Part 5 (1/2)

which is something more than a walk, and less than a trot, and it is truly sedate and sedan-chair-like, and suits a grave Don, who is given, like a Turk, to tobacco and contemplation. Those Andalucian horses which fall when young into the hands of the officers at Gibraltar acquire a very different action, and lay themselves better down to their work, and gain much more in speed from the English system of training than they would have done had they been managed by Spaniards. Taught or untaught, this _pace_ is most gentlemanlike, and well did Beaumont and Fletcher

”Think it n.o.ble, as Spaniards do in riding, In managing a great horse, which is princely;”

and as has been said, is the only att.i.tude in which the kings of the Spains, true F???pp??, ought ever to be painted, witching the world with n.o.ble horsemans.h.i.+p.

Many other provinces possess breeds which are more useful, though far less showy, than the Andalucian. The horse of Castile is a strong, hardy animal, and the best which Spain produces for mounting heavy cavalry.

The ponies of Gallicia, although ugly and uncouth, are admirably suited to the wild hilly country and laborious population; they require very little care or grooming, and are satisfied with coa.r.s.e food and Indian corn. The horses of Navarre, once so celebrated, are still esteemed for their hardy strength; they have, from neglect, degenerated into ponies, which, however, are beautiful in form, hardy, docile, sure-footed, and excellent trotters. In most of the large towns of Spain there is a sort of market, where horses are publicly sold; but Ronda fair, in May, is the great Howden and Horncastle of the four provinces of Seville, Cordova, Jaen, and Granada, and the resort of all the picturesque-looking rogues of the south. The reader of Don Quixote need not be told that the race of Gines Pa.s.samonte is not extinct; the Spanish _Chalanes_, or horse-dealers, have considerable talents; but the cleverest is but a mere child when compared to the perfection of rascality to which a real English professor has attained in the mysteries of lying, chaunting, and making up a horse.

[Sidenote: MULES.]

The breeding of horses was carefully attended to by the Spanish government previously to the invasion of the French, by whom the entire horses and brood-mares were either killed or stolen, and the buildings and stables burnt.

The saddles used commonly in Spain are Moorish; they are made with high peak and croup behind; the stirrup-irons are large triangularly-shaped boxes. The food is equally Oriental, and consists of ”barley and straw,”

as mentioned in the Bible. We well remember the horror of our Andalucian groom, on our first reaching Gallicia, when he rushed in, exclaiming that the beasts would perish, as nothing was to be had there but oats and hay. After some difficulty he was persuaded to see if they would eat it, which to his surprise they actually did; such, however, is habit, that they soon fell out of condition, and did not recover until the damp mountains were quitted for the arid plains of Castile.

[Sidenote: a.s.sES.]

Spaniards in general prefer mules and a.s.ses to the horse, which is more delicate, requires greater attention, and is less sure-footed over broken and precipitous ground. The mule performs in Spain the functions of the camel in the East, and has something in his morale (besides his physical suitableness to the country) which is congenial to the character of his masters; he has the same self-willed obstinacy, the same resignation under burdens, the same singular capability of endurance of labour, fatigue, and privation. The mule has always been much used in Spain, and the demand for them very great; yet, from some mistaken crotchet of Spanish political economy (which is very Spanish), the breeding of the mule has long been attempted to be prevented, in order to encourage that of the horse. One of the reasons alleged was, that the mule was a non-reproductive animal; an argument which might or ought to apply equally to the monk; a breed for which Spain could have shown for the first prize, both as to number and size, against any other country in all Christendom. This attempt to force the production of an animal far less suited to the wants and habits of the people has failed, as might be expected. The difficulties thrown in the way have only tended to raise the prices of mules, which are, and always were, very dear; a good mule will fetch from 25_l._ to 50_l._, while a horse of relative goodness may be purchased for from 20_l._ to 40_l._ Mules were always very dear; thus Martial, like a true Andalucian Spaniard, _talks_ of one which cost more than a house. The most esteemed are those bred from the mare and the a.s.s, or _”garanon”_[5] some of which are of extraordinary size; and one which Don Carlos had in his stud-house at Aranjuez in 1832 exceeded fifteen hands in height. This colossal a.s.s and a Spanish infante were worthy of each other.

The mules in Spain, as in the East, have their coats closely shorn or clipped; part of the hair is usually left on in stripes like the zebra, or cut into fanciful patterns, like the tattooings of a New Zealand chief. This process of shearing is found to keep the beast cooler and freer from cutaneous disorders. The operation is performed in the southern provinces by gipsies, who are the same tinkers, horse-dealers, and vagrants in Spain as elsewhere. Their clipping recalls the ”mulo curto,” on which Horace could amble even to Brundusium. The operators rival in talent those worthy Frenchmen who cut the hair of poodles on the Pont Neuf, in the heart and brain of European civilization. Their Spanish colleagues may be known by the shears, formidable and cla.s.sical-shaped as those of Lachesis and her sisters, which they carry in their sashes. They are very particular in clipping the heels and pasterns, which they say ought to be as free from superfluous hair as the palm of a lady's hand.

