enraged the beast, that he seemed to renew his attacks with greater fury. The cavaliero had behaved himself to admiration, and escaped many dangers, with the often repeated acclamations of viva, viva; when, at last; the enraged creature getting his horns between the horse's hinder legs, man and horse came both together to the ground.

I expected at that moment nothing less than death could be the issue; when, to the general surprise, as well as mine, the very civil brute, author of all the mischief, only withdrew to the other side of the Plaza, where he stood still, staring about him as if he knew nothing of the matter.

The cavaliero was carried off not much hurt, but his delicate beast suffered much more. However, I could not but think afterward, that the good-natured bull came short of fair play. If I may be pardoned the expression, he had used his adversary with more humanity than he met with; at least, since, after he had the cavaliero under, he generously forsook him, I think he might have pleaded, or others for him, for better treatment than he after met with.

For, as the cavaliero was disabled and carried off, the foot tauriro entered in white accoutrements, as before; but he flattered himself with an easier conquest than he found. There is always on these occasions, when he apprehends any imminent danger, a place of retreat ready for the foot tauriro; and well for him there was so; this bull obliged him over and over to make use of it. Nor was he able at last to despatch him, without a general assistance; for I believe I speak within compass, when I say, he had more than a hundred darts stuck in him. And so barbarously was he mangled and slashed besides, that, in my mind, I could not but think king Philip in the right, when he said, That it was a custom deserved little encourage

ment.

Soon after this tauridore, or bull-feast, was over, I

C. M.

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had a mind to take a pleasant walk to a little town, called Minai, about three leagues off; but I was scarce got out of La Mancha, when an acquaintance meeting me, asked where I was going? I told him to Minai; when, taking me by the hand, Friend Gorgio, says he in Spanish, come back with me; you shall not go a stride further; there are Picarons that way; you shall not go. Inquiring, as we went back, into his meaning, he told me, that the day before, a man, who had received a sum of money in pistoles at La Mancha, was, on the road, set upon by some, who had got notice of it, and murdered him; that, not finding the money expected about him, (for he had cautiously enough left it in a friend's hands at La Mancha,) they concluded he had swallowed it; and therefore they ript up his belly, and opened every gut; but all to as little purpose. This diverted my walk for that time.

But, some little time after, the same person inviting me over to the same place, to see his melon-grounds, which in that country are wonderful fine and pleasant, I accepted his invitation, and, under the advantage of

his company, went thither. On the road, I took no

tice of a cross newly erected, and a multitude of small stones around the foot of it: asking the meaning whereof, my friend told me, that it was raised for a person there murdered, (as is the custom throughout Spain,) and that every good catholic, passing by, held it his duty to cast a stone upon the place, in detestation of the murder. I had often before taken notice of many such crosses: but never till then knew the meaning of their erection, or the reason of the heaps of stones around them.

There is no place in all Spain more famous for good wine than Sainte Clemente de la Mancha; nor is it anywhere sold cheaper: for, as it is only an inland town, near no navigable river, and the people temperate to a proverb, great plenty, and a small vend, must consequently make it cheap. The wine here is so

famous, that, when I came to Madrid, I saw wrote over the doors of most houses that sold wine, Vino Sainte Clemente. As to the temperance of the people, I must say, that, notwithstanding those two excellent qualities of good and cheap, I never saw, all the three years I was prisoner there, any one person overcome with drinking.

It is true, there may be a reason, and a political one, assigned for that abstemiousness of theirs, which is this, that if any man, upon any occasion, should be brought in as an evidence against you, if you can prove that he was ever drunk, it will invalidate his whole evidence. I could not but think this a grand improvement upon the Spartans. They made their slaves purposely drunk, to show their youth the folly of the vice by the sottish behaviour of their servants under it: but they never reached to that noble height of laying a penalty upon the aggressor, or of discouraging a voluntary impotence of reason by a disreputable impotence of interest. The Spaniard, therefore, in my opinion, in this exceeds the Spartan, as much as a natural beauty exceeds one procured by art; for, though shame may somewhat influence some few, terror is of force to deter all. A man, we have seen it, may shake hands with shame; but interest, says another proverb, will never lie. A wise institution, therefore, doubtless is this of the Spaniard; but such as I fear will never take place in Germany, Holland, France, or Great Britain.

