BULL-FIGHT. Combats of men with bulls, for the entertainment of the public, were common in Greece, particularly in Thessaly, and in Rome under the emperors, though in later times they were forbidden both by emperors and popes. They are still a favorite pastime in Spain and Mexico. In Spain, they were abolished by Charles IV.: but Joseph, Napoleon's brother, re-established them, out of policy, the mass of the Spanish population being passionately fond of the sport. The most magnificent bull fights were at one time instituted by the monarchs themselves; at present, both in the capital and in the larger towns of Spain, they are held either as private speculations, or for the benefit of public institutions. In Madrid, the bull-fighting season com mences in April, and lasts until November. During that time, there is at least one afternoon in every week devoted to the sport. The proceeds go to the funds of the general liospital. The fights take place in a kind of circus, called the Plaza de Toros, round which the seats rise one above another, like the steps of a stair, with a tier of boxes over them. The Plaza is capable of containing from 10,000 to 12,000 people, who pay a high price of admission, considering the rate of wages in Spain; and all go attired in their best to the spectacle. The best Andalusian bulls are bred at tJtrera, the best Castilian ones on the Jaraina, near Aranjuez. The latter are the breed usually chosen for fight in Madrid. They are fiercer and more active, but inferior in strength to British animals. The horses engaged in. the conflicts are worthless brutes, fit only for the knacker. The men employed iu the fight are generally those who have been bred to it as a profession, but occasionally amateurs may take part in it. The bull-fight has been described as a tragedy in three acts. The principal performers in the first are the picadores; in the second, the chubs are the only actors; the third and last act devolves solely on the matador. The picadores are all mounted, dressed like Spanish knights of the olden time, and armed with a lance; they take up their position in the middle of the circus, opposite the bull-stalls. The dodos, who are on foot, are gay with ribbons,
and wear very bright-colored cloaks; they distribute themselves in the space between the barriers. The matador, or chief combatant, is also on foot. He is handsomely dressed, and holds in the right hand a naked sword, in the left the muleta, a small stick, with a piece of seatet-colored silk attached. Ou a sign given by the chief magistrate, a bull is let out from the stalls; the picadores stand ready in the arena waiting his charge. With a brave bull, they find all their skill requisite in acting on the defensive; with a cowardly one, they act on the offensive; and should their stabs be ineffectual in rousing the animal to the requisite fury, the poor beast is hooted by the crowd, and ultimately stabbed ingloriously in the spine. Whenever a horse is wounded, the rider betakes himself to flight; and when either the above casualty happens, or a picador is thrown, the chutos rush in, and attract the bull by their cloaks, saving themselves, if need be, by leaping over the palisade which incloses the circus. At the same time, another picador calls off the bull's attention to himself by shouting. When the bull begins to flag, the picadores are succeeded by the chubs, who bring with them the ban barbed darts about two feet long, ornamented with colored paper flags, which they stick into the neck of the animal. Sometimes these da,rts have crackers attached to them, the explosion of which makes the bull furious. The matador now enters alone to complete the tragic business. As soon as the bull's eye catches the 2stuteta, he generally rushes blindly at it; and then the matador, if he is well skilled, dexterously plunges the sword " between the left shoulder and the blade," and the animal drops dead at his feet. The victorious matador is greeted with acclamations, and not less so the bull, should he wound or even kill the matador, in which case, another matador steps forth into the arena; but human life is rarely sacrificed. Eight or ten bulls are often dispatched in a single day; twenty minutes being about the time usually taken to slay one.