as he often went to see them and the Scituation of the Place was on the descent of a little Hill and there was a pleasant Prospect so he was invited to undertake a considerable Building Four great Apartments and four great Pavillions make a perfect Square In the middle there 's a Flower-Pot well furnish'd with Flowers and a Fountain whose Statue which throws the Water when they have a mind Sprinkles the Flowers and the Cross-Walks which goes from one Apartment to another This Building has the fault of being too low the Rooms are large stately and adorn'd with curious Paintings Every thing shines with Gold and lively Colours with which the Cielings and Floors are beautified I took notice in the great Gallery of the Entry of Queen Elizabeth Mother to the late Queen she 's on Horseback with a Ruff and Fardingal she has a Hat trimm'd with Jewels and a Plume of Feathers she is fat fair and pleasing she has fine Eyes and her Looks are sweet and ingenious The Room for acting Plays in is well design'd very large all well set out with Carving and Guilding there may be fifteen in a Box without inconvenience to each other they have all Latice Windows and the King 's is richly guilt there 's neither Galleries nor Amphitheatre every body sits upon Benches on the Floor On the side of the Terrass is the Statue of Philip the II. upon a Horse of Brass this Piece is of great Value those that are curious please themselves in taking a draught of him The Park is above a good League in compass there are in it divers separate Lodges very pretty and which have good Accomodation of room there 's a Canal which is supply'd with Water from Springs at a vast Charge and another square Place in which the King has little Gundoloes painted and gilt thither he goes during the great Heats of the Summer the Fountains Trees and Meadows making that Place more cool and pleasant than any other there 's Grottos Cataracts Ponds Shades and in some parts even something of the wild Fields which shews the simplicity of the Countrey and is extream delightful The Casa del Campo is for rural Affairs it is not great but its Scituation is fine being upon the Bank of Mansanarez the the Trees in 't are high and yield a Shade at all times I speak of the Trees of this Country because one finds very few of them there 's Water in divers parts of it particularly one Pond which is surrounded with great Oaks The Statue of Philip the IV. is in the Garden this Place is a little neglected here I saw Lions Bears Tigers and other wild Beasts which live very long in Spain because the Climate is little different from that from which they come many People go there to think and the Ladies usually choose this Place to walk in because 't is less frequented than others But to return to Mansanarez this River does not run up to the City at certain times it is neither River nor so much as a Brook tho at other times it is so big and rapid that it carries before it all that stands in its way all the Summer People walk in it there 's so little water in 't at this season that one can hardly wet ones foot and yet in Winter all on a sudden it overflows the adjacent Country this is caus'd by the melting of the great Quantities of Snow which covers the Hills and so descends into the Mansanarez in violent Torrents of Water Philip the II. caus'd a Bridge to be built over it which they call'd the Segovie Bridge it is a very lofty one and every way as fine as the Pont-neuf over the River Seine at Paris when Strangers see it they fall a laughing they think it ridiculous to have caus'd such a Bridge to be built where there 's no Water Hereupon there was one said wittily enough he would advise 'em to sell the Bridge and buy some Water The Florid is a most pleasant House and its Gardens are infinitely delightful there are in great numbers Italian Statues by the best Masters The Water there makes a pretty sort of a murmur which with the sweet smell of the Flowers of which they have a Collection of the rarest and best scent is very charming From thence we come to the Prado Nuevo where there are several spouting Fountains and Trees there are of an extraordinary height this is a Walk which though it be not even Ground yet is not less agreeable its descent is so easie that one hardly perceives the unevenness of the Place There is also the Carzuela which affords nothing but Contrary delights and some cool Rooms where the King comes and rests himself after Hunting but 't is the Prospect which yields the Pleasure and very fine things might be there made That I may tell you of something else besides the Kings Houses you must know dear Cousin that on May-day they resort to a Place without the gate of Toleda This is called El Sotillo and no body excuse themselves from going thither to be sure then I went but it was more to see then be seen thô my French-Dress made me very remarkable and drew a great many Eyes upon me The Women of great Quality never go abroad to take the Air in their whole Life except it be in the first year of their Marriage I mean into publick Walks and Places and then too 't is under the very noses of their Husbands the Wife at the lower and the Husband at the upper end of the Coach the Curtains all open and she finely adorn'd but 't is a rediculous thing to see these two Creatures sit like Statues looking at each other and without speaking a word in an hours time There are certain days set apart for walking and taking the Air all Madrid go abroad then the King is seldom there but except the King and a few Courtiers no body else fail of going That which makes it very troublesome is their long Traces which take up a great compass of Ground and occasion the Horses often to entangle Several Ladies which are not of the highest Rank resort thither but with their Curtains close drawn they only look through little Glasses which are fastned into the sides of the Coach but at Night the Ladies of great Quality come Incognito and when 't is dark they please themselves so far as to walk a foot They wear white Mantles upon their Heads these are a kind of a Hood made of Woolen stuff which covers them all over they Embroider them with black Silk they are only the ordinary Women and such as go upon some Intreague which wear them yet sometimes as I have said certain Court-Ladies will go in this Dress The Cavallero's also alight and walk and say some odd thing or other to them but they meet with their match The Count de Berka the German Enyoy told me that t'other Night as he was at Supper and
a fine House call'd Igarica upon the Banks of Xarama and though this Lady is now very old yet she never was there notwithstanding it is but eight leagues from Madrid It is not lookt upon in this Country to be according to Grandeur to go visit their Lands except they lie in some Principality or some City and then they call them by the Name of their State I chid this Lady for her Carelesness and my Kinswoman engag'd her to make one in the Company of her Daughter Donna Mariguita who is a little Woman pale fat and fair these three Qualities are equally rare here and she 's admir'd by every body that sees her the young Marchioness De la Rosa would also be of our Company her Husband with Don Fernand de Tolleda Don Sanche Sarmiento and Esteve de Carvajal went on Horseback Don Frederick de Cardonna would not have fail'd of being there too had not the Archbishop of Burgos writ him to come to him in all haste when he told it me I desir'd him to go see the fair Marchioness De Los Rios alas Huelgas I gave him a Letter for her in which I taxt her with her silence and desir'd to know particularly how all things went We set forward in two Coaches the sixth of August at ten a Clock at Night in the finest Weather that could be the Heats were so excessive that unless one would venture their Lives it was impossible to travel in the day-time but the Nights are cool and the Coaches are in the Summer all open the sides of the Coach were turned up quite round with fine large Holland Curtains trim'd with fine English Bone-lace and ty'd with Knots of colour'd Ribbond and as they often change them they look very neat We went so swift that I was almost dead with fear least something about our Coach should break for it is certain that we might have been all kill'd a hundred times over before the Coachman would have known any thing of the matter I fancy they run so to make amends for their slow going in Madrid for even the Foot-pace of the Mules is too quick there because of the ill pavement the holes the dirt in Winer and the dust in Summer with which the Streets are extreamly troubled The Marchioness De Palacios wore a little Hat trim'd with Feathers according to the mode of the Spanish Ladies when they go into the Country and the Marchioness De la Rosa lookt very pretty in her short close-coat strait sleeves and her other Ornaments upon sight of which we cried out that we thought her Muy Bizzarra and Muy de Gala that is very gallant and very splendid It was very odd methinks that these Ladies should oblige us in three several Places upon the Road to alight out of our Coach and hear the Marchioness de la Rosa's two Gentlemen play upon the Guittar whom it seems they brought on purpose and it was pretty comical to see these Blades gallop with their Guittars hanging behind their Backs This ordinary consort of Musick was nevertheless ravishing to them and they were extreamly charm'd with the pleasantness of the Country in so fine a Night Indeed I never saw Women so infinitely satisfy'd We arrived at Arranjues about five a Clock in the Morning and I was amaz'd at its wonderful Situation half a League on this side the Tagus we pass'd over a wodden Bridge which is made to shut up and after that we came into some Walks of Elme and Lyme Trees which were so high green and shady that the heat of the Sun is never felt It is an extraordinary thing to find so near Madrid Trees so perfect in their kind for the Soyl is very barren and they will not grow there but yet near Arranjues one cannot perceive this defect I speak of for all along the Walks and near the Trees there are little Pits and Trenches made into which the Water of Tagus runs and moystens the roots of the Trees These Avenues are so long that when one is in the middle one cannot see to the end of ' em Several Alleys come into these and every way make the perfect figure of a Star People walk on the Banks of the Tagus and Xamara which are two famous Rivers that environ the Island in which Arranjues stands and which supplies it with Water and extreamly contributes to its beautifulness To speak truly I never saw a more delightful place I must confess the Gardens are too close and several of their Alleys too narrow but yet it ravishes one to walk there and at our coming into them I fancy'd my self in some enchanted Palace The Morning was cool every where the Birds made a sweet Melody and the Waters a pleasant murmuring noise the Trees and Hedges were loaden with excellent Fruit and the Parterres were cover'd with most odoriferent Flowers and I enjoy'd all this in most pleasant Company We had an Order from Don John to be lodg'd in the Castle so that the Alcade receiv'd us with great Civility and was very careful to shew us every thing that was the most remarkable The Fountains are in that number and there are so very many of them that it is impossible to pass through an Alley to go into an Arbor or upon a Patere or Terrass without taking notice of five or six with brasen Statues and marble Basins The Spouts throw up their Water to a vast height they are not fed from Springs but from the Tagus Amongst others I 'll give you an account of the Fountain of Diana It stands upon an ascent from whence it is seen at a great distance the Goddess is in the midst environ'd with Bucks Does and Dogs and every one of them spouts out Water A litttle lower is a circle of Myrrh cut in several fashions and little Cupids peeping out half way and throw the Water against those Animals which stand about the Fountain The Mountain of Parnassus raises up its head in the midst of a great Pond with Apollo the Muses Pagassius's Horse and a fall of Water which represents the River of Helicon Out of a Rock there issues out a thousand several Spouts of Water some lanching out others winding in and out like a Serpent upon the Surface of the Pond some gliding gently and others either falling like Flowers in the Air or else like Rain The Fountain of Ganymedes is also very pretty this beautiful Child sitting upon Jupiter's Eagle seems frighted with its flight the Bird sits on the top of a Pillar with its Wings spread he throws out the Water by his Beak and his Tallons the Fountain of Mars is near this That of the Harpyes is fine they are placed upon very high Marble Pillars at the four corners they throw out Water every way they seem to have a mind to drown a little Youth who sits in the middle of the Fountain picking a Thorn out of his Foot But the most pleasant of all is the Fountain
