journey and excessive heat had deprived us of he afterwards brought us to the best Inn in the Town where we had a fair and cool room and to prevent our Valises being detained at the Custom-house whither they must of necessity be brought I went to speak with the Arrendador-General and shew him our Pass which obliged him to be civil and to send us our baggage as soon as it came to him we tarried here all day to repair our loss of baiting at la Muelan some of the company went to bed others only casting off their clothes shifted their Linnen Monsieur who arrived last was the most thirsty though not the most weary therefore he lay not down but at his first coming in drank so much water and afterwards so much wine to correct its crudity he became sick besides too suddain an attempt to quench his thirst he walked long unbuttoned and almost naked not only about the house but came to us in slippers and without doublet where we were on the banks of Ebro that ran behind the Inn where we sucked a gentle gale that came down the river on the morrow a Feavor took him which continued 5 or 6 days and obliged us to tarry 10 in that City soon after our arrival we visited the Duke of Monteleon Viceroy of this Kingdom he is one of the greatest Noblemen of Naples of whom in the last revolution of that City the Spaniards became jealous though he had served them advatagiously in the former that they might no longer fear him they sent for him into Spain and that they might disguise their distrust made him Viceroy of Arragon This Charge is honourable but not profitable the King allowing but little and the Kingdom bringing in less neither is any thing splendid in his family we delivered him the Kings Letter and that of Don Lewis having read them in our presence he made us offers of all that lay in his power he seemed not to us of a Genius much elevated whither his resentments of the Spaniards ill usage have dejected it or whither he conceals a part least ostentation of the whole might be prejudicial to him Besides the Viceroy whose charge ceases every three years here is a Governour of the City or rather of the Countrey since his power is reported principally to extend over it this Charge is the more considerable because for life Though the Viceroyalty and Government of Saragossa are the two great charges of this Kingdom yet no authority is equal to that of the Chief Justice called El Justicia to shew that he is to do justice in all and above all so that he determines of what concerns the King Kingdom Subjects Laws and Priviledges but for the better understanding this and that which I shall hereafter observe touching the great contestation here between high powers it is necessary that I set down what I have been told concerning the Priviledges of this Kingdom After the Moors had entred Spain on occasion of the Injuiry done by Don Rodrigo to Comt Don Julian in person of his Daughter called la Cava whom he ravished Arragon was the first Province that freed it self from the yoke of the Infidels and that finding not only the race but memory of its ancient Kings totally extinct by it self made a recovery of its self to it self without owning any Soveraign But lest they should be a Body without a Head and that they might enjoy secure repose in their new liberty they soon after deliberated of electing a King and cast their eyes on a private Gentleman called Garcia Ximenez It must yet be acknowledged that they made him rather Prince or President of their State than their Soveraign and in imitation of the Spartans so much limited his authority that that of Theopompus was not more streightned by the Ephori than that of this King by the rules imposed upon him and it being very easie to violate the most fundamental Laws of a State when the supreme power is concerned so to do if there be none with hazard of his life obliged to watch for their preservation they established El Justicia a Magistracy of which I have spoken that who might fear nothing in the vigorous executing his charge they ordered he should not be liable to condemnation either in person or goods on what accompt soever but in the general Assembly of Estates called las Cortes that is the King and Kingdom Having thus bound up him they should elect for their King they made a Law called de la Vajon which imported that as soon as the King infringed their Priviledges it should be in their power to elect another though a Pagan and in case of wrong to any Vassal or Subject the Nobility and most considerable of the Realm might assemble to protect him and hinder any duties to be paid the King till the party injured were indemnified and the Priviledge re-established in its former validity They erected El Justicia as Gardian of this Law with several others who for greater authority sate in a Chair with his hat on his Head whilst the King bare and on his knees swore their Priviledges between his hands afterwards they owned him as their King but in a very grange fashion for instead of vowing fidelity they told him nos que valemos tanto como vos os hazemos nuestro Rey y Sennor con tal que guardeis nuestros fueros y libertades sino no that is We that are equal to you make you our King and Lord on condition that you preserve our Laws and Liberties and if not not This detestable fashion of owning a King so much disgusted Don Pedro surnamed the Dagger that partly by intreaty partly by intrigue and offering other Priviledges in the place of it he caused it to be abolished in an Assembly of the Estates and as soon as he got the Parchment in which the Law for it was written voluntarily cutting his hand he said that a Law which imported that Vassals might elect and limit their King was to be effaced with