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 ^^ 
 
 v,-^ 
 
 <^i:-^) 
 
 7'1-IE 
 
 'TOE OF A TT, 
 
 Avsuth witTi a siu^arly 'bca-iitifiil comueuaiure was kneeling with quite 
 as nnicli of the clevclion oi" love as of the Inimility of a luei-ceuaiy supplicant . 
 
 
 V'vr,,:, l!-,-pp,vV l',,-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR OF "A YEAR IN SPAIN.' 
 
 ' Salve ! tierra ae amor, mil veces salve !" 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, CLIFF-ST. 
 
 18 36.
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 183G, 
 
 By Harper & Brothers, 
 
 lu the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New- York. 
 
 ' -r
 
 DEDICATORY LETTER. 
 
 TO LIEUT. GEORGE P. UPSHUR, U. S. N. 
 
 Having been mainly instrumental, my dear Up- 
 shur, in inducing you, some years ago, by what 1 
 had written, to make the tour of Spain, it has oc- 
 curred to me that, after so indulgently receiving 
 my previous work of travels in that country, you 
 might not be unwilling to accept the dedication of 
 these additional volumes on the same subject 
 Perhaps, as your memory is a good one, you may 
 not have forgotten the delightful journey which we 
 once made together, from Syracuse to iEtna and 
 Catania; a journey rendered doubly pleasant by 
 the agreeable formation of our party, and the de- 
 light which ever attends a temporary escape from 
 the necessary, yet somewhat onerous thraldom of 
 a well-regulated man-of-war. Pleasant, however, 
 as was the journey, and not less pleasing as is its 
 remembrance, it was the only occasion in our long 
 association on which we were likely to disagree. 
 While you were halting and dismounting by the
 
 IV DEDICATORY LETTER. 
 
 roadside, at every stone, to study its mineralogy, 
 or to discover in it a vestige of some ancient city 
 of which you had read in Plutarch or in Strabo, 
 I, knowing little of these things, would be impa- 
 tient at the delay, although, at the next instant, I 
 might, in turn, be seen lingering behind the cara- 
 van, to join in idle gossip with peasant or mu- 
 leteer. 
 
 But if our discrepant tastes sometimes occasion- 
 ed us, when travelling, to worry and justle each 
 other, I trust that, when we now meet in the new 
 relation of reader and scribe, you will consent to 
 bear with me while I recount my own story after 
 my own fashion. With your enthusiasm for every 
 thing Spanish, the result of much familiar observa- 
 tion, I trust that the following pages will be re- 
 ceived by you with indulgent interest ; especially 
 as you must feel curious to learn my adventures 
 in a country from which a royal order excluded 
 me, and was, on one occasion, owing to our iden- 
 tity of rank in the same service, so near involving 
 you in trouble and detention.* 
 
 In times past, a dedication, paid for by a great lit- 
 erary patron, furnished the author at once with the 
 means of parading his own servility, and ascribing 
 
 * See the order at the end of the volume. 
 
 V
 
 DEDICATORY LETTER. V 
 
 to his idol virtues which had no real existence. 
 
 Though this custom be condemned by the better 
 
 taste of the age in which we live, friendship may 
 
 yet claim the privilege of eulogizing virtues which 
 
 really exist ; if so, I might here draw the portrait 
 
 of a rare combination of them ; I might describe a 
 
 courage, a benevolence, a love of justice coupled 
 
 with an honest indignation at whatever outrages it, 
 
 a devotion to others and forgetfulness of self, such 
 
 as are not often found blended in one character, 
 
 were I not deterred by the consideration that when 
 
 I should have completed my task, the eulogy, 
 
 which would seem feeble to those who knew the 
 
 original, might be condemned as extravagant by 
 
 those who did not. 
 
 The chief advantage of the slight reputation 
 which has fallen to my share, has been its procu- 
 ring me the favour and acquaintance of some dis- 
 tinguished individuals, whose names might furnish 
 a decoration to my pages, which the world would, 
 perhaps, more highly value ; but I turn with far 
 greater delight to the regard which, in the course 
 of a long and most familiar association, was conce- 
 ded to me from personal considerations alone ; and 
 I feel a pleasure which I cannot easily describe, in 
 offering this slight, though heartfelt tribute, to the 
 truest and most cherished of my professional 
 
 1*
 
 y'l DEDICATORY LETTER. 
 
 friendships, of which I covet the continuance with 
 a warmth that absence has not diminished ; for if 
 there be any circumstance which, more than an- 
 other, sometimes imboldens me to indulge a feel- 
 ing of self-complacency, it is wlien I remember 
 that I have a right to subscribe myself, with the 
 fullest assurance that the sentiment is reciprocal, 
 Your affectionately attached friend, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 New-York, January 1, 1836.  
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM BAYONNE. • 
 
 Bayonne— DiflSculties of entering Spain— Advice of Smuggler— Fer- 
 min Sylveti, a Pyrenean Muleteer — Hotel of St. Stephen— Party 
 at Dinner — Wet Morning — Fonda de Espana — Scene of Comfort 
 in a Kitchen — Conversation of Muleteers — Journey Commenced 
 — Outskirts of Bayonne — Storm in the Lower Pyrenees — Arrival 
 at Ustariz, Page 13 
 
 CHAPTERIL 
 
 SOJOURN IN USTARIZ. 
 
 Inn at Ustariz— Chimney Comer— Determination to Halt— Strife 
 beyond the Frontiers— Politics among Muleteers— Lodgings in 
 Ustariz— Pyrenean Dinner— Evening Scene about the Kitchen 
 Fire— Daybreak in the Mountains, .27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CROSSING THE PYRENEES. 
 
 Departure from Ustariz— Traits of mulish Character — Attributes of 
 Galician Mules— Frontier— Perplexities on entering Spain— Car- 
 lists and Christinos— Carlist Band going to attack Urdax— A Car- 
 list Commissary— Valley of the Bidasoa— Night in Elvetea, 39 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PYRENEES AND PAMPLONA. 
 
 Matins in Elvetea — Ehzondo — Vale of Bastan — Vengeance on a 
 Mule — Pass of Velate — Story of Brigands— Descent from the 
 Mountains — Lanz — Homestead of Sylveti — Domestic Scenes — 
 Valley of the Arga—Billaba— Sight of Pamplona— Enter the For- 
 tress, ' 56
 
 8 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAMPLONA. 
 
 Jose Botero — His Inn — His wine-skins — Walks in Pamplona — Con- 
 veyance for Zaragoza — Cathedral— Promenade of the Taconera — 
 Walkers — Saarsfield — Navarre — Kitchen Scenes — Smoking Axi- 
 oms — Art of supping without money, Page 81 
 
 . CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FROM PAMPLONA TO CAPARROSO. 
 
 The Carro and its Carretero — Venta del Pibjo — Solitary Journey — 
 Breaking up of a Fair — Encounter with Carlists — Evening in the 
 Villages — The Chicken's Inn — Scene of former Murders — Tafalla 
 — Peasants going afield— Monotony of Spanish Scenery, . . 94 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FROM CAPARROSO TO VALTIERRA. 
 
 Caparroso — A Guerilla Veteran — Conversation with Charioteer — 
 Colloquial Tact of Spaniards — PoUtics of my Companions — Influ- 
 ence of Clergy — How exercised — Political uses of Confessional 
 — Valtierra — Company at Irm — Conversation there — Supper — 
 Revelry, 110 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 VALTIERRA AND ALAGON. 
 
 The Ebro—Tudela— Environs— The Inn— New Comrade— His Sto- 
 ry — Battle of Espileta — Political Economy in Navarre — Mallen 
 in Aragon — New Kingdom and New PoUtics — Sheep and Shep- 
 herds—A Woman from the Mountains— Canal of Aragon, . 122 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ALAGON AND ZARAGOZA. 
 
 The Fish of Alagon — Alagon — Return of Flocks — A Merry-andrew 
 — The Theatre in Alagon— La Jota Aragonesa— Alarraing Inter-
 
 CONTENTS. 9 
 
 ruption — Military Lodgers and Involuntary Hospitality — Troopers 
 at the Inn — Departure from Alagon — Zaragoza and the New Tower 
 — Gate of the Ebro — Epistle of an Hostler, .... Page 136 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 t 
 
 ZARAGOZA. 
 
 Siege of Zaragoza — Great Square — Poor Students — New Town — 
 Post-House — Mesa Redonda — Church of the Pillar — High Mass 
 — Hog Lottery — Torre Nueva — View from the Tower — Masquer- 
 ade — The Maskers — Evening Offices of Devotion, .... 152 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ZARAGOZA AND MADRID. ' 
 
 Leave Zaragoza — Mountain Ascent — Central Plateau of Spain — 
 Halt to Breakfast — Fellow-Passengers — Ladies and Maids — Cala- 
 tayud — Night— Table-Talk — Exile's Story — Political Discussion 
 — Guadalaxara — Alacala — View of Madrid— The Exile's Recom- 
 pense, ^ 170 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MADRID. '   '.. 
 
 Enter the City — Gate of the Sun — New Encounter with Old Friends 
 — Don Diego— Dona Florencia — Don Valentine — Prado — Theatre 
 — La Mogigata — Bolero — The Enraged Chestnut Women — Span- 
 ish Actors in Tragedy and Farce — Masquerade — Its Scenes — Es- 
 cape -^ 193 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MADRID. 
 
 Spanish Soldiery — Morning Parade — View from the Palace — Gate 
 of Toledo — A Review — Observatory — View — Royal Museum — 
 Velasquez and Munllo — Prado — Don Diego — Search for Lodgings 
 — Don Diego at Dmner— Florencia— Thoughts on Emigration, 217
 
 10 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 LODGINGS IN MADRID. 
 
 Apartments — Entrance — Dona Lucretia — Anti-matrimonial Argu- 
 ments — Dona Lucretia's Mode of Life — Teatro Casero — Fellow- 
 Lodger — Scenes from my Balcony — Occupation — Society, P. 239 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 POLITICAL ANECDOTES. 
 
 Ferdinand — Censorship of Morals — Teresa the Favourite — Zea Ber- 
 mudez — The Succession — Council of Regency — Hypocrisy of 
 Ferdinand — Fernandez del Pino — Cordova — Marquis of Amarillas 
 — Duke of Alagon — Queen Regent — Carlotta — The Conservatory 
 — Christma, 249 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ^ BULLS. 
 
 First Horror of the Uninitiated — Programme — A Fight — The Am- 
 phitheatre — Opening the Feast— Procession of Fighters — The 
 Hangman — The Alguazils — Winter Sport Bad— A Fierce Bull — 
 Sevilla the Picador — The Encounter — A Disgraced Matadore — 
 Pedro Sanchez — Close, 268 
 
 CHAPTERXVII. 
 
 THE CARNIVAL. 
 
 Masquerades — La Vida Tunantesca — Poverty and Extravagance — 
 Casade Abrantes — Ecarte — Love — Dancing and Flirtation— Sleep 
 — Morning— The Fainting Madrilena — The Street — Lent— Cheap 
 Pleasure — Royal and Republican Canal-Diggers — Feast on the 
 Manzanares — Burial of the Sardinia, 286 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PRISON OF THE COURT. 
 
 Lent— Devotion— A Modem Miracle — Prison of the Court— Inmates 
 — Don Luis de Lemos— Don Andres de Guevara — A Murderer —
 
 CONTENTS. 11 
 
 Imprisoned Family— A Contented Mother— Distracted Mother 
 — Common Prison — Manolas— A Female Combat — The Dun- 
 geons, Page 298 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PRISON OF THE SALADERO, 
 
 Visit of Inspectors — Crowded Cells— Extortion of Jailers — Profes- 
 sions of Innocence— A Frenchman — A Soldier — A Priest — The 
 would-be Ravaillac — Pedro Hebrero — Sacrilegious Murder — 
 Courtyard— Common Prisoners — Their Condition — Development 
 of Crime, 322 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CRIME AND RETRIBUTION. 
 
 La Galera — Female Convicts— The Schoolmistress — Leocadia Lin- 
 dez — Maria Guadeiio — The Retcofa— Her System — Her Regrets — 
 La Inclusa — Exposure — Immorality of Foundling Hospitals — El 
 Rastro— The Madrid Morgue— An Execution— Brotherhood of 
 Peace and Charity — Procession — The Felon — The Confessor — 
 The Garrote — Catastrophe — The Requiem, 332
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 C H A P T E R I. ^ 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM BAYONNE. 
 
 Bayonne — Difficulties of entering Spain — Advice of Smuggler — Fer- 
 min Sylveti, a Pyrenean Muleteer — Hotel of St. Stephen — Party 
 at Dinner — Wet Morning — Fonda de Espafia — Scene of Comfort 
 in a Kitchen — Conversation of Muleteers — Journey Commenced 
 — Outskirts of Bayonne — Storm in the Lower Pyrenees — Anival 
 at Ustariz. . . , 
 
 On the 10th January, 1834, I arrived in Bay- 
 onne on my way to Madrid. A royal order of 
 Ferdinand, directed to the agents of the govern- 
 ment in every part of Spain, had, been issued some 
 two years before, describing me by name as the 
 author of the " Year in Spain," and stating that it 
 was my intention to return to the country, in which 
 case I should immediately be conducted to the 
 nearest frontier and dismissed. The work itself 
 was to be seized wherever it might be found. 
 The reasons given for this exclusion were, that this 
 ill-digested production contained injurious expres- 
 sions concerning the king and royal family of Spain,
 
 14 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 and sacrilegious mockery of her institutions and 
 laws. 
 
 Notwithstanding this order, I did not hesitate to 
 undertake the journey, knowing that since then the 
 government had undergone an entire change, and 
 passed completely into the hands of the opposite, 
 or liberal party. Besides, some time had elapsed, 
 and the government, assailed by insurrection and 
 civil war, had sufficient occupation without taking 
 an interest in the movements of an obscure indi- 
 vidual.   . 
 
 This order, therefore, presented but an imagin- 
 ary ' difficulty in the way of my penetrating to 
 Madrid; there were others that were sufficiently 
 real. Civil war was raging in the Basque Prov- 
 inces and in Navarre ; the diligences had for some 
 time ceased to lan, and the insurgents were particu- 
 larly anxious to cut off all communication by which 
 a knowledge of their movements might be convey- 
 ed to the government. It was therefore extremely 
 difficult to get forward. The post-horses had 
 everywhere been seized by the Carlists to mount 
 their cavalry, and only a few mules remained at 
 some of the post-houses between Bayonne and 
 Vitoria. One of the first things I heard on alight- 
 ing at the old inn of Saint Stephen was, that a 
 French courier, who had arrived that day from
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 15 
 
 Vitoria, had been attacked, though escorted by two 
 hundred men of the Queen's troops. 
 
 As the surest means of getting good advice 
 concerning my future movements, I sought out the 
 merchant to whom I was addressed by my banker 
 in Bourdeaux. As he was in constant communica- 
 tion with Spain, his house was the resort of all the 
 regular traders and smugglers of that nation coming 
 to Bayonne. On entering the door I found a great 
 number of Spaniards smoking paper cigars, and 
 bargaining in a quiet way. The gentleman, after 
 reading my letter, exposed all the difficulties at- 
 tending a journey into Spain at that moment, offer- 
 ing to present me to a merchant just arrived from 
 Madrid, as the best means of enlightening me on 
 the subject. ' - \. . 
 
 The individual in question was a tall, dignified- 
 looking man, dressed in the Andalusian costume 
 for the road — a sheepskin jacket with silver clasps, 
 gacho hat, tight breeches, buskins of leather, and 
 silver spurs. He had just arrived in twelve days 
 from Madrid on his own mule, having been stopped 
 six times by the Carlists ; but, after the exhibition 
 of his passport, allowed to prosecute his journey. 
 On being called on for his opinion as to the best 
 course for me to pursue, in a slow, dignified tone, 
 and in very pure Castilian, he advised me, instead
 
 16 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 of attempting to penetrate by Vitoria, the road to 
 which was covered with guerilla parties, to go with 
 muleteers to Pamplona and Zaragoza, at which 
 last place I should find a diligence for Madrid. 
 The merchant strongly concurred in recommending 
 this course, as the only one by which I was at all 
 likely to get forward without being waylaid and 
 stripped. 
 
 It happened that there was a muleteer about to 
 start the same night for Pamplona, a man of tried 
 confidence, who was habitually charged by the 
 merchants of Bayonne with affairs of importance, 
 the transmission of letters, and the receipt or pay- 
 ment of large sums of money. He happened just 
 then to enter : a stout, weather-beaten man, in a 
 coarse jacket, and trousers kept in place by a sash; 
 a nightcap, surmounted by a large hat, protected 
 his head, while the ample folds of the brown cloak 
 enveloped and half concealed his person. On his 
 right heel was a spur half a foot long, which was 
 intended to reach the mule's flank when laden, and 
 which attested his condition of muleteer. Sylveti 
 was the man's name, with the baptismal addition 
 of Fermin, from the patron saint of Pamplona. 
 
 He was told that he was to take me to Pam- 
 plona ; that I would require a good mule for myself, 
 and another for my baggage ; that I could not start
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 17 
 
 until the morning ; and that he must take the same 
 care of me as if I were the merchant himself. 
 Being asked the price, he slowly removed his 
 paper cigar, and uttered the characteristic expres- 
 sion of " conformed'' accompanied with the question 
 whether he should provide for all my wants on the 
 journey; on receiving an affirmative answer, he 
 fixed the price at ten dollars, which being agreed 
 to,' the conversation terminated with the emphatic 
 exclamation of " corriente /" The matter being as 
 completely settled as if a treaty had been signed 
 by duly accredited plenipotentiaries on both sides, 
 I took leave of the parties, expressing becomingly 
 my gratitude to the merchant for his kindness, and 
 returned to the hotel for dinner. 
 
 Though the hotel of Saint Stephen had very 
 much the air of a Spanish posada, it greatly belied 
 its looks, as it furnished both a good bed and a 
 good dinner. I cannot say so much for the com- 
 pany assembled round the table, which consisted 
 of a marching officer and three or four loquacious 
 and flippant commercial travellers. The conver- 
 sation turned partly on the fare, which they pro- 
 nounced good, partly on other matters. The 
 officer had been in La Vendee, and pronounced 
 the inhabitants a set of unreasonable bears, who 
 required rough usage to keep them in order ; and
 
 18 SPAIN REVISITED, 
 
 made other remarks productive of very little satis- 
 faction to a sturdy ragamuffin, buttoned to the 
 throat in a coarse frock, and without any outward 
 or visible sign of a shirt, who proved to be of that 
 country, and who, so far as the evidence of his 
 appearance went, corroborated the officer's denun- 
 ciation. 
 
 The officer, when he found he had given offence, 
 apologized for the mistake he had made, and soon 
 after introduced the subject of his own accomplish- 
 ments. By his own account he sang enchantingly, 
 and was very adroit at tricks of cards, two excel- 
 lences which furnished him with a passport to 
 society. He was on a short furlough, and had 
 employed a couple of days of it in a visit to Spain. 
 He had been to Saint Sebastian, and entertained 
 the company with an account of Spain, her politi- 
 cal condition, and the influence of the monks. In 
 the course of the dinner there occurred a dispute 
 between tw^o travellers as to the relative advantages 
 of country and city life. The Briton boasted the 
 charms of the country and the pleasvires of the 
 chase ; the other vaunted the matchless attractions . 
 of a Parisian existence^ — the theatres, coffee-houses, 
 and brilliant soirees of the capital. Leaving them 
 to settle this and other arguments likely to arise 
 as best they might, and the officer to exhibit, if he
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 19 
 
 pleased, a specimen of his singing and jugglery, 
 I retired at an early hour, in search of the repose 
 which was to prepare me for the toils of the mor- 
 row. 
 
 At five in the morning I was awaked by the 
 porter, who was to conduct me to Sylveti's inn. 
 As we issued into the street we found ourselves in 
 almost utter darkness ; the exhausted lamps were 
 dimly glimmering, or had already shed their last 
 faint rays, while the rain, which had long since fur- 
 nished the ill-paved streets with countless lakes 
 and rivulets, still fell in a steady, deliberate drizzle, 
 which gave no promise of its speedy termination. 
 Every now 'and then we would plunge into one of 
 these streams, or step ankle-deep into a hollow of 
 the wornout pavement, or come under the waterfall 
 of a projecting roof. The man who carried my 
 luggage moreover missed the road, and, after wan- 
 dering half an hour, retraced his steps, knocking 
 ineffectually at several doors, whence we were 
 greeted with no very complimentary answers from 
 the disturbed inmates. The gloom of the scene 
 in these deserted streets, and the prospect which I 
 had of setting out, already wet and cold, to climb 
 the Pyrenees in a rainy day, and penetrate a coun- 
 try insecure at all times, now abandoned to the 
 horrors of civil war, gave a tinge of sadness and
 
 20 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 disquietude to the feelings with which I was about 
 to commence my journey. 
 
 Having struck at length on the right scent, we 
 found ourselves at the door of the Fonda de Es- 
 pafia, which Sylveti himself hastened to open to 
 us. It was a Spanish inn, in truth as well as in 
 name ; and, as I thridded the labyrinth of carts, 
 galeras, packages, and mules, I could scarce per- 
 suade myself that I had not already crossed the 
 frontier. Having conducted me to the kitchen, 
 where I found the huge fireplace occupying a 
 whole side of the room, Sylveti returned to pack 
 my baggage and make all ready ; a heap of brush- 
 wood and fagots was blazing cheerfully in the 
 center, while the hissing of the rain-drops, that 
 found their way down the chimney, served to add 
 a new attraction to the place, by keeping up the 
 memory of the discomfort which reigned without. 
 
 One side of the kitchen was occupied by a dres- 
 ser with furnaces, over which a tall mountain-wom- 
 an was toasting bread and mulling chocolate. She 
 was quite slatternly in her appearance, having lank, 
 black hair, hanging in disorder, and dragging after 
 her a pair of slipshod shoes ; being, moreover, free 
 and bold of speech, with a sharp wit, unrestrained 
 by any particular delicacy, and expressing itself 
 by turns in French, Spanish, or Basque, with a
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 21 
 
 piquancy which seemed to draw forth smiles of 
 approbation from the party assembled about the 
 fire, composed chiefly of Spanish muleteers. 
 
 The conversation among them, when not mo- 
 nopolized by the slattern aforesaid, turned upon 
 the civil war which was devastating their country; 
 they spoke of the difficulty of a peaceable man's 
 following his occupations and passing from place 
 to place without being compromised, and expressed 
 the hope that the combatants would speedily fall 
 to in earnest, cut each other's throats, and settle 
 the matter once and for ever. One fellow, seated 
 very comfortably in an arm-chair, gravely and sen- 
 tentiously gave it as his opinion, that the best thing 
 a quiet and well-intentioned person could do, in 
 these times, was to stow himself away in a good 
 inn, light his cigar, and be silent — lo mejor es 
 quedar en una buena posada, echar su cigarillo y 
 callar; and, as he ended the sentence, he took out 
 his paper and tobacco, and proceeded to suit the 
 action to the word. 
 
 By the time I had swallowed my chocolate, Syl- 
 veti came to say that we would mount when I was 
 ready. Taking leave of the group about the fire, 
 who wished me a pleasant journey, more as a mat- 
 ter of ceremony than with any expectation that it 
 would be realized, I took my way to the stable-
 
 22 SPAIN RKVISITED. 
 
 yard. Here stood, prepared for me, a strong, stub- 
 born little horse, with a high-pommelled saddle and 
 a heavy bit : having adjusted the stirrups, I mount- 
 ed at once. The gates of the town were not yet 
 opened, and, seated in the saddle, I awaited the 
 return of the person who was to advise us when 
 we might set forward. My little horse was planted 
 near the half-open door; behind stood Sylveti's 
 mule, on which my luggage was laden, the whole 
 being concealed and protected from the weather 
 by a number of gayly-coloured mantas. His neck 
 and body were smoothly shaven of the hair, which, 
 on a day such as this, would have furnished no 
 unacceptable protection ; and his head, adorned with 
 .a halter trimmed with red worsted tassels, was 
 thrust forward with a knowing expression to catch 
 sight of the weather without, and estimate the 
 prospects of an agreeable journey. 
 
 Farther within stood a collection of impainted 
 carts and wagons, having roofs of reeds covered 
 with canvass ; on either side, against the wall, hung 
 huge collars and other primitive harness, while still 
 beyond were heard the jingling bells of the more 
 fortunate mules, which, ignorant of the hour which 
 might call them also forth, were busily chewing 
 their barley. 
 
 The pains-taking landlord, having in his left hand
 
 SPAIN REYISITED. 23 
 
 one of those primitive lamps of iron, in which the 
 oil and wick are alike uncovered, such exactly as 
 his prototype, the Manchego innkeeper, smashed 
 against the head of Don Quixote, was receiving, 
 with the right the francs, pistareens, and quarters, 
 which Sylveti doled out, with a due attention to the 
 value of each. To complete the picture, the stable- 
 man busied himself benevolently in enveloping my 
 stirrups in straw, that I might feel the cold less 
 sensibly. The opening of the gates was at length 
 announced to us. The hostler led my bidet out 
 into the street ; Sylveti followed and took the lead, 
 conducting me, through gate and over drawbridge, 
 into the open country without the fortress of Bay- 
 onne. . ; . _ 
 
 The day had not yet dawned ; it continued to 
 rain, and there was not a soul upon the road besides 
 ourselves. Soon after, there was a glimmering of 
 light ; and, as it increased, we began to meet a 
 few solitary individuals making their way to mar- 
 ket : an old woman with a basket of turnips on her 
 head, milk-maids with jars of tin or earthen ware, 
 covered with leaves, and a few despondent-looking 
 asses. The level and monotonous Landes had dis- 
 appeared altogether, with their sands and pine-trees, 
 and in their place lay, unfolded before us, a beau- 
 tifully-variegated country ; the green fields divided,
 
 24 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 as in England, by hawthorn hedges, and the whole 
 broken delightfully into hill and dale, and swelhng 
 gradually upward until the view was terminated 
 by the lofty ridges of the Pyrenees. 
 
 Our road almost immediately commenced as- 
 cending. The rain now ceased altogether ; but it 
 was only to prepare for a grand uproar and deluge. 
 The thunder was heard muttering in the distant 
 mountains ; the sky became overcast and blacken- 
 ed ; the day gradually receding as it had come, 
 until dark night once more overshadowed the whole 
 scene. At first a few large drops of rain began 
 to fall with a pattering sound ; presently it com- 
 menced pouring in torrents ; then a breeze sprang 
 up, and it soon blew violently; the rain now 
 changed into hail, which struck us like a shower 
 of bullets. 
 
 We had reached the summit of a pass, and, as 
 there were neither trees nor houses near, we were 
 thfr highest objects to attract the lightning. Syl- 
 veti was before me, seated sidewise on his mule, 
 his cloak hanging round him, covering himself and 
 the baggage like a tent. When on the summit, 
 there was a flash of lightning so vivid, and appa- 
 rently so close, as for a moment to blind me ; it 
 traced itself distinctly against Sylveti's cloak and 
 the mule, and appeared to have passed between
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 25 
 
 US, being accompanied by a crash of thunder so 
 loud and so terrible, that it seemed sufficient to 
 send the crests of the mountains toppling into the 
 abyss. 
 
 My first thought was one of astonishment that 
 neither Sylveti nor I was hurt, nor our beasts, 
 though they refused to go on, for the hail was 
 driving with fury in their faces, and my horse's 
 mane was converted by it into a frozen mass. A 
 few oaths, and a few applications of the long spur, 
 set the mule in motion again, and my horse follow- 
 ed. I had never witnessed a more dreadful uproar 
 of the elements. - * > -. . i • 
 
 My cloak was covered with hailstones ; it was 
 
 exceedingly cold, and the sweeping of the blast 
 
 rendered respiration difficult; I was drenched to 
 
 the skin with the previous rain, benumbed and 
 
 chilled to the very heart, and had never been so 
 
 thoroughly uncomfortable. In my despondence I 
 
 looked with complacency to the rerrjoter evils that 
 
 were passed, and half wished myself back to the 
 
 gloomy metropolis which I had so recently left, 
 
 canopied again by its eternal mantle of fog and 
 
 coal-smoke, and delivered up, body and soul, to the 
 
 black melancholy that consumed me there. Even 
 
 the risk of being drowned in a sea of mud, and 
 
 shovelled into a scrapings cart, crushed by a brew- 
 VOL. I. — B 3
 
 26 SPAIN REVISITED, 
 
 er's horse, or run dawn by a heavily-laden omnibus, 
 seemed for the moment preferable to the less in- 
 glorious chances of being struck by lightning on 
 the top of the Pyrenees. 
 
 As we descended this first mountain range, the 
 thunder and lightning became more distant, but the 
 rain still fell in torrents. Presently we came to a 
 village which I was convinced must be our stop- 
 ping-place, where we were to rejoin the caravan 
 which had preceded us the night before, vainly 
 fancying every house we came to the inn, until we 
 had left the last behind us. Another mile or two 
 of suffering, despondence, and sullen silence, inter- 
 rupted by no idle questions about the distance, 
 brought us to Ustariz, a beautifully-situated village 
 on the western side of a mountain, which sloped 
 downwards towards the winding Nive. We trot- 
 ted onwards, saluted by compassionate looks from 
 the women, and sneering grins from sundry idle 
 troopers posted in the doorways, until nearly the 
 whole village was behind us, at almost the last 
 house af which Sylveti's mule turned instinctively 
 into an open doorway, which gave us admittance 
 into , the stable of the village inn. .»•
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 27 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 SOJOURN IN TJSTARIZ. 
 
 Inn at Ustariz — Chimney Comer— Determination to Halt— Strife 
 beyond the Frontiers — Pohtics among Muleteers — Lodgings in 
 Ustariz— Pyrenean Dinner — Evening Scene about the Kitchen 
 Fire— Daybreak in the Mountains. 
 
 When I alighted in the inn of Ustariz I could 
 scarcely stand ; my feet and limbs were completely 
 benumbed, and refused duty, and my cloak was 
 thoroughly saturated with water, and held me like 
 a prisoner within its chill embrace, until Sylveti 
 relieved me of its weight. Released from this 
 durance, I ascended a flight of stairs in search of 
 the kitchen, which I entered with a rapture not 
 easily conceived, taking my seat within its ample 
 chimney. It had an immense fireplace, with an 
 iron back, on which were grotesque figures of men 
 and animals, whose expression, changed as the 
 blaze grew and waned; a huge chain, to which a 
 kettle was suspended, might be traced up the 
 chimney until lost in its gloom ; below was a glo- 
 rious heap of glowing embers, on which a pile of 
 brushwood was immediately thrown to greet and 
 welcome our arrival. ." , ." 
 
 B 2 •
 
 28 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 The group about the fire, which had so readily 
 made room for me, consisted, besides sundry Span- 
 ish muleteers, of the master of the house, an old 
 fellow with a single tooth, of which he seemed 
 very proud; his wife, a decent, pains-taking old 
 body; and one daughter, a tight-built, tidy lassie, 
 who scolded both alternately, and seemed to have 
 quite the upper hand in the establishment. She 
 was tastily dressed in a gay calico, wearing on her 
 head a cross-barred handkerchief, with the folds 
 very coquettishly arranged ; while her foot, which 
 was a very neat one, was hid away in one corner 
 of a wooden shoe, which kept clattering incessant- 
 ly over the briok floor as she came and went from 
 cupboard to dresser. The pleasure to be found in 
 contemplating so agreeable an object as a tidy 
 woman at her domestic cares was nothing, how- 
 ever, compared with that which I derived from 
 drying and thawing my benumbed limbs, and the 
 gradual expansion of body and soul which I expe- 
 rienced as the genial process went on; as, how- 
 ever, the two pleasures did not in any way inter- 
 fere with each other, I contrived to enjoy them 
 together. - . * - 
 
 Erelong the pleasing revery into which I had 
 fallen was interrupted by Sylveti's coming to ask 
 me if we should go on, which I answered by
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 29 
 
 placing myself entirely under his orders to advance 
 or to remain. He looked out of the window, 
 through which the cold air and rain rushed, most 
 eloquently arguing against the renewal of our jour- 
 ney; a*nd, after a moment's pause, he decided that 
 we should remain where we were until the next 
 day ; a decision which was pronounced to be full 
 of wisdom by the innkeeper, by his wife, and the 
 pretty daughter; even the maid of all works, who, 
 being so near Spain, claimed the privilege of ex- 
 pressing her opinion on. all occasions, applauded 
 the discretion of Svlveti. ' $^'   
 
 He now told me that he had just heard that a 
 body of two hundred of the Queen's troops had 
 thrown themselves into the frontier town of Urdax, 
 to' renew the collection of duties on all articles 
 entering the country, and had put to flight or to 
 death all the Carlist authorities who had been 
 collecting the revenue. On the other hand, the 
 people of the valley of Bastan, who are for Carlos 
 to a man, had assembled a force of seven hundred 
 men, and, surrounding the Queen's troops, held 
 them in a state of siege, with all their communica- , 
 tions cut off. This was not very encouraging in- 
 telhgence for us, afe Urdax was in the direct line 
 of our route, and we should have to pass through 
 both parties, at the risk of sharing in the blows
 
 30 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 distributed in a quarrel in which we were in no 
 wise interested. It was on this account, and to 
 gain time for consideration, rather than out of any- 
 dread of the weather, that Sylveti decided that we 
 should not abandon our present comfortable quar- 
 ters. • . • J 
 
 This intelligence from Urdax gave rise to a 
 great deal of political discussion among the mulet-- 
 eers, who gave evidence of being outrageous Car- 
 lists, excepting the old and wary Sylveti, who 
 assented, however, by nods, to every thing that 
 was said. They evinced great dissatisfaction with 
 Carlos for not appearing ; spoke scornfully of his 
 cowardice in not coming forward to assert his 
 rights and head his party, who were exposing 
 themselves, and dying unavailingly in his quarrel. 
 They seemed to have the idea that the Queen's 
 ministers and officers Were temporizing, and en- 
 deavouring to keep well with both parties in the 
 event of a change. . • • ^ 
 
   There was great exasp'feration, to be sure, be- 
 tween the Carlists and Pistareen-men, so called 
 from the value of their daily pay, who, being from 
 the same country, and mutually volunteers in fa- 
 vour of opposite opinions, carried on the war with 
 a fanatic spirit, and put each other to death without 
 mercy. - But the regular army pursued the insur-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. "31 
 
 gents with little ardour; according to them three 
 Carlists, being driven into a house and besieged 
 there by two hundred soldiers, managed, after kil- 
 ling a number, to hold out during a whole day, at 
 the end of which time they effected their escape. 
 A sententious young fellow, the same who had 
 made the speech in the posada at Bayonne, and 
 who had arrived after us, concluded the discussion 
 by saying that " neither party hkes dying — nadie 
 quiere morir." ^ . . 
 
 As we were to pass the day at Ustariz, Sylveti 
 set about making me comfortable. The state bed- 
 room was presently warmed with a rousing fire, 
 and my luggage deposited in it : it was a vast ob- 
 long room, with a neatly waxed oaken floor, and an 
 air of great cleanliness ; the corners' being occupied 
 by two very large beds canopied by heavy testers, 
 while at one side Was a huge clothes-press, and 
 at the other a bureau, on which stood a couple of 
 vases containing wit^hered flowers; two gourds, 
 resembling oranges, were symmetrically posted on 
 either side, while between them stood an hourglass, 
 intended as an emblem of our fleeting existence 
 and a memento of the value of time, or perhaps to 
 serve in measuring the duration of the occupants' 
 devotions. 
 • At the head of each bed was a little picture of
 
 32 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 the Virgin, framed into the headboard, while close 
 at hand hung a small ebony crucifix having a bronze 
 figure of the Saviour affixed, and a conch-shell 
 beneath containing holy water. There were, be- 
 sides,., a number of devotional pictures hung round 
 ■: — the worshipping of the wise men, the baptism in 
 the Jordan, the crucifixion. Every thing, indeed, 
 about the room indicated the rehgious character of 
 the inhabitants of this mountain district, and a fi.xed 
 purpose to set the devil at defiance, v 
 
 Not the least attraction of this, my temporary 
 home, was the balcony which flanked the entire 
 side of the room overlooking the river, and which 
 was reached by a glass door, through which I visit- 
 ed it from time to time during thfe day, to study 
 the workings of the storm and the chances of the 
 weather, or admire the beauty and magnificence of 
 the scene. By the time I had recpnnoitred every 
 nook and corner of my. castle, with the possession 
 of which I was amazingly pleased, iand provided 
 for my greater comfort by a change of clothes, 
 Syl'veti came to announce dinner. 
 
 • It was served in one corner of the kitchen, on a 
 rough pine table, covered with a coarse but per- 
 fectly clean cloth. Sylveti had provided me with 
 a napkin, and a silver spoon. and fork, while, him- 
 self, his brother, and three other muleteers journey-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 33 
 
 ing the same way, used the less luxurious material 
 of boxwood. They placed the first dish before 
 me, and waited until I was served ; it was a soup 
 of bread, oil, and water, seasoned with the powder 
 of the red pepper of domestic growth; greens, 
 beans, and stewed codfi.sh followed ; then came a 
 fresh fish swimming in a perfect sea of oil; and, 
 lastly, we had a tortilla or omelet, after which a 
 dessert succeeded, consisting of dried grapes, nuts, 
 and figs, followed by very good coffee and a glass 
 of brandy. The wine served during the meal was 
 sweet and weak, such as one might expect in so 
 mountainous and rainy a district-   '•' . 
 
 . It was easy to see that this was a meager day; 
 it was indeed the season of jubilee, to be celebra- 
 ted by fasting and prayer, and the landlord had an 
 economical as well as religious motive in following 
 the mandates of the church. The Spaniards, who 
 are under a peculiar ordinance, and who have only 
 sixteen fish days throughout the year, complained 
 very much of thqir dinner, and drew very dispara- 
 ging comparisons between French cookery and 
 their own. They were only ten miles from the 
 frontier, yet they were speculating upon the differ- 
 ent appearance the codfish would have assumed in 
 a Spanish posada, with a plentiful garnish of garlic, 
 
 peppers, and saffron. During the repast, the land- 
 
 b3
 
 34 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 lord, the landlady, and the daughter kept hovering 
 aboul, joining appropriately in the conversation, or 
 aiding the maid, who thus found time to bandy 
 gallant w^ords and exchange a few amorous glances 
 with the sturdy muleteers. 
 
 The political conversation was again renewed, 
 and the sententious young muleteer managed, while 
 he sustained his argument, to carry on by word of 
 hand, wholly unobserved as he thought, a little 
 practical gallantry with the willing damsel behind 
 him. Meanwhile a large sheep-dog sat imploring- 
 ly at hand, watching the progress of each morsel 
 from plate to mouth, and ready to receive any offer- 
 ing, however humble ; while farther away skulked 
 two stealthy cats, not less interested observers of 
 passing events, and which, though apparently ab- 
 sorbed in polishing the rejected plates, or licking 
 the meat-block, were at (he same time on the look- 
 out to profit Tjy any intermission of watchfulness, 
 to extend the sphere of their depredations. 
 
 Soon after dinner it cleared off delightfully, and 
 I enjoyed from my balcony one of the most beau- 
 tiful views it was possible to behold. The house 
 was built on the steep side of the western branch 
 of the Nive ; the whole space between it and the 
 river being formed into terraces connected by steps, 
 and cultivated as a kitchen-garden ; and the stream,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 35 
 
 skirted throughout its course by a number of noisy 
 mills to which it gave motion. This branch was 
 divided from the main body of the river by a low 
 island, which formed a beautiful meadow, with oc- 
 casional clumps of trees, and which was now afloat 
 in many places from the heavy rains, the island 
 being connected with the town by a narrow bridge 
 of plank, on which a woman was just then passing 
 with a basket on her head, to join a party engaged 
 in spreading clothes ,tO; bleach. A few light canoes 
 of beautiful construction were tied to trees along 
 the shore. . ■% • , ,*.•..■; 
 
 Beyond the island flowed the main body of the 
 Nive, swollen to a. deep and rapid stream, whose 
 waters rushed in. a broken and tumultuous current. 
 Jts. eastern bank was formed by a gently-sloping 
 hill, divided by hedges, and covered by a varied 
 cultivation, upon- whose changing hues the decli- 
 ning sun shone full, and brilliantly. To the right, 
 the Nive wound. upward to its source, occasionally 
 lost and seen again^ until it disappeared in the 
 gorges of the Pyrenees, which rose nobly, in round 
 and graceful .outlines, like the dark ridges of the 
 Catskill. 
 
 Towards dusk the whole village was summoned 
 by sound of bell to the evening prayers and ser- 
 mon, which was preached in Basque. Supper sue-
 
 36 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 ceeded in due time, differing in no respect from 
 the dinner, and the events of the day closed by a 
 general assemblage, about the kitchen fire, of all 
 the landlord's family, the travellers, some few vil- 
 lage oracles, and a party of troopers billeted in the 
 house. There were, indeed, soldiers in every vil- 
 lage of the frontier, the army of observation along 
 it amounting to no fewer than a hundred thousand 
 men; a company of lancers garrisoned this village, 
 and, at different periods during the day, the trum- 
 peter might be heard calling them, by each well- 
 distinguished blast, to feed or dress their horses, 
 to dine, or to retire each to his abode. In the 
 course of the evening I thought I could detect a 
 budding affection between a neat-looking sergeant 
 and the landlord's daughter, to end in matrimony 
 or otherwise. > » 
 
 The next morning I was awaked at an early 
 hour, and found the maid, alone in waiting to 
 dispense the chocolate, the rest of the family not 
 having yet arisen, and the muleteers being below 
 lading their mules. All the chairs were vacant 
 except' one, in which the cat luxuriously reposed, 
 excited into pleasing dreams by the genial heat of 
 the fire, dozing, purring, and unsheathing her claws 
 as if seizing upon a mouse ; the dog had taken his 
 station much nearer the fire, so as to be almost in
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 37 
 
 the ashes, where he lay grinning and showing his 
 teeth convulsively. Having taken my chocolate, 
 I returned to my room and opened the balcony, to 
 study the prospects that the weather afforded of an 
 agreeable journey. . , 
 
 Though a gray streak in the east indicated the 
 approach of day, it was still quite dark, and a few 
 planets and stars of greater magnitude still shone 
 brightly out in the clear blue sky. The outline of 
 the opposite ridge towards the east might be dis- 
 tinctly traced, and the white streak in the valley 
 below, which marked the windings of the Nive ; 
 erelong the light began to diffuse itself in a purple 
 tint, beautifully colouring two or three clouds 
 which were travelling lazily over. The summit 
 of the opposite ridge caught the next rays, its trees, 
 brushwood, and all its minutest inflections being 
 palpably seen, while all below yet remained in 
 darkness. Imperceptibly, as the day grew and 
 gathered strength, the tints of the sky and clouds 
 became more and more gorgeous, and the light, 
 dissipating the gloom of the valley, showed the 
 varied hues of the cultivated fields, the dark fringe . 
 of the hedges that divided them, the course of the 
 Nive with its mills, and the scattered dwellings of 
 the inhabitants, from which the first wreaths of 
 
 cheerful smoke were beginning to ascend in tiny 
 
 4
 
 38 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 threads of fleece, until one by one the beauties of 
 this lovely vale were all revealed. 
 
 For a while, as I gazed, the absence of all 
 sounds, except the rushing torrent beneath, kept 
 up the idea of utter solitude ; the renewed clatter 
 of a mill below was the first to renew the turmoil ; 
 presently after the hoarse bell of the village church 
 began to toll with slow and measured strokO) 
 breaking awfully upon the silence of the valley, 
 and reverberating among the distant mountains. 
 It called the faithful to matin mass, and announced 
 that the inhabitants of this secluded vale were 
 about to begin, with devotion, the labours of another 
 day. . •.. ..• . ..; ,.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 39 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CROSSING THE PYRENEES. 
 
 Departure from Ustariz— Traits of Mulish Character — Attributes of 
 GaUcian Mules— Frontier— Perplexities on entering Spain— Car- 
 lists and Christines— Carlist Band going to attack Urdax— A Car- 
 list Commissary — Valley of the Vidasoa— Night in Elvetia. 
 
 The sun had already risen when I found myself 
 mounted on the back of the mule which was to 
 bear me to Pamplona. The horse which had 
 brought me from Bayonne to Ustariz had been 
 sent back, as, beyond the frontier, he would in- 
 stantly have been seized by the.Carlists, and con- 
 verted from his present peaceful occupations, so 
 well suited to his temper, into the charger of a 
 bearded and bristling trooper, with irregular hours, 
 hard kicks in the flank from armed heels, and sad 
 lack of barley. 
 
 Instead of the ordinary saddle and stirrups, I 
 was accommodated with a broad pack, upon which 
 I was free to sit a,s I pleased, and could turn about 
 from time to time to bring a new set of muscles 
 into action, or direct my eyes towards the quarter 
 which offered the most attraction. Sylveti led the 
 vanguard; my mule came next, its head being tied
 
 40 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 to the tail of the preceding one ; and so with all the 
 beasts of our caravan, consisting of eight Two 
 other muleteers, having each three or four mules, 
 kept company with us, being anxious to avail them- 
 selves of the protection of Sylveti. 
 
 Our road was nothing more than a bridle, or, as 
 the Spaniards call it, a horseshoe path, winding 
 among the cork-trees, which here abound, and 
 taking the shortest way over mountain and valley ; 
 but, as there was an infinity of branches of the 
 beaten track, the selection of the best and shortest 
 was a matter of importance, which, however, was 
 left almost entirely to the sagacity of the mules. 
 My mule had been hitherto accustomed to lead, 
 and, apparently, he did not like to be superseded, 
 or did not always approve of the choice made by 
 the beast which had usurped his place; for, after 
 many dissatisfied shakes of the head, he at length 
 fell back with all his weight, and with an energy 
 capable of dragging his predecessor's tail out by 
 the roots; the halter, however, broke, and the lib- 
 erated animal, taking another track, placed himself 
 triumphantly in Ijis proper place at the head of the 
 caravan. \ . ••••",: 
 
 Sylveti, instead of being vexed, and cursing and 
 slandering the mule's mother, according to custom, 
 admitted that she 'had done a good thing in bring-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 41 
 
 ing him into the world, and that the mule was most 
 worthy to be the captain, and had claimed no more 
 than was his due. He took occasion to pronounce 
 a very eloquent eulogium upon the animal, Gallego 
 by name, from the province which had the honour 
 of his birth, and thus characterized him in sum- 
 ming up: " Some Gcillicians are lazy, and will not 
 go, or else they are impatient, and go too fast, or 
 stop to browse by the way ; not so this one : hei is 
 a good GaUician ; he picks his way discreetly ; will 
 not stop even to crop the leaves that thrust them- 
 selves into his mouth ; and ever keeps up his regu- 
 lar pace, not a fast one to be sure, but still steady 
 and persevering, and suited to the caravan." 
 
 I had occasion to remark, in the course of the 
 journey, that Sylveti was unusually forbearing and 
 kind to his mules. He was very attentive to their 
 food, either he or his brother sleeping every night 
 beside them to see that they received their barley 
 regularly, and that if was not afterward withdrawn. 
 Their furniture was strong, in good repair, and 
 decked with even more than the usual share of 
 bells and tassels; they never kicked, fell down 
 purposely, or dropped their load from its being 
 badly fastened, accidents all very common among 
 vicious, ill-bred mules, and careless muleteers. 
 
 The country through which we passed, though
 
 42 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 at first beautiful and highly cultivated, became 
 gradually less so as we penetrated farther into 
 the region of the Pyrenees. The mountains were 
 covered with trees of a stunted growth ; and the soil 
 and climate seemed alike unfriendly to vegetable 
 and animal life. There were two or three villages 
 and isolated farmhouses, and a few peasants of suf- 
 ficiently miserable appearance were circulating be- 
 tween them, transporting brushwood or charcoal in 
 small carts drawn by cows, which were in the shape 
 of the ancient triumphal cars, and made entirely 
 without iron, the wheels being of solid plank. After 
 passing through this dreary country, we came to 
 the pretty valley in which the frontier town of Anoa 
 was situated, where we were to be examined by 
 jthe custom-house officers, and exhibit our passports 
 preparatory to leaving France. The officer gave 
 me the consolatory information that they were 
 fighting just across the border, and that it blew so 
 hard in the pass of Orsundo that I should probably 
 be dismounted by the force of the wind. 
 
 As it was not yet twelve, at which hour the 
 passage opens at the frontier, we halted to dine. 
 Our dinner, which was again meager, inuch to the 
 ire of Sylveti, who cursed the jubilee from the 
 bottom of his heart and stomach also, was served 
 by a little girl of fifteen, very pretty and very in-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 43 
 
 dustrious, who moved about like lightning, frying 
 omelets, turning out soup, or peas, or salt fish. 
 She seemed already accustomed to the compli- 
 ments which the muleteers paid her,- and turned 
 them off very gracefully. Having finished our 
 repast we got in motion, taking leave of little Ma- 
 rie, who would have been Maria a mile further on, 
 and who insisted upon carrying my cloak down, 
 which she handed, me when mounted to my station 
 on the mule's back. 
 
 As we passed forward to the frontier we met 
 many, custom-house guards, armed with carl^ine 
 and cartridge-box; and, when near the stream, we 
 overtook a slatternly border-woman, either French 
 or Spanish, as the occasion might require. She had 
 a bottle and some sous, and was going to Spain 
 to buy some oil. The small stream which here 
 divides the two kingdoms is traversed by a wooden 
 bridge; we, however, forded the stream, pausing 
 in the centre to water the mules,- which stood for a 
 while with their fore feet in thieir own country and 
 their hind in a foreign one. There was a party of 
 French soldiers on the very verge of their own 
 frontier; sent to take leave of us in the name of their 
 country; but not a Spaniard was anywhere to be 
 seen, either to oppose or welcome our arrival; an
 
 44 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 evidence of the civil war and anarchy which met 
 us at the very threshold. 
 
 The first sign of inhabitants we found at a se- 
 cluded building, which seemed to be occupied by 
 charcoal-burners, and which, doubtless, served also 
 as a concealment for smugglers When the govern- 
 ment held sway here, and one was needed. The 
 people, who showed themselves at the door as vie 
 passed, were dressed like the inhabitants of Ustariz 
 and Anoa. They wore jackets and trousers of 
 dark cloth, either large woollen hats or low flat 
 caps of cloth withput front-piece, precisely like the 
 highland bonnet, their hair being entirely uncut, 
 and hanging behind in a profusion of curls. The 
 Spanish cloak is replaced in Navarre by the capu- 
 say, a garment of coarse black cloth, which has a 
 hood, and is put on like a shirt. It differs only 
 from the Moorish haik in being open at the sides, 
 ' which, however, are confined at pleasure by a leath- 
 ern belt. The sleeves are also partly open within, 
 and the arms are either thrust through them or they 
 hang freely. 
 
 Soon after entering Spain we left the beaten 
 traek, to avoid passing through the town of Urdax, 
 into which, as we had already heard, the Queen's 
 troops had thrown themselves to renew the recep- 
 tion of the duties. They consisted of two hundred
 
 SPAtN REVISITED-. 45 
 
 carbiniers and pislareen men, who, descending by 
 the valley of Roncesvalles, had surprised and taken 
 possession of this frontier village. Now the Car- 
 lists, who had held the place for some time, had 
 abolished all the existing duties and prohibitions, 
 substituting the general charge of five per cent., 
 and trade had in consequence been very brisk. 
 The people of the valley of Bastan, to which this 
 place belongs, were, of course, not at all pleased 
 with this threatened interference with .their trade, 
 and act of presumption on the part of the Christi- 
 nes; consequently they had assembled, as we had 
 already heard, to the number of seven hundred, to 
 besiege the intruders; but at the frontier we were 
 told that, after skirmishing in the outskirts of the 
 village the day before, they had returned to their 
 homes.   ' "■••*• 
 
 Some of the muleteers seemed more apprehen- 
 sive of falHng in with the Christines than with the 
 Carlists ; partly because they were rather of the 
 latter opinion themselves, and partly because they 
 had purchased -their cargoes with reference to the 
 new duties, and had, indeed, some articles that 
 were contraband, which would not only be forfeit- 
 ed, but would subject every thing else that they 
 carried, as well as their mules, to seizure, and 
 themselves to the right of living at the pubhc ex-
 
 46 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 pense, for ten years or more, in the fortress of 
 Ceuta, or digging, for an equal period, on the canal 
 of Castile. 
 
 They were, of course, in mortal terror of falling 
 into the hands of the carbiniers, and it was on this 
 account that we took a sheep-path to the left, in 
 order to avoid passing through Urdax; and we had 
 not proceeded far when we had the good fortune 
 to fall in with a peasant in cap and capusay, and 
 armed with a musket, whom Sylveti at once 
 saluted as a well-known acquaintance. He was a 
 guardian of the mountain, one of a class of men 
 employed by the villages in Navarre to patrol the 
 roads, accompany travellers, and protect them from 
 robbers. He was immediately put in requisition 
 to accompany us, and select the shortest and best 
 path. The whole party moved on in a silence and 
 anxiety not to be dispelled by the fumes of their 
 pipes and paper cigars, which they kept constantly 
 in action. Sylveti I overheard saying to himself, 
 " Is it not, indeed, a hard case that a man cannot 
 journey through his own country with tranquillity 
 ' — es muc'ho que no puede ir une en su propio regno- 
 con tranquilidad?''^ 
 
 As we approached the crest of the mountain 
 we caught sight of Urdax, very prettily situated in 
 the valley, through which we should have passed.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 47 
 
 The wind now became very furious ; the mules ad- 
 vanced reluctantly, and it required frequent efforts 
 of strength to retain one's seat as the blasts swept 
 by. Presently, as we toiled on, we discovered be- 
 yond the valley a band of armed men defiling along 
 the mountain opposite, in the direction of the vil- 
 lage. There was a party of horsemen in front, 
 probably the chief with his staff; then came three 
 or four hundred foot soldiers with muskets, and in 
 the rear followed a long train of laden mules and 
 asses, making the appearance of the whole group, 
 as it wound along the mountain, highly picturesque. 
 Sylveti immediately commenced congratulating 
 himself on not having passed through the town, 
 which would have brought us face to face upon this 
 guerilla party. He had scarcely finished, how- 
 ever, when fifteen or twenty fellows suddenly ap- 
 peared above the crest of the mountain in front of 
 us, and, levelling their pieces, seemed about to fire. 
 
 They were not long, however, in discovering 
 that they had nothing to fear from us, and, quickly 
 changing their hostile attitude, they came towards 
 us, saluting Sylveti and his brother, and the guar- 
 dian, all of whom they knew. They said they 
 had taken us for the Queen's cavalry, and seemed 
 rather glad to be mistaken. , ', ■' 
 
 They were armed with English muskets and
 
 48 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 bayonets, the cartridge-box being belted round the 
 body after the fashion of th6 country, and were all 
 young, some mere boys of sixteen, who, being clad 
 in the ordinary dress of the country, kept up the 
 idea of their being members of society — brothers, 
 sons, or husbands, just from the bosom of their 
 families, instead of professional soldiers, estranged 
 by long absence from their homes, not likely to be 
 very useful or agreeable if they returned thither, or 
 much mourned if they did not. 
 
 The idea that some of these youths would cer- 
 tainly fall by the hand of violence before the dav 
 was up, leaving a blank in many a domestic circle 
 which nothing could fill, and of the misfortune that 
 the struggle must inevitably bring upon the pretty 
 village which nestled so peacefully in the vale be- 
 low, gave rise to no very pleasant reflections in my 
 mind, and. no very charitable feelings towards the 
 ministers of a merciful religion, who had mainly 
 contributed to excite this civil war, with a view 
 to pfop their tottering estate. These young men 
 seemed to have a peculiar animosity against the 
 volunteers, who were their own countrymen ; they 
 boasted, in the most bloodthirsty manner, of what 
 they woulddo to them : by their account the pis- 
 tareen men were likely to fare no better than Ro- 
 land and the twelve peers of France, who were all
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 49 
 
 slain in the neighbouring valley of Roncesvalles, 
 whence the Christinos had so unwittingly ventured. 
 The nearer we approached the pass of Orsundo, 
 the harder it blew. I thought my eyes would be 
 put out ; and I readily credited the stories that Syl- 
 veti afterward told me of travellers overtaken there 
 by snow, losing their eyesight, wandering from the 
 road, and perishing miserably from cold. As soon 
 as the descent commenced we alighted, the road be- 
 ing rough, and very precipitous. When part of the 
 way down the mountain we encountered a second 
 party of Carlists, who were convoying a long train 
 of mules, of which some were groaning under the 
 weight of panniers, filled with meat, bread, roasted 
 kids, and bacon, while others had huge wine-skins 
 lashed upon their backs, goats arisen from the dead 
 to a nobler and improved existence, into whose 
 shell the soul of Bacchus had transfused itself; 
 and thus the jolly god, metamorphosed into the 
 form of a goat — no unfit emblem of monkish purity 
 — assisted to fortify the stomachs and inflame the 
 courage of the defenders of their favourite throne 
 and altar. • : • 
 
 These supplies were furnished by requisition 
 upon the neighbouring towns, which contributed in 
 kind, each man according to his means. The 
 
 party was under the command of a fellow who 
 VOL. I. — c " 5
 
 50 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 acted as commissary, a genuine specimen o( a 
 Spaniard of the class of men that grow up about 
 the government, and are debased by its vile system 
 and humiliating functions. He was a small, puny 
 creature, with a thin face, a sallow skin, and up- 
 turned nose, on either side of which twinkled a 
 muddy little eye, the white and black being, by 
 much smoking, so mixed up as to be no longer 
 distinguishable from each other. He had on a cap 
 with a long front-piece, which diminished, by the 
 effect of contrast, his already mean features; a 
 uniform coat with a tarnished epaulet, which hung 
 loosely forward into notice, over which he wore 
 a coarse jacket, which left visible the tails em- 
 broidered with the Bourbon lilies. ~ As we ap- 
 proached, he marshalled his men, giving orders to 
 prevent our mules coming in contact in the narrow 
 pass, and being pushed into the precipice which 
 yawned beside our path, speaking with great au- 
 thority, and apparently delighted to have an office, 
 . On descending into the next valley, we found the 
 Streams which had hitherto taken a northern direc- 
 tion to empty into the Adour, now flowing in the 
 opposite one to swell the Bidasoa. The country 
 seemed well watered, and we passed many trees 
 of enormous growth and great age ; almost the first 
 we met was a huge chestnut, split into two parts,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 51 
 
 which grew opposite each other, having, in a fan- 
 tastic and remarkable degree, the air and attitude 
 of two stout wrestlers about to grapple in deadly- 
 struggle, and seeming to be placed there as if to 
 furnish the stranger a lit emblem of unhappy Spain, 
 superannuated, rotten at the core, utterly ruined, 
 yet divided against herself, and using her little 
 remaining vitality to consummate its own annihi- 
 lation. 
 