in a moment his Eyes were scarce clos'd before the King mov'd only by his own kind and easie Nature for the Queen his Mother run to Tolleda to see her and to intreat her to return she consented to it with all the Joy she had to see the King They wept not a little while they embrac'd each other and we saw 'em come back together All the Persons of Quality went to meet their Majesties and the People shew'd abundance of Joy I should inlarge a great deal more upon this return did I not intend to be very particular in the Memoirs I am writing Don John laid three days in his Bed of State and in the same Cloaths which he had made to go meet the young Queen after that he was carried to the Escurial The Funeral had nothing of Greatness the Officers of his House with a very few Friends accompany'd him He was laid in the little Vault near the Pantheon which is reserved solely for the Princes and Princesses of the Royal Blood for there are none bury'd in the Pantheon you must know but Kings and those Queens that have had Children those that have had none are bury'd in that particular Vault In a few days we are to go to the Escurial which will be when the King goes there but he is so taken up with his young Queen that he can think of nothing but going towards the Frontiers to meet her In every place where I come they are continually ringing it aloud in my Ears that she 'll quickly be Queen of two â—â—d twenty Kingdoms In all likelyhood there 's eleven of them in the Indies for I only know those of the old and new Castille Arragon Valentia Navarre Murcia Grenada Andalousia Gallicia Leon and the Isles Majorques In these Places there are some parts of them admirable upon which it seems as if Heaven had a mind to spread abroad its most benign Influences There are others again so barren that there is neither Corn Herbs Vines Fruit Meadows nor Springs and of these one may say there 's more than of the others But generally speaking the Air there is good and wholsome In certain parts the Heats are excessive and in others the Cold and the Winds are insupportable although 't is in the same Season There are a great many Rivers but that which is pretty singular is that the biggest of them is not Navigable particularly those of Tagus Guadiana Minchio Duero Guadalguiver and that of Ebre for either because of the Rocks the falls of Water the Gulphes or the Turnings Vessels cannot pass upon them and this is one of the greatest Difficulties of Trade and which most of all hinders those things from coming to Cities which there 's need of for if there was an easie Communication between them those Places and Towns that want a great many Wares and Goods might be supplyed from those that abound and so every body might be furnish'd with necessary things at a reasonable price whereas the Charges by Land-carriage being so high one must want divers Conveniences unless you are in a Condition to pay three times more for a thing than 't is worth Amongst the several Cities which belong to the King of Spain these are esteem'd either for Beauty or Riches viz. Madrid Seville Grenada Valentia Sarragousa Tolleda Vailladolid Cordoua Salamancha Cadiz Naples Milan Messina Palermo Cagliari Bruxelles Antwerp Gand and Mons. There are a great many others which nevertheless are very considerable and several of the Towns are as big as Cities but there are not in them those multitudes of People which are both the Riches and Strength of a King And there are divers Reasons to be given why there is this defect First When King Ferdinand drove away the Moors out of Spain and established the Inquisition what through the Punishments they inflicted upon some Jews and the banishing of others there dy'd and went out of the Kingdom in a little while above nine hundred thousand Persons besides the Indies draw away abundance the Unfortunate go there to enrich themselves and when they have done so they remain to enjoy the fruit of their Labour and the Pleasures of the Country Again Soldiers are rais'd in Spain and sent away to Garison other Cities under the obedience â—f the King these Soldiers marry and settle in the Places where they happen to be and never return to those from whence they came Add to this that the Spanish Woman bear but few Children if they have three 't is reckon'd abundance and Strangers do not come to inhabit there as in other parts of the World because they are not lov'd there and the Spaniards are naturally recatados that is singular and reserv'd to themselves and will not be communicative and open with other Nations which they either envy or scorn And thus having examin'd into all those means which help to depopulate the Country under his Catholick Majesty one may rather wonder that there are so many People remaining There grows but little Corn in Castille it is brought from Sicily France and Flanders and indeed how should it grow unless the Earth would produce it of it self as the Land of Promise did The Spaniards are too idle to take pains to Till and improve it for being the meanest Peasant is persuaded that he is Hidalgo that is to say a Gentleman that in every little Family there 's an Apocryphal History compos'd within an hundred Years which he leaves to the Children and Nephews of a Village as an Inheritance in which fabulous History they are all made to descend from ancient Chivalry whose Ancestors have done wonderful things reciting that their Great Grandfathers Don Pedro and Don John performed such and such Services to the Crown I say they having taking up these vain Conceits of themselves no wonder if they will neither derogate from the Gravidad nor Decendentia At this rate do they talk and they will more willingly endure Hunger and all Severities of Life than work say they like Mercinaries which belongs only to Slaves And thus Pride seconded by Sloth hinder the most part of them to sow their Land unless some Strangers come and help them to till their Ground which by a special direction and guidance of Providence always happens Strangers that are more labourious and worldly minded being mov'd thither by the gain they find so that you shall have a sorry Peasant sitting in his Chair reading of a mouldy Romance whilst these Strangers are working for him in order to carry away his Money There 's no Oats to be seen Hay is scarce their Horses and Mules eat Barley in the Straw chopt small The Hills and Mountains in these Kingdoms I speak of are of such a prodigious height and length that I do not believe there 's the like in any other part of the World one meets with some of an hundred Leagues in length which joyn one to another in a continu'd Chain and which without Hyperbole are higher than
great Delight when the Devil who never sleeps disturb'd us with a vexatious Adventure My Cook who is a Gascon and exactly of the Humour of those of that Country was in one of our Boats behind us at some distance very near a young Biscaneer who appeared to him very handsome he contented not himself with telling her as much but would have rudely turn'd up her Veil She being not used to this sort of plain Dealing without any Words broke his Head with her Oar Having done this Exploit Fear seizing on her she threw herself immediately into the Water tho' the Season was very cold and swam with great swiftness but having all her Cloaths on and it being far to the Shoar her strength began to fail her Several of these Wenches who saw this at Land leapt immediately into their Boats to her Assistance when those who had remain'd in the Boat with the Cook fearing the loss of their Companion fell on him like two Furies resolving by all means to drown him and had like two or three times to have overturn'd their little Vessel which we beholding from ours had much a-do to part and appease them I assure you the foolish Gascon was so cruelly handled that he was all over blood and my Banker told me that these young Biscaneers provoked are worse then Lions In fine we came to Land but were scarcely on Shoar but we saw this Wench which was saved out of the Water making up towards us with near fifty others each with an Oar on their Shoulder marching in Battle-ray with Fife and Drum when she who was to be the Mouth of the Company advanc'd and calling me several times Andria which is to say Madam for that 's all I could retain of her Speech gave me to understand That they would have my Cook 's Skin if Satisfaction were not made proportionably to the Damage done their Companion 's Cloaths At the ending of which words the She-Drummers fell loudly beating their Drums and the rest of their Amazons set up an Hollowing Leaping and Dancing and Fencing with their Oars in a most astonishing manner Don Antonio to make me amends for the Present he had wrung from me I cannot but often mention it lying on my Heart as it does undertook to make Peace He found that my Cook who thought himself sufficiently beaten had Reason to give nothing and therefore he distributed some Pieces of Money among this Marine Troop On receipt of which they set forth lowder Hollow's than before and wish'd me a good Journey and speedy Return each of 'em dancing and singing at the sound of their Pipes and Tabors We entred into a very rough Way and ascending along very narrow Paths on the side of which there are Precipices so that I was greatly afraid lest the Mules which carry'd my Litter should stumble We afterwards past over a large Sandy Field I tarry'd some time in the Convent of St. Francis which stands near the River of Andaye We past over it on a very long Wooden Bridge and though we were near St. Sebastian yet we could not then perceive it because a Mount of Sand hid the Town It 's situated on the Foot of a Mountain which serves on one side as a Rampart against the Sea and the Vessels come to the Foot of this Mountain to shelter them from the Storms for here arise extraordinary Tempests that the Ships at Anchor perish in the Port it 's deep and defended by two Moles which leave only as much room as is requisite for one Vessel passing at a time They have rais'd here a great four Square Tower where there is ever a good Garrison to defend the Place in case of Assault it was a fine Day for the Season I found the Town very pleasant being surrounded with a double Wall there are mounted several Pieces of Cannon on that part towards the Sea with Bastions and Half Moons the Town is situated in a Province of Spain call'd Guipuscoa the Out-parts are exceeding pleasant by reason that the Sea as I now said serves for a Channel to it the Streets of this Town are long and large pav'd with great White Stones which are always clean the Houses are well enough and the Churches decent in which the Altars are of Wood on which are hung little Pictures from top to bottom Mines of Iron and Steel abound in this Country finer and purer perhaps than in any other Parts of Europe and this is the greatest part of their Trade Here the Wool which comes from Castille is embark'd which makes a considerable part of their Traffick Bilbo and St. Sebastian are two of the most considerable Ports which the King of Spain has on the Ocean The Castle stands very high and may make an indifferent Defence here are mounted several fine Pieces of Cannon and there are a great many along the Ramparts but the Garrison is so weak that the Women might conquer them with their Distaffs Every thing is as dear in this Town as in Paris yet they fare well here Fish is excellent and I was told Fruit was the same I lay in the best Inn and when I had been there some time Don Fernand de Toledo sent his Gentlemen to enquire whether his Visit would not be troublesome to me My Banker who knew him and who was then in my Chamber told me he was a Spaniard of great Quality Nephew to the Duke D' Alva that he came from Flanders and was going to Madrid I receiv'd him with that Civility which was due to his Birth and soon thereunto adjoyn'd particular Respects to his own Merit He is a Gentleman of good Presence has Wit and Politeness is Complaisant and Agreeable he speaks as good French as I do but understanding Spanish and being desirous to speak it better we therefore discours'd only in that Language I was very well satisfied with his Carriage He told me he came Post hither from Brussels and if I pleas'd he would increase my Train and be one of my Company I thought he jested and answered him accordingly but he added The ways were so full of Snow that indeed they could not ride Post that he could make more speed on Horses than in Litters but the Honour of accompanying me made abundant Recompence for that In a word I say he was a civil Person and came no way short of the Gallantry natural to the Spanish Cavaliers I therefore consider'd how advantageous it might prove to have a Man of this Quality and Country who could make himself be heard and obey'd by the Muletteers who have Iron Souls and no Consciences I told him I was very glad I met with him and the Fatigue of the Road would be less'ned by his Company He immediately thereupon ordered his Gentleman to find a Litter for him It being late he took his leave of me and I betook my self to eat a good Supper for my deer Cousin I am none of those Romantick Ladies that never eat
