A Year's Journey through France and Part of Spain Volume I Part 6

LETTER XXVIII.

I know you will expect to hear something of the Ladies of Spain; but I must confess I had very little acquaintance among them: when they appear abroad in their coaches, they are dressed in the modern French fas.h.i.+on, but not in the extreme; when they walk out, their head and shape is always covered with a black or white veil, richly laced; and however fine their gowns are, they must be covered with a very large black silk petticoat; and thus holding the fan in one hand, and hanging their _chapelets_ over the wrist of the other, they walk out, preceded by one or two shabby-looking servants, called pages, who wear swords, and always walk bare-headed.

I have already told you, that the most beautiful, indeed the only beautiful woman, I saw at _Barcelona_, was the Intendant's daughter; and I a.s.sure you, her, black petticoat and white veil could not conceal it; nor, indeed, is the dress an unbecoming one. Among the peasants, and common females, you never see any thing like beauty, and, in general, rather deformity of feature. No wonder then, where beauty is scarce, and to be found only among women of condition, that those women are much admired, and that they gain prodigious influence over the men.--In no part of the world, therefore, are women more caressed and attended to, than in Spain. Their deportment in public is grave and modest; yet they are very much addicted to pleasure; nor is there scarce one among them that cannot, nay, that will not dance the _Fandango_ in private, either in the decent or indecent manner. I have seen it danced both ways, by a pretty woman, than which nothing can be more _immodestly agreeable_; and I was shewn a young Lady at _Barcelona_, who in the midst of this dance ran out of the room, telling her partner, she could _stand it_ no longer;--he ran after her, to be sure, and must be answerable for the consequences. I find in the music of the _Fandango_, written under one bar, _Salida_, which signifies _going out_; it is where the woman is to part a little from her partner, and to move slowly by herself; and I suppose it was at _that bar_ the lady was so overcome, as to determine not to return. The words _Perra Salida_ should therefore be placed at that bar, when the ladies dance it in the high _gout_.

The men dress as they do in France and England, except only their long cloak, which they do not care to give up. It is said that Frenchmen are wiser than, from the levity of their behaviour, they seem to be; and I fancy the Spaniards look wiser from their gravity of countenance, than they really are; they are extremely reserved; and make no professions of friends.h.i.+p till they feel it, and know the man, and then they are friendly in the highest degree.

I met with a German merchant at _Barcelona_, who told me he had dealt for goods to the value of five thousand pounds a year with a Spaniard in that town; and though he had been often at _Barcelona_ before, that he had never invited him to dine or eat with him, till that day.

The farrier who comes to shoe your horse has sometimes a sword by his side; and the barber who shaves you crosses himself before he _crosses your chin_.

There is a particular part of the town where the ladies of easy virtue live; and if a friend calls at the apartment of one of those females, who happens to _be engaged_, one of her neighbours tells you, she is _amancebados y casa.r.s.e a mediacarta_; _i.e._ that she is half-married.--If you meet a Spanish woman of any fas.h.i.+on, walking alone without the town, you may join her, and enter into whatever _sort of conversation_ you chuse, without offence; and if you pa.s.s one without doing so, she will call you _ajacaos_, and contemn you: this is a custom so established at Madrid, that if a footman meets a lady of quality alone, he will enter into some indecent conversation with her; for which reason, the ladies seldom walk but with their husbands, or a male friend by their side, and a foot-boy before, and then no man durst speak, or even look towards them, but with respect and awe:--a blow in Spain can never be forgiven; the striker must die, either _privately_ or publicly.

No people on earth are less given to excess in eating or drinking, than the Spaniards; the _Olio_, or _Olla_, a kind of soup and _Bouilli_, is all that is to be found at the table of some great men: the table of a _Bourgeois_ of Paris is better served than many _grandees_ of Spain; their chocolate, lemonade, iced water, fruits, &c. are their chief luxuries; and the chocolate is, in some houses, a prodigious annual expense, as it is offered to every body who comes in, and some of the first houses in Madrid expend twenty thousand _livres_ a year in chocolate, iced waters, &c. The grandees of Spain think it beneath their dignity to look into accounts, and therefore leave the management of their household expenses to servants, who often plunder and defraud them of great sums of money.

