themselves, and even of royalty, this insubordination is not to be wondered at, for the for the one element was as hoggish as the other, the served as the servitor. The great Philip was never so thoroughly at ease as when surrounded by cómicas; and when his Queen attended the play in the Buen Retiro the soldiers were commanded to amuse her by setting the women in the cazuela to fight, insulting them to their faces, and loosing rats among them. Diseases that are now regarded as unmentionable were placidly discussed in the presence of both sexes, and in the highest tertulias; and the Countess D'Aulnoy naïvely relates how the lady in waiting who was dressing the Queen's hair spat unctuously into her hand in order to moisten the royal locks.

Nor can it have been a secret to the menials that the position of their masters was seldom what it seemed externally; that the presence of a score of horses in the stable could not be taken to imply the presence of a wisp of fodder in the mangers. Some of the nobility, it is true, were handier than others at mending their shattered fortunes, even if their shifts were scarcely calculated to exalt them in the eyes of their underlings. For instance, the following ingenious ruse was put in practice by the potent Marquis of Palacios.

"He spends large sums of money, being one of the professed gallants of the palace ladies—a dignity which only falls to the talented, the munificent, and the lucky. The aspirants must needs be of singular refinement, as well as of lofty ideals and the choicest behavior. They

(To face p. 298.)

(From a photograph by Laurent, Madrid, from the portrait by Velázquez.) MARIANA OF AUSTRIA.

must write both prose and verse with distinction, and their bearing amid the polite court circles must not be as if it were merely in a town saloon. One day, then, the Marquis of Palacios saw himself obliged by order of the King to play an active part in a Court festival, albeit he could not muster at the moment so much as a poor handful of reales; but being a great landlord and possessing many señoríos it occurred to him to visit his properties and direct such of his vassals as were ambitious of securing a title of nobility to come and treat with him. Not a judge, nor labourer, nor tradesman that was well to do, but was taken by this bait; with each and all the Marquis discussed the matter, extracting from them severally whatever money he was able, bidding them put their hats on, just as the King does when he names a noble*; and finally giving them patents to duly attest their rights. This device gave him such excellent results on the first of his estates that he would have thought himself a dolt not to practise it in each of the remainder, and everywhere he found it easy to exchange a title of nobility for money, and gained a handsome sum, which allowed of his spending liberally at court. But no man is secure against hostility, and various of the Marquis' enemies endeavoured by reason of this ruse of his to throw him out of favour with the King. Fortunately, however, he contrived to wittily defend himself, and the whole affair was treated as a jest."

*This curious formality is still practised.

It would be amusing to learn whether the vassals of this high-idealled nobleman were among the enemies alluded to, and on which side of their faces they made merry at his jest. One can easily credit, however, that his expenses were large and liberal. During the stay of the French ambassador in Madrid, Philip the Third made him a daily allowance of eight peacocks, twenty-six capons, seventy fowls, a hundred brace of pigeons, a hundred brace of doves, a hundred rabbits and hares, twenty-four sheep, six skins of wine, and numerous other provisions in like abundance. On fast days the ration included a hundred pounds of trout, several hundred pounds of various other fish, a thousand eggs, a hundred pounds of fresh butter, and a skin of oil. Yet it was notorious that the same monarch had no money to pay his servants' wages; and his successor was reduced to hanging a bag in the churches, so that every vagabond was able to boast that "he had given an alms to the King of Spain."

This brings me to the most appalling facts of any-the financial condition of Spain at large. Always indigent from shortly after the Reconquest onwards, her debts were now consuming her. A plethora of gold and silver which reverted to other lands and alien owners as soon as ever it reached her shores, had killed her trade completely. Within a few short years the prices of everything had doubled and trebled; and the profits were no longer for Spanish labour, but for the foreigners who inundated the country with their persons and their merchandise. According to Martínez de la