New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-03-18

RICHARD FORD.
Gruu the drawing by :. F. Levis)
raarhable, and 70 his powers as a writer Of
.. and vigorous prose his famous Hand
B for Spain" and the familiar letters in this
e bear testimony What else was this
.t-Iate EngIIshnan? We'll and widely read"
Es Mr.. P1Othero, gifted with a wonderful
Hory and q keen sense Of humor possessed
IN extraordinary faculty for happy, unex-
ted terms Of expression full Of curious anec-
e.tes and adventures he was a delightful taIker.
Entirely without the jealousy Of the professed
T-r he was an equally admirable listener. No
r-an was more welcome guest in society, none
had more friends and fewer enemies"
Ford was an oxford man and was called 10 the
la- .n 1922, but he never practised. He spent
several years in travelling On the Continent, col
l.at.ug treasures in the way Of books, paintings
and er sravings, and perfecting his Unborn taste.
AT tweuty-eight he married a beautiful and
charming girl, the daughter Of his fathers old
friend the Earl Of Essex, and it was in the
hope II improving her always delicate health
that. six years after their marriage, they went
O. spain TO spend the winter. They stayed
tas-- three years IS30-'33) and it was during
this period that the greater number Of these
letters were addressed TO Henry UnWin Adding
ton. then the British Pleuipotentiary at Madrid.
The Duke OF Wellington had recommended
Granada 10 the travellers. and Washington
Irving had told them that they should be able
10 be lodged IN the Alhambra as he was. At
Granada they finally arrived, but their first
home was in Seville At that time Spain was
a. Isolated country, little visited by travellers,
and in many respects unchanged from the days
Of Cervantes. Let US quote Mr.. Prothero:
To the artist the historian. the sportsman and
The auuquaTy-to the student Of dialects, the OBJ
mar Of clr-T linen D4lu q n
chanting field, an almost Untrocden Paradlse- IN
as tastes but as enthusiasns He revealed IN the
country and its people with the unhagging Zest OF
his richly varied synpathies lie learned 70 SPEAK
the spanish Of the place IN which he happened 20
,sfsrg The irveterate excIusiveness Of the arts
ta.racy the ingrained ristrust Of the lower orders
s s. broke down before the charm Of his
manners ana appearance QUICK 10 , oDseTg 3 ana
iesfes OF Spanish society, he found the houses. OF
Jealous of their authority, who could not be driven
by rods Of iron, submitted 70 he LED Dy me sliKeh
thread o. his civlty jose Nara me DanalL ring ring
- rfs Sac n least under his personal protection
Even the smugrIer. by the freside Of a county
OF wine and cigar gave him his confidence.
with inexhaustble good spirits, with plenty Of
money, and with "a joke. a proverb or a cigar,
he penetrated on horseback 70 the most remote
and lonely Of mountain towns. Never looking
for FIVE feet IN a cat, or expecting more rom
Spanish inns than they could oner' ne ehcouh-
.e-.7 .z,e-y Inconvenience with good temper and
..--.-,,rs.a5 fD his yrarderings the mass of in
-.o.,. Incident and adventure which he stored in
his notebooks and embodied in his Handbook
for Spain"
The climate Of Seville IN December the Fords
found delicious. The natives were frlenoiy'
their customs drou and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
their habit Of visiting in grand costume Whlte
gloves and necklaces. from u TO z They "ere
ali SLOW" Ford complained, in the movements
Of mind and body; were lazy and ignorant IN
yfUirg 10 use their minds The people OF Ora
NADIA were much the same, but existence IN me
Arhanbra, ruined as it was. had wondrous fas-
cfration for the English pair They took the
srartrueuts Of the Tia Antonio" of Washington
Irving. and surrounding themselves WIN bFiIASH
comforts they gave themselves up 70 INC en'''