himself, he acknowledges his fault in the following words:

Mas ninguno de todos llamar puedo
Mas barbaro que yo, pues contra el arte
Me atrevo a dar preceptos, y me dexo
Llevar de la vulgar corriente, a donde
Me llaman ignorante, Italia y Francia.

And again,

Y efcrivo por el arte, que inventaron
Los que el vulgar aplauso pretendieron
Porque como los paga el vulgo, es Justo
Hablarle en necio, para darle gusto.

That is,
"that he was fenfible of the
reproaches Italy and France would
make him for breaking through all
rules to please the ignorant public,
but fince it was they, that paid for it,
they had a right to be pleased in
their own way."

I have now given you both fides of the queftion, respecting this great man; were I to speak to you of his personal virtues, they are yet fuperior to his literary talents. His benevolence and charity towards the indigent and diftreffed was fo great, that he always extended his hand to the needy, infomuch that notwithstanding his confiderable fortune and income, not more than fix thousand ducats were found at his death.-O illuftrious bard, if an Englishman is. not capable of doing justice to thy poetical numbers, and the harmony of thy verfe, accept at leaft of this tribute to the goodness of thy heart.

LETTER

LETTER XVI.

City of Burgos. Tomb of the Cid, and of king John the Second.

BURGOS, 15th August, 1778.

HE next day after I had the

THE

pleasure of addreffing my laft letter to you, I fet out from the town of Madrid, and paffing through Segovia and Valladolid, arrived at the antient city of Burgos, where I propose making a halt for a few days, to enjoy a little reft after a fatiguing journey, and to look about me in this venerable city, dwindled from its former fplendour, but ftill the refidence of many noble families, ilS 4 luftrious

luftrious for their lineage and milita

ry atchievements. In this city Edward, of England, eldest fon of our king Henry the 3d, was knighted in 1254, by king Alfonfo the wife, and married the princess Eleanor of Caftile, that amiable woman, who when her husband was wounded with a poifoned arrow in Palestine, fucked the venom out of the wound, and reftored him to health. Nor was the English nation wanting in acknowledgments to this affectionate princefs, who dying of a fever on her journey to Scotland, was conveyed to Westminster with great funeral pomp, and elegant flone crosses were erected at each place where the corpse refted. The cathedral of Burgos is a most magnificent structure in the go

1

thic tafle, and has a great refemblance to York minfter.-As this is the

country of that famous Spanish hero Roderic Diaz de Bivar, commonly called the Cid, who lived in the days of Ferdinand the ift, I did not forget to vifit his fhrine at the church of San Pedro de Cardena, about fix miles from hence, belonging to the benedictine monks; I went there with the fame curiofity as I fhould to view the tomb of Guy earl of Warwick, or any of our renowned English champions.--I accordingly mounted my courfer with becoming gravity, and repaired to his tomb, which is in a particular chapel of the church of San Pedro, with the arms of all his relations depicted on the walls, and a long scroll of his genealogy and

exploits.