteenth century with stones
taken from the ancient monuments of Saguntum about ; a quarter of an hour afterwards we
entered the City of the Cid, that is to say, the most noble, celebrated, ancient, loyal,
distinguished, illustrious, learned, and never-enough-lauded city of Valencia del Cid.
Such are the modest titles usually bestowed on it by its chroniclers. This lono-
enumeration seems hardly distinctive enough, as most towns in Spain are similarly
describedby their citizens. Valencia, it must be owned, merits this chaplet of praise
perhaps more than any other town. Its ever-blue sky was first celebrated by the Arab
WORKIXG MEN OF VALENCIA. To face page 22.
 VALENCIA.
poets ; and where Europe can one find a climate more balmy, where tropical palms
in
flourish in the streets, and where one may cull violets and primroses in the middle of

September Winter is hardly known in this happy spot, and we were assured that neither
!

hoar-frost nor fog, had been seen more than twice in five centuries.
Valencia, with its creiiated walls and towers, preseuts the aspect of a Moorish
town. The streets are nari'ow, and on the balconies of the whitewashed houses one gets
many a glimpse of the brown, bright-eyed Valenciennes, who are half hidden by long
striped curtains, or mats made of reeds, called esteras. There are few provinces in Spain
which have retained the Moorish type so completely. The costume appears to have
undergone no change for mau}^ centuries that worn by the peasantry is not only well
;

adapted to the climate, but its colours are well chosen to suit the complexion of the natives,
who are dark as Bedouins. The head-dress is of
the most simple kind, and consists of a kerchief of
vivid colours made up to form a turban ; sometimes
a felt or black velvet hat is added, with its edges
turued up like the sombrero calanes of the Anda-
lusiaus, but much larger. The shirt is fastened at
the neck by means of a large double button, similar
to that worn by the peasants in some provinces of
France. The Valencians rarely wear a vest unless
it be on fete days, when they put on one of blue
or green velvet, decorated with a multitude of
silver buttons ; on such occasions the pantaloons
are replaced by white drawers, zaragiielles de lienzo,
which fall to the knees. The zaragiielles are fas-
tened by a waistband of silk or wool striped with
when VALENCIAN LABODHEKS.
a solar spectrum of colour. The stockings,
any, are devoid of feet, resembling the cnemides of
an ancient warrior. The feet are protected by hempen sandals, which leave the instep
exposed ; these are fixed by broad blue ribbon twisted round the calf like the straps of
a theatrical buskin. But by far the most important, and at the same time most character-
•istic part of the costume is the vivid-striped mantle ; a Valencian is never seen abroad
without it, and it is either carried draped over the arm, or flung negligently across the
shoulder or chest. These mantles are manufactured in Valencia, and distributed all over
Spain. They not only form a graceful covering, but when the ends are tucked up they
are used for carrying provisions from market. More than that, when riding, the mantle
is folded up so as to form at once an elegant and comfortable saddle. At night, when
one sleeps out of doors, — a practice by no means uncommon in summer, — the mantle is

spread for a couch, and the elbow forms a pillow for the night. It is impossible to say

how long such mantles will last some have survived more than a generation,
; if one
may judge by their rusty appearance and medley of faded colours.
In the market-place the labourers are seen carrying their oranges, with leaves still

attached, loads of fresh dates, or luscious bunches of grapes, gleaming with bright golden
seeds worthy of the land of Canaan. These wonderful fruits are sold by Valencian girls,

some of whom are remarkably beautiful. Their tresses, black as a raven's wing, are rolled
in round plaits over the temples, and. caught up behind in an enormous chignon. This
chignon is pierced by a long gold-plated pin, having at each end a button set with
 — "

26 SPAIN.

to visit tlie market-place

imitation jewels. During our stay in Valencia our custom was
each morning, when Dore reaped a harvest of rare types. A remark which certain
encounters among these
travellers have made before us is that, singularly enough, one
who, but for their costume
brunettes the fairest daughters of the South, perfect blondes,
unaccountable under
would be set down as either German or Dutch— a circumstauce quite
Another remark, still more easily made, is that the women
age rapidly,
this burning sun.

much more rapidly than with us. One day we came across a striking example
of this in
full eighty years old,
the keeper of an orange-stall, who had all the appearance of being
although she had not yet
seen sixty summers. This
old crone had in her day
been one of the beauties of
Valencia. We could hardly
credit it, seeing her once
shapely nose bent like a
crow's beak, her toothless
mouth and upturned chin ;

and a few grey bristles, the

only remnant of her raven
tresses. The golden orna-
ments were still there, but

alas ! the chignon had al-

most vanished.
The Valencians have the
reputation of being at once
gay and cruel. I forget

which poet it is, who, after

describing the costume of
Folly, says that " The tra-

ditional bells are replaced

by the empty heads of the
:
Valencians

" Y lleva por cascaLeles

Cabezas de Valencianos."

AN OLD WOMAN OF VAL15NCIA.

If we believe the popular
proverb, the kingdom of
Valencia is a demons' paradise Paraiso liahitado por detnonios, but, like most proverbs,
it has its opposite. Tbey say also. En Valencia la came es yerha, la yerba es agua, el
hombre mujer, y la mujer —
nada that is to say, " In Valencia the meat is the herb, the herb
is the water, the man is the woman, and the woman is nobody."
It is our belief that the ferocity of the Valencians has been much exaggerated ; with
the exception of a quarrel at the game of ball, which threatened to prove serious, we have
never witnessed anything approaching the tragic. We have repeatedly walked all through
the environs of Valencia, and always foui}d the people obliging and inoffensive. One day,
when overtaken by a storm, we had barely time to seek shelter in the hut of a poor labourer.
Our host, after making us sit down, offered some fruit, and wished us to taste his sweet
 f,A,V"lr

MARKET GAKDENERS, VALENCIA. To face page 26.

 ;

VALENCIA—THE CATHEDRAL. 29

black wine, and it took all my knowledge of the Valcneian tongue to persuade him to

accept a trifle to purchase a present for his children.

The Valencian dialect is rather more refined than the Catalonian or Majorca tongue
to the latter it bears a strong resemblance, while it differs widely from Catalonian, and
approaches more closely the patois of the South of France, and, like the latter, is derived
from the Limousine language of the Middle Ages.
In the market-place there is the Lonja de seda, or silk exchange (Llotja in the
Valencian dialect), which recalls
the loggia oi Italian towns. It

was there that the silk merchants

used to meet to dispose of their
goods. To-day the trade is of
great importance in Valencia, and
one sees quantities of silk hung in
blonde tresses on the walls of the
Llotja. This graceful edifice dates
from the end of the fifteenth cen-
tury. The front is surmounted by
battlements in the form of a
mural crown, imparting to the
building quite a heraldic appear-
ance ; as for the interior, it is a
marvellously elegant apartment,
whose roof, as high as the ceiling
of a cathedral, is supported by
rows of twisted pillars, perfect
cables of stone. Turning towards
the entrance, we obtain a glimpse
of a garden planted with citron
and orange trees, probably as old
as the Llotja itself.
The cathedral, called the Sen —
as in Catalonia^offers a mixture
of all the styles that succeeded
each other from the thirteenth
century down to the present time.
Like all Spanish churches, the
VALENCIAN LABOURER.
interior is very dark, and it is

only at certain hours that the

sun's rays penetrate into the nave, permitting one to see what turns out to be a
really fine example of a church of the Valencian school. One of the chapels has
been preserved intact, just as it was built during the fifteenth century, presenting a
lofty interior, whose walls are ornamented with certain warriors of the Middle Ages,
while enormous chains of iron hang in festoons ; they are said to have been used to
block the port of Marseilles, and were deposited there as ex-voto by a king of
Aragon.
The tower of the cathedral is called the Micalet, or Miguelete, the name also of an
30 SPAIN.

enormous bell, weighing 250 consecrated on the day of St. Michael, and used to
cwfc.,

announce the hours of irrigation to the husbandmen. No words of ours can convey
Micalet. The city with
an idea of the splendid view to be seen from the top of the
its houses and white terraces lay at our feet, while
the domes of its numerous churches
vision was lost in a green
shone in the sunlight like polished brass. Around Valencia our
faint outlines of blue
expanse of gardens, and along the dim horizon we could trace the
and rose-coloured mountains bathed in a transparent The great lake of Albufera
light.

blended with the sea, while the masts of ships at the Port of Grao could be descried as if
they were growing out of a
belt of palm-trees. About an
hour before sunset we realised
the full beauty of the scene,
but alas ! its splendour was
soon lost in the shades of

night.
Valencia boasts a charnling
promenade, the Alameda and
the Glorieta on the banks of
the Guadalaviar, where one
may form an idea of the genial
climate of this province ; for

many tropical plants, among

others bamboos and bananas,
grow in the open air, the lat-
ter bearing fruit to perfec-

tion.

Although the Guadalaviar,

or Turia, is spanned by four
handsome stone bridges, during
nine months in the year these
bridges might be dispensed
with, as the bed of the river
is absolutely dry ; but during
winter it frequently rises and
overflows its banks, spreading
BOATMEN OF THE PORT 01? VALENCIA. terrible destruction around.
From the mountains of

Aragon, where this stream takes its rise, many canals have been cut for the purposes of
irrigation.

The system of irrigation has for many centuries been a great source of wealth to the
country. Before 1238, the year of the conquest by James I., El Conquistador, the Arabs
put into execution their great scheme of drawing off the waters of the Guadalaviar,
which otherwise lost in the Mediterranean.
Avere Eight canals were cut, and are still
in use ; that of Moncada is like a great artery, branching off into an infinite number
of veins, or minor canals, named acequias, charged with fertilising the smallest vineyards.
The great importance of these irrigation channels to the farmers may be gathered
from the fact that water-thefts are by no means infrequent ; there are those whose thirsty
 To face parje 30.
YOUNG VALENCIANS.
 TEIBUNAL OF THE WATERS.
land tempts them to draw off more than their fair share of the streams upon which they
depend for sustenance. But in Spain there is a court, established by Al-Hakem-al-Mos-
tansir-Billah in the year 920, called the Tribunal of the Waters, where all cases connected
with irrigation are adjusted with truly Oriental simplicity. It is the most patriarchal
justice that one can imagine, requiring neither gendarmes, ushers, advocates, nor attorneys.
The judges, or sindicos, are simple labourers elected by their fellow husbandmen.
The court is held on Thursday
at midday in front of the cathe-
dral gateway. We took good care
to be present at a sitting, and
before twelve o'clock were well to
the front among the labourers.
The sindicos, representing the
acequias of the gardens, were at
their posts, seated on a simple
couch covered with Utrecht vel-

vet. There was not even a table,

as paper, pens, and ink would

be quite superfluous to these truly
biblical judges, who recalled to

us Saiut Louis dispensing justice

under the oak in the Forest of
Vincennes. The bell having
sounded the midday hour, the
sitting commenced. The first
pleaders who presented them-
selves were two peasants dressed
in the Valencian costume. The
plaintiff recounted his wrongs
with the aid of the most striking
gestures, to which his adversary

replied with a vehemence not less

subdued. The sindico of the

acequia, a big brawny peasant,
whose prosperous mien recalled
that of Sancho, tranquilly seated
on his couch, listened to the con-
tending parties, and then in-
MUSICIANS AT THE GATE OF THE CATHEDRAL, VALENCIA.
terrogated them, after which the
court deliberated, and finally

delivered its judgment. The sindico who had not taken part in the proceedings
pronounced the sentence, condemning the delinquent to pay a fine of sixty reals, or
about twelve shillings. Other cases came on in turn, and the sitting terminated, when
judges and litigants returned to their labour of tilling the soil.

In spite of the simple organisation of this court, its decisions have all the authority

of a higher tribunal, and are as a rule considered final.

The place was soon deserted, and we entered the portal and found the tympanum
34
SPAIN.

ornamented with a bas-relief of the Virgin surrounded by seraphs, while statues of the
name Puerta de Apdstoles. While
twelve apostles stood out from the ogive, whence the
los

ears, a sort of vague buzzing,

absorbed in our contemplation, a strange noise assailed our
mingled with whining accompanied by the sound of metallic chords. " These,"
voices, and
I remarked must be the singers of the oracio7ies, let us listen to them." Making
to Dore, "
leaning against a Roman
the circuit of the chancel, we perceived two ciegos, or blind men,
that is to say,
doorway, wrapped in the folds of their mantles, and siuging the oraciones,
a species of litanies in honour of divers saints: the rhythm
was strange, and the
himself on
modulations most singular. The younger of the two, the tenor, accompanied
the handurria, while the baritone, a fine old man, crowned with a
broad-brimmed velvet
]iat, struck the chords on a cUat^a. The two instruments played by the singers are
common to the province of Valencia, just as the guitar is the favourite instrument in the
other Spanish provinces.
was the cradle of the printing art in Spain, and its library is one of the
Valeijcia
finest in the kingdom. The director politely showed us the first book printed in the
Peninsula it is entitled Obres o Trobes, poems in honour of the Holy Virgin, written in
:

the Valencian dialect, and printed in 1474. We were also shown the famous romance of
chivalry, Tirant lo Blanch, en vulgar lengua Valenciana, printed at Valencia in 1490.
" Treasure of jo3'-fulness and mine of amusement, when the knights-errant ate, slept, and
died in their beds, everything wanting in other books is found here."
Valencia, like Barcelona, has its Calle de la Plateria, where all the shops are occupied

by goldsmiths, who manufacture jewelry which finds a ready market among the rich
lahradoras of the hiierta. The designs are most tasteful, and the jewels are generally
mounted in unpolished gold after the most ancient patterns.
One of the chief industries of Valencia is the manufacture of delf-ware ; that of the
Middle Ages, loza valenciana, is still in great demand in Italy, iu the Levant, in France,

and many other quarters, where specimens are greatly prized by amateur collectors.

Ren^ I., Due d'Anjou, had he lived in our day, would have been a passionate
collectionneur : the good king ornamented the dressouers of his castles with Valencian delf-
ware. At times could be seen " a Valencian plate," sometimes " a hand-basin," or else
"plates of earthenware with golden leaves, Persian flowers, or on the back an eagle."
We have elsewhere tried to find out the history of the elegant Hispano-Moresque
pottery, to which we shall again have occasion to refer. We will at present only ofi'er

one or two words touching the way by which amateurs recognise certain pieces of
Valencian ware.
First there is the plate, ornamented on the back with an eagle of heraldic design,
or that with an eagle in front. Often enough one sees plates bearing the following
inscription in a circle :
" In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum." Every-
body knows the beginning of St. John's Gospel. Let us note a plate in the British Museum,
on which we may read these words, " Senta Catalina, guarda nos," " St. Catherine, protect
us." The church of Santa Catalina, and the place of the same name in Valencia, date from
the Middle Ages.
A peculiarity worthy of notice is that the ware, so often ornamented with inscriptions
or Christian symbols, was manufactured by the ikfor«scos— seemingly good Christians, who
were nevertheless faithful sons of Islam. Often these poor workmen contented them-
selves with nothing more than food and clothing during four years' apprenticeship to
their craft.
 MANISES. Zl

At Manises and several njeiglibouring villages a variety of different sorts of delf-ware

is still produced, notably the azulejos (in Valeucian dialect rajolas), coloured glazed tiles,
used for paving and for the covering of walls. This ware is largely exported to
foreign countries.
Manises is a pretty little village about two miles from Valencia, where we liired a
tartana, the only kind of vehicle used in this part of the country, and at the same
time one of the most primitive type to be met with anywhere, bearing no resemblance to
the boat of the same name. It is simply a cart covered with blue tarpaulin, supported
on a skeleton of arched hoops, the inside garnished with two parallel planks placed
lengthwise, while the frame, devoid of springs, is fixed on the axles so that the least
roughness in the road is apt to toss the passengers one on the top of the other. This
cart, closed in front and entered from behind, is reached by a wooden step. As to the
conductor, he is called tartanero, and is seated on the left shaft, his feet supported by a
little step ; habituated to constant jolting and tossing, he sticks to his perch with
marvellous address. Two hours spent iu a tartana ought to be sufficient to fracture every
bone in one's frame. We ought to mention, however, that there are the tartanas ciudadanas,
perfectly suspended, and fitted with many comforts ; these equipages have up to the
present time resisted all attempts at foreign innovations.

A TARTANERO.
 THE ESPADA.

CHAPTER III.

— —
Antiquity of bull-fighting— Royal toreros— A. feast on the Plaza Mayor of Madrid Costillares— Romero Pepe Illo and his
— — — —
book The ganaderias The herradttrd—1\i6 novillos The vaqueros and the cabestros The midnight journey of the
bulls — The Plaza de toros— Bills and programmes of the corridas — The toreros.

Etjll-fighting must be set clown as one of the chief amusements of Spain. "All
Spaniards," says an author who has treated the subject professionally, "are born with a
passion for this sport," and he adds " all that has been said and written against the bar-
barity of bull-fighting has in no way diminished its popularitj'." If one is to credit native

tradition, the noble science of bull-fighting boasts a high antiquity ; nevertheless, there
are those who insist that the usage was imported by the conquering Arabs. Be that as it

may, it is generally believed that the Cid —

Campeador the popular hero, the Achilles of
Spain— was a cousummate bull-fighter. The celebrated Moratin, in a poem entitled Fiesta
antigua de toros, presents him to us lance in hand, mounted on a spirited steed, displaying
his address and courage against a bull of the most powerful and savage breed.
During the Middle Ages the sport had neither the ceremony nor the ^clat which was
imparted to it by the Fiestas de toros, when it became food for popular romance.

The Mussulman nobility were not less passionately fond of the popular sport than
were the Christian hidalgos ; the Bibrambla, which still exists at Granada, served the Moors
as an arena to which the fighting bulls were brought at that time from the mountains

of Ronda. Goya, the celebrated etcher, who was a great amateur, a passionate
aficionado, has left sketches of his sporting experiences in his " Tauromaquia." He has
 BULL-FIGHTING. 39

shown us the valiant Moor Gazul piercing a fierce bull when the auimal had over-
thrown him. At the same time the Emperor Charles II. is pictured on horseback, fighting
a bull at a fdte given in honour of the birth of Philip II.

That the passion for the national sport became geueral about the middle of the
sixteenth century may be gathered from the fact that Pius V. issued a Bull reproving
the clergy and people for their love of the arena. At the same time this ornament
of the Christian faith published a second edict in favour of the barbarities of the
Inquisition. The former had but little effect in diverting the popular taste, which
was fostered at the time by a series of works on the art of bull-fighting. Even the
clergy paid little heed to the edict. A manuscript in the National Library contains
a detailed account of a fdte held in 1626, which was honoured by the presence of a
Cardinal Legate. J. Pellicer de Tovar brought out a pamphlet in 163 1 to celebrate a
suerte, an extraordinary encounter which Philip IV., the royal torero, had during a f^te iu
October of the same year.
The Plaza Mayor of Madrid, which still exists in its primitive state, served as an
enclosure for these combats, as well as for the cruel scenes of the Inquisition. These
were the two favourite spectacles of the court. " The Plaza Mayor," says Aarsens de
Sommerdyck, "is very beautiful, its houses, the highest in Madrid, are surrounded by
balconies serving for the accommodation of the spectators at the feasts of bulls, the
most celebrated f^tes in Spain, and which are said to date from the time of the Moors.
This sort of amusement, if it has no other merit, is as ancient as it is barbarous. It is so

thoroughly a national taste that there are few towns in Spain where it is not the chiefest
joy of the inhabitants. There is hardly a citizen of Madrid who would not rather dispose
of all his worldly goods to raise money for a f^te than deny himself this crowning pleasure
of his life."

The same traveller describes to us one of tlie f^tes of the Plaza Mayor :
" There

entered foremost among the champions a man of Valladolid mounted on a bull which he
had trained and accustomed to the saddle and bridle. He proceeded to the foot of the
throne, and making his obeisance to the King, mounted his bull to show its training. He
made him gallop and wheel about, until the brute, tired of his performance, began to kick
and plunge with such violence that he soon tossed his rider, who, recovering himself,
pursued his bull, accompanied by the yells and hooting of the spectators. Again commenced
the uproar, when one of the most savage bulls was let out, and rushed at his enemy, who,
although tamed and trained, was eager for the fray. After a series of fearful encounters
the champion retired. Throughout the entire feste one remarks the most inveterate
cruelty, said to have been imported from Africa, but which unfortunately did not return

with the Saracens."

Many sermons have been preached and printed, having for their sole object the

suppression of bull-fighting. The father Pedro de Guzman, a Jesuit who wrote at the

beginning of the seventeenth century, assures us that in his time there never was a bull-
fight that did not cost the lives of two or three persons, and frequently the number of
victims was greater. At Valladolid, in 15 12, during a course given on the occasion of the
fdtes of the Holy Cross, when only two or three bulls appeared, ten of the combatants met
their death. He describes these f^tes of Aragon as harbarie inimitable, "and it is an
acknowledged fact," adds the Jesuit father, " that in Spain two or three hundred persons are
thus annually slain." Madame de Sevign^, in 1680, said in a letter to her friend Madame de
Grignan :
" The bull-fights are frightful. Two nobles almost perished in the arena, their
40 SPAIN.

horses were killed under them. Very often the scene is most bloody and revolting.

These are the amusements of a Christian kingdom."

Under Charles II. the popularity of these exhibitions was at its height, but during

the reign of PJjilip V., in the eighteenth century, they were in decadence. The grandson
of Louis -XIV., doubtless aided by French influence, afi'ected to condemn these spectacles,

but they were never entirely given up, and in process of time they regained their freedom

and popularity, only the art had changed its character : formerly the nobles took an active
part in these f^tes, when it sufficed to fight the bull with horse and lance. Towards the
end of century the picadores, the adroit handerilleros, the agile chulos, and lastly the
last

espada appeared in the arena the latter fought face to face with the bull, armed simply
;

with his sword and red mantle, called engano, that is to say the bait, because it is used to
draw off the bull. If we are to credit the "Memoires Secrets," it was proposed in 1778 to
introduce this amusement into Paris. A theatre was to be built to hold 20,000 spectators,

and a staff of men were to be imported capable of directing these bloody butcheries. The
project rested there.
mode of fighting face to face was introduced by an Audalusian, Francisco Komero
This
of Ronda, who foiind the art at once fascinating and profitable. His mantle fell upon his
son Juan, who emulated his father and founded a school for training picadores, hdndenlleros,
and chulos. He was succeeded by Joaquin Eodriguez, known in Spain by the name
Costillares. It is to him they owe the introduction of the suertes, and he may be fairly

said to have brought the art to its present state of perfection, and sporting characters set

him down as the father of modem bull-fighting.

Before the advent of Costillares several modes of defence were known, but the espada
without proper means of defence was at the mercy of his enemy. Costillares regulated the

employment of the muleta, so as to completely command the bulls, and, to use the technical
expression, en sazonpara la muerte —
them on to death. Formerly the espada allowed
to lead
the bull to fall upon him or rush madly upon his uplifted sword. If the animal was too
dull or too cunning to make the final charge, he was despatched by the hands of the
profane, pierced by an attendant with a long lance called the punzon. Sometimes also
they treacherously cut the ham by means of the media luna, or half moon, a crescent of
sharp steel fixed to the end of a long pole. To escape this barbarous practice this torero
invented tlje famous suerte de volapies, to which we shall refer in a future page, and which
enabled the espada to throw himself upon the animals refusing to advance, thus placing
him in a position to overcome his worst enemies.
"Bull-fights are alike the delight of both young and old, and those who with-,
hold themselves from such spectacles are accounted fools or cowards, who are either
incapable of appreciating these noble exercises, or too timid to sit out the glorious contests
between men and brutes. Timid moralists profess to look upon these f^tes alike with
terror and disgust, nevertheless, does there exist a single manly exercise exempt from
danger? The game of mallet, the taste for rowing and racing, have they not cost more
lives than fighting bulls have ever sacrificed, or will sacrifice ? Our sport has now reached
such a degree of perfection— to make use of an expression that fell from a Moorish
chief when he for the first time witnessed an encounter at Cadiz— We treat the bulls with
'

as perfect impunity as if they were sheep.'" Such were the sentiments of a distinguished
advocate of the corrida, Pepe Illo.

The corrida is the sport of the Spaniards, and the plaza

is their Epsom or their Derby.

The bulls of Spain have their stud-book, wherein are recorded the histories of their
descent
PEOVE OF FIGHTING BULLS; MIDNIGHT. To face page 40.
 FIGHTING-BULLS. 43

and achievements. Hercules, who was a great tamer of bulls, was, it is said, attracted to
Spain by the bulls of Gary on, which were reared on the vast pastures of Bsetica. Here,
then, is a lineage older than the Crusades.
Each ganaderia — it is thus they name the herds of fighting-bulls — is also known as
aficionados, or untamed bulls, which do not require the divisa as a distinguishing mark.
The divisa is a bow of ribbon fixed round the animal's neck before the course, serving
to indicate to what family he belongs. Thus, the bulls of the ganaderia Gijona,
the property of the Marquis of Casa Gaviria, are known by their red bow, those of the
Vista Hermosa wear blue and white, and so on. The bulls of each family have well-marked
hereditary 'qualities or defects : some, such as those of Salvatierra, are bold and quick,
and defend themselves with fiery impetuosity but their ardour is soon expended, after ;

which they are easily overcome. Those of Gijon are active at the beginning of a
course, but become sluggish towards the end. Amongst the most esteemed ganaderias
are those of Colmenar Viejo, not far from the Escurial these bulls are very much alike ;

in height, build, and colour. Those of the Vista Hermosa enjoy a special reputation in
Andalusia.
Bulls are generally fed in vast prairies, far from human habitations, where one
seldom encounters any being other than the vaqueros, or herdsmen, charged with their
care. The purity of race is not only steadily kept up, but the bulls destined for the '

arena are always carefully selected when they are a year old, one of the vaqueros, called
;

the conocedor, has the animals passed before him for inspection. Mounted on a powerful
horse, and armed with a lance, he charges the most likely specimens, in order to try their
temper and disposition them that take to flight, or stand to receive the blow
; those of
good-naturedly, are at once rejected, and are condemned to the doom of being fed up as
beef for the market. On the other hand, those which show pluck are branded, an operation
called the herradura. After a time the young subject is promoted, and becomes a novillo,
and is required to submit to a new test of valour. When at last he has acquired
sufficient power to become dangerous, it is necessary that he should be subjected to an
operation called emholado.
The novillos are usually tested in obscure localities for the amusement of the lower
orders among the people, who are unable to gratify their taste by paying to witness a
regular fight. The real aficionados scorn this mimicry of war as a drama without denoue-
ment, since the novillo is spared to fight another day. It is towards the age of four years
that the toros de muerte are raised to the dignity of taking part in a corrida ; they are then
brought to town, a sort of travelling not exempt from danger, as it involves guarding a
troop of the fiercest bulls, who
any unfamiliar object might break from the
at the sight of

herd and spread death and destruction around. Indeed, it would be quite impossible to
get them to their destination were it not for the cabestros, large oxen, ordinarily light-
skinned, and quite harmless, in spite of the great length of their horns. These animals feed
in the pastures in company with the fighting-bulls, which are accustomed to their society
from their tenderest calfhood, and follow them with marvellous docility as their recognised

chiefs. Further to reduce the risk of accidents, the bulls are nearly always driven from
the pastures during the night. The cabestros are forced to the front by the herdsmen, who
keep them in position with their lances. Meeting one day a fighting-herd, we were
reminded of the Cahallero de la Mancha, who, when encamped in the middle of tlic

highway, defied the vaqueros. " Sancho resta moulu, Don Quichotte epouvante, le grison
assomme, et Rossinante fort peu catholique."
D
44
SPAIN.

When near the town the herd are put up for the night, and are led to the plaza the
day previous to the fight. This last journey is by far the most hazardous, for the peasants
and citizens, easily excited by anything connected with a course, crowd round the animals,
who are apt to resent the familiarity. Arrived at their destination, the bulls are shut up
in the corral, where they await the moment of passing into the toril, a narrow sort of

condemned which the animal only leaves to meet his death in the flaza.
cell,

Above the different cells there are galleries, with balustrades in front, from which
cords are let down and fastened to the doors of the cells in such a way that the doors may
be readily drawn up or closed at pleasure. The bulls are placed in the cells in the order in

which they are to take part in the combat.

The courses are regularly held at Madrid every Sunday from Easter to All Saints'

Day. In provincial towns they are only held from time to time on the occasion of the
principal f^tes, and rarely during the winter months, as the cold renders the brutes much
less furious ; besides this, as the majority of the spectators are exposed to the air, they
would run the risk of being frozen to death in their seats in a climate like that of Madrid,
where the winter frosts are quite as keen as in Paris. In Andalusia and Valencia the
mildness of the climate sometimes admits of winter courses ; at Seville, for example, we
witnessed a bull-fight in the month of December. There are hardly any Spanish towns
that have not their plaza de toros : sometimes these amphitheatres belong to the
municipality and to the hospitals, which are partly supported by letting the plaza to tlie

asentistas, or contractors for the courses. The asentista is here what the impresario is in

Italy ; he organises the courses at his own risk, just as the impresario manages the opera
or the drama. The cost of a corrida is very considerable ; thus, the plaza of Madrid is let

out for about 7000 francs for a single course, and the bulls cost some of them as much
as 800 francs a head. The number of bulls killed on a single occasion varies between
six and eight, and even at times the public demand a toro de gracia, which swells the
number to nine, and we ourselves have seen ten slaughtered during a single course.
Some days before a corrida the town is placarded with bills of gigantic proportions and all
colours, giving a detailed programme of the fight. In these bills not only the names of
the bulls and their assailants are given, but the pedigree, not of the men, but of the brutes
to be slaughtered, is carefully recorded. Smaller programmes are issued, having blank
spaces, on which the spectators delight to jot down the harrowing events of the f6te.

There are few, if any, of the witnesses of a bull-fight who are not careful to exhibit their
passion for the sport by keeping a record of the different rounds by pricking the paper
with a pin, just as the players at Homburg or Baden used to note the fortunes of the
roulette ;
one would almost say that the pinholes correspond exactly with the wounds
inflicted on the bulls, horses, or, alas ! One of these programmes artistically pricked
toreros.

at Valencia presented the fearful total of wounds that could be inflicted in a two hours'
combat ; thirty-one horses killed or wounded by eight bulls, which had themselves received
twenty-nine thrusts in exchange for twenty-five falls of the picadores.
The amphitheatres are almost the same everywhere : a wide circular arena bestrewn
with fine sand to prevent the combatants from slipping. This arena is hedged round by
a wooden fence, rising to a height of about six feet ; on each side of the barrier there is

a wooden step, designed to enable the torero, when pressed by his foe, to vault over at a
single bound. The fence is further pierced with four doors, the first door leads to the
toril, or cell where the bulls are imprisoned : the others are used by the attendants
and toreros. Around the arena there is a gutter, called valla, or callejon, and beyond the
 THE AEENA. 45

fence rises an inclined plane of seats to accommodate spectators. The seats most eagerly-

sought after are in front, where the details of the combat may be closely scrutinised, while
those of inferior grades rise tier above tier beyond, until the palcos are reached ; but
the prices are also greatly affected by the position of the sun, those in the shade, offering
coolness and comfort, being naturally considered the best.

POSE OP BANDEKILLAS.
 THE GORDITa

CHAPTER IV.

A bull-fight at Valencia— Aspect of the arena— The despejo—'Vhe Cuadrilla— The algiiaciles—lhe espadas—Thc
defile of the

batiderilleros— The chulos— The pieadores— The release of the bull— The suertes and the cogidas— The picador Calderon
is wounded— An obstacle— The Gm-dito—The Taio- The sword and the mideta— The estocada A
volapU—A shoAver of
so nibreros— The cachetero— The tiros of mules— The banderillas de fuego— The sobresaliente— The suertes de capa— The

— —
Gordito and his chair A banderillero in danger The buU-vaulter.

The great day of the corrida had at last arrived. It was Sunday, and tlie f^te promised
to be a splendid one. The Cuadrilla had brought together some of the first fighting-men
in Spain Antonio Sanchez, known as the Tato, the best sword of the day, a picador
:

as valiant as the Cid himself, and the Gordito, a banderillero, whose marvellous address
was only equalled by his bravery.
A Spanish town on a fSte day presents a most curious and interesting spectacle. The
extraordinary animation contrasts strongly with the habitual calm of the place. We met
many men coming and going, some loitering in friendly groups, and others hastening to

secure their tickets at the hospital. All the town seemed to be astir, and from behind the
striped hangings of the balconies one heard the buzzing of the guitar or the metallic
throbs of the citara. Peasants were crowding in in dense masses, some on foot, others on
their ponies or mules, covered with graceful mantles in place of saddles. The huerta had
indeed iuvaded Valencia en masse; decked in holiday attire, the lahradoras added to
the charm of their olive complexions their finest jewels. Some splendid models were
passing and repassing, and Dord, startled by their beauty, devoured them with his eyes.
All at once, at the angle of a street, there appeared a picador in. splendid costume, proudly
seated on his horse. "It is Calderon," said one of our friends, a Valeucian and ardent
sportsman, who was accompanying us to the course. Hats were tossed into the air, and
THE PICADOR CALDEEON. To face xiagc 46-
 THE ARENA. 49

young and old were writhing and struggling to get a good look at the horseman. Soon he
was followed by other picadores. The enthusiastic crowd, augmented every moment,
became so dense that the picadores were obliged to struggle through in Indian file. We
could now descry the imposing mass of the amphitheatre lit by a blazing sun.
Following the stream, we were soon lodged in the front row, impatient to witness the
drama about to be played before us. The plaza presented one of those spectacles which
can never be forgotten. There were some fifteen thousand spectators, in brilliant costumes,
whose effect was heightened by a brilUant sun. In front of where we stood the seats in
the sun were already full, a few fresh arrivals had claimed the last vacant places, so that
there was not a gap or flaw in this human mosaic, whose many hues stood out in
single
bright relief against the deep blue of the sky. A murmur of many voices rose from the
throng, and was only broken by the cries of hawkers selling their wares, and by those of
the naranjeros, whose oranges, cleverly thrown, always reached their men even at the highest
seats. Vendors of fans at a penny each were driving a brisk trade among the unfortunates
who were being in the hot sun.
grilled like lizards Leathern bottles filled with dark
wine were busily circulated, and might be seen to collapse with amazing celerity as
they passed from hand to hand. Here and there disputes arose, but no blows were
exchanged.
Soon a murmur of excitement announced the despejc, an operation which consists of
clearing the arena and valla; the soldiers pushing the stragglers before them, little by
little, to the accompanying growls of the audience, who were becoming impatient for the
commencement of the course. After clearing the arena there followed the procession
which precedes the corrida. At the- heaid were the alguaciles, mounted on jet-black steeds
decked with crimson velvet, while their riders, attired in black, wore a costume of the
sixteenth century. These men did not seem' to enjoy great popularity, as their approach
was greeted by outbursts of shrill whistling, and torrents of abuse. Then came the gente
de d pis, the footmen, who are also' called! lo» peones, followed by the banderilleros, the
espadas, and lastly the chidos-, or capeadores. As soon as the latter appeared the banter
changed into noisy applause. They wear a very elegant costume : the head covered with
the mantilla of black velvet, ornamented with bows of s-ilk ; falling on the back of the neck
they carried the mona, a black silk chignon fastened to the coleta, a little tress of hair, a sort

of rudimentary tail cultivated by all ioi^eros. This chignon, which might well be an object of
envy to a lady, presents a singular contrast to the thick black whiskers of the chidos. The
short jacket and waistcoat are partially hidden by a fringe of silk, and peeping out from a
pocket at the side of the jacket we could see the corner of a fine cambric handkerchief,
broidered by tlie hand of some dear one. Over the ornamented shirt front falls a cravat

knotted " d la Colin." The short breeches, which show the form as well as if the wearer

were in swaddling clothes, are made of blue, red, green, or lilac satin, always of the most
delicate shades. The waist is bound round by the inevitable faja, a silk band of startling-

hues, while flesh-coloured stockings complete the costume. These gladiators of Spain
resemble ballet-dancers, and one has the greatest difficulty in realising that these men, so
coquettishly dressed, are prepared to risk their lives, and play with blood, recalling to our
mind the passage of Moratin, where he says, "The art has become so refined that the toreros
appear as if they were rather designed to captivate the gentle fair than to deal death-
thrusts to infuriated animals." The costumes of the different classes of toreros are almost
the same, only that of the espada is distinguished by richer ornaments. In some instatices
the complete dress of an espada costs one thousand francs.
50 SPAIN.

The charming grace, proudly wrapped in their mantles of bright

toreros advanced with
colours, used to attract the bull. Behind them came the picadores, firmly seated on
their horses, and wearing broad-brimmed felt hats ornamented by tufts of ribbons, short

jackets decked with bows and loops of ribbons; white open vests, not less ornamented,
left the embroidered shirt front in full view. A broad silk waistband supported yellow
leathern trousers, which concealed the iron armour protecting the limbs. Their saddles were
well raised before and behind, after the pattern of the Arabs; the rider, often exposed
to the danger of being thrown, is thus more securely seated. The stirrups also partake

of the same antique form, the foot disappearing in them as in a box, while the long
spurs, destined to electrify the nearly exhausted steeds, recall those of the Middle Ages.
Then came the two tiros, or sets of mules, covered with red horsecloths and decked
with tinkling bells; above their heads rose several tiers of bows, and little flags of the

national colours fluttered round their collars. These ilnules are attached to an apparatus
used to drag the carcases of the bulls and horses from the arena.
The procession terminated with a troop of attendants in Andalusian costume ; slowly
it defiled around the arena, and proceeded to salute the senor alcalde —president of the place
—who had just arrived ; they then prepared for the combat. The president gave the key
of the toril to one of the alguaciles, who, accompanied by the hooting of the audience, pro-
ceeded to open the door of the cell, whence bounded a fierce bull,- a superb animal of great
size, black as coal, and with wide-spreading horns. His divisa, or collar, indicated a
ganaderia de Colmenar-viego.
Calderon, the picador, was at his post, that is to say at eight or nine paces from the
left of the door, and two from the barrier. He had already shaded the eyes of his steed
with a red handkerchief to prevent him seeing the bull, and guarded his thumb with a
shield of leather to prevent the lance slipping from his grasp. The ferocious brute, as it

emerged from the darkness of its prison, hesitated a few seconds as if dazzled by the sun
and crowd, then rushing headlong at Calderon, was received on the lance of the picador, but
the steel, protected by a hempen pad, only grazed the broad shoulder
of the bull, and the
animal,maddened by the wound, plunged one of its horns into the chest of the horse, from
which issued a stream of blood. The poor brute, exhausted from loss of blood, commenced
to totter, and while yet the picador was driving the spurs into its quivering flanks, the
animal fell The audience, without taking the slightest notice of this har-
forward dead.
rowing incident, clamoured for another horse, which was soon brought in. While Calderon,
embarrassed by his armour, slowly mounted his new steed, the bull had sought the other
side of the arena, charging Pinto, surnamed el Bravo, the second picador, who received him
with a powerful thrust of the lance in his shoulder ; the pole bent with the shock, and the
cavalier was hurled to the earth, his horse falling heavily upon him. It is said that the
sight of blood excites the bull, and we ourselves have remarked the truth of this, but it is
singular to notice that the furious animal, never knowing how to distinguish his real foe,
nearly always spends his rage on the poor liorses, in place of attacking the dismounted

picadores. While a number of the chulos rescued Pinto, others used their capas to draw off
the bull from the dying horse, that was being speedily torn and lacerated by the huge
sanguinary horns. At last the bull left his victim, and followed one of the chulos, who,
taking a circuitous route, soon found himself hotly pursued, and with a single bound vaulted,
over the barrier, while his surprised and disappointed foe stopped for a moment, and then
turned his wrath against the friendly barrier, in which he left the marks of his huge
horns.
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A BULL-FIGHT. 53

The exploits of Morito produced shouts of applause in less than a minute he had :

thrown two picadores and slain two horses, and shouts of "Bravo toro," rang through
the plaza. The 'picadores had their share of the plaudits, ,as they had fought bravely. The
suertes de pica had not been less brilliant than the cogidas : one understands by suerte every
offensive or defensive act of the toreros, and by the cogidas every charge of the bull ; when
a torero is reached by a thrust of the horns they say he is enganchado.
The Morito was a courageous bull, hoyente and duro, that is to say free, and ready to
attack handsomely. The morning before the course, during the apartado we had already
noted his symmetry, and a number of chulos had singled him out for his wide-spreading
horns, and had assured us that he would take his punishment kindly and nobly. This is
a small specimen of professional language !

Calderon, who had a fall to a,venge, was desirous to show his many admirers that he
had no fear of his terrible foe ; digging his spurs into his steed, he galloped to within a few
paces of the bull, who stood in the centre of the arena making the sand fly from his feet,
and bellowing loudly, as if to challenge anew his enemies. The movement was extremely
hazardous : when a picador attacks a bull he arranges if possible to fall so that the body
of his horse will serve to shieldhim on one side and the barrier on the other, whereas in
the middle of the arena he would be exposed to danger on every side. The daring of
Calderon therefore called forth an ovation from the spectators. Excited by the tumult of
popular favour, Calderon proceeded to challenge the bull, provoking it by brandishing his
lance. Still the animal stood immovable, while the picador, making his horse advance

a step, with a rapid action cast his huge hat before the bull ; still the noble animal, although
doubtless astonished at such audacity, did not move. This is termed by sporting characters
ohligar d lajiera —compelling the savage brute to attack ; Calderon even went so far as to
prick the nose of his foe with his lance. This last affi'ont roused his vengeance, and he
charged with such force that the cavalier and his horse were thrown to the ground
together. The chulos rushed to the rescue, waving their mantles. The horse now neighed
furiously, and Calderon, stunned by his fall, was almost trodden under foot; at last the

Tato, by several suertes de capa, succeeded in attracting the animal, but the espada, making
a sudden detour, stopped, and gracefully wrapping himself in his cloak, waited the near
approach of the bull, when with great agility he repeated his movement, again and again
evading pursuit, and with the most tranquil air even allowing the sharp horns to touch his
mantle. The spectators, as if moved by an electric shock, rose on seeing the fainting
Calderon borne from the arena in the arms of the chulos. When they passed before us in
the valla, we noticed a large wound on the forehead of Calderon, who was thus placed hors
de combat within five minutes of his entering the arena.
A fanfare of trumpets announced that the work of the picadores was at an end ; the
handerilleros entered the arena, waving their handerillas in the air, to excite the bull and
rouse him to combat.
The handerillas, also called palillos, rehiletes, &c., are little pieces of wood about as
thick as one's thumb, and about sixty centimetres in length, ornamented with ribbons of
coloured paper ; at one end there is an iron dart resembling a bait-hook. These small
instruments of torture are fixed into the shoulders of the bull in order to irritate the
already wounded animal ; they are usually inserted in pairs, one in each shoulder. The
work of the handerillero is dangerous and difficult, requiring great agility and coolness
both arms must be raised at once above the bull's horns, so as almost to touch them ; the
least hesitation, the faintest doubt, or a single false step might prove fatal. It sometimes
54
SPAIN.

happens that a handerillero fills at the same time the fimction of the media espada — half-

sword, or the espada of a lower order. The handerillas are so frightfully irritating to the
bull that they intensify his fury to the last degree, and have given rise to the popular

saying, poner handerillas, " Give him the handerillas," addressed to some one who is being

worried or chaffed.
The Gonlito is at the present time one of the most renowned espadas in Spain,

his boldness and agility contrasting strangely with his fat heavy-looking figure. The
name Gordito, by which he known, simply means
is The fat one." In the same way is
"

Bias Meliz surnamed el Minuto, or the Diminutive, owing to his smallness, which however

does not prevent his being one of the most adroit men that ever figured in the arena,
notwithstanding his being lame from a wound received in the following manner in the

plaza of Segovia. A bull had just received a sword-thrust from the espada, but the weapon,
which stuck in the animal's neck, was tossed into the air with great violence, and- fell

point downwards into the heel of Minuto. The Gordito was now preparing to lay his

fourth pair of handerillas, although the usual number is only three pairs ; but he stopped
suddenly. A matar suena el clarin! — the clarion had just sounded the death-note.
The honour of inflicting the first thrust had fallen to the Tato. It is customary for
the espada before killing the bull to address himself to the president, from whom he obtains
permission to despatch his foe, and this work he engages to perform eff"ectually. That is

what they term echar el hrindis, that is to say, to propose the toast. The" Tato, carrying iu
his left hand his sword and muleta, advanced to the president's seat, and uncovered his

head in graceful salutation. This over, the Alcalde nodded approvingly, and the Tato,
making a pirouette, tossed his mantle into the air. Then, with his sword in his right hand
and his mantilla in his left, he made straight for the bull.
The muleta is, as we have already said, a small red flag which serves to attract the
bull. The sword is of the usual length, with a flat and flexible blade, the handle compact,
and easily held. But let us follow the Tato, who, passing his muleta repeatedly before the
bull, failed to rouse it to charge ; he then, as if to defy his foe, lifted the handerillas with
the point of his sword, and took up his position, holding his weapon horizontally, and
his muleta draped on the ground. The Tato thus presented a superb picture. " How
beautifully he stands
!

" said all the women around us. But the moment of attack
approached — all eyes were fastened upon the statuesque figure. Suddenly the espada
advanced upon his foe, the horns touched the silk of his jacket, and his sword sheathed
itself in the shoulder of the bull. This was a most magnificent estocada d volapiS. This
blow (introduced by Joaquin Rodriguez, known as Costillares), designed to despatch the
animals which refuse to attack, is thus described by Pepe Illo, who was as well known
as a torero as a didactic author :
" The diestro takes up his position to inflict the death-
blow, and as soon as the bull, deceived by the movement of the mantilla, lowers his
head and exposes his shoulders, he springs towards him, thrusting his sword while
poised on one foot. This," adds Pepe Illo, "is a brilliant pass, not to be attempted unless
the bulls have lost spirit and refuse to charo-e."
The pass which Tato had just made brought down thunders of applause, and from all
sides came an avalanche of hats falling into the redondel. This storm of head-gear is the
highest compliment that can be paid to the pluck of the arena, and the
merit of the pass
might be arithmetically reckoned by the number of hats tossed into the air.
Cigars were
also flying in great profusion, and we even saw the charming
aficionadas toss their bouquets
into the arena in order to applaud with all the force of their little
hands. The object of
 ! —
;

A BULL-FIGHT. 57

this ovation stood in the centre of a fiightful group of torn and mutilated horses, some
dead, and others tossing their heads in agony above dark pools of blood which reflected the
strange medley of flowers, fans, and satins, and at the same time the forms of the writhing
and excited multitude —an ideal picture, indeed, of the ghastly and the gay of a Spanish
bull-fight.

When the excitement had died out the hats were calmly collected by the attendants,
and cleverly tossed back to their respective owners to serve for another occasion. Some
hats make at least half a dozen such journeys during a course. But the bull was not yet
disposed of, although the sword-blade was buried in his breast, and one could only see the
hilt. The animal beginning to totter like a drunken man, turned madly upon his own
quivering flesh, then his eyes grew dim ; but as if defiant of death itself, he held his head
proudly erect, until his pains were ended by the cachetero, a personage dressed in black, who
struck one blow with a poniard, and the noble brute dropped his head in death. To
celebrate this solemn event the band played an Andalusian air much loved by the Spanish
spectators, who kept time with hands and feet. The mules, already noticed, were now
brought in to clear the arena of the dead animals.
Thus we have seen the bull-fights are divided into three acts : first the picadores
fill the principal part ; the second is consecrated to the address of the handeriUeros
and as to the up by the diestro, without doubt the cleverest part of the
third, it is taken
drama. About fifteen or twenty minutes are allotted to each bull, so that the course of
eight bulls takes about two hours and a half.
To a stranger the first experience of a bull-fight is most trying, but the Spaniards,
even women and young children, view the sight of blood and carnage with perfect
complacency. It is by no means uncommon to notice a young mother nursing her babe

while the most tragic scene is being enacted.

As soon as the arena was cleared the music was interrupted by the harsh fanfare of the
clarions and the rumbling of the tamhoriles, the door of the toril opened noisily, and the
second bull, announced by the name Cuquillo, made his entrance into the redondel. At first
sight he did not please our neighbours the aficionados ; his heavy demeanour was greatly
against him. First he smelt one and then another of the picadores, who each administered
a vigorous blow with their pikes, without causing the least show of resentment. With a
stupid, abashed air the bull retired to the other side of the arena, where the chulos made a
great efi"ort with their mantles to rouse him, but he was decidedly a languid and soft animal.
Eoused at last, he succeeded in despatching two horses ; feeling apparently satisfied
with this glorious exploit, he seemed determined to rest on his laurels. When the clarions
announced the time to introduce the handeriUeros, cries oifuego ! fuego —the fire ! the fire !

rang from all parts. The handerillas were granted by the president. This is the highest
pitch of perfection to which they have brought the little arrows already described, where,
in place of the ribbons of paper, they are supplied with fireworks, which light tlie moment
the iron hook penetrates the skin of the animal. The unhappy Cuquillo received his two
first handerillas de fuego from the hands of the Gordito. Hardly were they fixed, when
a line of fire spread over the flanks of the bull, and were followed by the explosion of
crackers. Two additional handerillas of fire were placed, followed by a third pair. The brute
bellowed and turned upon himself, galloping full tilt, furious at being at once scorched by
the fire and stunned by the noise. That did not prevent one of the handeriUeros from
attempting to place a fourth pair ; only one could be fixed, and the other, falling and
 SPAIN.
58

At Last his death-note rang out, and the

ex ploding beneath him, crowBed his rage.
sobresaUente, the second espada, saluted the president,
and prepared for his work of slaughter.

THE TRIUMPH OF THE ESPADA.

After several passes of the muleta he pierced his foe, but his sword snapped against a bone,
and this gave rise to murmurs of dissatisfaction. Nothing daunted however, he thrust
^

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 A BULL-FIGHT. 6i

again more successfully, and was speedily followed by the cachetero; who put an end to the
sufferings of the bull.
Without wishing to try the patience of our readers by recounting all the details of a
single course, we will simply rest satisfied by singling out another encounter, which was
chiefly interesting on account of the unexpected reappearance of the picador Calderon, who,
it will be remembered, was carried off fainting at the commencement of the fight. It
almost seems that picadores are not made of the same clay as other men they are so ;

used to the most formidable blows, thrusts, and falls, a single one of which would put an
end to any ordinary mortal.
Half Calderon's face disappeared beneath a bandage applied to his wound. The
bandage, his jaded looks, and the long pike which he brandished in his right hand,
recalled the figure of the ingenious "Hidalgo de la Mancha," mounted on Eossinante,
Eesolved to avenge his wound, he planted himself close to the to?'il, to receive the first
shock of the Brujo (the Sorcerer), the third bull. Here he acquitted himself to perfection,
bringing a stream of blood with his first thrust. From this moment Calderon, heated by
the bravos of the crowd and fired by the pride of the torero, strove to surpass himself. His
terrible pua left no rest to the bull. His conirades had besought him not to reappear that
day, but he would not consent. One indeed is at a loss to account for the obstinacy which
the toreros show under similar circumst^jices. It is said that Eoque Miranda, surnamed
Eigores, having one day received three thrusts of the horns in the plaza of Madrid, determined
to reappear in a course which took place at Bilboa,more than one hundred miles off. Al-
though hardly cured, he set out on his journey but the celebrated Montes would not permit
;

him to bear the sword, and urged him to return to Madrid. Soon after he took part in
a corrida in the amphitheatre of that town, but his wounds mortified, and he died after

suffering a terrible operation.

The fourth bull was waited for with great impatience, as the Gordito was announced
to fire a pair of handerillas sentado, that is to say, seated on a chair. When at last the bull

was released, a chair covered with straw was placed in the middle of the arena. On this
the Gordito was seated, awaiting smilingly the charge of his foe. Soon roused by the capes
of the chidos, the bull rushed at the Gordito. Thousands of breasts beat with terrible

excitement as the furious animal, tossing clouds of dust in the air, charged his enemy,
and when within two paces of the chair a terrible shriek rent the air in an instant we saw —
the upraised arms of the Gordito as, springing nimbly to one side, he planted his handerillas
and escaped. The bull, doubly furious to find himself pricked by the iron and disappointed
of his prize, sent the chair spinning in fragments around, and continued his course, each
flank decked with a superb handerilla.
Words cannot describe the intense excitement of the scene. The air was darkened
with a storm-cloud of hats, while a steady shower of cigars fell on the arena, and were
picked up by the Gordito, who shared them with his comrades. One other scene, which
caused an uproar, was occasioned by a handerillero, who at the moment when the
death-note sounded was seized with the unhappy ambition to inflict another pair of
handerillas on the bull, but making a false step, he fell face downwards. Notwith-
standing the efforts of the chidos, he was lifted on the horns of the animal and carried
twice round the arena ; fortunately, he fell to the ground, and his captor continued his

course, carrying at the points of his horns some rags of satin. He had been caught

up by the vest, and, to the astonishment of the spectators, escaped without a single scratch.
62 SPAIN.

The fifth bull met his death without any striking incident. Then came the Judio
(Jew), a j'umping-buU, of those called de muchas piernas —many-legged. He tried several
times to jump the barrier, and at length succeeded in clearing it at a single bound, but he
was again got into the arena without causing damage.
The seventh bull was killed, but not without some trouble ; as to the eighth, named
Zapatero, the Gordito, with the aid of a long pole, vaulted over his back, and Tato again
came to the front, and killing the animal, closed the course.

PLAY OF THli CAPE.

 •s.

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TOREROS IN THE CALLE ZAEAGOZA.

CHAPTER V.

The Albiifeia — Shooting — —

and fishing The Sportsmen Alciia— Carcagente — The oranges of the kingdom of Valencia
The huerta — — —
Gandia Aloes and their uses The papel de hilo The fgte of St. George Combat between Moors
of —
— — — —
and Spaniards Jativa Almanza The pyramid Albacete, the Sheffield of Spain Navajas, cuchillos, and punales —
The poniard in the garter From Albacete to Alicante —^Villena Alicante Elche and its forest of palms The dates
— — — —
and palms.

The corridas of the autumn season were finished at Valencia ; the holiday attire of the
people had been put aside ; the inhabitants of the huerta returned to their tillage ; the
streets of the town, only yesterday so full of life and gaiety, had relapsed into their

accustomed calm. The entrance of the toreros into the cafds created quite a sensation ; the
engrossing subjects of conversation were the incidents of the two superb co7^ridas, and the
deepest silence reigned when one of the toreros recounted his victories. The local journals

were full of the courses, freely discussing the varied merits of the toreros and their

victims, just in the same way as we should criticise some celebrated tenor or actor after

a great performance. We came across one article of eight columns, a masterpiece of

composition, in verse of different measures, presenting a formidable variety of quatrains.
Bach bull was passed in review, and, thanks to a lavish use of periphrases and of
synonyms, its author, the poetaster of the arena, made a veritable tour de force, noting

all the falls of the picadores, not omitting the pairs and half-pairs of handerillas, the
most trifling scratch made by the espada, &c.

As for ourselves, our experience of bull-fighting was amply sufficient, without

recurring to the detail set down in cold print and doggerel rhyme. It was now time for us

to seek for other scenes. A Valencian friend of ours, an intrepid Nimrod, was planning
66
SPAIN.

and glowing account of tlie splendid sport to be bad on tlie

a very different pastime, liis

Tbe aquatic birds of this lagoon include nearly

Albufera tempted us to accompany him.
figures a superb specimen with fiery plumage, called
sixty different kinds, amongst wbich
the flamingo, or phenicopteron. The temptation held out of seeing specimens of this bird
was irresistible to Dore.
The Albufera about nine miles south of Valencia, and is more than two miles
is

long from north to south. We had already seen it from the tower of Miquelete spread
out along the sea-shore like a robe of blue silk.
In virtue of an ancient custom, the public

and shoot in this quarter twice a year, on St. Martin's Day, which falls
are allowed to fish
on November nth, and on St. .Catherine's Pay, 25th of the same month. On such
occasions our guide assured us that at least ten thousand sportsmen appeared upon the

scene, divided between fishing-parties iji boats

and shooting-parties on shore.
Some days before starting we wisely engaged a tartqma at the posada de Teruel, for
vehicles of all sorts would be in great de^iand for the day. Before sunrise, on the morning

of the fete, our tartanero waited for us at the fonda. Soon after, we left Valencia, casting

a last look at and passing under the Puerta de Serranos—the gate of the moun-
its spires,

taineers (erected during the fourteenth century)— we crossed

the Guadalaviar, and entered

the /itierto. The tartanero, wIm), like every second pian one comes across, bore the name of
of making short
Vicente, conducted us by the most abomipable roads, under the pretence
cuts, over which our cart, being destitute of springs, jolted as if to break our necks ;
but

our journey from Barcelona to Valencia had hardened us. I ought to say, however, that
Providence befriended our driver, who, notwithstanding his passing every conveyance on
the road, managed to keep his packing-box on its wheels. Crossing quagmires with the

most marvellous address, he ably sustained his compatriots' reputation of being the

cleverest caleseros in Spain.

The environs of Valencia are thickly dotted with orchards, extending outward

about three miles, and joining the rice-fields, or arrozales. In this part of the country

the number of irrigation canals is so considerable that we had to cross them about
every hundred yards. As the culture of rice requires abundance of water, the fields are

submerged during the greater part of the year, and are banked off to prevent the water
from escaping.
Eice-cultivation is a profitable enterprise, but the malarious exhalations rising from
the fields cut off many lives. As might be expected in a climate so hot and humid, many
of the natives suffer from intermittent fevers, and we could not but pity the poor labourers,
working from morning to night knee-deep in mud, while their heads and bodies were
being grilled by the sun.
It is round the little town of Alberic that one sees the most arrozales. A well-known
proverb makes allusion to the profit, and at the same time to the danger of rice-culture :

" Si vols vivre poc, y fer te ric,

Vesten 4 Alberic."

" If you wish to be rich and short-lived, go to Alberic."

An extraordinary animation reigned on the borders of the Albufera, the throng was
already immense, numerous groups were forming here and there, some seeking shade,
others braving the sun, and doing the honours to a picnic party writh the traditional
frugality of the Spaniards. Black wine flowed from leathern bottles in streams like silken
cords, the guitar and citara accompanied the joyous songs, marking the jolting rhyme of
 LAKE ALBUFERA. 69

the Jota aragonesa, or the Valencian Rondalla. The sportsmen were busily occupied
in preparing their arms, and from every side one heard that the sport was about to
begin. We couki descry near the middle of the lagoon immense black patches of
aquatic birds reposing tranquilly on the surface,' happily ignorant of the impend-
ing slaughter. The signal
to embark was given, and all

getting into the boats in

order, pulled for the centre

in a wide crescent. As we
advanced, the boats at the
two extremities of the line
gradually drew together, as
if to form a circle round the
game. One of the flocks rose
from the water like a dark
cloud against the blue sky.
Repeated discharges, resem-
bling irregular volleys of in-
fantry, were heard gradually
increasing as the circle closed
in. Tlie birds continued to

rise in thousands, and our

time to salute them at last

arrived, when the sport

yielded us a good bag, made
up of a variety quite un-
known to us.
We gather from the ac-

count given by a German

named Fischer, published at
Leipsic about the beginning
of this century, that larger
guns were then used, and
discharged as the flock rose
to wing. We regretted our
being unable to adopt the
WANDEEING MUSICIAHS.
device indicated by the com-
patriot of the Baron Mun-
chausen, which would have yielded a splendid dish of the tongues of the phenicoptera so
much prized by the Romans.
The heat on the shores of the lake is intense, and the mosquitos multiply in such

myriads that the fishermen are compelled to flee for refuge to the villages, to avoid being
literally devoured by these rapacious insects. This reminds us of a passage by an ancient
Arab author: "At Valencia dance to the sound of the mosquitos' music."
flies We con-
cluded our day's work by joining a fishing party for which we had made an appointment
with a pescador of Sueca, a little town at the southern point of the lake. The fish of

Albufera is not less abundant than the game. AVe caught a great number of eels, as well
70 SPAIN.

as of the fish called Hoharros. During dark nights the fishing is most successful,

especiallywhen an east wind prevails.

It was now time to bid adieu to the pleasures of Valencian sport, I therefore

proposed to my companions that we should pass the night at Cullera, a small town near
the mouth of the Jucar from thence we were to go to Alcira and to Carcagente, to repose
;

beneath the welcome shade of orange-trees.

The environs of Alcira and of Carcagente supply the Paris market with the greater
part of its oranges, which the hawkers announce in the streets as " la belle Valence." It is

a mistake to imagine that the culture of oranges in such a salubrious climate requires but
little care. The most suitable soil for orange-trees is light and sandy, and they require to

be watered regularly every twenty days from February to November ; the soil also ought

to be manured at least three times a year. High winds are much dreaded by the gar-

deners, who, in order to screen the oranges from the force of the prevailing winds, hedge
them round with high walls of cypress closely planted together, or the great reeds, known
as canas, so common in Spain. The owners know from experience that their trees only
yield fruit in proportion to the care bestowed on their culture. The oranges are of two
kinds, those obtained by sowing tLe pips, naranjoS de serhilla, and naranjos enjertados, that is,

ingrafted. The latter produce the finest fruit, but the tree does not last so long, and is

usually more stunted than the naranjos de semilla, which sometimes attain a height of
twenty-five feet, and yield fruit for at least a century. It is said that the trees cultivated
in our green-houses reach a much greater age. Take for example the one at Versailles,

known as Franpois 1°^, said to have been sown at Pampeluna in 142 1, afterwards bought
by the Constable of Bourbon, and transported successfully to Chantilly, Fontainebleau, and
Versailles.

They use as suckers citron- stalks, which take easily. The grafting time is from
the mouth of April to June. The trees obtained by this means seldom live more than
thirty years, but in return they bear fruit in greater abundance than the others. It is

rarely that an orange-tree will yield fruit before it is five years old, and when the tree
has reached its full maturity it will yield as many as two thousand oranges during
the season ; a Spanish naturalist assured Us that he had counted five thousand oranges
on a single tree. Young trees produce the largest and finest fruit ; as they age the fruit

becomes smaller, more abundant, thinner in the skin, and sweeter. The oranges change
to a yellow hue about November, having previously reached their full size. Those
exported are packed wlien yet green, in order that they may ripen on the way.
Strangely enough, the herds of pigs one usually sees roaming about the orange-grove^
fruit, although the oranges lie scattered in hundreds over the ground.
disdain the luscious
It would seem that these unclean animals are much daintier in their feeding than one
would think. Cattle, on the contrary, take kindly to oranges.

It is during April and May that one ought to visit the fine orange-groves of Carcagente
and of Alcira. Then the trees which still preserve the last of their golden fruits are at
the same time covered with rich blossoms ; to these a Florentine poet of the sixteenth
century awards the palm over all fruit-trees, Luigi Alamanni, in his poem " Coltivatione,"
dedicated to Francis I.

"II fior d'arancio, che d'ogni fiore h il re."

One can form no idea of the fragrance of the oranges above all in the calm evenings ;

when it saturates the air, and tlie sweet smell seems to travel even further than the eye can
 THE OEANGE-GROVES OF CARCAGENTE AND ALCIRA. 73

see. The blossom is so abundant tliat a high wind will cause the flowers to fall in showers
that mantle the earth like a covering of snow. These flowers are gathered in great sheets,
and represent an important item in the economy of gardening, as each tree supplies more
than thirty-four pounds avoirdupois of blossom.
One of the richest proprietors of Carcagente assured us tbat there are at least six
hundred orange gardens, and that the average produce reaches about seven million
pounds avoirdupois it requires three or four oranges to make a pound. The two towns
;

Carcagente and Alcira alone produce annually about twenty millions of oranges. They
are so common that one sees the children using them at play, as in Normandy they use
cider-apples.
The oranges when gathered are assorted according to size, and for this purpose a
number of difi"erent- sized rings are employed; after which the fruit is arranged in lots

according to the diameter of the rings it has passed through. This classing finished, they
are packed in long cases of white wood, care being taken that they should rise slightly
above the surface of the box, in order that they may be tightly packed.
If the interminable orange-groves of Carcagente and Alcira are monotonous, one at
any rate may see varied and interesting types among the natives tliemselves. Sometimes
it is an old worker in iron, who still wears the pointed cap of the ancient Valencian
costume, or travelling musicians with their guitars, or a convoy of peasants on their way
to market.
The coast of the Mediterranean between Valencia and Alicante is beyond the reach
of ordinary tourists, and therefore very little known, although indeed its attractions
should make it a favourite resort. wooded mountains, the valleys, with vegetation
Its

almost tropical, in the neighbourhood of Gandia, Denia, and of Javea, rival Castellamare,
Amalfi, Sorrento, and other places of note on the Neapolitan coast.
It was by the hue.rta of Gandia that we approached this Eden of Spanish poets. This
terrestrial paradise of the Western Arabs, smaller than that of Valencia, and offering
perhaps a vegetation still more luxuriant, with climate more genial, was renowned even
at the time of the Arab kings of Valencia for the culture of the sugar-cane. Nowadays
one still sees some fields where the canas de azucar are cultivated, and where they reach
great perfection.
The orange, fig, and pomegranate, and a great variety of other fruit-trees afford

shade in the valleys, while the carobs cover the hillsides, at times surpassing the
largest oaks in their splendid proportions. But a plant one often notices in the
environs of Gandia is the aloe, or the agave of America, and which is common to the

south of the Peninsula. Here the pita — this is what the Spaniards call it— is not only
employed for the fencing of fields, they also make use of the strong fibres of the plant,
carefully selecting the full-grown outer leaves, as those nearest the heart are naturally

tender. We witnessed this most simple and at the same time interesting industry, of
which Dor^ at once made a sketch, to the manifest astonishment of the simple peasants,
who could not make out why we were so deeply engrossed with their work. They began
by crushing the leaves on a stone, then they made up a bundle, which they tied at one end
with a string. The workman had a long board placed in front of him at an angle of
about forty-five degrees, furnished at the top with an iron hook, to which he attached

the bundle of leaves ; he then with the aid of an iron bar proceeded to scrape the
leaves, in order to separate the fleshy pulp from the fibre. This scraping was alternated

with washing, to carry off the loose pulp. The fibre was then placed to dry in the
74 SPAIN.

sun. The thread of the aloe is extremely useful on account of its strength and durability,
and is employed chiefly in making cord for horse-harness, and for the alpargatas, a sort of

twisted sandal worn by the peasantry. The leaves of the aloe are also used for the food of
cattle. They in some plants attain to the length of two yards, while the central stem,
with its cone of yellow flowers, is not unfrequently eighteen or twenty feet high. The
transversal stems supporting the flowers curve out most gracefully, like the branches
of a lustre, and remind one of the famous seven-branch candlestick in tlie Temple at
Jerusalem, which is seen de-
picted on a bas-relief on the
triumphal arch of Titus at
Eome.
The little town of Gandia,
formerly the capital of a
duchy, was given to Borgia
in 1485 by Ferdinand the
Catholic. It is known that
this celebrated family, which
boasted among its members
two popes and a saint, was of
Spanish origin, and owes its
name to the town of Borja
in Aragon.
We walked from Gandia to
Denia; the Mediterranean on
our left, blue and calm as a
lake, and on our right a coun-
try rich in the relics of an-
tiquity. Denia takes its name
from a temple consecrated to
the great Diana of Ephesus.
We noticed on our way a
ruined tower, bearing the
name of Sertorius.
From Denia to Alcoy the
country is extremely fertile,

appearing indeed to be one

immense orchard, with palms
PREPARATION OP THE ALOES. here and there rearing their
graceful heads high above the
orange and pomegranate trees.
The gathering of the carobs was just over, and one saw garlands suspended over the white
walls of the cottages, which, lighted by an African sun, shone with great brilliancy
through the rich masses of foliage.
The harracas, or huts of the peasantry, have only a ground-floor, and are thatched with
reeds obtained from the marshy borders of the Albufera.
The roofs are for the most part
surmounted by the cruz de Caravaca, a wooden cross not unlike
that of Lorraine.
Alcoy is rather a large town, picturesquely situated at
the foot of the mountains, and
 ;

ALCOY. 11

in which the manufacture of woollen fabrics ought to be considerable, if one may judge
from the number of workmen one meets with their hands and faces smeared over with
dye ; but the great industry of Alcoy is the production of the papel de hilo, cigarettes.

There are liardly any men in Spain, young or old, rich or poor, who do not carry the
papelito. The papel de Alcoy enjoys the greatest reputation. The esteemed lihritos of

the amateurs, bear the mark of the cabalUto, pony, represented on the cover.
On the day of our arrival at Alcoy the streets presented an unaccountably gay ap-
pearance. The inhabitants were
hastening to and fro, decked
in holiday attire. Tartanas,
galeras, and carros stopped
at the cafes and hotels, where
they landed their parties of
peasants, who, covered with a
thick coating of white dust, led
us to suppose that they must
have made long and arduous
journeys. There were indeed
to be seen some of them wear-
ing the costume of the husband-
men of Alicante, while others,
evidently Murcians, wore the
montera of black velvet, and,
like the Valencians, white linen
trousers. All this imparted to
the town an air of gaiety and
excitement for which we were
quite at a loss to account.
Anxious to solve the mystery,

we inquired of a group why

there was such a stir ? " What,"

they replied, " don't you know

that it is the f6te of St. George,
and that to-morrow the fair of

Alcoy begins? Eead this cartel,

and you will see." We then

proceeded to read a programme
about six feet long, and printed
on thin blue paper. The head- PEASANT OF ALCOY.
ing consisted of these words in
huge capitals : "Feria de Alcoy"
Then followed the details of the funciones. In Spain the word funciones admits of an
almost infinite variety of applications —a bull-fight, a capital execution, a grand funeral
should there be in a church a celebration in honour of a saint, should a theatre give a

representation, they all come under the name of funcion. At the head of the list was
a corrida de novillos, then followed fireworks — literally a castle of fire, castillode fuego
—and lastly, a mock fight between the Christians and the Moors. We had already
 SPAIN.
78

Majorca, which are held every year on

witnessed similar f§tes at SoUer, in- the Isle of
May 1 4th, but nowhere have they obtained so much dclat as at Alcoy. It appears that
town was attacked by Infidels, and would have fallen into their hands, had
in 1257 the
not been for the miraculous intervention of St.
George, who fought in person in the
it

ranks of the Christians.

of the Comarca, or district of Alcoy,
Onthe eve of the great saint's day each vilhige
sends a deputation of musicians, who, after
having assembled before the ayuntamiento,

scour the streets of the town to announce the

ceremony of the f^te-day. This curious band,
drums, trumpets, bandurrias,
armed with the dulmyna, a little hautboy of a harsh sound,

A SKETCH AT THE FETE OF ALCOY.

dtaras, and the inevitable guitar, march in procession, followed by the cortege of the Chris-
tians, and that of the Moors. The commenced by the defile of the clergy,
fete is who go in pro-

cession to the plazct, mayor, on which a wooden castle has been erected. Into this stronghold,
where the Christians and Moors have already found shelter, the clergy are admitted. After
traversing the whole town, the troops divide into groups, and engage in national dances
before the houses of the alcalde and other persons of distinction. On the third day the
mock combat betvveen Christians and Moors was held. Soon after dawn the troops gathered
on the plaza mayor. Moors on one side and Christians on the other. The former soon
retired, and made for one of the gates of the town which they proposed to besiege. From
 ALBUFLKA I o face pdgc 78.
FLAMINGO-SHOOTING ON IHE LA.KL 01
 ;

FfeXE OF ALCOY. 8i

their new position they despatched a messenger, bearing, a letter and a flag of truce to the
Christian commander, who, seizing the document, tore it into fragments, vowing that he
would never consent to treat with Infidels. The messenger hastened back to the Moorish
camp with the unwelcome news, which served as a pretext for an official embassy, and all
who took part in it were richly dressed. Tlie chief is introduced blindfolded to the
Christian general, and urges him to surrender, but he only meets with a still more stern
and indignant refusal, and the ambassador retires, followed by his suite.
They then prepare for battle, and the Moors are warmly received with rounds of
musketry —a mode of defence not quite historically correct, as it must be remembered that
the action took place in 1257. This anachronism however did not seem to disconcert the
Infidels, who enjoyed some advantages to start with. The Christian chief rouses his
troops by voice and gesture, and they fall on their enemies, shouting the old war-cry against
the Moors, Santiago y d ellos! the England and St. George 1 of the Spaniards. Nevertheless
the Infidels seemed rooted to their ground, and the Spanish chief making a fresh appeal to
his troops, they rallied round him. This was indeed a noble burlesque — a splendid carnival
scene. The costumes of the paladins, although extremely gorgeous, were by no means
remarkable for archaeological accuracy, presenting at once the most comical and ludicrous
combinations, recalling the troubadours de pendule at the time of the Restoration ; as to
the spirited palfreys, they were simply of cardboard, like those one sees in the toy-shops,
draped with a horsecloth, which almost hid the The Moorish costume
feet of the paladins.

was not They resembled the Mamelukes of Shrove Tuesday, or ideal Turks
less successful.

with immense turbans and short jackets, ornamented on the back with a huge sun, and
wide trousers caught in at the ankle, like the Moors pictured by Goya. After a grand
charge of the spirited cavalry, the victorious Christians sang songs of triumph, and paraded
their trophies and prisoners through the town.
On the following days the f^tes terminated with a procession of Christians and Moors,
when the wounded implored the charity of the lookers-on. In this way a sum of money
was collected for the benefit of the hospital.
Concentayna, through which we made our way after quitting Alcoy, is charmingly
situated and the same may be said of Jativa, where we arrived in the evening. The
;

town, which has an Arab aspect, rests on the slope of a hill crowned with crenated walls
at the foot of the hill, the country, of admirable fertility, spreads out an ocean of verdure
as far as the eye can see. Jativa is the most important station of the Valencian railway.
The line is fenced in by orange, mulberry, and pomegranate trees, whose fruit we could
almost reach from the windows of the carriage.
Passing through the Puerto de Almanza, a narrow defile between two mountains, we
left the province of Valencia to enter that of Albacete. Hardly had we emerged from the
Puerto than we perceived a change of climate. Aloes, cactuses, and other southern plants
disappeared, to make way for the vegetation of the north. We were nearing the station of
Almanza, where the Valencian line joins with that from Madrid to Alicante. Some
hundreds of yards before arriving at this junction we perceived on our right, in the middle
of the plain, a pyramid erected by Philip V. to commemorate the battle of Almanza in
1 705. Apart from historic souvenirs the town has no very attractive features the old ;

dismantled castle by which it is overlooked was formerly of great importance, for Almanza
was one of the keys of the kingdom of Valencia. The desolate region we passed
through to reach Albacete made us regret the beautiful kingdom of Valencia, and gave
us a foretaste of the plains of La Mancha and of Castille the climate, of burning heat during
:
 ;

82 SPAIN.

summer, has an almost Arctic winter; not a tree, not a flower, but gigantic thistles in
profusion. Every green weed has its charm to the artist, and the thistle has afforded rich
material for the designers of the Middle Ages in Spain as well as in other lauds. Dore
made some sketches, and used them to advantage in his "Don Quixote." Field after

field ofwheat followed in succession, and formed a boundless plain of green. We could
descry on the verge of the horizon a little hillock crowned with windmills, which naturally
made us think of the hero of La Mancha. Half an hour brought us to Albacete, and
the train had hardly stopped before we were surrounded by knife-sellers.

Albacete is to Spain what Ch4tellerault is to France and what Sheffield is to England

the navajas, the cuchillos, the punales, are made there by thousands, coarse cutlery like that

of the Arabs. The navaja is one of the cosas de JSspana ; its form varies very little, and

EDINS OF THE CASTLE OF CHINCHILLA.

the wooden or horn handle is covered with a plate of brass ornamented with rudimentary
designs engraved on its surface. The blade is long, pointed like a needle, and raised in
the middle, resembling the form of a fish. A number of grooves are cut along the
blade parallel to its outer edge, and stained blood-red.
The blades of Albacete are of the coarsest iron, and have nothing in common with
those of Toledo. They are nevertheless cleverly engraved with aquafortis, and carry
inscriptions and arabesques in semi-Oriental style. Some of these inscriptions are
borrowed from the ancient Castilian arms, and are full of deep significance.

" No me saques sin razon,

No me embaines sin honor."

"Do not unsheath me without reason, do not sheath me without honour."

 —

THE NAVAJA. 85

Often enough the inscription contains a menace by no means reassuring to a foe,

"Si esta vivora te pica,

No hay remedio en la botica."

" Should this viper prick you, pharmacy can supply no remedy."
It is without doubt this latter inscription, employed in preference to all the others,
which has given rise to the funereal pleasantry signifying knife of "extreme unction."
Other inscriptions are, like the fol-

lowing, purely defensive :

" Soy defensora de mi dueno solo, y viva,"

or,

" Soy defensa del honor de mi dueiio."

The navaja is usually sheathed

in iron, and owing to the notches
on the blades of those that have
been used, the unsheathing of a
. navaja produces a nasty rasping
sound. Some are more than a
yard in length, but those for active
service seldom exceed a media varCi

of i7f English inches —a rather

imposing length for a knife. The
Spaniards facetiously call them cor-
taplumas, penknives — or monda-
dientes, tooth-pick — or alfiler, which
simply means a pin.
The use of the navaja, like that
of the sword, has its set rules, and
the Andalusians are its most re-

nowned masters. One day we had

the curiosity to take lessons from
a professor, who disclosed the
secrets of his science, aided by an THE NAVAJA.
ordinary cane in case of the bare
blade. The classical blow consists
in cutting the face of one's adversary in a manner so artistic as to give rise to the
phrase pintar un javeque, an expression which comes from the resemblance which the
wound bears to the sail of the Mediterranean boat. When we arrive at Andalusia we
shall have occasion to dwell on this subject at greater length.

The Spanish punal is very much like a Corsican poniard; sometimes the blade is
perforated with numerous holes, and carefully notched in a manner calculated to lacerate
a wound and render it more dangerous. —
Here is now a grave question, " Do the charming
Spanish ladies we see still adhere to the ancient national custom of carrying a small
poniard in their garter, or do they not ? " I possess one which bears this inscription,
" Sirvo a una dama ; " only the words do not explain whether the little weapon was ever

worn by a lady. Let us hope it was, just to give colour to the romantic tradition.
 :

86 SPAIN.

The had just quitted Albacete, and again coming in view of the Castle of
train

Chinchilla and the pyramid of Alinanza, we soon passed the station of the Venta de la
Encina (Inn of the Green Oak), where the two lines join. After having passed the

station of Caudate, we arrived at that of Villena. Villena was the home of a celebrated
Spanish family who played an important part in the fifteenth century, and whose
memory is still popular in the country. The first Marquis of Villena left numerous poems,
but many of his works have
been lost. During his life-
time he had the reputation
of being a sorcerer, aud
after his death the King of
Castille had his books de-
stroyed by fire. The little

town of Villena, with its

narrow and tortuous streets,

has still some old houses,

whose aspect is in harmony
with the legends of the
Middle Ages. Its castle

lifts its ruins above the

town, like a mendicant
clothed in his rags.
Sax is the name of the
next station, and it is the
last town of the province of
Albacete. The road makes
numerous ddtours, and tra-
verse's several steep ravines.

At the end of a long tunnel

we came out on the pretty
valley of Elda, which fell

away to our left, then

we passed Monovar and
Novelda, two little towns
bathed iu sunlight, and
situated in the midst of a
very hilly country. An
almost tropical vegetation
made amends to us for the
SKETCH IN ALBACETE.
monotony of the wide plains
of Albacete ; figs, palms, and
almond-trees attained enormous proportions ; vines, whose leaves were reddened with a sun
worthy of Africa, were laden with immense bunches of grapes. At last we reached
Alicante. Alicante is a modern and commercial town; in vain we searched for the
minarets of which the poet of the Oriejitales sang

" Alicante aux clochers mele les minarets.'

 ALICANTE. 89

It is impossible with all our love of poetry, and even when taxing our fancy to
its utmost limit, to find the faintest trace of either spire or minaret in Alicante. The
native costumes were highly characteristic. On the alameda of the port we perceived
some mantillas, and Dor6, carefully hidden beneath a palm-tree, managed to sketch two,
which foreshadowed those of Andalucia. Farther on, the traders of Alicante were asleep
on immense bales of produce, and the robust peasants we encountered were dressed
much in the same attire as the Valencians.

The town-hall, called la Casa Municipal, is a good specimen of architecture, but has
nothing Oriental in it in spite of its four large square towers. In the middle of the fagade
are sculptured the city arms, un Castillo sobre aguas. The cathedral, of the seventeenth
century, is in the style of the Jesuits ; the interior is lavishly decorated, and, like most of
the Spanish churches, ornamented with pictures. One of these pictures attracted our

attention, not so much on account of its execution, which is nothing marvellous, as

on account of its subject ; it is the martyrdom of St. Agatha. This saint is no less

venerated in Spain than in the southern provinces of Italy. The picture was painted with
a realistic fidelity pleasing to the Spanish mind, but infinitely revolting to a stranger.

Elche, the city of palms, is about five or six hours' drive from Alicante. Having
taken our places at the posada of Balseta, we mounted the coach and soon left by the
puerta de Elche. After about an hour's hard jolting we were startled by screams from
beneath. It turned out that one of the seats, displaced by the jolting, sank under

the weight of the unhappy travellers, who, thus deprived of their support, had been

shaken about like pills in a box for at least a hundred yards. Eepairs having been

efiected we afain set out on our route, and had just time to settle ourselves in our seats,

when a severe plunge of the coach released one of its doors, which went flying into
 SPAIN.
90

the sand, followed by a passenger,

who had been tossed after it, and who fortunately
escaped almost uninjured. The mayoral now descended from his perch, and with the aid
of sticks and and a volley of the most terrific oaths, set to work to repair his
string,

rapidly decomposing vehicle. These break-downs were repeated at short intervals, and
delay thus caused enabled us to witness a
most splendid sunset as we entered Elche.
the
" (says a well-known proverb), " There is not
" hay mas que un Elche en Espana
No
another Elche in Spain " and it might have added,
; not even in Europe. Although the

TKABBES of ALICANTE.

ancient Illici was formerly one of the most important Roman colonies of the Peninsula,
yet its crowning glory is the palm. It is true that one often sees in almost all parts of

Andalucia, and in the south of Italy and Sicily, these magnificent trees of the desert. They
grow to a great height, and are usually found in isolated groups, while Elche is surrounded
by them as by an uninterrupted green belt of forest. Gazing on such a scene, it

almost seems as if one had been transported by the wand of an enchanter into the
heart of Africa, or else into one of those lovely regions where the imagination delights to
place the great scenes of the Bible.
PEASANTS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF CARCAGENTE. To face page 90.
 ELCHE. 93
When we approached the town an opening in the palm-trees enabled us to perceive a
long line of crenated walls, surmounted by domes gilded with the splendour of
the setting
sun, their Oriental profile standing out in bold relief against
a fiery sky. The interior
of Elche had an equally Oriental appearance. The streets are contracted, the houses are flat-
roofed,and surrounded by balconies, and only receive daylight through narrow windows
shaded by willow mats of diff"erent colours. We had to cross a superb bridge, which spans

^ ,.•>,

I;
''ll
''

I,''
"

TWO LADIES. —SKETCH MADE AT ALICANTE.

a deep ravine, in order to reach the posada, one of the most comfortable of its kind in Spain.
Next morning our first visit was to the cathedral (called Santa Maria), where we enjoyed a
wide view of the surrounding country. On our left beyond the palms is the plain which
separates Elche from Alicante, with a distant horizon of sea. From the green huerta on
our right rose the first mountains of the kingdom of Murcia. This view from the tower
may be said to foi-m the chief attraction of the cathedral, unless when one is present during
94
SPAIN.

the great fSte of the Assumption, August 1 5th, when it is crowded with people from all

quarters, who flock to the celebration.

The number of fruit-bearing palms in Elche is estimated at 35,000, and the local
statistics set down tlieir annual produce at about three hundred and sixty thousand

francs.

Besides dates, the palms have still other important produce. Those which are
unproductive are sent into all parts of Spain, to be used for the ceremony of Palm
Sunday, prepared in a variety of different ways to make volutes and festoons of all

sorts to ornament, the balconies of houses.

The Spaniards show great agility in ascending the palms. When they reach the
top they collect the shoots and bind them together with cord, which they gradually tighten
as they near the highest leaves ; for this perilous operation light ladders are employed,
resting against the stem. Thus the leaves are gathered together and bound up like

corn-sheaves, to protect the fruit from the action of the air.

BINDING UP THE PALM-LEAVES.

A STREET IN ALBACETE. To face page 94.
 THE gipsy's breakfast.

CHAPTER VI.

Orihuela —Extraordinary fertility— The Segura—Mvircia—Popular costumes— The f^te of CorpMS— Cartagena —From Murcia
to — —
Granada The galera atartanada Totana — The gipsies — Loroa — CuUar de Baza—A population of cave-dwellers—Baza
— —
The Inn of Gor Guadiz— Arrival at Granada.

The huerta between Elche and Orihuela presented the appearance of a vast orchard ; the
vegetation was perhaps richer and more tropical than that of Valencia. The trees were of
colossal dimensions ; the sunflowers, of which the people ate the seed, were bending beneath
the burden of their great black and yellow discs. The reeds were like bamboos, and the
rose-bushes which edged the streams seemed veritable trees, while the aloes by the road-
side spread out their pointed leaves like gigantic Moorish daggers.
A network of irrigation canals keep up a constant humidity, and the sun does the
rest, so that the inhabitants have no need to dread those dry seasons so fatal to other parts
of Spain. " Llueva 6 no llueva, hay trigo en Orihuela," " with rain or without rain, there is

always corn in Orihuela," such is the popular saying. The peasants of Orihuela are more
like negroes than Europeans : their only clothing is made up of a shirt, short cotton
trousers, and a handkerchief bound round the head. When we came across them working
in the fields beneath a tropical sun, they were more like Kabyles or Fellahs than
Spaniards. Such are the peasants and the reapers. The latter do not use the long
scythe common to the country round Paris, and which painters have immortalised as
an attribute of Time ; but in place of this a small sickle, armed with a row of teeth,
is found equal to the task of reaping the rich harvests -of Orihuela. The skin of the
segadores reproduces the difierent shades of bronze, from the Florentine patina to the black
 98 SPAIN.

patina. Once we remarked among tbem a veritable negro, whose skin was in no way-
different from that of his fellows.

Orihuela, which has preserved its Arab name, is rather a large town, bisected by the
Segura (let us notice, in passing, that the names of rivers are always masculine in Spanish).
It is the most important stream in Murcia, and notwithstanding the vastness of the system
of irrigation which it feeds, it was never known to run dry even during the greatest heat
of summer. The town, with its long streets, its numerous churches, and its whitewashed
houses, has an air of richness not commonly found in Spain. The high palms and enor-
mous orange-trees, which ornament the alameda and the private gardens, impart to
Orihuela an Oriental aspect similar to
that of Elche.
Two hours after leaving Orihuela we
entered the province of Murcia, which
was formerly one of the little Arab
kingdoms. The environs of Murcia arc
not less fertile than those of Orihuela.
The Murcians enjoy the reputation of
being skilled in agriculture, and ap-
pear to be thoroughly satisfied with the
produce of their soil ; as one may gather
from a popular picture we bought in the
market-place, representing a Murcian
labourer armed with his pickaxe or
mattock, and below it,

" Tiene el Murciano en su huerto

De su subsistencia el puerto."

They have also the reputation of being

very vindictive, having retained certain
features of the Arab character. It was
easy for us to perceive that there is

perhaps no province in Spain which

has preserved so many minute traces of
Oriental customs. Thus, the harness, or
aparejos, of the mules is very like what
PEASANT OF oKiHOELA.
may bc sccu at Morocco ; the guadama-
cileros, or workers in leather, embroider
their wares with silk, such as the cananas,
or cartridge-pouches, the same kind of workmanship, and sometimes the same designs, as in
the large adargas vacaries, or leathern shields,
anciently used by the Moors of Granada, and
which may still be seen in the Armerm of Madrid.
Even the physiognomy of the people
presents something of the Oriental type, and
this is easily explained. At the beginning of
the seventeenth century the Moors were
numerous in the province of Murcia, when
still
Phihp III. ordered their expulsion. Many young girls, unwilling to quit their native
soil,were permitted to remain on condition
of their marrying the old Spaniards, or
Cristianos viejos, as they were called.
a.

•s.
 MURCIA. lOI

The costume of the Murcians differs in no important details from that of the
Valeneians. As to the women, their dress resembles closely that of the Andalucians,
at least that worn on fite-days. The short skirt with many frills, sometimes of embroidered
silk, sometimes of blue or garnet-coloured velvet, ornamented with spangles of gold or
silver, leaving in view a handsome leg and small arched foot decked M'ith small white
slipper. The most fashionable wear flesh-coloured silk stockings, embroidered with zigzag
designs; we noticed others who wore the slippers without stockings. The mantilla,
much the same as the mantilla de tira of the Andalucians, was of black velvet, the
edges pinked out in silk. Thrown over the chignon and crossed over the chest, or else

REAPERS IN THE FIELDS OP MURCIA.

simply placed on the shoulders, there is nothing more modest or elegant than this
headdress. Two little round plaits composed of very fine hair are brought coquettishly
behind the head,
over the temple, and the chignon, composed of equally fine plaits, arranged
presents a figure of eight, with its lower half larger than the upper.
A little comb,
on one side, and a crimson flower complete this fascinating coiffure.
jauntily placed
This, it must be understood, applies only to the people ; the senoras follow as closely as
the majority replace by the
possible the exact fashions of Paris, except in the hat, which
national mantilla. Thus they find ample opportunity of displaying their luxuriant tresses,
of which they may justly be proud.
 :

I02 SPAIN.

