,transcribed from the #ahai ,george ,smallfield edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,picture3 ,public domain cover ,,observations ,,on ,,the ,,state ,,of ,,religion ,,and ,,literature ,,in ,,spain1 ,,made ,,during ,a ,,journey ,,through ,,the ,,peninsula ,,in #ahai4 99 99 99 99 99 ,london3 ,printed by ,george ,smallfield ,hackney4 99 99 99 99 99 #ahai4 ,,observations1 c4 ,,there are in ,spain1 according to ,antillon's #c;a calculations1 two hundred thousand ecclesiastics4 ,they possess immense revenues and an incalculable influence over the mass of the people2 though it is certain that influence is diminishing1 notwithstanding the countenance and co-operation of a government deeply interested in preserving their authority4 ,it would be great injustice to the regular clergy of ,spain to class them with the immense hordes of monks and friars1 scattered over the face of the ,peninsula1 some possessing rich and well-stored convents1 large estates and accumulating wealth1 and others 7the mendicant orders7 who prey more directly on the labours of the poor1 and compel the industrious to administer to their holy1 uninterrupted laziness4 ,the former1 though1 doubtless1 by far too numerous1 are for the most part intelligent and humane3 dispensing benevolence and consolation in their respective parishes2 friendly1 in many instances1 to liberty and devoted to literature4 ,the latter1 with few1 but striking exceptions1 #c;b are unmanageable masses of ignorance and indolence4 #c;c ,they live 7as one of the ,spanish poets says7 in a state of sensual enjoyment between the organ-loft and the refectory1 to which all other enjoyment is but purgatory2 #c;d the link which should connect them with the common weal for ever broken2 the ties of family and friend dissolved2 their authority founded on the barbarism and degradation of the people1 they are interested in stemming the torrent of improvement in knowledge and liberty1 which must in the end inevitably sweep away these 8cumberers of the soil40 ,no society in which the sound principles of policy are at all understood1 would consent to maintain a numerous body of idle1 unproductive1 useless members in opulence and luxury1 7at the expense of the active and the laborious17 merely because they had chosen to decorate themselves with peculiar insignia--to let their beards grow1 or to shave their heads2 and though the progress of civilization in ,spain has been greatly retarded1 or rather it has been compelled to retrograde under the present system of despotism1 yet1 that great advances have been made since the beginning of the late ,revolution1 is happily too obvious to be denied4 #d;a ,that ,revolution1 in fact1 has produced1 and will continue to produce1 a very favourable influence on the ecclesiastical government of ,spain4 ,leaving out of consideration the immense number of priests and friars who perished during the atrocious invasion of their country1 the destruction of convents1 the alienation of church property1 and the not unfrequent abandonment of the religious vow1 unnoticed amidst the confusion and calamities of active war1 more silent1 but more extensive changes have been going on4 ,the ,cortes1 when they decreed that no ,noviciates should be allowed to enrol themselves1 #d;b gave a death-blow to the monastic influence1 and since the re-establishment of the ancient despotism1 the chasm left by this want of supply has not been filled up1 nor is likely to be2 for1 the greater part of the convents 7except those very richly endowed7 complain that few candidates propose themselves1 except from the lower classes of society1 who are not likely to maintain the credit or add to the influence of the order4 ,examples are now extremely rare of men of family and fortune presenting themselves to be received within the cloisters1 and offering all their wealth and power as the price of their admission4 ,another circumstance1 the consequence of the ,revolution1 has tended greatly to lessen the influence of the regular clergy1 where it is most desirable it should be lessened1 among the lower classes4 ,driven from their cells by the bayonets of enemies1 or obliged to desert them that their convents might become hospitals for their sick and wounded friends1 they were compelled to mingle with the mass of the people4 ,to know them better was to esteem them less1 and the mist of veneration with which popular prejudice had so long surrounded them1 was dispersed1 when they became divested of every outward distinction1 and exhibited the same follies and frailties as their fellow-men4 #d;c ,he who1 in the imposing procession1 or at the illumined altar1 appeared a saint or a prophet1 was little1 was nothing1 when mingling in the common relations of life he stood unveiled before his undazzled observers4 ,for the first time it was discovered that the monks were not absolutely necessary for the preservation even of religion4 ,masses were celebrated as before3 the host paraded the streets with its accustomed pomp and solemnity3 the interesting ceremonials which accompany the entrance and the exit of a human being in this valley of vicissitude1 were all conducted with their wonted regularity4 ,still less were they wanted to implore the blessing of ,heaven on the labours of the husbandman1 whose fruits grew and were gathered in with unvarying abundance4 ,without them the country was freed from the ignoble and degrading yoke of the usurper1 while success and martial glory crowned the arms of their military companions1 7the ,british17 who cared little for 8all the trumpery0 of 8friars white1 black1 or grey20 and if the contagion of their contempt did not reach their ,catholic friends1 they lessened1 at least1 the respect with which the inmates of the convent had been so long regarded4 ,but in anticipating a period in which the ,spaniard shall be released from monkish influence1 it must not be forgotten how interwoven is that influence with his most delightful recollections and associations4 ,his festivities1 his romerias1 #e;a his rural pastimes1 are all connected with1 and dependent on the annual return of some saint's-day1 in honour of which he gives himself up to the most unrestrained enjoyment4 ,a mass is with him the introductory scene to every species of gaiety1 and a procession of monks and friars forms a part of every picture on which his memory most delights to dwell4--,and a similar1 though1 perhaps1 a stronger impression is created on his mind by the enthusiastic 8love of song10 #e;b so universal in ,spain4 ,he lives and breathes in a land of poetry and fiction3 he listens with ever-glowing rapture to the ,romanceros1 #e;c who celebrate the feats of his heroes1 and surround his monks and hermits with all the glories of saints and angels3 he hears of their mighty works1 their sufferings1 their martyrdom2 and the tale1 decorated with the charms of verse1 is dearer to him than the best of holy writ4 ,the peculiar favourites of the spotless ,virgin1 their words fall on his ear like the voice of an oracle1 their deeds have the solemn sanction of marvellous miracles4 ,to them he owes that his country is the special charge of the queen of angels1 the mother of ,god2 and in every convent he sees the records of the wondrous interpositions of heaven1 which has so often availed itself of the agency of the sainted