er, and this mysterious affair of the convent of the Basilios was
buried in the most profound oblivion.

These terms of harmony have always existed between the Spanish monarchs
and the clergy, who have been accustomed to lend themselves,
reciprocally, to the interests and persecutions of each other; and hence
it is that a great number of crimes similar to that just referred to has
never before been brought to light. Some of these, however, have been of
such a nature and magnitude, and accompanied with such extraordinary
circumstances, that, in spite of the efforts made by the clergy to
conceal them, they have not altogether eluded the public curiosity. To
this class belongs the celebrated case of the Capuchines of Cascante, the
recollection of which is traditionally preserved, and is still the
subject of many a conversation, although to the present day we are not
aware of any account that has been published on the subject of that
shameful transaction. There still exist those who either were children
in the time of Charles III., or who heard, from the lips of their fathers
or grandfathers, all the particulars of that flagrant case, as well as of
the extraordinary sensation which the discoveries then made produced on
the public mind. The facts, which appear indisputable, are
these:--Towards the middle of the reign of that sovereign, a prelate of
one of the districts of the province of Arragon had good reason to
believe that there existed intimate and criminal relations between the
nuns and the friars of two convents situated in the same town. It had
been observed that the number of foundlings had been for some time
considerably on the increase, many of which were left, by persons
unknown, in the houses of poor women, who received with them very
considerable sums of money. At first, no suspicion whatever fell on the
friars, who continued their offices of preaching, saying mass, confessing
penitents, and giving ostentatious indications of their leading humble
and ascetic lives. A diligent watch was instituted by the authorities,
but as far as exterior observances went, there was no reason to believe
that any suspicious persons from without ever entered the convent of the
nuns; it was therefore thought right to have an internal examination of
that convent, a measure never had recourse to by the authorities but on
occasions of the gravest kind.

The result of this step was, that in the interior of the edifice was
disc