New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-06-02

,-,,ers have striven to hang over the entre
or,rsu,a-hut always original. always stately,
a,wavs TRANSPORTED by a curious atmosphere
,,.h NAV nossblv be historical, legendary IN It's
origin hut which nevertheless, comes into the
consciousness as something quite outside the
sphere Of books and monuments Indeed t'''s an
~ dream fills the Spanish horizon when IL Is ieas
charged with historical significance. when INC
mind has wandered furthest from books ana 'he''
makers from kings and their cnroniciers' 10 tie
bald structure Of old Spanish life. the lie that Is
still living. Then you hnd an lrresis'ipe '"as''
a., -, ,,,e, afternoon air or In the blazing heats
OF noon: bare plain and stony nillslde seeih t'e
theatre OF your own emotions alone. You realize
that the rocks loom In gaunt dignity, that 'he
o,,,,o and the vine have an old classic vitality In
them unexpressed yet potent In us erect upon
tho IMAGINATION. The statuesque shepherd who
rises solitary and motionless across your line Oh
vision the tngling donkey bells that pass you on
the highway. the sense OF remoteness, Oh Oiu-
wordness." take hold of you. and. though it
would p,zzle YOU to tell why and how. Spain mas
claimed you for her own forever To write thus
earnestly Is to exceed perhaps. Mr.. Luffmann's
measure OF enthusiasm. He tells you what nap
nened not what he thought about It. 1t is in the
directness and vividness OF his journal that ne
erds his strength The conclusions he draws, but
which still more often are left for the reader TO
draw for himself are not metaphysical or de-
nendent unon that eye which is commonly called
an eve for the picturesque. Take, for example,
the question OF what the Spanish peasant Is really
like n crucial Illustration. He steps from Mr..
IuNrnann's pages with a fascinating reality anu,
though he Is sometimes a forbidding object, ne
awakens sympathy and proves himself far more
plausiblc than he is usually reported to be I'M
primls he is dirty, magnificently dirty and with
him his surroundings. so that ne confirms '"e
foreign judgment Of Spain as a filthy hole. Hu'
filth goes with all the Southern races ana there
does not seem to be anything abnorma! III the
Spaniards dirt In fact H. has more excuse imam
most for the absence OF cleanliness. The SOIL Is
hard unfruitful: the climate. save in the North'
is enervating and the land will yield Its best
which is little enough-only after heroic. almost
killing labor. The valley Of the Ebro was re
claimed by Pignatelli and along It's slopes lie Is
lived under conditions less ironlike than In otner
parts Of Spain, especially the South; but those
"other parts" are themselves far from possessing
the fructifying soil which would give some stimu-
lus 10 agricultural effort. Mr.. LuTmann gives MS
most emphatic words Of criticism to the North,
saying that "Arragon Is hopelessly barefoot
tree Of natural growth anywhere" and he oh
made a Journey Of five hundred miles being quite
satisfied to settle there" He might have carried
his discourse further and added that Spain is
land OF almost Isolated garden spots that on the
edge Of n tract Of immense fertility you will find
region swept as clean bone OF all signs OF
natural lie. Take. for instance Granada. There
is no scene in Spain more luxuriantly lovely than
that upon which you gaze from the towers Of the
Alhambra the southernmost provinces being rich
or In products but not more bountiful ~ aspect.
Yet you can leave Granada an hour behind you
and travel over miles TO the northeast with moth
ing but stone and a whitening sun to greet YOU
Remember this. and you Will not wonder al the
poverty II the Spanish peasant with his inertia
and resignation to conditions which appall
Northern traveller.
Whether you do wonder or not. however you
will find the Spaniari In Mr. Lufmann's COM
pany a more agreeable man than the cutthroat
and miser and lazy good-fornothing u popular
belief He Will share his crust with you and kiss
Il as he hands II over. Also he Will refuse II
from time II time. and call YOU rascal into
the bargain. Mr.. Lunmann has some charming
stories Of the way In which he went hunting for
food on reaching some little hamlet. and was re-
pulsed with contumely. The alcalde sometimes
proved "A stony boor. I'm spite Of our travellers
passport. and upon one occasion. as noted above.
NJ Bailen Mr. Luffrann reduced to The
jail, But even there the Ja"rs wife took pity
on him and gave him basin u soup. and II chill
drea and their elders hooted him upon one or-
caslon There were other times when he was
made much Of n only because he was an
"lngles." and therefore n natural curiosity. More
often he was befriendcd from sheer kindness *
heart The people are courteous even at their
dlrticst. and they dearly love friendly talk with
visitor from beyond the Their hOspi-
tally once IT is offered IS really lavish. and
host family and guests dip their fragments Of
bread into the bowl OF stew which serves for
the meal with profound good-fcllowship We
wish We could tell at length the story Of Mr..
I.unmanns adventure with the rural guard Of
CASTLE T. whom he was given a letter by the
Mayor OF Argamasilla. He was In Don QuiXote's
country. and ne made judicious concession To his
love 81 literature by exploring the famous Cueva
Of Montcsinos celebrated by Ceramics, but with
all the fOndness for incoming around churches
which he confesscs he was still true t. the
literary spirit Of his travels. and whore he might
have ''mOoned' indefinitely over memories OF the
great Don. he Joined his new friends In sporting
expeditions and larked 1t merrily with them over
the evening repast. There smoke. there was
wine, there were guitars and songs. There was
above all a spirit OF kindness. Of gentle feeling
which II is perhaps. the best OF Mr.. Luffmann's
services to have made palmer In hts book. He
shows that the Spanlard Is delightful cOmpan-
ion. and though he condemns the bull ring, as
every one must. he Is obliged To admit. with
every one likewise. that spectacle II is al
most it's own excuse. No one who has felt the
thrill Of a hard-fought fight In the ring can
somehow score the inhumanity 0f the SpanlardS
with a very heavy hand. our author least OF
all. would visit upon the people he studied any
of the resentmcnts which may have been IN
spred by what he Witnessed here and there. II
treated him we'll In the main and his book makes
you not only more familiar with but fondcr OF
the Spain OF the Span!ards