Cadiz Custom-House Officers--Spanish Courtship--
Marketplace--Leave for Seville--Jerez de la Frontera--
Seville--Pilate's House--Las Delicias--Triana--Madrid--
Bull Fighting--"Espadas"--A Bull Fight--Frascuelo--
Cruelty to Horses--Leave for Paris--A Stormy Passage--
Home Again--Adieu.
I left for Cadiz by the small trading steamer _James Haynes_ three
days after my arrival at Gibraltar. A friend of mine being quartered
here, I stayed with him at the barracks, fortunately for myself, as
the Gibraltar hotels leave much to be desired in the way of
accommodation.
On the approach from seaward Cadiz, with its flat roofs and high
towers, presents more the appearance of a Moorish town than a European
city, and the afternoon I saw it appeared to fully justify its Spanish
appellation of "Pearl of the Sea," white and glittering in the bright
afternoon sunshine, in striking contrast to the dark blue colour of
the sea surrounding it.
I arrived at four o'clock the afternoon of my departure from
Gibraltar, and drove to the Fonda de Cadiz, in the Plaza San Antonio,
after considerable annoyance from the custom-house officers, who,
although I had nothing contraband about me, seemed determined to make
themselves as rude and unpleasant as possible, and appeared to be only
second to the Turkish and Egyptian _donaniers_, as far as robbery and
extortion are concerned.
I took a stroll after dinner to the Plaza Nina, the favourite lounge
of Cadiz in the cool of the evening. The square was crowded with
people of all classes; and the beauty of the women throughout Spain,
and especially Seville and Cadiz, is very striking, although the
picturesque costume with which one is apt to associate the Spanish
lady is fast dying out. Black seemed to be the favourite colour, as it
always has been in Spain, but the graceful mantilla is gradually but
surely giving way to the Parisian bonnet.
The streets of Cadiz are well paved, and the houses substantially
built of white stone. I was much struck at first by the heavy iron
bars with which the windows of the ground floors in this, as in all
other Spanish towns, are guarded. These, I subsequently ascertained,
are for the double purpose of excluding thieves and too ardent
lovers(!), for it may not be generally known that when a youth in
Spain is paying his addresses to a girl, the doors of her parents'
house are closed to him; nor is this all, for all intercourse with his
_novia_, or intended, is forbidden excepting through these gratings!
A visit to Cadiz cathedral, "La Vieja," is well repaid, and I was
lucky enough to hear a mass sung there. The interior of the building
is very beautiful, although a high altar erected by Queen Isabella in
1866 greatly mars the effect, being in very florid style and bad
taste. There were no seats at all in the building, the congregation
kneeling and sitting upon the bare flags.
The market at Cadiz is a novel and picturesque sight, its stalls laden
with every imaginable kind of fruit--grapes, pears, peaches, apricots,
and even bananas--in abundance and at absurdly cheap prices.
I was much struck, throughout Spain, with the appearance of the
Spanish soldiery. They all, with but few exceptions, looked smart and
well set up, and their uniforms looked clean, and _fitted_ them--an
uncommon sight on the Continent.
My bill on leaving for Seville surprised me not a little--a good
bed-room, excellent dinner and breakfast, including wine and omnibus
to the station--about 8s. 6d. in English money! Would that some
hotel-keepers I could mention would act on the same principle!
Railway travelling in Spain is cheap, though very slow, and the
carriages exceedingly comfortable.
The intending voyager to Spain would, however, do well to learn the
etiquettes of the country before going there, for they are manifold,
and their non-observance may sometimes be taken as an insult by the
sensitive Spaniard. The latter have an almost ridiculously keen sense
of personal dignity, even to the very beggars, who consider themselves
_caballeros_ (gentlemen), and expect to be treated as such, as indeed
they _are_ by their own countrymen. It is also a good rule in Spain,
to bear in mind when much pressed for time, that Spaniards hate being
hurried, and that the slightest attempt to do so will probably delay
you all the longer.
The five hours' journey from Cadiz to Seville is through vast sandy
plains, not unlike parts of Roumania, excepting in the neighbourhood
of Jeres de la Frontera. Here are large vineyards, in the midst of
which stand pretty red-roofed villas, the properties of the owners of
the vines, which formed pleasant relief to the eye after the glaring
dusty plains left behind us, but to which we return on clearing the
outskirts of Jerez.[14] Seville is reached at about eight p.m., and we
drive to the Fonda de Cuatro Naciones, in the Plaza Nueva, having
been recommended thither by a communicative fellow-passenger.
