When the members of the royal family happen to be a Madrid, during Passion week,-on foot, dressed in black, and sur And you, respectable archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal Lorenzana; you now enjoy the re compense promised to the just. This pious prelate during the whole time of the persecu-rounded by a numerous train of grandees, tion, not only employed the uttermost of his and guards, they all attend the procession, princely incone, but even incurred debts, in and increase the majesty of the ceremony by order to support the French ecclesiastics who their august presence. took refuge in his dioceses, I say dioceșes, because the archbishop of Toledo is at the same ine bishop of Madrid. This same archbishop-cardinal repaired, and re-established, at his own expence, the Alcazar of Toledo, the ancient habitation of the Gothic kings; and formed establishments in that palace, where the indigent receives succours from his infancy to his death. Two hundred children are brought up there with care; seven hundred poor are employed in silk manufactures; and old men meet with a hospitable retreat for their last days. MADRID. After eight days' travelling I reached Madrid. I entered that capital by the gate of Alcala; but a bird's eye view of the city must be taken to discover the Custom-house, the Post-office, and the Plaça-inayor. This square is almost at the centre of the city, on the left, and at some distance from the postoffice. The city of Madrid, the capital of Spain, is situated under 40° 38 min. N. lat. long. 14 23 min. From Don Ferdinand GonTo particularise all the individuals who zales, in the year 904 down to Garcia, Cashave distinguished themselves by their benevo tille was governed by Counts. Garcia died lent generosity in times of calamity, would without issue, and the sovereignty devolved be to name every prelate in Spain. on his sister Nuria, who married Sanchez Ought I not to mention the bishop of Cor-the Great, King of Navarre. That sovereign duba, who, over since the scarcity of 1804, erected Castile into a kingdom. Henry, the principal cause that produced the epidemi-his successor, dying without children, left the cal fevers that raged in the south of Spain, distributes among his indigentdiocesans 12,000 ratios of bread a day?-These are his carriages, his servants, and his liveries! PREACHERS AND PASSION WEEK. Nothing is more common at Madrid, than to see monks, or other religious persons, mounted on a stone, or a seat, and preaching the Gospel to the surrounding crowd. crown to his nephew Ferdinand II. King of Leon, who united the two crowns, in the year 1217. In 1477, Ferdinand and Isabella added the kingdom of Arragon to them; and from that period, Spain became a single sovereignty, divided into separate provinces. Madrid is governed, as to its civil concerns, by two corregidors, forty regidors, and as many alcades as there are districts. There is a military governor besides, and the captainedi-general of Castile resides in the city. The functions of a corregidor are of Roman origin. The Emperor Augustus named a magistrate, who was especially charged with the care of the police, and civil government of The kings who gave laws to Spain, followed cities; he gave him the name of Prætor. the example of Augustus; and established of the Romans is the Corregidor of the SpaPrætors in the principal cities of the kingdom; with this difference only, that the Prætor niards. Passion week offers a most majestic and fying sight to the observer. The numerous processions, the union of the various monastic orders, following the representations of the Passion, the different scenes of which, commemorated in paintings, are carried about by the several corporations of citizens; the general mourning (men and women are dressed absence of all kind of tumult in a large capital in deep black, during Passion week); that (for no one can ride in a carriage during three days, the shops are shut up: and the play houses, likewise, during the space of fifteen The economical part of the government of days), the crowd that fills the churches, that the capital, is entrusted to fifty-eight Gremios. general combination of Christian and moral These are the commercial corporations, that subjects, reminding the faithful of the suffer-elect the chiefs who are charged with the ings their Divine Redeemer underwent for their sake, must surely tend to bring back to principles of virtue and piety those who had been misled for a time by the transports of the passions: and society cannot hut prove a gainer by their return. Happy would the nations be, if all were animated with this same religious zeal; and if preachers of destructive doctrines did not dry up the very Sources of virtue! execution, of ordinances relative to their respective branches. Every city in Spain has its gremios, who follow the same principles