In order to see the costumes to the greatest advantage one must be present at the
ceremonies of Corpus Domini, as they call it here. It was our good fortune to witness this

spectacle the day after our arrival. Early in the morning the cathedral bells rang out
their peals to announce the solemnity of the day. The inhabitants of the surrounding
country arrived arrayed in their handsomest costumes, the houses were decked with the
costliest tapestries and Those who could not find a place at the windows lined the
silks.

streets ; the balconies were soon thronged with ladies, and distant music announced the
approach of the cortege. At the head
came reliquaries, relics, images of saints,

and Madonnas of the different churches,

carried by the peasants. The Virgins were
carved in wood, life-size, and painted.
tV"e counted about eight, each one fol-

lotved by the clergy of the parishes,

and a long train of peasants bearing
huge wax tapers. Then came the civic
authorities and bands of music, one en-
tirely made up of ecclesiastics wearing
their robes and surplices. Mace-bearers
in the costume of the sixteenth century
completed the procession, cap, doublet,
and hose of red velvet, and wearing
round their neck the starched golilla.

As the Host was passing, the crowd

knelt down, and the women tossed bou-
quets from the balconies. The Spaniards
love fetes and processions, more espe-
cially if they are of a religious character,
and this leads us to believe that Protest-

antism has little chance of ever takino-

root in the Peninsula.
After witnessing the ceremony we
followed crowd to the alamedas,
the
where we were enabled to study their
infinite varieties of costume in all their

details. Here the trees of Africa and

SKETCH MADE AT MUKCIA.
America grow side by side with those of
Europe. In the Paseo del Cdrmen we
remarked splendid orange-trees, ^vhich recalled to us Victor
Hugo's line
" • • Muxci6 a ses oranges."

The Murcian oranges are the best in Spain, not excepting those of
Valencia ; above all, the
naranjas de sangre, or " blood-oranges."
The railway carried us in two hours from Murcia to Cartagena this port, which is ;

called Cartagena de Levant, to distinguish it

from that of South America, has lost much of its
ancient splendour. It was founded by the Carthaginians, who there established their great
arsenal, and when Scipio took it the Eomans obtained rich booty. "The wealth of the
 CARTAGENA. 103

plains,'' says a Latin author, " baffles description. Silver was so abundant that the conquerors
forged it iuto ships' anchors."
For about a hundred years, and under Charles III., Cartagena
was a flourishing town of 60,000 inhabitants now there are hardly
; more than half that
number. The mines of the environs were in ancient times very
productive the scoria ;

abandoned by the Romans yields at the present time a large percentage

of lead.

MARKET-GARDENERS, MURCIA.

There was nothing further to detain us in Murcia ; having visited its monuments, its

vast and imposing cathedral, we now determined to proceed to Granada ; the distance was
not considerable, but there was no means of regular conveyance. The country is very
hilly, and the roads in a bad state. Nevertheless, having resolved to risk the adventure
and proceed on horseback, on a mule, in a galera, or if need be on foot, we decided to
H
 —

I04
SPAIN.

make Totana our first halting-place, and to spend some time in studying its tribes of

gipsies.
for the journey as about to
booked places in a galera aiartanada, and prepared
if
We
First we invested in a number of bright-coloured woollen
traverse the Great Desert.
or woollen wallets, as necessary for such a journey
mantles; we also bought alforjas,
provisions, so as to render the traveller independent
as they 'are useful for transporting

of the wretched inns of this part of

Spain.

Totana was reached about sunset, when the deepening

gloom imparted a weird

and mystic aspect to the little town. Groups of gipsies in front of their half-ruined
houses reminded us of the
Cour des Miracles, and seemed
to carry us back to a scene of
the Middle Ages. Totana is

the head-quarters of the Mur-

cian gipsies, just as Sevilla is

the metropolis of those of

rj Andalucia. It is without doubt

in remembrance of their Anda-
lucian brothers that the Bohe-
mians have given to two quar-
ters of the town the names

Sevilla and Triana ; one well

knows that Triana is a street
of Sevilla almost entirely in-

habited by gipsies. As to the

peasants, their costume differs

very little from that of the
Murcians.
The master of the inn where
we put up was a gipsy, like the
greater number of the posaderos
of the country. Our host in-
formed us that in order to eke

out a living he had to engage

in the transport of snow ; a

much more important trade

PEASANTS Of TOTANA.
than one would think in so

hot a climate. The gipsies are

the chief snow-men, and they carry on their trade in Winter's mantle by ascending one
of the highest mountains la Sien-a de Espana — in Murcia ; there they load the snow on
donkeys, which make marvellous ascents in places one would imagine only accessible
to goats and chamois. It is a curious sight to see these sure-footed animals descending
the mountains, bending under their loads, and following each other in Indian file.
Once on the plain, the gipsies find a ready market for their perishable ware in the
various towns, where it is used in preference to ice in the manufacture of cool drinks.
Fortunately the day after our arrival there was a market held, which afforded us an
excellent opportunity of seeing the gipsies of Totana and its environs, who formed
 ;

TOTAN A— GIPSIES. 105

picturesque groups in the brilliant sun of the market-place,

and presented a combination
of colours warm enough to make the most enthusiastic
painter gasp with surprise. Tiie
gipsy type is so marked that there is nothing easier than
recognising them at first sight.
These poor outcasts, whom one may well call the pariahs of
Spain, have always forra^d a
people by themselves— a nation within a nation and one could
not find a single Spaniard
;

who would recognise in them brothers or compatriots.

Who are the gipsies ? to what race do they belong
? from what country have they

come and spread themselves over Europe ? These questions have not yet been settled.
According to the most trustworthy traditions, they were descended from
the ancient
Tchinganes, originally established on the banks of the Indus, and who were forced to
abandon their country at the time of the invasion of Tamerlane. Their physiognomy, much
more Asiatic than European, and their language, containing many words derived from
Sanskrit, lend probability to this hypothesis. The name Bohemians, which has been given
^to this mysterious race, is probably derived from the fact that the first bands of gipsies
settled in Bohemia. It is principally in the Vosges, in some parts of Languedoc, and in
Provence, that they are slill found living among us, very much in their primitive nomadic
state but their numbers seem to have been greatly diminished, more especially in tlie south.
;

They are found

under difi"erent names in almost all European countries. In England,
where they are ratlicr numerous, many of the men make baskets of reeds and willows,
while the women are famed for their fortune-telling. There they are called gipsies, or
Egyptians; the Germans give them the name of Zigeuner ; the Swedes and the Danes
call them Tartares, and the Italians and Turks Zingari or Zingani. They are also known
as the Zincali, and this last is the name which they give themselves.
It was in the first half of the fifteenth century that the gipsies
made their appearance
in Spain. The Catholic sovereigns Ferdinand and Isabella, in an edict issued at Medina
del Campo in 1499, commanded them to settle in certain towns under pain of being
banished from the kingdom after a delay of sixty days. In 1539 another edict declared
that if the Egyptians after the expiration of sixty days were still found in a state of
vagabondage, they would be sent to the galleys for six years. Philip II. published at
Madrid in 1586 still another edict, confirming those of his predecessors, and further
intended to suppress tLe theft and knavery which were the too common attributes of
the unhappy gipsies. In order to transform these nomads into respectable citizens and
traders, the law forbade them to sell their wares in the market-places without a licence,*
and without such licence being endorsed with the name and address of the merchant
otherwise wares exposed for sale without this guarantee of good faith were confiscated.
Philip III. had just deprived his country of a million of laborious and industrious
subjects by the decree, as barbarous as it was impolitic, which expelled the Moors, who
had been established in Spain so many centuries. In 16 19 the son of Philip II. rejoiced in
following up this persecution by ordering the gipsies to quit Spain within six months from
the date of his decree, and forbade them to return under pain of death. Some of them,
however, obtained permission to remain on condition that they would settle down
permanently in a town of at least a thousand houses ; but in order to blot out all trace of
their nationality, they were required to change their costume and their name, and forget
their foreign tongue. Notwithstanding all this, the poor gipsies retained their national
characteristics in so marked a degree that Philip IV. was constrained to follow up the
persecution of this unfortunate race by declaring that, the laws passed in their behalf in
1499 being insufiicieiit to suppress their excesses, he found it absolutely necessary to forbid
io6 SPAIN.

them commerce, and charged them to live like a plague-stricken community, or like the
all

Jews, in a quarter cut oflf from intercourse with the citizens of Spain, and he further
enjoined that the name Gitanos was to be for ever forgotten. The bare mention of this

dread name was to be a criminal offence, punishable by two years of banishment and
a heavy fine.
In 1692 Charles II. again attempted to compel the gipsies to dwell iu settled com-
munities, and to become peaceful tillers of the soil. They were not permitted to engage in
commerce, and they were prohibited from carrying firearms or other deadly weapons.
By an edict stiU more severe, published in 1695, containing not less than twenty-
nine articles, same king particularly forbids their engaging in the occupation of
the
blacksmiths, and moreover the possession of horses was denied to them one mule and one ;

donkey might be used by each family for field-work. Those of them who abandoned their
Village and rural occupation were punished by working for six years as galley-slaves. A
document published at Madrid in 1705 shows that the public roads and villages were
infested by bands of gipsies, who left the peasants neither repose nor security ; the corregi-
dores and others enjoyed the privilege of firing upon them as bandits and robbers. Should
the gipsies refuse to disarm, they might be hunted down and slain in front of the very

altars of the churches, which even afforded shelter to the Spanish parricide. The churches
that served as a refuge were designated by these words Es de 7'efugio placed above the
principal door —an inscription still found on many of the churches of Spain ; we remarked
it above the doorway of the cathedral of Orihuela.
Despite these fearful persecutions, these desperate attempts to govern the Bohemians
either out of existence altogether, or into a state of utter respectability, happier than either
Jews or Moors, they nevertheless have found means not only to exist on Spanish soil, but to
retain their own peculiar language and national type. No doubt the greater part of them
live in a state of abject misery, scorned as an accursed race by the Spaniards and proudly
returning them hatred for hatred. There are no vices and no crimes of which the gipsies
have not been accused for many centuries by Spanish writers. One remembers the way in
which Cervantes treats them in the first lines of the " Gitanilla de Madrid," one of his
Novelas ejemplares. "It seems," says he, "that the gitanos and gitanas are only born to
be thieves and robbers ; their fathers are robbers, they are reared as robbers,
and they are
educated as robbers." An author assures us that in 161 8 a band composed of more than
•eight hundred of these malefactors overran the Castilles and Aragon, conimitting the most
atrocious crimes. Francisco de Cordova recounts in his " Didascalia " an attempt about the
same epoch to pillage the town when almost abandoned by its inhabitants
of Logrono,
after a pestilence which had desolated the country. The crimes and vices attributed
to the gipsies are without end their number and their frightful details would alone fill
;

volumes. I have only given a few examples, in order to convey a clearer notion of the
present condition of the gipsies as we find them in Spain.
The gipsies nowadays are far from
being so redoubtable as their forefathers.
Amongst the numerous faults which w^ere freely attributed to them
one only remains—
that of theft. This propensity for plunder is common to young and old of both sexes, and
helps to confirm the lines of Cervantes quoted above.
Apart from that, they are gentle
in their manners, and it is rarely one hears of a gipsy being condemned for murder. For
allthat they are not unused to bloody quarrels, but the
cause is more frequently jealousy
than theft, for while they freely rob the Christians,
upon whom they look with some justice
as their oppressors, they yet observe that high
honour which is common among thieves.
 GIPSIES— THEIR NATIONAL TRAITS. 107

Sometimes the terrible navaja, with its blade long and pointed like an
aloe-leaf, is
theirweapon but the cachas, long scissors which they use to clip their beasts of burden,
;

is a more formidable weapon, and one they know how to wield with fatal dexterity.
still

There is hardly in Spain a horse, a mule, or a donkey which does not once
a year pass
under the hands of an esquilador, or gipsy shearer. They have made this industry
peculiarly their own it is only in some parts of Aragon that one finds these esquiladores
;

among the Spaniards. The gipsies are the only people in Spain who use the cachas for
a weapon. It is always at hand, being carried in their belt, so that a duel may be
arranged with the greatest facility and speed. Their scissors are sometimes about two
leet long, and instead of using them closed
like a punal or a navaja, they hold them open,
grasping them in their black and callous hands at the point of intersection, like those
ancient poniards whose blade opened in two by touching a little spriug.
Another art monopolised by the gipsies is horse-dealiug, or jockeying. It is well
known that they can impart to a thoroughly jaded screw of a horse the appearance of
good breeding and soundness. At the market of Totana we had occasion to admire
their marvellous skill in this respect.
As to the women, they only
practise dancing and fortune-telling. When they see
a stranger they run to him, take his hand, and reading in the lines on his palm, they
pronounce with an inspired air a few unintelligible words, for which they exact a fee.

Mr. George Borrow, the author of the curious book " The Zincali," studied the gipsies
most thoroughly. He had even the patience to learn their language, the Calo, and
moreover, he lived several amongst them in the hope of converting them to
years
Protestantism. He tells how one day, having a mule loaded with Bibles, a gipsy took
his load for packets- of soap. " Yes," he replied, " it is soap, but soap for the cleansing
of souls." This missionary could pass himself off as a gipsy. Those who know anything
at all about the characteristics of the race can never believe that he made many converts
amongst them.
Before quitting Totana we noticed in the court posada one of those little
of the
toilet scenes very common in Andalacia, and which brought to mind certain details of
the habits of the lower orders of Naples. A superb gipsy of about twenty yews of age,
brown as a Moor, with long eyelashes and wavy black hair, was standing up behind an
old woman, a splendid type of a sorceress, holding in her arms a sleeping babe. Another
child, almost naked, was lying on the ground close to his grandmother, with a large
pandero at his side. With his head resting on his hand, he viewed us with a savage and
melancholy air. The young girl, with her hands plunged into the grey matted locks,
conscientiously gave herself up to an active hunt —a truly filial duty; while another gipsy,
with skin the colour of histre, and a kerchief bound round his head, was gravely standing
behind the group, contemplating with a serious yet indifferent air a scene to which he
was thoroughly accustomed.
We had ordered our calesero to be ready at sunrise, so as to arrive at Lorca before

the heat of the day. The country we traversed, being absolutely without water, was
dried to powder, causing us to leave the galera completely whitened by the dust of the
road, although our journey only extended over five or six miles.
Lorca is a large town with steep and winding streets ; its population is set down at

45,000 ; but this seems to us to be an exaggeration. Above the town rises a hill covered
with cactus and aloes, the Monte de Oro ; at the foot of it runs, when it has any water, the
river el Sangonera, or by its ancient Arab name, el Guadalentin, which empties itself into
 io8 SPAIN.

the Segura. On the slopes of the Monte de Oro was built the ancient Arab town, of which
some square towers and red brick crenated walls still remain. It is in this part of the
town
that one finds the poor and the gipsies. The lower on the opposite bank
portion, situated
of the Guadalentin, is cleaner and better built, while the imposing modern streets near the
Plaza Mayor have no distinctive character. Lorca is not rich in monuments, and as for
its cathedral, under the patronage of St. Patrick, it is hardly worthy of our notice, it

AGOADORES OF LORCA.

is a square, cold, correct

Corinthian edifice. The alameda, bordering the river, is an
agreeable promenade after the heat
of the day, the climate of
Lorca being
^ one of the
Jiottest m Spam.
As we were anxious to push on to Granada, after a short rest in the Posada de
S^n-ncente, we scoured the town in quest of a vehicle. At one o'clock the heat
was truly tropical, and it was impossible to find a shop
open; one might have said that
A GIPSY'S TOILET AT DIEZMA. To face pnrjc loS.
 CULLAR DE BAZA. iii

the iiiliabitants Lad deserted the town. It was the hour of fire — the hour of fuego,
as they say in Andalueia —and the citizens had retired to enjoy a siesta ; business was
suspended, and the place was as deserted asif the hour had been midnight. At last we
found an inhabitant awake, who informed us that he had a galera which sometimes went
to Granada, and that it was a distance of forty miles, and a journey of seven days.
We had had enough of the galera, and wished for a vehicle a little less barbarous.
Having found the address of a postmaster, we repaired to his house, and had to wait until
four o'clock, when he awoke, and arranged to convey us to Granada in a tartana acelerada
in five days, and for the modest sum of six duros, about one pound eight shillings a head,
reserving the right to himself of picking up an extra traveller by the way. Our
tartana was exactly the same as those of Valencia.
Upon entering the province of Granada we passed through Cullar de Baza. This
little town is more interesting than one would think. Its five thousand inhabitants live

in grottoes cut in the side of the hill, so that the entire settlement is subterranean,
excepting one or two houses built of clay and stone. The existence of these curious
habitations is only shown by conical chimneys, which rise out of the ground, and whence
issue spirals of smoke. These troglodytes live there like rabbits in their warren, or bears

in their dens ; several of them canje out of the ground dressed in sheepskins from head to
foot —a costume rendering the illusion As we had to perform
still moye complete.
the whole journey with the same mules, they walked constantly, and made an eight-
mile journey per day. After crossing a highly-tilled plain, we reached Baza. The town,
formerly one of the most strongly fortified of the ancient kingdom of Granada, has preserved
its Moorish aspect one still sees the Alcazaba, a fortress built by the kings of Granada.
;

The thick brick walls and the great crenated towers resemble those of the Alhambra,
and bear witness to the past importance of the town. Baza has only belonged to the
Spaniards since 1489 two years before the conquest of Granada, it fell into their
;

hands after a siege of seven months, directed by Isabella the Catholic. We saw under
the shade of the alameda the huge pieces of cannon used to make a breach in the
city wall.
It would appear that the environs of Baza are rich in auriferous sands — at least that

is what we heard in questioiiing the carreteros whom we met near the town, and who were
conducting long convoys of carros, carts drawn by large oxen magnificently caparisoned.
These heavy vehicles were laden with heavy machines made in England, intended to
extract the gold from the sand. Let us hope that they will succeed better than the
'majority of Spanish mines, which only yield a negative return to shareholders. Whether
from cost of transport or of working being higher than the value of the produce of the
mines, or from some unknown cause, the fact remains that the mines do not pay, A
shareholder of the mines is a type that is often exposed to the ridicule of his neighbours.

A Spanish writer, M. Pedro de Madrazo, has sketched one of the most amusing portraits
under the name of Do7i Canuto, "who is neither banker nor lawyer, magistrate, artist,
nor even a man of science, and who, if he was ever anything approaching to any one of the
above professions, has ceased to be so now; mineralogy and metallurgy have turned his
brain since he has abandoned himself to boring holes in the mountains of Toledo or in
the plain of Cartagena."
After passing Baza the country becomes gradually more rugged and hilly. It is in

this district that we find the little town of Galera, which played such an important part

in the protracted struggle which the last Moors of Granada sustained with the Spaniards
I 12 SPAIN.

after the loss of their capital; the conflict lasted nearly eighty years in the mountains

of the Alpujarras, and was only brought to a by Don Juan of Austria. The
close

fall of Galera was followed by the most savage cruelties two thousand eight hundred
;

Moors were there slaughtered. After this butchery the town of Galera was razed to the

ground, and salt was sown over its site.

Ginez Perez de Hita, a soldier and writer, who was one of this expedition, adds, after

having recounted in his " Guerras

civiles de Granada " the scenes of which he was

an eye-witness, "they used so much violence towards helpless women and children,

that to my idea they went further than justice permitted them, and that such barbarity
was inconsistent with the clemency of Spain but it had been so ordered by the Lord
;

Don Juan."
At the bottom of a desolate valley of terrible memory, recalling the Forest of
Bondy, we halted at the Venta de Gor, as badly famed as the inn of Adrets, and whose
name often figures in the popular traditions as a favourite resort of the bandoleros. We
only found muleteers and shepherds there, savage-looking fellows, but who addressed
us politely with the common salutation, " Vayan ustedes con Dios," to which, as a mark
of common courtesy, we replied, " Quedan ustedes con Dios," " Eest with God."
We passed through Guadiz, and on our left could descry the snowy heights of the
Sierra Nevada. At last, after many ascents, following a Moorish wall overlooking hills
covered with cactus, we entered Granada.

PEASANT OF THE ENVIEONS OF GRANADA.

 THE GATE OF JUSTICE, ALHAMBRA.

CHAETEE VII.

Granada —The Casa depupilos— Musicians and their music—Oi-igin of Granada, the ancient Karnattah—Phoenicians, Koinans,
Goths, and Arabs — Grandeur and decadence of the Moorish capital— The Calle de Gomires— The Puerta de las
los

Granadas —The of the Alhambra—The Gate of Judgment —The hand and the key —The Plaza de Algibes—The
hill los

Puerta del Vino— The palace of Charles V. — The Adarves — The vases of the Alhambra— The foundation of the Alhambra
— The governments and their devastations—The Gobernador Manco.

Entering Granada, we passed uuder the Puerta de Facalauza, one of the ancient gateways
of the Moorish town, and through a suburb of the naost miserable appearance, forming
a wretched approach to a place so rich in historic wonders as this ancient capital of
Boabdil. Our tartana stopped before a casa de pupilos in the Calle de la Duquesa. The
casa de pupilos is not an hotel, it is like the private lodging in our cities, or the English

boarding-house, but with less restraint. These houses are not much frequented by-

travellers, although we chose them in preference to the hotels, in order to see more
of the people of the country and school ourselves in their language. The casa de
pupilos, which is also called casa de huespedes, only makes itself publicly known by a
little square of white paper, about the size of one's hand, exposed at one end of
the window or balcony. When this square is placed in the centre it shows that only
lodo-ino- for a single traveller can be furuished. Such lodging-houses are usually kept
by widows, who thus add to their slender resources ; or by families whom the reverses

of fortune have driven to this dire necessity.

The house, remarkable for its perfect cleanliness, was furnished with chairs and
couches of painted wood. The only articles of luxury were a few wax saints, in full

saintly costume, protected by a huge glass case, which secured them against the irreverent
 : a

SPAIN.
114 •

The walls were painted yellow and garnished with one or two
attentions of the flies.

of Nuestra Senora de Paris, with a legend in

coloured lithographs representing the subjects
features of Victor Hugo's romance.
French and Spanish which explained the principal
This description applies to a great number of Spanish interiors.
The court {patio) was surrounded by marble columns surmounted by Moorish

capitals. One would be very much disappointed with Granada if one expected to find
those with which Gentile Bellini
pointed minarets and projecting moucharabys like
the streets of Granada,
ornamented his huge canvas. Let us however hasten to say that
if they do not recall those of tlie
East, are at the same time far from monotonous.

in tender rose-colour, pale green, fresh yellow butter colour, and

The houses, painted
a variety of striking prismatic hues, are
by the blaze of the
brought out to perfection

sun. " It paints its houses of the richest colours," said Victor Hugo. Each window is
ornamented with long mats of Spanish broom, shading a balcony whence hang tufted
and luxuriant grass plants with scarlet flowers; sometimes the linen tendidos form a
semi-transparent roof over the streets. Add to that the dark eyes sparkling in the

shade through the blinds of a mirador, or behind the long curtains of striped stufi" which
drape the balconies, and madonnas before which burn lamps lighted by pious hands,—
passing peasant wrapped in his broidered mantle,— and we shall willingly repeat the

Avell-known Orientale of our great poet

" Soit lointaine, soit voisine,

Espagnole ou sarassine,
II n'est pas une cite
Qui dispute, sans folie,

A Grenade la jolie
La palme de la beaute,
Et qui, graoieuse, ^tale

Plus de pompe orientale

Sous un ciel plus enchante."

There are charming hours of leisure to be enjoyed loitering about the streets of Granada.
At each step one is struck by some detail of architecture, or by some unexpected display
of the peculiar habits or industries of the people. Sometimes it is a caravan of the
peasants of the Vega conducting their donkeys, almost entirely hidden under enormous
basket-loads of fruit and vegetables ; sometimes it is a family of beggars, and at others
a copper-coloured gipsy, who for a few cuartos is telling the fortune of a credulous soldier,
who listens attentively to the oracle of the sorceress ; or it may be a band of travelling
musicians singing (or rather snuffling) the popular coplillas to an admiring audience.
One day when walking in the Calle de Ahenamar, a name which.
recalls ancient

Granada, we were attracted by strange chants, vigorously accompanied by the grinding

of a guitar and the dull rumbling of a pandero. The musicians were two dwarfs
wearing the Andalucian costume, and most singularly deformed. Their curious figures
made us think of the enanos that Velasquez amused himself by painting. They almost
appeared as if they had been borrowed from the fantastic stories of Hoffmann. One of
them scratched convulsively with his bony fingers on the chords of his guitar, while the
other executed all sorts of variations on his pandero, abandoning himself at the same time
to the most extraordinary gestures. Three elegant senoras who were passing stopped
an instant, their marvellous beauty and rich costume contrasting strangely with the
hideous ugliness and tattered dress of the dwarfs.
There are few towns which have been praised as much as Granada. A quien Dies
 MUSICIANS. To face pa.J. II4.
KADA LlSTKm^U TO ITINEKA^T DWAU.
LADIES OF GRAS
 :

GEANADA— ITS HISTORY. 117

quis6 lien, en Granada le did de comer, " He is loved of God who lives in Granada," says
an old proverb.
There are also these two lines, following others that compare Seville to something
marvellous :

" Quien no ha visto 4 Granada,

No ha visto A nada,"

" He who has not seen Granada has seen nothing."

An Arab writer who lived about the fourteenth century, Ibn-Batuta, calls
Granada the capital of Andalucia — "the queen of cities," and says that nothing can
be compared with its environs — delicious gardens extending twenty miles round. " More
salubrious than the air of Granada," is a proverb still used in Africa.
" Granada," says an ancient Andalucian poet, " has not her equal in the whole
world. It is in vain that Cairo, Bagdad, or Damascus seek to rival her. One can
only compare her marvellous charms to that of a beautiful bride dowered with the rich
surrounding lands."
The majority of Arab writers call Granada the Damascus of Andalucia; some say that
it isa fragment of heaven which has fallen to the earth. "That spot," says another writer,
in speaking of the Vega (plain), " surpasses in fertility the celebrated Gautah," or field of
Damascus ; and he likens the cdrmenes, country houses which adjoin the town, to rows of
pearls set in an emerald cup. Spanish writers have not been less lavish in their praises

with them it is illustrious, celebrated, famous, the great, most renowned, &c. The Catholic
kings gave it the official epithet of "great and honourable."
It is extremely diflScult to determine the origin of Granada : one is at a loss to know
at what epoch the nomadic
tribes were attracted thither by a climate so salubrious and
a soil Founded doubtless by the Phoenicians, Illiberis, a neighbouring
so productive.
town, afterwards became a Eoman colony, but its ruins served to construct Granada.
It was indeed the quarry which supplied all the stone for building purposes, until not
a trace was left The fragments of inscriptions which have been
of the ancient Illiberis.
preserved show that Illiberis was a place of some importance during the time of the
Romans many of these inscriptions bear the names of different emperors.
; The name
of Eliberis, or Illiberis, is found on the gold coins of the Goths, notably on those of
Svintila, Some time after the Arab invasion, the governor, who was commanding in Spain
in the name of the Caliph of Damascus, received orders to divide the lands of the Goths
amongst the new settlers. Granada remained up to the commencement of the eleventh
century under the dominion of the governors named by the Caliphs of Cordova. At
this time their numerous possessions became the prey of greedy conquerors, who

divided amongst themselves the Caliphate of Cordova ; after the ruin of the dynasty

of the Ommiades (Umeyyah) one of the chiefs erected important buildings at Granada,

and his nephew, who succeeded him, fixed his residence in that city.

During the thirteenth century Granada and the province were the theatre of almost
uninterrupted civil wars, while the capital itself received numerous embellishments.
Ibn-al-Hamar, whose name in Arabic signifies "the red man," dethroned the Almoravides
in 1232, This prince became so popular that many thousands of Mussulmans hastened from
all quarters to establish themselves in his kingdom, after Seville, Valencia, Xeres, and
Cadiz had fallen into the hands of the Christians, He distributed lands to the new-comers,
and exempted them from taxation; commerce prospered, hospitals and universities were
 ;

ii8 SPAIN.

founded by him, he constructed aqueducts, public baths, markets, and bazaars — and to

crown all he founded the Alhambra.

His SOD, who succeeded him under the name of Mohammed IL, was so much dreaded
by the neighbouring Christian princes that they paid him annual tribute. During the
reigns of his successors, notwithstanding their triumphs over the Christians, civil strife

raged with increased fury.

Yousouf I., surnamed Abu-1-Hadjadj, was one of the kings of Granada who devoted
himself and his treasures to complete the splendours of the Alhambra. Granada reached
the height of its prosperity under his rule; at no other time was it so populous. A
Spanish writer asserts that during the reign of Abu-1-Hadjadj there were seventy
thousand houses in Granada, with a population of four hundred and twenty thousand souls
—more than seven times its modern population.
Mohammed V., Al-ghani-billah, appears to have inherited a talent and taste for art

one still reads verses in his praise in several of the halls of the Alhambra, which he loved
to embellish. One of his successors, Abu Abdallah-el-aysar, the left-handed, el izquierdo, as
the Spanish authors call him, was dethroned in 1428 after a series of civil wars. But it

was during the reign of Mohammed VIIL, surnamed Az-zaghir (the Young), that the
internal discords shook the kingdom of Granada more violently than ever discords which —
less than fifty years afterwards transferred Granada to Spain. It was during this reign

that the terrible quarrels between the Zegris and the Abencerrages arose, which supply
one of the bloodiest pages in the history of the city, and which have served as a theme
for so many ancient Moorish and Spanish romances, without taking into account those
of modern times.
Under Mohammed X. the kingdom of Granada had entered upon its final struggles.
Henry IV., king of Castillo, ravaged the Vega time after time, and even encamped with his
—
army in sight of the capital an afiront which Granada submitted to for the first time. In
1460 the Christians took possession of Gibraltar and of Archidona, and three years later
the king of Granada was forced to sign a treaty of peace by which he was compelled to
hold his kingdom as a fief of the crown of Castillo, and subject to an annual tribute of
twelve thousand golden ducats. In 1469 Ferdinand of Aragon's marriage to Isabella of
two crowns, and thus augmented the power of the enemies of Granada.
Castillo united the

The town of Alhama, one of the bulwarks of the Moorish kingdom, was taken in 1482, and
the following year the generals of the Catholic king took possession of several fortresses.
Granada was still torn with internal strife, caused by the rivalry of the two sultanas,
Ayesha and Zoraya ; this rivalry had split the town into two hostile parties, one of them of
Christian origin. This endless schism is set down by the Arab historians as the first cause

of the fall of Granada. The Zegris had taken the part of Ayesha, and the Abencerrages
that of Zoraya ; Abu Abdallah, son of Ayesha, is the one whom the Spanish writers have
named Boabdil, a corruption of Bo-Abdila. They have also called him el rey chico " the —
—
young king " thus translating the surname, Az-zaghir, which had been given to him, as
it had also been to one of his predecessors. Hardly was he crowned, when in hot haste he
resolved to take vengeance on the Abencerrages who had forced him into exile at Guadiz.
He treacherously entrapped his enemies ; then ensued that well-known sanguinary scene
within the walls of the Alhambra which stained the ancient palace of the Moorish kings.
When we visit the interior of the Moorish palace we shall have occasion to revert at greater
length to this dramatic event, the authenticity of which has been so needlessly contested
by many writers.
T#ir*;iiH,,«"'''!;;i.'''

To face pagv iiS

BALCONIliS AT OKANADA.
 ;

GRANADA— ITS HISTORY. 121

This treason brought neither liappiness nor good fortune to Abu

Abdallah
abandoned by the greater part of his subjects, and pursued by the vengeance which he
had provoked, he sought shelter alone within the great walls of the Alhambra. At last,
when directing an expedition against the Christians, he was vanquished and taken
prisoner.

FAMILY OF TRAVELLING MUSICIANS.

Abu-1-Hasan, whom he had dethroned, succeeded him, but he soon abdicated in

favour of his brother, surnamed Az-zaghal, a name borrowed from one of the African
dialects spoken in Granada, and signifying a gay and valiant man.
Ferdinand, by taking part with his rival Boabdil, rekindled the smouldering fires
122 SPAIN.

of civil strife in and thus found a pretext for anotlier invasion. Ronda,
Granada,
Marbella, Velez-Malaga were successively taken by him, and by a system of intrigue he
re-established the dethroned king. Soon after, Malaga, the second town of the Moorish
kingdom, fell into his hands—indeed he took all the places which still belonged to Az-
zaghal, and the latter, left without resources, acknowledged himself his vassal.
The Moorish kingdom of Granada was now reduced to the capital and the

mountainous country called the Alpujdrra, or the Alpujdrras. The Catholic sovereigns
were not long in finding an excuse to resume hostilities. The Moorish king, who had
agreed to receive a garrison of Spanish soldiers into Granada, refused ultimately to submit
to this new proof of his waning power, and the result was a fresh declaration of war.
In the month of April 1491, Ferdinand and Isabella appeared at the head of their army
before the walls of Granada, and proceeded to lay siege to the town. The gallant
defenders, after twelve months' siege,, reluctantly opened the gates to their conquerors.
We were so impatient to see the Alhambra that we resolved to devote our first

visit to the acropolis of the Moorish kings. Passing many objects of interest on the road,

we left the Bibrambla, the great cathedral, the Alcayzeria, and the Zacatin, ancient
quarters of Granada, which still preserve their name and Moorish aspect, and at last

arrived at the Plaza Nueva, beneath which flows the classic Darro.
After leaving the Plaza Nueva we began to climb the Calle de los Gomeres, and

arrived at the Puerta de las Granadas, which the Moors called " Bib-Leuxar." It is a sort

of triumphal arch built during the reign of Charles V., and in its style harmonises

with the old Moorish walls. The principal arch is flanked by two false doors, having
columns and cornices of the Tuscan order,- and two bas-reliefs destroyed by time, but
which represented Peace and Plenty, under the form of two sleeping Genii. In the
tympan the escutcheon of Charles V. proudly shows itself, while an incised inscription
informs us that we are at the threshold of the Alhambra.
It is impossible to describe one's feelings when entering the Gate of the Pomegranates
for the first time. One seems to be suddenly transported into fairy realms, or dreamland.
When gazing upon the arches of verdure formed by the elms,- they recall the praises of

the Arab poet, who compares them to vaults of emerald.

Three alleys open before us :• that on the right conducts to the famous Torres Bermejas
and joins the Campo de los Mdrtires ; the centre alley leads straight to the Generalife,
and that of the left took us through a series of enchanting scenes to the principal entrance
in the wall of the Alhambra. The road is steep,- but the charming vegetation rising on
each side, and the purity of the air, alppeared to prevent our feeling fatigue, while the
songs of birds and rippling of stteams and fountains enhanced the pleasure of the ascent.
At length we reached a monumental foiintain in Grseco-Roman style of the Renaissance,
rising at the base of the red walls of the Alhambra, and which is called el Pilar de
Carlos Quinto, because was dedicated to that emperor by the Marquis de Mondejar.
it

This monument is ornamented with sculptures representing genii, dolphins, and other
mythological subjects ; on one side are the arms of the house of Mondejar —branches
of pomegranate, with their fruits. The Spaniards rejoiced so thoroughly in their conquest
of Granada, that they embellished all their monuments with this symbol of their victory.
Ascending and turning abruptly to the left, we found ourselves in front
still higher,
of the principal gate of the Alhambra, which the Spaniards called Puerta Judiciaria, or
del Tribunal. This Gate of Judgment opens into the centre of a square and massive
tower built of stone of a warm colour. The arch is of horse-shoe shape— a form for which
A FAMILY OF BEOGAES AT GKANADA. To face page 122.
 — "

THE ALHAMBRA. 125

the Moors had a marked predilection;

it is supported on pillars of white marble. At
the time of the kings of Granada there were four entrances to the Alhambra, the Torre
de Armas, the Torre de Siete Suelos, or the seven terraces another to which the name of —
—
the Catholic kings has been siuce given and lastly the Torre Judiciaria; the tower and
the Gate of Judgment were thus called because, according to an ancient Eastern custom,
the kings of Granada used to sit under it and administer justice to their subjects, like
Saint Louis under the oak of Vincennes.
Above this gate there is the following Arabic iuscription :
" This gateway, called
Babu-sh-shari'ah (the Gateway of the Law), — may God make the law of Islam prosper
beneath it, as He
made of it an
has eternal monument of glory !
— was built by the orders
of our Lord the Commander of the Faithful, the just and warlike Sultan Abu-1-Hadjadj
Yousouf, son of our Lord the pious and warlike Sultan Abu-1-Walid Ibn Nasr. May God
reward him for his holy zeal, and accept these noble works for the defence of the faith !

Completed month of June 749 (1348 A,D,) May the Most High make of
in the glorious
this gateway a protecting bulwark, and record its construction among the imperishable
"
actions of the just !

On the capital of the columns one reads the following inscription, so frequently
repeated on the walls of the Alhambra :
" Praise be to God ! There is no power or might
but in God ! There is only one true God, and Mahomet is His prophet
!

In visiting the Alhambra, as we shall have repeated occasion to return to these

inscriptions, let us say here that they are of three diflferent kinds : Aydl, or religious
verses from the Kor4n ; Asja, religious or mystic sentences, but which are not found in
the Kor^n ; and Asli'ar, verses in praise of the kings of Granada, who successively
contributed to the embellishment of the palace. The two first inscriptions are generally
in Cufic characters, the ancient Arabic, which they say Mahomet employed in writing
the Kor4n. These characters are noble, regular, and extremely graceful where the lines
interlace. The African characters, called neskhy, have been employed exclusively to write
the long poems which adorn the walls of the Alhambra. Less severe in aspect than the
Cufic characters, they are traced with extreme care and precision, although they at first
seem to mix and merge with the floral traxsery and arabesques.
Above the arch of the Gate of Judgment we noticed a slab of white marble, which
carried a bas-relief of a hand ; and a little higher up on the frieze a key, also sculptured

in relief. These emblems would have appeared to us of Eastern origin, but many
conjectures have been made on this symbolic hand and key. According to the popular
The Moors of Granada believed that not until this hand should take the key
tradition, "

and open the gate would the Christians enter this palace." In reality the Moors held
that a prophet sent from God would use it to open the gates of Universal Empire.
This reminds one of a chapter in the Korin which begins, " God has opened to the faith-

ful." The key is a symbolic sign often used by the Sufis, representing wisdom, and
is the key by which God opens the hearts of believers to make way for the true faith.

However that may be, the key is still found over the principal gateways of many of the
Moorish castles of Spain.

As to the hand, it has many mysterious significations. It is the emblem of a

bountiful Providence; it is also the hand of the law, and the five fingers indicate the

five fundamental precepts : believe in God and His prophet, pray, give alms, fast during

the Ramadan, go as a pilgrim to Mecca and Medina. But the hand was above all a

symbol which had the virtue of preserving against the evil eff"ects of witchcraft and
 —

126 SPAIN.

adverse fate. It was worn as an amulet, and the use of it was so common among the
Moors of Granada that the Emperor Charles V"., who never neglected an opportunity
of persecuting the Moors, published an edict thirty years after the conquest, forbidding
the use of the little hands of gold, silver, or copper, worn as charms by the women and
children. Superstitious customs are so difficult to uproot that the amulets in the shape
of a hand are still common in Andalucia. The hand is generally made of jet, and is

called mano de azabache. It is hung round the waists of cljildren, the necks of liorses
and mules, and even -attached to bird-cages ; and to it they attribute the virtue of protecting
from el mal de ojo (the evil eye), with which some people are still supposed to be
possessed.
The massive door of w^ood covered with strips of iron is like those of the same epoch
which are still seen in different parts of Spain. After having passed this door we came
across an inscription of ten lines in handsome Gothic characters, beginning with these
words :
" Los muy a{tos, caikolicos y muypoderosos senores don Ferdinando y dona Isabel," etc.

It is most interesting, as it recalls thje circumstances of the surrender of Granada, and

M'e here give the translation :

"The highest, most Catholic, and most powerful potentates Don Fernando and Dona
Isabella, our king and our queen, have conquered by force of arms this kingdom and this
city of Granada. having been besieged for a long time by their Highnesses,
After
Granada was given them by the Moorish king Muley Hassen, as well as the Alhambra
to
and other fortresses, the second day of January in the year one thousand four hundred
and ninety-two. That same day their Highnesses named as governor (alcayde) and
captain of the city Don Ifiigo Lopez de Mendoza, Count of Tendilla, their vassal, who at
the time of their departure was left in the Alhambra with five hundred cavaliers, and a
thousand foot-soldiers. Their Highnesses further commanded the Moors to remain in the
city, and in their villages. The said Count, as commander-in-chief, had this cistern made
by command of their Highnesses." (The inscription was originally erected over a cistern.)
After passing the second door
we emerged on the Flaza de los Algihes in the midst :

of this vast space is an immense reservoir built by the kings of Granada. It is entirely
covered by squares of porcelain, and its capacity, they assured us, is more than eight
hundred square feet. The water of the algihe of the Alhambra preserves a uniform
temperature all the year round, and enjoys a well-merited reputation as the best water
of the city. There is always a continual coming and going between the city and
the cistern. The aguadores, in their picturesque costume, are always there awaiting their
turn. Some carry the water on donkeys, loaded on each side of their pack-saddles with
a jarra, shaded under a thick covering of leaves, which transforms the donkey into
something like a travelling bush ; others, more modest, carry the water in
a barrel, having
a long tin tube for pouring out the liquid, two or three glasses,
and a little bottle of
aniseed cordial, of which a few drops mixed with the water suffice to make it quite
white. This constitutes the whole of their stock in trade, which is
fastened on the back
by a shoulder-strap.
Let us stop an instant before the Puerta del Vino, which
rises to the right. It is
a httle Moorish monument of the most
perfect elegance, built in 1345 by Yousouf I.
at the time of Granada's greatest splendour.
In the midst there is an arch of marble,
of horse-shoe form, contained in a square
ornamented with graceful inscriptions, most of
them to the praise of God. One remarks among the
ornaments a symbolic key, like
that of the Puerta Judiciaria. The azidejos, or squares of delf, inserted in the Puerta
Ih4wv
 •

THE VASES OF THE ALHAMBRA. 129

del Vino are the largest and most beautiful in Granada. This use of delf in arclutectural
decoration has an exquisite effect; the azulejos of the Puerta del Vino would without
doubt have been carried oflf by the visitors like those of the Alhambra, had they not
been placed beyond reach.
By
the side of the Puerta del Vino rises the vast fa9ade of the Palacio de
Carlos
Quinto, a cold majestic structure in the Grseco-Roman style attributed to Pedro
Machuca
and to Alonzo Berrugueto. When Charles V. visited Granada one of his first ideas
was to destroy all that part of the Alhambra which composed the winter
and palace,
several rooms of the summer palace as well.
of the This act of vandalism was
characteristic of an epoch when the complete destruction of all that belonged
to the
Moors was held as an ambition alike worthy of an enlightened Prince and his people.
Cardinal Ximenes had already consigned to the flames, in one of the public places
of Granada, more than a million of Arabic manuscripts. It seems that his object was
to destroy every trace of the Mussulman religion in Granada, and it was probably
at this time that the Spanish proverb had its origin, " Buscar d Mahoma en Granada"
to search for Mahomet in Granada— a proverb still used in speaking of a thing that
it is impossible to find. What adds still more to the cruelty and profanation of the
German Kaiser is that he compelled the unfortunate descendants of the Moors of Granada
to pay for the ponderous structure which he desired to raise over the ruins of the light
and graceful palace of their ancestors. After all, if the palace of Charles V. did not rear
its head so insolently within the walls of the Alhambra, one might look upon it with
pleasure ; the ftigade, decked with Doric and Ionic columns, with trophies and other
classic ornaments, is of perfect symmetry. This was well illustrated by two medallions,
representing exactly the same subject, turned so that the same personage held his arms
in his left hand and his reins in his right alternately, a most convenient proceeding,
which can hardly have cost the sculptor a great effort of imagination. Tbe con-
struction of this palace commenced in 1526, and was continued with many interruptions
till 1533, when it was finally abandoned, so that the edifice has never been anything
but a roofless ruin, filled with brambles, and inhabited only by lizards and night-birds —
a suitable monument to commemorate the vanity of Charles the usurper.
There formerly existed not far from the palace, the Adarves, a line of Moorish bastions
which were also removed by Charles V., and replaced by gardens and fountains, now
ruined and abandoned. One encounters on this spot enormous vines, knotted roots,
and gigantic cypress, which, it is said, were planted during the reign of the last

king of Granada. According to the popular tradition it was under the foundation of the
Adarves that the famous vases of the Alhambra were discovered. It is further said that

they M^ere buried full of gold, and were unearthed by the Marquis de Monddjar, governor
of the Alhambra under Charles V., who ordered them to be placed in the new gardens
which had been laid out with the treasure found in the vases. These magnificent vases
were three in number, but only one remains; and yet it alone is sufficient to convey an
idea advanced state of the ceramic art of ancient Granada.
of the
The vase of the Alhambra is so remarkable for the richness and variety of the designs
with which it is covered, that it is without doubt the finest specimen known of Hispano-
Moresque delf- ware. One of the handles of the vase has been broken off" and lost, but Dore
reinstated it in his design in order to give the vase its primitive form.

The first author who notices the vases of the Albambra is, I think, Padre Echeverria in

his " Paseos por Granada," or " Walks in Grannda " —a sort of guide in the form of dialogues
 —

I30 SPAIN.

between a Granadian and a stranger. He recounts the history of the famous jarras, as

he calls them :

" Stranger. —Talking of these vases, which you tell me contained treasure, where are

they to be found ?

" Granadian. — In the Adavves in a delicious little garden, made and ornamented by the

Marquis de Monddjar with the gold provided by this treasure. Perhaps it was his

intention to perpetuate the memory of their discovery by placing the vases in the garden.

Let us go there, and you will see them.

"Stranger. —What a marvellous garden, and enchanting view! But let us see the

vases. What a misfortune ! How they are ruined, and, what is more to be regretted is,

that left abandoned as they are, they will be gradually but surely destroyed altogether.
" Granadian. —Yes, they will be ultimately destroyed. Already there are only these
two which you and these fragments of the third. Each traveller, wishing to carry
see,

away some souvenir, appropriates a piece, and thus the unfortunate vases are demolished
little by little.

"Stranger. —Among the ornaments I can trace inscriptions.

"Granadian. —Yes, but they cannot now be deciphered, owing to the state of ruin in
which you see them, and the enamel having been chipped and carried away by heartless
strangers. On this one you can hardly distinguish anything but the name of God twice
repeated. Neither of the two bear a readable inscription."
Padre Echeverria has exaggerated the state of decay of the remaining vase, but his

prediction has proved only too true. No one seems to know what became of 1:he second
vase of the Alhambra. An English traveller tells us that in 1820 Montilla, the governor,
used it to put his flowers in, and he adds that one day the governor offered it to a French
lady, who at once carried it off. Another version is that it was presented to an English
lady. But it is unhappily certain, that only one remains, which has been preserved as if

by a miracle, as it is only recently that any care has been taken of it. This master-
piece of Hispano-Moresque ceramic art is now placed in a spot more worthy of its

fame.
Before commencing our walk round the Plaza de los Algihes, and visiting the Torre de
las Infantas, and the old Arab towers which defended the walls of the Alhambra, we will
say a few words as to the history of the palace-stronghold of the ancient kings of Granada.
It is supposed to have been founded by Ibn-al-hamar, " the red man," who raised many other
monuments. The Arab historian, Ibn-al-Khattib, says that soon after the sultan Ibn-al-
hamar had driven away the Almoravides, he built a palace in the citadel of that town
and fixed his residence within its walls.

In the ninth century there M'as a fortress, called Kalat-al-hamra, on the hill which
rises to the left of the Darro ; the ruins on this spot are still known as " the red towers "—
Torres Bermejas. When Badis Ibn Habous left Elvira to fix his residence in Granada, he
built walls round the hill, and raised a citadel, which he named Kassabah-al-hamra. It
is in this Kassabah that Ibn-al-hamar built the palace which received the name of Kars-1-
hamra, that is to say, the palace of the Alhambra.
Mohammed 11. , successor to Ibn-al-hamar, repaired the Torres Bermejas, and continued
to extend the Alhambra.
Abu-l-Hadjadj, among others of his notable works, built the elegant Puerta del Vino,
as well as the Puerta de Justicia. The cost of these erections was supposed to exceed the
entire revenue of this lover of art, and tradition gives him the credit of striving to repair
GATE OF THE TOREE DE LAS INFANTAS. To face page 1 30.
 THE ALHAMBRA-ITS HISTORY. 1^3

his fortunes bj labouring to discover the secret of the transmutation of metals. The reign
of Abu-1-Hadjadj, towards the middle of the fourteenth century, may be fairly sot down
as the greatest epoch of the Moorish Alcazar.
Let us also say a few words regarding the history of the devastations of the Alhambra.
It seems that from the time of the conquest the new rulers set themselves diligently to
the work of destruction, so that not many years elapsed before they had utterly ruined
some of the finest specimens of art — the result of three centuries of the patient toil and
genius of the Moors.
The Alhambra, in spite of its light and graceful appearance, is of the most solid and
enduring construcUon even in its minutest details, and has suffered less from the ravages
of time than from the hand of man. Even in the time of Isabella the Catholic, the
fanatical zeal of some monks led to the destruction of many of the Arabic inscriptions, which
recalled " the abominable Mahometan sect." Charles V., as we have already seen, prosecuted
the work of vandalism still further,by throwing down part of the Alhambra, and raising
a massive palace over its ruins. Not content with this profanation (as we shall have
occasion to notice), he carried on the ruthless work of destruction in other quarters.
During the seventeenth century the Alhambra seems to have attracted little or no
attention ; however, the Andalucian poet Gongora, who visited the antiquities of Granada
in 1627, has recorded his impressions in a few emphatic verses:

" Pues eres Granada ilustre,

Granada de personages,
Granada de seraphines,
"
Granada de antigiiedades !

At the close of the seventeenth century the Alhambra became an asylum for insolvent debtors,

and served at the same time as a refuge for a lounging population — soldiers, vagabonds,
thieves, and other people without a profession. Later, when the Moorish palace was
confided to the care of governors, the greater part of them appeared to vie with each other
in hastening its ruin.

The history of these ravages would be a very curious one : for example, we should see
the governor Savera establishing his kitchen in a Moorish balcony ; we should see another,

Don Luis Bucarelli, formerly a Catalonian officer, establishing himself in the apartments

of the kings of Granada, and successively lodging his five daughters and his five sons-in-

law there. He was the same person, we were assured, who one day sold the most beautiful
azuhjos with which the greater part of the rooms were ornamented to meet the expenses of
a bull-fio-ht. As to these azulejos, a well-known fact in Granada is that they were sold to
the comer to make cement, a donkey -load costing only a few reals. The time will come
first

when not one of these beautiful squares of del f- ware will be found in the building. One
day we observed in an apartment of the Alhambra a stranger with shaggy hair, who
amused himself by removing them from the wall, and who continued his task as we
passed, just as if he were engaged in the most natural or even praiseworthy occupation in
the world. This Vandal was well up in his work, which he executed most ingeniously by
means of a chisel and a small pocket hammer, while his companion was on the look-out.
Dor^, who was at that moment drawing a Moorish frieze, could not resist the temptation

of consigning this scene of vandalism to his album.

What has become of the beautiful bronze gateway of the Mezquita? Alas it is only !

too well known that it was broken up and sold as old copper. The sculptured doors in
 .

134 SPAIN.

the Hall of the Abencerrages also suffered a sad fate ; it is M. de Gayangos who recounts
this iucredible act of destruction. These beautiful doors were still in their places, when,

in 1837, they were taken down and cut up by order of the governor to close a breach in
another part of the palace : but that was not all ; as they were too large for the opening
they were destined to fill up, they were cut down and partly used for firewood.
The governor Montilla found almost nothing to preserve, save only the palace walls,

for the bolts, hinges, locks, and even the glass in the windows had all disappeared under
the rule of his predecessors.
Of the governor Monchot, el Gohernador Manco, Washington Irving has given
an amusing portrait. This singular personage, who made, himself known by his huo-e
pointed moustache and by his turned-up boots, always carried at his side a long Toledo
blade, and in the hilt —oh profanation —he !
used to stow his handkerchief.
This eccentric
governor was named " the king of rascals," because of the numerous idlers and vagabonds
who lived in the palace under his ofiicial protection.

1/ ::'

x 7 ^ ''/

t^».,™.

DESPOILEKS OF THE AZDLEJOS OF THE ALHAMBRA.

THE VASE OF THE ALHAMBRA. To face page 134.
 THE BALCONY OF LINDARAJA.

CHAPTER VIII.

The tower de Suelos— The ghosts of the Alhambra— The headless horse and the hairy phantom— The Alcazaba
los Siete

—The Homenage and that of the Vela— The, bell and the young spinsters— The fall of Granada— The palace
Torre del
of the Alhambra— The Patiu de los Arrayanes—'Ihe Patio and the Taza de los Leones ; the blood-stains— The Aben-
— — —
cerrafes and the Zegris Massacre in the Court of the Lions The Hall of the Abencerrages The Sala de las Dos
Sermanas—The Hall of Ambassadors—The azulejos—The beautiful Galiana— The Toeador de la Eeina—The garden and
balcony of Lindaraja— The Sala de Secretes and that of the nymphs— The baths of the sultana— The paintings of the
Sala del Tribunal.

DdrIxNG the warm summer evenings it was pleasant to loiter among the ruins of tlie

Alhambra, which have been the silent witnesses of so. many scenes of love and of bloodshed ;

but when the soft moonlight silvered the old tower of La Vela, and the battlements of the
Torre de Comares stood out against tbe deep blue of the starry sky— when the high cypress
with its fantastic forms threw long shadows like great giants across the path we almost —
expected to see the phantoms of the ancient hosts of the Alhambra rise up before us.
The brave Moor Gazul and his beloved, the incomparable Lindaraja, of the blood of the
Abencerrages, passing beneath the vault of fig-trees whose branches interlaced a little ;

Galina, and alone the ungrateful

farther, the proud Abenamar bending over the beautiful
 " "

138 SPAIN.

Zayda, tlie ciaiellest of all the Moorish beauties, insensible to the voice which sang in the
silence of the night this romance miirisco,

" Bella Zayda de mis ojos,

Y del alma Leila Zayda,

De las Moras la mas bella,

Y mas que todas ingrata !

But the Moorish belles and cavaliers are not the only phantoms which are said to haunt
the ruins of the Albambra. According to the popular legend, the tower de los Siete Suehs,

or seven stories, is the nightly resort of spirits that effectually bar the ascent above

the fourth floor. It is reported that courageous adventurers have dared to doubt the
power of phantoms, and have attempted to force their way to the upper stories but ;

they too only returned terror-stricken, to tell that they had been forced back by a furious

blast, which not only extinguished their lights,, but left them powerless and petrified on
the spot : at other times incredulous intruders have found themselves brought face to face
with a terrible Ethiopian, who threatened to devour them if they did not instantly retire.

But above all the terrors of fiendish blasts and Ethiopians, the passage is guarded by a
legion of fierce and implacable Moors, who throw themselves on all who seek to penetrate
into the haunted chambers. When the night is pitchy dark there may also be seen
issuing from the same tower a mysterious monster, to which tradition has given the
name of Caballo descahezado, the headless horse ; and yet another, called el Velludo, or the
Shaggy One, whose duty it is to guard the treasures buried there by their Moorish masters,
and who take their nocturnal beats round the ramparts of the Alhambra ; they have been
frequently seen. Padre Echeveriia says that they are still visible. This historian of
Granada, who lived for many years in the neighbourhood, took the title of " Beneficiado de
la Iglesia mayor de la real fortaleza de la Alhambra." This gentleman assures us solemnly
that one eye-witness was a distinguished military officer, a man also renowned for his sense
and judgment, while a second was also thoroughly trustworthy. One night the latter met
what he took to be the Velludo, a monster covered with long hair or fur ; this brute was
followed by a troop of invisible horsemen, whose presence was made known by the sound
of their hoofs. Upon drawing his sword both phantom and phantom horsemen vanished ;

they did not relish the sight of cold steel.

" This fact," says the narrator, " was related to me by the witness himself on the very
ground where the adventure took place, and the manner in which he related what he had
seen assured me that he did not lie."

The military witness is still more credible, for he not only saw the ghost, but also
spoke to it.

"Where arc you going?" asked the Caballo, who, although quite spiritual, was
reasonable and courteous.
" I am going to my
residence, near the wall of the Alhambra."
" Are you going there to dig for. treasure ? "
" Not at all, I am homeward bound ; treasure is nothing to me !

"That is well," said the spirit; "and if you promise to leave my treasures alone,
you may roam freely where you will."
After these words, the canalla del otro mundo, as Padre Echeverria naively calls it,
disappeared, to continue its nightly rounds and he adds that one must attribute all this ;

sorcery to the Moors, seeing that magic was as familiar to them as their couscoussou,
or magic potion.
THE TOWEE OF OOMAKES. To face page 138.
 —

THE ALHAMBRA— VIEW FROM THE TORRE DE LA VELA. 141

Let us quit the shadowy domain and pass towards tlie Alcazaba, wliere the burning
sun displays to advantage the deep hues of the rugged old walls. Formerly one entered
by the Torre del Homenage, " the Tower of Homage," an enormous and massive structure.
At one of the corners of this tower we came across a pillar, which was no doubt taken
by the Moors from the ruins of the ancient town of lUiberis. The inscription told
us that it belonged to a monument erected by P. Valerius Lucanus to his dear wife
Cornelia, " CornelicB uxori indulgentissimce."
One of the small courts of the Alcazaba contains a curious monument of Arabic sculpture,
a specimen of the art of the eleventh century. It is a large marble basin, in form something
like that of a Roman sarcophagus, but which seems to have been designed to receive the
water of a fountain. On one side there are sculptured four repetitions of the same subject
a lion devouring an antelope. The Orientals have often, iu spite of the Prophet's injunction,
depicted similar subjects, sucb as a falcon killing a hare or a partridge. The bas-relief
in question is very skilfully cut, and resembles some Arabic ivory-work in our possession.
On the left of the Torre del Homenage rises that of la Armeria, which ^^as formerly
the arsenal, as its name implies. It is said that up to the beginning of this century it
contained specimens of old and curious armour and weapons, which belonged to the ancient
defenders of Granada. These splendid relics and trophies, precious in more ways than one,
were sold by the governor, Don Luis Bucarelli, to pay the cost of a single bull-fight. It
is hard to say to what ignoble uses they have not been put. Let us now enter the famous
Torre de la Vela, or de la Campana, one of the highest in the Alhambra. It formerly
served as a watchtower, vela, and its other name is derived from the irrigation bell
(campana de los riegos), which is also called el Reloj de los Labradores, or the labourers' clock,
as it serves to regulate the times of irrigation. After passing through a low door we
climbed a narrow staircase, by which we reached the platform of the Vela, where one is

dazzled by tbe enchantment of the scene : the Gulf of Naples from the top of Vesuvius,
Constantinople and the Golden Horn all combined, could hardly convey any notion of the
wonderful panorama spread out before us. Granada lay at our feet with its spires and its

churches, of which we had a bird's-eye view. Farther off, the white houses, tinted rose-
colour by the evening sun, dotted the distant heights that rise above the town. These
walls seemed to sparkle and glisten like mother-of-pearl through the bright bushy verdure,
recalling the poetic sentiment that compared Granada to an emerald cup set round with
Oriental pearls.
In the far distance before us stretched the fertile Vega, with its twenty leagues
of verdure spread out like a carpet, over which the walls of the alquerias shone like
silver embroidery in the sunshine. The numerous mountains which bounded the horizon
of this unique country have names celebrated in the history of Granada —the Sierra

de Elvira, the cradle of the Phoenician town ; on our left the majestic Mulahacen, and

the snowy heights of the Alpnjarras, merging by insensible gradations into the clouds of
evening. Farther still, the mountains of Alhama and the Sierra Tejeda, with its weird

forms, and lastly the rounded summit of Mount Parapanda, known to the labradores
well

of the Vega, for whom it is a colossal barometer. There is not one of them who, on seeing
the mountain capped with cloud, would not be reminded of the popular proverb :

" Ciiando Parapanda se pone la montera,

Llueve aunque Dios no lo quisiera."

" When Mount Parapanda puts on its cap, there will be rain even against God's will." On
142 SPAIN.

Tliere is hardly a
our right rises the Sierra de Mavtos, at tbe foot of which Jaen is built.
country in all the world whose history offers so much material alike for poet and historian.
was the Tower of the Vela which so excited the cupidity of Isabella the Catholic,
It

when leaving her entrenched camp to view the coveted city and the towers of the
Alhambra. The Queen approached as far as Cubia, about two miles from the town, and
there remained for an instant pensive, contemplating the Torres Bermejas, the Torre de la
Vela, the heights of Albayzin, and the proud Alcazaba.
The long siege of Granada was like a tragic poem, which has been compared by the
Spanish historians to the siege of Troy and it must be conceded that few towns can claim
;

such an important place in history. Peter Martyr says that the Genoese merchanis, who
carried their wares all over the world, considered Granada the finest example of a fortified

city that existed.

was in the month of April 1491, that Ferdinand and Isabella laid siege to this last
It

stronghold of the Moors, resolved to compel a surrender. According to some writers their
army was made up of fifty thousand fighting men, according to others of eighty thousand ;

the troops are said to have included men of a variety of nationalities, and an entire

detachment was composed of mercenary Swiss. There were not wanting Frenchmen, one
of whom, whose name unknown, published during the year of the surrender a very
is

interesting account of the siege, entitled " La trfes-cdifebre, digne de m^moire et victorieuse
prise de la ville de Grenade. Escript k Grenade le dixiesme jour de Janvier de mil, CCCCXCII."
This rare and curious little volume was printed in Paris in 1492.

The Catholic sovereigns determined that a town should be built on the site of their

camp, three miles from Granada. This town was erected within three years, and named
Santa-Fe. Its construction produced an extraordinary efi"ect in Granada, and ultimately
led to threatened insurrection ; the horrors of impending famine were also added, as the
population was greater than the country could well support, seeing that many Moorish
families, driven from the surrounding towns, had pressed on to Granada, and thus
augmented the number of inhabitants.
The defenders of Granada depended entirely for provisions and reinforcements upon
the mountaineers of the Alpujarras, the only province which had not yet submitted to the
Spanish yoke. The Marquis de Villena was despatched with orders to reduce this
province, and acquitted himself so well that in a short time eighty towns and villages
were pillaged and put to the sword. At the same time all reinforcements from the Moors
of Africa were cut off, and the garrison of Granada was thrown at last upon its own
resources. The Moorish king, seeing that every hope of succour had been taken away,
sought to make terms with his foes but the gallant defenders, in vain hoping for
; rein-
forcements, opposed this measure, which was however carried out in secret. The first

conference was held at midnight in the village of Churriana, situated about three miles from
the town, where the terms of capitulation were discussed and ratified by the two parties.
The principal articles accorded to the people of Granada freedom to retain the Mahometan
faith, and the practice of their religious ceremonies, their national customs, their language,
and their costume. Property was to be respected, and the Spaniards engaged to find
vessels for all those who wished to return to Africa. All arms were to be given up
to the conquerors; as to the unfortunate Abdallah, they gave him a town and a few
neighbouring places in the Alpujarras, with three thousand vassals and a revenue of
six million maravedis.
Abdallah, or Boabdil, as the Spaniards called him, pledged himself to give up the
 GEANADA. 143

forts and the keys of the town within sixty days after the date of the capituLation. But
whispers of the parley were beginning to find their way abroad among the people, and the
councillors of Boabdil, fearing a revolt, advised
him to hasten the event. It was therefore
determined that the Catholic sovereigns should enter Granada on January 2nd, 1492.
Early on the morning of this memorable day the Spanish camp presented an aspect
of the greatest joy. The Cardinal Gonzalez de Mendoza was sent on in advance of
a detachment of the troops of his own house and a body of infantry, veterans who had
grown grey campaigns against the Moors. These troops took possession of the
in the
citadel of the Alhambra, while Ferdinand and Isabella remained behind at an Arab
mosque, since consecrated to Saint Sebastian. Soon the huge silver cross carried by
Saint Ferdinand during his campaigns shone on the top of the Torre de la Vela, and the
standards of Castille floated over the towers of the Alhambra. At this glorious spectacle
the choir of the chapel royal sang the Te Deum, and all the army threw themselves on
their knees. Every year on January 2nd a f6te is held at Granada to celebrate this
event. On that day there is always an enormous crowd at the Alhambra, and one may
then see the inhabitants of the neighbouring mountains in their most picturesque
attire.

The young girls never miss going up to the tower of the Vela, for there, according
to an ancient superstition, those of them who strike the bell will be married in the same
year. It is even believed that those who strike the hardest will get the handsomest
husbands. One can therefore easily imagine what an uproar there is in the tower
on a holiday. On one of the pillars which support the bell we noticed an inscription in
Spanish: "The second day of January 1492, of the Christian era, after seven hundred
and seventy years of Arab rule, victory having been declared, and this town given up
to the Most Catholic sovereigns, there were placed in this tower, as the highest in the
fortress, army; and the holy banners
the three standards, the insignia of the Castilian
having been hoisted by the Cardinal Gonzalez de Mendoza and by Don Gutierre de
Cardenas, the Count de Tendilla waved the royal standard, while the soldiers cried
with a loud voice Granada ganada (Granada
'
' is won) by the illustrious sovereigns
of Castille, Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella."
The fall of Granada caused as great a sensation as the taking of Constantinople had
done not long before. At Eome the surrender of the town was celebrated by a solemn
mass, and by festivals of all sorts. At Naples an allegorical play was represented, in which
Faith, Joyfulness, and Mahomet played the principal parts. The Moors in Africa heard
with consternation of the sad end of Boabdil's kingdom, and for several years they prayed
in the mosques every Friday that God would give back Granada to the Mussulmans ; and
even at the present day, if a follower of the Prophet is seen to be sad and melancholy,
they say he is thinking of Granada.
There is not much of interest remaining to be noticed before we enter the
palace of the Moorish kings. The church of Santa Maria de la Alhambra, built
at the close of the sixteenth century, had nothing to offer worth our stopping to
see, and the same might be said of the ancient convent of the Franciscan monks, had
not their church received the mortal remains of Isabella the Catholic, which rested
there until they were removed to the Cathedral of Granada after the death of her

husband.
These churches, and many other structures, occupy the sites of different Moorish

buildings, as the great Mezquita of the harem, whose primitive aspect, alas ! is changed ; and
 :

^PAI^-
144
capital, he might ask
ifone of the kings of Granada could reappear in Lis ancient
Abeuamar Moro de la Moreria, as he was asked in the famous Moorish romance
:

" Quelles sont ces hautes forteresses

Qui brillent devant moi?
— C'etait TAlhambra, seigneur,
Et cet autre, la mosqufe,
Et ici 6taient les Alixares,
Travaillfe k merveille;
Le More qui les orna
Gagnait cent doublous par jour;
Cet autre, c'est Generalife,

Jardin qui ii'a pas son pareil;

Et cet autre, les Tours Vermeilles,
Chateau de grande valeur."

In this antique acropolis of Granada there is not a stone, so to speak, that is without

its legend, and which does not recall some event suug iu Moorish romance.
We were now entering the palace by following a narrow lane. Arriving in front of
a little modern door of the commonest sort, we rang and summoned a guardian, who,

wearing an Andalucian sombrero, let us iu, when we found ourselves face to face for the

first time with the splendours of the Alhambva.

The first court is called the Fatio de la Alherca, or the Eeservoir. At each side of the

basin there is a thick hedge of myrtle, which has also given to this entrance of the
Alhambra the name Patio de los Arrayanes.
It would be difficult to give an idea of the elegance of this patio, the largest, and

at the same time one of the most elaborately ornate of all the Alhambra. At each
extremity of this reservoir there rises a gallery, with arches supported by light columns
of white Macael marble, whose long slender shafts are reflected in the mirror -like

surface of the water. Tlie ornamentation of the walls is of wonderful delicacy, and in
much better preservation than that in the other courts. Between the windows and at the

angles one sees escutcheons of the kings of Granada, or this well-known Arabic phrase,
" Wa la ghalib ilia Allah," "And God alone is conqueror;" among other inscriptions
which ornament the patio are these lines of a Moorish poet
"I am decked like a bride in her robes, with every grace, every perfection :

Look on this vase, and you'll understand the truth of my assertion."

On the left is the hall in which the celebrated vase of the Alhambra was found amongst an
indescribable mass of rubbish ; it was to this vase that the poet alluded in the above lines.

The basin was formerly surrounded by a rich Moorish balustrade, which still remained
intact at the beginning of this century, when the governor Bucarelli, that great devastator
of the Alhambra, had it taken up and sold.

During the time of the Moors the Patio de la Alherca occupied the centre of the
palace; on the right rose the splendid gateway which, together with that part of the
Alhambra known as the Winter- Palace, was demolished by Charles V., in order to make
way we have already noticed. Before exploring the interior
for the massive building

it may not prove uninteresting if we make some observations on the Moorish mode
of ornamenting palace walls. Notwithstanding the liglitness of the ornaments and the
infinite delicacy of their details, they are extremely solid and durable, although they
are cast in material something akin to the gesso duro used by the Italians of the
fifteenth century to mould their madonnas ; marble has only been used in the Alhambra
for columns and capitals, fountains, bath-rooms, and paving-stones. The Italian traveller.
PATIO DE LOS AHRAYANES (COUET OF MYETLES). To face page 144.
 —

THE ALHAMBEA— THE COURT OF LIONS. 147

Andrea Navagiero, who visited Granada soon after its Ml, tells us that some of its

monuments were inlaid with ivory and gold he ; also says that in his time the fatio was
planted with myrtles and orange-trees.
On the right is the Cuarto de la Sultana, formerly one of the most beautiful halls of
the Alhambra. We now entered the Court of Lious, one of the wonders of Moorish
architecture ; nevertheless, far from boasting the vast proportions which it has been
made to assume in pictures, it is simply a parallelogram of one hundred feet by fifty feet,

enclosed by a covered gallery having little pavilions at each end. This gallery is

supported by one hundred and twenty-eight columns, surmounted by arches displaying

wonderful beauty of workmanship. The basements, in mosaic delf-ware of various colours,
have been restored in such a manner as to preserve their primitive aspect. The capitals,
all of which oflfer the same contours, appear at first sight to be uniform, but if one examines
them with care, they are found to present an infinite variety of designs, arabesques, and
inscriptions. These capitals were formerly painted and gilded, and we discover from the
best preserved examples that the arabesques were painted in blue and the groundwork in
red, while the inscriptions and a number of the ornaments were done in gold. The gold
used was brought from Africa, and beaten into thin leaves in Granada.
One remarks a slight irregularity in the placing of the pillars : some stand in pairs,
and others alone ; an irregularity, this, producing a charming effect, and without doubt
designed to break the monotony. The columns were at one time entirely covered with
gold, but after the fall of Granada, instead of repairing them, it was found much more
simple and profitable to denude them of their covering by sedulously scraping the shafts
and ornaments.
Inscriptions dedicated to the praise of God are lavished without stint everywhere
around. On the band which sweeps round the tympan of the principal arch we read in
characters of great beauty, "May lasting power and glory imperishable be the inheritance
of the master of the palace." This inscription reminds one of the ancient Oriental custom
of tracing upon common objects good wishes for their owner.

In the centre of the patio rises the Fountain of the Lions, a large dodecagonal vessel
of marble, surmounted by another smaller and round in shape, both being ornamented
with arabesques and Arabic inscriptions in bas-relief. The lower vessel is supported by
twelve lions in white marble ; at least they are evidently intended for lions, but the Moorish
imagination, ever accustomed to perfect liberty, has never descended to a slavish imitation
of nature. The head of these lions, if one may call it a head, is nothing more than a
mutilated square, supplied with a round hole to represent an open mouth, from which
the water falls into the basin. The mane is indicated by a number of parallel lines,

while four square supports are supplied for the legs of the animal. In spite of this
almost barbarous simplicity, these monsters have a decorative character which charms
and surprises, and we have never come across a fountain whose general efiect was
happier.
The inscriptions cut on the fountain are highly poetic and imaginative :

" Behold this cloud of pearls, scintillating from all parts, thrown in prismatic globules

into the air.

" Which fall in a belt of silver foam and break into a shower of gems surpassing
the brightest jewels in lustre, as they outshine the marble in their pearly whiteness

and transparency.
148
SPAIN.

" Lookino- on tins basin, it seems a solid mass of ice off which the water is running,

and yet it is impossible to say which of the two is liquid.

" Do you not perceive how the stream leaps to the surface in defiance of the inferior

current which would arrest its progress ?

"As a lover whose lashes are full of tears, but who restrains them, fearing an

informer.
"In truth what is this font but a beneficent cloud, distilling its waters upon

the lions 1
" Like the hands of the Caliph, who rises with the dawn to shower reward upon his

soldiers —
the lions of war.
" Fear not in thy contemplation while gazing upon these rampant lions ; they

are without life and without ferocity."

Nothing can convey a better notion of the voluptuous life of the Moors than this Court
of the Lions. One can picture to oneself the king of Granada, surrounded by his
favourite wives and courtiers, seated on Persian carpets spread out beneath the shade
of the palms and orange-trees, or reclining on cushions of the beautiful silk of Granada

or Almeria, while poets recite their verses, or musicians- joyously wake the laud and

diilfayna, the zamhras and the Moorish leylas, whose sounds mingle with the murmur
of the water as it falls into the marble basins of the fountains.

When Andrea Navagiero visited the Alhambra in 1524 the Fatio de los Leones made
a deep impression on him, accustomed as he was to the wonders of Venice ; after manifesting

his admiration he adds :

" The lions are made in such a manner, that when there is no
water, by whispering down the throat of one, people putting their ears to the mouths of
the others will hear them articulate the same sounds distinctly." You must expect when
visiting this court to be accosted by the guide, who will certainly point out to you the
red stains on the bottom of the basin, and on the large paving-stones. It is the blood

of the Abencerrages, which the thirsty marble drank four hundred years ago, and which it

has preserved as an accusation against the cowardly assassins. Some sceptics say that the

stains are the natural result of age and exposure ; others go still farther, and protest that
the two hostile tribes never existed in Granada or anywhere else, except in the imagination
of novelists. Let us hasten to assure the incredulous that the Zegris and the Abencerrages
have enjoyed a lawful existence, and that ancient and grave Spanish writers make mention
of them. Nothing Mall convince us that the marks in question are not blood ; and we may
just as well believe in this blood as in that of Saint Januarius.
The Abencerrages and the Zegris were two noblefamilies of Granada who heartily
hated each other. The former takes an important place in Moorish romance, and is
distinguished by the Arab name Beni-Serraj. They are descended from a vizier of a king
of Cordova. When that town was taken by the Christians in 1235, they sought refuge in
Granada, and their family or clan increased so rapidly that towards the fifteenth century
it numbered more than five hundred members. As to the Zegris, they were natives of
Aragon. T\'hen the Spaniards made themselves masters of that land, they retired to
Granada under the patriotic name of Tsegrium, that is men of Tseghr, the name by which
Aragon was known to the Moors.
The hatred of the tribes was intensified by the rivalry of two of Abdallah's wives.
One, his cousin, was named Ayesha, and the other, of Spanish birth, was named Zoraya,
or evening-star ; siie was daughter of the Governor of Martos. When that town was
GALLERY OF THE PATIO PE LOS AUKAYANKS, To face ^xige 148.
 "

MASSACEE OF THE ABENCERRAGES. 151

taken by the Moors, Zoraya, whose original name was Isabel de Solis, fell into the hands
of her enemies, and owing to her marvellous beauty, was brought to grace the harem
of the king, and it is reported that the sovereign soon became passionately attached to
her. The gentle Ayesha, who thoroughly detested her beautiful rival, feared lest the king
might choose as his successor one of Zoraya's sous, in place of one of her own children ;

she therefore devised a system of secret intrigue to attain her own ends. Two parties
were thus formed : the Abencerrages sided with Zoraya, while the Zegris declared
themselves for Ayesha. The result was that both the town and the palace became the
scenes of constant conflict, which weakened the kingdom and brought about its speedy fall.
The Zegris, who had been strengthened by a tribe of Gomeles, determined to ruin
Zoraya by accusing her of adultery with one of the Abencerrages. Accordingly oue
day a Zegris appeared before the king, and cried out with a loud voice, " Long live
Allah May death destroy the Abencerrages, and may the queen perish by fire
!
!

One of the Gomeles observed that no one dared to lay hands on the queen, as her
defenders were too numerous. " You know," he added, addressing the king, " that
Halbinhamad would call together all his followers, including the Alabezes, the Vanegas,
and the Gazules, who are the flower of Granada. But this you must do to revenge
yourself. Summon the Abencerrages to the Alhambra, taking care to make them enter
one by one, and in the greatest secrecy. Let twenty devoted and sure Zegris, armed
to the teeth, stand around you, and as each one of the tribe enters let him be seized and
strangled. When there is not a single man of them left, should any of their surviving
friends wish to revenge this careful measure, you may rely upon the Gomeles, the Zegris,
and the Majas, who are powerful and ready to perish for their king." The sovereign
at last gave his consent to this scheme of treachery, and Gines Perez, who relates
the tragic history, exclaims, " Granada, what misery awaits thee ! Thou wilt
!

never again arise from thy doom, nor recover thy ancient splendour " The king,
deserted by sleep, tossed on his downy pillow. " Unhappy Abdilli, King of Granada,"
he cried, "thou art on the point of ruining both thyself and thy kingdom." The day
at last arrived, and the sovereign entered a court in the Alhambra, where he was received
by the nobles, Zegris, Gomeles, and Magas, who, rising from their seats, saluted him,
and wished him success. At this moment an equerry entered with the news that Muga
and other Abencerrages had arrived during the night from the Vega, where they had
engaged the Christians, and brought back two Spanish flags and more than thirty heads.
The king seemed pleased with the news, but, preoccupied with the thoughts of revenge,

he called aside one of the Zegris, and directed that he, the executioner, and thirty trusty
followers should repair to the Court of the Lions. The Zegris retired, and carefully

following the king's orders, waited his commands. Finding them ready for the bloody
work, the king ordered his page to call Abencarrax, his alguacil mayo7-, who was doomed
to be the first victim. The instant he entered the Court of Lions he was seized and
beheaded by the conspirators. Then followed Halbinhamad and thirty-four lords of the
Abencerrages, the proudest nobles of Granada, who all of them shared the same silent fate.
The remaining members of the tribe owed their lives to the presence of mind of a little
page who entered at the moment his master was seized, and, terror-stricken at the bloody
scene, he made his escape by a secret door unnoticed, at the time when another
unsuspecting victim entered the court. Hardly had he left the walls of the Alhambra,

when he noticed near a fountain the lords Malik Alabez and Abenamar. They, like
the others, were on their way to the palace by command of the king. " Ah, lords," the
 "

SPAIN.
J ^2

"by Allah do not go farther, unless you wish to be

page cried through his tears,
"
assassinated !

" What do you mean to say 1

" replied Alabez.
"
Know, lord, that in the Court of the Lions they have massacred a great number of the
my poor master. I saw them beheaded-God in His goodness
Abencerrages, amongst tliem
be warned against this bloody treason
!

enabled me to escape. By Mahomet, my lords,

The three nobles remained looking at each other, hardly knowing whether to
petrified,

but as they passed on and entered the street de los

Gomeles they fell in with
credit the tale ;

the Captain Muga, accompanied by twenty cavaliers who had encountered the Christians
the king.
in the Vega, and were proceeding to the palace to recount their successes to
"Gentlemen," said Alabez, as soon as he came up to them, "a
great plot has been laid

against us " and he told the story of the page.

; They then repaired to the Bibrambla, and
and called his
Muga, who was captain-general of the soldiers, sounded the trumpets,
partisans totake vengeance. Soon the palace was assaulted, and the massive doors, which
resisted the assailants' blows, were reduced by and the infuriated Abencerrages, like
fire,

hungry lions, rushed into the Alhambra, and fell on the traitors. More than five hundred
Zegris, Gomeles, and Magas perished beneath their poniards.

A popular romance, sung for a long time in Granada, recalls the massacre of the
Abencerrages :

"In the towers of the Alhamhra

A rumour dire arose,

And in the town of Granada

Great was the desolation.
Because without reason the king
To slaughter condemned in a day
Six and thirty Abencerrages.
Nobles of greatest renown, were they
Whom the Zegris and the Gomeles
Of foulest treason accused."

We will now quit this wonderful Patio de los Leones, so rich in poetic legends, and
passing beneath its porticoes enter some of the most beautiful halls of the Alhambra,

notably the Sola de Justicia, the Dos Hermanas (theTwo Sisters), and that of the Aben-
cerrages. It is into this last hall that Ave will now make our way, and there we shall
again find a souvenir of the tragic event just narrated.
The Hall of the Abencerrages is one of the finest, if not the largest in the palace.
The vaulted roof, in the form media naranja, half orange, is a marvellous piece of work.
Thousands of pendentives of infinite variety drop from the ceiling, like clusters of stalactites.

One can only compare these astonishing Moorish roofs to the cells in a beehive, and
nothing is more puzzling than their perfect symmetrical construction, in spite of their

apparent irregularity. The pendentives are formed by the combination of seven distinct

prisms, surmounted by curves, sometimes segments of circles, sometimes ogive. One is

astonished at the extraordinary effect obtained by the Moorish architects with elements of
such great simplicity.
The rusty stains perceivable on the edge of the basin, which forms a centre ornament
to the hall, are said to be the blood of the Abencerrages, who were beheaded over the
basin while their brothers were suffering death in the court. Padre Echeverria, who
relates with so much gravity the history of the headless horse and the hairy phantom,
agreeably banters the simple and credulous visitors who, even in his day, lamented the
sad fate of the victims. This Canon of Granada says :
" Men and women, when they visit
PATIO DE LOS LEONES ICOUBT OF LIONS). To face page 152.
 TI-IE ALHAMBRA— HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS. 155

the Alhambra, come to tlie Hall of the Abencerrages, they look on the ground, then gaze
upon the basin, and believe they sec the shades of those unfortunate nobles on the walls,
or their lifeless bodies on the flagstones. They mark the stains of innocent blood : the men
call for vengeance from heaven against such cruelty, and the women shed bitter tears
for the sad end of so many brave cavaliers, and curse the impious king ; while others bless
the little page who bore the news of the massacre to those who had not yet come to the
fatal rendezvous." But, adds Padre Echeverria, that is all mere superstition and falsehood
—todo es mentira, /also todo. This does not prevent the worthy canon relating to us,

a few pages farther on, that the ghosts of the Abencerrages pay regular nocturnal visits
to the scene of slaughter, where their presence is manifested by a doleful murmuring
noise of sighing and groaning from the spirits who come to demand justice for their
cruel death. A who had just finished mass at the church of San Cecilio, with his
priest,

hand placed on his heart, assured us that it was all too true.
The beautiful wooden doors of which we have spoken are in the Hall of the Aben-
cerrages. Nothing can be more curious than their elaborate workmanship. They are
made up of an infinite number of small pieces of resinous wood, lozenge-shaped, and so
perfectly united as to form a very solid whole. V/e have seen some doors exactly like
them belonging to an ancient mosque at Cairo.

Crossing the Court of the LionSy we shall now enter the Sola de las Dos Hermanas —
Hall of the Two Sisters. The name is taken from two blocks of pure white marble, so alike
in every way that they were called the two sisters. This was formerly one of the private
apartments of the kings of Granada. On each side there are alcoves, which must have
been intended to receive beds, ornamented with the richest arabesques, and inscriptions
in praise of the Sultan Abu-1-Hadjadj- The room also contains a large basin like that

of the Hall of the Abencerrages ; indeed the two apartments are very much alike as to

their arrangement, only the first carries off the palm on account of the elegance of its

decorations. One or two of the inscriptions caught our eye :

" Look attentively at my elegance, it will furnish you with a commentary on the art of

decoration."
" Look at this wonderful cupola ; at tlie sight of its splendid proportions all other

cupolas grow dim and disappear."

" Look also at this portico, it contains beauties of all sorts."

In truth this palace could have no other ornaments than those which surpass the
"

splendour of the highest regions of the firmament," &c.

The apartment contains many other inscriptions, some hidden by the wooden pillars
which the ayuntamiento of Granada set up at the four corners in his barbarous attempt at
decoration on the occasion of the visit of the Infante Don Francisco de
Paula to the Alhambra

Before that time a workshop had been established there, and at an

earlier date
in 1832.
Catholic, and
some clumsy restorations were effected, when it was used by Isabella the
by wife of Charles V. of Portugal.
Elenork, But these apartments, with all their grandeur,
are not to be compared with that of the Ambassadors, which may fairly be called the

masterpiece of this Moorish palace.

During our stay in Granada we came across a curious personage,
who would never
every possible beauty,
visit but oiTe part of the Alhambra, alleging that it combined in one
after seeing this principal part it was only useless waste of time to devote one's
and that
 "

156
SPAIN.

attention to any other part of the palace. This strange sophist was certainly wrong,

but if anything would give a colour of reason to his obstinacy it was the majestic aspect

and rare perfection of the piece which was the exclusive object of his admiration.

The Sola de Embajadores occupies the whole of the Torre de Comares, the largest
los

and most important of the towers of the Alhambra. Before entering it one traverses
it is broad, called the Sola de la Barca.
a sort of gallery or ante-chamber, longer than
On each side of the entrance in the interior of the arcade two marble niches are filled in
with the most delicate sculpture, reminding one of the mosque at Cordova. These niches

were, it is said, designed to receive the visitors' sandals, which were placed there as a token
of respect before entering, as is still done at the doors of an Eastern mosque. The Hall
of Ambassadors measures about forty feet each way, and is about seventy feet in height,

from the ground to the media naranja. of resinous wood, of the cedar or
This roof is made
larch-tree family, called by the Spaniards alerce, a word which, we may say in passing,

has been taken by the author of a guide-book of Spain for the name of an artist the ceiling :

is thus innocently attributed to Alerce The pieces of wood forming the cupola fit into
!

each other in an infinite variety of waj's, which defy description. This extremely com-

plicated kind of work is called in Spanish artesonado.- It is painted red, green, and blue,

and set ofi" by gilding, to which time has imparted a very warm tint.
As to the walls, there is always the lavish bestowal of arabesques, executed in low
relief and with lace-like fineness. The patterns unfold and mix themselves endlessly. It is

said that during the sixteenth century the hall was restored under the direction of the

celebrated sculptor and architect, Berruguete ; it is even asserted that he used old Moorish
moulds to produce the arabesques. At about five or six feet above the ground the
arabesques give way to the azulejos, the squares of glazed delf-ware of which we have
already spoken. The name signifies blue in Arabic, and was probably adopted because
the first specimens made were of that colour.
The azulejos are of different colours and shapes ; the prevailing colours are blue, green,
orange, and violet, forming by their arrangement the most varied combinations, where
symmetry does not exclude caprice. Sometimes a design has difi"erent colours, separated by
lines in relief. Most of the finest designs have either been destroyed or carried off". We
may here add that the azulejos are always made of delf, not of porcelain, as they have more
than once been represented ; and the same remark will apply to the beautiful vase of the
Alhambra, which has also been called porcelain, although this sort of ware has been for

many centuries different from any other produced in Europe. The Hall of Ambassadors
was, as one would gather from its name, the place of honour in the palace. It was there
that the solemn receptions were held ; it was there too that the kings of Granada gave
audience to the African princes, who were at times the bearers of perfidious presents, as for
example, the poisoned tunic given by Ahmed, king of Fez, to Yousouf II., who (so they
say) expired soon after wearing it. It was there that the sultan, Abu-1-Hassan, at the
time of Granada's splendour, gave his haughty reply to the King of Castillo, who demanded
a tribute of silver: "Go tell your master that in my mint they only coin lanceheads
!

for him
On more occasions than one these elegant walls were witnesses of bloody strife.

Mohammed-Ibn-Ismael, insulted by his sovereign at a public ceremony, and taunted

with cowardice, resolved to revenge the affront, and stabbed the king and his vizier.

