of the latter, is a very numerous collection of paintings by various hands, many of which are of superior merit. The tombs of Ferdinand the Sixth, and of his queen Barbara, in the church of the Visitation, are almost the only sepulchral monuments of any consequence.

The royal palace is all of white stone.

Each of

the fronts being four hundred and seventy feet in length, by one hundred high, this pile towers over all the country, where nothing intercepts the view for many miles. The entrances and ground-floor appear more like those of some mighty fortress, than of the peaceable habitation of a powerful monarch, an hundred leagues removed from his frontiers. The range of large glazed arches round the inner court, resembles the inside of a manufactory. This is the more unpardonable, as they had at no great distance, in the Alcazar of Toledo, as elegant a colonnade as the nicest critic could desire. The beautiful circular court of Granada might have suggested noble ideas to the architect; but perhaps at that time the very existence of such a thing was a secret at Madrid.

The stair-case was meant to be double, but it was afterwards judged more convenient to shut up one flight, as the remaining half answered every purpose. At the foot of the stairs I shall leave all my spleen, and prepare myself with unfeigned satisfaction to describe to you the beauty and granduer of the upper apartments.

I know no palace in Europe fitted up with so much true royal magnificence. The richest marbles are employed with great taste in forming the cornices and socles of the rooms and the frames of the doors and windows. What enhances the value of these marbles, is the circumstance of their being all produced in the quarries of Spain, from whence it is the opinion of a learned writer, that ancient Rome was supplied with many of the precious materials that enriched her porticoes and temples. At least, there is no presumption in asserting, that the bowels of the

earth in Spain contain most of those species of marbles, that are to be seen in the ruins of the mistress of the world, whatever might be the countries from which they were drawn. Porphyry is found near Cordova; the finest jasper near Aracena; the mountains of Granada furnish a beautiful green, those of Tortosa a variety of brown marble. Leon and Malaga send alabaster; Toledo, Talavera, Badajoz, and Murviedro, abound in marbles of different colours; and most parts of the kingdom afford some specimen or other of jasper, besides the amethyst and its radix for which Spain is celebrated above most other countries.

The great audience chamber is one of the highest I know. The ceiling, painted by Tiepolo, represents the triumph of Spain. Round the cornice the artist has plased allegorical figures of its different provinces, distinguished by their productions, and attended by several of their inhabitants in the provincial habit. These form a most uncommon picture, and a curious set of Costumi. The walls are incrustated with beautiful marble, and all around hung with large plates of looking-glass in rich frames. The manufac tory of glass is at Saint Ildefonso, where they cast them of a very great size; but I am told they are apt to turn out much rougher, and fuller of flaws, than those made in France.

A collection of pictures, by the greatest masters of the art, adorns the walls of the inner apartments; but even this vast fabric does not afford room for all the riches his Catholic Majesty possesses in this branch. The detail and catalogue of a number of paintings, is sure to fatigue a reader who has never seen, nor can ever rationally expect to see them; therefore it is incumbent on me to select only a few of my favourites from my memorandums.

Of the works of Titian, the most remarkable are, a bacchanalian woman lying on her back asleep. The liquor has diffused a glow over her beautiful face, and her body is divinely handsome. One of

the greatest painters of the age has often declared, he never passed before this picture without being struck with admiration: some boys playing, full of grace, and a charming variety of attitudes.

Rubens-Christ and St. John Baptist, lovely children. A priest on horseback, carrying the viaticum to a sick person, accompanied by Rodolph earl of Hapsburgh, one of the master-pieces of his pencil.

Murillo A vintager, wine-seller, holy family, two boys; all in their different characters, excellently painted with a rich mellow colour.

Vandyke-The seizing of Christ in the garden, a strong composition; several portraits absolutely alive.

Spagnolet-Isaac feeling Jacob's hands; very

capital.