Fountains in the midst Several Knights of St. James live in this Town and the Metropolis which is dedicated to this Saint keeps his Body It is extream stately and prodigiously rich It is pretended you hear a kind of Clattering at his Tomb as if Arms were struck one against another and this noise is only heard when the Spaniards are to undergo any great Loss His Figure is represented on the Altar and the Pilgrims thrice kiss it and put their Hats on his Head for this is the chief part of the Ceremony they have also another very singular one they ascend the top of the Church which is covered with great flat Stones In this place stands a Cross of Iron whereon the Pilgrims ever fasten some Rag or Scrap of what they wear They pass under this Cross by so strait a Passage that they are forced to crawl on their Bellies through it and those who are not slender are in danger of being bursten And there have been some so ridiculous and superstitious that having omitted to do this they have expresly return'd back again three or four hundred Leagues for you see here Pilgrims of all Nations Here is a French Chappel of which great Care is taken It is said the Kings of France have been always great Benefactors to it The Church which is under ground is a better than that above there are stately Tombs and Epitaphs of great Antiquity which exercise the Wits of Travellers The Archiepiscopal Palace is a vast Pile and its Antiquity adds to its Beauty instead of diminishing it A Man of my Acquaintance a great Searcher into Etymologies assured me the Town of Compostella was so called because St. James was to suffer Martyrdom in the place where he should see a Star appear at Compestella It is true continued he that some People pretend it to be thus but the Peoples Credulity and Superstition carries 'em further for you are shew'd at Padron near Compostella an hollow Stone and it is pretended this was the little Boat in which St. James arriv'd after he had past so many Seas in it which being of Stone must have without a signal Miracle sunk to the bottom I suppose said I to him you believe this to be most true He smiled and continued his Discourse I cannot but give you the Description of our Militia They are called together every Year in the Month of October and all the Young Men from the Age of Fifteen are oblig'd to march for should it happen that a Father or any other Relation should conceal his Son or Kinsman and those who are Officers should come to know it they would condemn him who has so offended to perpetual Imprisonment There have been some Examples of this but they are rare for the Peasants are so infinitely pleas'd to see themselves Arm'd and treated as Cavalieros de Nobles Saldados del Rey that they would not for any Consideration be wanting to shew themselves on this occasion You shall seldom see in an whole Regiment any Souldier that has more Shirts than that on his Back and the Stuff they wear seems for its Coarseness to be made of Pack-thread their Shooes are made of Cord they wear no Stockins yet every Man has his Peacock or Dunghil-Cock's Feather in his Cap which is tied up behind with a Rag about his Neck in form of a Ruff their Sword oftentimes hangs by their side tied with a bit of Cord and ordinary without a Scabbard the rest of their Arms is seldom in better Order And in this Equipage they march gravely to Tuy where is the General Rendezvouz it being a Frontier place to Portugal There are three which lie thus the above-mention'd Cindud-Rodrigo and Badajor but Tuy is the best guarded because it is over-against Valentia a considerable Town belonging to the King of Portugal and which has been carefully fortifi'd These two Towns are so near that their Cannon will reach each other and if the Portuguises have omitted nothing to put Valentia out of danger of being insulted over the Spaniards pretend Tuy is in as good a Condition to defend it self It stands on an Hill whose lower part is wash'd by the River Minhio it has good Ramparts strong Walls and good store of Artillery It is here I say where these our Champions bid Defiance to the King's Enemies and in a strutting Bravery declare they do not fear ' em Perhaps something of this may happen in time for here are form'd as good Troops as in any other part of Spain However this is a great loss to the Kingdom the whole Youth being thus taken up for the Lands for the most part lye untill'd and on the side of St. James de Compostella you wou'd think you saw a Wilderness on that of the Ocean the Country being better and more peopled yields greater Profit and all things necessary and convenient as Oranges Lemmons and Pomgranates several sorts of Fruits and excellent Fish especially Pilchards more delicate than those which come from Royan to Bordeaux One of the most remarkable things in my mind in this Kingdom is the Town of Doiense one part of which always enjoys the Sweetness of the Spring and the Fruits of Autumn by reason of several Springs of boiling Water which warm the Air by their Exhalations whil'st the other part of this same Town suffers the Rigors of the longest Winters standing as it does at the Foot of a very cold Mountain so that you find in the space of one only Season all those which compose the course of the Year You say nothing replied I to him of the marvellous Fountain call'd Louzano Who have told you of it Madam answer'd he Persons that have seen it added I. You have been then told continu'd he that on the top of the Mountain of Cerbret you find this Fountain at the Source of the River Lours which has Flux and Reflux as the Sea tho' it be at twenty Leagues distance from it that the greater the Heats are the more Water it casts that this Water is sometimes cold as Ice and sometimes as hot as if it boil'd there being no Natural Cause to be giv'n for it You learn me Particulars I was ignorant of said I to him and this is doing me a great Pleasure for I want not for Curiosity in relation to things uncommon I wish replied he 't was not so late I would give you an account of several Rarities in Spain and which perhaps you would gladly learn I leave you for to Night said I to him but I hope before we come to Madrid we shall have an opportunity of discoursing of them He very civilly made me a Promise and the Play being ended we bad one another good night When I would go to rest I was led into a Gallery full of Beds as you see in Hospitals I said this was ridiculous and that needing only four what occasion was there for shewing me forty and to put me into such an open place to starve
of these Barbarians and finding no more among them any Princes of the Race of the Gothish Kings they agreed to Elect one and cast their eyes on a Lord of the Country call'd Garci Ximinex but they being Masters to impose Laws on him and finding himself sufficiently Happy that he might Rule over them under any Condition these People therefore confin'd him within narrow Bounds They agreed That as soon as their Monarch shou'd break through any of their Laws he shou'd immediately forfeit his Power and they be at full liberty to chuse another though he were a Pagan and to hinder him from violating their Priviledges and to defend themselves against him they establisht a Soveraign Magistrate whom they call'd the Justicia whose Office was to observe the Conduct of the King the Judges and he People but the Power of a Soveraign being likely to Awe a meer Particular to Assure the Justicia in the Execution of his Office they ordered That he might not suffer either in his Person or Goods but by a compleat Assembly of the States which they call Las Cortes They moreover provided That if the King shou'd Oppress any one of his Subjects the great and considerable Men of the Kingdom might assemble themselves and hinder his receiving any of his Revenues till the Innocent was acquitted and re-establisht in his former Rights And to make Garci Ximinez timely sensible of the Power this Man had over him they set him on a kind of a Throne and made the King to kneel down bare headed before him to receive from him his Oath of keeping their Priviledges This Ceremony ended they acknowledge him their Sovereign but in as odd as disrespectful a Manner for instead of promising him Fidelity and Obedience they say to him We who are as good Men as your self we make you our King and Governour on Condition you keep to us our Rights and Properties otherwise we Disacknowledge you The King Don Pedro in process of time coming to the Crown relisht this Custom as unworthy of the Regal State and it so greatly disgusted him that by his Authority and Intreaties and the Offers he made of bestowing several notable Priviledges on the Kingdom he procured the Abolishment of this in an Assembly of the States he got this general Consent in Writing which was presented to him As soon as he had the Parchment he drew out his Dagger and pierced his Hand with it saying 'T was fit a Law which gave Subjects the Liberty of chusing their Sovereign should be Effaced with their Sovereign's Blood His Statue is still seen in the Deputation-Hall of Saragossa he holds a Dagger in one Hand and the Charter in the other The late Kings have not been such Religious Observers of their Priviledges as the first But there is a Law still in force and which is very singular and this they call The Law of Manifestation which is That if an Arragonois had Wrong done him in Judgment in consigning 500 Crowns he may bring his Cause before the Justicia who is obliged after an exact Perquisition to punish him who has giv'n a wrong Sentence And if he fails therein the opprest Person may have Recourse to the States of the Kingdom who Assemble and Nominate five Persons of their Body which is to say of the Prime Nobility the Ecclesiasticks the Gentry and Commonalty they appoint three out of the first Rank and two from each of the others But it is observable they choose the most Ignorant to Judge the most able Men in the Gown whether to Disgrace 'em the more for their Fault or as they alledge That Justice should be so clear that the very Plow-men and those who understand the least should discern it without the help of Oratory It is likewise affirm'd That the Judges tremble when they pronounce a Sentence fearing lest it turn against themselves to the loss of their Lives or Estates should they commit the least Fault therein either wilfully or through Inadvertency It were well if this Custom were observed in all Kingdoms but this is rather to be wish'd than expected Yet what is no less singular is That Justice remains always Soveraign and though the Unjust Judge be punish'd severely for his wrong Decree yet it subsists in its full force and is fully executed If then any Unhappy Wretch be sentenced to Death he is not spared tho' his Innocency be discovered and made as clear as Noon-day but his Judges are executed too before his Face which in my mind is a poor Consolation If the Judge accused as justly perform'd his Office the Plaintiff leaves the 500 Crowns which he had confign'd But were he to lose an 100000 Crowns of Annual Revenue by the Sentence he complains of the Sentence or Decree remains good and the Judge is only condemn'd to pay him likewise 500 Crowns the rest of this Judge's Estate is forfeited to the King which is in my Opinion another Point of Injustice for in fine he ought above all others to have Recompence made him who suffers by a wrong Sentence These same People have another Custom to distinguish by the Punishment the Crime committed for Example A Cavalier who has kill'd another in Duel for they are here strictly forbid he has his Head cut off before and he that has Assassinated his is cut off behind This is to distinguish him who has behaved himself like a brave Man from him that kills you Treacherously She added That to speak in general of the Arragonois They have a Natural Pride which is hard to be suppress'd but likewise to do them Justice there are People of brave Minds to be found among them insomuch that they are easily discern'd from all the rest of the King of Spain's Subjects That they have never wanted Great Men from their first King to Ferdinand That they counted such a great number of them as would scarce be believ'd However they have greatly recommended themselves by their Valour and Conduct That as to the rest their Country was so little fruitful that excepting some Valleys which were watered by Channels whose Water came from the Ebre the rest was so dry and sandy that you meet with scarce any thing else but stony and parched up places That Sarragossa is a great City the Houses finer than at Madrid the Publick Places adorn'd with Arches That the Holy Street where the Courses are run is so long and large as may make it pass for a great and vast place having several great Mens Palaces on it that of Castelmorato being one of the pleasantest That the Vault of St. Fancis's Church was very curious for being of extraordinary Largeness yet 't is upheld by no Pillars That the City is not strong but the Inhabitants so stout that it needed no Walls that it has never a Fountain this being one of its greatest Defects That the Ebre carried no Boats the River being full of dangerous Rocks As to the rest the Archbishoprick was worth 60000 Crowns
Reasons hindred him from seeing her with the usual Ceremonies But one day when the Queen's Chamber was full of Courtiers the Prince slipt therein whether she had seen his Picture or that his Martial Ayr had distinguish'd him from among others she had singled him out and knew him She wou'd immediately hereupon have testifi'd as much to him by extraordinary Civilities He presently retired and she follow'd to conduct him Then he stopt and contented himself with saying these words Either All or Nothing Some few days after an Interview was set on foot to be between them in the Mall in the Park at Brussels where they spake together with great Civility and much Coldness As to Don Antonio Pimentel the Favours she has had for him have made noise enough to come to your Ears and if you be ignorant of 'em Madam I believe I ought not to undertake to learn you the Particulars of which perhaps I my self may have been ill inform'd She held her peace and I made my profit of this moment to thank her for complaisance in giving me an account of a Queen who had ever giv'n me such a great Curiosity She askt me afterwards whether I had seen the Castle of Lerma He that build it said she was Favorite to Philip the Third whose Death hapned very strangely This Prince continued she was writing Letters in his Closet and it being very cold that day they had placed very near him a quick fire of Coals whose reverberation struck so much on his face that he was all in water as if a great quantity of it had been poured on his Head The easiness of his temper hindred him from complaining and even speaking of it for he never found fault with any thing The Marquis de Pobar having observ'd the incommodiousness which the King receiv'd by this extream heat advertised the Duke d' Alva's Gentleman of his Chamber of it to the end he might remove the Fire away He replied It was not his Office and that the Duke Duesda ought to be made acquainted with it whose proper Business it was The Marquis de Pobar being troubled to see the King thus suffer and not daring himself to ease him for fear of invading another's