the blood of a King Ley de poder elegir Rey los Vassallos sangre de Rey avia de Costar these are reported to be the very words he pronounced on which occasion the surname of the Dagger was given to him His Statue is yet to be seen in Saragossa in the Hall of Deputation with the Dagger in one hand and the Priviledge cancelled with his blood in the other And indeed the sacred blood of Kings can on no accompt be better employed no not against a forain Enemy then in suppressing such exorbitant Priviledges of Subjects as destroy the very foundation of Monarchy Besides the two Priviledges I have mentioned not at all regarded by later Kings there is another still in force called the Law of manifestation by this every Subject that thinks himself injured either in goods or person by what Tribunal soever may complain a el Justicia who is obliged to make an exact enquiry
A Journey INTO SPAIN Nec ille qui voluptatem probat sine contemplatione est nec ille qui contemplationi inservit sine voluptate est nec ille cujus vita actioni destinata est sine contemplatione est Sen. de Vita beata LONDON Printed for Henry Herringman and are to be sold at the Sign of the Blew Anchor in the Lower Walk of the New Exchange 1670. TO THE READER I Present you the vast body of the Spanish Monarchy which though it hath spread its roots into many and distant Provinces is but of late growth having but little before the last age first aspired not only to a competition with the two antiently ballancing powers of Christendom England and France for two they were when France depended not on England but the Empire of the World Our near concernments either in peace or war with it rendring it very necessary to be known to us I am willing to shew it you in such particular remarks of the people and Countrey as I think you have not yet seen with something of observation on its sodain advance and almost as sodain decay so that it is no longer a competitor with the other two but so much fallen from it it could scarcely any longer subsist did not the moderation and justice of one of those Monarchs oblige him rather to joyn in supporting its Throne then enjoy his share of the many advantages his maritime power and scituation of his Dominion might reasonably promise by the fall of it especially in regard by sending abroad he shall not need to fear such a depopulation as it suffers under when his doors shall be opened by Acts of Naturalization and Registers to admit and secure such as out of consideration of the fertility of his Countrey temperature of its Air and convenience for Trade will abundantly supply what may be so exhausted The time of taking this survey sufficiently discovers it self in it and though some years since relates to several very modern transactions of Christendom of the highest concern as the English rebellion renunciation of the Queen of Sweden and imprisonment of the Duke of Lorrain neither have any changes very considerable since happened to Spain either in its Government Customs or Negotiations You have in it a clear prospect of decay of Power with increase of Wealth which shews you are not undone by scarcity whether real or pretended of those adored Metals for which this People have sold themselves and abandoned their Countrey whilest you abound in all things else that contribute either to use or pleasure and they though Masters of the Fountains of them are indeed as indigent and miserable as you fancy your selves to be in the want of them alone It makes no less evident that when a Nation especially its Nobility and Gentry contemns or neglects Arms it is at the highest if not declining If it be a little Satirical as to the haughtiness and singularity of that People it hath also something of Panegeric as to several of their Virtues without which yet I suppose it might be tolerated our Press having formerly made as bold with most of the other Nations of Europe as they with us A JOURNEY INTO SPAIN WHen we left Italy we resolved for Spain but because M. P. intending his Son should take that Journey with us had ordered him to expect us at Monpellier whither he had commanded him to repair from the house of a Gentleman of Xaintonge where he had resided some months we were obliged to tarry for him He came not till the later end of December the extremity of which season pressing us to spend the Winter there we deferred our departure till the Spring and the weather in Languedoc being pleasant in March we went away the 6th of that month I shall not concern my self in describing what we saw in that most agreeable Province nor in repeating what we learned that was considerable whilst we traversed it almost from one end to the other nor yet say any thing of Gascony through which we passed nor of Bayonne where we took our leaves of France Having travail'd those parts only as they lay in our way to Spain I shall reserve all my curiosity for it and not charge my Table-book with any observations till I come to the Frontiers of that Kingdom That I may not neglect many particulars I learned of the Government Customs and present Condition of the Imperious Nation that inhabits it I will here make an Extract of what I scattered in several Papers during our abode at Madrid to put which into method were to unravel confusion it self every thing shall therefore have its place as I saw or heard it and if some be repeated more than once it is because I design not a polished work but to give liberty to my discourse according to Time Place Persons Companies and Entertainments and such reflections as have presented from them not confining my self to what I saw or happened to me or my Company but enlarging to what was told us having ever endeavoured to get the best