and regulations as those of the capital. The fifty-eight gremios of Madrid are di vided into five gremios majores, and fiftythree minores. In the year 1733 the five head gremios obtained certain privileges from the king; and were entrusted with the laying and levying of taxes on merchants, traders, Views of Spain. and artificers. To them alone recourse is had, In 1763 the five gremios obtained leave to The first funds advanced by the members It was decided, that two directors should amount of his shares. The directors have permission to establish factories abroad, in America, and wherever they may deem it eligible, for the interests of the company. They are also allowed to take shares in banks, insurance companies, &c. &c. In order to facilitate the consumption of animal food in the capital, five markets have been established. The most considerable is that in the Plaça-mayor; the circuit of which is upwards of sixteen hundred feet. Alcades superintend the weight and quality of the provisions brought to market. pany which undertook it with an exclusive [104 privilege for thirty years. and receives the waters of the Manzanares, The canal begins at the bridge of Toledo, Xarama, and all the rivulets that are found it is intended to reach the Tagus, and fertilize, within a circumference of twenty leagues; by its numerous irrigations, that part of Castile which it will traverse. The necessity of a junction between the river Manzanares and the Tagus, had been felt so far back as the reign of John II. Philip IV. thought of it seriously, but his death Some Flemish speculators revived that project remitted the plan he had proposed, to oblivion. in 1673, but the execution of it was reserved for Charles III. canal, resigned their privileges, and it has The company, which had undertaken this since. Although it is not completed, yet been carried on at the king's expense ever considerable advantages are already derived from it, by flour mills, &c. which have been of removing, by means of vessels of six or seven erected on it, and by the facility it has afforded hundred tons burthen, all the dirt and filth of the capital, which fertilizes the fields adjacent to the canal. Although the city of Madrid be situated carries on a considerable maritime trade, by almost in the centre of the Peninsula, yet it means of factories, established principally have monopolized almost the whole importaat Cadiz and Valentia. Foreigners at Madrid tion trade. It consists in hardware, jewellery, fans, stockings, camlets, baracans, flanand spices. nels, silk stufis, fine cloths, sugar, salt-fish Among the splendid monuments which the capital of Spain contains, I must not forget to mention the magnificent bridge of the kingdom of Valentia, in articles of the The trade with the interior consists, with Segovia, on the river Manzanares. Some silk manufactures of that city, of Alcoy, wags have sarcastically asserted that this bridge Enquera, and Bocayrente; woollen cloths, wanted nothing but a river. If, during the of Alcoy and Segorva paper, and others, the summer season, the Manzanares is but a rivu- importation of which into the capital is callet, yet swelling during the winter into a dan-culated at 30,000,000 reales; with the pringerous torrent, it sufficiently shews the necessity of that bridge. It is a thousand paces in length, and twenty-two broad at its entrance; but it narrows towards the centre where it measures but twelve. It is constructed of free stone, and is lined with a parapet, adorned at regular distances with stone balls. This bridge was built under Philip II. on the plans of Don Juan de Herrera. Having crossed the superb bridge of Segovia, we cannot help following those avenues that lead to a charming walk, called la Florida, where you inhale the cooling breeze of the Manzanares, and are sheltered by lofty trees from the heat of the sun. lightful walks lead on to the canal begun in Those de the year 1770, after the plans of Don Pedro Mariinenge. Charks HI invested the com cipality of Catalonia, in the produce of its manufactures, such as cloths, flannels, cottons, paper, and silk stockings, very inferior makers of Catalonia supply nearly the whole to those of French manufacture. The shoeand boxes that are sold in that city come of the inhabitants of Madrid. The trunks likewise from Barcelona. Arragon supplies cloths manufactured at Albarracin, common Toledo and Talavera have established ribbon. woollen stuffs, from Eubielos, and Villa-real. but they do not equal their perfection as yet. manufactories on the model of those in France; The province of La Mancha furnishes wine, oil, and fruit. Brandy and spirituous liquors of the goods that are entered at the Custom are distilled in Spain; but on a recapitulation House, the foreign trade with the capital is found to exceed that with the interior by far. The population of