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This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: BLACKBURN, HENRY TITLE: TRAVELLING IN SPAIN PLACE: LONDON DA TE : 1869 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARHFT Master Negative # Restrictions on Use: Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record 94€,,01iB '■ «■ H< i»l ■ i tpa— *■»■— wi— IM a.c kb p rese Tra/ellino" In 'Spam n+ d m London 1869. ill. P ' "I " .ja—ll— tniK ma P 0- D. 5t^3,+ S56p. -t,_».. V FILM SIZE:__^^_^ IMAGE PLACEMENT: I " DATE FILMED: ^-7 TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA IB IIB REDUCTION RATIO: /^ INITIAL^_ .^S HLMEDBY: RESEAfeH I^T BLICATTON.q T NC WOOn^^ni7rT BIBLIOGRAPHIC IRREGULARITIES MAIN ENTRY: 24^/^A//. //c^ Ay Bibliographic Irregularities in the Original Docnmpnt List volumes and pages affected; include name of institution if filming borrowed text. 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Suite 1100 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 II lllllllllllllUlllllllllllllllll T Inches I I I 1 iIiiiiIimiImiiIiimIiiiiIiiiiIiiiiIimiIiiiiIiimIiiiiIiiiiIiiiiIimiIiiiiIiiiJiii^ TIT T ] 1 I II 2 3 .0 I.I 1.25 ITT 1 ^-5 2.8 2.5 IIIM m — 2.2 , 63 3.6 1 === «^ |4.0 2.0 IS. lA u SilAU, 1.8 1.4 1.6 I I i IH 14 15 mm iiiiliiiil MONUFPCTURED TO flllM STONDflRDS BY nPPLIED IMflGEt INC. / V % ^ V 1946.01 'R^fl lit the ©Itit of %Uw lIovU This book is due two weeks from the last date stamped below, and if not returned or renewed at or before that time a fine of five cents a day will be incurred. 193i TRAVELLING IN SPAIN I '^T\Sf' > "''.fiV''"' 7- A- By henry BLACKBURN. I860. miimmmiimiimm wii0mmmim>Himi> I TRAVELLING IN SPAIN (n ihj |r«stnt |ag. By HENRY BLACKBURN. AUTHOR OF ' ARTISTS AND ARABS,' *THE PYRENEES,' &C. IVit/i Illustrations, by the late John Phillip, R.A., E. Ltuidgren, Walter Severn, arid the Author. And an Appefidix of Routes, Fares, &^c. 'I SECOND EDITION. LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, SON, & MARSTON, CROWN BUILDINGS, i88. FLEET STREET. 1869. The right of Translation is reserved. '"■ _^/ (0 f ^^>/ g?-?!^ Co t^e St. ion. €. iorsman, |9;.$., |tt token of xzma for ^is pnWit foortl^, @:bis $ook is instribcb, bg Ms late pribate ^ccrdurn. 1 LONDON : PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, AWD CHARING CROSS. li*^.' im5i2 iiilti||irrilHilliiihlliiiniiwniii».i»iii lir --"WMWWiKki PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. ' The following description of a journey through Spain may be interesting to any one wishing to know what travelling in this country is like in the present day. The incidents related are of the most common place kind, the object of the author being to record simply and easily the observations of ordinary English travellers visiting the prin- cipal cities of Spain. The success attending the original edition of this work, and the special interest attaching to Spain at the present time, have decided the pub- lishers upon issuing the present revised edition, containing an Appendix of Routes and other information, corrected to 1869. a,^iBmtm^mmm Vlll PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. It will be curious for travellers to note how little (excepting in the extension of certain rail- ways) matters have changed during the last few years ; and how certainly they will meet with the same delightful obstacles to progress — the same nonchalance and indifference as to their move- ments — the same capacity for receiving coin — and the same belief in " mananar A revolution and a new regime promise in- deed great reforms, but we question whether any political changes will much affect the passing traveller, or render a tour through Spain less interesting than when these notes were taken. Arts Club^ December, 1868. CONTENTS. Chap. n J5 J» ?5 ?» ?? 5J >? >> '5 »> >J J) ?J PAGE I. — Bayonne — Biarritz — St. Sebastian . i II. — Burgos 15 III. — Burgos Cathedral — Miraflores. . id IV. — Madrid 37 V. — BULL-FlGHTS 68 VI. —Picture Galleries, &c 89 VII. — Madrid — Aranjuez — Toledo . . . 102 VIII. — Madrid to Cordova 122 IX. — Cordova '. ... 145 X. — Seville 156 XI. — Cadiz — Malaga 179 XII. — Granada 202 XIII. — Granada to Madrid 222 XIV. — Madrid — Barcelona — Perpignan . 234 XV. — Conclusion 243 APPENDIX OF ROUTES 249 ILLUSTRATIONS. Map of Spain Frontispiece Vignette, by E. Lundgren Title PAGE Burgos Cathedral 26 A Sketch, by the late John Phillip, R.A 43 * Loteria Nacionale^ by the late John Phillip, R.A. . . 68 Dominguez, the * Espada ' 86 Toledo 107 Vespers, by E. Lundgren 120 A Sketch, by Walter Severn 136 Sketch of Cordova 146 * Court of Oranges,' Cordova 151 Seville Cathedral 158 * Patio life,' by E. Lundgren 171 A Sketch, by E. Lundgren 182 Vegetation at Malaga 198 The Alhambra (from the Generaliife) 203 Alhambra Towers by moonlight 211 Moorish Ornamentation 213 Gipsies at Granada 219 ' Caballeros^ by E. Lundgren 229 Tlx Ornaments and Finials to the Chapters are facsimiles of embroidery brought from Granada. > TRAVELLING IN SPAIN. CHAPTER I. n 1 BA YONNE— BIARRITZ—ST. SEBASTIAN. N the autumn of 1864 travellers in the Pyrenees and the south of France were tempted to visit Spain by large placards upon the walls of every town they passed through, announcing that railway communication was at last complete, and that a regular system of trains was estabUshed between Paris and Madrid. Many of us had already had a glimpse of Spain from the Port de Venasqtte^ or the Cirque de Gavarnie^ and some had visited the Bay of St. Sebastian before railways were made. But a . iz^ B AT BIARRITZ. Chap. I. tour through Spain, chiefly by railway, had an air of novelty about it, and a sound of promise that we longed to realize. The project was discussed at Biarritz, where our party were staying for the sea-bathing, and it was the general opinion that, as the heat was now (the end of September) very great, the interior of Spain would be almost insufferable. We forgot, as many others had done before us, that the greater part of the country was a high plateau,^ and that Madrid itself was 2400 feet above the level of the sea, and so we arranged to leave a portion of our ' wTaps ' and warm clothing in France, expecting the climate to be at least as genial as that of the North of Italy. We ought to have taken everything — more even than w^e had brought with us from England ; a fact worth mentioning as a hint to others who may follow in our footsteps. Nothing adds so much to the comfort or dis- comfort of a journey through Spain as proper protection, or the want of it, from the fierce blasts of cold wind that sweep over the plains of ' Burgos is nearly 3000 feet above the sea, and Segovia more than 3300. Chap. T. ST SEBASTIAN. Castile, through the streets, and up the very stair- cases of the houses of ' royal Madrid.' Some of our party made visits to St. Sebas- tian ' as an experiment,' but on returning did not report favourably. They said that the town was ''dear and dirty,' that they 'were half-starved,' that ' there was not much to see,' and that they were ' very glad that they were not going further into Spain.' Moral. — Not to make this visit first if you have thoughts of going further south. St. Sebastian is not a characteristic town, although in many respects more interesting and curious than any other the traveller will meet with on this side of Burgos. By 'not charac- teristic' we mean not Spanish, and those who have only been to St. Sebastian have seen a town that is perhaps more attractive and really pictu- resque than anything in Castile ; but it is not Spain, and we are anxious to insist upon this, because it is here that so many of our country- men turn back. Seen from a distance — with its fortifications and old buildings touching the blue waters of the Bay of Biscay ; the heights above studded with pretty white Basque cottages, with the pleasant contrast of red-tiled roofs and thickly wooded B 2 ST. SEBASTIAN. Chap. I. hills — its sunny Italian appearance is most striking. Shutting our eyes to the modern "' watering-place ' aspect of part of the town, and our ears to the military band, there are quaint old buildings if we search them out, and much character and costume to be met with