“FromMadrid to heaven, and in heaven a spy-hole to look at Madrid” is the vaunt of the inhabitants of the Spanish capital. This pride has its justification, for Madrid is a fine city, remarkable for its position on a plateau over two thousand feet above the sea, famous for its progress during the eventful eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and interesting by reason of the great names in the arts and literature inscribed upon its records. Madrid for the writers of the Romantic school was as charming as all other things Spanish; for de Musset it was “princesse des Espagnes” and “blanche ville des sérénades.”
Few towns in Europe are situated amid so many natural hindrances to development as Madrid. It stands south and east of the bleak mountains of central Spain, upon one of many exposed and almost treeless uplands, where the winds of winter and early spring sting and bite, and thesun in summer sheds pitiless heat, which dries up the blood and disposes to languor. So fickle is the climate of this lofty region that, even in the height of August, it is never quite safe to discard thecapaafter sundown, for, during the hottest day, a sinister and gelid breath may assail one at the street corner with a menace of chill to the lungs. Yet Madrid is not unhealthy. It is dry, invigorating, swept by mountain breezes, bathed for long periods in brightest sunlight, and free from the contamination and depression of smoke. With proper provision against the variations in temperature, one may enjoy a full measure of health and live to an advanced age in this city of the hills. The more dangerous kinds of fever are uncommon in Madrid; the chief risk to health is in the sudden keen air that brings a shiver when the body has been scorched by the sun, and one turns to seek the shady side of the street.
Rio and Cabarras, two Spanish historians, speak of the bad odours and the dirt of Madrid in the seventeenth century. This reproach was, however, removed in the time of Henry Swinburne, an intelligent traveller, who visited the city in 1776. “The appearance of Madrid,” writes Swinburne, “is grand and lively; noble streets, good houses, and excellent pavement, as clean asit was once dirty.” In earlier days it was not thought necessary to wash the thoroughfares, because the purity of the air was an effective antidote to the evil of the filth and the smells. Rio, for example, advances the opinion that the invigorating mountain breezes are a sufficient purification.
The clear quality of the Madrid sunshine is a compensation for the treachery of its winds. There are but few sunless days. “The sky at Madrid is almost always clear and serene,” wrote Laborde, in 1809. The heights of the Guadarrama are too far from the city to throw their shade upon it, and the brilliant sunlight pours down and floods the streets and squares, and penetrates every dwelling. Looking upon the wide, rolling, hillocky country from the outskirts of the city, you have a marvellous vista, full of colour, glow, and the grandeur of huge sunlight spaces. The sky is almost perennially deep blue; but at times there are vast masses of purple cloud above the horizon, whose passing shadow produces changing effects of light and darkness upon the far-stretching landscape, and adds a sternness to the sierra.
For a long period this part of Castile was ravaged by the fellers of trees. The farmersaimed besides at the extinction of all kinds of birds, under the delusion that every bird is harmful to crops; and in the conduct of this warfare the axe was laid to the roots of millions of trees, so that no harbour for small birds might remain. This clearing of the forests destroyed the natural barriers against icy winds, deprived the land of all shade, made deserts in place of groves, and affected the climate and rainfall. A wiser policy was instituted in later years, and now a number of large plantations have grown up in the environs of the town, and the once denuded hillocks and bare gullies are here and there clothed with shady coppices. For the rest, the herbage of these grey uplands yields moderate pasturage for sheep in summer.
Madrid lacks the dignity and beauty which a wide river lends to a city. The little Manzanares is not an imposing flood. It can scarcely rank as a river. The handsome Puente de Toledo spans the stream, and gives a touch of the picturesque to its muddy flow; and there is also the well-constructed Bridge of Segovia, with many arches. These gave rise to the now venerable joke that it would be better to sell the bridges and buy some water with the proceeds.
Several writers have declared that the seat ofthe Spanish Court is not typical of the cities of Spain. This may be accepted as true in the sense that it has very little to show in the nature of antiquities. Segovia, Toledo, Avila, Burgos, Seville, Cordova, and Granada possess more interesting and romantic memorials of the past than the city of Madrid. Nevertheless, the Castilian capital has associations with days of immense moment in the history of Spain, and it is moreover one of the handsomest towns in the Europe of to-day; and whatever else is wanting in Madrid, it boasts of a priceless collection of some of the world’s masterpieces of painting. Only here can one realise the greatness of Velazquez, and appraise the genius of Goya. Its Royal Armoury, too, is the finest in the world.
That Madrid has modelled itself upon Paris is not to its discredit. The city manifests the modern spirit in Spain rather than the mediæval atmospheres. It does not live upon its past like Cordova and Toledo. Madrid aspires to be a progressive modern municipality. The streets are broad, the system of lighting is modern, there are electric tramcars, motor-cars, and London and Parisian vehicles in the thoroughfares. The streets are deluged with the fire-hosethree times a day, and the nuisance of the dust is thereby abated.
A good supply of wholesome water is a boon in this arid district, but it must be admitted that Madrid is not too well off in this respect. The plazas are adorned with trees, and there are public parks, gardens, and open spaces. The Englishman, the Frenchman, and the German feel at home in this cosmopolitan centre; and yet everywhere there are the signs of Spain, the essential characteristics of a Southern people, as shown in courtly manners, mode of living, amusements, dress, and racial temperament.
To say that Madrid is an attempted replica of Paris is scarcely a fair description of the city. Madrid has an aspect and a character of its own. Its gaieties are tempered with Castilian restraint. The business of the city is conducted without bustle; the diversions are matters of importance, and they are keenly enjoyed; but the Madrileño is not so vivacious and hilarious as the Parisian. Even here, in the hub of modern Spain, the Spaniard exhibits his placidity and patience. He is not given to hurry. The express train, which travels at a speed of twenty-five miles an hour, is fast enough for him, and he will get up in the early morning to catch it. Yet life in Madrid isdecidedly animated, even if it is the pursuit of pleasure and not of wealth that occupies its inhabitants.
