Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-07-14
How Spaniards are Proud of Spain. I

How SpaniardS are Proud Of Spain
The pride of the Spaniard in hi
country has its laughable side and it.
respectable side. A gentleman whC
from his face and accent I took to b,
Scotch, sat opposite me in the earriag,
from Irun to Madrid. We talked or
sundry matters. The railway traver.
seS one of the most desolate regions
ofSpain, and near Valladolid, / was
careless enough to say as / looked out
of the window, that the country was
hideous. The Scotch face. as
thought it, kipdled with Spanish
pride, and its owner by way of polite
| contradiction, began to describe the
I Incompatible excellence of the dis
| trict which had ventured to dispar-
age. Its quarries of marble, he said,
are the richest in the world, and there
exists in the Escurial a collection of
specimens from these provinces, un-
matched for variety and beauty. |
innocently asked where the products
of these Guarries were sold or used.
Sir" replied my friend, with sever
ity, ..'the quarries have never been
worked In minerals and mineral
waters the land is equally rich. Put
a plate of some metal into a running
stream in an hour it will be coated
with pure copper" Wine and oil
might be produced in quantities with
limit, but, alas, there is no population
to consume them; no market, no
roads for the transportation of these
commodities. The northwest of
Spain, was next told, is the finest
wheat growing country in Europe,
but before | could ask to what coun-
tries all their wheat was exported, L
was silenced by the statement that
there also no roads existed, and the
wheat was in fact not grown, but
might be. To these and other similar
bits of information listened with
respectful curiosity, as became a for
eigner entering for the first time
country so singular as Spain. L was
ready to agree that it was well to
have a country so remarkable for its
potentiality of production, if not for
the products themselves, and of course
l did not dream of doubling what was
told me by man who looked like a
Scotchman, spoke English fluently,
and avOwed himself a Spaniard. But
presently we reached the Escurial,
that huge convent palace of Phillip ii
which all Spaniards reckon the eight
wonder of the world. "That," said
my Spaniard ''is the largest edifice on
the face of the globe. 1t contains 16-
600 windows" III had a doubt, as a
true American ought, whether the
capitol at Washington might not be
bigger land at least as ugly accept
4 F1,n .Nr,r- Of ,r-tNAA,uN ha-sN,
ton, it being evidently impossible
to count them as the train went by.
But, alas nothing is so fatal to belief
as a spirit of inquiry. Turning to
my French guide-book-for the
French are exact in figures when the
glory of France is not Inconsistent
with numerical accuracy, and a
French guide is usually the best ex-
cept in France-what was my cha
grin to find the number of windows
from 16, 600 to1, 100. To escape
the fatigue of the mental surprises
which attended my conversation with
this patriotic Sprniard | soon after
ward fell asleep. On waking, 1 found
Madrid in view and in moment we
crossed the bed of river nearly with
out water. 1t was the ManZanares,
and my companion called my atten-
ton to the extraordinary fullness of
the stream. / replied that / should
like see it when it was dry. "You !
should come to Madrid in the sum-
mer," said he. sin the summer they |
water the bed of this river |
to prevent the sand from blowing in
to the city, which but for its precau-
ton would become uninhabitable."
The eXageration of this conceit struck |
me as almost American, and l laugh |
ed civilly to show my appreciation of |
the Jest. Again had blundered, and |
was summarially put down with a |
Sir, the ManZanares is not river to |
be laughed at" Few minutes after |
The train rolled into the station and 1 |
entered Spain with a resolution not to |
augh at anything might hear or see
IN that city, until L had made sure
hat no person with sandy hair and !
speaking the dialect spoke north of
he Tweed was near by.-LetteT from
Madrid.