among the peasantry who crowd the great square, the Plaza de la Conslitiicim^ on Sundays and holidays. The buildings gene- rally are not remarkable, and as St. Sebastian is a favourite bathing-place both for Spaniards and French people, the town is fast becoming modern- ized. Bull-fights are occasionally held here, but are not in vogue, and are chiefly attended by the peasantry. These exhibitions have all the rough brutalitj^ of the ' sport,' without its redeemmg features of skill and courage (as seen at Madrid or Seville), the bulls being generally poor frightened animals, that would gladly escape if they could get a chance. The spectacle of the excited crowd is here, as elsewhere, by far the best part of the entertainment. The walks about St. Sebastian, and the view from the Monte OrguUo, behind the town, are very beautiful. Accommodation for travellers is poor, and the best inn, the Fonda Ntieva de Baraza^ is dear, and hardly as clean as could be desired. Chap. I. BIARRITZ— B UR G OS. \ When we started for Spain, we decided not to stop at St. Sebastian, but to go direct to Burgos. At Bayonne and Biarritz we could obtain no trustworthy information about our route, nor was a copy of any Spanish railway time-table to be seen at either of these towns ; we could onlv learn that the mail train left Biarritz about one o'clock every day, and arrived at Madrid about half-past ten on the following morning. The station-master at Bayonne could not even inform us at what time we should arrive at Burgos, nor could we ascer- tain this until after we had passed the frontier. We obtained some Spanish silver with difficulty at a banker's at Bayonne (it being very scarce, and no gold to be had), and on the 8th of October, 1864, left Biarritz about i p.m., and took the train direct for Burgos, arriving at the Spanish frontier-town of Irun in about an hour and a half, where there was a long delay whilst the luggage and passports were examined, and where all passengers changed carriages, cross- ing the station from the side of the Chenmi de Fer dii Midi to that of the Ferro Carril del Norte, This delay and necessity for change are so cha- racteristic of all that one meets with in Spain, that f »3^'=s!:nJ^^il*t2f^#-iai%a 'm-^^ A ■=£'" %m ST, SEBASTIAN. Chap. I. Chap. I. BIARRITZ— B UR G OS, hills — its sunny Italian appearance is most striking. Shutting our eyes to the modern 'watering-place' aspect of part of the town, and our ears to the military band, there are quaint old buildings if we search them out, and much character and costume to be met with among the peasantry who crowd the great square, the Plaza de la Consliliuion^ on Sundays and holidays. The buildings gene- rally are not remarkable, and as St. Sebastian is a favourite bathing-place both for Spaniards and French people, the town is fast becoming modern- ized. Bull-fights are occasionally held here, but are not in vogue, and are chiefly attended by the peasantry. These exhibitions have all the rough brutality of the 'sport,' without its redeemmg features of skill and courage (as seen at Madrid or Seville), the bulls being generally poor frightened animals, that would gladly escape if they could get a chance. The spectacle of the excited crowd is here, as elsewhere, by far the best part of the entertainment. The walks about St. Sebastian, and the view from the Monte OrguUo, behind the town, are very beautiful. Accommodation for travellers is poor, and the best inn, the Fonda Ntieva de Baraza, is dear, and hardly as clean as could be desired. When we started for Spain, we decided not to stop at St. Sebastian, but to go direct to Burgos. At Bayonne and Biarritz we could obtain no trustworthy information about our route, nor was a copy of any Spanish railway time-table to be seen at either of these towns ; we could only learn that the mail train left Biarritz about one o'clock every day, and arrived at Madrid about half-past ten on the following morning. The station-master at Bavonne could not even inform us at what time we should arrive at Burgos, nor could we ascer- tain this until after we had passed the frontier. We obtained some Spanish silver with difficulty at a banker's at Bayonne (it being very scarce, and no gold to be had), and on the 8th of October, 1864, 1^^ Biarritz about i p.m., and took the train direct for Burgos, arriving at the Spanish frontier-town of Irun in about an hour and a half, where there was a long delay whilst the luggage and passports were examined, and where all passengers changed carriages, cross- ing the station from the side of the Ckemifi de Fer dii Midi to that of the Ferro Carril del No7^le, This delay and necessity for change are so cha- racteristic of all that one meets with in Spain, that SPANISH RAIL WA YS. Chap. I. a word or two will not be out of place here on the conduct of Spanish railways generally. Introduced by foreigners, constructed by foreign capital, and chiefly worked by Frenchmen, the Spaniards have taken a long time to reconcile themselves to this mode of travelling, and the Spanish Government at the outset took a decisive step in the way of obstruction. It decreed that to prevent the possibility of an invasion by French locomotives and military trains in case of war, the ' gauge ' or width of rails should vary from that in use in the rest of Europe ! The difference is about six inches, but enough to prevent any carriages passing from one line to the other, and hence and henceforth the necessity for changing at the frontier. The Ferro Carril del Norte, being at present the only connecting line between France and Spain, between North and South, has great traffic at certain seasons of the year ; but it is still in an unfinished state, with only o7ie Ime of rails for all traffic, every train being a goods train, with passenger-carriages in the middle. They are often obliged to travel at ten or fifteen miles an hour ; and in places where it defiles between limestone cliffs and rocks in crossing the mountains between A \ Chap. I. SPANISH RAIL WA YS. 7 Tolossa and Vittoria, the line has been repeatedly washed away by torrents, and is continually under repair. There are more than fifty tunnels between Irun and Madrid. The stations and buffets are toler- able, but dirty, and there is an air of poverty and irregularity about the whole system which shows plainly enough that Spaniards have not yet be- come accustomed or reconciled to the change of things. As there are few trains, they are always crowded, and everybody smokes with the win- dows closed. It is almost impossible to avoid the smoke, for, although the railway companies , pro- fess to provide separate compartments for ladies, such is the general crowding and confusion on the main lines that there is little opportunity for choice ; and we must say that, whether we are travelling in Castile or Andalusia, railways do not seem to have improved the habits or manners of the inhabitants. For some mysterious reason, no sooner does a Spaniard find himself in a railway carriage than his native courtesy and high breeding seem to desert him; he is not the man you meet on the Prado, or who is ready to divide his dinner with you on the mountain-side. He is 8 SPANISH PAIL WA YS, Chap. I. Chap. I. SPANISH RAIL WA YS. generally, as far as our experience goes, a fat, selfish-looking bundle of cloaks and rugs, taking up more than his share of the seat, not moving to make way for you, and seldom offering any assist- ance or civility. He is not very clean, and smokes incessantly during the whole twenty-four hours that you may have to sit next to him, occa- sionally toppling over in a half-sleep, with his head upon your shoulder and his lighted cigar hanging from his mouth ! He insists upon keep- ing the windows tightly closed,, and, unless your party is a large one, you have to give way to the majority and submit to be half-suffocated. The above was written in our note-book in 1864. Judging by the following, Mr. Sala does not seem to have found travelling more pleasant in 1866 : — ' Although the Spanish railway companies are said to be doing such bad business, the trains are always inconveniently crowded, and it is exceed- ingly difficult to find a seat, even in a first-class carriage. 