her, and in whatever
rank of society, is devout, naturally kind-hearted and sympathetic,
polite, and entirely unaffected; a good mother, sister, daughter;
hard-working and frugal, if she be of the lower class; fond above all
things of gossip, and of what passes for conversation; light-hearted,
full of fun and harmless mischief; born a coquette, but only with that
kind of coquetry which is inseparable from unspoiled sex, with no taint
of sordidness about it; and, before all things, absolutely free from
affectation. Their own expression, _muy simpatica_, gives better than
any other the charm of the Spanish woman, whether young or old, gentle
or simple.

It was the possession of all these qualities in a high degree by Dona
Isabel II. that covered the multitude of her sins, and made all who
came within her influence speak gently of her, and think more of excuses
than of blame. It is these qualities which give so much popularity to
her daughter, the Infanta Isabel, who, like her mother, is above all
things _muy Espanola_. That the Spanish woman is passionate, goes
without saying; one only has to watch the quick flash of her
eye--"throwing out sparks," as their own expression may be
translated--to be aware of that. While the eyes of the men are for the
most part languid, only occasionally flashing forth, those of the women
are rarely quiet for a moment; they sparkle, they languish, they
flame--a whole gamut of expression in one moment of time; and it must be
confessed that they look upon man as their natural prey.

CHAPTER IV

SPANISH SOCIETY

There is something specially charming about Spanish society, its freedom
from formality, the genuine pleasure and hospitality with which each
guest is received, and the extreme simplicity of the entertainment. In
speaking, however, of society in Madrid and other modern towns, it must
be remembered that the old manners and customs are to a great extent
being modified and assimilated with those of the other Continental
cities. A great number of the Spanish nobility spend the season in Paris
or in London as regularly as any of the fashionable people in France or
England. There is no country life in Spain, as we understand the word;
those of the upper ten thousand who have castles or great houses in the
provinces rarely visit them, and still more rarely entertain there. A
hunting or a shooting party at one of these is quite an event; so when
the great people leave Madrid, it is