One circumstance struck me as really most astonishing; I allude to the frequency of the following inscription: _Juego de Villar_, which is repeated every twenty steps. For fear you should imagine that some mystery lies concealed beneath these three sacramental words, I will instantly translate them. They only signify, _Game of Billiards_. I cannot possibly conceive what can be the use of having so many billiard-rooms; there are enough for the whole universe. After the _Juego de Villar_, the most common inscription is, _Despacho de Bino_ (wine stores). In these places you can buy Val-de-Peñas, as well as wines of a better quality. The counters are painted in the most gaudy colours, and ornamented with drapery and foliage. The _confiterias_ and _pastelerias_ are likewise very numerous, and ornamented in a very natty manner. Spanish preserves deserve to be particularly mentioned; there is one sort, known by the name of angel's hair (_cabello de angel_), which is truly exquisite. The pastry is as good as it can be in a country where there is no butter, or where, at least, butter is so dear and so bad that it can hardly be used. The Spanish pastry rather resembles what we call in France _petit four_. All these various signs are written in abbreviated characters, with the letters entwined in one another; which renders it at first a difficult task for foreigners to understand them; and if ever there were any persons famous for reading signboards, foreigners are most decidedly those persons.