The Shores and Islands of the Mediterranean, including a visit to the Seven Churches of Asia

Front matter

THE SHORES AND ISLANDS OP THE MEDITEEEANEAN. PAIMA, MjVJTOH-CA. THE SHORES AND ISLANDS OP THE MEDITERRANEAN, INCLUDING A VISIT TO THE SEVEN CHUECHES OF ASIA. BY THE EEV. H. CHRISTMAS, M.A. F.R.S. F.S.A. AtJTHOR OF " THE CRADLE OF THE TWIN GIANTS, SCIENCE AND HISTORY," etc. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET $ubli_I).r in ©rtJtna.j) to \%cx f__aj..tp. 1851. TO JOHN REID, ESQ, AND STANDISH GROVE GRADY, ESQ. Battfsttr.at.JLalD an» Eccoitcr of ffiratustnlr, CHAPEL- WARDENS, AND TO THE CONGREGATION OF VERULAM EPISCOPAL CHAPEL, LAMBETH, €Ij.__ %u\mm ARE INSCRIBED BY THEIR DEEPLY OBLIGED AND SINCERELY AFFECTIONATE FRIEND AND MINISTER, HENRY CHRISTMAS.

Preface

. Bot few words will be needed by way of preface to such a work as that which is here offered to the reader. Ill health, occasioned by long and constant anxieties, rendered a temporary relaxation an absolute necessity ; and it was thought that the effects of warmer climates might be beneficial. With this view the Author, accompanied by a dear and valued friend, visited some of the chief objects of interest in Southern Europe, and the West of Asia Minor, more especially the seat of the Seven Churches. The opportunities which he enjoyed of observing the state of North Italy, Catalonia, South Austria, Greece, and Turkey, at a most critical and deeply interesting period of their history, led him to think that the publi cation of such a work as this, at a season like

PREFACE.

. the present, might not be altogether inoppor tune. It may be said that a tour of six months would hardly suffice to obtain an adequate degree of information on topics, many of them so complicated and so diffi cult, as are necessarily touched upon in the course of these volumes. Yet, with a disposition to investigate, with good introductions, and with a sufficient knowledge of the continental languages to mix freely with the middle and humbler classes of society, any person will find difficulties speedily unravelled, and very valuable facts presented to his observation. In my own case I claim only the merit due to an impartial observer. Of one spot which I visited, I believe little or nothing is known in England; and if I should be the means of inducing others of my countrymen to direct their wandering steps towards the Balearic Islands, I am quite sure that they will thank me for the recommendation.

A few words on the manner and expenses of travelling. It will be remembered that there are as yet few railways in the south : in PEEFACE. IX Spain and Portugal, only about 100 miles throughout the extent of both countries ; none whatever in Greece, Turkey, and Asia Minor. In these last-named countries the only mode of travelling is on horseback ; and the diligences in the south of Spain must receive very moderate praise for the comfort of their accommodations. A gentleman who travels alone, and to whom time is not the first object, will do well to ride through any part of the Spanish peninsula ; he will see the country and the people to greater advantage, and will, if he be a wise man, put down to the account of amusement all the little inconveniences he may meet with. The costume of the country is always the best to wear; a beard and moustache are great advantages, and the less luggage the better.

Let it be distinctly remembered that when the traveller quits France, he must not expect the same amount of comfort save on the great highways to capital cities ; and here the eastern proverb will often stand him in gooa stead, — " Fortunate is the man who expects nothing,

PREFACE.

. X for he shall never suffer disappointment." Luxury is an exotic among the hardy and temperate races of Castille and Andalusia; civility does not grow in Catalonia ; cleanliness is not to be expected in the Papal States ; freedom of ingress and egress is much cramped where Austria rules ; and all over Germany everything more than a single portmanteau is a nuisance on the railways. A very unjustifiable attack has lately been made on the steam-navigation of the Mediter ranean. It is with much pleasure that I state my own experience to the contrary ; save in a certain Spanish packet, El Cid, I found every accommodation and every civility. The rules established were good and strictly en forced, and the steam-packets of the Neapo litan Company passing from Marseilles to Genoa, Leghorn, Civita Vecchia and Naples, are very superior in their general arrangements, in the table kept, and in the scrupulous cleanliness of all and everything on board, even to the average of English steamers. Very nearly equal to these are the steam

PREFACE.