inmates1 while every altar is adorned with the grateful offerings of devout worshipers1 miraculously restored to health or preserved from danger4 ,he feels himself the most privileged among the faithful4 ,on him 8our ,lady of ,protection0 7del ,amparo7 smiles2 to him the ,virgin of ,carmen #f;a bows her gracious head4 ,in his eye ten thousand rays of glory encircle the brow of his patron-saint1 the fancied tones of whose voice support1 assure and encourage him3 he believes that his scapulary #f;b 7blessed by a ,carmelite friar7 secures him from every evil3 his house is adorned with the pope's bull of indulgences--a vessel of holy water is suspended over his bed1 and what more can he want1 what danger can approach him8 ,his mind is one mass of undistinguishing1 confiding1 comforting faith4 ,that faith is his religion1 his ,christianity6 ,how difficult will it be to separate the evil from the good1 if1 indeed1 they can be separated6 ,what a fortress must be overthrown before truth and reason can advance a single step6 ,what delightful visions must be forgotten1 what animating recollections1 what transporting hopes6 ,have we a right to rouse him from these blessed delusions8 ,this is indeed the ignorance that is bliss4 ,is it not folly to wish him wise8 ,but1 alas6 this is only one side of the picture6 for1 however soothing1 however charming the contemplation of contented ignorance may be to the imagination1 in the eye of reason the moral influence of such a system is baneful in the extreme4 ,all error is evil2 and the error which substitutes the external forms of worship for its internal influence on the heart1 is a colossal evil4 ,here we have a religion1 if such it may be called1 that is purely ceremonial4 ,its duties are not discharged in the daily walk of life1 not by the cultivation of pure and pious and benevolent affections1 but by attending masses1 by reciting ,paternosters and ,ave ,marias1 by pecuniary offerings for souls in purgatory1 and by a thousand childish observances1 which affect remotely1 if they affect at all1 the conduct and the character4 ,the ,spaniard attends his parish church to hear a service in an unknown tongue2 #f;c he bends his knees and beats his bosom at certain sounds familiar to his ear1 but not to his sense2 he confesses and communicates with undeviating regularity2 #f;d and sometimes1 perhaps1 he listens to a sermon in the eloquent style and beautiful language of his country1 not1 indeed1 instructing him in the moral claims of his religion1 but celebrating the virtues and recounting the miracles of some saint or martyr to whom the day is dedicated4 ,he reads his religious duties1 not in a ,bible1 but an ,almanack2 and his ,almanack is but a sort of ,christian mythology4 ,his saints are more numerous than the deities of the pantheon2 and1 to say the truth1 there are many of them little better than these4 #g;a ,he is told1 however1 that his country exhibits the proudest triumphs of orthodox ,christianity4 ,schism and heresy have been scattered1 or at least silenced3 and if in ,spain the eye is constantly attracted1 and the heart distressed1 by objects of unalleviated human misery2 if the hospitals are either wholly unprotected1 or abandoned to the care of the venal and the vile2 if the prisons are crowded with a promiscuous mass of innocence and guilt1 in all its shades and shapes of enormity #g;b--what does it matter8 ,spain1 ,catholic ,spain1 has preserved her faith unadulterated and unchanged1 and her priests assure us that an error in creed is far more dangerous1 7or to use their own mild language17 far more damnable1 than a multitude of errors in conduct4 ,a depraved heart may be forgiven1 but not an erring head4 ,this is1 in fact1 the fatal principle1 whose poison spreads through this strongly-cemented system4 ,to this we may attribute its absurdities1 its errors1 its crimes4 ,this has created ,dominicks and ,torquemadas4 ,in a word1 intolerance1 in its widest and worst extent1 is the foundation on which the whole of the ,spanish ecclesiastical edifice rests4 ,it has been called the main pillar of the constitution1 and is so inwrought with the habits and prejudices of the nation1 that the ,cortes1 with all their general liberality1 dared not allow the profession of any other religion than the 8,catolica ,apostolica ,romana unica ,verdadera40 #g;c ,the cry of innovation there1 as elsewhere1 became a dreadful weapon in the hands of those who profess to believe that errors become sanctified by age4 ,too true it is1 that if long usage can sanction wrong1 persecution might find its justification in every page of ,spanish history1 from the time when ,recaredo1 the gothic monarch1 abandoned his ,arian principles 7with the almost solitary exception of the tolerant and ill-treated ,witiza74 ,long1 long before the ,inquisition had erected its frightful pretensions into a system1 or armed itself with its bloody sword1 its spirit was abroad and active4 ,thousands and tens of thousands of ,jews and ,moors had been its victims1 and its founders did no more than obtain a regal or a papal licence1 for the murders which would otherwise have been probably committed by a barbarous and frenzied mob1 excited by incendiary monks and friars4 ,the ,inquisition has1 no doubt1 been greatly humanized by the progress of time2 as1 in order to maintain its influence in these more enlightened and inquiring days1 it has availed itself of men of superior talent1 these have softened the asperity1 or controlled the malignity and petty tyranny of its inferior agents4 ,its vigilance and its persecutions are1 indeed1 continually at work1 yet1 ,i believe its flames will never again be lighted4 ,its greatest zeal is now directed against ,freemasons1 of whom immense numbers occupy its prisons and dungeons4 ,i have conversed with many who have been incarcerated by the ,inquisition1 and they agree in stating that torture is no longer administered4 #g;d ,but its influence on literature is perhaps greater than ever2 for though ,spain possesses at the present moment a great number of admirable writers1 the press was never so inactive4 ,the despotism exercised over authors #h;a and publishers is so intolerable1 that few have courage voluntarily to submit to it4 ,often after authorizing the publication of a work1 they order it to be suppressed1 and every copy to be burnt1 and never think of reparation to those who are so cruelly injured4 ,their presumption in condemning whatever they cannot understand1 #h;b their domiciliary visits1 their arbitrary decrees1 against which there is no security and no appeal1 make them fearful enemies and faithless friends4 ,with the difficulty1 delay1 expense and frequent impossibility of obtaining a licence for the publication of any valuable work1 may be well contrasted the ridiculous trash which daily issues from the ,spanish press4 ,accounts of miracles wrought by the different virgins1 #h;c lives of holy friars and sainted nuns1 romances of marvellous conversions1 libels against ,jews #h;d and heretics and ,freemasons1 histories of apparitions1 and so forth1 are generally introduced1 not by a mere licence of the inquisitor1 but by long and laboured eulogiums4 ,it is no novel observation1 that the most cruel and intolerant persecutors have often been men wholly devoid of religious principle2 men1 who consider