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PREFACE.

HE compiler of the following papers having had the honour to attend his Excellency the right honourable GEORGE WILLIAM, Earl of BRISTOL, his Britannic Majefty's Ambaffador Extraordinary, and Minifter Plenipotentiary to the court of MADRID, in quality of chaplain, for near two years; he made it his business, during his stay there, to collect such informations, hints, and materials relative to the present state of SPAIN, as might either gratify the curiofity of his friends, or prove of fome utility to the public in general.

FOR this hath ever appeared to him to be the true and proper defign of Travelling, to bring back fuch notices of foreign countries, as may correct any prejudices and errors we have entertained concerning them; fuch as may improve our present opinions, and contribute to form a just idea of different nations. This employment may be more useful, though, perhaps, not fo flattering to the imagination, as that of reading Virgil upon the banks of the Mincio, Horace upon the Aufidus, or Homer upon the Scamander. Writers of authentic accounts of countries, though beneath the attention of elegant genius, and not rifing to the higher claims of tafte and virtú, may notwithstanding be more ferviceable to the public, than the purchaser of a decayed Titian, the recoverer of a rufty coin, the copier of a defaced infcription, or the defigner of an old ruin.

IT is, perhaps, to be wifhed, that the generality of our young travellers would give more of their attention this way; the fubject is not exhaufted, and the object is of much greater moment, than the dresses of one country, or the tunes of another; than

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the vineyards of this province, or the kitchens of that. To observe the variation of manners, the force of customs, the utility of laws, or the effects of climate, renders a much more effential fervice to your country, than to fet a new fashion, teach a new air, or give a new dish.

THE writer, apprehending that his ftay in SPAIN would have been of much longer duration, had formed his original plan of a much larger extent, than that which is now laid before the public but as the war, which unfortunately broke out between the two courts, prevented his profecuting that more extenfive design, the reader will, he hopes, charitably place this defect to the account of that unforeseen event, and not to any want of intention or industry in the writer.

He is very fenfible of the many imperfections and defects of this performance, and is convinced, that it ftands in need of all the apologies he is capable of making for it. The reader owes the perufal of it not to the writer's own fentiment or opinion, but to the determination of abler judges, who conceived, that with all its errors it might be of use to the public, as relating to a country, the accounts of which now extant among us are more apt to mislead, than to inform.

THE following papers would have been much lefs fuperficial and jejune, if the country, in which they were collected, had been half fo communicative as that in which they are published. In SPAIN, the want of that general education and knowledge, which is fo univerfally diffufed throughout this ifland, renders the progrefs of all enquiry very flow and difficult: the reserved temper and genius of the Spaniards makes it ftill more embaraffed; but the caution they ufe, and the fufpicions they entertain with regard to hereticks, especially priefts, are generally fufficient to damp the moft induftrious and inquifitive refearcher. Add to this that invincible obftacle to all free enquiry in catholic countries, the inquifition, and then it is apprehended that the reader will not wonder, that he finds fo little entertainment and information in the following letters.

BUT

BUT this is not all; befides the difficulties a foreigner meets with in the dominions of his catholic majesty, that of the language is not the leaft. FRENCH and ITALIAN are now become fo very fashionable and common among us, that most of our young travellers fet out with the Bocca Romana, and the accent of BLOIS. But how few are there of us, that go out Spaniards? that have language enough to afk, Which is the way? or, How many miles are there to the next town? This inconvenience will be fenfibly felt by every enquiring mind. For want of Spanish, the compiler of thefe papers used to endeavour to avail hiinfelf at firft of that almoft univerfal tongue of mankind, the Latin: but in that, befides the difference of pronunciation, he found a much worfe circumstance belonging to it: few of the monks or clergy understood any thing of it; and still fewer were able to speak it. Their common anfwer was, No entiendo Ufte; No es Latino por aca, pero es Latino por alla: that is, "I do not understand you, Sir: it is not "the Latin of this here country, but of that there country."

HAVING fairly apprised the reader of those imperfections which he will find in this mifcellany, the writer hopes to be indulged in fubmitting to him what may be modeftly faid in favour of the performance.

