New-York tribune., 1891-05-03
SPAIN AND MOROCCO.
A GRAPHIC BOOK.

SPAIN AND MOROCCO. STUDIES IN LOCAL
COLOR. by Henry T. Finck. 12mo, PIP. Isl.
Charles Scribner's Sons.
We have but one fault TO find with Mr. Fincks
book namely, that 1t is not longer. writer who
has so rare o gift Of graphic description and who
knows so well how TO discriminate between the
commonplace and the interesting, might very well
have given free rem To his Pegasus. His studies
in local color are all that they should he. AS 70
his modest doubt whether tour of few months
furnishes sufficient Justification for book the
question is essentially one of fitness. Some travel
lers might traverse O country for ten years. and
then have nothing worth hearing to say about it,
Others may spend three months IN il and bring
away a heavy budget Of original and interesting
observations. Mr.. Finck is one of the second
class and of such books of travel os his we are
never likely to have too many There Is in his
studies. moreover, great deal Of suggeetiveness,
as for example, In his remarks about the Spanish
arrangement Of working and leisure hours in the
large towns. 1t is easy to guess that the custom
of giving up all the fresh morning hours 10 sleep
and eating must have affected the business ener-
gies of the nation, and contributed more or less
to the stagnation which seems to defy all external
influences. The Spanard of the towns turns night
into day. His activity may be said to begin
about o'clock in the evening, and continue until
2 or o'clock in the morning. But night work
is not the same as day work either in quality or
quantity, and the proof of this lies in Spanish
business experience.
The heat of the climate, which is the reason
given for the custom, is really not sufficient
since the custom does not obtain in other parts
Of the world where the heat is still greater than
in Spain There is perhaps no hotter place than
Hongkong, for instance, and it is great COM
mercial centre. These two business peopes-the
English and the Chinese carry on operations,
and they do not allow the climate to regulate
their working hours. The same may be said of
Calcutta and other Indian cities The Anglo
Saxon nowhere seems to take kindly or naturally
10 the siesta, in fact. 1t may be said that those
who take life easier get more out OF it. and no
doubt there is some force in this consideration
Nevertheless. the races that 60 ahead, that push
commerce, and manufacture. and science, and civ
ilization generally are those TINT e&pend them
selves with the least reserve; while the that
think most of ease and comfort and leisure are
| those which remain behind, and are poor both
| materially and mentally. Mr. Finck discusses the
Spanish national sport with sharp reprehepsion
but he gives some encouragement In the statement
that the Spanish women no longer flock to the
| bull-rng. Perhaps further observation would be
necessary TO establish this. Certainly few years
ago the women uscd TO go to bullfShts as eagerly
as the men. But if, indeed, such a change has
taken place, IL nay be regarded the beginning
of the end and it is interesting TO note that
the decadence of blllfgkting has followed pre-.
cisely the same lines that have been taken
by prize fighting in England and this country.
Professionalism, or specialization, as it may be
| termed. has had the same effects In both cases.
| In Spain the sport has been thoroughly degraded.
| In the old times there was real danger in il, and
| real bravery was required in the participants.
| At present the bullfghters are merely body Of
highly trained athletes, in whom constant practice
has wrought such skill that they take hardly any
| risks. The stupid populace whose animal pas
sions satisfied by the shedding of blood are
satlated by the sacrifice OF some WORKOUT old
| horses. This in itself is a revolving spectacle.
and quite enough to condemn the sport but the
J whole thing is brutal and cowardly and so one
sided to have in It no element of genuine sport
The bull is worried and harasscd and goaded until
all his energy is gone, and then the matador comes
forward with all manner Of mountebanlS iiourishes,
displays his agility in avoiding the poor brute's
horns, and kills him with almost absolute GER
| tainty. 1t is O barbarous and dull farce OF
butchery, and the sooner it becomes obsolete the
sooner will Spain recover her lost position among
the nations.
Not the least interesting Of Mr.. Finck's studies
are those Of the deserted cities Of Spain; cities
whose population has dwindled, in one instance,
from 500, 900 10 10000 and which to-day ap-
pear literally asleep. There are the old houses,
empty for streets together, for the houses remain
for centuries after the people have gone. An in
teresting chapter is that on Sherryand and
| Cadiz," in which the decline Of the sherry trade
is traced TO the practice of adulteration, which
has virtually destroyed the traffic save for the
purposes of further adulteration. The export con-
tinues TO be large, but, as in the case Of the
California wines until quite recently, the greater
part Of the product of the Xeres vineyards is
doctored in France and elsewhere, and sent over
the world to do harm instead of good. The
Spanish vine-growers evidently very short
sighted, or they would have realized before now