Nevertheless, if the Hall of Ambassadors was the theatre of these tragic events, it witnessed
at the same time many a charming scene ; the beautiful Galiana wove with her delicate
I
<

<
M
H
W
O
K
 —

JARDIN DE LINDAEAJA. 159

fingers a ricli gold and silver embroidery sparlding with pearls, rubies, and emeralds, and
destined for the valiant Moor who broke a lance in her honour at the tournament. From
the window opposite the entrance of the hall one overlooks a scene of the richest verdure,
through which flows the Darro.
Retracing our steps, we followed a long gallery, constructed after the conquest, and
which joins a little pavilion called Tocador de la Reina or Peinador de la Reina, two names
signifying queen's toilet-chamber. This chamber, which has nothing Moorish about it,

appears to have been built at the time of Charles V. ; its walls are adorned with frescoes in
the Italian style of the early part of the sixteenth century. These beautiful frescoes have
suffered much at the hands of the vulgar ;
proper names and all sorts of absurdities are
scratched over the painting by generations of visitors from every clime. The paintings
on the roof, beyond reach, are in better preservation ; they represent medallions, busts,
rivers, metamorphoses, and other mythological subjects. Between the white marble
columns our vision roamed over one of the grandest panoramas in the world. On leaning
forward outside, we perceived a ravine of great depth, bordered by poplar, aspen, and
other closely tufted trees ; one is apt to feel giddy on looking down on the tops of the
trees, which can only be seen foreshortened. On one side rises the imposing tower of
Comares, on the other the white walls of the Geueralife, shining through the mass of dark
verdure ; beyond, an interminable picture of the Vega spreads out and is lost in a
horizon of mountains forming a succession of graduated plains. It would be useless our

endeavouring to convey an idea of the scene, even taking for comparison opals, sappliires,

and other gems of the softest hues. About two hours before sunset it is simply entrancing,
and tempts one to remain rapt in contemplation until it is lost in the shades of
evening.
The Patio Jardin de Lindaraja, to which we descended, is encumbered with a thick
or

growth of orange, citron, acacias, and other trees which rise in charming disorder.
The centre of the Patio is adorned by a beautiful fountain, while its two sides are
flanked by a gallery supported upon rows of slender marble columns. The Mirador de
Lindaraja, overlooking the garden, is formed by two ogive-shaped windows separated by
a pillar of white marble. The tympan above the two windows presents a vast decoration,

composed of characters forming knots and various other patterns, and may be taken as

the finest and most perfect specimen of its kind that exists. The inscriptions again

draw attention to the decoration :

" These apartments contain many wonders, on which the spectator's eye will always

rest, if he be gifted with intelligent appreciation.

" Here the zephyrs descend to soften the rigour of winter, and breathe a genial air

around.
" In truth, so great are the charms we boast that the stars of heaven descend to lend us

their light."

We next visited the Sala de Secretos, built by Charles V., and which takes its name
from an acoustic efiect produced by the configuration of the roof. The Sala de las Ninfas,
which comes next, owes its name to two marble statues of goddesses.
By the side of the Jardin de Lindaraja there are also ancient Moorish baths, los
Banos de la Sultana. They consist of two apartments, also called el Bano del Rey and el
Bano they were constructed by Mohammed V., Alghani-BiUah (he who
del Principe;
delights in God), whose praises may be read in the
inscriptions.
,6o SPAIN.

We passed through the Sala de las Frutas, thus named from the fruits depicted on the

ceilino-, thence without stopping to the Patio de la Reja, a little court garnished with an

iron railino-, and we ended our visit by retracing our steps to the Sala de Justicia, or hall

of judgment. It is more like a long gallery divided into three compartments, each of

which is covered by a cupola, or roof, in the form of an oval ; on this dome one sees the

famous Moorish pictures of the Alhambra, painted on panels of leather sewn together, and
nailed to a concave surface of wood; this leather is coated with plaster. The subject
occupying the centre represents ten personages seated in two rows, and each end of the oval
displays tlie arms of the kings of Granada supported by two lions. The figures, brown-
complexioned, wear double-pointed black beards, are seated on cushions, and arrayed in tlie

costume of tlie Spanish Moors. The head is covered with an Oriental turban and the
marlota, a sort of hood filing on the shoulders ; the rest of the dress simply consisted of
an ample albornoz, or woollen robe, descending to the feet. The ten Moors are armed with
their native long sword. Perhaps the group represents kings of Granada, or else a council
of state ; the position of the hands indicates discussion and renders the latter supposition

probably the right one. Another painting represents hunting subjects ; here we have a

Christian cavalier, lance in hand, piercing a lion that has sprung upon his horse, and by
Ills side another cavalier attired as a Moor, contending with an animal which seems to be a
bear, or a wild boar ; further off, a second Moor, holding his horse by the bridle, is presenting

the produce of his hunt to a lady in flowing robes. On each side rise towers and water
fountains. The colours are still bright, and consist for the most part of flat tints without
the shadows being indicated ; the most striking are bright red, and brick red, light and
dark green, and white, the outline being traced by means of a line of thick bistre.

In the last picture another Christian cavalier is seen, piercing a bear with his sword,
and a Moorish cavalier has struck his lance into a stag ; another Moor, carrying the adarga,
a large shield of leather like those preserved at the Armeria of Madrid, is striking with his
lance a Christian, who appears on the point of falling from his horse. On the opposite
side are two persons playing at draughts (the dameh of the Arabs) ; but the most
interesting part of the picture rej^resents a female with a lion chained at her feet, while
on her right, a bearded and hairy man, like the savages represented in the ancient heraldry
of Spain, appears to have been overthrown by a mounted cavalier.
Many suppositions have been thrown out regarding these two last figures, but without
any satisfactory result; we flatter ourselves however that we have found out the meaning of
the enigma. In the ancient Moorish romances, the motto of the Z6ms is "a woman holding
a chained lion," denoting the triumph of love over strength, and that of the Abencerrages
is "a savage man overthrowing a lion." It seems thus incontestable that this picture bears
an allusion to these two celebrated tribes. But at what epoch were these curious paintings
executed ?been said that they were painted after the taking of Granada, but if they
It has

date from the Christian dominion, why should the Christians be represented as vanquished
in combat ? Besides, the costume of the Christians is that of the beginning of the fifteenth
century the architecture, the simple landscape, and other details are of the same epoch. As
;

to the artist, he is quite unknown but it may be supposed he was some renegade Christian,
;

who had long fixed his residence at Granada.

Such is this admirable palace of the Alhambra, at once so rich and so sumptuous that, in
spite of its many degradations, we may call it, with Peter Martyr, a palace without its equal
in the world. In order to explore thoroughly,
it it would be necessary to pass whole weeks
among its rums, and still at each recurring visit some now and charming feature would be
 To face page i6o.
GATE OF THE SALA DE JUSTICIA.
 LEAVING THE ALHAMBEA. 163

found. After at last quitting these fairy halls, these elegant and voluptuous patios, a.

thousand delicious but confused pictures present themselves to the mind : it will seem like

a splendid dream, and one will delight to repeat with Victor Hugo :

" L'Alhambra ! FAlhambra! palais que les gtoies

Ont dor^ comme un reve et rempli d'harmonies ;

Forteresse aux crdneaux festonn6 set croulants,

Oh. Ton entend la nuit de magiques syllabes,
Quand la lune, k travers les mille arceaux arabes,
"
S^me les murs de trefles blancs !
 ;

A /\i/i|ll',| '-

SKETCH IN THE SHBOKES OF GRANADA.

CHAPTER IX.

The Geiieralife ; the cypresses of tlie Sultana— The Silla del More—The Fuente del Avellano— The Darro— The Zacatin
—The Cathedral of Granada — The the tombs of the Catholic sovereigns
Capilla real; The Bihrambla ; more—
—
about the Abenoerrages and the Zergis burning of Arabic books The Ear arcade and the street of Knives The
;
—
— —
Alcaiceria— The Museum The Cartura The church and promenade of las Angusticts The Plaza de Bailen —
Maria Pineda-The Salon— The Genii; Boabdil and the Catholic sovereigns— The Moorish baths— Sacro-Monte
—The gipsies of Granada -An improvised Ball the PeZ)-a— Excursion to the Sierra Nevada— The neveros—
;

—
The barrancas and tlie veiitisqueros The Picacho de Veleta.

The Genoralife is only about a hundred paces from the Alhambra, but, in order to reach it,

Ave must pass under the Puerta Judiciaria and follow one of the shady alleys of the Boaque
de la Alhambra, which descends by the wall of the ancient Moorish citadel. Passing a dark
ravine, overgrown with briers, and which divides the hill of the Alhambra from the Cerro
del Sol, -we climbed a path shaded by luxuriant vegetation and fragrant with tbe
perfume of roses, where, beneath the foliage of fig-trees and vines, we caught glimpses of
huge pomegranates, whose half-open fruit disclosed their clustering seeds, sparkling like
rubies in the sunlight.

Entering the Generalife, we made our way beneath arched galleries, whose ornaments
in bas-relief are unfortunately hidden and obliterated by repeated coatings of stone colour.

The centre of the- garden is taken up by a long basin full of crystalline water, in which
the charming arcade of rose-laurels and tufted bushes is reflected as in a mirror.
 Tnjrflfrp"" fl'rt'Tiii'Ui'i'i'i'^'" in 1 c"^ 1 iriT r r mu r rn~r Tpmi'ii

THE GENEKALIFE. 2'o face page 164.

 THE GENERALIFE. 167

The palace of the Geueralife, although most attractive both in its architecture and
decorations, presents nothing which can create surprise after visiting the Alhambra. The
exterior is extremely simple, and the halls are neither numerous nor attractive. In one of
them we came across a number of very indifferent portraits, full of anachronisms in
costume, representing historical personages such as Boabdil and Gonzalvo de Cordova.
Here a huge volume lies open on the table, intended to receive the names and sentiments
of visitors ; this polyglot receptacle, like most others of its kind, contains pages of witless
commonplace remarks, courageously signed by their authors. In former days one of the
apartments contained an ancient Moorish sword, which has been removed to the palace of
the lower town ; it belonged, it is said, to the last king of Granada. The hilt, in the form
of two elephants' heads, is adorned with the escutcheon of the Moorish sovereigns. Both
hilt and blade are covered with Moorish legends, and the entire weapon presents a splendid
specimen of ancient enamel and filigree work ; the sheath, also in good preservation, is

made of leather, embroidered with silver wire, an art for which the Moors of Spain and
Fez were anciently renowned. The Generalife contains some extremely rare and curious
armour. " There two or three helmets placed at the entrance," says the Padre
are
Echeverria ;
" also coats of mail, from which many persons have stolen little pieces, and there

are hardly any children who are not supplied with a small fragment of this defensive
armour, to neutralise the malign influence of the evil eye."
In the garden of the Cipreses de la Sultana trees are pointed out, which, according to
tradition, were very old even at the time when the Sultana Zoraya sought their gratefid
shade ; and we had the pleasure of gazing upon the one that sheltered this Sultana when,
engrossed in conversation with a lord of the Abencerrages, she was surprised by a member
of the tribe of the Gomeles.
One great charm of the Generalife is the abundant water-supply seen in its basins,

fountains, jets, canals, and bubbling springs. The Moors, to obtain this hydraulic display,

cut a canal to the river Darro's source, two leagues distant.

Above the garden rises a terrace, commanding a splendid view. Turning our back
upon the Alhambra, we have before us the hill called the Cerro del Sol, with a Moorish ruin
on the top it is the Silla del Moro, the Moor's chair, supposed to have been the mosque
;

in which Boabdil sought refuge after the massacre of the Abencerrages. The scene before
us includes a vast area ; Ave can trace out the windings of the Darro, and there are the
Alhambra, the Generalife, the Albayzin, the Sacro-Moute, and a multitude of villages
like white spots scattered over the Vega.

Descending the steep slopes of the Cerro del Sol, one- enters a finely- wooded district,

where tliere are picturesque little country-houses nestling among the foliage, the Cdrmenes
del Darro, or villas, which derive their name from the Arabic word karm, signifying a vine ;

these residences are built along one of the most beautiful and fashionable promenades in
Granada. A little farther on, there is the Fuente del Avellano —fountain of the hazel-tree,

known to the Moors as the —

Ayn-ad-dama fountain of tears. This fountain, as well as
that of Alfacar, is frequently mentioned by Moorish authors, who attribute to it many
virtues ;
people came from Morocco and all parts of Africa expressly to drink its waters.
Andrea Navagiero says that at the time of his visit to Granada, in 1524, the Moors of
Albayzin would only drink the water of the fountain Alfacar.
Here are a great many houses falling into ruin, and the once beautiful gardens, but
now abandoned, tell too plainly that the descendants of the Moors, who cultivated the

soil so sedulously, are rapidly disappearing. The Spaniards who are replacing them, both
 ;

1 68 SPAIN.

in Granada and througliout the entire province, are not an industrious race ;
tliey prefer

the recreation of fighting to tilling the and many go to seek fortune in the Indies.
soil,

Granada, therefore, although not so populous as it was when under the Moors, is never-
most populous district in Spain. The Venetian traveller
theless, at the present time, the

noticed the rapid decline of Granada what would he say if he could see the ancient
:

capital of the Moors at the present day, with hardly anything to

boast save its ancient

traditions ? Its population, which was nearly 500,000, is now, at the most, 70,000. Its

glorious suburbs are now taken up by a few scattered families and their domesticated

pigs, which they fatten with the fruits of the cactus, higos chiimbos. Once we were the
witnesses of a serai-comic, semi-tragic scene : a fond mother was defending her offspring
from the attack of a matronly porker; the children were attempting to carry a tender
young nursling from the parental care. Dord did not miss turning the incident to profitable
account.
We Granada by following the banks of the Darro.
re-entered This river, which

flows like a torrent, takes its rise in the Sierra Nevada, and, before entering the city,
waters the fertile valley called Axarix by the Moors, but which now bears the Spanish
name Vol Paraiso, the Valley of Paradise. It is said that its waters have the unromantic
virtue of healing the diseases of cattle. As to the gold dust of the Darro sands, Bermudez
de Pedraza informs us, that during the visit of Charles V. to Granada in 1526, the
municipality made a golden crown which was offered to the Empress Isabella. The same
authority speaks of the vases made in his time from the clay of the Darro, and affirms
that gold might be seen sparkling in the clay, and that a vase sold for two maravedis
contained more than a cuartillo of the precious metal, but that the cost of extracting the
gold would exceed the profit to be obtained by the process. After watering the Carrera
del Darro, a charming promenade overlooking the hill of the Alhambra, this celebrated
stream traverses the Plaza Nueva, and flows beneath a lofty bridge which the Padre
Echeverria proudly sets down as the flnest in Europe, and indeed in the whole world.
The Darro overflows at certain seasons, and more than once it has threatened to
destroy the Plaza Nueva and the Zacatin.
Entering the Zacatin we are now in the heart of the old Moorish town. It was
formerly the great business thoroughfare, and even nowadays hundreds of merchants
carry on their trade in the narrow shops, which can hardly have changed since the time
of Boabdil. Leaving this street and entering the Bibrambla,, we soon find ourselves in
front of the Cathedral. The fagade dates from the latter half of the sixteenth century ;

though bastard in style, it is not devoid of a certain grandeur. The interior is spacious,
and the enormous pillars supporting the majestic roof are not without effect. We
remarked a very singulax inscription on several of these pillars, commencing with the
words Kadie pasee con mugeres, that is to say, no one may walk about with women
the remainder menaces with excommunication, and a fine of forty rials (more than eight
shillings), those who loiter in groups, and talk during the service. The decree was,
without doubt, fulminated by the metropolitan chapter ; if, at any rate, we may credit this
passage of Madame d'Aulnoy : "When mass was finished, the gallants ranged themselves
around the basin of holy-water ; here also the ladies loved to congregate in order to receive
holy-water, and flattering phrases from the lips of their admirers. But the Papal nuncio
has forbidden the men, under pain of excommunication, to present holy-water to
ladies."

Some very rich chapels, stained-glass windows, and grand organs, are all that remain
 To face page i68.
BANKS OF THE DAKEO.
 THE CATHEDEAL OF GRANADA. 171

to be noticed, with the exception of a number of works of Alonzo Cano, a nature painter
and sculptor. His works are not numerous, neither do they equal those of the Museum
of Madnd. Amongst the
sculptures we noticed two beautiful Virgins, and some busts
lu wood, unfortunately coated with paint, like most of the statues to be seen in the
Spanish churches. Alonzo Cano had a rather troubled life, but that did not prevent him
from becoming resident canon, and, in spite of the opposition of the Chapter of Granada,
he held this post for sixteen years.
The chief interest in the catljedral lies in the Capilla real, constructed during the
reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, and although it has its separate clergy, it is nevertheless
connected with the church. The Chapel Eoyal is a rich and tasteful specimen of the
Gothic architecture of the fifteenth century; it is full of memorials of the Catholic
sovereigns, who are represented kneeling on the right and left of the grand altar. We
remarked above the altar four interesting bas-reliefs in wood, contemporary with the
reduction of Granada; they are attributed to a Burgundian sculptor, named Vigarny.
One of the bas-reliefs represented Ferdinand and Isabella, on horseback, followed by their
foot-guards armed with scythes and spears; on the other, King Boabdil was seen, — he
had dismounted from his horse and was tendering his submission. Beneath we noticed
the Alhambra, with its crenated towers, and the Moorish captives walking two and two
with their hands bound over their breasts ; the two other subjects represented were
the conversion and baptism of the vanquished. These scenes recalled the words of
Cardinal Ximenes :
" If we cannot conduct the Moors by gentleness into the right
way, it becomes our duty to push tliem." An eye-witness, Andrea Navagiero, tells us what
these conversions were. " The Moors," he says, " speak their ancient tongue. They
are Christians perforce, and the priests do not care to instruct them in the things of the
faith, finding it to their advantage to them alone outwardly they are Christians, but
let ;

in tlieir hearts they are Moors." Running round the walls of the Cajpilla real there is
an inscription in fine Gothic characters, in praise of the Catholic sovereigns, Don
Fernando and Dona Ysabel, " who conquered this kingdom of Granada and reduced it

to our faith .... Destroying heresy, they drove the Moors and the Jews from their
kingdom and reformed the religion."
The reja, an immense grating of ornamentally wrought iron, partly gilded, is one of
the finest in Spain, and bears the signature of Maestre Bartolome and the date 1522. In
this chapel we find the tombs of Philip the Fine and Jane the Foolish, reposing by the
side of Ferdinand and The beauty of the work of these monuments equals the
Isabelle.

finest of this kind at Dijon, Bruges, or Burgos, and is executed in the richest and best
style of the Renaissance, exquisitely cut into the marble, whose dazzling whiteness has
toned and mellowed with age. At the four corners of the royal tomb are seated doctors of

the Church, while the twelve Apostles take an inferior place on the sides. On the top
of the monument are the statues of the king and queen grasping the sceptre and the
sword, united even in death ; the figures wear an air of calm and majestic repose.
In the year 1506, a French contemporary writer characterises Queen Isabella as the
most triumphant and truly glorious woman, who assisted with her own hands in the

conquest of the kingdom of Granada.

Leaving the cathedral, we passed through the place de las Pasiegas, remarkable only

for its clumsy edifice, the Falacio del Arzobispo ; the great bell of the cathedral had just

runo- out three o'clock in sonorous tones. It was at this hour, January 2nd, 1492, that the
Moors surrendered the city into the hands of the Spaniards, when the Catholic sovereigns,
172 SPAIN.

who were awaiting the signal on the banks of tlie Genii, saw their standard floating over

the summit of the Torre de la Vela, and with their whole army fell on their knees to thank
God for victory. Since that day, the Flegaria, the greatest bell of the cathedral, has
always sounded the eventful hour, and if at that moment one recites three prayers, and an
equal number of Aves, this piety gains a plenary indulgence —a reward granted, at the
request of Queen Isabella, by Pope Innocent VIII.
The place of the las Pasiegas adjoins that of the Bibrarabla, and thus forms a huge
parallelogram surrounded by houses, painted every colour of the rainbow, and upon which
dilapidated balconies depend for their uncertain support ; these residences replace the

Moorish palaces, of which there is no trace. At the time of Granada's splendour it was
the scene of jousts, tournaments, and of the most brilliant fStes, and from the delicately-
sculptured miradores hung draperies of velvet and cloth of gold, in place of the linen
rags tliat now dangle and dry in the sun.

The Moorish romances are full of accounts of these glorious scenes, when the Zegris,
fired by the flashing glances of the Sultanas, fought against the courage and skill of the
Abencerragcs. "One evening the brave Muga, at the head of thirty valiant cavaliers,
arrived on the Vivarrambla. Summoned to a tournament by his king, he wore the blue,
white, and yellow dress, and red plumes of the Abencerragcs." The Zegris were attired in
green and gold, spangled with crescents of silver. All the town hrid assembled to witness
the f^te. In the place of honour sat the Queen, robed in rich brocade, ablaze with gems ;

her head was adorned with a red rose of marvellous execution, and in the centre of this
rose shone a single carbuncle, which alone might ransom a city. Seated on one side
were the dark Galina, the beautiful Fatima, and the divine Zayda; but on the other
sat the peerless Liudaraja, dressed in silver tulle and azure damask.
The Zegris soon appeared, mounted on superb bay horses ; then followed, marching
four abreast, the Gomeles, Magas, Gazules, the Alabezes and other noble families of
Granada. The f^te was inaugurated by a bull-fight. The Abencerrages and the Zegris
displayed their jealous rivalry by their rash courage ; the Alcade Alabez, attracting the bull
to the front of the balcony where the beautiful Cohayda was seated, seized the brute by
the horns and forced it to bow its head before her. Again, the valiant Albayaldos, not to
be outdone, when passing before a mirador, where another lady was seated, compelled his
horse to fall on its knees in adoration.
After the capitulation of Granada, the Bibrambla ceased to be the theatre of these
splendid f^tes nevertheless it was chosen as the site of the celebrated auto de
;
of the fe
Arabic books, ordered by Cardinal Ximenes. This ornament of the Catholic faith,
not content with persecuting the Moors on account of their religion,
and in defiance of the
clause in the deed of capitulation which granted to them
the free exercise of their creed,
proceeded to collect all the Arabic manuscripts he could seize
in the town, had them
brought to the Bibrambla, where a Moorish convert
had the melancholy honour assigned
to him of consuming them by fire. The number of books thus destroyed was about
a million the number has no doubt been exaggerated
;
by the panegyrists of the Cardinal,
who thought to exalt his glory by giving greater
importance to this act of vandalism.
Only three hundred volumes were saved from the fire
these were conveyed to the library ;

of AlcaM de Henares. It is said that amongst the works

consigned to the flames, many
were marvels of painting and caligraphy; others
were valuable, if on no other account,
simply for their binding, which was adorned
with mother-of-pearl, pearls, and exquisite
embroideries, or consisted of the leather which
the Moors were so skilful in ornamenting.
TOMB OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA IN THE CATHEDEAL OF GEANADA. To face 'page 1 72.
 CONVENTS AND CHUECHES OF GEANADA. 175.

At one of the angles of tlie Pescaderia, or fiali market, we pass beneath the Arco
de las Orejas (the Ear Arcade), into the Calle de los Cuchillos (Street of Knives). The
popular tradition is that near this place on the 25th of July 1621, on the occasion of cele-
brating a royal proclamation, one of the houses overcrowded with the curious suddenly
gave way, carrying with it iu its fall more than two hundred persons, amongst whom
were many richly bejewelled ladies. A gang of thieves, profiting by the disorder, and
finding it occupied time to extract the eardrops, cut off the ears of the owners; hence
the names of the arch and of the adjoining street. Another street is called Calle de los
Cuchillos, because formerly the alguaciles placed all the poniards there which were taken
from assassins.

To conclude this nomenclature of odd places, we must cite a neighbouring street,

which might pair with the preceding one, the Calle de las Cucharas, street of Spoons ; and,
lastly, a little place, the Placeta de los Lobos, place of the Wolves, so named because there the
heads of all the wolves slain in the environs of Granada were collected, and the successful
hunters were paid four ducats for each of them. The Alcaiceria., not far from the Bibrambla,
was formerly one of the richest markets in the Peninsula, where the bulk of the far-famed
silk of Granada was brought for sale. It is a sort of bazaar, made up of a multitude
of small narrow streets, the entrances to which were closed by chains of iron.
Granada boasts a Museo de pinturas, but apart from one or two works of the early
Spanish school, the collection is one of the poorest we have ever seen. There are, however,
six exquisite enamels of Limoges, which formerly belonged to the convent of San Geronimo,
where the famed Gonzalvo de Cordova was interred ; it is even said that he gave them
to the convent. These beautiful enamels, attributed to Jehan Penicault, were stolen about
ten years ago ; but happily have reappeared in the Museum.
Among the ancient convents of Granada, there are one or two deserving of notice.
Tlie chapel of the Ave Maria, where the remains of the celebrated Hernan Perez del Pulgar
repose, M de las Hazanas, "he of the exploits;" this brings to mind one of his daring

feats. Finding himself at Alhama during the siege of Granada, he not only made a vow
to the Virgin to enter the town, and fix a flambeau and an Ave Maria, to the walls of the

great mosque, but actually succeeded in his rash project. His tomb is between the
cathedral and chapel royal, where the Catholic sovereigns are interred ; this has given
rise to the well-known proverb, Como Pulgar, ni dentro ni fuera, "Like Pulgar, neither
inside nor outside."
The Charterhouse, or Cartuia, stands on a highly picturesque site not far from the
town, and from which one obtains a view of the entire expanse of the Vega. The interior

is remarkable for its lavish ornamentation, its doors of ebony set with shells and mother-
of-pearl, and marble decorations of the richest order. We were shown some Moorish ruins
in the garden, probably the remains of an ancient palace, which, like many others, had
been destroyed to make way for the convent.
The church of San Juan de Dios is only remarkable for its liberal display of the most
commonplace decorations so much in vogue in Spain, about the end of the seventeenth

century, and known as churrigueresco, from the name of the architect Churrigucra. It is

a broad caricature of what we term rococo, or rock-work style.

The church of Las Angustias, dedicated to Our Lady of Grief, for whom the

Granadians have a special veneration, partakes of the same characteristics, and has given
its name to one of the fashionable promenades of the town, the Carrera de las Angustias,

where on fine evenings one may observe the elite of the society of Granada.
N
 —

176 SPAIN.

The greater number of tlie ladies wear the mautilla, fortunately not yet dethroned by
the Parisian hat. This graceful mantilla, accompanied by a crimsou flower, forms a
natural head-dress, which may defy all the art of all the milliners of the other side of the

Pyrenees. Tlie women of Granada display a beauty more severe than that of other
natives of Andalucia, such as the Cadiz people and Sevillians, who, while they are

less majestic, are more coquettish and vivacious.

At the side of this promenade are the principal cafes and the theatre, an extremely
simple edifice, where dramas, comedies, and zarzuelas or comic operas, are performed
without prejudice to the baile nacional.
On the Plaza Bailen, contiguous to the Campillo, there is a column erected to the

Spanish actor Maiquez, and another, the expiatory monument set up to the memory of the

unfortunate Mariana Pineda. This lady, of noble birth and rare beautj', was condemned
to death in May 1831, and ascended the scaffold to suffer the punishment of the garrote.

Her crime was the possession of a constitutional flag, found in her house ; nevertheless, she
was believed to be innocent, and it is said that her denouncer —a disappointed suitor
had treacherously concealed the flag, and thus effected her death.
Nothing of its kind can surpass the scene from the Carrera de las Angustias ; above
the high wall of verdure, formed by the trees of the Salon, rise the snowy heights of the
Sierra Nevada. Towards evening the summits of the great mountains are clothed in the
most delicafe and varied colours. Their icy mantle, lit by the rays of the setting sun,
gleams with the tender hues of mother-of-pearl and opal, while the mazy windings in
shadow are steeped in a blue softer and purer than the finest sapphire.
Evening after evening we gazed upon this glorious spectacle of ever-changing hues
and lights and shadows, until the sun, as if lingering to catch the fading glory, slowly
Avithdrew its last long rays, and blotted out the scene.
Ttie Salon, next to the Carrera, is the longest and the most beautiful promenade of
the city; it is indeed one of the finest in Spain. A broad avenue, terminated at each end
by a fountain, and shaded by
trees, whose great intertwining branches remind one of the

vaulted roof of some vast cathedral, where the air perfumed with the breath of myrtle and
jasmine, renders it one of the most deliglitful resorts in Granada.
The more modest than the Darro, flows calmly by the edge of the Salon over
Genii,
a pebbly bed, and, it is said, is even content to wash the silver dust of its sands. The
Genii, descending from its distant source in the Sierra Nevada, at length
receives the
waters of the Darro, and swelled by other affluents flows across the Vega,
where its
fertilising influence has been com[)ared to that of the Nile.
was on the bridge of the Genii that Boabdil met Ferdinand and Isabella, when,
It

accompanied by an escort of fifty faithful followers, he left' his palace for

the last time.
According to the accounts of Peter Martyr and of Mendoza, when
the fallen King
descried the Cliristian sovereigns he would have descended
from his horse to kiss the
hand of the conquerors, but Ferdinand, hastening to prevent this act
of homage, embraced
him. Boabdil then delivered up the keys of the Alhambra, saying, "
They befong to thee,
powerful and exalted Prince since it is thus ordained by
;
Allah, use thy victory
"
with clemency and moderation !

A marked difference exists

between this and the recital of Arab authors; they assert
that Boabdil was compelled to dismount, and kiss
the hand of the King of Spain, who
addressed him in no soothing terms. It is hard to credit such a lack of generosity
towards a noble but fallen foe, yet said that
it is Ferdinand in his treatment of the
THE GROTTOES OF THE GIPSIES AT SACRO-MONTE. To face page 176.
 THE ANTEQUERUELA AND THE ALBAYZIN. 179

vanquished showed neither clemency nor moderation all the clauses of capitulation were ;

violated one after another, and one historian has it, that even some of
the terms were
broken before the ink was dry.
After visiting the Alhambra and the fashionable quarter of the town, we must now run
over the suburbs, and that portion inhabited by the people who form by no means the
least interesting part of the population. Antequeruela derives its name from the fact of its
having afforded shelter to the fugitives who were driven out of Antequera. The Alhayzin,
a still more populous district, served at one time as a refuge to the Moors of Baeza, when
their town fell into the hands of the Christians. This suburb, built on a hill in front of
the Alhambra, is the quarter of Granada which still preserves its ancient aspect, as much
on account of population as on account of the few Moorish buildings that escaped the
its

general destruction of the old town. One of the most remarkable of these is the Casa del
Chapiz, on the hill of the same name. It is entered through a small court, where we
noticed a window divided by a slender column, from which there is a view of the hill
of the Alhambra. 'i'his building still preserves traces of ancient Moorish decoration in
marble, stucco, and curious carvings in wood. Another Moorish villa, not less remarkable,
is the Cuarto real —that is to say, the Eoyal apartment — where we came across some rare
specimens of azulejos inlaid with metal; we throw this out for the benefit of the
amateur collectors, who roam about everywhere, and whose number is increasing to an
alarming extent.
Eeturuing to the Albayzin we will look in at the ancient Moorish baths, which have
—
been transformed into a wash-house the Lavadero de Santa Ines. 'J'hese ancient public
baths are quite different from those of the Alhambra ; although their ornaments have nearly
all gone, still enough remains to give one a tolerable idea of what they were during the
time of the Mussulman dominion. Above all, the quaint columns are still left to carry. us
back to the tenth or eleventh century. In the centre of the chief apartment there is

the great pool or bath of the ancients, where the modern housewives of the Albayza
congregate to clean their linen.
In the walls we observed spaces designed for couches, to which the bathers retired.
These places were probably heated by means of hot-water pipes. At the extremity there
is a patio, or garden, where the patrons of the baths might breathe the pure air. The
plan of the whole building reminds one of the hot baths of the Romans : there is the
apodyterium in the first room, and in the next the tepidarium, or drying-place.
An edict of Philip II. having prohibited the Moors from using their baths, they
charged a venerable chief to carry their complaint before the president of the Audiencia
of G-ranada. This curious address has been preserved :
— " Can any one affirm that the
baths are a religious institution ? Certainly not, for most of those who frequent the baths
are Christians. These baths are a public convenience, and the receptacles of filth ; there-
fore they cannot serve for Mussulman rites, for these require solitude and purity. Do
they say that men and women meet there ? It is false ; the men and the women have
separate rooms. Baths were invented for the cleansing of the body, and they have been
adopted in all countries; and if they were prohibited in Castille, it was because they
washed out the courage and strength of the fighting-men. But the men of Granada are not

warriors, and our women aspire not to be strong, but clean." Notwithstanding all this,

the edict was maintained, and the Moors were deprived of their baths.
The Albayzin, now so ruinous and miserable, was, at the time of the Moors, one of

the most flourishing quarters of Granada ; it was there that the beautiful fabrics, so much
 ,8o SPAIN.

prized by travellers, were woven. It was here, too, tbat the first insurrection of tbe

Moriscos, or little Moors, as they were contemptuously called by the Spaniards, broke out.
The Sacro-Monte, which adjoins the Albayzin, is still well worthy of a visit. The bones
of certain martyrs were supposed to have been found there, hence its name. It is now
mainly taken up by the gipsies of Granada, gitanos, as they are called, and is, properly

speaking, a separate town, having its own particular natives, customs, and language.

Although the Sacro-Monte is densely populated, yet there are very few houses, as the
gipsies live, many of them, in caves on the hillside. These dens are sometimes protected
by a sort of court in front ; but the greater number are quite destitute of any kind of
fence, as the wretched inmates own nothing worth defending.
Upon entering" one of these dwellings we discovered a single apartment with white-
washed walls, and having a hole pierced through the roof to serve as a smoke vent. In
such places, as many as ten members of a family are stowed pell-mell. The furniture
consists of a number of doubtful-looking stools, a white deal table, and in well-furnished
caves a pallet ; but the gijDsies for the most part sleep on the ground.
The children, stark naked, and as black as little negroes, crawl about in the midst of
famishing poultry and filthy domestic pigs. Some of the gipsies are blacksmiths, and have
their forges built in the side of the hill. Thus, when one sees them working after dark,
their bronzed bodies lit by the red flare of their furnaces, one is reminded of the
celebrated picture of Velasquez, the Forges of Vulcan. At one time these gipsy workers
in iron were put down by law but they are an irrepressible race, for the old trade
;

cropped up again and has now been carried on with unabated vigour for generations.
The manufacture of cutlery must have been considered as very dangerous in the hands of
people who were constantly accused of tlie foulest crimes, stealing children and selling
them as slaves to the Moors of Barbary, uniting in bands to attack and plunder towns and
villages, highway robbery ; and the black list was not deemed complete until these
unfortunate and mysterious fugitives had been set down as anthropophages. Juan de
Quinones informs us in his Discurso contra los gitanos, printed at Madrid in 1631, that
a certain judge of Zaraicejo, named Martin Fajardo, had arrested in 1629 four suspected
gipsies whom he caused to be tortured. They confessed to having killed a woman in the
forest of Gamas, and then to their having eaten her ; they further admitted breakfasting
off a pilgrim and dining off' a fat Franciscan monk.
The iron trade is not the only one to which the gipsies have turned their attention ;

they, many of them, pursue the chalaneria business,— that word comprehends all that is

meant in commerce, exchange and jockeying of horses.

They are the most astute horsedealers in the world, and have
all sorts of secret
preparations which they administer to animals to produce extraordinary vivacity in any
poor screw they want to sell, or profitable languor in a sound horse they want to purchase.
They have a sickening drug called the drao, which they throw slily into a horse's mouth
in order that they may be employed to eff"ect its cure. They are also said to have the
power of charming animals by means of magic words. Mr. George Borrow, who spent
many years among the gipsies, relates a curious adventure he witnessed, and of which he
says it would be difficult to offer any explanation.
It happened a fair where more than three hundred horses were collected.
at The
gipsies appeared, and soon the animals, seized with a panic fear, set to kicking, neighing,
and moaning, striving to escape in all directions ; some more furious than others, seemed as
if possessed by devils, convulsively striking their hoofs together, while their
manes stood
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 THE GIPSIES OF GRANADA. 183

on end like the bristles of a wild boar.

Most of the riders were thrown to the ground,
others experienced the greatest difficulty in keeping their seats.
As soon as the panic
ceased —
and it terminated as suddenly as it commenced— the gipsies were accused of being
the authors of the disorder. They were reproached with bewitching the horses in
order to have an opportunity of stealing them in the midst of the confusion
and alarm, and
they were ruthlessly driven forth from the market-place.
The gipsies of Granada, not excepting the Napolitans, are the greatest gesticulators
in
the world ;
they possess a mobility of countenance wonderful to behold. They are also

THE GIPSY EICO.

said to be trained in the art of stealing from their earliest years, but not the art of violent
theft; rather that which requires quick and silent manipulation of the fingers. It is,

however, due to their honour, to notice that there are some honest men among them.
One day when we were in the house of a gipsy named Rico, who had a frank and
prepossessing face, one of us happened to drop a few pieces of silver, which the gipsy
picked up and faithfully returned. Dord, as a souvenir of this honest act, requested Rico
to sit for a moment, and he rewarded his model with a generosity which seemed to

touch him greatly.

 ^^^^^-
184

The gipsies are slender cand supple, but they walk with a hip-shot motion peculiar to

Some of the women are remarkably beautiful; they have great lustrous, piercing
them.
eyes, jet-black hair, and teeth white as ivory. They are great fortune-tellers, reading the

secrets of the future from the lines of the hand.

An author of the sixteenth century,
" Gente perdida y vagamunda, wquieta, enganadora y
Covarrubias describes them thus
—
:

embustidora; dicen la hiena ventura por las rayas de las manos" "A lost, vagabond,
deceitful, lying race ; they tell fortunes by means of the lines on the hands."

After fortune-telling, dancing is the ai-t in \Yhich they display the greatest skill.

No ought to quit Granada without first having seen the gipsies dance. It is
strano-er

customary for them to go to the hotel under the direction of a captain, or master of the
ballet, armar el baile. But their dances, toned down to the taste of strangers, have lost
much of their native wildness. As for ourselves we simply set to work, and recruited

dancers and guitarreros in Sacro-Monte ; soon the dance was arranged, the improvised
dancers, superbly but scantily dressed in thin miserable rags, were ready and cracking

their castanets impatiently, while awaiting the guitars and the panderetas that were being
brought from the neighbouring dens. At length the music throbbed from beneath the

players' fingers, and accompanied the strangest melodies. Au old crone, the perfect picture

of a sorceress, was seated beneath a wall on which hung the dried skin of a huge bat, an
accessory which gave a weird finish to her satanic mien. Armed with a great ^anc^ero, its

brown skin resounded beneath her bony fingers. "Anda vieja ! anda revieja ! !
" — " Go it, old
woman "
woman I go it again, old ! ! cried the dancers to excite the crone, until the Basque
tambourine throbbed its loudest under the thumps of its vigorous assailant. A tall young
girl, of admirable figure, called la Pelra, tripped out, and commenced to dance tbe
zorongo. With wonderful pliancy and grace indeed, her feet touched the rough, stony
ground as lightly as if it had been a silken carpet ; the guitars quickened the movement,
and cries of " Juy ! ole ! ole ! aha ! " sounded from all parts, accompanied by enthusiastic
applause and palmeados, or clapping of hands. While looking at the graceful dancer, we
thought of the Romances hurlescos of Gongora., where the poet depicts a spirited gipsy
attracted by the sound of the pandero of the cruzades, " qui sont une bonne monnaie
" —
" Al son de un pandero
Que & su gusto suena,
Deshace cruzados.
Que es buena moneda."

The dancer, intoxicated by success, redoubled her efforts, and soon her long tresses,
straying from their bands, floated in charming disorder over her bronze shoulders. A
young gallant stepped before the Pelra,
two other couples took the floor, and the excite-
ment became general, the couples joining, separating, and reuniting as the dance went on.
The dancers, fired by the applause of the gipsies and by our own, kept up with unabated
spirit, until the guitarreros, worn out by their efforts, ceased from strumming and singing,
and set to tuning the strings of their instruments. Soon, however, two little girls came in
turn, and sought to rival the grace of their elder sisters in the dance ; one of them, whose
lithe little figure would have been naked but for a few torn rags, described circles with her
arms, making her castanets resound
as she did so, while her partner, holding her petticoat
with one hand, proudly placed herself in the most jaunty positions, with head thrown
back, the limbs straight, and her left hand resting on her hip, to which she imparted
the horizontal movement called zarandeo, from its resemblance to the shaking of a sieve.
The father, a dark-visaged gipsy, plied his tambourine while the mother sat complacently
 '\''m^^mm

A GIPSY DANCINtt THE ZOKONUO. To face jmge 1 84.

 A GIPSY DANCE. 187

M-atchmg the dance. The old gipsy did not remain

inactive armed with her castanets, and
;

recalling the dim memory of her distant youth, she encouraged the little ones by tone and
gesture. The excitement was so catching that we could not resist the temptation to share
the honours of the floor. In an instant our coats were hung on the stems of a cactus, and
seizing the inevitable castanets, we rushed into the arena, with our limbs stretched, our
bodies bent, and our arms gracefully curved, ready to profit by the lesson we had just received.
Two of the ladies who had before distinguished themselves advanced as our partners, and
the ballet recommenced with redoubled vigour. But a new dancer joined us she was a ;

girl of about fifteen years of age, wearing a timid and melancholy expression. Her little
head was lost in its luxuriant tresses, her lashes shaded large black eyes that looked restless
and wild, while her naked feet and childlike hands spoke of purity of race, and might
little

have been the envy of the most aristocratic belle in Europe. She was a grave, yet
graceful dancer, and her movements, though cautious and languid, were most picturesque.
We created quite a sensation among the gii)s-ies ; indeed, our fame had spread so rapidly
that the gates had to be closed, to prevent the crowd from entering the patio. A rumour
had spread abroad that two caballeros ingleses— they took us for Englishmen — were dancing
the zarandeo like native Andalucians, an event unknown in the annals of Sacro-Monte.
When the entertainment was over, there followed, of course, a distribution of pesetas, a
coin to which the dancers of both sexes were far from being indiff'erent.
As to the morals of the race, the gipsies nre, as a rule, irreproachable ; the women,
above all, merit their reputation for chastity, in spite of a certain provoking air which
they affect, more especially in their dances. They are not generally married until they
have been betrothed a long time beforehand ; according to their law, or rather their
usage, these betrothals should last for two years. Their wedding festivals are most
brilliant : the fetes are usually prolonged for three days, during which time they sing,
dance, and drink until their resources are exhausted.
It is difiicult to say what the religion of the gipsies really is, if they have any religion
at all. They are supposed neither to believe in God, nor the Virgin, nor the saints ; but,

on the other hand, they are said to have faith in metempsychosis, and, like the Buddhists,

they are persuaded that the soul only attains absolute purity after it has passed through
an infinite number of bodies.
Such are the principal features of the customs and usages of the gipsies of Granadn,

differing in some respects from those of their brothers of, Seville, whom we shall have
occasion to notice in another part of the work.
We have now disposed of Granada, having explored not only the city and palace, but
its meanest suburb. But before leaving this region we will make the ascent of the Sierra
Nevada, as we had promised ourselves the pleasure of a close inspection of the snows
of the Picacho de Veleta, the Mont Blanc of Andalucia. This excursion was no slight
affair, for the Sierras of the province of Granada, rarely visited by tourists, have not yet
been explored and divided into regular ascents and sections, like the mountains of Switzer-
land. Professional guides there are none, they could not exist: there would be no work
for them during ten months of the year, as it is only possible to make the ascent during
the months of July and August at any other time the cold is too intense and the ground
;

treacherous. We thought our best phin would be to accompany some of the neveros,
who go to procure supplies of snow to quench the thirst of Gninada, and M'ho are perfectly
familiar with the mountain paths. M. de Beaucorps had recommended an old gipsy
to us, of whom he had taken a successful photograph, which we here reproduce. We
i88 SPAIN.

accordingly set out in search for the nevero,who turned out to be a man of about sixty years
of ao-e. After exchanging a few words we soon settled about terms he undertook to
;

conduct us to the Picacho de Veleta, and afterwards, if we so wished, to the Mulahacen,

the two highest mountains in the province, and also to procure suitable mules for the
 TV <:

r, ', r, ,
f''i\j\/.r'',i>^\/'Vi'

I
f

DANCE OF GIPSY CHILDREN AT SACRO-MONTE. To face page i88.

 THE SIEEEA NEVADA. 191

ascents. Our store of provisions consisted of the red wine of Baza, a sugared ham (jamon
en dulce), cold fowls, and a plentiful supply of " chocolat k la cannelle,"
and fruit in quantity
sufficient to ward some days the perils of hunger and thirst.
off for

One hot morning in the month of August, Ramirez, his gun at the saddle bow, came
to wake us for the journey, and in a short time our alforjas and our mantles
were placed
upon the mules, and the caravan joyfully began its march.
Soon we crossed the Ptierta de los Molinos and were in the Vega we next traversed ;

the fertile valley of the Guejar, following the course of the Genii. Granada and its hills
appeared as if seen through a gauze veil, and were gradually lost in the morning mist.
Passing through the valley of Monachil we spent a short time at the convent of San
Ger6uimo, which is now in ruins. Our gradual ascent lay through the harrancos, deep
crevices which from the plain below had the appearance of mere scratches on the side of
the mountains; as we climbed we noted the gradual change in the vegetation, the pale
olive-trees were succeeded by horse-chestnuts, with their darker foliage, and already we

could pick some alpine flowers.

The neveros pointed out to us the harranco de Guarnon, to which popular tradition
assigns the guardianship of a great pile of treasure, buried there by the Moors just
before the surrender of Granada. This tradition had gained such weight, that in
1799
the Government appointed a commissioner, who repaired to the spot with a squad of
workmen ; but after much labour had been expended and many excavations made, it was
resolved to abandon the search, on the ground that the treasure must have been carried
off, or that it existed only in tradition. Although the air was already sharp, our cattle
suffered from the heat of the sun.
After ascending the Camino de los Neveros, we reached the summit of the Ramhla
del Dornajo, the first halting-place for the day. It is needless to say that our day's work
had prepared us for a hearty meal. Seated by the side of a limpid glassy stream, the
Fuente de los Neveros, we did full honour to our substantial fare, and one of our hotas of red
wine soon collapsed ; the fortunate donkey, provision bearer for the expedition, must have
felt its load considerably lightened. After a delicious siesta, we again started with renewed
energy, determined to reach the Panderon by daylight, and there pass the night. The
ascent became more difficult, but the splendour of the spectacle prevented our feeling
fatigued. From time to time we perceived vultures and eagles floating as if motionless
above our heads, their fallow plumage standing out against the snowclad heights or violet-

grey rocks. As the sun declined, the vast plain beneath our feet was mantled with a glow
of the warmest tints, and a golden vapour shrouded the mountains on all sides ; arrived
at last at the platform of the Panderon, we were enabled for a few minutes longer to linger
over the sublime spectacle, and to watch the sun disappearing behind the serranias of
Eonda.
Collecting some dead branches, we lighted a fire, which proved to be of great service,

as we were almost benumbed by the cold. Seated around the improvised hearth, we
made a second breach in our stores, and soon retired to our apartment, which consisted

of a cabin, built by the pastores and the neveros, used by them as a shelter, where they are
compelled to pass the night in their mountain solitudes. to take It was a wise precaution
our Valencian mantles with us, as the cold reminded one of the month of January, and
our hut was so badly constructed, that in going to sleep we could study astronomy
through the wide spaces in the roof.

Next morning we started long before the first gleam of daylight had shot across
192 SPAIN.

the peaks, being anxious to wituess sunrise from tlie Ficacho de Veleta. It was not long
before we perceived the first snows in immense sheets, deposited in the hollows of the

rocks ; soon they became more abundant. We were in the region of the ventisqueros,

the region of squalls. These great masses of snow, which the hottest sun is never able
to melt, supply Granada and the principal towns of the province with cool beverages
during summer, and the neveros with a revenue regulated by the rise and fall of tempera-
ture in the plains. When we arrived at the highest accessible platform, it was quite light,
*
but the sun's disc was still hidden from our sight, behind the snowy cone of the Mulahacen;
at last he rose radiantly above the eternal snows, and lit up the vast landscape spread
out beneath our gaze. There is perhaps not in Europe a scene to be compared to the one
from the summit of the Sierra Nevada : on the north rise the sierras of Baza and Segura,
on the west, those of the Tejeda and Ronda, the Sierra Morena justifying its name, and
resting its dark indentations against the horizon. The chain of Gador, and part of
the wild Alpujarra, rose at our feet in the south, and on the distant horizon, across
the Mediterranean, we could descry, through a semi-opaque veil of mist, the mountains
on the coast of Africa.

* According to Spanish geographj', the height of the Mulahacen is 3652 metres, and that of the Picacho de
Veleta 3560 metres, above sea-level.

NEVERO OF THE SIEKRA NEVADA.

THE PUEBTO DE ARENAS—KOUTE FKOM GKANADA TO JAEN. To face page 192.
 VIEW OF LANJARON IN THE ALPUJAKRAS.

CHAPTEE X.

From Granada Jaen— The Javalcuz and the Pandera— Jaen ; the Santo iJosfro—Excursion to the Alpujana—
to
Alhendin ; Ultimo Siispiro del Mora— The Valley of Lecrin— Padul— The Venta de los Mosquitos—Biircal—
el
Atrocities of the Moorish War —
Fernando del Valor and Ahen-Humeya —
Ginez Perez de Hita, soldier and
— — —
historian Lanjaron Ujijar— The Barranco de Poqneria Aben Abu— The Sierra de Gador The Rio Verde —
—
Berja Almeria ; the Sacro Catino— The Moor Tuzani— Adra and Motril ; tropical vegetation— Salobrena and the
— — —
goddess Salambo Almunecar The canas dulces and the sugar mills Velez-Malaga Garcilaso and the Veia—
Malaga— The malaguenas — The —Andalucian fencing
Cathedral ;
puiial and navaja —The javeque, the desjarretazo,
the plumada, the floretazo, the corrida, etc.— The molinete, etc. ; lanzar la navaja — Types of Malaguenos ; the
charran ; the arriero and the ounce of gold— The harateros.

The' route from Granada to Jaen, one of the most picturesque in Spain, is very hilly. On
quitting the town we pass, on the right and left of the road, a number of ancient
alquerias, or farmhouses, shaded by fig-trees, and hedged around with cactus and aloes.
Soon these scattered habitations are left in the rear, and we enter a dry, desolate region
where foliage could only be seen in the valleys, or marking the course of some fertilisino-

stream.
Following the zigzag of the road through hill and dale, night was falling as we
traversed the spurs of the high Sierra de Martos, one of the most rugged mountains of
Andalucia. was with the greatest difficulty that our vehicle climbed the seemingly
It

interminable steeps, although most of the passengers had dismounted, and were toiling up
the heights on foot.
An amicable exchange of cigars had won for us the good favour of the mayoral, who
pointed out the boundary dividing the province of Granada from that of Jaen, which we
had just entered. " In my young days," said the mayoral, " it would not have been
196 SPAIN.

prudent to cross the Sierra at this late hour; one might have encountered a
band of
"
highwaymen, perhaps those imder the chief Ojitos but now ; !

The mayoral meant to say that the police were more vigilant, and probably in his
inmost heart sighed for the good old times It is impossible to !
tell, but it seemed to us

that he broke off abruptly with something like a sigh of regret ; it is at any rate certain

that the ancient bandit is destined to remain one of the popular heroes of Andalucia. The
deserted gorges of these mountains are undoubtedly well fitted for the fierce raids of these
rufiians ; on one side of the path was a ravine, which in the darkness appeared to be
of

fathomless depth, while on the other, the rocks rose like gigantic obelisks above our heads.
At some parts of the route, immense detached masses seemed as if arrested in their
downward course by some giant hand. The flare from the reflection of the diligence lit up
the sharp prominences in the rocks, casting forth weird forms of ever-changing shadows,
and causing the harness of our long train of mules to sparkle strangely, the nearest in full
light, the others gradually passing into shadow, while. the sky, black and stormy, was lit

here and there by a few dim stars.

Arriving at Jaen before daybreak, we found the streets deserted and silent. Not
wholly deserted, for groups of sleepers were scattered here and there over the pavement,
like large brown stains. Enveloped in their mantles, these followers of Diogenes had
passed the night under the starry sky, with the unyielding stones for their beds, and their
arms for their pillows. Some of them, awakened by the noise of the diligence, suddenly

raised their heads, which as suddenly disappeared again beneath the folds of their mantles.
This custom of sleeping in the open air, so common in Andalucia, is easily explained by the
genial mildness of the climate, and by the absolute indifference of the natives in matters
of comfort. This is what the mayoral jokiugly called sleeping at the moon's inn, al parador
de la luna. Nevertheless, one group of slumberers, seeing that the coach was well filled

with passengers, had risen and taken up their quarters on the poyo, or stone seat of the
parador where the diligence stopped ; they consisted of a family, made up of father, mother,
and four children. The father was blind, and his bronzed complexion imparted a strange
expression to his white eyes. " Toma, hermano," said we, casting a few cuartos into his hat,
for in Spain, this country of true equality, one bestows the title of brothers
on the beggars.
Jaen stands at the foot of heights, crowned with old walls as red and ruinous as those
of the Alhambra, and we have rarely seen ruins so burdened with thick vegetation,
resembling indeed the hanging gardens of Babylon. From these ramparts we obtain
a commanding view of the town, above
which rises the imposing mass of the cathedral,
and in the distance, the mountains of Javalcuz and the Pandera, which, when capped with
clouds, serve, like Parapanda, as a barometer to herald coming rain, and, like Parapanda,

they have given rise to the popular proverb :

"Cuando Javalcuz
Tiene capuz
Y la Pandera montera,
Llover4 aunque Dios no quiera."

Spain, above all others, is the land of proverbs ; it has them of all sorts, for places
as well as persons ; indeed, there
is hardly a town or a province without its proverb. Thus
the province of Jaen named La Galicia de Andalucia (the Galicia of Andalucia) in effect
is ;

the Jaetanos resemble in many respects the Gallegos, who are the Avergnains of Spain.
Jaen was formerly the key of Andalucia, and excited the envy of the kings of
A RELAY AT JABN. To face page 196.
 JAEN. 199

Granada, who tried in vain to become its masters. It is a genuine type of a town of the
Middle Ages, with its tranquil deserted streets, some of which, scarcely ever penetrated
by the sun's rays, are thickly overgrown with grass. The cathedral, which loses by close
inspection, has been erected on the ruins of a mosque, like many other churches in Spain.
Its imposing interior is in the frightful style churrigueresque, which at the commencement
of last century spread its ravages over Andalucia. But it is not without interest, and
contains a relic called the Holy Face, el Santo Rostro, or simply el Santo.
The Santo Rostro, according to tradition, is the linen with which a holy woman wiped
the face of our Saviour when on Calvary, and the towel has retained the impress of his
features. Others say that it is that part of the winding-sheet in which our Saviour's face
was swathed ;
but many churches share the honour of guarding this precious relic. Be that
as it may, the relic of Jaen is so venerated that the peasants wear a copy of it round
the neck as a scapular. The holy picture is unveiled to the public gaze thrice a year;
it is set in gold, ornamented with gems of great price, and preserved
in a case, placed
on the altar of the Capilla Mayor. Following the tradition, the Santo Rostro was taken
to Eome more than five hundred years ago by Saint Eufrasio, patron of the town,

who made a journey from the Eternal City to Jaen, mounted on the shoulders of the
devil, a choice of coiiveyance spoken of by many writers of the country. The sacristan
assured us that Saint Ferdinand took the Santo Rostro with him in all his warlike
expeditions, accompanied by a Virgin he showed us, called la Antigua. It is necessary
to note, in that in numerous other churches of Andalucia, we were called
passing,
to gaze upon statues of the Virgin in wood or ivory, carried by the holy warrior during
his campaigns, so that he must have always fought accompanied by a perfect ambulatory
museum.
Eeturning to Granada from Jaen, we sought the repose necessary to prepare us for
our projected excursion to the Alpujarra. Our old friend the nevei'o introduced us to his
comrade, Manuel Eojas, called Jigochumbo, an Andalucian name, derived without doubt
from the fact that the colour of his skin resembled cactus fruit. He was recommended to
us as a good fellow, and it was agreed that he should conduct us across the wildest part
of Spain, from Granada to Alhendin.
In order to escape the midday heat, we were up early and quitted Granada at day-
break,, turning our heads from time to time to bid adieu to the Alhambra, and to the
Torres Bermejas, gilded by the first rays of morning. After one or two hours' march, we
reached a little town, Alhendin, that rose from the summit of a huge rock, like the advanced
guard of the Alpujarra, where the unhappy Boabdil, after relinquishing his kingdom,
when on his way to the desolate region which had been assigned to him as a fief by his
conquerors, halted to have a last look at Granada. We were conducted to the spot where
the Moorish king turned his horse, and gazing on the terrestrial paradise from which he
was driven, exclaimed " Allah akhbar !
" — " God is great I
" But his vizier said, " Eeflect,

king ;
great misfortunes, when borne with and courage, render men famous
fortitude
in history." "Alas!" replied Boabdil, "never were adversities equal to mine;" and a
torrent of tears flowed from his eyes. Whereupon his mother, Ayesha, turning towards
him, said, " Weep like a child for your kingdom, since you knew not how to defend it like
a man.'
We have nothing to prove the authenticity of these cruel words, unworthy of a
mother who was no stranger to the misfortunes of her son; however that may be, the rock
still bears the name El ultimo Suspiro del Moro (the Moor's last sigh), or la Cuesta de las
20O SPAIN.

Idgrimas (the Hill of tears). It is said tliat wlien the words of Ayesha were repeated to

Charles V., the Emperor replied that she was right, aiid that a tomb in the Alhambra was
better than a palace in the Alpujarras. This region is one of the most interesting and

least known in the Peninsula ; its green valleys and inaccessible mountains, even until

eio-hty-four years after the surrender of Granada, were the theatre of constant strife between
the Christians and the last Moors of Spain.
Under the name Alpujarra, or Alpujarras, is comprehended the vast country which
includes part of the provinces of Granada and Almeria, extending over about twenty
leagues from east to west, and twelve or fifteen leagues from north to south, from the long

chain of the Sierra Nevada to the coast of the Mediterranean.

Calderon has spoken of this country, " whose mountains proudly tower to the sun."
He compares it to " an ocean of rocks and of plains, whose villages seem to float like silver

waves."
Soon after quitting Alhendin we entered the valley of Lecrin, and were astonished to
find it so charmingly green and fertile in the midst of such a sterile, rocky region. There
the orange, citron, and almond trees survive the greatest summer heat, and are nourished

by a network of clear mountain streams. This valley was one of the chief centres of the
great Moorish insurrection : the fields at the present day, so fresh with verdure and so
tranquil, during the sixteenth century were watered by the blood of many thousand brave
men, to subdue whom it required all the energy and force of the Spaniards. The most
revolting atrocities were committed on both sides ; they had come to making neither truce
nor giving quarter. At Guecija the Moors took the monks of the convent and boiled them
in oil ; at Mayrena, the Spanish garrison having left, the inhabitants crammed the priest
with gunpowder, and fired him like a bomb.
The Moors of Canjayar sacrificed children at a butcher's stall, and after beheading
two Christians, they devoured the heart of one of them. The priest of this b()rough, who
was named Marcos de Soto, was dragged perforce into the church with his sacristan, who
had to ring the bell to summon the inhabitants. When they were all assembled, they each
passed in turn before their unfortunate teacher ; some pulled his hair, others his nose and
eyelashes, others struck him with their fists. Then, after passing all sorts of insults upon
him, they literally set upon him like fiends, and tore him limb from limb.
This terrible insurrection of the Moriscos had been organised with the most perfect
secrecy in Granada, in the quarter of the Albayzin ; Philip II. was only informed of the
rising when the Alpujarras
M'ere in arms. The chief of the rebels was a bold, determined
youth of twenty-two years of age, a descendant of the Ommiades califs, and who had
embraced Christianity, under the name Fernando del Valor ; this he gave up in favour of
the name Muley-Mohammed-Aben-Humeya, borne by his ancestors; he also took the
title of King of Granada and Andalucia. He was a courageous chief, but with his first
successes he completely lost his head ; imagining himself already powerful and a potentate,
he desired to set up a court and play the king.
Hurtado de Mendoza, the historian of the insurrection, says that the chief had his
harem, and this author supplies some rather curious details about one of the favourites, called
the beautiful Zahara, a lady of noble birth, celebrated for her skill in dancing the Moorish
zambras, in singing the leylas, and in playing the lute, and who, he adds, dressed with
more elegance than modesty. The reign of Aben-Humeya was not of long duration the :

Spaniards had put a price on his head, and division was soon introduced into the camp. He
had a rival, another chief named Farrax-Abencerrage, a bloodthirsty character, who ordered
 :'"'', I,
e. ^|^^^|i|((|||,ir^-y.^^^|^|^|^,.

A Fii.MILY OF MENDICANTS. To face 2>"fft: 200.

 THE ALPUJAEEAS. 203

three thousand Spaniards to be beheaded in a single day. Abeu-Humeya, on the other

hand, who had humane disposition, and forbade the slaughter of women and children,
a kind,
was one day surprised by the followers of his rival, who prepared to strangle him. " I
know how to end my days courageously," said Aben-Humeya and placing the noose ;

round his neck, proclaimed himself a Christian. His body, which was tossed into a
common sewer, was taken out and buried under his ancient name, Fernando del Valor.
The bourg of Padul, at which we halted to spend the night, suffered greatly during
the time of the Moorish wars — so greatly indeed, one would think from its miserable
aspect, that it never recovered from the shock. The posada was hardly provided with
a single necessary, and we should have gone without supper, but for our store of provisions
laid in for the journey. We left this wretched place as early as possible next morning, and
stopped to breakfast at the Venta de los Mosquitos (Inn of the Mosquitos) ; here we could
hardly obtain eggs, or
fire to cook them. Necessity had rendered us by this time pretty
good cooks, and Dor^, who knows Homer by heart, enlivened our operations by citing
examples of the ancients who distinguished themselves in the culinary art, assuring us
that Eumseus knew how to roast a pig to perfection, and that fiery Achilles, aided by
Patrocles, prepared with their heroic hands a feast for Agamemnon.
The little town of Durcal, where wo halted next, stands at the foot of the Cerro de Sahor,
a spur of the Sierra Nevada, and is inhabited by the labourers who cultivate its environs.
Marmol recounts the terrible battles that were fought at this spot between the Spaniards
and the Moors. Philip II., determined to quell the insurrection by a decisive blow, had
given the command of the troops to the Marquis de Los Velez, who commenced a war of
extermination ; he was known to the Moors as the Diable a la Ute defer. The soldiers were
thirsting for vengeance, as the Marquis de Sesa, who had entered the Alpnj arras with ten
thousand men, brought back only fifteen hundred. The Spanish sieges were invariably
followed by the talas, a kind of expedition employing about two thousand men, whose
work it was to destroy the trees, shrubs, harvests, fields, and houses. " A cloud of locusts,
alighting on a field, do not make such ravages," said Marmol, " as are made by our troops
in the gardens where they encamp, for at the end of an hour one would hardly find a single
green leaf left to mark their site." In less than a month ten thousand Moors were either
massacred or became bondsmen. Entire villages were depopulated ; the inhabitants of
Alhendin, for example, were transported to Montiel in La Mancha.
Ginez Perez de Hita, an historian of the time, had fought as a soldier in one of these
expeditions. "The Spaniards," he says, "only dreamt of massacre and pillage, they were
all robbers to a man ; et moi le premier," he naively adds, " seizing even things not worth
lifting in order to keep their hands in. After sacking the castle of Jubilez, a thousand
Moorish women and hundred men were beheaded in cold blood. The Moors defended
three
themselves with desperate courage to the last when arms were wanting, and they had
;

used all their poisoned arrows, they rolled huge masses of rock down upon the heads of their
enemies, while the women and children threw themselves upon the Spaniards, and strove
to blind them with clouds of fine sand at last one saw the Moors burying their daughters
;

alive among the snow to save them from the lust of their enemies."
" That day," says our

author, " I found the lifeless form of a woman covered with wounds, stretched beside six
of her murdered and she had only succeeded in saving her babe, that had sought
children,

her breast when the mother with her dying effort had hid it from her foes. The poor
little thing, clasped in its mother's cold stiff arms, was with difficulty
released and rescued

by the tender-hearted soldier." A little farther on, Ginez Perez relates another tragic
 " : ;

204 SPAIN.

incident. "Two Spanisli soldiers, after pillaging the house of a rich Moor, dis-

covered a young girl of marvellous beauty, vpho had vainly hoped to escape their notice
they both laid hands on her at the same time, each wishing to secure such a priceless
treasure. But falling to blows over the prize, a third warrior entering upon the scenis

drew his poniard and slew the object of the contest, thinking it better to dispose of a

useless life than to risk the lives of two brave men. The combatants, furious at seeing the
poor innocent lying lifeless at their feet, turned their rage upon the intruder. Your '

crime shall not rest unpunished,' said they, 'infernal monster, who have deprived the earth
;
of its most precious gift from heaven ' whereupon they pierced him with their swords, and
sadly went their way, leaving the body of the assassin side by side with the beautiful girl,

whom one might have taken for a sleeping angel."

Before arriving at Lanjaron, we crossed over the Puente de Tahlate, which spans a
deep ravine; in 1569 this bridge was defended by the Moors so effectually that the
Spaniards hesitated to make the attack until a Franciscan monk, Cristoval de Molina, to
shame the soldiers, advanced with shield, sword, and crucifix, and was soon followed by
the troops, and the bridge was taken,
Lanjaron is a small town, agreeably situated at the foot of the hill of Bordayla, on
the southern slope of the Sierra Nevada ; it is there that we find the fertile valley of
Lecrin, which has been called el Paraiso de las Alpujarras. It was the first town to raise
the standard of revolt ; but it paid the full penalty of its crime, and is said to have been
deserted for eighty years after the close of the war, when fifty inhabitants from the
interior of Spain were sent to repopulate the place, which has risen to be the first town of
the Alpujarras. whitewashed two-storied houses, in the Moorish style, wear an aspect
Its

of gaiety rarely to be found in this part of the country. We encountered a number of

people from Almeria and from Granada, who had come to escape the heat of summer, and
to drink the mineral waters.
In going from Lanjaron to Orgiva, we passed through a wild, hilly country, where
the people we noticed on the way, while there was nothing hostile in their intentions,
regarded us with an air of bewildered ferocity.
Orgiva is a large town, situated at the foot of the heights
of Picacho de Veleta.
Availing ourselves of the time required by our arriero to rest his jaded mules, we
made our way on foot to the harranco de Poqueria, one of the most impressive scenes it is
possible to imagine. At the extremity of a defile between two perpendicular walls of rock,
yawns an immense abyss,where no one subject to giddiness dare stand on the verge and
gaze down into its immeasurable depths. Black clouds rose above the abrupt plateaux
which crown the harranco, mingled with the dense smoke from the
fires lighted by the
neveros. The weird aspect of the scene was, if possible, intensified by the darkness of a
lowering stormy sky. Nature has indeed clothed this region with a savage grandeur,
which culminates at Ujijar, the ancient capital of the Alpujarra.
Several of the families in the country are said
to be the direct descendants of the
remnant of the Moors left after the war. It was in
Ogixar la Nombrada-the famous-
that Don Alonzo fell,^ when planting the royal standard on the heights of the Alpujaxra

"Don Alonzo, don Alonzo,

Dios perdone tu alma,
Que te mataron los Moros,
Los Moros de Alpujarra !

It was near this spot that Fernando del Valor was born, he who for some months enjoyed
THE BAEEANCO OF POQUEIEA IN THE ALPUJAEEAS. To face page 204.
 :

ALMEEIA. 207

the title of King of Granada and Audalueia, and who was afterwards betrayed and slain
in the manner recorded. Aben Abu, who succeeded him, was a native of Mecina de
Bombaron, a village close to which we had passed. He, in turn, was betrayed and slain
by one of his trusty followers, who said, when he delivered up the dead body of his chief
to the Spaniards, " The shepherd was unable to bring the living sheep, but he brings the
fleece." The corpse of Aben Abu was carried to Granada, where it was cut in pieces
and the head placed in a cage above the gateway Bib-Racha, with the superscription :

" This is the head of the traitor, Aben Abu. Let no one remove it under pain of death."
The prohibition was long respected, for in 1599 the head was still in the same place.
As to the treacherous El Seniz, the betrayer, his villany did not profit him— he was
executed soon after as the chief of a gang of highwaymen at Guadalajara.
Continuing our ascent for several hours, we arrived at Berja,at the base of the Sierra
de Gador, near one of the last spurs of the mountain. Berja is a town partly inhabited
by miners, who are reputed to be very short-lived, although the country gets the credit
of being a healthy one and strange to say,
; in this very place, we encountered a beggar
who said he was aged one hundred and three years. This splendid old mendicant, clothed
in tattered mantle, walked leaning with one hand on and with the otherhis grandchild,
on a long was CEdipus and Antigone attired in Andalucian costume.
staff. It

Being fatigued by a long journey, our delight was unfeigned when we gazed upon
the broad azure expanse of the Mediterranean, and soon after we entered the ancient
Arabic gateway of Almeria.
After our rough experience in crossing the Alpuj arras, we returned to the usages
of civilised life, but it seemed strange and almost effeminate to repose on an ordinary
couch, or to indulge in the luxury of food cooked in oil.

Almeria, with its flat-roofed and terraced houses, wears quite an Arabic aspect, while
its narrow, steep, and winding streets remind one of Algiers. The greater number of the
ground-floors are open, and one sees there the women seated. Oriental fashion, occupied

in making those esteras de esparto, or rush-mats, used throughout Audalueia. Although

there are mines in the suburbs, causing some activity in the town, it has lost much of its
ancient importance. It is stated to be older than Granada, and there is a popular saying to
this effect
" Cuando Almeria era Almeria
Granada era su alqueria."

" When Almeria was Almeria, Granada was farmland."

Almeria in the year 766 became the capital of a Moorish kingdom, which flourished
up to the middle of the twelfth century, but its port was a haunt of the pirates who
infested the Mediterranean. The Spaniards, aided by the Pisans and the Genoese, made
themselves masters of the place in 1 147, and, dividing the spoil, it fell to the lot of the

latter to appropriate the emerald cup, which according to tradition was used by our
Saviour at the Last Supper. This relic, known for many centuries at Genoa as the Sacro
Catino (the sacred cup), was looked upon as the most valuable treasure in the town.
According to another tradition it fell into the hands of the Genoese at Csesarea during

the time of the Crusades, and was originally one of the gifts of the Queen of Sheba
to Solomon. Yet another account sets it down as the Holy Grail, the mystic vase in search
of which Kino- Arthur and the knights of the Eouud Table made so many expeditions.
Formerly the Sacro Catino was shown to the public on solemn occasions, protected from the
sacrileo-ious touch of the people by the severest penalties. Some travellers of last
2o8
'

SPAIN.

among others the Abb^ Barthelemy, dared to raise doubts on the subject of the
century,
genuineness of this relic; these doubts were, however, fully confirmed when, through

Napoleon L, the pretended emerald cup was brought to Paris, and turned- out to be nothing
more tban a cup of antique glass. In 1815 it was returned to Genoa, but got broken
during the journey.
Almeria and its fertile gardens have often been the subject of Moorish romances.

At the time of the war of the Alpujarra, tlie rio de Almeria was one of the last rallying-

points oi' the Moors. Calderon has drawn the subject of one of his pieces from an episode
in this war, Amar despues de la muerte, y el sitio de la Alpuxarra, that is to say, Love after
death, and the siege of the Alpujarra.
There was a young Moor, named Tuzani, expert in the use of his finely tempered
Toledo blade and his rich Valencian bow he loved the beautiful Malcha, who fell at the
;

siege of Galera. Finding the body of Malcha pierced by two mortal wounds, he resolved
to devote his life to avenging her untimely end he joined the Spanish ranks, and at last
;

discovered the assassin in a certain Garces, who was, as fate would have it, imprisoned
alono- with Lim in the stronghold of Andarax. Garces confessed the crime, and fell

beneath the poniard of the Moor, who made his escape, but was afterwards captured and
brought before Don Juan of Austria, who upon hearing his narrative set him at liberty.

Having determined to go from Almeria to Malaga, along the coast on horseback, we

accordingly retraced our steps, and leaving the little village of Dallas, passed through Adra.,

the ancient Abdera of the Phoenicians, which, in common with many of the coast towns,

boasts a very high antiquity ; we have observed some medals at Adra struck at the time of

Tiberius.

The climate and vegetation here are worthy of the tropics cotton and the sugar-cane ;

are largely cultivated in the environs of Motril. The coast is exposed to the constant
rnys of a burning sun ; although it was the autumn season, we found it impossible to travel
during the heat of the day.
Almuhecar is not far from Motril, and here may be distinguished the sharp outlines
of the Sierra de Lujar against the deep blue sky. There is hardly any quarter of the globe
in which one encounters so many varied productions : the high mountain saxifrage, and
the plants which belong to the cold or temperate latitudes, while the rich soil of the
valleys and lower plains yields not only sugar and cotton, but indigo, coffee, and other
products of the torrid zone.
During the time of the Moorish dominion, there were many sugar mills at Velez-
Malaga, and bordering the coast as far as Marbella. "We gather from the observations of
an eye-witness, that in the seventeenth century there were still a limited number of these
mills. " There are also salt-pits and sugar mills called ingenios de azucar, which I have
observed near Marpella, or Marbella, in Andalucia. I have also noticed the sugar-canes,
which resemble our reeds, only their inner pith yields a sweet juice ; I have picked them
up on the road."
Velez-Malaga has some Not long before the fall of
brilliant pages in its history.
Granada, it was still held by the Moors, and Ferdinand and Isabella
came in person to lay
siege to this, one of the last strongholds of the infidels. The chronicle of Hernando del
Pulgar states that on one occasion when the besieged had made a sortie, the king was
surrounded by Moors, who were about to carry him off in person. His sword-belt was
entangled in the hnrness of his horse, and being powerless to defend himself, he would
have fallen into their hands, had not the intrepid Garcilaso de la Vega, spurring his horse
 VELEZ-MALAGA. 209
to the cliarge, dispersed the sons of Islam and rescued his sovereign, who had just pierced
a Moor with his lance.
In memory of this event, Ferdinand granted to Velez-Malaga for its armorial
^ bearings
a king fully armed, mounted on horseback, piercing a Moor with
his Jance.

AN AGED MENDICANT AND HIS GRANDCHILD.

Leaving our guide and cattle at we took our places in the imperial
Velez, of tlie

diligence that left early next morning, and before noon we alighted at Malaga.
" Malaga la hechicera,
La del eternal primavera,
La que bana dulce el mar
"
Entre jasmin y azahar !

," Malaga, the enchantress, city of eternal spring, tranquilly bathing in the sea, shaded
 ; —

SPAIN.

the salutation addressed by a Spanish poet to

by the jasmine and tlie orange." Such is
this ao-reeable and picturesque city
of Andalucia.
principal promenade, is the favourite resort of the Malaguena,
The Alameda, the
coquettish than
celebrated all Less severe in beauty than the Granadian, less
over Spain.
Malaguena is distinguished from the othci: women
the SeviUian and the belle of Cadiz, the
of Andalucia by a complexion of
deeper amber, more regular, but not less expressive

features; thick well-marked eyebrows, added to long eyelashes, give to the

and
They have a wonderfid way of
Malague'nas' dark eyes a charm one cannot
describe.

tresses, by the simple device of a single red or

leading the eye to their luxuriant raven
white flower powerfully placed for effect.
Malaga enjoys a serene and splendid climate. In the streets are sold sugar-canes and
the natives, who for a few cuartos can
sweet potatoes, affording an important resource for
if not with remuneration, at least with
obtain a bunch of the former that will supply them,
constant occupation for the day. throng of petty merchants parade the streets and make
A
day hideous with among them, the c/iarmnes—fish sellers, who dispose of the
their cries,

produce of the Mediterranean fisheries, and of whom we shall have occasion to speak
further on. '

The malaguencis, popular ballads of the province, are composed of verses each with
four lines, the first and last being twice repeated. The subject, when not melancholy, is
sentimental.
" Echame, nifia bonita,

L-Agrimas en tu paiiiielo,

Y las llevare & Granada,

Que las engarze un platero."

" Give me, charming little one, —In a kerchief thy tears, —To Granada I'll take them,

—To a goldsmith to set them."

" Son tus labios dos cortinas
De terciopelo carmesi,
Entre cortina y cortina
Estoy esperando el Is."

" Thy lips are two curtains — Of crimson velvet, —Between curtain and curtain, —For the

Yes I am waiting."
'•
Voy & la fuente y bebo
No la amenoro,
Que anmienta su oorriente
Con lo que Uoro."

" To the fountain I go to drink, — But no water I find, —For its current is swollen
With the tears I shed at the brink."
The rhythm of the malaguenas has something strange and unexpected about it, but at
the same time the sentiment is refined and seldom commonplace ; the same may be said of

the canas, the polos, the playeras, the rondenas, and the majority of the Andalucian airs.

They are probably the same melodies as were sung by the subjects of Boabdil, and without
doubt many of the couplets are taken from the ancient Moorish romances.
Like most of the towns on the coast, Malaga was an ancient Phceuician colony. It

fell into the hands of the Arabs after the famous battle of Guadalete, and only ceased to be

a Mussulman town in 1487, five years before the fall of Granada. About fifty years later

the cathedral was commenced, an important edifice, which now rises majestically above the
port and the sea. A splendid marble staircase conducts to the nave ; where, on each side,
and parallel to it, rise two lateral aisles, while the fagade is ornamented by two high
 a,

>S.

hi

H
OJ
O

<
<!

Q
m
X
 ";

MALAGA. 213

towers, one of which still remains unfinished. The best way to see the cathedral is to hire
a faUa, and pull out far enough to have a full view of the whole building, which towers
high above the houses of the city —a splendid picture, backed by the giant mountains
behind which Granada lies hidden.
Wefound the quay at Malaga encumbered with cases of 'pasas and casks of all
dimensions. —
The wines and the pasas that is what the dried grapes are called are the —
principal produce of Malaga. We must not, however, omit the coloured terra-cotta ware ;

it is in the
Pasaje de Heredia that those little statuettes representing Andalucian costume
are modelled. Sometimes it is a maja, with a short skirt, dancing the polo or the jaleo ;
sometimes a contrahandista, trabuco in hand, or a majo cutting with his navaja the tobacco
for his cigarette ; or a priest with his long hat, sombrero de tcja.

If the use of the navaja, the punal,

and the cuchillo, is general in Spain, there are
certain towns where the "wholesome traditions" are carefully preserved. Cordova and
Seville possess very famous fencing-masters, but nowhere is the art of handling cold
steel, the herramienta, cultivated to so great an extent as at Malaga. Few towns show
such a leaning towards homicide ; delitos de sangre — crimes of blood — are extremely
frequent. Whence comes the crime of murder, so common among the people ? Is it from
idleness, the love of play, or the negligence of the police ? " The serenos of Malaga," says
a popular song, " would have it understood that they drink no wine, but the wine they
do consume would suffice to turn a mill."

"En Malaga los serenos

Dicen que no beben vino

Y con el vino que beben
Puede moler un molino !

Must one attribute some malign influence (in order to account for the fatal results of the
quarrels of a certain class) of the solano to the burning wind from Africa —impregnated,
like the sirocco of the Napolitans, with the irritating heat of the sands of the Sahara ?

Whatever the cause may be, the impunity of assassins is proverbial Mata al rey, y vete a ;

—
Mdlaga Kill the king, and then go to Malaga such is the popular saying. —
In speaking of Albacete we referred to this town as famed for the manufacture oi navajas ;
Guadix, Seville, Mora, Valencia, Jaen, Santa Cruz de Mudela, and many other towns
possess renowned cutlers. In Andalucia the navaja is also known by the pot names of
the mojosa, the chaira, the tea, names peculiar to the gipsies ; the barateros, of whom
we shall soon speak, call it corte (cutting), herramienta ; or hierro (iron), abanico (ftin), etc.

During our stay at Malaga, we had the curiosity to take some lessons from one of
the professors Dore speedily became an expert pupil.
: Taking our positions armed with
reeds, the professor commenced to demonstrate the golpes, that is how the blows or thrusts
are named ; these blows are given in the parte alta or in the parte baja; the high part extends
from the top of the head to the waist, and the lower part from the waist to the feet, so

that all the blows are altos or bajos. One of the principal thrusts of the parte alta is the
javeque, or chirlo, in which the face is cut ; there is a great variety of other blows we need
not enumerate. One, probably the most important of all, requiring great address on the
part of the player, is the desjarretazo, a blow held in the highest estimation ; but not by the
unfortunate one who receives it, for it is nearly always fatal, as it divides the vertebral

column in two. However, as nothing in this world is absolutely perfect, this pretty little

blow has the inconvenience of uncovering the guard of the assailant, and exposing
him to the risk of a mortal thrust. Altogether the use of the navaja is a science requiring
 SPAIN.
214

greatest coolness, courage, and tact, by any one who

not only careful trainiDg, but the
Sometimes the tiradores roll their rm^ntle
would seek to defend himself with the weapon.
giuoco della spada e cappa represented in the ancient
or jacket round their left arm, ns the
their sombrero in their hand, which serves as a
Italian books of fencing, or they hold
of defence are looked upon by
experts as defective, as they prevent
shield These modes
the tirador using his left hand or arm. Every accomplished tirador ought to know how
to use his weapon with either hand.

As to the faja or waistband worn by the combatants, the loins are always girt round
with it as a means of defence. Should the band come down or slacken, the tirador would
would not lose the opportunity of profiting
be exposed to the greatest danger, as his foe
by his plight.
appropriate parry, but there are many tricks resorted
Each blow naturally has its

to, which have no place in our rules for

fencing, such as tossing one's hat into the face

A DUEL WITH THE NAVAJA.

of an adversary, or ducking the head to avert a severe blow and seizing the opportunity
to secure a handful of sand to blind an antagonist, that he may all the more easily fall

a prey to the navaja.

Like the navaja, the punal has its OAvn particular rules. This weapon finds patrons
among sailors and prisoners, and is distinguished from the former by its being only used
for thrusts. The handle is short and thick, and has something of an egg shape ; as to the

blade it is sometimes flat and oval, sometimes round, and sometimes four-sided. We have
in our possession a punal that belonged to one of the most renowned harateros of Malaga.
This weapon, long, and sharp as a needle, is something frightful to behold ; it is four-sided,

gradually rounding towards the point, and, more than that, its edges are barbed, and the
blade is in many places pierced with holes. These ingenious devices have the advantage
of tearing the wound and rendering it doubly dangerous by the introduction of air.
One of the principal thrusts of the punal is the moliiiete, of which Dor^ made a drawing.
 MALAGA. 215

One of the duellists, having approached unawares, turns suddenly on one foot and raises
his right arm to wound his foe in the shoulder. This thrust can only be warded off by the
left band, while the right is raised to strike ; by a hand-to-
this is generally followed

hand struggle, which as a rule ends fatally. Throwing the navaja and the punal forms
the subject of a curious little Spanish work, called the Manual del Baratero, or Arte de
manejar la Navaja. Our readers would hardly credit the wonderful precision with which
these weapons are thrown, and sheathed in the bodies of unfortunate combatants ; but
not less astonishing is the peculiar address which the Aiidalucians display in averting the
thrust of the flying blade.
We have already spoken of the tijeras, the enormous scissors with which the
esquiladores clip their horses and mules. They are used as offensive weapons chiefly by

•
i: s

TDfL-DHt

THROWING THE NAVAJA.

the gipsies, but only on rare occasions, as the gipsies are for the most part a peace-

loving people.
After having sketched the outlines of Audalucian fencing, we will now add a

few words about two types of pure Malaguenos—tha barateros and the charranes people —
possessed of peculiar skill in handling the pimal and the navaja.
Tourists who sojourn at Malaga for any length of time have an opportunity of
studying two of the most curious phases of humanity in the charran and the baratero
—
that is, if they do not dread the bloodthirsty nature of these people.
who is the charran f The Diccionario de la Academia Espanola can afford us no
But
information on this subject, and the word has no place in the other Spanish
dictionaries. He
even the Napolitan lazzarono, and yet he
is neither the gamin de Paris, the pdle voyou, nor

is a mixture of Let us saunter on the barrio del Perchel, the quarter where the
all three.
rendezvous of the majos, like
fishermen spread out their nets to dry in the sun ; it is the
a girl of the people,
the Macarena of Seville. At Malaga, when one wishes to speak of
 "

2i6 SPAIN.

eleo-ant and one says moza Perchelera, just as at Seville the phrase is hembra
full of grace,

Macarena. Let us approach this strauded boat, beueath whose shade a group of men are
playing cards; these are the charranes, who are born iu Malaga and die there, uuless they end
their days in some prison or garrison in Cuba or Manilla. They follow some sort of

industry, selling sardines or hoquerones about the streets, or offering their services as porters
carry home their store of
to housewives who are out marketiug, and who require aid to
provisions. But their true occupation, that in which they shine to advantage, consists in

doino- nothing liviuo- on their wits in the worst sense, waiting for the sunshine to warm
them, aud looking for shade to cool them.
The charran is generally a youth of from fourteen to twenty years of age, who is named
granuja, a local scornful nickuame. These lads are as expert in their way as the pick-
pockets of London we discovered this to our cost, but fortunately lost nothing
or Paris ;

more than our handkerchiefs. They have a profound liking for other people's property,
aud manage to relieve them of it in the most ingenious way, as the following story will
illustrate. The question was how to rob a worthy arriero from the mountains of an ounce
of gold, which he kept carefully slmt up iu his mouth for fear of thieves.
On Sunday the arriero met a peasant friend of his, on the Puerta de Mar, M'ho
pressed him to accompany him to church. The cautious mountaineer refused, saying
he had an ounce of gold in his faja, and that he feared to mix in the crowd. His
friend insisted that that was no reason for shirking mass, and he added, " Put tbe gold iu

your mouth, it will be safer than in your hand." This reasoning appeared conclusive to the
arriero, who went with But some good-for-nothing j3z7Zos, granvjas, or
his friend to church.

charranes, had overheard the conversation, and had also seen the ounce of gold carefully
pass from the faja into tbe mouth of its owner. Thfee of them followed their victim into
church, but before entering they each ofthem took hold of the corners of a handkerchief,
into which they threw a few pieces of money, and played the part of sailors asking
offerings to have masses said to the Virgen del Cdrmen. Thus they made their way to
the arriero, who was standing iu the centre of a group with his teeth firmly set over his
treasure, and looking with suspicion on every one who came near him. The improvised
seamen knelt down and appeared to pray devoutly, keeping an eye all the while on the
arriero. At last, after the Ite Missa est, one of them let go his hold of the handkerchief,
and the coins rolled on the stone floor.

" Ca'balleros,\&i no one move," said one of the charranes; "all this coin belongs to

the Virgen Santisima. Look for the ounce I it is an ounce of gold ! Where is the
ounce of gold ?
" Every one bent down to look, and the sailors loudly called out, " Has no
one seen the ounce of gold for the masses to Maria Santisima f Who can have taken it ?

"It is that villain, who has just picked it up and put it into his mouth," said an
accomplice, pointing to the poor arriero, who, confused and startled, artlessly put his hand
to his mouth and took out the golden ounce, while auotlier accomplice, with well-feigned
indignation, snatched it out of his hand and placed it in the handkerchief of the poor
sailors. The public heaped a storm of abuse on the head of the arriero, who, when per-
mitted to speak, protesting his innocence, and proclaiming his loss, found that the thieves had
slipped through the crowd like snakes through a hedge and were away dividing their booty.
In spite of their tattered costume, the lazzaroni of Malaga have a certain jauntiness
of air, by which they are readily distinguished from the professional beggars ; besides
this, they never ask for alms—they prefer helping themselves. The esplanade del Muelle
is the common scene of their exploits. There' they levy a certain duty upon the
 !

THE CHARRAN OF MALAGA. 217

goods that are shipped and imported; sometimes it is a 6acaZao—

cod-fish—which they slip
beneath their shirt, an enormous onion, melon, or some batatas. They are also clever at
samphng a bag of rice by plunging their navaja into it, and receiving the sample in their
sombrero. They then repair to some rendezvous in the dry bed of the Guadalmediua,
or other out-of-the-way spot, where, erecting a few stones to support their pots, they
kindle a fire and cook their spoil. usually terminated by a game at
Tiiese feasts are
cards, A rusty mantle, folded and laid on the ground, serves for a card cloth, and the
cards are so soiled by use that it is almost impossible to distinguish the points. They
are not less passionately devoted to
games of chance, into which certainty
is so frequently introduced by stealth,

as to terminate the festivities with

a general scuffle, when blows with
fists, sticks, and stones fall like a
shower of hail, confining itself in this
instance to the unjust. The Guadal-
mediua is generally the theatre where
disputes are settled by the pedreas, or
stone-hurlers, as the bed of this ro-
mantic stream supplies an unlimited
store of projectiles to suit all tastes.
It is there, too, that the quarrels of
the barrios, or the rival quarters in
Malaga, are settled.
The charran adds to his numerous
other accomplishments that of being
an inveterate smoker, and displays a
decided genius for finding cigar ends,
which he transforms into cigarettes.

