portance of this kind; Palmerin de Oliva, &c., follow it.* The Coronicas belong to this period. They are semi-historical narratives, in which the leading events of each reign are described.

Provençal style was introduced into Spain early in the 15th century. It became very popular owing to the patronage of Don Juan II., 14071454. The most important courtiers imitated the king's example, and poems have reached us by Don Alvaro de Luna, Don Alonso de Cartagena and others. The Marquis of Villena and Macias belong to this period. Fernan Perez de Guzman wrote at this time his Livros de los claros varones de España, and Juan de Mena, an excellent poet, his Laberynto and Dialogo de los siete Pecados mortales. The last poet of the reign of Don Juan II. is the Marquis of Santillana. Several wrote late in the century: the most excellent among them being Jorge Manrique, whose Coplas on the death of his father are admirable. Novels begin at this time, generally copied from Italian models. The finest is La Celestina, written in acts like a drama, one of the best works in Spanish literature. The compilations of poems (Cancioneros) belong to this period.

Romances or ballads are the most original form of Spanish poetry. They constitute the popular epic poem, and are the most spontaneous productions of the Spanish language. They comprehend a great variety of styles. Their simple metrical form of eight-syllable lines of asonant verses became a favourite at once. A large number have reached us on every subject, and they should be read and studied by every traveller in Spain.†

16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES.

The revival of Literature coincides in Spain with the period of its greatest power and prosperity. The early part of the 16th century is called el Siglo de oro. An Italian influence is predominant. Castillejo keeps to the earlier style in his charming compositions: Diálogo entre el autor y su pluma, and Sermones de Amores. Boscan and Garcilaso were the first to introduce the Italian measure into Spanish verse. Some poets wrote in both these styles. Gregorio Sylvestre is among the best of them; an excellent poet, but very little known.

Garcilaso was the earliest lyrical poet, 1503-1536. His verses are pure in style, in the manner of Virgil and Horace. His life is interesting: he fought by the side of Charles V., and was killed at the assault of the fortress of Fréjus (Nice). One of his contemporaries, Hurtado de Mendoza, a soldier and statesman, popularised classical studies. His best works are the Rebellion de los Moriscos and the wellknown Lazarillo de Tormes. The classical style is now universally adopted in Spain. Fray Luis de Leon was undoubtedly the best poet of this period. His ode on the Ascension and his Poema á la Vírgen may certainly be reckoned among the best compositions in the language. Several poets of an inferior order belong to the 16th century. Cesina, Acuña, Figueroa, Medrano, La Torre, Mesa, and Alcazar are among the best. Their works are clever in parts, but are generally unequal. This characteristic becomes a leading feature in Spanish poetry. At * Vide 'Catálogo de Libros de Caballeria,' P. de Gayangos.

See Romancero General,' Duran.

the end of the 17th century lyrics began to decay, but no author carried affectation and exaggeration to such a height as Gongora, 1561-1627 : a gifted poet, full of charm in his simple compositions (vide translations by Archdeacon Churton), though most obscure in his Soledades and Polifemo. This style was called in Spain culteranismo, and not even the best dramatic authors of the 17th century were free from its defects. The imitators of Gongora continued until the 18th century, although here and there a poet like Rioja tried to check the movement. Epic poetry in Spain is inferior to the dramatic and lyrical styles. The specimens which exist are cold and devoid of inspiration. El Monserrate, by Virues, La Cristiada, by Hojeda, La Vida de San Jose, by Valdivieso, and El Bernardo, by Balbuena, may be quoted as examples. La Araucana, by Ercilla, contains some poetical passages, but in general is hardly more than an historical narrative. Gatomaquia, by Lope de Vega, though a burlesque, is considered by many critics the best epic poem in the Spanish language.

La

Dramatic literature unites, perhaps, the highest conditions of originality and power. Its earliest productions are the liturgical representations of the Middle Ages-Misterios or Autos.* Although works of this kind are mentioned as early as the 13th century, the first which have a distinct dramatic character are the Coplas de Mingo Revulgo and El Diálogo entre el Amor y un viejo. These compositions were written under the reign of Henry IV. At the latter part of the 15th century a series of dramatic works already existed. Juan de la Encina began the history of the Spanish drama. Lucas Fernandez was a contemporary writer, and shortly afterwards Gil Vicente. Torres Naharro, 1517, published his Propaladia, which contains eight comedies. Lope de Rueda founded the modern school, and he is imitated and improved by his followers. The drama does not attain its highest importance until Lope de Vega (1562-1635), the most prolific of Spanish poets. He tells us he had written 1500 plays, without counting Autos and Entremeses. Cervantes says that forty companies of actors existed at this time in Madrid alone, consisting of no less than 1000 actors. In 1636, 300 companies of actors acted in different parts of Spain. Lope de Vega is rather unequal as a dramatic author; but El mejor Alcalde el rey, La Estrella de Sevilla, La dama boba, La moza de cantaro, entitle him to rank among the best European dramatists. Three authors share Lope's glory, Tirso, Calderon, and Alarcon.