I stayed two days in Seville, and could willingly have remained
longer, had I not been pressed, for it is a truly delightful city. Its
houses are built very much in the modern French style, but there are
also many old Moorish dwellings, with their open courtyards and
fountains. One well worth seeing is the Casa de Pilatos, an exact
model of Pilate's house at Jerusalem, and built by Enriquez de Ribiera
to commemorate his visit there in 1533. Of public gardens Seville has
many, the prettiest of these being Las Delicias, a walk stretching for
nearly a mile along the banks of the river Gudalquivir, and planted
with orange-trees, pomegranates, palms, roses, and all kinds of rare
plants. This is the Champs Elysées of Seville, and when lit up at
night, with innumerable coloured lamps, bears no slight resemblance to
them. Triana, a transpontine suburb, is worth a visit _in the
daytime_, as it is the residence of gipsies, smugglers, lower order of
bull-fighters, and thieves. In December, 1876, it was nearly destroyed
by the floods, and Seville was under water for five days, the water
reaching to the cathedral doors.
I arrived in Madrid on the morning of Sunday, October 3rd, after a
wretchedly cold night journey from Seville, and the jumps and bounds
taken by the carriage I was in put sleep out of the question. On
driving through the streets to the hotel, I noticed that every
available wall was placarded with the announcement of a bull-fight to
come off on that afternoon, and determined, if possible, to secure a
seat. This, after breakfast, I managed to do, though only a
second-class one, all "_boletiere de sombra_" or seats in the shade,
being already let; the consequence being that at the end of the
performance most of the skin had peeled off my face.
Bull-fighting in Spain, at the present time, is very much akin to what
racing is in England, the espadas (or matadors) being held very much
in the same esteem as our popular jockeys by the public: and the
photograph of the champion, at the time of my visit (Frascuelo), was
to be seen figuring in most of the photograph shops of Madrid and
Seville, the latter town being considered the best academy for the
aspiring bullfighter. The Spanish bull-fighters have risen
considerably in the social scale during the past century, for they
were formerly denied the burial rite. A priest is now, however, in
attendance at every fight to give absolution in the event of a fatal
accident. The fights are very expensive affairs, costing from £400 to
£500 each, and in most towns are only occasionally held, although in
Madrid they take place every Sunday throughout the season, which lasts
from April to October. Most of the bulls selected are bred at Utrera,
in Andalusia, about twenty miles from Seville, and are splendid
animals. All are not, however, fit for the ring, the more ferocious
ones only being selected. The Plaza is usually under the
superintendence of a society of nobles and gentlemen, called
Maestanzas, the king being styled "Hermano Major," or elder brother of
the Guild.
The bull-fighters themselves are of four grades: the espada or
matador, the picadores, chulos, and banderilleros. The first named,
who are at the head of the profession, engage in the last single
combat with the bull, while the others are employed to annoy and
harass him into as wild a state of frenzy as possible.
The fight I attended was graced by the presence of the King and Queen
Isabella (not the young Queen, who rarely attends these performances),
and the immense building was crowded to excess. It is about two miles
out of Seville, comparatively new (the old one having been burnt down
in 1875), and built of red and white brick in the Moorish style, with
horse-shoe windows, and is capable of accommodating 17,000 persons.
The ring is, as in a circus, covered with sand, a wooden barrier about
five feet high running round it, separated from the front row of
spectators by a narrow passage four feet broad, wherein the chulos or
others (except the espada, who must never leave the arena) vault when
hard pressed by the bull. The whole of the building is of course open
to the sky.
The bills of the performance ran as follows:--
"PLAZA DE TOROS, DE MADRID.
"_El Domingo, 3 de Octobre, de 1880._
"Se lidiaran siete Toros los seis primeros de la Antigua
y a creditada ganaderia de Don Manuel Bannelos y
Salcedo, vecino de Columiar Viejo, con divisa azul
turqui, y'el setimo de la de D. Donato Palonimo vecino
de chozas de la Sierra, con diviza amarilla."
Then followed the names of espadas (one of whom was the celebrated
Frascuelo), picadores, chulos, &c.
