The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1884-01-11
Travelling in Spain.

The real Spain is the least attractive
country in Europe to the tourist. The
traveller goes there TO see certain uni
que objects. He sees them, enjoys
item, is entranced by them, leaves
them with regret and a tender memory.
and is glad to get out of Spain. There
are six things to see: the Alhambra,
the Seville cathedral and AlcaZar. the
Mosque of Cordova. Toledo and its ca
tledral, the Gallery at Madrid. and
Abnscrrat. The rest is mainly monot-
ory and WEAKNESS. With the excep-
ton of the Alhambra, which has
spell that an idle man finds hard to
break, and where perhaps he could be
content indefinitely. there is no place
in Spain that one can imagine he would
like to live in, for the pleasure of liy-
ing. Taking. out certain historical
features and monuments, the towns re-
peat each other in their attractions and
their disagreeables. Every town and
city in Italy has its individual charac-
ter and special charm. To go from
one TO another is always to change the
scene and the delight. This is true of
the old German towns also. Each has
a character. The traveller sees many
place in each country where he
thinks he could stay on from month TO
month. with a growing home-like feel
ing. think there is nothing of this
attraction in Spain. The want of it
may be due to the country itself, or to
the people. l fancy that with its vast
arid plains, treeless and tiresome, its
quilted hills and its bare escarped
mountains, Spain resembles New Mex
leo. Ii is an unsoftened, unrelieved
landscape, for the most part, some
times grand in its vastness and sweep,
but rugged and unadorned. The want
of grass and gentle vcndure is seri-
GUS drawback to the pleasure of the
eye. not compensated by the magic
tricks of the sunlight, and the varie-
gated reds, browns, and yellows of the
exposed soil and rocks, and the
spring-time green Of the nascent crops.
/ speak, OF course, of the general
aspect, for the mountain regions are
rich in wild flowers, and the cultivation
in the towns is everywhere u redeem
ing feature.
The traveller. of course, gets his inn
pressiOns of people from the outside.
These are correct SO far as they 90,
and it is in a sense safe to generalize
on them, though not to particularize.
He catches very soon the moral atmOs-
phere OF strange land, and knows
whether ii is agreeable or otherwise,
whether the people seem pleasant or
the reverse. He learns to discriminate,
for example. between the calculated
geniuthlirhkeH OF Switzerland and the
more spontaneous friendliness of Ba-
varia. He can pronounce at once upon
the cordial good humor of the Wen
nese, the obligingncss OF the people of
Edinburgh, the agreeableness of the
Swedes. simply on street knowledge,
without ever entering II private house
or receiving any personal hospitality.
He knows The willy, poetical WAYS by
which he is beguiled in Italy, but grows
fond Of the sunny race.
In Spain he is pretty certain to be
rubbed the wrong way, most Of the
time. He is conscious Of an atmos-
phere of suspicion, of distrust, of con-
tempt often. He cannot understand.
for instance, why attendants in
churches and cathedrals are so curt
and disobliging. keeping him away, on
one pretense and another. from the
sights he has come far to see. and for
which he is willing to pay. Incidents
occurred both al Grenada and Toledo
that could be accounted for only on the
suppositiOn that the custodians liked to
discommOde strangers. If we had
been Frenchmen, whom the Spaniards
hate as the despoilers of churches and
galleries. we could have understood it.
BY reputation the Spaniard is ut home
hospitable, and on acquaintance graz
cious, and generally willing to oblige.
But the national atmosphere is certain
ly not what the Germans call gemuth-
Itch. In no other European country is
the traveller likely 10 encounter so much
incivility and rudcness, SO little at
tempt at pleasing him and making him
like the country. At least, the attitude
is that of Indifference whether the
country pleases him or not. Perhaps
this springs from noble pride and SUI
periority. Perhaps il is from pro-
vincial consciousness of being about
two hundred years behind the age.
But, elsewhere, the rleasantest people
to trave among are those whose clocks
stopped two centuries ago. Individu-
ally, | have no doubt. the Spaniards
are charming. Collectively, they do
not appear to welcome the stranger, or
put themselves out TO make his sojourn
agreeable. Charles Dudley Warner tn
November Atlantic