When chance sends a puro into his

liands, he generally divides it with his
friends, and this division takes place
in the following singular manner. The
rascals ranofe themselves, according to

age, ill a ring. The veteran of the

circle lights the cigar, and, pulling as
long a pufi" as he well can, passes the THE CHARRAN OF MALAGA.
fragrant weed to his next neighbour
in seniority', who does the same, and the pv,ro thus circulates from mouth to mouth, each
inflating his cheeks to their fullest capacity, until it is completely consumed. The charran
sleeps in summer in the open air, beneath the shade of the houses, in spite of the blood-

thirsty mosquitos, his tough bronzed skin defying their most sanguinary assaults ; while,

in winter, he always finds some portico Avhere, pillowing his head upon the stones, he can
shelter himself from the north winds. Although mixed up in all the fetes, demonstrations,

and riots, he occupies strictly neutral ground in politics. It is related that when the

French army, under the command of General S^bastini, presented themselves before

Malaga, troops of charranes aided the defenders, shouting, " Viva Ferdinando VII " Men
 — — " — "

2i8 SPAIN.

long against showers of grape,

aimed with long knives and poniards could not hold out
were headed by the same
and when the French made their entry into the town they
!
" Viva Napoleon
roughs, shouting as loudly as before,
°
We have just touched upon the haratero, who is a man from the dregs of the people,
dangerously expert in handling the navaja and the puncd, and
who trades upon
but who is

the terror he inspires, by exacting blackmail from fortunate

gamesters. We have pointed

out that the lower orders in Andalucia are inveterate gamblers.

Each town has a certain

called tahures, which corresponds to that of the grecs,

number of men of no profession,
whose industry is play.

The edicts of Alphonso the Wise against tafurerias, or gambling-houses, serve

to show that during his time the love of play was sufficiently strong to warrant State
interference, and if we are to believe the testimony of a Sevillian author, F;ijardo, the

vice was still as deeply rooted towards the end of the seventeenth century. This author

gives an account of the tricks practised by the swindlers in the pay of tlie grecs of
the period.
Each town in Andalucia has its garitos, or gaming-houses, where all the professional

gamesters congregate, and to whom one might apply this old verse :

" Ya el jugador de Espana

Su esperanza no fia

En el inoierto azar, sino en la mafia."

" To-day the player of Spain —In chance has less faith than in the address of his fingers."
The garitos are not the only resorts of gamblers ; they meet everywhere — on the shore,

under the shade of a boat, beneath the umbrageous trees, or under an old wall in some
obscure corner. The made up of the charranes and other vagrants, to whom
parties are

are added soldiers or sailoi's. Look by the side of this falucho, aground on the sand,
whose sails are drying in the sun. The crew, some of them seated, others stretched flat on
the beach, are engrossed in a game of cards. They are playing pecao, or cani their faces ;

are agitated and unquiet-looking, afi'ected either by the passion of play, or by fear of seeing

an alguacil arrive. Suddenl}?^, without knowing whence he came, a man of pale complexion,

wearing a sinister expression of face, and a bold insulting aspect, appears in the midst of
the group. He has a robust frame, and carries his jacket over his broad shoulder, while
his short trousers are held up hy a wide silk waistband. He is a haratero, who has
thus unceremoniously installed himself among the phiyers, and who calmly announces
that he has come to deduct his share of the profits cahrar elharato. The amount of this
blackmail is usually small, about ten centimes to the game.
" AM va eso!" cried the haratero, casting down into the middle of the group something
done up in a dirty piece of paper, which had probably served to wrap up fried fish.
It was a packet of cards —
haraja that is, " What does it signify if you play with these
cards?" " Aqui no se juega sino con mis harajas" ("Here no one dare play, but with
my cards"). If the players are inclined to submit, the haratero pockets his cuartos, and the
play passes ofi" quietly. But it sometimes happens that in the group there is an awkward
character to deal with, a valiente literally—valiant man,
a mozo cruo (an almost untrans- —
latable Andalucian expression,which denotes a youth endowed with the attributes of pluck,
hardihood, and pride), who would fearlessly reply, " Camard, nojotros no necesitamos jeso !
("Comrade, we have no need of them! ") as he hands back the cards to the haratero; who
replies, " Chiquiyo, venga aqui el harato y sonsoniche ! " (" Boy, make haste and hand me
the harato ; not another word
!

") The mozo cruo then draws a long knife from his vest,
A BARATERO EXACTING THE BAEATO- To feme. pag& 2 1 c
 —
THE BAEATEEO. 221

and opening it with a clang of its spring, drives tlie point close to the stakes, and exclaims,

while he glares defiance at the intruder, " Aqui no se cobra el barato sino con la punta de
una navaja " (" Here the barato is only reached by the point of the navaja "). The challenge
is usucally accepted, and the adversaries pronounce the solemn " Vamonos !" or " Vamos
alll ! " (" Let us go ! ") or, " Vamos d echar un viaje !
" (" Let us make a journey ! ") It is

their _;acia est alea. Then repairing to some retired spot, the navajas or punals are drawn,
gleam for an instant in the light, and one of the combatants is sacrificed. But crimes
of this sort do not always remain unpunished : it sometimes happens that two or three
months later, one hears in tlie streets of the town the sound of a small bell, and the voice
of a man asking alms para decir misas por el alma de un pobre que van d ajusticar ("To

say masses for the soul of an unfortunate man who is about to be executed").
At other times, two barateros meet on the same ground, and either agree to divide
their share of the stakes, or to fight a duel, which is certain to terminate fatally to one
of them ;
or it may be that the baratero who surprises a group of players is merely a
blustering bully, who is only audacious with the timid, and skulks off when he encounters
a formidable foe —a type known by the name of maton, the matachin, the valenton, the
perdonavidas, &c. When two braves of this sort meet, a most amusing dialogue takes
place between them, of which we will try to give some notion, although the Andaluciau
language loses greatly by translation into another tongue.
" Ea ! it is here that the braves are about to perform," cries one of them, as he makes
the spring of his navaja ring.
" Tire oste ! Draw, comrade Juan," cries the other, as he walks round his adversary.
" Vente d mi, Curriyo ! Not so much skulking around."
" It is you, zefbo Juan, who leap like a little dog."
" Ea, Dios mio "
! Hold, while you commend your soul to God !

" "
Have I wounded you ?

" No, it is nothing."

" Ah ! well, I mean to slay you with a blow. You may ask for extreme unction."
" Escape, por Dios, Curriyo ! You see you are in my power, and I mean to bore a hole
in you, larger than the arch of yonder bridge."
This dialogue would last for more than an hour, if the friends did not interpose ; and
the two adversaries, who are ready to be appeased, close their knives and adjourn to
some taberna, where their wrath is drowned in a canez dejarez.
Besides the barateros who practise on the shore, there are those of them who reign
in prison,and the baratero soldado, or de tropa, the tyrant of his regiment, who is permitted
by the sergeant to shirk his duties, lest he should make him a dangerous enemy.
The baratero de la carcel is the most odious and most dangerous type of all. Lost
in vice from his boyhood, he has passed the greater part of his life in prison el estarivel

or casa de poco trigo — literally, the house where there is little wheat, as the thieves say in
their picturesque slang. Whenever a newly condemned preso has passed within the prison
gates, the baratero exacts from him the diesmo the welcome. This request and salutation—
is always made navaja in hand, and should the new-comer refuse to contribute las moneas,

los metales, the question is decided by an exchange of navajazos. When justice interposes
to inquire into the murder, the navajas are rarely to be found, as the caraceleros have
an endless variety of ways of concealing the weapon, each one more ingenious than
the other.
To complete our picture of this strange type, we cannot do better than quote a few
 — —

222 SPAIN.

vei-ses of an Andalucian song, El baratero, in germania—ov slang of the Spanish

thieves :

Al que me gmfia le mato, He who murmurs dies by a blow,

Que yo compr^ la baraja, For I have bought the haraja,
EsU ost6? Don't you know ?

Ya desnud^ mi navaja :
I have drawn my bare navaja :
Largue el coscon y el novate On novices and innocents bestow
Su parn^, Your silver.
Porque yo cobro el barato It is I who touch the barato

En las chapas y en el cane. At the chapas and at the canS.

Eico trujan y buen trago With rich tobacco and ripe wine,

Tengo una vida de obispo !

The life of a bishop is mine !

EsU oste? Don't you know?

Mi voluntad satisfago My tastes are indulged every one,

Y & costa ajena machispo, At my own expense there are none.

Y porque ? And wherefore ?

Porque yo cobro y no pago Because I receive and never pay

En las chapas y en el cane. At the chapas and at the cane.

Oue can almost foretell the end of the baratero: it is on the scaffold, erected in some
public place to carry out the punishment of the garrote. The executioner fixes the
fatal collar of iron, el coibatin de Vizcaya, while asking the traditional pardon of the
condemned : Me perdonas ?

FENCING WITH THE PuSaL.

 ARRAKCO IN THE SIERRA DE HONDA.

CHAPTER XL

Environs of Malaga — — —
Loja The Pena de los Enamorados Archidona— Tlie Audalucian bandolsros ; the Ninos of
Ecija; Jos^ Maria —
Antequera Ronda —the Rondenas
; —
The contrabandistas and the contraband trade of
—
Andalucia—Gaucin— Gibraltar San Koque Aljeciras Tarifa — —
the Tarifenas —
Vejer and the torrftos— Chiclana
:

— —
Cadiz; the "improbte Gaditanse" of Martial Lord Byron and the bulls The Puerta Santa Maria Jarez de ia —
Frontera— The Jarezanos— The Plaza— The toro del aguardiente— The vineyards— The wines of Jarez— Arcos de
la Frontera — San Lncar de Barrameda ; the manzanilla — Bonanza— The Guadalquivir— An herradero — The
novilladas de lugar — San Juan de Alfarache— Arrival at Seville.

Before quitting Malaga, we visited the Ho3^a, a beautiful plaiu lying between the

mountains and the broad Mediterranean.

The branch of railway had just been, opened, which was to unite Malaga to the
first

line from Cordova to Seville. Passing Autequera and Ecija, we arrived at the temporary
station, and, leaving the suburbs, crossed one of the most lovely and fertile plains

of Andalucia, or indeed of the whole world, where palms wave their plumes over vast
fields of sugar-canes. Next clay we returned to Malaga, in order to make a long detour by
Alliama, that town of toreros, bandoleros, and contrabandistas. Again quitting Malaga, we
224
SPAIN.

arrived during the evening at Lojca, by following the banks of the Genii, which flows
limpid waters hidden between
through a valley planted with vines and olive-trees, its
which it is eucompassed, is
two walls of rock. Loja, on account of the rich verdure by
agreeable, towns in Andalucia.
not only one of the prettiest, but also one of the most
In passing on from Loja to Antequera, just before reaching the
town of Archidona we

noticed an immense monolithic rock, known as the Pena de las

Enamorados the " Lovers' —
Rock"—rising boldly from the plain, and to which the local legends impart a fame as great
as that enjoyed by the Lovers' Hill in Normandy. A very old tradition is recorded by

Andrea Navagiero in his curious work " Tra Antaquera e Archidona, a mezzo camino si
:

passa presso un monte molto aspero detto, La Pena de los Enamorados del
caso di due
stati molti di
innamorati, un cristiano d' Antequera e una Mora d' Archidona, li quali essendo
nascosti in quel monte, al fine ritrovati, non vedendopotere scampare che
non fossero presi
."
. . . ne viver I'un senza Valtro, elessero morireinsieme. . .

It is the dramatic history of a Christian cavalier named Manuel, and a young Moor
called Laila. The Christian was made prisoner by a Moorish prince, whose daughter, the
beautiful Laila, became enamoured of Manuel, and they had agreed to fly together to the
country of her lover. The two fugitives were on the point of setting foot in the land of
when, dreading pursuit, they hid themselves in the recesses of the rock, where
their choice,

they remained concealed for several days. Unfortunately, they were discovered by a
troop of Moorish soldiers sent in pursuit, who were ordered to seize and carry back the
fugitives. But Manuel and Laila, climbing to the summit of the rock, were followed by the
soldiers. Nevertheless, no one daring to lay hands on a lady of the royal blood, Laila
clung to the neck of her lover, and vowed rather to die than bear separation. At that

moment the prince, her father, appeared, and in vain implored her to come to him. Manuel
and Laila then embracing, cast themselves from the rock, at the foot of which they were
found lifeless, but still locked in each other's arms. A cross was erected on the spot, and the
rock named Pena de los Enamorados.
We stopped for a short time at the little town of Archidona, which is perched, like an
eagle's nest, in the centre of the rocks. Formerly it was the most favourite retreat of the
bandits of Andalucia ; its environs, broken up by deep ravines, caverns, and patches of
dark forests, are well suited to afi"ord shelter to an armed band. The country was the
principal theatre of the exploits of the famous Josd Maria, of whose deeds the people still

speak with mingled terror and respect.

We mounted to the summit of the Torre Mocha, from which we could still see the Pena
de los Enamorados, whose profile reminded us of the rock of Gibraltar. We also visited a
number of caves near Antequera, which has served as an asylum for many generations
and which still serves as a refuge for tribes of nomadic gipsies.
Antequera, like all the surrounding country, bristles with mountains : those stretch-
ing away towards the south, called the Serrania de Ronda, play an important part
in the history of brigandage. These sierras sheltered the numerous bands of marauders
who and who were the constant dread of travellers. The capitan de
defied the authorities,
bandoleros was generally an active and robust man, his shaved head covered with a silk
handkerchief of bright colours, with the two ends falling on the nape of the neck over ;

this was his sombrero calccnes, ornamented with numerous puff's of black silk, while his

waistcoat of soft leather was garnished with all sorts of trimmings and embroideries of
silk, and innumerable Add to this, short-trimmed trousers, falling
silver filigree buttons.
a little below the knee and showing the form, and supplemented by elegant gaiters of
 "

THE ANDALUCIAN BANDOLEROS. 225

embroiJered leather, and you have a fair picture of a brigand chief, to render which
complete, we have only to add tiie faja, or waistband, of rich silk, holding a brace of loaded
pistols, a slender punal, a cuchillo de monte, a large poniard, provided with a sheath and
horn handle, fitted into the barrel of his carbine.
The geuuine bandolero made his expeditions mounted on a strong Andalucian potro,
whose flowing black mane was decked with silk aparejos, and whose tail was surmounted
by the sort of ribbon the Audalucians call ata-cola, and a manta of coloured stripes, edged
with a fringe of tufts hanging at each side. It is needless to say that the inevitable trabuco
malagueno, with its wide mouth, is also suspended (its butt-end in the air, Arab fashiou) to
the goncho of a saddle : this completes the equipment, and it is said that Josd Maria, thus
armed and mounted, used to address this joke to his comrades, " Who will dare to demand
my passport ?

The classic expedition of the bandolero was the attack on the coach : as soon as the
sentries announced its approach, the road was blocked up by the partida and the horses
knocked over or unharnessed; the travellers were ordered to get down, and to place themselves
on the ground face downwards, boca abajo ; their hands were then tied behind their backs,
after which the captain gave orders to proceed to the visite des bagages. They also searched
the passengers, and left them, after having menaced with death he who, before half an
hour had elapsed, should dare to make the sliglitest movement. When the partida had
regained its haunt, the spoil was divided among the men, whose number rarely exceeded
eight or ten persons. It was parted into three lots — one for the chief, one for the baud,
and a third for a sort of reserve fund, destined to help unfortunates who fell into the
hands of justice ; and to pay for masses for the souls of those who ended their days,
according to their picturesque language, by dancing at the gibbet without castanets.
One of the most celebrated partidas of Andalucia, was that of Ninos de Ecija : this

famous band had numerous spies, largely paid, who knew all the routes of the coaches,
the gaUfes and convoys of silver. They had informers in the farms, and even in the
towns, and whenever any on-e betrayed them, it was not long before his body was found
riddled with poniard thrusts, inflicted by some unknown hand.
The Ninos de Ecija frequently changed their leader. Their most renowned chieftain,
whose chivalrous generosity has been so much vaunted, was the Capitan Ojitos, an
accomplished cavalier belonging to a good family of Ecija, and who turned more than
one girl's head. His second, because of his fierce and cunning air, received the name,

Cara de hereje — " heretic face." Capitan Ojitos came to a tragic end : when quarrelling with
one of his bandoleros named I'iria, a fight with the punal ensued, which terminated fiitally

to both combatants.

The Ninos de Ecija were long and vainly pursued. Unable to overcome them
by force, stratagem was resorted to : a false brother was sent to apprise them of a rich

convoy, that was to pass along a certain route, which he was careful to point out. A little
before the hour agreed upon, the bandits proceeded in force to await their prize. A bag
of silver duros had been set in the middle of the road. One of the band, thinking it had
been lost by some traveller, hastened to open it with his poniard, when the sound
of the silver falling on the stones attracted the entire baud, and every man of them bent
over the treasure. At this moment a volley was fired by the soldiers who were concealed

in the bushes, and the bandoleros fell riddled with balls, their pursuers having seized the
opportunity of their being gathered in a group, just as would a sportsman when partridges
meet round a handful of grain thrown down to attract them.
 ; "

2 26 SPAIN.

Jos^ Mcaria, tlie illustrious bandolero, was the true model of a courteous, chivalrous
bandit.
" Del pobre protector, ladroii sensible,
Fue sempre con el rico inexorable."

" Protector of the poor, brigand most sensitive," says the popular song ;
" he always

proved inexorable with the rich." Jos6 Maria, a native of Eonda, like most of the
Andalucians, had a sobriquet, Apodo ; but his surname was Tempranillo, because he was
always afoot early in the morning. He loved to distribute to the poor, it is said, what
he had stolen from the rich ; and thus became very popular in Andalucia. This renowned
robber ended his days in tranquillity and peace, as would an honest annuitant. Like
—
most of the bandoleros he had his querida beloved a brown girl of Serrania de Eouda, who —
persuaded him to demand his pardon, which the authorities were only too ready to grant.
His many and daring exploits are celebrated in the popular romances, one of which
reproaches the Government for making terms with him and his band.

" Al valor espariol baciendo insulto,

Pidi6 al bandido contener su saiia,

Y di61e en pago miserable indulto

Para baldon de la valiente EspaJia !

" Offering insult to the valour of Spain — He conjures the bandit to control his rage,—
And bribes him to piece with a pardon, — Insulting the valiant of Spain."
Most Spanish towns have their popular novels, in which the bandoleros nearly always
have the first characters assigned to them. One might also say that the children learn
how to read by means of these romantic histories of the brigands. One day we bought in
the little town of Carmona a cancion Andalusa, entitled El Bandolero :
" Soy gefe de bandoleros,
Y al frente de mi partida

Nada mi pecho intimida,

Nada me puede arredrar.
Que vengan carabineros.
Que vengan guardias civilcs.
Mis trabucos naranjeros
Les barAn escarmentar,
Y no querrAn mas ensayo
A caballo !

Trabucazo, y a cargar "

!

"I am chief of the bandoleros, —And at the head of my partida— l^othmg can
me intimidate,— Nothing can my progress arrest.— Come along, carabineers,— Come along,
civil guards— my carbines the calibre of an
orange.— We'll teach them how to live—
The/11 never wish to try again.— To horse !— Discharge your carbines and advance " !

Thus the histories of the bandits are hawked about the streets, affording noble
examples to the rising generation; for instance that of Diego Corrientes, el Bandido
generoso, of Orejita, of Palillos, or of Francisco Esteban,
el Guapo. Woodcut illustrations,
all for two cuartos, represent these
freebooters in the gayest Andalucian costume,
plundering poor travellers who
on their knees begging for mercy. Then there is also
are
the Siete hermanos Vandoleros, which contains "
the life, imprisonment, and death of seven
bandit brothers, with the harrowing details
of the cruelty, attacks, and assassinations
committed by Andres Vasquez and his six brothers,
as the curious reader for may see
himself" The members of this singularly amiable family, who were all caught in
 BANDOLEROS. 227

the same net, owned themselves guilty of a liundred and two murders, without counting
many other peccadillos of a similar kind.
Even women have their places in the gallery of brigandage. We have now before us
a little yellow paper, headed by a spirited representation of a young girl on horseback,
armed with a carbine and wearing a sabre at her side ; it is the Relcwion de las atrocidades
de Margarita Cisneros, who was garrotted in 1852. This interesting young womnn

ROMAN BRIDGE AT ROHDA.

commenced by killing her husband, and then her querido. She was still in the bloom of
youth when arrested nevertheless, she owned herself guilty of fourteen assassinations.
;

Not many years ago, it was customary to expose the heads of captured bngands m
a cage in the public highway. This was the fate of a celebrated bandit, Faco el Zakio
K
228 SPAIN.

the Gracious), who found his victims not over twenty years ago in the
(Joseph
environs of Seville.
Soon after quitting Antequera we perceived on our left the town of Teba, on a height,

and in the midst of a magnificent landscape ; this town gave its name to an illustrious

personage, of whom the Andalucians always speak with respect.

THE YOUNG TOREROS : A SCENE IN RONDA.

Ronda is the town of toreros, of majos, and of contrabandistas. Here the ancient
Andalucian costume will hold its own for some time to come against the inroads of railways
and civilisation.

The town is perched on the top of a rock overlooking a deep dark ravine, el Tojo,
 ; ;

RONDA. 229

through which the Guadalvin makes its tortuous way. From a bridge reported to be
Roman, a bold structure thrown across the chasm, we overlooked a number of ancient
Moorish mills set up on the borders of the stream, and which in the distance looked like
Nuremberg toys.

Ronda has lost but little of its ancient characteristics ; many of the streets and houses
still preserve their original Arabic names. We were shown the home of the Moorish King,
la casa del Rey Moro, anciently tenanted, according to tradition, by Al-Mohamed, the Arab
prince, who had the skulls of his fallen enemies mounted in gold, and used as drinking-cups.
The air of Ronda, sharper and fresher than that of the plains, is famed for its purity, and
the inhabitants have the robust bearins: which characterises smugglers and toreros.

" En Eonda los hombres

"
A ochenta son pollones !

— Ronda men of eight}'- are still only children."

" In
The Plaza de Toros of Ronda is worthy of a town which has always been looked
upon as the classic locality of bull-fightiug the young Rondenos play at "bull," just
;

as our children play at soldiers. On one occasion we witnessed a scene of this kind,
a little family picture which could not have been more skilfully composed. The father on
his knees, his head lowered in the position of a bull about to charge ; a boy of eight years,
taking the espada's part, held in his left hand his jacket in place of the muleta, and in his
right a willow wand, serving him as a sword. Another boy on horseback, mounted on his
brother's shoulders, seemed proud of playing the part of picador. The neighbours who
surrounded the group were eyeing the combat like consummate lovers of the art, and we
ourselves asked permission to be present at the corrida.
The rondenas, the songs so popular in Audalucia, take their name from the town of
Ronda. Like the malaguenas and the rondenas, they are doubtless of Moorish origin. They
are the most plaintive and expressive of all the Andalucian airs. The guitar always
accompanies the voice, either by simple chords, or arpeggios which serve alike as prelude
and accompaniment.
The virtuos of Ronda are famed all over Spain ; and amid the silence of a hob

summer night, when one passes through the little town of the Serrania, one hears the
melancholy chords of the rondena. Those melodies, so simple and so primitive, admit of
infinite variations, which are only limited by the caprice, or by the imagination of the

singer.

Like the malaguenas, the rondenas are composed of couplets of four lines, the first
repeated twice over. There are many charming ideas to be found in these poems of the
people.
" El dia que tu naciste,
Nacieron todas las flores

Y en la pila del bautisrao

Cantaron los ruiseiiores.''

— " The day of thy birth —All the flowers were born ; — O'er thy font baptismal —The
nightingales sung."
" Tus ojos son ladrones
Que roban y burtan
Tus pestanas el monte
Donde se ocultan."

'=
Thine eyes are brigands —Who rob and ravish. —Thy lashes, the forest —In which

they find ambush."

 230 SPAIN.

"El amor y la naranja

Se parecen infinito :

Por muy dulces que sean

De agrio tienen su poquito.''
" Love and the orarge —Are strangely alike : —For sweet as they may seem —TLey are

not witLout bitterness."

The route which joins Gaucin, San Eoque, and Aljeciras, about thirty years ago M'as

very much frequented by brigands, and is still the resort of the contrabandista of the

present day. The country is very mountainous and the roads are only traversed by mules,
as they are quite unsuitable for the wheels of the diligence. The mountains are also furrowed

with patbs, many of them accessible only to the agile and hardy serranos, who take in

their supplies at Gibraltar, the great entrepdt which England ceaselessly furnishes with
cheap wares destined for the Spanish interior. Such articles as are heavily burdened
with duty are operated upon by the smugglers, who, many of them, are thus enabled to
realise rapid fortunes.

We fell in with a contrabandista in a venta not far from Gaucin, who, like ourselves,

was bound for San Eoque and Aljeciras —the two grand centres, after Gibraltar, for

contraband operations.
Our travelling companion rode a splendid black mare. As for himself, he was a
powerfully-built, jolly fellow about thirty years of age, wearing a costume not unlike that
of an Andalucian Tnajo, while his querida was mounted behind him.
It was not long before we became friends with this bold trader, who when assured
that we were neither government servants nor carahineros (custom-house officers), but
simi>ly franchutes —such is the nickname given by the peasantry to the French — soon made
us acquainted with some of the mysteries of his daring craft.

The first operation of the contrabandista consists in his proceeding to Gibraltar to lay
in his stock of wares. It is generally the Jews who supply him with the articles in
demand —muslin, silk handkerchiefs, cigars, tobacco, &c.

So far nothing is safer or simpler in trade, but the difficulty is how to introduce them
into Spanish territory; but there is the corredor, wLo is able to solve the problem. This
agent is a person who has found it necessary, on account of his peculiar peccadillos, to
take up his abode in Gibraltar. The industry of this middle-man consists in removing the
might set up. A few pesetas here
obstacles which conscientiously-disposed customs' officers
and a few pesetas there, silently dropped into the hands of certain ornaments of justice
and guardians of revenue, renders them unable to discover the contents of the alforjas, or
the nature of the articles concealed beneath the aparejo of the mules. It sometimes happens
that the corredor undertakes operations on a much larger scale, on account of important
mercantile firms.
Our more modest contrabandista contents himself by taking a few loads of silk
handkerchiefs, or tobacco, and as soon as he has crossed the frontier he joins his comrades,
and the caravan sets off on the march, taking care to travel only at night, halting during
daylight in the cortijadas, or isolated farms, or in villages where
they have trusty friends.
These hardy smugglers know all the most difficult passes of the sierras, which they,
some of them, cross with burdens on their backs and carbines slung over their shoulders,
clinging with their hands to the projecting ledges
on the perpendicular rocks.
Strange to relate, these traders are often on the best of
terms with the authorities of
the villages through which they pass, never
neglecting to offer a packet of fragrant cigars to
the alcalde, tobacco to his scribe, and an
attractive silk handkerchief to la senora alcaldesa.
SMUGGLEKS OF THE SEKEA^'IA DE KONDA. To face parje 230.
 SAN EOQUE. 233

They almost always reacli tlieir destination without let or hindrance. Nevertheless,
they are at times surprised by a band of carabineros, when they wake the echoes of the
sierras with the reports of their retacos. This, however, is a very rare occurrence, as it
pays better to settle amicably with their easily pacified foes, who are always open to the
magic influence of a few duros.
Arrived at the termination of his journey, the trader delivers up his wares to his
constituents, who sell them on joint account; but it sometimes happens that the tobacco
and cigars are sold for the trader's sole benefit.
This daring adventurer, when not engaged in commerce, devotes his hours of leisure
to spending, with reckless prodigality, the money he has gained at the peril of his life.
He passes his time at the taherna, either playing at monte (a game at cards of which he is
passionately foud), or in relating his adventures, taking care to moisten his narrative with
frequent bumpers of sherry, remojar la palabra, to soften his words, according to the common
Andalucian phrase.
As might naturally be expected, and notwithstanding his brilliant opportunities, the
contrabandist who does the work rarely accumulates a fortune, while wealth and honour
seem to wait upon the hacienta with whom he shares his gains. He frequently ends his
days either in prison or in the presidio.
We were assured that many of the smugglers, when trade was languid, took to the

road and to lightening travellers of their baggage and money, an operation always conducted
with the utmost courtesy. It is just possible that this report only does them simple justice, as
the profession of smuggler is a sort of apprenticeship to that of highway robber.
Gaucin is about half-way between Ronda and Gibraltar ; its old Moorish battlements
afi'ord one of the finest views to be met with in this quarter. In the foreground the
spurs of the Sierra de Ronda slope down gently to the sea, their sombre tints presenting

a striking contrast to the bright hues of the sunny plain. Beyond this plain the
Mediteri-anean stretches out like a long belt of azure, above which rises a little dark
speck — it is the rock of Gibraltar. Further still may be dimly descried, like clouds
restingon the horizon, the mountains on the African coast between Tangier and Ceuta.
After Gaucin, the road skirts the most frightful precipices, where rocks are piled
up one above another in chaotic masses, bearing testimony to some ancient upheaval
which had convulsed and overturned the land.
We arrived in the evening at San Roque, just in time to obtain a sunset view of
Gibraltar rock.
San Roque is quite a modern town ; indeed, it does not date further back than the
beginning of last century, the time when Gibraltar was taken by the English. It is

the nearest Spanish town to the celebrated rock, from which it is separated by about two
leagues. A number of English families instal themselves in the town during the summer
months. San Roque has been affectedby its vicinity to Gibraltar ; the cottages, with

bastard doors and guillotine windows, might for a moment lead to the illusion that

one was in some English town beneath an azure sky, did not an African sun dissipate
the dream. Making our way from the town, in a southerly direction, we came upon a
lono- and narrow belt of sand just above sea-level, called the neutral ground, and which

divides the British from the Spanish territory. We soon crossed the English lines, and
an instant after had entered Gibraltar, where we determined to rest for two or three days.
Leaving on one side the formidable rock, which, to the great grief of every good
Spaniard, has been held by England for more than a century and a half, we embarked
2 34
SPAIN.

for Aljeciras in a falucho with long lateen sails, wliich rapidly clove its way through the

blue waves of the ba}^

Aljeciras by the Arabs " Jezirah-al-Kbadr4 "— the green isle— a name
was called

inappropriate at the present day, as verdure abounds neither in the town uoT in its
suburbs. It nevertheless is not without attractive features, and, unlike San Eoque,

still retains its Spanish characteristics, although Gibraltar is only two leagues distant.

On day one can see the houses of the town at the foot of the enormous rock, and
a clear
during the evening we heard the report of the gun which announced the closing of the
port.

Crossing the hills to Tarifa, the European town nearest to the coast of Africa, we
descried the sharp peaks of the mountains in Morocco.
The town takes its name from the Moor, Tarif. During the Middle Ages it was
the scene of the exploits of the famous Guzman, who held it against the Infidels, and
thus obtained the name el Bueno, the Brave. The Tarifenas are celebrated for their beauty,

and, as far as we could judge, merit their fame ; this is, however, difficult to determine,

as they still adhere to the Arab usage of walking abroad veiled ; their mantilla conceals

part of the face, leaving exposed indeed only one soft, dark, lustrous eye, shaded by a long
fringe of silken lashes.
After quitting Tarifa, we crossed over a bleak and desolate country to the town
of Vejer, whose inhabitants are called Tardios, or "slow-coaches," as they are reported to be
anything but quick-witted. The use of this sobriquet is said to make them furious, and
its origin is thus explained. There is a rock at Vejer stained with yellow; this rock was
so much in the way of the inhabitants that they determined if possible to have it removed,
but from some failure in their projectiles they were reduced to employ eggs. All the eggs
in the country becoming exhausted, half the labourers repaired to a neighbouring village
to procure a fresh supply ; as they tarried on the way, they were received with cries of
" Llegad tardios!" ("Come on, sluggnrds.") Their labour was fruitless, but the tardios
at any rate left their mark on the rock.
The majority of the towns of Andalucia have their legends of this sort, accompanied
by some epithet more or less grotesque. The environs of Cadiz are particularly rich
in this way ;
thus the inhabitants of Medina Sidonia are called zorros (foxes) ; and those
of Conil, desechados, which signifies something like deserted, or abandoned. Fenian
Caballero has given a charming sketch in his popular writings of this peculiar
characteristic of the Andalucians.

Chiclana, our next halting-place,

is a small town situated on a height near the sea.

Graceful casas de recreo, with white walls and green shutters,

indicated the vicinage of a
large town; it is to this place, indeed, that the people of Cadiz repair to enjoy the
sea breezes during summer. The Chidaneros, like their neighbours, have also their
nickname of Ataja-Frimos. The legend runs, that two cousins were one evening
strolling by the side of the river, when they beheld the moon reflected like a golden disc
on Its surface ;
seized with a fit of temporary insanity, they strove to possess themselves
of this marvellous treasure, but their hot
pursuit along the bank never brought them
nearer to the golden disc. Suddenly one said, " Dd vuelta adelante, y atdjala, prima"—
" Go, cousin, quickly round and bar the way." This idea of stealing a march upon the
moon gave rise to the name, like that of the " Wiltshire moon-rakers."

_
may console themselves with the reflection that the great Months,
Hiippily they
d
Chiclanero, the Csesar and the Napoleon
of bull-fighting, was a native of their town.
"S.
 ; —

CADIZ. 237

Only a few hours separated us from Cadiz, and we soon quitted terra Jirma to cross to
the Isla de Leon, celebrated for its salt-pans, where crowds of half-naked salineros may
be seen, bronzed by the hot sun until they almost resemble Africans. We visited the
little town of San Fernando, noted for its splendid observatory, and an hour after landed
in Cadiz.
Cadiz is the most ancient city in Spain : it is even more ancient tlian Eonie. The
Phoenician Gaddir, which flourished more than a thousand years before the Christian era,

became Gades of the Eomans, and was for a long time the most prosperous town
later the
of the Peninsula, a town built of white marble, and the centre of pleasure par excellence.
Of the once splendid marble palace, not one stone remains ; nevertheless Cadiz is, at the
present time, as renowned for its gaiety as (according to the description of Martial) it was
eighteen hundred years ago. It is necessary to read this poet in order to form some con-
ception of Cadiz as it existed during the Eoman epoch. " The great wealth," says an
ancient author, " had introduced corresponding luxury ; hence it was that the ladies of

Cadiz Avere in great demand, not only on account of their skill in playing upon diverse
instruments at public rejoicings, but also on account of their wit and humour, which were
extremely entertaining."
The improbce GaditancB, as Martial calls them, were celebrated throughout the whole
world for their dances, and for their skill in playing the hcBtica crusmata, which were
nothing more than the modern castanets. Lord Byron says :^
" Fair is proud Seville ; let her country boast
Her strength, her wealth, her site of ancient days :

But Cadiz, rising on the distant coast,

Calls forth a sweeter, though ignoble praise.

" —
"When Paphos fell by time accursed time.
The Queen who conquers all must yield to thee
The pleasures fled, but sought as warm a clime
And Venus, constant to her native sea.
To nought else constant, hither deigned to flee,

And fixed her shrine within these walls of white."

" Her mj'steries are celebrated in a thousand temples, and on a thousand altars con-
secrated to her service the divine fire is kept up without ceasing." Fortunately for the
ladies of Cadiz, we are inclined to believe that this picture of the English poet is not more
accurate than his description of a corrida. Assuredly Lord Byron was no consummate

aficionado. In the same poem, " Childe Harold," the name " king of the forest " is given
to the unhappy bull that has never pastured but on treeless plains.

Viewed from a distance, Cadiz is likened by the Spaniards to a silver cup afloat on the

sea ; certainly the houses, whitewashed or tinted with subdued colours, inapart a singular
aspect to the town. When lit by the marvellous Andalucian sun, and softened by the blue
haze of distance, the city suggests to our mind a silver crown beneath the azure sky.
The houses of Cadiz, closely packed within its walls, rise to the height of six or seven
stories, thus making up in elevation for the contracted area within the fortifications. The
ladies of Cadiz repair to the Alameda, rather to be seen and admired than to see. Never-

theless, we may say with the poet that they are skilled in the art of ogling, although
we dare not repeat with him that they are always disposed to heal the wounds inflicted by
their glances. Among the women of Cadiz one must not omit to notice the cigarreras, the
girls,most of them young, who are employed at the Fdbrica de tabacos. The Andalucian
cigarrera is a separate type, which we will study more particularly at
Seville.
 " " ;

238
SPAIN.

Cadiz one morning early, in a faUa, garnished in front with two great red
We left

A fresh breeze filled the white lateen sails, and our little
eyes, like the Sicilian speronaro.

craft sped over the blue waters of the bay. The Puerto, where we were to disembark,

distinguish its houses like

was only about three leagues from Cadiz, and we could already
coast. Rota, celebrated for its
a white line dividing sea and sky, and farther along the
Catalina, we soon landed
wines. Passing on our left the Puntilla and the fort of Santa
on the quay.
The Puerto, or Puerto Santa Maria as it is called, stands at the embouchure of the

Guadalete, which discharges itself into the bay of Cadiz. It is the

entrepot and port

of embarkation for the wines of Jerez the town white, cheerful, and clean, resembles
;

Cadiz in miniature. We visited its vast cellars, which afforded a foretaste of those of Jerez,
as well as its Plaza de toros, one of the finest in Spain.
Los toros del Puerto is the title of an Andalucian song, popular all over Spain,

and which pictures the passion of the people of Cadiz for their national fetes.

" Qiiien se embarca para el Puerto ?

j

Que se larga mi faliia !

" Who embarks for the Puerto 1 — My faliia holds the most !
" cried the boatman. Then
addressing himself to a young Andalucian, who was stepping into his barque-:

" Soiiorita,

Levantustd esa patita,

Y sartutd k este barquiyo !

No se le ponga k uste tuerto

El molde de ese moniyo !

" Senorita, raise that little foot, and leap into the barque ! But be careful, lest you
spoil the model of that pretty bodice."
Jerez de la Frontera is thus named to distinguish it from Jerez de los CabaUeros,
a little town of Estremadura ; it received this name because of its nearness to Portugal.
The first thing that struck us on entering Jerez was its air of superior wealth, comfort,
and cleanliness, characteristics which, as a rule, do not belong to small Spanish towns.
The people of Jerez share, with other Andalucians, an established reputation as great
braggarts ; our calesero was such a master of the art of boasting, that he might have
served as the model for that Eelaclon Andaluza, popular in the country in which the
exploits and deeds of daring of the Pepillo el Jerezano are celebrated in verse.
The Jerezanos are not less famed as majos, toreros, and contraband istas. Their dances,
among others the classic Jaleo de Jerez, take the foremost place in the Andalucian
choreography. The majos of Jerez,
wearing with grace who excel in the elegant
Andalucian costume, are said to be expert in the use of the navaja.
The Plaza of Jerez is perhaps, after that of Valencia, the most beautiful and largest
in Spain ;
here we were present at a splendid course, where eight bulls were slaughtered
this number did not include the Toro del aguardiente, literally, the "brandy-bull."
This expression, which has no meaning to those unfamiliar with Andalucian customs,
applies to the extra given to the common people.
bull usually This Toro del
aguardiente combated by aficionados who often display more courage than experience,
is

and it not unfrequently leaves more than one victim on the plaza, while the exceptionally
fortunate toreros are those whoretire with a simple wound.
The vineyards of tbis town occupy an area of about twelve thousand aranzadas of land,
something like fifteen thousand acres, yielding on an average, an annual supply, taking
I
•2.
 THE WINE STORES OF JEREZ. 241

good and bad years together, of about fifteen thousand harricas of wine, nearly two million
five hundred thousand litres. The majority of the vineyards belong to wine merchants,
who cultivate the grapes, and also make the wine and the casks in which it is stored
for exportation. Some of these wine-farmers have vineyards that afford constant employ-
ment to a thousand labourers. For example, we will take the houses of Domecq and
of Gordon; M. Domecq owns the famous vineyard of Macharnudo, the one most celebrated
in theenvirons of Jerez, and which covers about five hundred acres. Close to the
vineyards are the great buildings provided for the accommodation of the labourers, and
for the machinery used in the manufacture of tlie wines. These buildings also contain
a large hall, used as a refectory and dormitory, and where, beneath the mantle of a large
chimney, the long winter evenings are spent by tlie labourers. We were present at one
of the popular tertulias, and it would be difficult to picture anything pleasanter, or more
picturesque. On the great hearth crackled a huge fire of vine branches, while an
enormous trunk of green oak, partly accommodated in the chimney, was seen through the
flames,with the big ants driven out by the heat from its bark. A group of a score of
Audalucians, in their picturesque attire, sat around smoking and listening to a stalwart
youth as he sang the couplets of the Tango Americano.
The house we visited also contained the quarters of the proprietor, a small chapel
for the use of the labourers, and a vast kitchen, by no means the least curious part of the

establishment. There we found four great copper caldrons on the fire, containing a mixture
of beef, bacon, garhanzos (chick-pgas), and tomatoes, filling the place with a steaming
fragrance that would have proved enticing, had it not been mingled with an overpowering
odour of rancid oil. Immense earthen pans of the coarse green painted pottery, made
in Seville, contained stores of provisions, gazpacho, that cold and refreshing soup so much
esteemed by the Audalucians, and the white alcarrazas of Andujar, laid out in long rows,
while a limpid stream of water filtered through the jiorous earth on to an inclined plane
of boards to keep all cool.

The vines of Jerez require to be tended with the most sedulous care. The labourers
are divided into squads of twelve, and sent out to the vineyards under the direction of
foremen, when the vintage begins.
As the grapes are gathered, they are spread out on large rush mats, esteras de esparto,
and exposed to the sun for several days, care being taken to cover them at night, to protect

them from the dew, and also to turn the grapes from time to time, so that the heat may
evaporate the moisture and prepare them for the press, to which they are then taken when
externally dry. The wine mosto, as, it comes from the press, is stored in casks and left to

ferment. The process of fermentation is generally completed in the month of January,

Avhen the wine is prepared for storing.

Before exportation, the wines of Jerez are clarified with a mixture of the white
of e^g and chalk, or a sort of white clay found in the environs of the town.
Afterwards a certain proportion of vino madre, or mother wine (old wine), is added to the
new to give tone to it.

Not a hota of wine leaves Jerez that is not, more mixed with aguardiente
or less, —
brandy — as a preservative during the voyage to foreign countries, and also to satisfy the

palates of our neighbours across the sea.

The wines are also divided into secos and dulces. Among the former are classed the

Jerez seco, properly speaking the jerez amontillado. Both are made from the same grape,
from the same mosto, and even come from the same press ;
nevertheless, they have neither
 —

242
SPAIN.

the same colour, taste, nor smell. Those important diflferenees, we were informed, are

effected simply by the particular manipulation to which the wine is subjected.

The jercz seco is distinguished by a bouquet peculiar to itself, more pronounced than
that of the amontiUado. There are the varieties called paja, oro, and oscuro, straw, gold, and
English market.
brown. The jerez oscuro or dark brown is prepared almost solely for the
After receiving a strong dose of brandy it is the sort of wine sold in
London as brown
sherry -jercz brun.
The jcrez amontiUado, of a straw colour, more or less dark, having a flavour in which

connoisseurs recognise a cei'tain nut taste, much richer and higher priced than the other,
iseagerly sought after by " gourmets," gifted with a refined and delicate palate. The name
amontiUado is derived from the similarity of the wine to that of Montilla, in the province
of Cordova.
The sweet wines of Jerez are the pajarete, called pacaret in France, and equally well
known under the names pedro Jimenez, and the moscatel, or muscadine. The former is
produced from a grape also called pajarete, but it is first left exposed to the sun for twelve
days, becoming partly dry during that time, and developing a large percentage of sugar.

The moscatel is made from the muscadine grape, and produces a sweeter wine than the
pajarete.
The jercz is one of the wines which keep longest. We sampled some more than
eighty years old. The proprietors of Jerez receive strangers who may be introduced to
them with the greatest possible courtesy, throwing open their wine stores and vineyards
for thfir inspection.

The bodegas, or wine cellars, are long, unsightly buildings destitute of windows, but
the rich aroma which escapes from the doorways makes amends for their unpicturesque

exteriors. A well-stocked cellar presents the accumulated produce of four or five crops,
as the wine is hardly ripe for exportation until it is five years old. It also contains an
assortment of wines left to age for the purpose of mixing with the new, the vi7ios madres, and
lastly a variety of choice wines of different vintages. The average contents of a bodega is

about five thousand betas, each holding thirty arrobas (fifteen or sixteen litres). The cellars

belonging to M. Domecq, it is said, contain as many as fifty thousand casks.

Arcos de la Frontera, notwithstanding its close proximity to the railway from Cadiz
to Seville, is one of the places which has retained, in a marked degree, the primitive
customs and usages of the Andalucians. The town rising above the Gruadulete is divided
into two halves by a long, steep, and wretchedly paved street, having, Moorish fashion,
a gutter running down the centre. This street has, however, au antique and attractive
appearance. The highest part of the town is crowned by old Moorish battlements, where
we obtained an extensive view. At our feet lay a hill planted with olive-trees lower ;

down the Guadalete flowing through a fertile plain. The bridge of Arcos, which spans
the Guadalete, has given rise to all sorts of popular sayings ; when any one enters upon
an enterprise and fails to
carry it through, it is compared to the Puente de Arcos, which
was never although stones and lime had both been supplied.
finished,

San Liicar stands on the left bank of the Guadalquivir, not far from the mouth of the
stream, which increases greatly in breadth just before falling into the sea. Built upon a
shore close to the water's edge, the town is in no way remarkable; a few palms rising
above the sandy soil bear witness to the genial influence of a climate not unlike that of
Malaga. The trade of San Liicnr de Barrameda mainly consists in exporting the wines of
Manzanilla.
11 ^« '
\mm
 GUADALQUIVIE. 245

According to a popular quatrain, Ifc is

"
to Rome one goes for indulgences, to
Gibraltar for tobacco, to San Lilcar for the mamanilla, and to Cadiz for grace :"

" A Eoma se va por bulas

Por tabaco d Gibraltar
Por manzanilla d San Liicar
Y k G&Aiz se vd por sal."

Tlie manzanilla is an excellent wine, a trifle paler than jerez, and more uniform. It
is a wine for the most part consumed by the Spaniards themselves.
As we wished ascend the Guadalquivir from its embouchure to Seville, we
to
proceeded from San Liicar to Bonanza, a short way from the town. Ifc is, indeed, the port
of San Liicar, where the boats stop that run between Cadiz and Seville.
We embarked at Bonanza for Seville at seven in the morning in the Teodosio, one of
the little steamers that carry passengers up and down the river, and, as the weather
was superb, succeeded in crossing the bar without accident. This passage is not always
free from danger, and it was formerly much dreaded by sailors, if we are to credit the

account of an ancient English mariner, Eichard Twiss, who, it may be said in passing,
took an entire day to descend the river in a boat with four rowers.
" There is a sand-bank most dangerous in stormy weather. When the Spaniards cross
it they take off their hats and repeat a solemn Pater and an Ave Maria for the souls of those
who have been wrecked on the bank, while the captain of the barque makes a collection of
small coins from the passengers to pay for masses for the deliverance of the souls of those
who have perished."
Having crossed the bar, we entered the Tablazo, the name given to the widest pj^rfc of
the river. Here the eye ranges over a broad expanse of nearly level land. We could just
descry, lit up by the morning sun, on the distant horizon, the hill known as the Goto de
dona Ana. The stream speedily narrows down until its width does not exceed that of the
Seine at Paris. On the flat banks near the water we saw from time to time rows of
herons, the habitual hosts of the river, standing motionless and grave, not deigning to take
the slightest notice of the noise and the eddies caused by the steamer. Soon we passed
tlie spot where the river is parted in two and sweeps round a little island, called Ida
Mayor, to distinguish it from a smaller one still higher up, bearing the name Ida Menor.
About three leagues from San Liicar we passed the town of Trebujena, renowned for tbe

richness of its harvests, as one may gather from a well-known Andalucian verse, wherein
the alcarrazas of Chiclana and the wheat of Trebujena are alike praised :

" Para alcarrazas Chiclana,

Para trigo Trebujena,
Y para uinas bonitas
San Liicar de Barrameda.''

The Isla Mayor is not very populous ; nevertheless, it contains a fine hacienda, or farm,

surrounded by trees and gardens, and on which the art of farming is carried to a high

state of perfection. It even possesses a steam pump for raising water from the river. At
a little distance from the Ida Mayor stands the borough, or rather, we should say, city,

of Cabezas de San Juan. It obtained the title of Ciudad in 1820, after a pronunciamento
which it made in favour of the liberty of the constitution, the signal of the constitutional
revolution, at the head of which Riego was placed. One knows the unhappy end of the
general who gave his name to the hymn so popular in Spain condemned to death, he was
:

executed at Madrid in 1823, after being ignominiously dragged to the foot of the scaffold
on a hurdle.
 246 SPAIN.

Ill the immense fields bordering the river, the troops of horses and bulls destined for
the corrida roam about at liberty. In these fields, which are called dehesas, we only
perceived one or two chozos, or reed cabins, and not a single tree to break the outline of
" Cbilde Harold," where
the horizon, again putting us in miud of that pleasing passage in
Lord Byron calls the bull " the king of the forest." Some of the bulls came close to the

water's edge, where they stood with their legs half concealed among the reeds, watching,

with a savage look, the motion of the boat. It is in these fields that the herradero, branding

of the fighting-bulls, takes place. This herradero in Andalucia, and more especially in the
environs of Seville, is a truly national f6te, to which both the aficionados of town and

country flock with passionate eagerness. It would indeed be impossible to choose a time
better fitted for studying the manners of the people, in all their most picturesque
details.

We set off early one morning in a calesct for a hacienda (farm), situated just above the
town of Coria, not far* from the Guadalquivir. Along the road we encountered many
sporting characters, who, like ourselves, were bound for the herradero; some mounted on
splendid black Andalucian horses, with long flowing manes, others in their calesa; but by
far the greatest number were piled up in carros on huge wheels, drawn by a pair of oxen,
and decked with festoons and green leaves. This long procession of conveyances, of every
form and colour, reminded us of the popular fStes in the environs of Naples, while the
characteristics of the people themselves seemed to offer a close analogy to those of the
Napolitans : there was the same animation, the same passion for music, for noise, and for

dancing. We might say the same gaiety, only that of the Andalucians have always
appeared to us more boisterous, more copious, and more frolicsome. If Leopold Eobert had
painted a popular scene in Andalucia, he must have failed to introduce that background of
sadness which one remarks in most of his compositions.
When we arrived on the ground, many of the aficionados had already taken their places
around the enclosure. Casks turned up on end, boards with rope attached to them, carros,
carritas,and other vehicles comprised the cheaply-extemporised barrier and the stands for
the spectators, while strips of linen suspended from poles afforded partial shade from the
ardour of the hot sun. We, in our turn, took our places, as soon as a young bull, a novillo,
was introduced into the improvised arena, there to undergo the double test of the tentadero
and of the herradero. The former embodies all that is implied in the trial of a young bull,
to ascertain his fitness for the corrida. After this all the novillos are branded with a red-
hot iron ;
only, as we have already explained, those judged worthy of the combat are
carefully separated from those doomed to a life of peaceful industry, or to be fed for market.
The greatest importance is attached to this examination by
all true patrons of the corrida.
First, the experts scrutinise the colour of the bull, then the general appearance of the
animal. The novillos selected for combat are at once named, and this interesting ceremony
isperformed by some of the ladies invited to the f^te.
In order to determine the age of a bull his horns and teeth are carefully examined.
His teeth are completed at the end of the third year, and remain white up
to the sixth,
when they begin to show signs of age by taking on a yellow tint. As to the horns, which
common people call las astas— the pricks— they aff"ord a safer clue to the age of the bull.
When he lias completed his third year, a little envelope, not thicker than a piece of paper,
shows itself and forms the lower part of each horn, a
sort of ring, or pad, which is repeated
each year, so that the toreros, in order to determine
the age of an animal, have only to
examine and count the number of these rings, or
envelopes, allowing three years for the
first, and one year for each of the
others.
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 NOVILLADA DE LUGAR. 249

In treating of the novillos we must not omit the novilladas de lugar ; that is the name
given to the courses of young bulls held in the villages. These popular f^tes are nearly as
well attended as the herraderos we have just described ; only the novillada de lugar is quite
a local gathering, in which the inhabitants of the towns rarely take part. The passion for

sport is by no njeans confined, therefore, to citizens : it is quite as strong among tlie

peo[)le in the rural districts ; who, having no Plaza, extemporise one by enclosing a
space in the heart of the village. Fortunate witnesses of one of these rustic corridas in a
village in the environs of Seville, we were amazed at the skill and agility of the Anda-
lucian peasants, who always succeeded in escaping the bull, either by hanging on to a

balcony, or by suddenly disappearing behind the wheels of some vehicle in tlie improvised
enclosure.
Leaving on our left the town of Gelves and a village surrounded with pomegranates
and ornnge-trees, San Juan 'de Alfarache— we were now about a league from the capit;d

of Audalucia, and could see its numerous spires, the Giralda, and its great bronze statue,
gilded by the rays of the setting sun. A little later, having passed the palace of San
Selmo, and disembarked near a Moorish tower, we found ourselves in Seville.

MAJO AND PEASANTS IN THE ENVIRONS OF JEULZ.

 CIQAEEERAS AT WORK IN THE FABRICA DE TABACOS OF SEVILLE.

CHAPTER XII.

The origin of Seville—The calle de las Sierpes— The Sevillians— The Mantilla de <iVa— The Co?-reo— Christian names
—The Aj/untainieiito^The arms of Seville— Streets in Seville the calle de Genoa ; the calle de Mar— The calle de
;

—
Candidejo and Peter the Cruel The Feria— The plaza de la Magdalena ; the puestos de agua The Alameda de —
Hercules— The Oiralda— The Cathedral— Tlie Alcdzar ; the banos de Padilla— The Capilla de Azulejos— The Casa
— —
de Pilatos— The University The Miiaeuni ; Murillo The Fdbrica de Tabacos ; the cigarreras.

Spanish historians agree in representing Seville as one of the most ancient towns, not
only in Spain, but in Europe. Accordingly, it is reported that Hercules, in person,

founded this city exactly two thousand and twenty-eight years after the creation of the
world ; again, that it M'as built by the Chaldseans, or by a king called Hispan or Hispal,
who gave to Seville its early nanae, Hispalas, which, at a later period, became Sbilia, and

finally Sevilla. "Whatever may be the origin of the town, whether it was founded by
Phoenicians, Iberians, or Scythians, its antiquity is undoubted, and was recognised even
during the Roman epoch, and celebrated by the Latin poets.
The Sevillians are so proud of their early origin, that their monuments are, many
of them, inscribed with records, which, with singular impartiality, mingle the mythical
and authentic events ; in the history of the town, for example, one reads in the following
distich above the puerta de la Carne :

" Condidit Alcides, renovavit Julius urbem,

Eestituit Cliristo Fernandus tertius Heros."

s.

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 ;

SEVILLE. 253

" Aleide (Hercules) founded the town, Julius Cjesar built it, and the Hero Ferdinand IH.
gave it up to Christ."
The puerta de Jerez, reconstructed in 1561, carries the following incised inscription
with nearly the same meaning :

" Hercules me edific6

Julio Cesar me cerc6
De muros, y torres altas
El Santo Key me gan6
Con Garci Perez de Vargas."

" Hercules built me, Julius Caesar encompassed me with high walls, and the Holy King
(Ferdinand) conquered me with the aid of Garci Perez de Vargas."
Hercules plays a very important part in the fabulous history of the origin of the
Spanish nation : the hero, indeed, is so popular in Seville, that his name has been given
to one of the principal promenades of the town, the Alameda de Hercules.
When taken by the Roman legions under the command of Julias Caesar, Hispalas
received the name of Julia Romula —Little Rome —a name not preserved under the
dominion of the Vandals, who wrested it from the Romans in 411, and were themselves,
soon after, driven out by the Visigoths. When the Arabs invaded the Peninsula, Seville
became a dependency of the Califate of Cordova. After the dismemberment of the
Culifate, in the eleventh century, Seville was governed by certain princes, in whose
possession it remained for more than a hundred years. It then became part of the
Almoravide and Almohade empires. After the fall of the Almohades, Motawakkel-ben
Houd possessed it for some time, and in 1236 it became the capital of a Moorish state.

Twelve years later, 23rd of November 1248, after a siege of fifteen months, Seville opened
its gates to Ferdinand III., King of Castille, after having remained five hundred and
thirty-six years under the Mussulman dominion.
This important event, one of the most important in the annals of Spain, has been
celebrated, in every possible way, by national poets and chroniclers.

After the discovery of America, Seville increased in importance, under Ferdinand and
Isabella, and later, during the reign of Philip II. ; and Seville at the present day still

retains much of its ancient splendour.

We had landed at the fonda de Europa in the calle de las Sierpes. Our rooms on the
ground-floor opened into a large patio, surrounded by balconies with white marble columns.

In the centre of the court rose a jet of water which descended like a sheaf into a vase,
flowing over to irrigate a garden planted with trees and shrubs, bananas with their broad
waving leaves, orange and citron trees, and a pretty little plant having a profusion
of yellow blossom called the Andalucian dama de noche —lady of the night —because its

flowers remain closed during daylight, and unfold at dark, breathing when open the most

delicious odour.

The calle de las Sierpes, situated in the heart of Seville, is the true centre of the bustle

and activity of the city. Carrajes, rare in other parts of the town, are here entirely

excluded, leaving foot-passengers perfect freedom to saunter safely along at their ease.
During the evening it is,- above all, a constant coming and going of picturesque pedestrians,
recalling our own boulevard des Italiens. The ladies have, all of them, the mantilla of black

lace, which they know well how to wear with fascinating grace. One cannot help seeing

that they are proud of being Sevillians, and that they prefer their own mantilla to those
 — "

SP^^^-
254

known in other lands.

" The Sevillian," says a popular verse, " has in her
tawdry toilets
^ mantilla two words, which may be translated : Long live Seville
!"

"Tiene la Sevillana
En su mantilla
Un letrero que dice :

Viva SeviUa!"

tira, so often snng in popular ballads, differs from the other by the middle,
The Mantilla de
cnt out in a sort
sometimes of silk or wool, being bordered with a band of velvet tira,

This mantilla is reserved for the majas and cigarreras, who know how
of teeth or zigzag.
to wear it with their own particular grace and jauntiness.

The finest shops in found in the calle de las Sierpes, where the
Seville are to be

nmbuh.tino- traders also resort to seek their fortune. Here a florero, his long basket in
hand, vaunts in shrill falsetto his dahlias, carnations, or roses.
There a blind man by a boy is
led selling lottery tickets, and promising the witching
"
smiles of fortune to El primo gordo ! QuiSn se lo lleva ?
every new customer :
"

At one of the angles of the calle. de las Sierpes we come upon the Correo—
that is, the
of the porch
Post. Not long ago there used, to be a list of letters stuck up on the walls
addressed to be Here we were enabled to make a series of studies of the
left till called for.
:—
names of Spanish women, most of which are borrowed from mystic notions of religion
Carmen (Mount Carmel), Dolords (of Our Lady of the seven sorrows), Trinidad—
Concepcion— Encarnacion—Eosario (Rosary), Pilar (literally Pillar, from tlie celebrated
Notre-Dame del Pilar, of Saragosa), Belen (Bethlehem), etc.

Other female names are simply taken from martyrology :— Pepa, Pepita, or Pepiya

(Josephine), Ines (Agues), Eafaela, Eomoua (Eaymonde), Paca, or Paquita (Frances),

Manuela, Angehi, Hermenigilda, Eita (Margaret), Leona Petra, Nicolasa, Melitoua,

Cayetana, Vicenta, Olalla (Eulalia), etc.

The mimes of men are as a rule less original, Juan and Pedro are the commonest:
hence the rhyming proverb :

"Dos Juanes y un Pedro

HaceB un asno entero."

— " Two Johns and one Peter make a complete ass

!

As Christian names, the gipsies of Andalucia are fond of Cristobal (Christopher),

Ldzaro, Juan de Dios (God's John), Angel, Ignacio, Alouzo, and Ferdinando ; this does not

prove, however, that they are always perfect Christians, There are other names of the
gipsies. Christian names (for they are almost always baptized), most singular : such as Eocio
(from the Virgin del Rocio, a well-known pilgrimage in the environs of Seville), Soledad
(solitude), which is sometimes pronounced Soldda, sometimes Sol^a, Salud (pronounced Salou,
from Nuestra Senora de la Salud), Candelaria (from the Candelario, or paschal taper), etc.

The other extremity of the calle de las Sierpes opens into the plaza de la Constitucion,
one side of which is taken up by the Ayuntamiento —Town Hall — built during the first

half of the sixteenth century, one of the finest specimens of the plateresque architecture
of Spain. Tlie word plateresco, employed by the Spaniards to designate the style of the

Eenaissance, is borrowed from the craft of the goldsmith. The rich details of ornamentation,
lavished on monuments by the artists of that time, might almost be compared to the
delicate and elaborate chasing of gold and silver plate. Unfortunately this edifice has not
been finished; amongst its ornaments, which have been recently repaired with skill and
1^ •
r

To face page 254.

THE GIRALDA, SEVILLE.
 "

EL NODO. 257

intelligence, figure the armorial bearings of the town. One beholds Saint Ferdinand seated
on his throne, bearing a large sword in his right hand, accompanied by Isidore and
Saint L^andre, the patron saints of Seville, who stand at each side of the monarch. The
device bears the following inscription :

" Sello de la miiy noble ciudad de Se villa."

" Seal of the very noble city of Seville.''

" NO 8 DO
This " NO 8 DO," which the Spaniards call empresa, is the equivalent of the Italian

INHABITANTS OF THE SUBURB MACARBNA, SKVILLB.

impresso, and is constantly met with on monuments of Seville it is a sort of rebus

all the :

far from intelligible at first sight, and demanding explanation.

Towards the close of the thirteenth century, King Alfonso el Sabio— the Wise— when
dethroned by his son, most of the Spanish towns rose in rebelUon against his authority.
loyalty, the King bestowed
Seville alone remained faithful to him, and as a reward for its

this empresa, which is called el nodo. The 8 between the two syllables is a sign

representing a knot or skein— in ancient Spanish, madexa : thus this sign, intercalated

between the two syllables, forms the no madexa do, or no m'ha dexado, which signifies
 ;

258 SPAIN.

literally, " It did not abandon me." This nodo alone serves as an emblem of the tie

of fidelity which united Seville to its king.

Let lis also say one or two words about the device of- the Catholic sovereigns,

Ferdinand and Isabella, found on so many Spanish monuments, and nowhere more
frequently than in Seville. This empresa, or emblem, is for the most part contained

in two escutcheons, one representing a quiver of arxows—Jlechas the other a yoke, yugo ; —
beneath the arrows is a gothic F, which forms, at the same time, the first letter of the word
jlechas, and the initial of the name, Ferdinand. In the other shield the Y serves as the

first letter of yugo and of Ysabel.

Besides this yoke the design carries the words Tanto monta, interpreted in diflferent
ways, but the most trustworthy rendering is " Tanto monta Fernando coma Ysabel," that
: —
is to say, that the two sovereigns enjoy equal rank and power.
The species of rebus just noticed were anciently much in vogue in Spain : the
Spaniards even used to brand their slaves on the shoulder with a red-hot iron in the form
of the letter S, and a sign which signified slave.

The greatest thoroughfares in Seville, after the calle de las Sierpes, are those of Dados,
and Francos, which may be likened to the Eue Saint-Denis. They are occupied by clothiers,
hatters, and milliners. As in most ancient towns, each street is reserved for its own
peculiar trade. In Seville the calle de Genoa is taken up by booksellers, while the calle de
los Chicarreros and calle de Mar are almost entirely occupied by manufacturers of hotines, or
Andalucian gaiters, open at the side and embroidered with bright-coloured silk. Many of
the streets have their historic memories, their legends, and their popular sayings ; one of
the latter enables the visitor to find out, in a very curious way, several quarters of the
town under the threefold relations of wealth, ease, and misery. From the cathedral (says
the song in question), as far as Magdalena, one breakfasts, dines, and sups.
" From the Magdalena to San Vinceute one dines only."
" From San Vicente to Macarena one neither breakfasts, dines,
nor sups."

" Desde la catedral hasta la Magdalena

Se almuerza, se come, y se cena.
Desde la Magdalena hasta San Vicente,
Se come solamente
Desde San Vicente hasta la Macarena,
Ni se almnerza, ni se come, ni se cena.''

There a cnrious saying in reference to the calle de los

is
Abades—thc street of the
Abb&— situated close to the cathedral, where, "Every one
has an uncle, but no one
has a father."
" En la calle de los Abades
Todos han tics, ningunos padres.
Los canonigos no tienen hijos :

Los que tienen en casa, son sobrinicos."

The calle de Candilejo is celebrated for its bust of

the king Don Pedro (Peter the
Cruel), which may be seen in a niche in the wall of a house,
protected by an iron grating.
It was in this street that Justicier {el Justiciero)
poniarded the husband of a lady he had
followed but after committing this crime, he condemned
;
himself to be executed— only,
however, in effigy.

It was in the calle de San Leandro that the famous Don Juan resided, whose family
name was Tenorio, and who served as a model to Tirso de Molina for his work entitled el
iiifflfi^IlfiiU^,

^jgdq. J JAn i

fr
ill

PUERTA DEL PEEDON, SEVILLE CATHEDRAL. To face page 25S.

 —

THE GIRA.LDA. 261

Burladar de Sevilla 6 el Convidado de piedra, from which Thomas Corneille borrowed the
subject of his Festin de Pierre.
I'he family of Tenorio had its chapel in the convent of the Franciscans at Seville,
A^'here, according to tradition, the body of the commander [el comendador), killed by Don
Juan, was buried.
The street in which the great painter of Seville lived has received the name of calle de
Murillo. We were shown the house he occupied.
It was a building of the calle de los Taveras that contained the court of the Inquisition,
—el Santo Tribunal, as it was called. The historians of Seville claim for their country the
glory of being the cradle of that institution :
" Esta Santa Inquisicion oho su comienzo en

Sevilla."

The calle de Feria takes its name from a very picturesque market held in there from
time immemorial. It was in this street that the first productions of the great painter,
Bartolomd Esteban Murillo, were publicly sold. name to its first
This place even gave its

fabrics, designed, for the most part, for commerce with America, and which, as we all know,
Avere called Ferias, as they were sold in the market-place.

The Plaza de la Magdalena, with its puestos de agua, is one of the most attractive and
animated quarters in Seville. The puestos de agua are little shops, much in the style of

the Napolitan acquaiuoli, where all sorts of refreshments are sold very cheaply. The
beverages which may be had at these establishments are chilled with snow, and figure in
great variety : the agraz, for example, is made up of a mixture of water, sugar, verjuice,

and syrup almihar, zarzaparilla — an infusion of sarsaparilla ; cidra and naranja are
made with the juice of tlie lemon and of the orange ; the orchata de almendra is nothing
more than orgeat; malvahisco, made from mallow, and a variety of other innocent mixtures,
make up the list of drinks, which are, in a warm chmate, infinitely preferable to absinthe
and other liquors of the same sort.

The quarter de la Macarena, of which we have already spoken, is almost solely taken

up by the poorer orders of the community, who live quite apart from their rich fellow-
townsmen, having little to do with the caprice of fashion, preserving with care the

Audalucian manners, costumes, and usages. Thus, when one desires to speak of a young
drl who has lost nothing of the characteristics of the lower order of Sevillians, one says,
una moza, or wia jembra Macarena.
The Alameda de Hercules, one of the most ancient walks in Seville, but little frequented
at the present day, takes its name from a statue of Hercules placed on the top of a high
column.
AVe must not omit to notice the Mercado where we took our morning walks. Nothing
gives a better notion of the fertility of Andalucia, than an early visit to the market
of Seville, where one beholds the huge green melons, piled up symmetrically like shells

an arsenal, beneath wide-spreading, blue and white striped tendidos, which shade buyers
iti

and sellers from the heat of the sun, and where oranges, lemons, and pomegranates, with
their brilliant colours, lie in heaps side by side, with gigantic onions, tomatoes, and

chillies red as vermilion ; where, too, enormous bunches of amber-coloured grapes make one
dream of the Promised Land. Thus the popular refrain of Granada has been applied to
in Seville."
Andalucia, " When God has set his heart on a man, he is permitted to live
The Giralda—that marvel, the sight of which makes the hearts of Sevillian children

beat— merits in many ways its high reputation. One might almost say that this lofty and
magnificent tower stands alone in Europe ; the beautiful campanilo of Saint Marc, at Venice,
 — —

262 SPAIN.

is perhaps tlie only other to which it nicay be compared. The Sevilliaus in their euthusiasm

with the pyramids of Egypt they call

even go so far as to phice their tower on a parallel :

it the eighth wonder of the world,

placing it above all the other seven.

"Tii, maravilla octava, maravillas

A las pasadas siete maravillas."

The country in Spain, said an old Sevilliau author, is that bordering the Betis
finest
the richest is overlooked
(Guadalquivir), and amongst the couutries through which it flows,
by the Giralda.
"La mejor tierra de Espaiia
Aqiiella que el Betis baiia;
De la que el Betis rodea,
La que la Giralda ojea.''

The Sevilliaus delight to recount the repartee of one of their compatriots on the subject

of the Giralda. A stranger, French or English, who had just seen it for the first time, was
at a loss for terms expressive enough to translate his admiration.
" Puez, zeno," said the Andalucian in his dialect, with as strong an accent as that of

the Marseillais
" No crea uzte que la han traido de Pariz ni de Londrez, que ted cual uzte la ve, la

hemoz hecho acd en Zeviya!" ("Well, sir, do not imagine it was brought either from Paris,

or London ; such as you see it, it was made by ourselves here, at Seville.")

Tradition assigns to an Arab of Seville, named Geber or Guiber, the honour of

erecting this great tower, the same who was erroneously supposed to be the inventor of
algebra. According to another version, it was set up by an architect, named Ahou Yousouf
Yacouh, towards the close of the twelfth century. The interior is designed so as to leave

a space lighted by windows, having double horse-shoe arches divided by their columns.
It is in this space that w.e find not a staircase, but a gentle inclined plane protected
by a rail, and broad enough to admit, it is said, of the ascent of two mounted horsemen,
riding abreast; half-way up the tower of the other half of the ascent, singly. The Arab
architect had crowned the apex of the tower with four enormous metal balls, so highly
gilded, that the Cronica general de San Ferdinando says they could be descried, when lit

up by the sun, at a distance of twenty-four miles ; and the same chronicler adds, that
one of the gates of the city had to be enlarged to make way for their entrance. These
globes were thrown to the ground by an earthquake in 1395. In 1568 Herman Ruez,
of Burgos, raised the tower one hundred feet, by adding a spire in the style of that epoch.
This addition has a very fine effect, and around it we read in enormous characters this
line from the Book of Proverbs :

NOMEN DOMINI FORTISSIMA TUREIS.

— " The name of the Lord is the strongest tower."
The surmounted by a bronze statue, representing Faith, cast by Bartolome
spire is

Morel, about the year 1570. Although this statue is of colossal proportions, it is poised
on a pivot so nicely as to turn with the slightest breath of wind ; hence the name Giralda,
from the verb girar — to turn. Later this name was transferred to the tower, while the
statue was designated by the diminutive Giraldilla, or Giraldillo, which literally means
girouette — weathercock—a singular name for a statue representing Faith, in its essence
fixed and immovable. While we were at the top of the spire, admiring the splendid
 To face page 262.
INTEEIOK OF SEVILLE CATHEDRAL.
 — — : "

THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. 265

panorama along the banks of the Guadalquivir, the surrounding country, and the distant
Sierras, a terrific noise broke upon our ears they Lad commenced to ring a number :

of the twenty-four bells suspended in the tower. The largest are called Santa Maria
and San Miquel, while the others bear the names of saints of both sexes. The art of
bell-ringing appears to be more cultivated in Spain than in France. The campaneros
of Seville gave themselves up, in our presence, to the most prodigious gymuastic exercises
to set their bells in motion ; sometimes they clung to the rope, allowing themselves to be
lifted to a frightful height, sometimes they rang with badajados, or golpe de badajados,
that is, moving the tongue by means of a cord, quickly or slowly, to suit the chimes.
At the base of the tower is an extensive court planted with oranges, surrounding
an Arabic fountain, erected at the same time as the mosque, on the site of which the
cathedral now stands.
Not far from the tower is the Longa (Bank), a hardly less imposing building,
formerly frequented by the merchants of Seville, and which Andrea Navagiero calls il
piu bel ridotto di Siviglia.

The cathedral of Seville is a splendid edifice, so imposing indeed, that it probably

gave rise to the popular saying
" Quieii no ha visto k Sevilla,
No ha visto &, mara villa."
— " He who has not seen Seville has seen nothing wonderful."
The cathedral is entered by a number of doorways, notably the puerta del Perdon —
gate of Pardon —
which has preserved its chapas, or bronze plates, since the time of the
—
Arabs the puerta del Lagarto the Lizard named from a crocodile of wood suspended
; —
above the entrance, to replace the one sent to Alonzo el Sabio by the Sultan of Egypt
when he asked for his daughter's hand. The impressions one feels when standing for the
first time beneath the immense nave baffle description. There is certainly no church
we have seen so vast and imposing. Zuniga informs us that in 1401, when
Tlie annalist

the construction of the edifice was stopped, they determined to raise a monument, so
imposing that it should have no equal ; whereupon one of the canons called out in the

chapter-house :

" Fagamos una Iglesia tan grande, que los que la vieren acabada nos tengan por locos!"
— " Build a church so vast, that those who see it when finished will account us fools !

You were no fools, worthy canons of Seville, but sages ; for you have gifted your country

with one of the most superb monuments it is possible for human hands to raise.

The interior is divided into five naves, whose altitude makes one giddy. The pillars

supporting the roof, though in reality of enormous diameter, are so high that at first sight

they appear to be extremely slender columns. The choir, placed in the centre of the
principal nave, has the proportions of an ordinary church, while the decorations and
accessories throughout are equally large and imposing.
In one of the partitions there is a colossal picture of Saint Christopher, painted by
an Italian artist of the sixteenth century, Mateo Perez de Alesio. The Saint, whose
heio'ht is thirty-tw^o feet, holds as a slender stafi" a goodly tree, while the child Jesus,

whom he bears oh his shoulders, is a perfect giant. Although this picture, finished in

1584, is not devoid of merit, it would appear that the artist made light of his work:
a Spaniard painted a cartoon representing Adam and Eve, also for the interior of the

Cathedral. Perez on seeing this picture was so enraptured with Adam's leg, that he

exclaimed :
266 SPAIN.

" Vale piu la tua gamha die tutto il mio Cristoforo !

"—" Thy leg is worth more thau
"
all my Saint Christopher !

The cathedral also possesses the famous Saint Anthony of Padua, by Murillo, one
of the largest and best works of the Sevillian painter.
Let us now bid adieu to the wonders of the great Catholic temple, not fur from
which we find the Alcazar— after the Alhambra, one of the finest palaces bequeathed to
Spain. The origin of the Alcazar is only imperfectly known. According to general
belief commenced during the eleventh century by an Arab architect from Toledo,
it w^as

who imported the workmen engaged on the decorations of the Alhambra.

Unfortunately, however, no trace of the primitive structure remains. Above the
principal fagade we read this Gothic inscription, in the form of letters peculiar to Spain,
and which at first sight one would take, from the archaic and majestic ajjpearance, to be

Cufic characters of the most ancient type y muy nolle, y muy poderoso
:
" El muy alto,

y conquistador don Pedro, por la gracia de Deos rey de Cast ilia y deLeon, mando facer estos
Alcdzares y estasfapadas quefue hecho en la era mil cuatrocientos y dos."
"The most exalted, most noble, and most powerful conqueror, Don Pedro, by the
grace of God, King of Castille and Leon, commands these fagades and Alcazares to be
built." This curious inscription, with others of the same kind, proves that many important
works were carried out during the reign of Don Pedro the Cruel ; it was precisely at

this epoch, that the most important works of the Alhambra were executed, and the King
of Castille, who sometimes held amicable relations with the Moors of Granada, had engaged
workmen from that town, who were charged with the decoration of his palace.
Charles V., on the occasion of his marriage with Dona Isabella, the infanta of Portugal,
made some additions to the Alcazar in the Greco-Eoman siyle, which still exist, and
whose heavy aspect contrasts strangely with the capricious lightness of the Moorish
architecture. Later, further and most unsightly additions were made, when the delicate

arabesques almost entirely disappeared beneath repeated coatings of stone-colour. The

Spanish authors of the last century lightly esteemed Moorish architecture, accounting
it no better, if as good, as Gothic.

The Patio de las Doncellas, a great inner court with its many lobed arches supported
on graceful pillars of white marble, surmounted by small columns enclosing rich panels
of interlacing flowers and foliage of the most elaborate and beautiful wrorkmanship, presents
a scene not readily forgotten. This Patio de las Doncellas, " or court of the young girls,"

according to an ancient tradition, received its name from the fact that in this very court
the kings of Seville received annually one hundred virgins, who were sent to them by
the chiefs of tributary states.
If the courts and chambers of the Alliambra have thus their legends, taken from the
massacre of the Abeucerrages, those of the Alcazar have also theirs, for which they are
almost solely indebted to the treachery and tyranny of Pedro the Cruel. Our guide pointed
out to us some red stains on the marble floor of the Hall of Ambassadors. These red
blotches are to the minds of superstitious persons undoubted stains of blood. It is the
spot (so says the legend) where Don Pedro caused his guards to assassinate his brother,
Don Fadrique, with all his followers, who were suspected of treason. This event happened
on the 29th of May 1358. It seemed to be the fate of this unhappy monarch to slay his
relatives :
three brothers, his wife, and his aunt were murdered by him, and he himself
was assassinated (in his thirty-fouith year) by his brother, Henri de Transtamare.
Every step one takes in the Alcazar recalls some memory of this terrible king. It
MOORISH ARCHES OF THE ALCAZAR, SEVILLE. To face page 266.
 ;

THE ALCAZAR OF SEVILLE. 269

was in the Alcazar he received a ruler of Granada, Abu-Said, surnamed el rey Bermejo.
tliat

After having him conducted in safety to his palace, he got up the most brilliant f6tes in his
honour. According to Oriental custom, the Moorish kiug was accompanied by a numerous
retinue, and displayed an extraordinary wealth of cloth of gold and of silver raiment,
covered with pearls and precious stones. A contemporary manuscript, which gives an account
of the event, mentions three enormous rubies of extraordinary beauty, and as large as
pigeons' eggs.* The king of Castille could not resist the temptation presented by the
sight of these treasures. He therefore, with his own hand, murdered their confiding
owner, Abu, in one of the rooms of the palace.
After having traversed the different rooms in the Alcazar, we next visited the ancient
baths, called los Banos de Padilla. These were the Moorish baths that Pedro the Cruel
had prepared for the celebrated Maria de Padilla, a young lady of noble family, renowned
for her great beauty. Padrie Mariana, in his " History of Spain," paints her charms in the
most glowing colours. She had the reputation of having bewitched the king. Her tomb
is placed by the side of that of Saint Ferdinand, in the Capilla Reed, the principal chapel in
the Cathedral.
The garden of the Alcazar is still a charming retreat, crowded with rare tropical
plants, among which one sees bananas in full fruit. The paths are paved with brick
pierced with innumerable small holes, communicating with a network of copper water-
pipes. The water when turned on issues from the perforated bricks as if a shower of fine

rain were rising from the ground in place of falling from the clouds. This sort of
hydraulic device, so harmless under a burning sun, was much in vogue among the Arabs
and Moors of Spain.
After the Alcazar, one of the principal objects of attraction in Seville is the Casa de
Pilatos, a palace built about the commencement of the sixteenth century, and at the

present day the property of the Duke of Medina-Celi, who does not, however, reside there.
The patio is one of the finest of the kind we have seen, while its ornaments and those of
the apartments of the palace are so purely Moorish in style, as to lead to the belief that Don
Fadrique Henriquez de Rivera, who had the place built, must have employed workmen
from Granada to carry out the decorations, probably Moorish fugitives, who had fled from
the town after it fell into the hands of the Spaniards. The Casa de Pilatos was thus
named, it is said, because it was built after the plan of the house of Pontius Pilate, at

Jerusalem.
The university of Seville was formerly as celebrated as those of Alcala and of Salamanca
it now occupies the site of an ancient convent. AVhen we entered the chapel of the
universidad we were struck with the beauty of two great mausolea of white marble, the
work of Italian sculptors of the sixteenth century. The extraordinary richness and exquisite

finish of these masterpieces render them worthy of a wider fame.

Another monument, comparatively unknown, and which ought to be visited by lovers

of art, is the church of the convent of Santa Paula, called las monjas de Santa Paula.
The doorway is surmounted by azulejos of great beauty, the chef-d'oeuvre of Niculoso
Francisco, the Italian ceramic painter established at Seville.
The Museum of Seville in the ancient convent of the Merced is the only one amongst

provincial museums at all worthy of the name.

*
Kin'' Pedro, after the battle of Navarrete, presented one of the rubies to the Black Prince. After passing
through many different hands, it came into the possession of Queen Elizabeth, and at the present day adorns
the royal crown of England, preserved in the Tower of London.
 —

2 70 SPAIN.

The school of most important in Spain, and it is singular to notice that of

Seville is the

its two great masters, Velazquez and

Murillo, the works of the latter may be said to form

the Museum of the Merced, which does not possess a single

example of the works of the

former. This absence of the paintings of Velazquez, the greatest artistic genius that Spain
ever produced, would seem as strange as it is unaccountable, did we not remember that
the painter spent the greater part of his time at the court of Philip IV,
It is well known that Murillo had three different stales, which the Spaniards have
named frio, 6dlido, and vaporoso :
" cold, warm, and vaporous." The cartoon representing
Saint Justine and Saint Eufine is painted in the warm style : the two patronesses of

Seville are pictured with vases similar to those still manufactured in the suburbs of the town.
Another work, the Virgin and Child, is said to have been painted by Murillo on a

napkin, hence its name la The majority of the other works of Murillo,
servilleta.

though less valuable, are equally remarkable in style. The other pictures in the collection
include Saint Thomas d'Aquin, a masterpiece by Zurbaran, Saint Hermenegilde of Herrera
el viejo, and a canvas by Fr. Pacheco, father-in-law of Velazquez.

The Museum boasts but an insignificant collection of sculpture. One of its best

examples is a Virgin iu terra-cotta by Torrigiano, the Florentine sculptor who was exiled

after he had broken the nose of Michael Angelo. It is well known that Torrigiano
perished miserably in a Sevillian dungeon, a victim of the Inquisition, which charged him
with heresy.
At the Caridad, an asylum for the poor in charge of the sisters of the order of Saint

Vincent de Paul, we were shown two of the masterpieces of Murillo which adorn the
chapel. One, Moses striking the rock, called by the Spaniards la Sed — the Thirst — and
the Miracle of the loaves and fishes. We also found, under the same roof, a frightful
picture by Juan Valdes Leal, of a half-open coffin, containing the remains of a prelate in

splendid robes, his corpse partly consumed by worms. If we credit tradition, Murillo used
to say that he could not look at this picture without covering his nose.
On leaving the Caridad we made our way to the Fdhrica de Tabacos, an immense
block of building, one hundred and seventy metres wide, and nearly two hundred long,
built in 1757. The deep trenches by which it is surrounded lead one to fancy it is a
fortress or barrack in place of a factory.

As early as tlie year 1620 the manufacture of tobacco was commenced at Seville under
the direction of an Armenian, named Jean Baptiste Carrafa. Spanish tobacco was formerly
famed over the whole world, while Spanish snuff was no less celebrated. During the last
century the Spaniards themselves rarely smoked, at least we gather from Saint Simon's
Memoires that a smoker was there a great curiosity.
Wewere able to obtain permission to witness the manufacture of tobacco as it is
carried on in this factory. A capataz, or foreman, was told off to conduct us over the
various departments on the gound-floor, where the tabaco de polvo is chopped up to form
el rape and tabaco picado used for cigarettes. The capataz assured us that the factory
contained eighty-four courts, as many fountains and wells, and more than two hundred
mills driven by horses.

Passing through the rooms where the leaf is crushed and triturated, we were half
choked by the poignancy of the air, to which, however, the workers are so thoroughly
accustomed as to suffer no inconvenience whatever. Our guide, taking compassion on our
tender nostrils, led us up to the first-floor, and handed us over to a maesiJm— inspector
—who introduced us to the rooms where the clgarreras are employed.
&1
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THE TOBACCO FACTORY. 273

Entering a long gallery our ears were assailed by a murmur like the sound of ten
thousand swarms of bees. Here we found numerous workers, whose Lands were employed
in rolling cigars with an activity only surpassed by tlie ceaseless clamour of their
voices. As we passed from place to place the busy tongues were arrested for an instant,
but the whisperings soon commenced again with redoubled vigour. The Maestra informed
us that if the workers were compelled to perform their tasks in silence, they every one of
tliem would leave the factory rather than submit to such tyranny. Another strange sound
mingled with the whisperings was caused by hundreds of- scissors, tijeras, all in motion at
the same time, cutting the points of the cigars these are so indispensable to the cigarreras
:

as to be called their bread-winners.

" Dijo Dios : Hombre, el pan que comer^s,

Con el sudor del rostro grauar^s
Cigarrera, anadio, tu vivirds
Con la tijera haciendo : tris, tris, tras."

" God said to man, The bread thou eatest, shalt thou gain by the sweat of thy brow ;

Cigarrera, he added, thou shalt live by the tijera by making tris, tris, tras."
We stopped before one or two of the best workers, who are able to turn out as many
as ten packets or atados a day, each one containing fifty cigars, which makes a total
of five hundred, an exceptional number, as few of the cigarreras make above three hundred
cigars per day, and the majority not so many. The price paid per hundred is one franc
twenty-eight centimes, and the earning for an average day's toil is a little over two
francs.

The people em23lo3'ed in making cigars are the aristocracy of the trade, known under
the established name of pureras, that is to say, makers of puros, the name generally given
to cigars to distinguish them from cigarettes, or cigarros de papel. Spanish cigars,
as a rule, are of very large dimensions, and the largest are sometimes named purones;
the inside is made up of Virginia tobacco, while the outer cover, or the capa, consists
of a leaf of Havannah tobacco. An enormous number of cigars and of cigarettes are
smoked in Spain, but the pipe is rarely seen unless on some parts of the coast in Catalonia,
ami in the Balearic Isles. Although tobacco may be bought cheaply at the estancos or sales,

yet it is asserted that large quantities are smuggled into the country, chiefly by way
of Gibraltar, that great entrepot for contraband goods.
Before reaching the exalted position of cigarrera, the worker, who usually enters the
factory at the age of thirteen, has to serve as an apprentice, or aprendiza, and has to pass
through the different degrees of the hierarchy ; first she is occupied in selecting the finest
sides of the palillos, or leaves of the tobacco. Later she is advanced to making the cigar,

to hacer el nino — to make the chubby-cheeked boy —according to their own peculiar
language. She gains but little for some years, and from her slender earnings has to

sacrifice a portion to pay for the espurta, the basket designed to receive the tobacco leaves,
the scissors, and the tarugo, an instrument used to round the puros.
seems that the cigarreras, notwithstanding the smallness of their pay, are strongly
It

attached to their occupation they are jokingly represented as wearing a band on their
:

"
shoes, when they have any, inscribed with these words, " Long live tobacco I

" Tienen las cigarreras

En el zapato

Un letrero que dice

"
Viva el tabaco !
274 SPAIN.

The workrooms are divided into sections, containing about a hundred women in each,

presided over by one of the Maestras, of whom we have just spoken, and who are selected
from the best workers ; then there are a class of subordinate overseers, who are themselves

workers, and who are seated at the tables with the others.
The making of cigarettes gives employment to a large number of hands ; it is not,

however, so lucrative as the making of cigars. It was singular to observe that the

majority of the cigarros de papel were gipsies.

The cigarreras take their meals with them to the factory, the rooms being twice
a day transformed into huge refectories, redolent with the mingled odours of garlic, fish,
sardines, red-herrings —
black as ink —
and slices of broiled tunny the materials which —
make up the cigarreras simple bill of fare.
The Fdhrica de Tdbacos gives employment to about four thousand women and five

hundred men. Besides the gitanas and the pureras, a great number are engaged in tying
the cigars and cigarettes, and in making them up into bundles, work which they execute
with marvellous rapidity. These who are called empapeladoras, work
latter, in shops where
men are in majority. It is in these magasins that the employers deliver a certain weight
of tobacco. to each worker, to be used for the task of the day : this is called la data. The
cigarreras, when the day's toil is over, ought to bring back a number of cigars, or cigarettes,

proportioned to the weight they received ; but the mozos, with more cunning than honesty,
sometimes have their favourites, so it is said — their paniaguadas — in whose behalf they
make a compromise with the scales.
Nothing is more droll than the aspect of these immense rooms, where so many women
are at work, only dressed in a chemise
and a skirt, such is the simplicity of their costume.
Many them ignore the use of stockings, while there are few whose hair is not
of
decked with some brilliant flower, a rose, pink, or dahlia. Not many years ago the
cigar?^eras, joining in the march of civilisation, wore crinolines, or cages—polisones, y
mirinaques, as they are called in Spain. Before setting to work, however, they took them
off and hung them up around the pillars of the rooms, with their shawls, their mantillas de
tira, and the baskets which contained their repasts.
A really curious spectacle is the moment when the cigarreras are leaving the factory,
when one is startled by something like a steeplechase of three or four thousand women
impatient to breathe the pure air outside, and to regain their liberty.
No sooner have they quitted their tables than they rush pell-mell to the staircases,
which they descend in the wildest confusion, singing and laughing like lunatics. But
as soon as the first outbreak has subsided, and they arrive at the porteria, the noise
suddenly ceases, for there they must stop and be examined by the registradas—maestras—
whose keen eyes are quick to detect the tobacco which might be otherwise smuggled
away by the cigarreras.
" Lie van las cigarreras

En el rodete
Un cigarrito habano
Para six Pepe."

