gypsies, which have come down
practically unchanged from the Roman days, when Martial and Horace were
enchanted by the graceful motions of the dancing girls of their time;
and these are undoubtedly suggestive in a high degree, and are not less
objectionable than the more widely known Oriental dances which have
recently made their advent into the United States; but these dances are
in no way national or common. They are rarely seen, except in the gypsy
quarter of Seville, and there they are generally arranged for
money-making purposes. In short, they are no more typical of Spanish
dances than the questionable evolutions of the old Quadrille at the
Moulin Rouge were representative of the dances of the French people, and
it is time that the libel should be stopped. The country people and the
working classes dance with the enjoyment of children, and generally they
sing at the same time some love song which is unending, and sometimes
improvised as the dance proceeds.

In athletic matters it cannot be said that Spanish women are very
active, and in this they are somewhat behind their brothers, who have
numerous games which test their skill and endurance. Though the bicycle
is well known now in Spain, the Spanish women have not adopted it with
the zest which was shown by the women of France, and it is doubtful if
it will ever be popular among them. Horseback riding is a fashionable
amusement among the wealthy city women, but their attainments in this
branch of sport seem insignificant when compared to the riding of
English and American women. The Spanish riding horse is a pacer rather
than a trotter, and this cradle-like motion is certainly better suited
to the Spanish women. Few, if any, of them aspire to follow the hounds,
a ditch or a gate would present difficulties which would be truly
insurmountable, and they never acquire the ease and grace in this
exercise which are the mark of an expert horsewoman.

The dark beauty of the Spanish women has long been a favorite theme, and
there is little to say on that subject which has not been said a
thousand times before, but no account of them would be complete without
some word in recognition of their many personal charms. In the cities,
the women, so far as their dress is concerned, have lost their
individuality, as the women of other nations have done, in their efforts
to follow the Parisian styles; but there is still a certain charming
simplicity of manner which characterizes t