It is hardly necessary to state, that all the regular establishments of the country are in the worst possible condition as regards organization, subordination, and efficiency. The army, nearly doubled by Narvaez, and now supposed to exceed 100,000 men, is managed much on the same principle as the Prætorian bands at Rome. Coute qui coute, they must be kept in good-humour; and appeals are made to them on every occurrence of importance. In case of invasion, however, an army of a widely different character might be improvised at a moment's warning from the peasantry, not one of whom is to be found without his gun; and the individual bravery of the Spaniard was never questioned; though, since the days of their famous infantry, their regular battalions have never figured to much advantage in the field.

The Spanish Church was formerly the richest in Europe; it is now the poorest. The revenue allotted on the confiscation of its property in 1835, looks well enough on paper, but not half of it is ever paid at all, and what is paid is generally in arrear. The enforcing of the tax devolves on the local elective magistrate, (the alcade,) who cannot be expected to risk the favour of his constituents by an unpopular levy; and the consequence is, that the clergy have little to depend upon but the voluntary principle. Yet, unless Christina and Carlos equally mistake the spirit of the people, that spirit is little altered since the days of Alva, and superstition is as rife as ever in the mass. Carlos's proclamation on entering Spain has been already mentioned; and Christina on her return from France thought it politic to make an equally remarkable display of saint-worship and genuflexion. A river,' says Mr Hughes, in allusion to the fashion set by her in this respect, overflowed its banks, and relics were brought forth and paraded with great pomp to make the rebellious waters retire. A drought occurred at Seville, and relics were again carried forth to bring the rebellious waters from the clouds. Hints have even been dropped from time to time of a project, favoured by the Moderado party, for a partial restitution to the church; but this seems hopeless, and after such a lapse of time, would be unjust to the present holders of the property. The utmost the clergy can expect is the regular payment of their allotted income. The expelled monks are called exclaustrados. Mr Hughes describes one of these, a Dominican of noble blood, as one of the most interesting old men he had ever met; adding, his stated allowance from the government was about £20 a-year, and he received less than £10!'

There is a branch of revenue still more irregularly paid,the import duties; and the contrabandists, or smugglers, form a recognised class, a regular estate, in Spain. They are counted

by hundreds of thousands; they muster in detachments; they evade the custom-house officers, when they are not obliged to go much out of their way to pay this formal respect to authority; but, if the coast is dangerous and the cargo worth fighting for, they boldly storm the barrier. Instances are mentioned in which three or four hundred smugglers have engaged in pitched battles with a superior number of regular troops, and defeated them. As for bribery, it is systematised, and the tariff of corruption is better understood than any other tariff. It need hardly be added, that the contraband interest is very powerful, and virtually opposed to any kind of commercial treaty which should have the reduction of duties for its object.

Smuggling is reckoned a respectable profession, to which a son or nephew may be brought up. One kind of lawlessness, however, leads to another, and both the contrabandist and the guerilla soldier occasionally turn bandit. Let Mr: Ford palliate the matter as he will, by talking of Spain being merely what England was sixty years ago, with Hounslow Heath and Finchley Common, it is plain that the country is infested by robbers to an almost unprecedented extent; and that, to find a parallel period, we must go back, not sixty years, but six hundred-to the times of De Bracy's free lances, and Robin Hood's foresters. One robber-chief, called the Andalusian Abd-el-Kader, (the Arab would not be flattered by the comparison,) has been frequently at the head of five hundred men; and one of his most famous exploits the caning of a respectable physician until he signed an order for 5000 ducats-is pretty nearly on a par with the meditated roasting of Isaac in 'Front-de-Boeuf's' castle. Mr Ford's precautionary hints are far from inspiring confidence. He recommends the traveller to have a showy watch, and a decent sum of money about him, or the robbers may deem themselves defrauded of their just dues, and use violence: thus - An Englishman will do well, when travelling in exposed districts, to be provided with a bag containing fifty to one hundred dollars, which makes a handsome purse, feels heavy in the hand, and is that sort of amount which the Spanish brigand thinks a native of this proverbially rich country ought to have with him on his travels.' For coach passengers to carry pistols is an absurdity, as the attack is always made with overwhelming numbers; but we are assured that three or four mounted Englishmen, armed with double-barrelled guns, and riding in single file, may traverse most districts unchallenged; for the Spanish robber, like a tiger or an Indian warrior, never fairly confronts an adversary, and shrinks back into his ambush when foiled in an opportunity to spring unperceived upon his prey. It ought N †

VOL. LXXXIV. NO. CLXIX.

to be added, that during the rifling of the luggage, (an operation which may last an hour or two,) all the passengers are laid flat on their faces in the road.

Mr Ford has a decided taste for pietures and women, and discusses both con amore. One of the most curious anecdotes he has recorded regarding Spanish paintings is, that the peculiar brown of Murillo and Velasquez was compounded by these great artists from the burnt bones of their olla. One of the most remarkable traits he mentions regarding Spanish women is the practice, prevalent in Seville and Madrid, of wearing a knife in the garter, for the defence of honour and the revenge of inconstancy; an act of rudeness being instantly rewarded with a stab, and a lover's fickleness by a slash across the face.