— " The cigarreras carry off in their chignons a Havannah cigar for their Pepe."
The cigaivercts are frequently the subjects of popular
songs, in which it is much to be
regretted they are not represented as models of
virtue, although at the same time there are
noted exceptions. Tliat many of them seem to live
a bohemian sort of life may be
gathered from the Rdacion de las cigarreras, donde
se declaran sus dichos, hechos, costumbres
•a.

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 CIGAREEEAS. 2/7

y lo que pasa entre ellas, that is an account wherein their sayings and usages are related.

The author begins by remarking that he lodged in a house where two pureras lived.
"They made such an uproar," he adds, " that I was afflicted with constant headaches, and
was nearly driven mad. I would rather make my bed in the streets than under the roof
which shelters cigarreras."

^
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CIGARRERAS OF THE TOBACCO FACTORY, SEVILLE.

 MAJOS AND MAJAS AT THE PAIR OF BOCIO, ENVIRONS OF SEVILLE.

CHAPTER XIII.

and Majas—
The fena de Seville— The clialanes and the cJialanerias—The Noche huena—ihe bunoleras—The Majos
The Andalucian dialect— The /ena de Torrijos, popular scenes— A gipsy in licLuor— The iJoTOmas—
The Virgen del
Bocio—Sunte Ponce, the ancient Italica— The religious fetes of Seville the Pasos—The Crista del Gran Poder
;

and
—The Cirio Pasciial—The Passion-week processions—The brotherhoods—The theatres of Se\i\le—Zarzuelas
sainetes—The Barateros of Seville: Barbers of Seville— Tiiana and its inhabitants— The potteries of
Triana—
Gipsies of Triana, their funeral ceremonies and their language.

The grand fSte of Seville, tlic f^te par excellence, is the Feria, held outside the walls,

between the suburb San Bernardo and the Cadiz railway. From this site one obtains

a splendid view of Seville; on the left rises the imposing mass of the Fdbrica de Tahacos ; in

front the gigantic silhouette of the cathedral overtopped by the bronze statue which crowns
the Giralda. The feria de Seville is as important as any of the large fairs held in the
country, such as those of Santa Ponce, and of Mairena, and attracts a great number of

persons from all parts of Andalucia.

The trade in horses and cattle is carried on with the greatest activity at the fair in

Seville, where we had an opportunity of studying the type of the chalan, or gipsy horse-
dealer, whose cunning and dexterity are proverbial, and after whom the shrewdest and
most dexterous horsedealers of other lands are innocence and simplicity in person. The
chalanerias, or dodges, employed by the clialanes, are numerous and are so highly prized in

Spain that the word has become synonymous with roguery.

Nothing can present a more animated scene than the feria. There is a gipsy who is

opening the mouth of the horse he is about to sell, or praising the points of some mule he
 —
THE ANDALUCIAN MAJA. 2«I

has an interest in. Further off a majo, spreading his mauta in place of a carpet before
a maja, who advances mounted on an Andalucian horse, her head shaded by a sombrero
calanes; a youth smoking his cigarette, or a gipsy telling fortunes there oxen, sheep, and ;

calisas daubed over with paint. The cattle are lodged in the vast enclosure within
barriers formed of coarse netting,
like those used for the same purpose by the peasants in
the country around Rome. Booths with pointed roofs made out of boards and canvas are
ranged in long rows from one end to the other of the field of the feria, and are stored with
merchandise diverse and attractive. Perhaps the botillerias, in which liquors and iced drinks
are sold, are most numerous. Manyby gipsies, as may be gathered
of the stalls are held
from the sign-boards in pure The same may be said of the tabernas, called ermitas
calo. —
hermitages. During the evening merry bands gather around these botillerias and ermitas
before joining the gay throng on its way back to Seville.
The night was advancing as we ourselves followed the crowd of joyous citizens
homewards, and let us add that we only do the Spaniards simple justice when we say that
they enjoy their pleasures with a heartiness and good-nature which are apt to put us
to shame.
The Noche buena —the good-night— or the Noche e Navid—t\ie night of the Nativity
as the Andaluciaus call Christmas Eve, also ranks among the times of rejoicings in Seville ;

but the velada de San Juan —the Eve of Saint John — is one of the greatest popular f^tes
of the Andalucian capital. On the evening of the 23rd of June, the evening of the fete
of the Precursor, all Seville appears to flock to the rendezvous on the great Alameda de
Hercules. On such an occasion one has no need of a better guide than that afforded by the
flowing tide of the population. Thus it was that we arrived in the promenade, which
presented a curious and brilliant aspect. The Alameda was seemingly surrounded by
festoons of lights, a vast and costly illumination wliich turned out to be nothing more than
the simple lamps which lighted the innumerable stalls around the promenade. A strong
and searching odour of hot oil rose from the many tables where fritters were sold. These
occupied the best places, and were presided over by brown gipsies frying their bohemiau
viands in the open air. Others held the puestos de flares, where pinks, dahlias, and a variety
of flowers were tastefully spread out to attract the Andalucians in want of bouquets or
flowers to deck their hair. Bunoleras and ramilleteras invite customers both by voice
and gesture. Should a well-dressed gentleman be imprudent enough to stop and examine
their merchandise, he is at once surrounded, and compelled to ransom himself by buying
some of their wares for a few cuartos. The gipsies attack him first with flattering phrases,
such as " ojyos e mi arma "—" eyes of my soul," etc. Should he refuse to buy, woe betide
him ! Placing their fists on their hips, they stand up and ply him with a thousand
grotesque epithets and insults. When the unfortunate at last escapes, it is under a shower
of those imprecations which the calo supplies, and the gipsies delight to lavish.
The Andalucian maja, whose fame is so often sung in the popular sonnets and ballads,

is often, by profession, a cigarrera. Sometimes also — sacrificing romance to truth

she is -only a vendor of fried fish, or a castanera who roasts chestnuts at the door of an

inn. It often happens, however, that, like the children of Auvergne in France, the maja

is a person of no occupation, a type which, thanks to the inroads of railways, will gradually
become extinct. It is only on the days of grand f^tes that the majas present themselves
to the public gaze. On those occasions they are mugeres de chispa, the jembras de rumbo

y de trueno, expressions which defy translation, but which in Spanish render with marvellous
force the passion these women have for pleasure and riot. The 7naja delights in bull-
 —

282 SPAIN.

fightiug, supremely happy when she can repair to a corrida in an open calesa ; but
and is

her joy knows no bounds should she encounter

some of her less fortunate friends on foot.

The corrida has hardly commenced before she boldly criticises the thrusts, loudly hissing
or applauding the espadas, banderilleros, and
picadores, and never quitting her place until
torero; for tbe maja shows a
the last bull has been slain. She frequently leaves with a
marked predilection for la gente de cuerno, as the toreros are jokingly styled by the lower
orders, since their days and their labour are spent amongst horned beasts. From the

plaza they repair to the hotilleria, where the triumphs and failures of the corrida are freely

discussed. The evening is ended by a jaleo or a zapateado in one of those popular reunions

called bailes de candil.

The maja sometimes frequents the theatre still she manifests but little interest in the
—
;

mock drama, preferring the corrida, where tragedy is played de veras " in earnest." At
times she will interrupt the play with peals of laughter, at the most amusing parts. The
players seem to her all excellent, provided they are powerful of limb and loud of voice.

The best pieces are those wherein bold brigands figure, guns are fired, and poniards glance
in the air. The majas who adhere to the old Andalucian customs speak the native patois

in all its purity. There are a great many expressions common in Andalucia, which
cannot bear a literal translation : for example, saZ— salt — signifies grace ; and it is one
of the prettiest compliments that can be paid to a woman to call her salero — salt-cellar

or to say to her that she is salted, salada. The canela (cinnamon) is a word also applied

to a handsome woman, but la sal de la canela, or la Jlor de la ca7iela, serves to express the

highest degree of perfection. Many words of the same kind which are not to be found
in dictionaries, are constantly employed by the common people, majos, majas, toreros,
caleseros, and others.

The accent of the Andalucians is extremely marked : it is thus as easy to distinguish

them by their speech, as it is for us to distinguish the Provincials or the Gascons. We
may add that the Andalucians are in the habit of speaking with great volubility ; they,
as it is vulgarly said, eat half their words. Thus strangers, even those who are per-
fectly familiar with Castillian, find it difiicult to understand them, and the inhabitants
of other Spanish provinces do not understand them Be that as
perfectly. it may, their
quick, impulsive language, so full of imagery, is always charming when it flows from
the lips of a native beauty. It is like an imnge of the bright sun and blue sky of
Andalucia.
La Feria de Torrijos is one of those fetes or romerias — pilgrimages — for which the
environs of Seville are so celebrated. It takes its name from a small village near the town,
in which there is a hermitage containing an image of Christ, highly venerated by the
people, el Santo Crista de Torrijos. It is not, however, at Torrijos that one witnesses
the attractions of the f^te : it is when the procession is returning through the calle de
Costilla, the principal street of the suburb of Triana. About an hour before sunset the
inhabitants of the town throng both sides of this roadway, some on forms, some on chairs,
while the balconies above are filled with women in elegant attire, who, as they fan them-
selves, are awaiting the passing of the cortege. One of our Sevillian friends kindly provided
a balcony for our use, enabling us to command every detail of this curious picture of
popular customs.
A
number of majos, mounted on Andalucian horses, headed the procession, their
majas seated on the croup resting against them with their right arms round the waist.
The majos were dressed in the well-known Andalucian costume as to the majas, we have
;
 : —
THE FERIA DE TORRIJOS. 283

never seen anything so grotesque as the fashionable Parisian attire in which tliey indulge
on these occasions only. In one word, in order to secure their full share of admiration,
they disguise themselves as Senoras at the fdte of Torrijos. The majas achieve this
triumph of toilet by borrowing nameless cast-off odds, and ends of faded finery —canary
or apple-green bonnets of marvellous device, the relics of a bygone generation. It is
difficult to believe that these ladies are proud of wearing all this borrowed frippery ; never-
theless, the majas, many of them, cannot help looking pretty, even in such trumpery apparel.
The crowd was rapidly increasing. We could hear joyous cries, and the sounds of
female voices, accompanied by musical instruments ; the sounds came nearer, and soon
we could descry a long file of carros drawn by oxen, with gigantic horns and heads, half
buried beneath pyramids of tufted silken bows and fringes of the gayest colours. The
carros contained troops of young girls in gala dress, chanting couplets of seguidillas,
or other national songs. Some were followed by their admirers strumming on the guitars,
rattling the castanets, or the tambourine, with a vigour only equalled by their- devotion.
A very long train of carros passed beneath our gaze, each containing from fifteen

to twenty women, while by the roadsides were two constant streams of those on foot, who
consoled themselves for the lack of more dignified locomotion by grinding guitars, joking
with the people in the balconies, or raising to their lips enormous leathern bottles, which
yielded up their fragrant streams of dark red wine, and yet though these libations were
of the most frequent occurrence, we did not notice a single example of intoxication. At
least, we were speculating on the want of potency in the wine, or the marvellous sobriety
of the people, when a strange sound greeted our ears, and soon we beheld stretched, as if

lifeless, on the back of a donkey, a man, at full length, gloriously drunk. He was a gitano
being led to his home.
This unfortunate reveller, wrapped in an old manta, was bound to his ass like a sack
of corn ; but the fastening was badly managed, and he fell from time to time from off the
back of his humble companion, when it became necessary to readjust and rebind the load,
greatly to the amusement of the crowd. One young woman facetiously applied the proverb,
—
Debajo de una mala capa hay un huen hehedor " Beneath a bad cloak there is a good
drinker."
The romerias, or pilgrimages, of the present day, it may be fairly said, scarcely

resemble religious fdtes. The dancing, wine, and jollity with which they are invariably

associated, cause the relics and saints to be quite forgotten ; thus another proverb cautions
young men against choosing their wives at a romeria —
" Si fueres 4 buscar novia
Que no sea en romeria."

Some sayings, well known in Spain, convey a very fair notion of these fetes :

" Komeria de cerca

Much vino y pooa cera."

— " At the neighbouring romeria more wine than wax is consumed."

" A las romerfas y & las bodas
Van locas todas."

— "At weddings and at pilgrimages giddy-headed women are never wanting."

These Spanish f^tes, or romerajes, take their name from Rome, as that renowned city

used to be the end of all great pilgrimages of the Peninsula.

One of the most curious I'ltes to be seen in the province is the Rocio. The Madona
284 SPAIN.

wliicli is venerated there bears the poetic name, Virgen del Rocio—" Virgin of the Dew."

The f^te of the Eocio takes place in a little village of that name, about thirty miles from
Seville, and attracts great crowds, not only from the Andalucian capital, but from Jerez,
Cadiz, Huelva, and even from the frontier of Portugal. On our arrival at Eocio, the

environs of the village were taken up by an assemblage of pilgrims, and by horse and
cattle dealers encamped in the adjacent fields. These simple encampments were hedged
around by a motley collection of carros, galeras, and other vehicles. The enclosure thus
obtained was for the accommodation of the traders, or pilgrims, who cook there, and there
spread their beds on the bare sods. The mode of cooking is extremely simple it is all ;

done in an iron pot, slung from each vehicle, and this pot is also used for feeding and
watering the oxen or horses. As to their beds, each one, wrapped in his manta, sleeps
soundly, with the ground for a mattress and his arm for a pillow.
In the morning we witnessed the defile of the procession, where the picture of the
Virgen del Rocio is solemnly carried. This ancient painting, begrimed with the smoke
of incense, is dimly seen in a recess, formed by a sort of miniature chapel, placed on a carro
with enormous wheels and drawn by meek-looking oxen, their heads and horns laden with
bows, fringes, and diverse garlands. The little temple was draped with lace, adorned with
knots of ribbons and bouquets of flowers. Many lanterns accompanied the picture, while
silk ribbons were hung from the corners of this ambulating chapel, and attached to the
heads of the oxen. The procession was led by an Andalucian in the national costume,
who held in his right hand a fife, from which he produced ear-piercing notes his left ;

hand was performing on a tambour slung with a cord round the neck. The music was
simple, if not impressive, and recalled the tambourine and the galoubefc of the provincial
romerajes. Next came the majos and majas, decked out in the most gorgeous array of
finery, singing and sounding a medley of castanets, guitars, and tambourines. Then came
the car of the Madona. The open-air merchants drove a fiourishing trade that day, more
especially the vendors of alfajores, a sort of sweet cake of Arabic origin, sold by serranas
(mountain maids) of remarkable beauty,
Before commencing our experiences in Seville, we made one or two excursions to
Italica, the village which has replaced the ancient Eoman town. Italica was also named,
during the Eoman epoch, Divi Trajani civitas, the town of Trajan, because it gave birth
to the celebrated emperor. Italica was founded by Scipio Africanus, who gave it for its
first inhabitants the veterans of the Eoman legions. Later, the Emperor Adrian, who
was also born at Italica, ornamented the town with splendid edifices. Italica was also
the country of Theodosius. Under the Visigoth kings, the place was not less flourishing.
Ldovigilde rebuilt the walls about the end of the sixth century, when he laid siege to
Hispalis, where his son Hermenigilde had raised the standard of revolt. When Spain
became Mussulman, Italica, abandoned for Seville, rapidly sank into obscurity, and it was
not long before even its Arab name, Talikah or Talkah, was completely There
forgotten.
is nothing now remaining to mark the site of the
ancient city which gave birth to these
emperors, save portions of its amphitheatre, fragments of
entablature, and broken pillars.
The amphitheatre, whose dimensions are given by Florez and Montfaucon, difiered in no
respect from other Eoman
edifices of the same epoch.
The most popular religious f6tes of Seville are held during Holy
Week, aud may be
compared to those in Eome. Apropos of these funciones,
as they are called, we may
mention the Pasos, a word signifying in its strictest
sense a figure of our Lord during
His Passion, but which is applied without distinction to the groups of life-sized wooden
 THE PASOS OF SEVILLE. 285

iniagGs bclono-iug to the various churclies, and whicU arc carried in procession tln-ongh

the streets of the town during Passion Week. Formerly the most renowned sculptors
did not disdain to carve these images, which they afterwards painted with their

own hands. The pasos are still made of wood and painted by a class of artists whose

occupation consists in colouring and repairing the images in the churches. All the

churches in Seville have their ^asos ; one of the most curious is known as Jesus Nazareno
del Gran Poder, that is to say, "Jesus Nazareeu, of great power." It belongs to the

church of San Lorenzo and is considered one of the best works of the sculptor Montanes.
This figure of Christ is clothed in a long black velvet robe elaborately- embroidered with
silver and gold, and carries a cross which is inlaid with ivory and mother of pearl. On
each side of the image stands an angel with outstretched wings and bearing a lamp,

BUINS OP ITALICA, NEAR SEVILLE.

of the platform of the paso. On one

while four large lamps are placed at the corners
procession past our window. The bearers
occasion we saw this gorgeous image carried in
appearance of voluntary motion to the
were hidden by ample drapery, which gave the
our way into the heart of
strange device. AVe descended, and not without trouble made
to the cathedral. The fetes commence on
the compact crowd, and were carried onward
celebrated beneath the majestic naves
Palm Sunday, when the benediction of the palms is
An enormous quantity of palm branches are consumed
Spam and, m
of the cathedral.
supply to the
Seville Cathedral sends an annual
according to ancient custom, the canon of
generosity, forward a quantity of the
wax used
canons of Toledo, who, in return for this
thirty feethigh may be
to make the Cirio Pascual. This famous paschal taper, standing
than
marble column, and it never weighs less
compared to the mast of a ship, or a huge
 —
;

286 SPAIN.

n,bou'^ two tliousand two hundred pounds. This Ccaiidlc is kept burning during Holy Week,
when a choir-boy is constantly employed in gathering the wax that swelters down its

sides. The afternoon of Palm Sunday is devoted to the procession of the pasos. A
Sevillian friend offered us a balcony at the angle of the Calle de Genova and the Flaza de
la Constitucion : this we gladly accepted, as it was. in one of the best positions for wituessing
the public ceremony.
The leading j9aso, the Conversion del Buen Ladron the conversion of the good thief —
was made up of a group representing Christ between the two thieves, accompanied by
angels bearing the instruments of the Passion, and the inevitable lanterns which figure at
these f^tes. At the head of the cortdge marched a troop of soldiers headed by a mounted
officer in full dress, then folloM'ed the standard of the confradia, borne by a member of the
brotherhood ; on one side it carried the arms of Spain, and on the other the Pontifical arms
with this inscription :
" Archicofradia pontificia." This banner was followed by a body of
los Nazarenos —the Nazarenes—persons who take an important part in these religious
processions. The Nazarenes are adorned with a huge taper-hood, at least half a yard
high, resembling a candle extinguisher, or horn ; this is supplemented by a long veil hiding
the face and neck, and furnished with two eyeholes. A tunic held in at the waist by a
broad band falls to the ground, spreading out in a long train. This tunic, allowed to
sweep with its full length the floor of the cathedral, is carefully tucked up in the streets,
so as to display the wearer's well-turned limbs, clothed in tight stockings and the dainty
slippers, willi silver buckles, which cover the feet. In the centre of tlie procession
came the hermanos mayores, a sort of grand master of the brotherhood, rich in the
ornaments and emblems of his order. The munidores, or masters of ceremonies, followed,
bearing long silver trumpets, like those of the heralds of old, garnished with rich silk
hangings, a reckless waste of embroideries, fringes, and tassels. Then came porters
bearing basket-loads of wax tapers, and a paso, representing the entra,nce of Christ into
Jerusalem. The figures of our Saviour mounted on an ass and followed by the disciples,
life-size, are clothed in vestments of silk and velvet. As we have already said, these
groups of images are mounted on platforms and carried by men concealed by simple
draperies. The bearers being thus deprived of seeing their way are led by members of the
brotherhood, who have established a code of telegraphy by knocking on the platform when
they are wanted either to stop, or to proceed. Dnriug Monday and Tuesday in Holy
Week there is no outdoor ceremony. On Wednesday we dropped in at the cathedral,
where they were chanting the Passion. When they came to the words, " et velum templi
scissum est "-" and the veil of the temple was rent "—we heard the sound of a veil being torn
then, by the same mechanism as that used in theatres, they imitated thunder and hghtning
at the moment when Christ expired.
After this performance the pasos are again paraded
through the town, one representing our Saviour with a cord
round his neck being dragged
along by a band of Jews, bearing in nheir hands a
number of very curious weapons.
Besides this, a variety of other scenes from the Passion
were carried about until darkness
set in, when we again repaired to the cathedral
to hear the Miserere, the rendering of
which had been so much vaunted bv the SeviUians.
The crowd was so great that we
found difficulty in finding seats beneath the nave.
The Miserere, which lasted over an
hour, was sung with great power and pathos, while the instrumental accompaniment was
quite equal to the vocal rendering of the
composition. The music, indeed, of the cathedral
enjoys a well merited reputation all over
Spain. The ceremonials of Maundy-Thursday
are of a still more pompous and
imposing character; in the morning, the Cardinal-
 To face page 286.
A PASO AT SEVILLE.
 — ;

THEATRES OF SEVILLE. 289

Archbishop of Seville cousecrates the holy oils, when the marvellous richness of the
sacerdotal vestments of the numerous clergy renders the scene in the cathedral extremely
brilliant and attractive. It is also on this day that the monumento is lit up. This
—
monumento Holy Sacrament of the San tisimo— executed by an Italian artist towards the
close of the sixteenth century, is a sort of vast wooden temple, which takes to pieces, but
requires a long time (about three weeks) and great labour to put together. It is in the
trascoro, that is behind the choir, on the site of the tomb of Christopher Columbus, that
the monument is erected. When lighted up the effect is truly marvellous, the tapers
numbering nearly eight hundred.
Good Friday is the day on which the 2^c(,sos are displayed in great number, and when
the most interesting is that called Santo E^itierro. The figures of this group, unlike thj
others, are living. One man, scythe in hand, seated on the World, represents Death. A
number of children are dressed as angels. One, Saint Michael, in warrior costume
another, el Santo Angel de Guarda, conducting man by the hand : man is a baby of about
three years, who shivers in his swaddling bands as he gazes with dismay on the crowd
of allegorical personages around him. Two other babes are the angels Gabriel and
Eaphael. Christ, in a glass case, surrounded by Roman soldiers, is followed by the
Virgin, Saint John, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and other personages. This great
show reminded us of tableaux vivants, and the simple mysteries of the Middle Ages.
Easter Eve was not without its own peculiar allegorical procession, meant to symbolise
the founding of the Church.
The processions of Seville, with their masked and hooded penitents, remind one of
a band of victims of the ancient Inquisition being led to their doom.
Nevertheless, there are stranger spectacles to be encountered in the streets of Seville,
scenes of the serio-comic order. We have beheld more than once a wretched coffin laid

upon drawn by a miserable horse, made to trot at full speed, and followed by a troop
a cart
of indigentsmaking all haste to be rid of a troublesome task. It was a. pauper's funeral.
Easter Sunday was taken up with a great variety of amusements, amongst which the
corrida was perhaps the most popular, at which we saw a young espada slay two bulls with
her pretty hand ; then followed courses a la Portugaise, less bloody, although not less
interesting than the ordinary courses; and the carnage ended by a brave torero, mounted
on higb stilts, killing several bulls.
Seville has two theatres Teatro principal and that of San Fernando —where comedies,
dramas, tragedies, and operas are indiscriminately played without offence to the national
taste, and to which the people repair to terminate the f^tes of Easter Sunday.
The first time we visited the Teatro principal there was a crowded house, but the

ladies were in majority, mantillas and flowers forming a great variety of simple yet
attractive head-dresses. There was a constant buzzing caused by the noise of whispering,
mingled with the motion of fans. Close to where we sat were two young Sevillians with
luxuriant black tresses decked with a white dahlia placed behind the ear. Behind them
sat their mother, who might possibly have been once as charming as her daughters,

but now, alas ! with her dark mantilla shading her wrinkled face, she looked like some old

duenna in a comedy.
At last the curtain rose upon a zarzuela, entitled Buenas noches, senor don Simon, a
translation of our comic opera, Bon Soir, Monsieur Pantalon, slightly modified, and set to new
music. The same may be said of many other Spanish pieces. They are simply adaptations.
If, therefore, Rotrou, Calprenede, Montfleury, Pierre and Thomas Corneille, Moliere, and
 ! " ;;

2 go
SPAIN.

others,have borroweLl from Spanish authors, one perceives that at the present day our
neiohbours are returning the compliment. Immediately after the zarzuela, followed El Pcu;o
y paca "Francis and Frances" —no Le Caporal et la Payse. So far nothing
other tliau

national, nothing original. Fortunately, however, we were agreeably surprised when the

curtain rose on the sainete.

The pieces comprehended under the name sainete are peculiar to the Peninsula. The
word now used in theatrical parlance signified originally a delicious morsel, agreeable to

the palate, or a sauce only used to give the most dainty savour to meats : it was then
applied to short pieces, burlesquing popular vices and follies, or presenting amusing pictures

of native customs and usages.

The sainetes, presenting only two or three scenes, and never exceeding a single act,

are sometimes written in prose ; they are, however, more commonly interspersed with
couplets and choruses. In Catalonia and Majorca, where ancient customs prevail, they are
still called entremeses, or tonadillas, as in the time of Cervantes.

Since the word has now passed into our language, it may be observed that its true

orthography is nearly always altered. Sometimes we have seen it written saynete, sainette,
saynette, and even saignette, and in France is ordinarily used in the feminine, while the

Spaniards, who pronounce it sainete, only employ it in the masculine.

The sainete before us is called El valor de una Giiana. The personages, all

gipsies, are four in number —Pepiya, a young attractive gipsy ; Gavlrro, her father
Perico, the betrothed ; and Asaura, a rejected admirer. The scene represents a grove
with Pepiya seated on the ground, placing some flowers in her jet black hair. She takes a
mirror from her pocket, and while gazing on her own loveliness, sings a couplet to its
praise. Gavirro, an old, tawny, dry and stooping gipsy, -the accomplished type of a mule
shearer, seeing his daughter so prettily decked, suspects that she has lost her heart,
but she won't own it. " Take care," said he ;
" Love is a
— " here the old man characterises
love in such strong terms that we won't venture to put them in print. "Do not," he
continued, " expose thyself to be covered with shame like thy mother, and remember that the
poor woman perished by the hands of the executioners." This joke was a great success,
calling forth rounds of applause from a certain portion of the house. The aged parent
no sooner retires than we hear a song from the side scenes. The voice approaches, and
its owner, Perico, appears. " Ole salero " he cries, as soon as he perceives Pepiya
" thy beauty has killed me, but if I only behold the curve of thy dainty foot I shall
return to life."
"Dost thou really love me as much
thou sayest, Perico?"
as
" Love thee I would pluck out an eye to see thee queen of Castille
I
! Fight for thee as
a she-bear fights to defend her young. Wilt thou be queen Say one word and I
? will
rout all nations, from the Russians to the French ! Should you desire scarfs and silk
mantillas, open thy pretty lips I need nothing more to bring thee
:
fifteen frigates, laden
with them to the water's edge. When I behold thy pretty mouth, is like a gleam of
it
heaven, and I tremble even to the tips of my pattes !
"

"I begin to think, Perico, that thou lovest me a little."

" I love you as my own donkey, aye, and more !

Perico retires, and replaced by Asaura, his rival, who bursts into tears, and not
is

without renson, one of the heaviest calamities that can visit one of his race has
as
befallen him : his donkey has been stolen. " Child of my heart, what
has become of thee ?
Donkey of a noble stock, as fair as an Englishman,
stronger than the horn of Saint James 1
PENITENTS ACCOMPANYING A PASO. To face page 290.
 !

SAINETE: EL VALOR DE UNA GITANA. 293

May thy tliief be chaBgecl to a lizard, and may a scorpioa devour him by little and
little."

Asaura ends by seeking consolation from his beloved Pepiya, whom he approaches
to kiss. This familiarity is resented by a vigorous blow on the ear, followed by " Mosito
I am too beautiful for thee. Dost thou know, only the other day, my garter having fallen,
a wreath of roses, as if by magic, took its place. It is not for thee that I deck myself
No ! it is for Perico."
" Perico ! I vow to tear out his heart with the blade of my navaja."
" Well, I will replace him, thou mayst say thy last prayer." Rolling her manta
around her arm, she draws her navaja. Perico enters.
"Between us," says the lover to his rival, "I will make an arroha (twenty-five
pounds) of pudding with thy liver."
" Let him live, Perico," says the tender-hearted girl, " do not stain thyself with the
blood of this hideous ape."
" Pepiya, beloved, leave us alone permit me to divide this ostrich in twain."
;

" Come," cried Asaura, " she is gone ; make thy confession, for thou art about to dance
zapateado."
"Draw the iron, sparrow ; thou shalt receive more thrusts than there are saints in the
calendar."
" Do not jump so. Defend thyself."
" To-day the world ends for one of us."

The rivals apostrophise each other thus for some time in the style of Homer's heroes.
No sooner has the combat commenced than Perico says aside, " It would be unhealthy to
receive a thrust of the navaja; it will be more comfortable to throw myself down, as if dead."
" Asaura," cried he, " thou hast cut me in half : I die !
" Pepiya enters, and seeing her lover
stretched on the ground, she picks up his navaja and charges Asaura, who also falls as
if mortally wounded.
" My Perico, my Perequiyo, thou art avenged !
" she cries, on seeing the unfortunate
swain falling at her feet. Then, throwing down the navaja, she kneels to bid her lover a
last farewell, and falls fainting between the rivals. Gavirro arrives at that instant, driving
a donkey before him, at once recognised as the stolen donkey of Asaura. On seeing three
bodies on the ground the old gipsy cries out, but soon subdues his excess of emotion, and
hastens to rifle the pockets of the dead combatants. This good Samaritan utters a fearful
oath on finding the pockets empty, and as he bids adieu to his lifeless daughter, promises
himself consolation with the donkey he had just stolen. Suddenly the animal, recognising
his master, brays loudly, whereupon Asaura rises as he hears the musical voice of his
beloved but lost helpmate. Perico and Pepiya, resuscitated in turn, join hands and receive
the old man's blessing.
These popular scenes lose force in being recounted in a different language. The actors

are so natural that onewould almost think them real gipsies. Their acting, full of ardour,
recalled Pasquale Altavilla, the author and Napolitan actor, and Antonio Petito, the
celebrated Pulcinella of the little theatre of San Carlino, two renowned popular
artists.

be seen in the sainete we have just glanced over that the gipsies are rather
It will

badly treated ; sometimes, however, it falls to the lot of the Andalucians, with their boasting
quackery and exaggerations, to be made the subjects of the farce. Paco Mandria y
Sacabuches, which we witnessed some days later, afi'ords a good illustration of the national
 : " " " "

SPAI^-
294

Paco Mandria, as he himself is careful to inform us, is a

eo-otism of tlie Andalucians.

mixture of courage and tenderness

" Yo lie nacio pa quer^
Y i. luego pa pele4 !

— "I am born to love and then to fight."

Naturally Sacabuches is his rival, and he engages him in a contest of lying and
boasting.
"Soy un mozo muy cruo!" — "I am a brave boy!" cries the first. In Andalucian,

a gars cru is one full of energy and pluck ; while onozo cocido, is a simple poltroou-^a

drenched fowl.
"Be silent, by simply sneezing I can send a score of men to hospital."
" Refuse of the gipsies, depart hence, or with a single blow I will knock thy
teotli out."
" Mozo cocido ! When my wrath is kindled the gods tremble, and a thrust of my
little finger will upset a cathedral."
" Mentiroso Fanfarron ! If I but undo my taja — -knife — I will adorn thee with more
scars than there are grey hairs on the head of thy grandmother."
" Chiqidyo — boy — dost thou not know how all France and Spain have resounded with
"
the fame of my deeds ?

" And I, have I not struck down thirty-two carahineros with a single blow ?

" Hold, idiot. Thou wilt see that I am a tiger, lion, and serpent, all in one !

" Face of a heretic ! Tell thy beads, for I am about to tear out thy heart."
This interesting dialogue is continued until drawing their navajas the rivals seem
about to close in mortal combat, when suddenly changing their minds they retire

tranquilly from the scene.

In another sainete, in which the boastful natives play a prominent part, the hero
is a majo, who, standing with his bare navaja in his right hand and his jacket rolled
round his arm, is amusing himself by challenging the men who are coming from a bull-

fight. "
Aqul hay un mozo jiara otro mozo ! " Here is a lad who waits for another." A —
big, brawny fellow advances, and one expects he is about to accept the challenge. He
however is not so foolish he calmly takes hold of the arm of the majo, and calls out,
— " Here
;

" Aqui hay dos mozos," etc. are two boys awaiting two others." A third appears,
and they are joined by others, until they form a band of doughty majos without finding
a single adversary.
The Andalucians own to their faults and follies good-naturedly, as we may gather
from the farces we have passed in review. At the same time a number of their sainetes
are devoted to ridiculing the follies of strangers. Spain is certainly not an inhospitable
country ;
nevertheless, there is a sort of vague spirit of distrust in the people which is

perhaps the outcome of their naturally independent spirit. The strangers are, as might
be expected, the French and English; the former are frequently designated Franchutes
or Gavachos. In the Sainete Oeroma la Castanera, the hero is a Frenchman, who is in love
with a young chestnut vendor. Our compatriot throughout the play speaks the language
bon negre, using the infinitive, as in the sabir mamamoucUs of Molifere. Geroma and her
majo,named Manolo, abuse the Franchute to their hearts' content, calling him canario—
canary—perro— dog— etc., to the great delight of the audience. All foreign languages are
iijlin-flan, that is a jargon, to the lower orders among the people. "When will God," said
 ; "

THE BARBERS OF SEVILLE. 295

one of tbem, "permit these demons of Gabachos to sj^eak like Christians?" It often
happens thnt in sainetes of this sort, couplets are introduced, where the national vanity is
fluttered to the detriment of foreigners for example — :

" Cuentan en Paris que somos

Atrosados zascandiles,
Porque esoasos de carriles
Miran er pais aun
Mas entiendan los muy perros
Que p4 andai por esta tierra
Basta el fuego que se encierra
En el peoho 6 un Andalu !

" In Paris they say we are presumptuous —that we are behind the times —because as
yet we have only a few railroads. But let them understand, the triple dogs, that for
traversing the earth, the fire in the heart of an Andalucian suffices."

We may also cite another verse

which is probably intended to reply to the famous
.sentence of Alexandre Dumas, " Africa begins on the other side of the Pyrenees " :

" Desde allende el Pirineo

Los estranjis muy ufanos
Nos apondan de Africanos
Porque vamos al toril ;

Y si alguna vez ocupan

El tendido de la plaza,

Con un palmo de bocaza

Van graznando : oh, que plaisir !

" On the other side of the Pyrenees, the strangers, inflated with pride, call us
Africans, because we fight with bulls ; but if they by chance sit on the steps of the circus,
"
they open wide their mouths and begin to bray. Oh, what pleasure !

For some time past, however, foreigners have been better treated on the stage. Even
the press has turned in our favour, and these are the words of a journalist who protested
against one of the sainetes to which we have alluded. " We have very little to say on the
subject of Geroma Castanera ; this well-known sainete has for its attraction savage phillipies

against strangers. If such pieces have found theatres for their representation, that is no
reason wliy certain persons should expose the bad taste of the nation by taking part in
tliera. It is not flattering to us to see Spaniards represented like Cafres, following up
with the navaja all who don't speak the calo. we continue to rejoice in these repugnant
If

and false pictures of manners, what right have we to find fault with foreign writers when
"
it pleases them to treat us unfairly in their writings ?

Quitting the theatre for the street, we there find some curious types : to begin with
the harateros, whom we have already had occasion to notice at Malaga.
The harateros of Seville are, next to those of Malaga., the most dangerous in Andalucia,

carrying on their hideous craft in an out-of-the-way suburb in the same manner as the
Macarena. Here too, armed with his navaja, he exacts tribute from the unfortunate
vagrant players, who fain would shelter themselves from his gaze beneath some high wall
or under the friendly shade of a group of trees. But let us turn to a more cheerful type
of character —the barbero.
Beaumarchais could not have chosen a happier scene for his immortal Barbier than
Seville. The original of his Figaro, there can be no doubt, existed in his time in the capital
of Andalucia, and it is probable that one may still find him even at the present daj^,

without much searching. These handicraftsmen of Seville are very numerous, and their
 296 SPAIN.

shops be readily distinguished by the light green or blue paint on the doorway,
may
o-enerally striped with yellow another characteristic sign is a little green Venetian blind,
;

at the most two or three feet high, commonly fixed before the harberia ; then there is the

invariable barber's dial of tin or brass, swinging above the doorway, and reminding one of
the famous helmet of Mambrin, illustrated by Cervantes, one of those wigged heads which
we no longer see in our little country towns; glass jars spotted with flics are what we
generally behold in the window of a barberia. We may also add bottles containing leeches
from Estremadura, for the Spanish barber almost monopolises that trade.
Those who prefer to be bled by leeches may thus address themselves to the barber ;

for he is a sort of surgeon, who not uufrequently styles himself Profesor aprobado de
cirugia — " diplomated professor of surgery." Yet his functions by no means end there : he
is also an accoucheur and a dentist. The shop of the barber is nevertheless an apartment
most simple, containing six or eight chairs, a table and couch, while the walls are

garnished with some white professional plates, with blue ornaments from Valencia or

Triaua, and with one or two chromo-lithographs, scenes from the Judio Errante, by Eugene
Sue, or else with a series of pictures of Corridas de Toros, bearing the legend in French
and Spanish Dihujadas por Gustavo Dor^. We must not omit to notice the guitar suspended
on the wall, for the barber of Seville is almost always a distinguished guitarrero, who
wears simply an ordinary coat, waistcoat and trousers, instead of Figaro's brilliant
costume.
The barber of Seville, like the men of his profession in all classes, is well posted up in
the tittle-tattle of his quarter of the town, and if gifted with a flow of language he
becomes a popular favourite, and is apt to neglect family interests in the pursuit of fame.
It is a popular saying, " Never marry a barber who goes to bed supperless and lises without
silver." The barherillos, or small suburban barbers, carry on their craft in the open air,

and are much more picturesque, as they still retain the Andalucian costume. Like tlie

barbieri of Rome, their patrons sit beneath the blue sky. Their furniture is made up of a
simple straw chair, on which the aguadores, or mozos de cordel are posed for shaving. As
for their tools, they are equally inexpensive, a tin vacia, an escalfador at a neighbouring Med
fountain placed on an earthen furnace, a piece of soap, and a selection of nuts of different
sizes. make out the use of the nuts.
It IS at first difficult to When a customer places his
chin in the hands of the professor, one of the nuts is selected
and inserted in his mouth so
that the client, by shifting it from one hollow cheek to the other, smooths out the wrinkles
and allows the barber to operate successfully on a plain surface of skin. This is an amusing
custom, and let no one imagine that we are colouring our truthful narrative
by exaggera-
tion. It is an important fact which may prove
of service to the baritones, who play the
part of Figaro in the opera, and who are thus at liberty to improve the scene of the
lathering of the cheeks of Bartolo.
The barrio of Triana, which stands on the right bank of the Guadalquivir, is an
important part of the town, and is reached by an iron bridge, which has replaced the
old pueMe de barcas. This suburb, formerly called Triana, owes its name to a Eoman
emperor. Triana, to Seville almost what Trastevera is to Rome, has
been celebrated
by the author of Don Quixote in his novel, Rlnconete
y Cortadillo. At the present day.
Its inhabitants are made up of contrabandists, gipsies, rateros, barateros, and majos. It
IS a miserable quarter, in
whose principal street there is little worthy of notice, unless
It be the church of Santa Ana, built in
the days of Alonzo el Sabio, and which boasts, with
the exception of the cathedral, the
finest collection of pictures in all the Sevillian churches.
-
 "

THE SUBURB OF TRIANA. 299

Santa Aua contains a curious tomb in painted faience, dated 1503, and bearing the
signature Niculoso Francisco, the artist whose works are to be seen in the chapel of the
Catholic sovereigns at Alcazar. The potteries of Triana were famed during the Roman
epoch, and it is said that the two patronesses of Seville, Santa Justina and Santa
Rufina,
virgins and martyrs, who died at the close of the third century, were the daughters of
a potter of Triana. According to popular legend, they saved the Giralda from being over-
thrown by a storm in 1 504.
The potteries of Triana nowadays are the mere ghost of what they were during the
time of the Arabs, when the beautiful azulejos were manufactured, some of which may still

be seen encrusted on the walls of the churches of Seville. During the sixteenth century
this suburb contained nearly fifty factories, where the most beautiful delfware was made,
of which we noticed some fine samples in the Casa de Pilatos, and on the front of the
church of Santa Paula.
The gipsies of Triana form a population by themselves ; their condition for the most
part is very miserable, as they only carry on mean crafts, doing for instance a doubtful
trade in the brokerage of horses ; others are mule shearers, and some toreros. Unlike those
of Murcia, they rarely work or traffic in iron. As to the women, they are cigar makers,
dancers, fortune tellers ; but they also toil at fairs, and at the corners of the streets, making
black puddings and fritters fried in oil, selling cheap merchandise, such as haberdashery
and common stufis : these they carry from house to house in search of customers, taking
rags and bones in exchange for them. It requires great skill to effect a happy exchange,
or even to obtain an introduction to a likely customer ; some of them wander patiently from
door to door, and are harshly treated unless their native blandishments secure for them
a hearing.
The gipsies are not only held up to scorn in the sainetes, but they meet with no better
treatment in the popular songs, sold at the corners of the streets : one of these, the Pasillo
divertido entre Mazapan y Chicharon — " The amusing dialogue between Mazapan (a sort

of pastry) and Chicharon (huge grasshopper)" —on the occasion of a gipsy funeral. It must
be owned that when one of their number dies, they have strange customs to observe. The
corpse is exposed on a straw mattress on the floor between two lighted candles ; the women
prostrate themselves, faces downwards, weeping and moaning, and tearing their dark
tresses ; as to the men, they many of them are careful to drown their grief in the wine cup,

drinking to the memory of the defunct. They have the reputation among the Spaniards
of being lovers of wine, and there is a popular song which relates that a thirsty gitano,

Avhen breathing his last request, said, " Let me be buried beneath a vine, that I may suck
the wine from its roots." They also get the credit of being very cuuniug and adroit
thieves. A well-known Andalucian story serves to illustrate this characteristic of the

race. A gipsy, when confessing his manifold sins, said to a padre cura, " My father, I am
guilty of stealing a cord."
" Valgame Dies ! How did you not resist the sin ? Thou knowest that theft is a great

crime fortunately, however, it might have been more serious."

;

" But, my father, I must tell you that at the end of the cord there was the harness."
" Ah ! is that all ?

" After the harness was the pack-saddle."

"
'=
"What ! the saddle also 1

" Yes, my father, the saddle also and under the saddle was a mule." ;

" Esa es mas negra ! This is very black " said the confessor. !
 :

300
SPAIN.

"No, my father," replied the gipsy, who thought he alluded to the colour of the mule,
" it was not nearly so black as the other mules that followed."
Another story relates how a gipsy, when passing his sins in review before a confessor,
pilfered a silver snuff-box from the wide sleeve of the father. He then added, " I accuse

myself of stealing a silver snuff-box."

" Well, my son, it must be returned."
"
" My father, if youwould like to have it 1

" What would you have me do with it ?" replied the priest.
I !

" Well," said the gipsy, " I have already offered it to its owner, and he refused it."

" That alters the case. You may then keep it : it is yours."

One of the streets of Seville, the calle de la Cava or simply la. Cava, is almost entirely

occupied by gipsies. In treating of the suburbs of Granada, we have noticed one or two
words in calo, or the gipsy tongue. The cal6 of Seville differs in no important particulars
from that of Granada ; never tlieless, it is a language quite distinct from the Spanish : _the

only analogy it presents is in the termination of the verbs, the greater number of which

end with ar. The construction of the phrases is generally the same as in Spanish, but the
M'ords, with a few rare exceptions, bear no resemblance to those of any European tongue.
The calo is not without its legends, and its popular poetry, some written, some passed
down orally from generation to generation. We have read, in cal6 verse, a most tragic

account of the plague which devastated Seville, in the summer of 1800. Wailing and
lamentation were almost the only sounds to be heard in the streets, save the heavy rolling
of the cars which bore the dead to the overstocked graveyards. It is truly a fearful picture

whose deepest shadows were found in Triana, the quarter of the gipsies.

Tiie calo has its dictionaries from which we have jotted down the following words

ENGLISH.
 THE CALO. 301

There are a variety of most elaborate forms of malediction like tlie above, from which
the old gipsy crones may select appropriate doses of cursing to suit their different customers.

The young women are, some of them, skilled in singing and playing the guitar, as well ns
in dancing in a way peculiar to themselves, which we shall notice when passing the
Spanish dances under review, as nothing is more interesting or curious than a haile de
Gitanos.

A BOX IN THE PRINCIPAL THEATRE OF SEVILLE.

 THE BOLERO.

CHAPTER XIV.

the castanuelas—h. treatise on

Antiquity of Spanish dances— Martial and the puelltB gaditance—The crotalia and
tamhouvine— The pavana Spain— The paspU, the pasacalU, and the /oZias— Die
the castanets- The of
Spain and of France- Ancient
zarabanda; opinion of Padre Mariana— The zarabanda at the courts of

Dancing Academy-The boleras robadas, and i\\e jaleo de J"c«2— An

improvised
Arahian dances-The /ararfanj^o— A
The ^o?o— Supper in a gipsy tavern
musician— A baile ds candil in the suburb of Triana— cantadores—'ih.e
Hw
—The calescras de Carfia-The cato-The zapatcado at the fair of Seville— An old gipsy— The bolero—
national dancers and the ancient Spanish engravings— The seguidillas -The seguidillas
mandiegas—The Jota
Catalonia—
^j-a(7o»esa-Eeligious copras— The Valencian >to— Dancing at a funeral— The jota of Navarre and
The danza prima— The Carmago,

Many Latin authors have celebrated the marvellous skill and grace of Spanish dancers.
Martial, who was himself a Spaniard, in his epigrams, eulogises those of Cadiz who had
Rome. was the delight ot
gained a world-wide celebrity, and who were so popular iu It

the beaus of the metropolis to hum the airs of the foldtre Cadiz —merry Cadiz — a very
corrupt town, if we are to credit the poet of Bilbilis, w^ho praises the grace of Telethusa,
a dancer quite in the style of his time further on Martial supplies two descriptive verses,
;

which, out of respect for our readers, we must decline to translate. Pliny the Younger,
in a letter to Septicius Clarus, tells us that in his time a fete was never complete without
the gipsy dancers. Silius Italicus, Appius, Strabo, and many others, have lauded the

tcrpsichoreau ability of the Gaditanes. These dances of the ancient Gades, called by
a German author " die Poesie der Wollust " — the poetry of voluptuousness— are perhaps
 SPANISH DANCES. 303

those we have seen represented on certain monuments of the Roman epoch. It has been
even hinted that the famous Venus Callipyge was an exact reproduction of a Gaditane
dancer celebrated at Eome, probably the likeness of Tclethusa, the ballet-girl sung by
Martial, The canon Salazar, who wrote in the seventeenth century, informs us, in his
Grandezas de Cadiz, that the Andalucian dances were no other than those anciently
celebrated.Padre Marti, the dean of Alicante, was thoroughly acquainted with all the
popular dances of his time, the delices gaditanes, as he
calls them he also testifies to their ;

high antiquity and affirms that they have been mellowed and refined. Many other
savants have studied with great gravity the various dances in vogue at different epochs,
in order to trace out their affinity, or the opposite, to those of which the ancient Romans
were so passionately fond ; tlms it was discovered that the crissatura was no other than
the famous meneo, and the lactisma the zapateado, whose name indicates that the dancer
strikes the ground with her foot, or else the taconeo, where the heel, touching, marks the
measure, and so on ; for we should never have done were we to dive into the technical
details on which grave theologiaiis have not failed to grow dull.

There is, however, one important particular in which the modern Spanish dances
resemble those of ancient Gades, and that is in the use of castanets. These instruments,
for marking the time, have undergone but little change for a period extending over nearly
two thousand years. The castanets still form an essential accessory to the dance, and
their dexterous manipulation may be set down as a purely Spanish attribute. Hence one
of our ballad writers caused one of his characters to address this question to an hidalgo
whose nationality was doubtful, " You a Spaniard ? Show me your castanets !
" This
is by no means the first time that the noisy and unharmonious instrument has been turned
into ridicule. A Dutch traveller of the seventeenth century tells us that the Spaniards
had a marked predilection for the castanets. " They are extremely fond of playing an
instrument which they call castanetas, and which resembles the clappers of the beggars in
our country. They have no soul for sweeter harmony." The crotalia of the ancients, with
a slight difference, was the same as the castanets only it was more frequently made in
;

bronze in place of wood or ivory. It would appear that the Roman ladies during the time

of Trajan used to make castanets of huge pearls to deck their ears or fingers, and delight
their lords with the sound they emitted as they moved about. What would the holeras
of Seville, Cadiz, or Malaga, say to such refinement of luxury, when they themselves think
that nothing could be finer than their modest castanets, when garnished with a silken
cord, into which a few silver or golden threads have been twisted to heighten the eff"ect

of the ivory or wood of the passion-flower which form these dainty instruments.
A Spanish author of the last century deplores the fertility of his compatriots who
write on any and every subject, " even the castanets " And he was right for we ourselves
I ;

have before us a huge volume printed en la imprenta real in 1792. Its title alone fills a
page. The author of this didactic work, named Licenciado Francisco Agustin Florencio,
roused the indignation of a certain Juanitor Lopez Polinario, who attacked Licenciado in a
pamphlet entitled Impugnacion literaria, etc. But the author who seems to us to merit the
palm is Don Alejandro Moya. This writer, seeing the castanets unjustly attacked, avenged
them nobly in a work which bears the title El triunfo de las castanuelas," etc.
The licentiate Florencio, in the preface to his satirical work, begins by speaking,
apropos of the castanets, of Christopher Columbus and of Galileo then plunging at last ;

into his subject, he regrets that no one has soiled more than four pages of paper with this
particular topic. The author proceeds to point out the rules to be followed in using his
304 SPAIN.

favourite instrument witli the guitar. He then brings to light an entirely new castanet,

formed to sound thirds, fourths, fifths, etc., and counsels the player to observe what he
terms the three unities, namely, unity of action, time, aud place. A good castanet player
ought to follow precisely every movement of the body, arms, and legs. This

he proceeds to prove, relying on the counsel of Aristotle. Lastly, persuaded as to the

certainty of success of this important work, he concludes by politely requesting his readers
to dance four seguidillas boleras. It is to be regretted that the learned author did not
exercise his pen in shedding light on the history of the tambourine, the modern representa-
tive of the ancient tympanum, as one sees it depicted, in the hands of performers, on the
well-known mosaic in the museum of Naples.
Like the tamburello, dear to the Minenti of Eome, the Spanish pandereta is ornamented
with painting of great simplicity, representing, usually —a maja and a majo dancing, while
knots of ribbons and discs of bright metal add to the general splendour of the instrument.
The pandereta is everywhere at public f^tes, and even its roll and jiugle may be heard
at religious celebrations, on Christmas Eve, or the Eve of St. John. The pandero is,
like the castanets, one of the national musical instruments of Spain. Thus the language is

names by which these instruments are known for example,

peculiarly rich in its store of :

the word castanuelas has many synonyms castanetas, and palillos ; sometimes one simply
:

says Una, wood. Next come the words castanetada, castaneteo, castanetazo, castaneteado, and
castaneton, which may be each employed to express the play, or the instrument. There is

still the verb castanetear, which expresses the action of playing, or it may be applied to one
whose teeth chatter with the cold. When a man is bow-legged and his knees knock
together, they say he plays the castanets !when one wishes
also to describe a quick, lively
person, one compares him to a castanet, como una castanuela.
The word pandereta has also its synonyms, while the sound of the instrument itself has
given rise to a number of proverbs and popular sayings. It has been compared to the fool
who talks a great deal and says nothing.
But we must now leave our reader to follow up for himself the study of the Spanish
musical instruments, while we proceed to say a few words on the national dances during
the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and aswe find them in our own time. What were the
Spanish dances during the epoch of the Middle Ages ? Very little indeed is known upon
the subject. " It may be presumed," said the erudite Jovellauos
in his Memoire sur les
dlvertissemc7Us publics, "that the popular exercises par excellence found refuge in Asturia at the
time of the Arab invasion." It is certain that the Juglares and the Spanish Trovadores of
the Middle Ages produced both ballads and dances, and amono- the latter one bore the name
ofRey don Alonzo el Bueno, and was probably in vogue during the lifetime of the prince
— in the twelfth century.

Then there was the Turdion, famed for its contortions, and the Gihadina, a name which
almost signifies the hunchback's dance ; and the Alemanda, without doubt of German
origin. Lope de Vega complains in his comedy, "La Dorotea," of these exercises falling
gradually into disuse.
The Pavana was a grave and noble step which spread its charms over France and
Italy, where it enjoyed a long-continued popularity. " The Pavana;' says a Spanish
author,
" mimics the charming attitudes of the
royal peacock, who sways about as if he were on
wheels." It is said to be of Italian origin,
and a dance in which Catherine de Mddicis
excelled, and which she at the same time brought to greater perfection. The lords of the
period danced the Pavana d'Espagne, wearing short cloaks hanging from the shoulder, and
 To face page
THE FANDANGO AT THE THEATEE SAN FERNANDO, SEVILLE. 304.
 THE ZAEABANDA. 307
rapiers by tlieir sides, in order to add grace to their movements; while the ladies were
arrayed in long trailing dresses, bedecked with rich embroidery and
glittering with jewels.
Margaret of Navarre, queen of Henri IV., also danced the pavcma. The slow
measure
of the air and extreme gravity of the step have rendered this dance
useful as a means of
ridiculing eccentricities. The phrase. Son entradas de pavana, is still used iu Spain when
speaking of any one who carries on some ridiculous discourse with ponderousness and
gravity son pasos de pavana, apropos of a person who affects a slow, dignified gait.
;
It
is evident that the French expression, se pavaner,
has the same origin.
The PaspiS, so well known in France during the seventeenth century under the name
oi passe-pied, was nothing more than a variety of the pavana. The Pasacalle (literally,
to
walk in the streets) obtained its name from its being originally danced by the young people
in the streets. It was afterwards transferred The Pasacalle enjoyed for a
to the theatres.
time unbounded popularity in Spain, Italy, and France.
A
dance called the Folias, supposed by some writers to have originated in Portugal,
was nevertheless anciently known in Spain. Its movement was sometimes slow and grave,
sometimes animated and rapid. It is related of Peter I., King of Portugal, that he was so
passionately fond of the Folias as to spend entire nights dancing it with his children and
the persons whom he deigned to honour with his sullen friendship. Both iu France and
Italy many variations were introduced into the Folias d'Fspagne, which were produced in
the theatres so thoroughly marred and mutilated that a purist of the time accounted them
unworthy of the name.
During the seventeenth century a distinction was made between Danzas and Bayles,
so we
are informed by the learned Gonzales de Salas. The Danzas were designed for the
slow and measured exercise of the legs, while the Bayles admitted freer gestures of
the arms and legs, and the greater abandonment of the body. A number of the Bayles —
light dances —would seem, rather indecent, and have accordingly been named
are, it

picarescos, from the word picaro —

good for nothing. The most noticeable of these dances
was the famous saraband, called by Cervantes " the infernal dance," and the Padre Mariana,
de la Zarabanda el pestifero hayle.
The celebrated historian, in order to justify his condemnation, says that that dance
alone caused more evil than a plague. This is how he characterises it in his work De
spectaculis: "Amongst the bayles which have lately appeared, there is one accompanied
by singing, extremely licentious both in words and gestures it is commonly called
the Zarabanda, and in spite of several opinions which have been advanced, we are at a loss
to account for its origin. Nevertheless, it is certain that this dance was invented in
Spain." It is said to have been first brought out in Seville, by an Andalucian dancer,
set down by one author as a demon of a woman— wn demonio de miijer.

A contemporary of the Padre Mariana, the author of a curious book preserved in the
national library of Madrid, deplores the evident weakening of the virtue of a Christian
community, who take pleasure in a spectacle so pernicious and pestilential, when one sees
young children, as soon as they are able to use their legs, learning some of the steps of the
saraband. "Hence it is," he adds, "that this dance ought to be suppressed in the theatres

and places of public resort." With rare exceptions, and unlike the chacona, the saraband
is danced by women alone.

The majority of the Andalucian dances are accomj^anied by the guitar, an instrument

widely spread over Spain during the sixteenth century. "Now," says Covarrubias,
" it is easily played, above all when it is necessary to execute the raspado ; there is hardly
 —

3o8 SPAIN.

a stable-boy who is not a virtuoso on the guitar." The music of other instruments, such as

the flute and harp, were often mingled with the

guitar, and accompanied the song at the

same time as the dance.

The Zarabanda, which was for the most part accompanied by the guitar, notwith-

standing the torrents of abuse heaped upon it, and the systematic efi"orts made to suppress

endowed with marvellous vitality, as it not

it, the objectionable dance seems to have been
It seems that dancing was much
only survived, but flourished for more than a century.
in vogue at the Spanish court. Madame d'Aulnoy describes a dance which she witnessed
not wanting in originality. " They brought an Indian giantess before the queen. The
ladies wished to make this colossal dance, while she held on each hand a dwarf who played
the castanets and the tambour de basque."
The saraband inaugurated a number of other dances, which were favoured with
success more or less have already noticed the Escarraman and the
fluctuating. We
Chacona. Let us also cite among the picai^esque dances, the las Gambetes, el Polio, la
Japona, el Rastrojo, la Gorrona, la Pipironda, el Hermano nario, la Gira, la Dama prima,
el Bizarro, la Paisana, la Gallarda, la Palmadica, la GuaracJia, el Zapateado, etc. In the

latter dances the movements of the which were extremely rapid, form the chief
feet,

attraction. The Canario, as its name implies, doubtless originated in the Canary Isles;
Thoinot Arbeau (Jehan Tabourot) describes this dance in his curious Orchesographie.
The Gira, one of the most ancient dances of Spain, implies a degree of skill which appears
startling to those who are unfamiliar with such arts. The dancer enters a circle traced

upon the ground, round which he has to dance quickly without passing the mark or
spilling a drop of water from a glass which he carries brimful, poised upon his forehead.
The dance is performed on one foot, with the other raised above the ground.
The Dama prima has also a respectable antiquity. It was danced by joining hands
in a ring to the accompaniment of the Voice, and is still preserved among the Asturians
and Galicians. El Bizarro originated in the kingdom of Granada, and was the prototype
of a dance, which afterwards obtained extraordinary success —the famous Fandango.
The Villano, or villains' dance, was executed by striking the hands one against the other,

and also on the soles of the feet. A rather curious dance, fashionable in Castille at the
time of Cervantes, was the Danza de Espadas —sword dance. Covarrubias gives a descrip-
tion of this war-step : the dancers wear shirts and wide trousers of fine >vhite linen, and
haudkerchiefs of difi'erent colours bound round their heads. Each one holds in his hand
a sharp sword. After coming and goiug in a variety of ways, and passing through all

sorts of evolutions, they perform a mudanza, or figure called degollada —beheading

when each dancer sword to the neck of the leader, who at the instant when
directs his
about to lose his head, ducks down and escapes. This sword dance only survives
in memory, and nowadays when one speaks of a family quarrel it is called a danza de

espada.
The Arabs and Moors of Spain had also their national dances, the Zambras and the
Leylas; the Canas are also said to be Moorish: these are the popular ditties which
accompany the dancers.
how thoroughly these airs have been preserved and handed
It is astonishing to find

down from generation to generation, through times of the direst persecution, to our own
day. There is hardly a sequestered spot, or mountain glen, in Andalucia, where, on a
summer's evening, one may not hear the peasants or
serranos singing these old Moorish
melodies.
 THE BOLERO. 309
During our stay at Malaga we had several opportuuities of seeing tlie Mcdagiiena del
Torero executed with great skill. Dor^ seized the opportunity to make a sketch, which
gives a happy rendering of the grace and vivacity of the boleras. It was
during tiie reign
of Philip IV. that danzas habladas, mythological dances, were
brought to a high degree of
perfection. They were produced at court with the most costly costumes an d°
accessories,
and more than once persons of royal blood deigned to take an active
part in them. Little

ANDALUCIAN DANCERS.

by little the national dances have disappeared from the theatre. At the commencement of
last century the Saraband and the Chacona, as well as other dances of the same sort, were
completely abandoned, and replaced by the dance steps still in vogue in Spain, tLe
seguidillas, {he fandango, and the holero. The first of these differs mainly from the bolero in
the rapidity of its time. The bolero is also distinguished by the lightness of its step, causing
the dancer to appear almost as if he were flying. The names bolero and bolera are also

given to male and female dancers in Spain.

z
J lo
SPAIN.

The fandango down as one of the most fascinating of all dances. The poet
is set

Tomas de Yriarte exclaims, " Show me a people so barbarous that they do not grow
animated when they hear the sound of their national dance music! The most popular
Spanish air accompanies a dance whose fantastic movements are as graceful as they are
enchanting. Astounding alike to the most renowned masters, to natives and to foreigners !

"
The graceful fandango, the delight of joyous youth and severe old age !

Another author esteems the same dance worthy of the temple of Venus. " The air of

the fandango, like an electric current, strikes and animates every heart, quickening the
pulse of ever}^ true Spaniard. The dancers when in full career perform the most wonder-
ful gestures, the women, by the softness, lightness, and flexibility of their movements,

disport themselves voluptuously, marking the time by touching the stage with their heels.

In short, the guitars, violins, castanets, and stamping of the time, mingled with the
voluptuous movements of the dancers, fill an ordinary assembly with a frenzy of joy and
pleasure !
" Formerly this dance was known all over Spain, but nowhere so thoroughly as in
La Manclia and in the Andalucian districts. One morning we read a long programme, partly
in doubtful French and partly in Spanish, of a ball to be given at the Academia de hdile,

holding out so many attractions that we determined to be present. Accordingly, at the

hour named, we entered the calle de Tarifa, and made for the first house on our right, the

dancing academy. After climbing a steep and narrow staircase, dimly lighted by a candle
in an iron holder stuck into the wall, we reached the second floor, where we found the
famous salon del recreo. This drawing-room, to which the proprietor liad pompously given
the name of academy, was a large apartment, whose simple furniture and decorations
might have been worthy of the Middle Ages. The former was made up of four coue-hes
covered with straw matting ranged round the walls, and a number of chairs, some of
which were reserved for the boleras, while the windows were shaded by modest calico
blinds bordered with red. The whitewashed walls were hung with a number of
pictures relating, all of them, to the terpsichorean art. Before the arrival of the boleras we
had leisure to admire these very vivid lithographs, representing a variety of famous steps
— pictorial masterpieces manufactured by the house of Mitjana of Malaga, for ornamenting
boxes of dried grapes. This collection also comprised portraits of celebrated dancers, such
as la Perla, Aurora la Cujini, la Nena, and others. But the chief work was a portrait of the
master of the academy, by some indigenous artist, in the garb of a holero and triumphant
attitude of tiie Jaleo de Jerez.
Nearly all the spectators were artisans, as few persons of the higher orders care to
frequent these Miles de palillos. Next came strangers, English, French, and Russian,
accompanied by ladieswhom curiosity had driven to the saloon. The orchestra was made
up of a blind man, who was led to his seat by a boy of about twelve years, carrying his
violin.

Don Luis Botella, seeing that his saloon was beginning to fill, proceeded to inspect the
contents of the till. The money-taker manages his part of the business on a very unequal
basis, varying his price from four to twenty reaux, to suit the
appearance of the visitors.
Don Luis next devoted himself to receiving the visitors,
and
improving his light, which
came from some argand lamps. Soon we heard a strange medley of noises, made up of female
voices and laughter, the rustling of silk and gauze,
and clink of castanets, which heralded
the approach of six dancing girls, accompanied by aged women
as guardians. The dancers,
booted with satin, were dressed in the well-known
classic costume of their race. These
were followed by a new couple, who seemed
to shun their compatriots, a young holera,
 To face ^)o^e 310.
A DANCIHG ACADEMY, SEVILLE.
 A DANCING ACADEMY, SEVILLE. 313
whose shoulders and starched petticoat were covered with tarlatan,
accompanied by a very
dark, stout woman, with a face red, hairy, and adorned with
wens and vegetation of all
sorts;
doubtless it was her mother. We remarked to Dor^, " Here is the most beautiful
duegne you will ever have the opportunity of sketching," and an instant after
the holera
and her mother were added to his album. " Make way for the dancers," cried the maestro

i< .i

AN ANDALUCIAN BOLBRA AND HER MOTHER.

del hdile, in a tone of authority. The ballet corps majestically broke through the crowd,
and traversing the entire length of the saloon, took up their position at the end.
The director was coming and going with great activity, arranging his audience, being

careful the while to reserve the best seats for those who had paid their duro, or who
appeared to him to be persons of distinction. A number of Russians and of Englishmen
secured, by their particularly foreign appearance, marked respect ; they were planted in the
front row, and seemed impatient for the opening of the ball. As for the Andalucians, they

stood or stowed themselves as best they could, looking with the modesty of men who had
 ,

, ,
SPAIN.

only paid half-price or nothing at all. The first notes of the orchestra then grated

upon the ear, to the tune Boleras robadas ; two of the dancers tripped into position vis-a-

vis, each with her right foot advanced, and resting on the left with the figure jauntily
tlirown back, then by a dexterous movement well known to the profession, they fixed
their ivory castanets, and as if fired by an electric current they bounded with airy grace

to the time of tlie and applause of the audience. "Aha

dance, the click of the castanets
Morenita " said the maestro, addressing the youngest bolera, whose jet hair and amber com-
!

plexion justified the name. "Jui, Jerezana! Anda salero!" continued the group of aficionados,
encouraging by voice and gesture the companion of Morenita, a splendid type of a young
and spirited girl from Jerez de la Frontera. The two lailarinas, fired by the enthusiastic
applause, redoubled their speed and soon gave place to another couple, who in their turn
were followed by a third. After the first dance was ended, the spectators advanced to
compliment the dancers on their skill. We accompanied them into an adjoining room,
where a table was spread with sweetmeats of all sorts, and which we, together with the
English and Russians, offered them, and they in turn accepted without any ceremony.
There is no knowing how long this feast might have lasted, had not a great uproar
announced the arrival of another performer.
The Campanera, a tall, slender, dark girl, made her entrance with careless yet charming
ease ; her perfect self-possession recalled the Spanish dancer, " armed with castanets and

effrontery," spoken of by Gramont in his MSmoires. It was just twelve years since w^e had
first seen the Campanera dance ; she, alas, was no longer a debutante, but art had replaced
her fadiTig youth. Tlie dancer took up her position in the centre of a circle to perform the
Jaleo de Jerez, the leading steps of which she executed with great agility, accompanied
both indifierently and well by the blind ciego, who now and again neglected to keep time,
when murmurs and cries of " Fuera el violin ! Venga la guitarra ! " were heard. Tlie

audience would have the violin no longer, but clamoured for the guitar. What was to be
done ? The official guitarrero had not yet arrived, and the poor ciego, discouraged by his

want of success, had ceased playing, while the Campanera stood motionless on the floor.

We at last requested the ciego to permit an a4cionado to replace him for a moment, and,
handing the violin to Dord, he played the jaleo with marvellous skill. known that
It is well
our great artist is a violinist of the first order ; Eossini, who knew him, gave him a brevet
Avith his own hand. The Campanera, even surpassed herself,
electrified by Dord's fiddling,
and finished the Jaleo de Jerez amidst a furore of applause, of which the impromptu player
had his full share. Notwithstanding all this, the bolera did not bow her head in the midst ;

of her triumphs she looked tenderly upon an Englishman, a tall personage with long red
whiskers — the traditional attributes of his race —and after performing a few steps before
him, accompanied by most winning smiles, she cast a little embroidered handkerchief at the
object of her attention, who, at a loss wdiat to make of it, applied to us, and we explained
that the Andalucian dancers select a stranger. When they have made their choice, they
throw the handkerchief at him, and, in return for this high mark of favour, he is expected
to hand it back with a durillo tied into the corner. The Englishman acquitted himself
with very good grace, and the Campanera, after taking out the little coin, thanked
him gracefully.
At last the guitarrero arrived, escorted by several cantadores. He was a handsome
young Sevillian, wearing the Andalucian costume, and named Enrique Prado, although he
was better known as el Peinero ; he was endowed with a rich voice, and rendered a number
of popular ditties pleasantly, after which, and to his accompaniment, the dances were
continued.
GIPSY DANCING THE VITO SEVILLANO. To face par/e 314.
 " "

BAILES DE CANDIL. 317

At tlie Academia de bdile we had seeu just enough of the Aiidalucian dances to make
us all the more anxious to prosecute our researches in other quarters of Seville, such as the

suburbs of Triana and Macarena, where we would have an opportunity of attending the
bdiles de candil, or gatherings at which dancing forms the element of attraction. Our
acquaintance had extended to a worthy citizen named Coliron, who during his hours of
leisure carried on the profession of guitarrero, and who promised to introduce us some
evening to a gipsy friend, the tio Minarro, who owned a taberna in Triana. It was the
custom of certain majos and majas to meet at this tavern, and there give themselves up to
dancing. Bdiles de candil are confined to. the lower orders, and are generally held in
some liquor shop, or in some dimly-lighted unpretentious house. About an hour after
sunset we entered the suburb of Triana, and guided by Coliron passed through a number
of dark streets, for the lighting and cleansing of this quarter of the town are equally neglected
by the gipsies. At length we reached the tavern of father Minarro, before whose door a
number of Andalucians were chatting and smoking their cigarettes. Amongst them we
recognised one or two of tlie aficionados whom we met at the Academia de bdile. After
passing through a room where several jolly fellows, or rather wild adventurous-looking
characters, were peacefully drinking, we entered a court surrounded by white marble
columns ; this court, like many more in Seville, was a relic of ancient Moorish architecture.
Lime-trees shaded the worn and cracked walls, while climbing plants twined in fantastic
disorder around the now yellow pillars. At the corners of the court rose the broad leaves
of the banana, up by four flickering, lamps that shed a faint lustre on this strange, half-
lit

tropical vegetation. A number of rude chairs and pine benches awaited the spectators.
Half-a-dozen young men with chop-cut whiskers were conversing with a number of majas
in the centre of the court, whom we thought we had seen at the Fabrica de Tabacos; the
conversation was unharinoniously accompanied by the tuning of guitars. The court soon
filled with singers, dancers, and guitarreros ; chords were being struck, when a murmur of
!
approbation greeted the arrival of the Barbero, a famous cantadore. " Sentarse ! Sentarse
" Sit down sit down! " cried several of the spectators
! " El Polo ; ! el Polo ! va d caiitarse,"
" They are going to sing the Polo." " M Polo ! el Polo
!
" shouted the spectators in chorus.
The Barbero, nothing loth, took his place by the side of Coliron, who, after an elaborate
prelude on his guitar, awaited the song. The singer's voice, after sounding a few modula-
tions, became gradually more powerful, until, with all the force of his lungs, he burst forth
in this well-known polo of Seville :

" La que quiera que la quieran

Con faitiga y caliA,
Busque un mozo macareno,
Y lo gueno provard !

— "The lass who desires to be loved with passionate ardour, has only to look for a lad

in the suburbs of Macarena, where the best are aye to be found."

The barber had no sooner finished this verse than it was greeted with great applause.
"Otra copla! otra copla!
" —
" Another couplet
"
—
sounded on all sides, the majas signifying
!

their intense appreciation by clapping their hands. The singer, permitting his eyes to
wander over the charms of the ladies, and at last casting a smiling glance at one of the

prettiest majas, continued :

"Van ac4, chiquiya,

Que vamos & bailar un polo
"
Que se junde medio Seviya !

" Come here, my little one, we will dance a polo together which will make half Seville fall."
 : " "

SPAIN.
318g

called to dance was an active, plump, good-looking girl, about

The maja whom the barber
Advancing lightly to the centre of the court,
Candelaria.
twenty years of age, named the
partner. The barber, anxious to economise his breath, gave
she there proudly awaited her
set the dancers
Coliron striking up the air of the polo,
UP his place to a tall fellow, when
castanets, aided by the feet and
hands of the spectators,
tripping joyously to the time of
swordsticks which they constantly carry
with them. The
the majos tapping with their
tokens, now bent as if to escape her partner
Candelaria, who had no need of these exciting
her dress lightly on one side, now
on the other, disclosing a pretty foot and
now raised

ankle in a stocking of matchless purity.

The dance, though it became faster, was yet full
the spectators nearly as much as the dancers, who,
of a grace and sprightliness that affected
gave in for want of breath. There was only one m
fain to continue the exercise, at length
spirit in the Candelaria, whereupon the
malicious
the audience who complained of lack of
cigarrera made a sign to the old gipsy, enjoining
him to sing a tonada as a punishment.
The tonada " cried all present. The veteran, taking a
" ! guitar, sat
Come, old man !
!
song in caU. " Otra ! otra ! tic
down, crossed his legs, coughed, and ultimately sang a
all sorts of endearing gestures to the gipsy,
cried the Candelaria, making at the same time
whose rusty organ had caused considerable amusement.
" Viva la Macarena ! " shouted the old bohemian, and, after swallowing a co2nta de

aguardiente at a single draught, he continued

" Si argo qiiieres, prenda mia,

No tienes mas que jablA,

Que las mozas en amores

Siempre aciertan la jug4a.

Juy selero !

Vivan las mozas e mi tierra !

" If there is anything you want, my treasure ! you have only to speak. For in love
"
the young maidens always win. Long live the girls of my country !

The gipsy was here interrupted by the arrival of a party of majas who were late. It is

customary for the Andalucian lions to pride themselves upon never appearing until the
ball has commenced. A number of famous gipsy dancers kept coming in as the evening

wore on. Among them was the daughter of the old bohemian vocalist, who was reported

to have no rival in dancing the zarandeo.

When the Andalucians wish to flatter a fair dancer they say, Tiene mucho miel en las

caderas— " She has a deal of honey in the hips."

A few moments' interval was allowed for refreshments, but this supper had nothing in
common with those of our ball-rooms ; slices of cod-fish fried in oil, small sardines, and bread
white as snow, made up the substantial part of the feast. A number of Andalucian wines
in long narrow glasses, canas, were passed round freely ; nevertheless, the sobriety of the
Spaniard is too well known to call for any comment. Tiie simple supper was followed by a
number of songs and ballads, full of spirit and originality. These were succeeded by a
dance, the Tango Americano, performed by a copper-coloured gipsy girl with jet eyes and
frizzly hair. The Tango is a negro dance set to a very jerky and accented air. The
favourite polo, doubtless of Arabian origin, was again sung, and the cana, whose character is
essentially melancholy, a sort of dirge 'beginning with a prolonged half-stifled moan. The
voice, after being exercised in the chromatic scale, becomes gradually more sonorous as the
measure quickens. One might say that the cana is, so to speak, the touchstone of
Andalucian singers, requiring great strength of lungs, when the success of the vocalist is

tested by the duration as much as by the quality of the high notes.

r N h ^ " / I

4 :,'.ii:!.r. .^ ^^^^
vjC/ll
 ! ;

SEGUIDILLAS. 321

The rodena was delightfully danced by a Macarena dandy, who had for his partner
a very pretty girl of that quarter. This dance was kept up as long as the music lasted,
and the two partners threw so much harmony into their steps that one of the audience
extemporised the following stanza :

"Estos que estto bailando

Que parejitos son
Si yo fuese padre cura,
Les daba la bendioion."

— " The youthful pair who dance are so prettily matched I Were I a padre cura, they
should receive my blessing."
The rhyme, which left a good deal to be desired, did not prevent the poet being
applauded. The dancing over, a jingling of friendly glasses closed the evening, and the
party broke up. Turning our steps homeward, we felt thoroughly satisfied with the
entertainment at the tavern of Minarro.
We have already said that there are no fdtes in Andalucia without their appropriate
dances ; at all the fairs and pilgrimages open-air dancing may be seen to perfection. In
Spain an open-air dance may be improvised anywhere, under any circumstances, and
without any trouble. If an instrumental musician cannot be procured, they manage
without one, as the human voice supplies his place. Nevertheless, there is not a village
or an inn, however poor, that has not its guitar and guitarrero. The instrument may have
]ost part of its strings, but still it is there, and would be bad indeed if one of the many
blind players could not get music out of it.

Having noticed some of the most popular Andalucian dances, we will now say a few
words about the favourite dances of other provinces, dances equally graceful and interesting.

First, there is the most famous of them all —the Seguidillas Manchegas. It was in the
province rendered famous by the illustrious Ingenieux Hidalgo that these popular airs
were introduced about three hundred years ago, and they were not long in becoming
popular in the other provinces. Cervantes tells us that compositions of this kind were
known in his time, and ridicules certain poets " who lowered themselves by composing
a kind of verse called seguidillas." "It was," he adds, "the ruin of souls, transport of
mirth, the agitation of the body, and lastly the ravishing of all the senses."
The word seguidilla served anciently, as it does still, to designate a certain kind of
popular poem and a national dance. Let us hear what Mateo Aleman says, who wrote in
the sixteenth century his famous picaresque romance, Vida y hechos del picaro Guzman
de Alfarache. "The edifices, machinery of war, change every day; chairs, cupboards,
candlesticks, lamps, tables, also change ; and indeed the same may be said of the games,
dances, music, and songs, for the seguidillas have replaced the saraband, and in their turn

they will make room for other dances."

Those who have travelled in Spain cannot have failed to remark that the seguidillas
are common to almost every province of the country. The Andalucians are passionately

fond of the seguidillas boleros. The figures are used to ornament the fans sold for two
cuartos at all popular f^tes, the canary-coloured sides of the calesa, and the edges of
tambourines. This common medley of colours recalls to us this verse of a Spanish poet,

who complains of the popular paintings of Andalucia :

" No ba de faltar zandunguera

Puesta en jarras una dama,
De las que la liga ensenan
un torero echando suertes,
 SPAIN.
322
un gache con su vihuela,
Y una pareja bailando
Las seguidillas boleras."

—" One sure to see a woman in airy costume, the hands resting on her hips, one of
is
fighting with his foe, or else an
those who do not care to conceal their garters; or a torero
dancing the seguidillas boleras."
Andalucian with his guitar, by the side of a couple
the dance Seguidillas Manchegas.
At the fair of Albacete we had an opportunity of seeing
dancer was choosing his partner.
While the guitarrero was playing a minor prelude, each
or four paces' distance some chords
The couples then placed themselves vis-h-vis at three ;

sounded, announcing to the singers that their turn had

come, and they sang some verses
were

THE ARAGONESE JOTA.

of the copla. While the dancers only waited the signal, the singers paused, and the guitarrero
struck in with the ancient air of the seguidilla. At the fourth bar the cantadores continued
the song, the clacking of the castanets M'as heard, and instantly all the couples commenced
with agility and spirit, turning and returning, joining their partners and flying from them.
At the ninth measure which marks the termination of the first part, the dancers remained
perfectly motionless, permitting us to enjoy the grinding of the guitar
then with renewed ;

energy they changed the step, and introduced the most graceful part of the dance, called
el hien parado. One great point in this dance is made at the moment the measure changes.
The dancers on hearing the last note of the guitar must remain motionless, as if suddenly
 —

THE JOT A. 323

arrested and petrified iu the positions they happened to be in at the instant. Thus those
who remain in difficult and graceful positions are loudly applauded.
Such are the classic rules of the Seguidillas ; but it is nevertheless difficult to say to
what point this exercise transports the dancers. The thrilling melody, expressing at
the same time both pleasure and melancholy, the stirring sound of the castanets, the
languishing enthusiasm of the dancers, the supplicating looks and gestures of their
partners, the grace and elegance which temper the passionate expression of their movements,
all contribute to give to the dance an irresistible attraction which strangers cannot fail to

appreciate as fully as the Spaniards do themselves.

The Jota is the chief dance of Aragon. Of ancient origin, it is said to be derived
from the Pasacalle of the sixteenth century. The Jota aragonesa is a dance most lively
and discreet, according to popular report :

" La Jota en el Aragon

Con garbosa discrecion."

Of purely Spanish origin, it is distinguished by a rare modesty which neither excludes

grace nor ability. At fdtes and fairs one will constantly come across couples dancing the
Jota as long as they have legs to stand on, and not unfrequently the dance forms the
obligatory termination of religious ceremonies. Thus we had on Christmas Eve a Jota
entitled the Natividad del Senor, sung and danced.
The first verse of this Jota reminds one more of a chant than a piece of dance music :

" De Jesus el Nacimiento

Se celebra por dd-quier :

for d6-quier reina el contento,

Per d6-quier reina el placer."

— " Of Jesus the Nativity is celebrated everywhere. Everywhere reigns contentment,

everywhere reigns pleasure."
The refrain, sung in chorus by the assembled audience, passes suddenly from the sacred
to the profane :

" Viva pues la broma !

Que el dia convida ;

Y endulce la vida
"
Del gozo la aroma !

— " Long live merry-making, for this is a day of rejoicing, and may the perfume of pleasure
sweeten our existence."
It is above all others the grand Aragonese f^te, that of Our Lady del Pilar, in which
the Jotas play an important part.
These Jota songs, loved by the people, and scattered abroad in profusion by the
press, are garnished with most attractive titles, such as "the song of the lilies," or love

poems dedicated to the fair sex. They also embrace couplets for ardent lovers who wish to

breathe their passion beneath the balcony of their betrothed.

Sometimes the Jotas belong to the grotesque order.

"Son tus brazos tan bermosos,

Que parecen dos morcillas,
De aquellas que estdn colgadas
El invierno en las cocinas."

— " Thy arms are so beautiful, that they resemble two sausages, sausages hung in the

kitchen in winter."
2 A

i'l i'J >

324 SPAIN.

The Jota valenciana differs from that of the Aragonese so little indeed as not to call

for any special description.

At we encountered a funeral at which the bereaved

Jijona, to our intense surprise,

were busily dancing the Jota. It happened, as we were passing along a deserted street,
our attention was drawn to a half-open doorway, whence issued sounds of mirth and music,
suggestive of at least a wedding. Judge our astonishment when we discovered it was a
burial ceremony. At the far end of the room, stretched upon a table, lay the body of
a girl from five to six years old, decked out as if for a f^te day ; her little head,

ornamented with a wreath of flowers, rested on a cushion. We thought she was asleep ;

her face wore a smile of peaceful repose ; but alas ! on seeing a vase of holy water by her
side, and four lighted tapers, we discovered that the poor little one was dead. Her mother
sat weeping by her side ; the rest of the picture contrasted strongly with the sadness
of this scene. A
young man and woman, wearing the holiday attire of the labradores, were
dancing a Jota, accompanying themselves with their castanets, while the musicians and
those invited to the wake encouraged them by clapping their hands. This rejoicing in
Spain has a very pleasing and beautiful significance. Children under a certain age are
supposed, immediately after death, to join the glorious company of angels around the
throne of God : hence the Spaniards esteem the event one to call forth rejoicing rather than
mourning. After the dance a merry peal of bells rang out and woke the echoes of the
old street.
Navarre and Catalonia also have their Jotas, but the most popular and curious dance
is that known under the name los Gigantones y las Enanos —the giants and dwarfs. The
poet Quevedo wrote against it in his Espana defendida. This dance is still in vogue in
Barcelona, and is always received with the greatest tokens of appreciation. The
metropolis of Spain has no distinctive dance of its own ;
yet the people have appropriated
and brought to a high degree of perfection some of the most characteristic steps, chiefly
those in use in the southern provinces. Madrid boasts its public ball-rooms like those
of Paris, but they are hardly worthy of notice the most fashionable
is that of the Salon
;

de Capellanes, where only waltzes, polkas, and other foreign steps are danced. For some
years the Can-can, a sad importation from the other side of the Pyrenees, obtained a
scandalous success, heightened by immense illustrated placards which' soiled the walls
of the capital.
The da7iza prima, still practised in the Asturias,
is, as its name implies, extremely

ancient. According to an Asturian author, it dates from the time of the Gothic kings.
The Basque provinces have always been celebrated for their dances. The dances such
as those we saw at Vitoria, at Azpeitia and Balmaseda,
and in other quarters, are of the
most perfect innocency when compared with those of Andalucia.
It was therefore with
astonishment that we read a book published by the Eev. Father
Palacios, " Contra bdiles,"—
against the dances. This book was destined to completely exterminate the national
pastime. " The dance," says the author, " is a circle whose centre the
is the devil ; it is
domain of the devil, school of vice, the perdition of women, the grief of angels, the
enchantment of hell, the corruption of manners,
the loss of chastity;" and, quoting
Petrarch, he says, " the danger does not exist
in the pleasure of the moment, so much
as in the hope of wliat is to come.
It is the prelude to dishonesty." Father Palacios also
condemns the dances held in public, and the
bdiles de Saraos, or the private reunions of
persons of the upper classes.It was in vain to propose the abolition of the custom of
holding by the hand, and to isolate
the dancers of the two sexes by means of a hand-
 ;

THE BASQUE DANCES. 327

kerchief, which each person was to hold by one end ; it was in vain to propose to transform
the night wake into a watchman, to see that nothing went wrong; the severe enemy
of the danza vizcaina replied that they would never find watchmen sufficient, nor
prisons large enough to hold the culprits. The Basque dance has been taught in didactic

works : D. Juan Ignacio de Iztueta has written a work entitled Guipuscoao dantza,
wherein the ancient dances are not only described, but the music and the words are also
given :

" Elle danse bien, la gaillarde,

Les menuets, les passepiez

Mais il faut toujours prendre garde

A ses mains, plus tost qu'k ses piedz."

tf'f's
'•ilii
'
':
'-f ,a.
-.« "' ''-
mm

GUIIABBEKO AND POOR DANCING GIBL.

 1 ^'j\^, ^- \.

:?^-

MISUEL LOPEZ GOKRITO, MODKTED ON STILTS, KILLING A BULL IN THE PLAZA OF SEVILLE.

CHAPTER XV.

A bull-fight d —
la Portuguesa Don Joaquin de los Santos el Caballero en Plaza
; —
Josd B6, el Tigre The rejon- —
cillos —The — —
Pegadores The Indians, or Negroes Maria Rosa Carmona— The Gorrito and his stilts Repartee of a —
picador to the actor Maiquez —A —
torera : Teresa Bolsi Olive plantations in the environs of Seville Spanish olive —
oil — ; — — —
From Seville to Cordova Carmona Excursion to Ecija Palma the Genii Arrival at Cordova Antiquity of
: —
— —
the to-wn Cordova during the Roman epoch— Abdul-Rahman and the Califat of the "West Entering Cordova in olden
— —
times by diligence The Mezquita : the court of the orange-trees Interior of the Mosque the Mihr^b ; el zancarron
:

— —
Riches of the Mosque during the Arab epoch The choir— Marble pillar sculptured by a Christian captive Curious —
—
tombs The Puerta del Perrfore— Decadence of Cordova.

We heave already noticed the corrida a la Portuguesa, given at Seville during Easter. This
blending of the sacred and profane is nothing new in the Peninsula ; it is therefore quite
a natural transition to pass from the religious dances and the seises to the courses in
question. For some time the streets of Seville had been enlivened by bills, six feet high
and broad in proportion, announcing, in huge letters, an extraordinary bull-fight in the
following terms :

" GEAN COEEIDA DE TOEOS EMBOLADOS LIDIADOS A LA POETUGUESA."

