Page:The Burton Holmes lectures; (IA burtonholmeslect04holm).pdf/331

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PLAUDITS FOR GUERRITA

TOSSING BACK THE HATS OF ENTHUSIASTS

class. At the head of them stands Rafael Guerra or Guerrita as he is known in the ring. The rewards of the Espada are not to be despised. Guerrita, we are told, makes in one year about sixty thousand dollars, and dispatches about two hundred bulls. Since becoming matador he has killed no fewer than fourteen hundred bulls, and his savings represent six hundred thousand dollars. Armed simply with a slender sword and the muleta,—a square of red cloth attached to a light stick,—he begins a duel with the now thoroughly enraged antagonist. He must, however, show his skilful play before attempting to end the tragic combat. It is here the stranger is least disgusted and most deeply interested, for the play is fair, the chances equal; and we know that it is to be a duel to the death, for the matador does not enjoy the privilege of seeking safety behind the barrier. The brute directs his