'There are reasons for this: First, the com- panies only run two trains a day ; next, one or more first-class carriages are always reserved fbr government officials or taken in advance by gran- dees ; next, the universahty of smoking renders it necessary for carriages to be set apart for ladies, whether there are any ladies to travel by the train or not ; next, the companies, being short of money and badly provided with rolling stock, attach as few carriages to the train as they possibly can ; and, lastly, as soon as a Spaniard enters a carriage he spreads out his cloak, puts his coat on one seat and his bag on the other, pulls down the blinds, and draws the little silk curtain over the lamp, in the hope that no one else will enter. This is but natural, for we practise similarly inno- cent stratagems in England. ' But in Spain you are sure to be unearthed at last. You are chuckling at having entered a com- partment where you can put your legs up, when you see an inquiring head and a pair of glittering eyes peering in at the window. You are found out. The door opens. A tall man appears on the steps, spreads out the wings of his coat hke a bat, utters the customary "Bttenas noches, caballeros^'' and brings himself, his cigar, and his cloak to anchor by your side. Spaniards run to great lengths in the way of legs, and the doom of the stout is to be scrunched flat.' There are many small discomforts and annoy- iO SPANISH RAIL WA YS, Chap. I. ances on Spanish railways which are peculiar to the country, and which the inhabitants submit to with great good-humour. They do not seem to have the art of making travelling agreeable or comfortable, and ladies must make up their minds to ' rough it,' for there is no alternative. The best advice we can give them, when on a railway or diligence journey in Spain, is to take their own provisions with them in the carriage, and to re- main there as quietly as possible, asking nothing about the route from strangers, or they may be easily misled. There is not the same superintendence and system that we are accustomed to on our English lines, and travellers who depend upon being told what to do and where to go at the various stations and junctions, are continually being left behind or sent the wrong way. This is not thought much of in Spain, and amuses the officials immensely. The Ferro Carril del Norte is in difficulties, in spite of its having the monopoly of the traffic between France and Spain. The following para- graph lately appeared in the newspapers : — Chap. I. SPANISH RAIL WA YS. II ' Seizure for Debt of a Railway Train. ' It appears that certain extensive iron manu- facturers obtained a judgment in the Commercial Court of Paris against the North of Spain Railway Company for 4000/. They applied through their law officer at the Paris office for payment, but were answered that there were no funds there belonging to the North of Spain Railway. The Paris Jmissier then forwarded the judgment to a colleague at Bayonne, who, knowing that the trains belonging to the North of Spain Railway Company just pass the frontier to arrive at Hen- daye (near Irun), obtained assistance and seized a train composed of six travelling carriages, besides the locomotive and tender. The whole was placed under the care of a lieutenant of the custom-house corps. The railway company at once telegraphed to their agents in Pans announc- ing the seizure, and the following day the amount of the judgment was paid, and the train released.' This was sharp practice, but probably the con- tractor's only resource. It shows plainly enough the financial position of Spanish railway com- panies, and their want of credit even with their most sanguine and long-suffering friends, the / 12 IRUN TO BURGOS. Chap, I. Chap. I. IRUN TO BURGOS. 13 French capitalists. It will account also for the poverty-stricken aspect of the stations, and almost everything connected with the line. In Andalusia matters are much worse ; the railway between Seville and Cadiz is almost in a state of bankruptcy, and the company have been compelled to cease running trains on several occasions, until they could borrow money to pay their servants. But to proceed with our journey. Soon after passing the frontier we commence winding slowly up the valley of the Urumea to Tolosa, a small Basque town of about 8oco inhabitants. In some places the railway is carried at a great eleva- tion, and there are here and there peeps down into far-away valleys, as in crossing the yiira; but both mountains and valleys are different in form and colour to any either. in Switzerland or the northern Pyrenees. We passed many villages, wretched probably to live in, but looked at, at a distance, and as part of the landscape, they were charming, the old red tiles and blues and warm browns being a great relief to the eye after the monotonous grey of French buildings. Gradually ascending the plateau or central table-land of Spain, the air soon becomes keener, the wind more violent, the cloudless sun and moon appear brighter, and as we lea\e the Pyre- nees and the Asturian mountains behind us we leave also the life of landscape — trees, rivers, and cultivation. At Mi7^anda ^ (a junction) we crossed the celebrated Bilbao and Tudela Rail- way, a model of which was exhibited at the Lon- don Exhibition of 1862 by our countryman, Mr. Charles Vignoles. Its extraordinary curves and gradients to ascend the Cantabrian Pyrenees to Bilbao are well worth seeing, although there is not very much to attract a visitor in the town itself. Travelling easily, in about two hours, over what a year ago took seven or eight, we arrived at Burgos at half-past ten p.m. Here we parted from most of our fellow passengers, nearly every one of whom was going direct to Madrid. As we only intended staying a short time at Burgos, we wished to leave our heavy luggage at the railway station, which was objected to by the officials, and, as usual, finally permitted. This performance takes place, we afterwards heard, ' Here we were subjected to a long search for tobacco and salt by the custom-house officers, who seemed rather young and new to their work. 14 IRUN TO BURGOS. Chap. I. every night ; and luggage is taken very good care of ; all that is required being a small fee, which certainly does not benefit the railway company. On leaving the station we experienced the most cutting and piercing cold wind from the north and east; so cold that we might have been tra- velling to St. Petersburg rather than to the south of Europe. The town was about half a mile from the railway station, and there was no choice of conveyances. We took the first omnibus, and for ten minutes were rattled and bumped about in the darkness, over bad roads, and no roads, and suddenly stopped at the low door of the Parador de las Diligencias^ or Fo7ida Rafaela. CHAPTER II. BURG OS. H E Parador de las Diligencias Gene- rales is probably a good specimen of the old inns of Spain on the great high roads ; constructed to accommodate a large number of people, providing them with tolerable fare at not very extortionate prices. It was, as the guide-books say, ' an old-fashioned parador^ decent, and humble ;' a rambling old building, with some of the bedrooms below the level of the road, and as we were late arrivals we were honoured with one of these. At Burgos we experienced our first Spanish welcome ; a welcome that we soon learned to take as a matter of course in our travels. Nothing can ever be done until the household come out en 7nasse^ and have a good stolid stare. I i6 BURGOS. Chap. II. Chap. II. BURGOS. 