 The Bidasoa, which we presently crossed, was 
 much swollen by the .late rains. There was a 
 great pleasure in reaching its valley after our ride 
 over the mountain pass, it seemed so sheltered, 
 snug, and warm ; the country, too, was very beau- 
 tiful, the low grounds profusely watered, and the 
 mountains covered with a luxuriant growth of 
 chestnut, oak, and beech trees, of noble size. On 
 entering the town of Ariscum, I was struck with 
 the great size and superior construction of the 
 houses, compared with those occupied by the same 
 classes in France. They were often built of hewn 
 stone, combining neatness and durability, and had 
 quite a Spanish air, having grated windows with- 
 out glass, and verandas from which the women 
 looked out, being attracted by the clatter of our 
 mules in the silent street, which was entirely 
 
 deserted, the men from this and the neighbouring 
 
 c 2
 
 52 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 villages having all gone to the siege of Urdax. The 
 women inquired if we knew any thing of the result 
 of the expedition, and seemed in great anxiety. 
 
 Night was now approaching, and I was cold and 
 tired. My listless condition on the back of the 
 mule, without exertion of any sort, and yet without 
 care, and the extreme slowness and hopelessness 
 of our progress, quite wore my patience out. 
 Every village we came to seemed, in turn, far 
 enough to be ours, that is, the one where we were 
 to pass the night, until I was at length overjoyed 
 to participate in the pleasure with which my gal- 
 lego pricked his ears, and announced, by an abor- 
 tive bray, responded along the whole line, that we 
 approached our goal. Although we were in the 
 street of Elvetea, it was impossible to distinguish 
 the inn ; it was only seven o'clock, yet there was 
 not a soul to be seen, nor could the friendly glim- 
 mer of a light be distinguished in a single dwel- 
 ling, the silence of death prevailing everywhere. 
 The mules presently paused before what seemed 
 a familiar resting-place; the folding-doors opened 
 as if by magic, before we had time to knock, then 
 closed again, and were securely barred when all 
 had entered. 
 
 Half dead with fatigue, cold, and the exhausting 
 effects of the high wind, I stumbled towards the
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 53 
 
 kitchen. It was a genuine Spanish one, with a 
 huge patriarchal chimney heaped with brushwood, 
 round which was clustered a characteristic group, 
 upon whose grotesque dress and strongly-marked 
 countenances the red light from the chimney fell 
 glaringly. There were three generations of women, 
 grandmother, mother, and daughter, all busy in pre- 
 paring our supper : for it seemed that we had been 
 expected. The mother and grandmother had 
 nothing remarkable in their appearance, but the 
 daughter was a tall, graceful girl, with good teeth, 
 a rich, brown complexion, large, full-orbed, black 
 eyes, placed very far apart, and a fine head of hair 
 combed backwards, and which would haVe reached 
 the ground had it not been plaited. She was very 
 attentive and active; but she did not scold her 
 mother like the girl at Ustariz, and the rapidity 
 with which she executed her duties was mingled 
 with an occasional air of quiet repose, of sadness, 
 or of abstraction : smiles and melancholy succeeded 
 each other, in the expression of her countenance, 
 like the passing alternations of sunshine and clouds. 
 Our supper to-night was not meager. It com- 
 menced with a salad, then came lentils and greens, 
 then boiled eggs, salt fish, mutton stewed with oil, 
 saffron, and pimenta; lastly, roasted kid, followed 
 
 by the usual finale of apples, nuts, and dry grapes. 
 
 5*
 
 54 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 The conversation was chiefly pohtical, and very 
 characteristic. They seemed to be all Carlists, 
 and amused themselves with one of the muleteers, 
 whom they made their butt, accusing him of being, 
 like all his townsmen, a negro or liberal. They 
 ridiculed each other's towns, relating a collection 
 of stories as old as the hills about them, and re- 
 peating, as usual, disparaging proverbs and coup- 
 lets. The entertainment concluded by producing 
 the passports to sign. In isolated inns, the land- 
 lord is required to take note of his guests, and 
 sign their passports, but in villages it must be done 
 by the alcalde. By a singular incongruity, the 
 government authorities require travellers to have 
 their passports signed, even there where their 
 authority is not recognised^ 
 
 On this occasion, however, the alcalde was not 
 at hand to attend to the duty, being actively em- 
 ployed in the Carlist army, at the head of one of 
 the bands. This, however, occasioned no incon- 
 venience. " How do you call him ?" said Sylveti, 
 seizing the pen and writing, in a very crabbed 
 hand, the customary superscription of the place, 
 date, and contemplated departure. The rest fol- 
 lowed his example ; and the thing was done so 
 much as a matter of course, as to show that these 
 people have little idea of the value or possible con-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 55 
 
 sequences of forgery. Half the dishonesty, how- 
 ever, in the world, and more than half, is produced 
 by the unnecessary interference and action of 
 vicious and oppressive governments. Now, too, 
 Sylveti paid the duties for the Carlist custom- 
 house, receiving a printed receipt. 
 
 My chamber was very large, having in one cor- 
 ner of it a clean and comfortable bed, in which, 
 when AiUonia had duly heated it with a warming- 
 pan, I hastened to stretch myself. I did not, how- 
 ever, pass a good night, for the floor and partitions 
 of the room were made of clumsy planks, very 
 rudely put together; glimmerings of light were 
 constantly seen piercing through from the stable 
 or adjoining hall, shining like stars in the general 
 gloom; for the same reason all the noises made m 
 the house not only reached me, but actually seemed 
 to be in the room. I several times awoke and 
 answered aloud to voices that seemed to be ad- 
 dressing me. The mules just below me, too, kept 
 up a constant munching and jingling of their bells, 
 and often stopped to caper, making eccentric noises, 
 as if communing with each other, and apparently 
 executing clumsy practical jokes for their own 
 amusement.   . - *
 
 66 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PYRENEES AND PAMPLONA. 
 
 Matins in Elvetea — Elizondo — Vale of Bastan — Vengeance on a 
 Mule — Pass of Velate — Story of Brigands — Descent from the 
 Mountains — Lanz — Homestead of Sylveti — Domestic Scenes — 
 Valley of the Arga — Billaba — Sight of Pamplona — Enter the For- 
 tress. 
 
 t 
 
 The tolling of the matin-bell, from the church- 
 tower of Elvetea, avi'oke me the next morning at 
 break of day ; and, on repairing to the kitchen, I 
 found Antonia in earnest conversation with a 
 bearded Carlino, who was leaning on his musket, 
 a naked bayonet being thrust through his belt for 
 want of sheath. He seemed to have journeyed 
 far, and passed a sleepless night, and was relating 
 something in a very earnest tone, to which she 
 listened with deep interest, her right hand being 
 pressed to her brow thoughtfully. Perhaps it was 
 her lover; perhaps it was only one who had lately 
 seen him. Presently he disappeared ; she sighed 
 faintly, smoothed her brow as she withdrew her 
 hand, and returned with recovered tranquillity to 
 her accustomed occupations. What a blessing to 
 woman are the daily duties and lesser cares of
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 57 
 
 life ! What a defence against temptation and evil 
 thoughts ! What an aid in resisting affliction ! 
 
 When the young vv^oman had given me my choc- 
 olate, she opened a large chest containing silver 
 spoons, napkins, and the household valuables ; took 
 off her shoes, and commenced cleaning them with 
 a rag and a httle oil from the lamp; drew^ on a pair 
 of blue stockings with vvhite clocks, such as are 
 worn by the Manolas ; added her mantilla, which 
 fell gracefully over head and shoulder; seized her 
 fan, and instinctively gave it a preliminary flourish ; 
 then, followed duenna-like by her grandmother, 
 with stooping body, tottering gait, in one hand the 
 staff, in the other the beads and rosary, she sailed 
 gracefully away, with short, well-studied steps, and 
 a compound harmonious movement of the whole 
 body. As she was passing out of the door she 
 turned her head, bringing one eye in sight, and 
 beckoned me a last adieu with her fan. I could 
 not help putting forth a wish that her lover might 
 return from the wars, that he might never prove 
 false, and that Fortune might forego her rule in 
 favour of one so amiable, and cease for once to be 
 fickle. . . . • 
 
 As I descended to the stable they were engaged 
 
 in lading a mule. His head was tied up high; the 
 
 bales that were to go on either side were duly 
 
 c 3
 
 58 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 poised, to see that they would balance each other; 
 and then, being slung over the back, were there 
 stoutly lashed and tightened by means of a wooden 
 heaver. How the poor mule groaned in spirit as 
 this process of compression was applied to him, 
 and how he vainly endeavoured, by distending his 
 belly, to deceive the muleteers, and persuade 
 them that the hempen bandage was already tight ! 
 Erelong they were all laden, the string was formed 
 and set in motion, whilp I walked in advance with 
 Jthe younger Sylveti.-,, . . . , 
 
 The whole town was in the street, going to or 
 coming from mass, and I noticed that the wooden 
 shoe had disappeared already at this short distance 
 from the frontier. Many of the poorer classes, 
 though otherwise comfortably dressed, were with- 
 out stockings; but, notwithstanding, there was a 
 very general air of comfort and competency. As 
 we drew nigh the village church, its approaches 
 were all thronged ; which, though an ordinary, was 
 an interesting spectacle. Religion in Navarre is 
 at once a universal want and a great spring of 
 action; at the bidding of its ministers, the Navar- 
 rese have three times flown to arms in the present 
 century. 
 
 Beyond the church, the street was flanked on 
 either side by arcades, which formed a species of
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 59 
 
 market-place and point of reunion, where the vil- 
 lage gossip might be retailed under cover from the 
 weather. Beside one of the pillars sat a young 
 girl with a basket before her, selling chestnuts. 
 As I passed in front she eyed me attentively, and 
 then said to a companion near her, " This must be 
 a liberal — ese sera un liberal^ Dirty and way- 
 worn as I looked to myself, I seemed elegant to 
 her; and the round hat, the gloves, the blue cloak 
 instead of a brown one, all conveyed the detested 
 idea of a liberal. This bad pleasantry of the young 
 woman was not at all to ray fancy, as it might 
 have raised a hue and cry after roe, and sent me 
 out of the village, hotly pursued by dogs and Car- 
 hsts. * 
 
 At a very short distance from Elvetea we came 
 to the village of Elizondo, a very pretty place, de- 
 lightfully situated in the valley of Bastan. The 
 houses stand with the gables towards this street, 
 the fronts being of hewn stone, with balconies and 
 arched doorways, over which are not unfrequently 
 armorial bearings, proclaiming the noble blood of 
 the inmates — shields displaying warriors' casques, 
 and misshapen images of bears and wolves. The 
 house of the curate, which I recognised by seeing 
 him in the balcony, was particularly spacious and 
 massive: it stood on the square; hard by was the
 
 60 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 house of the alcalde, who, though a nobleman and 
 very rich, having much to lose, and being, more- 
 over, advanced in life, was then making war at the 
 head of a guerilla band. 
 
 This rich valley of Bastan produces abundance 
 of wheat, maize, and hemp, and has extensive or- 
 chards of apple, chestnut, and other fruit-trees. 
 The greater part of it is, however, in pasture-land, 
 the inhabitants leading a pastoral life, and subsist- 
 ing upon the produce of their flocks, or by the 
 wandering profession of the muleteer. The tim- 
 ber of the neighbouring mountains furnishes also a 
 productive source of revenue. 
 .• The Bastanese are a very temperate, frugal, and 
 laborious race, quite simple and patriarchal in their 
 customs and mode of life, enjoying great political 
 privileges, for which they cherish an unshaken 
 attachment, and living under a municipal form of 
 government, which is essentially democratic. The 
 dread of losing these privileges by the equalising 
 schemes of the constitution, and not any love of 
 despotism, aids the influence of the clergy in main- 
 taining the insurrection. It is in Elizondo, as cap- 
 ital of the Bastan, that exists the provisional junta 
 of government, directed entirely by the clergy, 
 which issues orders and receives reports in the 
 name of Charles V. Many bloody battles have,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 61 
 
 since my visit, been fought in and about this pretty- 
 village, between Lorenzo and Zumalacaregui, and 
 its inhabitants have no doubt tasted all the horrors 
 of civil wslt. 
 
 Towards noon we halted in the elevated town 
 of Almandoz, to dine. Here I saw the first pair of 
 breeches I had encountered in Spain : they were 
 on the person of the innkeeper, who wore also 
 blue stockings and a hide sandal, with a stout -cord 
 wound round his legs. He was a solemn-looking 
 old gentleman, with a very grave expression of 
 CQunt'enance ; not the less so, perhaps, at that mo- 
 ment, because his only son was gone to the siege 
 of Urdax. Our dinner was not good, and I was 
 without appetite, so I left Sylveti to finish it alone, 
 and joined the group about the fire in the kitchen, 
 which had no chimney, the smoke escaping as best 
 it might through a hole in the centre of the roof. 
 
 There were several of the town's people there, 
 and the old landlord; there was also a young Car-, 
 lino, with musket and bayonet, who was relating 
 something in Basque which seemed greatly to. in- 
 terest them. The story was suddenly interrupted 
 by the village bell striking twelve, succeeded by a 
 slow tolling. It was a signal for devotion. They 
 all rose ; the young man quickly recited a prayer, 
 the rest responding as in the Litany, and all occa-
 
 62 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 sionally striking their breasts in concert. When 
 the bell ceased, they crossed themselves, sat 
 down, and the Carlino gravely continued his narra- 
 tion. 
 
 •On renewing our journey the road continued to 
 ascend towards the famous pass of Velate, and we 
 soon found ourselves in utter solitude, Sylveti and 
 1 being entirely alone, his brother having gone on 
 with the mules in advance of us. I now noticed 
 that my umbrella, fastened to the load of his mule, 
 was broken, and told him so; he said it was im- 
 possible : yet got down, examined it, and saw that 
 it was even' so, and that the mule had been lying 
 down. He looked perfectly blank, and said not a 
 word for the space of a minute ; at the expiration 
 of which he seized a huge stone, and, discharging 
 it full against the scull of the offending animal, he 
 broke forth with the exclamation, " By the life of 
 the devil — por vida del demonio .'" expressed with 
 terrible energy. I never heard such a tempest of 
 fearful curses, or saw such a shower of thick-falling 
 stones, as were directed against the face and eyes 
 of the poor animal, which his left hand tightly held 
 and prevented from escaping. 
 
 It was quite appalling to see this desert mountain, 
 this untenanted solitude, thus disturbed on so friv- 
 olous an occasion by the impotent wrath of man.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 63 
 
 Yet this exhibition was so thoroughly characteris- 
 tic and Spanish, that, finding there was no use in 
 interfering to save the beast, I was content to be a 
 spectator of it. Even when Sylveti again mount- 
 ed, he continued for several miles to lacerate the 
 animal's mouth by jerking at the heavy bit, and to 
 beat it unmercifully. YetSylveti was usually very 
 calm and composed ; he would not, however, have 
 been a Spaniard, if not occasionally subject to 
 ungovernable fits of passion. His vexation at this 
 trifling occurrence shows, too, the sort of interest 
 that a Spanish muleteer feels in the person and 
 property of an individual committed to his care.   
 The mountains were lofty and bold, cut with 
 deep chasms by the torrents; their sides were 
 everywhere clothed with trees of enormous growth 
 — chestnut or beech of great height, very straight, 
 and covered with moss; habitations there were 
 none, except the occasional hut of a shepherd or 
 goatherd, having beside it an enclosure to protect 
 the flock against the ravages of the wolves. I was 
 pleased with a pastoral scene, such as I had read 
 of in Florian or Cervantes, which we here saw, 
 being a young shepherd and shepherdess seated 
 together on a bank, and apparently quite as much 
 taken up with each other as with watching their
 
 64 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 flocks, which were browsing hard by, guarded and 
 kept together by two wild, gaunt dogs. 
 
 As we approached the pass of Velate, the trees 
 became more and more dwarfed, and at length dis- 
 appeared altogether, until the rocky heads of the 
 mountains reared themselves naked, bare, and des- 
 olate. Hitherto it had been calm and mild, but 
 now it became cold, and blew furiously; to make 
 matters worse, it commenced raining, and soon af- 
 terward to hail, forming, with the exception of the 
 lightning, a repetition of the scene on the first day 
 of our journey. From the top of the pass, a rough 
 road, strown with loose stones, over which we 
 were obliged to descend on foot, conducted us, 
 with many windings, to the bottom of a ravine, in 
 which stood a solitary, half-ruined venta, where 
 we paused to warm ourselves and take a little 
 brandy. , ' - '   
 
 After a long descent the trees and vegetation re- 
 appeared, and Sylveti, who had partially recovered 
 his equanimity, showed me, in passing, a tree to 
 \vhich he had been tied many years before, on an 
 ofccasion when he was robbed. He was journeying 
 with a comrade towards Bayonne, when, from a 
 thicket which he pointed out, two men, having their 
 faces blackened, suddenly appeared, armed with 
 muskets, which they aimed at them, uttering at the
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 65 
 
 same time the accustomed salutation — " La bolsa 
 o la vida /" Sylveti's companion, not understand- 
 ing Spanish, was passing on, when he called to 
 him in Basque to halt. They were made to alight, 
 place themselves against separate trees, and were 
 there bound with ropes brought for the purpose. 
 
 Notwithstanding the disguise, Sylveti recog- 
 nised one of their faces as being that of an old ac- 
 quaintance. He had his money in one end of the 
 sash which girded his loins. As the man whom he 
 did not know was removing it, he begged him to 
 take the money but leave the sash, as it vv'as neces- 
 sary to him to keep his trousers up. " Not so, my 
 brother,'' said the robber ; " I will take the sash and 
 money also; I will not separate good companions." 
 The other, who had known Sylveti, said, " Give him 
 the sash." He still refused, when the man told 
 his comrade he would blow his brains out if he did 
 not comply. He then left the sash and half a dol- 
 lar in it, according to his comrade's order, who, in 
 going away, told them not to speak of what had 
 happened, at the peril of their lives ; adding, " And 
 do thou not say that we are bad men, since we 
 have left thee the sash and half a dollar in it, to 
 buy thee a drop of comfort — y no digais que so?nos 
 malos homhres, pues te hemos dejado la fajci y me- 
 dio duro para echar el tragoP . ..,• • '•( 
 
 6*
 
 66 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 Robbers always speak in the second person, 
 using the " thou" as to inferiors. Notwithstanding 
 the ominous warning with which they took leave, 
 and their enforcing the duties of gratitude, Sylveti 
 and his comrade gave the alarm as soon as they 
 could extricate themselves and reach the nearest 
 town. The guardians of the woods immediately 
 mustered and went in pursuit ; and one of the rob- 
 bers being shot in the foot, was overtaken and put 
 to death. The other two were taken alive soon 
 after, and carried to Pamplona, then in possession 
 of the French, where they were executed. 
 
 Towards the close of the day we had gained the 
 valley of the river Arga, the basin of which was of 
 trifling width, having a very small tract of alluvial 
 land on either side, which w^as highly cultivated. 
 The mountains which enclosed it were covered 
 with trees; and the naked ridges of others, more 
 lofty, occasionally, pushed themselves into view 
 beyond, while still further in the distance west- 
 ward were seen the loftier peaks of Biscay and 
 Espinosa, mantled with snow. The villages now 
 became more frequent, and from time to time Syl- 
 veti left the caravan, as he had done the day be-; 
 fore, to diverge on either side for the transaction 
 of business, the delivery of letters, and the receipt 
 or payment of moneys. In the village of Lanz, as
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 67 
 
 we passed, all the young women seemed collected in 
 one house, whence they were kind enough to cast 
 glances of commiseration towards me, sitting 
 huddled up as I was on the mule's back, envel- 
 oped in a wet. cloak, which was a source of very 
 little consolation to me, and shivering with cold 
 and discomfort. '. 
 
 In the outskirts of Lanz we were joined by a 
 guardian, who was to accompany us to the extent 
 of his range. A young Carlist, who was returning 
 to his home, also joined us ; and the two furnished 
 us with society and protection. The night had 
 now set in ; the sky became clfiar ; tho stars gradu- 
 ally shining out, to give -promise of fine weather 
 for the morrow. In the road before us a number 
 of brilliant lights were seen moving along the val- 
 ley, which proved to be pine torches, borne by 
 people who were passing from village to village, 
 and who were thus enabled to pick their way with 
 dry feet. Pleased with the companionship of 
 these torches, they waved and brandished them, or 
 struck them against the rocks to renew the flame, 
 singing plaintively, as they went, airs which had 
 the same melancholy turn common throughout 
 Spain ; but at the same time had more , music in 
 them, and were less monotonous.   
 
 The village in which Sylveti lived, for we were
 
 68 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 to Stop that night at his house, was a very small 
 one, which he had probably fixed his residence in 
 as furnishing a good point for contraband trade, since 
 in other respects it niust have been inconvenient, 
 being at neither one extremity or the other of his 
 habitual journeys ; so that, of course, he could pass 
 very little time at home. Leaving the direct road 
 to Pamplona, we crossed the Arga by a steep anti- 
 quated bridge, and making a second turning aside, 
 the mules halted before the portal of a large mas- 
 sive building, which proved to be the stronghold and 
 castle of Sylveti. The stout double door at once 
 flew open at the sound of our bells, and a young 
 shepherd, in the same dress as his flocks, namely, 
 in a jacket and trousers of sheepskin, held a lamp to 
 receive us, while a huge. Pyrenean sheep-dog, his 
 companion, bounded forward to receive and caress 
 the younger Sylveti, while the mules hastened to 
 enter their place of shelter with a better will than 
 they had evinced on any occasion since the com- 
 mencement of the journey. 
 
 On looking round I found myself on the ground- 
 floor of a large building, the repository of an exten- 
 sive farm, where every thing was nightly assem- 
 bled, for the security which is to be found, in 
 lawless countries, within stout walls. Here every 
 thing had its allotted place ; at one side was a pen
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 69 
 
 for the flock of two hundred sheep, of which Syl- 
 veti was the proprietor; at another the stalls for the 
 mules ; here was the brushwood to burn during the 
 winter, and there a large pile of leaves preserved 
 for compost; while immediately beside where my 
 mule halted stood three cows, their heads protru- 
 ding over the manger to take note of our arrival ; 
 and which, in connexion with the figure of the 
 skinclad shepherd, and patriarchal air of every 
 thing else around me, most strongly brought to my 
 mind some of Murillo's pictures of the Nativity. I 
 might, perhaps, have fancied myself one of the 
 wise men newly arrived, were it not for my double 
 lack of wisdom and costly treasure. As for the 
 representation of the Virgin, I found it up stairs in 
 the person of Sylveti's wife, a very handsome 
 woman, whom we found engaged in an occupation 
 dear, doubtless, to Sylveti's paternal heart — name- 
 ly, nursing her baby. - ..   * •. , . • 
 Sylveti had preceded us and changed his dress, 
 and was now attired in a flannel jacket, black 
 breeches and stockings, and had altogether the air 
 of an hidalgo in dishabille. He came down to re- 
 ceive me, followed by all his little ones ; lifted me, 
 half dead with cold and inanition, from my mule, 
 and conducted me to the apartments above. The 
 stair opened on a large hall, which was of the whole 
 
 .J"
 
 70 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 extent of the house, and which, but for the rough- 
 ness and inequahties of the plank floor, would have 
 made an excellent ball-room. It was hung round 
 with bunches of Indian corn, placed at equal inter- 
 vals, with a view to display and ornament. At the 
 side were the bedrooms, a workshop filled with 
 every useful tool, and the kitchen, to which 1 was 
 glad to be conducted, where there was a crackling 
 fire to welcome us.   . 
 
 Sylveti's wife was seated beside it, with an infant 
 in her arms, while her mother attended to the 
 chymical process going on among the pots and 
 frying-pans. The room, which was a very large 
 one, was cut off, and the portion towards the chim- 
 ney isolated, by nrearis of a huge wooden bench or 
 sofa, with a tall back reaching half way to the top 
 of the room. A table was attached to it, which 
 could be lifted or let dowu at pleasure. While 
 supper was preparing, the woman offered me choc- 
 olate. When served before the fire, our meal con- 
 sisted of soup, sallad, eggs, stewed rabbit, pigeons 
 from Sylveti's own dovecot, and the usual dessert. 
 Every thing was yery nicely served, but I had no 
 appetite, and did much better justice to the bed of 
 state which was prepared and warmed for me, and 
 where I passed an imdisturbed night. 
 
 On rising early in the morning I found the fam-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 71 
 
 ily assembled around the kitchen fire ; the children 
 had crawled forth at this unusual hour, with their 
 clothes in their hands, and were begging to be 
 dressed. Sylveti was performing that operation 
 for one of them himself, the brother and the shep- 
 herd being left to get the mules ready. Hardly 
 had he finished one before another sued for the 
 unusual honour of being dressed by his father. 
 The clothes of the children were neat and comfort- 
 able, with warm stockings and shoes. Every 
 thing, indeed, about the establishment indicated 
 ease, comfort, and rude competency ; and yet all 
 this was the result of his own persevering indus- 
 try, o-f the confidence inspired by his honesty and 
 good character, and, perhaps, of the large gains 
 attendant upon successful smuggling. One might 
 be disposed to envy his condition, were his happi- 
 ness less frequently interrupted, and procured by 
 less privation. He does not sleep more than two 
 nights each week in his own house, though he said 
 he intended in future to let his brother go occasion- 
 ally alone with the mules. When I asked how much, 
 he paid his brother for his services, he answered, 
 *' Nothing; he lives and fares 'as I do, and when 
 he gets married I shall give him his dowry." Such 
 disinterestedness and confidence are not always 
 found even among brothers, and are an eloquent
 
 72 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 eulogy on the simple virtues of the mountaineers 
 of Navarre. 
 
 When all was ready, the young shepherd took 
 my mule by the head and led him rather reluctant- 
 ly forth. We recrossed the bridge and gained the 
 road to Pamplona, the sheep-dog trotting in ad- 
 vance, until he discovered that the young man had 
 gone back, when he hastened to follow the exam- 
 ple. Sylveti remained behind, prolonging his mo- 
 ments of domestic enjoyment, and lingering to the 
 latest instant among his household gods. There 
 were many people going likewise in the direction 
 of Pamplona; those who were on foot carrying 
 pine torches, such as I had seen the night before, 
 to enable them to pick their way, and furnish them 
 with amusement and company. Sometimes they 
 grew dim, when they struck them against the rocks 
 to splinter them, and fanned them in the air : occa- 
 sionally they were lost, sight of at the turning of 
 the road, or the entrance of a village ; but they 
 always appeared again, dancing mysteriously be- 
 fore us, the figures of the individuals who bore 
 them being strongly defined to* the view. At 
 length one light halted till' we came up; it was 
 held by a woman, who was looking for something 
 she had lost; she was accompanied by another
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 73 
 
 mounted on a mule laden with panniers filled with 
 vegetables. 
 
 As we followed the valley of the Arga, the 
 
 stream gradually grew and gathered consequence 
 
 by the accession of many tributaries. At Billaba it 
 
 encounters a natural dam, where it enlarges itself 
 
 into a little lake, thence falling in a pretty cascade 
 
 over a ledge of rocks. This is a very pretty town, 
 
 with a more decidedly Spanish air than any we had 
 
 yet seen ; the inhabitants, of whom we found many 
 
 idling their time in the square and at the corners, 
 
 wore large flapped hats or cloth montero caps ; they 
 
 moreover smoked paper cigars instead of pipes, 
 
 wore breeches instead of trousers, and the brown 
 
 cloak instead of the black capusay. 
 
 We found, on leaving the single street of Billaba, 
 that the valley had made a bend which brought us . ' 
 in full view of the town and fortress of Pamplona. 
 It was situated in the centre of a .basin called the. 
 Cuenca or bowl, encircled on every side by lofty 
 mountains, which rise in an amphitheatric form, the 
 town, which is of small extent, being perched on a 
 small elevated esplanade in the centre. It was . 
 everywhere surrounded by batteries with flanking 
 towers, while the tall roof of a Gothic cathedral, 
 rising grandly above and overlooking all other ob- 
 jects, typified the undisputed sway of the religion, 
 
 VOL. I. — D 7
 
 74 SPAIN. REVISITED. 
 
 in whose honour it was raised, over the minds and 
 actions of its votaries. It was clear and calm, and 
 every object which the eye embraced was nicely 
 and palpably defined: the town, with its jagged 
 outline of towers and roofs; the caravans of mules; 
 the horsemen and humbler pedestrians that dotted 
 the intermediate road ; the distant mountains, loo, 
 every rock and fissure of which was distinctly 
 revealed; while the irregular and broken outline 
 was traced against the background of the blue and 
 vaulted heavens, with a distinctness and nearness 
 which brought them, in imagination, almost within 
 reach of one's hand. The sun shone mildly forth ; 
 not a breath of air was stirring ; the smoke of the 
 economical inhabitants of Pamplona rose perpen- 
 dicularly in' tiny and starveling threads from every 
 separate roof; while a few wandering, homeless 
 clouds, caught by their own fleecy toils on the 
 snow-covered summits of the more elevated moun- 
 tains, lingered irresolutely, as if unwilling to dis- 
 turb the universal repose. A quiet and poetic 
 stillness, a delicious indolence, characteristic at 
 once of the climate and of the inhabitants, hovered 
 over and hallowed the scene, and announced that 
 -the sunny land of Spain lay wide before me. 
 
 Man and beast seemed sensible to the soothing 
 influence of the scene and the weather ; the mules
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 75 
 
 and asses moved slowly and sluggishly onward; 
 the muleteers, silting sidewise, seemed lost in the 
 dreamy musings which tobacco generates, or trolled 
 forth a melancholy ditty of unhappy love ; the 
 peasant, engaged in breaking up the soil with a 
 pitchfork, stood with one foot resting on the imple- 
 ment, turning to take note of the passing traveller, 
 and bid him go with God and in a happy hour. , 
 The influences of the weather, though unfavour- 
 able to labour, seemed not unfriendly to love. 
 There was a young girl who had left Billaba on 
 foot, and kept on before us. Hers was the first 
 mantilla I had seen since our arrival in Spain. 
 She wore it not ungracefully, flourished her fan 
 with an accustomed ease, and went forward with 
 a winding and meandering movement, not wholly 
 unlike the Andalusian meneo. • . • . 
 
 I had become very impatient of the slow pace 
 of the mules, which prevented me from overtaking 
 the fair pedestrian, and seeing how far so agreeable 
 a back view might harmonize with the front. I 
 had kicked and coa"xed to no purpose, when at 
 length Cupid came to my aid, inducing the young 
 lady to pause by the wayside to hold converse 
 with a peasant who laboured in the neighbouring 
 field. Many courteous salutations passed, and I 
 was delighted at .the grace with which she beckon- 
 
 D 2
 
 76 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 ed with her fan, held her head on one side, bal- 
 anced her body with a swimming movement, point- 
 ed her tiny foot, and played off a whole volley of 
 love-dipped arrows. I had begun to fancy her an 
 object replete with grace and attraction ; but my 
 imagination was not suffered long to indulge in its 
 pleasing creations ; for, when we came beside her, 
 and she turned to look at us, I was shocked to dis- 
 cover a face not only seamed and scarred by the 
 inexorable smallpox, but blessed with but a single 
 eye. 
 
 Meanwhile we approached the bridge over the 
 Arga, which stream half encircles the platform on 
 which Pamplona stands, pausing a moment on the 
 bank to water the mules. The river was a good 
 deal swollen, and that same day a young girl of 
 fifteen, who had imprudently undertaken to wade" 
 . her horse across, had become agitated, lost her 
 hold of the animal, been washed away, and drowned. 
 Along the bank of the stream, which we followed 
 to reach the approaches of the gate, were many 
 noisy washerwomen on their knees in wooden 
 boxes, their garments snugly gathered up, beating 
 their clothes unmercifully, singing monotonously 
 in long-drawn nasal tones, gossiping with each 
 other, or flinging back the unmeasured jests or 
 sturdy compliments of the soldiers and other idlers
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 77 
 
 in threadbare cloaks that lounged lazily behind 
 them. 
 
 These were the first of the Queen's troops we 
 had seen since our entry into Spain ; our muleteers, 
 however, had prepared themselves for an accom- 
 modation to the opposite political opinion, and had 
 ceased to be Carhsts as we arrived in sight of the 
 fortress of Pamplona, As we reached the first 
 angle in ascending to the gate, a blind beggar put 
 up, in good Spanish, a supplication for a blessed 
 little alms, although it should only be a crumb of 
 bread, promising that God should repay us, and 
 the Holy Virgin of the pillar. "■ Cahallerito ! una 
 hendita limosnita, aunque sea un pedazito de pan ! 
 que dios se lo pagara y la Virgen Santissi?na del 
 pilar^ This prayer was doubtless put forth by 
 some unhappy Aragonese, who had wandered away 
 from the protection of his patron saint. 
 
 As we passed the keep, we tvere surrounded by 
 the filthy officials of the Spanish custom-house and 
 police ; the men of threadbare cloak, oil-skin hat, 
 paper cigar, and rusty sabre, with whom I was so 
 familiar. I understood perfectly that the eloquence 
 of a pistareen would not be thrown away upon such 
 an audience ; and having successfully applied it, was 
 allowed to pass within, and immediately found my- 
 
 T
 
 78 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 self in a genuine Spanish town, with its square, its 
 colonnade, and frequent fountains. ' 
 
 The streets were of moderate width, with well- 
 built and very high houses, having grated windows 
 below, to check troublesome intrusion, and balco- 
 nies above. The lower floors, converted into shops, 
 exhibited a beggarly supply of the rude and primi- 
 tive fabrics, which still remain where the Moors 
 left them : the oddest locks and hinges ; parchment- 
 covered books of Venerable antiquity ; pot-bellied 
 little watches, covered with brass and tortoise-shell, 
 and imported in bygone centuries for the uses of 
 the great ; curious signs of wooden hats ; painted 
 coats of many colou]:s ; pugnacious troopers' boots, 
 or bleeding legs and brazen basins, practically set 
 forth the commodities or services that might be pro- 
 cured within ; while the more pretending inscription 
 of Almacen de-todos generos, written out in school- 
 boy characters, showed where might be procured 
 a striped cotton, a silk dress, or a painted fan, 
 with the loves of Atala, or the triumphs of Melek 
 Adel, — the smuggled commodities which Spanish 
 ingenuity has not yet learned to supply. 
 
 There was a square too, enclosed by arcades, 
 under which circulated cloaked denizens, bearded 
 and mustached soldiers, and women with fan and 
 mantilla. Nor was .there any lack of priests, in
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 79 
 
 their long hats and formal black cloaks, any more 
 than of the youthful pretenders to the same dignity ; 
 dirty students in cocked hats, threadbare draggled 
 cloaks, and foxy stockings. Add in your imagina- 
 tion, good reader, a party of galley-slaves, engaged 
 in cleaning the streets ; some loaded with heavy 
 chains, to testify to the enormity of their crimes ; 
 some half naked, all filthy, and with long black 
 beards, increasing the effect of their pale and emaci- 
 ated countenances, who are stopping occasionally to 
 converse with the peasants, or uttering an obscene 
 jest upon some passing female : fancy a party of 
 soldiers entering by an arched passage through the 
 buildings that enclose the square, and marching 
 across with measured tread, accompanied by the 
 monotonous tapping of a drum, and you will have 
 an idea not only of the internal appearance of Pam- 
 plona, but of any other Spanish town whatsoever. 
 
 There was, however, one exhibition here which   
 was wholly new to me. Beside each door, whose 
 appearance indicated the residence of a noble or 
 substantial citizen, was suspended a huge hog, 
 newly killed. It was hooked, by the lower jaw, to 
 an iron spike in the wall ; its hind legs drawn up, _ 
 as if about to jump, and its tail tightly twisted. 
 Sylveti told me that these animals, thus quaintly 
 exposed, had been killed in the morning, and
 
 80 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 placed there to dry, preparatory to the processes 
 of salting, smoking, and sausage-making. But this 
 might have been as well done in the court-yards 
 as in the public streets : and I was convinced that 
 the exhibition originated in ostentation. Every 
 well-conditioned hog had its group of admiring ama- 
 teurs, who were examining its fine points, and envy- 
 ing the happy possessor, who, from shop door or 
 balcony, looked out with a feeling of self-compla- 
 cent vanity unknown and not easily understood in 
 those countries, where every one has enough to 
 eat. ....
 
 «PAIN REVISITED. 81 
 
 • CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAMPLONA. .' 
 
 Jose Botero — His Inn — His wine-skins — Walks in Pamplona — Con- 
 veyance for Zara^oza— Cathedral— Promenade' of the Taconera — 
 Walkers — Saarsfield — Navarre — Kitchen Scenes— Smoking Axi- 
 oms — Art of supping without money. 
 
 In the great street of Pamplona, in front of the 
 hotel of the Count of Espileta, stands the well- 
 known inn of Jose Botero; thus surnamed from 
 his profession as a maker of botas, or, skin bottles, 
 and Jarger vessels, for containing oil or wine. 
 What his family name may be, or whether he ever 
 had one, is of no importance to the reader. It is 
 certain that the name of Botero is now the only 
 one by which he is known ; and that it is very con- 
 venient, inasmuch as it serves, as in the olden 
 time in other countries when names originated, 
 not only to distinguish the. individual, but to mark 
 his profession. No grandiloquent sign set forth 
 the good cheer that was to be found within ; the 
 whole art of pretension, quackery, handbills, and 
 puffing, not to mention biped and walking sign- 
 posts, being as yet unknown in Spain. • 
 
 Jose Botero depended, for the patronage of his 
 
 D 3
 
 82 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 ini), wholly on the satisfaction he had been able to 
 give to its habitual frequenters. They, of course, 
 could find their way to it, and a stray passenger in 
 Pamplona, unacquainted with the localities, was of 
 too rare occurrence to make it worth while to hang 
 forth from the balcony a bit of blue board with 
 yellow letters, setting forth that " this is the inn of 
 Saint Fermin," or " this is the inn of Joseph, the 
 maker of leathern bottles." 
 
 His additional profession, however, was an- 
 nounced with suflacient eloquence by means of his 
 wares, which were hung all over the doorway of 
 his habitation. There were little borrachos, with 
 wooden or horn drinking-cups, neat pocket editions, 
 destined to be the source of much comfort and 
 happiness to the future possessor ; others of a lar- 
 ger, size were calculated for travellers to hang to 
 their saddlebows,'or suspend from the roof of a tilt- 
 ing cart or wagon ; while others, intended for the 
 preservation or transportation of the liquid, exhibited 
 every variety of size, from the youthful kid to the 
 bearded and full-grown billy. In general the hair 
 was left within, and smeared with pitch ; but many 
 were in their natural state, the hair outside, and 
 their legs protruding from the inflated bodies, for the 
 convenience of handling, in lading or unlading a 
 mule.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 83 
 
 In the doorway of his house, surrounded by 
 these spectral forms, sat Jose Botero, as the cara- 
 van of Sylveti slowly ascended the' street, announ- 
 ced by a full chorus of all the canine inhabitants 
 of the neighbourhood. He had the skin of a newly- 
 flayed goat before him, which he was preparing for 
 a similar transformation, and which he hastened to 
 throw by to resume his character as dispenser of 
 hospitality. He was a little man, with a sallow 
 complexion, very black and wiry hair and beard, 
 and small eyes that twinkled deep in their sockets, 
 with a cunning, stealthy, and by no means amiable 
 expression. He saluted. Sylveti familiarly, and me 
 with courtesy, directing me to the kitchen, where 
 I was ceremoniously received by Mrs. Botero and 
 the maid, a stout, buxom young woman of twenty, 
 ruddy of complexion, and bursting with health. 
 They conducted me to a spacious chamber, with 
 an alcove adjoining, concealed by clean white cur- 
 tains ; the floor was covered with a straw mat, the 
 walls whitewashed and hung with religious pic- 
 tures, and the whole place had an air of great neat- 
 ness and comfort. 
 
 Having procured the assistance of a barber, who 
 came with water, basin, and implements, hidden 
 away as usual under his cloak, to conceal the occu- 
 pation, which, like every other by which a man
 
 84 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 can earn his living, unless it be a government em- 
 ployment, is a source of shame to a Spaniard, I 
 descended again to the kitchen, to join my compan- 
 ions at dinner. In the course of the meal, Sylveti 
 gave audience to a number of the notables and 
 merchants of Pamplona, who came to hear the 
 result of commissions with which they had intrust- 
 ed him, or to receive answers to letters they had 
 sent ; many damsels, too, of noble ladies, attended 
 to receive little trifles of taste or fancy which were 
 not to be found in Pamplona, and for the selection 
 of which they were fain to trust to the unpractised 
 art of such a friend as Sylveti. 
 
 In the afternoon I found out a gentleman to 
 whom I had a letter, and gladly accompanied him 
 to take a view of the town. First of all, however, 
 I took counsel for the prosecution of my journey 
 on the morrow, applying for the purpose to the 
 director of the diligence, who was most likely to 
 be able to give advice on this subject. We found 
 him seated at his desk, his nightcap on, his spec- 
 tacles in their place, papers before him, and the 
 tariffs of the prices of seats in the diligences of the 
 Royal Company hung around, and forming the sub- 
 ject of his speculations. Before the civil war 
 there were three lines of diligences from Pamplona 
 to the several neighbouring cities of Zaragoza, Vi-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 85 
 
 toria, and Tolosa. Now they were all interrupted, 
 
 and the administrator said he had just sent off two 
 
 draughts of mules belonging to the company, to 
 
 Zaragoza. The poor man, who seemed to dread 
 
 starvation, told me that the only chance of getting 
 
 safely forward was to accompany a wagoner or 
 
 carman known to the Carlisls, such as were still 
 
 allowed to pass. He said he had just received a 
 
 letter from Zaragoza by one who had to set out on 
 
 his return the following morning, and gave us his 
 
 address. We thanked the poor man for his advice, 
 
 and took leave. • • •- 
 
 The carman whom we sought was not at home, 
 
 but his mother gave us all necessary information, 
 
 made' arrangements for my departure with her son, 
 
 promising that I should arrive safely, under his 
 
 guidance, at Zaragoza, fare well by the way, and 
 
 have a bed of straw spread for me on top of the 
 
 rather obdurate cargo of iron with which the cart 
 
 was to be laden. This determined on, we strolled 
 
 in the direction of the cathedral, vyhich is a very 
 
 imposing Gothic pile, approached on one side by 
 
 beautiful cloisters, having windows of stonework 
 
 towards the interior square, which are run up with 
 
 the grace and lightness of iron. The facade of 
 
 this cathedral is of recent construction ; it is in a 
 
 pure Grecian taste, and, though it has no accord- 
 
 8
 
 86 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 ance with the rest of the pile, is certainly very- 
 beautiful. My companion pointed out to me the 
 materials of a chapel which was about to be form- 
 ed in one angle of the building, at an expense of 
 sixty thousand dollars, telling me, at the same time, 
 that the bishop of the diocess had a revenue of ten 
 ounces a day, nearly sixty thousand dollars a year, 
 and that the canons, twenty-five in number, receiv- 
 ed each an ounce. According to him, the cathe- 
 dral owned at least one third of the whole 
 kingdom of Navarre. 
 
 From the cathedral we strolled to the public 
 walk of the Taconera. It is rather prettily situated 
 on the ramparts, with a western prospect over the 
 valley of the Arga, extending to the mountains that 
 bound the view. There are rows of trees, and an 
 attempt at gardening in the shape of grass. Very 
 few persons had resorted to the public walk on this 
 occasion, owing to the agitated condition of the 
 country, and the excitement of party spirit, with 
 the danger of being compromised, which no doubt 
 led those who had something to lose to remain at 
 home, and shun the intercourse of the world. There 
 were a few clergymen, some women, and one or 
 two officers who seemed to avoid the inhabitants, 
 who are said to be generally in favour of Carlos. A 
 point of the promenade overlooked the approaches
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 87 
 
 to the gate of Vitoria, and here stood five Spaniards 
 who had hahed in their v\'alk to witness the arrival 
 of a cart drawn by a long train of mules, which 
 was ascending the hill ; all of them had their cloaks 
 thrown over the left shoulder, half concealing the 
 face ; they were gazing in the same direction, and 
 seemed beset by the same vacancy of ideas ; an 
 equal number of observant buzzards were perched 
 in a row a little beyond, on the line of the battle- 
 ments, and the two groups seemed symbohcal of 
 each other. . - 
 
 Meantime a single carriage, having three horses 
 harnessed abreast, was driven up and down the 
 walk. by a demure coachman. Within rechned an 
 attenuated old nobleman, who had the reputation 
 of having enriched himself, when employed in a 
 diplomatic station in Holland, by being interested 
 in privateers that were fitted out to cruise against 
 Spanish commerce. If this reputation were un- 
 justly awarded to the old gentleman, it still shows 
 what sort of suspicion a functionary is liable to in 
 Spain ; if the story were not true, it was not there- ' 
 fore improbable : for public virtue, patriotism, and 
 probity in office, are qualities unknown there and 
 unappreciated. "     • 
 
 I learned from my companion, that General 
 Saarsfield was the present viceroy of Navarre ; he
 
 88 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 has the most distinguished reputation for high miU- 
 tary genius of any general in the Spanish army. 
 During the war of independence he made a con- 
 spicuous figure ; but his talents are not suited, it is 
 said, to the guerilla warfare ; and the government, 
 not being satisfied with his movements against the 
 insurgents of the Basque provinces, have removed 
 him to the viceroy ally of Navarre, where he has 
 not acted with any energy, probably for the want 
 of sufficient force. He was in bad health, and his 
 addiction to the pleasures of the table was said to 
 be, in some measure, the reason of it- 
 Pamplona, which now contains about fourteen 
 thousand inhabitants, was the ancient capital of the 
 kingdom of Navarre, which had a separate and 
 independent existence for several centuries. In 
 becoming merged, with the lapse of time, in the 
 consolidated monarchy, it still retains something of 
 its individuality; — is called a kingdom, governed 
 by a viceroy appointed by the king, but in some 
 measure controlled by a supreme council chosen 
 from among the Navarrese ; and occasionally holds 
 its assembly of cortes to deliberate on matters of 
 higher interest. Navarre, too, is not subject to the 
 -odious system of taxes which palsies industry and 
 dries up the resources of other portions of Spain, 
 but pays a certain subsidy to the king, which it
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 89 
 
 raises by a just repartition among the towns and 
 villages, and judiciously applies a portion of its 
 revenues to the construction of roads, and render- 
 ing them safe for travellers, by means of guardians, 
 supported at the public expense. Her people are, 
 of course, ardently attached to these privileges. 
 Hence their opposition to the constitution and its 
 liberals, who, in their day of power, rather strove 
 to bring about their system of equalization by ta- 
 king away liberty from those who possessed and 
 valued it, than by conferring it on those who had 
 it not. 
 
 On my return to the inn I found the innkeeper, 
 his wife, and the lusty chambermaid, all belabour- 
 ing with words an unhappy recusant peasant, who 
 had been two days in the house, and had no osten- 
 sible means of paying his reckoning. Their sus- 
 picions were excited by the circumstance of his 
 having neither mules, goods of any sort, changes 
 of clothing, nor, as they were thence disposed to 
 suspect, money either. His well-worn doublet, 
 breeches, and montero cap, and his cowhide san- 
 dals, bound with leather thongs, certainly conveyed 
 no very reassuring argument in the absence of 
 mules and burdens, the customary concomitants of 
 «very duly qualified traveller. It seems that he 
 owed the portentous sum of seven reals, or thirty-five
 
 90 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 €ents, for which he had already been twice dunned 
 
 during the day, and had escaped from t^ie tempest 
 
 of importunities by saying that he was going forth 
 
 to collect money. Allowing due lime for the 
 
 storm to blow by, he had skulked again into the 
 
 kitchen, and stowed himself in the chimney corner, 
 
 , endeavouring to conciliate the landlady by petting 
 
 her cat, or giving her notice of the overboiling of 
 
 her pipkins. He seemed to be doing pretty well 
 
 until the landlord himself made his appearance, just 
 
 after I entered. 
 
 Jose Botero was one of those men who are dis- 
 posed to push a retreating foe, and whose courage 
 mounts in an inverse ratio as that of their adver- 
 sary is declining. He at once opened upon him, 
 asked him if he had collected the money, called 
 upon him to pay up, ridiculed his destitute condi- 
 tion, telling him if his skin were taken away he 
 would be naked — " quitandole el pellejo se queda 
 sin ahrigo ;" and finally threatening to acquaint the 
 police that he was a suspicious character, and have 
 him stopped at the gates if he should attempt to 
 escape. The intervals of Joseph's abuse were 
 filled up by the landlady and the maid, who sung a 
 sort of chorus to the same tune. As for the poor 
 fellow, he defended himself with great meekness, 
 calmness, and dignity, interspersing his conversa-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 91 
 
 tion and helping out his argument with proverbs, 
 which were as pertinent to the case, and as appro- 
 priate, as a sermon in the mouth of Satan ; such as, 
 *' he who has money has no need of credit ; — the 
 good paymaster does not fear to give pledges ;" — 
 " quien tiene dinero no falta de credito ; — al huen 
 pogador no le duelen las 'prendas^ The old fel- 
 low, finding at length that it was impossible to 
 make head against such fearful odds, thought it 
 was best to go to sleep, or pretend to do so : And 
 Joseph, after showing his courage by venting a 
 few hearty curses upon him, lit his cigar and turned 
 to talk of other matters. 
 
 " How is it, friend Sylveti," said he, " that you 
 throw your smoke away ? You should swallow it all, 
 man ; send the whole of it into your stomach, and 
 thus receive the substance of the tobacco I One 
 cigar does me more good in that way than a dozen 
 in your unmeaning manner — ^just drawn in and 
 puffed out again. In a man of your age, experi- 
 ence, and standing, such simplicity is altogether 
 surprising." Sylveti responded, and a learned ar- 
 gument took place on the use and effects of tobacco, 
 in which the relative qualities of Brazil, Cuba, and 
 American tobacco, were duly characterized and 
 compared ; the advantages of pipes were also 
 estimated : and the whole subject thoroughly and
 
 92 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 ably discussed by these two worthies, who de- 
 claimed, with a certain glow of enthusiasm, upon 
 matters which they were certainly qualified to talk 
 of, knowingly and learnedly. 
 
 Meantime the recusant peasant, having discover- 
 ed that he was not likely to be remembered amid 
 the fumes of the tobacco, and the reveries and spec- 
 ulations to which it gave rise, fancied that he might 
 now reappear upon the scene, and accordingly 
 stretched forth a leg, yawned, rubbed his eyes, and 
 affected to wake up. Presently he made bold to ask 
 very modestly for a little supper. I was very much 
 pleased to see that the landlady and the maid pro- 
 ceeded to supply him with food, replacing his dish, 
 from time to time, on the bench beside him, and at- 
 tending to all his wants in the most charitable man- 
 ner, and without any renewal of the previous up- 
 braiding. It was only another proof that female 
 charity, though it may slumber a while, though it 
 may yield to the luxury which scolding affords, can 
 only for a moment be smothered, to glow again, 
 and blaze out brightly ; and I found myself uncon- 
 sciously putting forth the wish, that if cruel fate 
 should ever leave me alone and unfriended in 
 the world, without money and without means, 
 my pockets alike strangers to the occupancy of 
 gold, silver, or ignoble brass — as destitute in all
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 93 
 
 things as this unaccredited muleteer — some gentle 
 being of the other sex might be at hand to rescue me 
 from the brutaUty of my own ; to receive my sup- 
 plications ; to cast upon me one compassionating 
 glance of her tender and tearful eye ; and, in the 
 hour of my utmost need, to bless me with a sup- 
 per. 
 
 . (
 
 94 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FROM PAMPLONA TO CAPARROSO. 
 
 The Carro and its Carretero— Venta del Piojo — Solitary Journey- 
 Breaking up of a Fair— Encounter with Carlists— Evening in the 
 Villages— The Chicken's Inn— Scene of fotmer Murders— Tafalla 
 — Peasants going afield— Monotony of Spanish Scenery. 
 
 In the morning I attended mass in the cathe- 
 dral ; kneeled amid the familiar groups of darkly- 
 dressed females strown upon the pavement ; listen- 
 ed to the solemn chant of the officiating priest, or 
 ghrilly contrasted voices which responded from the 
 choir ; and snuffed again the Spanish odours of the 
 scattered incense. Next I ate a hearty breakfast ; 
 and thus fortified in body and in soul, I was ready 
 to attempt much greater adventures than a journey 
 to Zaragoza. At nine a man came to take my 
 baggage to the cart, to which I had added one of 
 Joseph's borrachos, which he selected with due 
 care, and filled with generous wine. My com- 
 panion of the day before accompanied me to the 
 carro, to deliver me up ere he bade me farewell, 
 and so did Sylveti. The vehicle was ready, and 
 five valiant mules, bedecked with bells and gay or- 
 naments of worsted, stood ready to heave it in mo-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 95 
 
 tion. Yet the master had not appeared, nor been 
 seen that morning. " Look for him," said his old 
 father, " in the house of Pepa Maria, the widow of 
 the hatmaker ; or stop, as you go by, at Muhoz, the 
 muleteer's, who is gone to Vitoria. He is a sad 
 boy, this Ramon, and I fear he will yet be hanged 
 one day." 
 
 Finding that Ramon was likely to be hard to 
 find, I determined to ramble along alone in ad- 
 vance ; and passing through the gate, the high road 
 to Zaragoza lay before me ; smooth, well made 
 with broken stones, and in beautiful condition, 
 There were a great many muleteers with merchan- 
 dise, and one or two travellers ; the wind was high, 
 and swept with such fury from the mountains, that 
 one of these travellers, who seemed to be an Arago- 
 nese, from the immense size of his hat, was obliged 
 to double it up at the sides, in the form of a priest's, 
 and bind it tightly around his chin with a handker- 
 chief. Having eyed the passing groups until they 
 ceased to interest me, and reached a point whence 
 a turn in the road would render the gate by which 
 I had left Pamplona no longer visible, I halted to 
 await the arrival of my vehicle and new travelling 
 companion. 
 
 At length the roof of the cart hove in sight above 
 the outer wall, and it came slowly rumbling onward.
 
 96 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 As it drew nigh I caught the sound of my car- 
 man's whip, and the merry tones of his voice, as 
 he was singing to beguile the way; occasionally 
 interrupting himself to shout a curse or two at the 
 mules, accompanied by still more emphatic testi- 
 monials of his displeasure. On coming up I found 
 that he was not dressed in the fashion of his coun- 
 try, but in the more janty costume of Andalusia; 
 tight green velvet jacket and breeches, adorned 
 with more buttons than utility called for ; leather 
 leggings and gacbo hat, well garnished with beads 
 and riband. He had a yellow handkerchief round 
 his neck, confined by a huge silver ring, set with 
 bits of shining glass to represent diamonds. His 
 figure was very neat, though small, and his features 
 regular and handsome, though he evidently was 
 not wearing his best looks ; his eyes were inflamed 
 and bloodshot, partly from passing a bad night, 
 partly from an effort to restore himself by a morn- 
 ing dram ; and he had altogether the air of a dissi- 
 pated c^t, which returns with a scratched face to 
 doze by the fireside, after a night of rambling and 
 caterwauling. It was quite plain that he was a 
 man of gallantry, and abundant knife-cuts on 
 his face and hands attested that his loves had not 
 always been peaceful. When he had stopped the 
 cart, taken me in, and made the beginning of an
 
 SPAIN REVISITED, 97 
 
 acquaintance, he stretched himself flat upon his 
 face and went to sleep. .- 
 
 About noon the mules stopped of their own ac- 
 cord before the Venta del Piojo — the Inn of the 
 Louse. It was a dusty, mud-coloured building, 
 situated in an uninhabited plain, and bore no evi- 
 dence of being worthy of a better name. The 
 barley-man, or hostler, came out and released the 
 four leading mules to carry them to water, refresh- 
 ing the macho in the shafts as he stood. I declined 
 Ramon's invitation to go in and eat, begging him, 
 however, to send me some bread. The mules, 
 being now hitched again, set forward under the 
 direction of the dispenser of barley, whom Ramon 
 had asked to take his place for a few moments. 
 After walking on upwards of two miles, looking 
 back impatiently from time to time, and sending a 
 hearty oath in search of him, he at length turned 
 round, and went muttering homeward. I was thus 
 left alone with the mules and caft, with whose prog- 
 ress I did not in any way interfere, leaving them 
 to find their way onward as best they might. 
 