Province left the fire still in its place but he sent to give notice of it to the Duke Duesda who was by Misfortune gone near Madrid to see a stately House he was there building Word was brought of this again to the Marquis de Pobar who proposed again to the Duke de Alva the taking away the fire But he found him inflexible hereunto and chose rather to send into the Country to the Duke Duesda so that before he was come the King was almost spent and that very Night he fell into a violent Fever accompanied with an Erisipellis which inflamed and the Inflamation degenerated into the Purples which caused his Death I must confess said she that having seen when I was abroad in the World other Courts besides our own I cou'd not forbear blaming these kind of Ceremonies and Punctilio's which hinder the taking of one step faster than another thô life depended thereon The old Countess of Lemo's lov'd to talk and continuing her Discourse and among other names mention'd that of the Count de Villa Mediana I have heard said I interrupting her that this Gentleman being one day in the Church of our Lady d' Arocha and finding there a Religio's who begg'd for the Souls of Purgatory he gave him a piece of four pounds Ah my Lord said the good Father you have now deliver'd a Soul The Count drew out again alike piece and put it into the Bason Here 's continued the Religio another Soul delivered He gave him in this manner six one after another and at the dropping of each piece the Monk cry'd Here 's a Soul delivered from Purgatory Will you be positive in it reply'd the Count. Yes my Lord reply'd the Monk I am certain they are now in Heav'n Give me now then back again my six pieces said he for they signifie nothing to you seeing the Souls are already got to Heav'n there 's no danger of their returning again to Purgatory It was as you relate added the Countess but he took not again his Money for this wou'd have been among us an horrid Sacriledge And I knew a man of good quality who being much behind in the World yet when he was dying wou'd have fifteen thousand Masses to be said for him His last Will was executed and his poor Creditors defrauded for how just soever their Debts be they can expect to receive nothing till such time as all the Masses which are left in the Will be said And this has given occasion to that common saying among us That such a one has made his Soul his Heir whereby is meant that he has left his Estate to the Church to say Prayers for him King Philip the Fourth ordered in his Will an hundred thousand Masses to be said for him farther declaring That shou'd he cease needing them they shou'd serve for his Father and Mother and in case they were got to Heav'n they shou'd be applied to the Souls of those who were slain in the Wars of Spain But what I have already told you of the Count de Villa Mediana brings to my mind that he being one day at Church with Queen Elizabeth he saw a great deal of Money on the Altar which was giv'n for the Souls in Purgatory He drew near and took it up in his hand saying My Love will last for ever my Pains will be likewise Eternal those of the Souls in Purgatory will have an end alas mine will never end This hope comforts them as for me I am without hope and comfort so that these Charities are more due to me than they However he took nothing away only speaking these words as an occasion to bring in his Passion before this beautiful Queen who was there present For in effect his was so violent for her that there is some reason to think she was not wholly insensible of it if her rigid Virtue had not preserved her heart against the Count's Merit He was young well shaped handsome brave magnificent gallant and witty every Body knows how he appeared to his Misfortune in a Carosel at Madrid with a Suit embroidered with pieces of new Money called Realles and which he bore for a Device MIS AMORES SON REALES making an allusion to the word Reales which is to say Royal with the Passion he had for the Queen This is finer in Spanish and signifies in English My Love is Royal. The Count Duke d' Olivarez the Kings Favorite and the secret Enemy of the Queen and the Count made his Master take notice of the boldness of a Subject who dared even in his Presence declare the Sentiments he had for the Queen and in this moment he perswaded the King to be reveng'd on him An occasion was waited for which shou'd make no noise
first Civilities and informing my self of the News of my Kinswomen whom I believed he knew I askt him of his own Affairs and whether he was content with his Journey Ah Madam speak to me no more of my Journey cry'd he there was never a more unfortunate and had you come some days sooner you might have seen me hang'd How said I to him what do you mean by this I mean said he to me that I had all the fear of it and that this is the most unpleasant Country in the World for Strangers But Madam if you are at leisure and would know more I will relate to you my Adventure It is singular and will fully prove to you what I have told you You will do me a great deal of pleasure said I to him we are here in a place where such a Relation will much divert us he began it then in this manner Some Affairs wherein I was concerned and the desire of seeing a Brother whom I had been away from some years obliged me Madam to undertake this Journey to Madrid I was little acquainted with the Customs of that place I imagin'd one might go to Women without difficulty and that one might play and eat with them but I was astonish'd to learn that every one of them is more retired in her House than a Carthusian in his Cell and that there are Persons who have been mutually in Love for two or three years and yet had never spoke to one another Such singular Manners seem'd ridiculous to me I said thereupon freely whatever came into my Head but I treated the matter more seriously when I understood these Women who were so closely confin'd were the most amiable Women in the World that they had such a Delicacy Vivacity and Manners as are no where to be met with but among them that Love always appeared new that no one would change a Spanish Woman but for another I was in the greatest despair at the difficulties there were to get at them One of my Friends named Belleville who was my Companion in my Journey and who is a brisk Lad was no less troubled on his side than I on mine my Brother who fear'd lest some vexatious Accident should befal us continually inculcated into us how Jealous Husbands are in this Country great Murtherers and no more valued the killing of a Man than a Fly This did not agree very well with two Men who were not as yet weary of living We went into all parts where we thought we might see Ladies we saw some in effect but this did not satisfie us all the bows and cringes we made 'em brought forth nothing we each of us return'd home every Night very weary and disgusted at our fruitless Circuits One Night Belleville and I went upon Design to the Prado which is a Walk adorn'd with great Trees and several Fountains they throw their Water a great heighth and in great gushes it falls into Basins from whence it runs when they have a mind into the Courts to Water them and so to make them fresh and pleasant It was the finest Weather this Evening that one could wish After we had light out of our Coach and sent it away we began to walk softly and having made a few turns we sat us down on the side of one of the Fountains and then began to make our usual Complaints Dear Belleville said I to my Friend shall we never be so happy to meet with one of these Witty and Charming Spanish Women so much boasted of Alas says he I desire it too much but dare not hope it Hitherto we have met with nothing but such ugly Creatures as run after Folks to fright them and who under their white Vails are more Tauny and Loathsom than the Bohemians such as these I swear to you do not please me at all and notwithstanding their sprightfulness I cannot consent to enter into a very near conversation with them At the very instant these words were out of his Mouth we spy'd coming out of a Door hard by two Women they had left off their upper Garments which were always very plain and when they open'd their Manta's the light of the Moon made the glory of their Gold and Precious Stones appear As God's true cries out Belleville here 's at least two Fairies Nay said I let 's be juster and think them not other than two Angels When they came near us we stood up and made them the lowest Bow that ever we did in our lives They past by us softly and with those little Apish Tricks which become the Spaniards so well they lookt at us first with one Eye and then with t'other They went on a little we were in pain what to think whether they would return back the same way or whether we should follow them but while we were deliberating we perceiv'd them to approach us when they were near us they stood still one of them began to speak and askt us if we could speak Spanish I see by your Habits said she that you are strangers But pray tell me of what Country are you We told her we were Frenchmen and that we spoke Spanish ill enough but we had a great mind to learn to speak it well That to succeed therein we were perswaded we must love a Spanish Woman and we heartily wish'd we might find one that desir'd to be belov'd The matter is nice reply'd the other Lady which had not yet spoke and I should be sorry for her who engages in such a Design for I have heard that Frenchmen are not Faithful Oh! Madam says Belleville this was some body which had a mind to do us an ill turn and put us out of your good opinion but it will be easie to wipe off this Aspersion Though I may soon give my Heart to a pretty Woman yet I am very sensible I cannot so easily call it back again What! says she that spoke to me before dare you without further consideration enter into such an Engagement at first sight I should not have quite so good an Opinion of you Oh! Madam cries he why should we lose precious Time If it is good to love at all it is good to begin as soon as 't is possible Hearts that are born to Love languish and decay when they are not exercised therein Your Maxims are fine reply'd she but they seem dangerous it is not only necessary to avoid following of them but even the hearing of them and then indeed they would have been gone but we beg'd them with great earnestness to tarry a few moments longer in the Prado We said all the pretty things to them both which might oblige them to discover themselves and give us the satisfaction of seeing them without their Vails Our Conversation was very brisk and pleasant enough they had abundance of Wit and as they knew how to manage all their Advantages so without affectation they shew'd us their Hands as they had occasion to mend the
out of her Mouth in my Face Don Augustin having known by one of his Wife's Servants that she was drest did not stand upon the Custom of the Countrey but lead Don Fernand and the Knights into her Chamber The Conversation was not long in common but we divided for my part I discoursed with Donna Theresa and she told me she was born at Madrid but was brought up at Lisbon with her Grand-mother who was Sister to Don Augustin Pacheco so that her Husband was her great Uncle and these sort of Alliances are often contracted in Spain She talkt to me much of the Young Infanta of Portugal and boasted mightily of her Wit and told me if I would go into her Closet I might judge of her Beauty for she had her Picture there I immediately went and was surpriz'd with the Charms I observ'd in this Princess She had her Hair cut and curl'd like the Periwig of an Abbot and an Invention for preserving Children from falling so big that there were upon it Two Baskets of Flowers and little Vessels of a Medicinal Earth of which they eat a great deal in Portugal and Spain although 't is an Earth that hath little Taste Donna Theresa shew'd me the Skin of a Serpent which her Husband kill'd in the Indies and though it was dead yet I was afraid of it Those of this kind are extream dangerous but it seems as if Providence had taken care to preserve Men from them for these Serpents have a sort of Bell about their Head which rings when they move and so gives notice to Travellers to secure themselves This young Lady who is a great Lover of Portugal discoursed to me much in its Favour She told me That the Sea which flows up into the Tagus renders that River capable to bear the greatest Gallions and the fairest Ships upon the Ocean That the City of Lisbon stands upon the side of a little Hill which insensibly descends to the very Brink of the Tagus So that the Houses being built one above another are all seen at once and so becomes a very pleasant Prospect The old Walls which the Moors built about it are yet standing There are of them four Rounds built at divers times the last may have about six Leagues Circumference The Castle which stands upon a Hill hath its particular Beauties In it you see Palaces Churches Fortifications Gardens Armories and Streets There 's always a good Garrison with a Governor This Fortress commands the City and from thence they may thunder upon it in case it proves rebellious The Palace where the King lives is more considerable if not for its Strength yet for the Uniformity of its Buildings Every thing there is Great and Magnificent the Prospect it has to the Sea hath made them take so much care to beautify it She discoursed to me afterwards of the Publick Places which are adorn'd with Vaults and Arches and of the great Houses round about the Dominicans Convent where the Inquisition is before the Gate of which there is a Fountain with a great many Statues of White Marble which throw the Water every way She added That the Fair of Roucio is kept on the Tuesday of every Week in a Place which might be taken for an Amphitheatre because 