the religion of the state only as a part of its civil policy1 and who treat the denial of a national creed with the same severity as the infraction of an established law1 or rather as a species of treason against the supreme authority4 ,no plea of modest inquiry1 of conscientious doubt1 or honest difference of opinion1 is allowed to oppose for a moment their sanguinary and despotic sway4 ,there are no terms of safety but those of unresisting1 instant1 absolute prostration4 ,such men are generally the prime movers of the gagging engine of religious intolerance2 and such men are to be found too abundantly in ,spain4 ,others there are who imagine they see in the pomp and parade of the ,romish ritual1 a system of delusion admirably adapted to beguile1 or even to bless the ignorant4 ,they fancy themselves beings of a higher and nobler order1 and that1 while they bask in the sunshine of intellect and knowledge1 they may be well content that the uninstructed mass should trudge on in darkness below4 ,why should they throw their pearls to senseless swine2 or shower down truth and virtue on those who fatten on vice and error8 ,but perhaps a larger class1 which would include too the majority of the learned clergy of ,spain1 are they whose honest opinions are made up of heresy and infidelity2 but their worldly interests are so inwrought with the existing system1 that the thought of sacrificing those interests to the higher claims of right1 has never occurred to them2 or1 if it has occurred1 has never obtained a moment's attention4 ,to them it is a glorious and gold-giving superstition4 ,if they can persuade themselves that1 on the whole1 it is harmless1 they are satisfied4 ,they do more--they say it is beneficial1 and they have repeated this so often1 that they1 perhaps1 almost believe it is true4 ,would they look round them they might see the melancholy effects which superstition and intolerance have produced in their hapless country4 ,what is ,seville--the once renowned ,seville1 with its hundred and twenty-five churches and convents8 ,the very shrine of ignorance4 ,it was there that the ,spanish chart of liberty was trampled under foot1 amidst ten thousand shouts of 8,live the ,king and the ,inquisition60 8,perish the ,constitution60 ,or ,cordoba1 so long the cradle of the arts1 the favourite seat of retiring wisdom8 ,it is become the chosen abode of vice and barbarism6 ,the press1 which was established there in the short era of ,spanish liberty1 has been torn in pieces by a frantic mob1 who1 excited by the monks1 paraded the streets of this unfortunate capital1 threatening death to every individual whose name had been connected with that of liberty4 ,how many a town and city1 once illustrious1 has sunk into nothingness6 #i;a 8,what remains of their ancient glory8 ,the ruins of palaces1 of fabrics1 of store-houses and dwellings2 and undilapidated churches and monasteries and hospitals1 outliving the misery of which they have been the cause40 #i;b ,one might surely expect that in a country possessing eight archbishops1 more than fifty bishops1 and more than a hundred abbacies1 with a jurisdiction almost episcopal2 8in which10 to use the language of a ,spanish writer1 8there are more churches than houses1 more altars than hearths1 more priests than peasants20 in which every dwelling has its saint1 and every individual his scapulary2--one might expect to see some benefits1 some blessings resulting from this gigantic mass of ecclesiastical influence4 ,let us1 then1 look upon a picture drawn by the hand of an acknowledged master4 8,our universities #aj;a are the faithful depositaries of the prejudices of the middle age2 our teachers1 doctors of the tenth century4 ,beardless noviciates instruct us in the sublime mysteries of our faith2 mendicant friars in the profound secrets of philosophy2 while barbarous monks explain the nice distinctions of metaphysics4 8,who goes into our streets without meeting cofradias1 #aj;b processions or rosaries2 without hearing the shrill voice of eunuchs1 #aj;c the braying of sacristans1 the confused sound of sacred music1 entertaining and instructing the devout with compositions so exalted1 and imagery so romantic1 that devotion itself is forced into a smile8 ,in the corners of our squares1 at the doors of our houses1 the mysterious truths of our religion are commented on by blind beggars to the discordant accompaniment of an untuned guitar4 ,our walls are papered with records of #8authentic miracles1' compared to which1 the metamorphoses of ,ovid are natural and credible4 8,and ignorance has been the parent1 not of superstition alone1 but of incredulity and infidelity4 ,the ,bible1 the argument and evidence of our ,christian faith1 has been shamefully abandoned1 or cautiously buried beneath piles of decretals1 formularies1 puerile meditations1 and fabulous histories4 8,monkish influence has given to the dreams and deliriums of foolish women1 or crafty men1 the authority of revealed truth4 ,our friars have pretended to repair with their rotten and barbarous scaffolding1 the eternal edifice of the gospel4 ,they have twisted and tortured the moral law into a thousand monstrous forms1 to suit their passions and their interests4 ,now they describe the path to heaven as plain and easy1--now it is difficult1--to morrow they will call it impassable4 ,they have dared to obscure with their artful commentaries the beautiful simplicity of the ,word of ,god4 ,they have darkened the plainest truths of revelation1 and on the hallowed charter of ,christian liberty1 they have even erected the altar of civil despotism6 8,in the fictions and falsehoods they have invented to deceive their followers1 in their pretended visions and spurious miracles1 they have even ventured to compromise the terrible majesty of heaven4 ,they shew us our ,saviour lighting one nun to put cakes into an oven2 throwing oranges at another from the sagrario2 tasting different dishes in the convent-kitchens1 and tormenting friars with childish and ridiculous playfulness4 ,they represent a monk gathering together the fragments of a broken bottle1 and depositing in it the spilt wine1 to console a child who had let it fall at the door of the wine-shop4 ,another1 repeating the miracle of ,cana to satisfy the brotherhood1 and a third restoring a still-born chicken to life that some inmate of the convent might not be disappointed4 8,they represent to us a man preserving his speech many years after death1 in order to confess his sins2 another throwing himself from a high balcony without danger1 that he might go to mass4 ,a dreadful fire instantly extinguished by a scapulary of ,estamene4 ,they shew us the ,virgin feeding a monk from her own bosom2 angels habited like friars1 chanting the matins of the convent1 because the friars were asleep4 ,they paint the meekest and holiest of men torturing and murdering the best and the wisest for professing a different religious creed4 8,we have indeed much religion1 but no ,christian charity4 ,we hurry with our pecuniary offerings to advance any pious work1 but we do not scruple to defraud our fellow-men4 ,we confess every month1 but our vices last us our lives4 ,we insist 7almost exclusively7 on the name of ,christians1 while our conduct is worse than that of infidels4 ,in one concluding word1 we fear the dark dungeon of the