delity of the army, and this he sought to ensure by every
possible means. "The priest may starve and the exclaustrado perish; the
last rotten planks of the navy may go to pieces; public monuments may
totter for want of conservation or repairs; the civil employe may be
pinched, and the very palace pine for its arrears; but money must be found
to clothe and feed the army, and maintain it like a prancing charger." The
extent to which this courting and propitiation of the soldiery is carried,
is almost incredible, and often ridiculous. Allowances of cigars, extra
rations of wine upon holidays, boxes and stalls at the theatre provided
gratis for the officers upon the Queen's birth-day--these and similar
indulgences are the sops thrown by Narvaez to his capricious cohorts. But,
with all his pains, he obtains no feeling of security. He is well aware
that no man in Spain has so many enemies, not mere ill-wishers, but deadly
foes thirsting for his blood; he knows that the National Guards of Madrid
have sworn his destruction; and he cannot even tell how soon he may be
turned upon or betrayed by the very army which he takes such trouble to
conciliate. They may sell Narvaez, as they sold Espartero, to the highest
bidder.

In a recent number of this Magazine, we took occasion to animadvert on the
conceit and presumption of certain tourists who imagine themselves
qualified by a flying visit to write their opinions concerning a country
and people, thus doing grievous injustice to those they write about, and
sadly misleading any credulous portion of the public which may be beguiled
into reading and placing confidence in their lucubrations. It has been
seen that no such reproach can be addressed to the author of the book we
are now noticing, who has moreover performed his labour, which was no
light one, in a conscientious and creditable manner, without prejudice,
favour, or affection. We scarcely think he does full justice to Espartero,
whom we must still persist in considering the most estimable and
respectable of the Spanish public men of the day. He may not possess the
glowing and fascinating eloquence of an Olozaga, nor the fierce energy of
a Narvaez; but neither has he the versatile insincerity of the former, nor
the unscrupulous and brutal recklessness of the latter. He has not, like
Olozaga, according to the uncontradicted testimony of Roca de Togores in
the Cortes, "broken faith with all parties;" nor did he ever, like
Narvaez, c