brought to share in the impulse towards national life and commercial
progress. Comte Paul Vasili, in his charming _Lettres inédites_ to a
young diplomatist, first published in the pages of _La Nouvelle Revue_,
gives such an exact picture of the Spanish people, of whom he had so
wide an experience and such intimate knowledge, that I am tempted to
quote it in full.

"The famous phrase, _Á la disposition de V._, has no meaning in the
upper ranks, is a fiction with the _bourgeoisie_, but is simple truth in
the mouth of the people. The pure-blooded Spaniard is the most
hospitable, the most ready giver in the world. He offers with his whole
heart, and is hurt when one does not accept what he offers. He does not
pretend to know anything beyond his own country ... he exaggerates the
dignity of humanity in his own person.... Even in asking alms of you he
says: _Hermanito, una limosna, por el amor de Dios._ He does not beg;
no, he asks, demands; and, miserable and in rags as he may be, he treats
you as a brother--he does you the honour of accepting you as his equal.
The Spaniard who has a _novia_, a guitar, a _cigarillo_, and the
knowledge that he has enough to pay for a seat at the bull-fight,
possesses all that he can possibly need. He will eat a plateful of
_gazpacho_ or _puchero_, a sardine, half a roll of bread, and drink
clear water as often as wine. Food is always of secondary importance: he
ranks it after his _novia_, after his _cigarillo_, after the bulls.
Sleep? He can sleep anywhere, even on the ground. Dress? He has always
his _capa_, and _la capa todo lo tapa_. The Spaniard is, above all
things, _rumboso_; that is to say, he has a large, generous, and sound
heart.... The masses in Spain are perfectly contented, believing
themselves sincerely to be the most heroic of people. The Spaniard is
naturally happy, because his wants are almost _nil_, and he has the
fixed idea that kings--his own or those of other nations--are all, at