all seasons of the year, it never presents so brilliant a spectacle as in the fine afternoon of a day in spring, when the deep blue sky of Madrid presents its cloudless vault and surpassing beauty.* On such a day, when the flood of population is rolling downwards towards the Prado, following the narrow flagways in two dark lines, and a portion dispersed over the wide street of Alcalà, the spectacle presented by the infinite variety of colours and costumes, the buz of so great a crowd, and a bright and glorious sun gilding every object, is of the most striking and animated kind. This imposing mass of life flows on and increases in volume, until it finally disburthens itself into the ample saloon,' as rivers discharge their waters into the bosom of the wide ocean.

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"Now begins an agreeable confusion, a friendly elbowing, a volley of Señora! at your feet; I kiss your hand, Caballero!' ogling of eyes, and manoeuvring of fans, an everchanging succession of faces, and an incessant exchange of laudatory or splenetic remarks on each other.+

"The rumble of carriages, the galloping of horses, an atmosphere loaded with white thin dust, the battling and barking of well-washed, shorn and whiskered poodles, the shrill cry of the aguador- Berro, Berro, cold as snow, another little glass, who will drink it? Water! Water-the little ragamuffin's plaintive, Candela! Caballero, quien la quiere?' and the whisking of his burning rope's-end in fiery

Though the climate of Madrid has altogether degenerated from what our forefathers tell us of its excellence, there are still days in winter which might do honour to Naples or Corinth; neither of these possesses a more cloudless sky, or one of deeper blue. At this season, the Prado is the rendezvous of two distinct classes of visitors. The middling orders and industrious part of the population take their walk from twelve till half-past one, when the garbanzos invite them home. They are relieved by the beau monde, with their horses and equipages, until four o'clock, when the noontide loungers again come down with renewed forces and full stomachs, and ramble up to the Retiro,' to stare at the ducks and geese on the great pond, and the wild beasts in their cages."

eyes

"Ojos Arabes (Arabian eyes) are looked upon with great affection by Spaniards, that is, when they are large and full, combined with the softness of the gazelle. Those in the almond shape, more oblong than round, are highly prized by their owners, with good reason. I suspect that the Moors' have had more to do with our ⚫ Tatarabuelas' (our great great great grandmothers) than their decorum and Christian bearing, or our genealogies, should have permitted. A pair of Arab inveigles us into matrimony, while as Moorish and as moulded a cura (curate) as ever saluted the stone of Mecca, performs the ceremony. We are, at best, but baptized or whitewashed Moors: fair hair and blue eyes have the merit of contrast with our dark skinned sons and daughters. A fine blonde girl may always count upon a strong cabal in her favour, and stake her blue eye against the field,—a great encouragement to the British fair to travel this way."

"The fountain del Berro, (of the cresses,) famed for its pure crystal water, lies about a mile outside the Alcalà gate, a little before you arrive at the Quintà del Espiritu Santo, to the right hand. There is nothing remarkable about it, beyond its being the spring whence the royal family is supplied. A whitewashed shed is built over the source, two spouts pouring forth its contents; the supply is abundant, and open to all who take the trouble to send for it. The aguadores of the Prado' and the streets of Madrid, indulge in a poetic licence, giving the name for the thing. They sell each glass of water, soi-disant berro, for an ochavo, half a cuarto, (about half a farthing English.) People may drink it at this rate and be thankful, even though it should come from the Calle de las Infantas, supposed to be the worst water in Madrid."

circles-the low rushing sound of many feet and voices, are all so many proofs of the Prado being in its pride and strength!

