J1
VOL. Ill
"OXFOED, N. C^, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 1877.
NO. 28.
SPANIISII BtII.L-FIGlITS.
The biill-i'ing of Madrid is a
new circular .ampbithoatre built
of brick and stone, 300 feet in
diameter, v.'ith 20 rows of stone
seats, one above another. There
is a central seat for the President
of the ring, who is generally some
gentlen.an or nobleman. There
are also rows of private boxes,
and a king’s box.
The whole exhibition is under
the direction of an association of
distinguished citizens, — usually
noblemen,—who appear in their
uniform of gaudy colors and gay
costume, wliich always delights
the taste of the Spaniard. A
largo gate opens into the ring,
which is approached by a wide
way, which is connected with the
various stalls of the bulls in the
i^ear. Each bull is confined in a
separate stall, with iood and
water let down to him from above.
There is a large yard in the rear,
connected with the stalls, where
the bulls are sometimes baited
before the fight. The bulls in
tended for the ring are raised in
the mountains of the western part
of Spain and about Seville, which
is the great centre of this sport.
The exhibition of each bull
consists of three acts, all ot which
are performed in about twenty
minutes. First, at a signal of the
president, the door is thrown
open, and the bull, dazed by the
glare of the light, dashes into the
ring. He sees the picadors drawn
up on the right of the i-ing on
horses, each rider having a long
pole and a short sword. The
bull makes lor the first picador,
whose skill is shown in turning
his horse so as to shun the plunge
of the bull or turn him away, or,
failing to do this, to put his horse
as a shield between himself and
the bull. If the bull misses the
■first iiicndor he dashes for the
second, and so on. This act lasts
only a lew minntes, but in it
many horses are killed by being
disemboweled. The treatment of
these poor animals is one of the
most horrid features of the ring.
They are blindfolded, and if only
wounded, the wound is sewed up
or stopped with tow, and they
are again driven into, the ring,
until death ends their agonies.
None but the poorest animals are
used for the ring, but the cruelt}’
is all the greater, as their moans
of defence becomes less. The
bull is never killed by the pica
dors. If, however, lie is a coward
and will not charge, he is de
spatched at once wdth all manner
of hissing and derisive epithets
from the crowd, who call him a
coward, and nothing but a cow.
The dogs are set on him, who
grapple him by the nose and
bring him down, when he is stab
bed, or he is houghed—that is
the cords of his hind legs are cut
with a long knife from behind—
and he is then disposed of and
drawn out. If the bull is a brave
animal, then, after a few minutes’
contest with the picador, the sec
ond act begins. At a signal from
the president the trumpet sounds
and a body of young men, called
chulos, or merry-makers, enter
the arena gaily dressed and with
colored cloaks. They flaunt these
in the face of the bull and entice
him away from the picadors.
They are exceedingly dexterous
and skillful in escaping from the
plunge of the infuriated animal.
I was told by a gentleman that
he liad seen them, when the bull
was rushing on them, leap be
tween liis liorns and over his
back. They will, as they lea])
one side of him, fix a little goad
with a colored ribbon attached
into his neck, one on each side
and exactly opposite each otlier.
The last trumpet announces
the third act. Upon the signal,
the matador, the executioner,
comes in alone. He is the man
of science. On entering, he bows
to the audience, throws his cap
on the ground, and swears he
will do his whole duty. He has
in his rigid hand a long, slender
sword, and in his left a red flag.
After enticing the bull, with the
flag, to make a few plunges, at
the proper moment, as he darts
one side to lot the bull pass, he
strikes the fatal blow ; and if he
is skillful he pierces him to the
heart between the left shoulder
and the blade, and so quickly is
it done that he draws the slim
blade without a drop of blood,
brandishing it aloft, while the
bull in his last plunge falls, the
blood gushing from his nostrils,
and dies without a struggle. The
team of mules, with flags and
bells, are now driven in, and the
bull is drawn on a low hurdle
around the ring, amid the shouts
of the audience.
In one afternoon six or eight
bulls are killed iu this way. Fre-
quouth' a picador or a matador
will be gored and killed. He is
then borne off to the priest, who
has a room adjoining the ring,
and there, forgotten by the noisy
crowd, his soul is prepared for
heaven, and he passes from the
bull-fight to paiadise. Such is a
bull-fight, the (Jhristian amuse
ment of Catholic Spain, riiere
are more than one hundred bull-
rings in the kingdom.
