be met with.

The origin of this amusement is not easy to be ascertained. It was
undoubtedly in vogue among the Spanish Arabs, and probably originated in
the time of the Goths, on the falling off of the representations of the
Roman amphitheatres for want of a sufficient supply of wild beasts. In
times not very remote, it had become principally an amateur performance,
and the _toreros_ were men of rank, who made choice of this arena,
subsequently to the falling into disuse of the lists, in order to
exhibit their daring and dexterity before the objects of their flame.
The science is still studied by the greater part of the Spanish youth;
just as, in England, the custom is maintained of receiving instruction
in pugilism; but an amateur is rarely seen in these days to figure in a
public arena.

The intense interest which absorbs the feelings of those present at
these representations, affords a faint notion of what must have been the
attractions of a Roman circus, in which combats were sustained by
hundreds of wild beasts. In the bull-fight--sustained by a single
animal, the interest would not probably be excited by the mere contest
for life which takes place between the man and the brute, and of which
the ultimate result is foreseen. It would, on the contrary, often yield
to the disgust produced by the needless massacre of the horses; were it
not that the graceful performance of the _toreros_, and their elegant
costume, so well calculated to set off the symmetry of their form, first
draws the attention, which, once fixed, is gradually absorbed by the
progress of the contest, and at length irresistibly won by the variety
of unforeseen incidents which follow in rapid succession.

Frequenters of theatres have been seen to fall asleep during the most
stirring scene of a melodrame; and a continual murmur of conversation
usually forms a running accompaniment to the voices of opera singers;
but no one was ever detected slumbering in a _plaza de toros_; nor is a
remark uttered that does not relate to the performance. This difference
may probably be explained by the superior attraction of the _imprevu_.
In the playhouse not only is the event known beforehand, but also every
incident by which it is preceded; whereas, throughout a _corrida de
toros_ nothing can be foreseen. No one knows, during the present minute,
whether the next will give birth to the direst of tragedies, or to the
most exhilarating farce.

At Madrid the represe