17 It was nearly twelve o'clock at night and bitterly cold, and it certainly seemed 'an age' before any one could be prevailed upon to show the weary travellers their rooms. We were led up and down an infinite number of stairs, through dark passages, and finally under an archway into an enormous bedroom. The furniture was modern, and took up so little space that it suggested the idea of a prison cell. The windows were barred with iron, the floor was cement or stone coloured red, and the ceiUng supported by massive pillars. Our next-door neighbours were mules and their drivers, whom we could hear distinctly all night, as well as the noise of rats chasing each other down the damp whitewashed walls. The very stolid Seuora who lighted us down assured us that the other rooms were all occupied, and that we had the best in the Fonda. There was nothinp: for it, therefore, but to thank her for her atten- tion (which she evidently expected) and to wait for the morning. Sunday^ Oct. c^th} — Our first morning in " sunny Spain." We find our cellar very dull and * We have preserved the diary form in this and. several other instances throughout the book, in order to give the most vivid impression of places visited. > cold, and it is raining fast. Through the bars of our prison we can just see the leaden sky and part of a low barrack wall. When we at last found our way out and into el cornedor (a low, dingy, and most dirty salle a manger on the first floor, ornamented with an almanac several years old, and a few gaudy prints of saints upon the walls), we got some good chocolate and bread, and later in the day there was a table-d'hote, to which about thirty people sat down. They were chiefly Spaniards, of all ages and degrees ; and they smoked between the courses, filling the room gradually until we lost sight of our opposite neighbours. It was inte- resting to watch the efforts of small boys of ten or twelve to make one cigarette last out between three or four of them, smoking it in turns, and placing the damp morsel on the edge of their plates whilst they had an interlude of dinner. Other habits less tolerable and less appetising kept us on the qui vive throughout the meal. The fare was good for Spain (as we afterwards discovered); there were a number of dishes dressed with oil, very coarse meats, poor fruit, and wine that needed an acquired taste to appre- ciate. Most of our party voted the dinner i8 BURGOS, Chap. II. ^^ horrible^' but that might be attributed to their insular fastidiousness or want of taste ! It is right to mention here, for the benefit of future visitors, that this Fonda is not the best in Burgos ; there is another, called the ' Hotel (ill Nord^ kept by a foreigner, which might have been more to our English tastes ; but, travelling by the light of ancient guide-books, one is often taken to the old-fashioned inns, which may, or may not, be any longer tolerable. There are two sides to every question, and there is no doubt that in the worst inns we see more life and more that is really characteristic. It is well, perhaps, even when young English ladies are of the party, to do in Spain (with certain reservations) as Spaniards do, to stay at their fondas in preference to French hotels, to put up with smoke and garlic, to taste the Spanish olla^ to drink wine from the skins, and (occasionally) to dine at their tables-dShote, Spanish manners are not very refined, even at Madrid ; but they form part of the sight that we come out to see. Burgos is well described as ' dull, damp, cold, and wind-blown, and from its elevation and scarcity of trees, very much exposed to the norih- Chap. II. THE CIDS WEDDING. 19 erly winds.' The cold lasts for seven or eight months in the year, and even in summer there is none of that softness in the air that we should expect in 42° 21' north latitude. After travelling in the south of France, and being burnt with the heat of the sun in the Pyrenees, this sudden change was as striking as it was unexpected, and we could not help thinking of our friends who had turned back at Biarritz on account of the heat. The whole asjKxt of the town was so very dull and cheerless on this cold Sunday mornings and the costume of nearly every one we met in the streets so modern and familiar (Paris hats and bonnets are coming into fashion even here), that, after all we had read and expecleil of Burgos, we almost wished we had never come. Could this really l)c the city of which wc read in the ballad of * The CMs Wei C5 CO o o pq ^ 75 — '55 CO S CO O o I— t CO o CI o CO o ' e tation is raised to its highest pitch, and we feel the excitement to be catching. It is no orderly queue of people waiting two and two for their turn, as we are accustomed to see on the Con- tinent, but a crushing, struggling and surging mob, that sends up volumes of smoke, and ejacula- tions that are certainly not blessings. The ma- jority fight their way to the despacho^ and fight their way back ; then, buying a fan for two reales and the little blue play-bill (that we have copied) for a cuarto, they disappear until the afternoon. The chief cause of all this disturbance is not the genuine eagerness of the crowd, but the system of speculators buying up tickets to sell again at exorbitant rates. Whilst we are watching and making up our minds for a struggle, a tall, bright-eyed gamin comes up and offers his services. ^ Shall he get a " carta " for us ? ' ^ Yes, for the cheapest place on the shady side of the arena.' In an instant he is plunging and crushing amongst the crowd, crawling over their heads; and, holding out our money with a long arm, he succeeds in getting one of the few remiaining seats for two reales. 74 BULL-FIGHTS. Chap. V. But this " carta " is not marked " al sonibra^' and we cannot sit in the sun.' ' It is for the best side of the Plaza, and the Seiior can have a fan for two reales.' The seats on the sunny side are about half the price of those marked ' al somdra^ and the young gentleman who kept a store of the former, had tried to foist one of them upon us, 'pocketing the difference.' Paper fans are sold for those who take these seats, but it is almost impossible to see when sitting facing the sun. The performance commenced at three, and before two the whole population seemed to be moving towards the Plaza de Toros. * For once all men seemed one way drawn, Saw nothing else — heard nothing.' Across the Puerta del Sol, down the Calle de Alcala, past the deserted Museo, the almost as solitary Prado, and through the Puerta de Alcala, flowed the great river of men and women, gathering tributary streams at every street-corner, all eagerness and haste to see what they had seen a hundred times before. There was one figure — and one only — in this crowd that told its purpose, and the sight was a Chap. V. BULL-FIGHTS. 75 sad one. A sorry steed, a veritable Rosinante, with gay tassels and trappings, was doing its best to prance and career up and down to attract the people, tottering under the weight of a lusty picador, padded and covered with an armour of cork and leather to protect him from the bull's thrusts ; followed by a boy on foot, whose office it would afterwards be to drive the poor beast when in the arena, and compel him to face the bull. The picador rides gaily along, bowing to the people on each side, until they reach the entrance to the bull-ring. In every book that we ever read on Spain, it is stated that the best bull-fights are to be seen at Seville ; but having seen them both at Madrid and Seville, we venture to think that this is no longer correct. Corridas de toros, like every- thing else in Spain, have been affected by over- centralisation and railways ; and the influx of strangers to Madrid has attracted the most dis- tinguished Espadas (with the fiercest bulls) to the capital, and caused more money to be spent upon performances here than in any part of Andalusia. The Plaza de Toros at Madrid is a low, ugly-looking building outside, with the general 76 B ULL-FIGHTS. Chap. V. poor appearance of a second-rate circus, but with the addition of a peculiar and terrible smell as of shambles, that we do not forget to this day. The entrance to our seats was through a narrow pas- sage behind some stables, where ten or twelve horses were eating their last meal of straw, and where harness and various ' properties ' were piled up ready for use. *On entering the ring,' says Mr. Ford, 'the stranger finds his watch put back at once eighteen hundred years ; he is transported to Rome under the Caesars ; and, in truth, the sight is glorious of the assembled thousands in their Spanish costume ; the novelty of the spectacle, associated with our earliest classical studies, is enhanced by the blue expanse of the heavens spread above as a canopy.' We will endeavour to describe it as we found it. The interior of the building is in the form of a Roman amphitheatre, with a ring of about i loo feet in circumference. Its general appearance is shabby and ruinous. Round the lower part, where we had taken places purposely, in order to get a good general view, there are ten rows of open seats rising one behind the other, with the number of inches allotted to each person painted upon them; behind are two tiers of Chap. V. B ULL-FIGHTS. 