We had the happiness of beholding Queen Isabella at the opera, through an atmosphere tolerably free from tobacco smoke. Her Majesty wore a wreath of diamonds, and a dress of white _moiré_ silk, overlaid with _tulle_, &c.; and, although it is not very courtier-like to say so, we may add that the lady in question was remarkably stout, and of the middle age;-- "That on her cheek, and eke her nose, In great abundance bloom'd the rose." She might, in fact, be compared to the arbutus loaded with scarlet fruit, mentioned by the poet Ovid[15]--a description which ought to be very gratifying, for does not the proverb tell us that "a blush is the complexion of virtue?" The queen wore a profusion of beautiful blue-black hair, and the expression of her countenance indicated that it was possible for her, now and then, to entertain strong opinions of her own. She was, in fact, or rather is, what vulgar people would call "a lusty woman." The opera-house is internally pretty, and very French in appearance. The presence of so many bright uniforms, profusely adorned with various orders of knighthood, contributed much to the brilliancy of the scene. Of the performance we have little or nothing to say. The same old operas which are in vogue on the fashionable stage of other European capitals are repeated here, and no new flight is attempted. Here also a curious operatic problem, which we had previously endeavoured to solve at London and Paris, suggested itself to us, wherefore, namely, a married man or father on the stage should invariably have a bass voice, a villain a baritone, and a lover or _batelier_ a tenor? I am not aware that in ordinary life, when we enter the holy state of matrimony, our voices as a rule descend from tenor to bass, or that gentlemen who have to leave England on _urgent business_ for a few years, come back with their tones perceptibly deepened. No doubt, however, such profound students of real life as operatic managers must have a good reason for all they do. FOOTNOTES: [13] Within the Escorial everything is on a colossal scale. There are 16 courts, 40 altars, 1,111 windows outside, and 1,562 inside. There are 12,000 doors, 86 staircases, and 15 sets of cloisters. There are galleries of 300 feet in length, painted in elaborate fresco, 89 fountains; and if one traversed the entire fabric in all its parts, one would have to walk ninety and odd miles. It is considered by the Spaniards as the eighth wonder of the world. [14] Shirley. [15] "Pomo onerata rubenti arbutus." [Illustration: [++] Decorative Image] [Illustration: [++] Decorative Image] CHAPTER IX. A BULL-FIGHT.--THE ARENA.--THE SPECTATORS.--PROCESSION.--THE BULL.--APPEARANCE OF THE MEN AND HORSES.--NIMBLE FOOTMEN.--THE COMBAT.--SCENE OF HORROR.--THE BANDERILLEROS.--THE ESPADA.--DEATH OF THE BULL.