Page:Impressions of Spain in 1866.djvu/51

Rh gers are jammed in, either into the coupe in front, or into the square box behind, unable to move or sit upright in either; while the mules plunge and start oflf in every direction but the right one, their drivers every instant jumping down and running by the side of the poor beasts, which they flog unmercifiilly, vociferating in every key"; and that, not at first starting, but all the way, up hill and down dale, with an energy which is as inexhaustible as it is despairing, till either a pole cracks, or a trace breaks, or some accident happens to a wheel, and the whole lumbering concern stops with a jerk and a lurch which threaten to roll everything and everybody into the gorge below. Each diligence is accompanied by a 'mayoral,' or conductor, who has charge of the whole equipage, and is a very important personage. This fimctionary is generally gorgeously dressed, with embroidered jacket, scarlet sash round the waist, gaiters with silver buttons and hanging leather strips, and round his head a gay-coloured handkerchief and a roimd black felt hat with broad brim and feather, or else of the kind denominated 'pork pie' in England; he is here, there, and everywhere during the journey, arranging the places of the passengers, the stations for halts, and the like. Besides this dignitary, there is the 'moto'