red flag in his left, he calmly awaited the onslaught of the bull. The great brute, still formidable, made straight to the middle of the ring, where his opponent stood, and when his eye caught again the hated red flag which the _espada_ was waving in his face, he pulled up short, with concentrated rage and fury. As the two thus stood face to face,--the desperate beast and the single man with his bodkin,--we were reminded of Glaucus of Pompeii fronting the lion with his _stylus_, while the crowd of the amphitheatre thirsted for his blood. The bull-fighter kept his eye fixed on that of the bull, which had it not been for a slow oscillation of the head--as his eyes seemed to follow, fascinated, the gentle waving of the flag--would have appeared motionless. The man crept to within an inch of the long horn-points, cautiously and slowly extending his right arm with the dagger over the animal's neck, and stretching his body forward till the left horn almost touched his chest. The eye of the bull was still distracted by the red flag which was incessantly waved before him, amidst the most profound silence. Suddenly, like a flash of light, the knife was brought down, the exact point was hit, and the ponderous brute rolled over, weltering in a dark torrent of gore. Showers of flowers were thrown on the victor's head by fair hands above, who thus testified that in their eyes the brave man had retrieved his fault. The gaudy mules once more dashed in, and in a moment galloped back again, dragging the great carcass behind them. How impressive are the contrasts of nature! At the moment when this scene of blood was brought to an end, a lark soared calmly across the blue circle of the quiet heavens above, while near to me a fair young mother hushed her new-born infant to sleep. FOOTNOTES: [16] Picadores. [17] Police of the ring, who preserve from custom their mediæval costume, and are a mere form. [Illustration: [++] Decorative Image] [Illustration: [++] Decorative Image] CHAPTER X. TOLEDO.--VIEW OF THE CITY.--THE CATHEDRAL.--PROCESS OF SMOKE-DRYING.--ALMANZA.--VALENCIA.--THE FONDA DE MADRID.--A BENEVOLENT DOCTOR.--SPANISH MULETEERS.--HOW CONTROVERSIES ARE SETTLED.