Morning journal and courier., 1890-02-22

bronzed as Turks; the most arduous toilers the wiekedest blackguards. and wtthal thu three grades in this labor. They are thu mattresses, or amas, the overseers or syudan' tas, and the lavanderas themselves. All ar' women. The first are the agents who 10. ceive the work from the hotels, great houses and the city, sgencias, in huge lots, and art responsible for its safe return. The ayudan- tas or overseers are really the forewomsn o1 from dozen to @ score of lavanderas each and they are responsible for work placed in their hands by the amss. At five in the morning, winter and summer, the lavande. ras will be seen, many of them with chil. dren trundling beside them, creeping along from the barrios abajos or lower quarters o1 the city towards the Manzanares. Near the river is an asilo or asylum, refuge for theil children. Here the lavandera first deposits her charges, where they have food, care and training free until she returns for the little ones at night. Then she saunters to vents de lavanderas, or cheap washerwoman's inn and takes her copeta of brandy, or cup oi coffee, and at once repairs to her own banca, or little washing box or station provided fol cdVu WOIkoE. Dy SlA O ClOCk yUu u1lBut count from five to eight thousand of these strange creatures at work. The entire slop- ing, sandy banks are covered with drying poles. At this time of the year the water from the mountains is of icy temperature. But it seems to make no difference with their labors. Here and there huge oauldrons con- tain boiling water. From time to time tri- fe of this is poured in the little hollow where each one tolls in the sand and water; t>~.L II ka1 1- than necessity. Each lavandera brings her own huge roll of bread, perhaps @ bit of cheese, a clasp knife to prevent undue hber- ties from the struggling soldiery near, as we'll as to use in cutting bread; and just be- fore noon they breakfast in huge wooden sheds on salt fish, potatoes and coffee, with . measure of red wine provided by the anna, duplicating this meal as dinner at four in the afternoon. They eat like animals, and the moment their food is disposed of the tinkle of the guitar is heard, and you or any kindly disposed passer may dance with them, as did, until the thirty minutes al- lowed them for food and refresce have ex. pired. On these occasions every one dances girls of eighteen and women of eighty, and the scenes along Manzanares are very pictur- esque and interesting. But when I tell you that one of these iron framed wenches must wash and dry ready for the ''starching, which is done by the criadas in the city pieces of linen equaling the cleansing o1 seventy sheets, in order to earn twenty.nv' cents per day, the poetical sense in it all fl with the interested on-looker rather thar with the drudging lavanderas of the Manza nares.
 To the southwest of the old city, between the fine Toledo bridge and the huge but un artistic Toledo gate, and near the bank oi the river, is 8 woebegone quarter known a "Barrio de las Injurias y Cambroneras.' , Here found my old friends, the gipsies, tc the number of about one thousand. They live in crumbling stone huts, rude wooden sheds curiouslY patched and mended, like many of the squatters in their picturesque cabins upon the gray rocks of Harlem heights in New York, and in tents of coarse linen cloth set upon board bases, something as we used to raise our 'wedge" and "wall' tents when in winter quarters. while some of us were enjoying vacation in the south from '61 to '65. There is also one old ruin of house, formerly an almacen or ware- house where some thirty or forty families herd like rats. But the icy winds sweeping down the valley of the Manzanares had left them in such state of torpor as made a vis. it to them devoid of special interest. They hold weekly fairs here for the sale of horses and wild and picturesque throngs of their women in fair weather dance and sing in tn, calles and upon the piszas of the city, whil, the adivinss or fortune tellers stealthily fol low the working women and chulas, ant penetrate to the moradas of the nobility themselves, upon whom they practice thei black arts of divination. My visit to thes' pointing had I not possessed certain pass ports to their favor from American gipsies This enabled me to secure information re garding the present whereabouts of the mos powerful and respectable band of rom raj Ahi or ''road lords," that is travelling gipsiea, il Spain, which, if fortunate in finding, shal speak of at length in my next letter.
 From the homes of these miserable out casts wandered to the Campo Santo or pub lie cemetery of Madrid. To me there hal always been strange fascination about the mournful end of the greatest, and the most diabolic, poet Spain ever produced. That one was Esproncsda, the mad poet of Spain I could not find his own grave, but the neg lected tumba of his mother was pointed ou the place where the poets desperate agony dethroned his reason. His life and deatt were equally horrible. He sprapg from SO cial d1iftwood. His mother was a brilliant lascivia; his father titled roue; his owI love affairs horribly dramatic; his daughter the most beautiful and dangerous woman oi Spain, and his own death that of mad man. The baleful influence of his daughter was such that royalty ill Spain nearly re ceived it's death blow, and every hope cen' tering in the present royal succession was al but destroyed.
 Adelaide, the mad poets divinely beauti. ful daughter, was the favorite inamorata oi Alfonso. Indeed the two were desperatel. in love. Queen Christina, the present queen regent, bore all his ordinary affairs patiently enough, but she knew of the radiant beauty and intellectually of Adelaide, and it crazet her with jealousy. Ordering close carrosa she was driven to the little nest of @ quint, Alfonso had provided for his love in tn, aristocratic suburb of Chambery at an houl when she knew the king would be with her Hastily alighting, she attempted to enter but was met by the Duke Sesto, whose emf hence had been attained as a procnrado rather than as a statesman.
 Permit me to enter!" tremblirgly de manded the queen.
 ftIt is impossible. beg you to return t. ths palace," replied Sesto.
 'Make way for the queen-the queen will pass!" indignantly commanded the niece o Francis Joseph, emperor of the Austrias.
 "Even the queen cannot passl" imperturb ably and doggedly answered the duke.
 With cry of rage Christina sprapge t the oarrosa, snatched from it heavy purs of gold, flung it full in Sesto's face, whic
 
 villa, and, sh1ieking, "Dog! if your master the king, pays you one price for your hellis occupation the queen will always double to defeat him" flew into the quinta like tigress, and discovered the king and Adelaid in each others arms.
 It is said Alfonso did not recognize tn identity of the half crazed intruder. At al events, springing to his feet, he struck th queen to the floor with his heavy walkin stick, and then fled with Espronceda's daugt ter, while the calm Sesto bore the unfortr nate woman to the carrosa and saw her safe ly in the hands of her maids at the roy, palace. Two days later the queen was wit her uncle at the Austrian court, determine on eternal separation from Alfonso, whil the Spanish royal household and the hig dignitaries of Spain trembled for the result The affair even penetrated the vatican itsel 1 and for time was source of grave dis quiet to all the courts of Europe. But in
 little time Alfonso was prevailed upon present himself at Vienna penitent an succeeded in sending Christina and Alfons back to Madrid together. Thus the queen uncle's wisdom made it possible for all Spai 1 to rejoice at the birth of the late kings post | thumous son, the puny, ever ailing King A fonso XIII, to succeed him upon the Spar l ish throne.
 But no man ever lived with greater geniu l than Espronceda. He starved and sung, an 1 Spain crowned him with riches aud homo, 1 But these to him were but instruments fo the most hideous emphasis of his own dead ly hatred of all mankind. Sung to mad ness by the burning consciousness of his ow unfortunate origin, he swept the universe c inspiration and language for flaming brand