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of servants throughout all the large towns and cities of both Spain and Portugal. They have everywhere the character of a hardy, frugal, honest, and industrious race of people. In Madrid they receive as servants ten cents a day and their food. In Lisbon alone there are 20,000 of them, each one of whom pays to the Spanish minister there a dollar a year for his passport or protection, and more than half that sum to the Portuguese police for his permit or paper of residence. The average annual expense of supplying Madrid with water, by means of fountains, is between $35,000 and $36,000. Clothes are washed on the banks of the Manzanares, where each woman has a little box, in which she kneels and washes her clothes in the running stream. In Portugal the washwomen commonly stand in the water, with their clothes secured in such a way as to give them the appearance of the large bag trowsers of the Turks.

The population of Madrid, according to the census of 1831, was 211,127, exclusive of 49,400 in the surrounding villages. Of those within the walls 51,324 were under sixteen years of age. Of unmarried men and women above sixteen years of age, there were 66,740; of the married of both sexes, 67,519; of widows and widowers, 22,790; of the secular clergy, 692; of monks and friars, 1,309; of nuns, 753. The number of births in 1831 was 5,684, and of deaths 4,128. The number of houses in Madrid is 8,000, in 540 groups or squares, thus making a little more than 26 persons to a house. Indeed, in the house in which I boarded, as it was large and central, there were 15 distinct families. There are in the city 492 streets, 17 parishes, 38 convents for males, and 32 for females, 19 hospitals, including that for foundlings, 4 prisons, 16 colleges, 9 academies, 4 public libraries, 4 museums, and 3 theatres. The number of houses built from 1815 to 1832 was 753, which is but little less than one tenth of the whole number in the city. Hence, Madrid has quite a modern appearance, and, with regard to its houses and the breadth of the streets, much more nearly resembles the large cities in the United States than those of Europe. There are in Madrid about 150 churches, mostly of the Grecian styles of architecture, and adorned within with a profusion of gilding and images, but none of them will compare at all with the splendid Cathedrals to be met with in other parts of Spain.

Though Madrid is not well supplied either with water or

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with common sewers, still, owing in a great degree to the efficiency of the present mayor, it is cleaner than most of the cities of Southern Europe. The streets are paved with flat stones, and all the principal ones have good sidewalks. The street of Alcala, which leads, by a gradual descent, from the Gate of the Sun to the Prado, is one of the broadest and finest in the world. It is lined on each side by large and splendid buildings, and only requires to be planted with avenues of trees, like the Rambla in Barcelona, to make it justly the pride of every Spanish heart. Madrid is lighted by 4,770 lamps, which are placed about 53 feet from each other in the wide streets, and 85 in those which are narrow. annual expense of these lights is more than $ 45,000. The experiment of gas lights has been tried to a limited extent, and a contract has been made to extend them through the whole city, provided it can be done at an expense not greater than that of the present mode of lighting. There is reason to fear, however, that the project will fail, from the fact that oil must be used for manufacturing the gas, which will make it too expensive. The abundance of mineral coal in England, and the cheapness with which machinery can be made there, reduces the expense of each gas light, in the large cities, to from three and a half to four pounds sterling a year, or about five cents each night. In Paris, the expense of gas is such that it is used only for the Boulevards, and some of the principal streets. There is, indeed, an abundance of coal in Asturias, and other provinces of Spain; but such is the expense of conveyance, from the want of railroads and canals, that it is not brought to the capital. There are, in Madrid, 150 watchmen, each one of whom, when on duty, carries a small lantern, and a long pike or lance. They have a high character for vigilance and efficiency.

When Joseph Bonaparte was king of Spain, he began to level the buildings, with a view of making a street directly from the Palace to the Gate of the Sun, which, there uniting with the street of Alcala, would have formed a noble avenue through the heart of the city, from one extremity to the other. This project, however, has never been executed.

Among the highest ornaments of Madrid, are the Paseos, or public grounds, for walking or riding. Of these, the Florida extends along the bank of the Manzanares, for two or three miles, and is lined, on both sides, by rows of lofty trees. The Delicias extends, by a gradual descent, from the Gate of

Atocha, to the canal without the walls, and has two divisions of three streets each; those in the middle being for carriages, and the others for foot passengers. But by far the finest promenade in Madrid, and one of the finest in Europe, is El Prado, or the Meadow, so called from the state in which it formerly was. During the last century, however, it was lev elled, and planted with a vast number of trees, which have now grown to a large size. These, together with the numer ous marble seats, on which the weary may rest, and eight large and beautiful fountains with which it is adorned, make it a truly delightful place of resort. It occupies a valley between the city and the elevated gardens of the Buen Retiro, and has, on either side, some of the finest public buildings in Madrid. Its length is near two miles, and parallel rows of trees reach this whole extent, leaving, in the middle, a space about 200 feet in width, for foot passengers, and on each side of this, a road for carriages. The central point of attraction, however, is the Saloon, a portion of the Prado, extending about a fourth of a mile from the entrance of the street of Alcala. There, during the warmer days of winter, all the wealth and fashion of the city, from royalty downwards, may be seen, between the hours of twelve and three o'clock, all with their finest dresses and their brightest smiles, exchanging bows and glances, and enjoying the delightful excitement arising from healthful exercise and the free interchange of friendly feeling. During the mild summer evenings, too, numerous little parties of friends collect together under the lofty trees, and there partake of refreshments, and engage in a variety of social amusements.

