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banished or burned by the Inquisition. But they have left their mark behind them. It could indeed scarcely be otherwise. After holding the country for eight centuries, the traces of their occupation cannot be easily effaced. Toledo, in Cordova, in Granada, or in the older parts of Seville it would be easy to believe oneself in a Moorish or Egyptian town. The narrow streets are enclosed by high walls, almost windowless, and perforated by only a single low door. Everything looks gloomy and sombre. But peep through the iron. grating which protects the doorway, and you will see a patio, bright with flowers, and fountains, and greenery. The windows of the chambers open into this quadrangle, and the inmates can enjoy light and air, bright sunshine and cool shade, without leaving the seclusion of their homes, or being exposed to the gaze of any not belonging to the family. This style of architecture has been handed down directly from the Moors.

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And in numberless details of dress and daily life the same influence may be traced. The mantilla which forms the head-dress of almost every woman in Spain is simply a relic of the veil universally worn by the wives and daughters of the Moslem. Wander into the outskirts of any town in Spain, and you will hardly fail to stumble upon groups of ragged, picturesque varlets, lying at full length upon some sunny bank, sunning themselves, just as a group of Bedouins would do. Go out into the country, and you will hear the creaking of the water-wheel, and see the patient oxen, treading their ceaseless round, turning the ponderous machine, which has come down unchanged from the days of the Moors. The peasants of Andalusia, Murcia, and Granada are seldom to be seen without a long staff, which they grasp and carry exactly as an Arab does

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his spear. The velvet hat of the Spanish majo is clearly a reminiscence of the turban. In private houses, hotels, and cafés, servants are summoned by clapping the hands as in the "Arabian Nights."

But it is doubtless the stagnation and apathy of Spain to which the French proverb chiefly refers. And this cannot fail to impress every traveller. In Madrid there is indeed a certain amount of life and bustle on the surface; for the highest ambition of every Madrileño seems to be to make his city as much like Paris as possible. But Parisian civilisation and activity are merely a thin veneer. Beneath the surface, and in all matters of business, Madrid is

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as slow and stagnant as ever. Some of the towns on the east coast, Barcelona and Valencia for instance, are awakening to a keener and more active life. Their proximity to Marseilles brings them into intimate connection with that port, and they have derived a considerable amount of French vivacity from this source. There is likewise an extensive British and American trade springing up, and the bustle and energy of commerce are arousing the drowsy population from their stupor. But the change is only beginning. It has not had time to penetrate below the surface, and the surrounding country is altogether untouched by it. The Rambla at Barcelona might be the boulevard of a French

town, but the side streets are purely Spanish and oriental in their character. Spain, as a whole, strikes one as being at least two centuries behind the rest of Europe, and little effort is made to recover the lost ground. To every proposal for improvement the all-sufficing reply is, Mañana (To-morrow), or Veremos (We'll see about it). Off the lines of railway Spain seems to have remained unchanged since the days of the Moors; and even railway travelling partakes of the drowsy and slumberous character of the country. The trains travel more slowly, stop more frequently, and linger longer at the stations than in any other country

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in Europe. On some of the most important lines of the Peninsula only a single train runs daily. Large gaps are left unfinished year after year which have to be traversed by diligences. Thus the main-line, connecting Cordova and Malaga with Granada, is incomplete between Archidona and Loja, a distance of five hours. The traveller from Barcelona, Valencia, and the other important towns on the east coast, to Marseilles, Lyons, or Paris, must spend the whole night in the diligence between Gerona and Perpignan

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