And yet there is trading and speculating in the city, and merchants contrive to build up businesses, and shopkeepers thrive, and occasionally make large fortunes. But the aim is rather to enjoy life than to “push” and “hustle” in the hope of accumulating dollars by middle age. In fine, the art of contented enjoyment is discreetly cultivated in Madrid by all classes. Valdés, in his novel “Froth,” tells us how the “smart set” and the fashionable idlers of the city pass their days, and the picture is not unlike the life of our own West End society. But sentiment is a luxury for which the rich are prepared to pay a high price. You may see beautifully furnished houses deserted and allowed to fall into ruin by the owner, because his loved wife or child drew their last breath there, perhaps years ago.
No, despite the tramcars, the modern air of the streets, and the London and Parisian fashions in dress, you cannot fail to realise that this is a Spanish city. Look at the workman, in his canvas blouse and drill trousers, with theboinaon his head and hemp-soled canvas shoes upon his feet; or the work-girl, with a rose in her hair and a fan inher hand. These are types of Spain, distinctive in their social ideals, their garb, and their physiognomy. Now and then, a peasant from the provinces is seen rubbing shoulders with a grandee, clad in the costume of Piccadilly. The contrast is sharp; the man about town and the field-toiler might be natives of two different countries, for the wear of the peasant is more African than European. His feet are in sandals, his legs bound with linen, his head tied up in a kerchief, and his body clothed with white cotton. And around his waist is a broad, gay silk sash, in whose voluminous folds he conceals his money and his keen-edged, long-bladednavaja.
How antiquated, too, in British eyes is the ox-cart, heavy and ramshackle, with its squeaking wheels, and pair of bullocks under the carved wooden yoke! And the mule-teams—the gaunt, bony beasts, in Moorish-looking harness, with jangling bells around their necks, and the quaint devices of the clipper upon their coats, attended by swarthy men in knee-breeches and short jackets, with the peaked Castilian hat upon their cropped heads—these surely are of the days when Don Quixote rode on the great grey wastes of La Mancha, accompanied by his loyal Sancho.
Old Madrid is rapidly disappearing. One of its confines was formerly the Puerta del Sol, which is now almost in the centre of the city. The gate is no longer in existence, but the place in which it stood still bears its name, and is the focus of the city’s life. Ancient purlieus were situated to the east of the royal palace; to-day scarcely any of the alleys and small squares remain, though here and there you may note a quaint corner or an old house.
From the Puerta del Sol the chief thoroughfares of Madrid radiate. The Calle de Alcalá, the Calle del Arenal, the Calle Mayor, and the fashionable Carrera de San Jerónimo branch from this central square. In the Puerta del Sol stands the Ministerio de la Gobernación, a large, but not architecturally notable, edifice. Here also are the chief hotels, cafés, and restaurants. In the Calle de San Jerónimo are the best shops. Every one comes to stroll, lounge, and “to take the sun” in this bright, busy space in the heart of the city. It is the Piccadilly Circus of Madrid. All the types of Madrid’s population may be seen here from the bull-fighter to the great legislator. American and English tourists mingle with the throng; German commercial travellers talk business to their customers on theseats outside the cafés; and one hears several languages spoken in the hotels.
In the Buen Retiro and the Parque de Madrid you may study thebeau mondeof the city from the shade of the trees during the afternoon parade. Here there are over two hundred acres of pleasure grounds, more or less unkempt, but containing a fine avenue, paths, and umbrageous trees. The upper classes of the city delight in riding and driving. It is necessary to own a carriage and pair in order to figure in Madrid society, and the hobby of motoring is on the increase here as elsewhere in Europe. In former times the Buen Retiro was a royal demesne. Kings of Spain from Philip II. to Charles III. resorted to this pleasaunce, and a palace stood in the gardens. Nowadays, the Parque is a public pleasure resort, used by high and low, and often merry with a carnival or a battle of flowers. The Royal Palace overlooks the Manzanares, and dominates the city. It is in form a huge quadrangle, designed by Sachetti. The views from its windows are wide and impressive, and an idea of their beauty may be gained from the balcony near the Royal Armoury. Behind the palace is the Campo del Moro, a lovely garden on the spot where Ibn Yusuf besieged the old Alcázar. Only theprivileged are permitted to enter this verdant sanctuary.
In an interesting book, “A Year in Spain,” written by a young American in 1831, there is a picture of the daily life of Madrid which may serve to illustrate the day’s round among the leisured in the city of to-day: “The first thing in the morning was to arrange and order everything for the day. Then each took the littlehigadaof chocolate andpanecillo, or small roll, of the delightful bread of Madrid. This meal is not taken at a table but sitting, standing, or walking from room to room, and not unfrequently in bed. This over, each went to his peculiar occupations; the old woman, with her Diarios and Gacetas, to open her reading-room in the entry; Florencia to ply her needle; and Don Valentin to play tinker overhead, having first taken out his flint and steel, and cigar and paper, to prepare his brief cigarillo, which he would smoke, with a sigh between each puff, after those days of liberty when a cigar cost twocuartosinstead of four. Towards noon he would roll himself in hiscapa parda—cloak of brown—and go down into the Puerta del Sol, to learn the thousand rumours which there find daily circulation. If it were a feast day, the Mass being over, he would go withhis daughter to the Prado. At two the family took its mid-day meal, consisting, beside some simple dessert, of soup andpuchero, well-seasoned with pepper, saffron, and garlic. If it had been summer, thesiestawould have passed in sleep; but it being winter, Don Valentin took advantage of the short-lived heat to wander forth with a friend, and in the evening went to histertulia, or friendly reunion. In summer, one, or even two o’clock, is the hour of retiring; but in winter it is eleven. Always the last thing before going to bed was to take a supper of stewed meat and tomatoes, prepared in oil, to sleep upon.”
Although this is a fair account of the inactive life of Madrid, it must not be supposed that no business is done in the city. There are comparatively few manufactures; but there are many shops, and a great share of the produce of Spain is brought into the capital. Tobacco and metal ware are the principal manufactures, and there are a large number of craftsmen who work independently at various trades. Madrid is more a centre of merchants and shopkeepers than of manufacturers.
