54 WILD SPAIN. 



CHAPTEE V. 



TAUBOMACHIA, 



The Fighting Bull of Spain. 



notes on his histoky : his bkeeds and rearing : and his 

 life up to the " encierro," i.c, the eve of his 



DEATH. 



We trust the reader may not fear that he is about 

 to suffer once more the infliction of the oft- described 

 Spanish bull-fight. We have no intention so far to 

 abuse his patience. The subject is exhausted : has been 

 dilated upon by almost every visitor to this country, 

 though nearly always with inaccuracy and imperfect 

 knowledge. 



It is customary for such writers to condemn the bull- 

 fight* in toto on account of its cruelty : to denounce it 

 without reservation, as a barbarous and Ijrutal exhibition 

 and nothing more. The cruelty is undeniable, and much 

 to be deprecated ; the more so as this element could, to a 

 large extent, be eliminated. But, despite the fate of 

 sacrificed horses, there are elements in the Spanish bull- 

 fight that the British race are accustomed to hold in esteem 

 — the qualities of pluck, nerve, and coolness in face of 

 danger. To attack in single combat, on foot, and with no 



* The expression " Bnll-fislit " is a verj- inadequate interpretation of 

 the Spanish Corrida, or Fieata dc Toros, even in its modern t'orui, 

 and conveys no idea of the magnificent spectacular displays of the 

 middle ages. Then, the national heroic life was but reflected in the 

 arena, in scenes embellished with nil the stately accessories and colouring 

 dear to semi-Oriental minds. Tlie mimic pageantry of to-day is but 

 a relic of former grandeur. 