No Spanish dramatist has surpassed Tirso in his facility of treating the most varied subjects in admirable versification. His comedy of Don Gil de las calzas verdes is as good as his dramas of El Rey Don Pedro en Madrid, El condenado por desconfiado, or El convidado de piedra. The popular type of Don Juan is taken from this drama. Alarcon is undoubtedly the most philosophical Spanish dramatist. His comedy, Las paredes oyen, is admirable, and La verdad sospechosa, so much admired by Corneille, as he tells us himself, when he took the plot for his Menteur. Calderon is the most popular dramatic author. He idealises more than his predecessors, and his genius embraces the most varied subjects. His comedies are charming; as examples, La dama

*See 'Catalogo del Teatro antiguo Español,' La Barrera, 1860,

duende and Casa con dos puertas are among the best. El médico de su honra is full of dramatic power, and nothing can be more poetical than La Vida es sueño. (Vide MacCarthy's translations.) The best imitators of the great dramatists are Rojas and Moreto : Garcia del Castañar by the former, and Desden con el Desden of the latter, are equal to the dramas of the great masters.

The earliest Spanish novels are Lazarillo de Tormes, by Hurtado de Mendoza, and the Diana Enamorada, by Monte Mayor. They are followed in the 16th century by El Picaro Guzman de Alfarache and El Escudero Marcos de Obregon, by Aleman and Espinel. A great number of novels were written in the following century, but all were eclipsed by Cervantes' Don Quijote, which is too well known to need any

comment.

Several authors in the 16th and 17th centuries cultivated different literary styles. Quevedo is the most remarkable of them. He was an excellent theological moralist and fantastical writer in the manner of Dante. He wrote a number of works of real merit, none of which have been so popular as his Satiras in prose and verse. (Vide Mr. Mew's, Quevedo," in 'Gentleman's Magazine,' Jan. 1878.)

66

Political and moralist writers of the 16th and 17th centuries are very numerous. Of these Guevara, Sta. Teresa, Fray Luis de Granada Gracian (ably commented on by Mr. Grant Duff, 'Fort. Rev.' May, 1877), Saavedra Fajardo, Mariana, Morales, Zurita, and Solis are the most remarkable.

18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES.

The end of the 17th century was the worst period of Spanish literature. Philip V., the first king of the house of Bourbon, 1700, did his utmost to improve the intellectual culture of the country. The Biblioteca Real was founded in 1711, and the Academias de la Lengua, Historia, and Bellas Artes in 1714; several literary reviews also appeared. The best poets of this period are Antonio de Toledo and Gerardo Lobo. The only productions, however, of any literary merit are the critical works of Flores, Masdeu, Mayans and others. During the reign of Charles III., 1759-1788, Melendez wrote some tolerable verses. He is followed by Fr. Diego Gonzalez, Cienfuegos, Nicolas de Moratin and others. The most original writers of the end of the 18th century are, however, undoubtedly Leandro Moratin and Ramon. The two comedies, El Sí de las niñas and El Café, by the former, are charming, and the Sainetes, by De la Cruz, in the manner of Plautus, continue to be very popular in Spain.

The

Spanish literature of the present century possesses no definite character, although several writers can bear comparison with the best Spanish authors of other periods. Every school and style has been copied Byron, Schiller, Goethe, Victor Hugo, and Dumas. earliest author of any importance is Quintana, a correct and inspired poet. His odes on La Imprenta, Panteon del Escorial, and Batalla de Trafalgar are very good. Martinez de la Rosa, Lista, and Nicasio Gallegos form a group of able versifiers. Espronceda is a constant imitator of Byron, although his legend of El Estudiante de Salamanca is

original, and a very fine composition. Zorrilla is the best representative of the romantic school of 1830-1840: his works are sometimes unequal, and his legends are his best lyrical compositions. His finest dramas are Don Juan Tenorio and El Zapatero y el Rey. The Romances and drama of Don Alvaro de Luna, by the Duke of Rivas, have been very popular; but no author is so deservingly so as Breton de los Herreres, an excellent writer, who has left behind nearly 100 comedies, some of which, Marcela, Muerete y veras, El pelo de la dehesa, &c., are perfect in their way. Although these authors may be said to belong to the modern school of literature, the traveller may wish to know the names of the best Spanish authors of the day, and the titles of their most popular works. The indications given in the three following groups -poets, dramatic authors, and novelists-may be found useful.

POETS.-Zorrilla: Legendas; Cantos del Trovador; Poema á Granada. Palacios: Poesias. Grillo: Poesias. Aguilera: Cantares. Campoamor : Doloras; Poemas. Selgas: Obras. Becquer: Obras. Queralt: Rimas. Arnao: Caudillo de los ciento.