George Borrow came to Madrid, on his Bible-distributing mission, and lodged in the Calle de la Zarza, “a dark, dirty street, which, however,was close to the Puerta del Sol, the most central point of Madrid.” Borrow went to see two criminals strangled, and gathered some vivid and lurid impressions of the life among the manolos, “the rabble of Madrid.” He declares that the walls of the city enclose “the most extraordinary vital mass to be found in the entire world,” and claims Madrid as essentially Spanish. This is true only if we have regard for the fact that the metropolis of Spain has still a character of its own, and is in many respects more “European” and modern than Seville, Cadiz, Malaga, and Granada. In Cordova and Toledo we are reminded at every step of the influence of the Morisco, but in Madrid we recall the Spain of Charles V. and of the Bourbons.
Since 1836, Madrid has been a University city. The academy founded at Alcalá was transferred here at that time, and to-day there are about eight thousand students. The Real Academia de Bellas Artes was founded here towards the middle of the eighteenth century. Several fine examples of the art of Murillo are in the gallery of the Academy, and there are also works by Ribera, Rubens, Zurbaran, and Alonso Cano. Besides these institutions there are the Academy of History, the Academy of Science,the Academy of Medicine, and a number of other learned societies.
The Museum of Modern Art contains only a few paintings of importance, but there are some notable pictures by Fortuny, and a few pieces of modern sculpture. The great treasury of art, the Prado Gallery, is fully described in a separate volume of this series. It is the greatest glory of Madrid.
The Naval Museum will recall the past maritime supremacy of Spain. In the National Library there are nearly a million books and a large number of manuscripts, including the beautiful, illuminated Gothic work dating from the tenth century, a thirteenth-century Bible, and the Siete Partidas of Alfonso the Learned. The National Museum of Archæology contains a very interesting collection of Roman, Gothic, and Moorish antiquities.
It would be difficult to find a word which would convey a true impression of a town, but if we were limited to the employment of a single term to describe Madrid,rococowould suggest itself. The capital is elegant, fanciful, and yet stately. It does not smile like Seville, nor frown like Toledo, and yet it is neither sad nor stern. Granada and Cordova sleep. Madrid never seems to slumber;it is one of the most restless places upon the earth. It has the dignity of Castile and the frivolity of Paris; it exhibits the congestion of London in parts within its gates, but it has no dingy, sunless slums, and few signs of an ugly indigence.
There is the luxurious Madrid of the aristocracy and the hidalgo, the Madrid that lives for fashion and pleasure, and there is the Madrid of the shopkeeper and the lower middle class. Beneath these strata are the wage-earners, the mechanics and labourers, a frugal and usually industrious community. There is also the Madrid of a large nondescript class composed of mendicants, thieves, hawkers, and the rabble and derelicts of society.
There is the Madrid of the casinos, some intellectual, others merely social or sporting. The city has its coteries of ardent politicians, military men, financiers, reformers, freethinkers, revolutionaries, and its societies of the scientific, learned, and artistic. There is no specific character which one can point to as typical of Madrid. One passion is, however, manifest throughout all classes—the love of bull-fighting. Seville is the school of the torero; Madrid is the scene of his valour in the arena. The bull-fighter is the idol of the populace. In the cafés of the Puerta del Sol, or in the ring of the Plaza de Toros, his figureis one that arouses the deepest interest and warmest admiration. An eminent jockey in England has his host of admirers, but he cannot command that universal respect which is accorded to theespadain Spain. The great bull-fighter is the pet of Madrid society, the demi-god of the populace, the model of the “sports” of the city.
It is just as easy to lead the studious, contemplative life in Madrid as in London, if one elects to be aloof. On the other hand, there is every opportunity for gaiety, social amenities, and dissipation. Madrid offers almost every kind of life to its inhabitants. Its 540,000 natives, forming Borrow’s “extraordinary vital mass,” are quite as motley as the population of Manchester. Madrid is therefore neither a purely commercial, fashionable, pleasure-seeking, nor cultured centre. Bilbao and Barcelona are the busy marts of Spain; Burgos, Salamanca, and Cordova subsist, as it were, upon the grandeur of the past, and you wonder how the people live. But Madrid throbs with life, and manifests the new ideals and views of the country in the domain of politics, in social reforms, in the arts and sciences, and in the diversions of society. In the realm of thought, the new Spain has its impulse and its centre in Madrid. Barcelona has been called“the life of Spain,” and in the commercial sense this is true. Yet Barcelona boasts of a strong affinity with France, and a great part of its trade is in the hands of foreigners. It is from Madrid that one may expect the impetus of a patriotic, national, and racial advancement, based upon culture and the recognition of the principles of social liberty.
Therecords of Madrid before the tenth century are extremely scanty, and the early history of the city is largely conjectural. There is no doubt that the Moors established a fortress here, and called it Majrît; but the Romans were in possession before the Arab conquest of the Peninsula, as certain tablets, discovered in the city by Fernandez de Oviedo, serve to prove.
Upon the disruption of the Khalifate the town became subject to Toledo. Whether it was reconquered before or after the fall of that city, by Alfonso VI., is a vexed question. The credit of taking the town is assumed by the people of Segovia. At this time (1085) Madrid was encompassed by a strong wall, stretching from the Moorish Alcázar, now the Royal Palace, to the Church of our Lady of the Almudena; thence to the street of Segovia by the Cuesta de los Ciegos to the Puerta de Moros, and through theCalle Mayor and the Plaza de Oriente to the Alcázar.
According to an old tradition, still accepted by a part of the populace of Madrid, an image of the Virgin of the Almudena, now in the possession of the nuns of the Sacramento Convent, was concealed by the zealous Christians, during the Moorish occupation, in a tower of the city wall. Three hundred years after the sacred image was discovered and restored to the Church. There is a similar legend concerning the sculpture of the Holy Mother found at about the same date.
