with which the world is familiar. Tuesday, too, Needless to say, the Spaniards have numberless credences and customs which are rather religious observance than positive superstition. Foremost among them is the inveterate usage of doffing one's hat to a funeral. "It is the last salute the dead will receive on earth is the explanation, surely a gentle and graceful as well as an ingenious one. nected, too, with funerals is the following. It is never announced in the newspapers that a child has died, but always that it has "subido al cielo" (flown to Heaven); and the insertion is headed by a pathetic little cut, representing a cherub with wings, Con Immediately a death occurs, a capilla ardiente is prepared, together with the cama imperial or death couch. Here, exposed to the gaze of the neighbours, surrounded by lighted tapers, and suitably dressed in quiet garb, lies the corpse. In these circumstances it is said to be de cuerpo presente. So it remains overnight, being watched, wake fashion, by friends and relatives. Putrefaction in these warm climates sets in so rapidly that burial is never deferred beyond the twenty-four hours, except in the rare instances where the corpse is embalmed, either in order to convey it from one place to other, or else, if the victim be a celebrity, in order that it may lie in state for a day or more. In this latter case the embalmment is the merest trifle compared with the elaborate practice of the ancients. It consists of an injection of antiseptic preparations into the femoral artery, and is only able to avert decay in quite a temporary manner. No woman ever attends a funeral, but only male -relations, acquaintances and friends. It is correct for a bachelor or spinster to be buried in a white coffin; and the chrysanthemum is preferably the flower of the dead. The cemetery is inclosed within high walls, honeycombed with niches, each of which contains a coffin, walled in at interment. Upon the outer slab an inscription may be painted or a garland hung; and I am aware of few sights more depressing than those morbid rows of flowers as the wind sweeps through them on a wintry day. I never pass an extravagant funeral, be it in England, Spain, or anywhere, but it moves me to contempt. How does it benefit or flatter us? We cannot see the multitude take off their hats, nor shall we spell to-morrow's daily paper. Surely it were nobler to confess that the sackcloth of the beggar and the fine linen of the millionaire are one at last, the selfsame fabric, out of use for ever. Why should the merchant overtop the mendicant by just the space between a niche that pays a pretty rent and the fosa común, gratis ? They both of them might jostle cheek by jowl, without the shadow of reciprocal harm—the pauper without shame, the man of wealth without disgust, or loss of dignity. For where they now are summoned is neither rich nor poor, nor grand nor little, but Death's impartial, icy hand has marshalled all in undistinguished order-and all of us, and all our sins are ready perforce to stand in utter nakedness. before the Lord. 154 CHAPTER VII. THE NATIONAL FIESTAS. DDLY enough, the Spanish New Year begins, precisely as with us, upon the first of January. Of course it is a fiesta, dignified by the revival of hoaryheaded tradition, and surrounded with usages and superstitions, little and great. Upon that day the Spaniard believes, or is stated to believe, that the tokens he observes between sunrise and sunset will determine his fortune throughout the year. If gold be in his pocket, he will be wealthy; if silver, so-so ; if copper, poor. Also he takes it as a propitious omen to meet a capitalist, and damns his luck if he stumble on a pauper. These or similar beliefs are common everywhere. In short, there is nothing new under the sun upon New Year's Day; and sayings and usages, both French and English, Spanish and Italian, are practically identical. Does not the Italian say that chi e malatto a Capodanno é malatto tutto l'anno ? In Spain, again, the Circumcision of our Lord, together with the misa mayor or grand mass which accompanies it, is by no means among the least of Catholic festivals; yet even thus it is rather a día del hogar (a day of the hearth) than a great ecclesiastical ceremony. People seem loth to venture out and about. Rather they remain indoors, busied with mysterious preparations of convivial import, gathering, as evening draws near, a few intimates into their private circle, and making merry in a homely fashion. "When the oldest cask is opened, When the chestnuts glow in the embers, Around the firebrands close" when all this is in progress about the Spanish hogar, you may be sure the badinage is brisk and the laughter loud behind the folded shutters. In fact it is a New Year's party, not dissimilar to our own, save that there is no snow upon the pavement, no fog in the atmosphere, no mistletoe dangling from the ceiling, and no snapdragon. But above all, there is plenty of frolic when the moment arrives to echar los estrechos; which rite, according to Olavarría y Huarte, a leading authority on Madrid folk-lore, is performed as follows.* When the company are all assembled, their names are written on slips of paper and sorted, ladies' and gentlemen's respectively, into two heaps. The pairs are then drawn by lot and read aloud, to the confusion of some, the gratification of others, and the hilarity of all; and every gallant is bound to send his partner a present upon the morrowa box of sweets, a bouquet of flowers, or the like. * Biblioteca de las Tradiciones Populares Españolas. Vol. II. It happens not infrequently that the bond thus hinted at in jest comes to be ratified in earnest, in which cases the New Year proves himself not only a fortune-teller, but a matchmaker as well. The next of Spanish fiestas falls on the 6th of January, el Día de los Reyes (the Day of the Kings), Epiphany with us. This, or rather the evening which precedes it, is the Santa Claus of Spanish little ones, who put out their shoes, not upon the bed, but upon the balcony, and with them, if the correct formula be observed, a wisp of straw to feed the horses of the Magi. Formerly, too, and upon the same date, the following extraordinary usage was in vogue. A number of wags recruited from the lower classes paraded the streets with a ladder and music. Their aim was to induce some simple-minded passer-by to mount the ladder and look abroad for the three kings of Scripture. No sooner was the victim of the adventure perched upon the topmost rung, than the supporter of the ladder made haste to stand away, bringing him rudely earthwards, to the infinite gibes and glee of the unmannerly conspirators. Finally, the authorities, more humane than conservative, and fearful of broken limbs, forbade the practice. The 17th of January is a great Madrid festival; and yet it is not wholly popular. It is the Día de San Antón (the Day of Saint Anthony), patron of the moke in particular, and domestic quadrupeds in general. On this extraordinary occasion every horse, mule, and ass in Madrid is taken from his labours, bedizened with ribbons and moños, and ridden to the church of San Antonio in the Calle |