informations possible It ought not to seem strange if in some places I happen to speak untruths without lying and in others to wander without knowing I am out of the way and devoting my Book to those only that have seen its foundations laid and materials gathered together to serve us as memorials of part of that time which for six years we employed in studying the World in its great School which is Travail The mistakes and errors made either by me or such as I conversed with will not to them appear very considerable or uneasie to be effaced as soon as discovered and if it accidentally happen into other hands they may make choice of what is weighty and certain leaving what seems light and doubtful without any just cause of complaint against me on account of that which I write not for their sakes I have nevertheless endeavoured to make as few errors as possible and what I set down at night according to the several Objects and Companies of the day I overlook'd next morning and made farther enquiry of such persons as I thought likely to disabuse me if ill informed and give me clearer light if what I had received were imperfect According to this method I have better or worse satisfied my curiosity in examining this grave and haughty Nation at its own home since it seldom goes abroad unless to command others and secure its King of their obedience by Garrisons and Colonies sent into all parts of his Dominions in the new and old World and by the Governments and Magistracies he bestows upon it with an intire exclusion of the Inhabitants of those Countries to which he distributes them Resolving to enter by way of St. Sebastian which is the most easie we lodged at the last Town of France called St. John de Luz It is the Seat of Commerce between the two Frontiers and may pass for a good City being
certainer and securer way of enriching themselves because seated at the helm of Government These men thriving without any apprehension of being molested and demanding account of others themseves not obliged to render it to any make use with splendour of what they have acquired building palaces of extraordinary expence in a Countrey where Stone and Mortar are excessive dear Their plenty alone is with ostentation that of others so reserved and as it were bashfull that it often pretends necessity that it may avoid being really reduced to it and some Dutch Inhabitants in Madrid told us that some few years before a Tax had been laid upon them only because they were thought to be rich and at their ease The manner of doing it seems very severe A rich Merchant being sent for to a Committee of the Council was told that the King commanded him to bring three or four thousand crowns into his Exchequer if he went about to excuse himself as unable or by reason of mony due to him from the King it signified nothing and he was sent away with notice that if he paid it not in three dayes he must go six leagues from Madrid in custody of the Ministers of Justice on his expence That time expired without paying he was sent 20 leagues from the Court They which paid at first freed themselves from this charge and trouble they that were obstinate against what appeared so unjust to them suffered both and were at last constrained to pay what had been imposed before they were permitted to return to their houses Gown-men and Pen-men are here the richest and none spoken of but Councellors Senators and Secretaries who from very poor beginnings sodainly become wealthy They which manage the affairs of the Indies are thought to surpass all others and the Earl of Pigneranda who served his Master so well in the negotiations of Munster and the Low-Countries and is the Favourites Favourite chose rather to be President of the Council of the Indies than of that of Flanders which questionless had been more proper for him than any other That Council advantages it self as well by the employments of which it hath the disposal as by all Merchandise that passes to and again Amongst which wine makes a very profitable and speedy return none but Spanish being suffered to be transported which is sold with so great gain that that which in Andalusia or other part where it grows costs one crown is worth 6 or 7 there That this may be continued planting Vines is there prohibited on pain of death though that soil would as well bear them as any part of Spain Traffick in general as I before observed is not equal to what it hath been for which amongst many other pretended here this reason may be given that the profit made on occasion of it by the King and his Ministers hath discouraged Merchants to the loss of a very great Revenue to the Crown whatever is shipped for the Indies must be registred and pay the tenth penny for fault of which it is confiscated By this the wealth of the Fleet is known to a farthing as well what belongs to the King as to particular persons Some years since his Catholick Majesty wanting money laid hands on that which appertained to Merchants under the notion indeed of borrowing but besides that such forced lones suit not well with Merchants affairs it was never returned For which reason many do not register their Gold and Silver but chuse rather to combine with the Captains though it cost them more than to abandon all for fair words Before the Fleets arrival at Cadis English or Holland Ships meet it either near that Port or that of St. Lucar and receive there from such Captains as they correspond with that which is on account of those that send them and carry it away before it enters any Spanish Haven and even the Merchants of Sevil and other Spanish Cities send their money into those Countries where they may freely dispose of it without fear to have it seised