troops seemed desperate, and his almost simultaneous appearance in a distant part of the district, gave rise at length to a belief that no material obstacles could impede his progress, and that he was gifted with a double presence of an inexplicable and fearful character; any poor Alcalde, who, intimidated or bought over by the Government troops, had swerved from his allegiance, was not reassured by circumstances that would have given confidence to a stranger; but as the accounts of Jaime's situation became more hopeless, so, in proportion, he felt an increasing fear that the door of his dwelling might be suddenly forced, and the ubiquitous Chief appear at the head of his armed men."-vol. i, pp. 181-186.

Our author visited the Peninsula in 1821, and was introduced to Ferdinand and his then Queen. On referring in his present work to that period, he exclaims, with a full and deep apprehension of the miseries which have more lately desolated Spain, "Since my visit to the Escurial, how many changes have occurred! King Ferdinand and his youthful consort are no more; the brother, who then graced the court, is now an exile, struggling for his throne. The chivalrous Eroles, the life and soul, and leader of the royal cause, is numbered with the dead. The brave O'Donnel has been butchered in cold blood, and his body horribly mutilated by the unpunished adherents of Mina and the present Queen. Riego, then the idol of the Spanish populace, at whose approach the incessant shout was raised, and over whose triumphant march the choicest flowers of the year were strewed, has died upon a Spanish scaffold. The Empecinado, who shared his crimes or glories-which you will-has shared his fate; Torrijos has met the bloody death he so relentlessly administered; and Mina, a murderer upon system, though still alive, is sinking to the grave, oppressed with disease and infamy." What a tragedy does this catalogue point to! and, making some allowance for political partizanship, what a melancholy volume of modern history do these accumulated crimes and horrors not head in the outline of its index! But we promised to introduce some of the author's adventures; for, both in his latter and former travels in the Peninsula, he seems to have defied, or to have courted the dangers that must ever be ripe in countries distracted by civil war, with a degree of fearlessness, or rather recklessness of liberty and life, which, if not amounting to absolute madness, can only be accounted for, or excused, by the fact of his being at those periods a young man, whose love of excitement outran prudence.

At one time, while deviating in Gallicia from the route indicated in his passport, and asking imprudent questions, he was arrested and narrowly escaped a protracted imprisonment. At another, when in the south of Portugal in 1828, at a period when the country was much divided in reference to Don Miguel, it was next to a miracle that he was not torn to pieces; the mistakes which the jealousies and suspicions of opposite factions necessarily originated, being more than sufficient to compromise any distinguished traveller's

safety. But the account from which we are about to extract fragments and a summary, surpass any that precede, and almost, in point of peril and the intense interest belonging to the narrative, exceed the most absorbing tale of hair-breadth escapes we ever perused.

In 1822, while in the north of Spain, and when the Guerilla parties were not only numerous but ferocious, and whether royalist or liberal, unaccustomed to give quarter, either to enemies or suspected stragglers, the author and a companion, after sending their travelling equipage by a circuitous route, that they might the more conveniently visit the monastery of Montserrat, fell in with one of these unceremonious bands of warriors. Let it be understood also, that with a negligence or infatuation that appears to have been not the least remarkable circumstance in the adventure, our tourists left their passports in their carriage from which they had parted.

"As we proceeded on our journey the scenery became bolder, the road bordered the precipice, and the mountain formed itself into a series of recesses or inland bays, terminated by projecting heights. As we turned one of these headlands, we saw three or four men advance beyond the point which bounded the opposite side of the road, pause, retreat, re-appear, and suddenly fall back, as if startled, and doubtful what course to pursue. This hesitation did not long endure. A party of peasants broke from the shelter of the rock; shouting loudly, they desired us to halt, and keeping their eyes steadily fixed upon us, that their aim might be unerring if we attempted to escape, they came with their muskets to their breast and their hand to the trigger, rushing towards us with the utmost speed. At first the extraordinary position of their bodies, half bent to the earth, from the difficulty of holding their muskets presented in a course so rapid, the wildness of their dress, the frantic yells which they uttered, the irritation stamped on their countenances, and increased by the violence with which they came, rather resembled an irruption of savages than the charge of an organized Guerilla; but when the first tumultuous onset was over, they recovered all their native dignity. Their hair was unconfined, their trowsers blue, their plaid dark red, and the scarlet bonnet of Catalonia fell far down their shoulders. When first they reached us, they held their muskets to our breasts, saying, “You are traitors! you are enemies of the King and the Holy Faith! you shall die! you shall die!' They required us to give up our money; and in the first transport of rage dashed it upon the ground, saying, it was the gold of traitors! But when we assured them that we were strangers totally unconnected with the struggles of the times, that we belonged to that distant country whose sons had fought side by side with them for the rights of King Ferdinand and for Spain, against the people who dwelt beyond those Pyrenees that were them in sight, and to which we pointed as we spoke, they shook hands with us enthusiastically, and gave an unconditional promise that our lives should be respected."—vol. i, pp. 318–320.

