Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-05-23
SPANISH BEGGARS.
The 1n.pecunious Inhabitants of 1ored

The IntpecNht0atS AHHdotedntS or IOted0.
George p. Lathrop, in Harper's Magazine.]
The populace are instructive, free
born, Unsuitable beggars. The magnii-
cently-chased doorways of the cathedral
festered with revolving specimens of hui
man disease and degeneration, appeal
ing for aims. Other more prosperous
mendicants were regularly on hand for
business every day at the cold stand"
in some particular thoroughfare. I re-
member one especially whose whole cap
ital was invested in superior article of
nervous complaint, which enabled him
to balance himself between the wall and
o crutch, and there osc1llate spasmodi-
cally by the hour. In this he was en-
tirely beyond competition, and cast into
the shade those merely-routine profess
ionals who took the common line OF bad
eyes or uninteresting ly-motionless de-
formities. 1t used to depress them when
he came on to the ground. Bright little
children, even, in perfect health, would
desist from their amusements and assail
us, struck with the happy thought that
they might possibly wheedIe the
strangers" into some untimely gener-
osity. There was one pretty girl of
about 10 years, who laughed outright at
the thought of her own impudence, but
stopped none the less for half an hour
Oh her way to market carrying basket
Gu her army in order to poster poor We
lasqnez while he was sketching, and
begged him for money, first to get
bread, and then shoes, and then any
thing she could think of.
A hand opened TO receive money would
be highly-suitable device for the mu-
nicipal coat of arms.
My friends irrepressible pencil, by the
way, made him the center of a crowd
wherever he went. Grave business men
came out of their shops to see what he
was drawing; loungers made long and
Ingenious detours in order to obtain a
good view Of his labors; ragamufins ell
bowed him, undismayed by energetic
remarks in several languages, until
finally he was moved to get up and dis
play the contents of his pockets, inviting
them even to read some letters he had
with him. To this gentle satire they
would sometimes yield. We fell prey,
however, to one silent youth of whom
We once unguardedly asked question.
After that he considered himself perma-
nently engaged to pilot US about He
would linger for hours near the fonda
dim, rless, and, what was even more
terrible, sIeepless, so that he might fast
ell upon us ths moment we should
emerge. Ii he discovered our destina-
ton be would stride OFF mutely in adj
vance, to impress on us the fact that we
were under obligation to him; and when
We found the place We wanted he waited
patiently until we had rewarded him
with half cent. # we gratifed him
by asking him the way he responded by
silently stretching forth his arm and one
long forefnger with lordjy gesture,
still striding on; and he had very-su-
pcrior- Casiiiian snecring smile, which he
put On when he looked around to see if
We We're following. He gradually be-
came for us q sort Of symbolic shadow of
tie towns vanished greatness; and from
his mysterious way OF coming into sight
and haunting US in the most unexpected
places we gave him the name of
Ghost" Nevertheless, we baffiad him
at last. In the Street OF the Christ of
Light there is a small but exceedingly
culiOus mosque, now converted into a
church, so ancient i'll or gin that some of
the capitals i'll it are thought to show
Visigothic work, so that it must have
been Christian church even before the
Moorish invasion. Close by this we
Glanced upon a charming old patio, or
court yard, entered through wooden
gate, and by dexterously gliding in here
and shutting the gate we exercised
"Ghost" for some time.