g by fifty-two wide and eighty-four high; the high altar is situated
in the rounded apse; in the centre of the church the choir stalls of the
fifteenth century obstruct the view of the walls, decorated only by
means of pilasters which pretend to support the Gothic vaulting.

To the right, in the altar chapel, is a fine marble sepulchre of the
sixteenth century, in which the chasuble of the kneeling bishop
portrayed is among the best pieces of imitative sculpture to be seen in
Spain.

To the right of the high altar, and buried in the cathedral wall, a door
leads out into the _paseo_,--a walk on the broad walls of the city, with
a delightful view southwards across the river to the prairie in the
distance. Where can a prettier and more natural cloister be found?

The western facade is never used, and is surrounded by the old
cemetery,--a rather peculiar place for a cemetery in a cathedral church;
the northern facade is anti-artistic, but the tower to the right has
one great virtue, that of comparative height. Though evidently intended
to be Gothic, the Arab taste, so pronounced throughout this region, got
the better of the architect, and he erected a square steeple crowned by
a cupola.

Yet, and in spite of criticism which can hardly find an element worthy
of praise in the whole cathedral building, the tourist should not
hesitate in visiting the city. Besides, the whole region of Northern
Extremadura, in which Coria and Plasencia lie, is historically most
interesting: Yuste, where Charles-Quint spent the last years of his
life, is not far off; neither is the Convent of Guadalupe, famous for
its pictures by the great Zurbaran.

As for Coria itself, it is a forgotten corner of Moor-land.

VII

PLASENCIA

The foundation of Plasencia by King Alfonso VIII. in 1178, and the
erection of a new episcopal see twelve years later, can be regarded as
the _coup de grace_ given to the importance of Coria, the twin sister
forty miles away. Nevertheless, the Royal City, as Plasencia was called,
which ended by burying its older rival in the most shocking oblivion,
was not able to acquire a name in history. Founded by a king, and handed
over to a bishop and to favourite courtiers, who ruled it indifferently
well, not to say badly, it grew up to be an aristocratic town without a
_bourgeoisie_. Its history in the middle ages is consequently one long
series of family feuds, duels, and tragedies, the record of bloody
happenings