Madrid, according to the latest accounts, amounts to about 140,000 persons. PLAÇA MAYOR. The Plaça Mayor is the largest of six places or squares in Madrid. Its circuit is one thousand five hundred and thirty-six feet. One hundred and thirty six houses, five stories high, adorned with balconies, and supported on pillars that form noble galleries, coinpose the four sides of this square. The prospect it offers is extremely beautiful, the houses bring remarkably elegant, and lofty. It is not true, as some have asserted, that all bull-fights take place in this square; that is only the case on the occasion of royal festivals: the spot commonly destined to those exhibitions being out of the city, near the gate called Alcala. THE BUEN RETIRO. I went to visit the Buen Retiro. That palace, built under Philip IV, formed the habitation of the Kings of Spain of the house of Austria. It is kept in repair at considerable expence by those of the reigning dynasty. The interior of the palace is nearly in the same state as it was left by the expelled prince. The gardens have been considerably increased and beautified: they are near a league in extent, and have been formed out of different plots of ground which the Count of Olivares engaged Philip IV to purchase. Those gardens offer delightful situations, and are open to the public. In one of the parts that have been recently added to the gardens, Charles III has caused a very extensive building to be erected, where a porcelain manufactory has been established. This very expensive establishment works for the king only, or on his account: vases of the most exquisite workmanship are made here. The hills of Guadarama supply the waters of a pond about three hundred paces square that you find in the gardens. The king, during his residence at Madrid, from the middle of June to the end of July, enjoys here the diversion of duck hunting. Among the beauties of this garden, is admired a Narcissus made of bronze viewing himself in a bason which receives a fountain to which he gives his name. This fountain is an imitation from the antique: I have seen Its model at Florence. The Lason is of black marble, and on a square of white marble you read the following inscription: Philantiam fuge; Respice Arcus: Flos es? Certo Cuoque peris. Florem te estimas, Narcisse: Certiùs citiùsque Peribis. A governor has the special care of the Buen Retiro, which is situated upon an eminence, at the extremity of the city. Never had a royal mansion less the appearance of a palace. It is a very irregular building, and exhibits nothing majestic in any one point of view. It contains, however, a long suite of apartments, which, at a small expence, might be made habitable. The gardens into which they have a view are neglected. The want of water, and the nature of the soil render them little susceptible of embellishment. There are several statues worthy of the attention of the curious. The gardens of the Buen-Retiro are at present a public walk, which has long been famous in Spanish comedy and romance: at first, indeed, these alone were what gave in the place itself; its reputation rose from it celebrity there was nothing remarkable what passed in it. DESCRIPTION OF A CALCUTTA NAUTCH, AT THE LAST GRAND ANNIVERSARY OF THE FESTIVAL OF DOORGAH TACKOOR, OCTOBER, 1807.-BY A NATURALIST. [Compare Panorama, Vol. III. pp. 545, 791.] The public amusements of European society in Calcutta, if not throughout British India, are so limited in number and variety, that it is not at all surprising, that even a Calcutta Nautch should engage the attendance of those who have repeatedly experienced its insipidity; while, to those who are strangers, and have had no previous opportunity to witness any specimen of the religious pageantry of Bengal, curiosity alone will raise a desire, personally to behold one of the most celebrated and costly rites of paganism. From the operation of these causes, the Nautches of the Doorgah Poojah, are more fully attended by Europeans, than we should expect, were the amusement or entertainment they afford considered as their sole attractions. Another motive gives a number of visitors to this ceremonial. Many gentlemen, filling the higher stations, and others, at the Presidency, attend an invitation to a Nautch, as a matter of compliment to the parties inviting, who are highly gratified by this acquiescence, which they consider as a mark of respect and condescension, and of much more weight than a complimentary visit on any other occasion. To the causes already enumerated, as combining to enlarge the attendance of Europeans at the Calcutta Nautches, we may add another, to which, in common with asseinblies in general, they are frequently indebted for a greater number of their visitants, than to any other;- ative long since recognized in the words of the Roman Poet: "Veniunt spectentur et ipse," which, without