77 dingy-looking boxes, separated from us by a wooden railing, as a still further protection from the bulls. There is a royal box on the principal tier, and a few spacious ones on each side, deco- rated with tawdry hangings and devices, are reserved for the Court. We are separated from the ring by two wooden barriers about five and six feet high respectively, with an alley or passage between, which leads all round the ring, and serv^es as a place of refuge for the performers when hotly pursued, and for adventurous Madri- leiios who wish to be near the scene of action. Opposite the royal box are the doors where the bulls enter, and at the sides two others for the performers. The seats about us and the benches above are worn and weather-beaten, and there seems to have been little attempt made to repair or redecorate the building. There is, as has been truly said, a busi- ness-like and murderous look about the whole place which is unmistakable. When we entered, the centre of the ring was as crowded with people as the course at Epsom on the Derby day before the great race. At the sound of a trumpet the ring was gradually cleared, and we soon found ourselves tightly wedged up on all 78 B ULL'FIGHTS. Chap. V. sides, beyond all possibility of retreat if we had desired it. In front, leaning on the ropes, were young men and boys armed with sticks and fire- works, ready to take part in the performance if they could get a chance, which they occasionally managed to do. The crowd was not demonstrative or very noisy; it was, on the whole, a goodhumoured holiday mob, which seemed to care more for a cigarito than anything else in the world ; but there were a few connoisseurs near us and round the bull-contractor's box who were discussing the chances of the day, and might have been bet- ting, but that there is so little real speculation or * sporting' amongst Spaniards. The excitement of real danger to the performers, and curiosity as to how each bull will behave, seem to be the paramount attractions. We said that the crowd was not noisy, but when the seats were nearly full the sound that went up from more than eight thousand people was deafening ; and the smoking was a wonderful sight, resembling an enormous circle of burning peat or the smouldering of camp fires. Almost the only distinguishable sounds were the incessant scratching of fusees or matches, and the cry every- Chap. V. B ULL'FIGHTS. 79 where for water — Agtia ! agtca ! agua ! The water-carriers were in constant requisition all through the performance, for the heat was very great. The majority of the people were dressed in Spanish costume, and were evidently from the country and suburbs of Madrid. All true Madri- lenos of course wore black coats and Paris hats, but the ladies in the boxes, of whom there were a number, generally had fans and wore the mantilla. Just before the commencement of the perform- ance the sun shone out brilliantly, and in an instant a thousand paper fans of all colours flut- tered in the breeze, looking in the distance as if a swarm of butterflies had suddenly started into life. Another signal from the trumpeter : the band played, and from a general movement in the crowd we knew that the royal box had its occu- pant (although we could see no one), and that the signal to commence had been given. A side-door is opened, and the combatants enter in procession, led by two mounted officers of police in ancient Spanish costume, with black hats and cloaks. The procession itself, and the whole effect when the spectators rise to see the 8o BULL-FIGHTS. Chap. V. entry, is so imposing and unique, that we should recommend every one to see this, if not to stay for the fight. After the alguaciles or officers come the picadores^ mounted on their poor steeds and armed to the teeth, holding heavy lances in their hands ; after them the bandcrillos and chidos^ or combatants on foot, fine, active men, in the costume we are accustomed to see in the opera of ' Figaro ' or ^The Barber of Seville.' Next follow the matadores (or espadas^ as they are generally called), the ' maestros,' whose office it is to dispatch the bull single-handed. Lastly, come a number of attendants, ten or twelve fero- cious-looking dogs, and a team of mules three abreast gaily caparisoned, which are afterwards employed to drag away the dead. The performers bow before the royal box, and a key of the door by which the bulls are to enter is thrown to them by the president. All then retire from the ring excepting two picadores on horseback ; the trumpet sounds again, and the door is thrown open. This is the supreme moment ; every eye and ear is on the stretch, and there is a general hush throughout the crowd. A low roaring is heard in the dark passage leading from the dens, and in a Chap. V. BULL-FIGHTS. 8i few seconds, with a plunging, awkward motion, the bull rushes into the centre of the ring and stands still ; dazzled apparently with the brightness and sudden change from his dark prison, and startled with the shout that greets his entry. The first bull on this day was a handsome black beast, rather small, of Andalusian breed, with enormous horns, and apparently of great strength and ac- tivity. His coat was glossy and bright, and was decorated with ribbons of the colour of his owner {azicl turqtd), pinned on to his shoulder. His first impulse seemed to be to find his way out of all this uproar, and get back to his den ; but all such thoughts evidently vanished when he caught sight of the picadores drawn up near the barrier, one on each side of the ring. He faced about at once, rushed headlong at man and horse and threw them both to the ground with a crash. Instantly the chulos and banderillos entered the ring, and with their bright red flags drew away the bull from the fallen picador. Then com- menced a chase and a series of passages and rushes, in which the chulos displayed marvellous dex- terity in evading the bull, sometimes waiting for his approach, and, just as the animal stooped to toss them, stepping on its forehead, walking along G 82 BULL-FIGHTS, Chap. V. its back, and jumping easily off again. Some- times they were so hotly pursued that they had to drop their flags and leap the barriers.^ In the mean time the picador had been dragged from under his wounded horse and re- mounted, and the ring was again cleared of every one on foot. The same scene occurred with slight variations; the more skilful picadores managed sometimes to receive the charge of the bull with their lances and to drive him back ; but in the end, the horses were fearfully wounded, and often fell dead under their riders. The picadores appeared much shaken by the falls, and it looked dangerous work, but we heard that they were seldom seriously injured. After several horses had been killed,^ the picadores retired, and the more skilful and graceful part of the performance com- menced. The trumpet sounded again, and the bande- rillos, advancing with two little barbed darts about a foot long, entered the ring, and, standing upright with their arms raised above their heads, received ^ At the Plaza at Seville there are screens for the performers to run behind, but at Madrid there is no escape but by leaping the barriers. 