Blood and Sand

eceived several letters fr

t, and you put him in your pocket!" But through his warm-hearted enthusiasm could be traced a slight discouragement, as i

uld go straight on through all the whistling of the audience, satisfied as long as they earned their money. His matador had genius and professional pride and could show himself off in a circus only if he were r

" he advised in all his letters, "it would be better for you to retire and rest for a season. Afterwards you[Pg 303] can come back and fight, and be the same as ever." And he offered himself to make all necessary arrangements. A medical certificate would be sufficient to e

said in his profession, and spend his life quietly at La Rinconada or in his house in Seville with his family, she could bear it no longer. Her heart told her with

wished to see him die for their own amusement, as if he had neither wife nor mother. "Juan, the little mother and I both beg of you to retire. Why go on bull-fighting? We ha

re he was thirty! How his enemies would laugh! He had no right to retire as long as his limbs were sound and he was able to fight. Such an absurdity had never been heard of. Money was not everything. How about[Pg 304]

that he had made money in even larger quantities, but it had run away and vanished in a hundred channels, opened out by his new life. He had played high, had led an expensive and ostentatious life. Many farms, added to the extensive estate of La Rinconada, to round it off, had been bought by loans furnished by Don José or other friends. He wa

e to curtail those Havanna cigars which he now distributed so lavishly, and those Andalusian wines of fine vintage. He w

astonishing every one with scandalous extravagances, but always ready to help misfortune with princely gen

tribe of children now growing up and becoming daily more expensive. He would have to bring into ways of order and economy all these people who had hitherto lived at his expense with happy carelessness and open-handedness. Every one, even poor Garabato, would have to go to the Grange, and work like niggers u

It would be a crime to deprive them of what they enjoyed, now they had become accustomed to ease and comfort. And what ought he to d

short and laboriously written epistles, expressing to b

follow his advice. "Zas! a sword thrust, and the bull in his pocket." He felt his cou

g

he would soon have news of the next corrida. He intended to astonish the public so that they might be

of his vanities had been never to concern himself with the br

at is sent to me,"

he first time when they we

choose them, to prepare for his success

un was shining. Consequently the second co

tood out against a background of low green hillocks. On the furthest slope of this wide but monotonou

harity, wretches who lived on the alms of the aficionados or the scraps from neighbouring taverns, gathered round him cap i

these beggars, and then entered the cir

g

d's spurs, was just going to mount. The stable boys accompanied the contractor who furnished the horses, a stout man, slow of speech,

hey took them out to trot on the open ground round the Plaza, giving them a fictitious energy beneath their iron heels, and teaching them to turn quickly so as to become used to their work in the arena. They returned to the Plaza wi

orrow's corrida were almost dragged out of

ly, with raised heads and bright eyes, pawing restlessly, with sounder legs and shining coats, animals of good stamp, who seemed out of place among their wretched companions,[Pg 308] looking as though they had only just been unharnessed from sumptuous carriages, were in reality more dangerous to ride, as they were probably afflicted with vertigo or staggers, and might fall to the ground at any moment, pitching their r

in was swarming with vermin, of narrow chests and feeble legs, covered down to the hoofs with hair so long and shaggy it looked almost as though they were wea

his comrades as well, making even the "monos sabios" laugh with his gipsy oaths. The other picadors had far bette

horse with hanging head, ta

uted Potaje, facing the contractor. "A cr

With a horse like this, so good and docile, Se?or Calderon, or El Trigo, or any fine rider of the good old times would have been able to fight for two successiv

er in a friendly fashion, as if the grossest in

Tempraniyo. Get out! Hoist your grandmother up on the old brute; a far bett

h laughter, while the contra

ver their heads and planted you up to your ears in the sand, before you could face the bull. He is as sound as an apple. For the five and twenty years he has been in an ?rated water f

's all!... If he is so

transactions, whispered something in his ear. The picador, pretending to be very angry, finally went up to[

under his arm, he pushed the point against a large post built into the wall, striking it several times with all his strength, as

voice.... "The beast is better than I thought. He has a tender

to accept anything the contractor o

this scene with amusement. A porter belonging to the Pl

oulders. This wall was strengthened at intervals by strong posts which supported a balcony above. Here and there opened little passages, so narrow that a man co

arms, giving savage yells which roused the bulls from their quiescence. Some leapt up nervously, rushing with lowered heads at the man who ventured to[Pg 311] dis

ng the looks and disposition of the fierce creatures, wi

mbrero fastened under his chin by a strap. He was nicknamed Lobato,[104] and was a roughrider who spent the greater part of the year in the open

to the Plaza, a place of delight, an enchanted palace where he supped and dined at the expense of the management before returning to his pastures mounted on his horse, his dark blanket on the saddle bow, his saddle-bags on the crupper and his lance over his shoulder. He delighted in terrorising the servants as he

in to the enclosure two days before the corrida at midnight, driving them across the Abronigal stream and through the outskirts of Madrid, accompanied by amateur rough-riders and cowherds. He was

