"
"Does the Senor Ambasciatore speak English?"
"No, not English, I do not speak that," replied Groizard.
"Does the Senor Ambasciatore speak German?"
"No German, no Dutch; not at all."
"No doubt then the Senor Ambasciatore speaks French?"
"French? No. I am able to translate it a little, but I do not speak it."
"Then what does the Senor Ambasciatore speak?" asked Leo XIII, smiling
that Voltairian smile of his at his secretary.
"Then Senor Ambasciatore speaks a heavy back-country dialect called
Extramaduran," replied Rampolla del Tindaro, bending over to His
Holiness's ear.
The Spanish press has made a resolution, now of long standing, to speak
nothing but a back-country dialect called Extramaduran.
_Our Journalists_
Our journalists supply the measure of our journals. When the great names
are those of Miguel Moya, Romeo, Rocamora and Don Pio, what are we to
think of the little fellows?
Speaking generally, the Spanish journalist is interested in politics, in
theatres, in bull fights, and in nothing else; whatever is beyond these,
does not concern him. Not even the _feuilleton_ attracts his
attention. A wooden, highly mannered phrase sponsored by Maura, is much
more stimulating to his mind than the most sensational piece of news.
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