Passaic City record., 1891-09-05
TORER0S.
THE MEN WHO MAKE AMUSE
MENT FOR THE SPANIARDS.
People in Spain Very Fond of the
Brutal ',Sport'-Bull Fighters
are Public Pets-Their
Looks and Dress.

ND bulling, writes Theodore Child in
Harper's Weekly. was at Granada the
other year when a great hurricane swept
away the upper part of the bull-ring. A
municipal meeting was held shortly af-
terwards, and the mayor, being man OF
progress, proposed that some money
should be spent on repairing and i'm
proving the roads, and thereby render
ing the city more agreeable to visitors.
'tNo, no! First of all, let us rebuild the
bull-ring," cried the majority. 'La
Plazai la Plazal' And the money was
voted at once.
Never have there been more bull l-rings
in Spain than at the present day, never
more toreros, and never has the breeding
of wild bulls, toros bravos, been more
extensive and systematic. In Seville, the
great school of bull-fghting, almost
half the young male population seems to
consist of apprentice chulos and plea
dores. In Madrid from early morning
until late at night, the Puerta del Sol is
dotted with lounging groups of young and
old ull-fghters, while the cafes are full Of
amateurs of the sport, afcionados, whose
great JOY in life is to have the honor of
the acquaintance of Angel Pastor, MAJ
zantini, Lagartijo, and other celebrities
of the muleta, or of the pike. All this
is very human and very comprehensive.
The toreros, or bull-fghters, possess the
prestige of men who have no fear of dam
ger or of death, they are, furthermore,
public characters like actors; their exis-
tence is purely ornamental, they are the
living toys, the pets, the spoiled chill
dren, of the public, they inspire respect
by their courage, curiosity by their
strange gladitorial occupation, admira-
ton by their physique, and sympathy by
the simplicity and vanity which general
ly characterize their mental condition.
The torero is, as rule, a charming
creature, he is satisfied with himself and
with the world; he is well-to-do and Of
ten rich, he is brave, strong, and healthy;
he lives in an atmosphere of applause
and appreciation; he commands the
smiles of ladies of high and low degree,
he is temperate in habits, and conse-
quently of equable humor, his suavity, in
short, is unsurpassable. Bull-fghting,
indeed, is one of the finest careers in
modern Spain. Mazzantini, the "gen-
tleman" torero, an educated and most
intelligent man, who used to be station
master, and who has since turned the
heads Of society ladies in Paris, told the
late King Alfonzo that he took to the
ring because he became convinced that
in Spain there are but three quick roads
to wealth and popularity: namely, poll
tics. the highway, and the bull-ring.
When first saw group of bull-ight-
ers lounging on the corner of the Puerta
del Sol, beside the dainty brass stand of
the water seller, I was deeply impressed.
The fat-brimmed gray or black felt hat,
planted jauntily little on one side,
with the pigtail tucked in at the back,
leaving queer little white patch on the
occiput where the upturned hair leaves
the skin bare, the clean shaven white
faces of a rich paleness like the flesh of
Titian's nudes; the dainty shirts with a
narrow band round the neck fastened by
an elaborate buckle; the discreet dia-
monds and jewels in the immaclate shirt
fronts; the short jacket, sometimes dec
grated with tags and brandebourgs, the
pockets cut crosswise and lined with
flaming red or blue; the open waist coat,
the light striped trousers fitting very
tightly, the fine shoes; the general
spruceness of aspect; the perfect self-pos-
session, and the athletic bearing of these
men pleased me at once. On the Puerta
del Sol, in the Cafe de las Columns, and
in the Cafe Suizo at Seville / have spent
hours and days watching them, talking
with them, lis tening to them, and mar
Yelling at their innocence and simplicity.
I have been with them to their cock
fights; taken part in suburban picnics
where each majo had his maja; have
had the honor of dining with Angel Pas
tor in his own house, and of hearing his
daughter play the piano, which, in its
way, is equivalent to dining with Ade-
lima Patti and hearing Nicolini sing a
song at desert. A man cannot desire
more.
The Spanish torero is something be-
tween an ancient Greek athlete and a
Roman gladiator, a creature to be cele-
brated in Pindaric odes. He is gener-
ally man of low origin; many toreros
begin as slaughter house boys; but like
those dancers who are born in concierges'
hutches on the genial heights of Mont
martre, and who become, nevertheless,
living poems of refinement and grace,
thanks to the discipline of their art, SO,
too, the torero acquires varnish of aris-
tocracy from the exercise of his danger.
GUS and fascinating profession.