. XI ships of the Austrian Lloyd Company, and in these, should the purse of the traveller render it advisable, he may fearlessly engage a second-class passage. The French steamers may take an almost equal rank — perhaps, quite so — and in all cases the passenger will find no cause for complaint with regard either to provisions, accommodation, or treatment. In the Oriental and Peninsular Steam Navi gation Company's ships, every advantage will be found if the traveller takes a first-class passage, but the second-class is only intended for gentlemen's servants. This must be borne in mind, or the voyager accustomed to the arrangements of the Austrian, French, and Neapolitan packets, may, from motives of economy, be induced to make a great mistake. If the high charge deter him from the chief cabin, let him wait for a French or Austrian vessel.

The Spanish steamers are in all ways objectionable — their extreme want of punctuality, their enormous charges, and indif ferent accommodation render it far preferable

PREFACE.

. to ride along the coast. In some cases diligences may be found, but a horse is better, and the cities on the coast are well worth the visiting. It is needless to say that this involves the necessity of some competent knowledge of the magnificent language of Spain ; then, with a pair of alforjas, or saddle-bags, containing Ford's Guide Book, Don Quixote, and Shakspeare, not forgetting a Bible and Prayer-Book, a good ball of twine, a hammer, a bradawl, and a few nails, and a plentiful supply of small change, let the traveller mount his horse, and — Anda con Bios ! He will want a servant, and let him take a Catalonian if he can find one civil and obliging enough ; but as this is very problem atical, an Andalusian is the next best, and by the time the point marked as the termi nation of the journey is reached, it will be found that some days have been gained in point of time, and some duros in point of expense. The Malle Poste is the only convenient and agreeable way of journeying from Toulouse to

PREFACE.

. XIII Perpignan — the Bateau Poste from Agen to Toulouse. The steamers on the Loire and Garrhone are good, and preferable to any land travelling, and the best way from Nantes to Bordeaux is by sea. Of hotels, I would recommend the Hotel de Lille et d'Albion, at Paris, to those who travel with a family, hut to no others; at Nantes and Bordeaux, the " Grand Hotel de France ;" at Agen, the Hotel called by the same name ; at Perpignan the Hotel de l'Europe ; at Barcelona, the Fonda de las Cuatro Naciones ; at Palma, La Fonda de las Tres Palomas ; at Florence, the Albergo de York ; at Venice, the Hotel de Ville ; at Trieste, l'Aquila Nera ; at Corfu, the Club House Hotel ; at Smyrna, Milles' Hotel ; at Athens, the Hotel d'Angleterre ; at Constan tinople, the Hotel de l'Europe. These I have found all well arranged and moderate in charges. LONDOK, May 29, 1851. VOL. I. h PAGE CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

Chapter I

Arrival at Palma — Confusion at Landing — Custom-House — Hotels — Porters — Casade Pupilos — Passports, required to be Translated — Quarantine — General Aspect of the City — Alameda — Penny Postage — Library — Museum — Picture Gallery — Portraits of the Queen and King — Anecdote of a Portrait of Queen Victoria — Spanish Loyalty .... 1

Chapter II

Natural History of the Islands — Position — Population — Character of Country, Soil, Agriculture — Olive-Trees — Badness of Oil — Wine, Trees, The Carob, Vegetables, and Fruit — Meat Market — Pigs — Exportation of — Birds — Owls— Concert of Owls and Asses — Fish — The Cuttle Fish — The Soldier Fish — Reptiles — Frogs and Toads — Insects — Anecdote of a Spanish Inn 21

Chapter III

History of the Islands — Phœnicians, Legends of— Minorca Colonized — Cities built there by the Carthaginians — CONTENTS. XVI PAGE Birth-Place of Hannibal— Slings and Slingers— Invasion of the Moors — Moorish Conquest — Charlemagne — Pisan Invasion — Islands resold to the Moors — Birth of Don Jaime el Conquistador — His Baptism — Conquest of Majorca — Taking of Palma — Successors of Don Jaime — Strange Table of Kings — Union of the Country with Spain — Invention of Printing — Proclamation of the Constitution — Present Prospects of the Islands 41

Chapter IV

The Character of the Inhabitants — African Appearance of the Country — Attire of the Peasantry — Hospitality— Manufactures — Commerce of Catalonia — Spanish Custom- Houses, amusing Anecdotes of— Smuggling in Spain and Majorca — Festivals — Singular Customs — Dancing in Church — Funeral Ceremonies — National Cuisine — The Puchero — Gentleness of Character — Horror of Capital Punishments — Contrivances to avoid them — Singular Trial at Malaga — Military Justice — Parity of Murder3 — Stone Crosses falling into Decay 72