A flourish of trumpets now sounded, and announced the arrival of the
king and queen, which was the signal for the immediate clearing of the
arena and commencement of the performance by the quadrilla, or
procession of bull-fighters. These entering at the end of the building
opposite, advanced to the front of the royal box and bowed. The
espadas (three in number) looked particularly graceful, and were most
gorgeously dressed in green, violet, and light blue satin, covered
with gold lace; all wore the national Spanish dress--jacket, short
breeches, and silk stockings, their hair being twisted up in a knot
behind, and secured in a silk net. At the end of the procession came
two picadores, mounted on two sorry steeds, who looked only fit for
the knacker, as indeed they were. Their riders wore broad-brimmed grey
felt hats and had their legs encased in iron and leather, to withstand
the bull's horns. Each was armed with a _garrocha_, or spear, the
blade of which, however, is only about an inch long, as the picadores
are not allowed to kill the bull, but merely to irritate and goad him.
They are subject to narrow squeaks sometimes, and few have a sound rib
left, owing to the fearful falls they get, when the bull sometimes
tosses both man and horse in the air. As I have said, the horses are
fit for little else than the knacker, and as such are the excuse for
most unmeasured cruelties, as the reader will see anon. The poor
brutes' eyes are bound round with white cloths, or they would probably
refuse to face the bull. If merely wounded, the gap is sewn up, and
stuffed with tow, and I saw one poor brute who was desperately gored
in the first encounter, go through three succeeding fights with blood
pouring from wounds in his side, until a more furious charge, and
plunge of the bull's horns put an end to his misery. The procession
over, there was a breathless pause while the chulos got into
position, and this being finished, and everything ready, the doors of
his prison were opened, and the bull trotted out. He had evidently
been well goaded in his cell before being released, as was evinced by
the suppressed roars he gave as he caught sight of the chulos. The
first act of the drama now commences, and the chulos pursue him round
the arena with their red cloths, showing the while most wonderful
grace and activity. The bull invariably charges at the _cloth_, and
not the man; sometimes, however, making a frantic rush at both, when
the chulos vaults over the barrier, so closely pressed as to give one
the idea of his being lifted over by the bull's horns. This was
carried on for about five minutes, when another trumpet sounded, and
the picadores entered, mounted on the poor brutes (a brown and a grey)
already mentioned.
The bandage having slipped off from over the grey horse's eyes, it was
hastily readjusted, and only just in time, for the bull, as soon as
ever he caught sight of the horses, made straight for the grey.
Maddened by the shouts of the people and the cloaks of the "chulos,"
his charge was not a light one, and he buried his horns deep in the
poor brute's flank, the picador meanwhile scooping a large piece of
flesh out of his back with his garrocha. Maddened and exasperated, he
then made for the brown, this time fortunately missing him, only,
however, to reserve the poor beast for a worse fate. Another furious
charge now unhorsed the picador, at which the chulos leaped into the
ring, and distracted the bull's attention with their red cloths while
the fallen picador scrambled over the barrier into safety, a feat
which his heavy accoutrements rendered by no means easy.
The trumpets now sounded for the approach of the banderilleros, while
the horses were led away out of sight, to be patched up for the
succeeding engagement; a quantity of sand was thrown over the blood
stains, which were pretty numerous throughout the arena. The
banderilleros were three in number, and smart, dapper, little fellows,
beautifully dressed in light blue satin and gold. Each was armed with
the _banderillo_, small barbed darts, about a foot long, ornamented
with coloured paper. Their duty is to go straight up to the bull,
facing him, and as soon as he stoops his head to charge them, stick
their barbs, one on each side of his neck, and slip aside. This seemed
to be the most graceful feat of the day, and one requiring nearly as
much nerve as that of the "espada," whose arrival a final flourish of
trumpets now announced.
The espada, or man of death, now stands _alone_ with his victim, and
having bowed to the royal box, he throws his _montero_, or cap, among
the audience, and swears to do his duty. In his right hand is the long
Toledan blade _la espada_, while in his left he holds the _muleta_, or
small red flag about a foot square, which is his weapon of defence,
and on the skill of using which his safety depends. The now maddened
bull's first tactic was to charge furiously at the red flag, which the
espada held at arm's length, and so wonderfully skilled was Frascuelo
that he never moved an inch, while the animal rushed by him beneath
his arm. Gradually decoying him along the edge of the ring with the
_muleta_, Frascuelo paused in front of the royal box with his victim,
and played him for a while, preparing in the meantime to give him the
_coup de grâce_. This is done when the bull is preparing for the final
charge; the espada meeting him with his sword, plunges it hilt deep,
just at the back of the head, and severing the dorsal column. The bull
is now stationary for a few seconds, hardly knowing what to make of
it, the espada holding up his hand to enjoin silence, till at length
the brute sways slowly from side to side, and falls down dead, amid
the jeers and applause of the populace, while the victorious espada
withdraws, and wipes his sword, and walks slowly round the ring, the
spectators throwing him cigars, packets of cigarettes, and--this last
a great honour--their hats, a compliment he returns by throwing them
back again. If, however, the espada is long in despatching the bull,
or in the slightest degree "shows the white feather," he is grossly
insulted, and empty bottles, orange-peel, cigar stumps, &c. are thrown
at him till he leaves the Plaza. Frascuelo's performance was, however,
apparently all that could be desired, and a team of fourteen mules,
gaily caparisoned with bells and flags, now entered, and dragged away
the carcase of the dead bull at full gallop--the fight having occupied
a little over twenty minutes.
