n to death. Twenty
horses fell dead, while several more were led away mortally wounded. A
single bull killed eight horses. No men were seriously hurt.

The horses, it is true, are of such a quality that, if they are not
killed today, they will be taken to the horse-butcher tomorrow. Good
horses would not only be too expensive, but they would also refuse to
await the attack of the bull without shying or offering resistance,
even if their right eyes were bandaged. The more horses the bull has
killed and the more dangerous to the men he has become, the louder is
the applause. One bull persistently refused to attack the _picadores_.
He ran up and down the arena, trembling with fear, while the crowd
shrieked curses and imprecations. At last they yelled: _Los perros_!
(the dogs!) When the dogs arrived in the arena they could hardly be
restrained. Madly they rushed upon the bull, who at once gored one of
them and tossed him high in the air. The others, however, fastened on
him, one of them seizing his tongue so firmly that he was swung high
up in the air and down again. You could have torn him to pieces before
he would have let go. Finally four dogs had the bull in a position
where he could not free himself, and the matador struck him down.

While this butchery was at its height, the young queen with the
Infanta entered, accompanied by Don Francesco, her husband, and the
Duke of Montpensier. Aumale had arrived earlier. The queen looked very
happy and is by no means so ugly as the papers say. She is blonde,
rather stout, and not at all plain. The Infanta is small, extremely
dark and thin. The queen was greeted by the _matador_ just as her
mother had been, but by the spectators with much enthusiasm. When the
eighth bull was killed, it began to grow dark, but all the people
yelled "_un otro toro_," and the ninth bull was hunted down almost in
darkness--which is very dangerous for the _matador_.

This, then, is the spectacle which the Spaniards love better than
anything else, which is watched by the tenderest of women, and which
brought a smile to the face of the Infanta, a recent bride. So far as
I am concerned, one bullfight was quite enough for me, and its
description, I fancy, will be enough for you.

DESCRIPTION OF MOSCOW[38] (1856)

TRANSLATED BY GRACE BIGELOW

Thursday, August 28th

The City of Moscow takes it for granted that the Emperor has not yet
arrived. A few assert that he has been since yesterday at