The Story of SevilleGallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
History
The Story of Seville
Gallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
Seville (Spain)
At Coria you will be an object of curiosity, for very few strangers
visit the little village. The Gitanas inhabit 'dug-outs,' or caves, in
the hillside. These dens are only lit by the doorway, but they are not
so dark within as one might expect. Nor are they unwholesome, for the
gipsies appear to take pride in keeping their habitations clean. Most of
the cooking is done outside the burrow. There is quite a warren in the
hill, which is honeycombed with dwellings of this savage kind.
Strange to say, not a single Gitana begged from me when I visited the
colony. But the Gentile population of Coria were somewhat importunate
when our party embarked for the return journey to Seville, and most of
the lads of the village congregated on the landing-stage to beg for
_centimos_.
Macarena and Juderia, the poor _barrios_ or suburbs of Seville, are not
like our English slums. There is no sign of abject want, though the
people have a keen struggle for subsistence. The houses are all
white-washed without, and the little courts have their climbing roses
or a grape vine trained to pillars. There are malodours here and there,
owing to the insanitary practices of the people; but the inhabitants of
these quarters are seldom ragged, and they do not appear dejected, dirty
and degraded.
Now and then, a mischievous boy will throw a stone at the foreigner, or
a group of idlers will break into derisive laughter when you pass by. On
the other hand, ask a question civilly of these people, and they will
put themselves to trouble to assist you in finding the church or the
monument of which you are in quest. Beware, however, of the
soft-tongued, amiable loafer who persists in dogging your heels and
offering his services as a guide.
Begging, which is such an intolerable nuisance in some of the Spanish
towns, has been almost suppressed in Seville by the rigorous municipal
laws. The mendicant is not extinct; some of the order are sure to be
encountered in the neighbourhood of the Cathedral, but they do not
pester the visitor incessantly as in Toledo and Granada. A number of the
idle and vicious inhabitants of Seville appear to be homeless. In this
balmy Southern climate, the _al fresco_ life of the tramp is not
unendurable; still I am told that beggars sometimes die in Spain by the
roadside from sheer want.
The Plaza Nueva is a favourite nocturnal resort of the _gamins_ and
vagabonds of the city, and at one in the morning the space presents a
scene resembling that of Trafalgar Square in the days when unfortunate
'out-of-works' camped there nightly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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