58 



WILD SPAIN. 



antagonist, the loudest applause, and dark-eyed Damas, 

 with flashing glances of pride and' sympathy, would throw 

 flowers to the valiant Paladin. 



" The ladies' hearts began to melt, 

 Subdued by blows their lovers felt ; 

 So Spanish heroes with their lances 

 At once wound bulls and ladies' fancies." 



"When the bull fell dead from a single thrust enthusiasm 

 knew no bounds : to administer this fatal stroke in 

 masterly style was the ambition of the flower of Spanish 

 youth. 



If dismounted, the knight, by established rule, must face 

 the bull on foot, sword in hand. He was allowed the 

 assistance of his slaves or servants, who, at the risk of 

 their lives, " played " the brute till an opportunity was 

 afforded for a death-thrust from their master's sword. It 

 is in this phase of the fight that we trace the origin of 

 several of the snertes which are practised in the modern 

 Corrida de Toros.* 



"With the accession of the Bourbons to the Spanish 

 throne came a change. These rude encounters were little 

 in harmony with the elegance and effeminacy of the 

 French court. So coldly were they regarded that, by slow 

 degrees, the Spanish nobility withdrew themselves from 

 the arena. Then, as Gallic manners and customs prevailed 

 and extended beyond court circles till adulation of the 

 French monarch became a creed, the Spanish gentry 

 abandoned their ancient sport. 



But the hold of the national pastime on the Moro- 

 hispanic race was too firm-set to be swept away by alien 

 influence, however strong : and when thus abandoned by 

 the patricians, by the hidalgos and grandees of Spain, the 



* Attempts were made by other countries to imitate the Spanish 

 spectacle. Italy, in 1332, celebrated a tauromachian festival which 

 has left a sad record on the page of history. No fewer than nineteen 

 Eoman gentlemen, and many of lower rank, perished on the horns of 

 the bulls. After this tragic event bull-fights were prohibited in Italy, 

 though for a time revived by the Spanish in that country after their 

 conquest of Flanders and the Low Countries. 