't is environ'd with little Hills upon which are built several fair Palaces There 's another Place on the side of the Tagus where the Market is kept and there one may meet with every thing which can be desired of the best in his kind either in Fowl Fish Fruits Herbs or Pulse The Custom-House stands a little higher up where there is infinite Riches and Rarities and some Fortifications are lately made to preserve them The Metropolitan Church is not eminent for any thing but its Antiquity It is dedicated to St. Vincent it is pretended that after he had suffered Martyrdom they refused him Burial and that the Ravens watcht over his Body till some pious Persons came and took it up and carried it to Valentia in Spain to have it worshipt and for this Reason there are Ravens kept in the Church and there is a Box for them into which are put the Alms to buy them Food Although Lisbon continued she is a very pleasant place to live in yet we dwelt at Alcantara This Village is not above a quarter of a League from the City There 's in it a Royal House not so fine for its Buildings as for its Situation the River supplies the place of a Canal There one sees admirable Gardens all fill'd with Grotts and Cataracts or great Falls of Water as well as Spouts of Water Belem is not far from hence it is the place design'd for the Sepulture of the Kings of Portugal in the Church of the Hieronimites It is all covered over with White Marble the Pillars and Statues are of the same the Tombs are in even Rows in three different Chappels amongst which there are some well wrought Belem Feriera Sacavin and some other places about the City are remarkable for the vast quantities of Oranges and Lemons growing there the Air you smell there is all perfum'd you can hardly sit down under the Trees but you are covered with their Flowers one sees running amongst them a Thousand little Rivulets and it may be affirmed that there is nothing more sweet in the Night than the Murmurs and Harmony which are there frequently heard At Belem there are great Magazines of Oranges both sweet and sour Lemons Pome-Citrons and Lemons They load them on small Vessels and so transport them into most parts of Europe Likewise she told me of the Knights del Habito de Christo of the Habit of Christ whose Multitude made them less considerable and also of the Counts of the Kingdom which have the same Priviledges as the Grandees of Spain they are possess'd of Las Comarcas which are certain Lands belonging to the Crown and divided into Counties of a considerable Value She told me That when the King intended to go abroad the People had notice of it by a Trumpet which sounds very early in the Morning in the place through which his Majesty is to pass For the Queen 't is a Flute and a Drum and for the Infanta a Hauthoy When they all go abroad together the Trumpet the Drum the Flute and the Hautboy march in a Company and by this means if any one which cannot get into the Palace to present a Petition he need only wait for the King 's coming by Eight Leagues from Coimbre there 's a Fountain in a place called Cedima which draws in and swallows down every thing which touches its Water Experiments are often made upon great branches of Trees and sometimes of Horses which they cause to be brought there from whence they cannot get back but with great difficulty But that which causes the greatest wonder added she is the Lake of the Mountain of Strella where there are often found the wracks of Ships broken Masts Anchors and Sails
But she now mixes Italian English and Spanish with her own Natural Language and this makes such a Jargon as is very strange to one who knew her as I did to have the French Language in its purity and able to read Lectures of it to the Learned She cannot endure to be told that she has forgot it and indeed she does not believe it having never left off speaking it either with some of her own Women or with Ambassadors and Strangers who generally understood it Nevertheless she speaks very ill And if one is not at the Fountain-head it is difficult long to speak a Language well which is every day changing and continually making new progresses I found the Ladies which were with her extream pretty I do assure you that there are in this Countrey some very handsome and aimable We embraced each other often and went back to Madrid Before we came there we past over a Sandy Plain of about Four Leagues but so uneven that every moment we fell into holes big enough to bury the Coach and which hinder'd it for going very fast This uneven way lasted till we came to a little Village call'd Mandes which is but half a League from Madrid All the Countrey here is dry and very open you can scarcely see a Tree on any side you look The City is scituated in the middle of Spain which is New-Castile It is above an Age since the Kings of Spain have chosen to keep their Court in it because of the purity of the Air and the goodness of the Water which really is so good and so light that the Cardinal Infanta would drink no other when he was in Flanders and he caus'd it to be brought by Sea in Earthern Jars well stopt The Spaniards pretend that the Founder of Madrid was a Prince nam'd Ogno Bianor Son of Tiberino King of the Latines and of Manto who was a Queen more Famous for the Science of Astrology which she understood to a wonderful degree than for her Birth 'T is thought that Madrid must be in the Heart of Europe because the little Village of Pinto which is not above Three Leagues from it is call'd in Latine Punctum and that is reckon'd to be in the Center of Europe The first thing I observ'd was that the City is not enclos'd either with a Wall or Ditch the Gates as one may say are only made fast by a Latch those which I have already seen are all broken there is not seen any place of Defence neither Castle nor in a word any thing which might not be forced with throwing of Oranges and Lemons but yet it might be necessary to Fortifie this City The Mountains which are round it are of some use for its Defence I have pass'd through some places of them which are so narrow that one might shut them up with a good big Stone and with a hundred Men oppose the passage of a whole Army The Streets are long and straight and of a good largeness but there 's no place worse paved let one go as softly as 't is possible yet one is almost jumbl'd and shak'd to pieces there are more Ditches and dirty places than in any City in the World the Horses go up to the Bellies and the Coaches to the middle so that it dashes all upon you and you are spoyl'd unless you either pull up the Glasses or draw the Curtains which I have spoke of very often the Water comes into the Coaches at the bottom of the Boots which are open The Houses there have rarely any great Gates to them those which have are without Courts The Doors indeed are pretty large and for the Houses they are very graceful spacious and convenient though they are only built of Earth and Brick I think they are altogether as dear as at Paris The first Story which they raise belongs to the King and he can either let or sell it unless the Owner of the House buy it off which is almost constantly done and this is a considerable Revenue to the King There is commonly in every House Ten or Twelve Rooms on a Floor in some Twenty and more they have their Summer and their Winter Apartments and very often one for Autumn and another for Spring-time So that having very great Families they are forced to Lodge them in some Neighbouring Houses which they hire on purpose for them You must not wonder Dear Cousin that they have so many Domesticks There are two Reasons for it The first is that both for Food and Wages the Spaniards give but two Rials a day which is not above Six-pence of our Money I say the Spaniards do this for Strangers pay after the rate of four Rials which is about Twelve pence of our Money Neither do the Spaniards give to their Gentlemen above Fifteen Crowns a Month with which they must wear Velvet in Winter and Taffety in Summer But then they live only upon Onions Pease and such mean stuff and this makes the Pages and Footmen as greedy as Doggs But I should speak of the other Domesticks as well as the Pages for in this matter they are all alike let them have what Wages they will They are kept so very hungry that in carrying the Dishes to the Table they eat half the Victuals that is in them they throw it into their Mouths so burning hot that you shall observe their Teeth all rotten with the Practice I advis'd my Kinswoman to get a little Silver Stew-pan made and fastned with a Pad-lock like that I saw of the Arch Bishop of Burgos and she did so and now after the Cook hath fill'd it he looks through a little Grate to see whether the Soupe does well and thus the Pages get nothing of it but the Steam Before this Invention it happen'd a hundred times that when we thought to have taken up some Broth we found neither that nor any Flesh for you must know that if the Spaniards are Temperate 't is when the Expence is their own they are not so when they eat at another's cost I have seen Persons of the Highest Quality eat with us like so many Wolves they were so hungry They were sensible enough of it themselves and pray'd us not to wonder at it for they found the Ragoas after the French way so excellent that they could not forbear There are Cooks-shops almost at every corner of a Street These have great Kettles set upon Trevets There folks may have such ordinary things as Beans Garlick Leeks or a little Broth in which they steep their Bread The Gentlemen and Waiting-women go thither as other People for at home they only dress Victuals for the Master and Mistress and their Children They are strangely Temperate in Wine the Women never drink any and the Men so little that a quarter of a Pint will serve one a whole day You cannot affront a Man worse than to call him a Drunkard Here 's indeed a great many things to make up the first
distinction they call Ocales They fasten them behind their Ears and leave them off as seldom as they do their Collars Heretofore they had the Glasses of them from Venice but ever since the Enterprize of the Marquess of Cueva which was called the Triumvirat because they were three Persons who undertook to Fire the Arsenal of Venice with Burning-Glasses and by this means to make the King of Spain Master of that City The Venetians to be reveng'd caus'd a vast number of those Ocales to be made and sent to their Embassador at Madrid He presented of them to the whole Court and all that us'd them were almost blinded with them for they were made of burning Glass and very artificially done and set in certain Frames made of combustible Matter which with the least Rays of the Sun would put all in a Flame It happen'd upon a Council-day that in the Room where they sat one of the Windows was left open and the Sun shining perpendicularly upon their Spectacles all on a sudden they perceiv'd a dangerous sort of fire contriv'd against their Eye-brows and Hair one can hardly imagine what a fright these venerable old men were in I could wish said I to the Marchioness that this story were credible for 't is very pleasant As I did not see it reply'd she in smiling so I cannot positively assure you that 't is true But the bus'ness of the Jacobite Fryars which I have related to you I had from the best Authority I have since observ'd several Persons of Quality in their Coaches sometimes alone and sometimes in Company with these great Spectacles hung upon their Noses which in my Mind is a strange sight This Princess gave us a Collation her Women to the number of eighteen brought every one of them a great Silver Bason full of dry Sweet-meats wrapt up in Paper for that purpose cut and gilt In one there was a Plum in another a Cherry or an Apricock and so in all the rest accordingly This to me seem'd very neat for by this way one might either eat or carry away without soyling the Fingers or Pockets There were some ancient Ladies who after they had eat of these Sweet-meats till they were ready to burst fill'd five or six Handkerchiefs full and they bring them on purpose and although they are well observ'd yet no notice seems to be taken but they are suffer'd to take as much and as oft as they will they tye these Handkerchiefs with strings quite round their little Vertingales This is like the hook which is us'd in a Pantry upon which is hung all sorts of Flesh and Fowl Afterwards they present you with Chocolate every one a China Cup full upon a little Dish of Agat set in Gold with Sugar in a Box of the same There was some Chocolate order'd with Ice and some hot and some made with Milk and Eggs One drinks it with some Bisket or else with some thin bread as hard as if it were toasted which they make so on purpose There are some Women which will drink six Cups one after another and this they do very often twice or thrice a day One should not wonder that they are so dry since nothing is hotter than this Liquor and besides they eat every thing so very high season'd with Pepper and Spice that one would think it impossible they are not burnt up There were several also which eat great pieces of the Medicinal Earth I have already told you that they have even a great passion for this Earth which frequently causes in them great Obstructions their Stomachs and their Bellies will be swell'd with it and become as hard as a Stone and they themselves as yellow as Saffron I had a mind to taste this Ragoue which is so much esteem'd beyond its worth but I declare I had rather eat a piece of a Stone If one had a mind to oblige them one must treat them with such kind of things which they call Barros and very often their Confessors enjoyns them no other Penance than to forbear one whole day from eating thereof It is said to have a great many Properties and is good against Poyson and cures