2 On this day we saw eight horses lying dead or dying in the ring at one time, and one * picador ' carried out insensible. Chap. V. B ULL-FIGHTS, 83 the charge of the bull, jumping aside and endea- vouring at that instant to fix the darts on his shoulder — an operation which, as our neighbour informed us, ' should be done neatly — one on each side.' This of course enrages the animal, and renders the sport most exciting to those who love it. He roared and tore up the earth with rage, and rushed headlong after his tormentors, who had hairbreadth escapes, jumping the barriers when the bull was almost upon them. They immediately returned to the charge, and darted about the arena, waving their cloaks in the bull's face, and tormenting him until his rage was ter- rible to behold. The excitement at this time was at its highest pitch, and to enter the ring at all seemed, to novices, most dangerous. Two banderillos ad- vanced cautiously, holding their darts high in the air. They stood too close to each other, and when the bull rushed at them one tripped against the other and fell down. In an instant the ring was filled with chulos to the rescue, who, in their turn, were scattered right and left ; several ran for the barrier within a few yards of us, and the bull followed them closely. G a j\ 84 BULL-FIGHTS, Chap. V. We saw him coming plunging towards us ; and although several women shrieked and people jumped from their seats, we did not at the moment apprehend danger. Surely, we thought (if there was time to think), it is so arranged that the bull cannot leap both barriers and reach the seats. But this was one of the ' cosas de Espaiia^ that we had yet to learn ; we did not know that this was a favourite part of the performance, and the ' fun ' that all those young gentlemen with red handkerchiefs and sticks like Smithfield cattle- drovers had come out to see. The bull tried to leap the barrier, and failed ; he turned away with a sullen roar, and ploughed up the earth about him. The banderillos and chulos returned again to the ring, but he was either craven or obstinate, or (as we thought) out of breath, and fairly beaten ; nothing would stir him. Then the monotonous cry, that we had heard incessantly throughout the fight, of Agtia ! agtia ! was changed to another cry — for ' fire.' Fuega ! fttega ! fuega ! was echoed round the ring, and in answer to the call a 'banderillo' advanced with two darts, shaped like the others, but covered with v/hite paper. He stealthily Chap. V. B ULL-FIGHTS, 85 approached the bull, who stood motionless in the middle of the ring, and, skilfully planting the darts on the bull's shoulder, beat a rapid retreat. The darts were loaded with hand-rockets, and imme- diately exploded on his back. He turned round and leaped into the air in terror and pain, while the people rose and screamed with excitement. Suddenly seeing his tormentor leaning over the barrier, he made after him, and, getting his fore- feet and head on to the wood-work, he toppled over and fell into the passage between the two partitions. Here he was immediately set upon by the young gentlemen, who with their sticks tried to drive him back. He turned upon them, however, and cleared the second barrier, how we know not, and, sooner than we can write it, was amongst us, and walking up the seats within three feet of where we sat. The proverb that ' he who hesitates is lost ' was never better illustrated. To hesitate, to run away, or to make room for the bull, would have been fatal ; the plan adopted instantly by all was to fasten upon him in a body, man, woman, or child, whoever was nearest, and so by sheer dead weight of numbers walk him back into the ring ! And now the third act commenced, the ring S6 BULL-FIGHTS, Chap. V. was cleared, and one of the ^espadas' entered alone. He was dressed as daintily as if he were going to a ball, with an embroidered suit of gay colours, and silk stockings, exactly as we see him in our illustration. He threw his cap to the ground, and, with his sword in his right hand, and a muleta or red flag in his left, advanced to meet the bull, amidst the cheers of the people. It was an exciting moment for any one to see, for the first time, this man standing alone before the bull, his life depending upon his quickness of eye and his trusty sword, and with his fine figure (clad with almost effeminate delicacy and grace), separated not three feet from his enraged and foaming antagonist. The bull at first seemed to hesitate, but soon made a rush at the espada, who skilfully turned it off by waving the 'muleta' and jumping aside. This was repeated a dozen or twenty times, during which the bull was slightly wounded, but, suddenly choosing his opportunity, when the bull had lowered his head to the right position, the espada pointed his sword steadily at a spot between the horns, and the bull ran upon it and killed himself, — falling dead at one blow. This was applauded vehe- mently, and caps were thrown by the spectators ■'■■ ' 'm;'"' -■■< ^ ^ •/?,?' v,e J. DOMTNGDEZ, THE ' FiSPADA ' Chap. V. B ULL-FIGHTS. 87 into the ring, which the performer had the trouble of throwing back again to the owners — a peculiar form of compUment which every one seemed to appreciate. Immediately the gates were thrown open, and the mules were brought in to take away the dead ; they were splendid animals, and galloped off rapidly with their load, and in five minutes the ring was cleared and another victim rushed in. The second bull was a poor-looking animal — tame and frightened, that ran away from the picadors, and tried to escape out of the ring. However, after a time, he turned upon his tor- mentors, and the same performances were gone through as before, but with less spirit. The only event of importance was the entry of the amateur espada, whom we had seen in the cafe the previous evening. He was greatly cheered by the people, and showed plenty of courage and self-possession ; but it was a wretched blundering business, wound- ing the bull cruelly with false thrusts, and failing to kill him in the required time. The poor beast had to be put out of his misery by a professional executioner. This was enough ; we had done our duty, and had seen a Spanish bull-fight as it is conducted 88 BULL-FIGHTS, Chap. V. in the present day. Perhaps we wish never to see another: we say ^perhaps' because we fear that there were one or two moments during the fight that we would wilhngly live over again if we had the chance. Do away with horses altogether (as in Mexico), divest the exhibition of all unnecessary cruelty, give the animal fair play, and a bull-fight has in it the elements of true sport, which are irresistible to an Englishman. Such an exhibition of skill and daring as we saw that day will not be soon forgotten ; and we are bound to confess we enjoyed, what our better nature condemned ; agreeing with the late Richard Cobden that 'so long as this continues to be the popular sport of high and low, so long will Spaniards be indifferent to human life, and have their civil contests marked with displays of cruelty which make men shudder.' CHAPTER VI. MADRID— PICTURE GALLERIES — ROYAL PALACE, ^c. H E Museo is one of the few well- ordered institutions in Spain. Near the Prado, at the end of the Calle San Geronimo, within a short distance of the centre of the city, open at convenient hours nearly every day, with civil and obliging at- tendants, and every facility afforded to view the pictures, no wonder that to strangers and all lovers of art this should be the favourite spot in Madrid ; but curiously enough, it is the one place where a Spaniard is hardly ever seen. In this world-famous collection there are, according to the catalogue which we purchase at the doors, forty-six paintings by Murillo, ten Raphaels, sixty-two Rubens, fifty-three Teniers, sixty-four Velasquez, twenty-two Van Dycks, forty- lii 90 MADRID. Chap. VI. three Titians, twenty-five Veroneses, thirty-four Tintorettos, besides numerous works by Breughel, Bassano, Snyder, Poussin, Wouvermans, Ribera, Luca Giordano, Guido, and Claude. The rooms are large and well lighted, but there are hardly any seats for visitors. The paintings are well hung, clearly numbered, and easily referred to in the catalogue. In the Rotunda, near the entrance, the paint- ings are generally inferior, and the room on our right hand, devoted to las esctielas contemporaneos (the modern school), will not detain us long. In the central hall and in the ' Salon de Isabel ' are some of the best pictures, but the general arrangement and classification enable the visitor to study the works of each master separately. Murillo is seen to better advantage at Seville, his native place; but we have here the celebrated picture of the Immaculate Conception, which, by some, is considered finer than his painting of the same subject in the Gallery of the Louvre at Paris; The Holy Family; The Annunciation; The Vision of St. Bernard ; Agnus Dei; Mater Dolorosa.