THE CONGRESS OE WOMEN.

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the ladies here copy Parisian toilets, and wear hats and bonnets, which do not seem to accord so w T ell with the languorous air of the Spanish beauties as the clinging, graceful fall of lace. Among the commoner people, however, and by elderly ladies, the mantilla is still worn and never loses its charm, softening the features and adding a coquettish touch to any dress. It seems a great pity that the younger element should be gradually discarding it. Nowhere else in Spain can be found so magnifi­cent a collection of the works of Spanish artists as in the world-famous gallery of Madrid, and one can spend hours before the masterpieces of Velasquez and Murillo, as well as in studying the pictures of other painters, such as Goya and Ribera. The former, by-the-by, was so wedded to bull-fights, as well as to his art, that when in later life his home was in Bordeaux, he would take a long journey back to his own country every w'eek or two to witness one of these bloody conflicts. A journey in Spain, I would say, is no small undertaking, for the trains invariably start at an unearthly hour in the morning, the express trains run but three times a week; and as the average rate of speed is from fifteen to eighteen miles per hour, ten hours would easily be consumed in going the short distance of a hundred and fifty miles—amarked contrast to our rapid way of spinning across the continent, where the very fastest trains, with every luxury of modern skill and appliance, is all too slow for the active American. Everyone travels with a lunch basket in Spain, and on opening it its con­tents are displayed and offered to all the occupants of the car. Of course one merely bows and thanks and declines the proffered courtesy, but this ceremony has to be performed every time a fresh piece of bread is eaten, another wing of a chicken devoured, or another pull is taken at the bottle of red wine which always accompanies the repast. This wine has a very acrid taste, produced by being kept in skins which have the hair left on the inside; and one can easily imagine the unpleasant and bitter taste, the indescribable flavor imparted to the liquid within. Goat’s milk is used almost everywhere, and the butter is consequently very athletic. I fear that joke is but a feeble one, not nearly so strong as the butter itself! Cows are not often seen, but occasionally two or three are found cooped up in a wooden stall, and a sign with “ Cow’s Milk ” advertised is a rarity. The cow is milked before you if you wish, so as to show you that you are getting the genuine article. Perhaps last season was a remarka­bly dry one in Spain, but some of the rivers which were marked on the map, and care­fully bridged over, did not appear to the naked eye, as in some places the bed of the river was quite dry, with patches of grass growing here and there, and goats grazing about; white clothes, which had been washed in some shallow pools, were left on the shore on one side, and were spread out to dry on what would ordinarily have been mid-stream. As Charles Dudley Warner happily remarks, in regard to the slippery river called the Eel, in Nova Scotia, “ I never knew how much water had to do with a river until I saw one without!” However, in the spring these rivers can become tur­bulent and dangerous streams, and in the narrow streets of Seville tiles are inserted in the walls of the houses to mark the height to which the w r ater has attained in the freshets of different years when the Guadalquiver has overleaped its natural bounds. Tiles are also placed higher up the walls bearing the names of the streets, one letter on each tile, so that the names can be distinctly seen.

The Spaniards are naturally not an energetic race, but are inclined to leave every­thing to be done tomorrow which could so easily be done today, and manana , tomor­row, is the accepted rule of action. They trust greatly in the help of nature, and what the sun does not accomplish for them in the way of cultivating their land remains for the most part undone. Immense olive farms, however, flourish in the south, and the grapes are delicious beyond expression, being meat and drink and perfume all in one. The poorer people in summer live on bread and grapes to a great extent, occasionally indulging in meat bought cheap from the carcases of the bulls killed in the weekly bull-fights. It is as natural for the Spaniard to smoke as it is for him to take his cup of aromatic chocolate on arising, and his siesta of three or four hours after his sub­stantial breakfast at noon. He is wider awake from midnight until 3 or 4 o’clock