Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1868-02-21

Aitsta - <4Jtt1tat 4 u'ef lBe poor VIC
TINS who IN former years wsre dragged IN
der that portal, would hags been glad 10
! read such words. If they eoult be interpret
/ ed into an assurance that thee weFe to be
safe from the FIRE of an auto IL Il.
The Spanish Iaquisition asftds the sad
dest story in the annals Of the human race
/ Whatever the name or creed Of the prose
cutor-Jew or Gentle, Roman Greek,
I Protestant or Mab0metan--the addest Of
! all possible facts is this, that man das put
to torture and to death his fellow man on
account Of bis religious opinions Let God
be praised that In all the earth except Spain
and Rome, men may worship Him in their
own way, with none TO modest or make
them afraid
/ And it is very we'll to bear ia mind that
: persecution has It's spirit and some Of its
power, where the victims are by law insured
against FIRE. In the press and "a the pulpit,
the venom Of bigosTy and the bitterness OF
intolerance may be poured on the heads of
those who are guilty Of other opinions than
ours, aud Ia God 5 sight such persecution
may be as offensive, as the rack and boot Of
the Inquisition The spirit Of the Master
rebukes the use of the sword, even In
the hands of Peter, to cut off a servant ear,
aud the same spiFi. forbids US to be unehar-
table towards the meanest Of those who
have not the light or the grace to see as We
see, or TO defend Christ in our way.
Well it requires all this charity and more,
tOimagine that people can have any prop
eF idea of the Christian religion, and spend
the Sabbath as these Spaniards do To see
them at il, we must go where they most en-
JOY IT They have DO cathedral IN Madrid,
bat their churches are many, and IN the
morning they, women especially, go to
church. The Spaniards are more devout
than the Italians. In6dehty has not made
SO much progress. There Is j proverb that
to 90 to Rome is TO disbeleve. The people
IN Spain have not seen Romanism as It has
been seen in Italy, until the popular mind IS
sick of it. But they make short work IN
Spain Of their de7otions.
The Prado is their Park on the skirts Of
the town. And this is not enough for tAem
on Sundays. We saw the crowds pouring
out towards one Of the gates, some in car
Eiages, but most Of them on toot-Hen, wo-
men and children, hundreds thousands, in
holiday attire-and we followed Beyond
the Alcala gate, near which is the bull ring,
halt mile into the country, we came to the
meadows over which these pleasure seeking
Castllians had spread themselves to enjoy
their national and tayorIte pastlme. & httle
later Ia the season, when the weather Is
warmer, thousands Of these people would
stop at the bull-ring, and see the battle Of
men and beasts. 1t IS too cool as yet, and
the bulls do not fight well except Ia hot
weather. But 1t Il not too cool 70 dance out
Of doors, and for this advertisement these
thousands have come. On the wide mea-
dows there is not a house, not shsaty, not
a she'd or booth. We have passed on the
way scores Of vine shops; and there the
people can resort If they choose, But or
the grounds there is nothing to be had but
the pure and the blessed air. The people
are distributed in groups all ever the PLAIN.
VHa grass ~ green Tho su1, winter sun,
i Ind and genial. The city lies IN full view
with palaces and 1oE1es and planacles. And
in the distance, but in this blazing sun and
lucid atmosphere apparently very near, long
ranges Of mountains stand covered with snow
white, pure, glistenng Ike silver IN the sun-
light and forming magnificent background
TO the gay picture OF our teet. La the centre
OF each Of these many groups dozen, more
or less, Of young men and women, are dane
ing to music. This IS furnished by one, two
or three musicians, str0lIng bands, with
guitars and vioiins- Often one Is an old man
blind. His wife and daughter are with him,
with their instruments. The airs are not
wild. not even lively, as compared with those
Of Italy But they are spirited, and some
times familiar to a foreign ear; t0T the airs
of music, ike the airs OF heaven, travel all
around the world. The dances are pretty
and modest, singularly tame, and far from
being as full Of frolic and abandon as one
would expeet 10 see in the out-of-d door auuse-
ments Of the common people For these are
| the lower classes only. 1t Is the pastime Of
the sons and daughters Of toll, and perhaps
want. They were not III dressed, and more
Of them were well dressed But they ap
! peared to be the class OF people who had but
/ this day il the week for pleasure, and were
now seeking and finding it In way that cost
| them little or nothing. More were looking
on than danced. Yet the sets changed fre
auently, and the circle wideued as the mum
I beTs Of dancers grew, and there vas always
room for more for the meadows were wide,
I and the heaven was 4 roof large enough to
/ cover them all.
And the straugest part Of this perform
I auce IS yet to be mentioned; more than half
/ the men In this frolic Of the fields we're sol
/ diers Of the regular army, IN their uniforms,
/ without arms, enjoyiBga half holiday. They
1 and all the rest, men aud women, seemed to
/ be as happy as happy could be. If We had
I thought the people Of Spain, and especially
/ of Madrid, where the government Is felt and
/ seen more severely and nearly than else
/ where TO be gloomy, sulen, discontinued,
miserable and ready 90 rise in revolt, such a
I thought would be put to rout by seeing
+ these soldiers and others, men and women
I thousands and thousands, making them.
1 selves so easily happy Of Sunday afternoon.
In one Of the circles Of dancers two young
I men, better dressed than the rest. we're
either the worse for liquor, or were feIgBiBg
TO be tipsy As the other dancers paid no
attention to them, and let them amuse
themselves 10 their own way, IL IS quite
/ probable they were playing tie fool These
were the only persons IN that multitude, Of
/ the lower orders Of ne city, who gave any
/ sign Of having been drinking anything that
/ could intoxicate There were scores OF
( wine shops on the street, within the easy
I walk of all who wish liquors. 1t was ueces-
I sary to pass them going aud coming to and
\ from the city. And thousands doubtless
took something to drink both going and
\ coming. The young men would treat the
I girls, and, ofeourse, all would have as much
1 wine as they wished. For It Is almost as
cheap as Water-cheaper than water IN New
1 YORK perhaps; for there the tax that some
/ body pays for Croton is something. but here
Z IN Spain wine is so cheap that what was lefs
I Of last year vintage has often been emptied
on the ground, or used instead Of water to
/ mix mortar with! That is a large story,
bat will be proved when / come to speak of
+ the wines Of this country. Yet drunken
/ ness is not one Of the common vices of
I Spain.
And this was my first Sabbath in Spain,