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ever, an active member of the first Junta of eville, and is supposed by his influence with the mob, to have caused the murder of the amiable Count Aguilar, one of the victims of popular feeling in this city. When it was determined to create the Coutral Junta, for the superintendance of the general affairs of the kingdom, by electing two members from each provincial Junta, Tilli, though one or the most worthless, was chosen by the Junta as the representative for Seville, merely, as it should seem, for the purpose of getting rid of him. Padre Gill, an ecclesiastic of worth, of patriotism, and of eloquence, had been one of the most energetic opposers of the French; he saw through the selfish views and bloody schemes of Tilli, loathed his association, and conceiving that, after the formation of the Central Junta, that of Seville would still retain its influence and its power,and that its proceedings would be more respectable without the presence of Tilit, and knowing that the influence which his wealth gave him over the populace of Seville, would make his removal difficult, if not impossible, in any other way, he promoted his nominatio as a deputy to the Central Junta; and thus, while Seville was rid of him, he thought but little of the mischief he might do when made a part of a higher body, which, whatever may have been the design of those who elected it, was sure to become the depo. sitary of all the power, both legislative and executive.

The other deputy from Seville, DoN VINCENTE HORE, was chosen for reasons similar to those which procured the elec tion of Tilli: he had been formerly protegé of the Prince of Peace, and had filled the office of pander to the lusts of that minister. When the revolution broke out, he was warned by the fate of the unfortunate Count Aguilar, and became a furious patriot. Padre Gill, and the other patriots, blushed at such an associate, and, to remove the disgrace from their body, sent him as a vocal to the Central Junta.

I am afraid I should only create disgust were I to dwell on other characters among the vocals, as they are designated. I shall, therefore, pass over Riquelme, Caro, Calvo, Cornel, and others, to enter upon a more grateful subject, and give some account of JOVELLANOS. He is now an old man, but his life has been spent in the exercise of virtue, in the cultiva tion of his mind, and in devising practical plans for ameliorating the condition of

his country; he has learnt, by suffering a long and unmerited imprisonment, to raise himself above misfortune, and to prefer the good of his fellow.creatures to those gratifications and indulgences which his subsequent elevation might have insured. Ile laboured diligently, during his exile in Majorca, to point out the evils which oppressed the agriculture of Spain, and prepared himself for legis. lation, by contemplating the sufferings which the old laws of entail, and mort main, had inflicted on the nation. At the first assembling of the Junta, it is said that Count Florida Blanca, who had been minister of Spain under the antient regimen, gave more importance to the rank of the grandees, and even to the vicious part of the antient forms and institutions, than was compatible with the more correct, practical, and simple views of Jovellanos; that these two men formed the central points round which the other members rallied, and that the majority, not being men of enlarged minds, coincided with the opinions of Florida Blanca more, than with those of Jovellanos. This adherence to the opi nions of the former occasioned the ap pointment of Count Altamira to the pre sidency of the Junta, and the retention of a cumbrous load of forms and ceremo nies, only tending to cramp the exertions which Spain is now called upon to make. In private, Jovellanes is frugal and simple in his manners, beloved by his friends, and esteemed by all who know him; he is even now a diligent student, and has acquired a knowledge of the best writers in the Greek language superior to that of any man in Spain.

SAAVEDRA, the minister of finance, and a native of this city, though of an advanced age, discharges the duties of his office with integrity; but it is supposed that his faculties have been much injured by an attempt to destroy him by poison, administered at the instigation of the Prince of Peace. It has injured his health, and his memory, but he still retains his benevolent dispositions, and his patriotic abhorrence of the French. His house, the domestic arrangements of his family, and the whole economy of his establish ment, more resemble those of a well regulated family in England, than is generally seen in this country. His daughters, though not destitute of accomplishments, have been taught to set an unusaally high value on the cultivation of their minds, and they are the best-informed women I have met with in Spain,

The

The COUNT ALTAMIRA, as president of the Junta, ought, from his rank, perhaps, to have been first noticed. I have only seen him in the public streets. He has the physiognomy of a baboon, and is said to possess little more intellect than that mimic of man." He is escorted to the Alcazar by a party of the horse guards, in a chariot of a most despicable appear ance, drawn by two mules, while the populace sneeringly call him the King of Seville.

The sittings of this assembly are from ten till three in the morning, and in the evening from eight till eleven: every thing is secretly conducted, but it is known that, the meeting is divided into committees, which attend to the different branches of the administration, and report to the whole body the result of their separate labours. They meet in a most beautiful saloon within the Alcazar, and are always in full dress with swords. The election of these men, in most instances, was the result of accident, and those who chose them never delegated the powers they have since assumed, nor seemed to suppose that such powers were necessary.

SEVILLE.

