alternate rings, black and white or red. The lower classes content themselves with a common shillelagh; one with a knob at the end is preferred, as administering a more impressive whack. While a slow bull is beaten and abused, a murderous bull, duro chocante carnicero y pegajoso, who kills horses, upsets men, and clears the plaza, becomes deservedly a universal favourite; the conquering hero is hailed with "Viva toro! viva toro! bravo toro!" Long life is wished to the poor beast by those who know he must be killed in ten minutes. The nomenclature of praise or blame is defined with the nicety of phrenology; but if life be too short (as it is said to be) to learn fox-hunting phraseology, it certainly is to learn that of the bull-fighter. Suffice it to remark, that claro, bravo, and boyante are highly complimentary. Seco, carnudo, pegajoso imply ugly customers. During these saturnalia the liberty of speech is perfect; even the absolute monarch bows now to the people's voice; the vox populi is the vox Dei in this levelling rendezvous of bloodshed.

The horses destined for the plaza are those which in England would be sent to the knacker; their being of no value renders Spaniards, who have an eye chiefly to what a thing is worth, indifferent to their sufferings. If you remark how cruel it is to "let that poor horse struggle in death's agonies," they will say, "Ah que! na vale nā,” (“Oh! he is worth nothing.") When his tail quivers in the last death-struggle, the spasm is remarked as a jest, mira que cola! The torture of the horse is the blot of the bull-fight: no Englishman or lover of the noble beast can witness his sufferings without disgust; the fact of these animals being worth nothing in a money point of view increases the danger to the rider; it renders them slow, difficult to manage, and very unlike those of the ancient combats, when the finest steeds were chosen, quick as lightning, turning at touch, and escaping the deadly rush: the eyes of these poor animals, who would not otherwise face the bull, are bound with a handkerchief like criminals about to be executed; thus they await blindfold the fatal rip which is to end their life of misery. If only wounded, the gash is sewed up and stopped with tow, as a leak! and life is prolonged for new agonies. When the poor brute is dead at last, his carcass is stripped in a battle.

The picadores are subject to hair-breadth escapes and severe falls : few have a sound rib left. The bull often tosses horse and rider in one ruin; and when the victims fall on the ground, exhausts his rage on his prostrate enemies, till lured away by the glittering cloaks of the chulos, who come to the assistance of the fallen picador. These horsemen often show marvellous skill in managing to place their horses as a rampart between them and the bull. When these deadly struggles take place, when life hangs on a thread, the amphitheatre is peopled with heads. Every expression of anxiety, eagerness, fear, horror, and delight is stamped on speaking countenances. These feelings are wrought up to a pitch when the horse, maddened with wounds and terror, plunging in the death-struggle, the crimson streams of blood streaking his sweatwhitened body, flies from the infuriated bull, still pursuing, still goring: then is displayed the nerve, presence of mind, and horsemanship of the undismayed picador. It is, in truth, a piteous sight to see the poor dying horses treading out their entrails, yet saving their riders unhurt.

The miserable steed, when dead, is dragged out, leaving a bloody furrow on the sand. The picador, if wounded, is carried out and forgottenlos muertos y idos, no tienen amigos (the dead and absent have no friends) -a new combatant fills the gap, the battle rages, he is not missed, fresh incidents arise, and no time is left for regret or reflection. The bull bears on his neck a ribbon, la devisa; this is the trophy which is most acceptable to the querida of a buen torero. The bull is the hero of the scene, yet, like Milton's Satan, he is foredoomed and without reprieve. Nothing can save him from the certain fate which awaits all, whether brave or cowardly. The poor creatures sometimes endeavour in vain to escape, and leap over the barrier (barrera), into the tendido, among the spectators, upsetting sentinels, water-sellers, &c., and creating a most amusing hubbub. The bull which shows this craven turn-un tunante cobarde picaro-is not deemed worthy of a noble death, by the sword. He is baited, pulled down, and stabbed in the spine. A bull that flinches from death is scouted by all Spaniards, who neither beg for their own life nor spare that of a foe.

At the signal of the president, and sound of a trumpet, the second act commences with the chulos. This word chulo signifies, in the Arabic, a lad, a merryman, as at our Astley's. They are picked young men, who commence in these parts their tauromachian career. The duty of this light division is to draw off the bull from the picador when endangered, which they do with their coloured cloaks; their address and agility are surprising, they skim over the sand like glittering hummingbirds, scarcely touching the earth. They are dressed, á lo majo, in short breeches, and without gaiters, just like Figaro in the opera of the Barbiere de Sevilla. Their hair is tied into a knot behind, moño, and enclosed in the once universal silk net, the redecilla-the identical reticulum—of which so many instances are seen on ancient Etruscan vases. No bull-fighter ever arrives at the top of his profession without first excelling as a chulo (apprentice), then he begins to be taught how to entice the bull, llamar al toro, and to learn his mode of attack, and how to parry it. The most dangerous moment is when these chulos venture out into the middle of the plaza, and are followed by the bull to the barrier, in which there is a small ledge, on which they place their foot and vault over, and a narrow slit in the boarding, through which they slip. Their escapes are marvellous; they seem really sometimes, so close is the run, to be helped over the fence by the bull's horns. Occasionally some curious suertes are exhibited by chulos and expert toreros, which do not strictly belong to the regular drama, such as the suerte de la capa, where the bull is braved with no other defence but a cloak: another, the salto tras cuerno, when the performer, as the bull lowers his head to toss him, places his foot between his horns and is lifted over him.* The chulos, in the second act, are the sole performers; another exclusive part is to place small barbed darts, banderillas, which are ornamented with cut paper of different colours, on each side of the neck of the bull. The banderilleros go right up to him, holding the arrows at the shaft's end, and pointing the barbs at

