princess left the male succession open to the sons of Don Carlos. That the probabilities of a change to greater in place of to less despotism, may be more obvious, not only the strength and influence of parties must be looked to, but also the peculiarities of Spanish character. Viewing the present state of Spain, there appears to exist a necessity for a more enlightened government; and one with difficulty persuades himself of the probability of a revolution which would pull down one despotic government to raise another more despotic in its place. But an Englishman would judge very erroneously of the prospects of Spain, who should measure Spanish feeling by his own; and considering what the people of England would do under similar circumstances, conclude that Spain will do likewise. The Spanish government will fall by its weakness, rather than by its vices; it is the prospect of a stronger, not of a more virtuous government, that incites the exertions of the Carlists. The mass of the population of Spain take little heed of the vices of the government, and are entirely indifferent about political privileges. The Basque provinces, which are the most enlightened, have little to complain of; for they enjoy a multitude of privileges and exemptions which are well defined, and jealously maintained: and as for the Spaniard of the southern provinces,--give him his shade in summer, and his sunshine in winter; his tobacco, his melon, his dates, his bread, and his wine; give him a hole to creep into, and put him within sound of a convent bell, and he asks no more: or if you rise a degree or two in society, and speak of the respectable peasant, then give to him his embroidered jacket, his tasseled hat, his guitar, and his _maja_, (sweetheart, in the dialect of Andalusia), and it is matter of indifference to him, whether Spain be ruled by a Caligula or a Titus. The love of ease and pleasure, and the proneness to indolence that distinguish the character of the Spaniard, especially in the provinces south of Castile; and his total ignorance of the uses and nature of political freedom, will yet, for many years, prove a barrier to the progress of free institutions in the Peninsula. It is true that this contentedness with his condition,--this unripeness for political freedom,--this ignorance of the claims of his species, ought not to be alleged as any reason against the attempt to force free institutions upon him. It is that very ignorance, that unripeness, that false contentedness, that hasten the necessity for revolution; because instruction, without which no country can be rendered fit for the enjoyment of political rights, could never carry its light to the people, under a government like that of Spain.