Part 8 (1/2)

”I have a handsome lover, Too bold to fear the Devil, And he's the best _torero_ In all the town of Seville.”

The extravagance of the popular enthusiasm for these _fiestas de toros_ is often ridiculed on the stage, where dramas dealing with bull-fighting, especially if they bring in the heroes of the arena, Pepe Hillo, Romero, Costillares, are sure to take. One _zarzuela_ represents a rheumatic old _aficionado_, or devotee of the sport, trying, with ludicrous results, to screw his courage to the point of facing the bull. Another spends its fun on a Madrid barber, who is likewise a brain-turned patron of the ring. Disregarding the shrill protests of his wife, he lavishes all his time, love, and money on the _corridas_ and encourages his daughter's _novio_, an honest young paper-hanger, to throw over his trade and learn to _torear_. After two years of the provincial arenas, the aspirant, nicknamed in the ring The Baby, has nothing but torn clothes and bruises to show for his career, and his sweetheart, eager to recall him from the hazardous profession, vows a waxen bull, large as life, to the Virgin, in case he returns to papering, with its humble security and its regularity of wages. Mary hears. On that great occasion, The Baby's debut at Madrid, the barber, who has just been lucky in the lottery, rents for him a gorgeous suit of second-hand finery, but in the _Plaza de Toros_ not even a rose-and-silver jacket can s.h.i.+eld a quaking heart. The Baby is a coward born, and from the first rush of the first bull comes off with a b.l.o.o.d.y c.o.xcomb, crying out his shame on the shoulder of his Pilar, who shall henceforth have him all her own.

The little artist and I went into Spain with the firm determination not to patronize the bull-fight. Half our resolution we kept,--her half. Wherever we turned we encountered suggestions of the _corrida_.

Spanish newspapers, even the most serious, devote columns to _Los Toros_. Bull-fighting has its special publications, as _El Toril_ and _El Toreo Comico_, and its special dialect. On the morning after a holy day the newspapers seem actually smeared with the blood of beasts. In the bull-fight season, from Easter to All Saints, _corridas_ are held every Sunday in all the cities of southern and central Spain, while the smaller towns and villages butcher as many bulls as they can possibly afford. The May and June that I pa.s.sed in the capital gave me a peculiar abhorrence of the Madrid Sunday,--that feverish excitement everywhere; the rattle of all those extra omnibuses and cars with their red-ta.s.selled mules in full gallop for the _Plaza de Toros_; that sense of furious struggle and mortal agony hanging over the city all through the slow, hot afternoon; those gaping crowds pressing to greet the _toreros_, a gaudy-suited company, on their triumphal return in open carriages; that eager discussion of the day's tragedy at every street-corner and from seat to seat along the _paseos_, even at our own dainty dinner table and on our own balconies under the rebuking stars. At this strange Sabbath service the Infanta Isabel, whose mother's birth was celebrated by the slaying of ninety-nine bulls, is a regular attendant, occupying the royal box and wearing the national colors. A French bull-fighter, visiting the Spanish capital, was invited by the Infanta to an audience and presented with a diamond pin. Not even the public mourning for Castelar could induce Madrid to forego the _corrida_ on that Sunday just before his burial. Past the very senate-house where his body lay in state rolled the aristocratic landaus, whose ladies displayed the gala-wear of white mantillas.

But the Sundays were not enough. Every Catholic feast-day called for its sacrifice. Granada could not do fitting honor to Corpus Christi with less than three ”_magnificas corridas_.” The royal saint of Aranjuez, Fernando, must have his pious birthday kept by an orgy of blood. At the _fiesta_ of Christ's Ascension all Spain was busy staining his earth with the life-stream of His creatures. Valladolid was, indeed, ashamed to have torn to death only seven horses, but Segovia rejoiced in an expert who sat at his work and killed his bulls with drawing-room ease. Bordeaux improved the occasion, with aid of two celebrated Spanish _espadas_, by opening a French _Plaza de Toros_, and Valencia had the excitement of sending to the infirmary one _torero_ with a broken leg and another with a crushed foot. Such accidents are by no means uncommon. A _matador_ was mortally wounded in the Valencia ring that summer, a _banderillero_ was trampled at the Escorial, and those favorite stabbers, Reverte and Bombita, were themselves stabbed by avenging horns.