Upon the victory of Alfonso, the mosque was purified and dedicated to the Vírgen de la Almudena, and on the site is the fine new Cathedral. A mixed population of Christians, Jews, and Moors lived within the city walls at this period, and the staple industries were the making of hemp, linen, and cloth. One of the regulations of that day referred to the muzzling of dogs, as may be seen from an inspection of the curious Fuero de Madrid, which is preserved by the municipal authorities.
The city is mentioned only occasionally in Castilian annals. Sancho el Bravo in vain sought health and strength from its bracing air.
Under Ferdinand IV. the Cortes first assembled in Madrid, to meet there again in 1335 underAlfonso XI. The townsmen warmly espoused the cause of Peter the Cruel. In 1403, Henry III. sent from the city an embassy to Persia, under Gonzalez Clavijo, to negotiate with the potent warrior sovereign Tamerlane. The emissaries were absent from Spain for two years, and during the journey they visited Constantinople and Samarkand.
John II. and Henry IV. lived in the Royal Palace, and encouraged many poets of Castile who were of their retinue. It is proved by municipal documents that Madrid was not then so insanitary and neglected as some writers have stated, for there were rules for the disposal of refuse, and an order was made for the paving of some of the chief streets.
Upon the death of Henry IV., a faction supporting his daughter, Juana (who is said to have been born here), seized the Alcázar, and held it for several weeks against the Duque del Infantado. Isabella, however, bore the town no grudge, and during her brilliant reign its prosperity increased by leaps and bounds. It remained loyal to the crown during the Comuneros rising, and was rewarded by a visit from Charles V. in 1524. He had taken a fever, and at the advice of his physicians, came to Madrid to regain health inthis elevated, bracing region of Castile. A year after, he was in conflict with Francis I. of France, and the French king was a captive in Madrid. Attended by a few members of his Court, Francis occupied a room in the old palace, then known as the Alcázar. There is no doubt that he suffered keen humiliation during this detention, and that he was harassed by fears for the future. His gaoler was Alarcon, the valorous commander of the Spanish infantry, who appears to have treated his royal prisoner with courteous consideration.
When Francis heard that the Emperor desired that he should relinquish all claim to Italy and yield Burgundy, he seized his dagger, and swore that he would rather die than consent to the terms. And although Alarcon restrained him from plunging the dagger into his body, the King avowed that he would sooner suffer lifelong imprisonment than bear the disgrace of gaining freedom by the loss of power and dignity.
Lying on his bed, surrounded by counsellors, the French sovereign sank into a condition of fever and extreme depression. At length he declared his willingness to yield.
By the famous Treaty of Madrid, which was signed in 1526, Francis I. abandoned his rightsover parts of Italy and certain portions of Holland and Belgium. The compact was solemnly celebrated at a religious service, and the French and Spanish monarchs passed a few days together before Francis crossed the frontier of Spain.
No sooner had he passed over the Bidassoa than Francis cried: “I am yet a king!” Never had he intended to keep to the terms of the Treaty of Madrid. His breach of faith alarmed Charles, who sent Lannoy and Alarcon to France as his emissaries. Their errand was unavailing; Francis offered a sum of money to the Emperor, but refused to cede Burgundy. And so the bitter feud between Charles and Francis was continued.
Charles V. was a singular example of weakness, of obstinacy, and of reason, with a bias for right and justice. He delighted in the quietude of Aranjuez, and was fond of directing the work of the gardeners. The emperor was athletic in his early manhood, and addicted to field sports. He loved the sights and sounds of wild nature, and took pleasure in roaming the forests. During his visits to Italy, he went to see many famous pictures, and paid homage to Titian. His versatility was also exhibited in his great taste for music and his knowledge of the technique of the art.
He it was who first conceived the project of elevating Madrid to the rank of capital. It was left, however, to his son to promulgate the decree declaring the town to beunica Corte. The document, dated 1561, has unfortunately been lost. Madrid had this advantage over Toledo, Valladolid, and the other old capitals, that it was not identified with any one in particular of the kingdoms that made up Spain, but with Spain in general.
Philip II. held his Court at Madrid in 1561, but he preferred the solitude of his palace of the Escorial. Under this monarch’s rule the city was enlarged, the streets widened, and several squares built. At this time a number of the surrounding forests were felled in order to raise money for the royal exchequer. Don John of Austria, the natural son of Philip IV. by the beautiful actress Calderona, lived in the Buen Retiro. In “The Lady’s Travels into Spain,” written in 1679, we read that it was against the custom to permit the illegitimate sons of royalty to enter Madrid. Don John was therefore confined in the Buen Retiro, “which is the Royal Seat at one of the farthest Parts of Madrid, a little without the Gate.” Here the prince led a secluded existence. “And he shew’d himself so little that hewas never seen at any publick Feast during the Life of the late King: but since, Times have changed, and his Fortune stands on a different bottom.”
According to this very entertaining authoress, Don John was of middle height, handsome, with “a most manly countenance.” His address was polished and kindly, and he was reputed to be well learned in the arts and sciences. He “took a great pleasure in the Mathematicks.” Madrid at this time was renowned for the purity of its air and water. The water was “so good and so light that the Cardinal Infante would drink no other when he was in Flanders; and he caus’d it to be brought by Sea in Earthen Jars well stop’d.” The streets of the city were poorly paved, so that the horses often sank up to their knees and the coaches to the butts of the wheels. There were no fortifications to Madrid at this period, and the gates were not defended. Still, even at this time, there were long and wide streets and many great houses. Eating houses abounded, where the chief dishes were beans, garlic, leeks, and broth. There was very little drunkenness. Men drank less than half a pint of wine during the day, and the majority of women abstained altogether.
At this date it was the fashion to retain a largenumber of domestic servants. The Duchess of Osuna kept about eight hundred attendants, and every room seemed full of them. Only titled persons were allowed to drive teams of four mules. If a commoner dared to appear on the streets with such an equipage, he was liable to a fine, and the traces of his carriage would be cut. The king’s team consisted of six mules.
