The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-16
SEE saw a BULL FIGHT.
A Baltimore Girl Tells How the Spec
tacle Impressed Her.
from Tie Baltimore Sun.

From the Baltimore Sun.
Baltimore girl, who faints at the sight
Of a caterpillar, turns green at the flow of
blood, and is in every way of most gentle
and kindly nature, thus writes home about
her visit to bull fght-the occasion being
the farewell to Paris of the prince of nata-
doris, Louis Mazzantini:
AT last l have seen nv first bull fight,
and, trust, my last You could not have
borne IL five minutes, and l scarcely know
how l did.
Imagine an immense arena, with O., coo
people packed in circles, while above limo
cent little white clouds floated over an
intensely blue sky. At times the tender
hearted clouds shut the sky entirely off
from all view of what was going on be
meath IN the arena, while frequent short
Aprll-llKe showers of tears q fell from
them, and it is to be hoped soothed the
wounds of the six enraged bulls that sue
ceeded each OTTER to death. The occasion
was Mazzantints farewell to the Partisan
public, which has made such hero of him.
Not only had fatted calves been killed
In his honor in appreciation of the
fatted bulls which MaZzantini had killed
with such glory, but hats and handker-
chiefs waved, presents of gold, of silver,
and jewels were thrown to him after his
little speech of farewell, and flowers, in
forms of wreaths, bouquets, and hearts,
soon covered the gore-stained ground OF
all these gifts the only one the Spanish
grandee noticed at all was simple bunch
OF violets. This he stopped to pick up, and
kissed in the direction of the fair dame " no
had thrown it. HIS two Wallets raised the
more valuable gifts from the dust, while
Mazzantini himself never deigned to even
glance at the rich jewels scattered at his
feet.
1T was wonderful sight, exciting past
belief. l am glad to have seen it, for
learned something, bub the one lesson COM
plstes the course. rn see no more fights.
Tpe orchestra played the music of Car
men as we came out. and | stopped to study
the faces of the audience that but a few
minutes before were in such extremes of ex-
element, shouting and Kissing when the
poor bull, terrified and smarting, tried to
save himself instead of showing the proper
amount of fight, and l remembered that
too, at the moment had risen to my feet and
rejoiced when we'll planted lance, which |
thought was costing the picador his life, as
he stood directly in front of the bulls horns,
pierced the bulbs shoulder just as he lowered
his head to strike. Then the marvellous
Mazzantini leaped over the head and stood
quietly waiting until the now maddened
creature turned on him with sufficient
ferocity to satisfy the most exacting hisser.
Nothing can express to you the intense
artistic aspect of the performance. One
has to see it to understand the science of
those superb men. They walk with the
dignity that princes are supposed to have,
in and out of the jaws of death-a leap not
any higher or less calm than lust enough to
keep them this side of eternity. The little
scarlet cloak, their only defensive weapon,
and with this alone, they lead the inturIa-
ted animal TO the exact spot where they
wish to kill him, and then kill him, not at
any haphazard moment to save their own
lives, but only at the signal given by the
president. In Paris they do not kill the bull
in the arena, but when the signal to kill is
given, the matador's personal danger is all
the greater for not killing, as he must touch
the bull in the vital spot above the head be-
tween the shoulders, just as the bull lowers
his head to gore him, thus going through
the form, after which the bull is taken out
by oxen and killed out of sight Each bull,
which is of very high breed, belongs to
some well-known Spanish senior, and is
worth good many hundred dollars. But
they say it cannot fight twice, as il must
be put an end to; the honor of the family
to whom it belongs is at stake by the way
it fights
IA wonderful sight, and always shall it
live In my memory how the artistic super
seded the human side of it in my eyes. |
had TO grasp the smelling salts in one hand,
for you know how l turn sick at the sight
of blood, and to see those poor blindfolded
horses raised on the horns of the maddened
bulls made me turn faint for the moment,
while the next l was fascinated by won
derful silence that turned life into a play
thing. The costumes and all the mise en-
scene are the most picturesque things i'm
aginable. In fact everything is done to
make it endurable. Fierce feelings that
never imagined 1 had rose up and took pos
session of me, and l could scarcely realize
my own lack of heart. For once and the
last time have seen this relic Of a past
barbarism, and am glad to have had the
experience"