Unlike the French, the Spaniards (like the English) very properly look upon able physicians and surgeons in a very respectable light:--Is it not strange, that the French nation should trust their health and lives in the hands of men, they are apt to think unworthy of their intimacy or friends.h.i.+p?--Men, who must have had a liberal education, and who ought not to be trusted in sickness, if their society was not to be coveted in health. Perhaps the Spanish physicians, who of all others have the least pretensions, are the most caressed. In fevers they encourage their patients to eat, thinking it necessary, where the air is so subtile, to put something into the body for the distemper to feed upon; they bleed often, and in both arms, that the blood may be drawn forth _equally_; the surgeons do not bleed, but a set of men called _sangerros_ perform that office, and no other; the surgeons consider it dishonourable to perform that operation. They seldom trepan; a surgeon who attempted to perform it, would himself be perhaps in want of it. To all flesh wounds they apply a powder called _coloradilla_, which certainly effects the cure; it is made of myrrh, mastic, dragon's blood, bol ammoniac, &c.--When persons of fas.h.i.+on are bled, their friends send them, as soon as it is known, little presents to amuse them all that day; for which reason, the women of easy virtue are often bled, that their lovers may shew their attention, and be _bled too_.--The French disease is so ignorantly treated, or so little regarded, that it is very general; they consider a _gonorrhoea_ as health to the reins; and except a tertian ague, all disorders are called the _calentura_, and treated alike, and I fear very injudiciously; for there is not, I am told, in the whole kingdom, any public academy for the instruction of young men, in physic, surgery, or anatomy, except at Madrid.

Notwithstanding the sobriety, temperance, and fine climate of Spain, the Spaniards do not, in general, live to any great age; they put a prodigious quant.i.ty of spice into every thing they eat; and though sobriety and temperance are very commendable, there are countries where eating and drinking are carried to a great excess, by men much more virtuous than those, where temperance, perhaps, is their princ.i.p.al virtue.

LETTER XXIX.

I forgot to tell you that, though I left the Convent, I had no desire to leave the spot where I had met with so cordial a reception; nor a mountain, every part of which afforded so many scenes of wonder and delight. I therefore hired two rooms at a wretched _posada_, near the two ancient towers below, and where I had left my horse, that I might make my daily excursions on and about the mountain, as well as visit those little solitary habitations above once more. My host, his wife, and their son and daughter, looked rather cool upon us; they liked our money better than our company; and though I made their young child some little presents, it scarce afforded any return, but prevented rudeness, perhaps. The boys of the village, though I distributed a little money every day to the poor, frequently pelted me with stones, when they gained the high ground of me; and I found it necessary, when I walked out, to take my fuzee. I would have made a friend of the priest, if I could have found him, but he never appeared!--It was a poor village, and you may easily conceive our residence in such a little place, where no stranger ever staid above an hour, occasioned much speculation. My servant too (a French deserter) had neither the politeness nor the address so common to his countrymen; but I knew I was _within a few hours_ of honest _Pere Pascal_; and while the hog, mule, and a.s.s of my host continued well, I flattered myself I was not in much danger; had either of those animals been ill, I should have taken my leave; for if a suspicion had arose that an heretic was under their roof, they would have been at no loss to account for the cause or the calamity which had, or might befall them.--During my residence at this little _posada_, I saw a gaudy-dressed, little, ugly old man, and a handsome young woman, approach it; the man smiled in my face, which was the only smile I had seen in the face of a stranger for a fortnight; he told me, what he need not, that he was a Frenchman, and a n.o.ble Advocate of _Perpignan_; that his name was _Anglois_, and that his ancestors were English; that he had walked on foot, with his maid, from _Barcelona_, in order to pay his devotions to the Holy Virgin of _Montserrat_, though he had his own chaise and mules at _Barcelona_: he seemed much fatigued, so I gave him some chocolate, for he was determined, he said, to get up to the convent that night. During this interview, he embraced me several times, professed a most affectionate regard for me and my whole family; and I felt enough for him, to desire he would fix the day of his return, that I might not be out upon my rambles, and that he would dine and spend the evening with me; in which case, I would send him back to _Barcelona_ in my _cabriolet_; all which he chearfully consented to; and having lent him my _couteau de cha.s.se_, as a more convenient weapon on a.s.s-back than his fine sword, we parted, reluctantly, for five days; that was the time this _n.o.ble Advocate_ had allotted for making his peace with the Holy Virgin;--I say, his peace with the Holy Virgin; for he was very desirous of leaving _his_ virgin with us, as she was an excellent cook, and a most faithful and trusty servant, both which he perceived we wanted; yet in spite of his encomiums, there was nothing in the behaviour of the girl that corresponded with such an amiable character: she had, indeed a beautiful face, but strongly marked with something, more like impudence than boldness, and more of that of a pragmatic mistress than an humble servant; and therefore we did not accept, what I was very certain, she would not have performed. I impatiently, however, waited their return, and verily believed the old man had bought his crimson velvet breeches and gold-laced waistcoat in honour of the Virgin, and that his visit to her was a pious one.--He returned to his time, and to a sad dinner indeed! but it was the best we could provide.