The captain of the band and his lieutenant now arrived, who seemed of a superior class in language, manners, and reflection to the original group-less convinced of the guilt of our travellers at

one moment, of their innocence at another. They instituted an examination of their prisoners, both by questionings and searchings; when, unfortunately, three pistol balls were found in one pocket, which instantly changed the face of affairs.

"After some discussion, the Captain turned to us and said we had informed him that our servants had instructions to join us with the carriage at a particular spot, on the opposite side of the mountain; that he would ascertain the fact, and that we should be judged by our own words. If our story proved consistent, and the result of his inquiries satisfactory, we should depart in peace; but if the first proved inconsistent, and the latter unsatisfactory, he had no alternative left in the critical state of their affairs, as no quarter was given to prisoners by either party.

"These words were spoken frankly, but not uncourteously; nor was there any appearance of insult in his manner. This species of dictation was not agreeable from any individual; still I felt, at that time, what my poor Catalan expressed in simple language, some hours afterwards, when we stood on the moor- Senor, your lot has been unfortunate to-day; but such are the chances of men who range over the world.' We now continued our journey, guarded by the band. A wild original, whom we afterwards distinguished by the name of Shocky, from his shock head of hair, attached himself to me, and kept near my horse's head; though such a precaution was quite unnecessary, as any attempt to escape would have been impracticable. He was on terms of familiarity with the Captain, though he seemed to have little authority in the troop; and was certainly more calculated to further an enterprise by his courage and exertions, than to plan and direct its execution. He differed totally in manners and character from the rest of the Guerilla, and was the only individual who uttered any offensive expressions; and these, I have little doubt, originated more in a thoughtlessness and natural vehemence of temper, than in any malignant feeling."vol. i, pp. 321-323,

After proceeding quietly for some distance, a rolling discharge of musketry from the valley below was heard, which intimated to the whole party, prisoners as well as their guards, that a long-expected engagement had commenced between the royalists and constitutionalists; a circumstance which could not fail to act unfavourably to the two unwary Englishmen, as was immediutely realized in the increasing irritation and change of conduct on the part of the Guerillas.

"Their countenances became sullen, and almost ferocious; many scowling glances were bent upon us, many threats were uttered, and they spoke of our guilt as certain. At length we heard the tremendous roar of the cannon; it was awfully reverberated among the rocks, and produced a strong sensation upon the mind of every man. For some minutes I had

closely observed the Captain, who was walking near me, with the young Catalan, along the edge of the precipice. He neither paused nor turned his head towards the quarter whence those blasts proceeded. In spite of the exasperation of his men, and the indignant observations that were indirectly addressed to him, he fixed his eyes upon the ground, and made no reply; his consciousness of those sounds was alone manifested by the

determined slowness of his step, and the increasing gloom of his countenance. This peculiarity of manner was not the effect of indifference or inattention, but arose from a feeling of deep-rooted pride: hemmed in these fastnesses by the Constitutional troops who surrounded the mountain on all sides, separated from his companions in arms, unable to lend them any assistance in the hour of their greatest emergency; compelled to hear inactively the sound of that musketry which was levelling their ranks, and would soon be directed against his own, he would not express an impotent desire of vengeance before two strangers, whom he regarded as secret enemies of his cause; though, in default of better evidence, he had not yielded to the clamour of his band, and signed our death-warrant. That such were his reflections I have little doubt, from his manner, his subsequent conduct, and from casual expressions. At all events, he preserved silence while the musketry continued; but when the loud roar of the cannon suddenly broke upon us, his countenance changed, and the passion that had long been gathering in his breast seemed at once to master his better judgment, as he turned to the young Catalan, and said that the Constitutionalists were at that moment exterminating his companions; that no mercy had been shown to the Royalists who were taken in arms near Tarragon, and that the circumstances under which we were captured justified the retaliation which he would no longer delay."-vol. i, pp. 323-325.