on It is said that the Fleet comes this year more rich than usually but that the wealthiest ship is stranded and uncertain whether the silver all saved But they which will have nothing lost report that more Gold and Silver hath been recovered than was registred if so the King will have the advantage of it by confiscation If we consider the general Government of these Kingdoms it seems to move so steadily that it declines not at all from those bold Politicks which are never disturbed and that trample on the sharpest thorns as resolutely as if they walked on roses but going to particulars we shall discover that the Spaniards who give much to appearances and the exterior use no fewer meens and grimaces in their publick affairs then in their particular comportment In the Streets at the Tour and in the Theaters where many eyes are upon them they seem very grave serious and reserved but in private and to those that are familiarly acquainted with them they act in a manner so different you would not take them for the same persons being as vain wanton and humorous as other Nations The Politicks of every Country are of a temper and genius like that of the people that inhabit it and the Spanish considered by an unbiassed judgement are so as well as the rest At first view they seem firm constant resolute and entirely swayed by reason and judgment but coming nearer and examining them piece by piece we may discover weaknesses we could not have imagined them capable of Their pace is sometimes so unsteady they stumble in the smoothest way and sometimes so positive on account of Reputation and Interest they hazâ—rd all for trifles but always so flow that of a thousand of their Artifices scarce any one succeeds I shall not give such examples as I might of this truth in times past particularly in the revolutions of Flanders under Philip the II. and what happened during the League in France in the same Kings Raign being provided of later in the insurrection of Catalonia and revolt of Portugal both foreseen without application of necessary remedies not only because of obstinacy but of irresolution and slowness I will mention no more here then what is discâ—uâ—sed of at Madrid opinions very much differ about Sequestration of the Goods of the Genoueses some declaring it to have been very just and prudent others the contrary but all agreeing that having been so vigorously begun it ought to have been continued in the same manner and being an affair of reputation and interest that so great a Monarch should not have boggled at going through with it or an accommodation appearing necessary by reason of the prejudice this Rupture gave to affairs they should not have moved so heavily towards it because in that interval they suffered for want of returns from Genoua which during such a suspension they could not supply with the Money they had seised They which
which will on all occasions be useful to them towards acquiring greater favors By this method which is nothing else but a Collection of State he supposes the King may amass a considerable sum towards paying his Troops that perish for want and re-establishing his Affairs which the same necessity hath so much disordered The Second Book was a Memorial drawn up by a certain Captain called Joseph Puteol in which he represented to the King that by easing his people he would be the better enabled to make War Como assistiendo à todos se pue da lograr el hazer mejor la Guerra The Expedients he propounded spoke him a man of parts to such as knew him not but in others prejudice raised a contempt of his reasons because he was not in an eminent condition as if the validity of a medicine depended on the quality of the Physitian aliquando etiam Olitor commode potest esse locutus c. but passing by these I will here recount what the former look on as most judicious in his Book which will also very much tend to the better understanding the condition in which I shall leave Spain After particulars of all the Revenues his King draws from his Kingdoms of Castille and the Indies which in gross amount to no more than Eighteen Millions of Gold and of which Philip the Fourth when he came to the Crown found but Eight Millions two hundred seventy four thousand Crowns without incumbrances which to supply his Wars against France he was immediately necessitated to engage and afterwards to alienate for reducing Catalonia appeasing the troubles of Naples and Sicily defence of the Dutchy of Millain recovery of Portolongone and Piombino and many Towns in Flanders besides assisting such Princes as had sided with him in the French revolutions he concludes a very exact and parcimonious oeconomy for the future to be the only means of replenishing the Kings Coffers The wayes he proposes for this seem so many remarques of the former ill dispensation and administration of the Publick Treasure In the first place he sayes That what is necessary to the subsistance of their Armies fails of being supplied not only by reason of the Engagement of the principal Revenues of the Crown to such as have furnished the King in his necessities but no less by the prodigious cheats of an infinite number of Officers employed towards their recovery which gave the King just cause to complain to the Cortes That of Ten Millions paid yearly by Castille six stuck to the fingers of Under Treasurers Secretaries Receivers Tellers and other Exchequer men that subsist only by Rapines exercised on the King and his People Then he desires that difference be made between Monopolists and Farmers of Customs as well old as new and that such of them as have dealt franckly without making malicious advantage of the necessity of affairs may be distinguished from