He had lost so much of that vivacity he went up with, that I began to fear I had lost his friends.h.i.+p, or he the benediction of the Holy Virgin. Indeed, I had lost it in some measure, but it was transferred but a little way off; for he took the first favourable occasion to tell my wife, no woman had ever before made so forcible an impression upon him, and said a thousand other fine things, which I cannot repeat, without losing the esteem I still have for my countryman; especially as he did not propose staying only _one night_ with us, nay, that he would depart the next morning _de bon matin_. During the evening, all his former spirits returned, as well as his affection for me: he told me, he suspected I wanted money, and if that was the case, those wants should be removed; so taking out a large parcel of gold _duras_, he offered them, and I am persuaded too, he would have lent or given them to me. I arose early, to see that my man and chaise were got in good order, to conduct so good a friend to _Barcelona_; but not hearing any thing of _Monsieur Anglois_, I directed my servant to go into his chamber, to enquire how he did;--my man returned, and said, that _Madame_ was awake, but that _Monsieur_ still sleeps. Madame! what Madame? said I!--Is it the young woman who came with him? I then found, what I had a little suspected, that the mountain virgin was not the _only_ virgin to whom _Monsieur Anglois_ made his vows. He soon after, however, came down, drank chocolate with us, and making a thousand professions of inviolable regard, he set off in my chaise for _Barcelona_; but I should have told you, not till he had made me promise to visit him at _Perpignan_, where he had not only a town, but country house, at my service.--All these professions were made with so much openness, and seeming sincerity, that I could not, nor did doubt it; and as I was determined then to leave that unhospitable country, and return to France, I gave him my _pa.s.sa-porte_, to get it _refreshed_ by the Captain-General at _Barcelona_, that I might return, and pa.s.s _by_ the walls only of a town I can never think of but with some degree of pain, and should with horror, but that I now know there is one man lives in it, and did then,[D] who has lamented that he had not an opportunity to shew me those acts of hospitality his nature and his situation often give him occasion to exercise; but the _etiquette_ is, for the stranger to visit first; and I found but little encouragement to visit a German Gentleman, though married to an English Lady, after the hostile manners I had experienced from my _friends_ and _countrymen_, Messrs. _Curtoys_, _Wombwell_, &c.

[D] Mr. THALDITZER.

LETTER x.x.x.

In the archives of _Montserrat_ they shew you a letter written to the Abbe by King Philip the second, who begins, "venerable and devout _Religieux_," and tells him, he approves of his zeal, of his building a new church at _Montserrat_, charges him to continue his prayers for him, and, to shew his zeal for that holy house, informs him, that the bearer of his letter is _Etienne Jordan_, the most famous sculptor then in Spain, who is to make the new altar-piece at the King's expence, and they agreed to pay _Jordan_ ten thousand crowns for the design he laid before them: the altar was made at _Valladolid_, and was brought to _Montserrat_ on sixty-six waggons; and as Jordan did much more to the work than he had engaged to perform, the King gave him four thousand crowns over and above his agreement, and afterwards gave nine thousand crowns more, to gild and add further ornaments to it.

