. The land of the Dons. eep, andlightening to an incalculable extent the labours ofthe accompanying horsemen. The entry into the town or village is made bynight, the sides of the roads in the vicinity of thebull-ring being strongly barricaded, and the compactherd, headed by two riders careering one after theother, is driven at full gallop plump into the corralesof the plaza. If a moon be shining, the spectacle,viewed from the windows overlooking the corral, isindescribably picturesque and eerie; nor am I awareof any detail of Spanish life so intensely singularand original as these Andalusian e
. The land of the Dons. eep, andlightening to an incalculable extent the labours ofthe accompanying horsemen. The entry into the town or village is made bynight, the sides of the roads in the vicinity of thebull-ring being strongly barricaded, and the compactherd, headed by two riders careering one after theother, is driven at full gallop plump into the corralesof the plaza. If a moon be shining, the spectacle,viewed from the windows overlooking the corral, isindescribably picturesque and eerie; nor am I awareof any detail of Spanish life so intensely singularand original as these Andalusian encierros, such asI have witnessed, times without number, at Lineade la Concepcion and elsewhere. The safe side ofthe barricade is packed with eager aficionados, strain-ing their eyes and ears and speaking in a whisper;the rest of the poblacion (imagine it to be half-pastone of the morning) is profoundly silent, until thebarking of dogs, suddenly impinging on the night-time air, announces that the corrida is ARCANA TAURINA. 201 The doors of the corral are opened wide, andpresently, amid a column of dust, the clatteringgroup of beasts and riders has galloped desperatelywithin and all is business and tumult, the bullsbellowing and snorting with confusion at their noveldurance; the bells of the cabestros tinkling furiously;the herdsmen shouting, swearing, and cajoling. For longer distances the cattle are conveyed byrail, in ponderous boxes not unlike a small bathing-machine in shape, but with a lift-up end. It isneedless to say that each bull is enclosed in aseparate box. On arriving at their destination, andin order to restore them after the journey, it iscustomary to pasture them for at least some daysbefore the corrida takes place. Shortly before the fight, the bulls are coaxed intothe cliiqueros—dark cells with massive doors thatopen and shut by means of ropes pulled fromabove. Here also each bull occupies a single cell,and passes, when his destiny arrives, into
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1902
