This sketch, however brief, would be incomplete without a glance at what may be called the provincial literature of Spain. The publishers of Barcelona, especially in illustrated works, vie with those of Madrid. It is not in the Castilian tongue alone that the awakening is apparent. In Catalonia and in Valencia the study of the native idiom and of their ancient authors has been taken up with zeal, and with happiest results in history and philology. Victor Balaguer, the Catalan poet and dramatist is equal to all contemporary Spanish poets save Nuñez de Arce. The dramas of Pablo Soler (Serafi Petarra) are received with an enthusiasm unknown to audiences in Madrid. Mila y Fontanals, Bofarull, and Sanpére y Miquel are investigating with success the language, history, and archæology of their country. A like, though necessarily a less important, movement is taking place in Andalusia, in the Basque Provinces, in the Asturias, and in Galicia; everywhere what is worth preserving in these dialects is being sought out, edited, and given to the press. The archives of Simancas are at length thrown open to the world, and guides and catalogues are being industriously prepared. Sevillian scholars are also studying the archives of the Indies, and the treasures of Hebrew and Arabian lore.
Thus, if Spain can at present boast no writer whom we can place undoubtedly and unreservedly in the very first rank, she shows an intellectual movement which, though confined at present to a comparatively small portion of her inhabitants, may, if it spread and continue, place her again in her proud position of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as one of the first of European nations, not perhaps in arms and power, but in literature, if not in science.
CHAPTER IX.
EPILOGUE.
A FEW words in conclusion. Spain is far from being a worn-out country. On the contrary, both in the character and capacities of its varied populations, in the mineral riches of its soil, in its agricultural wealth, in industrial resources, and in the artistic taste of its workmen, it is capable of vast development.
Two things hinder this, and will probably hinder it for some time. These are the political separation of Spain and Portugal, so ill-adapted to the geographical conformation of the Peninsula. The great rivers of Spain run westward, but the benefit of these fluvial highways is entirely lost to the country through the intercalation of Portugal into the western sea-board, thus making useless to Spain her natural system of river transport, and cutting her off from her best and most direct Atlantic ports. It is Lisbon, and not Madrid, which should be the capital of the whole Peninsula. Scarcely less an evil to Spain is the possession of Gibraltar by the English, which, besides the expense of watching the fortress, and the loss to Spain of the advantage of the possession of the great port of call for the whole maritime traffic of the East, is a school of smuggling and contraband, and a focus of corruption for the whole of South-western Spain. Were the whole Atlantic and Mediterranean sea-board in sole possession of one nation, the expenses of the custom-house would be greatly lessened, while the smuggling on the Portuguese and British frontiers would wholly disappear. In no point was the effect of the narrow and jealous policy of Philip II. more disastrous, than in his failure even to attempt to attach the Portuguese to his rule when the kingdoms were temporarily united under his crown.
The second evil, and one of still graver proportions, is that of the exceedingly corrupt administration of the central government, and of almost every branch of public employment. It is difficult to exaggerate this mischief. It is not bad external political government, it is not a faulty constitution, but it is an administration in which corruption has become a tradition and the rule, that is the real evil in Spain. It is this which baffles every ministry that tries to do real good. Only a ministry, or succession of ministries, composed of men of thorough honesty, of iron will, and of competence in financial administration, supported by strong majorities, can hope to deal with this gigantic growth. Even then it must be a work of time. With an honest administration, and prudent and sagacious development of her resources, Spain would soon regain financial soundness and recover her place among the nations.
The contest between the opposite commercial systems of protection and free trade is not yet concluded, nor is likely to be, in Spain. As long as England, which has the greatest interest of any foreign power in the establishment of the latter system, maintains a tariff which unduly favours the wines of France in comparison with those of Spain free trade is not likely to be popular. From the varied character of her products, Spain is of all European countries naturally the most self-sufficing. Her north-western provinces furnish her with cattle in abundance; no finer wheat is grown than that on the central plateau, and it could easily be produced in quantity more than sufficient for her wants; wine, oil, and fruits she possesses in superfluity; even sugar is not wanting in the south; cotton, indeed, she has not; but wool of excellent quality is the produce of her numerous flocks, and it needs only the establishment of efficient manufactories for Spanish cloth and woollen stuffs to regain their ancient renown. All the most useful minerals abound, and are of the finest quality, especially the iron, and the development of the working of the Asturian and Andalusian coal-fields renders Spain yearly more and more independent of England in this respect. True it is that foreign capital is, and will for some time be necessary to assist in extracting this hidden wealth; but if the ordinary Spaniard of the educated classes, instead of seeking a bare, and too often a base, subsistence in petty government employment or in ill-paid professions—instead of seeking the barren honour of a university degree—would apply himself to scientific, industrial, or agricultural enterprise, he might soon obtain his legitimate share of the profits which now go mainly into the hands of foreign speculators and shareholders.
Spaniards are commonly said to be cruel and bloodthirsty, with little regard for the sufferings of others or respect for human life; and undoubtedly there is some truth in this charge, but it does not apply to the whole Peninsula. Many of Spain's best writers deplore it, and inveigh strongly against it and against the bull-fights, which, in their present form, are not more than a century old. As a national sport, the modern bull-ring, with its professional torreadors and its hideous horse-slaughtering, differs from the pastime in which Charles V. and his nobles used to take part as much as a prizefight from a tournament. The appeals of Fernan Caballero to the clergy, the efforts of Tubino, Lastre, and others to arouse the public against this wanton cruelty have hitherto been of no avail. We can only hope in the future. On the other hand, it is unjust to shut our eyes to the noble charities of Spain. She was the first to care for lunatics. Many of her hospitals and asylums for the aged were conducted with a tenderness and consideration unknown in other lands. Even a beggar is treated with respect, and is relieved without contumely. The treatment of her prisoners and the condition of her prisons, which was long so foul a blot, is now being efficiently removed; she is at least making an earnest effort to attain the level of European civilization in this respect.
Intellectually, in science, and especially in literature, Spain is advancing rapidly. The historical treasures long buried in the archives of Simancas, and those of the Indies at Seville, are now thrown open to the world, and are eagerly consulted by native historians. Her literary and scientific men, though comparatively few in number, are full of zeal and intelligence. There needs only a larger and more appreciative audience to encourage them in their labours in order to bring the literature of Spain to a level with that of any European country of equal population.