abundance of Diseases I have a great Cup made of it which holds a pint it spoils Wine that 's put into it but it makes Water excellent which seems as if it boyl'd in it at least one may observe it to work and fret if it is proper to say so and if one leaves it a little while the Cup shall be quite empty the nature of the Earth makes it so full of Pores it has a strong sent We drank Water there which was very well order'd one may truly say that in no place they drink it cooler They make use only of Snow and are of Opinion that it cools much better than Ice It is the custom here to drink very cold Water before they take their Chocolate which otherwise they think would be unwholsom After the Collation was ended Flamboys were brought in there came in first a little simple Fellow white with Age who was Governour of the Pages He had a great Gold Chain and a Medal about his Neck this was the present he had at the Prince of Monteleon's Marriage He kneel'd down upon one Knee in the middle of the Gallery and aloud said Let the Most Holy Sacrament be prais'd to which every body answer'd For ever This is their Custom when Light is brought in Next came in four and twenty Pages following two by two and in the same manner kneel'd upon one Knee every one of them brought two great Flamboys or one Branch and when they had plac'd them upon the Tables went out with the same Ceremony And then all the Ladies made to each other a low bow accompany'd with a wish as when they sneeze It is fit I should tell you that these Branches are full of Lamps fastned to a silver Pillar whose foot is very broad there are most times eight and twelve Pipes to every Lamp in which the Week burns so that this gives a very great Light And to encrease it yet more they fasten a silver Plate to it in such manner that the Light reflects upon it One is not troubled with the Smoak and the Oyl they burn is altogether as good as that of Provence which is eat with Sallads I lik'd this fashion very well When all the Lights were put in their proper places in the Gallery the young Princess of Monteleon bid her Women bring her Wedding-cloaths that I might see them they brought thirty silver Baskets full which were as deep and as wide as Table Baskets they were so heavy that there were four Women to carry one Basket In them there was what ever is possible to be seen that is fine and rich according to the fashion of the Country amongst other things there were six of a certain sort of close Coat of Gold and Silver Brocard made like Vests to wear in a Morning
with Buttons some of Diamonds and others of Emeralds and of these every one had six dozen The Linnen and the Lace were not inferiour to the rest She shew'd me her Jewels also which were admirable but so ill set that the biggest there made no better a shew than a Jewel set in Paris which one might buy for thirty Lew's I will not write to you often because I will always have a stock of News to tell you which in this place is pretty long in picking up Pardon this tedious Letter and the little Method which I have observ'd in it I set things down just as they come into my Mind and that 's ill enough but in your Love dear Cosin I am safe from all my faults From Madrid this 29th of March 1679. LETTER IX I Fear you 'll take it ill that I have omitted writing to you one Post but dear Cousin I was willing to be inform'd of divers things which I am now going to relate And first I will speak of the Churches of Madrid which I find extream beautiful and neat The Women of Quality seldom go to them because they all have their Chappels in their Houses but there are certain days in the year they never fail to be at them of which number are all the days in the Passion-week and there also they make their * Go to receive their Indulgences Stations and sometimes go to Confession Our Ladies Church of Atocha that is to say our Lady of the Bush is indeed a very fine one It stands within a vast Convent which is fill'd with Religious Women who seldom or never go out of it that being one of their Rules they are to observe They lead an austere Life and from all parts People come to pay their Devotion here and when the Kings of Spain have gain'd any Victories or happy Success thither they go to sing Te Deum There you 'll see a Virgin holding a young Jesus which they report to be miraculous She 's of a black Complexion and very often they dress her up like a Widow but upon great Festivals she is richly cloth'd and so adorn'd with Jewels that nothing can be seen more magnificent She hath in a particular manner the Sun drawn rown her Head whose Beams shine admirably She always has a vast pair of Beeds either in her Hand or hung at her Girdle This Chappel is on one side of the body of the Church and in such a place as it would be very dark were it not that there 's continually burning above an hundred great Lamps of Gold and Silver The King has his Gallery there whose fore-part is made up with a Lattice Window In all their Churches they make use of Hassocks to kneel on and when a Person of Quality or a strange Lady comes in the Sexton spreads a large Carpet before 'em upon which he either sets an Oratory with Cushions or else he leads 'em to certain little Closets all painted and gilt with Glass-windows round where one is very conveniently placed There never fails a Sunday that the Altar is not â—â—luminated with above an hundred thick Wax Candles It is â—â—kewise adorn'd with a prodigious quantity of Plate and so are all the Churches in Madrid Here are abundance of fine Walks made of your green Turf and set full of Flowers in which they place a great many Fountains from whence the Water falls into Basins either of Silver or Marble or Porphiry-stone Round about them they plant great numbers of Orange-Trees as high as a Man and these are set in very fine Boxes and among these they turn loose several Birds which make a pretty sort of Musick And this as I have described to you lasts almost all the year neither are their Churches ever without Orange or Jassemin Trees which perfume them much better than their Incense In the Chappel which they call our Lords of Almunada you see a Virgin which they tell ye St. James brought from Jerusalem and hid in a Tower which is in the middle of Madrid The Moors having besieg'd the City the Inhabitants were reduced to so great a want of Provisions that they were deliberating to Surrender when on a sudden they found this Tower full of Corn they concluded such a plentiful and seasonable Supply could be no less than the effect of a Miracle this fill'd them with Joy and new Courage and made them so vigorously defend the City that the Moors toyl'd with a long Siege were forced to retire Afterwards they found the Image of the Virgin and in gratitude they built a Chappel for her upon the Walls of which this whole History is painted in Fresco The Altar Rayles and all the Lamps are of solid Silver The Minime Fryars have a Church near this in which is the Chappel of our Lord of Soledad where the Salutation is every Night said this is a place of great Devotion I mean for those that are truly devout for there are a great many Persons which make it their Rendezvouz for other ends But St. Isidore's Chappel surpasses all in beauty He is the Patron of Madrid and he was but a poor Labourer The Walls of the Chappel are all cased with Marble of divers Colours and its Pillars are of the same and so are some Statues of certain Saints His Tomb is in the middle and four Pillars of Porphiry supports over it a Crown cut in Marble in which are represented Flowers whose Colours are so very natural that one may say Art has outdone Nature The Cupulo without is adorn'd with the Images of the Twelve Apostles which stand round it I saw at St. Sebastines which at present is my Parish a Canopy which the Queen-Mother caus'd to be made for the carrying the Holy Sacrament to the Sick in bad Weather It is made of Crimson Velvet embroider'd with Gold it is cover'd with Chagrin and nail'd with Gold Nails it has several great Glasses about it and in the middle of its roof there is rais'd a sort of Steeple which is full of little Bells of Gold Four Priests carry it when any Person of Quality is sick and desires to receive the Sacrament and all the People at Court attend it There are about a thousand Flamboys of white Wax to give Light and several musical Instruments play before it They make some stay at all the great Places in their way to give leave to the People to kneel and receive the Benediction and to let the Musicians play upon their Harps and Guittars and sing to them It is generally in the Night time that they carry it with so much Ceremony and Respect When they are to celebrate a Festival in some Church the Evening before they set up a long Pole fastned in the Ground on the top of which is a kind of a deep Chaffing-dish which they fill with wooden Chips mixt with Brimstone and Oyl This burns a long while and gives a very great Light they place these Poles in the
his Windows because of the cold being shut somebody knock'd at the Lattice of his Hall he sent to see who it was they found three Women in white Mantles who desired to have the Windows open'd that they might see him He sent them word that they would be more conveniently in the Hall They came in all concealed and placed themselves in a corner and so stood all the while he was at Table He intreated them but in vain to sit down and eat some Sweet-meats but they would neither do one nor t'other but after they had said a great many merry things to him in which they abundantly shewed a strange quickness of Wit they went away He discovered that these were the Dutchesses de Medina Celi d' Ossona and Ducada having seen them at their own Houses for Ambasadors have the priviledge sometimes to go to the great Ladies and to give them a visit of Audience but he was willing to have yet a greater certainty and therefore caused them to be follow'd and they were seen to go into one of their Houses by a false Door at which some of their Women waited for them These little Disguises are not always attended with over-much Innocence As to the Men when Night comes they walk a foot in the Prado they make up to the Coaches in which they see Women and leaning upon the Bouts they either throw Flowers or sprinkle sweet Water upon them and when they are permitted they go into the Coach to them But as to the meeting on May-day It is certainly a great pleasure to see the Citizens and the People how they sit some upon the young Corn some upon the sides of the Mansanarez others playing at Ombre and others either with their Wives Children Friends or Mistresses basking themselves in the Sun some are eating of a Sallad with Leeks and Onions and others hard Eggs and others Gamon of Bacon and even Galinas de Loche which are Sea-Hens and very excellent They all drink Water like Ducks and play either upon the Guittar or Harp The King came there with Don John the Duke de Medina Celi the Constable de Castile and the Duke de Pastratie I only saw his Coach of green Oil-cloth drawn by six py'd Horses the finest in the World and all covered over with Gold-spangles and knots of Rose-coloured Ribbon The Curtains of the Coach were of green Damask with a fine gold Fringe but so close drawn that one could perceive nothing but through the little Glasses on the sides of the Coach It is the Custom when the King passes by to stand still and in respect to draw the Curtains but we according to the French fashion let ours be open and were satisfied in making a very low Bow The King took notice of a Spaniel-bitch I had in my Arms and which the Marchioness d' Alvi who is a very pretty Lady desired me to carry to the Constable of Colonna's Lady and as I lov'd it mightily she sent it to me very often The King sent the Count de los Arcos Captain of the Spanish Guards to ask me for it he came up to the Coach side on Horse-back I immediately gave it to him and the Creature had the Honour to be made much of by his Majesty was mightily pleased with the little Bells about her Neck and the Buckles upon her Ears He had a Bitch which he lov'd extreamly and he sent to ask me if I would be willing that he should keep mine for Daraza which was the Name of his You may easily imagine Dear Cousin what answer I made He returned me the Spaniel but without either her Collar or Buckles and he order'd the Count de Los Arcos to give me a gold Box full of Pastills which he had about him and desired me to keep it It is but of a small value but coming from such a hand I mightily esteem it It was Don John who is my Kinswomans Friend which obtain'd this mark of the King's bounty to me for he knew of my being in Madrid though I had not had the Honour yet to see him Two days afterwards as I was all alone in my apartment busie in painting a small piece I saw come in a Man whom I knew not but one who by the air of his Face I could easily judge to be of Quality He told me that not having met with my Kinswoman he was resolved to tarry till she came for he had Letters to give her After some little Discourse he gave occasion to talk of Don John and told me that he doubted not that I frequently saw him I reply'd that indeed since my arrival this Prince came often to visit my Kinswoman but he never ask'd for me The reason of that perhaps adds he was because you were sick that day I was not sick reply'd I and I should have been very glad both to have seen and heard him for I have been told both good and ill of him and I have a mind to know whether they do him right or wrong I have signify'd my desire to my Kinswoman but she told me there was no way to gratifie me for he was so devout that he would speak to no Woman It is possible says he in smiling that his Devotion should so much disturb his Mind for my part I am confident he ask'd for you and was assur'd that you were ill of a Feaver Of a Feaver cry'd I that 's very strange I beseech ye how do you know it But just then my Kinswoman came in she was extreamly amazed to find Don John with me and so was I for I little thought it was he He told her several times that he knew not how to pardon her for the Idea she had given me of him that he was no Bigot and that he was persuaded true Devotion did not make a Man rude and inhumane I think him very handsome of a noble Carriage very well bread and extream witty and of a mighty quickness of Mind As my Kinswoman has a great share of Wit so she clear'd her self well enough from what he taxt her with But when he was gone she was ready to eat me for anger because I deny'd having had a Feaver I desir'd her to excuse me because me because I was ignorant what she had said to him and that I could not divine She answer'd me that at Court one must either be able to divine or else they would act a very silly part She ask'd the Prince if it was true that the Queen-Mother had writ to the King and beg'd that she might see him and that he had refus'd her He agreed it was and also that that was the only reason which hindred his Majesty from going to Aranjus lest she should come to him there contrary to the Prohibition for her not stiring out of Toleda What my Lord said I will not the King see the Queen his Mother Say rather reply's he that 't is State-Policy which forbids Sovereigns to follow
