we give an engraving of a group of priests of Madrid. They are dressed in their peculiar garb, and wear on their countenances an expression of real or assumed wisdom. Like many other warm countries, Spain is overrun with a class of priests who do much to impoverish the land. Where the people are ignorant and uncultivated, and guided by those whose interest it is to keep them so, there is little hope of much progression. Educate the masses, render them capable of judging for themselves what is just and reasonable, and what is the contrary, and we see prosperity and happiness.

There are many kind and conscientious priests who do good to their people, but it must also be confessed that some of them are idle, dirty and ignorant; entirely unfit to fill the place of spiritual guides and teachers. The same can be said of some Protestant clergymen who are not suited for the offices they hold.

A picture of the nurses of Madrid is given on page 509. The most conspicuous one, who stands with her back towards us, shows the manner of carrying children. They are placed in a basket-like receptacle and slung to the shoulders of the nurse, as seen in the engraving. Here we notice a handkerchief on the head, hair gathered in one long massive braid and tied at the end with a bow of ribbon, long earrings, short skirts and extensive hoops, which display the slippered feet. Their costume is picturesque and faces are always animated.

On page 510 are seen two female Spanish domestics, young servant girls, evidently in their holiday dress. They are tripping down the street, their feet liberally displayed by the short dresses, and wear on their faces regular features, and large flashing eyes, the true half Spanish and half Indian expression. One can imagine them dancing a fandango or witnessing a bull-fight, every motion and glance full of animation and fire.

particularly so to persons of weak lungs. In summer the heat and glare are often of African intensity, while in winter there are times when a greater degree of cold is felt than is usual in London.

In shape, the city is nearly a square, with the corners rounded off; its diameter from east to west being one mile and three-quarters, and from north to south about two miles. It is walled, though not sufficiently for resistance, and is entered by sixteen public gates, large and small. The finest of these gates are the Puerta de Alcala on the east, facing on one hand the street of the same name, and on the other the road to Aragon; and the Puerta de Toledo on the south, which was commenced in 1813, and erected to commemorate the happy end of the war of independence.

Madrid contains 512 streets, and 70 squares of all sizes, distributed rather irregularly around the Puerta del Sol, which, like Temple Bar in London, is in the centre of the capital, though once the east gate. This small place is situated in the middle of the long line of streets which traverse the city from the Prado (meadow) on the east to the river on the west; the Calle de Alcala, a spacious street, with handsome buildings, and lined with trees; the Calle Mayor (greater or main street), etc. These are crossed near this point by two other important streets-the Calle de Montera and Calle de las Carretas. Thus the Puerta del Sol is the centre of the life and activity of Madrid, like the heart where all the great arteries meet and diverge. The city contains upwards of 8000 houses, which are arranged like those of Paris, for several families, on different floors. The streets in the old quarters, built before Madrid was the capital, are narrow and crooked, especially in the southwest part of the city. In the east and more modern part they are well-paved, spacious, and lighted with gas.

The Puerta del Sol is the daily resort of great numbers of people, and unites the social advantages of a club to the privileges of a public lounging-place. The lack of activity and enterprise in the city is compensated for here by the discussion of the news of the day, particularly that of a political and scandalous nature. While the ladies of Madrid see each other in the churches, the gentlemen meet in the Puerta del Sol. It is the favorite resort of adventurers, beggars,

of the Moors-that was burned down on Christmas Eve, 1734, and is of immense extent, being 470 feet each way, and 100 feet high. The base is of granite, the window work of white Colmenar stone, that glitters in the sun like marble, and the architecture is combined Doric and Ionic. It contains a small but splendid Corinthian chapel, and a library of nearly 100,000 volumes, and the collection of arms is one of the finest in the world.

The Calle de Alcala, three-quarters of a mile in length, is the finest street in Spain, and one of the finest in Europe. To the left and outside of the gate of Alcala is the Plaza de Toros, where the famous bull-fights are held; a large circular structure about 1100 feet in circumference, and accommodating from 12,000 to 15,000 spectators. It belongs to the government, and the profits are used for public charities. Here it has been the custom for bull-fights to take place every Monday afternoon, and sometimes on Sundays.

Beyond the pavements, and yet within the gates of the capital, is the Prado, the Hyde Park of Madrid, nearly two miles long, and including extensive pleasure grounds. Mr. Bryant says of the Prado: "Every afternoon in fine weather at this season (November), a dense throng of the well-dressed people of the capital walk up and down the Prado till the twilight warns them home. They move with a leisurely pace between the colossal lions of white marble, which form the fountain of Cybele on the north, to those of the sea-monsters of the fountain of Neptune on

the south; and then turning, measure the ground over and over again till the proper number of hours is consumed. The men are unexceptionably dressed with nicely brushed hats, glittering boots and fresh gloves; the favorite color of their kids is yellow. The ladies are mostly in black, with the black veil of the country resting on their shoulders; they wear skirts that trail in the dust, and they move, with a certain easy dignity which is thought to be peculiar to the nation. Close to the walk is the promenade for carriages, which pass slowly over the ground, up one side and down the other, till those who sit in them are tired. Here are to be seen the showy liveries of the grandees and opulent hidalgos of Spain, and of the foreign ambassadors."

The churches of Madrid are scarcely worthy of notice, except those of San Isidro and of the convent of La Encarnacion. The church of Maria de la Almudena is the most ancient, and was formerly a Moorish mosque.

The royal musuem of painting and sculpture in the Prado is one of the finest picture galleries in the world, and contains the best works of Murillo, Velasquez, and other great Spanish masters. One long room is almost covered with the works of Rubens; the Titians fill another room; and Paul Veronese is almost as well represented here as in Venice. There are several fine Guidos, and ten pictures by Raphael; twenty-two pictures by Vandyke, a large number by Teniers, and some of Claude Lorraine's most beautiful landscapes.

The places rendered memorable as the scenes of our forefathers' brave struggle for independence must ever excite the deepest interest in the minds of the American people. The associations connected with such spots are very vivid, and we feel the spirit of the Revolution stir within us, as we live over again the times that "tried men's souls," while gazing either upon the scenes themselves or their pictured representations.

On page 512 we have a fine view of a Revolutionary monument at Lexington, the celebrated spot where the first armed encounter between the British troops and Americans took place. This monument was erected on Lexington common in 1799. Doubtless succeeding generations will view with equal

interest memorials like this, and those which will be erected in various sections as reminders of our late terrible civil war. The tales of the Revolution will then be rivalled in interest by the thrilling narratives, told by old white-haired men, of the sufferings, bravery, and hairbreadth escapes of the Union and Confederate soldiers.

The town of Lexington is the terminating point of the Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad. A great quantity of milk is produced there, and several hundred thousand gallons are annually sent to the Boston market. It contains a number of churches and a high school. The place is chiefly memorable for its historical associations.

The town of Concord was founded in 1635,