great violence to the sense of the original, we may translate, 7 my Much less to see than to be seen they come. Scarcely had I entered the area of entertainment, when a quick, confused succession, of discordant sounds, fully engaged my sense of hearing. Procecaing hastily to take seat upon the benches laid out for public accommodation, the same sounds still smote in painful vibrations on the ear. Adjusted in my seat, I turned my eyes to the quarter whence the noise proceeded. Thus guided by the optic and auditory nerves, my doubts, as to the cause and source of the most unaccountable part of the sound, were relieved. What I had rashly concluded to be the tones of a barbarous instrument, proved, to my utter astonishment, to arise from the vocal exertions of five living animal subjects, but which, without much closer examination, I can on no account pretend to determine to which of the Genera in the Systema Nature they are to be referred. Altitudine, pedum quatuor—vix ultra. Actio. Motus pedum, brachiorum; manumque, Simiarum imitantes. Caput, vultus, et forma oris, generis humani ad instar. Capillus abuudans, caballinus, niger, et nitans veluti speculum. Oculi concinni, natantes, scintillantes petulci, pulcherrimi. Color, cutis tote faciei et colli, fusens, fuliginosus, luridus; et, uno in exemplare, variegatus versicolobrius, sicut in specie vegetabli, botanice, Swietenia, vulgo Muhogany dicta :-Facie carente, in toto, coloribus omnibus rosarum et liliarum, qui feliciter commixti, apud nostrates, mille creant delicias. Vox.-Magna vocis facultate gaudent. Sonos emittunt nec loquentes nec cantantes, et omnino quales mihi nunquam anethac contigit audire. Labia rubra, complanata, proportione apta. Dentes firmi, equales, bene conformati, (ut mihi videntur, nam procul in presentia scribo) attamen (horribili visn!) ruberrimi quasi sanguine recento imbuti. Ex ore, rubrum, et suppeditantem, nihil dubio, pigmentum utilissimum, vel colorem animalem usui adaptatum, et, forsitan, magna comi utilitate, apud tinctores Europæos. Mamme, hemisphericæ, prominentes, orbiculata, assurgentes, firmæ ? Aspectu haud ingratæ. As I was unable, then, to make a nearer approach to the vociferating figures, I must, however painful, be content for the present, to leave the question, as to their genus, species, and variety, to be determin-subindè liquorem ejeci observavi apprime ed by future observation. But whether they prove to be non-descript, or species novi generis, I had the satisfaction to find that I Could not doubt for an instant as to their proper class. That they belonged to the Mammalia was tolerably perceptible, nay demonstrable, even at some little distance. As to the Order also, I had no room for hesitation; for although I am slow in trusting appearances, and in the admission of facts; and, although I had no opportunity closely to inspect the great ordinal characters, the teeth, nor even the nails (indeed I should have thought it hazardous to go within reach of either, without previous inquiry) yet the clearly defined Memme pectorales bina, the pedes manus usque duo, will, I am confident, justify me in having ranked them at once, among the Primates. Further than this I cannot yet presume to carry my arrangement. All I can now do, is to submit to you the few notes made on the shot; and, as ystematic terminology does not easily admit of translation, I give them in the general language of science. An caudæ? Heu! me miserum! Omnibus!” his quinque exemplaribus involutis industis, scelestis indusiis, occasio et potestas videndi corpus naturale, nudum, puris natura< libus," denegati sunt. PARTICULARS OF THE AFRICAN TRADE AT The following remarks on the trade in the Floop country, on the South side of the Gambia, were written by the late Mr. George Ross, who, not long before his death, resided a few weeks at Barrowfatt (or Berefet) in that river. They were committed to paper merely for his own private use; but contain information which may be beneficial to any one who is commencing a trade in that country. Allow me to premise that the individuals, the subjects of my observation, were fantastically dressed, and in such way as to in--They were alluded to in the important crease their resemblance to the human figure, intelligence we gave (Panorama, Vol. IV1 which greatly limited my field of observation, p. 1201 to 1210.) from Sierra Leone relative as will be forthwith perceptible. to various particulars on the African coast, as well as to the manner in which the natives view the Abolition of the Slave Trade, as to Classis. Mannialia. Orjo. Primates, Genus? Animal erectum. Staturâ et magnitudine, the way in which their pursuits are now likęSimi varietatis majoris. ly to be directed in consequence thereof, Barrowfatt, August 22, 1801. | Vintain and Barrowfatt are, I believe, the only marts of the trade of the Floop country, and