body, and in a straight line with their hips; a fashion, by the by, which I do not admire, though I grant it contributes to keep the chest elevated; but it encroaches too much on our military style, and introduces a stiffness which is altogether inconsistent with feminine grace.

"About noon, the ladies are at home, employed in their needle work, or some other occupation; for I must do the Spanish ladies the justice to say, that though the gentlemen seldom set them the example, they are never idle; for even when visiting their friends, they carry their work in their reticles. This being the time when they receive the morning calls of their acquaintances, the gentlemen drop in to entertain the ladies with their conversation; often bringing those friends who have just arrived in town, and to whom the lady and gentleman of the house never fail to make an offer of it, and of every thing it contains. The facility with which a stranger gains admission into any house renders society the more varied, and manners the more open and lively. After such an offer as I have just alluded to, the party is expected to go as often as he pleases.

"The sound of the brass mortar in which the various herbs for the sauces, &c., are pounded, indicates that the dinner hour is fast approaching. The visitors then take their hats, and wish the ladies a good appetite. This happens, generally, at one, and in a few houses between two and three. Immediately after dinner, they all retire to their respective rooms, to take the siesta, or afternoon sleep-a custom I had not yet contracted, except in the most sultry days of summer, when the intensity of the heat produces a langour and a drowsiness which are irresistible.

"In the afternoon, about sunset in the summer, and at three in the winter, the ladies and gentlemen all repair either to the Alamedas, or shaded walks, generally by the side of the rivers; or to the Tapias, or walks along the city walls, that are sheltered from the cold winds, and enlivened by the sunshine; the choice of these depends on the particular season of the year. After the promenade, all retire to a bollilleria to drink ices, or go home to take their chocolate; and in the evening they go either to the theatre or else to the tertulia."

The rest of this volume is occupied with matter chiefly connected with the progress of the war, and runs parallel with the course of political events up to the year 1814.

The commencement of the third and last volume of Don Esteban is occupied with many curious particulars connected with the Inquisition, the restoration of which was among the first acts of the restored Ferdinand's government. The author is, through the intrigues of some of his enemies, thrown into the prison of that Institution; whence he escapes by the assistance of a political friend, and is by his intervention enabled to procure an appointment in the Royal Guard, which is stationed immediately about the King's person: accounting to us (though not very satisfactorily) for his acceptance of such an appointment, by stating the possibility of its giving him the means of procuring the recall of his father-who had been exiled since the King's return, for his previous political opinions.

After directing the reader's attention to an interesting account of the celebrated bull-fighter of the day-Candido-whom Esteban now first had an opportunity of seeing, we must confine the rest of our extracts to some most singular passages relating to Ferdinand himself, and the scenes which the author professes to have been an eye and ear witness to, during the performance of his official duties about the King's person. The following portrait of Ferdinand will be read with interest.

"It is not easy for me to describe the various feelings with which I beheld,

for the first time, the author of my country's misfortunes. Curiosity, indignation, and disgust were so blended together, that it is impossible to say which predominated most: but the impression his whole appearance left on my mind was more defined. His figure, large beyond proportion, does not exceed the middle height; his countenance, pale and sickly, has no peculiar expression about it, save a vacancy of thought, corresponding to the flaccidity of his appearance; his features, though rather marked, do not offer any of those characteristics which might be expected from one who so invariably pursues the same line of conduct; there is even a versatility about them which astonishes without pleasing;—a forehead running backwards; a nose in the form of a hook, an inflexible mouth, with the lower lip protruding beyond the upper one, and in a straight line with an ill-shaped chin, low and flat cheeks, and long and straight jaws, form a disagreeable tout-ensemble, almost amounting to deformity. His eyes, though not quite large enough to be called fine, are by far the best part of his physiognomy; they even possess some animation, and enliven a little the melancholy aspect of the whole countenance. His habit of constantly smoking has turned his teeth nearly black, and given his breath a disagreeable odour, perceivable even at some distance."

The latter part of what follows is scarcely credible, considering the open manner in which it appears to have been acted. The reader must at all events be left to judge of it for himself. All we can do is to say that the author, who in his preface declares that all he has related is to be received as simple matter-of-fact, here repeats the assertion in a note.

