New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-04-06
TEN DAYS IN SPAIN.
LAST DAY IN MADRID.

ri TO MADRID-GIGGIING NUNS.
Il was my last. day in Madrid, and PRESIDENT
CASTELAR, had offered TO call at noon. loo goou u
h trne" said yet prepared for the best, by draw
inc No a series of questions that reduced
Snain 10 q catechism. Twelve o'clock came
and went, half-past twelve, one o'clock han-
mast one two O'clock yet no Castelar,, ana 10
letter He had forgotten the engagement
q, no was i'll or he had shifted that cateohsm afar
of and preferred breaking his word to facing It's IN
terrogations / was extremely sorry, for having
gone 10 Spain solely to CASTELAR,, it seemed pity
mot 10 yet beyond the cutice of mountaineering;
Int one interview was all that had reason to
expect and if he denied me the volunteered luxury
of n second could not complain There are women
who never pardon mans fOrgettuiness though NC
carry state cares upon his shoulders put mysei'
IN Castclars place forgave him at2oclock precsey'
,Od then went in search of banker. found him In
ouiet little Office where. in the brogue OF an irlsn-
man. beard how he had known Washington irving
intimately how charming Irving was; now he had
met all the nice Americans visiting Spain, among
them that delightful fellow, John Hay. Then the
banker taking singuarly long time to sign his name
20 the necessary papers gracefully referred to Amer
lean women and later gided upon the subject OF
Soaiu He would not could not. believe III the per-
manencv of the republic. The Span:ards-he knew
them well-wcre not imbued with self-sacrihclng
patriotism. What they possessed was lncarnate
egotsm Mr.. Banker refused to modify his STATE
ments. l could get no Tepublicanlsm out OF nili'
although l got money on letter OF creult
that he knew to be worthless. He gave me goid
without charging the customary premium, ana tOld
me 10 he rid of the bank notes before leaving Ma
drd The Bank of Spain is not trusted outside OF
the capital. A fine commentary on Peninsular
finances. is # mott " But good Sir" | said, sup
o,,l 7 ho1 IL
You with my dishonored letter of credit, what
would YOU have done I" We'll" replied the
son of Erin with a twinkle in his eye,
think if you'd come to me with that demure look,
I'd have given you all the money you wanted"
Imention this conversation for the benefit of such
unprotected women as have their affections fastened
on Spain vet have lost confidence il letters OF
credit.
With money in my purse felt that must buy
something Spanish, something that would recall my
wild chase after republic, something that could
hand down to posteTity as relic OF my Peninsular
campaign. Spanish fans are now made III France;
in fact the only hit of wonans toilet not imported
from France is the mantilla aud when | went to
call upon pretty Spanish woman. she knew Just
how To buy one "You must not 90 into a shop"
she said "Only foreigners do that and get cheated.
There are women merchants who 90 from house to
Spanish women are great traders Even the rich
sell their dresses when they tire of them, and now
that times are hard there great deal of old lace
IN the market at reasonable rates. Many are dis
posirc of real lace mantillas and can get you one
cheap The saleswoman will be here directly but
Let me warn YOU against showing any eagerness
about purchasing Double the amount is asked that
the woman will take and your indifference will lead
to a reduction of prices. Now remember"
In came tine little old woman, and l remembered.
With desire IN my heart but ,nchalance in my man
ncr | turned jew. ! would give so much The
woman declared that the lady to whom the man
tla belonged would kill her if she did not obtain
twice the sum- 1 laughed at the imposition. The
little old woman delivered Grafton to prove
how. since the beginning Of the world, there
never had been anything cheap. l
shrugged nv shoulders The little old woman held
the mantilla before the light, that might see the
bauty Of the Iich black lace. She would part
with the last hair on her head before she
would take one real less for such
work of art. The north pole
conld not have melted less than T. Oh, very well
then the little old woman would 60 elsewhere. She
would not basely sacrifice her clients property; and
"a my dismay | saw her pack up the mantlllas and
bid rs good morning Give yourself no concern,
said the pretty amiable Sonora she viii return.
can have the mantilla for the price we named, give
her an extra dollar for herself. 1t is always ex-
pccted."
Truly enough. after making an excited exit, the
little old woman returned, and, with blandness
that nothing but cOnsummate schooling could have
produced. presented the coveted mantlla. The
doacelr OF one dollar made the little old woman
beam with satisfaction, and piling benedctions
upon my head she left me mistress of real Spanish
mantiila which sober second thought Informed me
was about as handy to have in the house"
Toodles's doOr-plate of Thompson with D."
Never mind / whispered, coaxingly, TO con-
science: 1T was cheap" Conscience is very frank.
Conscience is one of those disagreeabe friends that
for principles sake always tells the truth. is
anything you do not want cheap at any price'" l
turned the conversation Immediately.
lis but a step from dress to politics and took it,
There stood most obliging deputy waiting to show
us the Cortes. He thought Spain in bad way he
did not know what would be the end of it; of course
he hoped for the best. He was d6bonnair, and
looked as though he might comfortably survive the
loss of the republic; but already was becoming
accustomed 10 the Spanish happy-go-lucky way of
treating revolutions. One thing the kindly deputy
did know that CASTELAR, i'll in bed with one of his
bilious headaches and could not any of the Gov
eminent until late in the afternoon. This. then,
counted for Castelar's broken promise to me- and
was dOubly sorry.
There is nothing remarkable about the Spanish
Cortes Plain externally, it has numerous well
furnished committee-rooms containing modern
portraits and paintings of artistic value, while its
Chamber of Deputies, arranged like an amphi-
tbester, is remarkable for nothing but its deeds
The Bourbon crown, the Queens portrait have been
81. h., L.. u.