contempt; it simply means a young girl in the first charm of her
spring-time.

Riding in the Row has always been a favourite pastime in Madrid, but to
English ideas the _pollo_ is more objectionable there than elsewhere,
since his idea of riding is to show off the antics of a horse specially
taught and made to prance about and curvet while he sits it, his legs
sticking out in the position of the Colossus of Rhodes, his heels, armed
with spurs, threatening catastrophe to the other riders. An old English
master of foxhounds, who was a frequent visitor in Madrid, used to
compare the Paseo of the Fuente Castellana at the fashionable hour to a
"_chevaux de frise_ on horseback." These gentlemen must not, however, be
supposed to represent Spanish horsemanship. Ladies ride a good deal in
the Paseo, but one cannot call them good horsewomen. To get into the
saddle from a chair, or a pair of stable steps, and let their steed walk
up and down for an hour or so in the Row, is not exactly what we call
riding. If you hire a carriage in Madrid you are so smart that your best
friends would not recognise you. A grand barouche and pair dashes up to
your door, probably with a ducal coronet on the panels. The coachman and
footman wear cockades, and the moment you appear they both take off
their hats and hold them in their hands until you are seated in the
carriage. This ceremony is repeated every time you alight, the coachman
reverently uncovering as you leave the carriage or return to it, as well
as the footman who is opening the door for you.

It is most comforting; royalty, I feel sure, is nothing to it! We will
not look critically at the lining of the noble barouche, nor at the
varnish on its panels, still less make disagreeable remarks about the
liveries, which do not always fit their wearers--it is economical to
have liveries made a good medium size, so that if the servants are
changed the clothes are not;--one can always feel grateful for the
polite and agreeable attendants. How oddly it must strike the Spaniards
in England to notice the stolid indifference of "Jeames de la Plush,"
and the curt tap of his first finger on the brim of his hat as his lady
enters her carriage or gives her directions!

All the mules, and most of the horses, ponies, or donkeys ridden by the
"Jacket" men or country people are trained to pace instead of to trot;
it is said to be less fatiguing on a long journey. The motion as you
ride is, to our notions, v