ead of an army, and, laying
waste the country, approached gradually nearer to the capital. At length
Don Sancho sent his treasurer to clear up the account, but it was found
that the debt exceeded the whole amount of the royal treasure; upon
which Gonzalez claimed and obtained, on condition of the withdrawal of
his troops, a formal definitive grant of Castile, without reservation,
to himself and his descendants.

Before we quit Burgos for its environs, one more edifice requires our
notice. It is a fountain, occupying the centre of the space which faces
the principal front of the cathedral. This little antique monument
charms, by the quaint symmetry of its design and proportions, and
perhaps even by the terribly mutilated state of the four fragments of
Cupids, which, riding on the necks of the same number of animals so
maltreated as to render impossible the discovery of their race, form
projecting angles, and support the basin on their shoulders. Four
mermaids, holding up their tails, so as not to interfere with the
operations of the Cupids, ornament the sides of the basin, which are
provided with small apertures for the escape of the water; the top being
covered by a flat circular stone, carved around its edge. This stone,--a
small, elegantly shaped pedestal, which surmounts it,--and the other
portions already described, are nearly black, probably from antiquity;
but on the pedestal stands a little marble virgin, as white as snow.
This antique figure harmonises by its mutilation with the rest, although
injured in a smaller degree; and at the same time adds to the charm of
the whole, by the contrast of its dazzling whiteness with the dark mass
on which it is supported. The whole is balanced on the capital of a
pillar, of a most original form, which appears immediately above the
surface of a sheet of water enclosed in a large octagonal basin.

[Illustration: FOUNTAIN OF SANTA MARIA.]

LETTER VI.

CARTUJA DE MIRAFLORES. CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS.

Burgos.

The Chartreuse of Miraflores, situated to the east of the city, half-way
in the direction of the above-mentioned monastery of San Pedro de
Cardenas, crowns the brow of an eminence, which, clothed with woods
towards its base, slopes gradually until it reaches the river. This spot
is the most picturesque to be found in the environs of Burgos,--a region
little favoured in that respect. The view, extending right and left,
follows the course of the river, until it