The daughters of high families in Madrid were often placed in a sort of service to friends of their relatives, who employed them in embroidery and other needlework, for if the young women remained at home they spent their time in idle chatter. The farthingale was worn, and it was often of a huge size, and exceedingly troublesome to the wearers and to other persons. Some women of fashion wore as many as a dozen skirts and petticoats, except in the hot months, when they contented themselves with seven or eight, some being of satin and others of velvet. As the dresses were cut low, it was the custom to rouge the shoulders as well as the cheeks.
The ladies of Madrid society used at this time to sit upon the floor, with their legs crossed in the oriental fashion. They played ombre, took but little outdoor exercise, toyed with their needles, and read very little. At Mass the women carriedenormous muffs, and each one had a fan, which was used both in hot and cold weather.
The author who records these impressions of Madrid was the Countess d’Aulnoy. It is the opinion of some modern Spanish chroniclers that her accounts of the manners and customs of that period are over-coloured and often incorrect.
It was in the reign of Philip III. that the first part of Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” was printed in a house in the Calle de Atocha, by Juan de la Cuesta, and the great satire was published in 1605. Philip III. removed the Court to Valladolid, where it was maintained for about four years and then reinstated at Madrid. During the rule of Philip, the Plaza Mayor was built.
The reign of his successor was inaugurated by the public execution of the unfortunate Calderon, whose fall has been the theme of many romances.
The marriage of the Infanta Maria, sister of Philip IV., to Charles of England was arranged to be celebrated in Madrid, in March 1623. Charles stayed in the Convent of San Jeronimo, and afterwards at the Royal Palace, where he remained for five months, and was entertained with bull-fights,fêtes, and balls. The English prince was, however, prevented from marryingthe Princess Maria through hindrances of a political nature.
Philip IV. built the Palace of the Buen Retiro at Madrid, inspired by the example of Fontainebleau. In this new royal residence many balls were held, and much money expended upon festivities of a very luxurious character. Meantime, the scaffolds of Madrid flowed with noble blood, as a result of the abortive conspiracy to place the House of Braganza on the throne of Spain and the Duke of Medina Sidonia on that of Andalusia.
Madrid suffered from the general distress which spread over Spain at this period. In the surrounding villages the people were at the point of starvation, and the food supply in the city was seriously threatened. The outlook was so menacing that, in 1664, the President of Castile was sent with a military force to compel the farmers to send their produce to Madrid. In 1680 there was much destitution and suffering in the city, and the people rose and formed bands for the purpose of pillage. Beggars swarmed in Madrid, and desperate gangs of robbers prowled in the surrounding country.
The change from the Austrian to the Bourbon rule proved the salvation of Madrid. Charles III.was an enlightened sovereign, honest in his convictions, and vigorous in his measures of reform. He improved the army, and raised the position of Spain to a first-rate power. His policy in regard to the American colonies was liberal and conciliatory. Charles repealed unjust taxes, stood champion to the poor man, and advocated humane principles of government. He encouraged the sciences, art, and letters of Spain, he protected the press, and gave printers immunity from military service. During the rule of Charles III. schools and colleges were founded. He improved and adorned Madrid, though at one time he entertained the idea of transferring the seat of government to Seville; and caused parks and promenades to be laid out. Under the direction of this monarch, canals were constructed, roads made, waste lands reclaimed, and industries stimulated.
The people of Madrid have every reason to respect Charles III. To his initiation they owe the fine Customs’ House, the Prado Gallery, the General Hospital, the Alcalá Gateway, the Observatory, the Botanical Gardens, and the Natural History Library. These and other institutions and public buildings were established and erected during the reign of this excellent king.
The history of Madrid becomes merged in that of the kingdom. The lead taken on the “Dos de Mayo,” 1808, when the Puerta del Sol and the adjoining streets were held with dauntless but futile courage by the people of Madrid against the French, was the signal for the uprising of the whole country against the intruder. The capital had well deserved its headship by its vindication of the nation’s dignity and independence. Every episode in its troubled history since that memorable day has been described vividly and inimitably by the great epic novelist, Galdós. Throughout the nineteenth century, the city had its full share in the vicissitudes and discord, which so happily terminated with the accession of King Alfonso XII. and the establishment of the strongest and most enlightened government Spain had known for centuries.
The Chevalier de Bourgoanne, who recounted his “Travels in Spain” in 1789, said that Madrid contained at that time eighteen parishes, thirty-five monasteries, thirty-one convents, thirty-nine colleges, fifteen gates, and about 140,000 inhabitants. The number of inhabitants now approaches 600,000. Since the eighteenth century Madrid has extended its confines on all sides, and grown into a modern city of the first rank.
The walls, never a very formidable defence, were taken down in 1868 to enlarge Madrid. At this time the new Plaza de Toros was erected, the Puerta del Sol widened, and the viaduct built across the Calle de Segovia. The streets are now well paved with stone or asphalte, and illuminated with gas and electric light. The chief market is in the Plaza de la Cebada, built in 1870.
In several of the squares and promenades there are fountains, statues, and monuments. One of the finest of the monuments is that erected in memory of the heroes of the Dos de Mayo (the Second of May). It is of granite, in the shape of an obelisk, surrounded by symbolical figures. This monument was designed by Isidro Velazquez. A marble group in front of one of the façades of the Museo del Prado represents Daoiz and Velarde, the gallant artillery officers who fell on that occasion in defence of the throne and country.
Madrid has always been a city of craftworkers and small traders, and even to-day there are very few large industries or factories. There are many small employers of labour and many persons trading with their own plant and stock, and finding employment for their own families. The number of well-appointed shops is steadily increasing, andthere is an effort to compete with the large shops of Paris and London, as will be seen during a stroll through the chief thoroughfares radiating from the Puerta del Sol.
The arms of the city are a tree in leaf, with a bear climbing up the stem, and the escutcheon is surmounted by a crown. Madrid bears the title, “Imperial y coronada, muy noble y muy leal y muy heroica.”
