down to the smallest unpaid official. With
two-thirds the excuse is, "We are so ill-paid, we must take bribes;"
with the other third the excuse is, "It is the custom of the island."
Spain could formerly boast pre-eminence in barbarity--she has now
attained to pre-eminence in official corruption; but the day must come,
though it may yet be distant, when her noble sons of toil will burst the
fetters of ignorance in which they are bound, and rescue their fair land
from the paltry nothingness of position which it occupies among the
nations of Europe, despite many generous and noble hearts which even
now, in her degradation, are to be found blushing over present realities
and striving to live on past recollections.

There were some British men-of-war lying in the harbour; and as my two
German friends were anxious to see the great-gun exercise, I went on
board with these gentlemen to witness the drill, with which they were
much pleased. After it was over, and the ship's company had gone to
dinner, they wished to smoke a cigar, the whiffs of Jack's pipe having
reached their olfactories. Great was their astonishment, and infinite my
disgust, when we were walked forward to the galley to enjoy our weed, to
find the crew smoking on the opposite side. It is astonishing to think
that, with so much to be improved and attended to in the Navy, the
authorities in Whitehall-place should fiddle-faddle away precious time
in framing regulations about smoking, for the officers; and, instead of
leaving the place to be fixed by the captain of each vessel, and holding
him responsible, should name a place which, it is not too much to say,
scarce one captain in ten thinks of confining his officers to, for the
obvious reason that discipline is better preserved by keeping the
officers and men apart during such occupations,--and, moreover, that
sending officers to the kitchen to smoke is unnecessarily offensive.
These same orders existed thirty years ago; and, as it was well known
they were never attended to, except by some anti-smoking captain, who
used them as an excuse, the Admiralty very wisely rescinded an order
which, by being all but universally disregarded, tended to weaken the
weight and authority of all other orders; and after the word "galley,"
they then added, "or such other place as the captain shall appoint."
After some years, however, so little was there of greater importance to
engage their attention in naval affairs, that this sensib