At the death of Philip the Second, his son, Philip, the Third, a.s.sisted in person to remove the image of the Virgin from the old to the new church; which I shall hereafter mention more fully. Before this n.o.ble altar, in which the figure of the Virgin stands in a nitch about the middle of it, are candlesticks of solid silver, each of which weighs eighty pounds; they are a yard and a half high; and yet these are mere trifles, when compared to the gold and jewels which are shewn occasionally.

The monks observe very religiously their statutes; nor is there a single hour in the day that you find the church evacuated.--I always heard at least two voices chanting the service, when the monks retire from the church, which is not till seven o'clock at night; the pilgrims continue there in prayer the greater part of the night.

I should have told you, that beside the superior among the hermits, there are two sorts of them, neither of which can possess a hermitage till they have spent seven years in the monastery, and given proofs of their holy disposition, by acts of obedience, humility, and mortification; during, which they spend most of their time, night as well as day, in the church, but they never sing or chant. After the expiration of the seven years, the Abbot takes the advice of his brethren, and if they think the probationer's manners and life ent.i.tle him to a solitary life above, he is sent,--but not, perhaps, without being enjoined to wait upon some old hermit, who is past doing the necessary offices of life for himself.--Their habit, as I said before, is brown, and they wear their long beards; but sometimes the hermits are admitted into holy orders, and then they wear black, and shave their beards: however, they are not actually fixed to the lonely habitations at first, but generally take seven or eight months trial. Many of the abbes, whose power, you may be sure, is very great, and who receive an homage from the inferiors, very flattering, have, nevertheless, often quitted their power for a retirement above. They observe religiously their abstinence from all sorts of flesh; nor are they permitted to eat but within their cells. When any of them are very ill, they are brought down to the convent; and all buried in one chapel, called St. Joseph.

The lay-brothers are about fourscore in number; they wear a brown habit, and are shaved; their duty is to distribute bread, wine, and other necessaries, to the poor and the pilgrims, and lodge them according to their condition: and many of them are sent into remote parts of the kingdom, as well as France and other Catholic countries, to collect charity; while those who continue at home a.s.sist in getting in their corn, and fetching provisions from the adjacent towns, for which purposes they keep a great number, upwards of fifty mules.--These men too have a superior among them, to whom they are all obedient.

There are also a number of children and young students, educated at the convent who are taken in at the age of seven or eight years, many of whom are of n.o.ble families; they all sleep in one apartment, but separate beds, where a lamp constantly burns, and their decent deportment is wonderful. Dom Jean de Cardonne, admiral of the galleys, who succoured Malta when it was besieged by the Turks, was bred at _Montserrat_, and when he wrote to the Abbe, "Recommend me," he said, "to the prayers of my little brethren."

As I have already told you of the miracle of a murdered and violated virgin coming to life, and of a child of three months old saying, _Guerin, rise, thy sins are forgiven thee_; perhaps you will not like to have further proofs of what miracles are wrought here, or I could give you a long list, and unanswerable arguments to prove them.

_Frere Benoit d'Arragon_ was a hermit on this mountain, whose sanct.i.ty of life has made his name immortal in the hermitage of St. Croix. The following sketch of his life is engraven.

"Occidit hac sacr Frater Benedictus in sede, Inclytus & sama, & religione sacer, Hic s.e.xaginta & septem castissimus annos, Vixit in his saxis, te, Deus alme, peccans Usque senex, senio mansit curvatus & annis Corpus humo retulit, venerat unde prius Ast anima exultans, clarum repetivit olympum, Nunc sedet in summo glorificata throno."

It appears, that Louis the Fourteenth, King of France, gave a certain sum to this convent, to say ma.s.s and pray for the soul of his deceased mother; the sum however was not large, being something under fifty pounds; and the donation is recorded in the chapel of _St. Louis_, upon a bra.s.s lamp.