In the shallow vale between the Retiro and the town, which has not the least suburb of any kind belonging to it, the present king has finished the Pardo, which in a few years, provided they manage the trees properly, will be one of the finest walks in the world. Its length and breadth are great, the avenues drawn in an intelligent, noble style, the foot paths wide and neat, the iron railing and stone seats done in a grand expensive manner.

All the coaches

Madrid drive in the ring here; and though the absence of the court lessens the appearance more than two thirds, yet last night I counted two hundred carriages following each other. On the declivity of the Retiro, they mean to plant a botanical garden.

The view from this walk is, as it should be, confined; for the winds are so sharp and boisterous, and the landscape so horrid all round the city, that no place of public resort could be comfortable, unless it were, like this, shut in from all distant views, and sheltered by the hills from the blasts that sweep over the highlands of Castile.

To the west, it has the town, the three principal streets of which terminate in the Prado. These are three noble openings, excellently paved, and clean

even to a nicety; indeed so are most of the streets of Madrid since the ediet for paving and cleaning them. The foreigners that resided here before that time, shudder at the very recollection of its former filth.

Some of the natives regret the old stinks and nastiness; as they pretend that the air of Madrid is so subtle, as to require a proper mixture of grosser offluvia, to prevent its pernicious effects upon the constitution. The extremes of cold and heat are astonishing in this place, and the winds so searching, that all the Spaniards wear leathern under-waistcoats, to preserve their chests; for they pervade every other kind of clothing. In summer the dust is intolerable. SWINBURNE.

SECT. LXXXVI.

OF THE ROYAL FAMILY OF SPAIN.

We have just finished our round of presentations, which, in so numerous a royal family, is a work of more days than one. As I know you expect a minute account of each of those that compose it, I am sorry I am incapable of satisfying your curiosity, in as ample a manner as I could wish. You shall have a description of their persons, and as much of their characters as I have learned from well-informed people, in whose judgment I can confide. I beg you will consider how hard it is to discern the true character of the great, as your intelligence can only flow through the suspicious channel of my jarring passions and interests. It is impossible for a stranger to seize a good likeness in so short a time, and to transmit to others a faithful representation of a prince that does not admit him to a familiar intercourse.

I don't know but sovereigns are the most difficult characters to define in a whole nation; for all princes appear pretty nearly alike. Their mode of life is uniform. By seeing none but inferiors about them, they acquire a great indifference in their manner, and seldom betray in their countenance any of those

strong emotions that mark the various feelings of men obliged to bustle through the world. Their passions lack the relish which arises from delays and difficulties. What the French call Ennui, wearisomeness, is, methinks, the grand malady of princes, and therefore amusement is their main pursuit in life.

In the princes of the house of Bourbon, the passion of fowling predominates; yet in the Spanish royal family, there are some who toil at the gun with more reluctance than the farmer's boy does at the plough ; have a taste for arts and sciences, and wish for nothing more than to be freed from the obligation of following the diverson.

The ceremony of preservation is performed as the king rises from table. Charles the Third is a much better looking man than most of his pictures make him. He has a good-natured laughing eye. The lower part of his face, by being exposed to all weathers, is become of a deep copper colour. What his hat covers is fair, as he naturally has a good skin. In statue he is rather short, thickly built about the legs and thighs, and narrow in the shoulders. His dress seldom varies from a large hat, a plain grey Segovia frock, a buff waistcoat, a small dagger, black breeches, and worsted stockings. His pockets are always stuffed with knives, gloves, and shooting tackle. On Gala day, a fine suit is hung over his shoulders, but as he has an eye to his afternoon sport, and is a great economist of his time, the black breeches are worn to all coats. I believe there are but three days in the whole year that he spends without going out a shooting, and those are noted with the blackest mark in the calendar. Were they to occur often, his health would be in danger, and an accident that was to confine him to the house, would infallibly bring on a fit of illness. No storm, heat, cold, or wet, can keep him at home; and when he hears of a wolf being seen, distance is counted for nothing. He would drive over half the kingdom rather than miss an opportunity of firing upon that favourite game.