The appearance of this city is very different from any that I have seen; each house occupies a large space of ground, and all have an open court within them called the Patio; in the centre of this space there is usually a fountain of cool water, occasionally surrounded with orange trees, and other evergreens. The streets are extremely narrow; very few are wide enough to allow two carriages to pass, in many there is not sufficient room even to admit a single carriage, and the marks of the wheels are frequently visible on the walls of the houses. Several of the streets indeed are so very narrow, that I have touched the opposite walls at the same tine. The houses being lofty the sun never penetrates to the bottom of these streets, and they have, on the hottest day, almost the coolness of our cellars. The pavement in general is bad, and there is not, even in the widest streets, any footpath for passengers, which however is of little consequence where there are very few carts or coaches. There are not many squares, nor open places, in the city, but the environs have some beautiful public walks, one of them, by the side of the river Guadalquivir, is usually frequented by the principal in There are besides, habitants of the city. two other very delightful walks, but, as

their situation is remote from the resi dence of the higher class, they are not places of much resort, though the municipality keeps them in excellent repair. Several of the public places are adorned with fountains, but, as the water they contain is seldom cool, stalls are erected in various parts of the city for the sale of that necessary article, previously filtered through jars of porous earth.

One of the buildings in Seville which displays the best architectural taste is La Lodja, built originally at the expence of the merchants, and designed for an exchange. It forms a square, and each front is two hundred feet in length, and, being raised on steps, has a magnificent The staircase leading to appearance.

the upper rooms is superbly built of coloured marble, about twenty-five feet in breadth, with balustrades, supported by pillars of the same substance: the apart ments consist of three rooms in front, each one hundred and eighty feet long, and four others, lighted from the patio, of smaller dimensions; the whole forms a grand building, and does honour to the taste of the age in which it was erected.

The apartments are furnished with book-cases, which contain all the correspondence with America, from its first discovery to the present time, arranged and neatly docketed; and reference may be made to any paper with great facility. The original letters of Cortez and Pizarro are deposited in these cases, and will some day probably throw light on the history of that period. It is certain that the Spanish historians have neglected to cxamine these valuable documents, and the writers of later date have contented them selves with quoting Robertson, whose book, with all its deficiencies, contains more accurate views, and more extensive knowledge, of the affairs of the Spaniards in America three hundred years ago, than the work of any author of their own nation.

MOORISH CURIOSITIES.

The Alcazar, an ancient palace, is an object that naturally attracts the attention of every one who visits Seville. It was originally built by the Moors; but no in formation of the date of its commencement can be obtained. The greater part was constructed by Peter the Cruel, between the years 1353 and 1364, who exactly copied the Arabian style of the ancient part of the edifice; and the remainder was erected by Charles the Fifth. There is one Arabic inscription, with the date of the Hegira, correspor d

ing

ing to the year 1181 of the Christian era; and the name of the architect who built it, and of the king under whom it was elected, are in the same place. The latter is called Nazar, of whom I could learn nothing in any history I have met with; indeed the Spanish historians, Mariana, Ocampo, Örtiz, and others, have, in their writings, either omitted the series of the Moorish kings, or passed them over very slightly, so that their works, from the year 750 to about 1250, instead of meriting the title of historics of Spain, ought to be denominated histories of the Goths who retired from the Moorish conquerors to the extremities of Spain.

The outside of the Alcazar is miserable in its appearance; but the first court after entering the gate has a very grand effect: the front, looking into that court, is purely Arabic in its style, and the inscriptions favour the idea of its being built by that people; it is, nevertheless, ascertained to have been constructed since the conquest, by the Christians; and, indeed, the arms of Castile and Leon are mingled with the Arabic characters. The flight of stairs leading to the royal apartments, now occupied by Garay, is of marble; and some galleries, of the same material, lead to other parts of the building. The courts are ornamented with marble fountains, and are well shaded with corridors, supported by marble pillars. The hall, now occupied by the Junta, formerly called the Hall of Ambassadors, is a beautiful apart ment, adorned with elegant designs in stucco, and with a floor of the most transparent marble, of various colours. The rooms adjoining are occupied by the different committees, or, as they are called, sections, into which the Junta is divided, and the whole palace, which is very extensive, is filled by the different branches of the government, whose clerks have offices very well adapted for the dispatch of business from their proximity to each other.

The garden of the Alcazar is said to have been laid out by the Moors, and is preserved in its original state; it contains waiks paved with marble, parterres laid out with ever-greens, and well shaded with orange trees. In many parts of it there are baths, supplied by marble fountains from the aqueduct I described in a former letter, and they have a contrivance for rendering the walks one continued fountain, by forcing up small streams of water from minute pipes in

the joining of the slabs, which in this climate produces a most grateful effect. As a specimen of an Arabian garden, in its original state, this is an interesting object, and we naturally associate with it recollections gathered from the eastern writers, especially from the Song of Solomon, in the Scriptures, in which the descriptions very well agree with this garden; for, in addition to the other cir cumstances, it is completely walled round, and is secluded from every one except the inhabitants of one part of the palace.

