LETTER VII. PART II.

BURIAL GRANDE ES — KING's PUBLIC ENTRY.

T

HE funeral rites of the rich in SPAIN are fplendid, as well as decent; they are folemnly interred with their best suit of clothes, with hat, cloak, and fword.

Nam vivis quis amor gladii, quæ cura togæve

Manfit, & hæc eadem remanet tellure repoftis.

And I am firmly perfuaded, that the old knights, condes, and grandees of this kingdom were antiently buried, just as we see their fculptured figures upon their tombs; armed cap-à-pee, and at all points; juft as if they had been harneffed out for battle, with their beaver, coat, cuirafs, the target, lance, fword, fpurs, and jackboots. And this fhews the great propriety of that famous joke of old SCARRON, who, when he was receiving extreme unction, told the anointer, 66 Pray, fir, take care to grease my boots well, for I "am going a very long journey."

THEY Commonly put a great deal of lime into the grave, in order to haften the corruption of the body; at NAPLES I am told they have a great hole, half filled with lime, into which they throw all their dead, naked.

THE late Queen of SPAIN, confort of the present King CHARLES III. died September 27th, 1760, aged 35, after the

had

had reigned only one year and fourteen days. She was a daughter of the prefent King of POLAND, and had fuffered greatly for the diftreffes of her father, who has been driven from his electorate by the King of PRUSSIA: She had lived twenty years with his present Majefty. She was in a bad state of health when he came first into SPAIN, catched the meazles at SARAGOÇA, then a cold and afterwards was taken ill with a fever and flux at St. ILDEFONSO, in September, and upon its increase returned to MADRID; when both thofe diforders ftill kept harraffing and weakening her, till they at last ended in a delirium and mortification. Every art of phyfic was used to fave her, and every Spanish faint invoked, but all in vain. They brought the image of ST. ISIDRO to her, and fome were fetched even from TOLEDO and ALCALA DE HENARES: But neither the interpofition of faints or fubjects could avail any thing; tho' all the churches of MADRID were crowded with people, offering up prayers for her recovery, fate was inexorable, and death relentlefs. The nuncio came and gave her the laft papal benediction, and by that means conveyed to her the first notice of her approaching diffolution; she received the shock with fome furprize, but with much piety, refignation, and refolution. Upon her obferving to the nuncio the infignificance and emptiness of all human grandeur; and that it was now of no advantage to her, that the ever was a Queen-He replied, "Your Majefty has certainly had much greater opportu"nities of doing good, and which have not been neglected." She lingered a day or two after this, till the delirium came on, attended with convulfions, and at length expired on the twentyseventh of September, about three o'clock in the afternoon.

CEREMONIES of a ROYAL FUNERAL.

ON the twenty-eighth, she was laid in state in the cafon, or greathall of the BUEN RETIRO; fhe lay upon a fpond covered with gold tiffue, under a canopy of ftate: She was dreffed in a fmall plain cap, tied with a broad white fattin ribband, and with a

fmall black egret over her forehead: On each fide the fpond were fix large girandoles, of Mexican filver, about four feet high, with large tapers burning, and round the room were feveral altars with gold and filver candlesticks. On the right hand side of the fpond, at the feet, knelt the dutchefs of MEDINA SIDONIA, behind her another lady of distinction, and then an exempt, and on each fide ftood two purfuivants bearing the crown and fceptre. The ladies were relieved every hour by others, fuch as the dutchess of BURNOMBILE, the dutchefs of ARCOS, &c. but the pursuivants were obliged to remain the whole twenty-four hours-Thus lay the Queen all that day and night; on the twenty-ninth, he was carried to the EsCURIAL in this manner: About feven o'clock in the evening the proceffion began from the gate of the BUEN RETIRO in this order: First came forty Carmelite-monks on horse-back, each with a torch in one hand, and the bridle in the other; then as many Cordeliers, and laft of all the Dominicans, all with torches in their hands: Then a body of the guards on horseback, without tapers, headed by the duke of VERAGUEZ, or duke of BERThefe were followed by the facrift in his cope, bearing a gold crucifix, at the head of the curates. Then the state-coach with the Queen's body, followed by two caroffes de refpect; then the duke of ALVA; behind him the inquifitor-general, with fome other people of diftinction, fuch as the duke of ARCOS, &c. then followed another body of the guards, and laft of all a fuite of coaches. These were obliged to travel in this manner all the night, with their torches burning, which must be a vast expence; it being eight leagues to the ESCURIAL, and they propofed burying her Majefty about eight o'clock the next morning. The monks are paid for this journey, and they commonly fhare the tiffue pall between them. And thus ended the folemnities of this funeral, which I fhall conclude with the moral of our English Poet:

WICK.

A heap of duft alone remains of Thee;

"Tis all thou art, and all the Great fhall be.

GRAN

Ins

GRANDE E S.

IT is very difficult to make out a clear and exact lift of the grandees of SPAIN, the Spaniards themselves have published no good one and there are very few, who can give you any just information. In the first place, there is no fuperiority and gradation of title here, as there is in ENGLAND. A duke is no more than a marquis, a marquis no greater than an earl; in fhort, all titles are equal. And you will often fee the father an earl, and the fon a duke; juft the reverfe, as with us. The great diftinction antiently confifted in being grandee of the firft, fecond, or third order: but thefe diftinctions are now dropped; the king making them all grandees of the first class. These three claffes were, 1. Those who came into his majefty's prefence with their heads covered before they spoke to the king: 2. Those who did not cover till they had spoke to his majefty, and the king had answered them: 3. Thofe who did not cover, or put on the hat, 'till after they had withdrawn to their place. If the king bids them be covered, without any addition to the word cubridos, they are only grandees for life; if his majesty adds the title of any of their lands, the honour is hereditary. Indeed, with us in ENGLAND, it used formerly to be a custom for the peers to fit covered when the king went to the houfe of lords, till that polite parliament at queen ANNE'S acceffion dropped it, out of compliment to her majefty, because they thought it ungenteel to fit covered before a queen. All the titles in SPAIN are feudal to this day. The crown gives them in the first instance free for the life of that perfon, or, as they call it, Libres des Lances; but ever after, as feofs of the crown, they pay a yearly fum of money in lieu of their knights, or feudal fervice. Befides thefe grandees, there are a great number of good, antient families in this country, who from their antiquity have an undoubted right to rank as grandees; but as the crown has not thought proper to cover them, as fuch, they have no rank: These are called Cafas aggraviadas, or injured houses. The mark of diftinction,

tinction, which these grandees conftantly keep up, and give to each other with the greatest exactness, is the always addreffing one another with the TU: whereas, when they speak to any other of inferior rank, they use the Eccellencia, Vueftra Merced, the Vofia, VoSenoria, &c.

THE following is the most correct list of the Spanish grandees, which I could meet with.

LIST of the SPANISH GRANDEES, alphabetically, by their Titles, with their Family-Names, &c. &c.