THE accounts which we have of SPAIN, may be reduced to three forts; the Romance, the Obfolete, and the Modern. With regard to the firft, the author rejoices to fee that abfurd kind of writing fo generally difregarded, that even the very names of the celebrated romances of the laft age are almoft as much forgotten as those of their authors: Though it is to be feared, that the wretched tribe of novel-writers, which have fucceeded, have done greater mischief. The too fublime CLELIA and PHARAMOND were compofitions, perhaps, of lefs pernicious tendency, than fome of our later printed poifons: the former might fill the mind with improbable fictions, but the latter may inflame the heart with probable vice: the apprentice, or young mifs, may be lefs incited by objects of impoffible imitation, fuch as the wandering knight in black armour, or the rambling lady upon a milk-white palfrey,

than by the familiar history of the feducer and the seduced, which fill up moft of our modern novels; these are subjects of more probable, and, therefore, more dangerous, imitation.

BUT to return from this fhort digreffion: the romance-accounts of SPAIN have had this bad effect upon us, that they have in a manner infused themselves into our ideas of that country. The manners of the moft inflexible people, and fuch the Spaniards are, undergo fome alteration in every age; the mad exploits of chivalry, and the extravagant gallantries of the old Spaniards, are now no more: the guittar and gauntlet are both thrown afide. The more refined manners of FRANCE paffed over the Pyrenees with the house of BOURBON. Even the Spanish language is now making its last struggles against the more infinuating one of FRANCE; and, if the court did not ftill retain that laudable custom of anfwering foreign ambaffadors in their own tongue, it would probably have fallen into great neglect before now. French politeffe has given a new air to, and foftened the ferocious features of that country: the muftacho has dropped from the lip, and the cloke from the fhoulders of their nobleffe. Even the Inquifitors have fince learned not only the politeness, but humanity of that people, and have left off roafting heretics alive: a custom, which, within this century, has been practifed at GRANADA,

THE next accounts which we have of SPAIN, may be called Obfolete; and fuch should be esteemed all those which have not been publifhed within this century. They are accounts, indeed, which were once true, but are now no more a juft description of the Spaniards, than an account of ENGLAND in the time of EDWARD III. would be called now: fuch are The lady's travels into Spain, a book pirated from a French writer; and many others. The Delices d'Espagne, though a good book, is now quite antiquated; even the defcriptions of places in it are become unlike, because the face of a country will change with time, as well as the manners of a people.

THE third class of accounts mentioned above, are the Modern ; of this fort we have very little that is either tolerably correct or

authentic. Mr. WILLOUGHBY's Travels, though republished in HARRIS's Collection, are of no moment; it is faid the botanical, or natural history part of it is good; which, I suppose, made them appear together with Mr. RAY's. Mr. AP RICE has indeed lately published A tour through Spain and Portugal, London 1760, in 8vo; his view appears merely to have been that of expofing the abfurd miracles of the Romish church, which indeed. he has done effectually: but, in other refpects, that book does not feem to have been written by one who actually visited the places themselves.

THE laft thing, which I have to offer in favour of these letters, is, that the reader may be affured, that the utmoft care was taken, that the accounts fhould be had from the best hand poffible. The account of the Spanish Money was examined and approved by DARcy and Jois, the great bankers at MADRID, and by the gentlemen of the embaffy. The ftate of the Army, Navy, Finances, and Civil Lift of the Court, were tranfcribed from an original French MS. of the greatest authority, which may be feen in the author's poffeffion, and which is a curiofity of no fmall value. The title of that French MS. which is a thin folio, runs thus, Bilan General des Finances de S. M. C. Don Carlos III. Roi d'Espagne, en 1760.

THE writer has inferted nothing, which he apprehends to be either ambiguous or false. And though he makes no doubt, but there are mistakes, yet he is certain, that he hath done all that he could to avoid them. He has made use of all the helps, living or dead, which fell in his way. And as he believes he has availed himself of most of what is printed upon this fubject; fo he is not conscious of having omitted any hints, given him by his friends and acquaintance, either in SPAIN or ENGLAND.

BUT though he has confulted what others have written upon this fubject, it has been more with a view of avoiding their observations, than of making himself rich by their spoils: For in this matter he followed, as near as he could, that excellent instruction, which Dr. MIDDLETON hath given to fucceeding writers, in his admirable

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