Chapter V

Church Establishment — Bishopric of Palma — Santa Catalina — Saint Vincent Ferrer — The Inquisition— Its Monuments — Treatment of Jews— Chuetas — Contempt for them — Victims of the Inquisition — Specimens of its Severity — Church in Minorca —Chapel of Saint Agatha — Marriage — Curious Anecdote of a Young Majorcan Couple — Customs in the Churches — Mode of Adorning them 106

Chapter VI

Language of the Islands — Languedocian Origin — Curious Peculiarities in it — Popular Songs — Specimens of Poetry CONTENTS. XVII PAGE and Poetical Feeling — Ancient Poems and Inscriptions — — Troubadours — Serenades — Characteristics of Spanish Song — Music, its Moorish Character 125

Chapter VII

Remarkable Buildings in Palma — The Palacio Real — Its Origin and Present Appearance— Lonja, Origin of the Word — Those of Palma and Valencia — Portraits of Sovereigns—Anecdote of Queen Elizabeth — Of an English Nobleman — Puseyite School of Painting — Moorish Remains — Baths — Arch of the Almudena — Baths in Barcelona and Gerona — Street Architecture of Palma— Moorish Windows — Balconies and their Occupants ..... 132

Chapter VIII

Bull-Fights in Majorca — Recently Introduced — Difference of, in Different Localities — Lisbon — Seville — Palma — Lima — Capital Punishment inflicted by Bulls — Manner of conducting the Fusion in Madrid — Montes — His Gracefulness and Skill — Atrocities at Barcelona and Malaga — Shocking Custom at Lima — Conversation with a Spanish Gentleman on Bull-Fighting — His Defence and Theory of it 149

Chapter IX

Visit to the Cathedral — Number of the Clergy — Rose Windows — Organ — Music — Mode of raising Funds for the Building — Armorial Bearings — Screen — Tomb of Don Jaime IL— His Body Embalmed— Made an Exhibition— CONTENTS. PAQB 205 Treasures of the Sacristy — Rich Robes of the Bishops and Priests— Chair of Charles V. — Shrines and Relics — Anec dote of Ferdinand VII.— Maces and Candlesticks— Tomb of Don Gil Munoz, Bishop of Palma 168

Chapter X

Public Institutions — Prison — Casa di Misericordia — Don Antonio Battle — His Self-Devotion — Success of his Labours — Foundling Hospital — Don Sebastian Gili — Morals of the Island — Amiable Trait of the Majorcan Women — ■ Expenses of Public Establishments — Hospital — Mode of Ventilation — Used as an Asylum for the Insane, and a Lying-in Hospital — Statistics of Insanity — Schools and Colleges— Convent of Nuestra Senora del Puig .... 182

Chapter XI

Ranks of People — Government — Statistics — Agriculture — Shipping — Commerce — Small Islands — Convents Suppressed — Fuente Seca, its Romantic Legend — Dragonera, its Watch-To wer — Lighthouses — Capes and Harbours. .

Chapter XII

Visit to Soller— Calesa— Bad Eoads— Original Character- Comforts of the Peasantry — Abundance of Fruit — Discourse with Mules— Spanish Philosophy on the Subject — Soller — Market-place — Habits of Spanish Life — Anglo- Saxon Obstinacy — Mountain Storm— Perils in the Midnight Forest— Providential Deliverance— House of Marquis de Sollerich— Stables and their Occupants— Return o Palma — Effects of the Storm CONTENTS. XIX

Chapter XIII. Fage

Valdemosa — Its Monastery — Foundation — Present Condition — George Sand — Island Prej udices about Consumption — Climate of Majorca — Difficulties attending the Dissolution of the Religious Houses — Conversation with a Farmer — Curious Adventure in a Carthusian Monastery — Saying of Gerrardo Lobo — Beauty of Miramar — Cell of Raymond Lully— Population of Small Towns — Felanitz, its Manufactory—Mosaic at Son Fiol — Moorish House, Al Alfabia 214

Chapter XIV

Castle of Belver — Peculiarities of its Construction — Confinement of Jovellanos — Anecdote of Arago — Curious Mistakes of the Islanders — Escape permitted by the Spanish Authorities — Alaro — Saints Cabrit and Bassa — Their Claim to the Title — Conversation on the Subject— Dialogue between St. Anselm and St. Lanfranc — Castillo del Rey — Alarm of the People — How Caused — Singular Panic — Punishment of the Innocent Culprit — Martial Law — Palma in a state of Siege 259

Chapter XV

Alcudia— Its Unhealthy Position— Its Honours — The Runnymede of Majorca — Verses made in its Honour — Arta — Entrance to the Caverns — First Chamber — Deep Silence —Second Chamber — Brilliant Stalactites— Effect of Fireworks— Hall ofthe Serpent — Subterranean Lake — Strange Reflections — Sepulchral Chambers — Exploit of an Englishman — Similar Achievement at Home — Simplicity of Manners — Home-grown and Foreign Honesty .... XX CONTENTS.