inquisition1 but not the awful--the tremendous tribunal of ,god60 #aa;a ,this is the representation of a ,spaniard4 ,though the colouring is high1 it is a copy from nature1 and the shades might have been heightened had he witnessed the conduct of numbers of the monastic orders during the late convulsions of ,spain4 ,there are1 indeed1 few examples of such infamous want of principle as was exhibited by many of them on the king's return4 ,those who had gone about preaching the rights of man1 proclaiming the wisdom and exalting the blessings of the new constitution2 exhorting their hearers1 often with a vehemence little becoming their situation1 to live and die for its preservation1 and hurling their bitterest anathemas against those who dared to question the wisdom of a single article1--when the king refused to sign that constitution1 became the eulogists of every act of tyranny1 the persecutors of the liberales1 and the chosen friends of ,ferdinand4 #aa;b ,they have had their reward3 and though a few of them have occupied the vacant sees1 and have been caressed and recompensed with no sparing hand1 the finger of hatred and of scorn points them out to the execration of betrayed and suffering millions1 while their names will go down to posterity1 accompanied with reproaches1 curses and infamy4 ,if those be forgiven who have gone on in one consistent career of servitude and degradation2 who have betrayed no cause of liberty--for they are by habit and by election slaves2 who have sacrificed no manly principles--for manly principles they had none2--still no charity can wash away the stains of those traitors to freedom1 to humanity1 to ,spain1 who so atrociously deserted the banners of their country's welfare1 to range themselves around the standards of a profligate and unexampled tyranny4 ,the most notorious of those1 however1 who co-operated to establish that fatal and ferocious despotism which now degrades and oppresses ,spain1 have already become its victims4 ,in their sorrow and suffering and exile1 let the unshaken friends of constitutional liberty1 who are scattered over ,europe1 console themselves with remembering that their personal fate is no more severe than that of the base tools of a wretched monarch1 who have nothing to accompany their wanderings but sadness1 shame and self-reproach1 dark and barren prospects1 and desolate remembrances2 while those shall receive from all around them1 the smiles and the praises of the wise and good4 ,they may look back on the 8bread0 of virtue which they have 8cast on the waters10 and forward in the confident hope that they 8shall find it again after many days30 but they who sacrificed their country to their cold-hearted and selfish avarice1 have wholly erred in their calculations4 ,their country is fallen indeed1 but they1 too1 have been buried in its ruins4 ,ferdinand1 who has just as much of gratitude as of any other virtue1 #ab has already trampled on the miserable tools of his early tyranny4 ,it were well if those who 8put their trust in princes10 would study the many impressive lessons which the reign of the ,spanish tyrant affords4 ,it is consolatory to turn from the profligacy and vice so often prominent amidst extraordinary political revolutions1 to the spirit of truth and liberty which they always elicit2 and ,spain has had a most triumphant list of patriots4 ,their names must not be recorded3 for1 to receive the tribute of affection and gratitude from any hater of a tyrant1 would be sufficient to subject them to his merciless ferocity4 ,how wretched that country where no meed of applause may follow the track of talent or of virtue--where knowledge and the love of freedom are pursued and persecuted as if they were curses and crimes6 ,otherwise1 with what delight should ,i speak of some who1 buried in the obscurity of the cloister1 or retiring into solitude from the noisy crowd1 sigh in secret and silence over the wretched fate of the land of their birth1 their admirable powers of body and mind fettered and frozen by the hand of despotism6 ,all around them is slavery and ignorance2 to them remain alone the joy of holding converse with the wise and the good of departed time1 and the ecstatic hope that their country will one day burst from its death-like slumbers1 and spring forth 8into liberty and life and light40 ,and let those illustrious exiles1 the martyrs of truth and freedom1 who have been driven by an ungrateful and cruel tyrant from their homes and their country1 and doomed 8to wander through this miserable world10 take heart2 for a brighter and better day is about to dawn upon ,spain4 ,i have expressed a hope1 it should rather be a conviction1 that this period cannot linger long4 ,if the extreme of evil brings with it its own remedy2 if human endurance will only support a certain weight of despotism2 if 8there is a spirit in man20 if there is a strength in virtue or in liberty--the intolerable fetters must be broken4 ,que es esto1 ,autor eterno ,del triste mundo8 tu sublime nombre ,que en el se ultraja moderar no alcanzas8 -- infelices venganzas ,y sangre y muerte has destinado el hombre8 ,a tantas desventuras ,ningnu termino pones8 el odioso ,monstruo por siempre triunfar orgulloso8 ,melendez4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the object1 for which the foregoing observations were written1 made it necessary to exclude some particulars1 which perhaps deserve record4 ,a correct idea of the state of learning in ,spain might be formed from the general decline of the public colegios and universities1 and the almost universal ignorance of those to whom the important business of education is intrusted4 ,at ,alcal de ,henares1 where there were formerly four or five thousand students1 there are now less than three hundred1 and the number is yearly declining4 ,a similar decay may be observed elsewhere4 ,i found every thing in a melancholy state of derangement and dilapidation at ,bergara1 though this1 ,i believe1 is now the only public school which has been able to maintain itself4 ,the philosophical and mathematical instruments had been destroyed by rust1 or rendered useless by violence1 and every thing connected with instruction appeared conducted as if the dreadful apprehension that too much wisdom might be communicated1 were constantly present to the enlightened directors4 ,there are few objects more touching1 more humiliating1 than those scenes sacred once to liberty and to literature1 and associated with the names of the noblest and 8the wisest of our race20 but now become the fortresses of ignorance1 profligacy and despotism4 ,who would not sigh over ,cordoba8 ,when ,i remember what thou wert of old1 ,birth-place of ,senecas2--nurse of arms and arts2 ,when to thy schools from earth's remotest parts ,the nations crowded--while thy sons unroll'd ,thy chronicles of wisdom2--when ,i see ,the spot ,averres lov'd1 and tread the sod ,maimonides and ,abenezra trod2 ,or seek the umbrage of some rev'rend tree1 ,beneath whose shade ,mena or ,cespedes ,at noon-tide mus'd3--when ,i remember these ,or other hallow'd names1 and see thee now ,shrouded in ignorance and slavery3-- ,o ,cordoba6 my spirit weeps o'er thee1 ,and burning blushes kindle on my brow4 #ac ,while the majority of the most distinguished writers of ,spain have been expatriated1 it may be supposed literature