But though I commend their temperance, I would not be thought by any means to approve of their bigotry. If there may be such a thing as intemperance in religion, I much fear their ebriety in that will be found to be over-measure. Under the notion of devotion, I have seen men among them, and of sense too, guilty of the grossest intemperances. It is too common to be a rarity, to see their Dons of the prime quality, as well as those of the lower ranks, upon meeting a

priest in the open streets, condescend to take up the lower part of his vestment, and salute it with eyes erected, as if they looked upon it as the seal of salvation.

When the Ave-bell is heard, the hearer must down on his knees upon the very spot; nor is he allowed the small indulgence of deferring a little, till he can recover a clean place; dirtiness excuses not, nor will dirty actions by any means exempt. This is so notorious, that even at the playhouse, in the middle of a scene, on the first sound of the bell, the actors drop their discourse; the auditors supersede the indulging of their unsanctified ears, and all, on their knees, bend their tongues, if not their hearts, quite a different way to what they just before had been employed in. In short, though they pretend in all this to an extraordinary measure of zeal and real devotion, no man, that lives among them any time, can be a proselyte to them, without immolating his senses and his reason: yet I must confess, while I have seen them thus deluding themselves with Ave Marias, I could not refrain throwing up my eyes to the only proper object of adoration, in commiseration of such delusions.

The hours of the Ave-bell, are eight and twelve in the morning, and six in the evening. They pretend, at the first, to fall down to beg that God would be pleased to prosper them in all things they go about that day. At twelve, they return thanks for their preservation to that time; and at six, for that of the whole day. After which, one would think that they imagine themselves at perfect liberty; and their open gallantries perfectly countenance the imagination: for, though adultery is looked upon as a grievous crime, and punished accordingly, yet fornication is softened with the title of a venial sin, and they seem to practise it under that persuasion.

I found here, what Erasmus riducles with so much wit and delicacy, the custom of burying in a Franciscan's habit, in mighty request. If they can for that purpose pro

cure an old one at the price of a new one, the purchaser will look upon himself a provident chap, that has secured to his deceased friend or relation, no less han heaven by that wise bargain.

The evening being almost the only time of enjoyment of company, or conversation, everybody in Spain then greedily seeks it; and the streets are at that time crowded like our finest gardens, or most private walks. On one of those occasions, I met a Don of my acquaintance walking out with his sisters; and, as I thought it became an English cavalier, I saluted him: but, to my surprise, he never returned the civility. When I met him the day after, instead of an apology, as I had flattered myself, I received a reprimand, though a very civil one; telling me, it was not the custom in Spain, nor well taken of any one, that took notice of any who were walking in the company of ladies at night.

But, a night or two after, I found, by experience, that, if the men were by custom prohibited taking notice, women were not. I was standing at the door, in the cool of the evening, when a woman, seemingly genteel, passing by, called me by my name, telling me she wanted to speak with me: she had her mantilio on; so that, had I had daylight, I could have only seen one eye of her. However, I walked with her a good while, without being able to discover anything of her business, nor passed there between us anything more than a conversation upon indifferent matters. Nevertheless, at parting, she told me she should pass by again the next evening; and if I would be at the door, she would give me the same advantage of a conversation, that seemed not to displease me. Accordingly, the next night she came, and, as before, we walked together in the privatest parts of the town: for, though I knew her not, her discourse was always entertaining and full of wit, and her inquiries not often improper. We had continued this intercourse many nights together, when my landlady's daughter, having taken notice of it, stopt me one evening,