_Madrid in 1835. Sketches of the Metropolis of Spain and its
Inhabitants, and of Society and Manners in the Peninsula. By a
Resident Officer. Two volumes in one. New York: Saunders & Otley._
One portion of this title appertains to volume the first, the other to
volume the second. Of Madrid, the author has managed to present a
vivid picture by means of a few almost scratchy outlines. He by no
means goes over the whole ground of the city, nor is he more definite
than necessary; but the most striking features of the life and
still-life of the Metropolis are selected with judgment, and given
with effect. The manner of the narrative is singularly _à la
Trollope_—and this we look upon as no little recommendation with that
large proportion of readers who, in laughing over a book, care not
overmuch whether the laugh be at the author or with him.
The sketches, here, of the manners and social habits of Madrid are
done with sufficient freedom, and a startling degree of _breadth_; yet
the details, for the most part, have an air of profound truth, and the
conviction will force itself upon the mind of the reader that the
“Resident Officer” who amuses him is thoroughly conversant with his
subject. Such passages as the following, however, are perhaps somewhat
overcolored:
No place offers such perfect social facility as the Spanish
_tertulia_. Any body presented by any other body at all known to the
master of the house, is sure to be politely received, and, unless in
some very peculiar case, offered the house—the usual compliment paid
to a stranger or new acquaintance. The great demoralization of society
in Spain, may be attributed, in no small degree, to this unbounded
admission of a nameless crowd, destitute even of the slightest
pretensions to birth, talent or character, into the best houses of the
capital and country, where they elbow, and are elbowed by, the most
distinguished individuals in the nation—on a footing of the most
perfect equality.... A decent coat and look, and the show of a few
ounces, are much better passports to society than the best character
and station. The master of the house is frequently ignorant of the
quality and circumstances of his guests. The usual answer to the query
“Do you know that man?” is “No, I know nothing at all about him; he
was introduced by so-and-so, who comes here often, but he appears a
_buen sujeto, muy fino y atento_.”
Notwithstanding the greater variety and racy picturesqueness of volume
one, volume two will be found upon the whole more entertaining. Here
the author deals freely, and _en connoisseur_, with the Ministry, the
Monasteries, the Clergy and their influence, with Prisons, Beggars,
Hospitals and Convents. This portion of the work includes also some
memorabilia of the year 1835—the Cholera and the Massacre of July. A
chapter on the Spanish Nobility is full of interest.
The work is a large octavo of 340 pages, handsomely printed and bound,
and embellished with two good engravings—one of the Convent of the
Salesas Viejas, the other of the Prado by twilight.