We are sorry we cannot find room for the whole of the animated description of the fandango, (p. 187,) but we must quote the end of it:

It carries all before it. There is a truth which overpowers the fastidious judgment. Away, then, with the studied grace of the French danseuse, beautiful but artificial, cold and selfish as is the flicker of her love, compared to the real impassioned aboundon of the daughters of the south. There is nothing indecent in this dance; no one is tired or the worse for it. "Un ballet ne saurait être trop long, pourvu que la morale soit bonne, et la metaphysique bien entendue," says Molière. The jealous Toledan clergy once wished to put the Bolero down, on the pretence of immorality. The dancers were allowed in evidence to “give a view to the court; when they began,, the bench and bar showed symptoms of restlessness, and at last, casting aside gowns and briefs, joined, as if tarantula bitten, in the irresistible capering. Verdict for the defendants with costs: solvuntur risu tabulæ,

We are loth to go back to politics, but we may just mention that the grand question at the present time, one really of vital importance to the country, is the marriage of the young queen. Louis Philippe wants her for his son the Duc d'Aumale; and the boast which Louis the. Fourteenth vainly promulgated at Versailles, Il n'y a plus de Pyrenées, is on the point of being revived at the Tuileries; but the barrier of rock and snow remains unaltered; and when the French have passed it, they will find a still more impracticable barrier, the deep-rooted antipathy of an entire nation, to break down. The hatred of a Frenchman (said the Duke) forms part of a Spaniard's nature. We do not believe, therefore, that the French interest will ever be popular, but it may influence, greatly to the detriment of English commerce, all or any of the mushroom governments or governing factions that are constantly springing up, to wither. like the gourd of the Prophet, and should therefore be steadily watched.

As for the future prospects of Spain, he must be a bold man who should attempt to speculate upon them: and when we mourn over the degradation of the Spanish nation, we must not forget that the bulk of them possess an abundant portion of material enjoyments, and are little disturbed by circumstances or reflections which harrass or oppress the more highminded and intellectual among their countrymen. • They may 'not have carpets, votes, trial by jury, beef, beer, breeches, • Punch and the Examiner, (says Mr Ford,) but they have wine, grapes, melons, ices, songs, dances, and the guitar; love, fans, and melodramas in churches gratis, and they are happy.'

They are more than happy, they are proud. Adam, they say, had permission a few years ago to revisit the globe. He alighted in Italy, and was quite lost, every thing being so changed; he proceeded to Germany and France, and recognised nothing; crossed over to England, and felt still more abroad; but on reaching Spain he clapped his hands: Ah! ah! Here I am quite at home; it is just like the garden of Eden when I left it. A Spaniard, before whom an Englishman was rather mockingly relating the story, drew himself up, and observed very gravely Yes, sir, and he was right, for Spain is Paradise.'

ART. VIII-1. S. Clementis Romani, S. Ignatii, S. Polycarpi, Patrum Apostolicorum, quæ supersunt: accedunt S. Ignatii et S. Polycarpi martyria; ad fidem codicum recensuit, adnotationibus variorum et suis illustravit, indicibus instruxit, GULIELMUS JACOBSON, A.M., Aulæ B. Mariæ Magdalenæ, Vice-Principalis Collegii Exon, nuper socius. 2 vols. 8vo. Oxon: 1840. 2. Easy Lessons on the Evidences of Christianity. 12mo. London: 1838.

3. Lives of the English Saints. Nos. I-XII. 12mo. London: 1845.

4. An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine. By J. H. NEWMAN. 8vo. London : 1845.

I'

T has been observed by a contemporary writer, that the present is an age destitute of faith, yet dreading scepticism;' and if by faith' be meant a well-founded and rational belief, and by 'scepticism' the outward avowal of disbelief, then there is doubtless much truth in the remark. We may certainly discover the manifestations of such characteristics, (the one, in fact, a not

unnatural consequence of the other,) in much of the prevalent language and tone of sentiment on religious and theological subjects; especially in reference to those questions so much agitated at the present time relative to what is called Christian • Antiquity.'

It is certainly a remarkable feature in these controversies, that so many take an interest in them, which could not have been expected from the nature of the subjects, at least if taken merely in the meaning and bearing which they externally exhibit. But a little reflection will soon satisfy the candid enquirer, that when the real nature of these questions is accurately studied, they are found to disclose a relation to deeper enquiries than outward appearance would at first sight lead us to suspect.

While, at the present day, any offensive obtrusion of avowed disbelief has almost wholly disappeared, at least among the better educated classes of society, and the more respectable order of writers; yet in some discussions presenting exterior features and claims to notice of a widely different kind, we cannot but trace indications of modes of thought which seem nearly allied to the speculations of scepticism; and, especially under a seeming devo tion to ecclesiastical antiquity, and the maintenance of certain forms and dogmas, a closer examination may often discover the influence of principles involving the security of the foundations of all religion.

In a religion claiming to be true, professing to trace its origin in historical events, and connecting itself with tangible facts, as it must be supposed that the grounds of these claims would be of a kind prominently distinguishable, and unambiguous in their character; so it might be expected that they would always be held forth by the disciples and advocates of the faith, and that the study of them would be the first object of attention, as well with consistent believers as with candid enquirers of every class. Yet the profession of Christianity in the world, especially at the present day, commonly presents an instance of a very opposite kind. The distinctive grounds on which the alleged revelation is accepted, and the precise nature of its claims, are among the points least generally attended to. And while the many adopt, without thought or enquiry, the prevalent creed, those who feel the deepest interest in such subjects, and insist most strongly on high and mysterious points of doctrine, are too ready to overlook or despise the study of the grounds on which all belief must rest. In fact, comparatively few think it necessary, or even perhaps right, to examine critically into the evidence and nature of the faith they profess; and not a few systematically discard all such enquiries, and avowedly found their