_P.S._ The time that this wonderful mountain became the habitation of a religious community, may be pretty nearly ascertained by the following singular epitaph, on a beautiful monument, still legible in the great church of _Tarragona_.

"_Hic quiescit Corpus sanctae memoriae Domini Joannis filii Domini Jacobi, Regis Arragonum, qui decimo septimo anno aetatis suae factus Archiepiscopus Toleta.n.u.s, sic dono scientiae infusus Divinitus & gratia praedicationis floruit, quod nullus ejusdem aetatis in hoc ei similis crederetur. Carnem suam jejuniis & ciliciis macerans, in vigesimo octavo anno aetatis suae factus Patriarcha Alexandrinus & Administrator Ecclesiae Tarraconensis ordinato per eum, inter multa alia bona opera_ novo Monasterio scalae Dei _Diacessis Tarraconensis, ut per ipsam scalam ad Coelum ascenderet reddidit spiritum Creatori XIV. kalendas Septembris, anno Domini MCCCx.x.xIV. anno vero aetatis suae x.x.xIII. pro quo Deus tam in vita, quam post mortem ejusdem est multa miracula operatus_."

This very young Bishop was the son of James the second, and his Queen _Dona Blanca_; and that he was Prior of the monastery of Montserrat, appears in their archives; for I find the names of several hermits of this mountain, that came down to pay homage to him.--_Dederunt obedientiam domino Joanni Patriarchae Alexandrino, & administratori prioratus Montis Serrati_, &c.--It is therefore probable, that he was the first Prior, and that the convent was built about the year 1300; but that the mountain was inhabited by hermits, or men who retired from the world many ages before, cannot be doubted.

LETTER x.x.xI.

DEAR SIR,

I have had (since I mentioned the Spanish Ladies in a former letter) an opportunity of seeing something more of them; what they may be at _Madrid_, I cannot take upon me to say; but I am inclined to believe, that notwithstanding what you have heard of Spanish beauty, you would find nature has not been over liberal as to the persons of either s.e.x in Spain; and though tolerable good features upon a brown complexion, with very black hair finely combed and pinned up with two or three gold bodkins, may be very pleasing, as a _new object_, yet a great deficiency would appear, were you to see the same women dressed in the high fas.h.i.+on of England or France. England, for real and natural female beauty, perhaps surpa.s.ses all the world; France, for dress, elegance, and ease.