* The correct term in toresque euphuism is astas, spears; cuernos, horns, is seldom mentioned to ears polite, as its secondary meaning might give offence; the vulgar, however, call things by their improper names.

the bull; just when the animal stoops to toss them, they dart them into his neck and slip aside. The service appears to be more dangerous than it is, but it requires a quick eye, a light hand and foot. The barbs should be placed exactly on each side-a pretty pair, a good matchbuenos pares. Sometimes these arrows are provided with crackers, which, by means of a detonating powder, explode the moment they are affixed in the neck, banderillas de fuego. The agony of the tortured animal frequently makes him bound like a kid, to the frantic delight of the people.

The last trumpet now sounds; the arena is cleared for the third act; the espada, the executioner, the man of death, stands before his victim alone, and thus concentrates in himself an interest previously frittered among the number of combatants. On entering, he addresses the president, and throws his montera, his cap, to the ground, and swears he will do his duty. In his right hand he holds a long straight Toledan blade, la espada; in his left he waves the muleta, the red flag, the engaño, the lure, which ought not (so Romero laid down) to be so large as the standard of a religious brotherhood (cofradia), nor so small as a lady's pocket-handkerchief (pañuelito de señorita): it should be about a yard square. The colour is red, because that best irritates the bull and conceals blood. There is always a spare matador, in case of accidents, which may happen in the best regulated bull-fights; he is called media espada, or sobresaliente. The espada (el diestro, the cunning in fence in olden books) advances to the bull, in order to entice him towards him-citarlo á la suerte, á la jurisdiccion del engaño-to subpoena him, to get his head into chancery, as our ring would say; he next rapidly studies his character, plays with him a little, allows him to run once or twice on the muleta, and then prepares for the coup de grâce. There are several sorts of bulls-levantados, the bold and rushing; parados, the slow and sly; aplomados, the heavy and leaden. The bold are the easiest to kill; they rush, shutting their eyes, right on to the lure or flag. The worst of all are the sly bulls; when they are marrajos, y de sentido, cunning and not running straight, when they are revueltos, cuando ganan terreno y rematen en el bulto, when they stop in their charge and run at the man instead of the flag, they are most dangerous. The espada who is long killing his bull, or shows the white feather, is insulted by the jeers of the impatient populace; he nevertheless remains cool and collected, in proportion as the spectators and bull are mad. There are many suertes or ways of killing the bull; the principal is la suerte de frente-the espada receives the charge on his sword, lo mató de un recibido. The volapié, or half-volley, is beautiful, but dangerous; the matador takes him by advancing, corriendoselo. A firm hand, eye, and nerve form the essence of the art; the sword enters just between the left shoulder and the blade. In nothing is the real fancy so fastidious as in the exact nicety of the placing this death-wound; when the thrust is true-buen estoque-death is instantaneous, and the bull, vomiting forth blood, drops at the feet of his conqueror, who, drawing the sword, waves it in triumph over the fallen foe. It is indeed the triumph of knowledge over brute force; all that was fire, fury, passion, and life, falls in an instant, still for ever.

The team of mules now enter, glittering with flags, and tinkling

with bells, whose gay decorations contrast with the stern cruelty and blood; the dead bull is carried off at a rapid gallop, which always delights the populace. The espada wipes the hot blood from his sword, and bows with admirable sang-froid to the spectators, who throw their hats into the arena, a compliment which he returns by throwing them back again.