is at a very low ebb there4 ,melendez and ,estla have died in exile1--while ,moratin and ,llorente will probably never again revisit their native land4 ,marina1 ,quintana1 ,argelles1 ,gallego1 and other estimable men1 occupy the hopeless dungeons to which tyranny has consigned them2 while this island1 in particular1 has had the honour of welcoming and of sheltering many a generous patriot and many an enlightened scholar1 whose virtues and talents are lost to a country which has so much reason to deplore their removal4 ,i trust1 however1 that a work which has been so long a desideratum1 viz4 a ,history of ,spain under the dominion of the ,moors1 compiled from ,arabic documents1 will1 ere long1 be published1 by ,don ,jos ,antonio ,conde1 the learned ,orientalist1 whose erudition and diligent research promise a most valuable and interesting narration4 ,the ,spanish ,academy are now printing1 at ,madrid1 a new edition of ,don ,quixote1 in five volumes1 which will be prefaced by a ,life of ,cervantes1 by ,navarrete4 ,this piece of biography will be peculiarly gratifying1 as many documents connected with the history of ,cervantes have lately been discovered1 especially the records of the proceedings against him1 before his imprisonment4 #ad;a ,herrera's celebrated work on ,agriculture is also being printed by the ,academy4 ,the biographical notices are written by ,don ,mariano ,lagasca1 whose name is a sufficient pledge for their excellence4 ,the ,spanish ,drama had been in a progressive state of decay from the death of ,candamo1 till ,moratin's #ad;b attempts to introduce the regularity and unity of the ,parisian theatre were crowned with complete success4 ,it is a different1 and will be considered as a lower order of merit1 by all who place ,nature and ,shakespeare above ,art and the ,french ,drama4 ,if1 however1 ,calderon and ,lope1 ,moreto and ,montalvan1 ,solis and ,candamo1 seldom occupy the ,spanish stage1 it is because the national taste1 or the national indifference1 has chosen to sanction or permit the puerile trifles imported from the other side of the ,pyrenees1 to occupy the seats which might be so much more honourably filled by native genius4 ,an active controversy is going on as to the respective merits of the ,french and ,spanish theatres2 but it does not seem to excite much interest beyond the immediate circle of combatants4 ,a new dramatic writer 7,gorostiza #ae7 has lately appeared1 and his first effort1 8,indulgencia para todos10 in spite of some improbabilities in the story1 and some vulgarisms in the style1 gives fair hopes for the future4 ,by way of conclusion1 ,i would remark1 that ultra-royalism and bigotry may receive from the present wretchedness of ,spain a salutary and corrective lesson4 ,they may there see the unalloyed triumph of their principles1 and study the consequences in the degradation1 the disquietude and the wretchedness of a once renowned and illustrious nation4 ,they have there a king reigning in 8all the glory0 of uncontrolled majesty1 and a state-religion undisturbed by heretics or schismatics2--there is the dull death-like silence of abhorred submission1 unbroken by any hated shouts of liberty--8the prostration of the understanding and the will10 that neither dares nor wishes to inquire4 ,as to the character of ,ferdinand1 it has been greatly misunderstood or greatly misrepresented4 ,it has been well said of him1 that he has all the crimes and none of the merits of his ancestors4 ,he appears to care little about the church or the clergy1 except inasmuch as he can make them the instruments of civil despotism4 #af ,his habits are gross and licentious2 yet he is inaccessible to any sentiment of benevolence or generosity4--,he never forgave a fancied enemy1 and perhaps he never possessed a real friend4--,from his very childhood his untameable and barbarous propensities made him the object of fear and dread2 and adversity 7that touchstone of character7 has served only to excite and heighten the dark ferocity of his disposition4 ,what1 indeed1 could be expected from an ingrate1 who rewarded those that replaced in his worthless hand the sceptre he had cast away1 with persecution and exile1 imprisonment and death8 ,was it for this through seven long years of war ,we bore the miserable wants of woes ,pour'd on our naked heads by barb'rous foes1 ,while thou a patient captive--absent far1 ,nor heard'st our cries1 nor saw'st the bloody star ,that o'er our helpless1 hapless country rose8 ,did we not break the intolerable bar ,forged by the master-tyrant8 ,interpose ,to rescue--not our country--but mankind8 ,did we not break thy prison-doors1 unbind ,thy fetters1 and with shouts of joy that rent ,the very arches of the firmament ,receive thee8--,and is this our destiny8 ,insults and slavery1 and a wretch like thee6 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,g4 ,,smallfield1 ,printer1 ,hackney4 ,,footnotes4 #c;a ,antillon--,i cannot mention this illustrious name without a tribute of admiration and gratitude4 ,a life devoted to virtue and literature1 an unwearied struggle in the cause of civil and religious liberty1 rewarded by the fatal blow of a hired assassin1 leaves behind it an impress on the hearts of the generous and the good which will not and cannot be erased4 #c;b ,it cannot be denied that the seclusion of the convent is so friendly to contemplation and research1 that1 literature has been1 and still is1 greatly indebted to it4 ,a glance at the columns of ,nich4 ,antonio's ,biographical ,dictionary will give striking proof of this4 #c;c ,there are many convents in which no book could be found but the service of mass or the rules of the order4 ,in others1 there are excellent libraries1 of whose value friars have no idea whatever4 ,in the convent of ,san ,miguel de los ,reyes1 near ,valencia1 ,i examined some of the most interesting ,,mss4 in existence1 which are in charge of a brotherhood of unlearned ,geronomites4 ,the librarian refused to shew me a celebrated ,,ms4 of the ,roman de la ,rose1 8because0 7he said7 8it was the work of a heretic20 though he added1 he had written some verses in it to frighten any inquirer who might accidentally open it4 ,he had been recommending the burning a noble illuminated ,,ms4 of the 8,divina ,commedia10 apparently contemporary with ,dante1 as 8the wretch had dared to send even ,popes to hell40 ,ancient copies of ,virgil1 ,livy and others1 are in some danger1 should our zealous friar stumble on their history1 and learn that they never went to mass4 #c;d ,montalvan4 ,es ,purgatorio-- ,toda dicha1 comparada ,con la de un frayle1 cifrada ,desde el coro al refectorio4 ,the whole description is admirable1 and ,i am tempted to introduce it here4 ,friend1 thou art right6 ,a world like this ,hath nothing equal to the bliss ,enjoyed by yonder lazy friar1 ,between refectory and choir6 ,the morning pass'd in sacred song1 7,the task is short--the triumph long67 ,why should our portly friar repine8 ,enough for him--good man6 to see ,his cellar stor'd with rosy wine1 ,his table pil'd with luxury4 ,come now1 come with me1 and partake ,our friar's poor and modest board3 ,meek sufferer--for ,jesus' sake6 ,self-sacrific'd--to please the ,lord66 ,and is this rich and gay domain ,his place of penury and pain8 ,that table his1 where rang'd in state ,i see so many jovial brothers1 ,each with his fingers in his plate1 ,and his eyes fix'd upon another's8 ,o 'tis indeed a lovely sight ,to see thus earth and heav'n unite2 ,and what an enviable union ,of church and kitchen in communion6 ,while1 hark6 a voice at intervals1 ,the pious grace devoutly bawls ,gratias tibi1 ,domine6 ,while up and down their arms are moving ,like engines in a factory3 ,thus most indisputably proving ,how calm and meek and patiently ,these pious souls submit to all ,the sorrow1 suff'ring and privation ,which may an earthly saint befal3 ,o unexampled resignation66 ,principe ,perseguido4 #d;a ,much was apprehended from the recalled ,jesuits3 they came--not the learned1 the illustrious fathers of former days1 but a handful of ignorant1 helpless old men1 incapable of good1 and1 ,i trust1 incapable of evil4 ,father ,juan ,andres died in ,rome in #ahag4 #d;b ,they enacted this under the pretence that all young men were wanted for the defence of the country4 ,even the friars were obliged to be silent against such a plea4 #d;c ,nor are there wanting instances of friars atoning on the scaffold for crimes of the deepest dye2 and ,i could mention examples of fraud1 violence and murder committed since the king's return by individuals among them1 whose monstrous atrocity it would be difficult to parallel4 #e;a ,romerias4 ,that these acts of devotion are always attended with shameful profligacy is sufficiently known4 ,even ,calderon bears testimony to their danger3 -- ,todos los concursos ,de varias romerias1 ,tal vez en zelo empiezan ,y acaban en delicia2 ,el verse unos con otros ,conmuevese la alegria1 ,la alegria al banquete ,el banquete la risa1 ,la risa al bayle1 al juego ,a la vaya1 la grita ,escollos en que siempre ,la devocion peligra4 ,a ,maria el ,corazon4 ,so1 indeed1 says the old proverb1 8,quien muchos romerias anda tarde nunca se santifica40 #e;b ,the ,roman ,catholic ,church has made a glorious league with the fine arts1 each of which has been made subservient to its purposes1 and has maintained its mighty influence4 ,poetry1 painting and music can never pay the immense debt they owe to the gorgeous machinery of the ,romish ritual4 #e;c ,perhaps ,i may be allowed to introduce a few specimens of the style of the ,romanceros4 ,for instance1 their praises of the ,virgin3 ,la reyna de los cielos ,emperatriz soberana ,fuente de amor y dulzura ,rio de bondad y de gracia ,pielago de perfecciones ,tranquilo mar de gracias ,iris de serenidades ,lucero de la maana ,del cielo norte seguro4 ,san ,onofre4 ,sagrada ,virgen ,maria ,antorcha del cielo empireo ,hixa del eterno ,padre1 ,madre del supremo bixo ,del sacro espiritu esposa4 ,jayme del ,castillo4 ,hermosisima ,maria ,preciosisima aucena ,que con tu divina gracia ,nos libertais de la pena1 ,florida y hermosa rosa ,palma1 cipres1 virgen bella ,lirio1 olivo1 torre hermosa ,de encumbrada fortaleza ,cielos1 sol y luna hermosa ,fuente llena de clemencia ,que con tu divina gracia ,triunfos y lauros aumentas3 ,gran ,seora del ,carmelo ,suplicote1 sacra reyna ,que abogada y protectira ,con el rey de gracias seas4 ,judio de ,toledo4 ,great1 however1 as is their devotion1 it is less than their bombast4 ,paren en sus movimientos ,ayre1 fuego1 tierra y ondas ,sol1 luna1 estrellas1 luceros ,los planetas y la ,aurora ,mientras mi pluma remonta ,su vuelo al mas sacro asunto ,de la estacion dichosa ,quando vino la ,cruz de ,grao4 ,cruz de ,grao4 ,remonte el vuelo mi pluma ,hasta la region mas alta ,del viento donde lucida ,brille1 dando aquesta plana ,y principio al suceso ,mas admirable de que narra ,en sus anales el tiempo ,y las historias pasadas4 ,jayme de ,aragon4 #f;a ,the ,carmelites will have it that ,elias 7whom ,thomas ,waldenses calls the first virgin among men1 as ,mary is among women71 dedicated a temple to 8the mother of ,god0 on ,mount ,carmel1 nine hundred years before her birth4 ,those who wish to be acquainted with the wonderful miracles wrought by the 8,virgen del ,carmen10 may consult an immense list published by ,friar ,juan ,serrer1 most of which are certified by notaries1 priests1 magistrates and friars4 #f;b ,el bendito ,escapulario ,que al infierno lo amedrenta4 ,romance4 #f;c ,it may1 however1 be noticed1 that great numbers are drawn away from the religious services of the regular clergy1 by the greater parade with which the friars attract their devotees to the convent chapel4 #f;d ,spain is a striking example of the influence of the habit of confession on public morals4 ,it has there1 no doubt1 given the full reins to licentiousness4 #g;a ,feijoo1 a ,benedictine monk1 says that his order has fifteen thousand canonized saints4 #g;b ,of the numerous banditti1 for which ,spain has been always distinguished1 there is1 perhaps1 not an individual who neglects any of those ceremonies which are considered binding on all faithful ,catholics4 -- ,these murderous bands ,in holy water wash their hands2 ,they never miss a mass--they wear ,a rosary and scapulaire3 ,they damn all heretics1 and say ,their pious ,aves twice-a-day2 ,they bend at every virgin's altar2 ,and can such saints deserve a halter8 #g;c ,the absurdity of introducing such an expression into a constitutional code could not be unnoticed by the illustrious body of deputies1 to whom the ,cortes had confided its arrangement4 ,it is believed their object was to remove any suspicion as to their thorough orthodoxy1 in order that they might effect hereafter some plans of ecclesiastical reformation4 #g;d ,torture has been abolished in ,spain for many years4 ,however1 that monster in the form of man1 ,elio1 the captain-general of ,valencia1 has dared to employ it2 and when ,i was in that capital ,i was informed1 7and the fact has had abundant confirmation17 that it had been applied a few days before to no less than #adg individuals1 whose cries and shrieks were heard by all the inhabitants of ,murviedro1 where they were confined4 ,this tiger might allege1 indeed1 the example of his royal master1 who caused numbers to be tortured in ,madrid1 after the last conspiracy there4 #h;a ,don ,gonzalez ,carbajal1 a poet of no common merit1 whose verses have been well compared with those of ,fr4 ,luis de ,leon1 is now publishing a metrical version of the ,psalms4 ,the ,,ms4 was sent to the inquisitorial censors1 who replied1 that1 though they saw nothing absolutely objectionable in the work1 they deemed it very extraordinary and very suspicious that no allusion was made in it to the ,sumo ,pontifice6 #h;b ,i will mention one of a thousand instances of ignorance which ,i have individually witnessed4 ,as ,i did not choose to expose myself to be annoyed by inquisitors1 ,i travelled without any ,english books1 except a small collection of hymns4 ,they pounced upon it at ,miranda del ,ebro1 where there is a rigid examination3 there was some dispute whether or not it should be condemned1 when some word like the name of a ,spanish town1 caught their eye3 8,o1 'tis a book of roads10 said our learned scrutineer1 and he returned it to me4 #h;c ,of the 8different virgins0 who divide the adoration of the devout in ,spain1 7each individual choosing his favourite17 it would be difficult to say which has the pre-eminence in general estimation4 ,i believe 8our ,lady of ,montserrat10 in ,catalonia1 and 8our ,lady of the ,pillar10 of ,zaragoza1 have amassed for their