The Gardens of Buen Retiro are near a mile in length and three-fourths of a mile in breadth. Though in an elevated and exposed position, and much injured during the French war, they are still a pleasant and popular place of resort. Aside from the interest they derive from numerous walks, lined with trees, and a large variety of flowering shrubs and plants, as also from the royal collection of wild animals exhibited there, there is likewise an artificial lake, about a thousand feet in length, and half as broad, where boys skate in the winter, and the royal family sometimes take a sail in the summer. The Botanic Garden lies along the Prado, and contains a large number of plants, arranged according to the classification of Linnæus. It is enclosed by a lofty iron railing, which, while it protects what is within from injury, at

the same time leaves its beauty and its fragrance to refresh and delight the senses of every passer-by.

There are but few convents in Madrid which deserve any particular notice. One has some celebrity from its being the burial-place of Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote; and another from its having been the place of retirement for the Empress Maria, and the Infantas Dorothea and Maria Anna, of Austria; St. Margaret, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian, and other ladies of high birth. The Convent of Salesas Viejas was erected by Ferdinand the Sixth and his Queen, as a place of education for young ladies of noble families. It covers a large extent of ground, and cost near $ 1,000,000, exclusive of the gold, silver, precious stones, and splendid robes, with which the Queen enriched it.

The most magnificent building in Madrid, is the Royal Palace. It occupies a gentle eminence at the western extremity of the city, overlooking the beautiful valley of the Manzanares, and commanding a fine view of the bold mountain ranges in the distance. Its site is that of the ancient Moorish Alcazar, which, having been burned and overthrown by an earthquake, was afterwards rebuilt, and the Emperor Charles the Fifth changed it into a palace. This latter was burned in 1734, and rebuilt a few years after, in its present form. The principal material is granite, though white marble is used to some extent in ornamenting the windows, and other parts of the structure. It is a hollow square, 140 feet in diameter within, and 470 without. There is a colonnade and gallery entirely surrounding the inner square. The numerous columns with which the palace is adorned, are of the Ionic order, while the pilastres are Doric. The rich fresco paintings, by the first masters, which adorn the interior, together with the magnificent furniture, and the splendid works of art which abound there, give the Royal Palace of Madrid a superiority over almost any other. Still, it is deficient in gardens and pleasure-grounds, nor will it compare in size with the palace of the King of Naples, at Caserta, to say nothing of the finely-wooded park of the latter, the beautiful cascade, the church and theatre, and that splendid staircase, the noblest in the world, enclosed with richly-polished marbles, and adorned with high-wrought statues of animals and men. But then the Royal Palace at Madrid is but one of eight or ten belonging to the royal family of Spain, each one of which has its striking and peculiar beauties.

The Royal Library occupies a building near the Palace, and contains 200,000 volumes, besides a large number of manuscripts. No noise is allowed there; it is well furnished with chairs and tables for all who wish to read, and is open to the public, free of expense, except on festival days. In the same building is the Museum of Medals, which contains one of the largest collections in the world. There are 150,000 medals, of the Greeks, Romans, Goths, Arabs, and other na. tions, commemorating many distinguished events, and all completely classified and arranged. There is also a multitude of cameos, and a collection of mosaics, sepulchral lamps, idols, statues, and numerous other curiosities. The coins and medals are valued at $200,000.

Contiguous to the Library is the Royal Armory, which occupies a gallery, 36 feet broad, 21 high, and 227 long. The walls are entirely covered with swords, shields, spears, lances, helmets, coats of mail, and every variety of costly and curious weapons, both offensive and defensive, from the days of Hannibal and Julius Cæsar, down to the present time. Among these are the suits of armour worn by the heroic Cid, those of Ferdinand and Isabella, both of whom used to take the field; of Hernan Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, and numerous other warriors of an early date. From these, one may see the size and form of those to whom they belonged. The ceiling above is hung with standards captured at the battle of Lepanto, and in other engagements; while in the centre of the room are a number of statues of the early kings, mounted, and both themselves and their horses arrayed in splendid armour of highly polished steel, such as they wore on great occasions, during their lifetime. That of the Emperor Charles the Fifth, with which he entered Tunis, as also that presented him by the citizens of Rome, when he was crowned, are extremely gorgeous. Indeed, nothing could exceed the magnificent appearance of a host of these ancient warriors, superbly mounted, and both themselves and their horses completely enveloped in highly polished steel, reflecting, with a dazzling brilliancy, the rays of the morning or the noonday sun.

The Military Museum occupies what was once a palace of Godoy, the Prince of the Peace, only a single room of which, however, escaped the fury of the mob, which defaced it and destroyed the furniture, when he was overthrown; and this still remains as an evidence of the former magnificence of the

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