tapestry, which,
though centuries old, is as fresh as when it was first made. It might
have come from the manufactory during this present year; for it
certainly could not look brighter or more perfect.

The grounds surrounding the structure are laid out in pleasant gardens,
where fountains, flowers, and a few inferior marble statues serve for
external finish. On the outside, high up above the broadest portion of
the dome, was placed the famous plate of gold, an inch thick and
containing some ten square feet of surface, forming a monument of the
bravado and extravagance of Philip II., who put it there in reply to the
assertion of his enemies that he had financially ruined himself in
building so costly a palace as the Escurial.

Burgos is situated about two hundred miles north of Madrid, and is
reached by railway. Here the first impression upon the stranger is that
of quaintness. It is a damp, cold, dead-and-alive place, with but three
monuments worthy of our attention. These are its unrivalled cathedral,
its Carthusian monastery, and its convent of Huelgas; and yet there is a
tinge of the romantic Castilian period about its musty old streets and
archways scarcely equalled elsewhere in Spain, and which one would not
like to miss. It is very amusing, on arriving in such a place, to start
off in the early morning without any fixed purpose as to destination,
and wander through unknown streets, lanes, and archways, coming out upon
a broad square,--the Plaza Mayor, for instance, which contains a bronze
statue of Charles III.; thence to another with a tall stone fountain in
its centre, where a motley group of women and young girls are filling
their jars with water; and again, through a dull dark lane, coming upon
the lofty gate of Santa Maria, erected by Charles V., and ornamented
with statues of the Cid (a noted knight and warrior), Fernando Gonzales
(famous Spanish general), and the emperor. Strolling on, we presently
come to another open square, full of busy groups of women and donkeys,
gathered about piles of produce. It is the vegetable market, always a
favorite morning resort in every new locality. How animated are the
eager sellers and buyers! What a study is afforded by their bright,
expressive faces; how gay the varied colors of dress and of vegetables;
how ringing the Babel of tongues and the braying of donkeys!

The cathedral, which the Emperor Charles V. said ought to be placed
under glass, renders the town a fam