Sincethe reign of Philip II. Madrid has been theunica Corte, or seat of the Court of Spain. Before the twelfth century, a Moorish Alcázar stood on the site of the present royal palace, which was built by Henry IV., added to by succeeding monarchs, and considerably enlarged by Philip III. The original architects were Herrera, Toledo, and other famous designers of the day; but this structure was burned down, and, in 1738, Giovanni Sachetti planned a still larger palace, which is said to have cost £3,000,000 in the building and embellishment.
The modern Palacio Real is rectangular, and stands on an eminence commanding a wide view of the undulating tableland and the distant mountains of Castile. It is built of granite and has wide wings. The chief façade is on the south side. The Princes’ Entrance is one of the several doorways of the fine façade. On the north is another portal of admirable design, leading to the greatpatioor inner court. The court is surrounded by a piazza on thirty-six arches with the same number of arches above, forming a gallery; and in the square are statues of the Roman Emperors who ruled in Spain.
The grand staircase is of white and black marble, with an allegorical ceiling painting by the Italian Giacinto. In the sumptuous Throne-Room the appointments and decorations are resplendent, and on the ceiling is a picture representing the Majesty of Spain, painted by Tiepolo. Gasparini designed the beautiful hall that bears his name, where the ceiling is of porcelain, and the walls decked with satin upon which flowers are worked. The State Dining-Room of marble contains fresco paintings. The Royal Chapel has columns of marble, and above the altar is a painting by Mengs. Near the Sacristy are stored the holy relics; and in the Tapiceria there is a very fine collection of tapestries after Dutch artists. Attached to the Royal Palace are the Armoury, of which something will be said later, the Royal Stables, excellently appointed, and the sequestered and beautiful gardens.
Such is the principal residence of King Alfonso of Spain. The royal ceremonial is under the direction of the Master of the Household and the Lord High Steward. These officers are always personsof high birth, who are invested with the honours of the Order of Charles III. and the Golden Fleece. The Chief Equerry of the royal household takes the position of Master of the Palace when that functionary is absent, and controls the King’s hunt, and directs several minor officials of the Court.
The Chief Chaplain to the King is the Archbishop of Toledo. One of the principal members of the household is the Keeper of the Queen’s Wardrobe. Then come the Lords of the Bedchamber, Maids of Honour, and the Mayordomos de Semana (of the Week). The military officer in command is the General of the Royal Halberdier Guards, and this functionary presides over the ceremony of opening the palace doors at six in the morning and closing them at eleven at night. In Spain the royal residences are regarded as fortresses, and protected by troops.
The Intendant-General of the Royal House and Patrimony holds a responsible post, and administers the King’s estates and incomes. Other officials are the Private Secretaries, the Director of the Royal Stables, the Chief Physician, the Chief Chemist, the Chief Architect, the Secretary of the Signet, the Secretary of the High Chamber, Keeper of the Archives, the Chief Librarian, theDirector of the Royal Armoury, and the Chief of the Tapestry Collection. The gentlemen of the Royal Household wear a badge of office in the form of a silver key, and are clad in special uniforms for various occasions.
Pomp and ceremony attend the movements of the Spanish sovereign, and there is an elaborate “Court Guide” embodying all the ordinances and regulations governing the life at the palace. The rigidity of etiquette in the Court of Spain has, however, been exaggerated in the accounts written by strangers since the time of the Countess d’Aulnoy, for a modern Spanish writer asserts that the Court is “more democratic than most European Courts.”
This writer says: “Almost all the points of etiquette observed at present by the persons who have access to the King and Queen and members of their family are merely formulas of pure courtesy, with which those who are aware of them comply, but which are not imposed at the Palace, nor even mentioned to those who do not know them. Taking the glove off the right hand in order to shake hands with the King; treating him as is his due; rising when he rises and not speaking to him except in reply to his questions; these are the chief points to be observed, andwhich courtiers themselves sometimes forget without any notice being taken.”
Religious services and festivals are strictly observed in the Palace of His Catholic Majesty, and attended by all members of his Court. The chief solemnities are the Festival of the Immaculate Conception and Nativity, Epiphany and Purification, Ash Wednesday, Annunciation and Incarnation, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Ascension Day, Whit Sunday, Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, All Saints, and the Patronage of our Lady. The public are admitted to the galleries of the Royal Chapel during the celebration of these festivals and services.
Uniform or court dress is worn by the King at these religious celebrations, the Queen always wearing a black or whitemantilla, and a long train to her dress, which is borne by pages. The sovereign sits under a canopy, and the princes and princesses are on either side of the throne. Each grandee of the Court has his allotted seat.
The royal infants are baptized from a font in which St Dominic, the immortal founder of the Friars Preachers, was christened. In the Royal Chapel of the Palace the weddings of the princes and princesses are celebrated, but the Kings are married in the Church of the Atocha.
Foreign ministers are received in the Ante-chamber. There is an annual banquet for all the Diplomatic Corps. One of the court ceremonies is the conferring of the title of Grandee in the Ante-chamber.
Every night the Spanish monarch is guarded in his slumbers by the ancient corps of Monteros de Espinosa. These officers are bound to watch the King nightly, and after his death, until his body is sent to the Royal Panteon at the Palace of the Escorial.
The changing of the royal guard takes place every morning in the grounds of the palace, and is an interesting military spectacle, which attracts a large number of the natives of Madrid as well as visitors to the city. It dates from the time of Charles III. A regimental band plays during the ceremony under the windows of the palace.
The Queen Mother of King Alfonso XIII. is possessed of strong religious fervour, and is a pattern to Madrid society in the observance of the rules of the Church and the practice of charity. But piety is not one of the Madrileño’s conspicuous traits, and there is a notable want of restraint in his language! yet Valentin Gómez writes: “Religion is charity, love, and it cannotbe denied that, in this respect, although the crust be hard and unsightly, the heart of Madrid is religious, and great and good work has sprung from its practical religion.”
Ecclesiastical festivals form an essential part of the life of Madrid. The Forty Hours is celebrated at thirty churches of the city. During Holy Week there are impressive services and solemn processions in the streets. Every one walks garbed in black; diversions of every sort and all except indispensable business is suspended. A solemn hush reigns over the feverish city. Traffic in the thoroughfares is forbidden on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and the tramcars do not run during certain hours. On Maundy Thursday the King washes the feet of twelve indigent men and women in the palace, and the public attend the ceremony. Good Friday is a day of grace, when the King, at his discretion, exercises clemency towards criminals accused of capital charges.