The advertisement promised additional attraction in the exercises of the caballero en

filaza, a relic of the courses of the time of Charles V., the Indios, the Caporales, and
 —

A POETUGUESE COREIDA. 329

the famous Portuguese Pegadores, including a Pegadora, who could arrest the most furious
bull when in full career. This was not all : the Spanish cuadrilla was to fight the toros de
muerte, those destined to die by the sword.
The programme of the Spanish corrida
was not less curious. First, a fair young
torera, Teresa Bolsi, was to slay a bull with her own white hand then Miguel Lopez ;

Gorrito, of Madrid, whose speciality was to fight the bulls suhido en los zcmcos,— that is
to say, —
on stilts, was also set down in the bills.
Attracted by these enticing promises we hastened to secure front seats, the places
usually chosen by epicurean aficionados.
The vendors of cold water, oranges, and cakes busily off'ered their wares with the
oddest cries. These traders are always very numerous at bull-fights—the aguadores
especially, who can start business on their own account with a modest capital. Two reals
for a jar of porous earth, which they fill at the nearest fountain, a real for a drinking-glass
total, sixpence halfpenny for the entire stock-in-trade. Amongst the open-air merchants
we must mention those who sell rosquetes and harquillos, whose chief ingredient is oil,

which can be smelt from afar ; avellanas (huts), and certain light cakes known under the
picturesque name of suspiros defraile, monks' sighs ; lastly, those who bawl out altramuces,
or grilled lupins, the modest vegetable sung by Horace.
The corrida was announced for three o'clock, and the toreros are always remarkably
punctual. The first proceeding was the despejo, an operation which consists in clearing
the arena ; then the traditional defile took place. The defile ended, the senor presidente
waved his handkerchief to signify that they might commence. The arena was occupied
by a single member of the Portuguese troop, Josd B6, surnamed the Tiger, from his
prodigious activity. He stood erect and without arms at some paces from the door of the
chiquero, the narrow cell in which the bulls are shut up. At the first notes of a fanfare of
trumpets, the door opened and the animal rushed out furiously ; but seeing his adversary
waiting motionless for him, he stopped short in a cloud of dust, bent his head, and charged
Jos^ B6. According to the programme, he ought to wait for the bull, and pass por entre
sus manos y patas. The fore-feet are called manos, or hands, and the hind-feet patas. We
cannot exactly tell how it was done, —the movements of the Tiger were too rapid to see
more than that he shot like an arrow between the legs of the bull, who bellowed lustily,

without doubt greatly surprised at having cleft the empty air with his eager horns. At
the other extremity of the arena Don Joaquin de los Santos was gravely seated in his
saddle, armed with a rejoncillo, a sort of wooden lance, not unlike those used in ancient
tourneys, but slighter, only five feet long and pointed with iron. In the ancient bull-fights
the cahalleros had alone Goya has represented this
the right of breaking the lance.

exercise in several of his etchings. Don Joaquin was mounted on a superb Andalucian
ginete, black and glossy, with a thick mane and long tail sweeping the ground. He spurred
his horse towards the bull, and struck him on the muzzle with his lance, which flew into

splinters, because these lances, made of a very light wood, break with the least touch, and

only excite theanimal without injuring him. The infuriated bull tried to avenge the blow ;

but the cahallero, whose horse was admirably trained, avoided him by a clever volte-face,
and galloped away to secure a fresh lance, which was handed to him by a mozo. In this
way he broke several lances, but managed his horse so deftly that the bafiled bull did not

succeed in inflicting a single scratch on horse or rider. He then tranquUly retired

backwards amid the applause of the spectators. The cahallero no sooner retired than he

was followed by eight Portuguese pegadores, who are thus named from the word pegar.
,5n SPAIN.

which literally means, to stick, as their particular part is to seize the bull, and, so to speak,

by sheer strength of muscle. The costume of the

stick to him, in order to arrest his course

pegadores consisted of short breeches, a large coloured waistband, and flowered undervest,
which, from its pattern, seemed to have been cut out of an old curtain, and a long woollen
gorro, something like the cap worn by Catalonian fishermen.
They commenced to rouse the bull by gesticulating and shouting, and the animal did

not hesitate to reply to their challenge ; but just as he was about to charge them, they raised
their right arms in the air, and brought them down rapidly on the bull's back. At the same
time apegador seized the animal by the tail, while another sat quickly on his back. This

had barely lasted a few seconds when the bull stopped as if galvanised. The pegadmxs
held him motionless for about a minute, and suddenly released him on a sign given by the
president. We then saw Gorrito, followed by a number of chulos. He was a short mau,

dressed in the traditional costume of the espadas, mounted on stilts which raised his feet

more than half a yard from the ground. The stilts were firmly bound to his legs, so that

in the event of his falling he would experience the greatest difficulty in getting up again ;

but we soon saw him run with marvellous agility, and our fears were set at rest on his
account. He first proceeded, according to custom, to the seat of the senor presidente, to
ofrecer el brindis, or propose the usual toast. His speech finished, Gorrito resolutely
advanced to meet his foe. After some pases de muleta, or, after having tested the bull
and waved a small red flag before his eyes, he killed the beast with a very fine thrust.

After an interval of some minutes the trumpets recommenced their fanfare, and the
cuadrilla of the Indians entered in the midst of the noise of the people, for these mock
Indians are simply negroes, for whom the Andalucians have a special disdain. It was in
vain that the placards announced them as subjects of the King of Congo, King Fulani, and
other fictitious princes : the public would not consider them in a serious light. They had
arrayed them in the most grotesque costumes, their crowns of feathers recalling sundry
signboards, and the sham savages exhibited in tents at fairs. The negroes, five in number,
sat down without the slightest compunction,
upon some straw chairs placed a few paces
from the door which would admit the second bull, and holding in tlieir hands their lances ;

behind them were ranged the caporales, standing upright, dressed like common theatrical
lackeys, wearing three-cornered generals' hats, from the top of which waved long plumes.
They commanded the Indians, and were ready to aid them if necessary each one was ;

armed with a lance, and carried in his left hand a fan of rose-coloured paper. At last the
door opened, and the bull fell upon the negroes who barred his advance. They held their
ground, and the unhappy wretches did not quit their post till they had employed their
lances. Then came a farce which excited the hilarity of the people to the highest degree.
The negroes, lifted like feathers by the infuriated animal, flew in the air pell-mell,
accompanied by the chairs; but directly they fell to the ground, they hastened to roll
themselves up in balls, and they remained thus coiled, without making the slightest
movement, as they well knew that bulls prefer to attack objects in motion nevertheless,
;

some of them received terrible scars, much to the delight of the spectators. They allowed
themselves to be rolled about like hedgehogs stirred by one's foot.
This lasted until the
bull, tired of exercising his fury on inert objects,
left one negro to go to another. Happily
for the so-called Indians, the pegadores reappeared and ended their sufi'erings by bringing
down their vigorous arms on the which they arrested like the preceding one, only to
bull,
be slain some seconds later by an espada named Ricardo Osed, from Madrid. This torero
was hissed because he was a Madrileno, there being
an intense spirit of rivalry between the
•s.

E4

O
a

w
H

1-3
 MAEIA ROSA CARMONA. 333

Andalucians and the Madrideans. During the interval the negroes reappeared; we bad
thought them crushed by the blows they received, but it seems that they become used to it,
for they entered dancing the Sopimpa, a negro step, the orchestra marking its jerky

movements. They then executed other dances of their country, such as the cuculU and
the tango americano. They say that these poor negroes are only paid one duro a day to
receive so many injuries and their task was not finished, for we saw them take
; position
again to wait for the bull, only there was a variation ; instead of sitting on chairs, they
knelt before the toril ; but the result was exactly the same so far as they were concerned.
As they were about to let loose the third bull, some boys came in rolling a barrel, of
which one end was open. Having placed it upright in the same spot as where the
negroes had awaited the bull, they fled precipitately, and we saw a young girl enter, Maria
Rosa Carmona, surnamed la intrepida Portuguem. The intrepid Portuguese girl, who held a
handerilla in each hand, was dressed in a little vest in the style of those called zouaves, a short
skirt very much puffed, large Turkish drawers tied at the ankles, and a very coquettish
little turban with plumes covered her flowing hair. Having bowed to the assembly, she
leaped lightly into the barrel and concealed herself, showing only her head and her
hands armed with handerillas. The bull was no sooner released than he sprang towards
the barrel ; but directly he lowered his head to upset it, Maria Rosa fixed a handerilla on
each shoulder. Nevertheless, the barrel was overturned, and the bull pushing it with his
horns rolled it without the least effort, like a kitten playing with a ball of cotton. He then
attacked the pegadores, who stopped him without flinching. Whilst they held him motion-
less under their vigorous grasp, Maria Rosa got out of her barrel, and seizing the animal
by the up by her wrists, and remained thus suspended
horns, she lifted herself rapidly
during some little time. The pegadores held firm, and one of them placing his head upon
that of the bull, kept his equilibrium with his legs in the air, and without making the
least movement. As soon as the pegador had left his dangerous position, the mozos brought
a saddle and bridle, and commenced to harness the bull, exactly like a horse, an operation
which was not accomplished without violent protestation on tTie part of the patient. One
of the pegadores bestrode this novel charger, and armed with a rejoncillo decorated with
ribbons, he ran to meet a second bull which had just been introduced into the circus.
After a few runs the two bulls ended by meeting, and the pegador, in spite of the shock
which took place, buried his rejoncillo in his adversary's neck. The programme condemned
the other bull to die by the hands of Gorrito, who reappeared still on his stilts, and had, in
spite of his marvellous skill, to endure the criticisms and andaluzadas of the Sevillian

amateurs, who thought it unworthy of a professional espada to attack a bull that was
embolado. Gorrito, without being in the least disconcerted, proposed to lend some of the
critics his stilts, if they would take his place in the arena ; but no one thought fit to accept

his offer.
This reminded us of a well-known Spanish anecdote. One day, Maiquez, an actor who
was formerly celebrated, complained of a picador, who was too prudent according to his
ideas, and whom, remaining too near the barrier, he commenced to insult grossly, as

patrons of bull-fights frequently do :

" Saiga usted mas ! al toro, cobarde !
" — " Go forward !

at the bull, you coward

!
" cried Maiquez, who wished the picador, against all rules of

prudence, to urge his rocinante d los medios, that is to say, into the middle of the arena.
" Senor Maiquez," cried the angry picador, turning towards the actor, " I am not like you :

JEso es de veras, —my acting is in earnest

!

" The negritos — also called los Mongoles,

the Mono-ols — waited for the last bull to rush out; having placed themselves again
 " ;;

SPAIN.
334

on their knees, they calmly allowed themselves to be turned over and over, and to
be thrown in the air. Happily for them, two picadores interposed, and made a diversion
then came the handerilleros, who placed the regulation number of three pairs of handerillas.

The clarin at last sounded the death-note of the bull : the torera, after having, with perfect

confidence, drunk the hrindis before the president's box, went resolutely to meet her
adversary. — —
Teresa Bolsi the torera was a young woman between twenty and thirty
years of age, dark, well proportioned, and full of energy ; her costume, somewhat like that

of the hailarina at the theatre, consisted of a low corset, and a short petticoat, which
revealed her robust limbs clad in flesh-coloured stockings ; an abundance of black hair, kept

in by a net, was surmounted by a montera, similar to those of the toreros. Teresa com-
menced by some suertes de capa, acquitting herself very creditably, and after having worried
the bull with her silk cloak and her red muleta, she called him to receive death, as the pro-
fessionals term it; a minute after, the ferocious beast, stuck by a superb thrust, d la

veronica, that is to say in front, fell at the feet of the torera, who saluted the public with

her montera, by Avay of acknowledgment of the profuse applause showered on her by the
crowd.
The grand corrida d la Portuguesa had been such a complete success, that the empresario
was not long in announcing a second. The programme promised new marvels ; but
impatient to visit Cordova and its mosque, we resisted these bovine temptations, and
bade adieu to Giralda, and to Seville the enchantress, la encantadora Sevilla, noble and rich

among the cities of Europe, la sal de Andalucia — the gem of Andalucia —which Calderon
has also called gala de las ciudades. A still more illustrious Spaniard, the author of
Quijote, has sung of this " Triumphant Rome, full of learning and wealth :

" Eoma triunfante en Animo y riqiieza."

Nevertheless, we did not wish to quit Seville without having visited the fine haciendas
of the neighbourhood, enormous buildings, where the oils produced from the olivares of
the great plains between Carmona and Alcald, are prepared. From a picturesque point
of view, the olive-tree is grey and sad-coloured, and does not improve the tone of the
landscape. What contributes stillmore to render its aspect cold and monotonous, is that
the olivares are always planted in perfect symmetry; this custom is so absolute, that
the verb olivar means to plant trees in a straight line. The aceitunas sevillanas, which
are much appreciated throughout the whole of Spain, were celebrated among the ancients
the Roman epicures greatly prized the olives bceticce for their feasts. Pliny the Younger
promised one of his friends to give him Audalucian olives to decide him to accept his
dinner. The best known are those called aceitunas de la reina ; they are sometimes larger
than a pigeon's egg.
The zorzalenas, thus named from a species of blackbird which is extremely fond
of them, are, on the contrary, round, and of the size of a cherry. The Spaniards,
always very moderate, are particularly so in the matter of olives. " Aceitunas," says a well-
known proverb, " una es oro, dosplata, y la tercera mata "—one is gold, two is silver, and the
third kills you. According to another proverb, you may go as far as a dozen if the olives
are very gooA—aceituna, una, y buena, una docena. The olive harvest, aceitunada, falls
si es
in autumn the peasants, aided by their families, gather the fruit in cojines, made of canes,
;

and they load their fine and vigorous Andalucian donkeys with them. animals can These
easily carry their fourteen
arrohas (more than 450 lbs.) They put the olives, before they
are pressed, in a vast chamber, called la truja,
and the oil is placed in large earthenware
TERESA BOLSI, ANDALUCIAN TORERA. To face page 334.
 —

FROM SEVILLE TO CORDOVA. 337

tinajas, something like tlie Roman amphora, and which are made at Coria del rio. The
Spanish oil has not a good reputation amongst us — it generally inspires a certain repug-
nance in foreigners ; the Spaniards, on the contrary, prefer it to the French and Italian oils,

which to them appear insipid. Let us leave the question undecided, it is a matter of
taste. Having finished our visits to the haciendas and olivares —obliged to bid adieu
to Seville —we bent our steps, not without regret, in the direction of the railway station,
situated between the Puerta de Triana and the Puerta Real. For a considerable time we
could see Giralda and its bronze statue stand in relief against the sky, gilded by the rays
of the morning sun. When we could no longer perceive the old Arabian tower, the train
was running along the banks of the Guadalquivir the banks of the river were occupied by
;

a number of idle urchins, with tanned skins, who plunged in the water like a swarm
of frogs, just as we were passing them. We did not see, any Nym'phs of Betis
it is true,
on the golden sands of the river, which bathes the walls of the imperial city. The poet
sings :

" Mnfas del Betis, que en arenas de oro

Undoso bana la Imperial Sevilla."

On the other hand, the banks of the Guadalquivir, covered with the most luxuriant
vegetation, are still what the author of Guzman d'Alfarache describes them to be ; we
admired " these fertile gardens filled with flowers, which may be called a paradise, if any
place on earth deserves the name ; the trees laden with the most delicious fruits, the odorous
plants, the flowering shrubs, and flowing water, all tend to maintain a delightful freshness
beneath the shades into which the sun's rays seldom penetrate."
The railroad from Seville to Cordova runs nearly parallel to the Guadalquivir, the
river which meanders peacefully over the vast plain, from time to time disappearing among
the rich foliage. La Rinconada, Brenes, and Tocina are unimportant stations where a few
square towers rise above the olive-trees and pines of the vast plain, which stretches away
as far as Cordova, a city, like Toledo, built on the summit of a high hill, and whose houses
may be descried from a great distance, standing out in bold relief against the blue sky.
It is said to have been founded by the Phoenicians, like Carteia, Cartama, and other
Andalucian towns, built on a height; the word car is supposed to signify an elevation.
During the Roman epoch Carmo was much more important than it is now. Csesar

accounted it the strongest town of Bsetica ; its soil was then, as it is now, marvellously
fertile. We have seen Roman medals with the word Carmo between two ears of corn.

We noticed on the fagade of the Aynntamiento the arms of the town, which represent
a star surrounded by lions and castles, with this modest inscription :

" Sicut lucifer Incet in aurora

Sic in Vandalia Carmona."

Before leaving Carmona we visited the ancient Arabian Alcazar, situated near the

Puerta de Marchena, a building of the time of the Moslem domination the wooden roof ;

still retains some traces of its old gilding. The alcazar commands one of the finest views
in the world ; a fertile valley dotted with numerous villages lay before us, and we could
distinguish several towns : Marchena, Moron, and Osuna, as M^ell as the Sierra de Ronda
and other Andalucian mountains which faded away in the horizon.
Some hours suflSced to go from Carmona to Ecija. When we entered this town it was
one o'clock and the temperature was so high that it would have been thought excessive
even in Senegal. * It was one of those broiling days which make the grasshoppers sing
2 B
 ; ;

338 SPAIN.

cantur la chicharra — as they say in Andalucia ; the few passers-by whom we met rubbed
against the walls to profit by the narrow band of shade thrown by the houses here and
there some lean-flanked dogs panted and hung their tongues out of their mouths the
; ;

shops were carefully shut, as if on Sunday or the day of a riot, for the shopkeepers who
had finished their repast would not have missed their siesta for an empire. Ecija is justly
accounted the hottest town in Andalucia. It is stated, says the Guia de Sevilla, that in the

month of July 1859, the centigrade thermometer went up to fifty degrees in the shade.

It is not, then, without some reason that this town has received the nick-name of sartenilla
de Andalucia —the frying-pan of Andalucia.
We must believe, however, that the people of Ecija glory in their temperature, since

the arms of the town consist of a shining sun, with this proud legend taken from the
Scriptures Una sola serd llamada la ciudad del sol, " One town only shall be called the city
:

of the sun." After a siesta of some hours, we ventured to take a walk in the town : the
principal street, calle de los Caballeros, seemed to us like a furnace which had hardly cooled
it is an aristocratic street, bordered with palaces belonging to the Benameji, the Penaflor,
and other old families. These palaces, adorned in the churrigueresque style, reminded us of
the mansion belonging to the marquis Dos Aguas, at Valencia, which was a model of the
style. Neither in Holland, Germany, nor elsewhere is ' it possible to find a style of
architecture so purely rococo. In order to rest our eyes, we went to visit some gardens on
the banks of the Genii, for the poetic river which flows at the foot of the Alhambra also
washes the walls of Ecija ; our guide boasted greatly of its waters : we hoped at first

that he would recite to us some Arabian romances, but, alas ! the waters of the Genii in his
eyes were only remarkable for cleansing wool, which is the staple produce of the country.
Shortly after leaving Ecija, as we had got down from our carriage to climb a bank on
foot, we were accosted at a turn of the road by a big vagabond of singular aspect, and
tolerably ragged costume enveloped in a kind of hood, was sheltered by an old
; his head,
black felt hat, a cloak of gray cloth covered his shoulders, which were laden M'ith
one of
these Avallets called alforjas. He held a long stick in his left hand, and a little picture in
his right, representing a very coarsely painted Madonna, fixed to a little square box open at
the top like a money-box. This individual approached wdth many bows, and presented his
picture,murmuring volubly some unintelligible words nevertheless, it was easy for us to
;

perceive by the sound of his voice that he recited prayers, and

begged at the same time for
alms. " It is a Santero," said the mayoral laughing, as he walked up to us. The Santero,
who is called also Demanda or Demandador, because he spends his life in demanding, is only
a weakly disguised beggar, who abuses the credulity of simple people, by making them
believe not for himself that he begs, but for the saint represented
it is
on his Demanda-it
IS thus that they call the alms-box
to which he consigns what money he receives. Each
Santero places himself under the protection of some
particular saint thus he who begs for :

San Bias sells little silken ribbons which have been attached
to the neck of the saint's statue
these ribbons are said to prove infallible charms
against the aff-ection of tlie throat, because
It IS Samt Blaise who is invoked for
maladies of this kind. The Santero of San Antonio Ahad
distributes little bells to the country people,
which have the virtue of preserving cattle
from plague; he of Samt Lazarus possesses an
infallible recipe for putting demons to flight.
Another keeps off robbers, another thunder,
another hailstorms. Thus the demanda is,
little by with cnartos, that never take the
little, filled
road to a chapel or hermitage; it
.s for himself, and himself only,
that the Santero begs. " Do you wish to know," says an
Andalucian writer, "how the Santeros
spend their time when they do 'not beg? Their
 ANDALUCIAN SANTERO. 339

principal occupation consists in going- to tlie taberna : that is the hermitage where they
worship the god Bacchus, for whom they cultivate a real veneration. They always ask
for the best and oldest wines, and they are right, for the god of the wine gives them
the necessary strength to overrun the towns and the country as well as the eloquence
needful to convince those who listen to them."
Before the convents were suppressed, these Santeros were much more numerous in

Andalucia ; and they did not hesitate to disguise themselves as monks, with the assistance
of a false beard, a robe, and a
cowl ; they passed through the
villages, preachii)g repentance
and mortification, taking good
care, however, to confine them-
selves to the precept. Never-
theless, there are some who,
not content with asking charity,
attempt to compel the passers-
by to kiss their saints and
madonnas. A Protestant En-
glishman, travelling through
Spain in the last century, was
greatly annoyed with their con-
duct. "If you refuse to kiss

the images they present," says

he, " you are sure to experience
considerable annoyance, however
large the sum may be which you
give them." We took the train
at Palma for Cordova. The little

town of Palma, with its houses

hidden in clusters of orange- trees,
occupies a charming position in
the angle formed by the Guadal-
quivir and the Genii; for the

poetic river which flows through

Alameda of Granada mingles its
waters near Palma with those of
the great river of the Arabs. The
railroad continues to follow very ANDALUCIAN SANTERO.
closely the right bank of the
Guadalquivir; the vast plains,
horizon, are covered with palmitos, or dwarf palms,
which extend as far as the
to destroy, that cultivators experience
growino- wild; the roots of this plant are so difficult
infested by them. Before the completion
the gre°atest trouble in opening up the country
of the railroad, the diligences which ran
between Seville and Cordova traversed these
that the wheels sunk up to the axletrees, and
solitudes; frequently the sand was so deep
could hardly drag the vehicle out
we remember more than once that ten or a dozen mules
zagal stones, and blows with sticks.
of this ocean of sand, in spite of cries,
 SPAIN.
340

we noticed on our left a pointed rock crowned with a

Shortly after leaving Palma,
It was the old Arabian castle of
square tower overlooking a fortress of the Middle
Ages.

Almodovar del rio, an advanced post of Cordova, whose sonorous name accords well with
its picturesque ruins. According to popular tradition it was in the castle of Almodovar
that. Peter the Cruel planned his campaigns. Half an hour afterwards the train stopped at
like every conceivable station, and the
porters called out; Cordoba! Cordoba/
a station
Veinte minutos ! Thus we entered the ancient city of the Western Califs.
There are few towns which can boast so glorious a past as Cordova. Its history

recedes so far back that even the etymology of its name is unknown ;
certain it is, however,

that it existed long before Christ. Silicus Italicus mentions it in his poem on the second

Punic War, as being of the number of towns which aided Hannibal

: —
''
Nee decus auriferae cessavit Corduba terras."

Martial also speaks of the oil presses of Cordova. It is said that in its environs alone,

as much oil was produced as in all Audalucia. This town notably increased from the year
of Rome 585, and was the first to which the the title and privileges of a
Eomans gave
colony. Moreover, the name of Patricia was bestowed upon it, because a large number of

poor patrician families had settled there. Even to this day the cepa de Cordoba— the
Cordovan branch — is cited as belonging to the sangre azul, or blue blood, as the Spaniards

say, speaking of the oldest nobility. Doubtless it is from this circumstance that the
following saying is attributed to Ganzalvo of Cordova :
" Perhaps there are other towns

in which I would prefer to live, but none in which I would prefer to have been born." The
town soon had temples, theatres, and amphitheatres, and it speedily became famous on
account of its schools. Among the illustrious personages of " eloquent Cordova "—facunda
Corduba —we will only cite the best known : Lucien and the Senecas. Several kings chose
it for their residence, and built sumptuous palaces, notably one used by the Arab kings, of
which we were shown some remains in the edifice called el Alcazar viejo. This residence
was decorated with such splendour that an Arabian author describes it as dazzling the
eyes. After the invasion of Spain by Tarik in 711, Cordova sustained a siege of three
months' duration. Forced to yield to numbers, it became, under Abdul-Rahman, surnamed
the Just, the capital of the Western Califate. Abdul-Rahman, who reigned under the
suzerainty of the Califs of Damascus, declared himself independent in 756,and took the
title of Emir
mumenin, or prince of the believers. It was under this prince's reign that
al
the mosque was commenced it was he also who invited from Asia the most remarkable
;

men of all kinds, and who founded the schools which produced so many learned men
when the rest of Europe was plunged in ignorance. Under the successors of Abdul-
Rahman Cordova attained to the height of
its splendour and prosperity it then merited :

to be called the Athens of the West, and became, according to the expression of the
celebrated physician Razis, "the nurse of sciences, the cradle of warriors." Other Arabian
authors call it " the mother of cities, the throne of sultans, the minaret of piety and
devotion, the refuge of tradition, the dwelling of magnificence and elegance," etc. One poet
says that Cordova is to Andalucia what the head
is to the body another compares this ;

province to a lion whose heart was the capital of the Califs of the West. The Califs
became so powerful that several princes sent ambassadors to solicit their alliance;
contemporary histories are filled with
details of the reception of the envoys from
Constantinople. Mariana, speaking of one of the Califs, said that he held peace and war
 CORDOVA. 341

in his hands, and that he could make and unmake kings. The Arabian princes were very-
tolerant with regard to the Christians : they enjoyed free exercise of their worship in the
conquered towns. The victors did still better, they shared the churches with them.
Thus when it was intended to build the mosque, as the chosen foundation was occupied
by a church of which the Christians possessed half, the Mahometans bought their part from
them. The Jews were equally free to practise their worship : they had their synagogue in
a street which is still called calle de los Judios. Rivalling Damascus and Bagdad, the
population of Cordova rose to nearly a million inhabitants ; it is declared to have contained
two hundred thousand houses, three hundred mosques, fifty hospitals, eighty schools, and
nine hundred public baths. The details given by the Arab historians of the splendour
and luxury of the court of the Califs are so marvellous, that their accounts almost
seem exaggerated.
Gold, silver, ivory, pearls, precious stones, the finest marbles and the rarest woods,
were lavished with inconceivable profusion in constructing and furnishing the palaces of
sovereigns and homes of private individuals. Revolutions, civil wars, and invasions destroyed
these splendours little by little, and Cordova having fallen into the hands of Ferdinand III.,

the 29th of June 1236, its decadence was rapidly brought about under the Christian domina-
tion. At the end of the seventeenth century it did not possess more than fourteen thousand
houses, and a hundred years later this number fell to eight thousand. It only contains at

present ten thousand houses, or barely fifty thousand souls. Our entry into Cordova by
rail almost made us regret the good old times of the coaches. It is true one arrived shaken,
harassed by fatigue, white with dust, after having been jolted on a bad road during
forty or sixty hours in a narrow and badly hung carriage. But, on the other hand,

the entrance was superb : leaving behind the Carrahola, a majestic crenated tower of the
fourteenth century, you crossed the Guadalquivir on a fine bridge with fourteen arches. On
the right and left stood the old ramparts of the town, surmounted by Arabian towers, above
which grew the slender and elegant palms, reflected on the calm waters of the river. At
the other end of the bridge you passed under a triumphal arch constructed by Herera,
under Charles V., then the Puerta del puente, with its bas-relief attributed to the Florentine
sculptor, Torrigiano, The imposing mass of the Arabian mosque, surmounted by a heavy
dome in the Christian style, stood out conspicuously from the terraces and flat roofs of the

houses. Once in the town, you went through a network of narrow, tortuous, and deserted
roads. Such is still, however, the general aspect of most of the quarters of Cordova one ;

would sometimes think, especially during the great heats, that the inhabitants had deserted
their town. One rarely meets a passer-by in these streets, where grass grows which is
seldom trodden under foot.

We had thought of Cordova as an old town of the Middle Ages in the style of Toledo,
or Avila ; we also hoped to find some Arab monuments in the ancient capital of the

"Western Califs. We found nothing, or next to nothing. The houses, uniformly whitened

with lime, have a modern aspect ; the iron railings, cleverly wrought like those of Seville,

generally exposed to view a patio planted with flowers, in the midst of which springs up
a

thin jet of water; the windows, furnished with rejas— solid iron bars—
are filled with

ornamental plants, which grow by the side of long blue and white striped curtains.
The
the eye, and they say
place has, nevertheless, an air of prettiness which is attractive to
the inhabitants show themselves so little in the streets it is
because they prefer the
that if
comfort of home to life in public.
have said that ancient monuments are rare Cordova but possesses the famous
We at ;
it
 ;

SPAIN.
342

called. It may be considered a unique edifice of its

mosque of the Mezquka, as it is still

kind : there is nothing like it anywhere The Alhambra and the Alcazar are marvels
else.

of Moorish architecture, but these palaces can convey no idea of the Cordovan monument,

which is five or six centuries older. It was in 770 that Abdul-Kahman undertook to raise a
those of Damascus, Bagdad, and
mosque which would surpass in grandeur and magnificence
other Oriental towns. They pushed forward the works with extraordinary activity. Abdul-
interest in its construction,
Eahman, who had designed the plan himself, took such a great
each day. Nevertheless, he was not
that he worked at it with his own hands an hour
permitted to see the completion of his toil it was left to his son, who, after his death, ;

of the eighth century. It

continued the works, which were finished towards the end
is often asked how the Arabs could have constructed such a gigantic monument in so short
First, we must consider that they were very far advanced
in the arts and sciences.
a time ?

Besides, instead of cutting and polishing the numerous marble columns employed in the
construction, they took those of temples and other antique edifices
of Spain and Africa.

France too contributed its share, for they brought some from Narbonne and it is even ;

said, though it seems barely credible, that they brought earth from
this town, which the

Christian prisoners carried on their backs. Before entering the mosque, we pass through

the " Patio de los Naravjos," a vast enclosure planted with orange-trees and enormous
lemon-trees, with palms and cypresses, formiug a thick vault of verdure, under which
sparkling fountains keep the air continually cool. The Fatio de los Naranjos of Cordova
and that of the Cathedral have always aroused the hearts of the Andalucians.
of Seville

Ponz relates, on this subject, an incident which happened to himself. " I was passing
through Aragon, and arrived early in the morning at a village about four or five leagues
from Teruel. It was very hot, and I intended to leave two or three hours before daybreak,
in order to arrive at this town before the heat of the day. As I was looking out of the
window of my room in the inn, I noticed six or seven horsemen arrive towards evening
they were armed with long swords, wore white hats, and were dressed in the best style of
the majos. On entering the inn they shouted altogether : 'Alahado sea el Patio de los

Naranjos ! '
— ' Blessed be the patio of the orange-trees !
' Neither the people of the inn, nor
the travellers who were there, could understand the strange exclamation, and I knew no
more than they. It was in vain I inquired what manner of men they were." Ponz then
tells how he and his arriero persuaded themselves that they w^ere bandits, and consequently
desired to hasten their departure. Notwithstanding all this, they arrived at Teruel greatly
pleased at what they considered a very narrow escape. Some time afterwards they met
the same horsemen, and learned that they were toreros from Cordova, going to a corrida
in Pampeluna. " It is thus," said the traveller, " that I became aware of the existence of a
Patio de los Naranjos at Cordova."

The patio is, it is said, one of the additions made to the mosque by the Calif Al-Mansur.
An Arab historian relates how this sovereign proceeded with regard to the proprietors
whom he wished to dispossess ;
this anecdote does not lack interest in the times of ex-
propriation in which we live. " The Calif called before him the proprietors of the houses
which were to be destroyed, and addressed each one separately thus Friend, I require :
'

thy house ; I must buy it to augment the great mosque, for this edifice is useful and even
necessary to the people. Ask thy price and the royal treasury shall pay it." Every one of
the proprietors consented willingly to sell his house, not without asking the highest possible
price for it, and Al-Mansur immediately gave the order to pay them, and, still further, he
enjoined that good houses should be built for them in another part of the town. The last
 THE MOSQUE OF COEDOVA. 345

person to present lierself was an old woman who owned a house which had a palm-
tree in its court. This woman obstinately refused to give it up, unless they gave her
another house Avith a similar palm-tree growing in the court. Upon which the Calif gave
orders that the wishes of the old woman should be gratified, even if it should cost a million
duros. And accordingly another house with a palm-tree was purchased at an enormous
price." The mosque is entered by seven doors of a medium height ; the sculptures are in
very low relief and in pure and simple taste.
The exterior walls, crowned with battlements, are of the clear, yellow stone-colour
which is only too often seen on ancient edifices. There is no monumental fagade, or grand
portal, as in the churches of the Middle Ages; one M'ould say that the architect has
exaggerated the simplicity of the exterior in order to still more heighten the striking effect
of the magnificence of the interior. Theophile Gautier, a great admirer of the Mezquita,
aptly says, that to give an idea of this strange edifice, you must compare it to a great
esplanade closed in with walls, and planted with columns in quincunx order (that is, a
square, consisting of five columns, one at each corner, and a fifth in the centre).
It is impossible to describe the impression one feels on entering the mosque of Cordova
for the first time the numerous columns which support the vault cross each other like
;

forest trees and form long perspectives, which continually change as one penetrates farther
into the interior. A half-obscurity, reigning here, as indeed in all Spanish churches, adds
another charm to the poetry of these alleys of marble. The columns now number eight
hundred and sixty, but were much more numerous formerly : it is said that there were as
many as twelve hundred. According to the tradition, they came in great part from the
temple of Janus, which occupied the site of the mosque ; sixty were carried from Tarragona
and Seville, one hundred and fifteen belonged to the monuments of Nimes and Narbonne,
and one hundred and forty were a present from the emperor Leon (1), who reigned at
Byzantium. A large number were also taken from the temple of Carthage, and several
other towns on the African coast. Most of these columns are surmounted with Corinthian
capitals others are of the Doric order, and a good many belong to the Arabian style.
; All
these capitals were formerly gilded, and there are still traces on some of them of the old
gilding. The son of the Calif Hisham had them gilded, it is said, as well as the columns
and part of the walls. The arcades supported by the columns are of various forms some ;

are semi-circular ; the greater number are of a horseshoe shape and are carved with several
crescent-formed lobes, always uneven in number : thus we remarked some with three,

five, seven, nine, and even eleven lobes. These arcades are superposed one above
the other in two rows, imparting a marvellous air of lightness to the whole aspect of
the edifice. The naves formed by the intercrossing of the columns are nineteen in number,
taken latitudinally, and twenty-nine longitudinally. The Spaniards designate these naves
by the names of calles, or streets : thus there is the calle San Nicolas, the calle San Pedro,
etc., thus named from the chapels situated in each nave. At the extremity of one of these
naves is the Mihrdh, the holy part of the mosque ; it is in this sanctum sanctorum, a very
small retreat built in the thickness of the wall, the Alcoran was formerly kept, and
where the Califs prayed publicly. The Mihrdh, the richest part of the mosque, has by
unheard-of good fortune escaped from the successive profanations which have degraded
many other parts of the edifice. It is entered by a horseshoe arch supported by elegant
marble columns, and above which exists the most splendid mosaic. St. Mark's of Venice
and the ancient churches of Rome and Eavenna ofi"er nothing richer. This mosaic is
composed of little glass cubes, with fine inscriptions as well as ornaments of the purest
 SPAIN.
346
Although of Arabian style, it was made in
taste on a ground of gold and azure blue.
Constantinople, doubtless after the design of a Cordovan
architect. celebrated Arabian A
geographer of the eleventh century, Edrisi, informs us that it
was sent as a present to a

Calif of Cordova, by the Emperor Eomain 11. The interior of the Mihrab, which is octagonal

in shape, is little more than fourteen I'eet and twenty-seven in height up to the
in diameter

vault. The walls are covered with white marble veined with red, above which is a cornice
with a frieze of inscriptions. A tablet of mosaic described by Ambrosio de Morales, and
disappeared on the
which still existed at the end of the sixteenth century, has unhappily ;

other hand, the twelve small columns of white African marble,

with gilded bases and

capitals, ranged round the sanctuary, are in perfect

preservation. The crowd of
worshippers was so considerable in this sacred place, that the marble is worn and looks as
if it had been hollowed out circularly tradition says that the faithful and the pilgrims
;

went round it seven times. The execution of the vault is not less marvellous : it is formed

of a single block of white marble, fifteen feet in diameter, grooved in the form of a shell
and sculptured with the greatest delicacy. The riches of the Mihrab are far from what
they used to be, if the descriptions of the Arab writers are to be trusted. Thus, this

sanctuary, enriched with marbles of inestimable value and two columns of lapis, was
covered besides with ornaments of iron and ebony ; other incrustations of still rarer species

of wood, composed of thirty-six thousand pieces, were fixed by nails of pure gold and
studded with precious stones. A copy of the sacred book, from the hand of Othman, was
kept there in a golden box lined with silk, garnished with pearls and rubies, and placed
upon a stand of aloe wood, with golden nails. The ancient sanctuary is commonly called

el zancarron, in derision — literally, an old bone, a fleshpot bone. It appears, from the popular
tradition, that Mahomet's jawbone was supposed to be preserved in the Mihrdh : hence the
ridicule implied in the word zancarron, now used to designate a place held sacred for so
many generations.
Another spot venerated by the Arabs, the Mahssurah, preceded the Mihrdh, and
contained at one time a sort of throne for the Califs. The flooring of the apartment was
formerly made of silver, and the adjacent doors were inlaid with mosaics and golden
ornaments : one of these doors was even cast in pure gold. The greater number of the
columns were ranged in groups of four, each group crowned by a single capital ; the other
parts of the mosque, though less profusely decorated, were nevertheless very grand.
There also existed a sort of pulpit, mounted by seven steps, which was said to be the
most costly and elaborate piece of workmanship in the whole world. All sorts of figures
were represented upon it, for the Mussulmans of Cordova, like those of Granada and other
western towns, were far from strictly observing the law which forbids representations of
animated objects. This pulpit was named the silla — seat— or carro (car) del rey Almanzar,
because it was mounted on four wheels, which still existed at the end of the sixteenth
century. It is deeply to be regretted that a relic so interesting should have disappeared.
It is reported to have been destroyed by masons who were working at the Mosque. " For
what reason I cannot tell," says a contemporaneous author, who adds, " y asi perecio aquella
antigualla," — " thus ended that relic of antiquity."
Arabian writers give the most extraordinary accounts of the manner in which the
mosque was lighted some set down the number of lamps, which burned day and night, at
:

seven thousand, others at ten thousand. A

rather singular fact is, that suspended among
the lamps were bells from the cathedral of St. James of Compostella, carried from Galicia
on the shoulders of Christian slaves, by command of the Calif Al-Mausur. These bells
CHAPJiL OF THE ZANCAEKON, MOSQUE OF CORDOVA. To face page 346.
 —
MOSQUE OF CORDOVA. 349

had been inverted, and suspended by chains of silver from the vaulted roof Marmol
Carbajal assures us, in his curious " Description of Africa," that he noticed similar bells in
a mosque at Fez. Besides this astonishing array of lamps, the mosque possessed a great
number of candlesticks. It is reported that when St. Ferdinand took Cordova, he had
the new-fashioned lamps removed, and ordered the Mahometan prisoners to carry them
on their shoulders back to their original site.

The ceilings were sculptured, gilded, and painted with a skill and an appreciation of
the beautiful, of which one may form some faint notion from what little remains of the
work. The roof has given way in several places, where the beams were pulled out either to
build with, or to make musical instruments. These acts of spoliation date from an early
period, for Ambrosio de Morales, who wrote in the sixteenth century, states that the value

of the wood thus abstracted was several thousand ducats. The members of the ayuntamiento,
in 1523, endeavoured to put a stop to these acts of vandalism : tliey even menaced with
death any one who dared to touch the sacred building. They appealed to the emperor, who,

as he had never seen or heard of the mosque, made no reply. Three years later, when
Charles V. came to Cordova, he flew in a rage when he beheld the damage done to the

mosque. " I did not know its value," he cried, " else I would never have permitted it to

be touched. You have done what may be done anywhere, but you have destroyed what
you cannot restore." The great fault of the choir is its being erected in the centre of

a Mahometan mosque, otherwise we would accord to it its meed of praise as a fine example
of the work of the Renaissance. The mahogany stalls were carved about the middle of the
eighteenth century by a sculptor of Cordova, named Pedro Duque Cornejo, who toiled at
this part of the decoration for ten years, as we gather from the inscription on his tomb.

Nothing need be said of the altar-pieces, gates, and chapels, richly gilded, and ridiculously
out of keeping with the noble simplicity of the Arabian architecture.
Amongst shown by the guides to visitors is a column from
the curiosities always
which a grossly sculptured Christ stands out in relief A lamp is kept constantly burning
by its side, and the carving is reported to have been the work of a Christian captive
chained by the Arabs to that column —
who executed it with his nail without the aid of any
other tool. But we ventured to remark to our guide that this black marble veined with
white is of the hardest description, and we doubted the possibihty of a human nail
replacing a steel tool. This seemed to shock our man so thoroughly, that it was necessary
to explain we had only thrown out the remark to indicate the splendid condition of the

captive's nails. A little softened, our guide showed us the inscription : Lo hizo el cautibo con

la una— " Cut by the captive with his nail." Not far from this column is a bas-relief

representing the captive at prayer, a cord round his neck and chains on his ankles this ;

subject is accompanied by a Latin inscription, showing how, while the Mahometans

celebrated their orgies in the temple, the poor sujfferer invoked the true divinity of Christ,
and how he transferred the image from his heart to the hard stone.
A tomb in the wall of the mosque, unlike anything we had ever seen before, was
in the form of a trunk with three padlocks. Th^ophile Gautier inquires thoughtfully,
" How will the body at the last day, amid the general confusion, be able to find the key to
open the trunk in which it is carefully enclosed ?
" There was another tomb, on which we
read this singular epitaph cut on a slab of black marble Here lies the corpse of Her
:

Excellency Dona Maria Isidra Quintina of Guzman y Cerda, of Guadalcazar 6 Hinojares,

Grande de Espana, etc., Doctora en y letras humanas, Catedrdtica y consiliaria
filosqfia

perpetual de la Universidad de Alcald, Academica honoraria, etc. This grandee of Spain

2
350 SPAIN.

died in 1803 at the a,ge of thirty-five. Let us also mention the tomb of Gongora, the
celebrated poet who penned some lines against Cervantes, and in turn was held up to ridicule
by Le Sage. Gongora was chaplain to Philip III. and canon of the cathedral of Cordova.,
where he was buried in 1623.
Ijcaviug the mosque we again made our way along the Patio de los Naranjos, at the
end of which there is the lofty tower surmounted by a golden statue of St. Piaphael,
archangel, hovering over the town. This tower was built by Herman Ruiz, the unhappy
architect of the choir in the mosque ; it was overthrown by an earthquake at the close of
the sixteenth century, and rebuilt on the foundation of the ancient Al Minar, an Arabian
minaret. At the time of the Califs, this minaret was esteemed one of the wonders of the
world ; apex was topped by two huge globes of pure gold, and between them was a
its

silver globe, and above an enormous golden pomegranate.

CATTLE MERCHANT OF CORDOVA,

INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE OF CORDOVA. To face page 350.
 — — —

SKETCH AT VALDEPENAS.

CHAPTER XVI.

The environs of Cordova ; the mills of the Guadalquivir — —

The palace of Az-Zarah Luxury of the Califs of Cordova
Serenading in Andalucia ;the Mom'a and the «0V80 Pelar la pava, "Plucking the turkey" Mascar hierro, "Chewing
iron " —Some couplets — — —
Andalucian devotion to the Virgin Andujar and its alcarrazas The Sierra Morena and its
ermitanos —More about Jos^ Maria — The — —
Venta de Cdrdenas Spanish beggars La Mancha and its inhabitants
Causes of the misery of the population — —
Santa Cruz de Mudela and its cutlery— The wine of La Mancha Ciudad-Real
and Valdepefias— Manzanares.

At the time of Mussulman dominion, the suburbs of Cordova were as flourishing as the
tlie

town itself. Situated in the midst of a fertile plain watered by the Guadalquivir, it became
the chosen residence of the Califs of the West, where the Ommides exhausted their
treasures in rearing sumptuous palaces and useful edifices. On the banks of the Guadal-
quivir there are no less than five thousand mills between Seville and Cordova ; those dating
from the time of the Arabs may be generally known by their square towers, but few, if

any of them, are at work nowadays. On one of the hills, which rise like an oasis in the
direction of the Sierra Morena, there stood the celebrated residence of Az-Zarah, perhaps
the finest building of the sort erected by the Arabs.
One of the wives of a Calif died, leaving immense
riches to be employed in ransom-

ing Mahometan prisoners. As there were no prisoners to be ransomed, it was used by

the Sultana Az-Zarah to raise the palace to which she gave her name. The Arab
historians give wonderful accounts of the luxury and magnificence of this establishment.

The pavement of its courts was of semi-transparent marble, inlaid with plates of gold.

Eight of the doors were made out of carved ivory and ebony, set with jewels, while the
building itself was roofed over with gold and silver tiles.

In the centre of one of the apartments stood a huge basin filled with mercury. When
 :

o.. SPAIN.

the sun's rays fell upon its briglit surface, the eyes of the spectators were dazzled with

refulgent light. Another object, which attracted greater attention, was an enormous bronze-
gilded fountain,which had been brought from Constantinople, a masterpiece of art,
supported by twelve red-golden figures, arrayed with lines of pearls and precious stones
in the form of animals, such as crocodiles, antelopes, dragons, etc.
The city of Cordova itself was no less wonderful. One writer assures us that the
distance between the city and Az-Zarah was ten miles, and that one might travel at dead

of night over the entire route by the light of an immense number of lamps. Cordova
is reported to have excelled all other cities in four things —the promotion of the sciences,

its great mosque, its bridge over the Guadalquivir, and its settlement of Az-Zarah.
Az-Zarah stood on the site now known as ancient Cordova, but it was levelled

to the ground at the beginning of the eleventh century, together with Eizd,fah, the present

San Francisco de la Arrizafa. We desired to visit these enchanting scenes, but could
find no trace of them ; indeed, we may say with the Latin poet that even their scattered
ruins have disappeared.
If Cordova is silent and dreary during the daytime, it seems to awake partially from
its repose to listen to the serenades at night. This serenading appeared to us nothing
more than a sort of amusing pleasantry fitted only for the Opera Comique. Not so with

the Andalucians ; to them the guitar is a noble instrument, and its jerking notes are
listened to with melodramatic seriousness. A Spanish poet touchingly inquires, " What
would an Englishman, Dane, or Swede do to convince a lady of his adoration ? Would he
willingly deprive himself of a night's rest ?
" He adds, " Let us see : he would twirl his
moustache, arrange his locks so as to fall languishingly over his forehead, sigh, look
suicidal, and retire calmly to rest. But with us behold the difference ! A majo, guitar in
hand, his mantle tossed negligently over his shoulder, sings and sighs his love patiently
beneath a balcony, regardless of weather ; he waits until daybreak, dreading the frown of
his lady-love should he quit his post a moment too soon."
In return, it is hard for the majo should all this willing toil be thrown away on a lady
whom the first notes send to repose for the night. In vain would he breathe his song :

" Si esta noche no sales

A la ventana,
Cu^ntame entre los muertos
Desde manana."

—" If to-night thou dost not appear at thy window, of my death, alas ! thou wilt hear on
the morrow."
The Spanish nights are so mild and genial that we can hardly wonder the serenaders
have not died out. The novio spends a part of his nights singing and talking to his
still

novia, betrothed, who is seated behind the iron grating which invariably protects the lower
windows of the houses. Whenever we witnessed a nocturnal tete-d-Ute of this sort, we heard
the couple whispering together, and the novio could be
seen clinging with trembling hand
to the iron railing as described by Cervantes in
his novel, the Celoso estremeno

"A los hierros de una reja

La turbada mano asida."

This favourite exercise of lovers is called pelar la pava—lltcvaWy, peladores depava—tmkey

pluckers ;
it may be because the attitude ofiers some analogy to a person plucking a turkey
A SEEENATA AT CORDOVA. To face page 354.
 " :

ANDALUCIAN SEEENADING. 357

with the right hand, while holding it with the left. The Andulucians have another
expression for characterising an ardent lover whose head is bent towards the bars
comer ;

hierro, mascar Merro—to eat or to chew iron. Sometimes the pelador de pava tries to
deceive the mother's vigilance, when he is careful not to sound an instrument, and with the
consent of the young girl he is even able to deceive the house-dog, or bribe him to
silence. "Throw some bread dog when you come to see me," says the novia, "for
to the
my mother sleeps as lightly as a hare."
Amongst the popular songs sold in the streets, those called serenatas, or
coplas de
ventana (window couplets) occupy a most important position. Here are some of these
coplas, which are, so to speak, classic among the Andalucians
" Cuerpo giieno ! . . . . Alma divina !

Que de fatigas me cuestas !

Despierta, si esUs dormida,

Y alivia, por Dios, mi pena !
"

— "Eare beauty! divine one! What trouble ismine! Wake, if thou sleepest, and for
Grod's sake my sorrows allay !

" La paloma esU en la cama

Arropadita y caliente,
Y el polomo estd en la esquina
Dandose diente con diente."

— " The dove is in bed, snugly wrapped up, while the pigeon waits in the street, cold and
gnashing his teeth."
Sometimes it happens that a rival appears upon the scene, when, if the first will not
abandon his claims, the question is settled with the knife ; the adversaries cast their mantles
on the ground, tighten their fajas and fall on each other but the combat has not always ;

a tragical end, as sometimes happens that the foes are merely fanfarrones—hnUics—who
it

at once pass from tragedy into comedy, and after they have exhausted their vocabularies
of invective, retire tranquilly to a tavern to drown their rivalry in a bowl of wine.
Satirical couplets are not wanting to enliven tbis phase of Spanish life. One tells

how a gallant sang all night long to the lady of his heart, whom he perceived from time
to time moving the curtain on the balcony ; but, after all, the object of his rapture turned
out to be a black cat which had the curiosity to watch his movements.
When pava has a circle of musical friends, he appoints a rendezvous under
a pelador de
the balcony of his novia, who thus enjoys the music, while she listens to the fond words
of her lover. One evening we witnessed a serenata of this sort in a street in Cordova.
While the musicians exercised their skill, the novio appeared to be hanging from the iron
bars ; as to the young lady, a gleam of moonlight revealed her charming face through
the reja, showing that she took much more interest in her lover's words than the touching
strains of the serenaders. It sometimes happens when the novio is engrossed with his
novia, some friends who have concealed themselves surprise him, and compel him to pay
a ransom.
Andalucia is renowned for its devotion to the Virgin, the Santisima. The number
of books printed in honour of the Virgin is extraordinary. The bibliographer Antonio,
who lived in the seventeenth century, quotes eighty-four works on the subject of different
Virgins, venerated in certain localities, and over four hundred on the Virgin Mary. It is

probable that the number has doubled since that time. The Gothic kings consecrated
those beautiful golden crowns set with pearls and sapphires to Santa Maria in the churches
358
SPAIN.

dedicated to her. A number of these crowns were discovered not far from Toledo, two

or three years ago. Jaime el Conquistador, king of Aragon, erected a thousand churches,

all of them dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Soon after leaving Cordova, we passed the bridge of Alcolea, where the battle was

fouo-ht in 1868 which cost Isabella II. the throne of Spain. This bridge was built by

Charles III. at the close of last century; the black marble used for its construction was
brought from the Sierra Morena. We stopped a day at Andujar, a little town famed for its

vases of porous earth, used to keep water cool and which find a ready market all over
Spain, and in many foreign countries. Their forms are most elegant, although they have
never changed the ancient designs of Arabian origin ; indeed vases of the same sort are
manufactured in Morocco, and in various other places along the African coast. They
still

have generally two handles, and the orifice, opening like the calyx of a flower, is orna-
mented with pastillages of extreme delicacy.

Carolina, founded by Charles III, is a large market town of symmetrical construction,

many of whose streets are ranged in long parallel rows, with others cutting them at right
angles. Nothing can be more dreary than this Nuevas pohlaciones :
metropolis of the
this is the name given to certain villages laid out on the same plan, by a celebrity of the
state, Ollavide, to people the country bordering the Sierra Morena. After erecting these
villages, it was found difficult to procure inhabitants for them. Germans and Swiss were
placed there, but they were not easily accustomed to tlie climate ; as we approached
the mountains, we noticed some wooden crosses placed to mark the spots where unfortunates
had met. their death. A traveller of the last century, the Marquis of Langle, struck with
the frequent recurrence of these crosses, thought it would have been a decided improve-
ment to set up a scaffold on the It is rather more interesting
sites of these assassinations :
—"
to travellers to fiud something to commemorate the punishment of crime, in place of the
crime itself." The railway runs through frightful gorges and along the verge of high
precipices. A celebrated spot, where these gorges are contracted so as to darken the route,
is called the Despenaperros.

"Andalucia," says Voiture, "reconciled me to the other provinces of Spain." This

famous author, when he penned these words, had just passed through La Mancha, and was
charmed with the contrast between the arid plains, the dark vegetation of the Sierra
Morena, and the smiling country of the orange and palm trees.
" Three days ago," he adds, " I saw in the Sierra Morena the place where Cardenio
and Don Quixote met, and the same evening I supped at the venta where the adventures of
Dorothea ended." These lines, written seventeen years after the death of Cervantes, show
that his immortal fiction was already accounted a genuine history.
The Sierra Morena was for many years one of the most dangerous haunts of banditti
in the whole of Spain, These outlaws have been called the hermits of the Sierra Morena.
But it is said that nowadays there is not a single band of highway robbers in Spain. Jose
Maria, of whom we have already spoken, must have been a bandit of the romantic and
chivalrous order. It is recorded of him that on one occasion he determined to attack a
carriage, when the following scene took place :

" Silence !
" cried one of the band " hark, a noise of
; bells— a carriage— it comes this
way."
" Alto Jos^ Maria, seizing the coachman " let every one get down.
" cried
!

; Come,
masters, get down. How many are there 1
"

"Four. A tall gentleman, two children, and a young lady."

DEFILE OF THE DESPENAPEEROS, IN THE SIERRA MOEENA. To face page 35S.
 — ; "

THE SIEERA MORENA. 361

" Let them come out. You, Reinoso, guard the door. Another of you hold the horses,
and let two others watch."
The senor don Cosine— thut was the title of the traveller— begged the bandit to
spare his daughter.
" Fear nothing. No one here lacks politeness— the beautiful creature !— God preserve
"
you, Senorita !
"Captain," said one of the band, "that is a dainty piece."
'"Are you not going to place that jewel in a lottery?" said another.
Jos^ Maria imposed silence on his men, and ordered them to search the carriage
without injuring any one. A purse was brought out, and the traveller was requested to
name its contents.
" Four thousand duros," he replied, " my daughter's dowry— all my fortune."
"Do not grieve so, venerable sir," said Jos6 Maria; "and you, Senorita, weep no
more. You were very pleased, then, to be married, and your father did not prevent you ?

"Oh, no, Senor!"

" Then God bless you, you are free. King
If the me some day and pardons
receives
me, I will pay you a visit. Your hand. Adieu ! Come, mayoral, to your box." And while
the horses galloped away :
" Come, you others," said the chief to his men. " I will divide
amongst you four thousand du7^os which I have in reserve, so don't grumble. To horse,
and away, ruffians."

A quarter of an hour after we had left the Despenaperros we passed the Venta de
Cardenas. In spite of its sonorous name, the place only consists of two common buildings,
used as granary, inn, and stable. After interrogating the people as to any traditions
belonging to it, all we could discover was that the venta was also known as the Melocotones
—Melons—a name given to the proprietor of the estate. As to Cardeuio and Luscinda, Cer-
vantes' heroes, they said they knew nothing about such people they had not been there lately.
;

Crossing the Sierra Morena, we entered La Mancha. No transition could be more

rapid or more complete. The climate changes at once from the south to that of the north,
and with it the aspect of nature. The eye wanders over bare arid plains, in vain searching
for a single object on which to rest. Towns and villages can be dimly descried in the
distance, but the landscape is dreary and desolate, and clothed with an air of poverty
reigning supreme, to the verge of the horizon. When the old stage-coaches traversed these
plains, travellers were constantly assailed by troops of beggars, whose numbers sometimes
reached alarming proportions. One day, when in the diligence, we perceived more than
twenty of these vagrants making for the vehicle as fast as their infirmities would allow
them. This mendicity has been attributed to the sloth and idleness of the people, as well
as to the lack of resources in the country itself. A curious work by D. J. Ortiz, called
" The Scourge of Beggars, Idlers, and Vagabonds," gives an interesting account of the
different classes of beggars, begging pilgrims, priests, monks, and hermits, professional
weepers, idiots, deaf, dumb, and blind, and those whose skill lies in mimicking diseases ;

then come those who pass as Jewish converts, and obtain money to enable them to
receive baptism, and a host of others too numerous to mention here. The author thus
concludes his singular nomenclature ;

" Con arte y con engano

Se vive medio afio
Con ingenio y con arte
Se vive la otra parte."
 ;

o 62
SPAIN.

— " By artifice and fraud, we live one lialf the year. By fraud and artifice, we live the

other half."
It is only necessary to read the accounts given by travellers in different countries to
learn that mendicity has always in every land been taken up as a profession by a certain

class of men. A traveller of last century, Joseph Baretti, Secretary of the Royal Academy
of London, relates a story of a Spanish beggar, M'ho asked alms from a Frenchman ; but the
latter, seeing him robust and strong, inquired how it was that he did not strive to live in a
moie honest and independent manner. " It is money I want and not advice," replied the

idler, turning his back. Another writer aifirms that many artisans, even, only work when

hunger compels them. " Go to a Spanish shoemaker and order a pair of boots : he will first

look if there is a loaf of bread on the shelf, and, if there happens to be one, he will
politely inform you, you may go elsewhere."
Let us hear what an Italian traveller has to say, who passed through Spain in 1755.
" I walked by chance into a bookseller's, when a beggar came and asked alms of me but ;

with so much payment of a just debt rather

arrogance that he appeared to be demanding
than charity. At first I pretended not to hear him, and continued reading my book.
Emboldened by my silence, he told me I had plenty of time to read books, and that I ought
to attend to what he said. As I continued to take no notice of him, he approached me in
an insolent manner and said, Answer me, or else give me alms.' " Judging from what we
'

ourselves have seen and heard of the Manchaens, they appeared to be a sober and
industrious race. At first sight the traveller who is assailed by mendicants might
naturally think that their misery was caused by idleness, but this is not always the case.
When the harvest is abundant the rich farmers employ many hands on their vast estates
should the harvest prove scanty, thousands of labourers are thrown out of work, who, many
of them, are obliged to quit their homes and travel through the other provinces begging.
Santa Cruz de Mudela is a small town, or rather large village, most dreary and
miserable to behold.
As soon as the train arrived at the station, we were surrounded by sellers of navajas,
punales, cuchillos, and similar wares : some of them we bought to encourage a trade which
has still some progress to make before it equals that of Shefiield. The knives are like those
of Albacete, and it is doubtless this primitive Spanish cutlery which gave rise to the
saying, " One cuts one's finger without being able to cut a stick." Next we fell into the
hands of the sellers of garters, another local industry. The garters of Santa Cruz are
simply ribands of silk or cotton, about the breadth of a finger, and ornamented at the ends
with inscriptions in silk or silver thread. The words are usually appropriate :

" Te digan estas ligas

Mis penas y fatigas."

— " May these garters tell thee my pains and sufi'erings."

Some of these ligas are like the mottoes in which
confectioners wrap their bonbons :

".Eres dulce como miel

Hermosa como Eaquel."

— " Thou art as sweet as honey, and as beautiful as Rachel."

The fame of the wine of La Mancha is extremely ancient; the finest, that of
Valdepenas, is not unlike the wines of the south of France, or of some grown on
ARRIVAL OP THE DILIGENCE
AT THE INN, SANTA CKUZ DE
UVDELA. To fcace page 362
 ;

MANZANAEES. 365

the banks of the Elione. It is of a beautiful deep red colour, of a strougly-marked flavour,
and very insidious qualities, which it doubtless owes to the stony country. Valdepenas,
indeed, signifies " Vale of Stones."
Arriving at the town of Manzanares at a late hour, we determined to remain for a
short time, and explore the environs of a spot rendered famous by the masterpiece of
Cervantes.
Fifteen or twenty years ago there used to be an extraordinary blind girl in Manzanares,
Maria Catarina Diaz, who stood at the parador de las diligencias, and who used to

improvise verses and speak Latin. She was well known to all the travellers of the time
when we saw her standing singing, she was pouring forth her words with such
last

volubility that we could distinguish neither rhyme nor reason in them. A priest came
up, and saluting the blind girl with a vale ! to which she replied in Latin, he continued
in the same tongue ; nevertheless, we could not discover the faintest analogy between
the words of the dialogue and the language of Tacitus or Cicero : the priest spoke
Latin like a sacristan, while that of the girl could hardly even be called cook's Latin.
They half understood each other, soon became confused, and the conversation dropped.
Early next morning we left Manzanares for Alba.

pnuuiiRF.

A YOUTHFUL MENDICANT. — SKETCH MADE AT THE VENTA DB CABDINAS.

2 D
 AKCIENT AQUEDUCT AT MERIDA.

CHAPTEE XVII.

windmills of La
The Campo de Montiel— Peter the Cruel and Henry of Trastaraare— The Venta of Quesada— The
Don and Sancho—Toboso— Tembleque— Estremadura and its inhabitants— Deserts
Mancha— Souvenirs of Quixote of

and pasturages— The convent of Guadalupe— Trujillo—Merida and its ancient monuments— Badajoz— Spanish
inns :

fonda, parador, posada, meson, venta, etc. Picturesque names Accounts of ancient travellers Why the inns
— — —are

BO miserable— Montanchez— Flocks of sheep and the Mesta The —

wiermoi— Organisation of nomadic flocks— Shep-
herds and dogs —Cdceres —
The bucaros of Estremadura —
Bridge of Alconetar —
Bridge of Alcantara Plasencia —
—The retreat of Charles V. why named Yuste and not Saint Just— Talavera de la Eeina, anciently famed for
:

its faiences.

The heat Wcas tropical as we crossed the vast level plain called el Campo de Montiel. The
town of Montiel is said to have been built on the ruins of the ancient Munda, capital
of the Celtiberians, where Scipio Africanus remained for some time, after driving the
Carthaginians from Spain. There, also, in 1369, one of the most dramatic events in
Spanish history took place. Peter the Cruel, besieged by Guesclin in the Castle of

Montreal, made him the most brilliant offers, if he would conduct him to a place of safety.

Peter, led to believe that his offers were accepted, proceeded to the French camp, where he
was surrounded and forced into a tent. Soon after, his brother Henri de Trastamare
appeared, clothed in complete armour, and casting his eyes round the group, said,"Where is
the bastard who pretends to be King of Castille ? " " There is your enemy," said a French
squire, pointing to Don Pedro. Don Henri, still uncertain, looked fixedly at him. "Yes,
I am Don Pedro I am the King of Castille.
! Every one knows that I am the lawful son
of the good king Don Alfonso. Thou art the bastard " Don Henri, roused by the insult,
!

drew his dagger and struck him lightly in the face. The brothers, too close to each other
to draw their swords, struggled violently for some time without any one attempting to
interfere. In a fatal embrace they fell upon a camp bed in a corner of the tent. Don
THE MILLS OF LA MANCHA.
To face page 366.
 :

THE WINDMILLS OF LA MANCHA. 369

Pedro, the stronger, lield his brother under him but while he felt for his dagger, an
;

Aragonese cavalier, the Viscount de Eocaberti, seizing Don Pedro by the foot, wheeled him
over, so that Don Henri, now uppermost, picking up a poniard and raising the king's
armour, thrust it into his side. Don Pedro's arms relaxed their hold, and Don Henri
disengaged himself, while his followers fell upon the dying king.

We stopped for a relay at the inn of Quesada, an old building resembling a diminutive
fortress. Our next halting-place was the small town of Villarta de San Juan, where the
Guadiana is said to flow beneath the route not far from the houses. The subterranean
source of this river is called el Puente— the bridge. It is related of a Spaniard who,
boasting to a foreigner of the wonders of his country, said: "We have a bridge more
than twenty-one miles wide, on which numerous herds find pasturage." Windmills abound
on the plains of La Mancha, where one may easily, like the faithful valet of Don Quixote,
count as many as thirty or forty within range. These mills are never very large, and
this fact may in a measure explain the mistake of the hero of Cervantes, while their number
is easily accounted for by the enormous quantities of wheat produced in the country.
Toboso, which we passed at a considerable distance to our right, derives its name from
toha, the porous earth of volcanic origin common to the country, and used to manufacture
the tinajas ovjarras already mentioned. In spite of the sonorous name, Toboso, the place
is nothing more than a poor village of about three or four hundred inhabitants. There is

one thing which must strike every traveller who visits the plains of La Mancha, " Don
Quixote " in hand, and that is the accuracy witli which Cervantes describes all the scenes in
which his hero figures. His portraits, too, are almost photographic in their faithfulness and
minuteness of detail. Swinburn, an English traveller of the last century, makes a curious
observation on this subject. " At the villa de Santa Cruz the only thing we noticed as
peculiar was a cow's tail in which our hostess had stuck her combs. As this was the first

time we had come across this custom, in vogue at the time of Sancho, and which proved
so useful to the barber, enabling him to make a false beard, we were struck with the
accuracy of Cervantes."
In no other province of Spain had we the misfortune to meet with so many tattered
mendicants, who frequently had not rags enough to hide their nakedness. Dor^ made a
sketch of a blind beggar and his granddaughter : the man carried a placard in front of him
explaining the cause of the prevalence of blindness in the neighbourhood of Madrid ej 03.
It is attributed to the strong reflection of the sun's rays from the surface of the white sandy
plains. At Tembleque we left our slow, ponderous vehicle for the railway carriage. There
were a great number of trucks at the station laden with enormous earthen jars full of
oil from La Mancha, for that province not only produces grain in abundance, but great

quantities of oil are brought from its vast olive plantations. These earthen jars are nearly
all of one uniform shape, while their uses are diverse ; they may contain either oil, wine, or
vinegar. Those holding oil are not unfrequently preserved, buried in the ground, like the
Eoman amphorae. Some of the largest of them are used as reservoirs for rain-water, and
also for washing purposes. Sometimes they figure as huge flower-pots, and at others as

bathing-jars, as we had many opportunities of discovering in Andalucia. Those used for

oil are first filled with water, which forms an oil-tight coating inside and prevents
leakage. The porous nature of these jars has doubtless given rise to this proverb
" El jarro rnievo
Primero beve que su dueiio."

— " The new jar drinks before its master."

370 SPAIN.

The ceramic museum at Sevres contains a jar measuring about four yards in height,
and an equal number in circumference.
Tembleque, famed for its melons, is a little obscure town standing in a valley and
encircled with a range of dreary-looking hills. Railway trains in Spain are neither
numerous nor frequent thus we had to wait seveo-al hours at the Tembleque station before
;

we could start for Aranjuez, where we halted for repose, intending to revisit the place
after our excursion into Estremadura. The routes leading to this province are so few, that
we were forced to go on to Talavera and wait for the coach from Madrid. We enjoyed a
glimpse of Toledo from the station, and determined to devote some time on our return
journey to this ancient and interesting town. The shades of evening were falling as we
entered Talavera de la Reina, and the coach did not make its appearance till seven o'clock.

Fortunately we had taken the precaution of engaging the front seats from Madrid,
otherwise we might have had to wait several days. Before .
dawn we had passed the
borders of Estremadura. This province is thus named because its boundary skirts the left

bank or extrhne du Duero —extrema Durii.

Estremadura is the least populous of all the Spanish provinces, and although the
inhabitants are naturally of a lively temperament, they disdain anything in the form of
innovation or improvement of any sort : their idleness, indeed, has obtained for them the
nickname of the Indians of the nation.
Oar first halting-place was the village of Almaraz, on the banks of the Tagus, which
we crossed on a bridge spanning the stream between two rocks. It is a bold construction
of considerable length, with only two arches, and dates from the sixteenth century.
As we ueared Trujillo we were in a position to note the truth of the local saying,
" From whatever side you approach Trujillo, jon must travel three miles through

rocks." We were detained two hours, far too long a time to devote to an insignificant
town (boasting only four or five thousand inhabitants), wliich, with the exception of two
churches, presented little of interest to the traveller's gaze, save its ruins. Amongst the
dilapidated houses we remarked that of the famous conqueror of Peru, Francisco Pizarro,
-who was born at Trujillo. After the discovery of America many adventurers left Spain to
seek their fortunes in the New World. Estremadura, a province with but scanty resources,
number of these hardy emigrants. We visited the church of Santa Maria
supplied a great
Mayor, which contains the tomb of Garcia, another local hero surnamed el Sanson de
Estremadura, and el Abides de Espana, companion-in-arms of Gonzalo, who passed his life
in making war against the Portuguese, the Turks, and the French.

The country between Trujillo and Merida consists of broad meadows, where immense
herds of black pigs and flocks of sheep find pasturage. Merida, a very ancient town, was
built indeed twenty-three years B.C. The circumference of its walls measured about
twenty miles, while its garrison in times of peace numbered eight thousand foot soldiers
and ten thousand horsemen. The town still maintained its importance under the Gothic
kings, and when Muza-Ben-Nasser arrived with his besieging army after carrying his
conquests into the south of Spain, he exclaimed when he first descried Merida, " The whole
world must have lent its aid to raise such a stupendous city !
" Merida, after five centuries of
Mussulman rule, fell into the hands of the Christians in 1229. Since that time it has
pdually dwindled down until, at the present day, it contains not over five thousand
inhabitants. The town, hardly so dirty and desolate as Trujillo, wants vitality, and may
with Pisa be called " la morte." It nevertheless contains more Roman monuments than any
other town in Spain, and in tliis respect may be classed with some of the towns in the south
 MERIDA. 373
of France, such as Nlmes, Aries, and Orange. The Eoman bridge over the Guadia-iia— the
Anas of the ancients— filled us with admiration. This granite bridge was built by order of
theEmperor Trajan. It has no than eighty arches to a length of two thousand
less five
hundred feet, and is still in marvellous preservation.
Another remarkable monument is the triumphal arch called Arco de Santiago.
Unfortunately the rich sculpture which at one time ornamented this archway has all
disappeared. A few scattered fragments mark the site of an ancient Forum, whence the
via lata started, which united Merida to Salamanca.
One of the finest relics in the town is its ancient aqueduct, rivalling those of
Segovia and Tarragona. It is supported on ten arches, composed of brick and blocks
of granite, and rises to a height of eighty feet ; nothing can convey a better notion of the
boldness of the Roman works than these colossal arches. The inhabitants, without doubt
astonished by their grandeur, have called them the Miracles. The amphitheatre is now
known as las Siete Sillas, because of its seven steps which have defied the ravages of time,
while the ancient Naumachy is named Bano de los Romanos.
Badajoz, the ancient Pax Augusta, is about forty-five miles from Merida. Here we found
shelter in the fonda de las Tres Naciones, whose white-washed interior was as remarkable
for the simplicity of its furniture as for its cleanliness. This town was the birthplace
of the famous painter, Luis de Morales, surnamed el Divino, as he confined himself strictly
to paintnig religious subjects. One of the streets of Badajoz bears the name of calle de
Morales. Philip on his return from Portugal in 1581, spent some time in the town,
II.,

desiring to see the painter, who was then more than eighty years of age.
After passing through Badajoz and Merida for the second time, we profited by
a galore on its way to Cdceres : there was indeed no choice as to our mode of conveyance,
as the diligence is quite unknown along tliis desolate, deserted route, where one seldom
encounters either a village or an inn. The venta at which we halted on our way was
of a more wretched type than any of the many caravanserais of the sort we fell in with
in Spain. The front of this resting-place for weary travellers consisted of a dingy apart-
ment which served as kitchen, dining-room, and hall, or portico, where a group of
individuals \A'as seated around a fire, and who appeared to us to be arrieros. The hostess,
an old wrinkled crone, whose- nose and chin were cultivating a growing attachment to each
other, was a famous type of those haggard beldames, whose great age it is impossible
to determine, and who are called hrujas, or sorceresses, by the Spaniards. She was stooping
over half-a-dozen mysterious earthen pots that were simmering on the fire, and emitting
a foul odour of rancid oil. As to the ventero, he was poised on a rickety bench, snorting
a native air to the accompaniment of a crazy guitar. This scene was presented to our
gaze through a dense veil of smoke, which seemed reluctant to avail itself of the egress
afforded by a hole in the roof, or by the open doorway.
The ventero, on seeing us, interrupted his song, while the company made way.
Happily our alforjas contained an ample store of provisions, as we should have found
nothing in the venta but sour bread and bad wine. Had we inquired of the ventero for
his bill of fare, he would have replied, in true traditional style, " There is everything . . .

you have brought with you."

If the hotels and inns in Spain off'er few resources, in return the Spanish language
is very rich in its Thus we could name seven
nomenclature of these establishments.
designations after the hierarchical oiA&v, fonda, parador, posada, meson, venta, vendeja, and
ventorillo. The fonda, which derives its name from the Arabic, like the fondaco of the
 SPAIN.
374

and only to be found in large towns it is indeed our hotel,

Italians, holds the 6rst rank, is ;

with the difference that the traveller, in place of

paying for what he receives from day

obliged to pay in certain fixed sums for his weekly board and lodging. The
to day, is
much alike the first is frequently made
parador, the posada, and the meson are very :

the halting-place for the diligence. In these three establishments, which take the place
horses, mules, and cattle of all sorts are
of our country inns, we find that not only men, but
put up, and it often happens that one has to make one's way through stables, or cattle-
sheds, in order to reach the sleeping-apartments. Some of the posadas are nevertheless
cleaner and better kept than the pretentious fondas of the towns.
The venta or ventorillo might be translated tavern, or public-house, and like these

establishments, the venta is known by a variety of fanciful names, such as the

de los Ajos—
of garlic, del Judio—oi the Jew, etc. There are also names which are hardly re-

assuring, " the venta of poniards," " of the robbers," etc.

After resting for a short time at the venta, we set out on the road to Cdceres, and it

was not long before we descried, at the top of a mountain, the little town of Montanchez,

which we reached after climbing a hill three miles in height. This town is famed for its

hams, which are said to be the finest in Estremadura.

The country traversed between Montanchez and Cdceres is most fertile, consisting of

rich green fields and meadows, shaded by trees and covered with immense flocks of
travelling sheep ; the merinos of the Mesta are celebrated for their migrations, and for the
quality of their wool.
The name Mesta has been given to a very ancient gathering in Spain, whose
members were farmers owning flocks and herds, which were transported during winter to
the more genial provinces to escape the cold. As far back as 1501 the consejo honrado de
la mesta was established, and at that time represented the four provinces of Cuenca, Soria,
Segovia, and Leon. This honourable council enjoyed numerous privileges.
At the time of the Mesta, the organisation of the journey is very curious. Every
cabana, that is a flock of ten thousand sheep, is directed by a master shepherd, or a mayoral,

an active man who is acquainted with the best pastures, and who is way thoroughly
in every
qualified for his post. He has under his orders fifty shepherds, accompanied by an equal
number of dogs. Each man is allowed two pounds of bread a day, and the dogs an equal
Aveight of food of inferior quality. The shepherds have only nominal pay, but they are
permitted to own a certain number of sheep : the wool belongs to the proprietor of the
flock, but the shepherd may dispose of the meat, the lambs, and the milk. At the present
time the flocks are thus always under the direction of a mayoral, who is general-in- chief
of these armies of peace.
Cdceres, the first town we encountered after Merida, stands in a commanding situation
on the top of a hill : its climate is famed as one of the mildest and most salubrious in Spain.
The town, which dates from the Roman epoch, was founded by Quintus Csecilius Metellius,
and its modern name is said to be a corruption of Castra Csecilia. In sorne parts of the
town we noticed a number of Roman remains, but nothing of any importance save, perhaps,
a Roman mosaic encrusted in the wall of a house called the casa de los Golfines.
In our posada there was a number of those red earthen vases, bucaros, used, like the
alcarrazas, for cooling water. 'They are manufactured in different parts of Spain and
Portugal, but chiefly in the province of Estremadura. They were probably introduced by
the Arabs at any rate they have been known in Spain for many centuries.
:

The bUcaros of Mexico are also famed as well as those of Spain and Portugal. As to
 8

iff' i^\h

' '
'A
 ;

THE CONVENT OF YUSTE. 7,11

those of Estremadura, tLe finest come from a town near Badajoz. to wliicli this industry
has given the name of Salvatierra de los harros. These vases were formerly much sought
after. We ourselves have seen a very curious collection of
them at the Conde d'Onate at
Madrid, which seemed to us to go back to the end of the sixteenth century. It included
several hundred examples, amongst which we remarked one or two more than a metre
iu
heiglit, and of the most chaste and elegant form.

Canaveral, the town in which we slept, is not far from the famous bridge of Alconetar,
spanning the Eoman road from Salamanca to Merida.
Plasencia, where we arrived next day, is one of the prettiest towns in Spain. Its
position on a prominent hill commands a view of thesnowy heights of the Sierra de Bejar
its gardens, planted with fruit-trees and watered by the clear stream of the Gerte, render
this town a most fascinating abode for those who love the beauty and tranquillity of
nature.
The Vera de Plasencia, Avhich stretches eastwards from the town, is fully entitled to
its renown as one of the most favoured quarters of the Peninsula.. made our way over We
the fertile country to the convent of Yuste, celebrated as the retreat of Charles V., in which
the monarch ended his days.
We may remark, in passing, that the retreat of Charles V. never bore the name of
Saint Just, which has been, and is still, wrongly given to it. many places iu
It is true that
Spain are named San Justo ; nevertheless, they have nothing in common with the celebrated
convent of Estremadura.
This last resting-place of the monarch has served as a pretext for more than one
inaccurate and ridiculous story. Amongst the most ludicrous of those we will single out
a professedly precis historique, published last century, followed by a play in which both
history and geography are alike outraged. " The scene," says the author, " is the monastery

of Saint Just in Andalucia. ... In the valley we may descry the church and convent as
well as the rich hills bordering the Guadalquivir." Unfortunately for the author, the convent
of Yuste stands more than one hundred and fifty miles from the Guadalquivir, and
obtains its name from a small stream or Arroyo, which takes its rise in the neighbouring
mountain.
Charles V. was conducted to the monastery on February 3rd, 1557, and expired
within its walls on the nth of September of the year following. The Emperor did not, as

has been often asserted, live with the monks : he had his own spacious, separate suite of

apartments which were specially built for him. The room in which he died was so close to
the church that, when unable to leave his couch, he could yet hear and join in the service.
The interior of this dwelling, although it lacked the sumptuousness of an imperial palace,
was nevertheless furnished with a certain degree of refinement. It contained works by
Titian and other great masters, costly tapestries, and a multitude of objects of art and
luxury adorned the various saloons. But now, alas ! nothing is left to the once famous
convent of Yuste, but the dim memory of its former greatness.
Eesuming our journey at daybreak, in order to reach the route to Talavera de la Eeina
at Miravete, we had to pass through a wild part of the country, where we were again
reminded of Charles V., who, when emerging from a defile in the mountains we were just
entering, exclaimed, " No pasarS ya otro en mi vida, sino el de la muerte
" — " Henceforth I

shall cross no other passage than that of death."

Talavera de la Keina, in the province of Toledo, is a small town of some ancient
historic note, which owes its name to its having been given as a fief to a certain queen of
378 SPAIN.

Castille. It is the birthplace of the learned Jesuit, Mariana, author of tlie Historia general
de Espana, a work which the parliament of Paris consigned to the flames because it held
regicide to be a lawful and patriotic act. If we except a number of ruins and one or two

Arabian towers, the town has nothing to remind one of its former importance.
It has a small hermitage, Nuestra Senora del Prado, a favourite holiday resort during
Easter week, where f6tes, held about the beginning of the century, curiously enough
preserved intact certain pagan rites and ceremonies, which it was found impossible to
abolish. "Happily," says a Spanish author, "they are moulded to suit the worship of
the Virgin, and the Church has done many other important services with similar pagan
customs difficult to uproot."
The faiences of Talavera used to rival those of Valencia and Seville, and were praised
at the beginning of the sixteenth century in the Cosas memorables de Espana by Marineo
Siculo. "At Talavera they make beautiful glazed earthenware of great fragility, and of
very careful workmanship ; the vases fabricated there are very choice and varied in form."
We left Talavera at an early hour, in order to enter Toledo by daylight. The
distance is not great, although on account of the state of the roads it is a full day's journey,
Thoroughly fatigued, we at last entered the imperial capital of the Gothic kings and of
Charles V.

AN UNFORTUNATE DAT : DESPAIR OF A GDITARRERO.

A SHEPHERD OF ESTBEMADUEA. To face 2Mge 37S.
 —

IDLERS ON THE BRIDGE OP ALICANTE.

CHAPTEE XVIII.

Antiquity of Toledo ; —
the city under the Komans, the Visigoths, and the Arabs The Cathedral— Wealth of the ancient
clergy — The — —
Zocodover The Alcdzar Ancient synagogues Santa Maria la Blanca The ancient Jews of Spain
: —
— — —
Ancient convents of Toledo Monks Some proverbs Saint-Simon and the monks of Toledo The crowns of Guarrazar —
— — — —
The Fdbrica de Armas Ancient fame of the blades of Toledo Their temper The iron of Spain Decadence of the —
arms of Toledo.

Few towns can boast an origin so ancient as that of Toledo, whose history has been the
subject of such ridiculous fables. Some authors have affirmed that the Jews established
themselves in this town after the Bab3'^lonian captivity ; others attribute its foundation to
Hercules, or to Tubal-cain, who settled there exactly forty-three years after the Deluge.
All that is known with certainty of the antiquity of Toledo is that it existed more than
two huudred years before Christ. Marcus Fulvius besieged the town in the year 192 e.g.,
took possession of it, and placed it under theEoman dominion. The monuments, of which
one still sees the remains, together with its ancient fame for the quality of its swords,
prove that Toledo even at that time had acquired a certain renown, though it is spoken of
simply as a small strongly fortified town, Urhs parva, sed locomunita. When the barbarians
from the north invaded the Peninsula, Toledo fell to the Alani. At the beginning of the fifth
century it passed into the hands of the Visigoths, and became the residence of their kings.
The royal town, as it was then called, was enlarged and embellished by the Gothic kings,

notably by Wamba, whose name is still popular in Spain. During the dominion of the Arabs,
Toledo was celebrated for its great wealth and prosperity. Amongst the treasures which
they found there, were the famous table of Solomon, and twenty massive crowns of gold
left by the Gothic kings.
Under the Mussulman sovereigns, Toledo, exposed to constant sieges and assaults,
2 E
 :.82 SPAIN.

was at length taken by Amrou, alcayde of Talavera. The town was ravaged, and the
inhabitants put to the sword ; four hundred nobles, who had been gathered together under

pretext of a feast during the night, were massacred, their bodies tossed into a ditch, while
their heads Avere exposed upon the walls. Ten ceuturies have not effaced the memory
of this nocturnal deed, and when one wishes to speak of a bad action the popular expression
is still Una noche toledana — a Toledian night.
The Arabs had shown themselves tolerant to their fallen foes, permitting alike Jews
. and Christians to practise their religion with absolute freedom.
Toledo had been for nearly four hundred years under Mussulman dominion, when
AlphoDso VI., king of Castile, conquered it after a prolonged siege extending over many
years. This prince awarded numerous privileges to the town, but failed to imitate the

Moorish clemency. The natives were subjected to grinding persecution, and finally driven

away.
Under the kings of Castile the people were constantly rising in revolt, but the most
disastrous insurrection took place in 1449. The chief rebel was an odrero, or manufacturer
of leathern bottles. This gave rise to a popular saying, Soplard el odrero, y alborotarse ha
Toledo :
" The maker of leathern bottles need only whisper, and Toledo will rise to arms." At

the time of the famous insurrection of the comunidades in 1520, Toledo was the capital
of the comuneros, who chose as a chief the bold, but unfortunate, Juan de Padilla ; it had
then reached the zenith of its fame. It was a learned and polished town like Seville and
Salamanca. Even during the thirteenth century Toledo was held as the Spanish town where
Castilian was spoken with the greatest purity, a reputation which it still preserves.
In the year 1560 Philip II. fixed his residence in the modern Madrid, after having
abandoned the ancient capital of the Gothic kings ; since that time it has declined, and the

town, which in the time of its greatest prosperity numbered more than two hundred
thousand inhabitants, can hardly boast fifteen thousand at the present day.
The Cathedral of Toledo is one of the finest, and without doubt the richest in Spain.
It was commenced in the tliirteenth century and finished
at the end of the fifteenth during
a period of nearly two hundred years the building was carried on without intermission.
Although the Cathedral of Toledo is not so vast as that of Seville, yet its interior is
grand and pleasing ; it is divided into five naves, the central nave rising to an imposing
height, the inferior altitude of the side naves adding to the apparent elevation of the great
central one.

The choir, according to the prevalent custom in Spain, is placed in the centre of the
principal nave, and thus occupies the middle of the church. The lower stalls, which date
from the end of the fifteenth ceuturj^, of carved walnut-wood, off"er so many difi"erent subjects
that several hours proved insufficient for a thorough examination of them. For the most part
they represent jousts, tournaments, battles, and sieges, rudely executed, it is true, but at the
same time full of the most interesting details of costume and weapons in use at the time.
The retables of the Spanish churches are of a proportion
and richness of which one
can hardly convey any notion by a simple description. That of Toledo rises nearly as high
as the roof, and is garnished with innumerable carved
figures. The reja, or iron gate of
the choir, plated with silver, is also of colossal dimensions.
Among the many chapels of
the cathedral, we first visited the capilla muzdrabe, thus named because the offices according
to the Mozarab rites are daily celebrated there ; it is also called the apostolic or Gothic
rite. The name of Muzdrabes was given to the Christians who after the conquest remained
under the Mussulman dominion.
I]!JTERIOE OF TOLEDO CATHEDRAL. To face page 382.
 THE CAPILLA MA.YOE. 385

The capilla mayor was formerly known under the name of Reyes Viejos, as it contained
the tombs of the ancient kings. The remains of the celebrated Cardinal Mendoza,
Archbishop of Toledo, also rest in this chapel. It was quite natui'al to place by the side
of the kings the remains of the distinguished prelate who shared the power of Ferduiand
and Isabella.

BRIDGE OP SAINT MARTIN, TOLEDO.

By the side of the capilla mayor stands the famous altar, called el Trasp>arent, a
masterpiece of the bad Churrigueresque style ; its mad extravagances form the most
miserable contrast to the marvels of the Middle Ages and of the Renaissance.
We rode from Zocodover to the Alc4zar, built on the highest of the seven hills of Toledo,
overlooking the Tagus, This palace was commenced in 1534 by Alonso de Covarrubias,
one of the greatest Spanish architects of the Eenaissance. The j)rincipal fagade, which
 SPAIN.
386
richly ornamented^ On each of the
a vast quadrangle, is
occupies one of the sides of affording some fam
of the ancient sculpture,
oher f eX one still traces the remains
Unhappily the Alcta rs a state of m
this edifice.
.otl 01 the former splendour of t° ^sjo.nted
stairea.es of marhle are
1 idall painful toUold. The grand «^-f
rotting beams wjll hardly bear to
and floors whose treacherous
p ars supporting nothing,
which the aucrent imperial palace presented
b rod upon Inch is the lamentable spectacle
to us.

AN ARABIAN WELL, TOLEDO. _

monument in Toledo is the little

After Santa Maria la Blanca, the oldest Arabian
cljurch known as Ermita del Crista de la Luz, used as a mosque before Toledo was
"The Church of Christ of the Light" appeared to us to date
taken by the Christians.
double arches, of horse-shoe shape, are supported by
from the tenth century. Its

heavy square pillars similar to those in the Mosque of Cordova, and its cupolas, or medias

naraiijas, are of remarkable elegance. This church is the where Alphonso VI., when
first

he took possession of Toledo, entered to hear mass. The sacristan showed us, beneath one
ALOAZAE OF TOLEDO. To face page 386.
 ;

SPANISH MONKS. 389

of the arches, a wooden shield ornamented with a white cross on a red ground, said to be
the one which that prince left in the church as a souvenir of his visit.
Toledo formerly possessed numerous convents those of the nuns numbered about
;

twenty, while the monasteries were not less numerous. The power of the
frailes was so
great that they monopolised the best of everything. An ancient traveller complaics of his
inability to procure proper food in a village, because he had been forestalled by the jolly
friars, " who preceding us had seized all the best and
most useful commodities for in Spain ;

these holy men are the masters who make free with the property of the people."
The Spaniards, whose proverbs apply to people in all ranks and conditions of life, have
not neglected to devote a share of them to the frailes : " Neither a good monk for a friend,
nor a bad one for an enemy." " One must be careful of the bull in front, the mule
behind, and of the monk on all sides."

Let us also quote this curious quatrain from the " Philosophia Vulgar "
:

" De los vivos muoho diezmo,

De los muertos mucha oblada
En buen aiio buena renta,
Y en mal ano doblada."

— " From the living, good tithes, — For the dead, good offerings, — In a good year, good rent,
—In a bad year, double."
Saint-Simon does not spare them. "I have never seen," said he, "monks so fat, so
big, so coarse, and such great knaves. Pride distils from their eyes and every pore of
their skins. The presence of their majesties was not even softened by speech. WLat
startled me, so that I could hardly believe my eyes, was the audacity, arrogance, boldness,
and even brutality with which they elbowed their way through among the ladies, and
passed the Camarera Mayor, who, like the others, made them a profound reverence,
humbly kissed their sleeves, after which they redoubled their salutations, without receiving
the faintest token of recognition from the stolid monks. If, as it rarely happened, they
tossed them a word, the ladies replied with the sincerest respect both in tone and
countenance."
The Spanish fraile, which Zurbaran, Murillo, and Goya loved to paint, is a type which
has become extinct since the suppression of the convents. This measure left many men,
accustomed to the tranquil life of tlie cloister, without food or shelter.
These unfortunates, sent adrift again to mingle with the society they had abandoned,
found themselves without either friends or relations. Nearly every career was closed to
them, and they united to form a new body under the name of exclaustrado —the uncloistered.
At the present day the oldest members and the youngest have disappeared by
are dead,
mixing with other classes, so that nothing now remains but their memory.
The most remarkable of the ancient convents of Toledo is that of San Juan de los Reyes,
built in 1476 by the Catholic sovereigns as a thank-offering to God for victory. San Juan
of the Kings, which belonged to the Franciscan monks, is at the present day a simple
parish church.
The Fuente de Guarrazar is famed as the spot where a number of golden crowns,
which belonged to the Visigoth kings of Spain were unearthed. This treasure, one of the
most important which has ever been discovered, was found by a Frenchman, M. Hdrouard,
professor of the French language at the military college of Toledo, during the time of
Charles X. Hunting one day on the hills of the Guarrazar, he perceived a fragment of a gold
chain shining in the sun, and making excavations soon brought to light the splendid

crowns preserved in the museum of Cluny, and which, on account of historic interest.
 SPAIN.
390
and jewels. Ne.
are rendered a Imndred times more valuable than the mere gold
spot nnder the direction of M.
Amador de los Rios, have
excavations, carried on in the same
which were sent to the ^.m.na of Madrid
since yielded several other treasures
famous m th
_

rise the Mantes de Toledo .0

Not far from the Fuente de Guarrazar
Fahriea de Arr^as we bought
history of brigandage. As we were walking one day to the
a popular ballad entitled Lo.Band^do
from Longvtndor on the place of the Zocodover,
history of the bandits
de Toledo:
"
A curious and new romance, in which is related the

INTERIOR OP SAN JUAN DE LOS REYES, TOLEDO.

who inhabited the mountains of Toledo, where they committed the most dreadful atrocities,
M'ith all the details, which the curious reader may see."

