"'There must be some mistake,' I heard her murmur. 'He is not among
them.'

"She was undeceived. The bull had begun to exhaust his rage, his
tormentors had done their utmost, and the people wanted more excitement.
_He_ came in then, splendid as an Apollo, tall, lithe, powerful. Then
followed the lightning play of human intelligence and trained strength
against savage impulse. The man was everywhere at the same moment. His
sword flashed now here, now there, up and down like a quiver of
lightning. He would entice the animal close to him, and just as his
fierce horns were lowered, leap astride his neck, and land, with a
bound, ten feet away. Now he darted under him, now made a flying leap
over his back, cheered on, and accompanied by waving handkerchiefs,
eager hands, and bursts of admiring applause.

"A new feature was added to the scene. Several horses were brought in,
blindfolded and old, ridden by inferior matadores. One of these poor
creatures was urged up to the waiting bull, which made a rush at his
chest with both horns, tore his way to the vitals, and let the heart
out, almost heaving the beast from the earth as those murderous horns
rent their way out of his body.

"Oh! it was sickening; the smell of the hot blood, the overwhelming
bravos, the exultation of delicate women and innocent children, as the
infuriated bull plunged his horns, reddened to the frontlet, again and
again into that writhing breast. I wish I had never seen it. In fact I
could not see clearly, for every thing grew misty from the sick
shuddering that fell upon me. I shivered down in my seat and shut my
eyes, degraded and full of self contempt, that any thing should have
brought me to that horrid place.

"I would have gone home, but the confusion was so great, and the crowd
so dense, that I dared not propose it, especially as General Harrington
joined heartily in the enthusiasm, and would, I feared, resent any
interruption.

"So I sat there, with my head bowed and my face covered, loathing myself
and everything around me. A shriek from Lucy Eaton brought me out of
this state. Starting up, I saw the man she had called a duke, tossed
high in the air, whence he came to the earth with a crash. This stunned
him for a moment, but before the bull could follow up its advantage, he
sprung to his feet, flung his scarlet cloak over the creature's eyes,
and gave the signal for a general attack.

"Out rushed the matadores in a body, armed with javelin