guardian friars the largest piles of wealth4 #h;d ,as an instance of the fraud1 the falsehood and the folly of those who sway the minds of the lower classes1 ,i would quote1 from among many examples1 the 8,centinela contra ,judios10 a book of great popularity1 introduced by several pages of inquisitorial praises4 ,it gives the following account of the crimes and punishments of the twelve tribes3 8,the tribe of ,judah treacherously delivered up our ,lord1 and thirty of them die by treason every year4 8,the tribe of ,reuben seized our ,lord in the garden1 and therefore the curse of barrenness is on all they sow or plant1 and no green thing can flourish over their graves4 8,the tribe of ,gad put on the crown of thorns1 and on every #beth of ,march1 their bodies are covered with blood from deep and painful wounds4 8,those of ,asher buffeted ,jesus1 and their right hand is always nearly a palm shorter than the left4 8,those of ,naphthali jested with ,christ about a herd of swine1 since when they are all born with tusks1 like wild boars4 8,the tribe of ,manasseh cried out1 #8,his blood be on us and on our children1' and at every new moon they are tormented by bloody sores4 8,the tribe of ,simeon nailed our ,lord to the cross1 and on the #beth of ,march1 four deep and dreadful wounds are inflicted on their hands and feet4 8,those of ,levi spat on the ,saviour1 and the wind always blows back their saliva in their faces1 so that they are habitually covered with filth4 8,the tribe of ,issachar scourged ,christ1 and on the #beth of ,march blood streams forth from their shoulders4 8,the tribe of ,zebulon cast lots for the garments1 and on the same day the roof of their mouth is tortured by deep wounds4 8,the tribe of ,joseph made the nails for crucifying ,jesus1 and blunted them to increase his sufferings2 and therefore their hands and feet are covered with gashes and blood4 8,those of ,benjamin gave vinegar to ,jesus2 they all squint and are palsied1 and have their months filled with little nauseous worms1 which1 in truth1 7adds our author17 is the case with all ,jewish women after the age of #be1 because it was a woman who intreated the tribe of ,joseph not to sharpen the nails used for the crucifixion of our ,lord40 ,this is a fair specimen of a book of #bbj pages4 #i;a ,seville1 ,cordoba1 ,santiago1 ,burgos1 ,toledo--in a word1 all the places where ecclesiastical authority is most active1 have been the most strenuous opposers of the progress of civil1 to say nothing of religious liberty4 ,and these1 too1 are universally the most barbarous of the ,spanish cities4 ,how the clergy at ,santiago frustrated the attempts of the heroic ,porlier to establish the ,constitution1 is notorious4 #i;b ,informe de la ,sociedad de ,madrid sobre la ,ley agraria1 #aff4 ,at every step one finds in ,spain enough to excite the most melancholy recollections4 ,i went to ,alcal de ,henares to visit the house in which ,cervantes was born4 7,if ,i had undertaken a pilgrimage ,i could not have repaid the enjoyment1 the delight1 ,i have received from the works of this wonderful genius67 ,it had been destroyed1 that a herd of friars might enlarge their kitchen-garden6 ,i inquired for the ,,mss4 of ,ximenes ,cisneros3 they had been cut up for sky-rockets to celebrate the arrival of some worthless grandee6 #aj;a ,some of the ,professors of the ,spanish universities1 those especially of civil law and medicine1 and perhaps even some of theology1 are enlightened men and lovers of liberty4 ,this is decidedly the case at ,salamanca and ,alcal1 and partially so at ,valencia4 ,to the rest the text may safely be applied4 #aj;b ,cofradias--assemblies for religions objects4 #aj;c ,eunuchs are not now common in ,spain4 ,the inhuman practice1 once so frequent1 is now prohibited by law4 #aa;a ,translated from a little tract called 8,pan y ,torus10 attributed to ,jovellanos4 ,it was written before the ,revolution4 #aa;b ,such men as ,father ,martinez1 7,mercenario7 who has been appointed one of the preachers of the royal chapel1 should be held up to public detestation4 8,grande epoca de nuestra felicidad y de nuestra regeneracion6 ,rubricad la constitucion con un juramento inviolable1 selladla con la sangre de vuestras venas4 ,sus legisladores han sido inspirados por la ,sabiduria divina--,gloriosa instalacion de las ,cortes6 ,feliz transito de una casi mortal agonia una vigorosa robustez politica4 ,mejor de los gobiernos--,cortes6 precioso nombre qui despierta en nuestra alma todas las ideas de la antigua libertad y grandeza ,espaola6 ,solo remedio de nuestros males1 suspirados por todo ,espaol1 amante de su patria4 ,constitucion sabia y liberal--excelsa fabrica6 ,que ofrecen ,grecia y ,roma comparable nuestro augusto congreso y su codigo tan completamente acabado8 ,nacion sabia y entendida1 que proclama con voz enrgica su libertad1 su independencia y soberania6 ,libre independiente1 y no el patrimonio de ninguna familia persona4 ,el ,rey no puede4 ,el ,rey no puede4 ,avergenzense los brutales idlatras del ,atila ,gengis ,khan de la ,europa--la ,espaa tiene una barrera firmisima contra el despotismo4 ,emancipados ,espaoles--segunda vez1 loor sempiterno1 himnos de bendicion nuestros sabios legisladores6 ,leyes fundamentales1 liberales y sabias--despues del catecismo de la religion estudialas1 meditalas1 canonizalas-- la par del catecismo de la religion pon en las manos de tus hixos y nietos el codigo constitucional4 ,pronunciad con entusiasmo el juramento inviolable que va ser rubricado con la sangre del divino cordero1 y que los angeles habrn ya escrito en las columnas del empreo4 ,los corazones ,castellanos dicen mucho mas que lo que los labios pronuncian2 ardientemente desean que al lado de aquella ara augusta se erija una pirmide1 donde sea escrita en letras de oro esta inscripcion sencilla1 ,juramos ser fieles la constitucion3 por ella vivirmos gloriosos3 y por ella1 si menester1 fure1 gloriosamente morirmos40 ,sermon preached in ,valladolid1 #acth ,september1 #ahab4 ,this recreant friar in a letter to the ,patriarch of the ,indies1 dated #bjth ,february1 #ahae1 thus writes3 ,of the ,cortes3 8,hiciron publicar y jurar con la mas escandalosa premura una constitucion ignorada4 ,su formacion fu viciosa ilegal2 el codigo fu hecho por los amaos y malas artes de una faccion de anarquistas4 ,cortes--nombre hoy de infausto agero--,junta de cabalas ,gaditanas40 ,of the constitution3 8,se la public casi en la forma qui se public el ,alcoran todo por sorpresa1 todo premura y todo militar4 ,sus dias de terrorismo6 ,jur un odio eterno los principios democraticos de la llamada constitucion y las ideas anarquicas irreligiosas del partido liberal40 ,of ,ferdinand3 8,nuestro idolatrado rey4 ,nuestro suspirado monarca1 el mas justo de los reyes40 ,of himself3 8,mi conducta me granje el favor de todos los buenos de ,galicia1 que me mirban como una columna del partido servil4 ,el consejo de ,castilla me honr confindome la censura de varios papeles qui califiqu de sediciosos1 subersivos injuriosos la soberania de ,s4 ,m4 ,el primer nombrado por la ,junta de ,obispos por la censura de todos los escritos revolucionarios impios fu el ,padre ,martinez nemine discrepante4 ,el ayuntamiento de ,santiago me comision que diere gracias ,s4 ,m4 por el reestablecimiento de la ,inquisicion pidiendo ,s4 ,m4 por los ,p4,p4 ,jesuitas4 #8,el ,rey en atencion al distinguido merito y servicios del ,padre ,martinez' me nombra su predicador supernumerario3 y despues1 #8,s4 ,m4 en consideracion la solida literatura de ,v4 ,s4 y los servicios hechos su real persona1 la religion y al estado1' le nombra ,consexero de la ,suprema de la ,inquisicion60 ,of the above sermon3 8,habl con la ligereza y superficialidad de un orador que habla de lo que no entiende4 ,era poco instruido en el dercho publico ,espaol4 ,habl constitucional y por conseqente disparatadamente4 ,sermon de adornos1 flores1 y exgerados hiperboles1 sedicioso1 subersivo injurioso la soberania de ,s4 ,m40 ,another disgraceful example may be quoted in that of ,father ,velez1 the present ,bishop of ,ceuta1 who has lately published a book1 entitled ,defensa del ,altar y del ,trono1 so infamous1 so full of outrages1 insults1 and shameless mendacity1 that the very ,inquisition refused to license its impression2 and our mitred libeller delivered a copy to the king1 whose taste it so admirably suited1 that he issued an immediate mandate1 signed by his royal hand1 ordering its instant publication4 ,i believe it is the only book which has been printed for years without the ,inquisition's authority4 #ab ,the title of ,ingrato is1 in fact1 the ,spanish despot's right par excellence4 ,a few more such examples would dissolve the spell which holds so many slaves in bondage1 and lead them to doubt whether 8,such divinity as doth hedge a king10 can really be of celestial origin4 #ac ,i know of no city honoured with so proud a list of illustrious men in so many departments of literature1 as ,cordoba4 ,strabo 7,cap4 iii47 speaks of the learning of its inhabitants1 and so does ,cicero 7,orat4 pro ,archi74 ,the two ,senecas and ,lucan among the ,romans2 ,averres2 his rival ,avicenna1 and ,abenzoar1 distinguished ,arabic writers2 the three most famous ,hebrew ,rabbies1 ,abenezra1 ,kimki and ,maimonides2 ,ferdinand the logician2 ,juan de ,mena1 the father of ,spanish poetry2 ,arias ,montano1 ,nebrixa1 ,gongora1 the poet1 and ,cespedes1 the every thing--were all natives of ,cordoba4 ,repeated attempts have been made to revive the spirit of learning in this interesting capital1 and the literary societies there have published several striking appeals on the subject2 but ,cordoba continues without even a bookseller's stall2--a striking monument of the triumphs of monkery and ignorance over all that is great1 good and generous in the human character4 #ad;a ,notwithstanding the many discussions as to the birth-place of ,cervantes1 and the numerous copies that have been made of the register of his baptism1 since the claims of ,alcal to the honour of his birth-place have been admitted1 it is surprising that no one should have remarked that the name of his father is spelt ,carvantes in the original parish record1 which ,i consulted4 ,it is in the oldest of the registers of the church of ,st4 ,mary ,mayor1 at page #aib4 ,fray ,jayme ,villanueva mentioned a curious circumstance to me at ,valencia1 connected with ,cervantes2--that among the ecclesiastical documents he had examined at ,tarragona1 there were a great number of letters addressed to the ,cabildo1 relating various acts of robbery and murder committed by ,roque ,guinart and his band1 7vide ,don ,quixote1 ,vol4 ,,iv4 ,par4 ii4 ,cap4 #fj17 and imploring their assistance to rid the country of these freebooters3 these letters are dated #afad4 ,now the second part of ,don ,quixote was published in #afae4 ,how soon did ,cervantes avail himself of these events1 and how rapid must his composition have been6 ,cervantes6 idol of my happiest hours6 ,generous and joyous spirit6 who hast brought ,from thy rich storehouse of romantic thought ,wisdom and truth and valor6--,all the powers ,of ,poetry and ,music fill thy bowers4 ,proud is the monument thy hands have wrought1 ,and beautiful the lesson thou hast taught2-- ,and now the muse of many nations showers ,garlands upon thy tomb3--yet thou wert poor ,and desolate in life--of all bereft1 ,in misery and melancholy left ,to fix thy dim eye on a prison door6 ,shame on the world6 ,no other star shall shine ,upon that world with such a light as thine6 8,se engendr 7el ,quixote7 en una carcel donde toda incomodidad tiene su asiento y donde todo triste ruido hace su habitacion40 ,prologue to ,don ,quixote4 #ad;b ,moratin's translation of ,hamlet is as unworthy of the ,spanish as of the ,british bard2 but any prose rendering of the beautiful poetry of this extraordinary tragedy must be intolerable to an ,english ear4 #ae ,as none of his writings have probably reached ,england1 ,i shall be excused for introducing a specimen of his verses from the above comedy4 ,take1 for example1 the description of a gaming house3 ,don ,carlos4 ,aun la colera se dura8 ,que viste tan malo alii ,que asi te altera8 ,don ,severo4 ,yo vi ,un infierno en miniatura ,y no merece otro nombre1 ,porque se deja al entrar ,cuanto puede recordar ,los privilegios del hombre4 ,en un ahumado aposento1 ,anegado en porqueria1 ,he visto en un solo dia ,lo que no pudiera en ciento4 ,sobre una mesa bufete ,alii un mandil se descubre1 ,que mas empuerca que encumbre1 ,y al que se llama tapete4 ,yace encima un mal belon ,moribundo1 desdichado1 ,quien1 pesar de su estado1 ,manifest la intencion ,que de alumbrarnos tenia2 ,mas le falt un requisito1 ,y fue el aceite maldito1 ,que estaba en ,andalucia4 ,pues de esta mesa al redor1 ,y por tal luz alumbrados1 ,encontramos ya sentados1 ,esperando un redentor1 ,a una percion de estafermos1 ,que por ser desaliados1 ,flacos1 puercos y estropeados1 ,me parecieron enfermos4 ,pero ai ,dios y que sudores ,tuve6 ,que susto me diste ,cuando al oido me dijiste ,estos son los jugadores2 ,luego descubri al banquero ,fumando su cigarrito1 ,manejando aquel librito1 ,o recogiendo dinero4 ,a bosquejar no me atrevo ,ni sus dedos1 ni sus uas1 ,no se quejen las garduas1 ,o chille un ,cristiano nuevo3 ,pero aadir sencillo1 ,que si le encuentro en la calle1 ,en lugar de saludalle ,le doi mi capa y bolsillo4 ,qu juramentos6 ,qu por vidas6 ,y otras voces conocidas ,tan solo entre jugadores4 ,ac gana una judia1 ,alli las sotas se dan1 ,pirdese un buen ganarn ,o quiebra contra judia4 ,alli sin soga1 se amarra1 ,se apunta sin escopeta1 ,sin necesidad se aprieta4 ,se mata sin cimitarra3 ,tambien se entierra sin ser ,doctor ni sepulturero1 ,y en fin se pierde el dinero ,sin oir1 sin hablar1 sin ver4 ,estos1 amiguito1 son ,los primores1 que sin tasa ,se encuentran en esa casa1 ,que llamas de diversion4 ,y no siento1 ciertamente1 ,haber jugado y perdido1 ,sino el haber conocido ,pocilga tan indecente4 #af ,i have seen him join the religious processions at ,madrid1 but with evident indifference and impatience4 ,in the really interesting solemnities of the #bnd of ,may1 7to commemorate the earliest victims of the ,revolution17 in the presence of the ,court1 the ,nuncio1 and the dignified ecclesiastics of ,spain1 he played idly with his wax taper and his pocket handkerchief1 and walked out of church in the middle of mass4 ,if he ever amused himself with embroidering garments for the ,virgin1 7which ,i do not believe17 or feigned a special devotion in the ecclesiastical ceremonies of his country1 he has not thought it necessary to wear the mask of hypocrisy any longer4