Aromeriaor pilgrimage is celebrated in the morning of Good Friday, when crowds visit the Cara de Dios, and afterwards promenade the streets. Imposing processions also take place on Good Friday, which are sometimes attended by the King and the Court dignitaries.
The Corpus Christi festivals are very important. A splendid procession is formed by the chief clergy, members of the court, and military officers. During these celebrations, fairs are held in the outskirts of the city. There is a curious ceremony in memory of St John during June. On the evening of June 23, the populace assemble in the Plaza de Madrid, and at the stroke of midnight the devout dip their hands in the fountain of Cybele, and scatter the water over the bystanders who are unable to reach the basin.
Advent is commemorated by the proclamation of an ecclesiastical decree in the streets of the city. This Bull refers to the Crusades, and is read by a dignitary of the Church, who is attended by guards and trumpeters. Upon Christmas Eve there is midnight Mass at many of the churches, followed by rejoicings in the streets, when the people sing, and beat drums, and make lively din with various instruments.
Madrid is an important military command, and members of the service are amongst the most fashionable sets in the city, as in other parts of Europe. In Spain, however, the uniform does not of itself confer social distinction, and officers continue to frequent the circles from which they were drawn. Military arrogance is not a characteristic of the Spaniard. Uniforms add to the brightness of the crowds in Madrid, and there is often the sound of regimental bands in the streets. At Caravanchel, eleven kilometres from the city, is a large camp and exercise-ground for the troops, where important reviews are held in the summer, attended by the King and his suite.
The Captain-General of the First Army Corps lives in Madrid, and directs two divisions of this body. Light infantry, cavalry, and artillery are quartered in or near the city. The chief barracks are the Montaña and the Queen Maria Cristina. The barracks of San Francisco are an old convent now utilised for military purposes.
The War Office is in Madrid at the Buena Vista Palace. The artillery and the engineers have their museums and laboratories, and there is a military casino, or club, in the city, containing a gymnasium, baths, fencing-room, and dining-hall.
The chief recreations of Madrid society are the bull-fight, the theatre, dancing, driving, and card-playing. The national pastime of bull-fighting demands a chapter to itself, and the theatre will be treated in another section of this volume. We may here devote a page or two to Spanish dancing,one of the favourite and most charming diversions of the country. Every province of Spain has its traditional dances, from the Jota Aragonesa of Aragon to the Seguidillas of Seville. Andalusia is the region of Moorish dances, survivals of the old days, descriptive of the passion of love. The Cachucha is said to be pre-Roman in its origin, and there is no doubt that most of the national dances are very ancient. Some of these dances are grave and slow, others gay and nimble, and all are marked by grace and charm. The Zarabanda, a Morisco dance of a voluptuous character, was at one period proscribed by the government, and was said to be the invention of the devil. The Fandango also came under reproof in former times.
Typical dances may be witnessed in two or three of the variety theatres of Madrid, but the best dancers are to be seen in the south, in Malaga and sunny Seville. Many ladies in society excel in the art of dancing, and at private gatherings they display their skill and lissom grace in beautiful movements to the accompaniment of the piano or guitar, and castanets. The hands and the trunk of the body play a no less important part than the feet in Spanish dancing.
Besides the characteristic national dances, there are the quadrilles and set dances of other countrieswhich have been introduced into Spain. The minuet was at one time a part of the education of all upper class families in the Peninsula.
Dancing is often part of the entertainment provided at thetertulias, or evening gatherings, in fashionable society. It is the ambition of every handsome lady in Madrid to be famed for her hospitality and to shine as the centre of atertulia, an institution suggestive in some measure of thesalonsof France.
Shooting, horse-racing, pigeon-shooting matches, and the ball game known aspelotaare the principal out-door recreations of the leisured class in Madrid. The Spanishcazador, or sportsman, is usually a good shot, and capable of enduring severe fatigue in the pursuit of his game. Wild boars and deer are fairly abundant in the preserves of the old families, and these beasts of the chase are also found upon most of the wild mountain ranges. Hares and red-legged partridges afford sport within a league of Madrid, and the Montes de Toledo have always been famous for big game.
The Juego de Pelota is a popular game played in three or four courts in the city by professionals. Pelota is an old amusement of the countryside which has become a fashionable sport. TheBasques and the Navarrese excel in this game. A protector for the hand is worn by the players, and the balls are made of india-rubber encased in leather. The ball is struck against a high wall, and hit so that upon the rebound it will fall into a court marked out upon the ground. In some respectspelotaresembles fives, and has also a similarity to lawn-tennis. It is a spirited and highly interesting game, and the finest players may be seen in the publicfrontonesof Madrid.
The Madrileños delight in frequenting clubs and cafés, but there is very little drunkenness in the city, although these places of resort are always crowded. Madrid is one of the soberest cities in Europe, and throughout Spain the word drunkard (borracho) is seldom used in polite society. Black coffee is the favourite beverage, to which a few drops of spirit are sometimes added. The wines of ordinary use are light clarets or white wines. A light lager is a favourite drink in the hot weather.
The popular cafés of the Puerta del Sol are used as clubs, where all classes resort to chat and smoke and to read the papers, or to play at billiards. These places are thronged in the evening, and often until the small hours of the morning one hears thebuzz of conversation and the click of billiard balls.
As the centre of the Court and the residence of the reigning family, Madrid is, of course, the resort and the home of many members of the aristocracy. The Duke of Lerma, the Duke of Villahermosa, and the Osuna family had palaces in the city; and the first Duke of Alba lived in Calle de la Princesa, since renamed the Calle de Alba. The beautiful Liria Palace, designed by Ventura Rodriguez, is now the home of the young Duke of Alba and his brother and sister, Count de Montijo and Doña Sol.