 To beguile the way, I made an incursion into a 
 pate oi foie de canard, which I had brought from 
 Angouleme, and which, accompanied by, the bread 
 which Ramon had sent me, and an occasional 
 draught from the bota, made up as deHghtful a 
 
 VOL. I. — E 9
 
 98 SPAIN REVISITED* 
 
 meal as I could desire ; after which I stretched 
 myself at full length and fell asleep. Awaking at 
 the end of an hour or two, I found that the carman 
 had not yet appeared. By this time we had ap- 
 proached the point where the" Carlists were likely 
 to interrupt us, and I had the prospect of being left 
 alone to reason with them. The chief advantage 
 in coming with this man was because he was known 
 to the insurgents, and was supposed to be in their 
 favour, and my friend in Pamplona had told me 
 that I could not go in better company, because 
 Ramon was the worst fellow in Pamplona ; mean- 
 ing thereby that he was a thorough Carlist, he 
 himself being of the opposite party. At length the 
 fellow made his appearance, half drunk, and singing 
 merrily, having remained to eat dinner, and fallen 
 into conversation with the company. 
 
 By this time the day began to wane, and towards 
 dark we met a large concourse of people returning 
 frorti the fair of Tafalla. The women wore their 
 hair long and plaited, their heads being covered 
 with cotton handkerchiefs. The party were mount- 
 ed on asses, having their purchases under them, or 
 trudged along on foot, the whole keeping together 
 for society and security. Towards the close of 
 the company came half a dozen, armed men, whom 
 1 at once knew to be Carlists. One of them, from
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 99 
 
 his age, dress, and military bearing, was evidently 
 a deserter from the army; but the others were 
 mere boys in age and figure, the commander 
 of the party especially, who could not have been 
 more than sixteen. They immediately called upon 
 us to halt, and Ramon jumped down and embraced 
 the young sergeant, in whom he recognised an 
 old acquaintance, a former locksmith of Pamplona, 
 who in turn was highly delighted to see him, ac- 
 costing him by the familiar nickname of Christo, 
 by which I found he was known exclusively 
 throughout the whole road to Zaragoza. "^ ' 
 
 Having finished his inquiries about friends in 
 Pamplona, and other personal aifairs, he turned to 
 ask him what he had got there, pointing to me, as 
 I lay at my ease looking at them. Ramon an- 
 swered that I was a strang;er who had been recom- 
 mended, by a person of wealth and distinction, to 
 his particular care, and that I was the bearer of a 
 duly countersigned passport* He asked to look at 
 it; glanced at the eagle, by means of which he was 
 able to distinguish enough to hold the right side up 
 in looking at it; blundered at my name; and, look- 
 ing me in the face as he returned it, said, with an 
 easy, graceful impudence, " It is easy to see that 
 thou hast an evil name, since I do not understand 
 it — ya podemos decir que tenets mal nomhre, pues 
 
 E 2
 
 100 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 no Id entiendo." Turning to Ramon, he commenced 
 talking again of other affairs ; asked him tauntingly, 
 yet good-humouredly, why he did not join his old 
 friends, the peseteros, since he had been in the 
 militia in the lime of the constitution. He then 
 asked, in a low and serious tone, whether I were a 
 true man— " es homhre de hien ese.?" Ramon 
 pledged himself that I was of the orthodox opinion, 
 and he told us to move on, saluting me with a 
 religious expression in use in Spain, which hcj 
 defender of the faith -and church as he was, made 
 to allude sacrilegiously to the misnamed scape- 
 grace with whom I was travelling — " con Christo 
 vdis a7niffor 
 
 At the close of day we reached a village on a 
 hill, the inhabitants of which were returning from 
 the fields with their implements of husbandry; and 
 all the sheep, cows, asses, and every living thing 
 belonging to the village, were equally repairing to 
 the protection of their respective homes. They 
 were driven in a body by the herdsmen, and, as 
 they came to their houses, walked unceremoniously 
 in, among the children and other bipeds, on their 
 way to the interior courtyards. A little further on 
 we met a muleteer wlio recognised Ramon, not- 
 withstanding the darkness, and cried out to him, 
 " Donde mis Christo a estas horas — where are you
 
 SPAIN RfiVISITED. 101 
 
 going at this late hour ?" "A laVenta del Polio — 
 to the Chicken's Inn," was the reply; and soon 
 after we were gathered under the ample roof and 
 beside the crackling fire of the caravansary afore- 
 said, as snug as chickens clustered for the night 
 under the warm wings of the -brooding hen. 
 
 There was a number of muleteers collected 
 there, besides the family, which consisted of the 
 innkeeper and barleyman with their wives, and a 
 coaa'se maid of all works. The style of conversa- 
 tion among these people was obscene, and of start- 
 ling profanity; indeed, the place had a very bad 
 reputation, and several murders had been perpe- 
 trated there in-times past. A few years before, a 
 man who- Was returning from the fair of Tafalla 
 with the money which he had received for a cow, 
 stopped at this inn with his daughter, and left her 
 there, as she was too much fatigued to go on. 
 Thinking there might be some risk in carrying so 
 much money, he left it with his daughter, who was 
 to follow in the morning. It happened that two 
 noted robbers, who had lurked about the fair, had 
 set their mark upon this old man, -to take from him 
 the price of what he had been selling; accordingly 
 they watched his movements at the inn, and, fol- 
 lowing him when he left there, overtook him and 
 demanded his money.' He delivered what he had,
 
 102 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 amounting lo a few reals and some pieces of cop- 
 per, and begged ihem to spare his life. They were 
 exceedingly enraged, demanded more, knowing 
 that he had sold the cow, and, on his protesting 
 that he had not another copper on him, stabbed 
 him with their knives. They then searched the 
 body ; and finding that the old man had told the 
 truth, discovered that he must have left the money 
 with his daughter. 
 
 So far from being appalled or restrained by what 
 they had done, they were only vexed at their fail- 
 ure, and determined still to succeed. It happened 
 that the individuals who then kept the Inn of the 
 Chicken were their accomplices, and had often 
 engaged with them in deeds of murder and rob- 
 bery. They went to the inn, and found that the 
 old man's daughter had gone to bed, her room being 
 above the kitchen, a badly-jointed floor alone sep- 
 arating the two apartments. The conversation 
 carried on below was distinctly audible. The 
 young woman was fatigued and feverish ; besides, 
 she had not been used to sleep away from home. 
 Presently she heard additional voices, being those 
 of the. robbers, recounting what they had already 
 done to her father, and devising schemes to possess 
 themselves of the money which must be on the 
 person of the daughter. That there might be no
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 103 
 
 danger of discovery, ihey proposed to murder her. 
 The wife of the innkeeper suggested that, after 
 murdering her, the body should be reduced to ashes 
 in the oven, thai there should be no clew to her 
 fate. 
 
 All this the young woman heard, although they 
 talked in a suppressed tone, her hearing being ex- 
 cited, by the terrors of her situation, to a nervous 
 and preternatural sensibility. What was to be 
 done ? There was no time to lose ; and she rose 
 hastily, trod quietly across the floor, undid the win- 
 dow, and leaped to the ground. The height was 
 considerable, and she found herself, on rising, with 
 her' ankle, badly sprained, and quite lame ; never- 
 theless she managed, by some means, to reach the 
 nearest village of Mendivil. The authorities being 
 appealed to, immediately repaired to the proposed 
 scene of murder, and demanded admittance. The 
 innkeeper and his wife and the two robbers were 
 there, and a blazing fire was burning in the oven, 
 which could have been kindled there with no legiti- 
 mate motive at that unwonted hour. The dead body 
 of the unfortunate father was found where the girl 
 directed them to look, and the murderers received 
 the fate which they so justly merited. The guilty 
 innkeeper, with his wife, were likewise punished,
 
 104 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 the one being sent to the galleys, the other impris- 
 oned. 
 
 As for me, though I rested badly in the Chick- 
 en's Inn, it was not from any attempt on the part 
 of the host or the lodgers to subject me to the 
 operation oX the bake-oven, but from the equally 
 crueljthough more impotent attacks of sundry ven- 
 omous little animals, which were the occasion of 
 my being very glad to be called up in the morning 
 to renew my journey. In a little more than an 
 hour the rising sun fell full upon the edifices of 
 the .pretty town of Tafalla, which lay before us. 
 Crossing a stream by a stone bridge of solid and 
 beautiful construction, we entered the public prom- 
 enade, which was beautifully laid out with planta- 
 tions of trees ; stone benches were placed at con- 
 venient distances, and a little canal of limpid water 
 ran beside it. A number of young women were 
 washing clothes in it, while others, having bundles 
 on their heads, came singing from the town to join 
 the assemblage. 
 
 I found the inhabitants of Tafalla engaged, like 
 those of Pamplona, the day before, in killing hogs. 
 They had just cut the throat of one in front of the 
 inn ; and having taken good care to preserve the 
 blood, were actually removing the hair by rolling 
 him over and over in an immense bonfire, which
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 105 
 
 had been kindled for the purpose in the middle of 
 the street. The whole transaction seemed to oc- 
 casion great excitement in the town. The boys 
 were dancing and capering about in most un-Span- 
 ishlike forgetfulness of their dignity ; numbers of 
 amateurs crowded around to assist in the operation ; 
 while all the idle people, or desocupados, a class 
 sufficiently numerous, in every Spanish village, to 
 have a name, and many who, from the implements 
 they bore, seemed to be on their way to the fields, 
 gathered round, enveloped in their cloaks or blan- 
 kets, to remark on the qualities of the animal, in- 
 dulge in speculations upon blood pudding, sausa- 
 ges, and souse, and enjoy an exhibition which 
 well-fed burghers may not appreciate, but which 
 was not wholly without interest for hungry people. 
 Ramon slopped, as usual, to take his capita of 
 brandy with the landlord of the inn, and make his 
 excuses for not having reached his ordinary resting- 
 place the night before. The vehicle, .meanwhile, 
 ruhibled onward, under the voluntary guidance of 
 the capitana, the road being covered' with groups 
 of labourers, going forth to their olive-orchards and 
 corn-fields. Most of these had asses, on which 
 they rode, carrying their provisions in a pannier, 
 and a well-filled borracho. The most common 
 
 implennent of husbandry was a hoe, the iron of 
 
 E 3
 
 106 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 which was very long, standing at a sharp angle 
 with the handle, which, being placed over the ass's 
 neck, hung there very conveniently. 
 
 I was very much amused with the efforts of two 
 boys to mount an ass they were conducting. In 
 vain did one attempt to mount while the other held 
 the animal ; it refused pertinaciously to descend 
 into any hollow which would have rendered the 
 jump more easy ; it bounded away from every leap, 
 or else, meeting it at the outset, rendered it abor- 
 tive : equally without success did they attempt to 
 lull the watchful animal into forgetfulness, and 
 forego their efforts for a while, in the hope of 
 taking it by surprise, or pouncing upon it from be- 
 hind. They were themselves worried out, cheated 
 of their expected ride, and forced to foot it. We 
 were not more than a mile from Tafalla, when an 
 immense black wolf came trotting across the fields, 
 and traversed the road just before us ; upon which 
 a little dog, that happened to be near, set up a faint 
 bark; the wolf, however, pursued his course 
 through a corn-field, looking back, like a robber, 
 to measure the strength of his pursuer. 
 
 A distance of only, one league separates the two 
 rival towns of Olite and Tafalla, the intermediate 
 space being thoroughly cultivated, as was the 
 whole of the surrounding country. The extreme"
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 107 
 
 fertility of their territory has given rise to the 
 proverb which Ramon repeated to me, and which 
 pronounces them to be the flower of Navarre — 
 " Olite y Tafalla, la flor de Navarra." A level 
 and unvarying plain extended for many miles be- 
 yond Olite, enclosed on either side by distant and 
 jagged mountains, rocky, and destitute of trees > 
 For more than ten miles we continued to keep 
 these two towns in sight. .' • 
 
 This is a striking peculiarity of Spanish scenery, 
 which I had often had occasion to notice before in 
 the great plateau which occupies the centre of the 
 Peninsula. The eye plays over immense distan- 
 ces. You see in the remoteness of the horizon 
 the square tower of a church, with a few houses 
 grouped aroiind, often of the same parched colour 
 as the soil on which you. stand. You are told that 
 it is four leagues off, which means more than a 
 dozen miles ; for in the country, where one travels 
 slowest, where the distances seem greatest from 
 tjie uniformity of the way, and the. extent and .dis- 
 tinctness of vision, on account of the' purity of the 
 atmosphere, the unity of measurement being 
 largest, the enumeration of one's progress is slow- 
 est and most hopeless. In a country hke this one 
 frequently sees, at rising, the village which is to 
 terminate the journey of the day. There is some-
 
 108 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 thing grand in these far-extended vistas, as in 
 those which the ocean affords ; but with the gran- 
 deur of the ocean there is also its monotony. 
 
 Notwithstanding the slowness of our progress 
 on this day, I was very happy; for the weather 
 was most balmy and delightful ; indeed, there was 
 not a breath of air stirring, nor a cloud anywhere 
 to be seen. The sky offered an immense sea of 
 transparent ether, through which the sun shone 
 forth in power and brilliancy. I was cheered and 
 gladdened by his rays ; and I felt a sensible expan- 
 sion of both body and soul, as I recognisfsd the 
 bright sky of Spain and of my own country, with 
 feelings blended *of agreeable recollections of the 
 one and ardent attachment to the other. 1 walked 
 for miles at the side of the mules, collecting peb- 
 bles as I went, and discharging them at the more 
 indolent of them. Ramon, too, who began to grow 
 sober, added his quota of entertainment, being 
 both loquacious and intelhgent. Every object had 
 some association— some story or motto. On the 
 right of the road stood a singular heap of irregular 
 stones, which, at a distance, had the air of a ruined 
 castle; but being seen nearer, seemed to have 
 originated in a slide from the neighbouring moun- 
 tain. . These rocks had long furnished a lurking- 
 place for a band of robbers ; and the two who had
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 109 
 
 perpetrated the murder of the old man near the 
 Venta del* Polio were of the number. The whole 
 gang was broken up at about the same time, and 
 the head of the chief exposed ignominiously at 
 Tafalla, while his right hand, nailed to a staff, and 
 planted on the summit of these stones, known by 
 the name of the Terrijuelas, served at once to 
 strike terror into the soul of the evil-minded, and 
 inspire the traveller with confidence. 
 
 At noon we stopped to dine at an obscure and 
 solitary inn, in which we found a shepherd who 
 had come down from the mountains, to try a 
 change of air, in breaking the paroxysms of ague, 
 to which he had been some months subject. He 
 was a handsome, sentimental-looking yburtg fellow, 
 and njore like a pastoral hero than any that I had 
 yet seen. The woman of the house was young and 
 pretty, with a very neat foot ; she was, however, 
 slovenly and slatternly, as is too often the case 
 with handsome landladies. She had a httle son, 
 four years of age, whom she was about to equip in 
 a bull-fighter's dress. She charged Ramon to 
 bring a set of buttons for her from Zaragoza, the 
 shepherd having already promised to give her a 
 
 lambskin to make the jacket. ' '\   -' " ■' 
 
 10 .'. '
 
 110 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FROM CAPARROSO TO VALTIERRA. 
 
 Caparroso — A Guerilla Veteran— Conversation with Charioteer — 
 Colloquial Tact of Spaniards — Politics of my Companions — Influ- 
 ence of Clergy — How exercised — Political uses of Confessional 
 — Valtierra — Company at Inn — Conversation there — Supper — 
 Revelry. 
 
 In the afternoon we came in sight of the large 
 town of Caparroso. It was situated on the side of 
 a barren, chalky hill, which is everywhere cut into 
 ravines by the torrents. The valley below was, 
 however, very fertile, and the gardens, vineyards, 
 and olive-orchards, through which the town is ap- 
 proached, make a very pleasing contrast with the 
 desolate air of the mountains. Before entering the 
 town we crossed the Aragon, by a fine bridge. 
 This stream is one of the chief confluents of the 
 Ebro, and claims the greater , honour of having 
 given its name to the glorious kingdom of Aragon. 
 We found this bridge provided with a temporary 
 gate in the centre. There was also a barrier 
 erected to defend its approaches, and loopholes for 
 musketry. A body of carbiniers attached to the 
 collection of the customs, and whose ordinary
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. Ill 
 
 duties lay on the French frontier, now defended 
 this bridge, and had completely the air of a be- 
 sieged garrison. 
 
 We made a short halt at the inn, in which a 
 party of mounted carbiniers were billeted with 
 their horses. They received Ramon with an em- 
 brace. He appeared, indeed, to be the friend of 
 both parties ; one of them, however, seemed to 
 have some misgivings as to the orthodoxy of his 
 opinions, and said to him good-naturedly, but as 
 would elsewhere be esteemed most blasphemously 
 — " no sois el verdadero Christo, sois Christo 
 falso, sois de los contrarios /" They talked as 
 contemptuously of the Carlists as the Carlists had 
 talked of them, drawing a comparison from the 
 relative value of the real of copper and of silver — 
 '■ aquellos sonde vellon ; nosotros somas de plata .- 
 — those are meje copper ; . we are the genuine 
 silver!" 
 
 . As I followed the vehicle up the hill on foot, I 
 attracted the attention of an officer, who was smo- 
 king in a window,, who called to me to walk up 
 stairs ; and after communicating with his chief, 
 conducted me into his presence. I found him seat- 
 ed at dinner, beforei a low table, no higher than his 
 knees, and surrounded, as is usual with Spanish 
 chieftains of whatever rank,^with a court of obse-
 
 112 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 quious satellites, administering the homage which 
 the habits of this class require. He was an ill-look- 
 ing fellow, with huge whiskers and mustaches, and 
 only half a nose. He paused, in passing his fork 
 from a dish of stewed rice and mutton, to ask Avhat 
 business had conducted me into such awful pres- 
 ence, and to call for my passport, which, having 
 examined, he gave me leave to retire with a god- 
 like nod. 
 
 On leaving Caparroso we were joined by a 
 gigantic veteran, dressed in a blue jacket faced 
 with red, and having his huge person oddly sur- 
 mounted by a tall infantry cap, on the front of 
 which wasaiiscribeid, in letters of brass — " charged 
 v^ith the security of the royal road." He was 
 armed with a musket, fitted with a piston lock, and 
 a Moorish-looking pistol suspended from his car- 
 tridge-belt. He had, besides, a bayonet thrust 
 through the same belt ; and from the bosom of his 
 shirt protruded the handle of an enornaous knife, 
 which might serve a peaceful or deadly purpose, as 
 occasion required. He had a fine, bold, frank face, 
 and a fulness and.' freshness of outline which 
 seemed to contradict the griz^zled condition of his 
 beard ; and, notwithstanding the motley and train- 
 band appearance of his dress, his air was decided- 
 ly military. He was, in fact, ■ah old guerilla sol-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 113 
 
 dier of the war of independence ; and had not 
 only served under Mina, but been attached to his 
 person. 
 
 In late years he had rendered himself famous in 
 the country by turning out to pursue a band of rob- 
 bers ; and had been taken into thei public service 
 on the establishment of guardians in Navarre. On 
 one occasion he came suddenly upon a robber, 
 leaving him no opportunity of escape. Both had 
 their muskets cocked and aimed ; the old gueril- 
 lero kept closing up. " No te arrimes /'.' said the 
 robber. He- still approached ; the robber pulled 
 trigger, and missed fire ; when the old man dis- 
 charged his piece with a settled aim, and shot him 
 through the heart. This was the occasion of his 
 being made corporal of the little band, consisting of 
 four, who are' stationed in this mountain : the pro- 
 motion entitling him to seven reals a day, being one 
 more than the rest of his comrades have. 
 
 We had now a long hill to ascend ; and the old 
 
 man and Chrislo followed behind the cart, singing 
 
 an odd sort of song, the words of which were not 
 
 chosen with much delicacy, and set to a jingling 
 
 measure. At the top of the hill they mounted into 
 
 the vehicle, and commenced an attack upon the 
 
 leathern bottle, qualified by some very nice white 
 
 bread, which the veteran produced from his knap- 
 
 10* .
 
 114 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 sack. Thfey then lit their cigars and fell to talk- 
 ing on various matters, expressing their opinions 
 quietly, soberly, and one at a time. I never was 
 inore struck with the- universality of the conversa- 
 tional talent among the Spaniards. They never in- 
 terrupt each other in the ill-bred manner common 
 among people of some pretension elsewhere ; nor 
 do they change the subject suddenly and abruptly, 
 without any other cause than may be found in the 
 intellectual caprices of the parties. One subject 
 passes with them naturally into another ; and their 
 remarks are characterized by reason and good 
 sense, and their arguments often illustrated by 
 stories at once apt and interesting, and enforced by 
 sententious and unansvverable proverbs. 
 
 The two worthies were, it seemed, in favour of 
 the Queen, although they had the reputation among 
 their countrymen of being true men, or Carlists. 
 The old man drew his predilections from his an- 
 cient chief, Mina ; and the other from the circum- 
 stance of having been a voluntary trooper in the 
 Constitutional army, -and lost some blood in the 
 cause. Both of them, however, had exhausted 
 their zeal as partisans, and did not dream of taking 
 arms on either side. Ramon said that, for months 
 after the Constitution was put down by the French 
 invasion, be was afraid to return tp Pamplona, lest
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 115 
 
 he should be assassinated ; the Serviles having free 
 license to kill all of the opposite party, ycleped the 
 Negroes. When he did return, he was obliged to 
 skulk like a cat about the cave, garret, and dark 
 corners of his father's house. "No more of this 
 amateur warfare for me," said he ; "• let- them fight 
 it out among themselves !" 
 
 The veteran's ideas of politics, although he was, 
 if any thing, in favour of the Queen, reduced them- 
 selves to obedience to the existing powers. He 
 said that it did not belong to such as he to decide 
 upon matters of such high importance. He had 
 managed so to conduct himself and do his duty in 
 all situations, and under every diiferent system, as 
 to escape punishment, or even censure ; mention- 
 ing it as a curious circumstance in the life of a 
 Spaniard, that he had never been in a prison, 
 whether civil or military. He attributed the pres- 
 ent insurrection in Navarre, in a great measure, to 
 the influence of the clergy.. In the war of inde- 
 pendence, when he went to confession, his spiritual 
 father used to say to him, " Has rnuerto a muchos 
 Franceses hi jo? — Hast thou killed many French- 
 men, child?" ^^ Muchos, padre! — Many, father!" 
 " Pues mateis firme ; porque as.i ganarais el cielot 
 — Kill on boldly, my son ; for thus thou shalt be 
 admitted into heaven I" ...,'•
 
 116 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 History has told us how well our veteran and 
 his countrymen obeyed the mandate. In the time 
 of the constitution, however, when the French were 
 about to march to restore despotism in Spain, the 
 clergy spoT^e in a different strain. " Teneis rencor 
 hijo ? — Dost thou hold any malice or hatred in thy 
 heart, my child ?" — "Yes, father! the French are 
 coming among us, and I long to grapple with them 
 again." — " Pues sois en pecado mortal! — Take 
 heed, my child, thou art in deadly sin ! We are 
 all brethren of one family, and children in the Lord. 
 Our neighbours are coming to sustain our blessed 
 religion and the holy church, which sacrilegious 
 hands have attenipted to cast down." Now, again, 
 the doctrine was that Carlos was the true king, the 
 friend of the church, the anointed of the Lord. 
 The Queen was a frail and sinful woman, who 
 was bringing back the liberals to destroy religion, 
 seize the goods of the church, and murder its 
 ministers. The French, who were threatening to 
 come again to Spain on a very different errand, 
 were children of the devil, and were to be treated 
 accordingly. 
 
 Though the eloquence of the priest was lost on 
 the individual in question, the same arguments fell 
 differently on others. Hence the insurrectionary 
 spirit which has everywhere manifested itself. He
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 117 
 
 who will read and ponder on these words from the 
 confessional, will learn much of the modes of 
 thought and the motives of action among the Span- 
 iards, and perhaps may see the expediency, instead 
 of attempting to fashion and adapt a people to a 
 government, to allow the government to remain, 
 until times arid circumstances change, in harmony 
 with the wishes of the people. Tranquillity is the 
 first want of nations ; and it is only to be found 
 where the government is in harmony with the 
 wants, the condition, and the prejudices of the gov- 
 erned. . . • . 
 
 We had now got fairly beyond the customary 
 haunts of the Carlist bands, and travelled with a 
 lighter heart. Our day's journey was therefore 
 prolonged, so that it was after dusk when we reach- 
 ed the village of Valtierra. No less than six carts 
 and galeras, with each a fair proportion of travel 
 lers and a due share of muleteers, had already 
 arrived, insomuch that we found axircle around the 
 kitchen fire, which filled nearly the Whole room; 
 it was, however, still further enlarged, as we en- 
 tered, to make place for us. There was a ser- 
 geant's wife with her baby, two others woman of 
 somewhat equivocal character, a serious-looking mdi- 
 vidual, who appeared much shocked at the levity. 
 of the company and the profanity of Ramon, gnd
 
 118 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 whom I thence conjectured to be an absconding 
 clergynaan, on his way to join the defenders of the 
 throne and altar. There was a great variety of 
 other characters, and three or four women belongs 
 ing to the inn, including a very pretty girl, who was 
 niece to the mistress of the house. They all re- 
 ceived Christo with a tumult of acclamation, and 
 seemed enchanted at the prospect of passing an 
 evening enlivened by his society. 
 
 The group, of which we now became part, was 
 a very characteristic one ; upon no figure compo- 
 sing it, however, did the glare from the chimney 
 fall with so remarkable an effect as upon the tow- 
 ering form of our veteran escort, and upon his mot- 
   ley yet formidable equipment. He took his seat 
 "beside two friars of the order of Saint Dominick: 
 one a young man of nineteen, having a great 
 deal of levity in his manner ; the other somewhat 
 older, with an affected air of gravity, which he 
 managed to get fid ofj in the excitement of a game 
 of cards, in the course of the evening. He was a 
 coarse, gross, over-fed creature, with a mixture of 
 hypocrisy and sensuality in his countenance. The 
 younger one, it seems, had absconded from his 
 convent in Pamplona ; he had been captured in 
 Zaragoza, and confined in a convent of his order, 
 and was now returning with a brother, who had
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 119 
 
 been sent for him, as a prisoner. Perhaps the 
 young man had tired of masses and vigils, and 
 found that he had mistaken his calhng. Maybe 
 the half-smothered passion of his boyish days had 
 revived in his bosom, and he had gone to see again 
 the girl whom his young heart had cherished. The 
 two were travelling on one mule, as they said, 
 riding each in turn, and I secretly hoped that the 
 young monk might be enabled to ride away the 
 next day from his custody. 
 
 The sergeant's wife was by far the most talka- 
 tive personage of the party. She regaled the com- 
 pany with a history of her whole life ; told how her 
 husband had been in a regiment of the royal guards, 
 where they fared well, gaining much money with 
 little labour. He had given up his situation, and 
 accepted his retreat, in order to procure an office 
 about the post establishment in his native town ; 
 but, when he came to take possession, the chief 
 demanded an ounce of gold for him, and, on his 
 not being able to produce the sum, conferred the 
 place upon another. She looked back with regret 
 to the merry days in the guards, when life hung 
 lightly on their hands, and they united the advan- 
 tages, dear to every Spanish bosom, of having 
 " mucho dinero con poco trabajo — much money 
 for little work."
 
 120 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 When the party was ushered into the supper-hall, 
 the sergeant's wife remained economically behind, 
 complaining of want of appetite, and asking for a 
 little broth. This gave the suspicious females 
 aforesaid an opportunity to pull her character to 
 pieces during supper. It seems they had been her 
 fellow-travellers in a galera; and they protested, 
 with a well-bred air of superiority and a toss of the 
 head, that she was the most tedious and disagree- 
 able woman to travel with — " la muger mas inco- 
 modd!'' — that their experience had brought them 
 acquainted with. ^^ Jesus que muger T exclaimed 
 onip of them. The other, in attempting to tell how 
 disagreeable she was, stopped short in her dis- 
 course, like an orator in the House of Commons 
 unable to express by words the fulness of his 
 thoughts, and at length said, " Vamos .'" meaning 
 thereby that every thing should be understood that 
 the listener could fancy. Is there no English word 
 of equal value, that could be used in the same way 
 to terminate a discourse in the middle without 
 leaving the sense incomplete ? 
 
 The supper being over, Ramon got possession 
 of a cracked guitar that hung against the wall, and 
 commenced scratching away some jingling notes, 
 which he accompanied with words, rather passion- 
 ate than sentimental. He succeeded not only,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 121 
 
 however, in making a patient listener of the land- 
 lady's beautiful niece, but even persuaded her to 
 stand opposite, as he sang, played, looked unutter- 
 able things, and danced, all at the same time. The 
 young girl snapped her fingers in time to let off 
 the exuberance of her vivacity ; one of the other 
 women, producing a pair of castanets from her bag, 
 commenced stepping out on her own, account, and 
 the ball was regularly opened. • Ramon's song at 
 first ran thus, in compliment, I suppose, to his 
 partner, who was somewhat under sized : 
 
 " Para qiie es bii^na la muger chiquitilla? 
 La muger chiquitilla es un regalo ; 
 Mas vale lo poco y bueno • ". • 
 
 Que lo mucho y malo." '   
 
 By-and-by he touched a more* passionate strain, 
 
 and seemed to explain himself : 
 
 * " • - 
 
 " Aqui esta el palillo : " . 
 
 Y aqui esta puesto en su lugar; " • 
 Aqui esta para ti Pepa, 
 
 Y aqui esta para, que tu lo sepa !" 
 VOL. I. — F 11   ^
 
 122 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 VALTIEKRA AND ALAGON. 
 
 The Ebro — Tudela — Environs— The Inn — New Comrade — His Sto- 
 ry — Battle of Espileta — Political Economy in Navarre — Mallen 
 in Aragon — New Kingdom and New Politics — Sheep and Shep- 
 herds—A Woman from the Mountains — Canal of Aragon. 
 
 The next morning saw us in motion at the usual 
 hour. We had taken up, as a passenger, a lad of 
 twelve years, who was returning, from a visit to a 
 near relation, to his father's house in Mallen. He 
 was full of life and spirits, and ran beside the mules 
 the greater part of tlie day, urging them to quicken 
 their pace by voice and whip, in consequence of 
 which we got on much more rapidly, our mules 
 being habitually very slow, and Ramon too good- 
 natured to quarrel with them; besides, as he stop- 
 ped to drink and joke at every inn and brandy-shop, 
 it was quite convenient to him that they should not 
 be in a hurry. . ' . 
 
 Towards noon we entered the olive-orchards of 
 Tudela ; after traversing which we found ourselves 
 on the banks of the Ebro, with a very old bridge 
 conducting to Tudela. This place v^as the site of 
 a battle of some note during the strugglq with the
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 123 
 
 French, and remnants of its extensive fortifications 
 are s-till seen. Every thing bears the impress of 
 remote antiquity; the bridge, the city walls, the 
 towers of the churches, the gloomy olive-trees, 
 and the wornout-looking, arid sandhills, cut into 
 deep ravines, which bound the prospect. There 
 was one object, however, which, in a gayer season 
 of the year, must have been more than beautiful ; 
 a little island in the middle of the stream, known 
 by the pretty name of La Mejana, elaborately cul- 
 tivated, and divided into small gardens and orchards, 
 with arbours and summer-houses, the property of 
 the rich families of Tudela, who repair thither in 
 the fine season to eat, dance, sing, and enjoy the 
 simple pleasures which belong to the manners of 
 the country. A few canoes and larger boats of 
 rude construction were fastened to the, piers of the 
 bridge, or moored along the shore; mules and 
 horses were driven to the river to drink and bathe, 
 and there were also the customary groups of chant- 
 ing washerwomen. • 
 
 The bridge of Tudela, hke that of Caparroso, 
 was carefully fortified : and we were again recon- 
 noitred by filthy collectors of the customs and po- 
 licemen. We made our usual halt at the principal 
 inn, which bore additional evidence to the. fact that 
 almost every mn in Spain has a different sort of 
 
 F 2
 
 124 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 chimney. Here the fireplace was in the centre of 
 the room, on a circular platform, elevated above 
 the level of the rest of the floor, and overhung by 
 a chimney, precisely of the form of an inverted 
 funnel, and supported entirely from above ; the 
 frame being df wood, coated with plaster. The 
 landlady was blustering and scolding, which I was 
 -somewhat resigned to, as every thing was exceed- 
 ingly neat ; and, from former experience, this led 
 me to anticipate a good dinner — that is, accord- 
 ing to the new standard which my stomach was 
 beginning to establish for itself. Her daughter 
 was pretty and attractive ; she seemed to be in the 
 process of education for a fine lady, and was likely 
 to prove less thrifty than her mamma; 'however, 
 she took a trifling share in the duties of the kitchen, 
 pausing occasionally, to contemplate her own face 
 in a bit of broken mirror set in the window-shutter, 
 or to coquet through the gratings with a passing 
 muleteer. 
 
 Ramon had disappeared at the bridge, leaving 
 the mules to find their way alone to the inn. After 
 an hour or more he made his appearance, bringing 
 with him a young man, who, he said, was his 
 brother-in-law, and was to be our companion to 
 Zaragoza. In the course of the joQr'ney he related 
 his whole history to me. He was a tailor by trade,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 125 
 
 and several jears before he had married Ramon's 
 sister, receiving with her a dowry of thirty ounces 
 of gold. He established a good shop, and soon 
 advanced himself by contracting to clothe a regi- 
 ment garrisoned in Pamplona. He was enabled 
 to do this profitably at a low price, by smuggling 
 the materials from France, whence he afterward 
 brought other fancy articles ; he then took a lar- 
 ger house, and added a haberdashery to his work- 
 shop. He was now making money fast, and prom- 
 ised soon to be a rich man. He had found it 
 necessary, however, to join two of his most inti- 
 mate friends with him in introducing his goods. 
 He had embarked every thing he possessed in a 
 large speculation, by which he expected to double 
 his fortune at a single cast. His two friends hav- 
 ing safely crossed the frontier with him, remained 
 without the walls of Pamplona, and were to meet 
 him at a given hour under the arches of the bridge. 
 He was punctual to the engagement, but they: 
 were nowhere to be seen; and the night was 
 passed by him in the most intense anxiety, but 
 without any results. Taking it for granted that" 
 his friends had been frightened off by the carbi- 
 niers, he went home to seek rest from his fatigues 
 and anxiety. But the next night found him again 
 at his post, and, as before, gin anxious and unsuc- 
 
 11*
 
 126 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 cessful watcher. He now began to suspect treach- 
 ery ; and time proved that his best friends had be- 
 trayed and robbed him. He was a ruined man ; and 
 as the law could, in such a case, give him no reme- 
 dy, he determined to give it to himself. The men, 
 however, did not return. He searched the country, 
 high and low ; visited every neighbouring city, and 
 haunted the shops, to discover if his goods were 
 exposed to sale, determined to trace out and mur- 
 der his false betrayers ; but after wasting a month 
 in this way, finding himself worse off than before, 
 he sold every thing, paid his debts, and bade adieu 
 to the scene of his misfortune. He was now set- 
 tled in Tudela, ostensibly working at his trade, but 
 really and principally engaged in introducing con- 
 traband goods into Aragon, of which the fron- 
 tier was close at hand.   . ' 
 
 This man was a great schemer. He had dis- 
 covered that the^ cutlers of Zaragoza were sorely 
 perplexed for the want of a proper material to make 
 handles for their knives'; for it seems that the 
 sheep of that neighbourhood have no horns, or 
 very small ones, while -at' Pamplona they have 
 them very large : but not being of any use, they 
   axe thrown away there ; and it wa& left for him 
 then, in this nineteenth century, to discover and 
 open this new branchy of trade. He had made a
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 127 
 
 contract with a cutler to furnish him with a certain 
 quantity of rams' horns^ according to a specimen 
 first exhibited. The horns had been collected, and 
 were thrown into the cart af starting from Tudela, 
 and proved to be very little^ softer than sundry bags 
 of nails, which lay beyond the borders of the straw 
 bed upon which I habitually reposed. He was 
 secure of a considerable profit on the horns ; but, 
 not content with that, he had introduced into the 
 centre of each bag a quantity of horn combs, such 
 as are worn by women, and which, though of such 
 universal use in Spain, are all manufactured in 
 foreign countries. The fellow was of an enter- 
 prising spirit ; he could live by his trade, he "said, 
 easily ; but that did not satisfy him ; he must do 
 soiYiething more than live. This is so uriusual a 
 variety of the Spanish character, that I expect one 
 of these days- to find his name added to the list of 
 farmers general and n^wly-made marquises. 
 
 The conversation of this young man was very 
 interesting. He had been present at the battle 
 which took, place at Espileta on the twenty-ninth 
 of December, .about a fortnight before, and de- 
 scribed its stirring scenes with. wonderful vividness. 
 He had gone to the spot to offer his services to 
 Zumalacaregui, to clothe the battalions of Navarre 
 under his command, and happened to be still near
 
 128 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 when the bailie commenced. The Queen's troops 
 amounted to three thousand, and the Carhsts to 
 seven thousand ; these had the advantage of a 
 strong position on the side of a mountain, and a 
 higher elevation to retreat to, and they therefore 
 awaited the attack impatiently. Brandy had been 
 plentifully distributed to them, and they rent the 
 air with songs which the priests had prepared for 
 them. They would have given up their position 
 to assail the Queen's troops, had they not been re- 
 strained by their chief. The Queen's troops came 
 boldly on, charging up-hill, their way being ob- 
 structed by stones that were rolled down upon 
 them. The contact was terrible ; twice were the 
 Queen's troops repulsed ; but discipline at last 
 prevailed ; the insurgents were obliged to give 
 way, covered, however, from pursuit, by the nature 
 of the, ground. The next morning he rode over 
 the scene of battle ; the bodies of the killed were 
 all stripped. He was horror-stricken at the sight ; 
 and his mule, trembling, snorting, and starting 
 away, compelled him to turn back. 
 
 This young man had two brothers in the Carlist 
 army, both officers ; also one brother-in-law, the 
 brother of Ramon, a graceless rogue, known 
 tluroughout the country by the nickname of Saint 
 Joseph. It was easy to conceive that he should
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 129 
 
 be also of that way of thinking, and of the party 
 which may be called national in Navarre. He 
 thought, indeed, that it would be better for Spain 
 that Carlos should be king. Carlos was fond of 
 the army, and would have a very large one ; this 
 army must of course be clothed, and hence abun- 
 dant employment for the tailors, and plentiful 
 circulation of money throughout the provinces. 
 " What is the reason," said he, " that France is so 
 rich and powerful ? Because she has a large army 
 to consume the produce of the country, and keep 
 the people employed." Such was the political 
 economy of the brother-in-law of Ramon the car- 
 man ; and it is that of more than nine Spaniards 
 in ten, who cannot lay claim to half so much quick- 
 ness and ingenuity as the worthy tailor. It was 
 very curious too to hear him discuss the relative 
 claims of different countries to be esteemed civil- 
 ized. He contended that England was the first 
 country in the world. I ventured, for the sake of 
 hearing what he had to say, to suggest a doubt 
 whether France might not be placed before her. 
 " Look at an English coat, or an English hat, or a 
 knife, a scissors, or a razor," said he, " and tell me 
 whether England be not the greatest nation ?" 
 He accounted very sensibly for the popularity of 
 the insurrection in Navarre, and gave, among other 
 
 F 3
 
 130 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 reasons, the enhanced value of all the necessaries 
 of life; bread, wine, oil, and others, which are the 
 chief productions of the country. 
 
 Towards the close of day we approached the 
 co"%es of Navarre and Aragon. The town of 
 Mailen, with its gloomy, mud-coloured houses, and 
 the ancient tower of its church, had gradually 
 grown upon our view during the whole afternoon. 
 It was the first town of the kingdom of Aragon ; 
 the frontier being marked by two stone barriers 
 placed on either hand, immediately opposite which 
 the made road broke off suddenly, and from the 
 smooth commodious causeway of Navarre we 
 passed at once into sloughs and quagmires. It 
 was with the greatest difficulty that the mules, 
 which hitherto had drawi^ the cart with ease, could 
 now drag it forward, although they had the imme- 
 diate prospect of repose for the night, and the cus- 
 tomary ration of barley. This difference is owing 
 to the greater privileges of Navarre, which regu- 
   lates its own roads, while the Aragonese pay the 
 subsidy to the government, which, instead of watch- 
 ing over their interests and providing for their 
 greatest wants, lavishes their money on courtiers, 
 .or spends it in the support of soldiers. for their 
 subjugation. 
 
 The evening assemblage about the kitchen fire,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 131 
 
 at the mn of Mallen, brought together the alcalde, 
 the notary, and all the village dignitaries. In their 
 political opinions, which were very free, there was 
 a striking distinction from those entertained a mile 
 off, on the other side of the frontier of Navarre, 
 most of those present being partisans of Christina. 
 The difference in the condition of the high road, 
 and the duties levied in this very place on all arti- 
 cles entering for their consumption, might very well 
 help them to such a conclusion, the name of Chris- 
 tina being a rallying word to the Constitutionals, 
 who are inclined to equalize the condition of all the 
 provinces. • ' . 
 
 In the morning the air was cool, and I set for- 
 ward on foot. In passing through the market- 
 place, there were many peasants collected about 
 the adjoining tower of the church : , they had prob- 
 ably heard mass, and were now waiting patiently 
 to see if any farmer should come to employ them. 
 Their dress was entirely different from that which 
 is worn in Navarre, all wearing jackets of velvet' or 
 fustian, breeches of the same, stockings M'ithout 
 feet, and hempen sandals ; some had enormous 
 hats, but more had no other covering for the head 
 than a cotton handkerchief. Most of them were 
 enveloped in the manta' or striped blanket, which 
 is the substitute for the cloak among the poorer
 
 132 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 classes. I was singularly struck with the sudden 
 change of costume at the mere passing of the 
 boundary between two provinces of the same 
 kingdom, far greater than that which occurs at the 
 frontier, and, at the same time, with the almost 
 perfect identity between the dress and that which 
 is worn in the remote territory of Valencia. The 
 cause of this identity may be found in the circum- 
 stance of Valencia having been conquered and 
 Christianized in bygone centuries by the kingdom 
 of Aragon, and thus the costumes of Spain, in this 
 and in other instances, may be used to illustrate her 
 history. 
 
 Nothing can be more utterly gloomy than the 
 country about Mallen. As there was no made 
 road, we rambled along, choosing our way among 
 the variety of diverging paths which travellers had 
 beaten before us, rising and descending over hills 
 and into hollows of inconsiderable depths. In 
 looking forward the face of the country seemed 
 quite level, just as the sea does in the distance, 
 however the waves may yawn around you. The 
 soil was parched and steril, and there were no 
 plantations for miles. The only signs of life were 
 exhibited by an occasional flock of sheep, of a 
 brown colour, the original hue of the paho pardo, 
 so universally worn by poor Spaniards. The con-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 133 
 
 trast between it and the sombre hues of the soil, 
 over which the sheep rambled, was so shght, that 
 their motion alone rendered them perceptible at any 
 distance. The shepherd himself is ever clad, in 
 Spain, in the same material as his flock. We 
 passed one whose garments - were of the same 
 brown fleece as the sheep that clustered round 
 him, with a familiarity unknown in countries where 
 the pastor and his flock are not so thoroughly iden- 
 tified. A dusky ass stood hard by, with a pensive 
 and resigned air; a pair of cotton saddlebags was 
 suspended over its back, and the rest of its body 
 was concealed under the tattered remains of a 
 brown cloak. The shepherd was leaning on his 
 crook, with his hands clasped, the right leg thrown 
 over the left; the expression of his face denoted 
 contentment, peace of mind, and contemplation, 
 while his attitude called to mind the classic forms 
 of some ancient statue. 
 
 At noon we reached an obscure venta, hidden 
 away in a barranca or hollow so effectually as not 
 to be seen half a mile off, although the new tower 
 of Zaragoza was already visible at the distance of 
 more than twenty. These breaks occur constantly 
 in the central portions of Spain, and form a very 
 remarkable feature of the scenery, Here was a 
 young woman from the neighbouring mountains in 
 
 12
 
 134 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 the capacity of maid, with a rich brown face, and 
 coarse, shining black hair, and of such strength in 
 the arms, that, although only of the interesting age 
 of fourteen, she not only effectually resisted Ra- 
 mon's efforts to seize a kiss from her, but finished 
 by giving him a sound drubbing for his imperti- 
 nence, together with sundry by no means gentle 
 blows to others of the by-standers. 
 
 As we continued our journey the scene changed 
 magically, and we saw how the hand of industry 
 could convert; this sunburnt and apparently barren 
 soil into a garden of fertility. We found ourselves 
 on the- banks of the canal of Aragon, and surrounded 
 by olive-orchards, vineyards, and wheat-fields. The 
 canal of Aragon was originally commenced by the 
 Emperor Charles V.', who completed it throughout 
 a distance of thirty-five miles. After an interval 
 of two centuries, the work was renewed during the 
 benign reign of Charles III., under the direc- J| 
 
 tion of Pignatelli, an engineer of Aragon, and con- 
 tinued for sixty-three miles. The object of it is 
 to overcome the difficulties of navigating the Ebro, 
 whose course it follows, and to furnish the means 
 of irrigation to an extent of country not susceptible 
 of profitable cultivation without it. It begins near 
 Tudela and extends beyond Zaragoza, beginning 
 and ending in the Ebro, which is thus rendered
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 135 
 
 navigable for vessels of one hundred tons burden, 
 from Navarre to the Mediterranean. Its width is 
 seventy feet on the surface of the water, with a 
 depth of ten; and the construction throughout is 
 said to bear that character of hardihood and excel- 
 lence for which the fortifications and engineering 
 works of Spain are so i-emarkable. The wealth of 
 the country has augmented immeasurably by the 
 opening of this canal : more than a million of trees 
 have been planted on its banks, and thousands of 
 new plantations, fertilized by its irrigating streams, 
 have sprung up to furnish nourishment and support 
 to man, and the animals which alleviate his toils. 
 
 The kingdom of Aragon pays a tax on this canal 
 of five thousand dollars, which is covered by the 
 tolls of navigation alone. The rents received for 
 irrigation are far more considerable,- amounting to 
 no less than seventy-five thousand dollars, i The 
 fields which enjoy it are taxed at the rate of one 
 fifth of their produce for cofn,- and a seventh of all 
 other productions. A small portion of this sum is 
 annually expended in cleansing the bed of the canal 
 and keeping the works in repair: this is done every 
 winter, the bed being empty as I passed it. At 
 all other times there is a bateau running between 
 the port near Tudela and Zaragoza, furnishing 
 a favourite excursion for the inhabitants of the cap- 
 ital, and a very agreeable conveyance for travellers
 
 136 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ALAGON AND ZARAGOZA. 
 
 The Fish of Alagon — Alagon — Return of Flocks — A Merry-andrew 
 — The Theatre in Alagon — La Jota Aragonesa — Alarming Inter- 
 ruption-^Military Lodgers and Involuntary Hospitality — Troopers 
 at the Inn — Departure from Alagon — Zaragoza and the New Tower 
 — Gale of the Ebro — Epistle of an Hostler. 
 
 In the evening we began to approach the town 
 of Alagon. It is from this place that is derived 
 the familiar proverb — " dearer than the fish of Ala- 
 gon — mas caro que el jpez de Alagon ,•" used to 
 imply that a man has paid dear for his whistle. 
 In timee past there was a certain captain-general 
 of Aragon, who was a great gourmand, and, conse- 
 quently, very fond of salmon ; of which delicious edi- 
 ble he was in the habit of receiving a weekly sup- 
 ply from the Bay of Biscay. Of course, the mule- 
 teer who brought it passed regularly through Ala- 
 gon, on his way to the vice-regal palace in Zara- 
 goza ; and the worthy alcalde of the village having 
 nothing better to do, had often held converse with 
 the passing muleteer, and made himself acquainted 
 with his affairsi ^ At length he took into his head 
 that this said salmon, which was so nice a thing in
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 137 
 
 the mouth of a captain-general, could not well 
 prove unsavoury in that of an alcalde. So one 
 day he stopped the returning muleteer, and told 
 him that he must have some of his fish. In vain 
 did the reluctant muleteer protest that his excellen- 
 cy would be in despair, and that he would be ruin- 
 ed ; he insisted upon taking some of the best fish, 
 and promised to pay for them at the same rate 
 as the viceroy should pay for the remainder. 
 The disconsolate muleteer went his way, and ar- 
 rived in due time in Zaragoza. - Of course, his 
 coming was attended with vast excitement. Cook, 
 scullions, and major-domo, courtiers and parasiteS; 
 placemen and pretenders to become so, were all 
 in a terror of dismay when they heard of the disas- 
 trous deficiency. The -matter was broken with 
 caution to the insulted potentate, and the muleteer 
 ushered into his presence. " How is it, my friend, 
 that thou hast come so scantily provided ?" — " May 
 it please your excellency, the alcalde of Alagon 
 has laid hands upon the best of the fish ; he says 
 that he has as nice a tooth as your excellency, and 
 that he will pay for those which he has retained 
 whatever your excellency shall pay for the remain- 
 der." — " Tell the major-domo to pay thee a pound 
 of gold for each pound of salmon, and go in peace." 
 The muleteer did as he was ordered, and received 
 
 12*
 
 138 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 the money with the best grace he could, and of 
 course lost no time in going in search of more fish. 
 At Alagon he had an interview with the worthy 
 alcalde, and asked if the fish were not indeed as 
 fit food for an alcalde as for a captain-general. 
 The alcalde pronounced it a delicious morsel, and 
 professed his intention to eat it often. He sent his 
 willing hand in search of the pistareens that were to 
 pay for it, and begged to know what his excellency 
 had given. "A pound of gold for a pound of 
 salmon !" was the answer, which broke like thun- 
 der on the alcalde's ear ; he was a ruined man ; he 
 had eaten up his whole substance — house, lands? 
 sheep, mules, and oxen, at a single meal. The 
 word salmon was of course no very pleasant one 
 in his ears afterward ; neither is it in those of the 
 natives of Alagon to this day.; against whom the 
 proverb is used as a reproach, and the words " mas 
 cardqii'e eipez de Alagon''' are now uttered there by 
 a stranger under terror of his life. 
 
 As Ramon completed the foregoing story, we 
 entered the town through environs thickly planted 
 with vineyards' and olives. The sun had declined 
 in splendour behind the heights of Moncayo, and 
 the inhabitants of the town, both man and beast, 
 were returning to seek the shelter and protec- 
 tion of their respective homes. This evening
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 139 
 
 scene reminded me of the regular muster which 
 takes place at the close of day in every well-regu- 
 lated man-of-war, when the accustomed sound 
 summons each man to his gun. Mules and horses 
 arrived in dozens in one direction, breaking up at 
 each corner into so many separate detachments ; 
 in another came the dusky asses, on many of • 
 which the village boys had mounted, and were 
 striving to urge the meek little animals into a race ; 
 then the shepherd with his flocks slowly traversed 
 the main street, giving time to his charge to escape 
 from the press and dart each into his own doorway. 
 I followed in their train, and took- a real pleasure 
 in watching all their movements ; it enabled me 
 too to get an idea of the wealth and consequence 
 of each inhabitant, in a simple state of society, 
 where the fortune of an individual, as in patriarchal 
 times, is measured by the amount of his flocks. 
 The flock of the shepherd was at length reduced 
 to only three or four, one of which carried the bell, 
 and a lank dog, which trotted in the rear. These, 
 from their familiarity, were evidently his own prop- 
 erty ; they pressed close after him, rubbing against 
 him aff'ectionately. He stopped, at length, at an 
 humble cottage, in a remote corner of the village ; 
 a tidy dame was at the door, awaiting the arrival 
 of her partner ; and three* or four chubby children,
 
 140 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 attracted by the sound of the famihar belJ, were 
 running forward to receive the caresses of the 
 father and his faithful companion. 
 
 When all had gathered themselves within I re- 
 turned to the square. It was filled with gossiping 
 groups of women and peasants, returning, with 
 their implements of husbandry, from the labours of 
 the day ; others drove asses laden with frunings 
 from the vines and olive-trees, which were to give 
 warmth and cheerfulness to the circles about their 
 firesides. Presently the attention of all was at*- 
 tracted by the tapping of a drum, advancing to- 
 wards the square. It was beaten by a tall, hungry, 
 lantern-jawed looking individual, in a threadbare 
 surtout, who advanced with a long train of follow- 
 ers, which he had collected, including all the lads 
 of the village. He paused in the square to an- 
 nounce himself as a great titerero and comedian 
 from the capital, who had been attracted to those 
 parts by the desire of amusing the illustrious in- 
 habitants of Alagon, and that, in order to effect that 
 object, he would presently proceed to exhibit his 
 extraordinary powers to such curious and intelli- 
 gent persons as should favour him with their com- 
 pany. 
 
 I determined to attend the exhibition, which 
 seemed to attract vast attention in the village, and
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 141 
 
 was likely to bring together all whose fortunes 
 admitted of their expending the extraordinary sum 
 of nearly two cents that was demanded for admit- 
 tance. The place elevated to the temporary dig- 
 nity of a theatre, was the large garret used as a 
 granary, which belonged to the village council, 
 whose hall was adjoining. At one extremity -\^as 
 a raised platform which formed the stage, while the 
 drop-scene consisted of sundry dirty blankets, sus- 
 pended from a rope stretched from side to side. A 
 table was placed in front of this, with an array of 
 tin' cups to be used in the display of jugglery ; 
 while the recess behind the scene - served as a 
 withdrawing-place for dressing and the concoction 
 of the tricks. In front was the audience, clustered 
 together and seated on the floor, excepting a few 
 ladies, forming the aristocracy of the place, who 
 were furnished with chairs at one side. A few 
 older persons, who were too dignified to sit on the 
 floor, stood erect without the circle. Among these 
 I noticed one man in an immense flapped hat, and 
 an ample cloak, which was thrown over his shoul- 
 der, and eflectually concealed the remainder of his 
 face : he was a genuine Spaniard, such as I had 
 got an idea of from picture-books in my boyish 
 days. 
 
 The company, finding that the mountebank was
 
 142 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 likely to waste a long time in preparation and de- 
 lays suited to convey a lofty idea of the importance 
 of his exhibition, became at length impatient. They 
 did not, however, display it by any ill-bred clam- 
 our, but availed themselves of the .interval and the 
 assemblage to extract amusement of another kind. 
 They called upon a couple of the village guitarists, 
 who were stationed near the stage as an orchestra, 
 to strike up. "Lajota! lo. jota Arqgonesq T was 
 called on all sides. The willing peasants obeyed; 
 the favourite air of Aragon was touched with no 
 inconsidierable skill ; a ring was suddenly formed; 
 and three handsome young bloods of the village, 
 casting aside their blankets, led forth as many fa- 
 vourite beauties, and the dance began. It was .of 
 the same general character with the bolero and 
 graceful fandango, consisting of a series of easy 
 and flowing movements, in which legs, arms, and 
 body aptly and harmoniously partook. The circle 
 formed around sang in accompaniment to the 
 music, and marked the measure by clapping their 
 hands. Among these I discovered Ramon, who 
 had got news of this merrymaking, and lost no 
 time in joining an assemblage in which he was 
 calculated to shine. 
 
 When the titerero had exhausted his stock of 
 tricks, which were of course execrably executed.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 143 
 
 he exhibited a species of comedy in two characters, 
 one of which was sustained by his wife, rather a 
 well-looking slattern, much younger than himself. 
 The play exhibited the domestic broils of' an un- 
 happy cobbler, who has a handsome wife. There 
 was a good deal of practical illustration in the 
 Punch and Judy style, though the chances of the 
 game were reversed, and the poor mountebank got 
 several severe hangings in the course of the even- 
 ing, which were doubtless the better done that they 
 were only the public exhibition of a scene which 
 had often been rehearsed in private. . ' . 
 • In the midst of the .play, which drew down im- 
 mense applause, there was a knocking at the door> 
 which had been locked within by the mountebank 
 when he had collected all the cuartos, a task which 
 he was indisposed to intrust to others. Entrance 
 was demanded for the alguazil ; and it wag immcr 
 diately whispered that the justicia was coming to 
 make a prisoner. An expression of anxiety was 
 on every countenance ; . for no man in Spain can tell 
 certainly, from day to day, whether he is to pass 
 the coming night in the common prison or in his 
 own bed. The apprehensions on this account 
 were, however, relieved, on discovering that the 
 alguazil had come to announce to the alcalde that 
 a detachment of cavalry had arrived in Alagon to
 
 144 SPAIN REVISITED, 
 
 pass the night, and required lodgings. The al- 
 calde went off to attend to this vexatious duty, and 
 the assembly soon after broke up, each family, no 
 doubt, anticipating on its way home the pleasure of 
 findin'g its habitation in the possession of a trooper. 
 One party, walking before me, reached their door 
 just as a dragoon, with horsehair flowing from his 
 casque, and a long sabre clattering after him, had 
 disappeared within, leading after him a long-tailed 
 warhorse. 
 