The arena was now raked over, and put in order, preparatory to the
arrival of the second bull, Florido, who evidently did not care about
the game at all. Disregarding all the attempts of the chulos to harass
him, he repeatedly charged at the barrier, and endeavoured to clear it
and get out of their way. The picadores tried him with no further
success, until a waving of handkerchiefs was seen among the audience.
This is the sign for the _banderillos del fuego_ to be applied. These
are barbs made with crackers, which go off with a loud report as soon
as they are stuck in the bull's shoulder. But even this last resource
failed to rouse Florido, who was ignominiously despatched by a
cacheterro, and dragged out of the ring to the strains of "Nicholas"
(in derision) by the band!
But if this performance had been a tame one, the succeeding one fully
made up for it. Carbonero, the bull who now made his appearance, was
evidently not to be trifled with. Galloping into the arena, he made
short work of the chulos, who soon decamped to make way for the
picadores, mounted on the wretched brown aforementioned and another
poor brute in place of the grey already butchered. Carbonero lost no
time, and, making his rush suddenly, rolled the brown horse and his
rider over and over, repeatedly goring the wretched brute with his
long horns (the picador having made his escape over the barrier). In
vain did the chulos try to get the bull to leave his prey; in vain did
the second picador seek to divert his attention; all was useless,
until, at length, with a maddened effort, the wretched horse staggered
up and galloped wildly round the ring, _treading on its own entrails_,
and closely pursued by the bull! The poor brute was caught at length
and despatched by the cacheterro. "Banderilleros" were dispensed with
on this occasion, so rabid had the bull become, and Frascuelo, after a
ten minutes' encounter, succeeded in killing him, amid shouts that
might have been heard at Madrid, two miles off, and applauded by none
more vociferously than those occupying the royal box.
There were five more bulls to be killed, but the last performance had
sickened me of bull-fighting and everything connected with it, and I
left the Plaza wondering that such things are allowed to exist in a
civilised country![15]
I left Madrid the following day for Paris, breaking the journey at
Bordeaux, and after two days spent in the gay city, am once more on
the Chemin de Fer du Nord, _en route_ for Calais. A stormy passage
across (which makes us feel considerably queerer than we have in all
our travels on sea), and we enter the tidal express, which seems to
fairly tear along, after the crawlers we have left abroad. Two hours
more, and we are at Charing Cross, scarcely realising that we are
really home again until the window is opened and a good gust of
"home-made" London fog enters, convincing us that there is no mistake
about it.
And here--after a journey of over 20,000 miles, during which I trust
the reader has not tired of and forsaken me--I must say, ADIEU.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 14: Pronounced "Herez."]
[Footnote 15: A Bill was brought before the Cortes in 1878 for the
abolition of bull-fights in Spain, but nothing has since been heard
about it.]
Transcriber's Notes:
Inconsistencies in the hyphenation of words preserved. (mid-day, midday;
waist-cloth, waistcloth; ear-rings, earrings; sand-flies, sandflies)
Table of Contents, Chapter VIII, "Bintenzorg" changed to "Buitenzorg".
Table of Contents, Chapter VIII, "Roerapan" is presumed to be "Koerapan"
as the latter is used in the main text twice. Changed to "Koerapan".
Footnote 7, duplicated word "was" removed. (since this was written)
Pg. 35, figures show the revenue of Sarawak for 1871 and 1877-78 in
dollars while the increase during the period is given in pounds
sterling. One or other of the units of currency used is incorrect as
otherwise (using the exchange rate of 5 dollars to 1 pound given in
Footnote 2) the arithmetic would be wrong. The author either intended
all the figures in to be in dollars or all to be in pounds but it is
unclear which, hence the original text is preserved.