Yet the Spaniard has his argu-
metits by which he will defend
tills his national amusement, and
it is fail to give him the advantage
of them. He says every nation
must have amusement, and a
historical and traditional one if
otherwise good, is the best. That
there is more or less cruelty in
all national sports. The En
glishman and American will play
with his fish and slowly drown
him; will slaughter the buffalo
for sport; liuiit lions and ele
phants for amusement. They
shoot pigeons and pheasants for
the fun of killing them. Common
people in all countries, with wives
and children, attend excutions.
N. Y. Observer.
PKOVIDENTI-4I. PltO'l’ECTION.
The following singular narra
tive is from a volume by a Cana
dian missionary, who has recent
ly published certain recollections
of his past life and labors;—
About this period I went to at
tend the sale of the effects of Mr.
M , a respectable farmer, who
had died at one of my out settle
ments a few months before. _ Ho
had left a widow, a very amiable
and pious woman, and three chil
dren, to mourn his loss. The lone
widow thought lierself unequal to
the management of the large farm
which her husband had occupied.
village where I lived, and was
now selling everything off, except
a little furniture.
After the sale was over I went
into the house to see her. I con
gratulated her upon the plan she
had adopted, and remarhel that
she would be much more com
fortable, not only in being re
lieved from the cares of a business
she could not be supposed to un
derstand, but in a feeling of secu
rity, which in her unprotected
state, in that lonely house, she
could hardly enjoy.
“Oh! no,” she said, “not un
protected; far from it. You forget,”
she continued, with a mournful
smile, “ that I am now under the
special protection of him who
careth for the widow and the
fatherless, and I feel quite confi
dent that He will protect us.”
And he did protect them, and
that very night too, in a most ex
traordinary and wonderful, and,
I may add, miraculous manner.
The farm-house was a solitary
one; there was not another within
half a mile of it. That night there
was a good deal of money in the
liouse, the proceeds of the sale.
The mother and thi'ee young chil
dren, and a maid servant, were
the 'sole inmates. They had re
tired to rest some time. The
wind was howling fearfully, and
shook the wooden house at every
blast.
This kept the mother awake;
and she thought she heard, in the
pauses of the tempest, some
strange and unusual noise, seem-
ingly at the back of the house.
While eagerly listening to catcli
the sound again, she was startled
by the violent barking of a dog,
apparently in a room in the front
of the house immediately beneath
her bedchamber.' This alarmed
her still more, as they had no dog
of their own.
She immediately rose, and go
ing to her maid’s room, awoke
lier, and they went down together.
They first peeped into the room
where they had heard the dog.
It was moonlight, at least partial
ly so, for the night was cloudy;
still it was light enough to distin
guish objects, although but faint
ly. They saw an immense rough
dog scratching and gnawing furi
ously at the door leading into the
kitchen wlience she thought the
noise she fiist heard had proceed
ed.
She requested the servant to
open the door which the dog was
attacking so violently. The girl
was a determined and resolute
creature, devoid of fear, and she
did so without hesitation; when
the dog rushed out, and the widow
saw through the open door two
men at the kitchen window,
which was open. The men in
stantly retreated, and the dog
leaped through tlie window after
them. A violent scuffle ensued,
and it was evident, from the oc
casional yelping of the noble ani
mal, that he sometimes had the
worst of it.
The noise of the contest, liow-
evor, gradually receded, till Mrs.
M could hear only now and
then a faint and distinct bark.
The robbers, or perhaps murder-
doubtless have accomplished their
purpose. The mistress and maid
got a light, and secured the win
dow as well as they could.
They then dressed themselves,
for to think of sleeping any more
that night was out of the question.
They had not, however, got down
stairs the second time before they
heard their protector scratching
at the outer door for admittance.
They immediately opened it,
when lie came in wagging bis
tail, and fawning upon each of
them in turn, to be patted and
praised for his prowess. He then
stretched his huge bulk, at full
length, beside the warm stove,
closed his eyes and went to sleep.
The next morning they gave
him a breakfast any dog might
have envied; after wliich nothing
could induce him to prolong his
visit. He stood whining impa
tiently at the door till it was
opened, when he galloped off in a
great hurry, and they never saw
him afteiwards.
THE MOTHElt OF
OEONS.
THE SPEE-
Eev. Dr. Ford, of America, re
cently paid a holiday visit to
London, and thus alludes to the
Stockwell Orphanage: “There
were five Spurgeons present, and
all said a few words. The father,
John Spurgeon, his two sons, J
A. and Charles II. Spurgeon, then
the two sons of Charles H., Mas
ter Thomas and Charles. It was
ail interesting sight. After the
structure and beneficent laws
discovered therein by the labors
of many illustrious predecessors.