those that have thriven by craft and design in purchasing or renting the Kings Duties With the first he holds it but reasonable to make a fair composition and afterwards that they be permitted the enjoyment of what they acquired with so great equity the other he would have treated with all possible severity and compelled to refund with no less rigor than Sorcerers are burnt and Theeves hanged For what concerns rewards he allows it just to recompence all such as have done the Crown service be its necessities never so great but even for this he would not have the King draw any thing from his own Purse nor pretend to liberality at a time when he hath not wherewithal he therefore advises since high birth is not ever the source of eminent actions neither do Children alwayes inherit the Prudence and Vertue of their Parents not to continue in the same Families 49◠Commanderies which the Eight Orders of Spanish Knighthood possess worth above a Million of Gold yearly but instead of bestowing them out of favour for the most part to persons unworthy and useless hereafter to distribute them to such as either have preserved or extended the Limits of his Monarchy or at least by an Honourable Profession of Arms are in a capacity to do it And if he ever suffers any of them to be diverted from the advantage of Soldiers to whom only they of right appertain that it be to some able Statesman or Dextrous Ambassador who without drawing Sword hath saved some Town or Countrey surprized an Enemy broken in Pieces his Levies cut off Ammunition and Victual from his Armies drawn in Neighboring Princes to unite against him obliged some of them to quit a Neutrality succored some Ally or confirmed some other that wavered in a word to such a person whose industry and prudence hath been highly advantageous to his King and Countrey He no less complains that instead of giving what is substantial in these Orders to Persons of Merit the very Badges of them which are only superficial are for the most part refused He instances in Mr de St Maurice a Gentleman of Burgundie who after very good service pretended several years without obtaining this though Marquis Caracene writ in his favour and attested his Valour and eminent Merit This takes away his admiration that in all the Troops that serve in the Dutchy of Millain there are but Eight Knights that have this honour the peculiar recompence of Soldiers being frequently bestowed on Pen-men or such as depend more on the Gown than Sword though they wear the later as a Mark of what they ought to be rather than of what they really are After this detection of abuses in manageing his Kings Treasure he passes to the wayes of increasing and better securing it Towards increasing it he would have taken into consideration that Spain is inhabited by some persons that are very rich others indifferently so the rest very poor which is the greatest number and that in raising Contributions neither of these three can be favoured without prejudice not only of the other two but of the Soveraign himself Such a Geometrical proportion is therefore to be observed as considers the means and faculties of each and prevents that inconvenience in the State that often afflicts our Bodies when all the ill humors fall on the part that is weakest After so good a Foundation he attacks those that possess most and pay least and makes appear that the Spanish Clergy being very wealthy pays the King but Four hundred forty seven thousand Crowns a trifle compared to its ability and concludes that an augmentation of the Kings Revenue might in so pressing a necessity be charged on it with all justice and reason imaginable He thinks it not fit to impose more on the Nobility and Gentry who ought to be in a continual posture to do the King personal service but upon Citizens and Farmers and concealed Treasure for the greatest part in the hands of Persons faulty or disaffected and that this might bring up a considerable aid were the sources of
and other persons of his Nation that are concerned in this Court to be their interpreter they were caressed by all especially by Don Lewis and the Earls of Ognate Pigneranda Though they resolved to stay at Madrid no longer then Midsummer day to see the fight of Bulls they habited themselves according to the mode of the Country and intending within two Moneths to leave it for Portugal they began at first to provide horses and solicit the expedition of a Pass to make the Tour of Spain notwithstanding the excessive heat of those Regions As soon as we got our Pass we prepared to be gone it was in the same form as that we brought out of Flanders from the Arch-Duke very ample and unlimited as well to time as persons Having taken our leaves and besides the Nags we brought out of France furnished our selves with some Spanish Horses we left Madrid the 17th of June taking the way of Arragon in the forenoon we rid six leagues the Country very dry which continued to be so till we came to the River de los Henares on which stands the City of Alcala in Latin called Complutum It is very famous for its University founded as is reported on the Model of that of Paris and like it divided into several Colledges every one provided of Professors called Cathedraticos Divinity and Philosophy florish more here than in any other University of Spain and Salamanca in the Kingdom of Leon most for Students in the Civil Law alone equalls it The Town is long but narrow having little more than one fair street in which the Scholars lodge Here as I was told Cardinal Mazarin was a Student sent by Cardinal Colonna when Legate in Spain the little River of Henares that passes by it makes the land about it fertil and renders it more agreeable than