134

ENTRANCE TO MADRID.

carrying chopped straw, as fodder, to Madrid were alone visible. There seemed neither environs nor outskirts, nor any of those accessaries by which the metropolis is commonly distinguished. At length their eager eyes discovered, first, a dim outline, and then a forest of belfries and spires were clearly defined against the cloudless sky; till the whole city lay before them, built in the form of a long square; and fertile plains extending to the right and left.

They were stopped a few moments by the custom-house officers; but the scrutiny was the slightest possible. They caught a glimpse of Spanish ladies in the street; there was the mantilla and the fan they had heard of so much; the black sombre dresses, which gave the population a solemn air; the water-carriers, with their green jackets, offering with reiterated cries cold water to the passengers; the friars, one, two, three, four, they counted all in different dresses, before they had proceeded fifty paces; the glancing silver, and superb dresses of the military, each in their turn fixed their eager attention, and absorbed all their thoughts, till they stopped at "The Golden Fountain," the inn which was to receive them for the night.

NEW CASTILLE-MADRID-PRADO-SERVANTS-VISIT TO

THE INQUISITION-ITS HISTORY.

THE first thing that a stranger does on arriving at the end of his journey, is to walk instantly into the town. Our travellers did the same. All eye and ear, their thoughts were yet so fixed on others, that they were unconscious how much they were themselves objects of attention. The first impression they received was, that every one seemed walking for amusement; none were occupied with business. The passengers had all that easy loitering step which indicates a perfect freedom from any imperative demand on their time or attention.

They had arrived themselves at a happy moment: the siesta was over, and every one was now on their way to the Prado. They went down the Calle de Alcala, and were struck with its beauty. Standing at the end of it, they saw on the right and the left the extensive Prado, with its four rows of trees stretching in fine perspective to the gates that terminate it: behind it is the magnificent gate of the Alcala; and before the Calle de Alcala they

had just passed through, stretching into the very heart of the city, and adorned on each side by a range of splendid buildings, most of them the hotels of the foreign ambassadors.

"What a beautiful street!" said Mrs. Delville. "I was not prepared for such a scene as this."

"It deserves all your admiration," said Mr. Delville; "but it is the only one of this description that you will see at Madrid. But let us move on; this crowd is all pouring into the Prado." *

In the Prado they at length found themselves; and at first the novelty of the scene blinded their judgment and repressed their opinions; but the influence of novelty is soon over in young minds.

The carriages broke the spell. Frank espied one very neat in its outward appearance, driven by a coachman without stockings: his mirth was with difficulty stifled, as moving along with the slow pace of the Spanish grandee, it was perpetually in his sight. Another, covered with gilt and more than usually handsome in its finishing, had behind it a servant dressed like a street vagabond, without a coat, and to the last degree dirty and shabby. The contrast he offered to the stately individuals within was truly entertaining.

Ellen was caught by the fan used universally by

* A walk about two miles long, and two or three hundred yards broad. The frequented part is not above half a mile long, and without shade.

the ladies, the children, and the humblest females. In their hands it looked a totally different instrument to what she had seen it in her own country; and as she watched a child of six years of age, and an Asturian nurse, with her shirt, brown jacket, and blue and yellow petticoat trimmed with gold; and saw each fanning herself with profound gravity, she unconsciously laughed aloud. It was a soft, sweet laugh however, and the bright colour that immediately flushed her cheek was in very lovely contrast with the dark complexions of the Spanish ladies.

After passing an hour in the most frequented spot in Madrid, they went home full of all they had seen, and delighted to talk it over. Mrs. Delville remarked on the very superior manner in which the Spanish ladies walked to those of France or England.

"It is true," said Mr. Delville, "but easily accounted for. An Englishwoman walks for exercise; she goes out for air and health, and not solely to be seen or observed.

"The Spanish ladies walk only to be seen: they never go out without a careful attention to the toilette; and every step they take is with the view to make an agreeable impression. The result is, that the Spanish ladies far excel our countrywomen in this acomplishment."

While walking the streets, the young people

138 WHY THE INQUISITION WAS NOT ABOLISHED.

were struck by groups of women, especially at the fruit-stalls, combing and plaiting each others hair, and too frequently engaged in an examination of each other's heads that admitted of no mistake. Their discoveries were not always so distressing.

Walking out early one morning with his sons, Mr. Delville saw on one of the streets, "Calle de la Inquisition."* Their curiosity was immediately awakened, and they had no difficulty in finding the edifice itself; but it was only the building where prisoners were confined, not that in which they were judged and tortured. This was in an adjoining street, called the Street of the grand Inquisitor, whose house, including all the offices of that court, occupied it almost entirely.

"Is it not astonishing, sir," said Edward, "that during the time of the Constitution, when a general freedom from all old abuses was proclaimed, that the Inquisition was not thrown down? In a popular commotion at Rome, in 1559, on the day of Paul the fourth's death, a Roman mob liberated the prisoners in the Inquisition, wounded the grand inquisitor, burnt the house down to the ground, and were with great difficulty prevented from destroying the principal convent of the Dominicans."

"It does indeed appear extraordinary that no

* Street of the Inquisition.