^ &c. ; and the picture, so often copied, of The Infant Saviour giving St, fohn to drink out of a shell. Chap. VI. THE MUSEO, 91 Most of Murillo's works seem to have been retouched in parts, and sometimes even repainted; so that this part of the collection is rather dis- appointing. What struck us most was the ap- parent want of tone and harmony of colour, and of that marvellous ' quality ' with which we are familiar in England, in the comparatively few examples we possess at the Dulwich Gallery and elsewhere. But Mr. Ford will assist us to explain this. * On Murillo,' he writes, * the most perilous experiments have been tried by the official flayers, poulticers, and plasterers. However, he is so full of subject, so dramatic, comes so home to, and appeals so much to the common sense of mankind, and is recommended by such a magical fascination of colour, that he captivates alike the learned and unlearned. He has far more grace, but far less of the masculine mind, than Velasquez, who, compared to him, seems somewhat cold and grey in colour; for Murillo painted flesh as he saw it in Andalusia, roasted, toasted, and bronzed by the glowing sun, and not recalling the pale unripened beauty of the north. Like Titian his strength lay in ravishing colour ; none ever rivalled him in the luminous diaphonous streams of golden ether in which his cherubs float like butterflies. . . . Murillo, like Velasquez, lacked the highest quality of the Italian ideal , true Spaniards, they were local, and imitated nature as they saw her; thus Murillo's holy subjects are not glorified forms and visions which compel us to bow the knee and adore, but pleasing scenes of a domestic family, where sports of graceful children 92 MADRID. Chap. VI. attract the delighted attention of affectionate parents. There is neither the awful sublimity of Michael Angelo, nor the unearthly purity of Raphael/ In the presence of so much ideal grace and beauty, and in contemplation of the imaginative power displayed in some of these works, perhaps we shall hardly agree in the whole of the above, but will reserve our judgment of this master until we see him at Seville. If the collection of Murillos is incomplete, we are able to appreciate the full power and humour of Velasquez ; his power, in nearly every picture by his hand, but notably in Do7i Baltasar on Horseback (No. 332), young Prince Carlos on a pony, represented riding at full gallop towards the spectator ; and his humour in Los Borrachos (No. 138), and in the two figures oi Mcenipo and yEsop (Nos. 245 and 254). One of his most important works is the Surrender of Breda (No. 319), which has been described as 'perhaps the finest picture of Velasquez ; never were knights, soldiers, or national character better painted, or the heavy Fleming, the intellectual Italian, and the proud Spaniard, more nicely marked, even to their boots and breeches : the lances of the guards actually vibrate.' Chap. VI. THE MUSEO. 93 Number 155 is a curious picture, representing the artist painting the portrait of the Infanta Margarita., daughter of Philip IV. She is at- tended by her dwarfs, and in the background are seen Philip IV. and his queen. The execution of this picture, in which every figure is a portrait, is most careful in details, and in the rendering of costume. The dwarfs that he introduces here are reproduced in other pictures with an almost painful lifelike effect, and indeed every historical figure painted by him bears evidence of truth. His picture of Philip IV. (No. 299) was used as a model for the bronze statue of that monarch in the Plaza del Oriente. But Velasquez, like other figure-painters of our own time and nation, believed that his forte lay in landscape, and nothing pleased him better than to follow the court to the Versailles of Madrid and portray the glories of the gardens at Aranjuez: No. 145 is a good illustration of this class of subject. There are examples of other Spanish painters that we cannot detail, some of which are only to be found after repeated visits to the Museo, and by confining ourselves religiously to one school at a time. Nearly every visitor passes from the 94 MADRID, Chap. VI. works of Murillo and Velasquez to those of Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Guido, Paul Ve- ronese, Rubens, Van Dyck, Poussin, Claude de Lorraine, Albert Durer, Holbein, &c., neglecting, or scarcely giving sufficient attention to, those of Ribera, Zurbaran, and others, who especially illustrate Spanish painting and Spanish life. The Madrid gallery is by no means complete, and, like everything else in Spain, is a ^ creature of accident,' a collection of about two thousand pictures got together by chance, and preserved by Spaniards for the benefit of strangers. The sculpture and antiquities collected in the Museo are not remarkable, but there are several rooms devoted to them, through which the visitor is conducted at certain intervals during the day. There are also some curious and costly inlaid mosaic tables. A good descriptive account of the whole col- lection (as now arranged) has, we believe, yet to be written. Nearly every Englishman that has visited these galleries has examined them by the light of Ford, whose terse and vigorous language, power of description, and undeniable authority on all things Spanish, have made him a cicerone as fascinating as irresistible. But his Chap. VI. ROYAL PALACE, 95 account of the pictures in the Museo was written more than twenty years ago: there have been many changes and additions to the gallery since that time, and our knowledge of the works of the old masters, and our estimate of them, has also changed considerably. At a time when so many of our countrymen are flocking to Madrid, such a description as we have hinted at would be valuable. At the opposite end of Madrid (near the Plaza del Oriente, and the statue of Philip IV.) stands the Royal Palace. It is the 'emphatic feature' of the city, and is almost the only building which dwells in the recollection of the visitor. Situated in a commanding position above the river Manzanares, with a fine view of the Guadarama mountains from its north front, it occupies the best and most prominent position in Madrid ; and in keeping with everything royal in Spain, it is on a magnificent scale, having cost upwards of 800,000/. 'It forms,' says Mr. O'Shea, 'a square of 471 feet, is 100 feet high, and belongs to the Tuscan style ; the base is granite, and the upper portion is built of the beautiful white stone of 96 MADRID. Chap. VI. Colmenar, which resembles marble. In the centre is a "patio" 140 feet square. The interior arrangements are also magnificent.' When the Queen is absent most of the apart- ments may be seen, also the Chapel Royal and the Stables and Coach-houses ; these last contain a curious collection of vehicles, upwards of one hundred in number, built at different periods. In the royal stables there are a number of Arab horses, ponies, and mules, of the finest breeds, and the liveries, harness, and trappings are well worth seeing. The Armoury, which is in a building near the Palace, is said to be one of the best col- lections in Europe, where there are not only a number of historically interesting objects, but also some of the finest and most unique designs for helmets, shields, &c. The Royal Library should be examined ; it contains upwards of 250,000 volumes, and a collection of coins. There was great discussion amongst the visitors as to the merits of this much boasted collection of coins, some of the most learned maintaining that it is neither as authentic or complete as would appear from the catalogue. On this point we will not venture an Chap. VI. THE ESCORIAL. 