Madrid 



What a sum they must cost you in postage ; for here letters 

 to England cannot be paid for. Your delicate foreign 

 letter-paper sheets cost me about three shillings ; but my 

 revenge is something terrible to think of. If we come back 

 alive from Cuenca, you shall have a ponderous account of 

 our expedition. 



Ever, &c. 



P.S. — As we have breakfasted earlier than we need have 

 done, and the Cuenca diligence does not set off till noon, I 

 have time to spare ; so I have determined to cover my letter 

 with another half-sheet, and write a postscript on it about 

 Madrid. 



It is a vaguish affair to have to squeeze a whole capital 

 into a postscript ; but I have no time to individualise, and 

 a postscript on something in general will follow well enough 

 after a letter about nothing particular. 



Madrid is built in a roundish square, with a wall and 

 boulevard squaring the circle. On the western brow of the 

 plateau is the palace, which has some handsome rooms in it. 

 We saw a very good copy of Murillo's best picture (in the 

 Madrid gallery) hung in the palace, and thinking it might 

 be a duplicate of the artist himself, learnt it was a copy by 

 the queen. 



Next door to the palace is the great armoury. Here we 

 saw the swords and suits of many heroes of high fame, and 

 exquisite workmanship. It made me wish I had lived in 

 those times, that I might have inlaid myself a suit of black 

 steel with silver patterns of my own device. The Christian 

 patterns showed a paucity of invention ; but the Moorish 

 were good in device, though I think not so graceful in form. 

 The armour of Boabdil is very nicely inlaid. But what do 

 you care about bosses and borders, and jewel-hilted rapiers ? 



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