THE GUANCHES. 



551 



lace work ou them for cloths, a few books, the inevitable Madonna, 

 some candlesticks, and the alwa3^s picturesque pottery give an air of 

 refinement that we may search for in vain in the coarse homes of too 

 many of our own peasantry. As to the healthiness or comfort of these 

 dwellings, of course it is a matter of habit. The only ventilation is the 

 door, and as that is tight shut at night it seems difticult to understand 

 how the people can breathe. There must also be a considerable disre- 

 gard of les convenances as to their habits, for apparently both sexes 

 of all ages occupy the same room. The sanitary arrangements, it need 

 hardly be said, leave much to be desired. There is a staggering sim- 

 plicity and freedom in their treatment. 



The present dwellers are very gentle and extremely ignorant. The 

 men go out all day to look for work or work in their own little patches 



Fig. 11. 



rOT-MAKING BY CAVE DWELLERS— ATALAYA. 



of cultivation; small terraces of reclaimed land walled up below. The 

 women all work at pottery, using no wheel, andreproducing the simpler 

 liatterns, as aie found in the tombs of thousands of years ago. The 

 clay used is very strong and has nuich adhesive power. It bakes into 

 a fine dark red. They now never color their pottery, nor do they mark 

 it with the stamps, as in the old days. Many of the best shapes are 

 lost and those that remain are strictly utilitarian. 



As to their personal appearance, among these cave dwellers may 

 often be seen strikingly handsome faces; their forms are good and 

 their movements graceful. It has been said that they are often rude to 

 visitors, and carry the importunity of begging (for they are insatiable 

 beggars) to the limits of rudeness and menace. It certainly is unad- 

 visable for ladles to go there alone. 