If there is a temporary dearth of saint days, Spanish ingenuity will nevertheless find excuse for _corridas_. Bulls must bleed for holy charity,--for hospitals, foundling asylums, the families of workmen out on strike. If the French squadron is at Cadiz, hospitality demands a bull-fight. In the interests of popular education, an historical _corrida_ was arranged, with instructed _toreros_ to display the special styles of bull-killing that have prevailed from the Cid to Guerrita. Again, as a zoological by-play, an elephant was pitted against the bulls. This, too, had precedent, for did not Philip IV once keep his birthday by turning in among the horned herd a lion, a tiger, a camel, and a bear, ”all Noah's ark and aesop's fables”? A bull of Xarama vanquished them every one and received the gracious reward of being shot dead by Philip himself.

It was on a Wednesday afternoon, at one of the three grand _corridas_ of the Seville _Feria_, that I became an accomplice in this Spanish crime. Our friends in Seville, people of cultivation and liberal views, had declared from the first that we could have no conception of Spanish life and character without sharing in the national _fiesta_.

”We ourselves are not enthusiasts,” they said. ”In fact, we disapprove the bull-fight. We regard it as demoralizing to the community at large. It is, nevertheless, a thing scientific, artistic, heroic, _Spanish_. Besides, a large portion of the proceeds goes to charity.

We do not attend the _corridas_, except now and then, especially when we have foreign guests who wish to see them. Before going they all regard bull-fighting as you do, as an atrocity, a barbarity, but invariably they return from the _Plaza de Toros_ filled with delight and admiration. They say their previous ideas were all wrong, that it is a n.o.ble and splendid spectacle, that they want to see it again and again, that they cannot be too grateful to us for having delivered them from prejudice.”

I winced at the word. I have a prejudice against being prejudiced, and to the bull-fight I went.

My yielding came too late for securing places in a box or in any part of the house from which one can make exit during the performance. Our gory-looking tickets admitted us to the uppermost row of high, whitewashed, stone seats of the circus proper, where we were soon inextricably wedged in by the human ma.s.s that formed around and below us. The hour of waiting pa.s.sed merrily enough. The open amphitheatre, jammed to its full capacity of fourteen thousand, lay half in brilliant sunlight and half in creeping shadow. Above us arched the glowing blue sky of Seville, p.r.i.c.ked by the rosy Giralda, and from time to time a strong-winged bird flew over. The great arena, strewn with yellow sand, was enclosed by a dark red barrier of wood, about the height of a man. This was encircled, at a little distance, by a more secure and higher wall of stone. The concourse was largely composed of men, both roughs and gentles, but there was no lack of ladies, elegantly dressed, nor of children. Two sweet little girls in white-feathered hats were just in front of us, dancing up and down to relieve the thrills of expectancy. White mantillas, pinned with jewels, bent from the boxes, while the daughters of the people dazzled the eye with their festival display of Manila shawls, some pure white, some with colored figures on a white ground or a black, and some a rainbow maze of capricious needle-work. The rich-hued blossoms of Andalusia were worn in the hair and on the breast. The sunny side of the circus was brightly dotted by parasols, orange, green, vermilion, and fans in all the cardinal colors twinkled like a s.h.i.+vered kaleidoscope. The men's black eyes glittered under those broad _sombreros_, white or drab, while they puffed their cigarettes with unwonted energy, scattering the ashes in soft gray showers over their neighbors on the seats below. The tumult of voices had a keener note of excitement than I had yet heard in Spain, and was so loud and insistent as often to drown the clas.h.i.+ng music of the band. The cries of various venders swelled the mighty volume of noise. Water-sellers in vivid blouses and sashes, a red handkerchief twisted around the neck, on the left shoulder a cus.h.i.+on of folded carpeting for the shapely, yellow-brown jar, and a smart tin tray, holding two gla.s.ses, corded to the belt, went pus.h.i.+ng through the throng. Criers of oranges, newspapers, crabs, and c.o.c.kles, almond cakes, fans, and photographs of the _toreros_, strove with all the might of their lungs against the universal uproar.