The Liria Palace contains some fine tapestries, curious antique furniture, and valuable pieces of armour. There is also a collection of paintings in the possession of the family, containing many portraits of illustrious ancestors. The garden of the palace is extremely beautiful and sequestered.
The old Valencian family of Cervello own the palace in the Calle de Santa Isabel. The building stands in a garden, and it was restored some years ago. Very fashionable receptions, costume balls, and theatrical entertainments are held in this sumptuous palace.
The Duchess of Denia built the mansion in the Plaza de Colón. There is a magnificent Renaissance staircase at this palace, a chapel in the later Moorish style of architecture, erected by Arturo Mélida, and a fine reception hall.
The Portugalete Palace in the Calle de Alcalá belongs to the Castaño family. It is one of the most artistic houses in Madrid. In the Plaza de Castelar is the home of the Marquis of Linares, beautifully decorated within, and containing handsome carved furniture.
The Palace of the Larios is another imposing building in La Castellana. It contains apatioin imitation of the Court of the Lions at the Alhambra Palace.
Calderon built the mansion in the Recoletos, which is now in the possession of the Marchioness de Manzanedo, who resides there. The Infanta Isabel has a splendid house in the barrio de Argüelles. The Marquis de Cerralbo, the Duke of Valencia, and the Count of Peñalver reside in elegant houses in the city. The late Conde de Valencia de Don Juan, who was Director of the Royal Armoury, was a noted collector of pictures, objects of art, and antiquities.
Other palaces of interest are those of the Duke of Nájera in the Calle de Alcalá, the old residence of the Countess de Pinohermoso, in the Calle deDon Pedro, the house of the Count de Agreda, and that of the Marchioness de Casa López, near the Puerta de Alcalá. The residence of the Marchioness de Squilache is the rendezvous of the eminent in politics, literature, and art. Artistic gatherings are held in the salon of the Marchioness de Bolaños and that of Don Enrique Peñalver.
Inthe fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, during a pacific period following on the long conflict with the Moors, there arose a number of painters in Castile. Juan II., King of Castile, was a lover of the arts and of literature. We read that this king employed a painter of the Flemish School, named Maestro Rogel, who was reputed to be a pupil of Van Eyck. It was about this time that Flemish art began to influence the work of the Spanish artists, while the Italian style was especially followed by the painters of the Castilian School.
Antonio Rincon has been called the founder of the Castilian School of painting, and it is recorded that this artist studied in Italy before his appointment as court painter to Ferdinand and Isabella. Rincon’s portraits of his royal patrons were at one time in the Church of San Juan de los Reys at Toledo, but they were destroyed during the wars with France. In the Royal Gallery of Madrid, putative copies ofthese portraits are preserved, and they show great force and individuality. But many of the works of Antonio Rincon, in the mannered Italian style, are of mediocre merit.
A more powerful painter of Castile was Juan de Borgoña, who laboured with Rincon upon the jasper steps of the wonderful Gothic retablo in Toledo Cathedral. Some of Borgoña’s frescoes have perished; but in the Prado Gallery at Madrid there are several pictures, attributed to an unknown artist, which are probably the work of this painter.
Pedro Berruguete, father of Alonso Berruguete, the painter and sculptor, has been likened by Lord Leighton to Carpaccio. Very little is known of Pedro Berruguete. In the Royal Gallery of Madrid there are some paintings ascribed to this artist, representing scenes from the lives of Thomas Aquinas, San Pedro, and Domingo de Guzman, glowing with colour and painted with a strong hand.
Felix Castello, born in Madrid in 1602, was a painter of moderate ability. Two of his paintings may be seen in the Prado Gallery, one depicting “A Battle between Spanish and Dutch,” and the other “The Landing of General Fadrique de Toledo.”
The Titanic genius of Velazquez shone not only above all his predecessors of the School of Castile, but above the host of Spanish painters. Velazquez was born in 1599, and lived until 1660. He was a native of Seville, where he studied art under Francisco de Herrera and Pacheco. In 1623 his fame had reached the ears of the king, through the Duke of Olivares, and Velazquez was appointed royal painter in Madrid, and lodged in the princes’ quarters of the palace. Here he produced his greatest works, often watched while he painted by the king, who enjoyed the society of artists.
Besides his apartments in the royal palace, Velazquez had later a private house in the Calle de Concepcion Geronima. Velazquez was now at the zenith of his fame, the cynosure of an art circle, the acknowledged master of an enthusiastic following, the favourite of royalty, and the friend ofgrandes. “A taste for the arts, an intelligent appreciation and discussion of art topics, had at that time already become a matter of tradition in Madrid,” writes Professor Carl Justi in his “Diego Velazquez and His Times.”
The first painting of Velazquez seen by the people of Madrid was exhibited upon the door of the Church of San Felipe in the Calle Mayor.His progress from that hour was victorious, though he had to encounter the envy of the Italian painters who were then employed by Philip. Carducci speaks of “the detestable naturalism” of the new court painter.
In 1628, Velazquez met Rubens at Madrid. Next year he went to Italy, and upon his return to Spain, he worked with extraordinary industry upon royal portraits and historical scenes for the regal palaces.
In 1636, Diego Velazquez was appointed Wardrobe-Assistant to the King and Minister of Fine Arts. But the greatest honour was accorded to the painter in 1659, when he received the Cross of Santiago, the highest order of Spain. Two years after, Velazquez died at Madrid of a fever, which he had contracted through over-exertion in the conduct of an expedition in the north of Spain, when Philip met the King of France.
The masterpieces of Velazquez are stored in a finesalaat the Museo del Prado[1]in Madrid. “Las Meninas,” a work proclaimed by many artists and art critics as the finest painting in the world, is in this priceless collection. Artistsfrom every country have regarded the Prado Gallery as a Mecca. Wilkie came to Madrid, and spent long hours gazing at the paintings of Velazquez. John Philips modelled his style on Velazquez, and Manet, Furse, Sargent, Whistler, and Sir Frederick Leighton are among the pilgrims to the Prado. It was probably the painting of “Las Meninas” which gained for Velazquez the Order of Santiago.