River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-06-27
AMONG TIE sPANlARps.
Habits and Customs which Are Way b
hind the Times.

Habits and Customs which Are Way Bee
hind the Times.
know of few more picturesque
sit. ations for a city than that of Mad
rid. Lying at an elevation of about
$500 feet above the level of the sea
and in the neighborhood of range Of
mountains which, even in summer,
are crowned with snow, the capital or
Spain is partly encircled by the ro-
mantle Manzanares, which flows close
to the city walls
Madrid is rapidly divesting itself of
its Moorish character and three
fourths of the city have already as
sumed an essentially modern aspect
This is especially true of the heart of
/ the ''ciudad," the square known as
''Puerta del Sol, where ten streets and
/ all the tramway lines meet and whence
they diverge in different directions like
so many arteries The Importance of
this square lies in the fact that 1t is
the heart of Madrid and the center of
its traffic. Here are situated the prin-
cipal government buildings. hotels, res
| taurants and cafes. 1t is here thai
Madrilenians and extranjeras rendez-
vous to gossip. aud politicians congre-
gate to discuss and settle the affairs of
4 the nation. The restaurants and cafes
are very large, but not so elegant as
those of either Paris. Berlin. Wien or
Roma nor is the coffee as good, but
| the chocolate and sherbet are most
| nal1Rfnrrz fIhar-a
| at the disposal of the customers
of these different places of resort but
any one can buy the local sheets at tho
door, where there is generally a small
news stand. Most of the Spanish
dsilies sell at one cent, but they con-
tain very little of interest to foreign
ers. All classes meet in these restaur-
ants and cafes on equal terms. The
! peasant. the shOeblack and the scav-
enger think they have as much claim
to the title of caballeros as the poll
| tician, the dude and the officer. In
these places of public resort prevails 4
curious custom. which may be an old
relic of Moorish days in Spain-guests
call the attention of the walters by
clapping their hands or whistling. as
one does when calling a dog.
But the ''dOns" have more than one
popularity, and old habits that have
taken such strong hold of the people
that it is next to impossible to erradi-
cate them. Indeed. it seems to mo
that the Pyrenees are to the Spaniards
what the great walls of China are
to the Chinese. a bulwark behind
which the people entrench themselvc.
and resist Innovations Spain is fully
one hundred years behind any other
European country. Worse than Rus
STA, where the eighteenth century pro-
longs itself. for Spain's one hundred
years backwardness are grated on
three dark centuries. Three-fourths
of the people can neither read nor
write as yet, but are well satisfied so
long as bull fights and other barbarous
institutions are kept up.
Generally speaking MadriloHidns
sleep in the daytime and move about
at night Indeed. the streets of the
city are well-nigh deserted from ten a.
III. lllL SIX OF seven q CLOCK IN the even
ing, when every one hastens to the
Prado, the great public promenade OF
Madrid, to enjoy the cool and fragrant
breezes and stroll about through the
spacious park and lovely gardens. The
procession to the Prado is bit of
genuine Spanish local color in cosmo-
politan Madrid. Many either ride or
drive, and no other city in the world can
turn out so many teams of Andalusian
horses as proud and as graceful as their
masters and mistresses. The Prado.
at full promenade time, and especially
the evenings of Sundays and holy days,
presents an animated and most inter-
esting scene. How gracefully the
senors and senoritas flutter along the
gay parterre, where many-colored uni-
forms and diversified costumes sprrue
out in every direction to divert and do
homage to them. Here assemble the
beauties of every part of Spain, and
in no country in the world can there
be seen a brighter display of female
loneliness than on the Prado at Mad
rid.-COr. n. Y. Herald.