The saloon, which was occupied by the Junta of Seville when its energy di rected the public mind of this city, en tains a collection of Roman antiquities brought from Italica, an ancient city, about four miles hence, and celebrated as the birth-place of the Emperor Trajan. I observed some fine statues which, though partly mutilated, show the superiority of the ancients over the moderns in the art of sculpture: a colossal figure, supposed to be Apollo, is remarkably well executed; and the statue of a vestal, in good preservation, discovers great skill in the figure and disposition of the drapery. The Roman inscriptions col lected in this place are very numerous, and worthy the attention of those w are fond of studying them. I hope my taste will not be too severely condemned if I remark, that the Moorish antiquities afford me greater pleasure than the Ro man; to me they possess more of novelty, have been much less described, and are in every respect better adapted to the climate.

As I am writing to you on the subject of the Moorish antiquities, I must say that I have been more highly gratified by seeing the private house of Don Josse Maria Perez, a merchant of this city, than by any other remains of that people. This house was built by the Moors, and was the residence of one of their chiefs. The whole is most voluptuously contrived for a warm climate, but one of the apart ments exceeds every thing I have scen. It is in the most perfect preservation, though certainly not less than five hun dred years old: the form resembles a double cube, the one placed above the other, its height about sixty, and its length and breadth about thirty feet; the ornaments begin at about ten feet from the floor, and are continued to the top of the room; they consist of a kind of variegated net-work of stucco, designed with such regularity and exquisite beauty, that, without the aid of a drawing. I

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the horses sufficiently cumbrous. These singularities, however, only served to display the national peculiarities more strikingly. The toys, perhaps, of every nation offer traits of national character; and I could not help remarking, on the present occasion, that almost every one, exhibited at this fair, bore some allusion to that illicit intercourse between the sexes, which forms the great stain upon the moral character of the country. Horns of various shapes, with bells, and inscriptions of indecent import, were most prevalent, and the presenting them to each other, with sarcastic insinuations, appeared the most universal species of wit. A marked deference was paid to the female sex even by the peasantry, which shewed that a degree of gallantry is customary with this nation, which is too often dispensed with in other coun

tries.

I heard that two assassinations had oceurred at this fair that day, both caused by jealousy, not between husbands and the lovers of their wives, but between young men who sighed for the same married woman. It appears most extraordinary, but it is nevertheless notoriously the fact, that though husbands feel no jealousy on account of their wives, yet that this powerful passion should be felt

in the most acute manner between men who wish to supplant each other in the affections of the same female; and that other parts of a family, so far from feeling resentment towards the man who addresses their mother or sister, treat him with as much kindness and attention as if he were connected with them by legal and honourable ties, or paid a compliment to the family by selecting a member of it for the object of his attackment. These kind of attachments are much more durable, and more assiduously cultivated, than affection between a married couple. Inconstancy to a fa. vourite mistress, perhaps the wife of a friend, is deemed a greater disgrace to the party than any matrimonial infidelity, and more effectually excludes a man from the future confidence and respect of the ladies, all of whom are jealous of the privileges of their sex, and preserve no terms with a man who is unfaithful to his fair friend. The females of all classes, considering their husbands as beings of no consequence, expect a degree of attention from a cortejo, which a Spaniard can alone pay; and the consequence is, that foreigners, especially Englishmen,

are by no means favourites with the Spa nish ladies.

GENERAL INSTRUCTION.

It is a question which has been fre quently agitated in England, whether a system of national education would be productive of beneficial or injurious con sequences: many ingenious arguments have been advanced on both sides, and it is but lately, that a distinguished member of the House of Commons framed plan for this purpose, which, though it displayed the benevolence of the proposer, was, after mature deliberation, found impracticable.

In Spain, however, such a plan has been adopted and carried into execution; so that there is no person born within the last thirty years, who has not been instructed in the first rudiments of knowledge. When the society of the Jesuits was abolished, and their property confiscated, Count Florida Blanca and Cam. pomanes succeeded in obtaining the ap propriation of part of the funds of that order to the purposes of parochial education, and schools were established in every part of Spain for the gratuitous education of the children of the poor.

STATE OF EDUCATION.

The education of the higher classes in Spain is intolerably bad, which, perhaps, is a greater evil than the deficiencies of the lower orders in other countries. I am informed, that, among the nobility, the instances of their being incapable of writing are far from uncommon; that to appear learned would by no means be considered a distinction; and that the whole care of keeping accounts, and even writing letters, devolves on their domestics. I have scarcely seen a book in any of their houses, and a library is so rare, that the man who possesses one is regarded almost as a phenomenon. The faculties of the higher orders are so blunted by early dissipation, that they want that acuteness which distinguishes their inferiors, by whom they are consequently despised.

The early period of life at which the young Spanish gentry are introduced into society, the time they usually spend in that society, the trifling subjects commouly discussed, and the great familiarity with which they are allowed to behave to their elders, all contribute to prevent their acquiring that knowledge which is so necessary to form the character of virtuous and intelligent men. The quiet solitude of domestic life seems unknown

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