 On reaching the inn I found the kitchen filled 
 with dragoons ; sabres were clattering and spurs 
 jingling oyer the brick floor, as some came from 
 the stable laden with their heavy saddles, holsters, 
 and carbines ; others demanded straw from the 
 innkeeper and barleyman, who refused to furnish 
 any without payment; while a few, who had been 
 placed upon that duty, were attending to the inter- 
 esting but somewhat troublesome duties of provi- 
 ding supper. In Aragon the inns are unprovided 
 with provisions of any sort, though a few miles off, 
 in Navarre, every thing is furnished at a fixed and 
 reasonable price. The answer to the inexperienced 
 traveller, who, on his arrival at an inn in the for- 
 mer province, asks what he can have for dinner, is 
 always, "whatever you bring with you— Zo^we 
 usted true cdnsigo^ And this was the very unsat-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 145 
 
 isfactofy answer now delivered to these young An- 
 dalusians, w^ho had started with little preparation 
 and empty stomachs from their comfortable bar- 
 racks in a convent of Zaragoza. Ramon had suc- 
 ceeded earlier in procuring for us the ingredients 
 of a comfortable supper, but at that hour the pro- 
 vision-shops and market were closed; however, 
 they wandered forth, and returned, after a time, 
 ladep with sundry scraps of dried fish, and their 
 bonnets filled with eggs, potatoes, garlic, and pep- 
 pers. The landlord was very surly in answering 
 their demands for assistance ; but after a while the 
 landlady, whom they addressed by the title of mi 
 patrona, as well as the maid, ceased to remain 
 obdurate to the gentle speech of these handsome 
 intruders. 
 
 The fire was heaped with brushwood, and they 
 were furnished with frying-pans, into which they 
 hastened to throw all their commodities in one 
 confused heap, reducing it by much §tirring into a 
 mixture, which, though it might not tempt the pal- 
 ate of a gourmand, seemed to be very acceptable 
 to the hungry mouths of the troopers, being as it 
 was washed down by some excellent wine, of 
 which they drank deep and long. Some of them, 
 unaccustomed to such heady beverage, began to 
 show its effects in their speech. They talked 
 
 VOL. I. G 1.3
 
 146 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 about the unexpectedness of iheii" departure : one 
 young- Andalusian, with the soft hsp of his coun- 
 try, wa's regretting the masquerade-ball in the arena 
 of bull-fights, where he was to have gone the next 
 Sunday with a young woman whom he loved. He 
 cursed the Carlists, whose growing numbers had 
 brought them forth, and vowed vengeance against 
 all curates and friars.: " La toledana a ellos,^'' said 
 he, striking his sword with energy against the floor. 
 We got off the next morning at an early hour, 
 leaving the stable-yard in /a tumult of confusioa 
 with the troopers, who were saddling their horses 
 in readines.s to mount. That day's march would 
 bring them to the enemy's t&rritory; and the young 
 Andalusian, who was to' have capered on Sunday 
 with his sweetheart in the Plaza de Toros, had a 
 very tolerable chance of being picked o'ff in the 
 interval by some lurking sharpshooter, especially 
 if he cqntinued to express such opinions about the 
 . servants of the holy church. Just without Alagon, 
 Ramon pointed to the place where he had been 
 robbe'd on the, only occasion that such an accident 
 had happened to him. ' . . 
 
 •As 'this was to be pur last day together, Ramon 
 strove to make himself more than usually agree- 
 able, relating many odd stories for my amusement, 
 among the oddest of which was the following, which,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 147 
 
 though not characterized by any particular refine- 
 ment, is curious as a picture of manners, and the 
 strange blending of religion and profanity often 
 found in the Spanish character. , - 
 
 " Once upon a time there was a miller of Sangue- 
 sa who had been a great rogue, as all millers are, 
 and who had always a story about the stones grind* 
 ing badly, as an excuse for stealing a good poTrtion. 
 of the flour'; he fell sick, and being about to die, 
 thought he would make a vo)fage to see the devil, 
 so as to secure himself a place in advance ; for, 
 like allof his countrymen, he had a desire to have 
 an office wherever he w.ent. Arriving at the gate, 
 he gave a loud knock. ' QuienV said the devil, 
 reconnoitring him through the keyhole. ' Gente 
 de pazP was the answer; the door flew open, and 
 in he walked. ' Senor Demoiio,' said he, ' have 
 you any little place for a faithful friend who has 
 served you well in the world, doing all the harm 
 he could to. his neighbours-?' — ' Friend,' said the 
 devil, 'what trade had you?' — 'A miller, may it 
 please your majesty.' — ' And your father V- —   A 
 miller also.' — ' Were you ever married ?' — ' Alas 
 was I, your excellency! to my sorrow be it said.' 
 — 'And who might your wife have been?' — ' She 
 was the daughter of a Ventero by baptism, but was 
 said .to have more resemblance to the Cebaderc' 
 
 G 2
 
 148 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 — ' Come ! come !' said the devil, ' that will do; no 
 more questions or answers : you were a miller, and 
 your father before you. Your wife was the daugh- 
 ter of a Ventero, or Cebadero, or both, it matters 
 hltle, as each is a greater rascal than the other. 
 Come over whenever you like, you are my ser- 
 geant-major.' A poor tailor hved in Olite, who 
 worked hard and prayed harder. Whenever he 
 was not sitting cross-legged on his counter, he was 
 upon his knees in the church ; he was a member, 
 moreover, of every holy brotherhood in the town. 
 The poor tailor, what with working, praying, fasting, 
 and vigils, aided by a cross wife, soon pined away, 
 and took himself out of a world that was not good 
 enough for him. He went to heaven, knocked at 
 the door, which flew open, and he found himself 
 in the presence of San Pedro and San Ginoco, a 
 merry saint, full of the devil, who is second keep- 
 er of the keys after Saint Peter. They called 
 upon him, not liking his looks, and thinking him a 
 bad recruit, to give an account of himself. He 
 said he went every day to mass at daylight, and in 
 the evening to vespers, on a feast day to grand mass 
 and sermon, followed all the fasts of the church, 
 and eschewed all frivolous gayety. ' That will do,' 
 says San Ginoco, ' we want no such long-faced 
 fellows as you here ; take yourself into purgatory,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 149 
 
 where you will find faces as solemn as your own.' 
 The door had just closed, when along comes a jolly 
 carman of Pamplona, his hat on one side, and a 
 cigarillo in his mouth on the other. He knocks, 
 is admitted, and San Ginoco slapped him on the 
 shoulder and asked for light ; and being himself a 
 merry saint, was pleased with his air. ' What sort of 
 a time have you had in the other world, my son ?' — 
 ' A right jolly one, old boy. I never went by a 
 brandy-shop without stepping in ; I have passed 
 my time in drinking, singing, and dancing fandan- 
 goes. Though I have had to work hard, 
 I have borne it cheerily, and managed to have a 
 merry-making every night in the posada.' — ' Come 
 in, my son, you will just do ; we are in want of a 
 gracioso, and you shall have the appointment, 
 worth two pistareens a day.' " 
 
 The new tower of Zaragqza, which we had seen 
 nearly the whole of the previous day, continued to 
 grow upon the ?ye, casting into insignificance the 
 inferior steeples of churches and convents which 
 rose into view as we drew near. Our pace was 
 slow, and the" distinctness with which distant ob- 
 jects were seen through so cleaY an atmosphere, 
 made it seem much more tedious ; nevertheless, we 
 did at length reach the planted environs, which 
 
 13*
 
 150 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 serve as a promenade to the inhabitants. The 
 hour was not the usual one for walking, and the 
 place was abandoned by all except a few Recruits, 
 who were in process of training for soldiers, with 
 some drummers and trumpeters, who were learning 
 their profession, and regaling each other with what 
 was any thing but a concord of sweet sounds, and 
 a straggling student, wJio was walking up and down 
 with a book in his hand, in the sunny exposure 
 beside the city wall. The cart halted at an inn 
 without the gate which lies opposite the bridge, and 
 which is called, I believe, the gate of the Ebro. 
 There I took, leave of Ramon, and with some re- 
 gret too; for, though a sad scapegrace, he was after 
 all a good-hearted and happy fellow, in whose 
 company it was easier to laugh than to cry. 
 
 A sturdy porter offered his services to convey 
 my baggage to the posada of the diligences j and 
 the douceur of a single pistareen relieved me of all 
 inconvenience at the gate, and of the necessity of 
 breaking _my locks, for my keys were missing. , I 
 afterward found that Ramon had taken the trouble 
 to send word by a brother-in-law, who set out on 
 his return to Pamplona just after we arrived, to 
 liave my keys looked for at Alagon,.and sent to 
 nie. . It seems they were not to be found ; a 
 piece of information which was communicated
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 151 
 
 to me through a letter sent the next day by a 
 special messenger on foot, the distance to and fro 
 being no less, than twenty-eight miles. It was 
 from the barleyman, or hosjler, to Ramon, and, 
 divested of the curious turn of phrase and remark- 
 able orthography which characterized the original, 
 r^n as follows : — . • .^ 
 
 " Alagon, this ISth of January q/"1834. 
 " Friend Ramon, this is to serve to tell thee that 
 thy brother-in-law, Rafael, was here yesterday at 
 the hour of four,, and that he delivered thy message. 
 We duly examined the pla~ce, but the keys are no- 
 where to be found ; and there can be no doubt that 
 they have been taken away by the soldiers to Pam- 
 plona. I have nothing more to sayto thee, Ramon, 
 but to bid thee command thy fast. and faithful friend, 
 who wishes that' thou mayst flourish, and follow 
 mules for many years. The Barleyman." 
 
 It may be worthy of remark, that the soldiers 
 are looked on in Spain like men-of-war's, men 
 about our docks, as a set of outlaws who are ready, 
 without ceremony, to lay their hands on any thing 
 that i'alls in^heir way, and put it at the bottom of 
 their knapsack, in the hope that it may be one day 
 useful.
 
 152 spaIn revisited. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ZARAGOZA. 
 
 Siege of Zaragoza — Great Square — Poor Students — New Town — 
 Post-House— Mesa Redonda— Church, of the Pillar— High Mass 
 —Hog Lottery— Torre Nueva— View.from the Tower— Masquer- 
 ade — The Maskers — Evening Offices of Devotion. 
 
 On entering •the gate of the Ebro I found my- 
 self within the famous old , city of Zaragoza ; re- 
 nowned, in chronicles and ballads, for the achieve- 
 ments of its sons : the capital, moreover, of that 
 glorious kingdom of Aragon, so illustrious for its 
 ancient laws and liberties, for its conquests, and 
 extirpation of the Moors, and for the wisdom and 
 prowess of its, kings ; but, above all, glorious now 
 and for ever, for her resistance to a treacherous and 
 powerful foe ; a resistance undertaken in' a frantic 
 spirit of patriotism, -pausing for no reflection and 
 admitting of no reasoning, and which was con- 
 tinued in defiance of all the havoc occasioned in a 
 place wholly indefensible, according to the arts 
 of war, until,- wasted by assaults, by conflagra 
 tions*, by famine," by pestilence, and every hor- 
 ror, Zaragoza at length yielded only in ceasing to 
 exist.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. ' 153 
 
 A few Steps from the gate brought me to the 
 great square. It was crowded with a vast con- 
 course of people, consisting at once of the busy and 
 the idle of a population of near sixty thousand souls : 
 the busy brought there for the transaction of their af- 
 fairs, and the idle in search of occupation, or for the 
 retail and exchange of gossip. The arcades and the 
 interior of the square were everywhere filled with 
 such as sold bread, meat, vegetables, and all the 
 necessaries of life, together with such rude fabrics 
 as come within the compass of Spanish ingenuity. 
 Beggars proclaimed their poverty and misfortune, 
 and the compensation which Jesus and Mary 
 would give, in another world, to such charitable 
 souls as bestowed alms on the wfetched in this ; 
 and blind men chanted a rude ballad which re- 
 counted the sad fate of a young woman forced to 
 marry a man whom she did not love ; or offered 
 for sale verses, such as were suited for a gallant to 
 sing beneath the balcony of his mistress. Trains 
 of heavily-laden mules entered and' disappeared 
 again ; and carts and wagons slowly lumbered 
 through, creaking and groaning at every step. 
 Here was every variety of dress peculiar to the 
 different provinces of Spain. A few had wandered 
 to this distant mart from the sunny land of Anda- 
 lusia ; but there wete more from Catalonia, Valen- 
 
 G 3
 
 154 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 cia, and Biscay, Zaragoza being the great connect- 
 ing thoroughfare between those induslrious and 
 commercial provinces. The scene was noisy, tur 
 mulluous, and. full of vivacity and animation ; and 
 I felt that pleasure in contemplating it, which an 
 arrival in a city of some importance never fails to 
 afford, after the quiet and monotony of small 
 villages. 
 
 Catching a distant view of the renowned Church 
 of the Pillar on the left, and of the Aragonese 
 Giralda, the new tower, on the .opposite hand,. I 
 came into a street which seemed to be consecra- 
 ted to learning. On either hand weie bookshops, 
 filled with antique tomes, bound in parchment, 
 with clasps of copper, and having a monkish and 
 conventual smell ; while, seated upon the pave- 
 ment at the sunny side, were scores of cloaked 
 students, conning ragged volumes, and passing an 
 apparent interval in the academic hours in prepar- 
 ation for rehearsa-1, and in storing up a stock of 
 heat to carry them sftfely -through the frigid atmo- 
 sphere of some Gothic hall, in which the light of 
 science was wooed with a pious -pxclusion of the 
 assistance of the. sun. Other students were more 
 agreeably employed in gambling in the dirt fqr a 
 fe.w cuartos. One of them, who had been look- 
 ing over the game, and had probably lost, followed
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 155 
 
 me, holding out the greasy tatters of a broken 
 cocked hat, and. supplicating a little alms to pursue 
 his studies.' He had on a cloak which hunff in 
 tatters, a pair of black" worsted stockings, foxy- and 
 faded, and posjsibly a pair of trousers, while a 
 stock, streaked with violet, showed that he was a 
 candidate for the church : a mass of uncombed 
 and matted hair hung about his forehead ; his 
 teeth were stained, like his fingers, with the oil 
 from the paper cigars ; and his complexion and 
 whole appearance indicated a' person nourished 
 from day to day -on unwholesome food, irregularly 
 and precariously procured. He followed me for 
 some distance, whining forth his petition. At 
 length I said to him, somewhat briefly — "'JPerdon 
 u$ted amigo! no hay nada /" — and he happening 
 to catch sight, at the same moment, of a half- 
 smoked fragment of a cigar, stopped short, picked 
 it up, and proceeded to prepare it for further fumi- 
 gation. ' •   . . . • • 
 
 Tracing our way through narrow, winding, and 
 ill-paved ane)7s, we at length approached -/the 
 southern portion of the city, and entered the spa- ' 
 cious street called the Coso, which lies in the 
 modern part of Zaragoza. It was on this side that 
 the chief attack of the French was-directed. They. 
 approached by a level plain, demolishing convents,
 
 156 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 churches, and dwellings ; battering with their can- 
 non, discharging bombs, and springing mines,- until 
 this whole district was reduced to a widcrextended 
 heap of ruins, A few walls of convents, half 
 demolished, arches yawning, and threatening to 
 crush at each instant whoever may venture below, 
 and a superb facade, standing in lonely grandeur, 
 to attest the magnificence of the temple of 
 which it originally formed part, still remain to tes- 
 tify to the heroic obstinacy with which Zaragoza 
 resisted. Some modern houses have arisen- in this 
 neighbourhood. They are of neat and tasteful con- 
 struction, and form a singular contrast with the anti- 
 quated and crowded district through which I had just 
 passed, not less, than with the monastic ruins which 
 frown upon and threaten to crush them, for their 
 sacrilegious intrusion upon consecrated ground. 
 
 From the Coso a wide avenue extends to the 
 gate of Madrid, and owes its opening and enlarge- 
 ment to the batteries of the French. Its origin is 
 connected with a dreadful catastrophe, but its pres- 
 ent uses are of the most peaceful kind. It is now 
 a public walk, planted with trees, and enlivened by 
 fountains ; and the Zaragozana of our day now 
 coquets and flourishes her fan, and plays off the 
 whole battery of her charms, on the very spot 
 where her father or her grandfather, or haply an
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 157 
 
 ancestor of her own sex, poured forth their hfe's 
 blood in defence of their country. 
 
 It is at the end of this proinenade,rand in front 
 of the gate, that stands the royal Parador of the 
 diligences. A spacious stairway led from the 
 courtyard to the apartments above, where 1 found 
 a comfortable room, with an alcove and clean bed ; 
 while in the adjoining kitchen, to which I repaired 
 to make sundry inquiries about the assistance of a 
 barber and the hour of dinner, I found a French- 
 man, in neat apron and nightcap, who proved to be 
 the master of the house, presiding over an exten- 
 sive and formidable kitchen battery, and preparing 
 a variety of savoury and templing dishes : a spec- 
 tacle capable of displacing from the imagination 
 of the hungry man the Virgin of the Pillar, the 
 promenade, the ruined convents, and the whole 
 bundle of associations,. historical and poetic. 
 
 There was an ordinary, or mesa redonda, in this 
 house, a thing not very common in Spain, and 
 which furnishes a capital resource for the solitary 
 traveller. Around it assembled, at the hour of two, 
 a number of very intelligent people, chiefly Catalan 
 merchants or officers of the army. They were 
 all liberals, and were earnest on the subject of 
 the late change in the ministry, by the substitu- 
 tion of Martinez de la Rosa for Zea Bermudez ; 
 
 14
 
 158 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 and of the revolution which the disputed succes- 
 sion- and the existing government, being driven by 
 the abandonment of the church to seek support in 
 the hberals, were rapidly bringing about in the con- 
 dition of their country. - 
 
 The administrator of the diligences being an in- 
 ferior sort of Spanish placeman, was, of course, a 
 great miscreant. He pretended that hexould not as- 
 sure me a seat in the coach which wa's to arrive from 
 Barcelona the following morning. ' The innkeeper, 
 on 4he contrary, assured me that there was no 
 doubt of my having a seat, and that the administra- 
 tor was a thorough tunante, who, being badly paid 
 by his employers, adopted that plan of extorting 
 money from travellers. At. any rate; the fellow 
 succeeded in ma'king me pass a bad night ; for I 
 was very anxious to get on. At eight, however, the 
 diligence from Barcelona arrived ; a larger one was, 
 as, usual,, to besubs^tut^d for it on the road to Mad- 
 rid,' and., it was discovered that the last place in the 
 Rotunda was vacant for my use. I was too happy 
 to have a seat at all, to commence' so soon to- re- 
 pine 'about its convenience ; and as the diligence 
 was to leave the following morning at an early 
 hour, thought only about making the most of the 
 day of leisure which- remained for me in Zaragoza. 
 
 And, in the first place, having, like that renown-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED, 159 
 
 ed champion, Dugald Dalgetty, taken care to pro- 
 vide a stock of resistance before sallying out to 
 attempt adventures, I directed my steps towards 
 the. renowned Church of the Pillar. It is an im- 
 mense pile, and is not of Gothic, though it would 
 be. hardly true to call it- of Grecian construction. 
 The length is veTy great, and the choir and several 
 central chapels are -enclosed by a double range of 
 enormous pilaster;s, not less than twenty feet square; 
 Among thesCj^lhe chapel which contains the -vener- 
 ated image of our Lady of the Pillar is the most 
 conspicuous. It was Sunday, and grand, njass had 
 just been chanted at her altar as I entered ; yet 
 those who had heard it remained kneeling in a cir- 
 cular group, their eyes turned in the direction of 
 the altar, while others were seen in situations still 
 more remote, looking past the intervening columns, 
 and bending humbly, at a distance. 
 
 The shrine was brilliantly lighted ; for, though 
 the suri was shinir>g brightly without, it was dark 
 and gloomy here : gold, silver, and precious stones 
 were displayed in profusion .over the altar; and the 
 sacked little-image itself, having the -head surround- 
 ed by a golden -halo, and the body clothed in &atin, 
 was ^everywhere resplendent with diamonds. At 
 the back of the altar a ' little dojor opeped upon a 
 portion of the sacred pillar of marble, on which the
 
 160 SPAIN "REVISITED. 
 
 image of the Virgin is said- to have been found 
 standing. Here kneeled others of the devout who 
 had aheady performed their devotions before the 
 shrine, and who, after the recital of a prayer, and 
 another interval of steady, fixed, and devout contem- 
 plation, rose, approached with solemnity, and hav- 
 ing kissed the portion of the pillar exposed to their 
 gaze, departed. I had never witnessed devotion 
 more profound, more silent, and apparently more 
 absorbing, than that which her votaries addressed 
 on this occasion to the Virgin of the Pillar. 
 
 From the Church of the Pillar I directed my 
 steps towards the Torre Nueva. On my way I 
 overtook a blind man who was crying forth the an- 
 nouncement of the hog lottery, which was speedily 
 to be drawn, and •cotuiselling all such as had an 
 eye to the beauties of one of the finest animals that 
 Aragon had given birth to, or a taste for the excel- 
 lences of bacon an4 sausages, to hasten to secure 
 the means of gratifying themselves at a cheap rate. 
 The blind man was conducted by a harmless fool, 
 who had been lent^bythe hospital for the occasion, 
 the maniac expression of his looks and speech 
 being greatly enhanced by the singular uniform 
 of the house, a yellow blanket with a red border 
 thrown over his shoulders in the manner of a shawl, 
 and by the-tattered cocked hat of a student, which
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 161 
 
 he wore with an air of great satisfaction, and which 
 had doubtless been furnished him by the adminis- 
 trator of the hog lottery, in order to give greater dig- , 
 nity to the ceremony. The two were followed by 
 a number of hungry-looking citizens, who seemed 
 bent on hazarding, in an effort to procure them- 
 selves a whole hog, the cuartos which they were 
 certain of being able to convert into a small piece 
 of pork, and by a noisy and laughing crew of ur- 
 chins, who seemed to think that the scene had 
 something ridiculous in it. 
 
 After some time passed in procuring the key 
 of the tower from the man who had charge of the 
 clock, and who sent his son .to accompany me, 1 
 was at length able to enter it. This tower is of 
 immense height, and very singular construction ; it 
 has a slight inclination, very perceptible to the eye, 
 and which had its origin rather, perhaps, in the 
 unskilful ness of the limes in which it was erected, 
 than from design, or a subsequent yielding of the 
 soil, Tlie ascent is very .gradual, and it is said 
 that, like that of the Giralda, it may be made by a 
 hofse. In .going up, I was exceedingly struck with 
 the singularity of the construction. It is entirely 
 of brick; and the winding arch seen above you 
 as you ascend, as well as the arches of the win- 
 dows, are not formed in the ordinary way, and by 
 
 14*
 
 162 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 the assistance of a wooden frame, but by making 
 the bricks, which he horizontally throughoutj pro- 
 ject over each other until they meet and oppose 
 each other at the top. The appearance of this 
 arch is insecure; but time has sanctioned' its 
 strength, since it has endured so many centuries. 
 Some difficulty occurs in accounting for the origin 
 , of such a huge pile, which does not stand near any 
 church or convent, but quite isolated in the centre 
 of a square. An old man, whom I asked about it, 
 told me that it was put up to enable the labourers 
 to know the time in the fields about Zar<igoza; and, 
 in fact, the sound of the huge bell, that tolls the 
 hours, may be heard at an immense distance, if 
 any idea may be formed from the 'deafening effect 
 which it produced upon my ears when nigh. 
 
 The view from the top of this tower is at once 
 commanding' and beautiful. It was perfectly clear 
 at the time ; not a cloud or spot was anywhere to 
 be seen in the sky, nor any object ,whatever, except 
 only the sun, which shoji? forth with an ardour that, 
 in. the middle of January, was nearly as oppressive 
 as.his rays were dazzling. A flood of light bathed 
 the whole scene in brilliancy, revealing, with 
 singular distinctness, the remotest objects. The 
 mountains of Navarre, which bounded the northern 
 horizon, seemed indeed at hand ; and it was only
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 163 
 
 possibly to estimate the distance which separated 
 the eye from them, by contracting the sight to the 
 nearer range which formed the barrier to the valley 
 of the Ebro. They were of an arid, chalky hue, 
 and torn by the wintry torrents into deeply-furrow- 
 ed ravines. Directing one's gaze to. the opposite 
 side, you are astonished to find the mountains of 
 Castite, which enclose the central plateau of Spain, 
 rising higher and bolder than those which offer 
 themselves to the eye in the direction of the Pyre- 
 nees, and the lofty MoHcayo lifting his snowy head 
 above every object in the landscape. ' 
 
 XiCaving these mountain ranges, the eye reverts 
 \^ith pleasure to the more quiet beauties of the 
 cultivated fields, the vineyards, olive-trees, and al- 
 ready verdant corn, the level expanse being every- 
 where intersected with roads, and checkered by 
 the devious course of the Ebro, appearing and dis- 
 appearing, m a succession of glistening and mirror- 
 like Icfkes. It is, perh&ps, v\rith still greater inter- 
 est that you contract your gaza to the city -below, 
 and to the nearer, if less picturesque objects con- 
 nected with the uses and existence of your fellow- 
 man; Here one's' first astonishment is to find that 
 half of the entu-e extent of the city is covered with 
 churches and convents, and to infer 1k)\V pervading 
 and how powerful religion must be among a people
 
 164 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 who abandon such a space to its uses. Conspicu- 
 ous among these is the Church of the Pillar, with 
 its four lofty towers, its six donaes for the admis- 
 sion of light, all covered with variegated tiles of 
 white, yellow, or green. The narrow streets were 
 almost entirely hidden from view by the overhang- 
 ing roofs of the houses, but the square below lay 
 all revealed with its animated groups; there cloak- 
 ed Aragonese conversed upon the affairs of the 
 state, females walked across with studied and 
 graceful steps, and dogs,*beggars, and students lay 
 basking in the sun ; there was neither buying nor 
 ■selling, and the scene was full of Sunday quiet arid 
 repose. In some of the houses, of which the 
 courtyards were open to me, women were engaged 
 in the friendly task of dressing each other's hair, 
 or in preparing some, article of dress or fancy for 
 the evening promenade, or for the masked-ball 
 which was to take place, for the poor in the am- 
 phitheatre of bulls, and for the better orders on the 
 stage of the theatre. ' '" . 
 
 Our party at dinner was augmented by my future 
 fellow-passengers, who had arrived in the morning 
 from Barcelona, for whose accommodation the 
 board was -duly extended, and more variously and 
 abundantly spread. Having seen the last of the 
 sweets and cordials which crown a Spanish dinner,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 165 
 
 and lead so naturally to coffee and cigars, I took 
 my way, by the promenade without the city walls, 
 to the amphitheatre of bull-fights. The approach 
 to it was marked by an immense concourse of peo- 
 ple : many going to the ball, others, collected there 
 to enjoy the cheaper pleasure of seeing the maskers 
 before they entered, celebrating in loud voice, and 
 by general acclamation, the beauty and good laste 
 of the dresses, or testifying, with equal energy, 
 their disapprobation and dissent. A couple of; 
 young females were noticed to come unattended 
 by men, expecting no doubt to procure themselves 
 that appendage, and pair off, when within. Their 
 arrival excited a great sensation ; they were cheer- 
 ed and clapped, and asked for their partners. Noth- 
 ing daunted, however, they turned their heads, and 
 made reply that partners would not be wanting, 
 and that they knew where to find them. A picket 
 of cavalry patrolled the street leading to the amphi- 
 theatre, riding backwards and forwards to keep the 
 approach open, and prevent disorder. The tickets 
 were sold at the trifling price often cents, by beard- 
 ed and cowled friars, 1 think of the order of St. 
 John of God, who had charge of the hospital for 
 the sick, to whose benefit the profits of the enter- 
 tainment were to be appropriated. Having been for 
 some lime absent from Spain, I must Confess that 
 
 %:. 
 
 *»
 
 166 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 it seemed a little strange to me to see clergymen, 
 in their religious robes, selling masquerade tickets 
 on a Sunday to clerical students and courtesans. 
 
 The rush at the entrance was immense. It was, 
 however, worth while to trust one's self in the vortex 
 to witness the scene within, for it was one of the 
 most animated and striking I had ever seen. The 
 amphitheatre was very large, capable' of containing 
 at least twelve thousand persons seated ; yet it was 
 entirely full, not only in the galleries and open 
 benches, but also in the arena below. The better 
 order of visiters, who had come merely to look on, 
 were seated in the galleries, and were either mask- 
 ed or in their ordinary dress. The military on duty 
 for the occasion occupied their usual elevated post, 
 
 • 
 
 a sort of castellated situation, whence they might 
 defend themselves if set upon by the mob, or fire 
 upon the multitude in case of an affray, or any 
 seditious acclamation, in favour of the Pretender. 
 In the centre of the arena, on a temporary platform, 
 was posted the military band, which played the 
 most -delightful waltzes and country-dances with a 
 pecujiar grace ; while all around the fantastic mask- 
 ers capered and kicked up the dust in perfect har- 
 mony to the" music, yet with a spirit and enthusi- 
 asm unknown elsewhere than among the excitable 
 and extravagant Spaniards. The varieties of dress
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 167 
 
 were infinite ; for, independent of the costumes of 
 Spain, from the Andalusian and Valencian to. the 
 Biscayan and Catalan, there was no lack qf Greeks, 
 Turks, and Moors, or those who fancied themselves 
 such. Of no^haracters, however, was there such 
 abundance as of the students of divinity, in their 
 ordinary garb, with the simple addition of a defaced 
 mask or domino. They were more than usually 
 dusted and draggled, with thejr cloaks half torn oiF, 
 exhibiting a deplorable absence of under garments ; 
 they seemed, indeed, to have v<jry.dittle regard foi: 
 the little worldly property which they possessed, 
 and entered with unusual energy into the favourite 
 scholastic prank of banging each other with their 
 cocked hats, or tearing them into fragments in a 
 tussle for possession. They evidently had as little 
 respect for themselves as, others had for them; 
 many, indeed, making sport at. once of their profes- 
 sion and their poverty. Some exhibited in their 
 hats the greasy- cards with which they gambled 
 and cheated, or ,the woode;i spoons, with which 
 they partook of the soup distributed at the doors 
 of convents,- while others displayed, in conjunction 
 with these, the Latin moUo-:-omnia m^a mecum 
 porta, or the more characteristic Spanish expres- 
 sion of simple hamhre, or hunger. ^ • 
 
 I left- the amphitheatre blessing the climate
 
 168 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 which enabled the inhabitants to partake of such 
 an amusement in the dead of winter, in the open 
 air. The crowd was now pressing in the direc- 
 tion of a church where they were chanting vespers ; 
 and in which a fine organ and well-appointed choir 
 were performing a solemn anthem ; a faint light illu- 
 mined a painted and bleeding image of the Saviour, 
 which hung from the cross with a frightful reality. 
 Hard by was a picture of Our Lady of Grief; her 
 head cast down, and big tears coursing down her 
 cheeks. The people, as they entered, crossed 
 themselves, fell devoutly on their knees, and moved 
 their lips as if in silent prayer. These were some 
 of the same I had seen just before, dancing with 
 such frantic gayety'in the arena; and I marvelled 
 how they could so suddenly pass from the extreme 
 of worldly hilarity to such a depth of devotion. 
 
 In the evening I went to the theatre, to see the 
 Barber of Seville. The words were in Spanish 
 instead of Italian, the acting and singing being 
 both bad. However, .the orchestra, though small, 
 was good, as it usually is in Spain ; and at the close 
 of the opera we were compensated for the penance 
 we had been doing, by the rattling of the castanets 
 and the graceful movements of a couple of dan- 
 cers, exhibiting the harmonious inflections of the 
 Aragonese jota. No sooner was the entertainment
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 169 
 
 over, and the audience dispersing, than the hungry 
 scene-shifters were engaged in preparing the thea- 
 tre for a masquerade-ball, which was to take place 
 there, and which, being the first of the season, 
 was expected to be well attended. I went home 
 to supper and returned for ci few moments, as the 
 dancing was just beginning among what seemed a 
 very brilliant collection of persons. Among the 
 foremost figured the officers of a regiment of the 
 guards in garrison at Zdragoza, in their full uni- 
 form, and wearing over their dress a broad black 
 badge of mourning, for the death of the king. 
 There were a great many pretty women ; indeed, 
 the women of Aragon, and particularly those of 
 Zaragoza, are celebrated for their beauty. 
 VOL. I. — H . 15 . . 
 
 I
 
 170 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ZARAGOZA AND MADRID. 
 
 Ijeave Zaragoza — Mountain Ascent— Central Plateau of Spain — 
 Halt to Breakfast — Fellow-Passengers — Ladies and Maids — Cala- 
 tayud — Night— Table-Talk — Exile's Story — Political Discussion 
 — Guadalaxara — Alacala — View of Madrid — The Exile's Recom- 
 pense. 
 
 Bethinking myself that we were to be awaken- 
 ed the next morning at the iidur of two, I left the 
 scene of gayety in the Zaragoza theatre to repose 
 a little in anticipation, or, in sea phrase, to bottle 
 up a little sleep, my nautical experience having 
 taught me that a morning watch was but a dis- 
 agreeable and drowsy affair, when the hours of the 
 first and mid had been spent on shore, in capering 
 and carousing. In due time we were aroused from 
 our unfinished sleep, furnished with chocolate, and 
 then stowed away in the diligence, where I found 
 myself fitted in, like a wedge, between two fe- 
 males, with my back against the door. We start- 
 ed from tne courtyard of the inn with curses, 
 whoops, and free exercise of their whips, on the 
 part of the drivers, "and were whirled out of the 
 open gate at a full gallop.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 171 
 
 Before taking leave of Zaragoza, it may be well 
 to say that its inhabitants and the Aragonese gen- 
 erally bear a high character among the Spaniards. 
 They are celebrated for their courage, their con- 
 stancy, and their unshaken honesty : though, like 
 the Catalans, thev are said to be somewhat rude 
 of speech and deficient in courtesy, yet they have a 
 thousand good and solid qualities to recommend 
 them to esteem. Their nobility claims to be the 
 first in Spain ; counting among its numbers some 
 eight families, who call themselves la nobleza de 
 la naturaleza, in contradistinction to a nobility "of 
 more recent creation, and because its origin is lost 
 in the remoteness of unrecorded centuries. 
 
 We had not been long without the walls of Zara- 
 goza before we began ascending the mountains 
 which I had seen to the south, from the elevation 
 of the Torre Nueva. The road by which we 
 climbed gradually upward, seemed to have been 
 recently made ; it wound along -the ridges and 
 through the gaps, making the ascent everywhere 
 easy and convenient ; and was constructed through- 
 out with a skill and hardihood which strongly re- 
 minded me of the beautiful road by which, years 
 before, I had descended from La Mancha into 
 Andalusia, along the steep side of the Sierra Mo- 
 
 H 2 . • . . .^
 
 172 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 rena. There was something too in the fertility of 
 the soil to call to mind the approaches to the sunny 
 Andalusia. The country was everywhere covered 
 with an elaborate cultivation ; and I thought I had 
 never before seen, unless, perhaps, in the environs 
 of Bourdeaux, such an interminable extent of vine- 
 yards. ' ' 
 
 When we at length reached the summit, after 
 hours of toil, we did not again descend ; but found 
 an immense plain stretching interminably before 
 us. We had reached, in fact, the level of New 
 Castile, and that elevated plateau which forms the 
 central region of Spain, and which, whether you 
 approach by Valencia, Andalusia, or on the side of 
 the Pyrenees, can only -be reached by tedious as- 
 cents up mountains which have but one side, and 
 which become insignificant and disappear the rtio- 
 ment you have overcome them. Nothing can con- 
 vey to the mind more completely the idea of soli- 
 tude and desolation than this denuded and monoto- 
 nous region. During miles the traveller looks in 
 vain for villages, habitations, and the haunts of his 
 fellow-man ; for meadows, for browsing cattle, or 
 for any object whatever to call up the idea of ani- 
 mation. Trees, the great ornament, the very plu- 
 mage of nature, are nowhere to be seen ; or, per- 
 haps, after the expiration of hours, you catch sight
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 173 
 
 of a single gloomy and misanthropic oak, which 
 you pity for its loneliness. 
 
 Towards eleven we halted to eat a meal which 
 the traveller might call his breakfast or dinner, ac- 
 cording to his fancy, as it bore the double name of 
 almuerzo-comida. It was a solid repast, suited to 
 the wants of travellers, and furnishing them with 
 an ample means so to distend the coals of the 
 stomach as to keep them from chafing and making 
 war upon each other, under the irritating influence 
 of rapid motion. 
 
 And now, for the first time, I had an opportunity 
 of seeing the entire assembly of my fellow-travel- 
 lers. The conductor, a little Catalan, whose dress," 
 consisting of red cap, calesero jacket, and sheep- 
 skin trousers, was a sort of congress, in which all 
 the costumes, of Spain were represented; and the 
 escopetero, or guard, a tall and elegant )^oung 
 Granadian, in the graceful dress of his country, 
 who had doubtless preluded to his present pro- 
 fession as a smuggler and robber, hastened to undo 
 the doors and set free the imprisoned inhabitants 
 of the different apartments of our commor) vehicle. 
 From the coupe descended three ladies, whom I af- 
 terward discovered to be, the one the wife of a gen- 
 eral officer, the other two, an elderly lady and her 
 niece, belonging to the family of a grandee of the 
 
 15*
 
 174 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 first class, who were going to spend the winter in 
 Madrid ; they had come from Pamplona to Zara- 
 goza in a wagon, and had been courteously treated 
 by, the Carlists, who had examined their passports 
 and luggage at Tafalla. 
 
 In the interior were the director of the royal to- 
 bacco manufactories of Barcelona, or tobacconist- 
 general, with an immensely fat wife and a number 
 of children ; another lady, and a very distinguished 
 member of the Cortes, whose name had been in- 
 cluded in the last amnesty, and who was returning 
 to his native country and the endearments of family, 
 wife, and children, after an absence of more than ten 
 years. In the Rotunda I had for my immediate 
 companions, a celebrated architect and member of 
 the Academy of Saint Ferdinand, wlio had been on 
 a visit to France, a Biscayan merchant, and three 
 doncellas, or damsels to the ladies in the front 
 apartment. One of them, my immediate compan- 
 ion, was exceedingly pretty, with the complexion 
 of a mountaineer, and full of grace and nature. 
 She had, too, one of the sweetest toned and most 
 thrilling voices in the world, in which she related, 
 for our entertainment on the journey, a variety of 
 tales of murder, violence, robbery, deception, and 
 unhappy love. I. was exceedingly amused with 
 her account of the attempts which had been made
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 175 
 
 against her own peace by a young blood, who had 
 followed her from place to place, as she accompa- 
 nied her mistress in h^r travels, hovering about the 
 houses in which she lodged, pursuing her at the 
 promenade, accosting her at mass, and pouring forth 
 his eloquence in love-letters. She had, however, 
 triumphed over all his arts, and evidently felt a 
 perfect confidence in her own power to resist any 
 wiles, however insidious, that might hereafter be 
 practised against her by this persevering Lothario. 
 At breakfast the damsel was again beside me, 
 her lady being imrnediately opposite. That.ladies, 
 belonging to the high aristocracy of Spain, of a 
 nobility often se ancient that it is lost inthe obscu- 
 rity of remote ages, should be seated at the same 
 board and served from the same dish with their 
 own servants ; and that the brother of a duke, -for 
 such was the individual now returning from his 
 long exile, should, fn dispensing a portion of the 
 repast, attend, with equal courtesy, to the wants of 
 the one and of the -other, may astonish my repub- 
 lican readers at home,-and shock their sentiments 
 of exclusiveness. But, accustomed as I was to 
 Spain, I saw nothing to' wdnder at, though a great 
 deal to admire, in this- exhibition of a simplicity, in 
 no wise inconsistent with real dignity, among a 
 people whose manners and social intercourse .adrait
 
 176 SPAIN REVISITED, 
 
 of more equality than any other. In some coTin- 
 tries the existence of an aristocracy entails the 
 curse of servility upon a w^hole nation. The infe- 
 rior classes are for ever striving at a fruitless imita- 
 tion of their betters ; for where there is imitation 
 there can be no reality. There each man respects 
 himself as he approaches to the privileged class, 
 despising and frowning upon those who are re- 
 moved from it in the same proportion, and his 
 peace of mind and happiness are sacrificed in 
 daily efforts to ascend, and in the rebukes which 
 grow out of them. There none but the great 
 and their associates are well bred, simply because 
 none but the great are natural. Not so in Spain ; 
 where each man is contented with. his lot, and the 
 peasant bears himself with as much ease and dig- 
 nity as his lord.^   . , ' 
 
 Having allowed us ample time for our meal, the 
 conductor came to say that whenever we wished 
 we would set forward. There was no peremptory 
 " en voiture, messieurs .'" from a surly and imperti- 
 nent fellow, who, after curtaiHng the passengers of 
 the lime necessary to swallow their food, will stop 
 a dozen times by the way, to light his pipe or 
 hoire la goutte, and, when in motion, advance 
 only at the pace of a tortoise. When we were 
 ready, each sought his accustomed place ; the con-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 177 
 
 ductor and the guard, who looked upon us as in- 
 trusted to their care, and who regularly came, at 
 each stopping-place, to say to the damsels " quiere 
 usted hajar V — assisting us to mount the steps, 
 and then the doors being closed, the postillion 
 mounted the leading mule, plied his spurs and 
 whip, accompanied with the united shouts and 
 blows of the running postillion, the conductor, and 
 the denizens of the inn, and our eight mules 
 whirled us off like a rocket. 
 
 Our road now led us, for some leagues, through 
 a very dreary country. There had recently been 
 no rain ; and the sun, without clouds or any appa- 
 rent atmosphere to mitigate his ardour, and power- 
 fully reflected from the arid soil, produced a heat 
 which, strange as it may seem, when the season 
 is considered, was very uncomfortable. The fine^ 
 ly-powdered dust, too, set in motion by a train of 
 eight mules, rose round our diligence in a dense 
 cloud, and drove'into the Rotunda until we were 
 all wellnigh stifled. What would I not have 
 given for a few drops of the rain with which I had 
 left France and England, in a drenched and almost 
 drowning condition ?   •• . . '; 
 
 The monotony of our ride was somewhat varied 
 in approaching Calatayud, which is situated in a 
 narrow pass or ravine, dug deep below the surface 
 
 H 3
 
 178 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 of the plain, by the httle river Jalon, a brawling 
 stream, which, being drained above for irrigation, 
 fertilizes its valley throughout its extent. The 
 transition in passing suddenly into this ravine, 
 from the uncultivated waste without to the laboured 
 condition and high fertility of the gardens on either 
 bank, from the dust and heat to the lively babbling 
 of the river, and to the cool. air which followed its 
 downward course, from solitude and desolation to 
 the centre of a considerable town, with its bustle 
 and animation, was more than agreeable. 
 
 The town of Calatayud, however, would be con- 
 sidered pretty and interesting under any circum- 
 stances, and however approached. It is situated 
 partly in the valley itself, partly on one of the 
 hills which enclose it, with a number of antiquated 
 towers, already in a different style from those of 
 Zaragoza, rising from its churches and convents. 
 A range of squalid habitations is seen towards tlie 
 steep brink of the overhanging precipice, being 
 excavated into the rock, their windows looking 
 out upon the roofs of the houses in the bottom of 
 the valley, with clothes hanging from them, and 
 women gazing out at the passing diligence, while 
 the smoke ascends from the hill above, which 
 thence seems on fire. To complete the picture, 
 above all, and crowning the highest crest, you dis-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 179 
 
 cover the antique forms of a Moorish castle, in a 
 nearly perfect slate, and which you readily recog- 
 nise by the unerring guide of its horseshoe arches. 
 The genius of the departed Moslems seems hover- 
 ing above and looking down with triumph on the 
 degeneracy of their conquerors. 
 
 It was the feast of the kings ; and the inhabitants 
 of Calatayud were in their best clothes, and seemed 
 to have taken holyday. They clustered about the 
 inn to see the diligence, and gaze with curiosity on 
 the dusty figures, of the travellers, speculate on 
 their dress, and, perchance, envy their restlessness 
 and locom.otive life, as much as I envied them their 
 immoveableness. I pity the man who is doomed 
 to lead a wandering life, yet dream only of happi- 
 ness in a stationary one : *' Verily, so much motion 
 is so much unquietnes§ and so much jest is so 
 much of heaven." * ' • ' • 
 
 At the close of day we halted at an isolated inn 
 erected expressly to be the stopping-place of the 
 diligence. It was spacious ; the dormitories were 
 comfortably matted ; there was a blazing fire in a 
 sitting-room, furnished with rush-bottomed chairs 
 and sofas, and our supper-room vv^as heated with 
 braziers of burning embers placed beneath the 
 table. The supper was abundant and neatly serv- 
 ed, in a sort of mean style between the Spanish
 
 180 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 and Italian, for our host was of the latter country. 
 It was one of the meals I have eaten in my life 
 which I remember afterward ; for our party was, on 
 the whole, an agreeable one, a.nd the conversation 
 was sprightly, and sustained in that wellbred spirit 
 by which it is characterized in Spain, even among 
 the humblest classes; it turned chiefly on political 
 subjects, all of the party being liberals, unless, 
 perhaps, my little friend, the lady's maid, who said 
 nothing to be sure, being in a minority, but who 
 betrayed a certain disapprobation of countenance 
 that showed that she shared the popular feeling of 
 her native Navarre: yet her mistress was a liberal. 
 How is it that the privileged classes, elsewhere 
 opposed to change, are so generally favourable to 
 revolution in Spain, while the peasants are all con- 
 servatives? It is because the laws in Spain are, 
 in some measure, in favour of the poor ; because 
 the rich few have not there a patent of legislation 
 for the poor many, nor the class of landlords for the 
 tenants of their property, who are not tenants at 
 the will of landlords, but at their own; because, in 
 short, the despotism of one is not nearly so oppres- 
 sive as the despotism of a thousand. There is 
 nothing but democracy that can effectually protect 
 the interests of the mass ; and, next to a democ- 
 racy, a despotism is more likely to look with a
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 181 
 
 paternal and equal eye on all below it than a mixed 
 and modified system, which, giving power to 
 wealth, converts it into the tyrant of labour. To 
 be one of the booted and spuiTcd in a country of 
 privileges and exceptions, is doubtless a pleasant 
 thing, especially while as yet there is no danger 
 of the people's wresting back, by sudden revolution, 
 the power and equality which have been slowly 
 and stealthily filched from them with the lapse of 
 centuries ; but to be aught else there is to be a 
 beast of burden and a slave. • • ' 
 
 The burden of the conversation, during our meal, 
 was sustained chiefly by our exile. He was a man 
 of genius, whose speeches had been characterized 
 by great eloquence in ihe Cortes, and who was 
 also not without reputation as a poet. I dwelt 
 with pleasure on his words, and, by the force of 
 sympathy, participated in the delight with which 
 he was returning to his native land. He found 
 every thing improved by ten years of absence. We 
 were travelling in a diligence better than any he 
 had seen in France ; and such an inn as that of 
 which we were then enjoying the hospitality, and 
 such a supper as we had just eaten, he. had never 
 before seen in a Spanish inn. The face of things 
 seemed to him everywhere improved; and, indeed, 
 he was prepared to look on every thing with a 
 
 16
 
 182 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 favouring eye, as he recounted the days of his exile. 
 In England alone had he-been hospitably received; 
 in liberal France he found himself scarcely tolera- 
 ted ; watched, annoyed about his passport, and pes- 
 tered -by the police, he had been glad to escape; 
 in the Austrian dominions his condition became 
 worse : he had entered the pope's territories on the 
 faith of a passport from a nuncio, and vs^as rudely 
 imprisoned and conducted by soldiers to the fron- 
 tier — nothing but the memory of his vi^ife here 
 saved him from the crime of suicide ; in Sicily he 
 was still persecuted ; and it was only in Malta that 
 he again found protection and friendship under the 
 British flag. The memory of these wrongs and 
 this kindness seemed to dwell in his bosom with 
 Spanish constancy. His wife had joined him in 
 Malta, and they had passed several years together 
 there, until two years before, when she had returned 
 to watch the progress of events and sue for his par- 
 don, and was now waiting his return, in company 
 with a mother, from whom he had been so much 
 longer separated. 
 
 The conversation, in which I had joined, led me 
 naturally enough, and without any impertinence, to 
 express the very great dread I had lest the present 
 government should not be able .to sustain itself, and 
 lest, by pushing matters prematurely, the counter-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 183 
 
 revolution should drive Spain back to a worse 
 condition than she had been in for the last few 
 years. I argued that the people generally in Spain 
 were under the influence of the clergy, and that 
 they were taught by them to cling to their ancient 
 institutions, and hold all innovation in horror ; and 
 that no government could sustain itself in Spain, 
 or anywhere, which was not in harmony with the 
 wants and wishes of the- majority. This brought 
 down the ire of the whole party, who attacked me 
 tooth and nail* for advocating a despotic govern- 
 ment in other countries, while I was myself the 
 citizen of a republic. It was in vain that I told 
 them that I was devoted to the institutions of my 
 own country because they were the only ones suit- 
 ed to it, not less than because I esteemed them 
 abstractly the best, for the same reasons that I had 
 serious misgivings, founded on the complete failure 
 of the late Constitutional government, as to the 
 workings of a liberal system in Spain. I professed 
 my utter contempt for the divine origin of kings 
 and of legitimacy, and the belief that if a country 
 had a defective government, it was because it pre- 
 ferred it, and was not yet fitted to live peaceably 
 undef a better one, insisting that peace was the 
 first want of nations as of individuals, and the great- 
 est essential of happiness ; that no country could 
 
 1
 
 184 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 be liappy without it; and that liberty had never 
 been known to advance itself in civil war, but 
 rather in times of profound peace and national 
 prosperity. How great, indeed, should be the 
 future and prospective good to arise from the new 
 form of government, to compensate for the immense 
 amount of misery which the disputed succession 
 and the civil war were at that moment entailing 
 upon the country ! ' ' •• 
 
 No one would agree with me in opinion, and, 
 indeed, it would have been hardly fair to have 
 looked for assent to such a proposition from an 
 individual, who, from honest motives, had taken 
 the lead in the previous revolution, and who owed 
 the removal of the interdict, under which he had so 
 long languished in banishment, to a return of his 
 party to power. The freedom with which we were 
 now discussing the matter was, at all events, an 
 argument in favour of the new system ; and, when 
 I afterward saw the individual in question in the 
 bosom of his family, I could not but deprecate a 
 catastrophe which would again reduce him to the 
 condition of a houseless wanderer. He seemed, 
 however, in a subsequent conversation, to dream 
 of the possibility of such a result, as he already 
 spoke of the new place of his exile, and his deter-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 185 
 
 mination to go to the United Stales when the day 
 of the second emigration should arrive. 
 
 The next day we prosecuted our journey without 
 interest and without accident, until towards the close 
 of it, when we descried the towers of Guadalaxara 
 before us, marking the limit of our drive. The 
 road continued good to the very gate; beyond it 
 we plunged at once into a succession of ruts, hol- 
 lows, and sloughs, through which our mules were 
 scarce able to drag the diligence, threatening to 
 dislocate not only it, but every joint of the ill- 
 starred passengers. Indeed, we were more justled 
 ^nd fatigued during this toil of a quarter of an hour 
 through the streets of Guadalaxara than by the 
 whole previous journey. There was, moreover, a 
 combination of ill odours of every possible degree 
 of kind and intensity, that were trodden into ac- 
 tivity by our squadron of rpules. The condition 
 of this road, forming, as it does, part of the royal 
 highway from Madrid to Zaragoza, is a proof at 
 once of Spanish nastiness and Spanish indepen- 
 dence, showing how the alcalde of a provincial 
 town can resist the royal will and the public con- 
 venience. There formerly existed a manufactory 
 of cloth in Guadalaxara, established by the creative 
 benevolence of Charles III., in an ancient palace 
 which existed here. It was in a very flourishing 
 
 16*
 
 186 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 condition for many years ; but of late it has de- 
 clined, and the mal- administration which has ex- 
 tended to every thing connected with the govern- 
 ment in Spain, has at length caused it to disappear 
 
 entirely. • 
 
 It was with a sentiment of. no ordinary pleasure 
 that I met, at the posadaof Guadalaxara, a person 
 whom I had seen on my pr&vious visit to Spain. 
 As yet Lhad not crossed any of the various tracks 
 of my former journ-ey, or met with a single person 
 who was then known to me, or any object what- 
 ever to awaken the train of my recollections. 
 This person was the wife of the conductor Loren- 
 zo, whorti I had accompanied from Valencia to 
 Madrid, and who. was then keeping the inn at the 
 town of Quintanar, one of the sleeping-places of 
 the diligence. They had lately removed to Guada- 
 laxara, because the route through Quintanar was 
 soon to be abandoned for the more direct one 
 about to be opened from Madrid to Valencia. 
 She was still hale, stout, and comely to look at, 
 after the lapse-of more than seven years. When 
 I saw how lightly lime had laid his finger on her, 
 I half fancied myself back to the- happy and care- 
 less age of three-and-twenty, when, if not as lusty 
 as a young ^agle, I had yet a sufficient stock of life, 
 and animation, and promptness to be pleased. I
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 187 
 
 shook her heartily by the hand, asked after her 
 husband, whom she told me we must have passed 
 on the road the day before, and made myself 
 acquainted with the intermediate changes and 
 chances of her domestic affairs. , - 
 
 The inn at Guadalaxara bore evidence to the 
 same neat housewifery which had characterized 
 that of Quinianar. There was the same cheerful 
 fire, the table spread with spotless linen and a for- 
 midable array of covers for our supper, and we 
 were ushered at once into the common chamber, 
 where a series of iron bedsteads were arranged at 
 regular distances on either hand, and furnished 
 with scrupulous neatness and attention to mere 
 bodily comfort, although with a total disregard of 
 the decencies of a separate dormitory. Here a 
 youthful barber attended to prepare us for entering 
 the metropolis on the morrow. He was gayly 
 dressed in the Andalusian style, performed his 
 offices with singular grace and dexterity, enter- 
 tained us with the latest gossip of his town, and 
 furnished no bad representative of the far-famed 
 Figaro. 
 
 Meantime, a number of persons came to pay 
 their court to our fellow-traveller, the returning 
 exile. It seems that his family possessed a palace 
 and garden in the outskirts of the town, and the
 
 188 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 intendant, the farmer, and other officers, having 
 heard of his arrival, now came to pay their respects 
 and offer their services. I was pleased with the 
 exhibition of interest and attachment on the part of 
 the dependants, and with the kindness with which 
 they were received. As one recollection and asso- 
 ciation recalled another, question after question 
 was asked, as to the fate of individuals, as to the 
 condition of the grounds, or of particular trees and 
 arbours, which were endeared by the memory of 
 youthful and happy hours spent beneath their shade. 
 During this whole journey I enjoyed, indeed, nc 
 trifling pleasure from the intercourse of this intelli- 
 gent gentleman, and from the peculiar excitement 
 of feeling with which he was passing from one joy 
 to another, to the climax of perfect happiness that 
 awaited him the next day, in rushing into the pres- 
 ence of his family. - - 
 
 The next morning saw us in motion at an early 
 hour. Having passed without entering the once 
 renowned Alcala, we began to see, on all sides, 
 symptoms of our approach to the Spanish metrop- 
 olis. Carts and wagons, caravans of mules, and 
 files of humbler asses, came pouring, by various 
 roads, into the great vomitory by which we were 
 entering, laden with the various commodities, the 
 luxuries as well as the necessaries of life, brought
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 189 
 
 from foreign countries or from remote provinces, 
 to sustain the unnatural existence of a capital 
 which is so remote from all its resources, and 
 which produces scarce any thing that it consumes. 
 The farther we advanced, the greater became the 
 concourse of men and animals. And now, too, we 
 began to see horsemen jantily dressed in slouched 
 hat, embroidered jacket, and worked spatterdashes, 
 reining fiery Andalusian coursers, each having the 
 Moorish carbine hung at hand beside him. Per- 
 haps these were farmers of the better order ; but 
 they had not the air of men accustomed to labour ; 
 they were rather, perhaps, Andalusian horse-dealers, 
 or, maybe, robbers, of those who so greatly abound 
 about the capital, who, for the moment, had laid 
 aside their professional character. ' 
 
 At the inn of the Holy Ghost was drawn up a 
 highly-gilded carriage, hung very low, and drawn by 
 five gayly-decorated mules, while two Andalusians 
 sat on the large wooden platform, planted, without 
 the intervention of springs, upon the fore wheels, 
 which served for a coach-box. As we came up, a 
 gentleman thrust his head forth, to call upon us to 
 halt, and to ask for a person whom he expected. 
 It was an illustrious duke, the brother of our exile. 
 They were soon locked in each other's arms ; then 
 they mounted together into the coach, and followed
 
 190 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 at full speed, talking with great earnestness and 
 excitement. The duke, who was smoking, and 
 wiio probably fell less, offered his brother a cigar, 
 which being accepted, they puffed and talked 
 away with rival earnestness. Presently came 
 riding along, on a beautiful Arab, with Moorish 
 harness, a cousin of the gentleman, another duke, 
 not less celebrated for his descent from the man 
 who fixed the epoch which will for ever divide 
 ancient from modern times, than for his own skill 
 as a horseman and a matadore. Here was' another 
 joyful recognition, done, however^ on horseback, 
 and without stopping ; hands were shaken, and ci- 
 gars lighted, while the horseman scampered along as 
 secure and fearless as a Zegri, 
 
 And now, thrusting my head impatiently from the 
 window of the Rotunda, as we reached the summit 
 of a gentle eminence, I beheld Madrid close at 
 hand. It lay surrounded by a level and seemingly 
 interminable expanse of green wheat-fields; and 
 its steeples, domes, and towers were standing per- 
 fectly well defined against the bold background of 
 the lofty and towering Guadarama. The day was 
 beautifully bright; no cloud diminished the ardour 
 or tempered the rays of the dazzling sun, which 
 shone full and brilliantly upon the white-buildings 
 of the metropolis, or were thrown back, as from
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 191 
 
 polished silver, by the snovi^s that covered the 
 whole extent of the mountains. 
 
