The black hair, admirably attached to the head, is cut short;
shaved on the temples and over the ears, brushed forward as in other
countries is fashionable with gentlemen of the box: it fits the skull
like a second, tighter skin. The lips are red and sensual, the teeth
white, regular and well shaped. The bull-fighter is remarkable also for
the diamond rings which decorate his fingers and the massive gold, the
ponderous seals, of his watch-chain.

Who can wonder then that maidens fair, their hearts turning to thoughts
of love, should cast favourable glances upon this hero of a hundred
fights? The conquests of tenors and grand-dukes and fiddlers are
insignificant beside those of a bull-fighter; and the certainty of
feminine smiles is another inducement for youth to exchange the drudgery
of menial occupations for the varied excitement of the ring.

* * *

At night the Sierpes is different again. Little by little the people
scatter to their various homes, the shops are closed, the clubs put out
their lights, and by one the loiterers are few. The contrast is vivid
between the noisy throng of day-time and this sudden stillness; the
emptiness of the winding street seems almost unnatural. The houses,
losing all variety, are intensely black; and above, the sinuous line of
sky is brilliant with clustering stars. A drunken roysterer reels from a
tavern-door, his footfall echoing noisily along the pavement, but
quickly he sways round a corner; and the silence, more impressive for
the interruption, returns. The night-watchman, huddled in a cloak of
many folds, is sleeping in a doorway, dimly outlined by the yellow gleam
of his lantern.

Then I, a lover of late hours, returning, seek the _guardia_. Sevillan
houses are locked at midnight by this individual, who keeps the
latch-keys of a whole street, and is supposed to be on the look-out for
tardy comers. I clap my hands, such being the Spanish way to attract
attention, and shout; but he does not appear. He is a good-natured,
round man, bibulous, with grey hair and a benevolent manner. I know his
habits and resign myself to inquiring for him in the neighbouring
dram-shops. I find him at last and assail him with all the abuse at my
command; he is too tipsy to answer or to care, and follows me, jangling
his keys. He fumbles with them at the door, blaspheming because they are
so much alike, and finally lets me in.

_'Buena noche. Descanse v bien.'_

XIV

[Sidenote: Charac