Chapter XVI. Pagz

Pedigree of Napoleon — Arms found in Majorca — In Barcelona — Arguments for a French Origin for the Emperor — Chief Houses of Majorca — Family Pride, curious Instances of — Spanish Names — Family of Despuig — The Great Cardinal— Titles of Honour in Majorca — List of Titled Families 296 Appenmx MAJOECA, HELLAS, AND IONIA, <fcc. &c

Chapter I. Arrival At Palma

— CONFUSION AT LANDING — CUSTOM-HOUSE — HOTELS — PORTERS — CASA D . PUPILOS — PASSPORTS, REQUIRED TO BE TRANSLATED — QUARANTINE — GENERAL ASPECT OP THE CITY — ALAMEDA — PENNY POSTAGE — LIBRARY — MUSEUM — PICTURE GAL- LERY — PORTRAITS OF THE QUEEN AND KING— ANECDOTE OF A PORTRAIT OF QUEEN VICTORIA — SPANISH LOYALTY. I shall spare the reader the details of a journey so well known as that through France. Railroads are the same in every part of the world; they facilitate the intercourse of nations, hut they make us acquainted neither with the scenery nor the manners of the country they traverse. It was about five A.M. on a brilliant morning in last August, that I was awakened in my berth VOL. I. B BULLS AND CATALANS. by sundry noises over head, and was greeted with the pleasing intelligence that her Catholic Ma jesty's mail steamer Mallorquin had arrived in the harbour of Palma.

Those who know Medi terranean ships and Mediterranean seamen can form a sufficient idea of the noise, confusion, bustle, and hubbub which always attend such an event; but when they know besides that we brought from Barcelona six bulls and seventy Catalans, and that the latter all expressed, and doubtless felt, the most lively interest in the safe landing of the former, and seemed each to con sider his personal inspection and assistance neces sary to the achievement, they will perceive that the ordinary elements of disturbance must have been multiplied tenfold. Half the idlers of Palma, too, came down to witness the disembarking of the "toros," and added their voices and directions to the interference of the passengers. In the midst of this Babel I followed my friend M on deck, and took up a commanding position on the top of a hogshead, from whence we surveyed with philosophic calmness the excited mass below.

All things however have an end ; the bulls, des- CUSTOM HOUSE AND HOTELS. 3 tined in a few days to perish in the arena, were landed; the Catalans, gentle and simple, had accompanied or followed them, and we, leaving the steamer, had submitted our portmanteaus to the examination of the " aduaneros." A peseta to the porter of the custom-house, and the assurance to the superior officer that we had no con traband articles, secured us from any further interference than merely unlocking the trunks. Nothing was touched, and we were dismissed with a bow, and a good-humoured smile, to enter the city. Generally speaking, " discretion is the better part of valour," but we soon had sore misgivings that our case formed an exception. By quietly waiting till the bulls and the Catalans had landed, we lost at least an hour, and on arriving at " El Vapor" the principal hotel in Palma, we were received with the assurance that there was no room for us.

" Las Tres Palomas was an excellent fonda, and we might get accommodation there ;" but the Catalans had been before us there also, and we were compelled to try in succession all the fondas and posadas that Palma has to b2 CASA DE PUPILOS. boast of— and all in vain ! Up streets of stairs, and down precipitous lanes, we wended our weary way, trying here a casa de pupilos, and there a fonda, our two indefatigable porters seeking out new chances for us, and obliged to rest every now and then their somewhat heavy burden, till at last — "oh, sound of joy !" — in the " Calle de las Monjas de Misericordia," — (I wonder how the name of such a street would be abbreviated in London !) — we found a " casa de pupilos," a boarding-house, with apartments disengaged, and were told that we might install ourselves at once.