 We vi^ere now approaching the city, and the 
 feehngs of the exile, and of those whom he was 
 about to meet, were approaching a climax of in- 
 tense and painful interest. The noble horseman, 
 now giving the spurs and rein to his impatient ani- 
 mal, disappeared like lightning in advance. He 
 had probably gone to announce that there was no 
 disappointment, that he was indeed coming, and 
 that the lost was found. Presently I caught sight 
 of him beside the door of a carriage ; a liveried ser- 
 vant was letting down the steps, and a lady, some- 
 what advanced in age, descended in hurry and agi- 
 tation, followed by the light and graceful figure of 
 a female in the bloom of life. The exile was soon 
 upon his feet; the pair flew into each other's arms, 
 inspired by the magnetic and constraining influence 
 of mutual love. Soon the parent claimed an em- 
 brace, on her part at least, as fervent ; then the 
 wife again, and the two were bound together by 
 the parental arms. I could look no longer; the 
 scene was becoming painful, even for the uninter- 
 ested witness 'like myself. I felt, too, that there 
 was sacrilege even in mingling one's sympathy 
 with feelings such as these. What years of sor- 
 row are not repaid by the rapture of a moment like
 
 192 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 this!. What a concentration of tender, generous, 
 and noble sentiments — of unalloyed happiness 
 and virtuous aspirations ! Oh, that a man could 
 have power to arrest his ever-fluctuating existence 
 at such a point, never awakening lo a weariness 
 and disappointment, the fault of which is almost 
 ever in himself, but living on always thus pure and 
 intensely happy, nothing desiring, nothing doubting 
 of his own happiness or of the affection of others. 
 
 f 
 
 i* 

 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 193 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MADRID, 
 
 Enter the City — Gate of the Sun — New Encounter with Old Friends 
 — Don Diego — Doiia Florencia — Don Valentine— Prado — Theatre 
 — La Mogigata — Bolero — The Enraged Chestnut Women — Span- 
 ish Actors in Tragedy and Farce— ^Masquerade — Its Scenes — Es- 
 cape. 
 
 It is singular with hovi^ little ceremony one is 
 
 ushered into the great cities of Spain. Without 
 
 any prelude, without a single note of preparation, 
 
 without any succession of farmhouses, villas of 
 
 wealthy citizens, country palaces of the nobility, 
 
 or environs of ai^y sort, I now. found myself, at the 
 
 passing of a gate, in the midst of all the glories of 
 
 the Spanish metropolis. Yet the effect which its 
 
 magnificence occasions is, perhaps, on this account 
 
 the more remarkable. The gate of Alcala is, in 
 
 all respects, worthy to give entrance to the fairest 
 
 quarter of the capital, being one of those faultless 
 
 productions whose graceful and perfect forms the 
 
 eye dwells on with a pleasure unqualified by the 
 
 recognition of any defect. . From the summit of the 
 
 eminence which it crowns, you look down upon 
 
 churches, convents, and palaces of the great;, the 
 VOL. I. — I 17
 
 194 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 Street of Alcala is thence traced to its termination 
 in the Gate of the Sun, and the Prado, so full of 
 attraction, is spread out at your feet. 
 
 Having halted wiihin the gate to attend to the 
 requisite formalities prescribed by the police, and 
 discharged a number of our passengers into private 
 carriages of friends who had come forth to vi^el- 
 come them, we got in motion again, and were 
 whirled rapidly down the hill, leaving the garden 
 of the Retiro on our left hand, and on our right the 
 barracks of the Cuirassiers. At the intersection of 
 the Prado we were again arrested by a fat woman 
 in an ancient chariot, drawn by sleek mules. It 
 was' the wife of the architect, who claimed and 
 entered upon possession of him, smothei:ing him 
 with embraces as soon as he had reached her side. 
 The delay furnished us for a moment with the 
 more romantic spectacle of the various alleys of the 
 Prado, seen from this its focus, as it is terminated 
 on the one hand by the gate of Atocha, on the 
 other by that of Recoletos. The noble trees were 
 now bare of leaves, but the eye took in -agreeable 
 objects on every side: the gates, the playing foun- 
 tains, the imposing pile of the museum, which I 
 was at length to see in all its glory, and the scat- 
 tered groups of walkers already assembhng, or 
 basking, as they reclined upon the benches, in the
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 195 
 
 full blaze of an unclouded sun ; towards the Reco- 
 letos a regiment of cavalry, shining in the full 
 panoply of casques and cuirasses, w^as performing 
 its evolutions. * . " '■ : 
 
 The street of Alcala, w^hich we now ascended, 
 was enclosed on either side by public buildings 
 of imposing form, or else the fronts of the houses 
 were tastefully painted and shaded to represent 
 pilasters, friezes, and architraves, and the various 
 ornaments 'of architecture; at its termination we 
 found ourselves ia the Gate of the Sun. How 
 many ideas and impressions may be received in a 
 place like this at a single glance ! A man might 
 write for a week, and after all convey to the reader 
 but a skeleton of all that he saw and thought. The 
 scene around me was a familiar one ; it seemed in 
 all things unchanged by an absence of so many 
 years. Here was the same collection of idle loun- 
 gers, enveloped in their cloaks, which I' had been 
 wont to see ; the same fierce militaires curling 
 their mustaches at each passing dame ; the same 
 venders of all imaginable wares — watermen, orange- 
 sellers, egg and chestnut women — each with the 
 characteristic cry of " Water ! who drinks it ?" — 
 ** Oranges at a penny !" — *' Chestnuts ! hot and fat !" 
 — rung out in prolonged and nasal tones. The 
 
 Church of Good Success was in the old place, and 
 
 I 2
 
 196 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 its clock, the great regulator of the neighbourhood, 
 was just tolling the greatest number of hours it 
 was capable of. Below stood the fountain, sur- 
 rounded by its circle of sturdy Asturians, employed 
 in filling their kegs or copper vessels for their cus- 
 tomers, or engaged in discussing a frugal meal. 
 The great compeers of these, the Gallician porters, 
 having ropes over their shoulders to indicate their 
 profession as bearers of burdens, were planted 
 against the walls of the houses in the street of Al- 
 cala, enjoying the full power of. the sun, occupy- 
 ing the whole of the narrow sidewalk, and driving 
 the limping dandies in light boots on the' rough 
 inequalities of the pavement. The eight streets 
 which here meet were pouring forth their custom- 
 ary throngs — gay or antiquated equipages, trains 
 of mules, well-mounted horsemen, columns of 
 marching soldiers, with their measured tread and 
 tapping drum. Here, too, was still the penthouse 
 covering the memorialista, as he sold the tickets of 
 the hog lottery, while beside him, spread out in all 
 the luxury of sunny indolence, lay apparently the 
 very same hog, huge, black, an4 glossy, which I 
 had left there. Accustomed as I was, at each re- 
 turn home after my professional cruises, to find 
 the face of things changed, and my native city 
 grown beyond my recollection, all was here so
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 197 
 
 similar and so familiar that I was for a moment 
 confounded, and half disposed to fancy that my 
 absence was imaginary. 
 
 In the courtyard of the diligence-company every 
 thing was unpacked and examined as carefully, 
 by the custom-officers, as if we were just entering 
 the frontier. There is, indeed, as regular an es- 
 tablishment here as at .Seville or at Cadiz; and 
 the building where all vehicles, except the diligen- 
 ces, which enjoy, by royal favour, a peculiar privi- 
 lege, are unladen, is several times as spacious and 
 far more beautiful than the custom-house of New- 
 York, which possesses alone a foreign trade great- 
 er than that of this whole kingdom together. The 
 investigation, however, like every thing else, had 
 its end, and I was allowed to depart with my lug- 
 gage. 
 
 Returning' to the Gate of the Sun, I commenced 
 ascending the street of Montera, as fast as the 
 throng of idlers, looking at French prints in the 
 shop-windows, talking politics, or bargaining with 
 old women, would let me. There was no paper 
 tied to the railings of, my old balcony, to tell me it 
 was to let: so I did not like to lose any time in 
 getting to an hotel, for the purpose of changing my 
 dress. The Fonda de San Luis had been recom- 
 mended to me. In the entrance from the street I 
 
 17*
 
 198 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 found a French dandy selling fans and other frip- 
 pery, in a shop of very limited extent,, built up at 
 one side. Above I was shown into a very little 
 room, stuck away in the centre of the house, far 
 from street or corridor, and receiving a doubtful il- 
 lumination from a small skylight. I was soon 
 in readiness to go forth, and was not long in de- 
 spatching the business which first claimed my at- 
 tention. In company with an exceedingly intelli- 
 gent young countryman and an old shipmate, who 
 had straggled to this out-of-the-way cruising- 
 ground, and to such a distance from salt water, and 
 the sight of whose face brought back a whole host 
 of ward-room associations and frolics ashore, when 
 our good ship had been snugly moored in Mahon, 
 Naples, or Syracuse, I now rambled forth to go the 
 round of my old haunts. 
 
 My first and not my least agreeable rencounter 
 was with my old and worthy master, the Undo 
 Don Diego. He was delighted to see me, sur- 
 rorunded me with both his arms, and pressed me 
 to his bosom, first on one side, then on the other. 
 I found him little changed ; his hair, indeed, which 
 had been jet black seven years before, was now 
 slightly grizzled at the sides ; but he was still 
 round, plump, and sallow, with a complexion that 
 told of original Moorish blood, of exposure to a
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 199 
 
 hot sun, as well as of oil, saffron, and paper cigars. 
 His apparel was neither better nor worse than 
 when I had last seen him. I was afterward told, 
 however, that he had risen considerably in the 
 world a year or two before, having been extensive- 
 ly employed as a copyist, so as to have constantly 
 four or five persons under his orders, whose labours 
 he superintended, paying them at an inferior r?ite, 
 and living by the sweat of their quills, while he 
 played the fine gentleman, having dollars and 
 ounces in his astonished pockets instead of the 
 more familiar coin of cuartos and pesetas. His 
 head was very naturally turned ; he became a 
 great dandy in his dress, and a great frequenter of 
 billiard and monte tables, when his money was often 
 transferred to the pockets of others, who gained it 
 as idly as himself. And thus he went on, neglect- 
 ing his business, and finally quarrelling with his 
 employer, being rendered independent by the 
 great power of enduring hunger and want, com- 
 mon to all Spaniards, and by the reflection, pecu- 
 liar to himself, that, he had his three daily pista- 
 reens to fall back upon, the retiring pension of two 
 thirds of his original salary, as a clerk in the office 
 of state, which he became entitled to on his eject- 
 ment. • ... 
 
 Accompanied by the augmented number of my
 
 200 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 friends, I .now directed my steps down the street 
 of Montera, to the house of my old landlord Don 
 Valentine Todohueso. The passage-way below, 
 instead of being occupied as a reading-room, was 
 pow in possession of an old woman, who, under 
 the pretext of selling papers of toothpicks, was 
 carrying on a far more lucrative traffic. Reading- 
 rooms, which, of course, had no existence in days 
 when the Madrid Gazette, published under the di- 
 rection of the clergy, was the only periodical 
 known in Spain, having riow been everywhere es- 
 tablished for the diffusion of the ideas contained in 
 the various publications which were springing into 
 existence, in which political subjects and plans of 
 innovation were daily discussed by blundering and 
 unskilful writers, who, of course, could not know 
 much of a subject with which they were now first 
 admitted to meddle. 
 
 Ringing at the door, I was examined, as was 
 wont, through the little trap, by the faithful Bridget. 
 She then cautiously admitted me. I had the satis- 
 faction of being immediately recognised, and re- 
 ceived in a way to reconcile me to the caution 
 with which I was let in. Florencia was within, 
 and was delighted to see me. She, too, was very 
 little changed; her figure was still as light and 
 graceful as ever, and her face and features alto-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 201 
 
 gether the same. The very slight change which 
 her appearance had undetgone was not indeed so 
 strange, when I came afterward, one evening, to 
 calculate the term of my absence, and, perhaps, 
 rather imprudently, though very naturally, to intro- 
 duce the subject of ages. While I myself had 
 added, at the lowest calculation, seven years to my 
 life in the interval, she had only increased hers by 
 four ; being still at the becoming and graceful age 
 of two-and-twenty. Some people who had seen 
 her, and passed with disappointment from the por- 
 trait to the original, had accused me of partiality 
 in the drawing, although I had nowhere said that 
 she was beautiful. I thought now to scrutinize her 
 face, and see in what I had been guilty of exag- 
 geration. At this later period, if she was not 
 handsome, neither was she by any means ugly; 
 she was well-looking, and the effect of her appear- 
 ance and of her manner, as she gave utterance to 
 amiable sentiments and ideas, at once simple and 
 characterized by good sense, through the medium 
 of the soft Castilian which she so gracefully utter- 
 ed, was such as to render her decidedly attractive. 
 Her good looks were of the sort which owe every 
 thing to an amiable expression ; a kind heart shi- 
 ning magically in the countenance, and conveying 
 
 x3
 
 202 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 to the beholder the reflection of something yet 
 more beautiful within. 
 
 Don Valentine, who had been collecting news 
 in the Gate of the Sun, now so much more abun- 
 dant than in former times, soon after returned. 
 He was wholly unchanged ; the same tall, gaunt, 
 bony, skin-dried, colourless individual, I had ever 
 known him. Even death itself, which could not 
 render him more hideous, would have had no 
 power to change him. The same brown capa, too, 
 covered his ungracious form ; when he unrolled it, 
 however, it discovered below, instead of the little 
 coat whose tails economy had reduced to the short- 
 est dimensions that decency admitted, a black 
 frock of more fashionable appearance. When I 
 complimented him on his dandyism,, he told me, 
 as I was glad to hear, that though the lottery still 
 frowned upon him, his affairs were in a better con- 
 dition, and that his family was much more com- 
 fortable. He was still as inveterate a hunter as 
 ever, and as thorough a patriot ; as an evidence of 
 which he showed me a belt, with a box containing 
 twelve cartridges, which he had prepared for the 
 day on which the curates and friars were to re- 
 ceive the reward of their iniquities. He had al' 
 ready been twice in the street with his gun hidden
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 203 
 
 under his cloak, but the time for retribution had 
 not yet arrived, 
 
 I did not forget to inquire after my old friend, 
 the dog Pito, the worthy representative of the Brit- 
 ish statesman. Returning one hot day, with his- 
 tongue rather too far out, along the street of Alca- 
 la, he had been cruelly put to death under a false 
 accusation of insanity. As for Jessamine, the. 
 favourite cat of Florencia,. he had exhibited a new 
 instance of feline ingratitude ; and, after years of 
 kindness and friendship, apparently as sincere on 
 his part as it really was on that of his mistress, he 
 one night made a caterwauling excursion on the 
 top of the house, from which he never returned, 
 finding more comfortable quarters elsewhere. Hav- 
 ing thus made myself current of all the domestic 
 affairs, taken a satisfactory glance at all the various 
 objects, chairs, tables, and pictures, connected with 
 my former residence, and enjoyed, in no measured 
 degree, the pleasure of finding myself remembered 
 and valued at such a distance of time, and after so 
 many and such various wanderings, I took a kind 
 leave of all, with the promise of being a frequent 
 visiter;- for, to my own regret, as much as theirs, 
 my old apartment was now occupied. ' 
 
 It was the hour of the daily promenade as we 
 left the house of Don Valentine, and my friends
 
 204 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 proposed that we should join it; I of course asked 
 nothing better, and we forthwith descended by the 
 street of Alcala. Accustomed as I was to the 
 attractions of that familiar and beautiful feature in 
 Spanish manners in either continent, and wherever 
 Spaniards are found, I mean the daily paseo, and 
 having, moreover, carried away with me a very 
 distinct recollection of what I had so often beheld 
 upon the Prado of Madrid, I was still struck with 
 the beauty and the brilliancy of the scene. In the 
 part of the Prado called the Saloon, the bulk of the 
 company was assembled, walking up and down, 
 acquaintances accosting each other, passing from 
 group to group- to inquire after the health of ladies, 
 and offer those compliments that form the subject 
 of an ordinary visit. The dresses of the men were 
 varied, in form and colour, according to the caprice 
 of each, consisting of gay uniforms, frock coats, or 
 ample cloaks lined with red velvet, while those of 
 the women were more uniform ; a few wearing 
 French bonnets, in which they seemed as little at 
 home as foreigners in the mantilla, but the greater 
 number adhering to the national costume, so admi- 
 rably adapted to exhibit favourably the beauty and 
 elegance of their forms, as they glided onwards 
 with an easy and bewitching grace and an alluring
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 205 
 
 harmony of movement, of which nothing that can 
 be seen out of Spain can possibly convey an idea. 
 While the walkers were thus joyously employed, 
 carriages of every description, distinguished either 
 by the modern elegance of their forms, or for their 
 quaint and venerable antiquity, passed with slow 
 and measured regularity in opposite currents on 
 either side of the space appropriated to them, the 
 ladies within beckoning gracefully with their fans, 
 accompanied by a winning smile, to their friends 
 in the opposite hne of carriages, or mixed .in. the' 
 gayer assembly of pedestrians. While in the space 
 between the double row of coaches, kept vacant 
 by a picket of glittering cuirassiers posted as a 
 guard of honour at either end, the young nobles 
 exhibited their horsemanship on beautiful barbs, 
 with manes neatly plaited on either side with gay 
 ribands, and their tails flowing nearly to the ground. 
 The brilliancy of the spectacle was greatly in- 
 creasedy soon after our arrival, by the accession 
 of one of the royal infantes and his, wife; in a rich 
 barouche, drawn by iix beautiful bays, driven by 
 elegantly-dressed jockeys, who drove repeatedly up 
 and down the space reserved for. horsemen in the 
 centre, receiving and returning the salutations of 
 the company. 
 
 The weather was singularly beautiful, and the 
 
 18
 
 206 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 sky unclouded and transparent, increasing the ef- 
 fect of a spectacle in itself full of joy and anima- 
 tion. Indeed, the perpetual movement, the rapid 
 exchange of courtesies and quickly-uttered com- 
 pliments among the passing groups, the smiles 
 of approbation or of budding tenderness, and the 
 warmer glances of love, render this scene one of 
 the most brilliant that can be witnessed. It is a gay 
 • feast, from which there is no exclusion — a mag- 
 nificent entertainment, at which nature furnishes 
 the gladdening influence of an unobstructed sun, 
 and kindly deigns to assist ; and where every one, 
 however hunable,. may go without waiting for an 
 invitation. 
 
 It was easy, thus employed, to loiter away one's 
 time until it became necessary to prepare for din- 
 ner.. After a very satisfactory meal in most agree- 
 able company, it was agreed that we should pass 
 the interval until midnight, the hour for the com- 
 mencement of a masquerade-ball, for which we 
 had tickets, at one of the theatres ; so away we 
 went to the Cruz. The play was the Mogigata 
 of Moratin, a bad travesty of the Tartuffe, in 
 which a female hypocrite, pretending to a great 
 deal of devotion, and sighing after the retirement 
 of a monastic life, is all the while plotting the 
 means of getting herself a husband, and securing
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 207 
 
 wherewithal to make both herself and him com- 
 fortable. Instead of the husband confiding in the 
 purity of the man of God, there is a father who 
 will beheve nothing to the disadvantage of his 
 saint-like daughter. The plot waB wanting in in- 
 genuity, and the scenes were any thing but dra- 
 matic ; yet the piece was enthusiastically received, 
 because it furnished the people of Madrid with a 
 privilege which was wholly new to them, that of 
 ridiculing the impure motives with which people 
 devote themselves to religious life- in Spain, and 
 the absurd folly of becoming a nun. . • 
 
 Jt is impossible to describe with what a feeling 
 (Jf relief and unmixed pleasure, after listening to a 
 long, stupid old tragedy, of the cloak and sword, or 
 a play translated from the French, and absurdly 
 travestied in the acting, one hears the first rattle 
 of the Castanet behind the scenes, as the niajo and 
 the maja, impatient to begin their delightful task, 
 announce to you their readiness to come forth. A 
 smile of joyful anticipation spreads at once from 
 pit to gallery, and the old worthies with cocked 
 hats, laced cuffs, and gold-headed canes, who come 
 habitually to the theatre with no other object than 
 to doze away their time and escape from their ex- 
 istence, sit up straight in their lunetas, rub their 
 eyes, and now first seem to be thoroughly awake.
 
 208 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 The Spanish dances are certainly most admirable, 
 yet I never liked them so little as on this visit to 
 Madrid. I found the style wholly changed; the 
 delightful national airs, so full of feeling and po- 
 etry, replaced by foreign ones, which had no adap- 
 tation for them, or else the music of the bolero and 
 the cachucha were so perverted as to be no longer 
 recognisable. When, the dancing commenced there 
 was something of the original Spanish grace which 
 in past times had appeared to me so different 
 from any thing I had before seen, and so irresisti- 
 bly captivating. But, instead of the display of easy 
 elegance in which the dances of the country for- 
 merly consisted, they were now endeavouring to 
 ingraft on them pirouettes, pigeon-wings, and feats 
 of agility, wholly unsuited to the easy style and 
 voluptuous languor which are their peculiar char- 
 acteristic. I noticed, indeed, after a &hort residence 
 in Madrid, that the people were rapidly undergoing 
 the process of being Frenchified. The printshops, 
 in which French fashions are exhibited, attract 
 admiring crowds ; a few women have already 
 ventured to the audacious extreme of adopting the 
 bonnet on the Prado instead of the mantilla, and 
 this without being hissed ; and some of the other 
 sex have even reached the absurdity of substituting
 
 SPAIN REVISITED, 209 
 
 a Stiff ungainly surtout for the toga-like and con- 
 venient capa. 
 
 After the dance we had a delightful farce, called 
 " The Enraged Chestnut Women." Two rival sel- 
 leirs of chestnuts are discovered roasting their wares 
 at the opposite corners of a street, and deafening 
 all who pass by their shrill cries of " calientes y 
 gordas^ They quarrel about a lover, whom they 
 equally claim ; are accused, by an old fellow who 
 lives near, of being common scolds ; the alguazils are 
 introduced to protect the peace j and, after various 
 adventures, in which watermen, porters, and- other 
 characters, such as are daily seen iii the streets of 
 Madrid, are introduced, the play, which does not 
 last more than an hour, finishes with a ball in the 
 house of the widowed wife' of a carpenter, who is 
 recently dead, leaving his relict wherewithal to 
 amuse herself. Here the parties dance boleros to 
 music furnished by two or three guitar-players, 
 who sing seguidillas, and are the same people who 
 are employed in the real frolics of the manolas. 
 The whole scene was just such^ indeed, as one 
 might see any day among the lower classes of 
 Madrid, and was not so much a copy of manners 
 as the very reality. 
 
 It is a verv obvious remark one is led to make 
 in Spain, that the style of acting in serious pieces 
 
 1& 
 
  
 
 210 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 and in genteel comedy, is detestable. This is 
 owing to the exclusion of actors from all decent 
 society there, and the utter absence of all oppor- 
 tunity of copying from real life in its more polished 
 forms, and not to any real want of histrionic talent. 
 The objection does not hold when they come to 
 exhibit the familiar scenes of low life. In the 
 .sainetes they do nothing more than act over again 
 before the public what they are daily and habitual- 
 ly doing in the ordinary course of their existence : 
 ■repealing, for the public amusement, the practical 
 jokes in use among them, and seasoning their con- 
 versation with the pithy proverbs and quaint jests 
 which the popular language so abundantly furnish- 
 es. The truth and liveliness of the picture never 
 fail to dehght the audience, and often convulse 
 them vvith laughter. 
 
 Between eleven and twelve o'clock we proceed- 
 ed to the new building of Santa Catalina, where 
 the ball was \o take place. These balls were got 
 up. by subscription, and pretended to some little 
 exclusiveness ; but any person could get a ticket 
 who. could pay the price of two dollars, which 
 was sufficient, in'a country where people are so 
 generally poor, to secure a tolerably select as- 
 sembly. There was one rather neat room, having 
 the interior area enclosed by columns, appropriated
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 211 
 
 to dancing. The band was stationed at one end, 
 and the figure of the presiding goddess, designated 
 by a scroll which she held forth, whether it was a 
 quadrille, a waltz, a gallop, or a mazourka, which 
 was next to exercise the saltatory energies of hei 
 votaries. A more spacious saloon adjoining was 
 reserved for promenading, and for the restoration 
 of those who had fatigued themselves in the press 
 of the dancing apartment. Farther on was a mis- 
 erable shed, temporarily erected as a restaurant. 
 When we first entered the rooms, we found very 
 few people as yet assembled ; but after midnight 
 the fashionables began to make their appearance, 
 and very soon after the two rooms had nearly as 
 many inmates as they could contam. The com- 
 pany was composed of all the rank and fashion of 
 the capital: it is not necessary to complete the 
 cant phrase in use elsewhere by adding the word 
 wealth, for in Madrid there is no class of rich in- 
 dependent of the aristocracy, although, there may 
 be a few wealthy individuals connected with the 
 farming of the revenues. 
 
 As the place filled up, the scene became a very 
 briUiant one. There were all the varieties of 
 dresses that one sees on such an occasion ; but by 
 far the greater number of masks were clad in the 
 costumes of the Peninsula. The men were, in
 
 212 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 many instances, dressed as Andalusian majos, and 
 the women as Valencianas, or Asturian nurses. 
 The music was very beautiful, although not Span- 
 ish ; the people of Madrid, in their love for change, 
 having given up their own slow and harmonious 
 waltzes, and their still more delightful country- 
 dances. Still the younger part of the assembly 
 danced with true Spanish enthusiasm, re-enforced 
 by- the idea that they were bringing up the arrears 
 of what they had lost during the long reign of des- 
 potism. The movements of the women were so 
 very graceful, their figures so neat and well form- 
 ed, and their feet so small and pretty, that it was 
 quite delightful to look at them. There were, how- 
 ever, many exceptions to the beauty of the women 
 among the older ones, who werei very generally fat, 
 an excess of which they endeavoured to diminish 
 the effect by appearing as Asturian nurses, in 
 which character redundancy might seem appro- 
 priate. There were perhaps as many arrobas of 
 female weight as of male. There seemed to have 
 been an infusion of the substance of the one sex 
 into the other ; for while the women were in many 
 instances immensely stout, the men were often, 
 on the contrary, thin, diminutive, and smoke-dried. 
 This was particularly noticeable in many members 
 of the higher nobility, among whom a systematic
 
 SPAIN REVI&ITED. 213 
 
 series of intermarriages has been attended by a 
 physical depreciation, which in many instances is 
 in the inverse ratio of the accumulation of their, 
 titles and estates, 
 
 " Me conoces /"' in a shrill, disguised voice, was 
 the commonest expression that reached one's ears. 
 There was, of course, a vast deal of teasing, puz- 
 zling, and not a little intrigue, if one might judge 
 at all from the earnest conversation of occasional 
 pairs, separated from the rest of the company, in a 
 remote corner, and apparently unconscious of all 
 that was passing around them, and secure of the 
 secret of each other's dress being known only to 
 themselves. After an hour or two, most of the com^ 
 pany began to remove their masks, the example 
 being set by those who could best afford it, namely, 
 who were youngest and most beautiful. Then took 
 place a variety of explanations among such as had 
 been deceived, and the hilarity of the party was 
 not a little increased. Many, however, still retain- 
 ed their masks, not having yet played out their 
 game ; or, perhaps, having made a conquest by the 
 aid of a good shape and a neat ankle, and enjoyed 
 the long-unaccustomed sound of passionate proleS' 
 tations, they were unwilling, for reasons best known 
 to themselves, to break the spell which they had 
 evoked, • ' • •
 
 214 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 And now, weary with dancing, promenading, and 
 flirtation, the assembly, split into little groups, be- 
 gan to take the road to the supper-room to repair 
 their exhausted energies by timely refection. This 
 was a temporary shed of great extent, but put up 
 in a very slovenly manner. The cold air entered 
 freely on all sides, which made a dangerous transi- 
 tion from the heat and violent exercise of the ball- 
 room. The floor was covered with a straw mat, 
 which was tracked Vvith mud, and plentifully strewn 
 With orange-skins, nicely-picked bones, and frag- 
 ments of cigars. The clouds of smoke sent up by 
 the amateurs of tobacco mingled with the gas from 
 the lamps, and, having no outlet, both hung, in a 
 sort of murky London atmosphere, over the scene. 
 A long row of little tables on either side was sur- 
 rounded by hungry groups, who were partaking, 
 with evident gusto, of such greasy stews and over- 
 kept meats as a Madrid refectory — the pla'ce where, 
 in the whole world, the gastronomy is the most 
 infamous — affords. Corks were now drawn with 
 clanging report, and the wine circulated freely; 
 and, c^s the- blood began to flow freer, the prevailing 
 sentiment asserted itself, and the tender appella- 
 tions of amiga and guerida were borne to other 
 ears than those for which only they were intended. 
 I fancied that this was to crown the entertain-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 215 
 
 ment, but was soon undeceived by seeing the 
 dancers go to work again with redoubled energy. 
 The fact is, they were to dance until dawn, and, 
 as it was to usher in a feast-day, go to the early 
 mass, so as to be under no obligations of early 
 rising, but thus go to rest without the dread of in- 
 terruption, and with a soul duly provided with its- 
 proper allowance of spiritual comfort. When L 
 was told this, and remembered the very fatal rav- 
 ages of pulmonary disease in Madrid at this season, 
 in connexion with the universal chill that reigns 
 within a Spanish church, I could not help fearing 
 that, between their religion and their amusements, 
 some few of the people thus thoughtlessly capering 
 would be likely to dance out of the world as rapidly 
 as I had seen them racing in the gallopade. A» 
 for myself, I was long since heartily tired, having 
 fared badly for sleep during the last two or three 
 weeks, and was wearing so long and so melancholy 
 a face, that it quite frightened me as I caught sight 
 of it in passing a mirror. It seemed to produce a 
 corresponding effect on the gay maskers whom I 
 accosted. At length one, who seemed to be also 
 the rejected of her sex, consented to be my part- 
 ner, and afterward clung so tightly to my arm, 
 that I found it equally difficult to get rid of her 
 decently.
 
 216 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 Having at length succeeded in persuading an 
 obliging friend to ask her to dance, I made my 
 escape, rolled myself in my cloak, and went forth 
 into the open street, in which, beyond the long 
 row of carriages, with their dozing coachmen, that 
 were clustered about the door, there was not a soul 
 to be seen. The air was still and pleasantly cool, 
 and the sky clear and unspotted, except by a few 
 stars of greater magnitude, and by the full moon 
 shining out with almost noonday splendour. The 
 transition from the hot impure air to the freshness 
 without, from the murky illumination of the lamps 
 to the pensive light of the moon, from the thick 
 press of such a crowd to the solitude of the desert- 
 ed streets, from the restraints of observation to a 
 recovered sense of liberty^ and, finally, from the 
 general uproar caused by the unmeaning clatter of 
 so many tongues to the quiet eloquence of one's 
 own thoughts, was indeed delightful. .
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 217 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MADRID. 
 
 Spanish Soldiery — Morning Parade — View from the Palace — Gate 
 of Toledo — A Review — Observatory — View — Royal Museum — 
   Velasquez and Murillo — Prado — Don Diego — Search for Lodgings 
 — Don Diego at Dinner — Florencia — Thoughts on Emigration. 
 
 I w^AS breakfasting the morning after my arrival 
 in the coffee-room of my inn, when the sound of 
 martial music attracted . irie to the balcony ; a de- 
 tachment of the grenadiers of the Royal Guard was 
 passing below, preceded by their sappers, drums, 
 music, and all the pomp of the regiment, on, their 
 way to relieve guard at the royal palace. This, in 
 former times/ had been, my favourite spectacle; so 
 I hastened into the sti^eet, got beside the. band, and 
 joined the escort of honour, consisting of idlers and 
 beggars in cloaks, tliat was keeping it company. 
 There is something eminently martial and inspiring 
 in the spectacle of a Spanish regiment thoroughly 
 equipped, as are those of the Royal Guard. An 
 English regiment is better drilled, more nicely 
 brushed, and moves with more perfect regularity; 
 but then one misses that proud bearing and native 
 
 military enthusiasm with which the Spaniard is 
 VOL. I. — K 19
 
 218 SRAIN REVISITED. 
 
 impelled. There is all the difference that one 
 would discover between a vehicle carried forward 
 with the precision and regularity of a steam-engine, 
 and another receiving its impulse from the sponta- 
 neous and ardent movements of spirited horses. 
 The French soldiers, though more like the Span- 
 iards, are still very different. They have the same 
 air of natural ardour, but seem more light, excita- 
 ble, and frivolous, while the enthusiasm of the 
 Spaniards is of a more serious and graver species; 
 and the military music of the different nations 
 exhibits the same distinctions as their appearance. 
 The English is cold, and without feeling Or poetry; 
 the French is lively and inspiring ; while the Span- 
 ish is of a more serious -description, and more 
 suited to work upon the feelings and beget a deep 
 feeling of enthusiasm. I -would not pretend to 
 instance these facts as furnishing any measure of 
 the military prowess of these different countries, 
 which -depends on other causes than the natural 
 adaptation of their population for a warlike life ; but 
 I acta ^ure that no one can look upon the Spanish 
 soldier without being convinced, as the past his- 
 tory of the country will easily prove, that he is 
 eminently fitted for war.   ' 
 
 In the Plaza Mayor the grenadiers encountered 
 detachments from the provincials of the Royal
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 219 
 
 Guard, from the cavalry of the Carbiniers, and 
 from the horse artillery, each with its fine band of 
 music. Here the colonel of the grenadiers head- 
 ed his corps, and took command of the whole ; the 
 music sounded, and they commenced entering the 
 archway which gives admission to the great quad- 
 rangle in front of the palace, where the detach- 
 ments which were to go off duty were drawn up 
 to receive them : the cavalry on one side, the in- 
 fantry on the other, and the artillery in the centre. 
 As the relieving guard approached, the drums beat 
 and the trumpets sounded, until at length the dif- 
 ferent detachments were drawn up beside those 
 which they were to relieve. At the stroke of the 
 palace clock the senior colonel took command of 
 the entire little army. The noncommissioned offi- 
 cers detached themselves to relieve the guards ; 
 and small bodies of foot-soldiers, or of horsemen, 
 traversed the quadrangle from post to post, the 
 horses moving with the same practised exactness 
 as the men ; they were reined back into the niches 
 on either side of the palace gate, where they be- 
 came as motionless as the statues of the old Span- 
 ish kings, thc^t frowned in stone around them. 
 Meantime the music sent forth the most enchant- 
 ing strains ; the inferior officers might be seen 
 making their reports to their seniors, who then 
 
 K 2
 
 220 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 rode into the centre to report in turn to the com- 
 mander. The proud movements of the noble war- 
 horseS, with flowing- manes and wholly unmutila- 
 ted, seeming to partake of the rider's self-satisfac- 
 tion as they pranced up to the commander, the flags 
 waving, the swords gracefully brandished in the 
 military salute, and the dazzling brilliancy which a 
 bright Castilian sun shed upon this scene, which a 
 vast crowd contemplated, and which the queen her- 
 self looked down upon, rendered it altogether most 
 magnificent. When the relieved guard had march- 
 ed off with their sappers and music, and those who 
 remained had stacked their arms and betaken them- 
 selves to their guardhouse, I turned in search of 
 other objects of interest. 
 
 The Palace of Madrid stands on the extremity 
 of a "Very high bank, overlooking the Manzanares, 
 and the terrace of the esplanade in front of it 
 commands a beautiful view of the course of the 
 stream, of the gardens that skirt its shores, of the 
 bridges that traverse it, of the'walk of the Florida, 
 and, immediately opposite, of a country palace of the 
 kings. The immediate banks were whitened by 
 the linen spread there to dry, while hundreds of 
 laundresses were engaged in washing in the stream'. 
 There were" the usual quantities of soldiers collect- 
 ed, to gossip with them ; though this privilege was
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 221 
 
 taken from them a very few days after, in conse- 
 quence of a quarrel which occurred at this place 
 between some yoimg soldiers belonging to the 
 regiment of the ^Princess, and others of another 
 corps, who had come to the stream with the com- 
 mon and very natural object of amusing themselves 
 vvith the washerv^omen ; but who, changing the 
 pacific character of the rendezvous, and passing 
 some unpalatable words, came at length to blows, 
 and ended by drawing their swords and wounding, 
 more or less badly, sixteen of their number, before 
 they were separated. • ■. ' 
 
 •'Desiring to view this scene nearer, I descended 
 the street of Segovia, and went out of .the city by 
 the gate of that name. One or two churchmen 
 walking along the walls, and a few lazy people 
 sunning themselves on the ground, alone relieved 
 the solitude of my walk,' as I directed my steps 
 towards the gate of Toledo. When I approached 
 it, however, the scene' becarne very different ; this 
 being one of the most important outlets of Madrid. 
 There was an immense collection of people about 
 it, preparing to enter with laden mules and asses, 
 and a number of swineherds, clad in skins, here 
 held a fair, selling their greasy and grunting crew 
 upon the footing of a bonded article, which had as 
 
 yet paid the king no duly. Many miserable people 
 
 19*
 
 222 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 came forth to parade their rags and misery, or 
 stretch themselves in the sun beside the walls, 
 casting longing glances at these huge walking 
 elements of bacon and sausages. As I came up, 
 three well-mounted whiskerandos rode out and 
 took the road to Toledo; their horses' tails were 
 neatly queued up, and they had altogether a very 
 janty, dare-devil air. Perhaps they were robbers, 
 going to resume their muskets in the nearest vil- 
 lage, and put themselves at once on the war estab- 
 lishment. ' ■. • . ' 
 
 The gate of Toledo is of modern construction, 
 and is a very noble object. It has a single central 
 arch for carriages and horsemen, and a square gate 
 on either side for the currents of foot-passengers, 
 and is tastefully adorned with columns and pilasters, 
 and surmounted with a sculptured group represent- 
 ing Spain receiving the tribute of the provinces. 
 An inscription states how, on the restoration of Fer- 
 dinand the Desired, the Council of Madrid raised 
 and dedicated tp him this rnonument of. fidelity, of 
 triumph, and gratulation. During the late constitu- 
 tion, in throwing the arch, some pieces of the coin 
 of the time were placed in it, bearing the usual in- 
 scription, " Ferdinand, by the Grace of God, and 
 the Constitution, King of Spain." It was a ques- 
 tion, on the downfall of the system so called.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 223 
 
 whether the arch should be demolished ; but an 
 expedient was devised, to remove and replace the 
 infamous mementoes in an easier way. Part of the 
 keystone has been carefully cut out, the money 
 exchanged, and another piece of stone nicely intro- 
 duced. What a strange infatuation as to the dura- 
 tion of absolutism in Spain ; and what a poor effort 
 to commend itself to the good-will of future ages ! 
 The street of Toledo, into which I now entered, 
 is one of the most animated and noisy in Madrid. 
 It was thronged with country people, entering or 
 departing* while on either side, the whole way to 
 the Place of Barley, the buildings were either de- 
 voted, to the reception of travellers, under the invo- 
 cattion of Saint Isidro the Labourer, or some other 
 favourite, or else to their accommodation, in the 
 shape of shops for the sale of gay dresses, in the 
 Andalusian or inanolo fashion ; hats studded with 
 beads, bread, oranges, and all sorts of harness, and 
 whatever relates to the caparisoning of mule,s or 
 horses, the goods being hung at the door, and serv- 
 ing for their own ann9unGement, without the aid 
 of a sign ; while among the groups of country 
 people, collected . in the portals of the posadas, 
 young fellows having bundles of stout rods, called 
 varus, so necessary for the comfortable manage- 
 ment of Spanish mules, offered them to such trav-
 
 224 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 ellers as were about to set out, at the modest price 
 of a couple of quarters. 
 
 ' By the time I had passed the Place of Barley, 
 the Church of San Isidro, and the Great Square, 
 which led me at its outlet into the Calle Mayor, 
 I found myself in contact with an entire regiment 
 of cuirassiers, who, it seemed on inquiry, were 
 going to a grand review of the Royal Guard, at the 
 Gate of Atocha. I most unhesitatingly placed 
 myself under their CQnVoy. One of the great ad- 
 vantages of Madrid is, that, while it possesses all 
 the attractions of a splendid court, it is not of the 
 disproportioned size of those overgrown commer- 
 cial capitals where each quarter is a Babel in itself, 
 and where, to pass from one point to another, is 
 like undertaking a journey. In Madrid all places 
 are at hand ; and from the Gate of the Sun, a walk 
 of ten minutes will carry you at once to any point 
 within the walls. 
 
 On reaching the Gate of Atocha, th& day was 
 so bj[?iiiiant, that I was tenipted to enjoy the spec- 
 tacle from the commanding elevation of the neigh- 
 bouring * observatory, in the Garden of the Retire. 
 This IS one of those unfinished specimens of the 
 spirit of improvement so abundant about Madrid, 
 where, especially during the reign of Ferdinand, 
 so many things were begun, arid so few completed.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 225 
 
 There is on the immediate summit a very pretty 
 circular dome, standing on hght columns ; under 
 the shade of this graceful toy one may, with per- 
 fect comfort, enjoy the finest view of Madrid that 
 can be commanded from any point. The pure at- 
 mosphere of Castile had never been purer- than on 
 this occasion ; the remotest objects seemed almost 
 within reach of one's hand ; on every route by which 
 the metropolis is approached, men and animals were 
 discerned with a minute distinctness which, to one 
 lately transferred from the gloomy atmosphere of a 
 higher latitude and inferior elevation above the 
 sea, was most strange and perplexing. The Sierra 
 of Guadarrama, blended as it was with the domes 
 and towers of so many temples, seemed, like them, 
 but a step off; and its deep covering of snows 
 descending far down the side, while it wounded 
 the eye by the power with which it reflected the 
 rays of the sun, yet conveyed the idea of a cool- 
 ness which, though in the depth of winter, was by 
 no means unpleasant. . The fields about Madrid, 
 as far as the eye could scan them, were of one 
 uniform green, from the wheat with which they 
 were planted. No dividing hedges, no trees, no 
 villas, were anywhere within reach of the sight, to 
 relieve it from the effect of the monotony. In an 
 occasional harranco,ox sudden hollow in the plain, 
 
 K 3
 
 226 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 the dark tower of a church might be seen peering 
 forth, to indicate the existence of a soVitary pueblo, 
 peopled by devout Christians, and w^ith the faint 
 traces of the roads, and the people who travelled 
 on them, furnished the only object capable of fix- 
 ing the attention. It was therefore with no little 
 pleasure that the weary eye reverted to the gay 
 scene in the Prado below, where the fine keeping 
 of the Royal Guards received an additional varnish 
 from the bright sun which played upon casques 
 and cuirasses. 
 
 It was the feast of San Bias, of course an idle day 
 throughout Madrid, and, in addition to the attrac- 
 tion of a review, the unemployed Christians of this 
 Catholic city had a more powerful inducement to 
 draw them to the Gate of Atocha. Near the court 
 of that name is a small hermitage or chapel, where 
 sundry relics of the saint are preserved, and where 
 regularly, once a year, on this particular day, the 
 inhabitants of Madrid go to pray, to purchase 
 charms that have been blessed by the contact of a 
 relic, and enjoy th,e pleasure to be derived from 
 meeting with so large a concourse of well-dressed 
 persons. Having passed through the little chapel, 
 which is richly ornamented, crossed myself with 
 the holy water, and witnessed the ceremonies 
 that were going on, I directed my steps along the
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 227 
 
 Prado until I came to the Royal Museum of paint- 
 ings. 
 
 On my previous journey to Spain, this establish- 
 ment was in much confusion. The pictures which 
 have been collected by the late king's order from 
 all the royal palaces, were not yet brought together 
 and arranged, and the place offered altogether but 
 a dawning of the brilliant display which it was one 
 day to furnish to the lovers of this delightful art. 
 Now, however, I was to see it in all its glory.. 
 
 I had carried away from Spain the most delight- 
 ■ful impressions of Velasquez and Murillo. The 
 first was associated in my mind with the idea of 
 strength, grandeur, and reality, in whatever relates 
 to his art; the other, with all that is true, natural, 
 lovely, and captivating. The divine Morales^ too, 
 and Juan de Juanes, the Spanish Raphael, and the 
 gloomy and often terrible Ribera, had not failed 
 powerfully to affect my imagination, and impress 
 themselves on my memory through their works. 
 The effect of the visit which I now made to the 
 Royal Museum, and which I repeated almost daily 
 during the month that I remained in Madrid, only 
 tended to justify and increase the enthusiasm which ., 
 I already felt in favour of Spanish painting. 
 
 The Royal Museum at Madrid is admirably 
 arranged for the exhibition of the pictures and the
 
 228 SPAIN- REVISITED. 
 
 accommodation of the public. Comfortable seals 
 are placed before all the fine paintings, and order and 
 silence are maintained, that the impressions of the 
 beholder may not be disturbed by the impertinence 
 or frivolity of others. The .light perhaps might 
 have been mor« favourably introduced from above; 
 still the best paintings are seen to great advantage. 
 The building is divided into different rooms, ac- 
 cording to the schools. The two rooms in the 
 north wing are devoted to the Spanish school; the 
 central portion of the museum, which forms indeed 
 the main body of the building, contains the Italian 
 paintings, which form the largest portion of the 
 collection.;' and the two rooms in the south wing 
 are devoted to the Dutch, German, and French 
 schools. In this splendid collection are fine speci- 
 mens of the works of Raphael, Titian, Rubens, 
 Caravaggio, Leo.nardo da Vinci, Giordano, Guido^ 
 Andrea del Sarto, Grespi, Mengs, Paul Veronese, 
 and Poussin. The means therefore of making a 
 comparison are at hand. For myself, with no 
 right to form and assert an opinion but what is 
 derived from a great fondness for paintings, from 
 having seen many, and from the susceptibility of 
 deriving the most exquisite pleasure from the sight, 
 1 must confess that, after having gone slowly through 
 the two rooms devoted to the Spanish school, trav-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 229 
 
 ersed the great- hall, and examined the apartments 
 at its extremity, I retraced my steps with impa- 
 tience to my first haunts, and turned with unabated 
 pleasure from the famous Pasmo de Sicilia of Ra- 
 phael, from the Charles V. of Titian, the Holy 
 Mother sustaining the body of the Saviour of 
 Daniel Crespi, and the Monna Lisa of Leonardo 
 Vinci, to study and dwell upon the works of Murillo 
 and Velasquez. 
 
 Velasquez possessed geniu^ and imagination of 
 the first order, guided by discriminating judgment 
 and the purest taste. His works are said by 
 painters and the critics of the art, to bear evidence 
 that he had exhausted and made himself master of 
 every subject connected with his profession. The 
 purity of his conceptions, the truth of his design, 
 and its faithfulness to nature, and, above all, the 
 identity of his colouring with what is found in life, 
 render it almost a difiiculty to distinguish the repre- 
 sentation from the reality. Indeed, his portraits 
 of the royal personages of his time are often so 
 completely alive, that, one half fancies he sees the 
 individuals themselves, and not amere representa- 
 tion. One of the most striking pictures of Velas- 
 quez is a bacchanalian group of revellers, who are 
 not mere oil and colours,, but talking, laughing, and 
 
 drunken individuals. " Another painting, which is 
 
 20
 
 230 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 looked on by artists as even more remarkable,- rep- 
 resents a domestic scene in the royal family. It 
 is singular for the introduction of the hght from 
 behind in the centre of the picture, with an extra- 
 ordinary and magical effect. This piece, the w^on- 
 <3er of all artists, was called by Giordano, the 
 painter of the frescoes of the Escurial and of the 
 old Carthusian convent at Naples, the theology of 
 painting. - . ' . 
 
 Though, in contemplating and comparing the 
 works of the two, Velasquez ever seemed to me 
 the greater genius, yet I took more pleasure in the 
 more amiable productions of Murillo. No painter 
 indeed seems to have been so susceptible to female 
 "beauty and loveliness, or so capable of transferring 
 his conceptions to canvass. His children, too, have 
 all the delightful simplicity of their age ; there is, 
 indeed, something so ingenious yet so pleasing in 
 his conceptions, such a graceful simplicity in his 
 forms, such sweetness of expression and such life, 
 such a perfect nature, in short, so beautifully chosen 
 and so faithfully shown forth, that it is impossible 
 to fail adm.iring the productions of this delightful 
 artist, or to resist feeling a love for his works and 
 for himself. . . 
 
 The most wonderful perhaps of his productions 
 IS a painting in the collection of the street of Alcala,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 231 
 
 which represents an angel appearing to a Roman 
 cavaher in a vision, commanding him to build a 
 church in honour of the Virgin. I was more 
 pleased, however, with the picture of the Sacred 
 Family, which is with so much good taste placed 
 in the most conspicuous station in the Museum, 
 and at the head of the catalogue. There are no 
 haloes or supernatural signs to indicate the godlike 
 character of the child or the glory of the mother, 
 such as one has never seen, to destroy the impres- 
 sion of reality. It is a delightful little family scene. 
 The Virgin is seated beside her spinning-reel, Jo- 
 seph is opposite, and tenderly presses the child, 
 who has a bird in his hand, which he holds up be- 
 yond the reach oY a little dog, which is looking 
 wistfully at it, with' one foot raised, and apparently 
 barking. There is such an air of repose in the 
 whole scene, and it gives such a lively' idea of do- 
 mestic happiness, that one might fancy the paint- 
 er had intended it as the eulogy of wedded hfe. 
 Joseph is looking at the child with an affectionate 
 and protecting air, while the Virgin,, foregoing her 
 labour, and having all the mother in her looks, is 
 eying him with tender interest and admiration. 
 
 Having taken a turn or two in the Saloon, which 
 was unusually full and brilliant, I was about to 
 leave the Prado, when I came upon my old mess-
 
 232 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 mate, who was taking a Spanish lesson in the 
 open air, with my whilom master Don Diego. 
 They had made a long walk already, the effects of 
 which were very visible on Don Diego, who still 
 preserved his mode of walking with the toes turned 
 out, and who now seemed on the point of expiring 
 with fatigue and lameness. Notwithstanding the 
 sad plight he was in, I had the cruelty to propose 
 that he should accompany me in search of lodgings, 
 for I was very uncomfortable in the fonda, philoso- 
 phizing all the while as we went, when I compared 
 his misery with my indifference, on the little sym- 
 pathy man has for his fellow in such lesser evils 
 of life as tight boots and lame feet, and others that 
 are voluntarily incurred by the sufferer. As we 
 went, Don Diego related various facts of his history 
 since we parted. One of the most serious evils 
 that had befallen him, was the religious and saint- 
 like turn that his wife had taken of late years, 
 which, harmonizing indifferently with his own un- 
 godly disposition and life, led to much jarring and 
 domestic disgust. 
 
 Don .Diego remeipabered the widow of a generjal 
 who- had rooms in the street of Hortaleza, and we 
 went to look at them. They were neat and well 
 furnished, and the mistress, whom Don Diego ad- 
 dressed in the usual style as Mi Generala, was
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 233 
 
 an uncommonly noble and interesting looking per- 
 son of five-and-thirty, extremely well preserved. 
 SJie objected, however, to the shortness of my 
 contemplated stay, as it might interfere with her 
 getting an agreeable lodger for the whole season, 
 and added, very significantly, that three weeks 
 would be enough for no purpose — " no serviria 
 para nada." We looked at another house in the 
 street of Montera, on whose balconies we discovered 
 the usual sign of a piece of blank white paper, tied 
 to the gratings. The apartment was well enough, 
 and the landlady had a. very pretty .daughter, whose 
 black eye^ were skilfully exhibited among the ad- 
 vantages of the place, through a half-open door. 
 It was, however, too far from the Gate of the Sun, 
 and the exposure was bad, it being on the wrong 
 side of the street for a winter lodging;- and though 
 I fully appreciated the advantage of being agreea- 
 bly surrounded, and having the pleasing forms of 
 beauty flitting before my eyes, and conveying ac- 
 ceptable impressions to my mind,' yet I had lived 
 too long in Madrid, and was too well acquainted 
 with the difficulty of procuring artificial heat in 
 the ill-constructed and comfortless houses, to give 
 up the advantage of basking and thawing each 
 morning in the rays of the sun, for the lustre of a 
 pair of Spanish eyes, however black and shining. 
 
 20*
 
 234 St'AIN REVISITED. 
 
 It was now five o'clock, and we were all feeling 
 very hollow after our walk, a sentiment under 
 which our stomalchs were becoming impatient, ex- 
 cept perhaps that of Don Diego, which, being a 
 Spanish one, was better accustomed to bear the 
 burden of emptiness and be put off with a cigar, 
 intended to cheat it into the idea that dinner was 
 over. So we crossed the street to my fond^, and 
 ate as good a dinner as the place afforded, which 
 was not a very good one. Don Diego, however, 
 seemed to think it excellent, and ate with sturdy, 
 deliberate perseverance, characteristic of the poor 
 gentlemen and humble pretendientes among his 
 countrymen, who, when the occasion offers, take 
 care to show that they are as capable of the ex- 
 tremes of repletion as'of abstinence. 
 
 Having the early part of the evening to get rid 
 
 . of, I went alone to see my old landlord and his 
 amiable daughter. I found Florencia seated in the 
 middle of the room, her right foot resting on the 
 brasier to enable her tp' sustain the guitar, whose 
 chords she was running over and striking in plain- 
 tive and mournful accordance. Opposite sat Don 
 Valentijie, the new Bulletin of Commerce on his 
 lap, he having just abandoned it to busy himself 
 with the little book which may be found in the 
 
   pocket of every Spaniard, and which is filled with
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 235 
 
 blank leaves of very thin paper, of the size suited 
 to envelop a cigarillo, one of which leaves he was 
 just in the act of tearing out, as he looked know- 
 ingly out of his one eye to the opening door when I 
 entered. More at one side, and modestly apart, sat 
 the humble Bfidget, the wife of Don Valentine, 
 with a basket containing the family stockings, which 
 she was mending, with the aid of a pair of iron 
 spectacles. From the air of superiority with which 
 she was always treated by Don Valentine, not how- 
 ever accompanied with unkindness, and in which 
 she quietly acquiesced, I was disposed to think that 
 there had been something in their union which ren- 
 dered it a misalliance : perhaps "she could not boast 
 the nobility of blood which he laid claim to. How- 
 ever, their mode of life was too humble, and their so- 
 cial position too isolated, to make it a matter of much 
 consequence, or capable of entailing on them the 
 imbittering effects and the misery which are, the 
 fruits of connubial inequalities, be the station high 
 or low. On the frame of the brasier, beside the 
 feet of Dona Florencia, sat a dozing and purring 
 cat, which I might almost have fancied the ghost 
 of the departed Jessamine. The whole scene 
 indeed was so familiar, that, when I took posses- 
 sion of a vacant chair, and became one of the group, 
 the years that I had been absent were effaced from
 
 236 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 my memory. The Bulletin of Commerce, how- 
 ever, reminding me that Ferdinand was dead, and 
 despotism had let go her hold, would have served 
 to remind me of the change, and of my absence, 
 had not Florencia, when asked to sing, welcomed 
 me back m the following words, adapted to a plain- 
 tive air, and sung with much expression. 
 
 " Mi bien adorado tu eres mi consuelo 
 Pues de ti apartada, no encuentro sosiego. 
 , Cuando tu me cantas encafilada quedo ; 
 
 Y es tanta mi dicha que hablarte no puedo. 
 