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Acquaintances meet and stop in little groups to chat about the ball or tertulia of the night before. The ladies kiss one another's cheeks in the most affectionate manner. Adios! Juanita! How do you do? Have you slept after the ball? Jesus! I could not waltz at all with that horrid pesado, who persecuted me the whole night.' Abour! Joaquina! you already know that I love you!' 'Tell me, Juanita, did you ever see such a bonnet as she wears? There she sails along, so proud of it! It does not at all become her. If she thinks she looks like a Francesa, I can tell her she is very much mistaken.'-' Paquita! for God's sake look at that fat Dolores, strutting about in a basquina. Vamos! Some people are either blind or mad. She has no shape at all, the same every where. Ave Maria! look, look at her foot! Go to-I would rather take the air outside the gate of Toledo all my life, than show such a piece of furniture, for all the world like a butifarà* from Mallorca. But my aunt is bellowing to me. Good bye, Pichoncita, (little pigeon,) adieu!' This charitable flower-knot is again mingled with the mass.

"A frulling sound, like the chattering of birds in a cage, reigns in every direction, produced by the tremulous shake, and sudden opening and shutting, of innumerable fans of all colours and sizes, so many eloquent tongues speaking an intelligible language to conscious observers. Even as flowers are the language of love' in the East, there is nothing in the soft science which may not be explained by a Spanish lady with her fan. Jealousy may pry and peer in vain, under the very nose of the greatest Bluebeard of a husband; questions are asked and answers given, full and explicit, which he cannot intercept.+

"Here, too, is the rendezvous of unhappy lovers, of such as are considered too dangerous, or of dubious funds and intentions, or of mar-alls in the way of a match already determined upon by longheaded parents, and who are consequently denied the privilege of visiting at the houses of the ladies, at least until the marriage ceremony be over. Here she searches, with eyes swoln with weeping,

"A good legitimate butifarà from Mallorca, (however humiliating the comparison of a Lechugina's foot to it may be considered,) is worthy of the greatest consideration as an eatable, and standard ingredient of an orthodox puchero.' It has some relationship with the English black hog's-pudding, but is six times the size, composed of that unclean animal's blood, and seasoned with sundry dainty ingredients. A thorough-bred son of the Balearic islands will make nothing of devouring a large trencher of it, as a whet before commencing more serious operations."

"When Addison imagined his fan exercise' for ladies, he must have had an idea of the alarming perfection to which this light arm is carried in Spain. It is the inseparable companion of the little girl from three years of age to fourteen, when, from a handy plaything, she turns it into a formidable offensive and defensive weapon, giving a trembling swain an extatic yes!' or crushing a presuming suitor with an irrevocable no!" It would be endless, as well as impossible, to attempt to describe the intermediate degrees of hope and fear, despair or passion, expressed by the spreading and furling of its painted wings. Deprive a Spanish woman of her fan and white handkerchief, (whether a flag of truce or emblem of innocence in her hand,) and she loses her self-possession, and half her fascination. She is, if young, a fairy without her wand; if old, a witch without her broomstick."

her chosen nobio. Here they can steal a long look at each other, from under the fan or behind the folds of the capa, despite the watchful attendance of the family. But should such illicit glances be discovered, the poor girl may bid a long farewell to the pleasures of the Prado, and even to the balcony of her chamber, should it look upon the street.*

"Hundreds of light supple forms keep up their graceful elastic step for two and three hours together, regardless alike of the dust and heat, and shoes a great deal too tight, even for their diminutive feet -proving that vanity suffers no pain. Que pie tan mono! Que chiquitito! (what a lovely foot! what a little bit of a thing!) whispered by a cavalier as he passes, more than repays their cramps and agony. A gentle flutter of the fan, an eye rolled languidly his way, is the 'guerdon' of so much good taste.

