A remarkable proof of this is to be found in “The Magdalen” of Malon de Chaide, first published in 1592, after the death of its author. It is a religious work, and is divided into four parts; the first being merely introductory, and the three others on the three characters of Mary Magdalen as a sinner, a penitent, and a saint. It has a very rhetorical air throughout, and sometimes reads almost like a romance;--so free is its conception of the character and conversations of the saint. But some of its discussions, like one on fashionable dress, and one on religious pictures, are curious; and some of its religious exhortations, like that to repent before old age comes on, are moving and powerful. The moral tone of the whole is severe. With a great deal of the spirit of a monk, the author is earnest against books of chivalry; and he not only rebukes the habit of reading the ancient classics, but even such Spanish poets as Garcilasso de la Vega, because he thinks admiration of them inconsistent with a preservation of the Christian character. Occasionally, he grows mystical; and then, though his style is more than ever prodigal, his meaning is not always plain. But, on the whole, and regarded as an exhortation to a religious life, the Conversion of Mary Magdalen is written with so much richness of language, and is often so eloquent, that it was much read when it first appeared, and has not, even in recent times, ceased to be reprinted and admired.[240] [240] Malon de Chaide was an Augustinian monk, and Professor at Salamanca; and there are editions of his Magdalen of 1592, Alcalá, 12mo, of 1596, 1603, 1794, etc. A somewhat similar book had preceded it, “The History of the Queen of Sheba, when she discoursed with King Solomon in Jerusalem.” It was written by another Augustinian monk, Alonso de Horosco, a somewhat voluminous writer, and was printed at Salamanca, in 1568, 12mo. But it is little more than a collection of ordinary sermons, some of which do not mention the Queen of Sheba at all, and is to be regarded only as a courtly offering to Isabella, wife of Philip II., whose chaplain Horosco was. Quite different from this is “The Amusing Journey” of Roxas,--a book that hardly falls within the strict limits of any class, but one which has always been popular in Spain. Its author was an actor; and his travels consist of an account of some of his personal adventures and experiences, thrown into the form of dialogues between three of his fellow-comedians and himself, as they visit some of the principal cities of Spain in the exercise of their profession as strolling players. They travel on foot; and their conversations, which are little molested by scruples of any sort, make up a very amusing book.