 " Al oir tu voz dentro de mi pecho 
 Siento tal placer que hablarte no puedo; 
 Al tocar tu mano temblando me quedo ' 
 
 Y mi gozo entonces expUcar no puedo." 
 
 In the course of the evening, Florencia renewed 
 a subject which we had discussed a year before by 
 letter. She had conceived a project of going to 
 America, where she had been told by some busy- 
 body going about the world to sow discontent, that 
 she would not only be completely free — for she 
 was a great liberal — but be able to support her 
 parents by teaching the young ladies there how to 
 iisp Spanish and sing seguidillas. I had strongly 
 counselled her against such a course, and now re- 
 peated the same advice. " For heaven's sake," said 
 I, "do not harbour any such intention. You have
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 237 
 
 bread to eat and clothes to put on, and no real want 
 ungratified ;. you are living quietly and happily, 
 and you are living in your own country. Even 
 supposing that you should be able to surround 
 yourself with greater comforts in a foreign land, 
 which is not certain, you would, at all events, be 
 among a people strangers to your usages and your 
 language. You would be obliged to exchange the 
 mantilla for an uncouth bonnet, and instead of the 
 sonorous accents of your own Castilian, would hear 
 sounds like the hissing of many snakes. Instead 
 of the noble and richly-ornamented temples, in 
 which your religion appears under such an impo- 
 sing form, you would have to hear mass in the 
 most uncouth edifices. The graceful relaxation of ' 
 the paseo would not succeed ; there would be no 
 Florida or Prado, and no bullfight to go to, -and the 
 rest of the Sunday would be passed in silence and 
 seclusion. Instead of the life of quiet repose and 
 dreamy forgetfulness in which you here live, in 
 common with all around you, you Would find 
 yourself in the midst of a vast and universal move- 
 ment, in which you would have no participatioil 
 and no sympathy. In short, the whole course and 
 habits of your life would be at once upset. As 
 for liberty, what use would it be to you ? Be as- 
 sured that happiness may be found even under a
 
 238 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 government as bad as yours has been in the years 
 that are past. After all, they have only hung up 
 ihose who have attempted to introduce reforms 
 which the country was not prepared for, and who 
 placed themselves in opposition to -the will of the 
 people. You have lived twenty-two years here, 
 by your own account : try if you cannot live other 
 twenty-two years. And then to die far from one's 
 home !" My last argument seemed to have touched 
 a tender chord in unison with some idea that had 
 previously occurred to her. She did not answer 
 it ; but, striking her guitar, presently warbled forth, 
 in a modest contralto voice, more remarkable for 
 sweetness than power, the following touching as- 
 sent to all that I had been saying : — 
 
 " Si muero en tierras agenas 
 ' ' Lejos de donde naci, 
 
 Quien habra dolor de mi ? 
 Sj muero en ese destierro, 
 r 'A que no fui condenado, ' ' ' 
 
 • No merece tan gran yerro 
 
 Ser plafiido ni llorado ; 
 Pues si yo lo he procurado 
 Y toda la culpa fui, 
 Quien habra dolor de mi 1" 
 
 ^n- 
 
 S 
 
 %
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 239 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 LODGINGS IN MADRID. 
 
 Apartments — Entrance— Doiia Lucretia— Anti-matrimonial Argu. 
 ments— Dofia Lucretia's Mode of Life— Teatro Caserc— Fellow- 
 Lodger— Scenes from my Balcony— Occupation— Society. 
 
 I WAS far too uncomfortable in my wretched inn 
 to think of remaining there during the whole time 
 I proposed to stay in Madrid. Florencia, who 
 promised to find me a place, if possible, in her own 
 neighbourhood, said that there was no want of 
 hired apartments about the Gate of the Sun ; but 
 there was some difficulty in finding such as were 
 in all respects unexceptionable, since many estab- 
 lishments of- this sort were kept by persons of 
 somewhat equivocal character, who enticed young 
 men into their houses with a. view of fascinating 
 and leading them astray. Nevertheless, at the 
 end of a day or two, passed in diligent search, she 
 sent me word to take possession of an apartment 
 which she had retained for me in the street of Car- 
 mel, and which, though the entrance was in a dif- 
 ferent street, had its front just where I wanted it, 
 on the street of Montera, and the balcony next to 
 her own. 
 
 '1
 
 240 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 Immediately within the doorway, giving admis- 
 sion to a passage in itself sufficiently narrow, was 
 a modest little moveable shop, which came and 
 went, I knew not whither, morning and night, and 
 which disappeared altogether on feast and bullfight 
 days. It was kept by a thin, monastic-looking in- 
 dividual, who sold waxen tapers, arms, legs, eyes, 
 ears, and babies, all religious objects connected 
 with funeral ceremonies, or charms to offer at the 
 shrine   of some celebrated saint, for a happy de- 
 livery, or for the recovery of an afflicted member 
 of the easily disordered tenement, in which our no- 
 bler part is shut up. 
 
 Having traversed this first passage opening on the 
 street, I found myself on a crooked serpentine stair- 
 way, which turned to the right and to the left with- 
 out reason or ceremony, and in almost utter dark- 
 ness. Doors were scattered about on either hand, 
 and I rang at half a dozen, saluted by the barking 
 of dogs, the growling of Spaniards interrupted in 
 the enjoyment of the siesta and torpid state which 
 follow the repletion of a greasy dinner, or by the 
 sharp and angry tones of scolding females, ere I at 
 length found myself at the right one. Nor did I 
 ever get used to the eccentricities of this most in- 
 volved entrance. Coming home, night after night, 
 at the dead hour of two or three, having patrolled
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 241 
 
 the Streets with a drawn dagger under my cloak, 
 to defend myself against the robberies that were 
 of constant occurrence, I used to get into the outer 
 door by the aid of the double key which I carried, 
 and reaching the end of the passage, I would com- 
 mence ascending without any geometrical principle 
 to guide me. When I should have turned to the 
 left I would turn to the right, dislocating my foot 
 against a wall, or else keep straight on until vio- 
 lently arrested, and in serious danger of damaging 
 or distorting my nose. Sometimes I stepped up 
 when I should have stepped down, and shook my 
 whole frame to its centre. And thus I have more 
 than once passed half an hour, moving about, like 
 a troubled spirit, from the ground floor to the gar- 
 ret, fitting my key into strange doors, to the terror 
 of the inmates, who, dreaming of robbery and mur- 
 der, would begin to rattle sabres or bawl for assist- 
 ance. 
 
 But to return to my new landlady. I must con- 
 fess that I was not particularly disposed to be 
 pleased either with her or her habitation, when I 
 at length rang at the right door, and she admitted 
 me. On entering the apartment designed for me, 
 however, I found that it was far better than its ap- 
 proaches had foretold, being matted and furnished 
 with more than usual neatness. The alcove, con- 
 
 VOL. I. — L 21
 
 242 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 cealed by nice white curtains, contained a bed of 
 inviting cleanliness, and the brasier and other arti- 
 cles of furniture, susceptible of receiving a polish, 
 shone with the lustre of consummate housewifery. 
 
 When I got before the broad light of the balcony, 
 which enjoyed the sunny exposure so essential, 
 where artificial heat of a wholesome kind is not to 
 be procured, I had an opportunity of examining the 
 person of my patrona ; and I saw at a glance that 
 Florencia had taken effectual means to protect me 
 against every temptation of the devil. Dona Lu- 
 cretia, whose present, rather than whose past his- 
 tory, doubtless rendered her name an appropriate 
 one, was a hale, happy old lady, of five-and-fifty 
 or more, still struggling to keep young. She was 
 plump and well conditioned, with, however, a neat 
 little foot, which she had somehow managed to 
 keep within the dimensions of a small shoe, though 
 her good keeping hastened to show itself above, in 
 a fat and unconstrained ankle. Her eye, too, had 
 some remains of lustre, and the long habit of leer- 
 ing and casting love-glances, had left about it a 
 certain lurking expression of roguery. 
 
 She was a native of Zamora, and had never 
 married ; not, by her account, for want of offers, 
 for she had received many ; but having seen that 
 her father and mother had lived unhappily together,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 243 
 
 and her earliest recollections being of domestic dis- 
 turbances, when the time arrived to think of this 
 matter, and occasion called upon her to determine, 
 for she told me, and I believed her, that she had 
 been very handsome, she asked herself the ques- 
 tion, " Shall I make the misery of my parents my 
 ov\rn ? or shall I not rather live singly blessed ?" 
 Having well weighed all these considerations, she, 
 after mature deliberation, determined on philosophic 
 principles for a life of liberty, since, though she 
 admitted that men were a very good and useful 
 race of animals, she said she never yet had seen 
 one whom she was willing tp erect into a perma- 
 nent lord and master. 
 
 Her present pastimes yvere suited to her age ; a 
 little gossip each morning with a toothless old dame, 
 who came to tell the parish news, of births, deaths, 
 marriages, and murders, occupied the hour suc- 
 ceeding the domestic duties of the day, and went 
 on without interruption, as the pipkin simmered 
 with the daily puchero ; on a feast-day, fan in hand, 
 and mantilla duly adjusted, she would go in state 
 to mass, taking the key of the door, and followed 
 by the stout maid of all works, in the character of 
 a duena : at the bullfight she never failed to at- 
 tend, for she was a zealous aficionada ; and almost 
 nightly she went off to a teatro casero, a reunion 
 
 L 2
 
 244 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 for private theatricals, held in the inelegant barrier 
 of Lavapies. The man who brushed my clothes 
 and cleaned my boots, and between whom and the 
 old lady there was a friendship of many years stand- 
 ing, was one of the principal actors. I went for curi- 
 osity to see one performance, and was astonished, 
 not only at the very tolerable style of the acting, but 
 also at the singularity of the whole circumstance, 
 of people in an humble sphere of life, instead of 
 spending the little superfluity of their earnings in 
 getting drunk, or congregating together in places 
 from which the other sex was excluded, thus com- 
 bining to fit up, and paint with the greatest taste, a 
 httle theatre, where they not only played farces and 
 danced the bolero, but even commenced regularly, 
 as at the great theatres, by going through a solemn 
 didactic piece. On this occasion they played the 
 Telos de Meneses, an old Spanish tragedy of the 
 cloak and sword, filled with the most exaggerated 
 and nobly extravagant sentiments. 
 
 There was one lodger in the house besides my- 
 self, who occupied the room adjoining mine, and 
 was a retired colonel in the army. He took the 
 world easy, and instead of troubling himself with the 
 perplexities of the day, was satisfied to fight his bat- 
 tles over again. He had been in the house no less 
 than twenty-five years, and had grown old with the
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 245 
 
 patrona, liking her, as she doubtless did him, from 
 
 inveterate habit of association ; their affection being 
 
 of the sort which two broken-winded horses bear 
 
 to each other, after drawing together for years with 
 
 only a pole between them. The two furnished an 
 
 example of the curious friendships one often sees 
 
 on the Continent, between people who have allowed 
 
 the spring and harvest-time of their existence to 
 
 pass away, without surrounding themselves with 
 
 those domestic endearments for the solace of the 
 
 evening of life which marriage alone affords, and 
 
 who lean upon each other rather from a horror of 
 
 soHtude, than out of love for each other. 
 
 Thus agreeably situated at home, I passed my 
 
 mornings in witnessing the daily parade, when the 
 
 guard was relieved in the palace, or in basking in 
 
 the sunshine at my balcony, as I chatted with my 
 
 old friend of the house adjoining, or looked down, 
 
 with an interest that never flagged, on the stirring 
 
 scenes of the Gate of the Sun. In the morning, 
 
 people from the country thronged in with supplies 
 
 for the markets, laden on mules or asses; and a 
 
 long file of rude carts, made entirely of wood, 
 
 without tires to the wheels, or iron of any sort, 
 
 might be seen laden with charcoal, slowly drawn 
 
 by starved cows or oxen, attempting the ascent of 
 
 the street of Montera. As they advanced, the fric' 
 
 21*
 
 246 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 tion of the wheels sent forth a sort of bagpipe 
 melody; sometimes the animals, not being shod, 
 were unable to advance with their rudely-con- 
 structed vehicles, and the poor boors from the 
 country would be in sad distress: If fortunate, 
 they would manage, by the aid of blows and curses, 
 to get their poor beasts in motion again ; or else 
 they woiild stop altogether and be unable to go on, 
 the mortification of the peasants being of course 
 immeasurably increased, by the sneers of the idle 
 dandies who looked on, and who, instead of being 
 prompted by benevolence to aid them, would ejac- 
 ulate contemptuously upon Spanish barbarism, as 
 exemplified in the rudeness of these wretched ve- 
 hicles. My balcony enabled me, in fact, to witness 
 all that was going on, and, as it were, to read the 
 history of Madrid from day to day. When the 
 market-people, and the venders of bread, meat, and 
 vegetables had finished the business of the morning, 
 the loungers and military dandies took possession of 
 the Gate of the Sun. After a time, the Prado and 
 the dinner hour would leave it once more empty ; 
 and in the evening it would again fill. At dark I 
 would be called forth by the bell and the chant of 
 the rosary, swelling and subsiding again into dead 
 silence, to be renewed once more by the whole 
 procession at the sounding of a bassoon ; and at
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 247 
 
 eight o'clock in the night, the reginaental drums 
 beating the retreat as they passed below, completed 
 the series of exhibitions, and, while they sum- 
 moned the military to their barracks, announced 
 the completion of the day. 
 
 My whole time glided away, indeed, most agree- 
 ably in Madrid ; since, to one peculiarly sensible 
 to skyey influences, the transition from an atmos- 
 phere of rain, fog, and coal-smoke, to the unclouded 
 brilliancy of a Spanish heaven, was alone inspiring. 
 The surrounding objects, too, were all of a pleasing 
 character. Through the kindness of the amiable 
 and excellent lady of our minister, I obtained an in- 
 troduction to the diplomatic circles, some members 
 of which 1 had known on my previous visit to Spain, 
 and I had always a home in the hospitable niansion 
 of our own embassy. Although these circumstances 
 had a great deal to do with the enjoyments of my 
 residence in Madrid, occupied a portion of my 
 time, and furnished me with a renewed opportunity 
 of observing the higher branches of the Spanish 
 aristocracy, who possess, in an eminent degree, the 
 grace and dignity which characterize the manners 
 of the whole nation, yet it forms no part of my 
 purpose to describe any thing that I may have seen 
 under these circumstances. It is a very common 
 and very true remark, that well-bred people are
 
 248 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 everywhere the same. A description of them 
 can of course have little of that dramatic interest 
 which has its origin in picturesque and peculiar 
 manners, or in the eccentricity and absurdities 
 which are banished from polite circles. Besides, 
 the writer of travels who feels like a gentleman, 
 and this should be, though it is not, every such 
 writer, must ever be unwilling to describe people 
 whom he could have had no opportunity of observ- 
 ing, but for acts of hospitality exercised towards 
 himself. In my previous work on Spain, I only 
 mentioned or alluded to those of the people I had 
 seen,, who might possibly be vain of the'honour of ap- 
 pearing in print, or to whom it might be productive 
 of benefit. I was happy, indeed, to find that I had 
 been able to procure Don Valentine and his daugh- 
 ter a notoriety among American and EngUsh tour- 
 ists, which brought them many lodgers, and for 
 Don Diego abundance of pupils and good harvest 
 of pesetas.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 249 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 POLITICAL ANECDOTES. 
 
 Ferdinand— Censorship of Morals— Teresa the Favourite— Zea Ber- 
 mudez— The Succession— Council of Regency— Hypocrisy of 
 Ferdinand — ^Fernandez del Pino— Cordova — Marquis of Amarillas 
 —Duke of Alagon— Queen Regent— Carlotta— The Conservatory 
 — Christina. 
 
 In the course of my intercourse with persons in 
 some way connected witli the affairs of the court, 
 and especially with a very intelhgent young coun- 
 tryman attached to our embassy, and familiar with 
 all that had transpired during the last three or four 
 eventful years, which have brought about such a 
 complete revolution in the political condition of 
 Spain, I became acquainted with many facts rela- 
 ting to Ferdinand, the late king, which place his 
 character in an entirely different light from that in 
 which I had before been accustomed to regard it. 
 I had described him in my previous work as a stu- 
 pid, slothful, and ignorant, but rather good-natured 
 individual. But I now found that he had much 
 natural cleverness, had read extensively, and was 
 well acquainted with the laws of his country and 
 with history generally. He had managed, too, 
 
 L 3
 
 250 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 with admirable tact, so to balance the opposing 
 parlies of the liberals and the absolutists, or rather 
 the advocates of the church, as to keep every thing 
 quiet, and maintain all the real povi^er in his own 
 hands. He did not labour, indeed, at all, for the pros- 
 perity and advancement of the happiness of Spain, 
 but only for the stability and secure possession of 
 his own despotic and undisputed sway. It must 
 be owned, however, that by his last marriage, and 
 his anxiety to leave the throne to an heir of his 
 own body, he bequeathed to Spain a legacy of 
 strife and contention, which the advantage gained 
 by a premature transfer of the government from 
 the hands of the. church party to those* of the liber- 
 als, may scarcely be ^ble to compensate. 
 
 From having lived a very licentious life in his 
 youth, Ferdinand became in late years exceedingly 
 severe towards such as followed his early, rather 
 than his later example. He exercised a rigorous 
 censorship over the morals of the court, receiving 
 and listening to complaints from husbands against 
 their wives, and wives against their husbands and 
 their husbands' paramours, sending the offenders, 
 for one or more years, to the retirement of some 
 obscure pueblo, or to read the lives of the saints, 
 or sing penitential psalms, in the cloisters of a con- 
 vent. These edicts of banishment were often re-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 251 
 
 voked, on a display of penitence by the offending 
 party, at the desire of a wife an3f:ious to be restored 
 to the arms of her repentant spouse, or upon the 
 mutual stipulation of the parties to live well to- 
 gether, and lead in future an exemplary life, and 
 set an example of dovelike attachment. There is 
 much in all this to remind one of the singular state 
 of society which existed in France, in the two or 
 three reigns which preceded the revolution, when 
 lettres de cachet were the order of the day, and the 
 intrigues of peace-making dowagers would send a 
 libertine to the Bastile until he was ready to bind 
 himself in future to attend properly to all his do- 
 mestic duties : in short, "a hien vivre avec son 
 ipouse^ In Spain, indeed, one might look in vain 
 for the high refinement which then existed in the 
 sister kingdom; for the wit, sprightliness, grace, 
 and good taste, which gilded the immorality of her 
 nobihty, and for that polished form of existence 
 which the country villas and chateaux exhibited, as 
 we read of them vsx the light and sprightly memoirs 
 of the time. " 
 
 Every one has heard something of the curious ca- 
 reer of Teresa, a French milliner, who, from exerci- 
 sing her art in the decoration of the young Queen's 
 person, came at length to obtain such an influence 
 over her mind as to make use of her interest with
 
 252 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 the King, not only to grant offices and confer pro- 
 motion on such as previously took care to pay her, 
 but even to influence the affairs of state. Teresa, 
 in turn, had her favourite, who was, naturally 
 enough, of the other sex, being an able-bodied offi- 
 cer of the royal body-guard. The King, in one of 
 his joking moods, in humorous imitation of Ham- 
 let, induced one of the players who was to act be- 
 fore the court in the private theatre of the Conser- 
 vatory of Music, to introduce into his part a sly 
 phrase, the purport of which was, that if any one 
 wanted an office he must apply to Teresa. The 
 power of this omnipotent wocZwto . was at length 
 demolished, by the sturdy and obstinate effi)rts of 
 Zea Bermudez, who insisted upon her banishment. 
 The order was secretly issued, a carriage and post- 
 mules prepared, and the favourite, roused from her 
 bed in the dead of night, was hurried, half dressed, 
 into the vehicle, and shot off, like a rocket, to the 
 frontier. The exchange was the more unaccepta- 
 ble, that she had not been roused from a comfort- 
 less and solitary pillow ; indeed, the scene which 
 her chamber disclosed, when thus suddenly thrown 
 open to inspection, was quite worthy to form an 
 episode in the adventures of that quondam chroni- 
 cler Gil Bias of Santillana. 
 
 Zea Bermudez, the Prime Minister, who was
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 253 
 
 able thus to triumph over an intriguing fenaale, who 
 held, at the same time, the reins of fashion and of 
 state, and who decided at once the colour of a 
 riband and the fate of a public functionary, is a 
 man of no common character and ability. Having 
 raised himself, by his own commanding talents, 
 from the pursuits of trade, so little esteemed in 
 Spain, to the highest station, he was conspicuous 
 alike for his capacity for business, and for great 
 firmness of purpose and obstinate decision. He 
 had also the much rarer quality, in a Spanish 
 statesman, of integrity. Fully acquainted with the 
 evils that oppressed his country, he had the sin- 
 cerest desire to remove them, and introduce such 
 salutary reform as the condition of Spain would 
 sanction ; although he did not think that she was 
 fit for self-government, through the medium of 
 popular representation, and was consequently no 
 favourite with the liberals, by whom alone the 
 young Queen could be supported in her rights, 
 while with the church party he was even more de- 
 tested, as they were all in favour of the succession 
 of Carlos, who had been banished through his in- 
 strumentality. It is said, indeed, that nothing but 
 the energy with which Zea held the reins of gov- 
 ernment, and developed and directed its power at 
 the moment of Ferdinand's death, secured the suc- 
 
 22
 
 254 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 cession of his daughter, confirmed the doubtful 
 loyahy of the army and the captains-general of 
 the provinces, and prevented a universal declara- 
 tion in favour of Don Carlos-. 
 
 There can be no hardihood in asserting, that had 
 this prince possessed the prompt courage neces- 
 sary to present himself to his partisans and to 
 claim his rights, not only at this crisis, but for 
 months afterward, the mass of the nation would 
 have declared in his favour, and he would have as- 
 cended his throne with less bloodshed than has 
 since ensued. Perhaps his triumph by the aid of 
 the church, and in opposition to the liberals, might 
 have led to the perpetration of many atrocities in 
 Spain ; the scaffolds, of course, would have been 
 busy everywhere to celebrate and secure the vic- 
 tory ; and very likely the Inquisition might again 
 have been established, as a sort of secret police, 
 on thei same footing as before the revolution of the 
 Island of Leon. It is well, perhaps, then, that 
 Carlos should not thus have ascended the throne, 
 but Jt may well be questioned whether it would 
 not have been better for the happiness of Spain, 
 had Ferdinand not contracted his last marriage, 
 and, by changing the law of succession, in rather a 
 juggling and suspicious way, entailed upon his 
 country a war, of which the horrors have already
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 255 
 
 mor6 than redeemed the doubtful advantage of 
 giving precedence to opinions which are not the 
 prevaihng ones in Spain, and introducing into it 
 institutions which are not in harmony with the 
 wants, the wishes, and the prejudices of the ma- 
 jority. Had Carlos succeeded naturally, and with- 
 out opposition, to the crown, the country would at 
 least have escaped from a disputed succession and 
 from civil war. He is said, moreover, to be an 
 amiable, honest, and conscientious man ; and the 
 extreme mildness of his character, rendered so evi- 
 dent by late events, would have perhaps furnished 
 a security against any ultra attempts at persecu- 
 tion, which might excite to revolt, or his putting 
 down liberal opinions by cruelty and oppression. 
 As to the abstract question of the rights of the 
 individual-, it is of no consequence to me or to my 
 countrymen, who have little faith in the divine 
 fight of kings, and no respect whatever for the in- 
 violability of their property in the soil and its in- 
 habitants. . . . . 
 
 But to return to Ferdinand : it must be owned 
 that, having determined to leave the succession to 
 his daughter, and a legacy of contention to the lib- 
 erals and apostolicals, whom he equally disliked, 
 he made a very judicious selection of the Council 
 of Regency, when, reflecting that the latter would
 
 256 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 be in favour of Carlos, and that his daughter would 
 have to depend for support on the opposite party, 
 he chose her advisers almost entirely from among 
 them. Several individuals named in his will were 
 in banishment, and one of them, Garelli, opposite 
 to whose name he is said to have made a note — 
 " El mejor ministro que he tenido — the best minis- 
 ter I ever had" — had been persecuted by him for his 
 liberal opinions, and was actually in such a state 
 of obscurity at the time when the King's death 
 called him to so elevated a station, that he was 
 obliged to keep a school for his support. 
 - ' Perhaps the most striking characteristic of Fer- 
 
 I 
 
 dinand was his proneness to treachery and hypoc- 
 risy. An anecdote, strongly illustrative of this, is 
 related of him in his conduct to Fernandez del 
 Pino, a very able and intelligent statesman, who 
 was Minister of Grace and Justice during the ad- 
 ministration of Zea, and who was dismissed on 
 account of being of too liberal politics for the prime 
 minister. During a council, or some court assem- 
 bly, one morning, in the palace, the King had been 
 particularly civil to Fernandez del Pino, and when 
 he was about to leave, addressed him very kindly, 
 and ended by saying, as he patted him on the 
 back, " Oh ! that I had a thousand friends like you, 
 del Pino! — Ojala que tuviera mil hombres como
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 257 
 
 tu, Fernandez /" The delighted minister, over- 
 whelmed with the royal kindness, and swelhng 
 with exultation, bowed himself out ; but the mo- 
 ment his back was turned, the facetious monarch, 
 leering, winking, and looking round to hjs courtiers, 
 made the contemptuous exclandation, " toma /" ac- 
 companied by a vulgar and obscene motion of the 
 arm, only in use among the lowest Spaniards. 
 That night Fernandez del Pino had an interview 
 with the King, parted kindly, very likely, with the 
 present of a cigar from the royal mouth, and leaving 
 his office at eleven o'clock, at half past one the 
 same night he received his dismissal, and an order 
 to go instantly into banishment. 
 
 During the time of the Constitution, Ferdinand, 
 while he pretended to acquiesce in it, was yet in- 
 triguing, and using every effort to overturn it. By 
 the aid of a very brave young officer in the cavalry 
 of the guard, by the name of Cordova, he project- 
 ed a rising among the troops, to put down the Con- 
 stitution. On the day appointed, Cordova rode 
 into the palace-yard, at the head of some soldiers 
 of his own corps, whom he had gained over, shout- 
 ing, " Viva el rey absoluto /" Instead of being 
 joined by the rest of the guards, they were attacked 
 and borne down by superior forces, and, notwith- 
 standing the courage with which they fought, were 
 
 22*
 
 258 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 ridden over and cut to pieces. Meantime, Ferdi- 
 nand, who w^itnessed the transaction from his pal- 
 ace window, seeing that the attempt was to have 
 an unsuccessful result, and dreading lest his com- 
 plicity should be suspected, bawled out, at the top 
 of his voice, " A ellos ! — At them ! cut them to 
 pieces ! Do not spare one of the rascals !" One 
 can scarce conceive any thing in Eastern treachery 
 more consummate and mX)re refined ; the massacre 
 of the Mamalukes is not worthy to be named with 
 it, for the Mamalukes were the enemies of their 
 executioner ; perhaps it may be regarded as even 
 more infamous than that delusive treachery which 
 tempted his own quondam page and favourite 
 Torrijos to land on the coast of Andalusia, and 
 when the news came that he and his followers 
 were snugly caught in the net which a well-chosen 
 agent had spread for them, suggested the charac- 
 teristic despatch — " Let them be shot. I, the 
 King — Que los fusilan. Yo el Rey^ As for 
 Cordova, he escaped the massacre of the palace- 
 yard, where he fought with the greatest bravery, 
 and after languishing in prison until the overthrow 
 of the constitution by the French, he was borne at 
 once to a high military station, being promoted, at 
 a single step, from captain or lieutenant to mariscal 
 de campo. At the death of the King he repre-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 259 
 
 sented him as Minister to Portugal, and has since 
 taken service under the Queen's government, and 
 distinguished himself against the Carlists in Na- 
 varre. 
 
 Having related so many anecdotes calculated to 
 place the character of Ferdinand in an odious light, 
 it will be no more than fair to give him an oppor- 
 tunity, like a prisoner upon trial, to speak last in 
 his own defence, by mentioning an instance in 
 which he behaved with great magnanimity. It 
 seem?, that 'on some remote occasion, he did or 
 said something in the presence of his courtiers, 
 which gave offence to the Marquis of Amarillas, a 
 distinguished nobleman and military officer. Ama- 
 rillas, in the indignation of the moment, could not 
 help exclaiming to one who stood near him, " Que 
 bruto es ese hombre ! — what a beast that man is !" 
 Ferdinand overheard the imprudent exclamation, 
 but took no notice of it at the moment, though he 
 remembered it ever after. Indeed, it is not likely 
 that kings hear themselves thus frankly spoken 
 of so often, that it should make no impression on 
 them. He did not, however, visit the offence either 
 with open punishment or secret persecution, but 
 simply left the offender unemployed ; and the fact 
 of his having overheard this remark remained un- 
 known, until, when pressed by some minister to
 
 260 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 employ so distinguished an officer, and make use 
 of his talents, he consented, but at the same time 
 stated his reason for not employing him at Madrid, 
 or in any situation near his person, while giving 
 him a command in one of the provinces, I think 
 that of captain-general of the kingdom of Serville. 
 While he was unwilhng to sacrifice his own 
 insulted feelings as a king and as a man, still he 
 would not, on that account, deprive the state of the 
 advantage to be derived from the service of Ama- 
 rillas ; and, in making his will, he also appointed 
 him to the high station of member of the Council 
 of Regency. 
 
 The general joy with which the long hoped for 
 news of the death of Ferdinand is said to have 
 been received in Madrid, is another instance of the 
 way in which people who have the honour of 
 being governed by a king, revenge themselves, in 
 a single day of unrestrained exultation, at their 
 newly-recovered independence, ere they turn again 
 to the task of adulation. Two persons alone are 
 said to have evinced any sorrow at the event ; one 
 of them being Don Francisco, the King's younger 
 brother, to whom, as well as to Don Carlos, he 
 was most sincerely attached. The other was the old 
 Duke of Alagon, who had, I believe, been the tutor 
 of Ferdinand in his boyhood ; and, at all events, was
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 261 
 
 his inseparable companion during his confinement 
 in Valencay, and ever afterward. His friendship 
 had been of that entire and unquahfied description, 
 which does not Stop to ask questions of its own 
 dignity, but only desires to know in what way it 
 may be useful. The grief of this man for the loss 
 of his master, is such, perhaps, as only one who 
 has grown gray in the sunshine of royal favour, 
 and in a life of adulation and pandering to the 
 tastes of others, can, perhaps, appreciate. The- 
 venerable courtier is said to have remained utterly 
 comfortless after the death of Ferdinand, and was 
 frequently found in secret shedding tears at his 
 bereavement. Later accounts, however, give us 
 the hope that he is in a fair way to recover his 
 equanimity, since he is said to maintain his favour 
 with the widowed Queen, and to be striving to merit 
 her regard, by rendering himself useful to her, after 
 the same fashion in which he had served her hus- 
 band. . •     : . 
 
 As for the Queen Regent herself, it is not very 
 reasonable that she should feel much regret at the 
 loss of a husband who was actually in a state of 
 decomposition before his death. She is said, how-, 
 ever, to have acquitted herself most creditably of 
 all her duties towards him, down to the latest mo- 
 ment, attending personally to all his wants, not-
 
 262 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 withstanding the disgusting object which he had 
 become, and continuing to share his bed, and to 
 watch over his pillow, with a tenderness and a so- 
 licitude which belong exclusively to the female 
 character, and of which she has shown that she 
 had a woman's share. 
 
 Since the death of Ferdinand, Christina is said 
 to have evinced, in several instances, much energy 
 and courage. On the occasion of the sedition 
 •whicl;! occurred in Madrid, when the royalist vol- 
 unteers were disarmed, she was desirous to mount 
 her horse and ride to the scene of danger, but 
 of course this wish was resisted. Her riding, 
 be it said in passing, is quite the admiration of 
 Madrid, where females are not often seen on horse- 
 back. In energy, however, she is far exceeded by 
 her elder sister, Luisa'Carlotta, the wife of Don 
 Francisco, since to her is she in no small degree 
 iiidebted for the succession of her daughter, and 
 for the position which she now occupies as Queen 
 Regent. When the King became sick at La 
 Granja, in August of 1832, he was prevailed upon 
 to repeal his will, and leave the crown to Carlos, 
 Soon after he fell into a trance, and was supposed 
 to be dead, during which every thing was arranged 
 by the ministers to proclaim Don Carlos, and 
 Christina herself acquiesced in the act which was
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 263 
 
 to deprive her daughter of a crown, and herself of 
 the enjoyment of supreme power during a long 
 minority. In the meantime the King came to 
 life again, to the astonishment of everybody, and 
 the disappointment of many. Luisa Carlotta, 
 too, who had been travelling with her husband in 
 Andalusia, now returned. She began by boxing 
 Calomarde's ears very soundly, for not acquaint- 
 ing her with the passing events ; changed all the 
 arrangements, procured the restoration of the origi- 
 nal will, banished all those who had taken part in 
 the scheme, and been too hasty in oflfering their 
 allegiance to the new king, and violently upbraided 
 her sister for a weakness which rendered her un- 
 worthy to reign. The stage itself never witnessed, 
 indeed, a more complete shifting of scenes, and 
 sudden reversal of an expected and probable ca- 
 tastrophe. . » . . .   < . 
 
 As no courts were to be held during my stay in 
 Madrid, on account of the mourning for the King, I 
 had to be satisfied with such an opportunity of seeing 
 the Queen as could otherwise be found. There is 
 in Madrid a conservatory of music, estabUshed by . 
 Christina herself, and under her especial patron-   
 age, into which are admitted all young persons of 
 both sexes who are noticed in any part of Spain to 
 possess musical talent, and who here have the ben-
 
 264 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 efit of a thorough musical education. Their gen- 
 eral education is also attended to, and such as show 
 an aptness for the stage, have an opportunity of 
 improving it. Once a week, during the winter, an 
 entertainment was given here by the Queen, at 
 which the nobility, and those connected with the 
 court, were admitted ; and by the kindness of the 
 lady of our minister, I was able to witness one of 
 these exhibitions. 
 
 The little theatre where they took place was 
 fitted up with great neatness, simplicity, and good 
 taste ; the curtain, which was very beautiful, rep- 
 resenting a scene on the Tagus, at Aranjuez. The 
 members of the school, whom I had often seen 
 •walking on the Prado, in procession, were arranged 
 in front ; the young men rather absurdly dressed, 
 in elegantly embroidered coats, cocked hats, and 
 swords, and the girls in shawls and bonnets ; the 
 hats and bonnets were, however, now equally laid 
 aside, and the pupils of both sexes wore the 
 Queen's favourite colour, known in Spain as the 
 'Christina blue. At the appointed hour, the clatter 
 of many hoofs, in the street, and, soon after, the 
 clang of sabres and halberds falling on the marble 
 pavement of the stairway and galleries, and shouts 
 of " Long live Christina," mingling with the stern 
 orders of the military officers, announced the arri-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 265 
 
 val of the Queen. All rose to receive her, and she 
 presently entered, accompanied by Don Francisco 
 and Don Sebastian, with her two sisters, their 
 wives. As she advanced up the passage to her 
 seat, she was received with enthusiastic vivas and 
 waving of fans, which she recurned with a rare 
 grace, and a captivating smile of recognition di- 
 rected to those whom she distinguished. Her 
 height is good, and she is extremely well formed, 
 though inclining to become large. She was dressed 
 with great simplicity and good taste, in black, with 
 jet ornaments, and a panache in her hair, which 
 was dressed a la Chinoise. Though her nose was 
 somewhat larger than is becoming, and, withal, 
 slightly jetroussee, yet the style of her face was de- 
 cidedly good, and the effect of .the whole, enhanced 
 by a sweet air of amiability and goodness of heart, 
 was quite captivating. She did not take her seat 
 on the species of throne, surmounted by a canopy, 
 which was placed at one side, but on the front rank 
 of benches, which happened to be only two imme- 
 diately in advance of that on which I was sitting. 
 The three "princesses were attended by-their cham 
 berlains, among whom I noticed particularly one, , 
 on whose arm hung the Queen's pelisse of velvet 
 and costly furs, and who was a very noble-looking 
 man, with a classical cast of countenance, and a 
 VOL. I. — M 23
 
 266 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 pale complexion, contrasting strongly with his black 
 and nicely-defined mustache, and a full dark eye, 
 which, while it reposed languidly within its lid, 
 seemed capable of lighting up and kindling with 
 excitement and fire. His plain dress of black, 
 with no other ornament than the gold key which 
 designated bis office, corresponded with the sim.- 
 plicity and striking character of his whole person. 
 On inquiry, I was told that his name was Munoz), 
 whom it was impossible not to look On as a most 
 happy fellow, to hold an office of the kind about 
 the person of so charming a lady. When the cur- 
 tain rose, there was a variety of music, singing, 
 and a play, in which the pupils acted, with the aid 
 of the tragedian La Torre, from the theatre of the 
 Principe'. Though the acting was the best I had 
 seen in Madrid, I was not sufficiently interested in 
 it, hot to find a much greater pleasure in looking at 
 the Queen. Her head, indeed, was so finely shaped, 
 with a couple of little ears fitting nicely and tightly 
 on either side, and being \he first pair of ears that 
 ever 'Struck me ^as having any beauty; then her 
 neck was so swan-like and faultless," and it so 
 gradually and naturally spread out, and expand- 
 ed into, such a noble foundation, in a figure at 
 once dignified, stately, and commanding, and in 
 which majesty was blended with an easy grace ;
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 267 
 
 but above all, when she turned her head, as she 
 did from tinae to time, to notice and salute the 
 ladies about her, her countenance so lit up with 
 smiles, and became radiant with sweetness and 
 amiability, that I could not keep from feeling 
 towards her a degree of reverence and enthusiastic 
 admiration^ which was less a homage to her gran- 
 deur and proud condition as a queen, than to her 
 exceeding loveliness as a woman.   • 
 
 M 2 
 
 •' •   '•
 
 268 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 > > 
 
 BULLS. 
 
 First Horror of the Uninitiated — Programme — A Fight — ^The Am- 
 phitheatre — Opening the Feast— Procession of Fighters — The 
 Hangman — The Alguazils — Winter Sport Bad — A Fierce Bull — 
 Sevilla the Picador — The Encounter — A Disgraced Matadore — 
 Pedro Sanchez — Close. 
 
 ; Though the theatre was not sufficiently good to 
 attract me often during my stay of a month in 
 Madrid, yet I lost no occasion of attending the 
 national sport of the bullfight. There were, I 
 think, three courses extraordinary, as they are 
 called, during the carnival, being conceded ex- 
 pressly, by the grace of the Queen, for the benefit 
 of the Hospital of San Carlos. It is a remarkable 
 fact, that strangers, who are ever shocked and dis- 
 gusted at the first bullfight they witness — and I re- 
 member once seeing a fighting friend, who burnt 
 powder with unbounded gusto, made sick at the 
 sight of one — gradually learn to look at others with 
 less abhorrence, until they come at length to feel a 
 decided interest in this bloody and dangerous sport : 
 and while they satisfy their consciences with the 
 reflection that it would still go on without their at-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 269 
 
 tendance ; that human beings would still continue 
 to put their lives in jeopardy; that the Jiorses 
 would still be gored and torn to pieces, and the 
 bulls tortured and put to death, whatever might be 
 their bravery and resistance, determine most inno- 
 cently to have the full benefit of the exciting spec- 
 tacle. . ' 
 
 It is impossible for it, indeed, to go on without 
 your knowledge, for the immense handbill which 
 announces it, and whifch, by covering more space 
 than those of all the theatres and masquerades put 
 together, shows its superior importance, stares you 
 in the face at every corner, while the crowd of per- 
 sons who gather round to read the programme of 
 the bulls, the picadors, and the swordsmen, who 
 are to figure on the occasion, and anticipate the 
 pleasure which js in store for them, awaken within 
 you a feeling of sympathetic interest and expecta- 
 tion. For the benefit of such inferior tatterdemal- 
 ions as cannot procure the trifling sum which is 
 necessary for admission, it is moreover announced, 
 that the bulls will be in the accustomed spot on 
 the preceding vespers, to be driven thence to the 
 stalls of the arena, when thousands of the lowest 
 orders go to witness the gratuitous exhibition of 
 the encierro, to speculate on the qualities of the 
 animals, the prospects of bloody sport, and, by their 
 
 23 
 
 #
 
 270 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 whoops, fluttering of cloaks, throwing of stones, 
 and the fr^e use of their cudgels, to furnish the fran- 
 tic beasts with a foretaste of the tortures that await 
 them. 
 
 Should the conspicuous handbill have escaped 
 your attention, it will not fail to be awakened by 
 other circumstances. When the day arrives, the 
 shops being closed at the hour of dinner and siesta, 
 are no more reopened, for shopkeeper and artisan, 
 citizen and soldier, blending their sympathies, and 
 mOved by one common impulse, are seen pouring 
 from all the remote quarters of the capital to the 
 common thoroughfare of the Gate of the Sun- 
 Thence they direct their steps towards the Prado, 
 and the wide • street, of Alcala scarce suffices to 
 give passage to the swollen current, which extends, 
 one vast river of human heads, to .where the view 
 at length terminates, at the outlet of the Gale of 
 Alcala. There is nothing left for a quiet person, 
 disposed to go with the, crowd, and do like his 
 neighbours, when once caught in the vortex, but 
 to abandon himself to the onward movement and 
 float forward. ' , • • 
 
 Such were the ideas that occurred to me on the 
 first day of the fight, as I took my way down the 
 street of Alcala, at the appointed hour. . It was 
 not, however, by accident, or at all' reluctantly,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 271 
 
 that I went. My two American friends were with 
 me, and we had taken care to secure ourselves 
 confifortable seats in the sojnbra, or at the shady 
 side, to avoid the sun, which, in the middle of win- 
 ter, was still sufficiently powerful to be annoying. 
 As we went on the crowd thickened from the ave- 
 nues of the Prado, whence those who had completed 
 the daily promenade repaired to the more stirring 
 entertainment without the gates. Here, too, we 
 were joined by many coaches, antiquated or gay 
 and drawn by mules or horses ; the calesines, from 
 which peered out the happy and expecting faces 
 of pretty Manolas, hurried by at. a rapid rate; the 
 lively Andalusian drivers running by the side of 
 the horse, and holding to his head-stall. 'One or 
 two majos, mounted on fine Xeressanoj or Gordo- 
 vese horses, with their sweethearts, instead of-re- 
 maining neglected and unnoticed, on a pillion be- 
 hind, more gallantly accommodated in front and 
 on the lap, tightly embraced the buxom mistresses 
 of their affections with one arm, wlrile with the 
 other they reined their steeds, by the aid of a 
 powerful bit, into an easy amble. We had just 
 reached the amphitheatre Ayhen the Infantes drove 
 up in their state carriages, drawn by beautiful 
 horses, guided by gayly-dressed jockeys. • A picket 
 of the cuirassiers of the guard, stationed there to
 
 272 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 keep the peace, received them with miUtary hon- 
 ours, and soon after, ahghting and delivering their 
 horses over to the less fortunate few who were ap- 
 pointed to take care of them, hastened within to en- 
 joy gratuitously, from doorways and corridors, the 
 sports of the occasion. 
 
 The scene within was not the less grand and 
 striking to me from its past familiarity. More 
 than ten thousand people were arranged in regular 
 gradation round the circle, forming an interminable 
 series, around which the eye ranged in vain search 
 of any break or limit pn which to repose itself, 
 within the vortex of human heads. The whole 
 assemblage was actuated by a common sentiment 
 of loyalty towards the princes who had just entered, 
 which evinced itself in w-aving of hats and hand- 
 kerchiefs, familiar beckoning with the fan, on the 
 part of the females, and loudly resounding accla- 
 mations and vivas ; the general joy at their arrival 
 being no doubt greatly enhanced by the impatience 
 which all felt to hail the opening of the entertain- 
 ment. , , . • 
 
 When the Infante Don Francisco had seated 
 himself, the Corregidor of Madrid, who presided 
 over the sports as the representative of the young 
 Queen, made signal for the entry of the alguazils. 
 .They immediately rode into the arena, in the rich
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 273 
 
 black Spanish dress of former times, with short 
 cloak, plumed hat, and their wands of office in their 
 hands. Their beautiful barbed horses were housed 
 in the Moorish style, and reined back upon their 
 haunches by the heavy bits, which threw spirit 
 and grace into all their movements. Having salu- 
 ted the princes and the corregidor, and cleared the 
 lists, they proceeded, by two opposite gates, to in- 
 troduce the mounted picadors on one side, and the 
 matadores, heading their respective bands of light- 
 footed and gayly-dressed chulos, at the other. 
 Each man, as he passed the threshold of that arena 
 froin which he might be dragged away a corpse, 
 was seen to cross himself, according to devout 
 usage. I had never seen such a fine exhibition of 
 bullfighters as now moved in procession, to make 
 their obeisance before the royal box. The dresses 
 were all new, and of the richest and most tastefully 
 contrasted colours, black and white, green and 
 gold, blue and silver, each chulo, moreover, bear- 
 ing over his arm a Hght cloak of taffeta, purple, 
 scarlet, or azure, calculated, by its gaudy hue, to 
 attract the attention of the enraged and irritated 
 animals, whose tortures we were all so impatient 
 to witness. The horses, too, were much better 
 looking than I had been in the habit of seeing on 
 such occasions, an improvement which, my young 
 
 M 3
 
 274 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 countryman informed me, had been brought about 
 by' the criticisms of the press, which had now re- 
 covered a certain hberty of animadversion. 
 
 And now the verdugo, or common hangman, was 
 introduced, aniid the groans, shrill whistling, and 
 execrations of the populace. He came to receive 
 the key of the toril, which, as he knelt before the 
 royal box, was thrown to him by the corregidor. 
 Having received it, he departed, to give egress ta 
 the bulls, saluted by a renewed exhibition of the ill- 
 will and detestation of the canalla, who thu^ sought 
 to take satisfaction in advance for the insult he 
 was likely to offer one day to many of them, when, 
 he should adjust the iron collar of the garrote to 
 their necks, or take a ride upon their shoulders in. 
 the Place of Barley. As the bull furiously entered^ 
 the alguazils hastened to escape, putting their 
 hor'ses to full speed.. ' In going. out, tney also re- 
 ceived a share of the same epithets which had 
 been so freely bestowed upon their brother worthy^ 
 the harigraan^ jvhose office begins with the culprit 
 at the. point where theirs terminates. The algua- 
 zils are, moreover, employed to levy fine§, and dis- 
 train upon the poor, and, as they are great miscre- 
 ants, who use the arm of justice about as consci- 
 entiously as the myrmidons of a Turkish pacha, 
 they are looked on in any thing but an amiable
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 275 
 
 light by the mob, who avail themselves of their 
 moment of liberty, as tjiey sit in judgment on the 
 benches of the amphitheatre, to vent their hatred 
 against the baser instruments of a despotism which 
 sits in unheeded supremacy above them. 
 
 Having in my former work endeavoured . to 
 describe a bullfight which I saw in Spain, under 
 much more interesting circumstances than the pres- 
 ent, I will not trouble either- the reader or myself 
 with any detailed account of this. The fact is, 
 the bulls w^ere not good, as all the ladies present 
 admitted ; that is, they were not all fierce, nor dis- 
 posed to pursue and kill the men and horses that 
 assailed them. In summer, the health and vigour 
 which they acquire on the sides of the Sierra Mo- 
 rena, or in the rich pastures of the Guadiana, the heat 
 of the season inflaming the blood, and the madden- 
 ing irritation which they feel at being separated from 
 the sleek and comely companions of their woodland 
 wanderings, to be driven over dusty roads, without 
 food or water, to the dark seclusion and cruel tor- 
 tures of the toril, all tend to develop the fiercer 
 qualities of a brave and genecous animal, and ren- 
 der him as cruel as m^in, his persecutor. In win- 
 ter, however, he has less bodily vigour -and irrita- 
 bihty of blood, and all the tortures which are 
 practised upon him, by slitting his ears, and driving
 
 276 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 in his neck the barb which bears the device indic- 
 ative of the race from which he is sprung, do not 
 suffice to render him fierce and impetuous. He 
 is, on this account, the more difficult to attack. 
 The chulos, in affixing the banderillas, instead of 
 avaihng themselves of a bold onset, when the bull 
 closes his eyes, and rushes in a straight line upon 
 them, are obliged to run past him, at the risk of 
 being transfixed by an irregular motion of the 
 horns. During the fight, the banderillas afuegOy 
 which contained fire-works, were applied, on the 
 call of the audience, to almost every bull. They 
 went oJBf with a report like that of a scattering vol- 
 ley of musketry, and produced a momentary fury, 
 which, in most instances, sufficed to excite the at- 
 tack which the office of the matadore required. 
 
 Only one bull displayed straight forward courage 
 and fury, overturning in succession both picadors, 
 breaking in the resistance of their lances, and lift- 
 ing horse and rider completely from the ground. 
 The arena was thus entirely cleared, and three 
 measured strokes upon, the benches, made simul- 
 taneously by the whole audience, with staves, and 
 stamping of the feet, were kept up as applause to 
 the bull, until another picador had ridden into the 
 arena. On raising the fallen horses, it was dis- 
 covered that one of the picadors was lifeless ; but
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 277 
 
 this excited no very great astonishment, and only 
 a temporary display of sympathy. He was dragged 
 out of the arena, and another, who had been watch- 
 ing outside of the barrier, in the hope of seeing 
 one of his companions killed or disabled, and his 
 services required, by which he would gain an 
 ounce, instead of five dollars, for simply holding 
 himself in readiness, hastened to mount and ride 
 into the arena. The other picador, by name Se- 
 villa, being also extricated, and his horse dragged 
 by the bridle and lifted on his legs again, was now 
 able to remount ; it being found that by stuffing tow 
 into the deep gore in the horse's side, so as to pre- 
 vent the effusion of blood, he would be able to hold 
 out a little longer, and perhaps save the hospital 
 the expense of another horse, by receiving two 
 death wound^ instead of one, and being thiis doubly 
 killed in the cause' of humanity. 
 
 Urging his horse along, by dint of spur, and by 
 beating him with his heavy lance, to the great ap- 
 plause of the audience, Sevilla, who was the (lar- 
 ling of the amphitheatre, and who deserved to be 
 so, for never was there a better picador, got him- 
 self in front of his comrade, and commenced at- 
 tracting the attention of the bull, by shaking his 
 bridle at him, calling him vile names, and laughing 
 him to scorn. Some of the audience applauded 
 
 24 •
 
 278 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 his bravery ; but the more knowing ones reproved 
 him for attacking out of his turn. " Afuera Se- 
 viUa ! ' a ti no te toca ! lo demasiado hueno es 
 maloT- cried one of the critics. His lance, how- 
 ever, was poised, and the bull, depressing his horns, 
 commenced the onset. No picador ever turned a 
 bull with greater dexterity than Sevilla. He would 
 have succeeded, too, on this occasion, but his al- 
 ready wounded horse, though blinded, having an 
 idea of the danger, just then turned to escape, with 
 what little strength remained to him ; the lance 
 shivered, and the bull, breaking in, continued his 
 onset. Sevilla had now the presence of mind to 
 throw down his hat, to take off the attention of the 
 infuriated animal ; bu,t he kept on, caught the horse 
 on both horns, and, throwing his head frantically 
 back, brought him over aj. his feet. Sevilla, half 
 hidden under the animal, lay struggling beneath his 
 nose. At that moment a chulo.darted by : throw- 
 ing his purple cloak into the face of the conqueror, 
 he turned away in pursuit of the new enemy who 
 thus dared to' brave him, and the life of Sevilla was 
 respited. The poor horse, with his.hind leg broken, 
 was unable again to rise. He lay 'calmly, with his 
 head erect, looking round, and with a dumb expres- 
 sion of anguish, which but imperfectly expressed 
 the torture he was suffering, as his life's blood
 
 SPAlJN REVISITED. 279 
 
 ebbed away, and the indignation he was entitled 
 to feel, if such a thing were permitted to a horse, 
 at the long continued ingratitude,- concluding in so 
 cruel a death, by which man had requited his de- 
 votion to his service. Tlie first use which Sevilla 
 made of his legs, on regaining them, was to bestow 
 as hearty a kick as the encumbrance of his armour 
 would allow, upon the uplifted head of the poor 
 animal. This proof of. his unshaken courage and 
 presence of mind,'a« well as of his brutality, was 
 received with immense applause. . • ' , . 
 
 It was the easiest thing in the world to kill such 
 a bull as this, for he was a de'cided claro. The mat- 
 adore, having presented himself before the Infante, 
 brought one kneelo the ground, demanding permis- 
 sion to kill that bull in his honour, and, finally, hav- 
 ing thrown his cocked hat away, walked boldly to 
 where the animal was dashing wildly about in the 
 hands of the tantalizing chulos. His first rush at 
 the moleta^ or blood-red b-anner, was harmless to 
 himself- and to the matadore ; at the second, the 
 sword was poised, with its point directed behind 
 the shoulder, and, in an jnslant, alt -but the handle 
 was hidden in his body. One fearful groan fol- 
 lowed, and announced that tlie seat of life had been 
 invaded ; he snorted blood, pawed the ground with 
 a remnant of fiiry, and made one more rush at the
 
 280 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 jeering matadore ; then the blood began to run 
 more freely from his mouth ; he moaned piteously, 
 and, standing less firmly on his legs, began to falter 
 aiid stagger. " Estais borracho acaso V said one of 
 the rabble, and soon after his head wavered ; he 
 looked as if the amphitheatre were swimming 
 around him, and began to move rapidly backwards, 
 to keep himself on his legs, but presently they re- 
 fused to sustain him, and he came heavily to the 
 ground. And now the amphitheatre resounded 
 with shouts and the beating of the benches, in 
 honour of the victor. Wiping his sword on the 
 moleta, he took his way to the royal box, kneeled 
 again, and received a nod of approbation. The 
 clamorous mob, not content with such testimonials 
 of favour as words conveyed, now' threw their hats 
 at his feet. He picked up each, and made an 
 obeisance, as he threw 'it back to its owner. 
 , The other bulls .were cowardly and shy, and, 
 therefore, difficult to kill. One of them, indeed, a 
 silly thing, not only leaped the barrier, and came 
 down among the orange and water men, but actu- 
 ally attempted, afterward, to jump over Sevilla's 
 horse, alighting on his neck, at which Sevilla 
 laughed as heartily as any of the spectators. It 
 happened that one of the matadores was a great 
 bungler, so that half a dozen blows were struck,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 281 
 
 without killing the very shy bull which he had to 
 deal with. The audience, upon this, became most 
 clamorous. One tells him to make haste, that it 
 is growing late, that the diversion is delayed ; an- 
 other, imboldened by the importance of having paid 
 ten cents at the door, that he is robbing him of his 
 money ; while an old woman, sitting near me, as- 
 sured him, in a loud shrill tone, that he was as fit 
 to fight bulls as she was, and that he had better, a 
 great deal, go to the tavern of Tio Pelao, and call 
 for a bottle, which he might possibly havfe the 
 courage to empty. Meantime, the words ladron, 
 grandisimo tunate, bribon, and cobarde, resounded 
 in a discordant chorus on all sides, as the mob, 
 taking advantage of their security and numbers, 
 insulted the man who was at the very moment 
 exposing his life for their amusement. At length 
 their impatience became ungovernable; and, al- 
 though the poor fellow presently succeeded in 
 killing the bull, they ordered him out of the arena, 
 with cries of " afuera ! afuera ! hombre de poca 
 verguenza ! a la carcel /" ordering him, as a man 
 wholly without shame, to be sent to prison, where, 
 indeed, unsuccessful bullfighters are often confined- 
 for weeks,' by the general verdict of the whole am- 
 phitheatre, formed into a self-constituted jury. 
 
