Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-01-22

or even incur the danger of starva-
ton, rather than offend the memory
of his fathers by introducing chang
es. In the last century, when the
Almader silver mines ceased to be
productive, it was discovered by an
eminent naturalist, who examined
them, that the cause of this failure
was that they had been worked in
perpendicular shafts instead of fol-
lowing the direction of the veins.
He perfected a plan for working
them in the proper manner, but no
earthly power could induce the
Spanish miners to obey him. There
was no precedent for this new pro-
cess, and they would have nothing
to do with it. At last they were
dismissed, and full force from Ger
many imported, under whose hands
the mines became instantly enor-
mously productive,
The Castillian is extremely cour-
teous in his manners, and expresses
himself with Oriental extravaganza
when offering his ciyilities. You
can never visit him without his in
forming you that you are in your
own house. If walking with him,
you pass his residence, he invites you
to enter your house and unfatigue
yourself a moment. In his habits,
he is extremely frugal and will live
in comfort and even elegance on an
income which would be thought
penury in this country, where abun-
dance and love of display have al
most annihilated the old-fashioned
virtue of economy. An arrogant,
self-esteem is the foundation Of the
Spanish character, and it is well to
distrust his superlatives when he is
speaking of his own country. He
will tell you that there are no wines
worth drinking out of Spain, and
that no literature in the world COM
pares with the productions of the
Castillian mind. As a politician, the
lberian is totally devoid of con-
science. The end justifes the means
is his creed. Not only will he sus-
tain the policy of doing evil that
good may come, but he will commit
infamies to attain ends which are
equally Objectionable according to
any code of morals known to the
world.
The ladies of Spain seem to have
impressed our author much more
favorably than the opposite sex. He
says they are much superior to their
husbands and brothers in cleverness
and appreciation, are graceful, at
tractlve and often beautiful, but ex-
tremely ignorant. One of their au-
thors commends this ignorance as
one of their chief charms, and adds,
a Christian woman, in good society,
ought not TO know anything but her
missal and cookery-book. This SEN
timent seems to be literally carried
out in the lives of these women.
Like most Roman Catholics, they
are extremely attentive to the out
ward forms of religion, and their
love and reverence for the Virgin is
shown by the large number of per-
sons who bear her name. This crowd
of Marys are distinguished from
each other by some prefix, such as
Dolores, Mercedes, Milagras, &C.,
and they are always addressed by
the baptismal instead of by the fam
lily name. To Protestant ears, the
language of these saints is shocking
ly profane. "Jesus Marie" is their
mildest exclamation of surprise.
These forms of expression are so
common, that they are apparently
uttered without any thought of their
daring impiety. The personality of
the woman is not SO entirely merged
in that of the husband as with us.
She retains her own baptismal and
family name through life, and is as
often called by it as by that of her
husband.
Although our artist found the
useful arts still in primitive state,
one of the fine arts-that of paint
ing-had long ago reached the high
est degree of perfection. The works
of Valesquez, Murillo and Riberas,
are almost unrivalled. Madrid has
the finest picture gallery in the
world-it contains more than two
thousand pictures, already catalogu-
ed. Among these are ten by Ra-
phael, fortY-three by Titan, thirty
four by Tintoret, twenty-five by
Paul Veronese, sixty-four by Ru-
bens, sixty by Teniers, besides num-
bers by native artists. This collec-
ton of paintings was made during
the reign of Charles VI, and Philip
IL, who had the lions share of all
the best work done in the world,
and is a monument of the power and
tyranny of the House of Austria.
There is still in Spain lack of
principle in the higher walks of gov
ernment, such as is not seen else
where. A man who speaks what he
thinks is regarded as near the peril
Gus borders of idiocy. The policy
of the 10th century is still retained,
when Philip IL, and Elizabeth of
England, wed with each other in
craft and treachery, and it was
thought the highest wisdom of kings
to veil ther own sentiments and de-
ceive and mlslead their opponents.
Conscious of his own insincerity, the
Spaniard expects it in others-in-
deed, he has the irrational distrust
of maniac; takes all you say as a
ruse to cover your real intentions,
and endeavors to amuse you with
falsehoods while he tries to detect
your ulterior motives.
There was a striking instance of
this in the time of John Tyler, who
in his zeal for slavery, imagined he
had discovered an English plot for
the abolition of slavery and the es-
tabisment of a republic on the is
land of Cuba. He instantly offered
the assistance of the military and
naval forces of the United States to
Chevalier D'Agair, the Spanish Min.
lister at Washington, to quell such
an attempt if it took place. D'Ar-
gair, who had been so long out Of
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