moonlight, or with the marvellous blue vault overhead, that seems so
much higher and greater there than elsewhere, studded with planet and
star, luminous beyond all that we know in our little island, where the
blue is so pale by comparison, and the atmosphere laden with moisture
when we think it most clear. I do not remember elsewhere in Spain, or in
any other country, such a depth of sky or such brilliancy of moon and
star light as in Madrid, where it is as easy to read by night as by day
on some occasions.

Given plenty of water, and Madrid is an ideal place for flowers. Such
carnations as those which are grown in the nursery gardens there are
never seen elsewhere--they are a revelation in horticulture; nor are the
roses any less wonderful. The bouquet with which a Spaniard, whether
_hidalgo_ or one of your servants, greets your birthday is generally a
pyramid almost as tall as yourself. It needs to be placed in a large
earthenware jar on the floor, and if you should be happy enough to have
a good many friends, there is scarcely room for anything else in your
_gabinete_. The flowers one can raise in a balcony in Madrid merely by
using plenty of water, syringing the dust off the leaves, and shading
them occasionally from the worst heat, are more than equal to anything a
hothouse in England can produce. An idea may be formed of the really
marvellous fertility of the soil and climate by the rapidity with which
seeds develop. I remember one summer, when some of the new gardens were
being laid out in the Buen Retiro, a grand concert and evening _fete_
was to be given as the opening function. On the evening before this
entertainment was to take place we happened to be near, and strolled in
to see how the preparations were going on. The gravel walks were all
there, the stands for the bands, the Chinese lanterns hanging from the
trees, but where was the grass? Alas! wherever it ought to have been
were to be seen brown, sad-looking patches of bare earth, not a blade
springing anywhere; what was worse, an army of gardeners were, at that
moment only, sowing the seed in some patches, while others were being
rolled, and watered with hose. _Cosa de Espana!_ of course. It had been
put off to _manana_, until now there might be _fete_, but no gardens.
The following evening, when in company with all Madrid we went to the
concert, behold a transformation! Soft, green, velvety sward--not to be
walked on, it is true, but lovely to behold--