 .The remaining bulls were killed by Pedro San- 
 
 24*
 
 282 spai:n revisited. 
 
 chez, a matadore little known to fame, but who, 
 nevertheless, aspired to the highest honours of the 
 arena, in the absence of the great Montes, the Tal- 
 ma of the profession. This Sanchez, indeed, made 
 up in fearless courage, and utter contempt of death, 
 what he might want in skill. If the bull would 
 not attack him, he attacked the bull, advancing 
 upon him, and lounging hke a fencer, attempting 
 to strike the spine, or else to bury the sword in the 
 back, which is, beyond measure, difficult, where 
 the impetus of the bull's career in rushing forward 
 is Wanting. Some of the audience applauded his 
 courage,* otlicrs reproached his temerity. The se- 
 quel showed that the disapproving critics were 
 right. In one of these ui^accustomed thrusts, not 
 sanctioned by any rUle to be found in the "treatises 
 on the science of tauromachy, Sanchez received a 
 blow on the arm from the bull's horn, as he tossed 
 his head -about. His sword was thrown to a dis- 
 tance, and he fell helpless at the feet of the animal, 
 which might have finished him by a single toss of 
 . the head. The excitement throughout the amphi- 
 theatre was excessive. " Que harharidad /" ex- 
 • claimed a woman near me, clasping her hands ; 
 an expression which might either apply to the sin- 
 gularity of the attack, the temerity of the matadore, . 
 ' or the danger of his situatiofi, it being employed
 
 >SPAIN REVISITED. 283 
 
 on every possible occasion;, at the rapture occa- 
 sioned by the sudden sight of a beautiful horse, or 
 of a lovely woman. ^   •« 
 
 The sympathy of the audience was, however, 
 soon relieved ; for, seeing that this bull would not 
 meet his adversary in fair dnd open fight, he was 
 now doomed to die feloniously, by a dishonourable 
 weapon. Two measured claps of the hand were 
 heard in different parts of the amphitheatre, until 
 at length the whole audience joined simultaneously 
 in the din, and it became tremendous. This was 
 the signal for the media luna, a sharp instrument, 
 in the shape of a half moon, which is affixed at 
 the middle to the end of a long pole, having the 
 hollow part outwards. An inferior bullfighter, a 
 common butcher, indeed, the same whose office it is 
 to desp'atch the bull after he is dovvn, by a dagger- 
 blow behind the horns, now entered the arena with 
 this dreadful weapon. Getting behind the bull, he 
 stole stealthily upon him, uriperceived, and, pois- 
 ing and directing hig weapon above the joint of one 
 of his hind legs, severed the hamstring at a blow. 
 I never saw any thing more piteous than the ap- 
 pearance of the poor brute, when he found the 
 support of his limb thus removed; struggling to 
 keep up on the other three, and even to escape, Jie 
 shook the mutilated member convulsively, and
 
 284 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 moaned and bellowed in tones which would have 
 conveyed the idea of agony to any ear, however 
 unaccustomed to- the expressive groans of tortured 
 animals. Seizing the bull by the tail, the vulgar 
 murderer now brought him to the ground, and 
 drove his dagger deep into the spine. One con- 
 vulsive shudder passed over his frame, and he be- 
 came motionless. The mules were called in, and 
 he disappeared, amid clouds of dust, and the op- 
 probrious exclamations of the multitude. 
 
 On leaving the amphitheatre, we were again 
 struck with the singular spectacle presented in the 
 street of Alcala, by the departing audience, who, 
 looked down upon at a slight angle, concealed 
 every portion of the street, and left nothing but hu- 
 man heads anywhere visible. As we walked on, 
 we. were overtaken by the picadors, riding home to 
 spend the evening in the carousal of the tavern. 
 Se villa had managed, with his usual address, so to 
 protect his horse, as to be able to ride him out of 
 the amphitheatre, by the aid of a little tow stuffed 
 in his wounds, like shot-plugs in a sinking vessel, 
 at the end of an engagement ; the beast thus 
 brought away alive becoming his own, by the rules 
 of the arena. To our no small astonishment, too, 
 old Bernardo Botella, the picador whom we had 
 supposed beyond tHe reach of either leech or shri-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 285 
 
 ving chaplain, to administer the extreme unction, and 
 bid him God-speed on his journey to heaven, now 
 came riding along, though pale, dusty, and down 
 in the mouth. He was, doubtless, purposing to 
 take a hint from his own name, and seek cofnfort 
 and solace for his bruised, body in something else 
 besides that balsam of Fierabras, which Don Quix- 
 ote used as a remedy for every disorder. I could 
 not help thinking, as I recollected the tvay in which 
 he fell under the horse, and the lifeless condition 
 in which he was dragged away, that a cat is not 
 the only animal which has nine lives, and that 
 a bullfighter is scarce less well provided. 
 
 / *
 
 286 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI I. 
 
 ." THE CARNIVAL. 
 
 Masquerades — La Vida Tunantesca — Poverty and Extravagance — 
 Casa de Abrantes — Ecarte — Love — Dancing and Flirtation — Sleep 
 — Morning— The Fainting Madrilena— The Street — Lent— Cheap 
 Pleasure — Royal and Republican Canal-Diggers — Feast on the 
 Manzanares — Burial of the Sardinia. 
 
 During the carnival, there were a few balls in 
 private' houses, which were very much like the 
 same thing anywhere else. The masquerade-balls 
 in public succeeded each other rapidly, and were 
 held at various prices, to suit the convenience 
 of the em.ptiest purse ; in large rooms, decorated 
 with an attempt at elegance, at the different thea- 
 tres or coffee-houses 4 and in humbler places in the 
 poor and remote barriers. Towards the close of 
 the carnival, masquerading became the occupation 
 of the whole capital, and-the.,streets were thronged 
 from twilight ' to sunrise, with guitar-strumming, 
 singing, and masquerading groups, who were not 
 unfrequently set upon by jrobbers in the midst of 
 their merriment, and stripped of their partycoloured 
 and gay plumage, which furnished valuable plun- 
 der to th6 freebooters, at a time when such articles
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 287 
 
 were at a premium. Many a Greek and Roman 
 soldier thus tamely allowed himself to be despoiled 
 of his armom*, and unbelieving Moors were glad to 
 cross themselves, and beg for mercy in the name 
 of the .Virgin. . •   .. . 
 
 Perhaps the most amusing group which I saw 
 during the carnival was formed by a party of poor 
 students, who had strayed from Valladolid or Sal- 
 amanca, to pass the season of festivity, more joy- 
 ously in the capital, but who, being, poor in pocket, 
 were forced to resort to mendicity as a means of 
 enriching thems'elves, and procuring funds for the 
 purchase of tickets to the masquerade, where they 
 always appeared in their own costume, in itself a 
 sufHciently grotesque one. They gave, however, 
 something besides thanks for the cuartos that were 
 doled to them, being all of them good musicians, or 
 the possessors of sonorous voices ; and thus, while 
 'some played on flutes, others touched their guitars, 
 and sang in sweet accompaniment of each other, 
 pausing under a balcony, where they w.ere fortu- 
 nate enough to attract the attention of its female 
 occupant, and introducing ingeniously into their 
 song some impromptu, in praise of the beauty of 
 the inmate, which, if it had the effect, of suffusing 
 her cheeks with blushes, also brought down the re- 
 turn of some slight .contribution.
 
 288 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 I chanced to see these youths, several of whom 
 were handsome, though all were ragged, one day 
 from the balcony of an artist of distinction, with 
 whom I had made acquaintance; at the adjoining 
 window were a coUple of handsome women, whose 
 praises they were singing ; one of the party was 
 holding his tattered hat, to receive the recompens- 
 ing coppers, while, at the other side of the street, 
 a youth, with a singularly beautiful countenance, 
 was kneeling, with quite as much of the devotion 
 of love as of the humility of a mercenary suppliant, 
 in the path of a graceful and gliding Andalusian, 
 well known to every frequenter of the Prado, who 
 was just sallying forth in search of adventures, like 
 a privateer beginning its cruise. The whole group 
 appeared most picturesque to both of us ; and the 
 painter, who was not too familiar with the sight to 
 be unfitted to appreciate its picturesque peculiarity, 
 made, in a few minutes, a masterly sketch of it, 
 which he was kind enough to give to me, ajid an 
 engraving "from which forms the vignette to this 
 volume.   • • » 
 
 During the carnival, it gave rise to many singu- 
 lar reflections in my mind, to contrast the display 
 of luxury which Madrid' then presented, with the 
 general poverty of the provinces, and with the idle, 
 unemployed character of its own population. In
 
 SPAIN REVISITED, 289 
 
 no place, perhaps, is the taste for show and out- 
 ward display kept up so entirely at the expense of 
 domestic comfort. Many poor nobles, with the 
 most insignificant income, the, mere tithe of what 
 industry might procure them, if their pride per- 
 mitted them to exercise it, ride about in antique 
 carriages, drawn by starved mules, driven by an 
 equally starved postillion, who, at home, if their 
 wretched habitation is worthy of the name, suffer 
 the greatest inconveniences from day to day. Many 
 famihes, too, of poor placemen, expecting preten- 
 dientes, and half-pay officers, remain starving from 
 cold, and the want of a sufficient and whole- 
 some diet, throughout the year, to appear well- 
 dressed at the paseo, and trick out in the gay garb 
 of an Asturiana the nurse, who at home is the 
 maid of all works, while the child which she car- 
 ries is doomed to be dwarfed, to the end of its 
 days, for the want of a healthy nourishment. When 
 I saw, indeed, such crowds of gay and well-dressed 
 people thronging to the masquerades, I could not but 
 feel melancholy at the misery which many of them 
 were preparing for themselves, and at the reflec- 
 tion that they were too often swallowing, in a sin- 
 gle gilded mouthful, the food which should have 
 sustained them for many days. ' , ' 
 
 Nevertheless, the ball which concluded the car- 
 VOL. I. — N 25
 
 290 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 nival was such a brilliant one, that it would have 
 required much self-denial in any one who could 
 get a ticket, to remain away. That night, there 
 were no less than twenty public masquerades in 
 Madrid ; but that of the Casa de Abrantes brought 
 together no less than fourteen hundred persons, in- 
 cluding, in the number, all the rank of the capital. 
 A private ball' had been given the same night, and 
 the nobility availed themselves of the excuse, to 
 repair, towards one o'clock, to the public one, with- 
 out masks, and glittering with diamonds. The 
 scene, altogether, was brilliant in the extreme, and 
 I think I never, on any other occasion in Spain, 
 saw so many beautiful women. The dresses, too, 
 representing the various picturesque costumes of 
 the Peninsula, were extremely beautiful, and the 
 dancers moved to a charming music, with a seduc- 
 tive grace which was wholly Spanish. The house 
 where this ball was given was the magnificent hotel 
 of some rich nobleman, the grandee, I believe, 
 whose name it bore. The whole suite of rooms was 
 thrown open and brilliantly lighted, so that there 
 was abundant space, even for so vast a crowd as 
 was there assembled. The furniture all remained, 
 and Ottomans, fauteuils, pictures, and glasses, were 
 scattered about, to accommodate the person and 
 please the eye. In one room gan^bling was exten-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 291 
 
 sively carried on, by the aid of monte and ecarte. 
 I happened to approach the ecarte table, where one 
 person, who had won for himself and his backers 
 a large sum of money, had still possession of his 
 seat, having passed no fewer than twelve times. 
 I remained to look on, and he actually continued to 
 win six times longer. " Diez y ocho veces ! Que bar- 
 haridad /" — said a lean-looking Spaniard, who had 
 been losing his money. In the tocador, or toilet- 
 room, there was a pairing off by common consent. 
 The conversation between the parties was often 
 most earnest. One couple had their faces turned 
 towards each other, their masks half averted, and 
 their hands clasped together, as if in record of a 
 promise. Beside the seat of the lady was a little 
 boy, dressed as a majo, and a girl of eight, attired 
 as a female warrior. Perhaps they were her chil- 
 dren ; they were both asleep on the carpet. In 
 the corner sat a Roman soldier in a deep sleep. 
 He remained in that situation many hours. Hav- 
 ing never yet been able to remain to the end of one 
 of these balls, and being determined to do so on 
 this occasion, I took courage at the example of the 
 Roman soldier, and, throwing myself back in a 
 musing atittude in a fauteuil, so as to appear lost 
 in contemplation, soon went to sleep. It was an 
 abortive slumber, however, interrupted by the noise 
 
 N 2
 
 292 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 of the distant music, the chattering of so many 
 voices of people uttering comphraents, or engaged 
 in flirtation. Besides, the supper-room was not 
 far oif, and the exhausted dancers were recruiting 
 their powers, with an earnestness very much en- 
 hanced by the idea that Lent had already com- 
 menced, and they must say farewell to flesh for a 
 season. 
 
 Towards seven in the morning, the throng had 
 scarcely diminished in any perceptible degree. The 
 dancing went on with unabated animation, and the 
 figure which designated the character, still an- 
 nounced the same succession of waltz, gallop, 
 quadrille, and mazourka. In vain did I look for 
 the signal for that griega, which I had been told 
 completed all these entertainments, and whichj from 
 its long duration, sufficed to weary the most invet- 
 erate votaries. Though the light of day was 
 breaking in by a thousand cracks or crevices, and 
 mingling oddly with the blaze of the chandeliers, 
 the sport still went on. Giving up my project, 
 and half doubting whether the entertainment were 
 to have any end, I turned now to escape. The 
 shutters had been opened in the supper-room, and 
 it was broad day there, although the lights still 
 continued to burn. The servants were feasting on 
 t)roken fragments of the repast, while a soldier on
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 293 
 
 duty at the entrance had made favour, and was per- 
 mitted to partake. In passing to the stairway, I 
 found a crowd collected about a beautiful young 
 girl, who had fainted. This is a most extraordinary 
 circumstance in Spain, where the art of swooning 
 appropriately is not understood. No one knew 
 what would be good for her ; some proposed water, 
 and some wine ; a foreigner suggested the idea 
 that fresh air might help her, but this was rejected 
 as dangerous by those who clustered round. When, 
 at length, she recovered, her companions did not 
 think of removing her, as they had sundry engage- 
 ments, and the funcion was not yet over. 
 
 In the streets, the sun was up and shining 
 brightly. Peasants from the country were wend- 
 ing their way, with laden beasts, to the market- 
 place, and their fresh, honest, unsophisticated air, 
 furnished a keen and cutting reproof to the jaded 
 masquerader, stealing home like a culprit who 
 had been spending the night in evil deeds, to hide 
 himself from the light of that sun whose diurnal 
 visit and departure had been ail-wisely regulated, 
 to mark the alternation of labour and repose. 
 
 Although the carnival had already terminated, 
 
 according to the rules of the church, the people of 
 
 Madrid still trespassed 6n the sacred season of 
 
 Lent, observing the first day of it, according to im- 
 
 25
 
 294 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 memorial usage, as a festival. It is the custom in 
 Madrid for all the lower classes to repair, on the 
 first day of Lent, to the banks of the Manzanares, 
 to feast, dance, and make merry in the open air; 
 and, for the higher classes, to ride to the same spot 
 in their carriages, for the purpose of looking on. I 
 bent my steps in that direction, towards three 
 o'clock, and found the whole road, from the Gate 
 of Atocha to the canal, filled with idle people. 
 For the want of some better amusement, a party 
 of soldiers and other tatterdemalions were whiling 
 away the time, in an effort to throw stones into the 
 hollow of an aged tree. The success or failure of 
 an attempt, furnished to these easily diverted indi- 
 viduals the means of excitement. 
 
 We are told that the project of the Canal of 
 Manzanares was conceived by some brilliant and 
 precocious Spaniard, as early as the close of the 
 seventeenth century. It has been gradually brought 
 to its present state of perfection by the efforts of 
 different monarchs, and is now navigable for a dis- 
 tance of two leagues. Ferdinand the Desired — 
 "Queesta en Gloria — who is now in heaven, "that 
 is, if we may believe his wife and others, who say 
 so whenever they Speak of him — undertook the 
 bold design of adding to it what is called the. Em- 
 barcadero, and, accordingly, in a space of time very
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 295 
 
 little greater than the State of New-York required 
 to join Lake Erie to the Atlantic, actually com- 
 pleted a beautiful and spacious landing-place, con- 
 venient lodges for the boatmen who have the care 
 of the royal barge, and the very necessary Catholic 
 and Christian appendage of a parochial chapel, for 
 the benefit of the sailors' souls. 
 
 I was quite amazed at the gay spectacle which 
 the banks of the Manzanares, and of the canal, 
 which runs parallel to it, presented. Groups of 
 people were everywhere scattered about, formed 
 into little family circles, collected about their pro- 
 visions, which had been removed from the baskets 
 and spread upon the turf. Although, when I had 
 seen the crowd toiling along the road to the river, 
 under the weight of their dinner, the very natural 
 idea occurred to me, how much easier, mechani- 
 cally speaking, it would have been for them to 
 have carried it in the natural conveyance with 
 which each was provided ; yet, when I now saw 
 these picturesque little family groups scattered 
 about on the grass, partaking in the open air of their 
 simple luxuries, and, as they sat in a circle, passing 
 the waning wine-skin from mouth to mouth, I 
 felt less disposed to wonder at their departure from 
 strict utility and philosophical reasonableness. In 
 fiome of the parties, too, there was an occasional
 
 296 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 youth, who seemed, from the interchange of punc- 
 tilious courtesy which was going on, to be an in- 
 vited guest. He was, doubtless, a lover of the 
 damsel seated beside him, and who, not being 
 permitted, under ordinary circumstances, to enter 
 the house, or get any farther than the grating of 
 the balcony, seemed now fully to appreciate the 
 extent of his bliss. As the feast went on and was 
 concluded, the fragments, not having been extraor- 
 dinarily augmented, were easily disposed of in the 
 baskets, and songs, the tinkling of the guitar, and 
 the light fandango, animated the banks of the Man- 
 zanares. Meanwhile, the sellers of oranges, chest- 
 nuts, and the clamorous watermen, mingled in 
 the throng, kept up the customary din, while the gay 
 uniforms of the military, who, in despotic countries, 
 mingle in all the sports of the poor, added greatly, 
 as they moved among the trees, to the picturesque 
 gayety of the scene. » 
 
 Having an engagement, I could not remain to 
 witness a very curious celebration peculiar to this 
 sport in Madrid. This was the ceremonious bur- 
 ial of a little fish called a Sardinia. It is per- 
 formed with much pomp, by vagabonds curiously 
 tricked out for the occasion, who imitate the cere- 
 monial of the church, chant a nasal parody on the 
 mass, and evincing, in the strongest manner, their
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 297 
 
 distaste for the piscatory nourishment which is as- 
 signed to the season, thus grossly caricature a 
 rehgion in whose dogmas they yet devoutly believe, 
 and to whose sway they yield unmeasured submis- 
 sion.   -     • 
 
 n3 
 
 t.
 
 298 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PRISON OF THE COURT. 
 
 Lent— Devotion— A Modem Miracle — Prison of the Court— Inmates 
 — Don Luis de Lemos— Don Andres de Guevara — A Murderer — 
 Imprisoned Family — A'Contented Mother— Distracted Mother — 
 Common Prison — Manolas — A Female Combat — The Dungeons. 
 
 I CANNOT honestly s&y that I was sorry when 
 the carnival, with its gayeties, was over. On the 
 contrary, I was rejoiced to escape from the whole 
 system of crowded balls, confined theatres, where 
 the air was heated and rendered impure by the 
 lamps, or sent back upon me from the smoky 
 lungs of so many votaries of tobacco ; where the 
 light was offensive to the eye, and the views of 
 life exhibited upon the stage, except in the sainete, 
 were meretricious and unnatural ; from late hours, 
 from dissipation, in short, in all its forms, and once 
 more to fall quietly back into the sober and even 
 tenour of existence, and revel in the supreme good 
 of possessing my soul in quietness. 
 
 I must say, that to me masses furnished a very 
 agreeable substitute for masquerades. The deeply 
 resounding peals of the organ, the soft and sober
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 299 
 
 tones of bassoons and viols, the solemn harmony 
 of human voices proceeding from the unseen re- 
 cesses of the choir, were to me an acceptable ex- 
 change for the flippant sprightliness of the gallop 
 and the mazourka; nor was there any thing lost in 
 passing from the gaudy mirrors, which reflected 
 the already offensive glare of so many lamps, to 
 the sober twilight, which revealed and mellowed a 
 Crucifixion of Esparioleto, or an Assumption of Mu- 
 rillo. Often, as I leaned against a stone column 
 sustaining the lofty dome of some noble temple, 
 my soul dissolved by feelings of tenderness, and a 
 mysterious and unexplained sentiment of religion 
 stirring within me, I could not help thinking how 
 far more attractive were the feftiales who strewed 
 the pavement around me, as they sat in no cush- 
 ioned pews, but in all the humihty which our re- 
 ligion enjoins, dressed in the sober black of their 
 mantilla and basquinia, their pale countenances, and 
 full languid eyes, so entirely in harmony with the 
 scene, than when tricked out so shortly before, in 
 meretricious and partycoloured tinse], and aban- 
 doned to a hectic gayety. It is certainly much 
 easier to fall in love in church than in a ball-room, 
 and to enjoy the pleasure which tenderness excites, 
 when no disturbing circumstance occurs to distort 
 with care or vexation the countenance of her you
 
 300 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 gaze upon, where it is not necessary to say somie 
 thing when you have nothing to -say, and good- 
 breeding demands no laborious effort to be agree- 
 able. 
 
 But all this has nothing to do with my purpose, 
 which was to say, that when the carnival was over 
 in Madrid, and the Sardinia buried, the good people 
 of that metropolis turned, with no less energy, to 
 the exercise of the religious observances which 
 their faith enjoins, than they had hitherto exhibited 
 in the pursuit of pleasure. Psalms, prayers, and 
 alms-giving, confession and communion, became 
 the business of the day ; the offices of the Rosary, 
 the Passion, and the Crown of Thorns, were all 
 observed, the stations duly followed, and the privi- 
 leged altars visited, the flesh resisted, and the 
 devil wrestled with. No art, in fact, by which 
 heaven might be conciliated, and the indulgences 
 promised by the church gained, was neglected by 
 the late votaries of pleasure, to provide spiritual 
 comfort for their souls, and redeem the sins which 
 they had either meditated or committed. 
 
 In no preceding Lent had the Spanish church 
 ever been more in earnest than in this. The car- 
 nival had been a harvest-time for the liberal gov- 
 ernment of the day, which attracted to itself the 
 affections of the light-heeled and laughter-loving
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 301 
 
 portion of the community, by tolerating amuse- 
 ments unknown in the days of despotism. The 
 Lent was, in turn, the hay-making season for the 
 priests and friars, who, notwithstanding that they 
 were expressly and publicly cautioned by the gov- 
 ernment against making the pulpit and the confes- 
 sional the means of exciting to discontent, yet 
 managed, by innuendo from the one, and of course 
 directly through the other, to augment the strong 
 feeling which already existed, among a majority of 
 the people, in favour of their darling Don Carlos. 
 No doubt many a miracle, too, was got up for the 
 occasion. To give an idea how these things are 
 done in Spain, it may be sufficient to mention one 
 which was enacted in the Escurial, soon after the 
 death of the King. Under the foundation of that 
 magnificent pile is the Pantheon, where the Span- 
 ish kings are consigned to their last earthly habi- 
 tation. Soon after the death of Ferdinand, a voice 
 was heard echoing from the^ recesses of that hall of 
 darkness and of death, calling mournfully — " Car- 
 los ! Carlos ! come to the succour dt my people !" 
 Any one acquainted with the common people in 
 Spain, may readily conceive how troublesome this 
 voice might have become to the existing govern- 
 ment, had it continued to keep itp the cry of " Car- 
 los ! Carlos !" The privileges of the convent, and 
 
 .26
 
 302 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 the inviolability of its sanctuary, were suddenly in- 
 vaded ; a search was made in the haunted chamber 
 o-f departed grandeur, and, instead of proceeding 
 from the mouldering body of the King, which had 
 prematurely fallen to pieces on the eve of its in- 
 terment, the sound was found to issue from within 
 the capacious ribs of a monk of St. Jerome. 
 
 I often went to the evening service and sermon 
 in the Church of the Happy Event, in the Gate of 
 the Sun, and I noticed that there was always some- 
 thing said to quicken the slumbering loyalty of the 
 initiated, and that passages of Scripture were often 
 introduced, as if casually, containing the word king, 
 covertly designed to bring to their mind the idea 
 of him who was in Portugal. At the conclusion 
 of one sermon, the priest significantly said, " My 
 brethren, let us pray for God's aid, through the in- 
 tercession of the blessed Virgin, in the present ne- 
 cessities of the Church and State." Which might 
 be interpreted, and was so understood by every- 
 body. Let us beseech Him to confound the liberals, 
 and send Carlos to reign over us. 
 
 As, however, these church ceremonies, though 
 very interesting to me, and very edifying, did 
 not fill up the whole of my leisure, I willingly ac- 
 ceded to the suggestion of a colonel of artillery, 
 whose acquaintance I had formed, to visit, in his
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 303 
 
 company, the different prisons and benevolent es- 
 taDlishments of the capital. On his application, 
 the Minister of Fomento very liberally furnished 
 us with an order for our admittance nito every 
 public establishment in Madrid. The principal 
 prison, called the Cafcel de Corte, fir^t attracted 
 our attention. We were received at the door by 
 the Alcayde Interino, who, on the simple exhibition 
 of the large seal of office attached to the envelope 
 of the order, immediately admitted us, as our visit 
 had been announced to him by a separate com- 
 munication. 
 
 We found the building to consist of an extensive 
 quadrangle, surrounding a courtyard. Corridors 
 corresponding to the different stories effected the 
 communications between the. different parts of the 
 building, which was. divided, for the most part, into 
 habitations more or less large, where such as had 
 the means of paying a rent to the jailer, of from a 
 quarter to half a dollar or more daily, were lodged, 
 according to their commodiousness. Some prison- 
 ers who did not pay were also confined here, but 
 very closely crowded ; the mass, however, of poor 
 criminals, were confined together in large subter- 
 ranean dungeons, beneath the foundations of the 
 building, the entrances being from the courtyard 
 below. .
 
 304 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 We began with the prisons above, and the Al- 
 cayde, preceded by a turnkey, opened, one by one, 
 each apartment for our inspection. As each door 
 was thrown open, the unhappy inmates, not know 
 ingwhat new circumstance of joy or sorrow await 
 .ed them, would rouse themselves fi-om the beds 
 upon which they were stretched, either from the 
 want of space to move . about, for frequently a 
 dozen persons were confined together in an apart- 
 ment nbt more than as many feet square, or from 
 an effort to escape from the wearisome misery of 
 their situation, in the forgetfulness of sleep. Our 
 visit occasioned much interest among ibem. They 
 all showed a disposition to expose their cases to 
 us, and .prove the perfect innocence to which each 
 laid claim. Even when tald that we were vested 
 with no powers to inquire into or alleviate their 
 condition, but that our visit was made for the sim- 
 ple gratification of our own curiosity, they did not 
 take offence at the impertinent heartlessness of 
 finding distraction in the contemplation of their 
 misery, but seemed to derive a real pleasure from 
 seeing the faces of others than their keepers, and 
 coming so near to liberty, as to find themselves 
 face to face with those who enjoyed it. The in- 
 crease of happiness which we derived from com- 
 paring our. own condition with theirs, was, of
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 305 
 
 course, attended in their case with the inverse feel- 
 ing of increased despondency. This, however, 
 did not, perhaps, become uppermost in their 
 thoughts until after we had left, for they seemed 
 in almost every case delighted to see us. 
 
 It were a vain task to attempt narrating all the 
 sad stories of individual wrongs and calamities 
 which were related to us by the unhappy suffer- 
 ers, or to describe all the scenes of sorrow wiiich 
 the opening of almost every door disclosed. Some 
 of the facts,. however, may be curious to my coun- 
 trymen, in showing them the state of society in 
 Spain, the rights enjoyed by individuals, and the 
 mode in which justice is exercised ; and useful to 
 them in aiding them to appreciate, by comparison, 
 the inestimable blessings of those institutions which 
 the virtue of their forefathers has bequeathed to 
 them. 
 
 Among the first persons whom we noticed, was 
 a very large, noble-looking individual, by the name 
 of Don Luis de Lemos, who had previously been 
 Corregidor of Madrid. Hk figure was very com- 
 manding, though attenuated by long confinement; 
 and his face, although rendered pale and colourless 
 by the same cause, and wrinkled by the endurance 
 of grief and indignation, still preserved traces of 
 intelligence and spirituality. This person, when 
 
 26*
 
 306 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 his prison door was opened, came out into the cor- 
 ridor, and continued with us until we left that part 
 of the prison. He said he had been imprisoned 
 more than a year before, on the accusation of a 
 single delator, ladron, traidor,- villano ; and his 
 countenance, as he repeated these expressive epi- 
 thets, assumed an air of sternness and ferocity. 
 He was accused of complicity in the conspiracy 
 to put Carlos on the throne, and no doubt with 
 truth, for his eye was restless and unquiet, and his 
 air that of an intriguer and conspirator. At all 
 events, the charge was proved upon his trial, and 
 he was sentenced to a banishment of twenty-five 
 years, in the Island of Teneriffe. He could not 
 tell when the sentence would be carried into effect, 
 but said, with caustic and bitter humour, that it 
 would probably not take place until a fleet of ten 
 sail of the Hne could be collected to convoy him. 
 He alluded to the matter of opinion which divided 
 Spain, and had brought his present misfortune upon 
 him, by saying, that there had once been a war in 
 Sweden which lasted twenty-five years, between 
 those who wore hats, and those who preferred cov- 
 ering their heads with caps. As we were leaving 
 his part of the prison, he begged me to take nothing 
 away from Spain with me, but a plan of that prison 
 with which their holy Catholic religion had provided
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 307 
 
 them — " Que nuestra religion Catolica nos dis- 
 fongar 
 
 On opening the door of one of the smallest 
 apartments, a single individual was discovered in 
 the obscurity of the corner, seated on a filthy bed 
 laid on the brick floor. He had a cloth cap on his 
 head, and his face was half concealed by his hand, 
 as he leaned upon it, in an attitude of brooding mel- 
 ancholy. On discovering that we were not his 
 customary visiters, and that my companion was an 
 officer of rank, he rose at once, letting his cloak 
 fall behind him. We now saw, by the soiled and 
 tattered uniform which he wore, that he was an 
 officer in the army, of the rank of lieutenant-colo- 
 nel. He had been confined a year ; his face was 
 sallow and care-worn, his eyes sunken, and his 
 beard and hair neglected. He was a nobleman, 
 evidently accustomed to luxury, and wholly unused 
 to shift for himself. He was diminutive in size, 
 with small and delicate hands and feet, and exactly 
 of the same style with the individuals of that class 
 whom we had seen in their habitual post of idle- 
 ness, as we traversed the Gate of the Sun. Yet 
 what a contrast between their haughty bearing and 
 his humility. The jailer told us, after we had left 
 him, that he was in prison for being an outrageous 
 royalist, and devoted to the succession of Carlos.
 
 308 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 His own story, however, was very different. We 
 saw him a few minutes afterward, as we were 
 leaving the prison, and he put into the hands of my 
 companion a letter, which he begged him, in a 
 whisper, to read when he should be without the 
 prison. It stated, that he had been imprisoned a 
 year before, as a decided defender of Dona Isabel, 
 and of her august mother Christina, at the time 
 when Zea triumphed over the ultra liberals, and 
 procured the banishment of the Dukes of San Lo- 
 renzo and San Carlos. He said that he was now 
 detained entirely through a mistake ; that his calls 
 for liberation or for trial were unheeded ; that he 
 was without pay or succour of any sort; and that 
 he must soon perish. He stated that he had not 
 been able to tell us this by words, because the 
 other prisoners present were all Carlists, and his 
 opposite opinions had already been the cause of 
 his suffering abuse and cruel persecution at their 
 hands. His letter was unfinished when we hap- 
 pened to pass, the sentence with which it termi- 
 nated being incomplete ; it bore, however, the aris- 
 tocratic name, familiar in the annals and chronicles 
 of Spain's better days, of Andres Rafaele Ladron 
 de Guevara. •..'■• 
 
 Among the undistinguished crowd of humbler 
 unfortunates, the cases of a few fixed themselves
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 309 
 
 deeply in my memory. One young man, of rather 
 prepossessing appearance, said that he was there 
 for being poor, meaning, that the shght offence 
 which he had committed would not have brought 
 him there, had he possessed the means of bribing 
 the alguazils — " con muchos talegos ya no estaria 
 preso r Another young man was imprisoned, that 
 his evidence might be taken as a witness in the 
 case of a rina, or duel with knives, of which he had 
 been a spectator. One lad of ten was confined, 
 because some money had been stolen from his 
 master, and he was suspected of being the thief; 
 and another of fourteen had accidentally killed 
 another boy in the street, by throwing a stone ; he 
 was a handsome and amiable-looking lad, but his 
 features were beginning to harden. In the same 
 room with these boys were five ruffianly-looking 
 fellows, accused of highway robbery and murder. 
 
 In approaching a particular room, we were told 
 that it contained a murderer of very aggravated 
 stamp. Julian Ramos was the man's name. He 
 was an unusually quiet and placid-looking person, 
 in whose face Lavater himself would have found 
 no ferocious expression. We asked him' why he 
 had been imprisoned ; he answered, that he had 
 been to Portugal to see how affairs went there, and 
 had been taken up as a Carlist. But, said my
 
 310 SPAIN REVISITED, 
 
 companion, using the familiar and characteristic 
 expression of the country — "usted habra hecho 
 alguna muerte ?" He smiled good-humouredly, and 
 shrugged assent. Baffled by his expression, I 
 could not help saying to him — " But what could 
 induce you to take away the life of a fellow-being ?" 
 His answer was — " Una riha sobre una muger — 
 a quarrel about some woman." — "And who .was 
 the unhappy individual ?" — " Un tal Sebastian Ro- 
 jas — a certain Sebastian Roxas." As he answered 
 our inquiries, he was preparing a cigar, and went 
 through the whole process with the greatest ex- 
 actness and calmnessL, looking now at us, now at 
 his work, while, throughout the narration, a placid 
 and self-satisfied smile, which yet had in it nothing 
 of vanity, affectation, or bravado, and which was 
 quite involuntary, played about his countenance. 
 This circumstance, and others that came to my 
 knowledge in Spain, have left me in no little doubt, 
 whether the thing they call remorse, the worm 
 which is said never to die, but gnaw on for ever, 
 has any real existence in the construction of the 
 human character, a sort of law of talion, which na- 
 ture has instituted within us for- her own protection. 
 May it not be a quality which civilization, and the 
 cultivating and unfolding of our sympathies devel- 
 op, or, if it be natural to us, may it not be extin-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 311 
 
 guished in a vicious state of society, where the bad 
 administration of bad laws tends to encourage vice, 
 and render depravity triumphant. In Spain, the 
 only effect upon the murderer, of killing one man, 
 is to make him desirous of killing another. 
 
 In the same prison with this individual, was a 
 delicate lad of fourteen, who was accused of being 
 engaged in the conspiracy to murder the young 
 Queen and her mother. He had been found, -the 
 day before, engaged in copying some seditious pa- 
 per in the palace, where his father was employed 
 as a clerk in one of the offices. The poor boy 
 seemed quite unconscious of any wrong, and quite 
 satisfied with one night deprived of his- liberty, and 
 passed on the naked pavement in such company. 
 In another room we saw the father of this lad, a 
 respectable-looking man, in the uniform of his sta- 
 tion. He complained bitterly of the hardship of 
 being compromised by the vicious conduct of his 
 son, whose offence should not have been made to 
 bring ruin on his parents. When, soon after, I saw 
 the mother, her language was very different. She 
 said that her son had forgotten his duty, and been 
 led astray by designing men ; but he was a good 
 and honest, lad. She inquired after him with the 
 tenderest interest, and wanted to know how he was 
 situated, and the character of his companions. I
 
 312 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 did not tell her that he was in the same prison with 
 Julian Ramos, and Solorzano, surnamed the Bird- 
 catcher, whom I soon after saw led from that same 
 prison, to be strangled in the Square of Cebada. 
 The day before, had seen father, mother, and child, 
 assembled round their humble board, in the sanc- 
 tuary of their home. The morrow was to dawn 
 upon them through the grated windows of a prison, 
 where the wonted companionship of each other 
 would be exchanged for that of thieves and mur- 
 derers. Such are the vicissitudes which despotism, 
 
 » 
 
 whether it boldly avows itself, or claims the name 
 of liberalism, reserves for the victims of its op- 
 pression. 
 
 The spectacle presented in those apartments 
 reserved for women, was most heart-rending. In- 
 stead of the fortitude bestowed on man, to enable 
 him to bear up under misfortune, and resist the 
 evils of life, woman is created with mildness, gen- 
 tleness, and a disposition to lean for support on 
 man, her protector. In the place of the compressed 
 lip, the contracted brow, the clinched hand, the 
 stern silence, and whatever evinces the effort to 
 conceal misfortune, and resist the outward expres- . 
 sion of grief, here was nothing but sighs, unre- 
 strained tears, and all that indicates a relaxed con- 
 dition of the nerves, a prostration of mind and
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 313 
 
 body beneath the pressure of overpowering ca- 
 lamity. < 
 
 Each one hastened to tell her story and call for 
 our sympathy. Here, too, notwithstanding what 
 may be said about the sex's duplicity, there was 
 less effort to conceal the crime which each -had 
 committed. One old woman told us, that she had 
 stolen some charcoal to cook her food, being in a 
 state of starvation, and without mon^y. Another 
 was in prison because her husband had killed her 
 own mother. Her countenance was mild, gentle^ 
 and expressive of melancholy and saint-like resig- 
 nation. Had I been sitting in judghient upon 
 her, I would have acquitted her for that look. I 
 told her I was sure she could ha:ve had no com- 
 plicity in such a deed. She looked at me with an 
 expression of gratitude, which could not have been 
 greater had I presented, her with her pardon. One 
 young woman wept bitterly, telling us, between 
 her sobs, that she had absented herself from the 
 Jiou&e of her mother, who had caused her to be imr 
 prisoned. She was a repentant Magdalen, the 
 abandoned victim of some heartless seducer. An- 
 other was actually detained there, to give her evi-' 
 dence in a robbery which had been committed on 
 herself — " Me roharon y despues me frajeron a 
 qui." Strange as it may seem, there were two 
 
 VOL. I. — 27
 
 314 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 miserable old women prisoners for political offences ; 
 one accused of crying, " Viva Carlos QamtQ.r 
 the other, of attempting to seduce two young offi- 
 cers of the royal body-guard to join the standard 
 of the Curate Merino. In this prison was one 
 character which was quite anomalous ; a young 
 woman of twenty, 'large, fine-looking, with a good 
 figure, who, with her husband, had been imprisoned 
 for political offences. She was in perfect health, 
 seemed to have been but a short time ail inmate of 
 the prison, and her dress was scrupulously neat, 
 vsrhile, far from sharing the despondency of her 
 companions,, she seemed full of good-humour, and 
 a, smile of cheerfulness and contentment played 
 about her mouth, and glowed brightly in her full 
 black eye. I could not account for this discrep- 
 ance, unless, indeed, the fond pressure with which 
 she embraced the child which she was then nursing, 
 might have explained the mystery. The maternal 
 feeling, perhaps, absorbed all others. Far differ- 
 ent was the manner of another, the wife of a dier, 
 who, having gone one day to Caramancheles, in her 
 absence her husband fell into a vat, and was taken 
 out dead, upon which she was apprehended on 
 suspicion, and thrown into prison. She was now 
 iij' an iadvanced state of pregnancy, and said she 
 had five children, v^hom she had not been allowed
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 315 
 
 to see. As we turned to go away, she rushed 
 frantically after us, caught my companion by the 
 arm, and exclaimed, with all the mother in her ac- 
 cents — " Oh, bring me to the sight of my children ! — 
 Que me pongan en comuniQacion cpn mis ninos !" 
 In one room was an entire' family, of all of whom, 
 except one middle-aged man, who was looking out 
 of the window, we were-'told, the imprisonment 
 was voluntary. A little girl of ten years was play- 
 ing with a doll in the corner, and endeavouring to 
 .make it sit up ; while the mother was sewing, ap- 
 parently the picture of contentment ; her husband 
 and her child were near her, and she was satisfied. 
 It was with no trifling revulsion of feeling that we 
 passed from this scene of suffering virtue to a vast 
 hall, in which was assembled a disorderly collec- 
 tion, whose profession it was easy to conjecture. 
 They were charged with being scandalous, riotous, 
 with having fought with knives, or having stabbed 
 their lovers. Their beds, or straw mats, were 
 ranged along thewaljs of the apartment. Many 
 of them were engaged in eating their dinner in 
 parties or messes, from little earthen pipkins, 
 which they at once left as we entered, to ask 
 us if we were the commission. Presently they 
 all began to talk together, in those coarse. Croaking 
 voices, which one hears among the Manolas ; then
 
 316 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 they asked for alms, in the name of the most pure 
 Virgin, and, as we went away without giving them 
 aiiy^ sakited us with curses and abusive epithets, 
 commending us to the care of the evil one. 
 
 Perhaps there are no women in the world pos- 
 sessing characters more strongly marked with reck- 
 less crime, than those of the lower' class in Madrid, 
 known by the name of Manolas. Unheeded by the 
 police, and abandoned to the bloody law of -their 
 own vindictive passions, the barriers in which they 
 live are the nightly scenes of "violence and murder, 
 and the only intimation which justice has of their 
 crimes, is when the dead bodies of the murdered 
 of either sex, instead of being concealed, are thrust 
 out into the street, and being taken up in the morn- 
 ing by the patrol, are exposed, covered with wounds 
 and blood, in the Place of the Holy Cross, until 
 claimed for burial by their relations. On the feast- 
 days, the taverns of these suburban barriers be- 
 come the scene of carousal. Many of these Ma- 
 nolas, supported by lovers who are attached to 
 them, themselves often support in turn other lov- 
 ers 'to whom they are attached, and these, again, 
 may still have their distinct prepossessions. Hence 
 the* abundant source of jealousy, quarrels, duels 
 with knives, or stealthy assassination. As many 
 of these women habitually carry open knives thrust
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 317 
 
 through their garters, the means of deahng a death- 
 blow is oyer at hand. 
 
 I shall never forget a scene of this description, 
 of which I was about this time a spectator, in the 
 street -of- Alcala, in cohnpany with the English 
 Minister, and the secretary of our own legation. 
 A very pretty Manola was sitting kt-the-suriny side 
 of the street, on a manta, her- little well-shod foot 
 and swelling ankle projecting from beneath a some- 
 what scanty petticoat, with oranges piled beside 
 her, to sell to the passing pedestrians, whom she 
 intercepted on their road to the Prado. She was 
 chanting to herself, in the best humour in the world, 
 some passionate' 'couplets, to a ,mohotonou's love- 
 lorn melody, occasionally ipausing to retort some 
 amorous expression, or utter some pert and pithy 
 proverb, to a passing acquaintance. Presently 
 came by another Manola, equally scantily gowned, 
 . and with a foot not less ijdy, gliding gracefully 
 along, with her mantilla hanging half from her 
 shoulders, her arms akimbo, and her eye glancing 
 insidiously on €ither side. , .When she came to the 
 orange-seller, she uttered a passing taunt, that in- 
 dicated, some low-lived triumph in an affair of love. 
 The demon of jealousy seemed in an instant to 
 awake in the breast of the insulted woman. She 
 sprang to her feet, rushed upon her insulter, tore 
 
 27*
 
 318 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 her mantilla from her neck at the first grasp, and 
 seized her by the hair with one hand, while the 
 other, being chnched, struck repeatedly at her face 
 and bosom. The other was not idle ; handfuls of 
 hair were scattered, and blood streamed from their 
 scarred faces, marked with the prints of their nails, 
 until the orange-woman, growing frantic at the 
 sight of blood, stretched down to her garter in 
 search of a weapon more suited to her rage. 
 
 At this moment, the chivalry of my countryman, 
 who was a Southern cavalier, interposed most 
 opportunely, and prevented more deadly conse- 
 quences, while the other belligerent was dragged 
 away by no .easy effort, and with no slight ac>- 
 companying trophy of hair, in the opposite direct 
 tion. Being the attacked party, and apparently the 
 most placable, she was now abandoned ; But the 
 very first use she made of her liberty, was to rob 
 a tottering old placeman, in a cocked hat, of the 
 walking-cane with which he stayed his steps in 
 his customary walk to the Prado, and, ere she 
 could be again arrested, she dealt her antagonist, 
 who was still tight bound in the embrace of my 
 chivalrous countryman, some blows over the head, 
 which made the welkin ring again, and called viv- 
 idly to my mind the discipline which I had often 
 seen dispensed by Punch to Judy.. JNJeyer did
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 319 
 
 combatants part with deadlier fury, or fiercer men- 
 aces of future revenge. That one of them paid 
 with her life's blood this unliquidated account of 
 vengeance, is more than possible, though I never 
 saw or heard of either afterward. , •• 
 
 The apartments which, we had hitherto visited, 
 were, however, palaces of comfort, compared to 
 the common prison in the dungeons below. In 
 the courtyard adjoining these dungeons was a vast 
 assemblage of poor and undistinguished criminals, 
 emaciated from starvation, and many in a half- 
 naked condition. In' the centre of the court was a 
 pile of dirty straw, tattered garments, well-polished 
 bones, and cabbage-leaves, apparently collected to 
 be burnt. Some of the prisoners seemed to be en- 
 gaged in gambling stealthily in a corner ; some were 
 employed more praiseworthily, in ridding each 
 other of vermin ; while others were collected round 
 a more learned member of the fraternity, listening 
 tp something he was reading. As we descended 
 among them, the Alcayde caUed.put, in a voice of 
 authority—" Each one to his dungeon ! — Cada uno 
 a su calabozo r — and they instantly escaped to the 
 obscurity of their subterranean abodes. 
 
 In- each dungeon one man was selected to com- 
 mand, with the title of calabozero ; in one of them 
 this station was held by a drum-major of the Roy-
 
 320 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 alist volunteers, a stout, ferocious-looking fellow, 
 whose blackened eye indicated that his authority 
 had not been recognised without dispute. The 
 chief, in each' case, was the- greatest villain in the 
 dungeon, being selected from his commanding charr 
 acter and fearless courage. Thus, the captain of 
 one calahoza which we entered was a little man, 
 named Chirasca, who boasted the committal of un- 
 counted murders. He vvas small, with pale com- 
 plexion, light hair, and whitish eyes. He held the 
 candle as we entered his dominions, and the ex- 
 pression of his countenance, when th\is illumined, 
 was at once murderous and tranquil. Neverj per- 
 haps, did light fall upon a collection of human 
 faces, more variously marked with every demoniac 
 expression of" which crime is susceptible. They 
 Were„pale and ghastly, for the most part, and many . 
 were awfully disfigured, and gashed with recent 
 wounds. Some had their arms bound behind, to 
 prevent- them offering violence io' the rest. Two, 
 who had recently been fighting with knives, were 
 ofdered out', to be placed in separate cells. Yet 
 all here were not, perhaps, equally criminal. Sonle 
 there were whose offences were merely political, 
 and whose opinions, a few months before, were of 
 the same colour with those which regulated the 
 state, were in possession of power, and in fashion
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 321 
 
 at the court. ' There were, moreover, many lads of a 
 tender age here. One who, save the scanty covering 
 of the tatters of a manta, was absolutely naked, 
 seemed about to yield to starvation, disease, and 
 verinin, and implored us, with tears, to have him 
 removed to the hospital. We interceded with the 
 Alcayde to do so, and were glad to hear him give 
 the necessary order ere we came away. 
 
 . . r Q 3 • 
 
 ^ 1 
 
   .• 
 
 
 ■- . . • * - ''• •■■ .V 
 
     • • . '. ..*
 
 322 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PRISON OF THE SALADERO. 
 
 Visit of Inspectors— Crowded Cells— Extortion of Jailers— Profes- 
 sions of Innocence— A Frenchman— A Soldier— A Priest— The 
 would-be Ravaillac — Pedro Hebrero — Sacrilegious Murder — 
 Courtyard— Common Prisoners— -Their Condition— Development 
 • of Grime. 
 
 ■The second prison of Madrid is the Saladero, 
 which stands near the Gate of Santa Barbara. On 
 going to visit it, the day after we had seen the 
 Prison of the Court, we fo^nd the Alcayde in a 
 bl^ic'k court-dress of the last century, with cocked 
 hat, and steel-hilted sword, prepared to receive the 
 visiting commission, consisting af two counsellors 
 of Castile, who,,as suchj were dignitaries of great 
 importance, whose business it ^vas to visit these 
 prisons at stated periods, for the purpose of exam- 
 ining into the condition of the prisoners, and taking 
 note of their complaints. We had an opportunity of 
 seeing how-far this benevolent provision of royal 
 mercy was carried into effect, and drawing analo- 
 gies from this to other things, in which the paternal 
 intentit)iis of kings may equally be frustrated, by 
 the unfaithfulness of courtiers. These noblemen
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 323 
 
 simply went into the Alcayde's apartment, exam- 
 ined his report, made a few notes, and re-entered 
 their antique coach, driving off as wise as thej 
 came, preceded by the attendant alguazils • on 
 horseback, bearing their wands of office. 
 
 As we entered the prison, a number of rural 
 guards were admitted, having in. custody five rob- 
 bers, whom they had apprehended in a neighbour- 
 ing village. One of these was a gipsy, readily 
 recognised as such, by the delicate symmetry of 
 his features, his bronzed complexion, between that 
 pf an Indian and a mulatto^ and his lank black hair, 
 of hor^e-tail coarseness. Before we commenced 
 our.examination, the colonel, my companion, made 
 a minute of the daily ration allowed to the pris- 
 oners, consisting of a pound- of bread, eight ounces 
 of garbanzos, or marrowfat peas, and one ounce of 
 oil, which are made into soup, seasoned with garlic, 
 saffron,, and red peppers, which are supplied in the 
 kitchen. . ..^z ' . 
 
 Although there was a number of vacant rooms 
 in this prisbn, those whO' were separated from the 
 common herd, in consequence of having money, 
 were packed so close, thai in many cases there \ 
 were ten people in a room ten feet square. The 
 Alcayde and his myrmidons, indeed, are almost 
 entirely supported by their exactions from such
 
 324 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 prisoners as have means of their own, or compas- 
 sionate friends without. 
 
 Among the privileged criminals, one man was 
 pointed out as having been long employed in the 
 King's stables, and who, falKnginto a quarrel with 
 a companion, killed him, in a momentary fit of 
 rage, with a knife with which he happened to be 
 making a cigar. Here was also a Frenchman 
 from Bayonne, a comb-maker by trade, who, by 
 his own account, had an apprentice who had se- 
 duced his wife ; she had lied, alleging that he was 
 about to kill her, which, being backed by the evi- 
 dence of the apprentice, and of a doctor who lived 
 in the same house, procured his imprisonment. 
 Another Frenchman, in the same predicament, said 
 that he -had chanced to be a clerk in a shop in 
 which some smuggled goods were found ; his 
 principal had fled from justice, and he had beeil 
 . imprisoned two years before, for not informing 
 against his master. As we went from room to 
 room, listening to all these stories of asserted inno- 
 cence, the keeper, in turning from eath door, took 
 pains to remove the impression which each had 
 made, explaining the difficulty that there was in 
 /procuring a conviction ; since in Madrid, the 
 rogues were so skilled in crime, that they were 
 always able to take precautions beforehand, to
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 325 
 
 prove that they had not committed it — " Estan si 
 adelantados en el roho a qui, que siempre hacen 
 sus precauciones para probar que no lo han hechoP 
 
 Among the most remarkable cases of crime 
 which this prison exhibited, was that of a soldier, 
 who, oi;i his march with his regiment to the scene 
 of civil war in Biscay, had killed his patrona, in 
 whose house he was billeted only a few days before 
 we saw him, by knocking her brains out with the 
 butt of his musket, as he was going a\May in the 
 morning, in order to possess himself of a bag con- 
 taining twenty dollars, which, by some means, he 
 had discovered her to possess. So far from at- 
 tempting a Ije, he stated the whole matter to us 
 with perfect frankness, and as if it were an indif- 
 ferent circumstance. The colonel asked him how 
 he could bring himself to commit so horrid a crime ; 
 at first, he answered, though without embarrass- 
 ment, that he did not know ; but, after a moment's 
 reflection, he added — " It was an evil thought that 
 came over me — un mal pensamiento." He had 
 evidently committed the crime without forethought, 
 on the spur of the moment; and, although the facts 
 were vivid in his mind, he seemed scarce to real- 
 ize the atrocity of which he had been guilty. 
 
 The most singular group^of the prison, however, 
 was one of three clerical personages, confined in a 
 
 28
 
 326 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 rooru by themselves. One of them w^as a friar, 
 who had robbed his abbot somewhere in the coun 
 try, and had come up to the capital to spend his 
 money : casting aside the ungainly habit of his or- 
 der, he had decked himself in the gay garments of 
 a Manolo, and was passing his time most joyously, 
 though not very conformably to monastic usage, 
 when he had been apprehended as a suspicious 
 person, in consequence of having no passport. 
 Here, too| was the idiotic student, who, impelled, 
 doubtless, by similar clerical influence, had at-, 
 tempted to repeat that part which, in another age 
 and country, a Ravaillac had so fatally enacted. 
 He sat shivering in a far corner of the room, his 
 limbs drawn up and half covered with straw, re- 
 minding me most familiarly of a sc^ne in Lear, 
 and the expressive ejaculation — '" Tom's a-cold !" ' 
 But the third person of the group was be who 
 most attracted my attention, and whose story — 
 partly related by himself as a suspicion, partly con- 
 firmed afterward as being true — I shall not spee- 
 dily forget. His name was Pedro Hebrero, not 
 long before, a monk in the Convent of San Basilio, 
 in the street of Disengano, the abbot gf which 
 was found one morning cruelly mur(Jered in his 
 cell, by tlie hand of this Hebrero and four others, 
 who were arrested on suspicion of having been
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 327 
 
 either part or privy to the foul deed. It seems that 
 the venerable abbot, being a niost devout and con- 
 scientious man, was much scandalized by the con- 
 duct of some of his young monks, who were in the 
 habit of playing cards, getting drunk, and introdu- 
 cing girls into the convent at night. After repro-" 
 ving them repeatedly in vain, he threatened, if there 
 was any repetition of the offence, to inflict upon 
 them penance, and seclusion in their cells. Irri- 
 tated with this interference with established usage, 
 and 'attempt to subject them to harsher discipline 
 than prevailed in other convents of their order, the 
 young monks determined to put him to death. 
 They carried their murderous project immediately 
 into execution, and, accordingly, one morning the 
 venerable recluse was found dead in his bed, cov- 
 ered with blood, and pierced with many deadly 
 wounds. Five of the monks, who were known to 
 have incurred the ecclesiastical displeasure of their 
 loo conscientious superior, and against whom there 
 was Strong concurring evidence, were forthwith ar- 
 rested. They remained so nearly three years ; at 
 the end of which, two of them, whose participation 
 in the crime was less evident, were condemned to 
 seclusion, in a convent of their order in Majorca, 
 and the perusal of certain pious books. The other 
 three were sentenced to the secular punishment —
 
 328 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 most disproporti6ned to the atrocity of their offence, 
 which their ecclesiastical condition only rendered 
 more heinous — of being sent to the galleys for a 
 term of years, Father Hebrero, who had the air 
 of being capable of having committed the crime 
 unaided, was assigned to the worst of the Spanish 
 Presidios, the Pefion of Gomera, in Africa. His 
 tonsure, and whatever indicated his priestly condi- 
 tion, had been abandoned, atid he wore his hair, 
 which was black and bristly, in more than usual 
 profusion, seeming particularly satisfied with a 
 huge pair of whiskers, which it was apparently his 
 chief pleasure to cultivate. He had on a very 
 good suit of blue clothes, with an ample cloak, 
 and seemed to have more means than any prisoner 
 I had yet seen, which made it probable that, after 
 the commission of the most ruthless atrocity that 
 it was possible to conceive, he would still, by bri- 
 bing his keepers, escape justice entirely. 
 
 Blessed with the honoured companionship of 
 Father Hebrero, who, in consideration of his double 
 distinction as a priest, and a criminal of a higher 
 order, seemed to have the privilege of the whole 
 prison, we took our way to the common courtyard 
 appropriated to vulgar offenders. The scene which 
 it presented was similar to that of the Prison of 
 the Court. Squalidity, starvation, nakedness, rags,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 329 
 
 Straw, wretches engaged in vain efforts to beguile 
 their ennui, or seeking to recover the vital heat, 
 which the cold of the past night had well-nigh ex- 
 tinguished, as they lay lifeless in the sun, their 
 faces buried in their emaciated hands, which were 
 forbidden the privilege of that wholesome toil which 
 might have" diminished the burden of their present 
 existence to the state, and rendered their own con- 
 dition more tolerable, constituted the chief features 
 of the scene. 
 
 I do not now remember whether it was in this 
 or the other prison, that the residence of the Ver- 
 dugo, or public executioner, was pointed out to me. 
 The office of hangman is so infamous in Spain, 
 that a hue and cry, similar to that raised by the ap- 
 pearance of a mad dog, is ever sure to await his ap- 
 pearance or recognition in the public streets. Here 
 he is always lodged in the security of the prison, or 
 in the citadel, if there be one. Thus, in Gibraltar, 
 whe^e the population is still Spanish, to a .consid- 
 erable extent, the usage has been maintained, of 
 quartering the hangman in the old Moorish Alcazar. 
 
 This caurtyard was filled, like the other, with 
 
 persons charged, or convicted — 'if, indeed, there be 
 
 any difference between the two conditions in Spain 
 
 . — with -every variety of crime. About one half of 
 
 them were robbers ; and out of fifty, for there were 
 
 28*
 
 330 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 about this number, fourteen had committed mur- 
 ders. This is a crime exciting less disgust and 
 more - sympathy in Spain, than any other. Those 
 who had " made deaths," stood out, when told to 
 do so, with an air destitute of shame, arid rather 
 denoting satisfaction. With these were mingled 
 political offenders, who, in the eye of an American, 
 accustomed to look Upon difference of opinion as 
 innocent, and no fit subject for persecution, were 
 no offenders at all ; and one tall Andalusian, whose 
 dress, figure, and attitude proclaimed him, ere he 
 avowed it, to be a smuggler, from the Sierrania of 
 Ronda, and towards whom I instantly fell a friendly 
 yearning, told me, when I asked why he was there, 
 that it was " for twenty pounds of tobacco— para 
 veint& lihras de tabaco /" Having expressed sen- 
 tentiously his wish, that he had some of it then to 
 console him, I gave him the means of gratifying 
 his wants ; and there were ten chances t6 one, that 
 the tobacco which the keepers would furnish to him, 
 would also be smuggled. Such is . the . justice 
 which Spain, liberal or despotic, metes out to her 
 children. 
 