The Spanish women are violent in their pa.s.sions, and generally govern every body under their roof; husbands who contend that point with them, often finish their days in the middle of a street, or in a prison; on the other hand, I am told, they are very liberal, compa.s.sionate, and charitable. They have at _Barcelona_ a fine theatre, and tolerable good music; but the actors of both s.e.xes are execrable beyond all imagination: their first woman, who they say is rich by means of one _talent or other_, (for me, like my little Lyons water girl, has _two talents_) is as contemptible in her person as in her theatrical abilities: it is no wonder, indeed; for these people are often taken from some of those gipsey troops, I mentioned in a former letter, and have, consequently, no other qualifications for the stage but impudence instead of confidence, and ignorance instead of a liberal education. Perhaps you will conclude, that the theatre at _Madrid_ affords much better entertainment; on the contrary, I am well a.s.sured it is in general much worse: a Gentleman who understands the language perfectly, who went to _Madrid_ with no other view but to gratify his curiosity, in seeing what was worthy of notice there, went only once to the theatre, where the heat of the house, and the wretchedness of the performance, were equally intolerable; nor are the subjects very inviting to a stranger, as they often perform what they call "_Autos Sacramentales_"--_sacramental representations_. The people of fas.h.i.+on, in general, have no idea of serving their tables with elegance, or eating delicately; but rather, in the stile of our fore-fathers, without spoon or fork, they use their own fingers, and give drink from the gla.s.s of others; foul their napkins and cloaths exceedingly, and are served at table by servants who are dirty, and often very offensive. I was admitted, by accident, to a Gentleman's house, of large fortune, while they were at dinner; there were seven persons at a round table, too small for five; two of the company were visitors; yet neither their dinner was so good, nor their manner of eating it so delicate, as may be seen in the kitchen of a London tradesman. The dessert (in a country where fruit is so fine and so plenty) was only a large dish of the seeds of _pomegranates_, which they eat with wine and sugar. In truth, Sir, an Englishman who has been in the least accustomed to eat at genteel tables, is, of all other men, least qualified to travel into either kingdoms, and particularly into Spain; especially, if what Swift says be true, that "a nice man is a man of dirty ideas,"--I know not the reason, whether it proceeds from climate, or food, or from the neglect of the poorer order of the people; but _head combing_ seems to be a princ.i.p.al part of the day's business among the women in Spain; and it is generally done rather publicly.--The most lively, chearful, neat young woman, I saw in Spain, lived in the same house I did at _Barcelona_; she had a good complexion, and, what is very uncommon, rather light hair; and though perfectly clean and neat in her apparel, yet I observed a woman, not belonging to the house, attended every morning to comb this girl's head, and I believe it was _necessary_ to be combed. I could not very well ask the question; but I suspect that there are people by profession called _headcombers_; every shop door almost furnishes you with a specimen of that business; and if it is so common in _Barcelona_, among a rich and industrious people, you may imagine, it is infinitely more so among the slothful part of the inland cities and smaller towns;--but this is not the only objection a stranger (and especially an English Protestant) will find to Spain; the common people do not look upon an Englishman as a Christian; and the life of a man, not a Christian, is of no more importance in their eyes than the life of a dog: it is not therefore safe for a protestant to trust himself far from the maritime cities, as an hundred unforeseen incidents may arise, among people so ignorant and superst.i.tious, to render it very unsafe to a man known to be a Protestant. If it be asked, how the Consuls, English merchants, &c. escape?--I can give no other reason than what a Spaniard gave me, when I put that question to him:--"Sir," said he, "we have men here, (meaning Barcelona) who are Protestants all day, and Papists all night; and we have a chapel where they go, into which no other people are admitted." However, I was convinced, before I went into Spain this time, from what I remembered formerly, that it was necessary to appear a good Catholic; so that I always carried a little crucifix, or two, some beads, and other _accidental_ marks of my faith; and where I staid any time, or, indeed, where I slept upon the road, I took occasion to let some of those _powerful protectors_ be seen, as it were, by chance;--it is very necessary to avail one's self of such innocent frauds, in a country where innocence itself may not be sufficient to s.h.i.+eld you from the fury of religious bigotry, where people think they are serving G.o.d, by destroying men: The best method to save yourself, is by serving G.o.d in the same manner they do, till you are out of their power. I really thought, that Philosophy and Reason entered into Spain at the same gate that the Jesuits were turned out of the kingdom; and, I suppose, some did; but it must be many years before it is sufficiently diffused over the whole nation, to render it a country like France; where men, who behave with decency and decorum, may live, or pa.s.s through, without the least apprehension or inconvenience on the score of religion; if they do not meddle with politics or fortifications.

That you may not imagine my suspicions of the danger of pa.s.sing thro'

