Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1888-12-15
TRAVELLING IN SPAIN.
LIFE AS SEEN FROM THE WINDOWS
OF A RAILROAD CAR.

- ~ q NSiF
pleasant place, even If you can see the
beauties of Spain from its dirty windows.
l can but describe the one l travelled In as
resembling en- American cattle car fitted
up with park benches. At the ends of
each car Is printed the number which de-
slgnates the number of passengers a car
Is expected to hold-usually ninety.
The time Of which | am writing was
early spring, yet at night there was a
damp chill IN the air, and the atmosphere
OF the car was redolent with the smell of
that highly favored Spanish delicacy,
garlic pudding. This popular relish
every Spaniard takes with him, in an
earthen pot, whenever he travels. If he
is only going a few miles the pudding
goes too, to be handy in case of emer.
gency.
As night grew on apace, my compan-
ions, the peasants, prepared themselves
for sleep. The preparations were speed
lily accomplished, each man muffling him
self In his cloak up to his eyes. and all
leaning In one direction on each bench, as
II by previous agreement, those on the
next bench leaning the other way. But
for this equalization should have thought
the car tipping and about TO slide down
one Of the steep sides of the mountain.
They breathe through this cloak. Some
times the cloak Is an heirloom, and the
continual breathing through it by a few
generations does not make this article Of
their apparel more p~resentable.
GARLIC PUDDING.
Some stayed awake for q while TO smoke
their cigarettes. You would imagine
from the assiduous way the peasants Of
fered each other tobacco and that garlic
d~elicacy of which l AVE spoken, that
they were very polite by nature. found
out a~fterward, however, that In Spain YOU
are expected TO decline when anything Is
offered TO you-if you understand Ell
quette. Not being aware, at the time, OF
this social law, | took some garlic pud.
ding which a villainous looking peasant
offered me. ] thought that the act might
please him, showing that l was not too
proud or stuck up" TO eat what he and
the rest ate. / paid dearly for my expert
ment, for 1t nearly ~strangled me with It's
odor; yet found strength 20 murmur
"bueno," though the tears surged into
my eyes while | thanked the donor.
In my perambulations around the world
have come upon many villainous smells,
but never before such q concentrated
combination of doors as that garlic pud-
ding emitted. Later | learned TO distin-
guish localities and streets by 1t. The
Spaniards cannot cook without garlic.
Often as | have asked for something
without ajo, never did | find anything but
had some faint of garlic.
1t may be unnecessary to speak Of the
inordinate smoking Of the Spaniards.
They are unequaled by any nation in the
world as smoke producers. 1t is very
hard TO meet one, morning, noon or night,
without the inevitable cigarette attach
ment. mention it as a discovery that /
met one Spaniard who did not smoke.
II sPANIARD's CIGARETTE.
The Spaniard bends his cigarette down.
ward, at nearly a right angle. AT home
and abroad, except ia cathedral or museo,
the rings Of smoke are always rising in
perpetual incense, The sonora at her
toilet in the window smokes her cigar
cite. The beggar asking aims, and rat
thing at the iron gate Of the patio, smokes
meanwhile. Only burrc. the patient
donkey. doesn't smoke.
BY and by the train stopped and a
portly peasant and his two daughters en-
tered, the latter clad In the national cos
tune, with the mantilla. They had the
grace Of leopards in their movements,
and eyes that seemed full of hidden fires.
CiAp "ho Val n, WIN piuC bldNh eyes hllQ II
golden brown skin, that lovely color
which only comes from a life In the sun,
at work in the fields. The other had the
blonde hair Murillo so loved to paint.
Though simply dressed, there was some
thing strangely picturesque and poetic
about them. Both sisters spokepure Cas-
tilian-"the tongue of the north" To
me there is no language under the sun 50
musical as the soft Spanish tongue when
spoken by q woman Of CASTLE. 1t is like
the murmur of a brook flowing over peb-
bles and full Of dreamy harmony, like the
murmur Of water at night, which the
Spanish call 1.-The sigh Of the Moor"
IN A JovIAL MOOD.
This family party, the rotund father and
his two graceful daughters, were In a
jovial mood. AS We sat on the same
bench, we soon entered into conversation.
They thought II great fun to make me the
subject of their badinage, Ny future was
p~rophesied by one of the daughters. Was
| a bachelor? Did expect to escape all
the fair Castilians unmarried. They were
indeed a jovial set, u did much, by
their talking and singing, to enliven the
I was surprised to find many OF the
Spaniards In the car were of enormous
stature Usually the Spaniard of the
towns Is slight and understood. The
numerous cloaks, sashes, knives, and SO
forth. make the slenderest Spaniard quite
robust In appearance.
must say there Is one thing about the
caballero that wearics me, and hat is his
insufferable conceit and braggadocio.
These children of the sun" are very
peculiar. They have a conceit of locality.
Many | saw dressed in the costume of the
time of Don Pablo of Segovia." The
wearer being more proud of his province
than of his country, wears the costume OF
the province. The most boastful of these
braggarts are generally arrant towards,
yet they are, for the most part, good ma
tured cowards.-W. Parker BOdfsh In
Demorest's Monthly.