"In the meanwhile, other sights and other scenes are passing on the carriage drive;--an uninterrupted file of vehicles of all descriptions, of coaches, britskas, phaëtons, cabriolets, gigs, and horsemen, moving at a processional pace in two lines up and down the whole length of the Prado. The curious in such matters might trace the infancy and progress of carriage-building in the various and astounding models rolling before his eyes. The old Spanish berlina, broad and high of roof, tapering towards the bottom, swinging between four enormous leather springs running under the body of the carriage, drawn by a solemn well-fed pair of machos, (mules,) with close-shaved backs, tails, and ears, covered with antique trappings, among which the saddle, almost level with the animal's back behind, while the front rises boldly into a peak, higher, at least, by half a foot than the seat, is particularly worthy of notice; a rusty stirrup-iron makes its appearance from beneath a heavy skirt, just large enough to admit the toe of the postilion, who, placed on this lofty eminence, guides his mules, some with bells, some without. This poor man, in his glazed cocked-hat and iron-bound gaiters, obliged to follow implicitly the movements of his cattle, is pitched fore and aft, in so strange a fashion, that, were it not for the proud cock of his toe in the stirrup, and his well-stretched knee, one would imagine he was an alma en pena (a soul in purgatory.)

"Then comes the coche de collera,+ rather more modern in its cut, but on the same system of springs; a low seat before the driver and zagal, with a team of seven mules, tackled together by a most intri

If Spain be the country in the world where matrimony meets with least obstacles, in it also may be found cases where the friends and parents of the young lady are quite as obliging and worldly-wise as they are in other countries. I might mention many instances in corroboration of the observation in the text."

"This description of carriage, formerly the only one used by grandees and the rich nobility, and requiring a team of mules too numerous and expensive for more limited fortunes, is now in the hands of the calesseros, (coach proprietors,) who let carriages, or keep a stand in the streets of Madrid. They are well hung, though on rude and most antiquated principles, and commodious enough inside. The number of mules is seldom less than seven, which are harnessed in pairs, with the seventh as a leader. The arrangement of the pole, and the infinity of slender ropes diverging from this centre to the furthermost animal, is a matter quite beyond ordinary comprehension. The space occupied by seven mules thus tackled, measures, at least, fifty feet in length."

cate combination of long slender ropes running from the pole to the leaders, and looking, for all the world, as if they were running away from the carriage, instead of with it.

"These turn-outs' are usually occupied by the families of snug abogados, roguish escribanos, or agentes de negocios; of clerks in the different public offices; and, now and then, by some proud, unbending hidalgo and his spouse, fresh from their province, who insist upon having things as they were, and, in their mind, ought to be; to the horror of the muchachas, who are almost ashamed to peep out of the antiquated loop-holes of such a vehicle. The muchachos, the sons, who prefer walking, endeavour to palliate the evil as much as possible, by being the first to quiz the family set-out with their companions.

"Excepting some picturesque bombes and calessins, whose masters have nerve enough to parade abroad, the more modern equipages differ but little from those of other continental capitals,* unless when an absent coachman forgets his cravat, or shows too much of his linen. The inmates of these fashionable equipages affect an easy loll as they pass in review the female pedestrians, criticising their dress and appearance; a species of compliment which the latter fail not to repay with usury. We may here remark, that fashion has latterly triumphed so much over taste, as to substitute, for the graceful mysterious mantilla, the staring French hat, with flowers and feathers. A very few years back, no lady, however high in station, would have hazarded appearing in public with a bonnet; for the spirit of novelty was then checked by national feelings and sympathies. But the laudable preference for this noble and beautiful costume is every day on the wane ; a short time will see the mantilla banished to the smaller and more remote towns of the Peninsula.†

"The space between the two strings of carriages is filled by equestrians of all classes-civilians, military men, grandees, tricked out as Majos, a few Lechuginos, mounted à la Inglesa-each adopting the pace that prudence or carelessness of his neck may suggest: others amuse themselves in conveying to and receiving telegraphic signals from some tender-hearted beauty on the promenade. But none are

so distinguished in kicking up a dust,' and haunting the ride,' as two young dukes, to the admiration of all young girls desirous of securing two such goodly prizes.