The swords and poniards of Spain were anciently famed, for their temper and quality,
as may be gathered from the writings of Polybius, Diodorus of Sicily, etc. The blades of

Toledo were held in high favour in England, as several passages in Jonson, Butler, and
Shakespeare show. It is the arm which Othello guarded like a treasure in his chamber, and

the faithful friend of the soldier. " Toledo's trusty," said Mercutio, " of which a soldier
 SUN), TOLEDO. To face page 390.
THE PUEETA DEL SOL (GATE OF THE
 TOLEDO. 393

dreams." It is uunecessary to say that the espadas toledanas were not less valued in Spain.

The author of the Vlda de Lazarillo de Tormes, who wrote in 1525, makes the servant of
Toledo who waited upon his hero speak thus " Oh if you knew, sir, what a treasure
: !

1 possess in this blade The world does not hold gold enough to buy it. In all the
!

blades of Antonio there never was a steel like this." The steel employed in the manu-
facture of the blades of Toledo is brought from a mine situated at about a league from
Mondragon, in the Basque provinces.
The Fdhrica de Armas stands on the right bank of the Tagus, at ahout two kilometres'

distance from Toledo. It is a large rectangular building, erected in 1780, as we were

informed by an inscription placed above the gateway. Charles III, M'ho made so many
efforts to encourage Spanish industry, resolved to revive the ancient manufacture of
espaderos, and accordingly he Lad this factory built. The old fame of the espaderos of
Toledo had sadly fallen away, and the king was obliged to import a skilful sword-cutler

from Valencia to ac-t as manager of the new works.

A DOOR OF THE MIDDLE AGES, TOLEDO.

 I

A RELAY BETWEEN TOLEDO AND MADRID.

CHAPTER XIX.

— — —
From Toledo to Madrid Aranjuez the palace and gardens Bull and tiger fighting Arrival at Madrid; historical
:

—
notes — The ancient houses interior decorations — Some strophes of Madrid ridicule The climate — The Puerta del Sol
;

— —
—Cost of building materials— The shops and shopkeepers Notes on the Spanish press The newspapers The petty —
—
journals — Satirical papers— Theatrical and sporting sheets Journals of Barcelona and the provinces— The Republican
press.

Formerly tlie journey to Madrid occupied an entire day, although the distance by road
was only twelve leagues ; but the road was of the roughest sort, and the leagues of the
longest Spanish measure. There used to be no alternative but to make this journey in a
narrow diligence, or in an antique calesa crammed until topheavy, in spite of its high
wheels, and producing a motion which has been likened by a traveller to a storm on land.
They stopped half-way at lUescas, to partake of a very necessary repast. The dinner
of the posada was a caution to the traveller, more especially if he happened at the
moment to recall the passage in " G-il Bias," where the trusting wayfarer is supplied with
a cat disguised as a hare.
The journey is now made by rail, and takes about three hours. Crossing the bridge
of Alcantara, situated at the foot of a hill, we soon reached Algodor; then Castillejo, where
the rail branches off to Madrid ; and half an hour afterwards we were at Aranjuez. The
gardens of the ancient royal residence at this place are like an oasis in the centre of the
a.

iz;
m
m
&
m
X
H
 TIGER AND BULL FIGHT AT AEANJUEZ.
397
surrounding desert country. We will just pass through the gardens, beginning with the
Calle de k Eeina, "the Queen's Avenue." It is at least three miles in length, reaching
down to the Tagus. The gardener showed us the fountain which Velazquez
painted
during one of his visits to the palace.
This picture, now in the museum of Madrid, proves
that the Spanish painter knew as well how to paint landscapes as figure subjects. The
attempt has been here made to cultivate plants from South America ° other experiments
have been made, not always in good taste—an artificial mound, for example, supposed to
resemble the Alps, a hermitage, a Greek temple, and many other
models equally curious.
Most of these date from the reign of Charles III., who had a great liking
for this royal
residence. After the gardens we visited the town, which is modern, and therefore
uninteresting, except to its four thousand inhabitants. But in May and June, the mouths
when the court used to repair to Aranjuez, the population increased to about twenty
tliousand.

COMBAT BETWEEN A BULL AND A TIGEB.

A bull-fight was announced for the day after our arrival, at which we made sure to be
present, not so much to witness the ordinary corrida as a fight between a bull and a tiger ;

combats between brutes were very much in vogue two centuries ago. The course did
not last long ; the tiger, in spite of the exciting cries of the crowd, remained perfectly still,

displaying nothing in his attitude to denote the ferocity of his race. The bull on the
contrary, though small in size, was bent on war ; tbfas he advanced on his foe and tossed
him into the air. Tlie tiger, without attempting to resent the insult, calmly crawled off to

his cage, leaving his adversary master of the field.

As we were anxious to reach Madrid, we soon re-entered the train and were carried
off to the metropolis. This city above all others has had hosts of rival chroniclers, who
have striven to bestow upon it the greatest possible or impossible antiquity. One affirms
2 F
 —

398 SPAIN.

that it was founded immediately after the Deluge ; another, more modest, sets it down at

ten centuries before Eome ; and, according to a third, Madrid was flourishiug during the

Grecian epoch. Juan Lopez de Hoyos, who called Cervantes his well-beloved disciple, would
have us believe that the Arco de Santa Maria was built by Nebuchaduezzar, king of
Babylon, at the time of his visit to Madrid. But we cannot enter upon the discussion of
the fables and facts that figure in the history of this renowned city, as we have not a separate
volume to devote to a subject so interesting. The truth is that Madrid is not without the

respectability which antiquity confers. It is mentioned for the first time in authentic
histoiy in the year 933, when Eamiro II., king of Leon, wrested the city from the Arabs, who
named to Majerit
; was then an advanced outpost destined to protect Toledo. It again
it

fell into the hands of the Arabs. Alphonso VI., another king of Leon, took possession of
it towards the end of the eleventh century, when a Christian population established them-
selves at Madrid ; after which its history became less obscure. Its concejo — or city councillors

— figure in 1 2 1 1 in the victorious expedition against Murcia, then under the Arabs. It

was at Madrid that Ferdinand and Isabella received their daughter and her husband. It

was also there that Cardinal Cisneros governed Spain after the death of Ferdinand. Charles

V. loved the palace of Madrid. Philip II., after having abandoned Toledo, made it the
capital of Spain. It was at this epoch that the old walls were thrown down to enlarge the

city, when many of its most important streets were built. The environs of Madrid
were covered with considerable forests, the delight of huntsmen. Argote de Molina,
iu his Lihro de Monteria —hunting-book—printed in 1582, S2:)eaks of the environs of
Madrid as good cover for the bear and wild boar; this accounts for the bear figuring in

the city arms. During the seventeenth century tlie new capital extended rapidly, but
without order or design tumultariamente, according to the extraordinary expression of
Ponz ;
" and a thing wortljy of remark," adds the traveller, " while in America we were
building towns of the most perfect symmetry, the streets of our own capital were made
devoid of regular design. Most of them were built at hazard, care was not even taken to
construct them a certain distance apart, for those existing merited only the name of
corners, or crossways."

Philip III., who was born at Madrid, embellished the capital by building the Plaza
Mayor, which still prfescrves its ancient aspect. During the long reign of Philip IV., which
lasted no less than forty-five years, numerous monuments and churches were built; the
Buen Retiro also dates from his reign.
The houses of Madrid leave very much to be desired, for earth and badly assorted
stones were all that was used in their construction.
It is this style of building which tempts a traveller of the seventeenth century, when
speaking of the people of Madrid, to say, "They have taken their style of architecture from
that of the moles ;
their houses are simply built of earth and, like mole-hills, only one story
high. They make their houses like their pistoles, in which the material is worth more
than the work." Another traveller says, carriage entrances are
but where they very rare,
do exist they are accompanied by an inner court the houses which have them are very ;

fine, spacious, and commodious, and certainly they are

quite as costly as those in Paris.
The houses in Madrid have for the most part only a ground floor. This peculiarity
was caused by the heavy tax levied on buildings above one story high. This restriction
on the right of building has given rise to a singular expression in speaking
of low houses, ;

built to evade the tax, they are termed construidas de malicia, that is to say, " constructed
with malice." The king, we gather from a proclamation dated 1666, has a right over all
|J,1|lil'llHll7'Il|||||lllill|

Q
 MADRID. 401

the houses built in Madrid, which yields him a considerable revenue. It is the first floor 011
which the tax is imposed ; but it is customary for either the builder or the tenant to
purchase exemption, they have not the meaus, they are careful to build their houses
or, if

just high enough to escape taxation. This accounts for the multitude of low houses one
sees at Madrid, houses having nothing but a ground floor.

It was also forbidden to build houses, haviug a first floor, in the neighbourhood of
convents or monasteries. Nevertheless, the houses make up for want of upper stories by
spreading over a great area. There are at times as mauy as twenty or even a greater
number of apartments iu each dwelling, apartments suited to the exigencies of the four
seasons of the year. While the exteriors of the houses of Madrid are simple and
unattractive, the interior apartments make up for this deficiency by their elegance and
sumptuousness of decoration.One may form some notion of an interior from the follow-
ing description mansion occupied by ladies of rank. "It would be difficult to
of a
discover anything more sumptuous than their house they occupied great apartments, ;

draped with tapestries, sparkling with gold. First there was the room of the Duchess of
Terranova, adorned with grey tapestry, with bed and furniture to match ; then that of her
daughter, the Duchess of Mouteleon, decorated in the same style. In the apartment of the
Princess of Monteleon the bed was draped with green and gold damask, lined with silver
brocade, and trimmed with Spanish point lace. The sheets were edged with lace fully
half a yard wide. Iu front of these apartments was the suite of rooms occupied by the
Queen, entirely upholstered with white damask. That of tlie duchess was tapestried with
cr.mson velvet and gold, a rich stuff called in Italy velluto a giardino, or parterre velvet.
These rooms were divided, one from the other, by partitions of perfumed wood. The ladies
met in a large gallery richly carpeted," and surrounded by cushions of crimson velvet,
embroidered with gold, and cabinets of rare wood set with rows of j)i'ecious stones,
furniture imported from foreign countridte. One also noticed tables of silver, and mirrors
set in gorgeous frames, the commonest being silver." Other costly ornaments excited the
admiration of Madame d'Aulnoy, such as escaparates, or urnas, a sort of small glass cabinet
containing an array of articles of extreme rarity and great intrinsic value, grey amber,
rock crystals, porcelains, branches of coral, mother of pearl, gold filigree, and a thousand
costly gems. " There were more," she adds, " than sixty ladies in this gallery seated cross-
legged on the ground, an ancient habit obtained from the Moors. Tiiey were in
groups of five or six together, around a little silver furnace full of olive-nuts, to prevent
them getting headaches. The furniture was extremely gorgeous but badly kept ; it

consisted of tapestries, cabinets, pictures, mirrors, and silver ware."

According to the authors of the seventeenth century, the streets of Madrid were in a
truly miserable condition. Madame d'Aulnoy relates her experiences of its thoroughfares

with the most charming candour. Provided with no proper sanitary system, the citizens
were accustomed to discharge their slops and garbage from the windows above one's head.
It was not only necessary to be careful in picking one's steps along the badly paved way,
but it was also expedient to keep a sharp look-out above, as many a gallant, sallying forth
perfumed for the evening, and not hearing the customary warning, Agua va " Mind the —
water " —had to beat a hasty retreat back to his chambers, drenched by the foul contents of

some utensil shot from a window above his path.

An Italian traveller who visited the metropolis of Spain at the same epoch, says that
the revolting odour which prevailed caused him to repent of having come. " I had already
heard its filth much spoken of, but had always imagined the picture to be overdrawn. My
 402 SPAIN.

own senses now convinced me to the contrary. I wish to quit the town and never dream
of returniug, unless the king undertakes the Herculean task of cleansing his capital."
The wishes of this traveller were realised under the reign of Charles III. In 1760
Madrid was so thoroughly transformed that no one would have recognised the wretched
old filthy town in the well-kept streets, bordered by magnificent edifices, in vast promenades,
fountains, and gardens. It is from that epoch that the transformation of the town dates.
The climate of Madrid, is it salubrious ? This is a question which has given rise to
much controversy. Some say that the sharp cold air is healthy, and it is said for this
reason Philip II. determined to make it the capital of his kingdom. On the other hand,
many popular proverbs are opposed to this view ; in one we find the air of Madrid
accounted so subtle and so fatal as to be capable of killing a man without extinguishing a
candle :

" El aire de Madrid es tan sutil

Que mata 4 un hombre,

Y no apaga 4 un candil."

It is from the mountains of Guadarrama, covered with snow during spring, that this
perfidious wind comes. Thus most of the inhabitants take the precaution of protectino-
themselves, during its prevalence, with the ample folds of their mantles, by which even
their mouths are carefully covered. It is certain that the changes of temperature are not
only sudden and frequent, but extremely trying to the health, more especially towards the
close of winter. This gives rise to a variety of diseases, the most dangerous of which is
pnlmonia. It is without doubt the prevalence of these illnesses that suggested this
rhyming proverb :

" Aun las petsonas mas sanas,

Si en Madrid son nacidas,
Tienen que hacer sus coniidas
De pildoras y tisanas."

— " The healthiest persons, if born at Madrid, should feast without ceasing on pills and
ptisans."

At Madrid it is just as intensely hot during summer as it

is cold during the winter
months. This accounts for the saying, that there are three months of winter
and nine
months of inferno.
The Puerta del Sol
here what the Agora was to Athens, and the. Forum to the Eternal
is

city. It is the heart of the

town, where all the arteries join, the centre of life and move-
ment ;
the rendezvous of the loungers, idlers, and gossips, so
that we naturally introduced
ourselves to the Spanish metropolis by seeking this desirable spot. Puerta del Sol, in spite
of its name, not a gate, but a certain open space as it is
is
a celebrated place, it has its ;

ancient and noble titles. During the fifteenth century there was a gateway on which a
sun was painted, but it was destroyed by Charles V.,
who erected the church of Buen
Suceso on the spot. This church enjoyed the privilege of celebrating
mass up to two
o'clock m
the afternoon, thus causing it to become a
fashionable resort. Not many years
ago the fagade of the Buen Suceso occupied one
side of the square it is always present ;

m one's mmd with its enormous dial, which was lighted up at night.
In the centre of
the square stood a fountain of Venus, in rather
bad taste, bearing the popular name of
Manhlanca. The
place, badly paved and devoid of
footpaths, was bordered on one side
by a variety of hideous structures quite unworthy
of a capital.
But within the past few years, the appearance
of the Puerta del Sol has completely
 :

THE STREETS OF MADRID. 403

clianofed ; on the side of the Buen Suceso au inimeuse edifice has been raised, containing
llie largest hotel and caf^ in the town. The miserable and irregular buildings of former

days have been pulled down, and the narrow, ill-constructed streets straightened and
rebuilt. The old fountain is replaced by a large basin, whence a jet of water rises to
a great height. The Gohernacion, an ancient edifice of the last century, wliich occupies

one side of the place, imparts a monumental aspect to the whole.

'#!«• 1(1
!'>'. ,tH'i'>»i I'll
IIP

VENDOR OP WAX MATCHES.

Both land and building materials are very high priced in Madrid. The ground,
sold by the Castilian foot, is sometimes valued at fifteen himdred francs
the superficial

metre. Stone is obtained from the quarries of Angers and of AngoulSme,

whence it is sent
expense of living in Madrid appears to be nothing
by railway. Besides this, the great
new : a Dutch more than two hundred years ago, that tlie houses were
traveller said,
"excessively dear, as well as everything else. ... A house which
would be thought
thousand crowns
dear at eight thousand crowns, is here sold for twenty and twenty-five
when a man builds he is reported to be extremely rich."
 !;

404 SPAIN.

The shops of the Tuerta del Sol and neighbouring streets are let at exorbitant rents,

and are tenanted by tailors, drapers, milliners, hotel-keepers, and jewellers. One also comes

across the tiendas de quincalla, where a heterogeneous collection of all sorts of things
is exposed for sale, chiefly made up, however, of what are known as articles de Paris.

By the side of these imposing shops, many open-air industries are carried on

the most noisy of all are the vendors of newspapers, women and children, who make
themselves hoarse with screaming towards evening ; when they are working ofi" the last
"
become perfectly hideous
edition, their harsh voices :
" Que acaba de salir ahora !
The cries of the newsvendors mingle in dreadful chorus with those of the cerillas—
—
jmrveyors of wax matches the only sort used in Spain. Scantily clothed, having wretched

alpargatas, hempen sandals, or simply bare feet, their establishment consists of a little
box, supported by a cord round the neck, with which they parade the streets striving
to outdo their noisy neighbours with their A dos y d tres, cerillas. Next comes the
aguador, with his well-known cry Agua ! Qiiien quiere aguaf or El aguador ! Agua y
:

azucarillos. In one hand he carries a porron, with a huge orifice and narrow spout, and
in the other a small table of tin or polished brass, on which are disposed azucarillos
and a number of glasses of formidable dimensions, for the people are great water-drinkers.

Here are again a variety of wandering merchants, one selling paste for polishing silver,

another an alkali for extracting stains of grease, a boy crying papel de hilo, papel de
Ahoy, etc.

Let us approach this group of men conversing in front of the Caf^ Imperial : we shall

only overhear a few words, such as volapit, muleta, puyazo, and vara ; these are hombres
de capa y calanes, gente torera, as they say here. Besides, by their tight-fitting breeches,
supported by a silk band, by their short jackets and Andalucian hats, and the little plait

of hair which hangs from the nape of their neck, we already recognise them as toreros.
Indifferent to the surrounding crowd, they are engrossed with professional topics,
their puros, or cigarettes, and only turn their heads when they hear the rustling of
a silk dress.
Before quitting tlie Puerta del Sol, the great news exchange of Madrid, let us glance
at the Spanish press. The large papers differ so immaterially from our own, that we
might almost pass them over without comment ; they are generally divided into sections :

Seccion oficial, Seccion judicial, Seccion religiosa, etc.; at the end is the Seccion de anuncios,
where one reads in big letters Atencion ! Interesante I Buena ocasion ! Grande rehaja
and other traps for the credulous public. Next, the Perdidas y Hallazgos —objects lost and
found; the public theatres and Academias de baile; the Casas de hu^spedes, always
numerous and at fabulously low prices ; then the Sirvientes and the Nodrizas, etc.
But let us look for a moment to the periodical literature comprised in the numerous
smaller journals of Madrid many: of them are only ephemeral. We will therefore
confine our observations to the best known and most interesting papers.
Amongst the satirical journals of Madrid, published before the revolution of 1868,
we will first cite the Padre Cobos, one of the best known and most flourishing during the
years 1855 and 1856. Father Cobos, a great good-humoured monk, is pictured at the
head of the journal, laughingly taking his pinch of snufi".
Next on the list is the Sopa-boba, whose title, absolutely untranslatable, is taken
from a popular saying, Estar a la sopa-boba, which means to eat and to drink— to regale
oneself at the expense of another.
Then there is el Cascabel, the Bell, adorned with a vignette representing a fool,
 "

THE PRESS OF MADRID. 405

pen in Land, holding a roll on which these words are written, Viva la Pepa ! (long live
Filine !) The reader adds, y pan d dos cuartos and a twopenny loaf
el — — to complete a jocular
popular exclamation, almost synonymous to " Long live happiness and potatoes !

There may also be enumerated the Luneta, the Heraldo de los espectdculos —journals of
the theatre ; the 2w Patazas, Puntillion Semanal, literally the " Father Great-foot, and
the Weekly Kick." The title adds that kicks are to be impartially bestowed on whoever
merits them. There are also el Gil Bias, el Don Quijote, el Mosquito, las Animas that is —
to say, souls in trouble, who are no other than cesantes, pretendientes, and others wbo are
out of employment or who solicit occupation, a very numerous band in Spain el Garhanzo ; ;

then la Gorda, the gross, an epithet applied to an enormous calabash pictured on the first

page — this paper was hostile to the Government after the revolution of 1868. It must
also be remembered that the noble art of bull-fighting boasts its own literature : the Tio
Caniyitas borrows its title from that of a popular zarzuela ; the Tio Macan is supposed
to appear half an hour after each corrida ;
" el Lidiador," the combatant ; el Clarin —this
title is taken from the clarion which announces the difi"erent phases of the course ; el

Tdbano, the gad-fly ; and lastly a sporting journal, la Caza.

After Madrid, Barcelona has the greatest number of journals, which partake of
characteristics similar to those already noticed.

The small towns, and even villages, have their journals ; but in conclusion we will

notice one or two papers which flourished a few years ago : el gj, the ninety-three ; la

Bruja, the sorceress, periodico de laxanalla; el Petroleo — titles which require no comments
of ours. The republican journals are numerous : el Pdpajaro verde and el Pdjaro pinto (the

wise bird) Trueno gordo, the bouquet of fireworks

; el ; el Monaguillo (t];ie sacristan) de las
Salesas (an ancient convent of Madrid) el Jaquemate. ; The Loca Gamus is a reactionary
journal. There are several Carlist journals : la Pitita (the name of the royal march) el ;

Papelito ; la Reconquista ; la Eegeneracion ; la JEsperanza, and many other still-born papers,

whose ephemeral pages can boast but one or two issues —papers which are far too numerous
to admit of notice at our hands.

PEASANT IN THE ENVIRONS OF MADRID.

 f^AN.r:-^iii;,^f'i'ii-

A BARBEK AND HIS CUSTOMEES.

CHAPTER XX.

The Calh cle of San Fernando and tlie Gabinete de Ilistoria Nahiral—The Calle Jlfaj/or— Silverware of
^ZcB?d— Academy
the ancient palace of Madrid— Theatres of Madrid— Theatrical success— The Plaza Mayor and its fgtes the Festas ;

reales; the Autos de F4; the great Aete de Foi of 1680— The hull-fights— Politicians of the Plaza Mayor— The Maragatos
—The Escribanos of the Calle Mayor— The prison of Francis I.—The Calle de Toledo—Street merchants— The cries of
Madrid— The Rastro— The Fdhrica de Tabacos—'ih.e Cigarrera and the Manola-lhe Prado and the Fucnte Castellana
^The JBueii Betiro.

Leaving beliind the Puerta del Sol, let us enter the Calle de Alcald, the finest street in
Madrid. On our left rises Aduana, now occupied by the
the fagade of the ancient
Hacienda (minister of finance), the Gabinete de Historia Natural, and the Academy of
San Fernando. There are only about twenty paintings in this academy, all more or
less celebrated. The finest work is perhaps Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, by Murillo,
and known as Tinoso — the scurfy — as the saint is represented ministering to poor
mendicants and lepers; this marvellous canvas is most fascinating, in spite of the
revolting nature of its details. The collection also includes two other works by Murillo,
a llubens, and several examples of the Spanish school, notably five Goya, one of which is a
superb portrait, full of life and beauty —a maja reclining, supposed to be the charming
Princess of Albe, who, it is said, enjoyed the society of majos and toreros. The maja
is most fascinating, and as a portrait reminds one of the description of the Marquis of
Langle: "The Duchess of Albe, each hair of her luxuriant tresses inspires devotion.
 THEATEES OF MADRID. 409

There is nothiag in the world so beautiful ; it is impossible to add to her charms. When
she passes, the people neglect their duties to gaze on her loveliness, and the chiklren leave
their play to follow her."

ITie museum of natural history contains the famous Megatherium found towards the
end of last century near Buenos Ayres, the largest antediluvian skeleton in the world ;

also an extrtimely interesting mineralogical collection gathered from all parts of the
Peninsula.
Turning to the right, we arrived at the Palacio del Congreso, which stands on the
Plaza de las Cortes. We stood on this spot with the lamented H. Eegnault, when General
Prim, on the day of his triumphant entry, stopped in the heart of an immense crowd
cbeeriug him, full of joyous hope for the future of Spain. Following the carrera de
San Gerdaimo, one of the most elegant and most frequented streets in Madrid, and after
again crossing the Puerta del Sol, let us enter the Calle Mayor. The casa de Onate, wliich
occupies the angle of the place, is a great building of the seventeenth century, a fair example
of the houses of that period. We have already noticed the costly manner in which the
Spaniards furnished their houses. " The viceroys of Naples and the governors of Milan,"
says Madame d'Aulnoy, "brought excellent pictures from Italy; the governors of the
Low Countries added beautiful tapestries ; the viceroys of Sicily and Sardinia collected
embroideries and statues ; those of India, jewels, vessels of gold and silver. Thus from time
to time they all returned loaded with the riches of a kingdom, which were stored in the
capital. We are not nearly so well supplied in France with costly wares as persons of rank
are in Sp;du. The vessels used are all made either of silver or porcelain." In some
private houses of Madrid one sees " silver vases filled with oranges and jasmines, as at

Versailles, but nowhere is the wealth and profusion so remarkable as at the Duke of
Albuquerque's." " There were," says Saint-Simon, " many articles of furniture which in
place of being made of wood were cast in solid silver." This magnificently furnished house
was one of the finest in Madrid. It is said that after his death it took six weeks to make
an inventory of the gold and silver plate.

Among the number of larger houses in the city we may cite the palaces of Osuna and
of Medina which possessed armerias and libraries also those of the Dukes of Frias,
Celi, ;

Liria, Vista Hermosa, Abrantes, and the Marquis of Alcanices, and others, all of them

containing sumptuous furniture, ornaments, tapestries, and pictures.

According to recent statistics, Spain is, after France and Italy, the richest country in
theatres. The Italian Opera House of Madrid takes the foremost rank; it is even
comfortable, which we can hardly say of our Parisian theatres. Next comes the Teatro
del Principe, consecrated to the Spanish drama, followed by those of the Zarzuela, Variedades,
Circo, Novedades, and the Teatro de Lope de Vega, where a variety of plays including sainetes
are produced.

The theatres, whatever may have been said to the contrary, differ little from those in
France, and have this advantage— that the claque is unknown, although it probably
originated at Madrid.
It indeed, asserted in an account of the seventeenth century that the artisans and
is,

tradesmen of the town repaired to the theatre with the cape, the sword, and the poniard,
and that " it was they who determined the success or failure of the piece by their uproar."
These gentlemen obtained the name of mosqueteros. It is said that " an author visited the
2 G
4IO SPAIN.

leader of one of these bcands, and attempted, with an offer of a hundred doUars, to bribe him to

form his estimate of

applaud his play, but the mosquetero proudly replied he would first

the merit of the play, which was ultimately hissed off the stage."
We have already noticed the sainetes, but the zarzuela must not escape being
mentioned. All sorts of plays interspersed with music are designated under this name,
which was itself derived from a royal residence where representations of the kind were
given at the time of Philip IV.
There are certain of the mrzuelas imitations of the French comic operas, such as the
Domino Azul and the Vol de Andorra. As an example of a purely Spanish zarzuela, we
may take the Tio Caniyitas, which was played for the first time in Seville in 1849, and
whose hero is an Englishman in love with a gipsy, who disguises himself as a majo.

Tliis opera had a most unparalleled success; in less than two years it made the tour

of the Peninsula, and there was not a single town which did not desire to have it
put upon its stage. The enthusiasm reached its climax at Cadiz, where it was running
night after night without interruption, at three different theatres, during the entire
season. Soon after its appearance it became popular all over Spain, and in America the
Tio Caniyitas became so much the fashion that its incidents were reproduced in a
liundred different ways in lithographs, engravings, or cigarette papers, cigar-holders,

and even on the dbanicos de calana —fans mounted in willow, and sold at two cuartos on
f^te days.

The Plaza Mayor is one of the largest and most important places in Madrid. It was
also the scene of great royal f^tes such as the actes de foi of the Inquisition, bull-fights,

tournaments and festivals in honour of the crowning of sovereigns, their mnjority, and
their marriage. It was here on the 30th June 1680, that the procession formed which
carried twenty-three heretics to the funeral pyre outside the town, near the gate of the
Fuencarral. Besides these victims there were thirty-six effigies of other unfortunates, who
had ended their days in the prison of the Inquisition before they could be brought to the
stake.

The great fire was lighted at four o'clock in the afternoon, and burned throughout the
night ; nevertheless, the bodies were many
them not wholly destroyed.
of On this
celebrated occasion, while the victims were being slowly consumed by fire, their pious
tormentors were regaling themselves with iced drinks and choice viands, disposed in
refectories set up for the event. The king, Charles II., it is reported, remained the whole
time seated in his balcony, not incommoded by the heat, fumes, or noise of the crowd ; his
devotion to the faith was indeed so remarkable, that it not only supported him while
witnessing the harrowing details of the spectacle, but it enabled him to inquire calmly
when the last heretic had been burned, if that was all ?

In the centre of the Plaza Mayor there is a bronze statue of Philip III. mounted on
horseback. The arcades which surround the place are occupied by shops, where articles of
local industry are sold, such as the monteras, or fur caps, embroidered garters, knives, and all

sorts of miscellaneous wares. A number of citizens may be encountered, seated beneath

the arches, absorbed in reading the papers in front of the booksellers' or newsvendors'
shops.
The Spaniards have always been addicted to politics with the Madrilenos the passion;

for politics has become chronic. More than two centuries ago, some one wrote, that even
 THE PLAZA MAYOR. 411
then, in Madrid, there was uot a cobbler or
waterman who did not pride himself on his
political profundity.

An author of the same period shows us how the Madrid cobbler—

"Forgetful of his humble craft,

Burdened with mighty consequence,
He cobbles the aifairs of state.
And sticks up with, wax and prudence
For minister and potentate."

^-—^-J-euix'^i'^K

PEASANTS IN THE NEIGHBODEHOOD OP MADRID.

In passing from the Plaza Mayor and entering the Calle Mayor, let us pause for an
instant before the shops of the Maragatos. The Maragato is a most interesting type of the
Spaniard who leaves his own country to seek his fortune elsewhere. At Madrid he carries
 '

412 SPAIN.

on a trade of the fishmonger, or else he traverses the Peninsula as an arriero. We shall

have occasion to notice him as he appears at home. The Calle Mayor is one of the leading
business quarters of Madrid. Not far from the French embassy, situated on the ground
floors, are several offices of the escrihanos, above which one reads the name Escrihania.
Spanish notaries must do a good business, one would think, from the following proverb.
"
"The wives of escrihanos have nothing to do but cross their hands :

" Mano sobre mano,

Como mujer de escribano."

VALENCIAN WAITRESS.

" Birds with many feathers," says another quatrain, « find it

difficult to pick up a living,
while the escribano needs but one to keep both wife and :
daughter

'Pdjaros con muohas plumas

No se pueden mantener;
Los escribanos, con una,
Mantienen moza y mujer."
 THE CALLB MAYOR. 413
Other popular sayings are rather severe on the
escribano. According to one, sooner
than the soul of au escribano shall mount to
heaven, one will see his ink-stand, his
paper, and pens dancing the fandango .•

" Primero que suba al cielo

El alma de un escribano,
Tintero, papel y plum a,
Han de bailar el fandango."'

JAR MERCHANT, MADRID.

Returning to the Calle Mayor, there is the Casa de los Liija?ies, an ancient palace
belonging to the family of Lujan, in which Francis I. was imprisoned in 1525. The
captivity of this king of France was long a popular theme for ballads, as the Spaniards
seemed disinclined to allow so important an event to pass into oblivion.
The Calle de Toledo, one of the noisiest streets in Madrid, contains shops, where
the mantles of Valencia, of Palencia, and of Burgos hang side by side with the bright-
 —

414 SPAIN.

more easily imagined than

coloured aparejos of mules, presenting a chromatic spectacle
described.
Not far from de Segovia are the Mesones, where the arrieros and
this spot in the Calle

country labourers lodge. These inns have not changed since the days of Don Quixote,
Valencian
and their aspect is most attractive. But still more attractive resorts are the
chuferias, where all sorts of cheap refreshing drinks may be obtained.
During the autumn
months, these shops change their aspect ; then pomegranates, grapes, and immense melons

are sold. In winter esteras, or reed-mats, made in Andalucia, replace the fruit; while in

spring these places are stored with oranges and lemons.

The refreshments are served by young Vtdencians, who wear the graceful national
costume. While we were sipping our horchata de chufas, 1)0x6 made a sketch of one of
these handsome waitresses.

The most picturesque scenes abound in the lower quarters of Madrid. First

come the who shave their patrons in the open air.

harberillos, Then a jarrero
passes, laden with a number of earthen jars, beneath which he almost disappears.

Further, the carhoneros weigh sacks of coke on a sort of steelyard, using them as a
counterpoise by leaning on a long pole which raises the weighing apparatus clear of
the ground. There are a great variety of petty traders in the streets of Madrid whose
cries are quite unintelligible to strangers, and whose diverse appliances of trade are a
nuisance in the thoroughfares.
The Eastro recalls the Temple, the Place Maubert, and the ancient Cit^ it is the resort ;

of vice and misery, tLe abode of rag, iron, and refuse merchants the prestamistas, who ;

lend money on security at five per cent, a week, are more numerous in this neighbourhood
than in the other quarters of the town. At every step we encountered a despacho de vino,

where wine is sold in leathern bottles and earthen cdntaros, or a taberna, where the
uninviting cooking recalled the arlequins of certain Parisian hovels. These ermitas de Baco,
as Cervantes calls them, are frequented by a sickly and scantily-dressed population, part of
which belongs to the corporation of thieves, who are as numerous and as redoubtable here
as in most large towns, and whose slang name is cherinola ; each department, however, has
its own subname. Thus the one who plans the exploits is called piloto ; those who toil

in crowds, buzo ; those who carry on their profession by entering windows, ventoso; the
petty thief who operates on his own account, ratero, raton, or raterillo ; the receiver of
stolen goods is named aliviador, etc. The thieves' slang, or germania, is not less striking
than that of their French brothers.
It is in this quarter that the Fahrica de Tabacos is situated ; it is a vast edifice, whose
principal entrance is in the Calle de Embajadores. This factory gives employment to
three thousand workpeople. An ancient writer assures us that even in the seventeenth
century tobacco was worth a clear million annually to Spain, a considerable sum for that
epoch. A popular saying at the present day is that this passion for smoking, card-playing,
and bull-fighting leads to San Bernardino — that is, to the hospital.
The cigarrera of Madrid is one of the most characteristic types of the capital, and the
only one which recalls the manolas of former times las defuntas manolas, who disappeared
about twenty years ago, like the Parisian grisettes. This word, with its masculine manolo,
is nothing more than an abbreviation of a very common prdnom, Manuel. The Manola,
painted by Gautier in his Melitona, M\as a popular lioness, passionately addicted to
 THE PRADO. 415

buU-figliting. She repaired to the arena in a calesin, a vehicle wliich has disappeared with its

gay ocenpant, whose memory, rapidly growing dim, only exists in popular ditties.

We will now visit the fashionable promenade, the Prado, formerly (as its name
implies) a field, which Charles III. transformed into the breathing-place of the beauty and
fashion of Madrid. It is on that part known as the Salon del Prado and Fuente Castellana
one encounters on summer evenings all that is elegant in the population of the capital.
One must not expect to find a blaze of colour in the costume there ; the Parisian fashions
have long dethroned the mantilla, and were it not for the difi'erent cries of the street

merchants we might readily imagine ourselves in a Parisian promenade.

The alley of the Fuente Castellana, recently made, is ornamented with the pretty
fountains del Cisne and del Obelisco ; it is the haunt of cavaliers and equipages.

/otR^'^IV

ROASTING CHESTNUTS.

That part of Madrid where there are fine hotels promises to become a fashionable
quarter like the Champs-Elys^es, or the West End of London.

The Paseo de Atoca serves as a site for the feria in the month of September. The
fair of Madrid was formerly held on la Plazuela de la Cebada. After leaving the Jardin

Botdnico and the Museum, and following a long walk leading to the gardens of Buen Eetiro,
we stood before the magnificent palace built during the reign of Philip IV. for the Duke of

Olivares,and which bears a great resemblance to the Luxembourg afc Paris. This palace
was burned down in 1734, when a large number of the works of Titian and Velazquez
were entirely destroyed. The gardens, with their numerous shady avenues and pavilions,
4i6 SPAIN.

form a most atti'active summer resort, altbough the latter are nothing but gewgaws in very
bad taste. The same might be said of many of the statues scattered along the alleys : they
ai'e in the most exaggerated I'-ococo style. The ancient kings, many of them, are posed in
such attitudes that they appear to be ready for a waltz or minuet.
The celebrated porcelain factory, founded by Charles III., was situated in the Buen
Retiro. Its productions, like those of Sevres, were destined for the most part to be offered
as presents to sovereigns.

WEIGHING CHARCOAL.
 FOUNTAIN OP THE TOUR SEASONS, MADRID.

CHAPTEE XXI.

The Museum of Madrid-The foreign schools-The Spanish school-Velazquez

his portraits; abuse of paint at the court
:

ot FhUip IV.— Murillo-The churches-The processions

of Madrid penitents, scourgers, and others-The Brotherhood
:

of Paz y Candad; a capital execution— The Palacio Real and

ancient Alcdzar of Madrid— The prison of Francis I —The
Armeria: historical arms; the casque of Charles V., and that of Francis I.
-The Manzanares; public baths-The
environs of Madrid— Sportsmen— The Casa del Campo and the Prado.

When the Real

Museo was opened in 1819, had only three rooms, containing three
it
hundred and eleven pictures. The area occupied by the building, however, and the
importance of the collection have been so greatly increased, as to render
the museum of
Madrid the richest in the world. It does not contain, it is true, a chronological
series of
examples of the different schools of painting, nor does it illustrate the history
of painting
from its origin. It is simply a gathering together of masterpieces, arranged without
any
preconceived plan, and the works which form this unrivalled collection have been
brought
from palaces, convents, and from the Escurial. The Spanish school,
notwithstanding the
absence of a number of important examples of the primitive masters, is well
represented.
The genius of Velazquez is illustrated by sixty-four of his works, a number greater than
that contained by all the museums of Europe. There are forty -six of the works of Murillo,
while those of Eibera are still more numerous.
Then follow Juanes, el Greco, Alonzo Cano,
Zurbaran, Juan Bautista del Mazo, Pantoja de la Cruz, who are each represented by
a
respectable number of pictures. Of the Italian school, there are ten Eaphael, forty-three
Titian, twenty-five Veronese, thirty-four Tintoret, sixteen Guido Eeni, and twenty-eight
Bassano, not to mention fifty-five Luca Giordano, an insignificant number for a painter
who merited the name of Fa Presto and who executed such a prodigious quantity of
2 H
4i8 SPAIN.

paintings in Spain. The Flemish and Dutch schools are very fully represented, while that

of Germany is confined to ten of the works of Albert Dlirer. Of the French school, there

are ten works by Claude Lorraine, and nineteen by Le Poussin,

together with a number of

portraits by Miguard and Nattier, two charming Watteau, two or three

sea pieces by

Joseph Vernet, and a Greuze of little importance.

As we might devote an entire volume to a description of the numerous chefs-d' ceuvre

school, of which
of Madrid, we must confine ourselves to glancing rapidly over the Spanish
it is impossible for any one to form a correct idea without
visiting the Museum. It is here

that Velazquez occupies tlie first place, both by number and quality ;
one might almost say

that the entire produce of his genius is contained within these walls, as the few canvases

scattered over Europe can scarcely add to his fame. It appears strange that the works of
Velazquez were not more widely distributed; the reason was tliat he spent (as we have
already noticed) the greater part of his life near Philip IV., whose favourite he was, and
who conferred on him several functions which attached him to his court.

The painter of Philip IV., Avho excelled in every branch of art, surpassed himself in
portraits ; those of the king are as numerous as they are varied, sometimes he is represented

in bust, sometimes on foot. Young or old his features are always recognisable, chiefly by
the thickness and prominence of his upper lip. The painter also represented himself in

the picture of the Meninas, palette in h;ind, painting the portrait of the king. It was
customary at the Spanish court and with the leading nobles to have dwarfs and jesters, as

formerly at Eome ; the more deformed, and the more hideous they were, the better they were
liked. The deformed enanos seen in the pictures of Velazquez are quite tliose described by
travellers of his time. " There are male and female dwarfs, who are most repulsive, more
especially the female dwarfs. They are frightfully ugly ; their heads, larger than their

bodies, are clothed with their hair falling to the ground. At first it is impossible to
tell what they are. They wear superb dresses : being the confidantes of their mistresses,
they obtain everything they desire." The entire court of Philip IV. appears to have
been preserved on the canvas of Velazquez with such lifelike reality as to bring before
our eyes with marvellous power the scenes and characters so familiar to the painter.
Among other things these paintings show us that the ladies of the period rejoiced in the
use of rouge ; not content with imparting the hue of rosy health to their faces, such was
their dread of appearing delicate and sickly, that they applied it to the neck and shoulders.
Madame d'Aulnoy relates that a lady in her presence took a cupful of rouge, and, armed
with a huge paintbrush, proceeded to bestow most bewitching tints to her cheeks, to her
chin, above her eyebrows, and to the tips of her ears, and that she also applied the colour to
the inside of her hands and her shoulders. One would say that they have a sort of enamel
over the face, and that the skin is so drawn as to render it unhealthy. This fashion was
carried so fiir that rouge was applied to the marble statues, more especially to the cheeks
and shoulders of female figures. Velazquez has been careful to avoid exaggeration in his
paintings of the painted court of Philip IV.
What shall we say of the famous picture of las Lanzas, representing the Marquis of
Spinola receiving from the governor of Breda the keys of that place ? Such a masterpiece
must be seen ; it cannot be described. The same might be said of the Borrachos, the
bacchanalian scene where two comrades are crowning their fellows with vine and ivy leaves.
Who is not familiar with the story of the English painter, Wilkie, who went to Madrid
expressly to see this picture, and who confined himself to its study ? Coming each day and
admiring with profound silence his much-loved picture, he is reported to have daily retired
 THE CHURCHES OF MADRID. 419

sighing audibly. In the Meninas, called by Luca Giordano Theologie de la peinture, the
qualities of Velazquez shine in the highest degree : he shows himself a naturalist in the best
sense of the word ; his personages, painted with a sure and simple touch, live and breathe,
and, as Moratin said, he knew how to peindre I'air.

Velazquez depicted workmen at their toil with the same power and fidelity which
imparted to his religious and mythological subjects a realistic significance, not commonly
found in the works of other masters.
Although the principal masterpieces of Murillo are not to be found in the museum of
Madrid, yet the painter of Seville is well represented by a number of very attractive
pictures.

By the side of Velazquez and Murillo certain other less celebrated masters of the
Spanish school hold a distinguished place.
There is another gallery in Madrid rarely visited, the Museo nacional, originally
designed to receive the pictures from the suppressed convents, where there are nine
hundred and ten canvases, nine-tenths of which are hardly worthy to be exposed. From
this circumstance one may fairly conclude that the convents were not so rich as they were
represented. This view will be further sustained by visiting the different provincial
museums, that of Seville excepted.
Regarding the churches of Madrid, they are very numerous, more or less imposing,
and rich in decoration, although, at the same time, there is not one worthy of the Spanish
metropolis. The church of Santa Maria de la Almudena takes the place of a cathedral, and
enjoys all the privileges accorded to a city church. San Andres, which formerly contained
the body of San Isidro, is one of the most ancient churches in Madrid. Although
constructed in the style of the seventeenth century, we saw in the Capilla del Obispo some
sculptures ingood preservation, and dating back to the fifteenth century also the tomb of ;

the Bishop of Plasencia, the most famous work of the Reuaissance existing in the capital.
By far the most interesting specimen of Gothic architecture in Madrid is the
gateway of the Latina. This name was given to an ancient convent founded by Beatriz
Galiudo, surnamed La Latina, from her having taught Isabella the Catholic the Latin
tongue.
Nuestra Senora de Atocha —Our Lady of Gen^t — has her sanctuary at the extremity

of the Paseo of that name, which adjoins the Prado. It is the Royal Chapel to which the
kings and queens make their pilgrimage, repairing to the shrine in great pomp in a

carriage drawn by eight horses, while regiments of guards line the streets from the palace.

Saint-Simon, who witnessed one of these ceremonies, gave a detailed description of it in his
" Devotees come from all
Memoires, where he says " it presented an admirable spectacle."
quarters," says Madame d'Aulnoy, "and when some good fortune falls to the lot of the
kings of Spain, it is there that they go to chant the Te Deum." She then gives an account,
still correct at the present time, of " the Virgin holding the Child Jesus, an image said to

be endowed with the power of working miracles. The Virgin is often dressed as a widow,
but on the occasion of great ffites she is so bejewelled and berobed in splendid attire that
the effect is marvellous to behold. Her head is surrounded by a glory radiating outwards
with wonderful effect. She is also supplied with a long rosary either in her hand or

suspended from her waistband." It is to Our Lady of Atocha that the queens of Spain

offer their bridal attire. Queen Isabella II. conformed to this custom, and also gave to the

patroness of Madrid the dress she wore the day she was wounded by Merino; it had

been rent by the knife of the assassin.

 420 SPAIN.

The processions of Madrid are esteemed among the most brilliant in Spain, and have
enjoyed a period of long and uninterrupted fame, not even marred by the revolutions which
have wrought a change in many other Spanish institutions. The processions in which the
dances, the wri things, and contortions of certain penitents are publicly displayed have rendered
these penitential ceremonies unworthy of religion. There is something hideously revolting
about them and the masked hypocrites who scourge themselves in public: The accounts of
the seventeenth century are full of details of these scourgings. "What most Frenchmen find
strange and ridiculous, and even what Spaniards themselves, many of them, are ashamed
of, is the sight of certain penitents, robed in white with a long taper hood of linen covering
their faces, with their back bared to the waist, and armed with cords, having at the ends
knobs of wax carrying small points of glass with which they scourge themselves until they
scratch their shoulders. Those who lacerate themselves the most are accounted the
bravest." In another account we read that " these penitents reminded us of brutes with
their backs scraped and scarred, marching one after the other on their hind-legs. What
is still more frightful is from time to time to see these hypocrites taking a long breath and
then stopping up their nose and mouth, thus straining the skin of their backs so that the
blood may flow freely. A man following behind wipes off the blood with a towel so that
it may not harden over the wounds and thus deprive the citizens of a revolting spectacle.
This display has for its object, so it is said, three motives—penitence and austerity,
purification, and win the favour of the belles for the false penitents are masked,
lastly, to ;

and it always arranged that they shall pass beneath the balconies, or the gateway of
is

the church at a certain hour, wearing each of them a ribbon, the colour of his favourite.
He who is most thoroughly besmeared with gore
is accounted the strongest and most

devoted swain, as he has shed his blood freely on behalf of his mistress. One of these I
myself saw died I do not know if he Avas of the third kind
; God forbid " These :
!

processions of penitents were suppressed at the end of last century. Charles III. forbade
the use of penitential masks and put down dancing and scourging in public.
Among the brotherhoods of Madrid there is one, that of the Paz y Caridad, whose
chief duties consist in aiding criminals condemned to death, accompanying them to the
place of execution, and burying them. We had occasion, not many years ago, to witness
the members of this order accomplishing their pious tasks. A
young girl, hardly twenty-
five years old, who had assassinated her mistress, the Vicenta— that was the servant's
name— went one evening into her mistress's room, and there with a knife inflicted
two
mortal wounds, after which she coolly bound them up with handkerchiefs,
and remained
two hours the heartless witness of her victim's agony. The Vicenta was
condemned to
be executed by the garrote, the sentence to be carried out in the
women's prison.
The female prison is in one of the longest streets of Madrid, the Calle
del Barquillo.
When we arrived there the crowd was so dense that we could hardly pass. The condemned
was brought out seated on an ass—according to custom— and robed, with
the exception of
a white veil, entirely in black. Her features wore an expression of serenity she seemed ;

prepared to meet her doom with firmness, so that the brothers

had no need to support her
to the scaffold. She only complained of
thirst, which was quenched by a glass of wine. It
was past twelve when the mournful cortege arrived at a wooden
scaffold, raised in the
middle of the plain of Chamberi. The plain is vast and perfectly
level, so that we were
enabled to see her mount the steps, and seat herself at the
foot of the beam while a priest ;

addressed his last exhortations, the executioner

approached and fixed the fatal iron collar
destined to strangle her. Deep silence reigned during these dread preparations, then a
2.

<!

»
Eh
 THE PALACIO REAL. 42,
shudder ran through the crowd, announcing that all was ended.
The body of the criminal
remained exposed for several hours at niglit— it was in the ;
month of January—
the members of the brotherhood came and carried the body to the cemetery, where it was
interred.

The Palacio Real of Madrid stands on the site of the ancient Alcdzar,
the palace of
the kings of Castile, which was rebuilt in 1537 by Charles
V. We have before us an old
engraving representing the palace as a building of severe simplicity,
and at the same
time of irregular form. The author of Madrid Ridicule gave a by no means flatteriug
picture of this edifice :

" Palais ou deux cents Scaramouches

Voiit faire au Eoi le pied de veau^
Quiconque peut vous trbuver beau
Se sert de besides bien louches.
Ah ! quels parfums d'aulx et d'oignons
Exhalent tous ces beaux mignons "
!

The interior " contains excellent pictures, beautiful tapestries, rare statues, magnificent

furniture, and, in a word, everything that pertains to a royal palace." Many of the rooms
were dark ; a certain number of them had windows, but no glass. Francis I. spent the
greater part of his captivity within the walls of this palace, to which he was transferred
by Charles V. on the 24th of February 1526. "The cell in which Francis I. was
imprisoned was not large, but appeared larger, owing to a small recess in the wall;
in front of the window, constructed so as to admit daylight, and glazed to exclude air,
there was a strong double grating of iron fixed into the wall. This window overlooked
the Manzanarcs and the surrounding country. The apartment was only large enough
to hold one or two chairs, boxes, a table, and bed. The height of the window from the
foot of the tower, which rises above the banks of the Manzanares, was upwards of one

hundred feet yet while the French king was shut up within his cell, two battalions were
;

kept day and night under arms at the base of the tower."
The ancient Alcdzar was destroyed by fire in 1734. The present building, commenced
in 1737, during the reign of Philip V. — after the plans by J. B. Sacchetti — was finished
twenty-seven years later, in the time of Cliarles III.
The armoury connected with the palace contains one of the finest collections of
ancient armour in the world. The building is unworthy of its rare and valuable contents,
and it has been more than once threatened with demolition. Yet the saloon, where more
than two thousand five hundred objects are brought together, is large and well-lighted.
The first sight of this gallery, filled with ancient weapons, flags, and suits of armour, carries
one back to the days of ancient Spanish chivalry. Here one sees armour said to have been
worn by Boabdil, although it cannot be proved that it was ever borne by the famous Rey
Chico. Two suits belonging to Charles V., one engraved and richly gilded ; tlie other,
with its casque in the form of a human skull, and carrying the signature of Mihinais Negroli,
Avas discovered in the monastery of Yuste after the emperor's death.
There is also the equestrian armour worn by him on his entrance to Tunis. Amongst
the armours of difi"erent countries, let us note that of Alonzo Cespedes el Bravo, surnamed el

Alcides Castillano, whose strength was as great as that of the hero in the fable. One day,
in the presence of Philip H., he arrested the motion of a mill-wbeel on the Tagus, and
M'hen asked by Prince Don Carlos if he would encounter a tiger, he replied in the affirma-
tive, and succeeded in poniarding the animal. With a single blow of his sword he
decapitated a bull, and one night returning home late to Toledo, he lifted one of the
424 SPAIN.

city gates off its hinges as the keepers refused to open to him. It is also said that he was

famed Standing one day in a crowded church, he noticed a lady making

for his gallantry.

vain efforts to reach the marble font in the wall, whereupon he brought the font to the
lady by wrenching it from the solid stone socket, and then calmly replaced it after the fair
stranger had made use of the holy water. Besides all these there are a great variety of

curious arms which we cannot pretend even to notice. Among them are still other suits

of Charles V., Philip II. and his unfortunate son Don Carlos, the arras of Christopher

Columbus, and of Gonzalvo of Cordova, and that worn by Juan of Austria at Lepanto.
There are also ancient helmets of exquisite workmanship and great value, shields, and,
above all, the swords which are the pride of Spain. Yet the sword of Francis I., one of
the greatest trophies of the Armeria, is now no longer at Madrid. The original, pre-
sented by Ferdinand VII. at Murat, is in the museum of artillery, at Paris.

INTERIOR OP THE AEMERIA, MADRID.

The Manzanares, the river of Madrid, although nearly dry during summer, gives
employment to troops of lavanderas, robust girls of Galicia, who may be frequently seen
making their way to the Cuesta de la Vega, carrying an enormous bundle of linen on
their heads and another under each arm. These washerwomen dig holes in the sand,
called lavaderos, in which they retain their miserly supply of water. Thus, says M. Breton
de los Herreros, the unfortunate stream is hardly less drained than the public treasure, and
even if the sun's rays have not consumed the water, it is compelled to submit to vulgar
draiuings to supply the banos, so that the lavaderos are reduced to the direst straits; yet it

is astoundinghow they overcome these difficulties, and wash their linen. The bed of the
river is, in many places, taken up by the huts of these poor washerwomen, who watch with

the deepest interest the rise and fall of the stream. The baths, which we have just noticed.
 MADKID. To face page 424.
LA FUENTE DEL CISNE (FOUNTAIN OF THE SWAN),
 THE MANZANARES. 427

consist of holes dug in the sand covered over by a linen tent. They were in vogue during

the time of Madame d'Aulnoy, who says, when describing the pleasures of the people of
Madrid, " where more than a thousand carriages are driven duriug the night, and where
one sups to the sound of instruments. There were also persons who bathed there," but,
she adds, " in a very disagreeable manner. The ambassadress of Denmark has done so for

some days : her servants precede her and dig a hole in the gravel, which fills with water,
aud then the lady gets into it. Here is a very pleasant bath, as you may imagine, and yet
it is the only sort in use on the

river."

The caricatures do not

spare the bathers of Madrid.
We purchased a couple of en-
gravings for two cuartos, repre-
senting men, women, and
children with towels in their
hauds going in procession to
the river, into which they
hoped to plunge : the other re-
presents the interior of a bath :

one is vainly attempting to

cover his head, another his

body, while a third, less am-
bitious, is simply washing hi-s

feet. Above the engraving

there is the following quatrain :

"Todos estos que aqui ves,

T mas que bajan. & .pares,
No vienen al Man5aiiares
Mas que & lavarse los pies."

—"All
-
the bathers you see

here, and those descending by

couples, come to the Manzanares

to have a foot-bath."
The Manzanares takes its

rise in the Puerto of Navacer-

rada, near the borders of the
province of Madrid and that of PEASANT OF THE ENVIEONS OF MADRID.
Segovia ; a number of affluents
join the main stream, but their
influence is hardly perceptible, as much of the water descends through the sandy bed

of the river. After following a course of about thirty-six miles, the Manzanares is lost in
the
the Jarama. According to a Spanish poet, the poor river receives the embraces of
Jarama, which is to it a minotaur crystalline :

" Los abrazos de Jarama,

Minotauro cristalino.''

It is difficult to imagine anything more dreary and desolate-looking than the environs
428 SPAIN.

of Madrid. Instead of the picturesque residences and flower gardens of the suburbs
of London or Paris, one traverses, in the outskirts of the Spanish capital, nothing but
a desert bestrewn with stones. These stones, of a dark colour, only heighten the miserable
aspect of this metropolitan wilderness, of which it may be said, in common with the little

town of Trujillo, in Estremadura, " that it is surrounded by fire," in allusion to the sparks
produced by the flint that lies scattered over the plain.
The citizens of Madrid take their Sunday rambles in the immediate environs of the
town, over the plain of Chamberi, or along the banks of the Manzanares, or the canal where
sportsmen also delight to meet.
The cazador del canal is a type which recalls the sporting character of the St. Denis
plain, or the simple cassaird of the suburbs of Marseilles. He is a personage who has been
made the subject of frequent caricatures, in which he is pictured, gaitered, buckled, and
armed to the teeth, groaning under the burden of warlike munitions and provisions for the
campaign. When the sport is successful beyond his utmost expectations, he returns laden
with a single lark or sparrow, which he carries as a trophy to the city.
In the Casa del campo, one of the favourite hunting-grounds of Charles III., the game
is more abundant, as well as in the Prado, where the rich foliage and cool woodland shades
contrast ha|)pily with the sterility and heat of the greater part of the country.

SHEPHERDESS, ENVIROJJS OF MADRID.

^

<
5

<
a
M
m
 SinDBNTS DB LA TUNA.

CHAPTER XXII.

The Escurial— The vow of Philip II.— The patio de los Eeyes—The BeUcario—Tiie Panteon— The Library— Alcald de
H^narfes— The University— The Students— From Madrid to Cuenga- The pine forests— The cathedral of Guenfa-
Segovia the Aqueduct ; the Alcazar and the Cathedral.
:

The distance from Madrid to the Escurial, says an ancient traveller, is about the same as
that from Paris to Fontainebleau ; indeed, it was only eight Spanish leagues between the
capital and the real Monasterio. Nevertheless, the journey seemed long and fatiguing.
We ourselves have frequently gone over the route, either in a diligence, or in an
antique carriage, ornamented with fantastic pictures, and drawn by plumed mules. It
occupied at least eight hours to traverse this road, while the jolting was as incessant
as the dust was suffocating. We have read somewhere that when the king of Spain went
to the Escurial, the road was carefully watered, a very wise precaution as the royal mules
were kept galloping at full speed until they reached their destination. The well-known
popular ti-adition ascribes the founding of the Escurial to the victory of Saint Quentin.
" The Spaniards," says one of the combatants who survived the battle, " could neither

exterminate their French foes, nor deprive them of their resources and the hope of again
rising into power." .' . .

Philip II. el Prudente justified his surname by not marching on to Paris ; yet if

he vowed to raise a magnificent temple in honour of Saint Lawrence, it is impossible to

believe, as some would have us do, that his vow was inspired by panic-fear.

The real Monasterio de San Lorenzo was founded in 1563, five years after the battle

of Saint Quentin. The designs of the edifice have been attributed to different Italian

and French architects : thus Vincenzo Danti and A. Ch. d'Aviler assert that those of the
2 I
432 SPAIN.

church are clue to Viguole. Palladio has also been spoken of, and Voltaire says positively,
architect
that " the Escurial was built from the design of a Frenchman," I.ouis de Foix,
of the tower of Cordouan, who resided in Spain at the time of Philip II., and played
a part

in the history of Don Carlos. The truth is that the plans of the Escurial were made by
a Spanish artist, Juan Bautista de Toledo, who constructed one of the best-known streets
in Naples, the Strada di Toledo. The plans were approved by Philip II., and Juan
Bautista himself laid the foundation-stone of the edifice, on the 23rd of April 1563, in the
presence of the king and the monks who were to inhabit the convent.
Juan Bautista died in 1567, when the foundations were almost finished; Juan de
Herrera and the Italian Pacciotto were entrusted with the task of completing the work.
The edifice -was finished in 1583, the same year in which Philip II. died.

The Escurial has been the subject of an infinite variety of criticisms ; indeed, every

independent traveller takes his own peculiar view of the building ; but, for all that, the

dominant feeling in our minds, at first sight of this ponderous mass of granite, was one of

profound sadness. It was very grand and most imposing, yet after all it only reminded
us of some huge funereal monument.
Penetrating within the building, we remarked by the side of the colossal statue of
Saiut Lawrence the jaws of a whale which 1574 in the waters of Valencia.
was taken in

The first court is called patio de los Reyes, because of the statues of six kings of Judah, in
the ordinary stone of the country with the exception of the heads, the hands, and the feet,
which are in white marble ; the crowns, sceptres, and other attributes are in gilded bronze.
A cold and sombre corridor conducted us from the royal court to the church ; the aspect of
the interior, although severely plain, is nevertheless majestic. Above the centre shrine
rises a gigantic altar-piece, perhaps the largest in Spain ; on the right is the relicario filled

with a prodigious number of relics collected by Philip II., of which the P. Ximenez, a
monk of the Escurial, has made a curious enumeration. It was made up of eleven bodies,
three hundred heads, and six hundred arms of defunct saints, etc., amounting in his time,

1764, to upwards of thirteen thousand relics. The reliquaries were ornamented with gold,
silver, and precious stones ; few churches possessed such a rich treasure.
The royal vault, el Panteon, is placed beneath the chief altar, and its richness in marbles
and bronzes defies description. The form of the Panteon is octagonal, and the niches
designed to receive the bodies are thirty-six in number.
Notwithstanding the lavish ornamentation to be seen in this temple of the dead, the
impression one receives upon entering is most lugubrious, and the icy coldness of the place
makes it none the less depressing. The Panteon was reserved for the kings and queens of
Spain, and for their mothers; while the bodies of the princes repose in another vault.
The Panteon de los Infa7ites, also called el Podridero—t\iQ fermenting trough. Among the
remains there are those of the Duke of Vend6me, a natural son of Louis XIV., who was
placed in this royal company like Turenne in Saiut Denis ; also the remains of the unfortunate
Don Carlos. This sickly and savage child, who bit and kicked his nurses, developed, as
might have been expected, into an equally savage and uncontrollable man. " He loved,"
says Brant6me, "to roam about at dead of night, fomenting quarrels and fighting duels
whenever he had an opportunity." Some say he destroyed himself, others that he was
assassinated at the instigation of his father. Saint-Simon, influenced by this belief, amused
himself by tormenting one of the monks of the Escurial. "Passing to the end of the
vault we descried the coffin of Don Carlos. '
As to him,' I said, ' it is well known how he met
his death!' At these words the fat monk became excited, declared that he died a natural
LIBRARY OF THE ESCUKIAL. To face page 432.
 THE ESCURIAL. 435
death, and began to declaim against the idle tales winch had been spread abroad. I
laughed, saying I agreed with him it was not true his veins had been tapped. This
;

roused the worthy father, who fumed and raged most unreasonably. At first I listened in
silence, then I told him in confidence that the king, soon after his arrival in Spain, had
tbe curiosity to have the coffin of Don Carlos opened, and I myself knowing an eye-witness
of the scene — Liouville—he informed me that the head was found between the legs ; that
Philip II., his father, had it cut off before him in his prison. 'Ah well,' cried the monk
furiously, 'it probably served him
right, as Philip II. had the Pope's permission.'
Although my
reputation protected me, yet I had no desire to quarrel with this bloated
monk, but contented myself with laughing and making signs to those who were there to
keep silence. He
then sullenly conducted us round the vault."
The library is one of the finest apartments in the Escurial
magnificent tables of ;

marble and porphyry, cabinets of ebony, mahogany, and a variety of precious woods
make up a most attractive assortment of furniture.
The pictures on the walls are so arranged as to illustrate the subject of the books
above which they are hung. Unlike most libraries, the edges of the books are presented to
the view of the spectator, with the titles inscribed on each. It is said that this mode of
placing the volumes dates from the sixteenth century. The erudite Arias Montanus, whose
library served as a model for that of the Escurial, was in the habit of placing his books
with their edges exposed. This practice was adopted as much to secure uniformity as to
supply a larger surface for the names of the volumes.
Before leaving the Escurial, let us pass through the royal apartments, which represent
the handle of a gridiron in the plan of the building.
was formerly the autumn residence of the kings of Spain, where they passed six
It

weeks every year. We remarked a number of tapestries from the cartoons by Goya,
representing landscapes, towns, etc. The Escurial is no longer what it was. The monks,
formerly so powerful in Spain, have long since ceased to inhabit their numerous cells.

The long, cold, and dreary corridors are almost deserted, while the slightest sound awakens
the deep echoes of the courts, whose damp mouldering stones are mantled with green.
Alcald, de Henar^s, the learned city, the ancient rival of Salamanca, is now an obscure
town with only ten thousand inhabitants, a station of little importance on the Saragossa
railway. Our first visit was to its University, built by order of Cardinal Ximenez, the
benefactor of the town. The fagade, which has fallen into decay, is ornamented with
sculptures in the Spanish style of the Eenaissance, so remarkable for its ingenuity and
beauty. The chapel still preserves traces of its ancient wealth, and its decprations in the
Moorish taste present one of the finest examples of the mudejar style of the sixteenth century.
The University AlcaM was even more famous than that of Salamanca. The students,
at
who are said to have numbered about ten thousand, gave Francis I. a splendid reception.
Navagiero, who visited the town in 1523, furnishes some curious details of this
institution, " where all the courses are in Latin, and not, as in the other Universities of
Spain, in Spanish." One of the most illustrious students of AlcaM was the Infant Don
Carlos, who had more taste for arms than for books; it was in one- of the staircases of the

University he received the fall which he felt all his life. Philip II., who was at Madrid,

came to Alcald in great haste bringing with him body of the blessed Diego of the Order
the
of Saint Francis, reputed to efi'ect miraculous cures of the sick. The body of the
monk was laid upon that of Don Carlos, who happily escaped death. Several towns in

Spain have claimed the honour of being the birthplace of Cervantes, who was born at
 —

436 SPAIN.
Mayor.
Alcald, 9th October 1547, and baptized at the parish church of Santa Maria la
inscription recording the
We were shown the house in which he was born, bearing an
great event.

"^Sfer^
STUDENTS TRAVELLING WITH MULETEERS.

As we are in a university town we must not overlook one of the most curious types
of ancient Spain, the students called tunantes, or de la tuna — idle vagabonds, more the
friends, says Cervantes, of the file and buckler, than of Bartole and of Baldus. Cervantes,
who knew them well, describes them in his Ooloquio de los Perros —the Dogs' Dialogue
STUDENTS SERENADING. To face page 436.
 SPANISH STUDENTS. 439
where he gives a curious picture of student life, making the dog Berganza speak, " I led
the life of a student, and barring hunger and itch, it was a most joyous existence
for if ;

hunger and itch were not so inseparable from students, the life would leave nothing
to be desired."
The ancient romances are full of descriptions of the characteristics of the students,
who, if not beating some alguacil, prosecuted their studies by tossing all the neighbouring
dogs in a blanket. We have read in an old proverb, that with Latin, a florin, and a pony,
one may travel over the world. Who knows that this proverb was not made for the sole
benefit of the nomadic students 1 The exploits of the students have been made the subjects
of popular ballads, where they are held up to praise or to ridicule. They have also beeu,
times without numbei?, caricatured in the local prints, and set down as the authors of all
the practical jokes, pleasantries, and scandals which could be traced to no certain source.
The misery of their lives was proverbial. One of them says, " Since I
became a student,
since I have worn the cloak, I have eaten nothing but soups made out of old boots. For
three months I have not tasted food. I am brought low by hunger, having to ballast my
boots with lead to prevent the passing wind blowing me away."
" Cuando un estudiante sale
Al mercado en dia cubierto,
Los jamones y embuchados
Se ponen en movimiento."

— " When a student presents himself in the market-place on a stormy day, the hams and
sausages begin to tremble."
More students than one have become distinguished toreros, like the muy diestro estu-
diante of Falces, illustrated by Goya. There are several points of resemblance between the
student's life and that of the ancient knights-errant and the trobadores of the Middle Ages :

poor and nomadic like the first, poets and musicians like the second, singing under
balconies, and holding out their hats to beg for a cuarto or a peseta in exchange for their
jotas or their seguidillas. It is thus that they are represented in popular song. Here we
give a rendering of the sort of verse devoted to the glories and sorrows of student life.

The students scour the world in search of some one to succour them :
— " Young lady
on the balcony above, toss us a coin of silver, or better, a single Napoleon ; silver let thine

ofiering be, not copper, a coin that savours of poverty. Our stomach is like our guitar,

brilliant outside, but empty within. In hope we have quite lost faith, but we have placed
our trust in charity ; should it prove faithless what will become of us ? Toss me some silver,
little bud of the rose ; when I am raised to a cabinet minister, I swear I will wed thee. All
you present carefully pass in review the depth of your pockets, and those who are unable
to yield up a coin may they go to the d ."

But let us warn tourists not to waste time in searching for this curious type of
humanity. They are now as rare as the fossils of antediluvian animals, and the last
specimen of this race has passed away to join the manola, the fraile, and other remains of
ancient picturesque Spain.
The modern students are more orderly and less turbulent than their early prototypes; yet
they are still noted for their love of practical joking and trickery. In the provincial theatres
they make the fair and foul weather of the stage. Alas for the actor M'ho ofi"ends them :

besides shrill whistling and interruptions of all sorts, he has to submit to sundry marks of
attention in the shape of potatoes or turnips, and if anything goes wrong in the orchestra, it

is caused by some perfidious hand that has silently dropped a ball of lead into the trombone
 440 SPAIN.

or greased the strings of the counter-bass. But it is in the playing of the pandero that the
student finds full scope for the exercise of his genius ; not content with playing it simply with
his fingers, he plays it with his head, neck, nose, knees, and feet.

There is a town in Spain seldom visited by strangers, nevertheless it equals in beauty

many old cities such as Eonda, Toledo, or Avila. The journey to Cuenga, although the
town is only ninety miles from Madrid, is so arduous, that it prevents the place becoming a
popular resort. Our desire to see this unfrequented spot tempted us to face twenty hours
jolting in a diligence, not to mention the risk of sufi"ocation by dust and heat. We soon
arrived at the little town of Arganda, whose red wine with a rich bouquet rivals the

Valdepenas and the Carihena in the taverns of Madrid. Passing Tarancon, we crossed a
hilly and finely wooded country. The pines of Cuenga have long been famed in Spain,
It was from these forests that part of the wood used in the construction of the Escurial
was taken.

CUENgA.

Cuenga, not rich in monuments, has nevertheless a cathedral which contains finely
sculptured marbles, with a number of chapels and curious altarpieces, also fine
wood-
carvings and elaborate rejas of iron. The town, almost devoid of commerce and industry,
has been long cut off from the other busy quarters of Spain, and it seems
improbable that
a branch line of railway should join it either to Madrid or Valencia, although
it is about an
equal distance from both these towns for all that, it was formerly a centre of a
;
certain
importance. Besides the Mendoza and the Albornoz, it gave birth to a number of celebrated
persons, notably of a family of goldsmiths named Becerril, artists who produced
very
fine works which have unfortunately been destroyed. We had determined to proceed on to
Minglanilla, in the direction of Valencia, whose mines of gem salt are most curious but, ;

compelled to abandon the journey owing to bad weather, as it could only be made on
horseback, we returned to Madrid in the diligence.
 To face page 440,
CATHEDRAL.
SEGOVIA THE ALCAZAB AND
 SEGOVIA. 443

After visiting San Ildefonso we set out for Segovia, and reached that town in the
evening at an early hour, yet appeared to us to be already plunged into a profound sleep.
it

Fortunately the times have changed, otherwise were we to rely upon the good faith of ancient
authors and travellers,we might have expected to run the risk of perishing from hunger or
exposure during the night in a town where inns and hostelries were unknown.
The town of Segovia possesses three remarkable monuments the Aqueduct, the —
Alcazar, and the Cathedral.
The Aqueduct is one of the most extraordinary works of its kind in the world. It is
composed of two ranges of superposed arches made of enormous blocks of granite that have
withstood the ravages of time for eighteen centuries.
The Alcazar of Segovia, as well as a part of the town, has been built on an elevated rock ;

it is of an elongated form and has been compared to a ship. It is well known that Le Sage
has made this castle the prison of Gil Bias. State prisoners were formerly shut up in the
highest cell. Among those who were there imprisoned was the celebrated adventurer, Eiperda.
After fifteen months' captivity, he made his escape, in 1728, thanks to the governor's servant,
who lent him her clothes.

The Cathedral of Segovia is one of the finest of its kind in Spain, and was built at a
time when the Gothic style was blended with that of the Eenaissance, an epoch so fertUe in
charming masterpieces. We were shown, in one of the chapels, the splendid altarpiece by
Juan de Juni, a Castilian painter of the sixteenth century. This painting, known as
Piedad de Juni, presents some wonderful points of attraction.

We have now entered Old Castile.

p^^^ r-i^^^&^a t»^:C -^^

PINE FOREST OF GUENQA.
 SALAMANCA. ; THE TOWN AND BOMAN BRIDGE.

CHAPTEE XXIII.

Avila— The Cathedral— An Inn- Salamanca its University— Alba de Tonnes— The Charros and CActn-as—
:
From Sala-
manca to Zamora—Toro— Medina del Campo— Charles V. at Medina— The jBraseros— Valladolid the Plaza
;
Mayor—
— —
The Museum Pompeo Leoni Berruguete and Gregorio Hernandez Houses of historic fame.
;

AviLA, one of the most ancient towns of Castile, ought to be visited by every tourist,

even after Fontarabia, Toledo, and Cuen9a. The town viewed from a distance presents a
striking picture, it is surrounded by high walls, surmounted by numerous round towers,
and appears to have undergone no change since the chronicler, Marineo Siculo, described it

in the fifteenth century, Avila cercada de muchas torras con sus almenas, "Avila, protected by
walls and surmounted by numerous watch-towers." The cathedral, a structure of the twelfth
century, resembles a fortress more than a church the stalls and the choir are masterpieces
;

of their kind in the style of the Renaissance. One is at a loss which to admire most, the per-
fection of the workmanship or imagination of the artist, who has crowded into so small a space

a thousand ingenious and charming devices. A tomb

ornamented with exquisite sculpture,
also in the style of the Renaissance, contains the remains of Alfonso de Madrigal, surnamed
 ; — ——
SALAMANCA. 445

el Tostado—the Burnt— (because of his dark complexion), wlio was Bishop of Avila in the
fifteenth century.

"We were shown some gigantic monsters cut out of granite, like those known in Spain
under the name of toros de Guisando, and to which Cervantes makes allusion in his history
of the Forest Cavalier. These toros are at Guisando, at a short distance from Avila.
The sculpture of these imaginary bulls is shapeless. Such monsters were formerly very
numerous in the country several opinions have been advanced as to their origin, which is
;

still unknown. They go back to a very remote epoch, and are without doubt contemporaries
of the first inhabitants of Spain.The glory of Avila is to have given birth to Saint Theresa,
Santa Teresa de Jesus, as the celebrated reformer of the Carmelite Order is here called.
Visitors are shown the convent in which she lived, some articles of the furniture of her cell,

and a number of manuscripts penned by the saint. After spending two days at Avila, we
took our places in the diligence for Salamanca. The country is dreary, and the inns justify
the reputation of the ancient Spanish posadas. In one of these where we halted we found
a splendid type of the posadero of former times, a tall powerful
man of about sixty years,
wearing a short vest and trousers, and his head covered with an immense goQ^ra of wool.
While talking to him we noticed a great coloured picture most interesting to behold it :

represented a posadero seated, one hand in the air, a bag of crowns in the other ; he appeared
to be winking at us. Above was
this inscription, Abre el ojo he opens — his eye ; and
beneath these lines, which summarise the philosophy of the innkeeper :

" Hoy no fian aqui,

Manana asl

Si fio, no cobro.
Si cobro, no todo ;

Pues, para no cobrar,

Mas vale no fiar."

—" Here no credit is given to-day, nor to-morrow either ; if I give credit I don't recover ; if

I recover, it is only in part; hence, so as not to lose, I never give credit."

Besides these sage maxims, which remind us of the famous Credit est mm-t, the
print was also adorned with several proverbs especially suited to the profession of posadero,
such as the following : Dame y darte he, " Give to me, and I will give to thee." Miel en
hoca,y guarda la holsa, " Honey in your mouth, and a guard upon your purse." El hombre
que en hombre Jia, queda cual ciego sin guia, " A man who trusts in another is like a blind
man without a guide ;
" and other sentences equally worthy of Sancho.
Salamanca is a town which fails to come up to the expectation of the traveller. It is

no longer the place described by Marineo Siculo, en la qual ay asaz de todas las cosas que son
necesarias a la humana vida en grande abundancia, in which one finds abundance of everything
necessary to human life. The sixteenth century was the most brilliant epoch of Salamanca,
when it included among its inhabitants the most illustrious noble families. Its prelates

were rich and numerous, and Benvenuto Cellini cut a splendid vase at Rome for one of its

archbishops. The University with that of Alcald. were at that time the most brilliant in
Spain.
The ancient Salmantica of the Romans is one of the oldest towns in Spain, yet the
only antique monument which it possesses is the bridge of seventeen arches over the
Tormes, dating from the time of Trajan. From the banks of the river one has a very fine
view of the town, whose spires, overtopped by the cathedral, stand out in bold relief against

the horizon. The cathedral is the most imposing building in Salamanca, dating from the
2 K
 446 SPAIN.

sixteenth ceiitnr}^ its Gotliic architecture presenting almost no trace of the influence of the
Renaissance.
The Chateau d'Alba de Tormes is about fifteen miles from Salamanca. Fernnndo
Alvarez de Toledo, Due d'Alba, was lord of the castle, which we descried at the summit of
a hill. The castle and palace are in a deplorable state : the high towers are in ruins, and
the walls and arches, supported by elegant columns, witnesses in the sixteenth century of

OHAHEO OF SALAMANCA.

splendid f^tes, seem bending to their fall, and serve at the present day as an asylum for
owls, crows, and lizards innumerable. From the battlements we commanded the view of
a vast plain, still owned by the f^imily of Alba, where the Tormes wends its way through
fertile fields to join the Duero.

Our journeys through the environs of Salamanca enabled us to study the costumes of the
Charros, that is the name given to the peasants of the country, an honest and robust popula-
tion, with simple and patriarchal manners, who still preserve the traditional Castilian honour.
 ZAMORA. 447
The honesty and simplicity of the Charros is well known in Spain, where their homeliness
has given rise to a great number of anecdotes for example we heard of ; this exclamation
from a Charro who was for the first time in his life at the theatre del Liceo at Salamanca,
As the traitor was abusiug the confidence of the king :
" Senor," cried the peasant, loudly,
" no crea V. d ese, que es un picaro," " Sire, do not believe him, he is a rogue." Also the story
of a Charro who was present at the solemn reception of a divine of Salamanca, when asked
what he thought of it replied :
" My faith ! I think these gentlemen must have little to do
at home, to fritter away their time in such childish folly." Most of the peasants live
in isolated miniature farms, which they call Montaracias, where they show a warm hospitality
only equalled by what is met with in the Highlands of Scotland. If we ourselves had no
opportunity of visiting them in their rustic abodes, nevertheless the celebration of the
F^te-Dieu enabled us to study their costumes. The men wear a large round black felt hat,
adorned with a silk tassel ; the square cut waistcoat is garnished with numerous buttons,
and is partly hidden by the cinto, a large band of leather tastefully embroidered. This
cinto, like the faja of the Andalucians,
a sort of store into which everything is put,
is

and replaces the pockets, which could neither be put in a short vest or tight breeches.
Notwithstanding the intense heat of the month of June, this dress was covered by an ample
Castilian cape of brown cloth, following the Oriental maxim, " that which protects from
cold defies the heat." The Charras are famed for their beauty, and not without reason,
more especially when they are decked out for a f^te. The hair caught up by a large
ribbon behind the head, linen sleeves with black embroidery ; a rebozillo of embroidered
fichu covers the shoulders and chest, over which several coils of gold chain are attractively
displayed, and carry a cross set with emeralds ; large earrings, zarcillos, jewellery of
coarse workmanship, but picturesque design. We must not neglect to note the petticoat
and apron of scarlet or garnet coloured velvet, embroidered with birds, flowers, and
other objects. It is without doubt from this profusion of embellishments that the word
Charro is derived, an adjective in the Spanish language signifying anything laden with
ornaments.
The road from Salamanca to Zamora, which we traversed in six hours by diligence,

ofi"ers no points of special interest. Nevertheless Dor^ made good use of his time in
sketching first a pareja (couple) of civiles —the police of Spain, who parade the roads by
moonlight next a rustic funeral, a simple yet touching scene, the body of a peasant laid
;

out on a cart, the face uncovered, drawn by two oxen, and followed by his mourning
friends and relations a group of beggars and, in a little hamlet at which he stopped, a
;
;

pretty pavera —turkey-keeper—who stood for her portrait with much complacency.
Zamora is a little town which still seems to belong to a bygone age, although the
railway has put it in communication with Medina del Campo. It is proposed to continue
the line to the frontier of Portugal, about forty miles distant. The cathedral and ruins of

the palace of Dona Urraca are almost the only objects of interest in the town. Dona
Urraca, a princess who lived in the twelfth century, played an important part in the
romancero of the Cid. During the Middle Ages Zamora was called la lien circada— the, well
fortified a Zamora no se gano en una hora, " Zamora was not taken in an hour," says the
;

proverb. The town became famous during the comuneros war in Castile, when the Bishop
of Zamora commanded in person a battalion of fighting priests which he himself had
formed.
On the following day we left for Toro, another unimportant, antique, sluggish-looking
town, which boasts no special industry. The surrounding country is, however, fertile and
448 SPAIN.

produces excellent wheat. The Duero, running parallel to the highway, and passing

through the town, must be a rather remarkable stream, as well as an invaluable resource
of the indolent natives, who liken its nourishing waters to chicken broth.
The next train conveyed us to Medina del Campo, a town boasting little of its ancient

splendour, but containing at the same time a number of monuments of historic interest.

The Castillode la Mota, a brick edifice of the sixteenth century, towers proudly over the
town. Caesar Borgia was imprisoned in this stronghold for two years. Isabella the Catholic

died in one of the apartments of this castle in 1 504. Medina del Campo the town of the —
plain — was formerly a great commercial centre. "A rich town with great traific," says
a French traveller, "because of its long fairs held during both summer and winter."
Navagiero says :
" It is a fine country full of costly residences, and extremely rich, owing
to the numerous fairs held there every year, which bring buyers and sellers from all parts

of Spain. There are very fine streets, and as a great portion of the town was burnt
in the time of the communitd, the major part of Medina has been recently rebuilt

Merchandise of all sorts abounds at the fair, but spices brought from Portugal take an
important place. The greater part of the business is efi'ected by exchange."
These spices and exchanges call to mind a curious incident relating to the journey
of Charles V., when the emperor halted at Medina del Campo on his way to Yuste. The
erudite canon, Tomds Gonzalez, relates in his curious account of the last days of the
emperor, that the latter stopped at a celebrated money-changer's, Eodrigo de Duenas.
The banker, either to please his guest, or to display his wealth, placed a hrasero of massive
gold in his chamber ; but instead of olive-nuts he burned in it the finest cinnamon of
Ceylon. Spices were sold weight and weight for gold, and cinnamon was held in high
esteem in Spain. It would appear that Charles V. was nearly suffocated by the odour,
and, in order to punish the banker for his ostentation, would not permit him to kiss his
hand, and moreover caused him to be paid for his apartments, as if he had been a common
iuukeeper.
We passed through the town in November, and our host likewise honoured us by
placing a hrasero in our room, only of copper ;
yet an ordinary fire and common chimney
would have pleased us better in such a climate as Castile. These chafing-dishes are only
useful in warming one's feet or hands, and lighting a Be that as it may, they
cigarette.
were very anciently in vogue in the Peninsula ; we have seen them in Spain covered with
silver, and dating from the sixteenth century. An author of that epoch relates that
a pretty comedian complained to the Duke of Alba that she had no money, that her room
was so cold she was nearly frozen in it. The duke sent her a hrasero filled with piastres.
The use of the brazier was not always without danger it might cause headaches, and even
;

asphyxia, as one may find confirmed in the death of Philip III.

Medina del Campo, although it has no longer its fairs and its rich bankers, yet
carries on a considerable trade in the cereals
Castile. The grain is of the finest
of
quality, and is largely bought by Parisian merchants, who send their representatives to
Medina and its environs.
The arrival at Valladolid produces on the traveller an impression to which he is quite
unused in Spain. The black smoke from a forest of chimneys darkens the clear blue sky,
reminding him that he is in the midst of a busy manufacturing town. Valladolid was
the capital of Spain until the middle of the sixteenth century. It was then called
Valladolid la Noble, rica de toda grandeza, and according to an old sayin^*- it had no rival
in Castile.
s
~1
 VALLADOLID. 451

Valladolid possesses a museum, in the building of the ancient colejio of Santa Crvz.
It would be difficult to enumerate the paintings which encumber the ten or twelve rooms,
corridors, and staircases ; with the exception of a picture of the Assumption, and two
canvases by Eubens, there are hardly any others worthy of notice.
Sculpture is more favourably represented first there are two statues of gilded bronze
:

by Pompeo Leoni, the Duke and Duchess of Lerma, both kneeling. The celebrated
minister of Philip III. wears his armour, while the Duchess is richly attired. In the same
rooms we found statues carved in walnut, by Alonzo Berruguete, which belonged to the

convent of San Benito, the finest specimens of this sort of work to be seen in Spain.
Berruguete, one of the greatest sculptors of the sixteenth century, had fixed his residence
at Valladolid. Another sculptor, Gregorio Hernandez, who spent his days in the same
town, is worthy of special mention. Nothing is more curious than the sixty or eighty
large wooden figures executed by the artist for one of those pasos of which we have already
spoken. All the personages of the Passion are there represented, from Christ and the
two thieves, to the carpenter who pierces the cross with his auger.

MENDICANTS.
 BANKS OP THE CARRION, PALBNCIA.

CHAPTEE XXIV.
Palencia: the cathedral— The Cathedral of Leon — —
Astorga— Some -words about Spanish cookery The temperance of
Spaniards— The ollapodrida and the joacAer-o— The chocolate of Astorga antiquity of chocolate in Spain— Curious traits
;

—Philip V. and Saint-Simon- Galicia— ViUafranca del Fierao- Lugo— The segadores gaUegos—Po^M\!s,x songs and sayings
ahout the Galicians— Santiago— Saint James of Compostelle—The Cathedral— Oviedo— The Asturias— Covadonga— The
inscription of the King Silo— The pass of Pajares.

Palencia, the ancient Palantia of the Eomans, is one of the most agreeable towns of Old

Castile. It is here that the

romancero celebrates the marriage of the Cid with Dona Ximena.
The river Carrion, along whose banks we enjoyed many pleasant walks, has also its place
in the immortal work. The university of Palencia is the oldest in Spain it existed two :

hundred years before that of Salamanca.

The position of the town, with its hill of the Ermita del Otero, its river, its caual, and
its railways, is one of the best in Spain but the glory of Palencia is the cathedral. The
;

exterior is simple and imposing, while the interior contains an array of splendid works of
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The pulpit, entirely of carved walnut-wood, is a
charming example of the art of the Renaissance. A magnificent reja of iron carries the date
1522. The sacerdotal vestments, carefully preserved in the sacristy, are masterpieces of
needlework. The beautiful custodia by Juan de Benavente is the best work of a Castilian
silversmith who was worthy of a wider fame. We noted several fleurs-de-lis, and were at
some loss to account for the presence of the
French arms in a Castilian church. We gathered,
however, from the following legend, that " under the reign of Don Sancho,
an anchorite,
San Antolin, lived in a forest. One day the king followed a stag which took refuge
in the
grotto of the hermit the latter arrested the arm of the king, as he
;
was about to sla^y the
 «,
^

>5
O

a
u
>
o

O
<
»
-11
 LEON. 455

animal. The forest was presented to San Antolin, and the cathedral erected on the
site occupied by his grotto, which is still preserved in a crypt situated in the middle of the
church. San Antolin was a Frenchman, and it was to do honour to the saint revered at

Palencia that the Jleurs-de-lis were thus scattered over the cathedral."
The route from Palencia to Leon is only remarkable for its dreary monotony, suggestive
of a great desert enlivened at long intervals by trains of mules crossing the barren waste.
Even the lark, winging its flight across Castile, must carry its store of grain, and yet these
plains when cultivated amply repay the toil of tillage.

After crossing the Carrion and the canal of Castile several times, we arrived at
Paredes de Nava, the birthplace of the great Castilian sculptor Berruguete. A slight

accident occurring at the station of Grajal, a forced delay of two or three hours enabled
us to visit the church, whose construction is not devoid of elegance. Dord had time to
make a sketch of the town with its belt of old walls. Sahagun, the next station, is of
greater importance ; the spire of its church has a rather curious appearance ; the tiers, which
are numerous, gradually diminish in size upward, giving it the form of a truncated
P3'ramid. At last we arrived at Leon. Leon —how many memories are there not in the
name ! it alone proves the antiquity of the town, for it is none other than that of the
seventh legion of Augustus, who made it his headquarters, " Legio septima gemma."