without fearing the Gallick Winds which criple a body I sleep bare-head I put my Hands and Feet in Snow enough to kill one but I think 't is much at one to dye as to be smother'd with heat as they are here 'T is Mid-night before one feels the least breath of Air from the Western Briezes In going to take the Air one is sufficiently puzled for if the Glasses are open one's chok'd with the Dust of which the Streets are so full that one can hardly see and although the Windows of the Houses are shut the Dust finds a way through and spoils all Houshold Goods so that what with the ugly smells in the Winter and the dust in the Summer all things of Silver and every thing else is so tarnish'd and spoyl'd that little can be kept handsom any considerable time Notwithstanding all care at present ones face will be cover'd with sweat and dust like those Wrestlers which are represented to us in a Ring I should now tell you that I have seen the Ceremony on Corpus Christi-day which is very solemnly kept here There 's a general Procession of all the Parishes and Monasteries which are very numerous the Streets thrô which the Holy Sacrament is to pass are hung with the richest Tapistry in the World for I do not only speak of that which belongs to the Crown which is there but also of that which belongs to a thousand particular Persons which have most admirable Tapistry All the Balconies are then without their Lattices adorn'd with Carpets rich Cushions and Canopies they hang Ticking cross the Streets to hinder the Sun from being troublesom and they throw water upon it to make the Air cooler All the Streets are spread with Sand well water'd and fill'd with so great a quantity of Flowers that one can hardly tread upon any thing else The Repositories are extraordinary large and adorn'd with the greatest splendor No Women go in the Procession the King was there in a black Lute-string Taffety Suit a Sholder-belt of blue Silk edg'd with white his Sleeves were of white Taffety embroider'd with Silk and Bugles they were very long and open before he had little Sleeves hanging down to his Waste his Cloak was wrapt about his Arm and he had on his Collar of Gold and precious Stones at which there hung a little sheep in Diamonds He had also Diamond Buckles at his Shooes and Garters and a great Hat-band of the same which shin'd like the Sun he had likewise a knot which button'd up his Hatt and at the bottom of that a Pearl which they call the Pereagrine it is as big as the Russet Pear and of the same shape it is pretended to be the finest in Europe and that both its colour and kind is in perfection The whole Court without exception follow'd the Holy Sacrament the Councils walk'd after it without any Order or Precedency as they happen'd to be holding white Wax Candles in their hands the King had one and went foremost next the Tabernacle where the Sacrament was It is certainly one of the finest Ceremonies that can be seen I observ'd that all the Gentlemen of the Bed-chamber had a great gold Key by their sides it opens the King's Chamber into which they can go when they will it is as big as a Cellar-door Key I there saw several Knights of Malta who wore every one a Cross of Malta made of Holland and embroider'd upon their Cloaks it was near two a Clock and the Procession was not yet gone in when it past by the Palace they fir'd several Rockets and other Inventions The King went to meet the Procession at St. Mary's which is a Church near the Palace Upon this day all the Ladies begin to wear their Summer Garments they make their Balconies very fine in which they have either several Baskets of Flowers or Bottles fill'd with sweet Water which they throw about whilst the Procession passes by Commonly the three Companies which guard the King are new cloath'd As soon as the Holy Sacrament is gone back to the Church every body goes home to eat that they may be at the Autos which are certain kinds of Tragedies upon Religious Subjects and are odly enough contriv'd and manag'd They are acted either in the Court or Street of each President of a Council to whom it is due The King goes thither and all the Persons of Quality receive Tickets over Night to go there so that we were invited and I was amaz'd to see them light up abundance of Flamboys whilst the Sun beat full upon the Comedians Heads and melted the Wax like Butter they acted the most impertinent piece that ever I saw in my days This is the Subject of it The Knights of St. James are assembled and our Lord comes and desires them to receive him into their Order there are divers of them that are very willing to it but the Seniors represent to the others the wrong they should do themselves if they should admit into their Society a Person of ignoble Birth that St. Joseph his Father was a poor Carpenter and that the Holy Virgin wrought at her Needle Our Lord with great impatience expects their Resolution at last they determine with some unwillingness to refuse him but at the same time propose an expedient which is to institute on purpose for him The Order de Christo and with this every body is satisfied This is the Order that is in Portugal but yet these things are not done with a wicked design no they had rather dye than in the least to fail of the respect due to Religion These Autos last for a Month I am so weary of going to them that I excuse my self as oft as I can They use Sweetmeats and Water cool'd in Ice very much and they have need of them for the heat almost kill 's one and the dust choaks a body I was ravish'd with Joy to meet Don Augustin Pacheco and his Wife of whom I have formerly told you at the President d' Hazienda's House they come thither because they are related to the President We were placed near one another and when the Ceremony was over we went to take the Air in the Prado after the French Mode that is Men and Women together in the same Coach Don Frederick de Cardona was one our Curtains were close drawn whilst there was a great many folks because of our beautiful and young Spanish Women but as we tarry'd later than others the Nuncio and Frederick Cornaro the Venetian Ambassador caus'd their Coaches to drive up to ours and talk't with us when all on a sudden we saw a great Illumination all along the Walk and at the same time appear'd sixty Cardinals upon Mules in their Habits and red Caps after them follow'd the Pope he was carry'd upon a certain Machine all cover'd with a foot Carpet he sat under a Canopy in a great Chair and St. Peter's Keys laid upon a Cushion with a Vessel full of
all torn and just as the devout People had left him I should tell you that all is mighty private and retir'd in this Court but here 's the way and manner how some particular Persons live In the Morning as soon as they are up they drink Water cool'd with Ice and presently after Chocolate when Dinner-time is come the Master sits down to Table his Wife and Children as I have already observ'd eat upon the Floor near the Table this is not done out of respect as they tell me but the Woman cannot sit upon a Chair she is not accustomed to it and there are several ancient Spanish Women which never sat upon one in their whole Life they make a light meal for they eat little flesh the best of their food are Pigeons Pheasants and their Olio's which are excellent but the greatest Lord has not brought to his Table above two Pigeons and some very bad Ragou full of Garlick and Pepper and after that some Fennel and a little Fruit when this little Dinner is over every one in the House undress themselves and lye down upon their Beds upon which they lay Spanish Leather-Skins for coolness at this time you shall not find a soul in the Streets the Shops are shut all Trade ceas'd and it looks as if every body were dead At two a Clock in the Winter and at four in the Summer they begin to dress themselves again then eat Sweet-meats drink either some Chocolate or Waters cool'd in Ice and afterwards every body goes where they think fit and indeed they tarry out till eleven or twelve a Clock at Night I speak of People that live regularly Then the Husband and Wife go to Bed a great Table-Cloth is spread all over the Bed and each fastens it under their Chin the He and She Dwarfs serve up Supper which is as frugal as the Dinner for it is either a Pheasant Hen made into a Ragou or some Pastry bus'ness which burns the Mouth it is so excessively pepper'd The Lady drinks her belly full of Water and the Gentleman very sparingly of the Wine and when Supper is ended each goes to sleep as well as they can The unmarry'd or those who observe but few rules with their Wives after they have been taking the Air in the Prado where in Summer they go half naked in their Coaches I mean when 't is dark they get a light Supper mount their Horses and take a Foot-man behind them they do this that they may not lose him for going in the darkest Night through so many Streets very quick how should a Foot-man be able to turn and wind and follow his Master But they are also afraid of being assaulted behind the Footman having no other care than to look about him is as it were the Sentinel and is ready to defend his Master There may be some which will do this but most of them in such cases run away for they are not stout This nocturnal Ramble is upon the Ladies account they then visit them and to gain an Empire they would not neglest that opportunity They talk to them through the Lattice of their Windows sometimes they go into their Gardens and when they can into their Chambers Their Passion is so violent that they 'll look the greatest danger in the face they 'll go to the very place where the Husband sleeps and I have been told that they 'll see one another years together without daring to speak one word for fear of being heard They are ignorant in France what 't is to love at the rate these People are said to love And not to mention the cares the earnest desires the nicety and the devoting of themselves up even to death for the Husband and the Relations give no quarter that which I admire is their Fidelity and Secresie It is never known that a Cavallero boasts of having receiv'd Favours from a Lady they speak of their Mistresses with so much respect and value as if they were their Sovereigns And on the other hand these Ladies never desire to oblige any other than their Gallants they are entirely taken up with him and although they cannot see him in the day-time yet they have opportunity to employ several hours about him either in writing to or speaking of him with some she Friend who is privy to the Intreague or else in waiting all the day long and looking through their Lattices to see him go by In a word upon all that I have been told about these Matters I can easily believe that Love had its Birth in Spain Whilst the Cavalleros are with their Mistresses their Footmen look after their Horses at some distance from the House but there are very often unpleasant Mischances happen to them for there being no necessary places in their Houses all night long they throw that out of their Windows which decency hinders me from naming to you so that the amorous Spaniard which goes silently along the Street is many times in a nasty condition from head to foot and though at his coming out he was curiously perfum'd yet he is forc'd to return as fast as he can to change his Cloths This is one of the greatest Inconveniencies in this City and which renders it so stinking and filthy that in the Morning one can hardly pass along the Streets I say in the Morning for the Air is here so subtile and hot that all this nastiness is consum'd before Noon When a Horse or any other Animal dies they throw him into the Street where he happens to be though it were before the Pallace-Gate and the next day you 'll find him reduc'd to dust They are persuaded that if they did not throw out their Filth and Carrion in this manner into their Streets Madrid would not be long without the Plague and it never is there But besides those ways I have now mention'd that Gallants have to see their Mistresses they have yet others for the Ladies visit one another frequently and there is nothing more easie for them than to wear a Vail and by the back door go into a Chair and be carry'd where they will And this is the more practicable because all the Women agree to keep one anothers Secrets inviolably let there be what Differences there will amongst them and let them never be so angry one against another yet they never open their lips to make the least Discovery their Discretion cannot be sufficiently prais'd It is true indeed the consequences would be more fatal if they did otherwise since they make nothing here of murthering upon a bare Suspicion After this manner the Lâ—â—ies make their Visits to one another you must not go to see your Friend when you have a mind you must tarry till you are desir'd to come and the Lady that has a mind to be visited writes a Letter in the Morning and invites you you are carry'd in a Chair which is extream 〈◊〉 every way and that they may be the lighter they