it was to call him a cheat and a liar, and to expose oneself to the weight of his fists. As the reptiles sang, so also did the bulls speak, only he had not yet succeeded in mastering all the mysteries of their idiom. They were really just like Christians, except that they went on four legs and had horns. You should see them wake when the sun rose, bounding about as happy as children, pretending in fun to cross their horns and fight each other, chasing each other with noisy enjoyment, as if they were saluting the coming of the sun, which is the glory of God. Then he spoke of his toilsome excursions through the Sierra de Guadarr

ed by the populace. The shepherd of the bulls almost despised the toreros. To kill such noble animals, with every sort of trickery and deceit! He was the re

en a great many years in this employment, and had known all the most celebrated toreros of his day. He was very poorly dressed, but he often wore beautiful rings, and t

rwhelming work. If the manager was displeased with him and wished to punish him he would open the doors to all the riffraff wandering round

for his allowing them to watch the corrida from the "dogs box," that is, a door with an iron grating situated near the bulls' boxes, wh

on the seats of the sunny side,[105] those occupied by a poor and dirty crowd, who left a

his troup. "Whoever filches a single ciga

minine ornaments, anything that an invasion of fourteen thousand people might have left behind them. He collected the scraps of cigar ends, chopping them up after exposing them to the

reed with the overseer which two bulls should be specially boxed for him. The other toreros would not object. They

a tall spare man, with olive complexion, dressed as a torero, leave the group and come towards him. Tufts

said Gallardo, clasping hi

this fleeting reputation, so Pescadero, after fighting in America, and sustaining several cogidas, had retired with a little capital of savings. Gallard

till, you see, the sport draws me, and I drop in as a neighbour

nt and proud, favoured by women, among the smartest in La Campana whenever he came to Seville, dressed in his velvet hat, his wine coloured jacket an

l than formerly. As he had met the matador he insisted on his going with him to his house, indeed as an old friend he could do no less. So Gallardo turned with him into one of the small streets surrounding the Plaza, and entered the tavern, which was much like any other, its fa?ade painted red, windows with curtains

l Pescadero to a young man standing behind

then at his right sleeve, which w

I know you," s

id know him!" cried P

hion, he also had been named by the aficionados as "the torero of the future." Unluckily one day in the Plaza in Madrid his r

not think that Pipi and I live in plenty. We live as we can, but whatever I have is for him. We get on, thanks to o

about the school of Tauromachia establis

the tavern. A great many people come, young gentlemen who wish to distinguish themselves at the 'becerras,'[107] foreigners who become bew

a wall. Across the joined planks which served as a door was a l

nd bamboos, mounted on wheels, with a tail of tow, a head of plaited straw, and pieces of cork for a ne

he creature who communicated its intelligence to the beast, pushing it for

hand. Close to the wall seated on a chair, and leaning on another, was a lady of about the same age, and not less stout and rubicund, in a hat covered with[Pg 318] flowers. Ea

emed to have travelled all over the world and to have lived everywhere; to judge from his stories, he had been a miner in America, colonist in some distant island, hunter of wild ho

that figure!... And at fifty

rms holding the banderillas, and the lady arranged h

on. You remember what I told you. Stand quiet on your ground. Invite the 'bicho,' let him come, and when he is by your side just bend your h

e terrible bull, or more properly to the urchin, who with h

.. Enter

f wheels, staggering and butting on account of the inequalities of the ground. How could any bull from the most famous herd compare in intelligence with this Morito, immortal beast; who had been pierced with banderillas and rapier thrusts a thousand times, only suf

m in his place, arranging his braces and his shirt cuffs. His wife, wi

houted El Pescadero. "A st

e professor's applause, replie

important-courage, a

of wine. When they knew that the man who accompanied the professor was the celebrated Gallardo, whose portraits they had so often admired on ciga

ty, "you will be fixing banderillas in the Plaza in Madrid, and carrying off

g

th Gallardo as far as

r in the Plaza to-morrow.... You see how low I have c

he had seen in his good days throw away money with p

e to teach the management of a fortune. And yet they were proposing to hi

disturbed by his usual superstitious fears. He felt the certai

ir lance in rest, two of the horses lay dying, streams of dark blood gushing out of their torn chests. The other one mad with pain and terror rushed from one end of the Plaza to the other, his belly ripped open and the saddle hangi

the bull left it, kicking and dying, a "mono sabio" came up to finish it, by driving the steel of his dagger through the top of the skull. The miserable brute in the extremity of its agony bit the man, who screamed, lifting his bloody right ha

y. They were delighted at the bull's fierceness and protested loudly at there being

by without fresh butcheries. The bull remained alone in the centre of the arena, superb and bellowing, his bloody horns

ye bandaged, so that it should not see the bull, the shock and the fall were instantaneous. The lances broke with the splintering of dry wood, the horse was tossed in the air b

The arena rang[Pg 322] with the shock of the fall of the heavy bodies with their iron-clad