The first duty was of course to discharge the porters who had brought our luggage, and we were pleasingly astonished to find that, for carry ing two heavy portmanteaus and two carpet-bags, three hours up and down the streets of Palma, and taking considerable trouble in locating us, they considered a dollar such abundant remune ration as to call for the most profuse acknowledg ments. Our abode was on the second floor, and con sisted of a sala, or sitting-room, with a bed-room AGREEMENT WITH LANDLADY. 5 at each end ; the furniture was sufficient for the exigencies of a warm climate, and everything was scrupulously clean. Our landlady, Dona Juana, was approaching to elderly, but active and very obliging ; and the terms we made with her were, that she should provide us with breakfast, dinner and dessert, supper and wine, for four pesetas each per diem, which would amount to about twenty-two shillings per week, terms which were considered very high ; but then we had the privi lege of choosing our dinners, and leaving without notice whenever we thought fit.

We had no cause to repent of our agreement, for Dofia Juana not only consulted our wishes in every way, but racked her invention and the Palma markets to find delicacies for us during an indisposition from which I suffered while in her house. Then she took great pains to teach us Majorcan, and was evidently repaid with interest by the amusement which our mixture of Castilian and Majorcan afforded her ; so that, all things considered, we did not at all regret that " the Vapor " and " the Three Doves " could not take us in. Our first business, after being comfortably POLICIA. settled in our new abode, was to visit the Policia and the English consul, that our passports might be in order ; the latter was a Spanish merchant, and as English visitors are scarce in the Balearic islands, he could not foresee that his being absent and leaving no substitute could be the cause of any inconvenience : we visited his house again and again, but five days passed before we could see him.

At the Policia we were received by a middle aged gentleman, who looked at our passports with much amazement ; first, he requested information as to who on earth Lord Palmerston might be, and then begged that I would be so good as to translate the document into Spanish, which having done to his satisfaction, we were referred to the " Gobierno," and obtained the requisite permission to reside. Part of this formality arose from the fact that the cholera was supposed to be raging in France, and those who came through France into Spain by sea, were subjected to a heavy and most vexatious quarantine. We coming from Barcelona, and having arrived at that city by land, escaped this; and had we been subjected to QUARANTINE LAWS. 7 it, should have felt doubly annoyed, knowing full well that there was no cholera in France at all.

The real cause of the measure was a desire to retaliate on the French. Ships from Barcelona to Marseilles were obliged to go to a place thirty miles distant to get the necessary papers, and in revenge for this, the Spanish authorities at Bar celona took advantage of a fit of indigestion, suffered by an old gentleman at Marseilles, and declared that the cholera was at that city. Four teen days' quarantine was the least that could be imposed, and as it was advisable to keep the air at Barcelona as free from suspicion as possible, the unfortunate Frenchmen, and passengers by French packets or ships, were sent to perform quarantine in the harbour of Port Mahon in Minorca. Among the many reasons against the whole system of quarantine laws, it is not the least that they can be, and are, made the instrument of carrying on civic and mercantile squabbles.

The example of Barcelona was followed by the Italian states ; and all along the coasts of the Mediter ranean, commerce was hindered and travellers ASPECT OF PALMA. delayed, when it was perfectly well known to all the authorities that there had not been a case of cholera in France for many weeks. All this we for the present escaped, and were at liberty to perambulate the Balearic islands as much as we pleased. The aspect of Palma from the bay is very striking. A httle to the right of the usual land ing-places rises the vast mass of the cathedral, towering over houses and fortifications. To the left, the Palacio Real lifts its imposing front ; between them the exquisitely beautiful Lonja, or Exchange, presents its light pinnacles above the battlements of the town-wall; while far away in the same direction the eye rests on the castle of Belver, once the residence of the kings of Majorca, and since still more celebrated as having been the prison of Jovellanos and Arago.

The city is strongly fortified. I am hardly a judge of the matter, but I should think Palma more capable of standing a siege than most towns I have seen, and the ramparts afford a series of the most romantic views both of the town and the country. The streets are narrow, but with PLACA DE LA CONSTITUCION. 9 few exceptions clean and well drained : there are some fine plazas, or squares, and a broad rambla, planted with trees on each side, and furnished, hke most alamedas, with stone benches. Here the population of Palma do what they call " taking the cool," when the business of the day is over; and here are carried on many of those little flirta tions from which the Majorcans, innocent as they are, are not wholly free. Here, too, are cafes, where ices, agraz-frio, orgeat, and other cooling lux uries are to be obtained, and where the " cigareto " is sometimes seen between rosy lips.

