Lastly, there are the officials who regulate the lottery, the Administrator of Lotteries, and so forth. The people pay them, not the Government; and if I were a Spanish citizen I would sooner be shot than contribute to the salaries of functionaries who earn their bread by prosecuting, even were it irresponsibly, the moral detriment of their native country.

In pleasing contrast with the lottery is the frontón or pelota-a sport which above all others is likely to appeal to Englishmen who travel in Spain. Pelota, however, is only partially Spanish, for it is the popular recreation of the Basque provinces, both Spanish and French, and the jeu de paume of the latter. Its real origin is probably of extreme antiquity; but it is known to have acquired a sudden impetus and wider development towards the beginning of the eighteenth century,* when various of its champions rose to conspicuous importance-Percain, Asantza, Isidro Indart, El hijo de Simón ("the son of Simon "), and many others, including several curates, for the game found constant favour, both practical and moral, with the clergy. But the forms of pelota then in vogue, namely, the largo-played upon an open space without a wall—and the rebote, both resembling our lawn tennis in that the score advanced by fifteen points at a time,† were widely different from the blé á cesta of nowadays; a modification introduced

* Peña y Goñi. Pelota y Pelotaris.

There was yet another form, the trinquete or cancha abierta, possessing qualities in common with both fives and lawn-tennis; similar to the latter in the scoring, and in the fact that the ball travelled over a net stretching across the middle of the court; and to fives in the hardness of the ball and the presence in the back-wall of the frailes.

into the region of the Basses Pyrenees about half a century ago.

Let us briefly imagine a game of pelota-such as may be witnessed in the Frontón Central of Madrid, or in the numerous frontones scattered throughout the Basque country.

The game is an important one, and the four players engaged are all of them renowned pelotaris. Let us designate them A and B, versus C and D. The site is composed of two walls at right angles, and surfaced with stone or Portland cement. These walls are the frontis and the pared. As in a fives or racquet court, a metal bar crosses the frontis at about three feet and a quarter above the ground. At intervals of thirteen feet the pared is marked out into spaces, which are known as cuadros, and its total length varies between two hundred and′ eight, and two hundred and thirty-four feet. It is upon the left hand of the court as one faces the frontis. The height of both frontis and pared is about forty feet; the width of the former, thirty-six feet. That part of the floor (piso) which comprises the parallelogram indicated by these dimensions is paved with even flags, so that the balls may rebound naturally and easily; and beyond the paving is a plain unpaved strip some four yards wide; then follow rows of seats for the spectators; and the remaining two sides of the building, facing the pared and frontón respectively, are likewise devoted to boxes and stalls for the public.

As the moment for the match approaches, the four players emerge-fine fellows, all from the northern provinces, grandly muscular, the picture of

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athletes. A and B, besides white trousers and alpargatas, wear navy-blue shirts. They are, in consequence, called the azules or blues. Their adversaries, C and D, wear red shirts, and therefore are the reds or colorados. At the side of the frontis is a marking board, the score going up at the termination of every rally.

All four players have their right hand invested with the cesta. This is of fine tough basketwork, nearly a yard in length, hollow in shape, and curving pretty sharply towards the narrower end. At the broader end the hand fits into a leather glove fixed at the back of the basketwork, while a long cord is wound several times round and round, and then secured about a couple of pegs which project from either side of what I may call the hilt of the apparatus. The cost of a first-class cesta, such as is made by Lacarra of Ascain, is from forty to fifty pesetas.

Before time is called for them to get to work in good earnest, the combatants prefer to get their eye and hand in by means of a preliminary knock-up, and you will probably notice at this juncture that the balls are about the size of a cricket ball. They are a heavy compound of rubber, leather, and thread, and cost five pesetas apiece. The choicest are considered to be those manufactured by Modesto Sáinz, of Pamplona.

At the end of a few minutes the signal is given, the judges (two in number, and a referee) take their seats, and the players, after service (saque) has been tossed for, their stations. The two opponents who are "up" are the delanteros; those who are "back" are the zagueros. The delantero A, who has won the