”Crece el entusiasmo; Crece la alegria; Todo es algazara; Todo es confusion.”

A tempest of applause marked the entrance in a box above of a popular _prima donna_, who draped a resplendent carmine scarf over the railing before her seat. Immediately the complete circuit of the rail was ablaze with color, cloaks and shawls instantly converting themselves into tapestry.

At last two attendants entered the arena, walked up to a hydrant in the centre, fastened on a hose, and watered the great circle. They pulled out the hydrant and raked sand over the hole. Simple as these actions were, a dreadful quiet fell on all the circus.

A trumpet blared. Mounted _alguaciles_, or police, tricked out in ancient Spanish costume, on blue saddles, and with tall blue plumes in their hats, rode in and cleared the arena of all stragglers. A door opened, and forth issued the full circus troupe, making a fine show of filigree, and urging their wretched old nags to a last moment of equine pride and spirit. Amid roars of welcome, they flaunted across the sanded enclosure and saluted the presiding officer. He dropped the key of the _toril_, that dark series of cells into which the bulls had been driven some hours before. An _alguacil_ caught the key and handed it to the _torilero_, who ran with it toward a second door, ominously surmounted by a great bull's head. Then there was a twinkling of the pink stockings and black sandals. Most of the gay company leaped the barrier, and even the _chulos_ who remained in the ring placed themselves within convenient distance of the rail. Some of the _picadores_ galloped out, but a few awaited the coming charge, their long pikes in rest. The door on which all eyes were bent flew open, and a bellowing red bull rushed in. The fierce, bloodthirsty, horrible yell that greeted him checked his impetuous onset. For a few seconds the creature stood stock-still, glaring at the scene. Heaven knows what he thought of us. He had had five perfect years of life on the banks of the Guadalquivir,--one baby year by his mother's side, one year of sportive roving with his mates, and then had come the trial of his valor. He had found all the herdsmen gathered at the ranch one morning, and, nevertheless, flattered himself that he had evaded those hateful pikes, _garrochas_, that were always goading him back when he would sally out to explore the great green world. At all events, here he was scampering alone across the plain. But promptly two hors.e.m.e.n were at his heels, and one of these, planting a blunt _garrocha_ on his flank, rolled the youngster over. Up again, panting with surprise and indignation, he felt a homesick impulse to get back to the herd, but the second horseman was full in his path. So much the worse for the horseman! The mettlesome young bull lowered his horns and charged the obstacle, only to be thrown back with a smarting shoulder. If he had yielded then, his would have been the quiet yoke and the long, dull life of labor, but he justified his breed; he charged anew, and so proved himself worthy of the arena. Three more years of the deep, green river-reeds and the sweet Andalusian suns.h.i.+ne, three years of free, far range and glad companions.h.i.+p, and then the end. His days had been exempt from burden only to save his wild young strength for the final tragedy. One summer morning those traitors known as decoy-oxen, with bells about the neck, came trotting into the herd. The n.o.ble bulls, now at their best hour of life, the glory of their kind, welcomed these cunning guests with frank delight and interest, and were easily induced to follow them and their tinkling bells across the rich pastures, along rough country roads, even to the city itself and the fatal _Plaza de Toros_. The herdsmen with their ready pikes galloped behind the drove, and everywhere along the way peasants and townsfolk would fall in for a mile or two to help in urging the excited animals onward to their cruel doom.

In that strange, maddening sea of faces, that hubbub of hostile voices, the bull, as soon as his blinking eyes had effected the change from the darkness of the _toril_ to the glaring light and gaudy colors of the coliseum, caught sight of a horseman with the familiar pike. Here was something that he recognized and hated. Lowering his head, the fiery brute dashed with a bellow at that tinselled figure.

Ah, the pike had never been so sharp before! It went deep into his shoulder, but could not hold him back. He plunged his horns, those mighty spears, into the body of the helpless, blindfolded horse, which the _picador_, whose jacket was well padded and whose legs were cased in iron, deliberately offered to his wrath. The poor horse shrieked, plunged, reeled, and fell, the _chulos_ deftly dragging away the armored rider, while the bull ripped and trampled that quivering carca.s.s, for whose torment no man cared, until it was a crimson, formless heap.