97 opinion, but would suggest to those who take most interest in such matters that there is a perfect mine of wealth in manuscripts and books and coins stored up (for they are never used) both at Madrid and at the Escorial. Strangers are permitted to examine almost everything in these buildings at certain times, but under strict surveillance. The glass cases and padlocked chests with their precious contents sometimes require a ' silver key ' to open them ; but much can be done for a ' peseta.' One day had to be devoted to a hurried visit to the Escorial, the Tomb of the Spanish Kings, that strange, desolate-looking pile that we passed by railway on coming to Madrid, standing almost alone, at an elevation of 2700 feet above the sea, in the midst of a wilderness of stones, from which it has been constructed. It is a building of enormous extent, of the Doric order, with four towers at the corners, and a central dome.^ To see the Escorial is a hard day's work. After two hours' journey by railway, it takes the visitor five hours merely to go over the building with a guide, which will give some idea of its 1 For its history, and detailed description of its chapels, sacristv, oratorios, library, crvvccn the spokes ! It was, of course, im|>oi>bible to do anything without unloading the diligence, and so, by the dim light of one Candle in a lantern, all the shivering figures liad to turn out, and crouch together by the road-side, whilst the ojKranon was being performed. The whcd fitted^ and great was the shout of rejoicing thcrcui>on. In about an hour wcwcrc getting up mto our seats again, when a tremeiulous noise of scuffling of feet and shouting was heard in the darkness near us. It tiirncil out that the team of mules had started off down the mountain, dragging with them the boy who had been placed in charge. Then of course there was a grand chase, and they 142 MADRID TO CORDOVA. Chap. VIII. were finally brought back in a desperate state of entanglement and confusion. This caused another delay of nearly an hour, by which time many of us had again gone to sleep, when the signal was given to start. With a lurch and a crash (occa- sioned by our being pulled oiF the 'jack,' or lever, on which the diligence had rested whilst the wheel was being fitted, tearing it to pieces by dragging the vehicle over it, because no one had taken the trouble to move it away), we started at once into a gallop, several of the animals having their legs over the traces, and for three or four hours without a halt kept rushing through the darkness ; sometimes jolting against a bank, and 'shipping' earth and stones, and swinging from side to side in a manner which would have sent us all out of our seats if we had not been closely packed. The rain now fell heavily, and we were soon ploughing through mud and crossing torrents, which made the latter part of our progress very slow and tedious. As we got farther south and began to descend, the air became much softer, the vegetation altered with the change of climate,' and aloes and the prickly cactus grew on the road-side. We passed one or two towns of no Chap. VIII. ARRIVAL AT CORDOVA. 143 great interest, and made our only halt at Bailen — a poor, dull, neglected-looking town, containing, it is said, but we can scarcely credit it, about 10,000 inhabitants — and finally reached Cordova on Friday evening; being four days and nights since we had left Madrid, without taking off our clothes or entering a decent habitation. The other travellers arrived at Cordova on Friday morning, not knowing what had detained us, and supposing all the while that we were close behind. We were not yet ' out of the wood ;' a few days afterwards we received a letter from our friends in Madrid, requesting us to forward immediately the sum of 13/., which had been paid for a third set of places taken for us several days after we had telegraphed for them ! The dear, good, kind people thought probably, as all Spaniards do, that there was no hurry, and put off securing the places until — mafiana ! ^ ' In touching contrast to the foregoing, we must record the comfortable, not to say luxurious manner in which two ladies travelled over the same ground, when the line happened to be in working order and travellers were less numerous. It is probably only of Spain that two such opposite accounts could be truly written : — 'Surely, in no country but patient Spain, would two ladies have been allowed to fill the first-class compartment of a railway 1 I i 8 I >!«' ;;:■ 144 MADRID TO CORDOVA. Cuav. VIII. carriage in the way vvc did. Under the seats, on the seats, above the seats were piled an infinite variety of packaees- a box nf medicines, a folding India-rubber bath, a basket of provisions fa precaution never to be neglected), two or three parcels of books wo or three bundh^s of rugs, a leather bag of sketching materials ske chmg blocks of various sizes, a silk bag of needles and threads.' las ly, an odd bag, containing note-books, opera glasses, passports, a tea-pot, a water-bottle, an etna, an air-cushion, slip,x;rs and sundries without number. And everything was so useful in its turn In that long slow railway journey through S|.ain, we were, as I have said, always alone. We breakfasted, we dined, we wrote letters and diaries, we read all our books from beuinnin- to end and we mended our clothes, we made sketches, we made tea v^-e might have refreshed ourselves with a cold bath, but for want of water. Not a bit of our precious luggage could we have spared and not a bit ever troubled us beyond the necessity of giving a few cuartos to the porters when changing carriages.'- TOr^V^ Spah, to the Sahara, by M. B. Edwards. -»s*«>»wv*^ ■'.■^i"' ■■{,-. ¥ \ f. CHAPTER IX. CORDOVA. H E welcome sight of the towers of Cordova, as we turned the last hill a few miles east of the city, on our weary journey from Madrid, gave an impression of size and grandeur which was altogether unreal. As we approached its gates, the great mosque with its Moorish battlements and 'Catholic dome,' towering above all other buildings, showed us at one glance where the chief objects of interest in Cordova were centered ; but the most imposing entrance into this city is from the south, by the road from Malaga and Ecija, crossing the Guadalquivir, near the ruins of an aqueduct and close to the walls of the mosque, which, from this point of view, a])pcars like a town in itself. When we look out of our window at the ' Fonda RizzV the next morning, we find a half- ruined half-deserted city. The houses are white L ^yi^^i^f%^<^^^ ■ ■■■ ' »^ . - - ■■ V', , tm^^^^^M- mm miy^Sv .:iJ )| M'-U \J ( ! i \ :f A'^ \] I* . ■ ' i 13 ' i '^i^ 146 CORDOVA. Chap. IX. and some flat-roofed, the air is soft and balmy; we can see orange-gardens and 'patios' filled with exotic plants, and the aspect is altogether Oriental. 3p- SKKTCII FKOM TIllC ' FONDA KIZZi/ COKDOVA. There are several palm-trees in the city, and in the distance olive-groves and fertile plains, through which we can trace the windings of the river Guadalquivir. The Fonda Rizzi is aituated near the centre of the city on high ground, and from our windows, which are at the back, there is a very extensive view. Our sketch, taken from this window, com- prises only a small portion of the scene, and wants >FiSk^:«;^V''^' V 4 \ :::^^-: Chap. IX. CORDOVA. 147 colour to give it the proper eff'ect ; but it is faith- ful as flir as it goes. The aspect of the city when we walk through it is in keeping with its outward appearance. There is very little sign of bustle and activity, and here, as at Toledo, the only life it exhibits seems to be owing to the constant passage of travellers between Madrid and Seville. The manu- facture of the famous Cordova leather is almost a thing of the past, although they are still at work in a few factories. The public buildings and the churches give evidence of poverty and neglect, and are not architecturally interesting; and it is only when we come to the mosque and the remains of Moorish buildings that we feel rewarded for the journey. Directly on leaving the Fonda we find our- selves shut in, in a series of narrow courts or alleys, so narrow that we can touch both sides at once. The walls of the houses are whitewashed, with little barred windows looking on to the street. In purely Oriental towns the charm of these little windows is, that they are often the framew^ork of a magnificent pair of eyes that dart their glances upon the passers by ; many of these windows were once so illuminated, but times have sadly changed. L 2 Ww^3-;.iAx\h-'^i4^ "•1 i-i. ^ ' r^5.- "■