124 GRAPE CULTURE AND WINE-MAKING. 



In tliis fair is offered for sale every thing which can be ima- 

 gined used for household or domestic economy, from a spoon to 

 a stove, a canary-bird to a hare, a needle to a dress, a ring to a 

 diamond, a sheet of paper to a library, a knife to a plow ; and, in 

 fact, every thing which is made use of in domestic economy, as 

 well as many that are not. I found nothing worthy of note here, 

 and, in fact, I may say that Madrid fell far below my expecta- 

 tions. There are many provincial cities in EurojDC which are 

 much handsomer. 



The royal palace is large and very good-looking. It is very 

 plain, having little ornament and no statues. The statues round 

 the circular garden in front of the palace are none the better for 

 wear. They are hewn out of some sandstone instead of marble, 

 and represent the ancient kings and queens of Spain, besides 

 some of its heroes. The garden itself is pretty handsome. The 

 palace is on a splendid elevation at one end of the city, but what 

 a dreary, barren waste is seen from it ! This waste commences 

 almost under the walls of the palace. There is nothing to relieve 

 the eye; no green, no meadows, no woods, no gardens, no cha- 

 teaux — not even farms. All that is seen is stubble-fields, and 

 now and then a brick-manufactory. Even the queen's garden is 

 of little consequence, and looks most sadly neglected. The streets 

 are not better, if even as good as those of San Francisco, The 

 world-renowned Prado has miserable old stumpy trees, half de- 

 cayed, ill kept, and possesses dust enough to frighten any man 

 who has black boots. 



However, Madrid has one advantage over all Europe and Amer- 

 ica, and that is its fountain, which plays in the middle of the 

 square of the city. It has no ornaments whatever, simply a basin, 

 which is 100 feet in diameter, in the centre of which is an iron 

 pipe about four inches in diameter. This sends out a stream of 

 water which rises to 170 feet. Seen from a distance, it looks like 

 snow curling up from the ground. The Botanic Gardens are in 

 progress, and promise well. 



But I have neglected to give an account of the country through 

 which we traveled. It was a wide plain, cultivated with wheat, 

 barley, and oats. The people live in villages; therefore from 

 one town to the other there is nothing to break the monotony of 

 the plain — no haystack, house, or even pile of rocks. The vil- 

 lages in the plains consist of low and miserable houses. In the 

 streets there are probably one or two shops, the whole value of 

 the place being $500, if so much. 



