Year: 1863

Should. you have occasion after nj ight fall, ,
te. traverse the dimly lighted streets var, will
not 80 far without brushing past figure
muffied in an ample cloak, and wiSkAthe
sombrero slouched over the eyes, leaning
Against the iron bass Is seu paes. pur
ears inform you that it is cor versing in q fo~
voice with some one within, whom the dark.
ness shrouds from observation. In all prob
ability you will take no further note of the
whispering pair but if you be more curious
than wise, and bestow on them more than a
passing look, another becloaked figure will
probably step out from some other corner, and
politely request you to refrain from interfer
ing with other peoples business. If this hint
be not sufficient, he will prepare to enforce it
by other means, and, by displaying his nav


ala, threaten to appeal to arms. He is en-
gagged in one of the most sacred duties of
Spanish friendship. To guard from danger
of discovery-or, as it is termed, guard los
espaldas, y g to guard the back" of friend
who may be playing the lover-is an Office to
be undertaken only by third comrade.
whose devotion and courage may be proof
against the rude trial to which such a position
subjects him. If the fair one be noted for
her attractions, then there are rivals to be
encountered, whose jealous passions, if
aroused by witnessing another thus engaged,
nothing would as soon appease as a thrust of
a knife, given, as may be supposed, without
much regard to the 1ules of fair play Under
these circumstances, the second is summoned
to stand. like the knights of old, ready to do
battle against all comers, should they ap-
proach with hostile intentions | need not
add, that these nocturnal meetings are fire.
quent occasion of brawls, and that lives are
sometimes lost, and usually dangerous
wounds are given and received, when the
knife is brought into play. This custom,
though more prevalent among the lower
classes, is not entirely banished from the up
per ranks of society. In truth, the mystery
and romance attending it have too many
charms for Spanish lovers of every degree,
ever to permit it 10 become the exclusive
usage of any one rank in life. tits far more
congeniai to his temperament to throw n veil
of secresy over his attachments, which not
unfrequently, from the first, wears certain
air of romance. On the Alameda he cncoun-
ters some dark eyed beauty, whose glance
fires all the susceptible nature of his southern
b3nes. To follow her footsteps when the gay
throng disperses-to linger in the narrow
street where her home is-and, by one Of
those mute but expressive signs known in
southern climes. to testify his passion to her
as she sits at the balcony that commands
full view of the moving world in the street
or to convey message by some Mercury ia
miliar with such errands-are the usual steps
that precede an interview. This, however,
let it not be imagined, is to be sought amidst
the shady alleys of the Alameda. No; the
fair ones of Spain are too jealously guarded
by mammas and duennas, ever to know much
of solitude, far less to enjoy them with a
companion. And when gates are barred,
and the household wrapped in sleep, it is
then that the Spanish maiden rises to keep
her tryst with her lover.