For this I chum no credit. It is
the result to which right reason
and sound philosophy, as well as
religion, would naturally lead.
While I have never concealed
my convictions on these subjects,
nor liesitated to declare them on
all proper occasions, I have also
meeting, Mr. Spurgeon introduced
me to his fathei-, and we convers
od togethei, as we walked about
the grounds, for some considera
ble time. Cf course I asked him
of his family. He is sixty-six
vears of age. He has eight liv
ing children. He has spent his
life in the ministry. In the course
of the conversation he said, ‘ I
had been from home a great deal,
trying to build up weak congre
gations, and felt that I was neg
lecting the religious training of
my own children, while I toiled
for the good of othor.s. I returned
home with these feelings. I open
ed the door, and was surprised to
find none of the children about
the hall. Going quietly up the
stairs, I heard my wife’s voice.
She was engaged in prayer with
the children. I heard her pray
for them one by one by name.
She came to Charles, and special
ly prayed for him, for he was of
high spirit and daring temper. I
listened,’ said the old gentleman
to me, tearfully, ‘ listened till she
had ended her praj-'or, and I felt
and said, “ Lord, I will go on
with Thy work. The children
will be cared for.’ ”—Children's
Friend.
declared my belief that, while
natural religion stands on the
basis of revelation, consisting, as
it does, of the facts and laws
which form the domain of science,
science has never revealed a sys
tem of mercy commensurate with
the moral wants of man. In na
ture, in God’s creation, we discover
only laws—laws of undoviallng
strictness, and sore penalties at
tached to their violation. There
is associated with natural laws no
system of mercy. That dispen
sation is not revealed in nature,
and is contained in the Scriptures
alone. With the double view
just presented, I feel that science
and religion may walk hand-in-
hand. They form two distinct
volumes of revelation, and, both
being records of the will of the
Creator, both may be received as
constituting a unity, declaring the
mind of God; and, therefore, the
study of both becomes a duty,
and is perfectly consistent with
our highest and moral obligations.
I feel that, as this subject re
spects my fellow-men, I liave
done no more than my duty;
and I reflect upon my course with
subdued satisfaction, being per
suaded that nothing which I have
said or omytted to say in my
public lectures, or before the col
lege classes, or before popular
audiences, can have favored the
erroneous impression that science
is hostile to religion.
M'v own conviction is so decid
edly in the opposite direction,
that I could wish that students of
theology should be also students
of natural science—certainly of
astronomy, geolog}’’, natural phil-
osoplny and chemistry, and the
outlines of natural history.—Prof.
Sillimaii.
FROM DKllVKINO TOO
MECH WllISKEF.
IIARMONV OF SCIENCE ANB
. UEEIGIOIV.
ers, had taken out a pane of glass,
which had enabled them to undo
the fastening of the window,
She therefore took a cottage iu the 1 when, but for the dog, they would
Now, at eight3'-lwo and a half
j^ears of age, still, by God’s for
bearance and blessing, possessing
my mental powers unimpaired,
and looking over the barrier be
yond which I soon must pass, I
can truly declare that, in the
study and exhibition of science to
my pupils and fellow-men, Ih.ave
never forgotten to give all honor
and glory to the infinite Creator
-—happy if I might bo the hon
ored interpreter of a portion of
His works and of the beautiful
rrimus Moore, the colored man allu
ded to ill our- last- as being iu a pre-
earious condition from liaving taken
into ids .stomach an immense qimntit.v
of intoxicating liquors, liaviiig been
picked up in the street in nearly a dy
ing condition, and conveyed to the
station lionse, breathed ins last about
1 o’clock yesterday moniiiig from tlio
effects of liis excessive debauch. Cor-
ouex Hewlett was notified, and lield
an inquest over tire body during tiio
afternoon, as it lay in tlie guard room,
tlie jury returning a verdict tliat de
ceased came to ids deatii iroin iidiiim-
niation of tiro iiowels and conge.stion
of tlie brain from tlie effects of alcohol
ic drinks.
Tliere was notldng in the evidence
to sliow tliat tliere was any wager in
the question. He and some other col
ored men met np with an old acquaint
ance wlio, to rid himself of theirimpor-
tnnities, finalty bonglit a half gallon of
whiskey and let them help themselves,
and the consequence wiiiS that Moore
far traiiseendcd the#imits of prudence,
and paid the penalty with his life.
Deceased was a stout, able-bodied
man, and the very personifloatioii of
good health, his age being about 35
years. He leaves a family.— Wilming
ton Star.
How Patrick proposes to get
over I'.is single bliudiiess—Ily
proposing to Bridge-it.