Spanish a.s.ses have been immortalised by Cervantes; they are endeared to us by Sancho's love and talent of imitation; he brayed so well, be it remembered, that all the long-eared chorus joined a performer who, in his own modest phrase, only wanted a tail to be a perfect donkey.

Spanish mayors, according to Don Quixote, have a natural talent for this braying; but, save and except in the west of England, their right wors.h.i.+pfuls may be matched elsewhere.

[Sidenote: a.s.sES OF LA MANCHA.]

[Sidenote: THE MULETEER.]

The humble a.s.s, ”_burro_,” ”_borrico_,” is the rule, the as in praesenti, and part and parcel of every Spanish scene: he forms the appropriate foreground in streets or roads. Wherever two or three Spaniards are collected together in market, _junta_, or ”congregation,” there is quite sure to be an a.s.s among them; he is the hardworked companion of the lower orders, to whom to work is the greatest misfortune; sufferance is indeed the common virtue of both tribes. They may, perhaps, both wince a little when a new burden or a new tax is laid on them by Senor Mon, but they soon, when they see that there is no remedy, bear on and endure: from this fellow-feeling, master and animal cherish each other at heart, though, from the blows and imprecations bestowed openly, the former may be thought by hasty observers to be ashamed of confessing these predilections in public. Some under-current, no doubt, remains of the ancient prejudices of chivalry; but Cervantes, who thoroughly understood human nature in general, and Spanish nature in particular, has most justly dwelt on the dear love which Sancho Panza felt for his ”_Rucio_,”

and marked the reciprocity of the brute, affectionate as intelligent. In fact, in the _Sagra_ district, near Toledo, he is called _El vecino_, one of the householders; and none can look a Spanish a.s.s in the face without remarking a peculiar expression, which indicates that the hairy fool considers himself, like the pig in a cabin of the ”first gem of the sea,” to be one of the family, _de la familia_, or _de nosotros_. La Mancha is the paradise of mules and a.s.ses; many a Sancho at this moment is there fondling and embracing his a.s.s, his ”_chato chat.i.to_,”

”_romo_,” or other complimentary variations of _Snub_, with which, when not abusing him, he delights to nickname his helpmate. In Spain, as Sappho says, Love is ?????p?????, an alternation of the agro-dolce; nor is there any Prevention of Cruelty Society towards animals; every Spaniard has the same right in law and equity to kick and beat his own a.s.s to his own liking, as a philanthropical Yankee has to wallop his own n.i.g.g.ar; no one ever thinks of interposing on these occasions, any more than they would in a quarrel between a man and his wife. The _words_ are, at all events, on one side. It is, however, recorded _in piam memoriam_, of certain Roman Catholic a.s.ses of Spain, that they tried to throw off one Tomas Trebino and some other heretics, when on the way to be burnt, being horror-struck at bearing such monsters. Every Spanish peasant is heart-broken when injury is done to his a.s.s, as well he may be, for it is the means by which he lives; nor has he much chance, if he loses him, of finding a crown when hunting for him, as was once done, or even a government like Sancho. Sterne would have done better to have laid the venue of his sentimentalities over a dead a.s.s in Spain, rather than in France, where the quadruped species is much rarer. In Spain, where small carts and wheel-barrows are almost unknown, and the drawing them is considered as beneath the dignity of the Spanish man, the subst.i.tute, an a.s.s, is in constant employ; sometimes it is laden with sacks of corn, with wine-skins, with water-jars, with dung, or with dead robbers, slung like sacks over the back, their arms and legs tied under the animal's belly. a.s.ses' milk, ”_leche de burra_,” is in much request during the spring season. The brown s.e.x drink it in order to fine their complexions and cool their blood, ”_refrescar la sangre_;” the clergy and men in office, ”_los empleados_,” to whom it is mother's milk, swallow it in order that it may give tone to their gastric juices. Riding on a.s.sback was accounted a disgrace and a degradation to the Gothic hidalgo, and the Spaniards, in the sixteenth century, mounted unrepining cuckolds, ”_los cornudos pacientes_,” on a.s.ses. Now-a-days, in spite of all these unpleasant a.s.sociations, the grandees and their wives, and even grave amba.s.sadors from foreign parts, during the royal residence at Aranjuez, much delight in elevating themselves on this beast of ill omen, and ”_borricadas_” or donkey parties are all the fas.h.i.+on.

[Sidenote: THE MULETEER.]

[Sidenote: MARAGATOS.]

