House^Garden 
Vol.II NOVEMBER, 1902 No.11 
T HE country around Madrid, and in fact 
most of the central part of Spain is an im¬ 
mense wind-swept plateau, elevated some two 
thousand feet above the sea level. Vast 
plains extend in all directions, almost devoid 
of dwellings, and even of vegetation, save 
here and there the starveling wheat which 
barely hides the barren soil, and, occasion¬ 
ally, a few solitary trees which, scattered 
about on the horizon, relieve the monotony of 
the landscape. No traveller who has entered 
Madrid by daylight can help being impressed 
by these desolate fields, which stretch even 
to the city gates. Without the least hint 
that he is approaching a well-peopled capital, 
he is suddenly brought face to face with palace, 
dome and spire; the scene changes with 
magic rapidity. He leaves the arid plains ; 
and lo ! Madrid, on a low sloping hill, 
bursts upon his view. The customary 
suburbs of the modern city are here entirely 
lacking; and in this respect, perhaps, the 
Spanish capital stands unique and alone. 
Attractive as it proves on nearer acquaintance 
'with its wonderful gallery, and scarcely less 
celebrated armory, its touch of royalty, and 
its alluring bull-fights, there is withal an air 
of despondency about the city. One soon 
wearies of the glare of the hot sun-baked 
streets, and yearns for an excursion into the 
world of woods and flowers, and to the cool¬ 
ness of refreshing brooks. 
But Madrid, unlike its sister capitals— 
Paris or Rome—boasts of no Versailles nor 
Tivoli in its immediate neighborhood. It 
was when we were in search of some such 
spots as these, that we heard first of the once 
favorite summer palace of the court, with its 
gardens and streams, distant thirty miles at 
the village of Aranjuez. Eager for the 
adventure, but not with the most entire con¬ 
fidence as to what should be our reward, we 
prepared to leave the city the next morning. 
The hot and busy Puerto del Sol was will¬ 
ingly left behind, and we were off at an early 
hour, en route for the station.Why 
mention the inevitable delays ? It is a Span¬ 
ish railway ; the phrase must cover a multi¬ 
tude of sins. 
The day is a glorious one—a bright May 
freshness in the air, that which comes the 
world over with that delightful month. In 
these southern countries its exhilirating fresh¬ 
ness is to be doubly appreciated, for here the 
