Bull-fighting is a deep-rooted passion of the people of Spain, and it has to be reckoned with in any examination of the Spanish character. Its ethics and its sociological significance cannot be discussed here. We must accept the _corrida_, whether we approve of it or not, as one of the chief institutions of the capital of Spain. Madrid is the Mecca of the bull-fighter.
In every part of Spain the _café_ is a popular resort and the rendezvous of friends. Here all classes foregather to discuss the news, to criticise the new bull-fighter, to extol a favourite dancer, to transact business, to play at dominoes or draughts, to read the journals, to sip coffee, and to smoke cigarettes. Many hours of each day are dedicated by the Madrileño to the _café_. He goes there as a matter of routine for his morning _refresco_, and again in the evening for his coffee with a dash of spirit.
The _cafés_ are comfortable, and they provide for different classes of customers. They are never decorated in a resplendent manner; but, as Gautier observed, “this want of splendour is amply compensated by the excellence and variety of the refreshments.” Gautier mentions the Café de Levante among others, and this is still a favourite resort of men-about-town. In the Calle de Alcalá are three representative coffee-houses, the Café de Madrid, the Café Suizo, and the Café de Fornos. The Café Inglés is in the Calle de Sevilla. The houses of refreshment in the Puerta del Sol are the resort of all types of Madrid character, from the diplomat to the professional swindler. From nine o’clock in the evening until two in the morning these _cafés_ are thronged. The customary beverage is _café con leche_ (coffee with milk) or black coffee, with a drop of cognac. Light wines and spirits are also provided, but these are used sparingly by the majority of the Madrileños, for, whatever may be the faults of the Spaniard, immoderation in the use of alcohol is certainly not one of them.
To attract the attention of the waiters at the _cafés_, you clap your hands, or make a hissing sound between your closed teeth. The coffee is usually excellent, and the spirit is brought to you in a bottle marked with measures. The crowds in the Madrid _cafés_ lack the picturesqueness of those in some of the smaller towns of Castile, Murcia, and Andalusia, where the dress of the provinces is still worn. You will see no majas in the capital; the grisettes of Madrid cannot be distinguished from the rest of the female population. The _capa_ is, however, still worn by men of almost all ranks, and these, and the broad-brimmed hats, give a touch of the romantic to the throngs in the coffee-houses of the Puerta del Sol.