The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1900-05-24


with him into the coach one satchel
or bundle, and the rest of his baggage
is relegated to the van. Delays at
the station in getting baggage ready
to pass, satisfying customs officials
and paying extra charges for over
weight, are vexatious and cause you
to miss many train; and as no checks
are given, and robberies of luggage
are frequent, you will find it well to
put no vaiuables into your trunks.
The soft answer that turneth away
wrath is particularly needed here, Of
ten accompanied by the soothing in
fiuence of a silver peso, and always
by the exaggerated politeness of the
Latin. To lose patience with the
stupidest Spanish official is also to
lose your cause, inevitably and irrevo-
cably.
Whatever happens, strive to maintain
an unruffied demeanOr and to out-do
the Spaniard himself in mis- own coin
of meaningless compliment, remem-
bering always that 'silence is golden"
when nothing can be gained by
speech. Every Spaniard, whatever
his class, considers himself Tn cabal-
lero Christiano yieio Y rancio, Chris
tian gentleman of old and honorable
origin; and he looks down upon all
foreigners as less well-born. When
his self esteem is stroked the right
way, like the fur on kittens back,
his natural courtesy blooms as trop-
ical flower and he will put himself to
any trouble to accommodate the ju-
dicious stranger whose words have
set him upon what he believes to be
his proper pedestal. All attempts to
bully and brow-beat him are worse
than waste of time. The Spaniard
does not live, at least on his own soil
who could be driven with an iron
rod in the hand of an American; and
in these uncertain times civil words
are the latter's best protection in the
land which believes itself wronged by
superior prowess. With these in
tensely sensitive people, hats off, :"
on both sides, in the signal of peace
and good will; and when the hats are
not lifted, tiguratively or otherwise,
the Spaniard bristles up like the por-
cupine against suspicion of disdain.
There is no other part of Europe, if
indeed Of the world, with which to
compare Estramadura province-so
named from being the Extreme Ora,
or ''eXtreme" conquest of Alfonso TX.
There are steppes in Russia, deserts
in Arabia and sandy wastes in Africa,
which resemble parts of Estramadura
but nowhere else has nature combin-
ed such widely dissimilar features in
so small compass. Watered by two
noble streams-the Tagus and the
Guadiana, both of which any other
people would have rendered naviga-
BILE for hundreds of miles-the region
became a flourishing granery under
the Romans and garden under the
Moors. To his day the gipsys speak
of it as "Chin del Manro," the Land
of Corn.
But with the passing of the wise
and gentle Arabians, it went back to
the original desert; and bids fair to
remain so, though little fitful activ-
ity has been aroused in recent years
by pushing two railroads through and
| opening up the mines of Almaden
and Casceres. Including its several
towns and cities, the whole province
of Extraordinarily miles long by 80
broad-has less than 100000 inhabi-
tants, and in a long days Journey
you will hardly meet human crea-
ture. Everything displays the exub-
Grant vigor of the sun, yet the pro-
duction of weed and grain seems
rather the caprice of nature than the
work of man. Lonely pasture and
leagues upon leagues of burning des-
ert are an absolute preserve for the
sportsman. Dangerous beasts abound,
as well as all manner of troublesome
insects; while the swampy banks of
the Guadiana are literally swarmed
with wild fowl-which, by the way,
should be hunted in winter, if ever;
because in summer the region is in
fected with fevers and ague, and mos
quitos are unbearable. Besides num-
erous birds of prey, enormous flights
of turtle doves come over from Bar
barry to breed; and they coo all over
the country, in pairs, models of con-
nubial felicity. These are the same
doves of the West" or their direct
descendants, which brought ambrosia
to Jupiter, according to classical his
tory, and then retired to Africa to
visit the temple of Venus. How can
any man with a spark of poetry in
his soul shoot one of these harmless
pigeons? But they do-especially
, Engllshmen and Americans. They
: come over here on purpose and spend
months in tha cn-nolIaI snou+ oul,,u