sand ducats.

Prince Charles of Austria, with his consort Christiana of Brunswick,
visited _Montserrat_ in the year 1706, and having kissed the Virgin's
hand, left at her feet his gold-hilted sword, set with seventy-nine
large brilliants. This sword was given the Emperor by Anne, Queen of
England.

In the church are six silver candlesticks, nine palms high, made to hold
wax flambeaux. There are diamonds and jewels, given by the Countess de
Aranda, Count Alba, Duchess of Medina, and forty other people of high
rank, from the different courts of Europe, to the value of more than an
hundred thousand ducats.--But were I to recite every particular from the
list of donations, which my friend, _Pere Pascal_, gave me, and which
now lies before me, with the names of the donors, they would fill a
volume instead of a letter.

LETTER XXVIII.

I know you will expect to hear something of the Ladies of Spain; but I
must confess I had very little acquaintance among them: when they appear
abroad in their coaches, they are dressed in the modern French fashion,
but not in the extreme; when they walk out, their head and shape is
always covered with a black or white veil, richly laced; and however
fine their gowns are, they must be covered with a very large black silk
petticoat; and thus holding the fan in one hand, and hanging their
_chapelets_ over the wrist of the other, they walk out, preceded by one
or two shabby-looking servants, called pages, who wear swords, and
always walk bare-headed.

I have already told you, that the most beautiful, indeed the only
beautiful woman, I saw at _Barcelona_, was the Intendant's daughter;
and I assure you, her, black petticoat and white veil could not conceal
it; nor, indeed, is the dress an unbecoming one. Among the peasants, and
common females, you never see any thing like beauty, and, in general,
rather deformity of feature. No wonder then, where beauty is scarce, and
to be found only among women of condition, that those women are much
admired, and that they gain prodigious influence over the men.--In no
part of the world, therefore, are women more caressed and attended to,
than in Spain. Their deportment in public is grave and modest; yet they
are very much addicted to pleasure; nor is there scarce one among them
that cannot, nay, that will not dance the _Fandango_ in private, either
in the decent or indecent manner. I have seen it danced both ways, by a
pretty woman, than which nothi