Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-08-24
BULLS IN MADRID.
From the Spanish of Antonio Flores. Trans
lated by f. W. Lord

/ For a long time | have been eager to
! paint a picture of our national festival
under the conditions which the above title
would impose, and more than once have
begun the preparation for the work. But
have said: The task is useless; for to
! Spaniards the picture will always be in
complete, colorless and dull; and to for
eigners it will be confused and indistnct
and they will ayenge themselves on the
copy by speaking i'll of the original
project, but now am resolved to complete
the work inclination has triumphed over
both reasons.
To paint picture of bullfight in Ma
/ drid We would need a canvas of small di-
mansions; for the work which we have
undertaken, collosal canvas is necessary.
A day with the bulls has not twenty -four
hours like the ordinary day. it has the
twenty four hours of every day of the
week. The true sportsman finds in this
diversion a duty with which all other mat
tiers are incompatible. To undertake 1t
properly it is necessary to divide the week
in the following manner:
On Monday morning to observe the
weather and decide if the clouds which
show themselves in the distance will ar
rive at Madrid before the hour for the
! fight to begin; if there is no danger of
their interfering with the performance TO
rub his hands together ethe spanish sym
Dol of complete satisfactionl, and to go
out to the Alcala to meet his acquaint
ances. At noon to look over the bulls
chosen for the fight; then to take a hasty
lunch in his home or in the plaza, looking
/ frequently at his watch to make sure that
he is not late at the grand spectacle.
On Tuesday to TO out early to learn Of
the condition of the fighters W no We're in
jured the day before and to discuss all the
rest OF the day the incidents OF the fight.
1t is absolutely necessary on Wednesday
to go to MunoZa To see the selection of the
bulls for the next weeks fight. On
Thursday there is hardly time to tell of
the excellent qualities OF the bulls that
have not been chosen, and to speak of the
brave attacks which they would have
made on the horses.
On Friday he'goes TO the square to read
the posters, which he knows are the same
as those he has read every week of his life.
and TO find out what colors the espadu
will wear, and if the picador will carry
ribbons pleasing to his taste. To visit the
plaza on Saturday is really indispensable
first, 10 see the horses tried, and to Judge
what mettle they will show; and then to
see if the plaza is in its usual place. and to
inquire when some bull fighters will re-
turn from the ring of Our Lady OF the
Pillar OF Zaragoza. On Sunday it is prop
er TO mount his horse and go to the
Abronigal Brooi; to see the herd brought
up to the corral.
These are a few OF the principal acces-
series of this picture which We have
merely outlined that we might not dis
tract attention from the main features,
and because we should otherwise need the
paper of all the mills in the kingdom to
depict it fully. Another consideration
holds us to this reserve, which is that we
do not feel authorized to copy too closely
|
lover of the noble sport. A sport which
holds also his hours of study, the only
authorized work being 1.-THE Complete
Bull Fighter, by the celebrated lidiador
Francisco Monies.
The idiom Of the sportsman is the Cas-
lillian, modified with many technical
terms, and his accent is Andulasian. Our
| ders vii
words OF the language of the bulI-ring
we will use as few as possible, though we
know that no Spaniard would need a die
tionary to aid in understanding such
terms.
Now at length the animals which are tc
fight have been chosen; they have been
shut into their stalls and it is now ;
O'Clock on Monday afternoon. The fight
will begin-if the weather permits-at 5
Madridl, is filled with carriages waiting
for the sign to start crowds are hurryine
toward the Puerta de Alcala to get gooc
seats before they are all taken.
The street of this name presents a pic
! ture which would require an extraordi-
nary canvas if we would copy it with pre-.
cision; hundred carriages driven along
in lines, like four or five railroad trains il
competition, crowd each other and eacl
tries to get ahead SO as to be first to enter
On the sidewalk hurry the eager pedes
TRANS, and all the streets have but one
end, the crowd which fills the Alcala from
half-past three is found gathered in tn,
bull-ring at quarter before five
To paint the brilliant scene which IL,
ring Offers at this moment we cannot tinC