the rest of the Country where for want of water there are neither trees nor grass leaving here the poste Rode and taking the shortest way that led to Arragon we lay at Marcamalo about 4 leagues distant this is a little Village without any thing remarkable The 18th we dined at Hita a small Town seated on the top of a little hill shadowed by a greater that night we lay at Cadadra a pretty Town in a Valley From hence we went the next morning early and dined at Saguença we inned in the Suburbs where we drunk wine esteemed the best of Castile but it is like aquavitae not only strong but fiery yet bears not water Having refreshed our selves for we had a very cool chamber and plenty of snow we went to lodge at Fuente Caliente or rather to do penance there for the pleasure we enjoyed at noon It s name interpreted the hot fountain is not given it without reason we suffered here very much not only by heat but bad accommodation on all accounts the Host was rude and barbarous suitable to so savage a habitation The 20th over a very barren Countrey and hot Mountains we came to Arcos the last Town of new Castile where consequently is a Puerto or Customhouse It was a Sunday and Holiday and the people all at Mass when we passed we traversed it very leisurely without any one's saying any thing to us but as soon as we were beyond a certain gate by which we went from the Village to the High-way in that part very streight by reason of the Brook and Mountain and had gotten about 100 paces beyond all the Barricado's we perceived people running and calling after us I staied to know what they would have and when they overtook me they told me the Puerto or Custom-house was in that Town I replied we we were not Merchants nor had any obligation upon us on that account having sufficient Passports from the King and that if they had had any thing to say to us they ought to have done it in the Town and there have acquainted us that there was a Custom-house we having no Moco de Mulas or Guide to inform us They desired that one of us would go back to shew our Pass which I did though unadvisedly for I have been told since we might have gone on and gained Arragon and so have avoided the cavils and impudence of those Harpies When I shewed my Pass they said they must call a Council to consider if it were valid and that therefore I should send to the Company to return Which being done they told us we might go a la Posada e que toda la nuestra ropa estava descaminada that we might go to the Inn for all our baggage was confiscated then guessing they intended by terrifying to get money of us I bid them read our Pass which was in these termes It having been represented to me in the names of ..... and ..... at present in this Court on occasion of business very much importing them that being to return to their Countrey they desire I would please to order them a Pass I have condiscended and therefore command all my Viceroys Captains general Governors Corrigidors Alcades and other Judges and Justices of my Kingdoms and Dominions of what degree or quality soever where the above-mentioned persons with four servants and eight Horses their Arms and Baggage shall pass not to give them any lett impediment or disturbance whatsoever but on the contrary all assistance and favour they may stand in need of for such is our will and pleasure I the KING and underneath GERONIMO de la Torre I thought this Pass sufficient to prevent these Publicans detaining us but thirst of gain in which on several other occasions they had had success against all Justice and Reason made them obstinate by expectation of the like I asked the cause of their disrespect to His Majesties Passe sometimes they said it was shewd too late and otherwhiles that it was not on sealed paper by which I perceived they designed to bring us to a composition of 50 or 60 pistols Finding us not at all compliable and that I caused a Certificate to be made by a publick Notary that Francisco Salazar Alcalde of the place stayed us contrary to the Kings Passe having plotted together to that purpose they began to talk high hoping so to terrify us and the Alcalde seising our Valises caused them to be carried to the Custom-house where opening them he took an Inventory of all and not only of such Money as we had in them but in our pockets and forming an accusation obliged us to put in our answers in which they endeavoured to circumvent us but I looked so near to what they writ I suffered nothing to pass I had not spoken otherwise protesting against signing it these many formalities were made use of to fright us with the name of Justice of which all their noise and scribling coming short a Priest that belonged to them and another fellow that did the Office of a Secretary told me in private that giving 50 pistols we might go freely I slighted this
but told them I cared not if I gave them 30 Patagons though their insolence did not deserve it And such indeed it was particularly on the part of the Alcalde Salazar a Knight of St Jago but an arrant rascal as well as the Customer Nicholas Lopes de Cordoua that had the meen of a Jew at last they became impudent and desperately outragious when they saw they could not effect their design of plundering us and perceiving it resolved that I should return post to Madrid to complain of them and desire Justice they also provided one to carry their Justification to the Receiver-General of the Customs and sent him away afoot the remainder of the day was spent in such contestations with them but at last they suffered me to go about Eight in the evening their messenger being first dispatched My Lord writ all to the Earl of Pigneranda I was imposed upon by them at my first mounting in the