one admitted its
very unwholesome character. When the breeze swept down from the snowy
Guadarrama, it cut like a knife, but that was a condition of temperature
which one could guard against, not an atmospheric impurity. If Madrid
were surrounded by and ornamented with trees, like Wiesbaden or
Baden-Baden, it might prove a favorable sanitary measure, besides adding
so much to its beauty. In Paris, Rome, or Venice, fires are not common
in domestic living rooms, except in extremes of weather; but at Madrid,
if the day is cool and damp, the cheerful, warmth-diffusing fire is
lighted and regarded as a necessity.

The king and queen of Spain passed through the Puerto del Sol in an
open carriage nearly every afternoon during our stay, attended by half a
dozen outriders, and drawn by four superb horses; for Alfonso's royal
stable, as we can testify, is justly celebrated. The king rides with his
hat in his hand in response to the ceaseless recognitions of respect by
the people, who, however, never cheer him, and yet he appears to be
fairly popular with the masses. He has seemed thus far to follow rather
than to lead public sentiment, perhaps realizing the precarious nature
of his seat upon the throne; remembering that the nation has a rather
erratic manner of changing its rulers when displeased with them. He is
quite youthful in appearance. The queen, though by no means handsome,
has a pleasing face, and is represented to be of a very amiable
character. It will be remembered that his first wife, Mercedes, died
while yet a bride, at the age of eighteen, much regretted and much
beloved. Alfonso has, in a few public instances, shown a progressive and
enlightened spirit; but were he to permit himself to be demonstrative in
this direction, he would not be supported either by his councillors or
the public, who are imbued with the true Castilian dormancy even in this
nineteenth century. He has undertaken, out of his private purse, to
restore many decaying monuments of the country, and is noticeably
spending money freely for this purpose, not only in Cordova, but also at
Toledo, Madrid, and Burgos.

On the occasions when the king and queen drove out, the royal carriage
was generally attended by a second, in which was ex-empress Isabella, at
the time on a visit to the royal palace, though she makes her home at
present in Paris. She is fat, dowdy, and vulgar in appearance, with
features indicative of sensuousness and indulgence in coarse