"The same scene continues until lassitude, the approach of night,

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Very few carriages are built in Madrid for the fashionables. Besides the backwardness of this art in Spain, the prices are so high, that a French or German (query English?) carriage, including the duty, is cheaper, although infinitely better finished. Spaniards are now beginning, however, to construct their own diligences, mails, &c., and have improved considerably of late years."

"All admirers of the simple and beautiful Spanish costume must observe, with regret, the decided preference given to the French fashions now-a-days. This vitiated taste is even gaining ground with the lower orders of society."

"Of late years, it is the fashion for young noblemen of the highest rank to parade the streets of Madrid on foot or horseback, tricked out in all the pageantry of the gay Andalusia. Would that they were as patriotic as their models in sundry more serious and indispensable points!"

the theatre, and tertulias, warn the promenaders that it is time to leave the Prado for another day.

"The Madrilenians talk with rapture of the pleasures of the Prado during the fine evenings of summer; but the air is then so sultry, and so impregnated with an impalpable white dust, one of the scourges of Madrid, that, so far from yielding any enjoyment, a walk in the Prado becomes an absolute infliction. During the hottest season, the hour of rendezvous is not earlier than seven o'clock in the evening. The only way of being aristocratic and extravagant, and distinguished from the modest crowd, is, by laying out a few cuartos (at the rate of two for each) for four or five rush-bottomed chairs, out of the hundred marshalled for public accommodation, in treble rows along the wall, and bestowing your person upon them. Persons of economical habits (the large majority) prefer taking their seats for nothing, on the stone seats ranged at regular intervals on both sides of the saloon. This season may well be called the harvest of the aguadores, who ply their calling among the crowd, in opposition to the ambulatory establishments set up beneath the trees at the entrance of the Prado, where rows of little white classical-shaped vases of white porous earth,* and lines of tumblers filled with sparkling water, invite the passengers to slake their thirst with the same pure liquid, while his majesty drinks water from the fountain of Berro. The quantity of water consumed by a Spanish crowd is incredible; except, perhaps, some stubborn Arragonese, the lowest classes even, prefer it to wine in warm weather. During the French occupation, cafés and restaurants were established in the Tivoli gardens, but they pined away on the departure of their mercurial customers, and have long since been shut up. When a caballero now wishes to offer an obsequio or fineza to ladies of his predilection, he is obliged to send to the café Santa Catalina, or de Solis, for ices and lemonade, con sus correspondientes biscochos, with its accompanying cakes. This piece of extravagance, however, is but seldom committed. Few young aspirants for female applause but have had to repent their rashness in asking ladies to step into Solis, and refrescar on their way home.

"This earthen vessel, commonly called Botico, has the peculiar, and, in a warm country, inestimable quality of preserving water or any liquid contained in it perfectly cool. It owes this advantage to its porous properties. The right sort are distinguished from the counterfeits by the interior partaking of a light-greenish hue. The manufacture of these forms a considerable branch of the commerce of Andujar, a small town in Andalusia, but too celebrated for the decree of the Duc d'Angoulême, and its violation, almost at the same time, during the French invasion of twentythree. At nightfall these water-stands are illuminated, showing to advantage the rows of glasses and heaps of ascuvillos (sugar sponge ;) chairs and benches are set near them, for the accommodation of thirsty loungers. These establishments, with their lamps and painted sign-boards, portraying fresh and abundant fountains, have a very peculiar and picturesque appearance."

"It is a serious undertaking to invite a few female friends to repose, and slake their thirst, after a summer evening's stroll in the Prado. They are so pleasant, and chatty, and thirsty; and then one must fiddle with something in the shape of solids, cakes, biscuits, or what not. I have known military Lotharios of my acquaintance leave the half of their month's pay in the gripe of the waiters, for the pleasure of one snug evening. Still it must be said, that the ladies of Madrid are, by no means, to be compared in franqueza (off-handedness) to their sisters of Malaga, not one of whom has any objection, or would make the least difficulty, in July 1836.-VOL. XVI.—NO. LXIII.

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