After the Eomans came the Goths, then the Arabs, who, defeated and driven away, at
length returned under the command of the celebrated Almanzor, and reduced the town by
fire and sword ; but they did not hold it long. In the tenth century Leon had already
many kings before Castile made any laws.

In spite of all these souvenirs, Leon has nothing of the aspect of a capital, and were it

not for one or two monuments which bear testimony to its ancient splendour, it would
be more than a large
little uninteresting village. Amongst these monuments, the
cathedral must take the first place, as it is famed throughout Spain for its light and
elegant construction, although it is rapidly losing its former graceful proportions by
the repairs and restorations which have been going on for four years. The M'indows,
dating from the thirteenth century, are of great beauty. Leon had formerly a school of

most skilful carvers, who carried their art to a degree of marvellous perfection, as may be

gathered from a pretty Gothic door of the cloister adjoining the cathedral, and one of those
of the fagade ; nevertheless, it is in the ancient convent of San Marcos where one encounters
marvellous specimens of the wood-carver's art.

The most ancient church of Leon is that of Sa7i Isidro el Real. The saint is pictured
above the entrance mounted on a horse and dressed in the attire of a bishop, brandishing
a sword, like the cavaliers seen on the seals of the Middle Ages, The most interesting part
of the church is a low chapel called the Panteon, dedicated to St. Catherine, and containing
the remains of several kings, queens, and princesses of Castile The sacristan
and of Leon.
showed us a curious pennon or standard, of the close of the thirteenth century, ornamented

with gold and silver embroidery, representing the patron saint of the church on his palfrey.
Leaving Leon at seven o'clock in the morning, we reached the station of Astorga at
nine o'clock. During the Eoman epoch this town might have been, as Pliny says, a
miserable towns in
magnificent place, yet at the present day Astorga is one of the most
Spain. Its cathedral, However, is in good preservation, and worthy of
a passing visit.

Mr. George Borrow, when in Spain endeavouring to distribute the Bible, made
some

attempts in Maragateria, but it proved to be time thrown away on men so wedded to their

ancient customs. He says: "I found their hearts coarse; their ears refused to listen,

and their eyes were shut. There was one to whom I showed the New Testament who
456 SPAIN.

listened, or pretended to listen, with patience, while every now and then he took copious

draughts from an enormous jug of white wine he held between his knees.
' As to what you
have just told me,' said he, '
I understand very little, and I don't believe a word ;
yet I will

take three or four Bibles. I shall not read them, it is true, but I have no doubt I shall be
"
able to sell them at a higher price than the one you ask.'

We remember the dinner we had at the posada of Astorga the table was
shall long :

itself suggestive. The cloth was stained with red wine, stray sausages, and yolk of eggs,
heightened in effect by pieces of vermilion pickle, and the whole glazed with a coating of
oil. The dinner-napkins were worthy of the tablecloth, and reminded us of a consoling
passage in the memoirs of the Marquis of Louville, where he says that they made dinner-

GHAJAL, NEAR LEON.

napkins for Philip V., in the palace of La Granja, with the shirts of his scullions. The
waiter, a robust Asturian, first brought a tureen full of a preparation fuming with strong
oil. Next appeared a partridge floating in a pool of oil. Wine-vinegar, with all sorts of

strong herbs, followed by a stew of sheeps' trotters ; and the other dishes were no less

curious and strong.

The sobriety of the Spaniards has been much, and reasonably, vaunted in ancient and
modern times. It is an old Spanish saying that " one may find perfect contentment in a
"
cruHt of bread and bit of garlic :

" Con pan y ajo crudo

Se anda seguro."

— " Dinner," says another proverb, " has killed more men than Avicenna ever cured :
"

" Mas mat6 la oena

Que sano Avicena."
>s.

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Q

O
P4

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P4
H
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o
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 SPANISH COOKEEY. 459
" They are very temperate, and are not fastidious as to what they eat," said a Dutch
traveller in 1669. " The greatest lords have their soup made of a fowl, witli a little beef
and mutton They drink very little wine, and the table of a worthy citizen of Paris
is better than that of a Spanish grandee."
They were even anciently said to be equally noted for their temperate use of wine
and their utter abhorrence of drunkenness. The name drunkard ever applied to any one
was not unfrequently avenged by murder. Nevertheless, if the Spaniards are renowned
for their temperate living, they at the same time cannot be set down as niggardly in their
hospitality.

At the feast given by the Constable of Castile at Valladolid, in honour of the English
ambassador in 1603, the account of which, attributed to Cervantes, fired the malicious
spirit of the poet Gongora, there were twelve hundred dishes of fish and meat
served, without counting dessert and other courses. Saint-Simon himself speaks with
enthusiasm of a dinner which was placed before him by a great Castilian lord. It

is true that Spanish cookery, looked at from the point of view of the Grimod de la

Eeynifere, the Brillat-Savarin, etc., may seem primitive and even barbarous, yet it is

not without its merits, and ought to be re-established in the favour of epicures free from
prejudice.
Each province has its favourite dish, but the national dish is the puchero — almost a
synonym of dinner. To invite a friend one says, " Vente d comer el puchero conmigo." Puchero,
in the first place, signifies an earthen pot, that is, the modern synonym of olla, pronounced
oya. This name signifies a mixture of a variety of ingredients —a Spanish hodge-podge
composed of beef, mutton, chickens, capon, bacon, lard, pigs' feet, garlic, onions, and all

sorts of vegetables. The bacon was indispensable. " There is never an olla without bacon,
or a wedding without tambourine," says an old proverb :

" No hay olla sin tocino,

Ni boda sin tamborino."

There is also a curious variation in which cookery and the church are blended
—" There
"
is never an olla without bacon, or a sermon without Saint Augustine :

" No hay olla sin tocino,

M sermon sin sau Agostino."

To the name of ollawas added that of podrida, or mess, because it becomes too soft by
overcooking. According to this refrain, when it boils too long it loses its flavour :

" Olla que mncho hierve

Sabor pierde."

There are also a dozen other popular sayings of this kind, as the olla played as important
a part in the cooking as does the puchero at the present day.

Let us say a few words on the altramuz, which no other than the lupine of Horace.
is

It appears to have been the favourite food of the Greek philosophers, more especially of

the Cynics the Koman conquerors gave it largely to the people, and it figured- on the
;

most refined tables. At the present day in Spain, as indeed in Italy, it occupies the most
humble position among vegetables. It is eaten boiled, and in Andalucia the altramuceros

very wholesome, and, above all others, the

sell it grilled. The altramuz, it is said, is

vegetable of the poor.

There an animal which figures largely in Spanish gastronomy we wish to speak of
is :

the more useful than ornamental quadruped which Grimod calls an encyclopedian animal
 "

46o SPAIN.

— the pig — since it •

must be called by its name. It is used in a great variety of ways.
There is, indeed, no country in which this unclean animal plays so important a part, or is

more worthy of the epithet which the celebrated gastronomer, Grimod de la Reyniere,
has given it. It has a great variety of pet names, too numerous to mentiou. In Spain
excellent hams made
are sweet hams of Cadiar;
in the Alpujarras are renowned in
Andalucia. This name is given to them because of the coating of sugar with which they
are covered.
The finest hams are those of Montanchez, in Estremadura, where the pigs are said to
be fed on vipers. Bayonne and Mayence, and
The hams were considered equal to those of
so the jamon gallegg. The morcillas and the chorizos sausages are — black puddings — — —
also highly esteemed, and include a number of choice varieties. The bacon, too, is not
without its share of the fame, and is said by epicureans to improve by keeping, like
old wine.
Astorga, although a place of almost no commercial importance, is at the same time
famed for its chocolate. This important article of trade was first discovered by the
Spaniards in Mexico, about the year 1520, where it was known as calahuatl, or chocolatl. It
was at once introduced into Spain, and soon afterwards to France and the other countries of
Europe, when it became a very grave question among the Eoman Catholics, whether the
prepared chocolate broke the fasts ; but the point was at length decided in favour of
the much-loved beverage by Pope Paul V., who, ordering some to be prepared in his
presence, pronounced it lawful to be drunk during the fasts of the Church. Philip V. had
perhaps read the curious volume of Padre Tomas Hurtado ; at any rate, he always took his
chocolate with a tranquil conscience, if we are to credit Saint-Simon.
" One day, seeing the Queen taking snufi", I said itseemed strange to me that the King
himself neither indulged in snufi" nor chocolate. The King replied it was true he did not
take upon which the Queen strove to excuse herself by saying that she had tried
snuff",

times without number to give up the pernicious habit, out of respect to her royal husband,
but that she was quite unequal to the task of self-denial. The King added, as to chocolate
'
I take it with the Queen on fast days.' '
What, how, sire,' I replied, '
chocolate on fast
days ?
'
'
Yes,' said the King gravely, '
chocolate does not break the fast.' '
But sire
'
I
continued, something which nourishes and sustains the body.'
'
it is J assure you replied ' '

the King, reddening a little, it does not break the fast the Jesuits, who told me,
'
take it ;

regularly themselves. On fast

it without bread.' days,
I stopped it is true, they use
having come to instruct the King as to the manner of observing fasts but I
short, not •

must say I admired the morality of the pious fathers, and the instruction which they
imparted. Truly kings repose in dense and tranquil clouds who trust to the guidance
of these holy men !

The railway which unites Galicia to Old Castile and the other provinces of
Spain stops
at the present day at the station of Branuelas, a poor village several
miles from Astorga,
whereas we continued our journey in the coche-correo through a very dreary
country that
brought us at last to the picturesque Vierzo, a circular valley about thirty
miles across,
green with woods of chestnut and walnut trees, or vast fields of flax, watered by limpid
streams recalling scenes in Switzerland or Dauphind.
Climbing a hill on foot, we fell in with a maragato bound for Leon
with a cartload of
huge chestnuts from Vierzo. Off"ering him a cigar, which he received
without ceremony,
insisting at the same time on our accepting some of his
nuts, we entered into conversation'.
This simple incident is characteristic of the independent pride and generosity of the
 To face page 460.
.NATIV E CART AxN'D CHESTNUT MERCHANT.
 GALICIA AND ITS PEOPLE.
463
peasantry. Passing through Pouferrada, we soon arrived at Villafranca del Vierzo, a
pretty little town whose ancient name, Villa Francorum, is derived from the bands of
French pilgrims who halted here on their way to Saint James of
Compostelle.
The country becomes gradually more wild and hilly, and at the
picturesque villages
through which we made our way, the girls offered us glasses of
water, fruits, and milk.
At we reached Lugo, an ancient Eoman city with walls like those of Astorga.
last
Here we
were in Galicia, where we might study at our leisure the natives
whom we had already
met at Madrid as wx)zos de cordel, and whom we had frequently encountered
along the
highways, setting out as reapers for the harvest. There is an annual exodus of the
hardy and robust children of Galicia, who make their way into the
different provinces of
Spain to work as farm labourers during autumn. For all that,
these rude tillers of the
soil are passionately attached to their country. On our way through La Mancha in the
coachicg days, we came
across a dozen of these reapers, seated beneath an olive-tree,
devouring their simple meal with a hearty appetite. When we spoke to them of Lugo,
Santiago, and of the mountains, their bronzed faces lightened up, they
grasped our hands
and compelled us to drink some black wine in honour of Galicia. In spite of their honesty
and many other admirable qualities, they are made the butt of the people of other quarters
of Spain. The name Gallego now signifies coarse, or ignorant. Many popular verses have
been devoted to the poor Gallegos :

" Los Gallegos en Galicia

Guando van en procesion,
Llevan un gate por santo
Y una vieja por pendon."
— " The Galicians in Galicia, when they march in procession, carry a cat in place of a
saint, and an old woman for a banner."

"Los Gallegos en Galicia

Cuando se van k casar,
Llevan la tripilla llena
De mendruguillos de pan."

— " The Galicians in Galicia, when they celebrate a wedding, feast on bread crusts."
The couplets of this sort beginning with the same line are almost without number.
During the sixteenth century they were badly treated in the popular proverbs it was ;

even said, " It is better to be a Moor than a Galician."

Santiago, better known in France under the name of " Saint Jacques de Compostelle,"
is the most ancient and famous pilgrimage in Spain. Saint James was the patron saint of
the country, and Santiago was the war-cry of the Spaniards during the Middle Ages.
According to the legend, the apostle who was going to Spain disembarked at Padron, at
some distance from Santiago, A miraculous star, at a later time, shone over the spot where
his body lay. His remains were brought to the town, which received the name of Campus
stellcB — Field of the star.
Santiago is surrounded by mountains, and rendered unhealthy by the prevalence of
a damp atmosphere.
The cathedral is most ancient, and in its general plan reminds one of that of Saint
Sernin of Toulouse, which it is said served as a model for it. The part we admired most is

the portico de la gloria, a magnificent gateway ornamented with numerous figures in relief.

This masterpiece of the maestro Mateo has been remodelled for the South Kensington Museum
in London. We were present when it was put in position about two years ago. The
tomb of Saint James still occupies its ancient place, and Madame d'Aulnoy informs us
 ,

464 SPAIN.

that the boues of the saint rattle audibly in the grave when any great calamity is

about to overtake Spain.

Oviedo is the capital of the province of that name, and the principal town of the
Asturias, one of the most rugged and wild countries of the Peninsula. It is from the
mountains of the ancient Principado de Asturias that these mozos de cordel and the
aguadores descend every year, dressed in their conical hats and short trousers, as we
have seen them at Madrid.
Pelage, first king of the Asturias, who was called Don Pelayo, defended this country
successfully against the Arabs.
In the passes of Covadonga,
about thirty-six miles from Oviedo,
he arrested their progress with
only a thousand men against an
army of twenty thousand. Some
historians say that there were three
hundred thousand. Covadonga is

thus looked upon as the cradle of

Spanish independence.
Asturias, the only province
which was never under Mussulman
rule, is still little known on account
of the great difficulty of access.
It is in this province one finds
the finest specimen of ancient
Gothic architecture, and most
curious inscriptions. Here is a
most interesting example bearing
the name of one of the successors
of Pelage, King Silo, who reigned
in the Asturias towards the close
of the ninth century. We obtained
it from a friend at Oviedo ; it was
copied from Santiyanes de Pravia,
FPi'V^/Kr., ,Sc about thirty miles from the town,
GALICIAN, HOLIDAY COSTUME. and composed
is of the words
Silo princeps fecit, which may be
read in many difiercnt ways, always starting from the middle.

TIOEFSPECNCEPSPECIT
 THE PUERTO DE PAJARES.
465
Asfcurias, one of tbe wildest provinces in Spain, is approached
by a single coach-road
from the province of Leon, along which we made our return
journey to Leon We
fortunately passed without a(jcident the Puerto de Pajares,
a narrow defile which separates
the two provinces. It not unfrequently happens during
winter thatthis pass is blocked
up with snow, when travellers are compelled to rest at the
posada. Passing Pola de
Gordon we soon arrived at Leon, and the following day, throwing
a parting "salutation
to the cathedral of Palencia, entered the capital of Old Castile.

INTERIOR OF A COUNTRY INN.

 THE CID'S coffer, BUBGOS CATHEDEAL.

CHAPTER XXV.
Burgos — — —
Costumes of the peasants the Montera The Marvado de la Llendre The Casa del Cordon, and the Ano
;

—
de Santa Maria The Ayuntamiento ; the bones of the Cid— The Cathedral —A
statue of Christ covered with
—
human skin ; el Cofre del Cid The monastery of Las Huelgas and the Cartuja de Miraflores ; the nuns San —
Pedro de Cordova -.
—
the tomb of the Cid The Cid, did he really exist ?- Miranda de Ebro— The Ebro— The
—
Calahorra Tudela.

Although beneath a blue sky and brilliant sun, the cold of Burgos was excessive. Yet it

was only the month of October nevertheless, the town, standing in the centre of an
; elevated
plateau, is one of the coldest places in Spain we even remembered seeing two feet
: of snow
there during the month of November.
The Arlanzon, a small stream nearly dry in summer, is frequently frozen during
winter. Navagiero, who visited this spot in 1524, thought the place as sad as its sky,
which is frequently clouded over. It is said that Burgos wears mourning for all Castile.

It is on the Plaza de la Lihertad, surrounded by covered porticoes, that one sees the real
Castilian wrapped in his mantle warming himself in the sun, and seeking shelter from the
wind. As long as he has —says a popular verse —wine, garlic, corn, and barley, he neither
quits the place in July nor his mantle in January.
It is here that the markets are held, where one may see the peasant women with bright
yellow petticoats, and the men decked with their monteras of skin. This ancient head-
dress, something of the form of a helmet, imparts a savage look to its wearer. Ponz
remarked during last century :
" The people are the best repository of ancient customs and

usages. The variety of the monteras in the different provinces of Spain represents, so. far

as I can judge, the shape of the ancient morions, sallets, and other helmets used at different
 To face imge 466.
THE POOR DE SOLEMNIDAD, BURGOS.
 :

BURGOS. 469

epochs. This people, ahnost entirely military, have not only preserved the form of the
helmet in their monteras, but also that of the ancient armour in their coletos, doublets,
polaynas, and the abarcas, gaiters, and even in the alpargatas. When one outers an ancient
Armena, if familiar with the Sevillian, Granadiau, Valencian, CasLilian, and Galician
monteras, one will at once detect a strong resemblance in them to the helmets of olden
times."
" Burgos at the present day presents a picture of poverty, idleness, and depopulation,"
said a traveller of the last century, and this may be held to describe the place truly even
now. We fell in with a number of beggars, wearing above their forehead, attached to the
bat, a tin plate on which, stamped in relief, are found these words, Pohres d solemiiidad.
These were poor beggars regularly licensed by the ayuntamiento of Burgos the word :

solemnidad signifies notoriety. At the entrance of an old portico we one day remarked a
number of men coming and goiug, most of them covered with rags. Asking a young
charcoal-seller what it all meant, she blushingly replied, after a moment's hesitation, that it

was the Mercado de la Llendre, which we render honestly, but not literally, by market of
rags, for the rags are the recipients of the llendre, a name given to the eggs of a certain
insect much attached to human hair, an insect which a Spanish poet, Cepeda Guzman, causes
to figure even on the head of a sonnet, and which he affirms is at times born in golden

tresses.
" Piojos cria el -cahello mas dorado." This highly picturesque, but withal lively,
market reminded us of Houndsditch, which we had visited in London with Dord. But to
return to the mendicants of Burgos, most of them bear their lot with an air of resignation
mingled with pride. As good Castilians, they doubtless think that some drops of noble
blood flow through their veins ; some of them take a purely philosophic view of their

condition : thus we heard a blind beggar sing the following strain

" Los pobres mas hambrientos
Son mas ricos,
los

Porque todo lo comen

Con apitito :

No asi los grandes,

Que aunque todo les sobra, '

Les falta el liambre."

— " The famished poor are the richest, because they devour what falls to their lot with a
good appetite ; it is not so with the rich— although they have everything in
abundance,

they still lack hunger."

Amongst the ancient houses of Burgos the Casa del Cordon is one of the most
interestino-. It takes its name from a cord cut in relief round the entrance door, an

original decoration obtained from the arms of the Condestable de Castilla, by whom it
was
built. The Area de Santa Maria, constructed under Charles V., pointing to the Espolon, a
fashionable promenade, is ornamented with statues of ancient armed warriors. The Ayun-
tamiento is a very common edifice, where we were shown, in one of the halls, the
bones of the

Cid and of Dona Ximena, preserved— profanation I— in a bottle in a vulgar glass-case.

The cathedral of Burgos is remarkable for its elegance and lightness of construction.

One of the chapels contains a rather curious image of Christ, said to have been picked up
by a trader in the Bay of Biscay, and fomed for its power of working miracles. This
at the same
wonderful idol is covered with human skin in a manner ingenious, although
time revolting to contemplate.
After beholding this remarkable relic, we noticed at one of the doorways, fixed up
470 SPAIN.

agaiust a wall, an old coffer of worm-eatenwood, kept together with clamps of iron,
supported by two brackets beneath and chain above. It originally belonged to the Cid

Campeador, the coffer which has been rendered famous by chroniclers and by legends.
According to some it formerly contained the veritable altar which followed the hero
throughout his campaigns ; others say that it held the sheath of his sword. Lastly, this

model of cavaliers used it to play a trick on two Jews, which in our days would be a
subject for the consideration of the police magistrate. " One day, when Campeador
required money, he sent for two Jewish usurers named Rachel and Bidas, from whom he
borrowed a very heavy sum, giving them as a pledge the coffer in question, full of sand,
assuring them that it contained valuable jewels." It must be recorded, however, that the
Cid paid back at the stated time both principal and interest.

The monastery of Las Huelgas stands so near to the town that we had time to visit
it one morning before breakfast, and to make some sketches of the church and cloister,

which dates from the second half of the thirteenth century. The architecture struck us as
being at once simple and noble. Madame d'Aulnoy knew a beautiful and fascinating
widow who retired to this convent. " It is," she said, " a celebrated abbey, where there
are a hundred and fifty nuns, most of them the daughters of princes, dukes, or people of
rank. These poor children enter at the age of six or seven years, sometimes earlier,

when the vows are generally taken by the parents, or some near relative, while the little
victim finds attraction in jams and sweets, caring little how she is dressed, and knowing
less of the miserable life before her." The convent of Huelgas is still occupied by nuns, so
that we had to content ourselves by viewing the church through an iron gateway. "We
have often seen these iron gateways in Spain, more especially in a convent of Granada,
Avhere the visitors' room is separated from that of the nuns by a triple network of iron ; the
bars are so close together that the hand cannot pass through, and, to increase the security,

long points of iron are placed at each intersection, menacing the profane like so many
poniards. These numerous precautions, we are informed, were sometimes useless, and
witliout doubt it was so in the time of the Countess d'Aulnoy, who describes a room
with three frightful gratings bristling with points of iron.
" What," said one of her interlocutors ;
" we always thought the nuns were sociable
and attractive, but they need hardly fear a lover so powerful as to break down these iron
barriers."

From Las Huelgas to Cartuja de Mirajlores is only a short distance. This was formerly
one of the richest convents in Spain. A walk of two hours brought us next to San Pedro
de Cardena, an ancient convent containing the body of the Cid, which was taken there on
his famous horse Babieca, and not Babiega, as it is sometimes written, and which it is said
was buried with him, according to his wish, together with his three favourite swords, the
Colada, Joyosa, and Tizon, or Tizona.
It may at first appear surprising, after having noticed the hero's horse and swords, to
put this question : The Cid, did he ever exist ? The question may seem impertinent
in a land where the legendary hero has become a sort of demi-god ; nevertheless, a well-
known Spanish historian of the last century Masdeu — — dared to doubt his existence. It is
now known, let us assure our readers, that the Cid was, after all, no fabulous hero, but
that he really existed. At the close of last century, Ponz mentions, in his Viage de Espana,
a curious manuscript of the twelfth century, which he saw at Leon, wherein the Cid was
named Campi doctus. Since that time another interesting document has been brought to
light, extracted from the edicts of a council held in i i6o, sixty years after the hero's death.
 ,

"'-/>:^:^>.-i4i
A,
^« ijt-i-
•
'
<
c'^^"*»C^
 THE cm. 473

at Hormedes, in the diocese of Palencia. In this document the Cid is called Magnus Royz
Didaz, cognomento Citte Campeator. The existence of the Cid has been also proved by the
notices of several contemporary Arabian historians which have been translated and sifted
by M. Dozy, Professor of the University of Leyde. Conde and Gayangos have also given
extracts from these authors, who, in place of representing the Cid as a model of chivalrous
loyalty, paint him as a fierce, perfidious, and ungenerous enemy, faults common to
more than one hero of the Middle Ages. A modern Spanish writer, M. Alcala Galiano,
believes that a personage existed called the Cid, who rendered himself famous during the
wars against the infidels.Better still, he feels assured that there were several Cids. M,
Antoine de Latour says, speaking of this author, "in the year of grace, 1862, M. Alcala
Galiano was summoned to appear before a judge, who in Spain has the attributes of our
justice of the peace, for having affirmed the existence of a plurality of Cids. Ilis accuser,

Don Casimiro Orense y Eavazo, appeared as a direct descendant of the Cid, and modestly
disclosed his ancestry to the judge. M. Alcala Galiano, on his side, might have challenged
Don Casimiro to establish his descent. Unfortunately the latter died, and this curious case
was never brought to an issue."

It is well known that between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, an innumerable
collection of books appeared, celebrating the fabulous adventures of the Cid — this Hercules

of Spain. Let us confine ourselves to stating that the biographers place the birth of the Cid
between the years 1026 and 1040, in a little village, six miles from Burgos —Bivar, or
Vivar —which had the extraordinary fame of introducing into the world the hero whom
the romances and the histories call el ynvencible, el esforgado cavallero el Cid Ruy Dias de
Bivar, el buen Campeador, mio Cid el de Bihar, mio Cid lidiador, etc.

Let us say good-bye to the Cid, and proceed to the north of Old Castile. After
passing Briviesca we arrived at the Gargantas de Pancorho, one of the wildest and most
grotesquely picturesque passes ; huge perpendicular rocks tower to a great height, and
in some parts nearly meet together. A traveller of the seventeenth century calls it "This
frightful passage, which seems rather the road to the lower regions than to Pancorbo."

When a meeting was arranged between Louis XIV. and Philip IV., on the occasion
of the marriage of the King of France with the Princess Maria Theresa, the King
of Spain conducting the royal betrothed,- and accompanied by a numerous retinue, passed

through the gorges in the month of April, It was a series of f^tes like a triumphal

march : the nobles and the ayuntamientos prepared bull-fights and fireworks ; they even lit

bonfires on the summits of the rocks of Pancorbo.

After emerging from the passes the country still preserves its wild, hilly aspect.

On our right is the ancient monastery of Bujedo, built at the base of enormous rocks, and
which in the good old days of the monks must have sheltered numerous guests. Ivy
has invaded its ruined walls, and the roofs that have fallen in disclose great halls,

deserted save by crows and owls.

At length the train stopped at a station for twenty minutes, which time the passengers
spent at the buffet. We were in the last town of Old Castile, by the side of the Ebro,
the ancient Iberus, that gave its name to the "ha,rd ground of Iberia." The waters
of the Ebro, clear like those of the Tagus and the Tiber, are not navigable ; many fruitless

attempts had been made to deepen its channel. It waters a part of Old Castile, and flows
through the entire length of Aragon ; a popular saying compares it to a traitor, Ebro
traidor naces en Castilla y riegas d Aragon — " Ebro, thou art a traitor : born in Castile, thou

waterest Aragon." This saying is, however, not quite accurate, seeing that the watershed
2 M
474 SPAIN.

of the Ebro is in Fontibre (Foiis Iberis), in the mountains of Eeinosa, province of

Santiinder.
We passed through the little village of Haro, which has given its name to a celebrated

family including among its members the famous Luis de Haro, successor to the distinguished

Bake of Olivares. The country is fertile and charming ; hills planted with vines and
green prairies make one forget the sadness of the landscapes of Old Castile. We were
now in the province of Logrono, whose capital we soon reached, Logrono is an old town,
with narrow, winding streets, and its stream spanned by a bridge of the Middle Ages.

GORGES OF PANCOUBO : THE TUNNEL.

It was the birthplace of the celebrated painter Navarrete, towards 1520, a master colourist
who merits the name of the Spanish Titian.
Calahorra, one of the next stations, is the ancient Eoman Calagurris, which suffered
a still more terrible siege than that of Numance. The inhabitants, rather than yield up
the town, endured the most terrible famine. Historians supply details which make one
shudder. Husbands ate their wives, and mothers killed and salted their own children.
An hour after passing Calahorra, we halted at Tudela, a very ancient little town,
the Roman Tutela, which a Dutch traveller calls " a town inhabited by thieves and
 To fare page 474-
GOEGES OF TANCORBO.
 THE NAVARRESE. 477

banditti." " Eatlier a pretty towu," lie adds, "but being on the borders of Aragon,
Castile, and Biscay, it is tbe retreat and nest of numerous malefactors, wlio bave fled from
their country to escape the punishment due to their crimes. According to currejit report,

it is doubtless a resort of vagabonds ;

yet I came across several thoroughly respectable-
looking personages, forming au exception to tbe general run of the community."
The Navarrese are active and laborious, like their neighbours the Basques, and are
much attached to their country. Their popular songs celebrate the beauty of their

cloudless sky :

" El cielo de la Navarra

EsU vestido de azul,
Por eso las Navarritas
Tienen la sal de Jesiis."

— " The sky of Navarre is clothed with azure. That has given to the Navarrese the grace
of Jesus."

THE MONASTERY OF LAS HDBLGAS, NEAR BUEQOS.

 —

OLIVE PLANTATIONS NEAR SARAGOSSA.

CHAPTER XXVI.
The Aiagonese and ; the cinta morada ; the alpargatas
their costume — — —
Ricla Carinefta Teruel legend of los Amantes de :

rerweZ— Calatayud —
the Moreria—Th.e Castillo del iJeZq;'— Medina-Celi— Sigueuza The popular physicians of Spain
: :

—
Barberos, sangradores, sacamuelas, curanderos ; and other charlatans Bleeding the arm and the foot ; satirical couplets
on the doctors ; Guadalajara ; the palace of the dukes of the Infantado — Saragossa ; the Torre Nueva (leaning tower)
Our Lady del Pilar—The popular saints ; San Anton and the loaves and ladies ;
—
a saint in a well ; some coplas Sail
Juan de Dios, San Boque, etc.

We are now in Aragon, one of the most interesting provinces of the

the heart of
Peninsula. The Aragonese, beneath a rough exterior, conceals a loyal and generous nature.
His stubbornness is proverbial, and according to an ancient refrain his head is so hard
that he would find no difficulty in using it to drive a nail into a stone wall. The malicious
even affirm that he would succeed in driving the nail home into the wall with the pointed
end next his skull. "When an Aragonese is born, his mother knocks him on the head
with a plate —according to the legend : should the plate break, he is a choice hard-headed
child ; but, on the contrary, should it remain whole he is soft-headed and will cause sorrow.
The costume is highly picturesque, more especially when worn by one of the robust,
well-made peasants, with a broad violet band round his waist. Violet is the favourite
colour for the fajas moradas all over Aragon. It is also the colour of the
ribbon to which
the image of the patron saint is suspended round the neck of every good Aragonese. The
head-dress is extremely simple, consisting of a coloured handkerchief twisted round the
 —
CALATAYUD. 481

head, and tied over the right temple. The band, of which we have just spoken, supports
tight-fitting breeches of green or black velvet, or fawn-coloured leather, falling to the
knees and supplemented by blue stockings, fitting closely to the well-formed leg, and
reaching to the ankles, so as to leave the bare foot to support the hempen sandals.
Continuing our route towards the south of the province, we soon arrived at Eicla,
a small obscure town rising like an amphitljeatre on a hill to the right. During the
sixteenth century Eicla was famed for its firearms, of the most elegant workmanship.
The country, watered by the Jalon, is extremely fertile so fertile, indeed, that the vine- ;

yards of Carinena, which we passed on our way from Saragossa to Teruel, are celebrated
all over Spain, Viewed from a distance, the old walls and battlements of Teruel reminded
us of Toledo and Avila. This town is the centre of a vast district into which railways
have not yet penetrated, and are not likely to penetrate for some time to come. The
cathedral is in no way remarkable, if we except the altarpiece carved in wood, by a French
artist named Gabriel Yoli, who lived during the early part of the sixteenth century. A
French architect of the same epoch constructed a magnificent aqueduct still in good
preservation Los Arcos de Teruel ; but the town enjoys more of legendary than of real
fame. The Amantes de Teruel are as celebrated here as Abelard and Hdloise, or Eomeo
and Juliet. These two lovers have furnished materials for many Spanish and foreign
romances. Pursued by fatality, they were only, at last, united in the tomb. In 1555,
during the progress of some restorations, their tomb was found, and their remains were
exhumed. In 1708 they were transferred to the cloister, and placed standing in a
closed niche, where we saw them in good preservation, surmounted hy the following
inscription :

Aqui yacen los celebres Amantes de Teruel

D. Juan Diego Martinez de Mardlla, y Dona Isabel de Segura.
Murieron en 12 17, y en 1708 se trasladaron d este panteon.

Making our way back to the railway, we proceeded to Calatayud, the ancient Calatayut,
whose name appears more times than one in the romancero of the Cid. It is Bilbilis of

the Eomans, the country of Martial, who describes the town just as we found it, cold and
dismal looking. The poet represents it as celebrated for its waters and its arms. The
waters of the Salo —the Jalon of the present day — are reported to have possessed the
virtue of imparting an excellent temper to the steel.
The town is divided into two parts, the lower town, and the Moreria or elevated
suburbs. The latter is the ancient quarter of the Moors, covering several hillocks,
excavated with grottoes like those of the environs of Granada. We have never seen
anything so utterly wretched as this suburb, made up of a multitude of holes scooped out
of the hill-sides, and tenanted in common by human beings and filthy animals, whose only
means of ingress by the doorway, which supplies, at the same time, an opening
is for the

ventilation of the dank interior, and the only vent for the smoke. A number of the

miserable inhabitants of this quarter follow the trade of weavers, which renders the close
damp dwelling all the more unhealthy. The women and children prepare the hemp,
while the skilled labour falls to the lot of the men. There are, without doubt, in this
unhappy community, a number of the descendants of the ancient Moors, who remained in

the country like pariahs, after the edict of expulsion by Philip III.

The Castillo del Eeloj— Castle of the Clock— whose picturesque ruins overlook the
suburb, evidently dates from the time of the Arabs. So, indeed, does the name Calatayud
— the Castle of Job. Aragon is one of the provinces in which we find the richest relics of
the Mussulman dominion. The Moors were formerly very numerous there, more especially
 — ;

482 SPAIN.

in tlie southern part Navngiero, speaking of the little town of Aranda near Calatayud,
which he visited in 1523, says that the castle was occupied by Moors. Several of the

Moors of Calatayud employed themselves in the manufacture of the hispano-moresque ware,

so highly prized by modern collectors.

Touching en route at Medina-Celi, we pushed on to Sigueiiza.. where, one of us being

taken suddenly ill, we thought it prudent to apply to a local doctor, Don Narciso Pastor,
who, after a mosb reassuring conversation, sent us to the chemist Don Jos^ Molinero, with a
formal prescription. The doctor was probably a graduate of the famous university of
Siguenza at any rate, he was a skilful physician, and sickness gave way to his treatment
;

as if by magic. Doctors and their medicines in Spanish towns differ only in unimportant
details from the doctors and medicines of other civilised communities. In country districts
it is, however, quite different, where barbers and quacks, with their copious bleedings,
blistering, specifics, and simples, flourish as the recognised physicians of the people. Never-
theless, the Spaniards formerly, like the Orientals, had an intense hatred for surgery. It

Avas even considered profanation to mutilate the bodies of the dead : the Inquisition are
reported to have begged of Philip II. to sanction the burning of Andr^ V^sale for his

having dissected a corpse.

The Spanish barber is not unfrequently accoucheur, dentist, and even professor of
surgery ; when he modestly claims this latter title, he sets up above his doorway the sign
of a bleeding leg.
Bleeding has been practised in Spain for many centuries. The patient when he has to

be bled may submit to the operation while following his daily occupation : first he is bled
on the right arm, and two days after on the left, to equalise the blood — so they say. It is

only when thoroughly prostrated by loss of blood, that the sufferer is permitted to keep his
bed. The feet were, however, more frequently punctured than the arms, and if we may
judge by this verse the practice is still in vogue :

" Me hau dicho que estds malita,

Y que te sangran mafiana
A ti te sangran del pi6,

Y d mi me sangran del alma."

— "They tell me you are ill, and that to-morrow you will be bled. The blood will flow
from your foot, while tlie lance will pierce my heart."
The pleasantries of Moli^re on the doctors are not to be compared with those we come
across in the Spanish proverbs :

" Dios es 61 que sana,

Y el medico se Ueva la plata."

—" It is God who

and the doctor pockets the money."
cures us,
It not unfrequently happens in the country that the doctor is only called at the last

moment. The peasants have a superstitious dread of having their pulse felt they say it :

is a prognostic of the tomb. These barbers and quack doctors seldom consult any text-
books, other tlian those containing popular receipts, such as Medico de si mismo " Every one —
his own Physician," — in which each prescription of four lines is accompanied by a simple
woodcut ; the Medico en casa —-The
Household Physician or the Medico de los Pobres ; —
The Poor Man's Physician. These works contain remedies' for every sort of disease and
accident ; many of them are very curious, although quite harmless. For instance, grilled
garlic for toothache, onion and pitch for stings ; but the sovereign remedy is oil, which
cures burns, corns, chilblains, insect bites, etc.
Continuing our itinerary, and visiting the ancient town of Guadalajara,— literally in
 To face page 4S2.
THE LEANING TOWEB OF SAKAGOSSA.
 SARAGOSSA. 485

Arabic the river of stones, — we found difficulty in obtaining a decent lodging, although
it was a provincial capital. Its resources are extremely limited ; nevertheless, during the
sixteenth century it was a place of great importance. " Guadalajara," said Navagiero,
" occupies a fine site and contains splendid edifices, notably that belonging to the Cardinal
Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo, and that of the Duke of Infantazgo, which is hardly
equalled in Spain. It is a great resort of cavaliers and persons of rank, where the duke, in
his lavish hospitality, spends more than his revenue, which amounts to fifty thousand
ducats. He has a guard two hundred foot soldiers, numerous mounted retainers, a
of
band of excellent musicians, and in every conceivable way he displays his liberality."
Where, alas I are the armed retainers of this proud noble and his little court, almost as
brilliant as that of the kings 1 Ancient authors have left curious accounts of the fgtes held
there. Francis I, was entertained with a splendour that eclipsed his reception at Alcald de
H^nares.
The court of this palace of the dukes of Infantazgo is still in good preservation, and
displays a richness of ornament and architectural beauty well worthy of the study of the
traveller.

Let us bid adieu to souvenirs of the past, and take the train to Saragossa.
Saragossa boasts a high antiquity. It remained an Arab town for upwards of four
and during the twelfth century, after a siege of five years, fell into the hands of
centuries,

AlfonsoI., King of Aragon and Navarre. The town, indeed, appeared to have enjoyed a
memorable fame for sieges, and it is well known with what heroism it sustained those of
1808 and 1809. A curious coincidence occurs on this subject, suggesting the notion
that Madame d'Aulnoy, in 1679, foresaw the famous sieges when she penned these lines :

" The town of Saragossa is not strong, but the inhabitants are so brave that they alone are
sufficient to defend it." Navagiero found the town very flourishing in 1524. It had
beautiful houses and rich churches ; it was the residence of many nobles, and abundance
reigned in Saragossa.
The capital of Aragon has many interesting monuments. The oldest, the Aljaferia, of

which Cervantes speaks in " Don Quixote," was the stronghold of the Arab kings ; it later

became the palace of the Inquisition, and at the present day it is a barrack. Although
the Aljaferia has sufiered numerous degradations, there are certain parts still remaining
from which one may gather some idea of its primitive appearance. A number of the
apartments contain remains of graceful Arabian ornamentation, others not less elegant
belong to the sixteenth century. The grand staircase, built under the Catholic sovereign,
is one of the finest in Spain.
The leaning tower, the Torre Nueva, is not less curious than those of Bologna and Pisa :

the angle of inclination is more than ten feet from the perpendicular. This monument,
with its reliefs in brick, in the Moorish style, is of very elegant architecture ; unfortunately
its by a bell tower.
effect is spoiled

Saragossa has two principal churches, the Seo and the Nuestra Senora del Pilar. The
Seo is an immense and very ancient edifice, which has been ruthlessly modernised. Its
beautiful Gothic altarpiece, the finest in Spain, is in alabaster, painted and gilded, of most
exquisite workmanship. It was in the Seo that the Prince Don Baltazar, son of Philip IV.

(whose portrait was so often painted by Valasquez), was buried. Nuestra Senora del
Pilar stands, like the Seo, on the borders of the Ebro •
its name is derived from the pillar
which supports the venerated image on which the Virgin descended from heaven.
As to the saints revered in Spain, we will just say a few words, beginning with Saint
Anthony, vulgarly called San Anton, whose aid is most frequently besought as the patron
 : "

486 SPAIN.

of quadrupeds. On the Saint's fete-day, mules, donkeys, horses, decked with ribbons, are
ranged before the church of San Antonio Abad, at Madrid, where small loaves made of
barley blessed by an officiating priest are given to the animals, which are thus protected
from all evil. These loaves are also sold in the calle Horteleza. This street is crowded by
ambulating traders, who cry aloud " Genuine loaves of the Saint, flavoured with lemon and
cinnamon." This good Saiut also extends his beneficent influence over the unhappy porkers
slaughtered and transformed in savoury hams and sausages.
Saint Anthony, with praiseworthy impartiality, not only protects the pigs but procures
husbands for young ladies if they will only confide in him. It is necessary for the spinster
who sighs for a partner, to take an image of the Saint, and treat it with the utmost
contempt by casting it to the bottom of a well, saying, " You must stop there until you have
secured a husband for me."
Let no one imagine we are jesting, here is a popular verse which speaks for itself •

" ^ Fuiste tii la que metiste

A san Antonio en un pozo,
Y lo hartaste de agua
Por que saliera un novio ?

—" Is it not you who put Saint Anthony in a well, and compel him to drink the water
till he finds you a husband?"
The saint must enjoy the greatest popularity amongst the ladies. He is consulted on
a variety of occasions : it is even said he has been asked to interfere in the unfair dis-
tribution of beauty :

" Todas las feas del Mundo

Se juntaron una tarde
A pedirle k san Antonio
Que las bonitas se acaben."

— " All the ugly women in the world met together one evening to beg Saint Anthony that
beauty might be totally suppressed."

This strange custom of submerging Saiut Anthony reminds us of the practice in certain
villages on Saint John's Day. This time it is not the image of the saint that is put in the
water, although the object is the same, a young girl in search of a husband. The muchacha
must, as the hour of midnight strikes, plunge her head into a fountain in order to secure a
partner within the year. It is supposed to be done out of pure frolic ; nevertheless it cannot
be denied that many of the girls have a profound and secret belief in its efficacy.
As to Saint John, he is treated quite as irreverently, if we may judge from the
following rhyme, in which the saint is pictured on a fig-tree aiming at a fig with his
blunderbuss :

" Estaba San Juan de Dios

Subido en una higuera.
Con un retaco en la mano,
Apundanto d una breva."

There is a variation of it in which the fig-tree is replaced by a cork-tree, and San Eoque
takes the place of the fig in order probably to help out the rhyme. It seems almost
incredible that there should be such an extraordinary collection of these songs circulating
amongst the people of a country so religious and Catholic as Spain. It is now the turn of
Saint Peter
" San Pedro, como estaba calvo,
Le picaban los mpsquitos,
Y su madre le compr6
Un sombrero de tres picos.''
 PILAR, SAKAGOSSA. To face page 486.
CHUECH OF OUK LADY DEL
 ; "

SPANISH SAINTS. 489

— " Saint Peter, who was bald, was stung by mosquitoes, and his mother bought him
a three-cornered hat."
" Glorious Saint Sebastian —riddled with arrows," exclaims a married man, who piously
adds, " Would that I could represent thy soul, and my mother-in-law thy body."

" Glorioso san Sebastian,

Todo lleno de saetas
Mi alma como la tuya,
Como tu cuerpo, mi suegra !

But as these verses are innumerable, we must summarise by saying that all the saints in
the calendar come in for their share, and by adding the oft-repeated assurance that we
must not for an instant consider them profane, or irreverent, as they have not only obtained
the sanction of the priests and monks, but some of them have emanated from the seclusion

of the holy cloisters.

AN AKAGONBSE PKDLAR.
2 K
 BUCKLER, WITH THE HEAD OF MEDUSA, IN THE ARMOURY OF MADRID.

CHAPTER XXVII.
SPANISH CURIOSITIES AND ART-MANUFACTURES.

Sale of the Jewels of our Lady del Pilar.— 1h.e Catalogue duration of sale the adjudication principal objects sold.
; ; ;

The Goldsmith's Art.— The crowns of gold of Guarrazar—The jewels of the sixteenth century— The art of enamelling in
Spain, etc.
Arms and Iron- work.
Spanish Ceramic and Glass Ware.—^zMZe;os— Hispano-Moresque ware— Arab potteries— Spanish porcelains of Buen
Retiro, Alcora, and Madrid,
Wood-carving.- The wood-carving of the sixteenth century—The Arabian ivories—Carvings of the Middle Ages— Deca-
dence of the art.
Furniture.
Fabrics.— Richness of the stuffs made by the Arabs of Spain— The silks of Toledo, Valencia, Talavera, etc.— The tapestries
— Rich embroideries of the Cathedrals.
of Alcaraz
Illuminadores. — Illuminated chronicles, romances, and other writings— Collectors of objects of antiquity — Portrait of a
collector — The trade in curiosities in the Peninsula — Counterfeits.

During our stay in Saragossa, in the spring of 1870, a very interesting sale took place,
which created a great stir in Spain. The articles sold were the jewels of Our Lady del Pilar
which the chapter had decided to part with in order to raise funds to finish the works of the
temple discontinued during last century. A double catalogue, in good Spanish and doubtful
French, had been sent to the chief towns of Europe. Thus the 31st May the Sola Capitular
in which the sale was held was filled with merchants and collectors from the four quarters
of the globe, who came to contest for the jewels and offerings made to the Virgin del Pilar
centuries ago.
The South Kensington Museum in London had sent its representative, who bought
largely. The catalogue included five hundred and twenty-three jewels, fifty of whicli,
such as pendants, reliquaries, medallions, crosses, etc., dated from the sixteentli century.
The remainder was composed of rings, bracelets, collars, chains, watches, rosaries, earrings,
pins, etc. There were even fans, caskets, candlesticks, gold and silver combs, as well as
all sorts of ex-voto : heads, legs, arms, hands, eyes, busts, fingers, hearts, etc., not to
mention twenty images of the Virgin del Pilar. Two curious lots consisted of silver bulls
offered by the most celebrated espadas that Spain ever possessed, Pepe Hillo, whose tragic
end we have related, and Cuchares, the father-in-law of Tato.
 SALE OF JEWELS. 491

The sale, which would have occupied two days in London and about double that time
in Paris, lasted nearly fifteen days in Saragossa, thanks to the leisurely manner in which
the members of the chapter carried on their operations. The president, acting as auctioneer,
commenced by asking if they would give the price estimated, Dan la tasa; when the limit
was reached he exclaimed. La tasa dan! —The price is given. Then when the bidding
became languid, A la una ! (once), A las dos (twice), Que se va d rematar (it is about
to be sold). Then A las tres (thrice); as he uttered these words, the president rang a bell
and the lot fell to the last bidder. Among the most important lots were a French decora-
tion of the Holy Spirit set with brilliants, which sold for 312,500 reaux. A collar
and a diadem, each worth 100,000 reaux. A golden pomegranate enamelled, of exquisite
workmanship, of the middle of the sixteenth century, attributed to Benvenuto Cellini, was
A very beautiful watch, with a gold enamelled chatelaine
bought by a citizen of Saragossa.
of Parisworkmanship, was sold to a Parisian collector. The total of the sale, as far as
we can remember, reached the respectable sum of two millions of reaux.
Apropos of the treasure of the Filar, we will now say a few words as to the artistic
workmanship of ancient Spanish handicraftmen. The trade of the goldsmiths, which forms
one of the most interesting branches, produced its earliest examples of art during the fifth
century. The crowns of gold of Guarrazar which we find in the museums of Cluny and
Madrid, convey some notion of the advanced state of this art the most beautiful date from ;

621 to 672. During the three centuries which followed the invasion of the Arabs, Asturias
and Galicia, the only provinces
which held their independence, possessed goldsmiths, who
introduced the Latino-hisantino style of work. The finest specimens of this kind are to
be found in the cathedrals of Oviedo and Santiago, presenting some analogy to similar
treasures in the cathedral of Monza. In the eleventh century the style was gradually
changed by Arabian influence ; examples of this epoch are, however, extremely rare. During
the fourteenth century the name of Plateros was scarcely known, while in the century
following their works' became very numerous, and differed in no important points from the
works of the goldsmiths of other countries.
It was not, however, until the sixteenth century that the Spanish goldsmiths obtained
a world-wide fame for their skill and the extraordinary beauty of their workmanship. The
Spanish churches are still rich in their masterpieces, notwithstanding the numerous
meltings and sales which have taken place from time to time, and the deeply to be regretted
Ipsses caused by the French invasion. Let us say in passing, that crimes have frequently
been imputed to our compatriots of which they are not guilty. When you go to Toledo you
will be certain to be shown the Alcazar, and informed that it was totally ruined by the
French, although we ourselves have proved that at least one hundred years before the
French army set foot in Spain this monument lay in ruins.

The art of enamelling was very early practised in Spain, as may be gathered from the
ancient French inventories of the fourteenth century, the esmaulx de la fa^on d' Espaigne,
^nd of the esmaulx d'Arragon. The Spanish goldsmiths of the seventeenth century
applied semi-opaque enamel to silver, as may be seen on the crosses of Caravaca which are
not unfrequently met with. The enamel was also applied to copper, chiefly to those little

reliquaries still common in Spain, The art of inlaying silver was practised by the early

Arabs, and later by the Plateros of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, who gave it

the name of niel. There is a beautiful specimen of this art to be seen in the custodia of
the Cathedral of Palencia, by Juan de Benavente. The Spanish' jewels of the seventeenth
century followed the bad taste of the architecture of the period. Madame d'Aulnoy says.
492 SPAIN.

"The precious stones are admirable, but the settings are so bad that the finest diamonds
appear inferior to those sold in Paris for thirty louis."
The use of filigree is very ancient in Spain, and is still in vogue in many parts of the

country. The best modern work of comes from Cordova and Mahiga; the art
this sort

was undoubtedly borrowed from the Arabs, who used it to ornament their swords and
helmets, as we may see for ourselves in the armoury of Madrid. The Museum of South
Kensington, whose collection of ancient and modern Spanish relics amounts to about four
hundred objects, possesses a number of specimens of antique filigree work.
The Spanish ceramic ware occupies a distinguished place in the cabinets of collectors.

The azulejos, used by the Arabs during the twelfth century for the exterior as well as.

the interior decoration of their dwellings, Lad arrived at a high degree of perfection, at
a time when the delft- ware produced in other European countries was extremely coarse.
The use of these squares was adopted by the Spaniards, who represented a variety of
different subjects on them : Cean Bermudez cites a maestro de pintar azulejos, who lived
in the sixteenth century. The beautiful Hispano-Moresqtie faiences with brilliant metallic
reflectors were among the first produced ; from the fourteenth century they were made
the ornaments of princely dressers. Twelve years ago, we visited the most renowned
centres of this trade : Malaga, Valencia, Manises, Majorca, Barcelona, Murcia, Teruel, etc.

The Arabs of Toledo manufactured large earthen vases of the most elegant forms, but
not glazed. The surroundings of their wells, also of the same material, were ornamented
with coufique characters ; we have also seen fonts carrying Gothic inscriptions. During
the sixteenth century, the manufacture of faience formed perhaps the most important
industry of Seville, Talavera, and Toledo. The factory of Alcora, founded in 1729,
occupies the first rank ; its potteries, of a Very decided French style, rival those of Moustiers
which supplied the models, and which they often surpassed in beauty. This factory,
employing more than three hundred workm'en, belonged to the Count of Aranda ; this

Spanish minister, who was almost Parisian, was a friend of Voltaire, to whom he sent
a gift of a set of ware, and who remarked it was the most beautiful he had seen for the
table, after that of Saxony and Sevres.
Spain also boasted many porcelain factories. The porcelains of the manufactory
ofBuen Eetiro, founded in 1759 by Charles III., have the same merits as those of the
Capo di Monte, established in Naples by this prince as early as 1736. When he took
possession of the throne of Spain, he brought with him the entire staff" of that establishment,
which included two hundred and twenty-five artists, workmen, etc. It required no less
than four transport vessels to convey the materials.
The porcelains of Alcora and Madrid,, comparatively unknown to collectors, are well
worthy of attention. The porcelains produced in Alcora were hard and elastic, and are.
rarely to be met with nowadays. The Count of Aranda sent several of his workmen to
study at Sfevres.

Spanish glassware, as well as the French glassware, is little known to the antiquary,
and yet the two countries had very important factories, whose productions have been,
generally confounded with those of Venice ; as early as the Eoman epoch, glass was made
in Spain : we have in our possession an antique cup found in Palencia. A passage in Saint
Isidore of Seville shows that in his time glass was known in Spain. Later, several
Arabian authors speak of the manufacture of glass, notably the glass factories of Almeria in
the thirteenth century, where all sorts of vases and utensils were made Malaga and Murcia
;

had also renowned glass factories. In the latter town large glass vases, of most exquisite.
 ;

ANCIENT AET MANUFACTURES. 493

form were made they must have resembled those beautiful " Voirres de Damas," so
;

highly prized during the Middle Ages, and, in our own days, so eagerly sought after
by collectors. The Arabs of Spain were also skilled in the production of mosaics of glass,
which they called al foseyfasd.
In 1455 the vidrieros of Barcelona formed a corporation ; an author of the fifteenth
century likens the productions of this town to those of Venice. Cadalso de los Vidrios,

a town in the province of Madrid, also Caspe in Aragon, were famed for their glassware
during the fifteenth century. At a later period, other places in Spain, such as Mataro,
Cervell6, Cebreros, San Martin de Valdeiglesias, Valdemaqueda, Eecuenco, and Granja,
had also their glass works.

The wood-carvers of Spain have enjoyed an exceptional and well-merited, fame

nevertheless, their works ought to be more widely known and studied. There is no other
country in the world where carved-wood altarpieces may be seen that are at all com-
parable to those of Spain.
The art of weaving was very anciently known in Spain. The Arabs brought it to a
high degree of perfection during the fiinth century. Many of the ancient Arab writers
mention the rich brilliantly-coloured silk stufis, which gave employment to thousands of
workmen at Valencia, Malaga, Murcia, and Almeria. This latter town surpassed all others
in the beauty of its fabrics, more especially its tiraz, into which the names of sultans,
princes, and nobles were woven. A beautiful Arabian ivory casket, of which our friend is

the fortunate owner, is lined with this stuff. They also produced a fabric called Atabi,
which has left its name to the tahis, so well known to the students of ancient bindings.
The carpets of Murcia were also renowned and exported to foreign countries. In the
inventory of the furniture of Charles V., made at Yuste after his death, we find the
tapices de Alcaraz mentioned, while an author of Majorca speaks of the carpets made
in his country during the sixteenth century, which Charles V. thought good enough to
place in the finest apartments of one of his palaces. Carpets were made at Madrid in the

time of Philip II. ; the factory of Santa-Isabel was established there in the beginning of
the seventeenth century, the place represented by Velasquez in his celebrated picture of

Las Hilanderas. The carpets of the factory of Santa Barbara at Madrid, founded in 1720
by Philip V., are not without merit. About a hundred persons were employed, and the
designs followed were by difierent foreign artists, such as Luca Giordano, Teniers,
Amiconi, and others, not to mention the Spanish painters, amongst whom were Maella, the
two brothers Bayeu, Goya, etc.

The Spanish embroiderers of figures of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries have left

behind them many marvellous specimens of their skill, which may still be seen in the

churches and cathedrals. Seville, Burgos, Palencia, Granada, Segovia, and Barcelona
possess sacerdotal vestments of the greatest beauty, but no town is so rich in embroideries

as Toledo, whose cathedral has a complete series of chasubles, chapes, dalmaticas, etc., for

each fSte in the year.

These the plateros and the vidrieros, formed a powerful corporation.
artists, like

We can only notice in passing the works of the Illuminadores to be found in Bibles,
missals, lilros de coro, etc., some of them dating from the tenth century. Even chronicles,
romances, works of chivalry and executorias, or titles of nobility on parchment, are found

embellished with masterpieces of illumination.

In conclusion we need hardly remark that a passion for the fine arts was widely
difi"used over Spain during the sixteenth century. Apart from the sovereigns whose
inventories prove their wealth in objects of art, there were many private individuals like
494 SPAIN.

Hurtado de Meudoza, the reputed author of " Lazarillo de Tormes," and Felipe de Guevara,
who formed valuable collections. Twenty years ago the anticuario, or recolector de
antiguallas, was represented in the Espanoles pintados por si mismos, a collection of national

types, as an idiot, or at least an untidy and slovenly imbecile, a ridiculous fool, living
several centuries behind his time. "All antiquarians are as thoroughly alike as acorns;
it is only necessary, therefore, in order to obtain a complete knowledge of this class of animal,
to examine a single type. The collector of ancient pictures possesses an array of dreadful
daubs, on the corners of which he piously inscribes the names of Titian or Correggio. The
collector of arms has one of the Cid's swords, and by the side of the horse of Santiago he
places the stirrups of a village priest which he takes for those worn by Scipio at the siege
of Troy. The collector of medals falls in with an old coin, and worships it as one of the oboli
which the ancients placed in the mouths of the dead. Another possesses the keys of Noah's
Ark, the spectacles of Tobias, the harp of King David, and the palette of Saint Luke, etc."
As to the amateur in ancient books and manuscripts, his greatest treasure is a book produced
by a waiter at an inn, which he displays to his friends as the original manuscript copy of
the adventures of the " Grand Capitaine." These pictures of antiquarians have been
decidedly overdrawn, so much so indeed that we failed to trace their likeness to the modern
collectors we came across in Spain. '

The trade in ancient pictures, relics, and curiosities is not nearly so important in Spain
as it is in either France or Italy. It is nevertheless a branch of commerce which is

steadily expanding, and although there are old curiosity shops in most of the Spanish
towns, yet the dealers in such wares are for the most part men who have some other
means of making a living. There is a curious industry connected with the sale of
antiquities, and that, strange as it may appear, is the making of them.
We were not long ago offered some Hispano-Moresque dishes which had just come
out of the furnace.
Perhaps the most successful impostors are the manufacturers of ancient weapons, who
get up shields and deposit them in private houses, to which the willing collector is
conducted with an air of mystery, and there led to purchase the prize with great secrecy,
as from an ancient noble family in distress, after which the reduced nobles and their
accomplices calmly divide the spoil.

HISPANO-MORESQUE VASE.
 —

MIRANDA DE EBRO.

CHAPTEE XXVIII.

—
The promncias Vascongadas : Alava, Guipiizcoa, and Vizcaya The/iteros— Ancient nobility— The Basque language Vitoria:—
— —
the Plaza nueva ; the market A proverb touching iigs— False money and counterfeit coiners Zumarraga Mondragon—
— ; ; —
—Gipsies — Vergara The Carlists popular pictures la Hisloria de Cabrera ; Mozen Anton Tolosa church of Santa-
;

Maria —Ancient —
devotion to souls in Purgatory Some anecdotes Philip IV. and his hundred thousand masses the
: ;

Count of Villa Mediana and the priest— The mountains— Basque carts ; singular noise produced by their wheels ; some
—
details on the subject Saint Sebastian Bilbao— —
Iran.

Aftee leaving the Miranda de Ebro, we followed the course of the Zadorra,
station of
a deep and rapid stream, one of the affluents of the Ebro at certain bends of the road we
;

caught glimpses of the Sierra de Oca, which stood out against the sky in a multitude of
fantastic shapes : soon we arrived at Vitoria, after passing through a fertile and smiling
country. We Old Castile and entered the Basque provinces, which bear the
had just left

name oi Provincias Vascongadas, and sometimes simply that of Provincias, which include
the three provinces, Alava, Guipiizcoa, and Vizcaya, or nearly the territory of the ancient
Cantahria. There is hardly a town in Europe which has retained its ancient charac-

teristics in so marked a These intrepid mountaineers, who resisted successively the

degree.
Eomans, the Goths, and the Arabs, have always been jealous of their independence and
their liberty, and for many centuries they have enjoyed certain rights and prerogatives

fueros —which obtained for their country the name provincias exentas — " exempted
provinces."
A striking peculiarity of the Basques is, that they are every one of them Hidalgos
who count themselves the purest and most ancient caballeros of Spain. " They think

themselves all cavaliers, even to the water-carriers." A Basque author modestly desig-
496 SPAIN.

nates his country, " Tlie great stream of nobility — the quintessence of nobility —the
most ancient nursery of the aristocracy of Spain." was therefore in no way surprising
It

to fall in with so many ancient noble houses in the smallest villages, having escutcheons
sculptured in stone above the doorways. The Basques, we need hardly say, speak a
language peculiar to themselves, and intelligible only to each other. Scaliger tells us,

"that these people understand each other ; as for me, I don't believe it."

The word vascuence, which is used to designate the Basque idiom, is also employed
to denote anything so obscure
as to be thoroughly incom-
prehensible. Cervantes, when
he makes use of the Biscayan,
causes him to speak bad
Spanish an«l still worse Bis-

cayan. It is just probable that

the proverb, " To speak Spanish
like a cow," is derived from the
more ancient one, " To speak
Spanish like a Basque." The
Basques call themselves Euscal-
dunac, their language Euscara,
and their country Euscaleria.
There are hardly any absurdities
which have not been thrown
at the unfortunate Vasctience.
According to one author, it

was the language which Adam

used in Paradise ; it was also the

language of the angels brought

in all its purity by Tubal, long
after the confusion of tongues
of the tower of Babel, and that
it was once spoken all through
the Peninsula, etc., etc. But the
most singular assertion is that
the devil, after having studied at
Bilbao for seven years, was only
able to learn three words of the

CASTILIAN SHEPHERD. Basque language.

It has been repeatedly
tried to discover some analogy
between this and other living languages, more especially the Celtic and Irish. An English
author, Mr. Borrow, considers the Basque of Tartar origin, because of its affinity to the

Manchu and the Mongol, in which he perceives a predominating element of Sanscrit.

More recently the Basques are said to have descended from the great tribe of the Chaouias,
established in the province of Constantino. According to a letter from a French officer, who
lived among the tribe, the Chaouias talked with the Basque woodmen working in the forest
of Batna. All these allegations are more or less speculative ;
perhaps the most reasonable
 VO
1-

a,

'g.

1^
o
o
^.^if
 THE BASQUE LANGUAGE. 499

is that of Humboldt, who thinks that the Basque language is indigenous to Spain, and that

at one time it was spoken all over the country : certain it is that many Spanish words
are derived from Basque. Padre Larramendi says that they amount to two thousand ;

but this number seems to us to be too great. The language can hardly be said to have a
literature of its own, although there are certain popular poems and songs which have been

set up in type and printed. The sounds of the Basque tongue, in spite of their being

THE SIBERA DE OCA, NEAR MIRANDA DE EBRO.

frequently praised as soft and harmonious, have

always seemed to us to be harsh and
mentioned has called
difficult of pronunciation. Be this as it may, the characteristic just
Solomon and pronounce it Nebuchadnezzar.
forth the saying that the Basques write
Vitoria, the capital of Alava. The streets
It was almost night when we arrived at
and tranquil, if ever there were any.
were silent and feebly lighted, provincial streets, calm
we saw onthe fagade of the church a statue
On reaching the principal part of the town,
lights, and concluded that
of the Virgin, surrounded by a glory composed of numerous
 ;

500 SPAIN.

the illumination was on the occasion of some Me, but were informed that the statue
was always lit up at night. Strolling through a narrow street, we noticed a balcony of

peculiar form, and so large that drawing-room in the open air. The
it was like a little

ladies were out enjoying the cool evening breeze and mild moonlight. In the ancient
quarter of Vitoria there are many similar balconies.
Next day we visited the Flaza Nueva, a vast parallelogram surrounded with porticos.
It was market day and the peasants of the environs had assembled to sell their wares they ;

are the pure descendants of the ancient Cantabrians, that vigorous and unconquerable race.

Frait was abundant, for the surrounding country is highly tilled, and extremely productive
magnificent hrevas —the name bestowed on the early figs — tliey looked so inviting, that the
temptation to regale ourselves on them was quite irresistible. "Don't drink water after

them," said the seller. It is thought dangerous to drink water after eating figs, or the
fruit of the cactus, and snails. Proceeding to the only theatre in the place to spend our
evening, we tendered a gold coin, value a hundred reaux. The clerk at the bureau returned
it as false. After having examined made it ring, and weighed
it, it, he said it was the
proper weight, but the moment he saw it he knew it was a false coin. We were in the land
of counterfeit coin ;
perhaps in no other country has the art of producing false coin been so
widely practised ; every piece of gold, indeed, has to be subjected to a variety of tests to
prove its genuineness. There are also men who have not the capital to invest in the
necessary plant for counterfeit coining, and who content themselves by sweating the pieces
of gold, chiefly the onzas, worth rather more than three guineas apiece ; thus, the onzas which
are short of weight are always refused. But this industry of fabricating spurious coin is

notnew in Spain, if we may credit what has been said of a celebrated painter, Herrera le
Vieux, who was imprisoned, being accused of having made base coin. Gold and silver
were formerly much rarer than they are at the present day copper was the chief metal ;

used for the currency. "Silver does not roll about and is not used in commerce. As for
myself, I have never seen silver coins. My mother receives rather large sums all in
quartos; they are w^eighed, as no one would spend the time in counting such trash. Men
carry the cash about in huge wicker baskets, and when the payments arrive it occupies all

hands in the house at least a full week in counting the quartos. In ten thousand francs
there are not a hundred dollars in gold or silver." Copper money, or calderilla, is sold
in some streets by money-changers, whose shops are on the ground floor, as in the streets
of Naples.
As we sped onward towards the Pyrenees, the country became more hilly : after each
tunnel, and they were numerous, many of the hills of considerable height were planted
with walnuts, oaks, chestnuts, box-trees, or covered with gorse, heath ; the valleys were, many
of them, planted with apple-trees, recalling scenes in Normandy. Cider, Zagardua, is made
in the Basque provinces in large quantities, chiefly in the environs of Saint Sebastian.
As to wine, the country produces very little, and that of such poor quality as to be hardly
worthy of the name.
We had just passed the stations of Salvatierra and Alsdsua, where the line branches
ofi" to Pamplona and Saragossa. After following the course of the river Urola for some
time we at last arrived at Zumdrraga, a town in the neighbourhood of Azpeitia, the country
of Ignacius Loyola, in the province of Guipuzcoa, one of the most renowned in the
Peninsula for its learning and industry. It is here that we find the celebrated iron mines
of Mondragon, about which we said a few words in speaking of the swords of Toledo. Not
far from Zumdrraga we came across a family of nomadic gipsies who are rarely to be met
MARKET AT VITOKIA. To face page 500.
 ;

CABRERA. 503

with in this quarter, while they are numerous in Navarre, where they speak the Basque
language as well as their cal6 tongue.
Not from Zumdrraga, half-way between Vitoria and Tolosa, is the little town of
far

Vergara, celebrated for the convention signed there in 1839 between Espartero and
Marota. The Convenio de Vergara put an end, for a time at least, to the civil war •

called the Seven Years' War. Yet several risings proved that the Carlist party was
not wholly suppressed. Insur-

rections broke out from time

to time, but those of 1848,

1855, and 1869 were the most

important. Cabrera, born at
Tortosa in 1809, was the hero
of the Carlist campaign in

1 848 ; though still alive, he is

quite a legendary personage in

Spain, His biography is sold in

the streets, illustrated with rude

pictures representing his ex-

ploits. We have one of these

works, containing no less than
forty-eight pictures. In read-
ing this Historia de Cabrera,
one might readily imagine that
his had desolated the
risings

whole of Spain. It abounds in

cruel assassinations, and whole-
sale slaughter. The mother of
the fire-eating hero is shot at

Tortosa ; soon after the Christian

Colonel Fontivero shares the

same fate ; ninety-six sergeants

of the Queen's troops are bayo-
neted; Carlist prisoners are

poniarded at Saragossa ; then

came the turn of their foes.

Many of the priests have

themselves headed bands of

Carlist rebels. We have a

representation of one, Mosen FOWL MERCHANT, VITOBIA,

Anton, Mr. Anthony, at the

head of his partida, composed

Mosen Anton is a fat country priest, wearing a huge
of peasants armed with carbines
his cassock tucked up, so as to
leave the limbs free, a long
sombrero de teja on his head ;

fixed in his belt, which also supports two

enormous pistols. Perched on
cavalry sabre is
his enemies' position through his
the summit of a rock, this warlike theologian surveys

fiGlo.-P'lflSS
generals Marco and Estartus
The Carlist movement in 1855 was directed by the
 :

504 SPAIN.

the first commanded in Aragon, tlie second in Catalonia, but this insurrection was of little

importance. That of 1 860, at the head of which was the Captain-General of the Balearic
Isles, Don Jaime Ortega, was at once suppressed : disembarking at San Carlos de Rapifca,

near the mouth of the Ebro, Ortega was arrested and shot at Tortosa.
During the concluding- years of the reign of Isabella II., the Carlist risings were
insignificant. Soon after the revolution which dethroned the (jueen, the party of Don Carlos
came to the front: in 1869 and 1870, insurrections broke out in several provinces of Spain,

gradually spreading Math varied success until the rebels attained to the position they
occupy at the present time. We will add nothing more, as we can only bestow a brief
retrospective glance on the political position of Spain.

GIPSY CAMP, NEAR ZUMAERAGA.

Tolosa is a pretty little town famed for its industry. The church of Santa Maria is
the only interesting edifice in the place. On one of the towers there is a colossal statue of
John the Baptist, and a curious inscription at the entrance not uncommon in other churches :

" To-day souls are relieved out of purgatory." This is always a powerful appeal to those
who are cliaritably inclined. " It is sometimes carried too far," says Madame d'Aulnoy.
" I knew a gentleman of distinguished family who lived in the greatest poverty in order
to purchase six thousand masses for his soul after death. This has given rise to the saying
Such a one has made his soul his heir. Philip IV. ordered that one hundred thousand
masses should be offered for him after death he ceased to require them, they were to be
; if

applied to release the souls of his parents, and if they had ascended to heaven, they
should be given for those who were slain in the wars of Spain."
 To face page 504.
OF ALAVA.
BASQUE SHEPHERD, PROVINCE
 TOLOSA. 507

This remiuds us of tlie joke attributed to the Count of Villa Medina. Being one day
in the church of Our Lady of Atocha, and seeing a monk who was begging alms for souls

in purgatory, ho gave him a piece of four dollars. " Ah, my lord," said the good father,

" you have delivered a soul." The count drawing forth another piece, placed it in his cap.
" Now," continued the monk, " another soul is saved." In this manner sixteen dollars were
given in succession, and as each coin was dropped into the eager hand, the pious father ex-
claimed: "A soul has left purgatory." "Are you quite certain?" said the count. "Yes, my lord,
they are safe in heaven every one."
" Well, then, good father, give mo

back my dollars," said the donor,

" for if the souls are in heaven they
can never return to purgatory."
The money was however left

as a gift to the church.

In quitting Tolosa one enjoys,
as far as Saint Sebastian, a charm-
ing panorama. There are, indeed,

moments when we would almost

imagine ourselves in Switzerland,
were it not for the small white-
washed houses which replace the
chalets. The aspect of the moun-
tains is constantly changing : some-
times they are piled one above the
other, the vapoury outlines of the
highest disappearing from our gaze.
The vegetation is always vigorous,
unless in those parts where the bold
limestone rocks stand out in relief
against the masses of green foliage.
These great tunnelled mountains
and deep valleys, through which we
passed in a few minutes, recalled
the good old times of the dili-

gences, when one travelled with the

tutelar escort of the escopeteros,

Stopping every evening at sun-

occu- BASQUE PEASANT.
set. Nowadays, indeed, it

pies about the same time to traverse

the Basque provinces of Irun and

of las Salinas. This hill, the dread of travellers,
Vitoria as it did then to climb the single hill
or twelve mules of the
was only crossed by the aid of half-a-dozen oxen, added to the ten
coach, urged upwards by showers of blows and missiles, and
a perfect Babel of sounds, m
overlook the clumsy
which curses were freely mingled. Speaking of noise we must not
have undergone any
Basque carts. These heavy vehicles, with massive wheels, cannot
Don Pelayo, who reigned in Asturias. They differ little
serious change since the days of
from those we encountered in that province, and in Leon ;
Dor^ had already made some
 ;

5o8 SPAIN.

sketches of them at Palencia and Leon. Theophile Gautier has given a picturesque
description of the singular noises produced by the Basque carros. " A strange, inexplicable

rusty noise has assailed my ears one would have said that itwas a mixture of a multitude
of peacocks being plucked alive, children whipped, cats making love, and innumerable
vvs applied to hard stone, a rattling of iron pots, and the rusty hinges of a prison door
forced to relieve the prisoners. I thought it was at least an unmusical princess attacked
by some howling ruffian ; but it was, after all, nothing more than a cart making its way up
the street, its wheels screaming lustily for the grease that had been greedily transferred to
the conductor's soup. This cart had assuredly nothing of the modern conveyance in it.

The wheels were cut out of solid wood, and fixed on to the axle like the little carts which
children make with the rind of a pumpkin. The noise can be heard miles oflf, and is far

from displeasing to the native ear, thus supplied with an instrument of music, which plays
as long as the cart goes. A peasant would on no account invest in a silent unharmonious
cart. This vehicle must date from the Deluge."
If the carts of the Basque provinces do not date from the Deluge, they at least belong

to a very remote epoch. Cervantes, in one of the Novelas ejemplares, says, in speaking of
the ministers of justice :
" If they are not well greased, they make more hideous noises
than the carts drawn by oxen." We gather from an ancient traveller that the carters have
a superstitious reverence for the noise of their vehicles. They rely upon the dreadful
sounds to scare away malignant spirits.

After passing the stations of Andoain and Hernani we arrived at Saint Sebastian, a
pretty, modern, and attractive town. The streets, almost entirely rebuilt, are perfectly
straight, and intersect each other at right angles. It is the Brighton of Spain. Notwith-
standing its nearness to the frontier. Saint Sebastian is thoroughly Spanish, having its

plaza, in which bull-fights are given, and its houses with balconies and miradores. The route
from this town to Bilbao traverses a highly tilled and densely populated country, whose
fields afi'ord ample proof of the steady industry of the natives. Passing through Zaranz,
a charming sea-bathing place, also a fashionable resort, then Guetaria, and the pretty little

town of Deva, we were approaching the village of Guernica, celebrated for its noble oak,

beneath which the juntas of the province meet to discuss national afi'airs. The little town
of Bermeo was the birthplace of the author of the Araucana, Alonzo de Ercilla, the soldier

poet, who wrote his verses on the pommel of his saddle.

Bilbao is agreeably situated. Its narrow ancient streets, with their massive houses and
projecting roofs, have a picturesque and primitive appearance. Here the women bear the
burdens and manage the boats. These boatwomen seemed to have attracted the notice of
Madame d'Aulnoy, when they rowed her across the Bidassoa. These girls
— " the pretty
pirates," as she calls them, — " won't hear raillery and compel respect, as will appear from
the following incident, which happened during the passage. The courteous cook desired
to make a favourable impression on a young Biscayan, but the lady marked her appre-
ciation of his attentions by breaking his head with a boat-hook. He was so thoroughly
thrashed that he was bleeding from many wounds, and my banker informed me that these
boatwomen, when roused, were more to be dreaded than a roaring lion."
Irun is the last station on the northern railway. The town stands close to the frontier
in a few minutes we had reached the Bidassoa, and descried on our right a little island covered
with reeds. It is the Isla de los Faisanes, where Henry IV., king of Castile, held an interview
with Louis XL, whose mantle of thick cloth shocked the Spanish lords. It was there, too,

that Francis L, after quitting his prison at Madrid, embraced his sons, who were going to take
 To face page 508.
BASQUE DAIRYMAID, SAN SEBASTIAN.
 THE ISLE OF FAISANS.
511
his place. Cardinal Mazarin also met Don Louis de Haro, to sign the Peace of the
Pyrenees
The Isle of Faisans is chiefly celebrated on account of the interview
which took place between
Philip IV. and Louis XIV. in the summer
of 1660, on the occasion of the marria<.e
of the
King of France with the Infanta Marie-Therfese. The island was then five
hundred feet
long and seventy wide. The
on each side was reached by a bridge, made up
frontier
of nine boats on the Spanish side, and fourteen on the
French. The f^tes were magni-
ficent the suite of the King of Spain consisted of four
; thousand horses and mules,
seventy carriages, and as many baggage-waggons. Twelve trunks decked with velvet and
silver, and twenty trunks of morocco, contained
the marriage trousseau. TJie cort^cre
covered a space of six leagues. The edifices raised on the island were three hundred feet
in length the conference hall alone was fifty-six feet long,
;
and every apartment was
adorned with costly tapestries. The celebration of this great event was kept up for two
entire months, during which time cavalcades, tournaments, promenades,
races in gilded
barques on the Bidassoa, succeeded each other the great painter Velazquez,
;
whose position
as aposentador called him to take a share in the organisation of
these f^tes, played a most
important part. Unfortunately, shortly after his return to Madrid, he was seized
with
the illness which carried him off' in two or three days.
The Bidassoa crossed, we were at Hendaye, on French soil, and bade adieu, not
without regret, to this dura tellus Iberice, the last refuge of the picturesque in Europe.

VILLAGE ON THE ROAD TO SAN SEBASTIAN.

 "VllfiW IN MAJOKCA.

CHAPTER XXIX.
The Balearic Islands— Their ancient civilisation the Gymnisis of the Greeks— Wealth of Majorca during the Middle Ao-es—
;

The MajoUca—Ynntmg introduced in Majorca— Palma the cathedral— The Llotja—Ihe convent of San Francisco de
;

Asis and Raymond Lulle— Ancient reputation for beauty of the women of Majorca— Cardinal de Retz at Palma— Ancient
dwellings of Palma— The palace of Montenegro Mrae. Sand— The ancient Jews of Majorca la C/metena--Excmsioii
; ;

round the island— Valldemosa souvenirs of the author of Indiana— The peasants and their costume— Deya— Seller and
;

its oranges— The island of Minorca— Arta and its grottoes.

In the Mediterranean, not fur from the eastera coast of Spain, and equidistant from
Marseilles and Algiers, there is a little group called the Balearic Isles, rarely visited by
tourists and only known by name. These islands, occupying so small a space, present
attractions most varied, vestiges of an unknown epoch, Arabian and Christian monuments
 —
THE BALEARIC ISLES. 513
of the Middle Ages, vegetation almost tropical, wild scenery, and an
houest and hospitable
population.
The history of the Balearic Isles carries one far back into the dim obscurity of the
past. The Greeks, we read in Diodorus of Sicily, called them Gymnesis, owing to the
inhabitants going quite naked during summer. The Romans named them Balearic, a name
derived from the native address in using the sling. The mothers used to exercise their
children by placing a loaf at the top of a pole, and allowing them to fast until
they Lad
reached it. Silver and gold were banished from them, as they were accounted the
cause
of strife and misfortune.
It is said that the islanders sent to implore the aid of the Roman soldiers to extirpate
the rabbits which were laying waste the country— a new sort of foe for the Roman legions.
Later, these islands were successively occupied by the Vandals, tlie Goths, and the Arabs
of Cordova; the latter were expelled by Charlemagne, and the French twice established
themselves there. Normans ravaged the Balearic Isles, then they
Afterwards the
belonged to the Pisans, Genoese, and Aragonese, when they again fell into tbe hands
of the Arabs, who in turn were driven out in 1228 by Jayme I, king of Aragon, who
received tlie name of Conquistador. Majorca was formerly famed for its fertility and for
its wealth. Among the spoils carried oflf by the Pisans were gold and silver treasures,
vases, arms, silk, and gold stuffs, and many precious wares. During the fifteenth century,
the commerce of Majorca was very considerable the beautiful pottery with metallic ;

reflectors was exported to Italy and the East. The Italian name of pottery Majolica, which
Ave have transformed into majolique, is only a corruption of Majorica. Palma was one
of the first towns in Spain into which printing was imported. We have seen a work,
Tractatus magistri Johannis de Gersono, cancellarii parisiensis, printed there in 1485.
We set ofi" from Barcelona one calm summer evening in the Don Jayme primero.
The sea was perfectly calm at daybreak we could descry the faint outlines of the mountains
;

of Majorca, gradually becoming more distinct as we neared the shores of the island. The
vessel hugged the land so closely as to almost scrape the high perpendicular rocks, whose
crevices afforded shelter to flocks of birds. At the foot of the rocks, grebes with their
silvery plumage were gambolling in the sun we had just doubled the point of Cala
;

Figuera, when we came in full view of the bay of Palma, which presented a splendid
picture, with the town rising like an amphitheatre beyond. On our left was the To7-re
del Serial with its fortresses ; a little farther off, on the summit of a hill, the Castillo de
Belver, a stronghold of the Middle Ages. The shore was covered with windmills, whose
great white wins, six in together by cords, disposed circularly,
number, were held
giving them the appearance of immense spiders' webs. The houses of the town were
enlivened by the luxuriant foliage of gardens, and nestled beneath the shades of graceful
palm-trees; but, to the stranger, the most striking feature about Palma is the perfect
calm which reigns there, so different to the activity of Barcelona. Seated in an apartment
of the Fonda de las Tres Palomas, a place which, although not destitute of comfort, has
still something to learn in providing for the modern traveller. It had an air of primitive-

ness characteristic of the town :

" In most of the country houses, glass windows are not

used," Madame Georges Sand, thirty-five years ago. This absence of glass in
said
windows was common to other parts of Spain; as we may gather from a passage in
" Don Quixote," several apartments in the palace of Madrid were without glass windows.

The bank of Palma is a masterpiece of the first half of the fifteenth century, and

is only equalled by the Llotja of Valencia. The building, which is in perfect preservation,
2 p
514 SPAIN.

is ornamented at each of its four corners with octagonal towers set off with statues ;

turrets of the same form, but much more slender, serve as counterforts to the sides, and
rise above the roof. In the interior, the ceiling is supported by six spiral columns,
supplemented by mouldings ; the stones were brought from the quarry of Santany, at the
southern extremity of the island. Palma possesses several interesting churches we need :

only cite that of Santa Eulalia, where we admired some beautiful iron-work of the fifteenth
century, and San Miguel, which stands on the site of an Arabian mosque. The cloister of
the ancient convent of San Francisco de Asis is one of the finest examples of the work of
the fourteentli century. It is there we find the tomb of Eaymond Lulle, whose name and

works Europe during the Middle Ages, and who has been regarded by some as a saint
filled

or prophet, and by others as a madman or an heretic. Towards the year 1265, Brant6me
relates, he fell passionately in love with a lady of the island of Majorca, famed for her
wit and beauty. "He served her long and patiently She one day uncovered
her breast, which was protected by a dozen plasters, and tearing them off one after the
other, disclosed a frightful cancer, and with tears in her ej'es told him of her sufferings,
and asked him why had been bestowed on such a loathsome object moved with
his love ;

compassion, he commended her to the care of God, and throwing up his profession became
a hermit. . . . After returning from the Holy Wars he studied at Paris under Arnaldus,
a distinguished philosopher." The end of Eaymond Lulle is well known. Setting out for
Tunis, in spite of his eighty years, on a mission to the Moors, he was stoned and left
for dead ; found by some Genoese merchants, he was brought to Palma, where he expired
after a few days, and was buried in the church of Santa Eulalia, whence his remains were
brought to the convent of San Francisco de Asis.
The Boi^ne and the Rambla, the promenades of the town, divide Palma into two. It
is on the Borne every Sunday before sunset that the Palmesan society can be seen between
the two grand sphinxes of white marble that ornament the promenade. As far as wc
were able to judge, the ladies of Maj'orca merit their ancient fame for beauty. The
Cardinal Retz, who visited Palma on his way from Barcelona to Rome, speaks with much
enthusiasm of the ladies of that time. " The viceroy, who was an Aragonese Count, waited
on me with over a hundred carriages of the nobility, and carried me to mass at the Seo
(cathedral), where I beheld twenty or thirty ladies of quality, each more beautiful than the
other, and it is quite exceptional to fall in with a woman who is plain-looking. They are
for the most part delicate beauties, wearing the blended hues of the rose and lily. Even
the common people partake of the same characteristics. They have a peculiar head-dress,
which is very pretty. The viceroy then accompanied me to a convent to hear some music
by young girls, who were in no way inferior in beauty to their sisters in the town."
Most of the ancient houses of Palma remind one of those of Valencia and Barcelona.
They have a patio or square court, like the Roman atrium; in the centre a well recalls the

impluvium; a stone staircase, often ornamented with sculptures, conducts to the first floor.

These houses are very numerous in the tow^n, and are covered with projecting roofs sup-
ported by carved hardwood beams. Beneath the roof, which advances two or three
metres, are rows of small windows lighting a loft, called The lower windows merit
porcho.
special description. They are generally very high, and supported by columns of black or
grey marble, so slight that one would think they were cast in bronze or iron. We have
noticed some of them two or three metres long, which, we could easily hold in our hands.

At first sight they seem to be of Moorish origin, but the capitals, wdth their double row
of volutes, belong to the Ogival style.
 MAJORCA.
515
One of the most curious quarters of thetown is the calle de la Plateria, where the
goldsmiths work in the open air in front of their
shops, as they do in the East and in
some
quarters of Naples. The Majorcans of the Middle Ages had given
the Jews the absurd
surname of chmtas-o^l^. Most of them were goldsmiths, bankers, or
money-lenders
They thus found means of enriching themselves, of
which the natives were jealous and
made it a pretext for heaping all sorts of indignities upon
them. In 139 1 the quarter of
the chueteria was pillaged later, all those who
; refused to be converted were expelled

BNVIKONS OF VALLDEMOSA, MAJORCA.

The chuetas of Palma are all supposed to be Christians, although we know some of
them who have held steadfast to their ancient faith, and who are cut off from the
community, living in little colonies by themselves.
It was by the Castillo de Belver that we began our excursions into the island of
Majorca. Thanks to the kindness of the captain-general of the Balearic Isles, who has since
been arrested as a Carlist, and, alas ! shot at Tortosa, we thoroughly explored this fortress.

From the torre del Homenaje we perceived a bare rock rising on the horizon above the sea :
5i6 SPAIN.

it was tlie Isle of Cabrera on which so many of the French miserably perished. The dread
inspired by the simple name of this island has caused it to be used as a threat by the women
when correcting their children.
We hired a vehicle called birlocho, which reminded us of the Napolitan corricolo, to go

PEASANT WOMAN, MAJORCA.

to Valldemosa. The plain over which we passed was extremely fertile : already, in the
middle of May, the rye had been cut. From time to time we noticed posesions. These
country houses are generally sheltered by carobs, and hedged round by the cactus. The
valley of Valldemosa, with its palm, lemon, and orange trees covered with flowers and fruit,

made us think of the gardens of Armide. The vegetation is so vigorous tbat the ground is

completely mantled by foliage. At the foot of the mountains which we were approaching
shone the white walls of cartuja of Valldemosa, where Madame Georges Sand passed
the winter of 1838. "From the picturesque convent the sea maybe seen on both sides.
 VALLDEMOSA. 519
^^hlle one hears the murmur of its waves. It appears like a gleam of light at the foot of
the mountains; and the immense plain spreads out to the south-a
sublime picture,
framed on the one hand by black pine-clad rocks,
and on the other by finely wooded
mountains. It is one of those views whose splendour
leaves nothing to the imagination.
The elements of the fondest
dreams alike of poet and
painter seem to have been
gathered into this one spot.
A superb whole, an infinity
of details, inexhaustible va-
riety of confused forms, gro-
tesque outlines, mysterious
depths, are the elements ^\
which here leave uothinff to
the imagination of the artist."
Tliis celebrated writer is

still remembered at Vallde-

mosa : we were shown the
places she describes in her
"Winter at Majorca," the
cells she inhabited, but we
found no souvenirs of her
visit. Discharging our hir-
locho we set out from Vall-
demosa one fine May morning
to walk round the island.

Each pages whom we met

— the name given to the pea-
sants — saluted us with a bo7i
dia tingui — good - morning
—which takes the place of
the vaya V. con Dios of the
Spaniards. We always found
the natives very talkative,
and ready to impart a store

of information about the

island. PEASANTS, MAJORCA.
Passing one or two small
villages surrounded by belts
of foliage, we climbed and gazed upon the valley of SoUer and its
to the top of a hill,

rich orange groves, which spread out beneath our feet like an immense green tapestry
embroidered with gold. The little town of SoUer has recently risen into notice,

thanks to the cultivation of the orange-tree, which has added greatly to its resources.

The population is nearly ten thousand.

Between Soller and Palma we made our way through a defile called Col de SoUer,
where we noticed an elegant stone cross supported by a lofty column, whose capital
was ornamented with finely sculptured figures representing the twelve Apostles. Many
2 Q
520 SPAIN.

similar crosses are to be found in good preservation on the island, as the people are
careful to protect these relics of the Middle Ages.
We embarked at Alcudia for Mahon, which has a curious approach. " There is nothing
more agreeable in the rustic picture of the opera than the scene of Port Mahon," said the

Cardinal Retz in his Memoirs.

Minorca is not to be compared to the island we have just quitted. The valley of
Alhayor, on the road to Ciudadela, the second town in the island, is rather picturesque.
Many of the villages have preserved their ancient Arabian names, such as Beni Gaful,
Beni Said, etc.

Some days after we bid adieu to Majorca, the enchanted island that Georges Sand
calls the Eldorado of painting, one of the most beautiful and least known spots on earth.

PEASANT, MAJOECA.

PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO., EDINBURGH AND LONDON.