 This prison was far better constructed than the 
 other. The dungeons leading from the courtyard 
 were neatly arched, spacious, and secure. The 
 sleeping-places, which were of brick^ being built
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 331 
 
 with an inclination, so that, whether there were any 
 means of raising the head or not, it would still be 
 higher than the body. They are supposed to be 
 allowed mantas, or blankets, but few had any. 
 They live and sleep together as we have before 
 seen, without any classification of crime ; and 
 classification of age is equally neglected ; the mi- 
 nor is -thrust in with the full grown; those who 
 have taken, the first step, in crime, with the thor- 
 oughly experienced ; the smuggler, or perhaps the 
 political offender, of otherwise virtuous character, 
 with the robber and the assassin. Here are no 
 pastimes, no occupations, no fire to qualify the 
 chill air of this subterranean abode ; no ray of the 
 sun to dispel its gloom, or banish its cheerless- 
 ness ; no bedclothes, and often ho covering of any 
 sort. What torture can equal slow sufferings such 
 as these ?-r-whal feelings must here be nurtured 
 by the victim, towards' his persecuting fellow- 
 men ? — what demoniac purposes of vengeance 
 against that society which has closed its bosom 
 to him ? — Ask the record of Spanish crime, and 
 it will- tell you of the ingenious atrocities com- 
 mitted by graduates from these guilty universities, 
 whose diplomas might well constitute an ad eun- 
 dum to the pave of London itself.
 
 332 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CRIME AND RETRIBUTION. 
 
 La Galera — Female Convicts — The Schoolmistress — Leocadia Lin- 
 dez — Maria Guadeno — The Rectora — Her System — Her Regrets^ 
 La Inclusa — Exposure— Immorality of Foundhng Hospitals — El 
 Rastro— The Madrid Morgue — An Execution — Brotherhood of 
 Peace and Charity — Procession — The Felon — The Confessor — 
 The Garrote— Catastrophe — The Requiem. 
 
 It has been well said, that women are both bet- 
 ter and' worse than we are, and a familiarity with 
 Spanish females will not tend to invalidate the 
 truth of this proposition. Of- strong passions, and 
 unaccustomed to salutary control, in a country 
 where the law has little power to reward good or 
 punish evil, their actions are prompted by impulse 
 alone ; sometimes elevating them to deeds of une- 
 qualled devotion, sometimes sinking them to the 
 lowest depths of crime. The annals of Spain, in 
 all ages, illustrate, by the most brilliant examples, 
 the heroism and virtue of her women ; and the 
 reader who will now 'accompany us in our visit to 
 the Galera, will .find abundant 'evidence of their ca- 
 pacity for the most atrocious, critn6. 
 
 This is a prison for the reception of female con-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 333 
 
 victs alone, and for women condemned to seclu- 
 sion by their husbands or fathers, with a view to 
 their punishment or reformation. The alcalde of 
 the barrier, whom we met in the Saladero, accom- 
 panied us to the place, recommending us to the 
 attention of the Alcayde, or governor. At the door 
 was a guard, from the corps of Invalids, and over 
 the portal we read the motto of this seclusion, con- 
 ceived in that spirit of noble sententiousness to 
 which the Spanish language and the national turn of 
 mind So naturally lend themselves — ''Odia el delito 
 y compadece el delincuente,'^ which, rendered liber- 
 ally, proclaims that the system of the place is con- 
 ceived in the spirit of hatred of crime, and com- 
 passion for the criminal. This we found, oil 
 inspection, to be true, and we could not help won- 
 dering, that a treatment of criminals so philosophic 
 and so benevolent, should exist in the same city 
 with the infamous receptacles of crime we had just 
 visited, and which seemed to offer a fit realization 
 of hell upon earth. *' . . -. ' i 
 
 The alcayde of the place was a Catakn : his 
 wife, who was an Estremenia, or native of Estre- 
 madura, held the situation of Rectora, and had 
 charge of the occupations and internal police of 
 the recluses. Every thing in this place was con- 
 summately neat and orderly. The washing-room,
 
 334 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 which adjoined the court, the dormitories, the 
 chapel, all conveyed the idea of taste, comfort, and 
 propriety. We found the recluses in the work- 
 room, arranged in order, and engaged in cutting 
 out and making up clothing- for soldiers. They 
 seemed 'glad to see us, and were very civil. For 
 the most part, they were rather old than young, 
 and their countenances were generally marked with 
 a bad expression, though not singularly so, when 
 one remembered that they formed the very choice 
 of the vicious, in a country so full of crime as 
 Spain, and that rae fifth of the whole number had 
 actually taken the lives of their husbands. One, 
 however, who was engaged in embroidering a man- 
 tilla, an occupation which showed that she. was 
 not from tlie lowest class, was young, and of very 
 interesting appearance. We were told afterward 
 that she had been taken up for issuing counterfeit 
 money, and, perhaps, was only the instrument of 
 the guilt of a vicious father or brother. The Rec- 
 tora was very careful ndt to tell ug of these offences 
 in the presence of the recluses, it being, her system 
 to make them lose sight of their .crimes, and never 
 to allow them to accuse or taunt ea'ch other. 
 
 One "woman of .middle age, and moderately well- 
 looking, whom we found knitting, asked the colo- 
 nel if he had brought her indulto, or pardon. He
 
 • SPAIN REVISITED. 335 
 
 inquired of her the nature of her offence, and her 
 answer was, " nothing," though she presently ad- 
 ded, " one little that 1 did, and another little that I 
 was accused of doing, make two littles, and for 
 these am I here — Un poco que he. hecho y otro 
 que me han puesto hacen dos pocos, y por estos 
 estoy a qui!" The Alcayde improved upon this 
 tale of innocence, by adding, tliat -her offence was 
 having gone twice to mass in one day. He af- 
 terward told us, that she was a woman of noto- 
 rious character, and, moreover, an abetter of rob- 
 bers and assassins. Her character had, indeed, 
 been so vicious, that before her iniipTisonment, she 
 was publicly paraded through Madrid, where she 
 was" perfectly well known, being seated on the 
 back of an ass, with a bunch of false keys hung 
 round her neck like a rosary, pausing, from time 
 to time, in a public square, or at a corner, to be 
 scourged on the bare skin with rods. , . • - 
 
 After we had gone through the various rooms, 
 and expressed to the Rectora our admiration of her 
 consummate management, she invited us to hipr 
 parlour to repose, and gave us some, account of the 
 various criminals who had been or were still under 
 her charge. Among the more noted who were 
 still there was Josefa Ramos, a schoolmistress from 
 one of the neighbouring villages. Her brother
 
 336 SPAIN REVISITED. • 
 
 had been serenading his mistress at an unseason- 
 ablehour, in the opinion of the Alcalde, who, wish- 
 ing to keep the streets quiet in the night, or, as the 
 -Rectora sententiously added — " queriendo corner''^ 
 ^ — being anxious to extort money, without which it 
 is not worth while to be Alcal4e in Spain, any 
 more than Cadi ainong the Turks, summoned the 
 musical' delinquent to appear. He kept out of the 
 •way, and his sister, with whom he lived, was sum- 
 moned as his -sponsor. She appeared accordingly, 
 and, after much interrogation, was mulcted in a sum 
 which it was neither convenient nor agreeable for 
 her to pay. Her temper, which doubtless had not 
 been much softened in her profession of maestra 
 de ninaSjWais roused at such outrageous injustice, 
 and after words of recrimination on either side, 
 she seized the cadi's penknife, and struck him on 
 the back of the neck, just where the mercy-stroke 
 is given by bullfighters, as he leaned over to take 
 down some fresh accusation. 
 
 Here was also a woman who had killed her 
 husband, with the aid of her lover, and then carried 
 him to an olive-orchard, and left him, to convey 
 the idea tTiat he had been detected in steahnsr 
 olives, and killed by the owner. Another similar 
 circumstance, yet more infamous, was related of 
 one Leocadia Lindez, a woman of respectable pa-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 337 
 
 rentage, in Fuentes de Leganes, who, having killed 
 her husband, with the aid of her paramour, placed 
 his body in a sack with stones, and loaded it on 
 the back of her accomplice, to carry in the night 
 to a neighbouring stream. As they went along, 
 under pretence of sustaining the burden, she con- 
 trived to take a few stitches with packthread, 
 through the bag and tha back of his jacket. On 
 reaching the top of the bridge, she told him- to 
 throw it over ; and aiding the impulse as he obeyed, 
 she sent both into the stream together. A shep- 
 herd who chanced. to be near with his flock, had a 
 ghmpse of the scene ; the river was searched, the 
 bodies found, and the murderer identified, After a 
 short confinement here, she was liberated through 
 the agency of a rich uncle, and, being not less 
 licentious than beautiful, she continued to lead a 
 dissolute life in the capital, until her attractions 
 were gone, when she became a beggar, in which' 
 character the Akayde had recently seen her in the 
 Gate of the Sun. . -^ • 
 
 Another notorious personage, still in the Galera, 
 was a bishop's niece — which sometimes means his 
 daughter, though not often, for the bishops in 
 Spain are usually exemplary in their lives — who 
 had also murdered her husband. But of all the 
 
 atrocious women that I had seen or heard of, either 
 VOL, I. — p 29
 
 338 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 here or elsewhere, the most vicious, as well as the 
 most valiant, was Maria Guadeiio. This woman, 
 who lived in a neighbouring villages, had one day a 
 quarrel with five men, who were assembled in a 
 tavern, and who attempted to seize and beat her, 
 for some abuse she had vented on them. Hav- 
 ing rushed out of the house to escape, they pursued 
 her, when she caught hold of a grating- of the win- 
 dow with her left hand, to prevent herself from 
 being dragged away, while, wielding a knife with 
 the right, she presently dealt a mortal blow in the 
 stomach to one 'of the assailants, and badly wound- 
 ed another, when a stroke on the arm with a blud- 
 geon brought the knife to the ground, and it was 
 •taken from her. In this situation, her rage minis- 
 tered a singular weapon in the comb which she 
 wore in her head, with which she struck the man 
 who stooped to secure the knife, and tore away his 
 left eye. She then made her escape, and was soon 
 after found at home, by the justicia, very quietly 
 seated beside her mother, breakfasting on fried 
 liver. . . • 
 
 The Rectora, in explaining the nature of her 
 system and mode of discipline, of which shfe was 
 justly proud, described how she had overcome the 
 obstinate stupidity of a Valenciana, who had fallen 
 lately into her hands, and who was as hopelessly
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 339 
 
 ignorant and incorrigible, as if she had been bred 
 among the wild beasts in the mountains. She 
 seated her next herself in the working-room^ and 
 gave her a task. She did not get on well, and was 
 sulky, and she gave her a blow with the vara, or 
 yardstick, which was her constant companion. 
 The blows were repeated as often as the offences, 
 until at lipnglh she became both clever and good- 
 natured, and after a time so fond of her mistress, 
 that she would follow her like a dog, and take her 
 part in every dispute occurring among the recluses 
 during hec absence. . _ .• ; 
 
 Notwithstanding, however, the commanding char- 
 acter of the Rectora, and the excellence of the dis- 
 cipline, in a. society containing every element of 
 disorder and crime, and which, previous to her as- 
 sumption of office, was the scene of perpetual strife 
 and, murders, perpetrated by means of scissors, or 
 whatever weapon chance might minister, still, she 
 seemed to be in some measure awed by the fiercer 
 spirit of Maria Guaderio. She said that she was a., 
 complete hell of passion when excited ; and whfe^v'" 
 we expressed a wish to see her by herself, after 
 we had made the circuit of the rooms, she seemed 
 unwilling to excite her displeasure by singling her 
 out. At last she suggested that we should ask for 
 
 her, under pretence of delivering a message from a 
 
 p2
 
 340 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 younger sister of hers, who was at that time a 
 prisoner in the Saladero. We did so, and she 
 presently appeared — a woman of middle age, ap- 
 parently of low condition, and accustomed to toil; 
 she' was not we.ll-l6o"king, yet there was nothing par- 
 ticularly ferocious in her countenance ; for we had 
 not remarked her when seated ^motig the rest. She 
 asked for her sister with great and unaffected kind- 
 ness, and begged tHat we would interest ourselves 
 to have her sent to the Inclusa, for she was only 
 fifteen years old, and it was a pity that she should 
 be exposed, at her age, to the hardships and con- 
 tamination of a common dungeon. After she'had 
 gone away, the Rectora told us that Maria's one- 
 eyed victim had made her a visit not long ago, and 
 was not particularly well received by her, for she 
 had always said that it was the evidence of the 
 tuerto, or one-eyed, that procured her conviction. 
 "If God spares me" — she is wont to say, with 
 great, but terrible calmness — "to fulfil my ten 
 years, the first "thing I shall do will be to kill the 
 tuerto." She has yet four years to remain, and 
 the best use' the' tuerto can make of them is to 
 change his name, get a glass eye, and transport 
 himself to some other country. 
 
 The system of the establishment under the di- 
 rection of this firm and ingenious woman, embraces
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. .341 
 
 the minutest attention to cleanliness, order, "a judi- 
 cious distribution of time, and exact attention to re- 
 ligious observances. The day begins, as in a well- 
 regulated man-of-war, with the employments con- 
 nected with cleanliness and preparation ; then fol- 
 lows breakfast ; after that mass ; then the season of 
 the more "important labours, until dinner, which is 
 accompanied by three pater-nosters ; work again 
 ensues, until the rosary, succeeding the evening 
 meal, ushers in the allotted season of repose, Tha 
 spirit of order, of occupation, of well-divided time, 
 assigning to each portion of the day its correspond- 
 ing employment, all tend to tranqjuillize and give a 
 healthy tone to the mind, substituting a calm con- 
 tentment for wasteful and corroding care, and lay- 
 ing the surest foundation for reformation and future 
 usefulness in the world, in the formation of those 
 habUs which are themselves the means of honour- 
 able subsistence. Though the Rectora dwelt with 
 complacency on the good effects of her system, 
 and on the contrast presented by the present con- 
 dition of the Galera and that in which she 'found 
 it, yet she seemed heart-sick -at the recollection of 
 the time she had passed there, and shuddered at 
 the thought that her labours might be interminable. 
 The tears stood in her eyes as' she spoke to me of 
 
 her unhappy lot ; her thoughts glowed at the idea 
 
 29*
 
 342 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 of an escape from an imprisonment as irksome to 
 her as to the compulsory recluses, and her words 
 partook of their eloquence. " I will go to the 
 Queen" — said she — " I will ask to be relieved from 
 these vile cares, and, as an only reward for so many 
 years of faithfulness, to receive some modest pen- 
 sion^ which will enabld me to await in peacefulness 
 the close of my days, separated from this base as- 
 sociation with the worst of criminals, and far from 
 these gloomy walls^ within whose polluted precincts 
 I have been doomed to pass the flower of my life, 
 the best of my existence as a woman ! — la flor de 
 mi vida, lo viejor de mi ser como muger /" I was 
 affected and struck by the eloquence of this wo- 
 man, though not surprised, knowing, as I did, that 
 elevated sentiments are not here the exclusive 
 attribute "of lofty station, and how naturally the 
 noble language of the land lends itself to their ut- 
 terance. "   • . • - 
 
 'Having visited the prisons of the capital, we 
 passed to the inspection of the more prominent of 
 its benevolent institutions, of which there ar£ many. 
 We were struck with the vastness of the hospitals; 
 especially that of San Carlos, where some thou- 
 sands of sick are perpetually received and suq- 
 coured. The Foundling Hospital, known by the 
 jaame of the Inclusa, was, however, that vvhicK
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 343 
 
 most attracted our attention. The Minister's cir- 
 cular opened this, like the rest, to our inspection, 
 and I was armed with an additional passport to the 
 courtesy and good offices of the Sisters of Charity- 
 having charge of the establishment, in a letter from 
 the distinguished lady who patronises and superin- 
 tends it, and whose.name, associated with whatever 
 efforts of benevolence are directed to the relief of 
 female distress in Madrid, calls to mind the inge- 
 nious nobleman who produced, in Lazarillo de 
 formes, the first novel of a class, from which the 
 reading world has since received so much delight, 
 and who was alike illustrious for his success in 
 war, in letters, and diplomacy. The reader will 
 not fail to remember the name of Don Diego Hur- 
 tado de Mendoza. 
 
 The Sisters received us very kindly at the gate, 
 and conducted us to the office, submitting to our 
 inspection the records of the infants received into 
 the institution, with a description of their condition 
 of health, and the mode in which they were clad, 
 and all the circumstances attending their history, 
 which was usually a brief one. Out of every six 
 children, on an average, there would be only one 
 whose story would not wind up with the simple 
 and sententious word muerto, written opposite m. 
 the last column. Infanticide, in every instance,
 
 344 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 would seem to have been charity, compared to 
 such prolongation of misery, ending so uniformly 
 in death. 
 
 We weipe first conducted to the depository in 
 which the infants are placed in the night by their 
 mothers or others. A bell beside it being rung, 
 communicates the information .to>one of the sisters 
 sleeping within, who hastens to turn the box and 
 receive the infant. Ordinarily they are accompa- 
 nied with a statement of tlie age, whether baptized, 
 and the name, which facts are all entered into the 
 register, in which a number is assigned to each in- 
 fant, corresponding to that which is stamped on a 
 piece of lead, fastened to a string about" its neck. 
 Sometimes the infant is well clad, and furnished 
 with changes of apparel ; but oftener they are left 
 in a condition better -suited to what one might ex- 
 pect, from those whowould be likely to abandon 
 their children, and, not unfrequently, a simple rag 
 of cotton constitutes their only attire. Frequently, 
 in hurrying away to escape detection, a mother, 
 abandoning her child, ?Vill neglect to pull the bell 
 to notify the sister in attendance, and the infant 
 may remain thus until morning, or untilanother is 
 placed beside it. • In winter, they are thus often 
 found frozen, and, even when only chilled, are sure 
 to perish.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 345 
 
 In approaching the wards in which the infants 
 were kept, we were early notified of their presence, 
 by the painful chorus of their cries. We found 
 them arranged' in rows of cradles, and dressed with 
 perfect neatness. For the most part, these were 
 wretched, feeble creatures, characterized by every 
 variety of malformation, having its origin in the 
 vices, the diseases, or attempts of the mother to 
 conceal her guilt. Here the sins of the parent 
 were too evidently entailed upon the child. Vice 
 never seemed to nie'so loathsome before, as when 
 thus contem.plated, in the curses entailed on the 
 offspring of its votaries. We were told that here 
 was only a portion of the infants received into the 
 establishment, many of them being given out to be 
 nursed, by poor people in the city, or neighbouring 
 villages, who receive three dollars a month for their 
 services. This not unfrequently gives occasion to 
 fraud; mothers first depositing, and then getting 
 possession again of their own children, and being 
 paid for the fulfilment of their rrjalernal obligations. 
 Still there were some hundreds remaining ; no in- 
 considerable portion of which were crying plain- 
 tively together, in obedience to that instinct of na- 
 ture which teaches them, ere speech is imparted, 
 to signify their want's in a way which,' though it 
 may constitute an eloquent and intelligible appeal 
 
 p 3
 
 346 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 to a mother, is most irritating and vexatious to all 
 others. Some fifty Or sixty nurses nourish and at- 
 tend on these, and substitute imperfectly for money, 
 the priceless cares of maternal affection. I think I 
 never saw a more painful sight, than was presented 
 by the air of indifference with which these nurses 
 moved ftom cradle to cradle, seeking to pacify the 
 ufthappy little suppliants. 
 
 In passing to the rooms lin which the older chil- 
 drein were employed in school, or in various occu- 
 pations — knitting, sewing, straw-weaving, or em- 
 broidery, under the direction ^of the sisters we 
 were greatly struck with the healthy and robust 
 appearance of the children ; though, when we 
 came to reflect that only those of the most vigor- 
 ous conformation can possibly live through hard- 
 ships and privations, under which so large a ma- 
 . jority die, it seemed obvious that .the survivors 
 should be as we found them. At the sight of these 
 neat, .industrio.us, and interesting-looking children, 
 I was not a little disposed to change my mind, as to 
 the inexpediency of aoy effort to rescue tliem, which 
 the sight of the calendar had suggested to me. 
 While we we're among these, a little girl of five 
 years was brought in on a visit, by the pers6n who 
 had been hired to take care of her in her infancy, 
 aiiid who had conceived a warm attachment for her.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 3,47 
 
 She was very neatly dressed, and it seemed that 
 she had been taught various accomplishments, 
 for she could both sing and dance, and was made 
 to exhibit some specimens of her art for our 
 amusement. I was pleased to see such early de- 
 velopment of the genuine Spanish grace in her 
 movements in the fandango. The inmates of the 
 house, who knew none of these things, and who 
 were deprived, moreover, of those opportunities of 
 seeing the world without, of which those who are 
 carefully secluded from it are most apt to form a 
 magnificent idea, were disposed to envy her supe- 
 riorily, and were doubtless the less ready to pity 
 her^ when, in the midst of her exhibitions, she 
 backed against the- brasier, and fell with her hand 
 into the hot ashes. 
 
 I was affected by a very melancholy feeling in' 
 visiting this establishment, and I could not avoid 
 thinking, as I took leave of it, that though un- 
 doubtedly conceived in the spirit of benevolence, 
 its effect is any thing but charitable or humane. It 
 consigns to mercenary care a tender plant, to whose 
 rearing nothing can suffice save that abounding 
 affection existing in a woman's heart for her own 
 offspring, at a season when life is held by the 
 slightest and most precarious tenure, which each 
 rude breath may dissolve : it tends to promote
 
 348 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 laxity of morals, by providing a relief from the 
 consequences of it, and to render innocent an aban- 
 donment, for which provision is thus publicly made. 
 There can, indeed, be intrinsically no greater crime 
 against nature and society, than in renouncing the 
 duties which are self-imposed in becoming a pa- 
 rent. Such a crime, enormous in itself, becomes 
 immeasurably more so, in a man like Rousseau, 
 who could philosophize, and speculate, and refine 
 so dehcately on questions of^this nature. The ex- 
 istence of a Foundling Hospital could not deceive 
 such a mind as his, as to the innocence of making 
 use of it ; an act by which he has fixed "a stigma 
 on his character, which will remain- there for ever, 
 and all the eloquence and refinement of sentiment 
 that ever flowed from his pen, could never efface 
 his base and xowardly shrinking from the' obliga- 
 tions of paternity; his crime being all the greater, 
 that it was committed in spite of the protestations 
 of the wretched woman, thus frustrated in her ma- 
 ternal yearnings, and robbed of rights so painfully 
 purchased. . 
 
 , In retracing our steps to the Gate of the Sun, 
 we passed through a small square, situated in the 
 barrier of. Lavapies, the most wretched quarter of 
 the town, and which is known by the familiar name 
 of the Rastro. This is a sort of exchange ain4
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 349 
 
 place of rendezvous for the lowest and most vicious 
 of the inhabitants of Madrid. Here the robbers 
 of the neighbourhood expose for sale the horses 
 of whicTi they have forcibly become possessed, 
 and here, too, most of the goods stolen throughout 
 the town, are converted into money. It happened 
 to be a market or exchange day here, and the scene 
 was a lively and characteristic one. The interior 
 of the square was filled with irregular clusters of 
 rude sheds, or cumbersome umbrellas, with stout 
 wooden frames surmounting a post planted in the 
 ground, and covered with canvass, while against 
 the wall which enclosed it, were ranges of chests 
 — ^they could not be called houses — in which the 
 humble meirchants who dealt here, slept and se- 
 cured their goods by night. The articles exposed 
 for sale under these sheds and awnings were of 
 a miserable description, suited to the means and 
 taste of the population; they consisted of brokeii 
 chairs, three-legged bedsteads, earthen crockery, 
 old locks, and rusty scraps of irOo. Here a wo- 
 man kept her shop on a manta, without protection 
 of any sort from the sun, her. stock consisting of 
 odd-looking razors and murderous knives, having 
 a spring at the back to keep them open, in the 
 event of a sudden quarrel and duel ; there another, 
 seated also on the ground, alternated the cares 
 
 30
 
 350 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 of watching over various earthen pots, in which 
 she was preparing stews to stay the stomachs of 
 the hungry, with those of arranging the blowzy 
 hair of one or two reluctant children. The con- 
 versation of the company here assembled was 
 quite suited to the place, being plentifully inter- 
 spersed with imprecations and obscene words ; 
 while, to attest the disorder of which the Rastro 
 was not unfrequently the scene, at the upper side 
 of the square, which stood upon the slope of a hill, 
 a picket guard might be seen, having its lodgment 
 in a rude and ruinous hovel, with a sentinel walking 
 his post beside a stack of muskets, and overlooking 
 the whole square, while his comrades were planted 
 on the ground at the sunny side of the guard-house, 
 grouped in a circle, and, apparently, from their ex- 
 cited movements, engaged in a game of cards. 
 This precaution was particularly necessary at this 
 moment ; for the .wretched inhabitants of the bar- 
 rier, being all royalists, were irritable, aad^prone to 
 revolt. They occasionally amused themselves on 
 feast-days, by beating all the well-dressed people 
 who passed that way, under the impression, that, 
 being better clad than themselves, they must be of 
 a different way of thinking, in politics ; Avhile their 
 nightly amusement during the carnival, was to stop 
 the maskers in the street, and strip them of their
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 351 
 
 tinsel finery, an amusement not wholly vain and 
 unprofitable, at a season when masks were at a 
 premium. Scarcely a week after my visit to this 
 place, it was the scene of a regular insurrection, 
 and a number of the populace were shot or bay- 
 oneted, within the boundaries of the Rastro. 
 
 In passing through the square in front of the 
 Prison of the Court, I was attracted by a collec- 
 tion of people surrounding some object, which I 
 truly conjectured to be a dead body, this place an- 
 swering the same purpose as the Morgue at Paris, 
 where bodies found in the river or elsewhere are 
 exposed, for the purpose of being reclaimed for 
 burial by their relatives. There were here, indeed, 
 two dead persons, and both of them women. One 
 was quite old, and death seemed not to have stolen 
 • prematurely or unnaturally on his prey. Her end, 
 however, had evidently been miserable, solitary, 
 and unconsoled. She had been dead some time, and 
 decomposition would long since have endued in any 
 other climate than this ; apparently, she had been 
 discovered in some stable, or on some dungheap, 
 for her hair and clothes tvere covered with straw 
 and Titter. The other person was of a very differ- 
 ent appearance. She had been cut off in the flower 
 of her youth, and in the full bloom of health, by 
 a violent death, of which her dress bore the traces.
 
 352 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 She was gayly attired in the Manola fashion ; her 
 features were regular, and her figure, though laid 
 upon a board, and stiffened in death, was still evi- 
 dently beautiful. Her shoes were gone, but her 
 stockings evinced the characteristib attention of her 
 countrywomen to this part of their dress ; they 
 covered very beautiful feet, the left being stained 
 with blood, which seemed, erre she' had fallen, to 
 have run down from a knife wound in her left side 
 above the girdle, whence it had also flowed plenti- 
 fully over her person. Her features, though reg- 
 ular, were distorted by a blended expression of 
 agony and rage, and her left hand convulsively- 
 grasped her hair, in which it was entangled. No 
 friendly hand had been nigh to close the eyes of 
 these unfortunate beings, which glared forth with 
 glassy and fixed gaze. I was bewildered by the 
 singular expression of their countenances, for death 
 had never presented itself to me before in this as- 
 pect "of terror. On the breast of each was a tin 
 plate," intended to receive the alms of those who 
 passed, for the purpose of procuring burial, in the 
 event of the bodies not being reclaimed, and to 
 assist, at any rate, in this pious office ; we con- 
 tributed our mite, and passed on, -making such 
 remarks as occurred to us,, on the lawless condi- 
 tion of the country. . ' .
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 353 
 
 Perhaps I may close appropriately this narration 
 of crime, by a word or two in illustration of its occa- 
 sional consequences, and by showing how, even in 
 Spain, it is sometimes overtaken by a just retribu- 
 tion. I had gone one morning, in the early days 
 of Lent, to my balcony, to breathe the fresh air, 
 enjoy tke genial heat of the sun, and divert myself 
 with the ever-gay spectacle in the Puerta del Sol, 
 when my attention was excited by the tinkling bell 
 of a member of the Paz y Caridad, who, in a 
 solemn voice, was inviting all charitable souls to 
 join in interposing, with such hmnble alms as thfey 
 were pleased to contribute, to smooth the parting 
 hour, and redeem from purgatory, by means of 
 masses, the soul of the unhappy brother, whose 
 life was that day to be required of him. He had 
 before him a square box, having a hole to receive 
 the alms of the charitable, surmounted by a figure 
 of the crucified Saviour, calculated at once to 
 awaken a devotional feeling in the bosom of the 
 Christian, and to call to mind the recollection, that 
 He, Uke the unhappy criminal- who was that day 
 to expiate his offences, had died — though inno- 
 cently, and for our propitiation — the death of, a 
 felon. 
 
 There was, then, to be an execution. It. was 
 sure to be a spectacle full of horror arid painful ex- 
 
 30*
 
 354 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 citement, still I determined to witness it. I felt 
 sad and melancholy, and yet, by a strange perver- 
 sion, I was willing to feel more so. With the 
 customary chocolate, Doiia Lucretia, my land- 
 lady, brought me the Diario. I turned at once 
 to see what was said about the execution. Among 
 the orders of the day was the following : — " Hav- 
 . ing to suffer this day, at eleven in the morn- 
 ing, in the square of Gebada, the pain of death on 
 the vile garrotte, to which he was sentenced by the 
 military commission of this province, Juan Lopez 
 Solorzano, alias the Bird-catcher, a native of Las 
 Altas Torres, in La Mancha, thirty-eight years of 
 age, a bachelor, late a grenadier of the disbanded 
 royalist volunteers of this capital, accused of hav- 
 ing been one of the first aggressors in the rebellion 
 of October last, on the occasion of disarming that 
 corps : to aid in the execution, a detachment of 
 the provincial regiment of Granada,' and another of 
 the cuirassiers of the Royal Guard, will repair to 
 the place of execution at half past ten, while, at the 
 same hour, another detachment of the aforesaid re- 
 giment of Granada, and of the light-horse of Madrid, 
 will report to the Corregidor at the prison, in readi- 
 ness to guard the prisoner to the scaffold, leaving 
 a corporal's guard to protect the body after justice
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 355 
 
 is consummated, until the Paz y Caridad shall 
 come to withdraw it." 
 
 Such was the succinct and sententious informa- 
 tion given me by the Diario. I learned, in addi- 
 tion, from Doiia Lucretia, that the Pajarero, or 
 Bird-catcher, was so called, because he had for 
 some years lived by selhng doves and singing- 
 birds in the Square of the Holy Cross. He had 
 been a .turbulent, quarrelsome fellow, had killed 
 a number of persons at various times, for all which 
 ' misdeeds he had found protection in being a roy- 
 alist volunteer, and a regular attendant at mass and 
 the confessional. In the, late disbanding of the 
 royalist volunteers, those janizaries of the Spanish 
 hierarchy, he had taken an active part in the revolt, 
 killing, with his own hand, one of the partisans of 
 the Queen, in the Square of the Ange). During 
 fifty-three days, he had been concealed by persons 
 friendly to the old order of things, but had at last 
 been sold by some mercenary friend, and betrayed 
 into the hands of justice. It chanced that I had 
 attended the court-martial on the day of his trial, 
 and I wa« not a little struck with the peculiar vein 
 of eloquence in which the fiscal devoted him to 
 damnation, ere yet he had been produced before 
 the court. " Soon will this vile assassin present 
 himself before you. The tribunal will tlien see
 
 356 SPAIN RKVISITED. 
 
 his detestable soul painted in his countenance, and 
 will need no other evidence to discover the atro- 
 cious image of a regicide." Such, alike under 
 despotism and in the hands of liberals, is the vin- 
 dictive character of Spanish justice. Perhaps, 
 however, it may be just to add, that of seventy- 
 three royalists condemned to death for a revolt, 
 with. the alleged intention of murdering the Queen, 
 the Bird-catcher was alone selected as the most 
 infamous for execution. The rest were taken from 
 prison in the dead of the succeeding night, and, 
 being manacled, were marched off under a strong 
 escort for Ceuta. One of them, in an access of 
 despair, dashed his brains out against the postern 
 of the prison. The scene in the neighbourhood vvas 
 represented to me as having been most deplorable 
 on the following morning. The news of the de- 
 parture of these prisoners had spread to the ob- 
 scure barriers of the capital, and their families had 
 gathered round in an agony of bereavement. Mo- 
 thers, wives, artd lovers, tore their hair and rent 
 the air with shrieks and exclamations of wo ; while 
 the children, thus suddenly left fatherless, looked 
 On with a dumb amazement — an indistinct sense 
 of some great calamity — scarcely less painful and 
 heart-rending. There were fifty wives who found 
 themselves thus suddenly reduced to hopeless wid
 
 SPAIN REVISITED, 357 
 
 owhood, while more than twice that number of 
 children looked round, and saw that they were 
 fatherless. 
 
 Divesting the mind of all fanaticism, whether in 
 favour of liberty or despotism, the offences of these 
 men will not seem so equal to their fate, as to close 
 the heart against every sentiment of pity. They 
 were victims of their fidehty4o an order of things, 
 which, but a few months before, received the adhe- 
 sion of the King, the court, the army^was acqui- 
 esced in by the whole nation, and still had the 
 sympathy of a vast majority of the Spanish people. 
 Oh, Americans ! while you pity the land in which 
 liberty is unknown and unappreciated, learn to 
 value the blessings which you enjoy, and cultivate 
 an ever-increasing admiration and love for that 
 birthright of freedom which has been bequeathed 
 to you.   * 
 
 I took my way, through the Gate of the Sun, to 
 the noble front of the Prison of the Court, in which 
 the Pajarero was pointed out to me, when I visited 
 it, as the greatest curiosity of the place. My read- 
 ers may not be aware, that, among the common peo- 
 ple of Spain, villanous distinction of any sort, as that 
 of a footpad or murderer, always entitles the pos- 
 sessor to a species of nick-name ; thus. El Gato, or 
 Cat, was the formidable and dreaded appellation of
 
 358 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 a Valencian robber, who flourished a few years 
 since, enacting a fearful tragedy in my presence, 
 and who was noted for the liger-Uke and ferocious 
 certainty with which he was wont to pounce upon 
 his prey. El Cacaruco was the droll cognomen 
 of a scarcely less distinguished worthy, by whom 
 I had once been most courteously plundered in the 
 plains of La Mancha; while the famous Jose 
 Maria was graced with the more compUmentary 
 title — a tribute at once to his power -and his mag- 
 nanimity—of el Senor del Campo.   
 
 The Pajarero was a name of inferior note. When 
 his crimes wei:e recounted to me, I felt little incli- 
 nation to pity him. Whatever sympathy I" had at 
 fny command, had already been bestowed upon the 
 more pitiable objects which met my sight in that 
 mansion of despair. ' There seemed, moreover, a 
 sort of poetical justice in the shutting up of an 
 individual, who, while he had been a monster to 
 his fellow-men, had passed his life in making 
 war against those winged inhabitants of the air — 
 those happy pensioners of nature — whose capacities 
 barely fit them to enjoy liberty, and to languish and 
 pine away when deprived of it. He was, besides, 
 a most ill-favoured and ferocious-looking man, and 
 the fiscal would doubtless have been borne out 
 by Lavater, in his .assertion, that it was easy to
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 359 
 
 see "his detestable soul painted in his counte- 
 
 nance." 
 
 The prison was already surrounded by a dense 
 crowd. The escort, which was to conduct the 
 prisoner to the place of execution, was at its post, 
 and squadrons of cavalry patrolled the streets lead- 
 ing to it, keeping the way open, and beating back 
 the crowd with their sabres, and trampling upon 
 them with the armed hoofs of their horses, much 
 in the same manner as if the government had still 
 been that of the Absolute King, and the felon a 
 false-hearted hberal. It was expected, and cur- 
 rently reported, that there was to be a popular tu- 
 mult among the serviles, and an attempt, by the 
 disbanded volunteers, to rescue their heroic com- 
 rade. The government, unwilling to betray any 
 weakness, did not, however, increase the detach- 
 ment of troops on immediate duty beyond what 
 v^as usual, yet preparations were secretly made, 
 to pour forth an overwhelming military force. The 
 troops at the garrison were ready to march at a 
 moment's warning, and individual cavaliers of the 
 body-guard, in their gay uniforms and antique 
 casques, were seen at each instant, spurring away 
 on their fleet barbs, of the caste of Aranjuez, to 
 carry to the palace the anxiously expected intima- 
 tion, that all was still well. . .
 
 360 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 I did not look with any particular complacency 
 upon these military youths, notwithstanding their 
 gay uniforms and handsome persons. To be sure, 
 I had once claimed as an intimate and valued 
 friend, a noble young Andalusian — noble, not less 
 in the teal, than in the accepted sense — who be-, 
 longed to this corps. In general, however, they 
 are held in little estimation, and never in less than 
 at that moment ; for, but a few days before, one 
 of them was detected, by the waiter of a restaurant, 
 in the act of concealing two silver forks in the ca- 
 pacious receptacle of his trooper's boots, which, 
 however constructed with other motives, were not 
 ill adapted to the purpose of quiet and unobserved 
 abstraction. After all, there was nothing so strange 
 in this, when one looked at the short distance from 
 the top of the yawning boot to the tempting cover, 
 a few inches distant on the edge of the table ; re- 
 flecting, at the same time, that the youth liad to 
 support all the dignity of a nobility, unsullied on 
 four sides by any mingling of base blood, upon the 
 paltry stipend of twenty dollars a month. " Viven 
 hs chocolateros /" cried the crowd, as they spurred 
 along, that being the vulgar cognomen applied to 
 them, because chocolate is the only refreshment 
 served to them from the royal kitchen when on 
 duty at the palace.
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 361 
 
 At length the prisoner was brought forth. He 
 was dressed in a penitential robe of yellow ; on his 
 head was a cap of the same colour, faced by a 
 white cross. His face was pale, less apparently 
 from fear than long confinement, for his frame was 
 not convulsed, and his hands trembled not, as he 
 held before him a paper, from which he chanted 
 a prayer, uttered with an earnestness proportioned 
 to the little time that remained to him to make his 
 peace with heaven, and the conviction that he was 
 about to enter on an eternity of bliss or misery, the 
 common belief of a land in which, though there may 
 be much crime, there is as yet but httle infidelity. 
 A dark beard, which was of many days' growth, 
 augmented the ghastliness of his expression. 
 
 At his side was a friar of the order of Mercy, in 
 a white habit, and a shaven crown, who held be- 
 fore the unhappy man a crucifix, bearing an image 
 of the Saviour, through whose intercession he 
 might yet, by repentance, be saved. With one 
 arm the holy man embraced the prisoner, whisper- 
 ing in his ear words of consolation and comfort, 
 and accompanying him as he faltered in his 
 prayers. He was seated on a white ass, his legs 
 bound below ; and the patient unconsciousness of 
 the docile animal of the errand on which it was 
 going, contrasted singularly with the interest and 
 
 VOL. I. Q 31
 
 362 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 irresistible sympathy which all there felt in the 
 fate of a fellow-man about to enter on the unknown 
 regions of eternity 
 
 The brotherhood of Peace and Charity, each 
 member bearing a torch, gathered closely around 
 the victim, whom, from a sentiment of humanity, 
 and in fulfilment of their solemn vow, they had 
 comforted with their society^ and aided with their 
 prayers ; for his sake they had become mendicants 
 through the public streets, collecting sufficient alms 
 from the charitable to supply with comfort and 
 decency the last wants of nature ; and,_ when jus- 
 tice should have wreaked its necessary vengeance 
 on his body, they were to withdraw it from its 
 place of ignominious exposure, consign it with 
 careful decency to the tomb, and offer prayers and 
 masses for the soul which had taken its flight. 
 
 So soon as all had reached the street, the sol- 
 diers gathered round, their serried bayonets seem- 
 ing to shut out all hope of rescue ; and the muffled 
 drum beating a monotonous and mournful measure, 
 the procession set forward to the scene of death. 
 The singular combination of this group — the crim- 
 inal, the ass, the cowled friar in his white robe, the 
 torch-bearing brothers of the Paz y Caridad, the 
 stern and mustached warriors who guarded the 
 law's victim, offered to the eye a singular specta-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 363 
 
 de, while the chanting of the criminal, and of the 
 compassionating spirits who joined in his prayers, 
 mingling strangely with the hoarse drum and the 
 measured tramp of the soldiers, bringing nearer, at 
 every footfall, the moment of the catastrophe — all 
 tended to impress the beholder with a gloomy and 
 terrible interest. 
 
 It was expected, that if there should be any 
 attempt at rescue, it would take place in the street 
 of Toledo, before the portal of the Jesuits' Church 
 of San Isidro. Not many weeks later, indeed, an 
 insurrection did occur there. The population of 
 the adjoining quarter broke forth into mutiny and 
 rebellion ; liberals and royalists joined in deadly 
 conflict, churchmen and friars were immolated in 
 the streets, and the pavement was strewed with 
 corpses, and crimsoned with Spanish blood, shed 
 by the hands of Spaniards. But the spirit of re- 
 bellion, so lately repressed, was not yet ripe for a 
 new explosion. San Isidro was passed without 
 commotion of any sort, and the procession at length 
 reached the Plaza. The ordinary avocations, of 
 which it is the daily scene, had ceased. It was 
 filled with a crowd of curious spectators. Cloaked 
 men, and women in mantillas, as if arrayed for 
 mass, occupied the whole square, while the sheds 
 and the gratings of the surrounding windows were 
 
 q2
 
 364 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 covered with clambering and ambitious urchins, 
 each anxious to contemplate, from the highest ele- 
 vation, the scene which so great a crowd had col- 
 lected to behold. The balconies were filled with 
 well-dressed people, and, from not a few, beauty — 
 hardened to painful spectacles by the tortures of 
 the arena — was seen to gaze with curious earnest- 
 ness. - 
 
 At one of the balconies I noticed the towering 
 and military figure of the brave colonel of the Mad- 
 rid hght horse, to whom I had the honour of being 
 known, I entered the house, and, presenting my- 
 self at the door of the no less doughty countryman 
 of the doughty Dugald Dalgetty, was received 
 most cordially, and welcomed to a station in his 
 balcony. I was at once absorbed by the painful 
 interest which attracted my attention to the person 
 of the culprit. The colonel, on the contrary, 
 was filled with delight at the spirited manner in 
 which his horsemen kept the way open; beating 
 back the more pressing intruders by frequent and 
 forceful blows with the flat of their long Toledo 
 sabres, and reining their steeds most unceremoni- 
 ously backward upon them. The colonel was a 
 fierce liberal. He was delighted with the way in 
 which his brave fellows routed the rabble mob, 
 and, being armed from cap to rowel, would doubt-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. ' 365 
 
 less have been delighted to have an opportunity, 
 as, indeed, he soon afterward had, of heading his 
 squadron, which was drawn up in readiness in the 
 neighbouring barrack, and riding down all oppo- 
 sition. 
 
 The instrument of execution was different from 
 what I had been accustomed to see in Spain. It 
 was the garrote, which the liberals, actuated by 
 the spirit of improvement, exercising itself first, 
 as in revolutionary France, in a more ingenious 
 method of putting people to death, had substituted 
 for the gallows. The form of it was very simple. 
 A single upright post was planted in the ground, 
 having attached to it an iron collar, large enough 
 to receive the neck of the culprit, but capable of 
 being suddenly tightened to much smaller dimen- 
 sions, by means of a screw, which played against 
 the back of the post, and had a very open spiral 
 thread. A short elbow projected at right angles 
 from the upright post, for the criminal to sit on, the 
 screw being attached to the post at a distance 
 above, suited to the height of his body. 
 
 When the procession had arrived at the foot of 
 the gallows, the Bird-catcher was unbound and re- 
 moved from the ass, and seated upon the projecting 
 elbow of the garrote, which looked towards the 
 east. His legs were again securely bound to the 
 
 31*
 
 366 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 post on which he was seated, and his arms and 
 body to the upright timber at his back. Here he 
 made his last confession at the foot of the scaffold. 
 The friar chanted the prayers which the church 
 has set apart for the closing scene of life's latest 
 hour. The criminal repealed his responses fer- 
 vently and audibly. He was now convinced that 
 there was to be no reprieve and no rescue. Each 
 moment was more precious to the salvation of his 
 soul than worlds of treasure. He remembered 
 that the penitent thief had been forgiven at his 
 latest hour — Why might he not hope, being also 
 penitent, to claim that precious promise — " To-day 
 shalt lh6u be with me in Paradise ?" 
 
 The friar whispered words of consolation. He 
 pronounced the promise of absolution, and covering 
 the unhappy man with the folds of his ample robe, 
 thereby signified that he was a pardoned, because a 
 repentant sinner, and, as such, admitted into the 
 bosom of the church. The scene at this moment 
 was one of awful interest. The eyes of that vastv 
 crowd, filHng the square, and clustering on gratings, 
 balconies, and housetops, were fixed, with intensely 
 excited gaze, on the one object of attention. The 
 battalion of infantry formed an impenetrable pha- 
 lanx around the scafTold. Behind it, mounted on 
 powerful coal-black horses, a squadron of cuiras-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 367 
 
 siers, with drawn sabres, and clad in panoply of 
 steel, were drawn up, ready for instant action, yet 
 as motionless as death. The glorious sun of a 
 Castilian heaven, shining through an atmosphere 
 yet more brilliant and unclouded than our own, 
 was sent back in bright reflection from cuirases, 
 emblazoned with its own gorgeous image, glanc- 
 ing from antique casques, and flickering round the 
 points of sabres and bayonets. 
 
 Still, for a moment, the man of God covered, 
 with his garb of sanctity, the figure of the criminal. 
 And now it is withdrawn,- and the executioner, with 
 dexterous art, quickly and stealthily adjusts the 
 iron collar to the neck of his victim. A hand is 
 on either end of the powerful lever which works 
 the tightening screw. Life has reached its ex- 
 tremest limit, time is dropping his last sand ; ere 
 yet it is quite fallen, one prayer of supplication is 
 uttered for mercy in that eternity which begins. 
 Quick as lightning the motion is given to the fatal 
 lever ; a momentary convulsion agitates his frame, 
 and horribly distorts his countenance, and the sin- 
 ner is with his God. The bell of the neighbouring 
 church tolls a mournful requiem from the top of its 
 tower ; lips are seen to move in muttered prayer, 
 to speed the parting soul, and ten thousand breasts 
 are signed together, with the cross of reconciliation.
 
 368 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 A fleet horseman darts away at a gallop, to an- 
 Jiounce to the alarmed inmates of the palace that 
 justice has not been robbed of its victim, and that 
 its consummation is complete. 
 
 Thus ignominiously died Solorzano, surnamed El 
 Pajarero. His §ins to his fellow-men upon earth 
 were expiated ; let us hope that he may find mercy 
 :in heaveii. Peace to his soul ! 
 
 The execution was over, the verdugo had with- 
 drawn, and the crowd was preparing to disperse,, 
 when a blind woman, leaning on her staff, seized 
 upon the interval of silence and solemnity that yel 
 prevailed in the neighbourhood of the scaffold, to 
 offer to put into words the feeling of devotion that 
 influenced the crowd, and th© desire of those who 
 eompoe>ed il, to offer up prayers for the-souFs resS 
 of the departed sinner. " Devots and devotees T' — 
 said she, in a loud clear voice — " who will command 
 me to repeat a solemn orison for the soul of our 
 brother, the defunct criminal ?" Another blind wo- 
 man who had approached, with the same motive of 
 saying prayers and gelling paid for them, now 
 made some disparaging remark, upon which the 
 other broke out into abuse, and brandished her staff 
 in a way to show, that though she wanted to pray, 
 she was also ready to fight. . These were both 
 members of the Fraternity of the Bliadj a recog-
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 369 
 
 nised g7'emio, or company, having a royal charter, 
 which secures to them the monopoly of crying the 
 journals, lottery-tickets, or articles of lost property, 
 and other similar functions. Before giving the 
 prayer of the victorious blind woman, I may as 
 well say something of her life, which, I had sub- 
 sequent reason to see, was less holy than her lan- 
 guage. Being anxious to procure a copy of the 
 very peculiar formula which she used on this occa- 
 sion, I arranged, with my companion in witnessing 
 this spectacle, a most intelligent young gentleman, 
 connected with the British mission, the means of 
 seeing her again ; and, accordingly, having found 
 her way to his better known residence, she was 
 thence directed to mine ; and, one wet morning, 
 being one of only two rainy days that occurred 
 during my visit to Spain, though made at the most 
 inclement season of the year, she picked her way 
 up the tortuous stairway leading to my apartment, 
 and came upon me at breakfast. Having furnished 
 her with some food, Doiia Lucretia fell to ques- 
 tioning her about her history and mode of life, and, 
 among other questions, asked her if she were mar- 
 ried, this being a comfort from which blind people 
 are not excluded in Spain. She said no ; she had 
 been some months engaged to a blind tunanle of 
 her acquaintance, who, after making great pi'og-
 
 370 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 ress in winning her affectionate regard, had gone 
 off a few mornings before, and married another 
 woman of their fraternity. The account she gave 
 of the way in which she lost her sight will con- 
 vey an idea of hopeless, and almost incredible 
 barbarity. She had, in her early youth, an affec- 
 tion of the eyes, which her father undertook to 
 cure by thrusting red pepper into them, an ap- 
 plication which was reasonably enough followed 
 by the total loss of vision. 
 
 But to return to her doings on this present occa- 
 sion ; having silenced her rival, and received a cu- 
 arto to encourage her to commence, she now began 
 a prayer, poetically arranged, which she delivered 
 in a measured cadence, well emphasized, and dis- 
 tinctly pronounced, pausing frequently to cross her- 
 self. And first, she began by calling on all the by- 
 standers to join in the effort to extract the unhappy 
 soul of the deceased from purgatory which she de- 
 scribed as a place of terror, having, among other 
 horrible attributes, lakes of molten glass, and pits of 
 snow, into which the probationers were alternately 
 plunged, according to their guilt that others, in like 
 circumstances, might render them the same aid. 
 To this end, she said that alms, masses, and proces- 
 sions were of avail, which they were bound to con- 
 tribute ; for all Christians are known by their works,
 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 371 
 
 some having devotion to say prayers, others to 
 carry torches at a funeral. And now she began to 
 pray very fervently, invoking all the saints, ascri- 
 bing to each peculiar attributes, until, as she went 
 on, those who at first seemed disposed to scoff, 
 were converted into attentive listeners, and when 
 she stopped, there poured in from all sides a plen- 
 tiful tribute of curalos. 
 
 Thus encouraged, when she had taken breath, 
 she began a second poem, describing the origin of 
 crime in the bad passions of our nature, as well 
 as its consequences ; she carried us to the inte- 
 rior of the prison, picturing the guilty criminal, 
 crouching, covered with chains, in the corner of 
 his cell ; then produced in court, confronted with 
 his accusers, and condemned to die like a felon. 
 The chaplain is now introduced, and urges him to 
 confess, with the promise of absolution, if he be 
 penitent ; the confession is narrated in general 
 terms, showing a picture of crime and murder but 
 too common in the land, and, finally, the holy man 
 takes his leave, counselling the criminal to die a 
 Christian, if he wish to live one hereafter. Now 
 follows a description of the terrible ceremony of 
 placing him in the chapel, hung with black, and 
 surrounded with every circumstance suited to strike 
 terror, and stir up repentance in his soul.
 
 372 SPAIN REVISITED. 
 
 > "Yale haUegado lahora 
 
 De meterle en la Capilla 
 Qiie confusion ! y que espanto ! 
 Que dolor ! y que fatiga .'" 
 
 The visits and sad parting of friends prelude to 
 the procession, as this does to the execution, and 
 the soul's passage to the presence of its Judge. 
 " The criminal is dead, and even for such as he 
 God has pity, since Jesus Christ also died on the 
 scaffold for the just and for the unjust ; yet, though 
 God be willing to pardon hina, some there are who 
 may say that the sinner is unworthy. Scoff not, 
 vain man ; take heed to your words ; for who can 
 say that he is safe ? and least of all shall he be par- 
 doned who is unwilling to pardon others. Fathers, 
 teach well your children, and teach not only by 
 words, but by example also, lest, through thy fault, 
 they be brought to like shame and condemnation. 
 Beloved Redeemer ! benign Jesus ! who died on 
 the accursed tree, have mercy on his soul ! Mary ! 
 Mother of God ! chosen rose among women ! 
 intercede and save him ! Michael and Gabriel, 
 grant him repose, and Raphael, joy in thy glorious 
 custody ! Philip and Bartholomew, and St. Mat- 
 thew the Apostle, pray to Jesus to save him ! 
 Thomas and Clement, withdraw him from perdi- 
 tion, and intercede to stay his torments! St. Ste- 
 phen and St. Francis, St. Martin and the three glo- 

 
 SPAIN REVISITED. 373 
 
 rious Kings, and ye, Martha and Magdalen, seek 
 the propitiation of his sins, and of those who com- 
 mand me to pray for him. Souls of the executed, 
 that have been pardoned and received into heaven, 
 seek that this, thy brother's, may meet with like 
 acceptation ! soul ! be thou received of God, the 
 Father Eternal, pardoned through the intercession 
 of his Divine Son, and crowned with glory by the 
 
 Holy Ghost ! Amen ! and Amen !" 
 
 32
 
 •*i 
 
 '4: 
 
 '^C 
 
 i^'
 
 375 
 
 Royal Order excluding the Author from Spain. 
 
 El Exmo Senor Gobernador del Real y Supremo Con- 
 sejo de Castilla en 3 del actual dice al Exmo Seiior 
 Presidente Capitan General de esta real Audiencia lo 
 que copio. 
 
 Exmo Serior. Con fecha de ayer me dice el Seiior Se- 
 cretario del Despacho de Gracia y Justicia lo siguiente. 
 Exmo Sefior. El Senor Secretario de Estado y del Des- 
 pacho me dice de orden de su Magestad con fecha 2G del 
 mes anterior lo que sigue. Exmo Sefior. Se ha im- 
 primido en los Estados Unidos una obra en Ingles titu- 
 lada A Year in Spain (o sea un afio en Espaiia) por 
 un joven Anglo Americano Teniente de la marina de 
 aquella Repubhca llamado Ridell. Esta indigesta pro- 
 duccion esta llena de falsedades y de groceras calum- 
 nias contra el Rey N. S. y su augusta familia, y en con- 
 secuencia es la Soberana Voluntad de S. M. que no 
 solo se impida la introduccion de este Libro en el Reino, 
 sino que se niegue la entrada en el a su autor si vol- 
 viera 4 presentarse, como se propone segun parece ve- 
 rificarlo con el objeto de denigrar a nuestros Soberanos 
 y hacer necia mofa de nuestras instituciones y costum- 
 bres. De real orden lo traslado a V. E. para que disponga 
 lo conveniente a fin de que se empida, la introduccion 
 y circulacion en el Reino de la obra que se cita y se 
 ejecute ademas lo que ha tenido d bien determinar por 
 el Ministerio de Estado, respecto d que se niegue la 
 entrada en la Peninsula al autor de la indicada produc- 
 cion. Al trasladar a V. E. esta Soberana resolucioa
 
 376 
 
 para su mas ecsacto y punctual cuniplimiento no puedo 
 menos de encargarle que en union con ese Tribunal 
 tome las mas activas y eficaces disposiciones d fin de 
 que se realicen los deseos de su Magestad dandome 
 cuenta de las providencias que para su execucion se 
 acordasen y de cuanto resulte en el asunto. 
 
 Y leida en el acuerdo ordinario del dia 16 del actual 
 se mando obedecer, gauardar y cumplir y que se comu- 
 nique a V. S. para los fines que en la preinserta orden 
 se espresan y en union del Exmo Seiior Presidente es 
 para el Tribunal del acreditado celo y amor de V. S. al 
 Rey N. S. que tomara cuantas medidas esten a su al- 
 cance y que nada le quedara que hacer en un punto tan 
 interesante y recomendado y que en el caso de conse- 
 guir la aprehension de alguno o algunos ejemplares los 
 reraitira sin dilacion al Real acuerdo por conducto del 
 Seiior Regente para las providencias oportunas en con- 
 formidad d lo prevenido en dicha orden y del recibo 
 me dara aviso. 
 
 Dios guarde a V. S. muchos afios. 
 
 Por el Secretario 
 DON BARTOLOME SOCIAS Y GOMILA. 
 
 GABRIEL CABANELLAS, Sulstituto. 
 
 Palma, 20 Agosto, de 1832. 
 
 Sehor Gobernador Militar y Politico de Menorca. 
 
 END OF VOL. I
 
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