Picturesque Spain.

There are many cities and towns in the world apparently clustered for protection at the base of rocky eminences on which strongholds have been built by some ruling Prince or feudal Lord. These have nearly all a very imposing and picturesque appearance, like Windsor Castle and Edinburgh Castle in Great Britain, Mount Sion at Jerusalem, and the Capitol at page 68 Rome; but the most remarkable of all that I have seen is the lofty and wide platform on which the wonderful Alhambra Palace, of Moorish architecture and fascinating beauty, still stands, commanding an extensive view over the city of Grenada, the windings of the rivers Zanil and Darro, through the wide and fruitful plains in front, and behind to the towering range of the snow-clad Sierra Nevada Mountains, a sight that has made a deep impression on my memory. Before leaving Spain I made an excursion from Barcelona to the great monastery on Monserrat, and later on to that of the Grand Chartreuse, near Grenoble, in France. Both these monastic retreats are on mountain heights, their great halls, churches, and cells are extensive and securely walled round; but visitors are allowed to enter and to occupy small rooms prepared for them, so that they can attend the midnight services in a gallery of the church apart from the monks themselves. One of the financial resources of the "Chartreuse" is the profit derived from the sale of a very fine cordial made by the monks, who keep the mode and ingredients of the manufacture a profound secret. From Cadiz I went over to Tangiers, where there are one or two good hotels, affording accommo-dation to invalids for winter residence; and the castle of the Moorish Governor is worth a visit, but the condition of the narrow, ill-paved streets, or rather lanes, and the absence of page 69 good roads did not give me a favourable opinion of the place, or incline me to linger in the dominions of the Sultan of Morocco. After visiting Cadiz, Lisbon, Oporto, Gibraltar, Malaga, Barcelona, and other cities along the coasts of Spain and Portugal, I arrived at Marseilles and travelled to the Maritime Alps and the little town of Latour, where I made the acquaintance of some of the pastors of the Waldenses, and travelled on foot over the hills and amongst the valleys which that brave, free Christian people held so long and so courageously against the attacks of their Roman Catholic enemies, and who have again attained complete freedom, which they are using energetically to spread their simple Protestant doctrines in most of the towns of Italy.