Vintain the capital. Wax is to be had here; sometimes in abundance. The most plentiful season for wax is, I take it, May and June. It is absolutely in vain to specify the articles you should have to pay for wax in particular: this is a poor country and ignorant: by poor I mean a poverty of commerce; for of catables they seem to be in no want : but there has neither been so much, nor such a variety of trade here, as to hare marked out the particular goods to be paid on particular produce. you can give on wax, unless it should so happen that there is an opposition, or already a stated price; say five pounds to a bar, or as it may be. The wax is laid down, say a cake; you weigh it, and with a kind of borer pierce it, to see whether it be tolerably clean; you then ask the owner (the "Master") what money i. e. goods) he wants for it, having first informed him what money you have. If he is a knowing fellow, he will ask you first to say how many bars you will give, which you may not refuse and a knowing fellow, after you have agreed upon the number of bars, will screw you up to the number of bars of each article, till ten to one but he has made a dear cake of it: his object being to get as many as possible of the dearest bars (the dearest and the most in demand are all one, as I said before). The natives have wants; wants let us call them, be they real or only ideal: and, if you are suited to meet those wants, you are properly assorted to command their trade. Take with this, however, that certain local cirIn other trades I am aware there is such cumstances are to be attended to. For instance, according as they reside nearer to or a thing as rounds; or, on paying a certain farther from Barrowfatt; if you then come number of bars, to pay so many of this upon them when they are busy planting or and so many of the other sort; but that not reaping their crops, you may have to wait til! being the case here, I have not hesitated they have done; for they set much value by upon telling the number of bars I would their crops; and according to the present eco- give, to desire he would next say what arti nomy of the country, it is no one man's workcles he wanted, and how many of each sort to bring a cake of wax to market. As ano- he would take. I have absolutely refused ther instance, let me observe, that the season answering him, when he has stopped, upon of the year, as well as certain adventitious cir- mentioning the first article he wanted, to cumstances, such as the breaking out of warshear whether I would give the number he &c. &c. have a particular effect as well on mentioned; but told him to proceed to the four trade as your assortment. When the end of his list, and then I would make my rains are set in, iron is in great demand. remarks. The blacksmiths then do the chief of their work; indeed it is at that time they have most of it to do, say hoes, ploughs, (or substitutes for them) &c. and it is a matter well known, and of which advantage might very fairly be taken, that these people are not troubled with over much forecast. Wars enhance greatly the value of powder, guns, flints, cutlasses, &c. Deaths abounding raise the value of powder, that being the article with which they speak aloud praises of their deceased friends. Many such remarks might be offered, which it would be greatly the interest of a trader residing on the coast to attend to. the I use indiscriminately the phrases" rise in value" and "rise in demand;" for any article rising in demand is exactly the same as rise in value witness at present an iron bar being deemed an equivalent for a gun and even for a piece of baft, and one sixth part of an iron bar asked and thankfully taken in lieu of a bar of powder I owed a man who went to Vintain for me. Wax when brought to Barrowfat is purchased in the following manner. In the first place, you must fix in your mind the number of bars on an average that It is a little strange though, that, with one of those knowing fellows, at this Iront time, so glad was he to get a half bar of iron on a cake of 35lbs. that he readily passed it for a bar. It The articles to be paid for the wax being agreed upon, before you begin to pay you may as well inform yourself (in case they should not mention it to you) whether any lodging money is to be paid on it. This is a very common demand in this river. had its rise no doubt from every man who brings trade to the river side, having a particular house in which he lodged his trade until he disposed of it. This lodging was paid for by a kind of tax, or per cen1age, on the article so lodged: it is a source of great and grievous imposition on the poor bringers. I have myself seen one bar for lodging detained on a cake of three bars: that is, the owner received two bars, the lodging-master one and I have been told that out of 200 bars paid upon slaves, 80 have been retained |