The muleteer of Spain is justly renowned; his generic term is _arriero_, a gee-uper, for his _arre arre_ is pure Arabic, as indeed are almost all the terms connected with his craft, as the Moriscoes were long the great carriers of Spain. To travel with the muleteer, when the party is small or a person is alone, is both cheap and safe; indeed, many of the most picturesque portions of Spain, Ronda and Granada for instance, can scarcely be reached except by walking or riding. These men, who are constantly on the road, and going backwards and forwards, are the best persons to consult for details; their animals are generally to be hired, but a muleteer's stud is not pleasant to ride, since their beasts always travel in single files. The leading animal is furnished with a copper bell with a wooden clapper, to give notice of their march, which is shaped like an ice-mould, sometimes two feet long, and hangs from the neck, being contrived, as it were, on purpose to knock the animal's knees as much as possible, and to emit the greatest quant.i.ty of the most melancholy sounds, which, according to the pious origin of all bells, were meant to scare away the Evil One. The bearer of all this tintinnabular clatter is chosen from its superior docility and knack in picking out a way. The others follow their leader, and the noise he makes when they cannot see him. They are heavily but scientifically laden. The cargo of each is divided into three portions; one is tied on each side, and the other placed between. If the cargo be not nicely balanced, the muleteer either unloads or adds a few stones to the lighter portion--the additional weight being compensated by the greater comfort with which a well-poised burden is carried. These ”sumpter”

mules are gaily decorated with trappings full of colour and tags. The head-gear is composed of different coloured worsteds, to which a mult.i.tude of small bells are affixed; hence the saying, ”_muger de mucha campanilla_,” a woman of many bells, of much show, much noise, or pretension. The muleteer either walks by the side of his animal or sits aloft on the cargo, with his feet dangling on the neck, a seat which is by no means so uncomfortable as it would appear. A rude gun, ”but 'twill serve,” and is loaded with slugs, hangs always in readiness by his side, and often with it a guitar; these emblems of life and death paint the unchanged reckless condition of Iberia, where extremes have ever met, where a man still goes out of the world like a swan, with a song. Thus accoutred, as Byron says, with ”all that gave, promise of pleasure or a grave,” the approach of the caravan is announced from afar by his cracked or guttural voice: ”How carols now the l.u.s.ty muleteer!” For when not engaged in swearing or smoking, the livelong day is pa.s.sed in one monotonous high-pitched song, the tune of which is little in harmony with the import of the words, or his cheerful humour, being most unmusical and melancholy; but such is the true type of Oriental _melody_, as it is called. The same absence of thought which is shown in England by whistling is displayed in Spain by singing. ”_Quien canta sus males espanta:_” he who sings frightens away ills, a philosophic consolation in travel as old and as cla.s.sical as Virgil:--”Cantantes licet usque, minus via taedet, camus,” which may be thus translated for the benefit of country gentlemen:--

If we join in doleful chorus, The dull highway will much less bore us.

The Spanish muleteer is a fine fellow; he is intelligent, active, and enduring; he braves hunger and thirst, heat and cold, mud and dust; he works as hard as his cattle, never robs or is robbed; and while his betters in this land put off everything till to-morrow except bankruptcy, he is punctual and honest, his frame is wiry and sinewy, his costume peculiar; many are the leagues and long, which we have ridden in his caravan, and longer his robber yarns, to which we paid no attention; and it must be admitted that these cavalcades are truly national and picturesque. Mingled with droves of mules and mounted hors.e.m.e.n, the zig-zag lines come threading down the mountain defiles, now tracking through the aromatic brushwood, now concealed amid rocks and olive-trees, now emerging bright and glittering into the suns.h.i.+ne, giving life and movement to the lonely nature, and breaking the usual stillness by the tinkle of the bell and the sad ditty of the muleteer--sounds which, though unmusical in themselves, are in keeping with the scene, and a.s.sociated with wild Spanish rambles, just as the harsh whetting of the scythe is mixed up with the sweet spring and newly-mown hay-meadow.

[Sidenote: COSTUME OF THE MARAGATOS.]

There is one cla.s.s of muleteers which are but little known to European travellers--the _Maragatos_, whose head-quarters are at _San Roman_, near _Astorga_; they, like the Jew and gipsy, live exclusively among their own people, preserving their primeval costume and customs, and never marrying out of their own tribe. They are as perfectly nomad and wandering as the Bedouins, the mule only being subst.i.tuted for the camel; their honesty and industry are proverbial. They are a sedate, grave, dry, matter-of-fact, business-like people. Their charges are high, but the security counterbalances, as they may be trusted with untold gold. They are the channels of all traffic between Gallicia and the Castiles, being seldom seen in the south or east provinces. They are dressed in leathern jerkins, which fit tightly like a cuira.s.s, leaving the arms free. Their linen is coa.r.s.e but white, especially the s.h.i.+rt collar; a broad leather belt, in which there is a purse, is fastened round the waist. Their breeches, like those of the Valencians, are called _Zaraguelles_, a pure Arabic word for kilts or wide drawers, and no burgomaster of Rembrandt is more broad-bottomed. Their legs are encased in long brown cloth gaiters, with red garters; their hair is generally cut close--sometimes, however, strange tufts are left. A huge, slouching, flapping hat completes the most inconvenient of travelling dresses, and it is too Dutch to be even picturesque; but these fas.h.i.+ons are as unchangeable as the laws of the Medes and Persians were; nor will any Maragato dream of altering his costume until those dressed models of painted wood do which strike the hours of the clock on the square of _Astorga_: _Pedro Mato_, also, another figure _costumee_, who holds a weatherc.o.c.k at the cathedral, is the observed of all observers; and, in truth, this particular costume is, as that of Quakers used to be, a guarantee of their tribe and respectability; thus even Cordero, the rich Maragato deputy, appeared in Cortes in this local costume.