278 Spanish Highways and Byways. [MARCH, 



The month of October was not far advanced, yet the mountains which 

 surround Escaray were tipped with snow, but the valleys were still ver- 

 dant and fruitful. Fine streams of water intersected the country through 

 which we passed, winding occasionally through huge forests of beech, 

 many noble trees of which I saw lying on the ground in a state of decay. 

 We travelled for miles by a horse-track, over, almost, inaccessible moun- 

 tains, without encountering a living thing excepting eagles and vultures, 

 on their way to regale themselves on the carcase of a dead mule. After 

 travelling sixty miles we arrived late in the evening at the ancient city 

 of Burgos, and put up at the house to which we were recommended, 

 called Las Palomas, immediately opposite the cathedral. This city is 

 the capital of Old Castile, and was in former times a place of great im- 

 portance. The cathedral is a beautiful specimen of Gothic architecture, 

 enriched with pinnacles and elaborate carvings in stone. The twelve 

 apostles are placed in niches over the eastern front, and form a promi- 

 nent feature before entering the church. The interior is crowded with 

 paintings, statuary, and bas-reliefs. In the convent of St. Augustine, 

 they shew a crucifix incontestably proved to be the genuine fabrication of 

 Nicodemus. If we may judge from such a specimen, Nicodemus must 

 undoubtedly have been an amateur workman of considerable merit. 

 The citadel which once stood near the city is now demolished, and the 

 ditches are filled up. It was there that the British troops were repulsed, 

 in their assault, with great slaughter. Amongst the ruins of the citadel, 

 I picked up many musket balls, and pieces of shells, and I thought of 

 the soldier's adage, that " every bullet had its billet." 



Our route now laid through a sandy and sterile country, producing 

 little beside the fir tree, lignum vitas, and the gum schistus, the latter 

 however, perfuming the air with a most delicious fragrance. The defi- 

 ciency of amusement on the road, was by no means compensated by the 

 comfort of the posadas, which were generally of the most wretched des- 

 cription. Little could we procure by way of solace to our appetite, 

 besides those highly seasoned Spanish dishes, so repugnant to the un- 

 initiated English stomach, until we arrived at Buitrago. The moulder- 

 ing walls and towers of this ancient Moorish town, were distinguished 

 in the distance, as we wound round the side of a mountain, and we 

 entered it by the very picturesque approach, of an ancient bridge, and 

 a steep paved causeway. The Duke of Infantado has a large property 

 here : he has a flock of 40,000 sheep, and a lavadero in the neighbour- 

 hood, which I visited. The pile is designated the Infantado, and is 

 marked within an escutcheon. On leaving Buitrago the road traverses a 

 wild open country, and possesses a singular natural phenomenon. Before 

 we approached the small town of Lozayuela, we observed a large tract of 

 ground covered with stones of most extraordinary dimensions ; they are 

 strangely dispersed, and bear the appearance of having been tossed about 

 by one of those great convulsions of nature in a distant age, the traces of 

 which alone remain to excite our admiration and wonder. Many are 

 seen lying in huge disorderly masses, while others bear a more regular 

 appearance, like the Stonehenge in Wiltshire, but of so gigantic a 

 character as to ridicule the pigmy efforts of human ingenuity. They are 

 of grey granite, quite smooth, and are not discoloured with moss, or 

 lichens. But little pasturage is afforded in this singular place for cows 

 and sheep, the stones are spread so thickly as almost entirely to prevent 

 the growth of herbage, and occupy an extent of several mile's. The 

 road afterwards becomes interesting from its rural scenery. The ground 