Such sickness swept over me that I did not know what followed. When I looked again, two b.l.o.o.d.y ma.s.ses that had once been horses disfigured the arena, and the bull, stuck all over like a hedge-hog with derisive, many-colored darts, had gone down under Guerrita's steel.

My friends, observing with concern that I was not enjoying myself as much as they had promised, tried to divert my attention to the technical features of their ghastly game. It was really, they explained, a drama in three acts. It is the part of the mounted _picador_ to draw off the first rage and vigor of the bull, weakening him, but not slaying him, by successive wounds. Then the jaunty _banderilleros_, the streamers of whose darts must correspond in color with their costumes, supply a picturesque and amusing element, a comic interlude. Finally an _espada_, or _matador_, advances alone to despatch the tortured creature. The death-blow can be dealt only in one of several fas.h.i.+ons, established by rule and precedent, and the _espada_ who is startled into an unprofessional thrust reaps a bitter harvest of scoffs and hisses.

A team of gayly-caparisoned mules with jingling bells had meanwhile trundled away the mangled bodies of the slaughtered animals, fresh sand had been thrown over the places slippery with blood, and the band pealed the entrance of the second bull. This was a demon, black as a coal, with a marvellous pride and spirit that availed him nothing.

Horse after horse crashed down before his furious rushes, while the circus, drunk with glee, shouted for more victims and more and more.

It was a ma.s.sacre. At last our hideous greed was glutted, and the _banderilleros_ took their turn in baiting the now enfeebled but undaunted bull. Wildly he shook himself, the fore half of his body already a flood of crimson, to throw off the ignominy of those stinging darts. The _chulos_ fretted and fooled him with their waving cloaks of red and yellow, till at last the creature grew hushed and sullen. A strain of music announced that the _matador_ Fuentes was asking beneath the president's box permission to kill the bull. For my part, I gave the bull permission to kill the man. Fuentes, all pranked out in gray and gold, holding his keen blade behind him and flouris.h.i.+ng a scarlet square of cloth, swinging from a rod, the _muleta_, advanced upon the brute. That bleeding body shook with a new access of rage, and the other _espadas_ drew near and stood at watch.

But even before a blow was struck the splendid, murdered creature sank to his knees, staggered up once more, sank again with crimson foam upon his mouth, and the music clashed jubilantly while Fuentes drove the weapon home. And again the team of mules, with foolish tossing of their bright-ribboned heads, jerked and jolted their dead kindred off the scene.

The third bull galloped in with a roar that was heard far beyond the _Plaza_ and gored his first two horses so promptly and so frightfully that, while the hapless beasts still struggled in their agony, the amphitheatre howled with delirious joy. Several _capas_ were caught away on those swift, effective horns, and one _picador_ was hurt. But the rain of darts teased and bewildered the bull to the point of stupidity, although he was dangerous yet.

”Dark is his hide on either side, but the blood within doth boil; And the dun hide glows, as if on fire, as he paws to the turmoil.

His eyes are jet, and they are set in crystal rings of snow; But now they stare with one red glare of bra.s.s upon the foe.”

It was the turn of Bombita, a dandy in dark-green suit with silver tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs; but his comrades, pale and intent, stood not far off and from time to time, by irritating pa.s.ses, drew the bull's wrath upon themselves, wearying him ever more and more, until at last Bombita had his chance to plant a telling blow.

Would it never end? Again the fatal door swung open, and the fourth bull bounded in to play his tragic role. He was of choicest pedigree, but the utter strangeness of the scene turned his taurine wits. He made distracted and aimless rushes. .h.i.ther and thither, unheeding the provocations of the hors.e.m.e.n, until he came upon the spot drenched with his predecessor's life-blood. He pawed away the hasty covering of sand, sniffed at that ominous stain, and then, throwing up his head with a strange bellow, bolted back to the door by which he had entered, and turned tail to the arena. The fourteen thousand, crazy with rage, sprang to their feet, shook their fists, called him _cow_.