Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-04-06


Do you have many prize-fghts in your
countryY''
| had to admit that we did go in for
prize-fighting pretty strong, but ex-
planned that 1t was manly pastime,
and had its advantages as well as its
disadvantages. Then the chief read out
an account of the lynching of four
negroes, who, according to the paper,
had been burned alive by u mob of
| leading citizens, somewhere in Mis-
souri,, and when he had finished read
Ing he asked me if it was true, as the
Herald mentioned, that there had been
over thousand gases of lynching in
tho States during the previous year.
The statistics on the subject happened
to be lying on my table at that identi-
cal moment, only by good luck the
chief didn't know it. Still | couldn't
honestly deny that lynching was more
or less common in America.
II suppose there isn't any doubt
about the Americans being a civilized
nation, is there?" said the chief
Hold You just stop where you
are!, said ]. I'll say no more about
bull-fghts if you'll say nothing about
prize-tights and lynching.
Since then / have come to the con-
clusion that though the Spaniards do
enjoy bull-fights they are not so very
much worse than other people after ali.
But | am forgetting my story. When
Sunday came | went to the bull-fight,
FEELING sure that the American women
wouldn't be there, and that / should
have quiet and comfortable after
noon. But to my surprise there they
were, occupying seats in the very front
row, and looked as severe and deter
mined as IL they We're a lot of temper
anoe crusaders engaged in raiding a
rum-shop. knew, of course, that the
price of their seats would be charged
to me, but that didn't trouble me
much. | had already made up my
mind that was bound to be ruined by
those women, and it didn't make much
| difference to a ruined man whether his
debts were large or small.
| The American women sat as still as
II they were at a prayer meeting, until
the first bull was led out. The Span
iards looked at them and wondered how
| people who had come to amuse them
selves could wear such solemn faces, but
as rule Spaniards don't trouble them
selves much about other peoples
affairs, and SO long as the bul-fight
| promised to pan out well, the sour faces
/ " eatV <Aahctibuho oid nob Illffn.
| But when the women saw that the
fight was about to begin, and that
picador was advancing on the bull with
| handful of darts, they rose up in a
body and shrieked to him to let the
poor beast alone. Both the bull and
the man were good deal astonished,
but their establishment was nothing to
that of the spectators when the one
American woman who could speak
| Spanish began to address them. She
told them that they were brutes and
towards, and that although they might
| think themselves civilized and religious,
| they were the worst set of barbarians
on the face of the earth. She spoke for
| about five minutes, and still had
good deal of language to get rid of,
when the people judged that the time
had come for putting the Americans
out. L was sitting on the opposite side
OF the arena, and couldn't have
helped the women oven if / had been
anxious to help them, which am free
to say | was not For a few minutes
the air was filled with fragments of
bonnets and back hair, and then the
police came in and carried the women
of to Jail, with about as much uproar as
a first class revolution would have made.
Voc ~ Savoy az bllb way III WHICH
! had been treated that ! resolved to
let the women spend a night in the
lookup before taking measures to have
them released. The prison was mid.
| ding comfortable one, and knew that
they could come to no harm by merely
occupying it for night. The next
morning oversight myself, and it was
towards noon before / went to the
chief of police, with the intention of
getting the women set at liberty. The
chief welcomed me with enthusiasm.
He threw both his arms around me and
kissed me on both cheeks; and CON
graduated me because, as he said, the
American women were where they
would never give me any more trouble.
You're very good" said; "but
I'm not rid of them yet / can't allow
them to stay in prison, and when they
are released they'll continue to perse-
cute me just as they have been doing"
My dear sir, replied the chief,
'as you know, l am your most devoted
friend, and it has been terrible grief
to me that | could not send those
women out of Spain, and so restore
tranquility. to your bosom. But /
grieve no longer. The moment they
dared to create riot and attack the
course as plain. They had proved
themselves to be rcgues and yagabonds
by engaging in a public riot, and that
made it possible for me to send them
| across the frontier. OF course, / can
not interfere between you and the
hotel keeper, or protect you against
the manager of the bull-fght, who
claims damages to the amount Of 1000
pesetas. And | am afraid you will
have to Fay the fines which the court
inflicted this morning on the women,
and which amount 10 about 5000
pesetas. Nevertheless, that is of little
consequence, for | have the great Joy
OF assuring you that the women left
here for the French frontier four hours
ago, and there is no possibility of
their coming back again.
thanked the chief for his kindness.
| There was no use in telling him that
| he had driven the last nail in my
coffin. You see it was absolutely GER
tain that the women would complain
to the Washington government, and
would represent that they had been
| illegally sent out of the country, and
that L had refused to give them and
| help. There would be tremendous
row in the American newspapers, and
even if it should prove possible to
settle the affair without war with
Spain nothing could save ME from
being ANONYMOUSLY turned out of
office. Moreover, even il should not
be removed, it would be impossible for
me to stay in Aragua, for l could not
pay the claims that those women had
| run up against me, and my failure to