The Catalan, who acted as guide to our travellers, vigorously interposed his conviction that they were unconnected with any party, and in some measure moderated the resolution of the captain. Here is a picture, but one, which we can very well believe, that the author at the time he scanned its subject, had no expectation of ever painting. Yet what poet or artist could finish it more exquisitely in the quietude of unalarmed study? Indeed it may be supposed that the appalling situation of the writer imprinted upon his heart the recollection of features that could, in no other case, have been so vividly beheld or frequently reviewed by his imagination.

"About this time the Guerilla paused near a fountain, formed by a mountain torrent that came down a ravine in the rock. It is not easy to describe the sublimity of the scene that presented itself;-it was a scene that Salvator Rosa should have sketched, and Walter Scott described. We stood amid one of the grandest landscapes of savage nature: above our heads the mountain was clothed to a considerable height with pine forests, that were surmounted by a range of tall gray crags; beneath our fect, stretching as far as the Pyrenees that bounded the distance, lay Catalonia, the theatre of the civil war. The fountain was overhung by a rock, covered with wood, that overshadowed the road with its branches. Beneath this cliff the Guerilla had collected to enjoy a moment's rest in the shade; still the beams of the sun broke at intervals through the foliage, and flashed upon their arms, their dark-red plaid, and scarlet bonnet. The individuals who composed the Guerilla seemed chosen men, in the vigour of youth, and possessed all the characteristic dignity of Spanish manners. Their dress was picturesque, and suited to the scene; their figures were stately; their countenances, for the most part handsome, were now lighted up by the various feelings of anxiety, deep thought, and gloomy resentment. These

passions prevailed, but were differently expressed, as they were more or less felt, according to the temper of each man; but on every countenance I read the same character of high determination. Some were kneeling by the fountain, and drinking with avidity; others reclined along the ground; and a few were leaning on their muskets. One man advanced to the edge of the precipice; and when he heard the heavy sound of the cannon, he clenched his fist and shook it, looking with an expression of determined hatred towards the position that he conceived to be occupied by the Constitutional troops.

"Perhaps there was no circumstance so striking as the courtesy with which we were treated, at a moment when their passions were exasperated, and our doom almost decided. While the Guerilla were reposing under the rock, the Captain asked me whether I were not fatigued, and would not like also to rest; and Shocky, who was my guard, when he paused to drink from the numerous streams that intersected the road, always invited me to follow his example. While the Captain and myself interchanged a few words, the young Catalan, who omitted no opportunity of interceding in our favour, again renewed his advice against intemperate measures; but the Captain turned aside, adding, 'No hay remedio' There is no alternative.'"-vol. i, pp. 326, 327.

No wonder that the ejaculations were now heard; "they are lost men, they are lost men!" What moments of suspense must these have been! But if possible the agony of the scene was carried to a still higher pitch, when, after the captain and lieutenant had held some private conversation, the latter selecting two men from the band, led the way to a narrow path that wound through the wood to the crags above; following up his significant measures, as thus described.

"He ascended the hill a step, turned, drew himself up with dignity, waved his hand, and addressing the Guerilla, said he should mount the heights, to learn if the Spaniards were approaching; for by this appellation they invariably designated the revolutionary forces, in opposition to the native Catalans. He added, that if he perceived them, he should fire as a signal, and then dos tiros a los Senores (two volleys upon the Signors.')"-vol. i, p. 328.

Soon afterwards a musket was fired; but it was not the appointed signal; and the captain at length becoming convinced that the senores were men of honour and good faith," the adventure ended, and the dreadful predicament was got over, as the trembling reader and enchained fancy desires that all such terrible things should end.

We might adduce a number of instances besides those already referred to, in which the author was in trouble, and the object of suspicion while travelling over the Peninsula. One of the most amusing of these passages of his eventful wanderings, occurs in his examination by Eguia, now the celebrated Carlist chief, and who was at that time captain general of Gallicia. This functionary is described to have not only looked like one of the old Inquisitors in