of Love this little God seems to rise with his Body all full of Darts from every one of which comes out a Spout of Water The three Graces sit at the Feet of the God of Love but that which is most extraordinary is the Water which falls from four high Trees like Fountains whose noise is very delighful and surprizing it not being natural for Water to come out of Trees I should be afraid to tire you did I undertake to tell you the vast number of Cataracts Falls and Fountains of Water which I have seen here I will only in general assure you that it is a Place worthy of the curiosity and attention of every body At eight a Clock the Sun began to be too hot and some went into the House which comes far short of that Beauty it should have justly to answer all the other things and when the King goes there those that attend him are so ill accommodated with Lodging that either he must be contented to go there in all haste and keep his Court a little or else go as far as Tolleda for there are only two bad Inns and a very few private Houses If we had not taken care before hand for Provisions even to Bread I am confident we had met with none unless the Alcade would have given us some of his And by the way I 'll inform you the difference there 's between the Alcade and Alcalde that so you may not confound them the first signifies the Governor of a Castle or Place and the other a Serjeant Although the most curious Pictures are at the Escurial yet I found some excellent ones in the King's Appartment at Arranjues it is furnisht according to the Season we are now in that is to say the Walls are all white have only a Matt that is very fine and thin about three foot deep with some Looking-glasses and Pictures In this Building there are divers little Courts which takes from the grace of it We eat our Breakfast all together and they perswaded me to eat some of a Fruit they call Pimento which is as long as one's finger but as hot as Pepper the least bit of which puts ones Mouth in a Flame they let it lie steeping in Vinegar and Salt to get out the Virtue this Fruit is brought into Spain growing upon a Plant and I never saw any of it in other Countrys where I have been We had an Ollio some Ragous made of cold Partridges with Oyl Canary Wine fat Pullets and Pigeons which are excellent here and also several sorts of Fruit which was extraordinary fair When this Repast which was worth a Dinner was ended we went to Bed and went not a walking till about seven a Clock in the Evening The Charms of this Place were as new to me as if I had not seen them in the Morning but particularly I still admir'd the Situation which indeed ravishes on what side soever one turns the Eyes The King is there with half a dozen of his Guards in great safety because there 's no getting at him but over Bridges which are all drawn up and the Xamara which in this Place swells the Waters of Tagas fortifies Arranjus After we had walkt till ten a Clock at Night we came back into a great Hall pav'd with Marble and supported with Pillars of the same It was all enlightned with divers brancht Candlesticks and Don Esteve de Carvajal had privately got thither several Musicians which were a pleasant sort of a surprize to us at least the Spanish Ladies and my Kinswoman were mightily delighted with them For my part I thought they sung too much in the Throat and their Divisions and Shakes were so long that they were tedious not but that their Voices are good but their manner of singing is not good and generally the greatest part in Spain do not sing as they do in France and Italy When Supper was done we went to the great Canal where there 's a small Gallion painted and gilt we went aboard her and tarry'd till two a Clock in the Morning and then we set forward on our way to Tolleda I took notice when we came out of Arranjues that the Ground was all Heath and Ling and yet the Air was perfum'd with wild and mother Tyme with which these Plains were all cover'd They told me there were a great many Rabits Stags Does and Fallow Deer but it was not then their time to appear Our Conversation was for sometime general and for two Leagues together from Arranjues I did not speak one word to Don Fernand thô he sat just close by me But being willing to imploy the time in thoroughly informing my self about all the Particulars of the cruel Inquisition which he had promis'd to acquaint me with I desir'd him to let me know something of it The Inquisition says he has not been known in Europe but since the beginning of the Thirteenth Century Before that time the Bishops and Civil Magistrates enquir'd after Hereticks and either condemn'd them to Banishment or to the Forfeiture of their Goods and Estates or else to some other Penalties which never almost extended to Death But the vast number of Heresies which appear'd towards the end of the Twelfth Age caus'd that Tribunal to be Establish'd The Pope sent several Religious Persons to the Catholick Princes and Bishops to exhort them to take an extraordinary care in the Extirpation of Heresies and to bring obstinate Hereticks to punishments and thus things continued till the Year 1250. In the Year 1251. Innocent IV. Authoriz'd the Dominican Fryars with the assistance of the Bishops to take Cognizance of these sort of Crimes Clement the IV. confirm'd these Tribunals in the Year 1265. Afterward there were several Courts erected in Italy and in the Kingdoms which were dependants of the Crown of Arragon till such time that the Inquisition was establish'd in the Kingdoms of Castille in the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabel and after that in Portugal by King John the III. in the Year 1557. To that time the Inquisitors had a limited Power and it was often contested by the Bishops to whom the Cognizance of Heritical Crimes belong'd According to the Canons it was contrary to the Rules of the Church for Priests to sentence any Criminals to Death much more for those Crimes which the Civil Laws often punish'd with far less severe Penalties But ancient Right yielding to new Power the Dominican Fryars by the Popes Bulls have been for these two Ages in possession of this extraordinary Jurisdiction from which the Bishops have been excluded the Inquisitors now only wanted the Authority of the Prince to enable them to execute their Sentences Before Isabella of Castille came to the Crown the Dominican John de Torquemada her Confessor and afterward Cardinal made her promise him to persecute all Infidels and Hereticks as soon as it should be in her Power to do so She pervail'd over Ferdinand her Husband to obtain in the Year
imbroider'd with Pearls and precious Stones and so are the Chalices and Vessels of precious Stones The Candlesticks and the Lamps are of pure Gold There are forty little Chappels and as many Altars upon which are put every day forty several Cloaths and Attires The forepart of the great Altar is compos'd of four Ranks of Jasper Pillars and one goes up to the Altar by seventeen Steps of Porphiry Stone The Tabernacle is beautify'd with several Pillars of Agat and divers curious Figures of Metal and Chrystal One can see nothing about the Tabernacle but Gold Azur Stone and other Stones so transparent that through them the Sacrament which is kept in an Agat Vessel is easily perceiv'd This Tabernacle is esteem'd at a Million of Crowns There are eight pair of Organs the Chairs or Seats in the Quire are made of rare Wood which comes from the Indies curiously wrought after the pattern of those of St. Dominick at Boulogne The Cloysters of the Monastery are extream fine in the middle there 's a Flower Garden and a Chappel which opens four ways whose Roof is supported with Porphiry Pillars between which there are Niches in which are placed the four Evangelists with an Angel and the several Creatures made of white Marble bigger than Nature who throw out Torrents of Water into Marble Basins The Chappel is arch'd with curious Architecture and pav'd with black and white Marble There are divers Pictures of an inestimable value and in the Chapter-Room which is very large there is besides most excellent Pictures two Bass-Reliefs all of Agat two foot and a half long which cannot be valued As to the Church it has nothing extraordinary in its Structure it is bigger than that of the Jesuits in St. Anthony's Street at Paris but of the same form except that like their House it is of the Dorick Order Bramanto the famous Italian Architect drew the Model and Design of it The King and Queen's Appartments are not stately but Philip II. intended this only for a House of Prayer and Retirement the Church and the Library were the things he took most care to adorn Titian the famous Painter and divers others besides have exhausted all their Art and Skill in curiously painting the Galleries of the Library which indeed are admirable not only for the excellent Painting but for a hundred thousand Volumes that are there without reckoning the Original Manuscripts of several Fathers and Doctors of the Church which are delicately bound and gilt You 'll easily guess at the bigness of the Escurial when I have told you that there are in it seventeen Cloysters two and twenty Courts eleven thousand Windows above eight hundred Pillars and an infinite number of Parlours Halls and Chambers A little after the Death of Philip II. there was taken from the Fryars of the Escurial a certain Estate in Lands call'd Campillo which the late King had given them and was worth eighteen thousand Crowns per Annum and this was done by virtue of a Clause in his Will by which he revok'd all the immense Donations which is his Life time he had given The Duke of Bragance being at Court in King Philip the Second's time he had a mind they should go with him to the Escurial that he might see that stately Pile of Building And as he that had the care of shewing it to him told him It was built in performance of a Vow which Philip II. made at the Battel of St. Quintin the Duke reply'd He that made so great a Vow must needs have a great Terror upon him And now in mentioning this King I remember to have heard that Charles V. recommended to him the preservation of the three Keys of Spain These were the Streights-mouth Flushing in Zealand and Cadiz The Turks or Moors have the first the Dutch the second and the English had the last but the King of Spain soon recover'd it from them The Escurial is built upon a descent of some Rocks in a desert and barren Place and environ'd with Hills the Village stands below it and has but few Houses in 't it 's in a manner always cold Weather there The extent of the Gardens and the Park is a prodigious thing to see in which one meets with Woods Plains and a vast House in the midst in which the Keepers lodge it abounds with all sorts of Deer and Fowl After having seen a Place which so highly deserves our admiration we all left it and as we had visited the Royal Houses of Pardo and Carcuela we return'd over the Mountains which is a nearer way but very troublesome We came by Colmenar and coasting along the little River of Guadarama we past through Rozas and Aravacâ— and arriv'd at Madrid where we learnt that the Queen's Houshold were just going away to meet her upon the Frontier We immediately went to the Palace to bid adiew to the Dutchess de Terra Nova and the other Ladies The King had made them all be mounted that he might see after what manner they would be on the day of her Entry for this reason all the Gardens and Doors every way were kept close shut and guarded and no Man was to enter there The young Court Ladies lookt well enough but good God! what figures were the Dutchess de Terra Nova and Donna Maria d' Alarcon who were the Governantes of the Queen's Maids they rid every one upon a Mule shod with Silver and all friz'd with a large housing of black Velvet like that the Physicians in Paris ride with upon their Horses These Ladies drest like Widdows which I have already describ'd to you very old and ugly with morose and imperious Looks wore broad Hats ty'd with strings under their Chins and twenty Gentlemen which walkt a foot by their sides held them up lest they should fall They would never have suffer'd these Men to have touch'd them in that manner had not they fear'd breaking their Necks For you must know dear Cousin that though every Lady has two Gentlemen Ushers and that they go with them where ever they go yet they never give them their Hand They walk by their sides and present to them their Elbows wrapt in their Cloaks which makes their Arms look monstrous thick The Ladies do not come near them but that which is yet more strange if the Queen in walking should happen to fall unless her Ladies were near her to help her up though there were an hundred Gentlemen there she must be pleas'd either to rise by her self or lie all day upon the Ground for none dare take her up We spent part of the Afternoon in looking at these Ladies the Equipage they had was indeed very rich but very poorly and dully contriv'd The Dutchess of Terra Nova had alone six Litters of Velvet of various colours and all embroider'd and forty Mules whose houssings were as costly as ever I saw any You will not hear from me again dear Cousin before the Queen is come hither