“Every day the king gave audience to those who had any thing to ask, in summer at about five, before he went to the promenade, and in winter after his return from it. In the six years of absolutism, the usual number of petitioners who came daily, amounted to about forty, and there remained almost every week about a hundred and sixty persons, who had not succeeded in seeing the king. In the time of the Constitution, the number of those who came weekly never exceeded thirty. In these audiences the king stood behind a kind of balustrade; the captain of the guards a little further on his right hand, a gentil hombre on his left, and a garzon behind the captain of the guards. The memorialists came in by one door, and as they knelt down to deliver their petition into the king's hands, were at liberty verbally to explain the contents of it, and then retired by another door. The king in taking the petition, gave it to the captain of the guards, who handed it over to the garzon, and, if he formed on the spot the resolution to grant the demand, he first doubled one end of it. All these petitions were afterwards read to him by the secretary of decrees, and if he granted their request, he would write the letter C, otherwise an N.

"Many of those amorous intrigues, which he carried on in a most scandalous and notorious manner, sprang from these audiences. Whenever he saw a lady at them who pleased him, he nodded to the captain of the guards, who in his turn made a sign to the garzon, who never failed to go and meet the fair petitioner as she left the hall, and inform her he had orders from the captain of the guards to desire her to call at his apartments, on the following day at such an hour, to receive his majesty's answer. Hither the king came, and granted or refused her request, according as he found her disposed to grant or oppose his wishes. Some of the most abandoned women have through similar means, and under various pretences, obtained large sums of money.

"A titled lady, of Castille, whose house I visited almost daily, was once singled out in the above manner. Calling upon her one morning about eleven, I was surprised to see almost every pane of glass in her apartment, the looking-glasses, vases, and chimney-ornaments, broken into a thousand pieces, and a beautiful breakfast china service scattered about the ground, the lady herself was reclining on a sofa, her face covered with a handkerchief, and weeping most bitterly. I

begged her to explain the reason of that extraordinary sight: she wept and besitated a long time, and at last told me, that having had occasion to demand t favour of the king, she had gone with her daughter to his audience and received an intimation by the garzon, to repair on the following day to the Duke de Alagon's apartments, where she had met the king, who told her, in no very delicate terms, that he had become enamoured of her daughter, and must see her next day, for which purpose he would go to her own house to breakfast. As it was impossible for her to refuse him admission into her house, she made the neces sary preparations to receive him, but desired her daughter not to appear. In fact he came that morning accompanied by the Duke de Alagon, and finding that her daughter was not called, notwithstanding his repeated commands, became so outrageous, that he, assisted by the Duke, broke every thing in her apartment, as I saw it there, and after loading her with abusive language, retired fulminating threats against her!

The following story is not less extraordinary —

"Another night, while I was on guard at the door of the king's apartments, I received the order not to call to arms if I saw the king come out. Soon after be made his appearance, and all my comrades, as were customary on these secret occasions, hastened to their apartments behind the screen. Before he went out, he gave the queen to understand that he was going to the office of the Minister of Finance to transact business; a thing which he was in the habit of doing both at night and in the morning; but the Infante Don Carlos, who had particular reasons to be displeased with his brother, and who had heard him make an appointment with the duke and Chamorro, came soon after into the queen's apartments, and informed her of it. At first she would not give credit to it, but the Infante, the better to convince her of the truth of this, took her to the king's cabinet, where he ought to have been, and then caused the duke and Chamorro to be called to her, who also of course could not be found.

"Her jealousy thus excited, she became excessively irritated, and waited the king's return. No sooner did he appear, than she received him, not with her usual blandishments and smiles, but with sharp nails-tearing handfuls of hair from his head, and at the same time saying in Portuguese,-So you've been with the Captain of the Guards to see your mistress, eh ?-Well, take that!'

"Ferdinand, surprised at this unusual reception, tried to learn who had given her this information, and having found it out, went in a rage to the Infante's apartments, and striking him on the face, told him angrily, that no one but a tattler like him would have been guilty of such a trick.

"The Infante, seizing a shovel, shook it at him, saying that at that moment he neither considered himself as the Infante, nor him as the King, and challenged him to fight a duel, as he would not brook such an insult. Ferdinand, who to his other good qualities joins that of cowardice, was quite alarmed at seeing the Infante seize the shovel, and run away, vowing he would send him into exile, and have his life if he could. In fact, on the following day he caused a decree to be drawn up for the banishment of the Infante to Aranjuez, till he could be tried: and called upon his counsel to sign it. One of the counsellors, a man possessing more prudence and foresight than his master, and a little more boldness than his colleagues, said, that although he knew he himself were to be condemned to death, he would not sign such a decree; for he considered the throne as already tottering to its foundation by the discontent which was daily becoming more general, and which could not fail to be considerably increased by such a step. This, and the prayers of the other Infantes, obliged Ferdinand to sacrifice to policy his thirst for vengeance."

The last volume of these memoirs contains much matter scarcely less curious than the foregoing; but we must here close our account.

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