Great varieties of costume prevail, every man deeming himself at liberty to wear what kind of attire is most pleasing in his own eyes, so that the Majorcan fashions are occasionally more characterised by diversity than by elegance. As the evening advances, the various groups scatter, the promenaders disperse ; the twinkling lights one by one disappear ; the cafes are closed ; gaiety has given way to the soft voluptuous silence of a Mediterranean night, and the gas — for they have gas at Palma — Ihe gas alone remains to light the sereno, or watchman, as he goes his b3 MOORISH RELICS. round, and chants his long-drawn plaintive cry, " most musical, most melancholy." The town is by no means so eastern in its appearance as the great Moorish cities of southern Spain, Cordova, Seville, and Granada; and yet it is sufficiently so to give it a semi-oriental character.

One street is called "the Street of the Moorish Arch ; " there* are Moorish baths and relics seemingly Moorish continually meet the eye; but in general the architecture is European, though not that of modern Europe ; the style is that of the sixteenth century in Spain, and the new houses have been built on the same plan as the old, till within the last few years. Many parts of the city are remarkable for the deep silence which prevails in them. The projecting eaves of the houses make almost a roof for the street, and the effect is solemn without being melancholy : — the dim light, the perfect quietude, the luxurious atmosphere, all seem adapted for the reveries of a poet ; and if Majorca has produced none of great eminence, it is certainly not for want of excitements to the poetical temperament.

Save in particular localities, there are no carriages, no PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. street criers, no signs of hurry and earnest business ; the exchange is empty and locked up, there are no beggars ! little or no street music save in the evening — no reviews. All these negatives tend to produce a general feeling of repose, yet there is no lack of amusement, and public amusement too : there is a theatre, a plaza de toros, an opera, concerts, academies of science and art, an archæological society, museums, and a library of 40,000 volumes. Such are some of the advantages which the capital of Majorca offers to its inhabitants, to which must be added a climate as near perfection as possible; abundance and cheap ness of excellent provisions, and romantic scenery both by land and sea. The communcation between these islands and the rest of the world takes place once a-week by way of Barcelona, and the post is therefore heb domadal ; and as the quiet denizens of this tran quil region seem to carry on but a scanty correspondence among themselves, another ele ment of calmness is added to those which already constitute the moral atmosphere of the Balearic Archipelago.

The post-office is very well managed, POST OFFICE. and the greatest attention and civility is shown to those who have to transact business there. I mention this, not because it is an extraordinary circumstance, but because it is far more usual abroad than at home. There is throughout the Spanish dominions one uniform postage rate of six cuartos, about three-halfpence, and the stamp is an imitation of our own, bearing a tolerable portrait of Isabel Segunda. The tobacconists only have the right of selling postage stamps ; and as letters are not received at the offices unstamped, there is always a shop close to the post-office with the royal arms suspended above the door. This is one among many proofs of the rapid advances which Spain is now making; and when the circum stances of the country are taken into consideration, it will be seen that the six-cuarto postage is a far greater sacrifice to the spirit of progress than was the penny postage among ourselves ; the dis tances traversed are much greater, the expense of carriage incalculably heavier —there are no rail ways — few manufacturing towns — wide districts are mere pasturage — Spain itself is one great mountain broken into pieces ; the correspondence DUKE OF VALENCIA. 13 can scarcely amount to one-tenth of our own, and its increase, though perceptible, is yet exceedingly slow.

In spite of all these difficulties the six-cuarto rate has been established, and will have its full effect in developing the noble resources of the country. It is to Narvaez that Spain owes this boon ; it is to him that the tranquillity of the country is mainly attributable : he has repressed insurrec tion, encouraged commerce, promoted the arts. Unlearned himself, he has fostered learning in others ; and with a most determined and despotic temper, he has given Spain more real liberty than she ever enjoyed before. To those who like to know the personal pecu liarities of distinguished men, it may be satisfactory to be told that the Duque de Valencia is about fifty years of age, of middle stature and well pro portioned. His countenance is stern and resolute, and his manners frank and soldier-like.

In his dress he is scrupulously particular, and affects a little the "petit maitre," studying with evident care the Parisian fashions, and appearing in uniform only when military regulations require it. It is probable that his loss will be soon and deeply felt. PENNY POSTAGE. This is, however, a digression from the postage question. The Spanish rate contrasts very favour ably with the French. The government of the republic began their postage reform with a stamp of twenty centimes (eight cuartos), or two-pence, and when the immediate effect was found to be a reduction in the revenue, (as indeed it needed no prophet to foretel), then the government took fright and raised the rate to twenty-five centimes (ten cuartos), or two pence halfpenny, so that at present the transmission of a letter in France, where the expenses are much smaller, and the amount of correspondence tenfold, costs nearly twice as much as in Spain.