The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-07-28

J ing his cigar. Sellers of everything
| that can be carried on the backs O
donkeys or the backs of men, Womel
and children. jostle pedestrians, eacf
shouting his wares with the full force
of his lungs;-as indeed he must to pi
heard above the high-pitched voices OF
several thousand vivacious lberians, al
rhattering together! aqua! Aqua
Quien quiere aqua? Aqua helada
fresquita como la nieve" Water! wa.
ter! Who wants water? Cold water
fresh as the snow" yell the aguadores
Searches less ear-splitting are the
shrieks of the match-venders, the sell
ers of honey and fruits, candies ana
! goodness knows what not. AT the same
time you are constantly beset ana I'M
portuned by lottery-ticket vendors;
| while beggars. big and little, who lock
upon the stranger as lawful prey and
have not the remotest idea of taking a
! refusal, follow close upon your tran
when afoot, and encamp round about
when you sit, until the nuistnca is we'll
nigh unbearable. Street musicians add
their not inconsiderabe quota to the
general din-Gallegos with bag-plpes,
Andalusians with mandOlins and gui-
tars, gypsies with tambourines and cas-
tinets--but, thank Heaven! as yet not a
hand-organ among them! The picture
would not be complete without the ia
miliar darker shading Of omnipresent
loafers whose name is legion, each with
slGuch hat pulled down over one ear,
ong black cloak thrown over one
shoulder, a cigar between the teeth,
closely resembling Solomon lilies in just
one respect that he tolls not neither
does he spin, though poor as the poor
est, having nothing to do but smoke
and lounge his life away, One is more
and more inclined to agree with the
traveller who said. "One-third of The
people of Madrid spend their lives in
carriages, one-third in cafes and one
third in begging''-except that in these
poorer days following the war, it would
be more correct to say that half the
people are beggars and the other half
about equally divided between the car
riage-riders and cafe-frequenters. On
Sundays and saints days-and more
than half the Spanish calendar belongs
to the latter-the shops are closed and
all work is suspended, the people
morning, the bull-fight in the after
noon, the Prado in the early evening,
and then the theaters and tertulias
(balls) until dawn Actively there is
no end of it; but industry, which is
quite another thing. appears to be at a
discount everywhere In Spain.
Somebody has graphically described
the climate of Madrid as mine months
winter and three months he'll" This
unpleasant condition has been greatly
modified, however, within the last
quarter-century by the Introduction of
water sufficient for irrigation and the
consequent growth of trees Three
hundred years ago all this region was
dense, primeval forest, in which kings
hunted boars and bears. Subsequently
the trees were all cut down, leaving the
then waterless region barren as des-
ert and bleak as the steppes of Patago-
mia, The building Of the great acque-
duct, bringing an abundance OF water
from the mountains, has wrought inn
mense improvement, but still shade is
the great thing lacking to soften the
sudden and trying changes of temporal
ture. Even in summer the near by
Guadarrama range is topped with snow,
and in winter the cold is intense at this
exposed elevation nearly three thou
sand feet above sea level From an
aesthetic point of view these mountains
are the greatest charms Of the Spanish
capital Walking in the furnace-like
of Madrid at this time Of year,
glimpses of snowy sunsets 50 near at
hand. make you fancy yourself at In
terlaken or Innsbruck, instead OF in
sunny Spain. There are many points
of vantage from which the view Dor
ders upon the sublime, though always
stern and often dreary From San Isl
dro chapel, for example-opposite the
palace on the other side of the dry
gorge of the Manzanares-the bound
less expanse of plains and hills Impress
es you much as view Of one Of our
western prairies, it's tell grasses billow
ing to the horizon like a windswept |
sea, The little church of San 1s,dro, |
the plowman's saint, is said to mark
the exact center of the 1berlan PENN
sula As everybody knows San lsidro |
was common laborer, but so uncom-
monty pious that he left his ploy Idle in |
the furrow while he went to make me- |
diations in regard to needed rains or |
shine at the shrine Of Saint lsidro. |
Tradition says that his work went on |
Just the same without him. angels conn
ing down from heaven and guiding the |
plow, while other la9avenly Visitants |
kept the wolves from devouring his |
oxen. He died in the year 933 and was
by Philip III, who was cured !
Of an Illness upon touching his body.
It is also related that when Queen Isa-
bella came to pray by his corpse, ore of |
her maids of honor, pretending to kiss
a toe, but it off and swallowed it, hop
ng to secure eternal good health by
his heroic dose But she Immediately
became dumb, and did not recover her
speech until the following day, when
she Vonlited forth the relic, which is
still preserved in the chapel.
FANNIE b. WARD |
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