" yelled the crowd. "Hi

the sand, again mounted the same horse, which the "monos sabios," by dint of kicks and blows, had got on to its feet, a

uted, throwing the beaver

hock, each one rolling to a different side of the arena. Several times before the bull attacked, the "monos sabios" and also some of the public had advised the rider to dismount. "Get down

sible on the ground, and the circus servants were obliged to carry them out to the infirma

everywhere, earning immense applause by seizing the bull's tail and pulling, ti

g

was so like one of Goya's pictures. With her golden hair and her large and elegant hat, she might have been a foreigner seeing a bull-fight for the first time. By her side sat that man of whom she spoke so admiringly, and to whom she was showing the sights of the

at the previous corrida. The people seemed inclined to be tolerant after the spell of wet weather, as if they wished to find everything good in th

her the rapier waving like a cane. He was followed, though at a prudent distance, by El Nacional and another torero. Sev

ybody!" shou

use it was said in a voice

A pass, olé!" and a murmur of satisfaction ran over the benches. The lad from Seville was again worthy of his name, he had regained his professional pride. He was going to perfo

he bull standing motionless, the public themselves

th his rapier in front, slipping quic

strident whistling. The enthusiasts ceased to look at the bull, to turn their indignation

ull without ceasing their protests, and the whole

rossing the bull, its point appearing b

in a paroxysm of fury. "What a scandal!

y one to a generous indignation. "Poor bull! Such a good one, so noble...." Many threw themselves forward, roaring[Pg 325] with fury, as if they intended throwing themselves bodily into the arena. "Thie

his best days, overcoming the nervous shrinking which made him turn his face away as though he could not endure the sight of the brute coming down on him. B

ut for some time with painf

rd and again placed himse

oceeding to the "descabello," the only thin

that the beast, attracted by the fluttering cloth, should lower its head to the ground. The espada stru

crowd with almost

nd once again drove in the rapier, the o

t from the god

e the others in[Pg 326] drawing a

e masses now joined whistles and cries of

g the spinal cord, and the bull fell instanta

ally or with contemptuous silence. No one applauded. He saluted the president amid the general indifference, and then took refuge behind the barrier, like a school boy ashamed of his misdeeds. While Garabato offered him a glass of water his eyes ran roun

gnize it. All his confidence, all his resolutions of throwing himself on the bull were useless. His legs were neither as light nor as steady as formerly, neither had his right arm that daring which made it throw itself out wi

rrors suddenly reappeare

g

heart tells me the fifth bull will catch m

animal! He looked quite different from the one he had chosen in the yard the evening before. Fear went on s

from the endangered picadors. At first his endeavours were received in

y was disordered, it was sufficient for the bull to shake his head for him to take it as a sign of charging, throwing his

He is cat

, obliquely, to get out of the danger as quickly as he could. There was an explosion of whistling and shouting. The

ly, but his legs had no longer the agility of former days. He was caught and rolled over by the impetus of the rush. While everyone ran to his help Gallardo[Pg 328] picked

is elegance, now looked pitiful and ridiculous, with his shirt tail sticking out, his ha

difficulty. But Gallardo seemed blind and deaf; the sight alone of the animal was enough to make him throw himself back at the slightest sign of attack; it seemed as though his recent overtur

ry one! Leav

is heart: "To-day you will di

spada's thoughts by the

of the bull! Pani

hamed and silent, unable to explain a t

of those in a safe place. Others, thinking themselve

deaf to the sarcastic jests of the populace;[Pg 329] but they were thrusts the animal scarcely seemed to feel. His ter

r bellowing with his head low, as if complaining of this useless torture. The espada followed him, muleta in hand, anxious to finish him, yet dreading to expose himself, and behind him came a whole troup of peons, spreading their capes, as th

Dolorosa!"[109

e animal to a pinc

! Bad

orero by changing his

on't run in

of the audience becoming furious

How long is this

spot where the bull was standing, then, directing his gesture towards Gallardo he raised one[Pg 330] closed fist with the forefinger outstretched. The mob applauded. It was the

hreat, placed his rapier horizontally and threw himself on the bull. It was

as that brute immortal! The rapier thrusts seemed to

of bread, cushions, any projectile ready to hand, was hurled into the arena at the matador. From the sunny side came stentorian voices, roars like a siren, which it seemed impossible should

handkerchief, looking all around him, as if astounded at the injustice of the populace. He turned his eyes towards Do?a S

pening, for the spread capes fluttering incessantly round him concealed everyth

finished by the puntilero, he was fastened by his poll to the team of mules, and dragged out of the arena, leaving behind

ing him greatly; but, in the midst of his discouragement, feeling an intense comfort at being out of danger. He had not died by the bull's horns ... b

rough the crowd of people massed outside, car

owds coming out of the Plaza; these opened out to let the mules pass,

: carriages full of pretty women in white mantillas passed close to him, bu

s unnoticed, hiding himself behind the bulk

ts followed[Pg 332] their example. The news of Gallardo's fiasco had spread rapidly, and they

ave they by any chance been to the cor

d policemen rode up and dispersed the hostile manifestation, afterwards escorting the whole le

TNO

Wolf

responds to the "gallery

Heart-

ls of year

the object of his attack-a

en Sorrows whose heart

profundis."<