TAUROMACHIA, THE FIGHTING BULL OF SPAIN. 67 



which surrounds him. For one brief moment the vast 

 mass of excited humanity sits spell-bound : the clamour of 

 myriads is stilled. Then the pent-up cry bursts forth in 

 frantic volume, for the gleaming horns have done their 

 work, and buen toro 1 buen toro ! rings from twice ten 

 thousand throats. 



The bull-rings are mostly the property of private per- 

 sons, though some are owned by corporations, others by 

 charitable institutions, and the like. The bull-fights them- 

 selves, however, are always in the hands of an empresario, 

 who hires the building at a rent, supplies the bulls and 

 troupe, and takes the whole arrangements in his own hands 

 and for his own account. 



The cost of a modern bull-fight in Andalucia ranges from 

 £1,100 to £1,200. Six bulls are usually killed, their value 

 averaging £70. The Espada, or Matador, receives on the 

 day from £120 to £200, including the services of his 

 euadrilla or troupe, which consists of two picadors, three 

 banderilleros, and a cachetero. As there are always two 

 matadors with their respective cuadrillas engaged, this 

 makes in all fourteen bull-fighters. The cost of the horses 

 is about £120 to £200, a variable quantity, depending so 

 much on the temper and quality of the bulls. Against 

 this, there are from ten to twenty thousand seats to be let 

 in the ring, the prices of which vary from a peseta or two 

 in the Sol or sunny side, up to a couple of dollars or more 

 in the Sombra* 



The president of the corrida is usually the alcalde or 

 mayor of the town — sometimes the civil governor of the 

 province, always some person of weight and authority, 

 though the alcalde is responsible for the orderly conduct of 



* The bull-fighters and their friends affect a language peculiar to 

 the Plaza : a dialect of systematic construction. To acquire a know- 

 ledge of this " Jerga " (La Germania), with its idiomatic piquancy 

 and raciness, is the aim of the "fancy " young men, the Flamencos of 

 Southern Spain. To be in the circle of the popular bull-fighters, with its 

 perilous female entourage, is considered chic by certain gilded youth. 

 Flamenco-ism appears to find its beau ideal in the borderland which 

 lies between the bizarre existence of the "torero " and the Gitano or 

 gypsy. (See chapter on the Spanish Gypsy of to-day.) 



F 2 