DRAMATIC AUTHORS.-Hartzenbusch: Los Amantes de Teruel; La Jura en Sta. Gadea; Cuentos y Fabulas. Tamayo: La Locura de amor ; La bola de nieve; Los hombres de bien. Ventura de la Vega: El hombre de mundo. Garcia Gutierrez: El Trovador; Azon Visconti; La Criolla. Ayala El tanto por ciento; Don Rodrigo Calderon. Sanz: Don Francisco de Quevedo. Rubi: La trenza de sus cabellos; Bandera negra. Serra: El amor y la Gaceta; El Loco de la buhardilla. Echegaray : En el Puño de la Espada; O Locura ó Santidad; La muerte en los labios ; En el Seno de la muerte.

NOVELISTS.-Fernan Caballero (Cecilia Bohl de Faber). All the novelas published by this gifted lady are excellent; several have been translated into English. La Gaviota, Lágrimas, and Clemencia are the most popular. Castro y Serrano : Cartas transcendentales; Estudios contemporaneos; Novela del Egipto. Valera: Pepita Jimenez; Dr. Faustino; El comendador Mendoza; Artículos literarios. Alarcon: El sombrero de tres picos; El Escandalo; Las Alpujarras; El niño de la Bola. Correa : Rosas y Perros. Perez Galdos: a series of novels describing Spanish life in the last century, called Episodios nacionales ; Doña Perfecta; Gloria; La Desheredada. Fernandez y Gonzalez, in the manner of Dumas: Martin Gil; El Cocinero y el Rey. Trueba: Obras en prosa y verso. Amos Escalante: Costas y montañas; Ave

Maris Stella.

The best Spanish Literary Reviews are the Revista de España; Revista de España y América ; Revista contemporanea; Revista de Obras Públicas; Revista Europea; Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos; El Averiguador; Boletin de la Sociedad Geográfica; Boletin de la Acad. de la Historia; Boletin de la Acad. de Historia Natural y Acad. de San Fernando; Memorial de Ingenieros; Gaceta agrícola del Ministerio de Fomento; El siglo médico. Illustrated papers: Crónica de la Industria; Ilustracion Española y Americana; Ilustracio' Catalana; Ilustracion Artística; L'excursionista; Bulleti de l'Associacio' d'excursions Catalana. These three last appear at Barcelona. El Campo; Ilustracion Venatoria.

FINE ARTS IN SPAIN.-Monumentos Arquitectónicos, fol.; Museo

Español de Antigüedades, fol. Rivadeneyra, Autores Españoles,* and the excellent reprints of rare works, brought out by the Bibliofilos Españoles; Libros de Antaño; Coleccion de libros españoles raros y curiosos, appear at intervals.

§ 21.-GEOLOGY AND MINERALS.

The student who wishes to have an idea of the geological structure of the Spanish Peninsula must consult the 2nd Edition of 'Carte Géologique de l'Espagne et du Portugal,' by Messrs. M. de Verneuil and Collomb, with the Explication sommaire de la carte,' which accompanies it, and Señor Botella's 'Mapa Geologico.'

Amongst the principal modifications which the researches of Spanish and Portuguese geologists have introduced in M. Verneuil's map, are to be mentioned the great development of Cambrian strata in the west of Portugal and Estremadura in Spain (see Egozcoue and Mallada, and Rebeiro and Delgado's works on the subject), and the perhaps too great reduction of what had hitherto been considered as Silurian deposits. The Cambrian formation is traversed by great intrusive masses of granite. The principal rocks found in this formation are a great thickness of slates and mica-schists, which in the province of Caceres appear to attain a thickness of thousands of feet. In this formation are found some very important veins of lead and silver ores, as well as some of the richest deposits of phosphate of lime of Estremadura. The Silurian deposits are constituted at their base by a great thickness of greywacke and slates, followed by large masses of quartzite and limestone, on which repose a succession of fossiliferous slates. In the parts of the country already studied these deposits follow generally a (w. 36° N.) direction. Likewise, a great part of the Silurian of the south of Portugal and the province of Huelva in Spain has been seen to belong to the lower Carboniferous or culm of Silesia, the Posydonomia Becheri having been abundantly found. Carboniferous deposits have been signalled by Mallada in the Spanish Pyrenees of the province of Huesca. What is marked as Permian in M. de Verneuil's map in the province of Cuenca, has been questioned, probably with reason, by M. Cortazar in his 'Descripcion geologica de la provincia de Cuenca;' whilst Señor Botella, in his map, considers Permian the dolomitic limestone of Sierra Nevada.

In the secondary formations some alterations have also been made. The Triassic fauna has been greatly enriched, and Sr. Mallada mentions twenty-nine species found in the provinces of Jaen, Albacete, Teruel, Palencia, &c. Probably some of what is represented by M. Verneuil as Triassic in his map, will be found to belong to other formations; as the researches of Messrs. MacPherson and Calderon in the provinces of Cadiz and Santander make it likely. Jurassic deposits have also suffered some modifications. The small patch in the west of the province of Santander is also extended. Wealden, and probably Purbeck deposits, have been discovered in the Peninsula by M. Delgado in Portugal, from Setubal to Cape Mondego, and by MM. Linares and

* Consult IIistory of Spanish Literature.' George Ticknor, Boston, 1864,