barbarous discords and howlings
the Spanish delight in, at others civilised harmonies and trained
voices that are really beautiful but less popular.

Those who frequent these cafes are not socially of an attractive class.
Many are rough country people who are evidently in Zaragoza as birds of
passage. The roughest specimens of apparently unwashed waifs and strays
will take possession of a table, and at the very next table, almost
touching elbows with them, will be a fashionable couple, dressed smartly
enough for a wedding. The one in no way disconcerts the other, and all
treat each other on the basis of a friendly species of equality. The
lowest of the people who have a few sous to spare in their pocket devote
them to this, their earthly paradise. They love the glare and glamour
and warmth--it is the one green oasis in the desert of their every-day
lives; all the working hours are gilded by the thought of the evening's
amusement. Many of them have dull, dark homes, in which they feel
cribbed and cabined. Of the quiet pleasures of domestic life they know
little, but they are all perfectly happy. One of the strongest
characteristics of human nature is its adaptability to circumstances;
the back fits itself to the burden. People seldom die of a broken heart.

In Zaragoza, more than anywhere else, we saw this strange mixture of
classes; wondered that some of them were admitted. But they behaved like
ladies and gentlemen, drinking coffee and helping themselves to
detestable spirit with an air and a grace only they know how to put on.
Yet it is not put on; it is born with them; an inheritance from the
past.

It was not in all this, however, that the charm of Zaragoza consisted.
These everyday common-place sights and experiences have few attractions
for those who seek to link themselves with the past in its ancient
outlines and glorious buildings. The cafes were all very well as studies
of human nature, but one very soon had enough of them.

There was one long street especially old and interesting. On each side
were deep, massive arcades of a very early period, above which the
houses rose in quaint, gabled outlines, many of the windows still
possessing latticed panes, which added so much to their charm. To make
the street more interesting, the market was held here. On both sides
the road, in front of the arcades was a long succession of stalls, where
everything relating to domestic life was sold. Fruit and flower and
vege