Spain are ill founded, I will relate what happened to two English Gentlemen of fas.h.i.+on at _Marcia_ as I had it from the mouth of one of them lately:--they had procured letters of recommendation from some friends to the _Alguazile_, or chief magistrate of that town; and as there were some unfavourable appearances at their first entering _Marcia_, and more so at their _posada_, they thought it right to send their letters directly to the _Alguazile_; who, instead of asking them to his house, or visiting them, sent a servant to say he was ill, and who was directed to invite them to go that night to the comedy: they thought it right, however, to accept the invitation, extraordinary as it was: the _Alguazile_'s servant conducted them to the theatre, and paid (for he was directed so to do, he said) for their admittance; and having conducted his strangers into the pit, he retired. The comedy was then begun; but, nevertheless, the eyes of the whole house were turned upon them, and their's, to their great astonishment, upon the _sick Alguazile_ with his whole family. Those near whom they at first stood, retired to some distance: they could not, he said, consider the manner in which they were looked at, and retired from, but to arise from disgust or dislike, more than from curiosity. This reception, and the manner in which they had been sent there, deprived them of all the amus.e.m.e.nt the house afforded; for though the performers had no great excellence, there was, among the female part of the audience, more beauty than they expected. Mr. B----, one of the Gentlemen, at length discovered near him in the pit a man whom he knew to be an Irishman, and in whole countenance he plainly perceived a desire to speak, but he seemed with-held by prudence. At length, however, he was got near enough to his countryman to hear him say, without appearing to address himself to any body, "_Go hence! go hence_!" They did so; and the next morning, tho' it was a fine town, which they wished to examine, and to spend some time in, set off early for _Carthagena_, where they had some particular friends, to whom they related the _Alguazile_'s very extraordinary behaviour, as well as that of the company at the theatre. It was near the time of the Carnival at _Carthagena_: the conduct of _Don Marco_ to the two gentlemen strangers, became the subject of conversation, and indeed of indignation, among the Spaniards of that civilized city; and the _Alguazile_, who came to the Carnival there soon after, died by the hands of an a.s.sa.s.sin; he was stabbed by a mask in the night. Now suppose this man lost his life at _Carthagena_, for his ill behaviour to the two strangers at _Marcia_, or for any other cause, it is very certain, if natives are so liable to a.s.sa.s.sination, strangers are not more secure.

P.S. To give you some idea of the address of the pulpit oratory in Spain, about sixty or seventy years ago, (and it is not in general much better at present) take the following specimen, which I a.s.sure you, is strictly true:--

A preacher holding forth in the place called _Las_ Mancanas at Madrid, after informing his auditors of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, added,--and is it not strange, that we still continue to sin on, and live without repentance? O Lord G.o.d! said he, why sufferest thou such ungrateful and wretched sinners to live?--And instantly giving himself a violent box on the ear, the whole a.s.sembly followed his example, and four thousand _soufflets_ were given and received in the twinkling of an eye.--The French Emba.s.sador, from whose _memoires_ I take this story, was upon that instant bursting out in laughter at the pious ceremony, had he not been checked by one of his friends, who happened to stand near, and who a.s.sured him, that his rank and character would not have saved him, had he been so indiscreet, for the enraged populace would have cut him in a thousand pieces; whereupon he hid his face in his handkerchief, and boxed his own ears more for the love of himself than from grat.i.tude to his Redeemer.

LETTER x.x.xII.

There are in Spain twelve councils of state, viz. of _War_, of _Castile_, of the _Inquisition_, of the royal orders of _St. Iago_, of _Arragon_, of the _Indies_, of the chamber of _Castile_, of the _Croisade_, of the _State_, of _Italy_, of the _Finances and Treasure_, and lastly, that (of no use) of _Flanders_.

The council of _War_ is composed of experienced men of various orders, who are thought capable of advising upon that subject, and not of any determinate number.

That of _Castile_ has a president and sixteen other members, beside a secretary and inferior officers; it is the first of all the councils, and takes cognizance of civil as well as criminal matters. The King calls this council only OUR council, to mark its superiority to all others. The president is a man of great authority, and is treated with the utmost respect; nor does he ever visit any body.

The council of the _Inquisition_, established by _Don Fernando_ in 1483, has an inquisitor general for its president, who is always a _Grandee_ of the first condition; he has six counsellors, who are called apostolic inquisitors. This court, (the power of which has, fortunately for mankind, been of late years greatly abridged) has a great number of inferior officers, as well as _holy spies_, all over the kingdom, particularly at _Seville_, _Toledo_, _Valladolid_, _Barcelona_, and other places, where these horrid tribunals are fixed; each is governed by three counsellors, who, however, are dependant on that of Madrid; and to whom they are obliged every month to give a particular account of what has pa.s.sed through their hands. These men have not power to imprison a priest, a religious, nor even a gentleman, without obtaining the consent of the supreme court above; they meet at _Madrid_ twice every day, and two of the King's council always attend at the afternoon meeting.

Of the council of the three royal orders of Spain; that of _Santiago_ is the first; the other two are _Calatrava_ and _Alcantara_. It is composed of a president, six counsellors, and other officers.