ry much in the modern French style, but there are
also many old Moorish dwellings, with their open courtyards and
fountains. One well worth seeing is the Casa de Pilatos, an exact
model of Pilate's house at Jerusalem, and built by Enriquez de Ribiera
to commemorate his visit there in 1533. Of public gardens Seville has
many, the prettiest of these being Las Delicias, a walk stretching for
nearly a mile along the banks of the river Gudalquivir, and planted
with orange-trees, pomegranates, palms, roses, and all kinds of rare
plants. This is the Champs Elysees of Seville, and when lit up at
night, with innumerable coloured lamps, bears no slight resemblance to
them. Triana, a transpontine suburb, is worth a visit _in the
daytime_, as it is the residence of gipsies, smugglers, lower order of
bull-fighters, and thieves. In December, 1876, it was nearly destroyed
by the floods, and Seville was under water for five days, the water
reaching to the cathedral doors.

I arrived in Madrid on the morning of Sunday, October 3rd, after a
wretchedly cold night journey from Seville, and the jumps and bounds
taken by the carriage I was in put sleep out of the question. On
driving through the streets to the hotel, I noticed that every
available wall was placarded with the announcement of a bull-fight to
come off on that afternoon, and determined, if possible, to secure a
seat. This, after breakfast, I managed to do, though only a
second-class one, all "_boletiere de sombra_" or seats in the shade,
being already let; the consequence being that at the end of the
performance most of the skin had peeled off my face.

Bull-fighting in Spain, at the present time, is very much akin to what
racing is in England, the espadas (or matadors) being held very much
in the same esteem as our popular jockeys by the public: and the
photograph of the champion, at the time of my visit (Frascuelo), was
to be seen figuring in most of the photograph shops of Madrid and
Seville, the latter town being considered the best academy for the
aspiring bullfighter. The Spanish bull-fighters have risen
considerably in the social scale during the past century, for they
were formerly denied the burial rite. A priest is now, however, in
attendance at every fight to give absolution in the event of a fatal
accident. The fights are very expensive affairs, costing from L400 to
L500 each, and in most towns are only occasionally held, although in
Madrid they take place every Su