their play-time, there is a guitar, with
singing and dancing. The verses sung are innumerable short stanzas by
unknown authors; many, perhaps, improvised at the moment. The _jota_,
the _malaguena_, and the _seguidilla_ are combinations of music, song,
and dance; the last two bear distinct indications of Oriental origin;
each form is linked to a traditional air, with variations. The
_malaguena_ is Andalusian, and the _jota_ is Aragonese; but both are
popular in Castile. All are love-songs, most of them of great grace and
beauty. Some writers complain that some of these dance-songs are coarse
and more or less indecent; others aver that they never degenerate into
coarseness. _Quien sabe?_ Perhaps it is a case of _Honi soit qui mal y
pense_. In any case, throughout the length and breadth of Spain, outside
the wayside _venta_, or the barber's shop, in the _patios_ of inns, or
wherever holiday-makers congregate, there is the musician twanging his
guitar, there are the dancers twirling about in obvious enjoyment to the
accompaniment of the stamping, clapping, and encouraging cries of the
onlookers, and the graceful little verse, with its probably weird and
plaintive cadence:

Era tan dichoso antes
De encontrarte en mi camino!
Y, sin embargo, no siento
El haberte conocido.

I was so happy before
I had met you on my way!
And yet there is no regret
That I have learned to know you.

The _malaguena_ and the _seguidilla_, which is more complicated, are
generally seen on the stage only in Madrid, where they must charm all
who can appreciate the poetry of motion. The dance of the peasant in
Castile is always the _jota Aragonesa_. The part the tambourine and the
castanets play in these dances must be seen and heard to be understood:
they punctuate not only the music, but also the movement, the sentiment,
and the refrain. The Andaluces excel in playing on the castanets. These
are, according to Ford, the "Baetican _crusmata_ and _crotola_ of the
ancients": and _crotola_ is still a Spanish term for the tambourine.
Little children may be seen snapping their fingers or clicking two bits
of slate together, in imitation of the castanet player; but the
continuous roll, or succession of quick taps, is an art to be learned
only by practice. The castanets are made of ebony, and are generally
decorated with bunches of smart ribbons, which play a great part in the
dance.

The popular instrument in the Basque