When a bull will not run at all at the picador, or at the muleta, he is called a toro abanto, and the media luna, the half-moon, is called for; this is the cruel ancient Oriental mode of houghing the cattle (Joshua xi. 6). The instrument is the Iberian bident-a sharp steel crescent placed on a long pole. The cowardly blow is given from behind; and when the poor beast is crippled, an assistant, the cachetero, pierces the spinal marrow with his cachete-puntilla, or pointed dagger-with a traitorous stab from behind. This is the usual method of slaughtering cattle in Spain. To perform all these operations (el desjarretar) is considered beneath the dignity of the matadors or espadas, some of them, however, will kill the bull by plunging the point of their sword in the vertebræ, el descabellar-the danger gives dignity to the difficult feat. The identical process obtains in each of the fights that follow. After a short collapse, a fresh object raises a new desire, and the fierce sport is renewed through eight repetitions; and not till darkness covers the heavens, do the mob-fax nondum satiata-retire to sacrifice the rest of the night to Bacchus and Venus, with a passing homage to the knife. The Spaniards, sons of "truces Iberi," are very tender on the subject of the cruelty or barbarity of this spectacle, which foreigners, who abuse it the most, are always the most eager to attend. Much may be said on both sides of the question. Mankind has never been overconsiderate in regarding the feelings or sufferings of animals, when influenced by the spirit of sporting. This sentiment rules in the arena. In England no sympathy is shown for game-fish, flesh, or fowl. They are preserved to be destroyed, to afford sport, the end of which is death. The amusement is in playing the salmon, the fine run, as the prolongation of animal torture is termed in the tender vocabulary of the chase. At all events, in Spain horses and bulls are killed outright, and not left to die the lingering death of the poor wounded hare in countless battues. A former Mr. Windham protested "against looking too microscopically into bull-baits or ladies' faces ;" and we must pause before we condemn the bull in Spain, whilst we wink at the fox at Melton, or the pheasant in Norfolk. As far as the loss of human life is concerned, the bull-fighters themselves deserve no pity.

Foreigners who argue that the effects produced on Spaniards by a bull-fight are exactly those which are produced on themselves, are neither logical nor true reasoners.

The Spanish have always been guerilleros ; such a cruel mimic game of death and cunning must be extremely congenial. From long habit they either see not, or are not offended by those painful and bloody details which most distress the unaccustomed stranger, while, on the other hand, the interest of the awful tragedy is undeniable, irresistible, and all-absorbing. The display of manly courage, nerve, and agility, and all on the very verge of death, is most exciting. There are features in a bold bull with accomplished combatants, which carry all before them;

but for one good bull, how many are the bad? Spanish women (the younger and more tender especially) scream and are dreadfully affected in all real moments of danger, in spite of their long familiarity with the fascinating spectacle. Their grand object, however, after all, is not to see the bull, but to be seen themselves, and their dress. The better classes generally interpose their fans at the most painful incidents, and certainly show no want of sensibility. They shrink from or do not see the cruel incidents, but at the same time they adore the manly courage and address that is exhibited. The lower classes of females, as a body, behave quite as respectably as those of other countries do at executions, or other dreadful scenes, where they crowd with their babies. The case with English ladies is far different. They have heard the bull-fight condemned, from their childhood: they see it for the first time when grown up, when curiosity is their leading feeling. The first sight delights them: as the bloody tragedy proceeds, they first get frightened, and then disgusted. Few are able to sit out more than one course (corrida), and fewer ever re-enter the amphitheatre. Probably a Spanish woman, if she could be placed in precisely the same condition, would not act very differently, and the fair test would be to bring her, for the first time, to an English brutal boxing-match.

Thus much for practical tauromachia.*

A bill was presented to the Cortes of 1878, begging for the abolition of bull-fights in Spain. No Government, however, can hope to counteract the passion of the Spaniards for their national amusement, and there seems no prospect of their being suppressed.

§ 23.-PHYSICAL AND MILITARY GEOGRAPHY OF THE PENINSULA.

Spain and Portugal may be roughly described as forming a square of nearly 500 miles' side, surrounded by the sea, except on the eastern portion of the N. side, where it joins on to France.

This space is divided by steep and high mountain chains into five principal river basins, of which four-the Douro, Tagus, Guadiana, and Guadalquivir-trend east and west; and the other, the Ebro, trends from N.W. to S.E.

The mountain chain of the Pyrenees sloping steep to the north, runs right along the north side from Cape Finisterre on the Atlantic to Cape Creux on the Mediterranean; the eastern portion of the range forms the boundary between France and Spain, the western portion fronts the Bay of Biscay.

A similar range, the Alpujarras, sloping steep to the south, forms the southern face of the Peninsula; it commences at Tarifa and terminates near Alicante. This range encloses the rich tropical district of

* Those who wish to go deeper into its philosophy, are referred to 'La Carta histórica sobre el Orígen y Progresos de las Fiestas de Toros.' Nicholas Fernandez de Moratin, Madrid, 1877. Tauromaquia, ó Arte de Torear; por un Aficionado,' Madrid, 1804; written by an amateur named Gomez (José Delgado, Pepe Illo, furnished the materials). It contains thirty engravings, which represent all the implements, costumes and different operations. La Tauromaquia, ó Arte de Torear,' Madrid, 1827: Elogio de las Corridas de Toros,' Manuel Martinez Rueda, Madrid, 1831; Pan y Toros,' Gaspar Melchior de Jovellanos, Madrid, 1820; and the Tauromaquia completa,' Madrid, 1838, by Francisco Montes, the Pepe Illo of his day.