Page:The Burton Holmes lectures; (IA burtonholmeslect04holm).pdf/293

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  • ring the 18th day of April and two following days, is not,

however, a simple rustic festival. True, it was primarily an exhibition of produce and fine cattle, but it has now become one of the fashionable events of Spain, and it is to Seville what the Carnival is to Rome and Nice and the Grand Prix to Paris and Derby Day to London.

THE CARMANS OF TO-DAY

Nevertheless our first impressions are of a rural fête, as we come out upon a vast grass-covered space crowded with splendid animals; here sheep, there goats, beyond them, pigs, then in another quarter, pensive cows, and last and best hundreds of restive horses, all awaiting sale. In the distance looms the great cathedral, and every little while the bells of the Giralda send out across the city and this busy camp their cheerful music. We stand now in the middle of the cattle market and around us is enough wool, hides, beef, mutton, veal, and pork to supply a city's population for a year. As we move on, we pass with anxious eyes gigantic bulls, fearing to become involved in an impromptu bull-fight, for to the uninitiated, the ordinary Spanish bull appears as formidable