prices of the Horses no Posts in the world furnisht with better then those of Spain nor that are less ridden for excepting such as carry Letters and some extraordinary Couriers that are sent to Court from several parts especially St Sebastians and Catalonia this way is little made use of they preferring Hackney Mules which indeed are more commodious as I found by experience on this occasion for though the Horses be good one is tormented by wretched Saddles with very narrow Seats high Pummels and extraordinary hard So that to be mounted in such a manner one is little more at ease then on a rack At the 3d Stage the horses for all furniture had only Pannels with wooden stirrups hung in Ropes Finding fault with such equipage the Postmaster told me it was not strange he had no Saddles and that I should find the pannel easier I complied and at first was in a great deal of disorder because I could not settle on the stirrups and by reason of the extraordinary breadth of the pannel but this passed over I liked their Pannels better then their Saddles and called for one at the next Stage but could not have it and took a Saddle not so convenient as the Pannel I was so unwilling to ride on At the 3d Stage they took me for the express of Catalonia carrying some good news to the King which I did not much contradict because I found my self better used on account of it they demanding for each Horse but four Rials about 2 s. 6 d. of our Money Few Post-masters keep above two or three horses neither are they obliged to more They have Salaries of 3 or 400 Crowns nay some 500 for the keeping only of two Horses and a Post-Boy The Earl of Ognate is Post-master-General which is very profitable to him my Horses were every where very good and galloped all the way but the Postilions often stopping to give them breath which they call Rezelar is very troublesome Besides that at changing Horses especially in the night they are very tedious The Post way is not the same we passed in going to Arcos but over a very fertile Plain watered by the River de los Henares 5 or 6 Leagues are often rid on the same horses because the Posts are not established as they ought to be at every two Leagues Arriving at Madrid after some repose and dining with Monsieur de Mogeron I was forced to stop till the heat of the middle of the day passed over before I could endeavour any thing in my business for all here sleeping after dinner I could not see the Earl of Pigneranda with whom I resolved to begin and for whom I had a Letter till about five a clock and therefore in the interim went to consult of my business with some friends and meeting in the Calle Major a very honest Fleming called Don Pedro that understood this Court well and spoke excellent Spanish giving him account of our accident he drew a Memorial to be presented by the Earl of Pigneranda to the Council Royal not doubting of my success but advising me not to be impatient of delays it being most certain that this people as much observe formalities in the slightest affairs as in those of the highest concernment and withal letting me understand there was great indulgence for Farmers of Customs because the Kings principal Revenue rising from it their exactions are sometimes connived at Indeed Taxes on land bring up little or nothing in Spain because the Countrey is not sufficiently manured and were Husbandmen burthened would be less so even to a want of necessary sustenance He told me more that when the Customs are Farmed it is done in so absolute a manner that nothing pâ—sses not for the Kings own use without paying and if he give any exemptions they are deducted from the Rent the Farmers agreed for Those fellows therefore make use of a hundred cheats too tedious to be here related in order to confiscation which if they cannot effect with justice they forge false suppositions and under pretence of the Kings rights exercise their Rapine with Soveraignty and are so insolent that on all occasions they vaunt themselves to be the Kings servants and a wretched waiter or other spawn of a Publican will sometimes be fancy enough to threaten an honest man to beat him or break open his Trunk if he be slow in delivering the Key In France one suffers no less by the extravagant greediness of this kind of cattle and I cannot forget the pains they took at Diep to send an Army of Guards aboard the vessel I arrived in to visit my Valise tossing up and down my cloaths annd taxing a bit of cloth that remained of a suit I had made at London two Crowns so that if Princes or their Ministers limit not their exactions Travailers are miserably exposed to them and this is their great scourge the more to be apprehended because seldom or never punished the greatest part of those fellows in Spain are thought to be Jews and when their plunderings have gorged them with wealth the trap of the inquisition is set for them Going at nine a clock to the Earl of Pignerandas he was not returned but I acquainted his Secretary Don Martin with my business desiring him to move it to his Lord and to give him the Letter I brought from my Lord with the Memorial the next day about the same hour I went again and found that Lord very much troubled at what had happened to us who after offering me a Coach Money and all else in his power desired me to have a little patience and told me he was very sorry my Lords and were in so bad a place and arrested by the insolence of those Picaros who should be exemplarily punished and we receive all manner of satisfaction the like I did to Don Lewis de Haro and found the like civility To make short my solicitations had such effect that the King appointed a Commission to be dispatched by the Council of Castille for