SHORTER ARTICLES 



565 



which determined the migration from 

 Spain were not such as to induce a 

 physical divergence between the two 

 branches. In other words, those who 

 departed did not differ in bodily ap- 

 pearance from those who remained. 



They differed greatly in mental pro- 

 pensities. When, under the reign of 

 Charles I., marvelous stories concern- 

 ing the strange and beautiful lands dis- 

 covered by Columbus, Cortez and 

 Pizarro were circulated in Spain, ex- 

 citement prevailed all over the pen- 

 insula. The practical, matter-of-fact 

 people smiled with incredulity, but the 

 imaginative, the chivalrous, the restless, 

 sold all and sailed. Here is the main 

 fact which is to borne in mind when 

 the present nature and tendencies of 

 the Spanish Americans are considered. 

 Restless, alas! they are and some- 

 what restless they may remain, yet 

 they are neither dull nor obstinate; 

 they see their worst defect as clearly as 

 others see it and try to overcome it. If 

 strifes are still frequent among them, 



on the other hand, the first interna- 

 tional treaty of permanent arbitration 

 was the work of two Spanish American 

 countries, and that treaty was by far 

 more comprehensive, and thereby more 

 efficient, than any of the similar 

 treaties recently made in the northern 

 hemisphere. 



Restless and not practical, but also 

 warm hearted, impulsive and generous, 

 in olden times", many Spanish noblemen 

 sailed because they felt sure to find in 

 the American Eldorado the fountain 

 which confers perpetual youth on all 

 who bathe in it. They went through 

 many vicissitudes, became old and died 

 far away from the land of their fathers 

 without having realized their dream, 

 but it seems to-day as if some of the 

 marvelous waters were present in all 

 the rivers which run down from the 

 Andes, for the defects of the Spanish 

 American, as well as his qualities, are 

 but those of youth. 



GUSTAVE MlCHATJD. 



