dominions. The consent of the Mogul emperor was obtained for trading to Piplee, in Orissa. For the better government of these stations Bantam was again made a Presidency, and the eastern coast was placed under its control.

The Company had for some time ceased to compete with the Dutch for the trade of the Spice Islands, and had sent their fleets to Surat, intending to direct their efforts to the improvement of the trade with this part of India, and with Persia; but as pepper was produced on the Malabar coast they sought for a share in that article through a channel which the Dutch were not likely to obstruct. They made peace, in 1634, with their old enemies the Portuguese, and concluded a treaty whereby they had free access to the ports of that nation.

In the year 1635 the Company had to contend with yet another rival;-one as formidable as any of whom they had hitherto complained. At this time the navy of Great Britain was very insignificant, and much difference of opinion existed in England as to the legitimate method of obtaining resources for its extension and support. The King claimed the right of ordering supplies for this service, which the Parliament, without its consent, held to be unconstitutional. At length the necessity of doing something for the support of the navy induced the King to patronize a scheme which was a direct violation of the charters and exclusive privileges conferred on the Company by Queen Elizabeth and King James. Captain Weddel, one of the Company's servants, about the close of the year 1634, entered into a scheme with Sir William Courten, and Endymion Porter, Esq., one of the gentlemen of the bed-chamber to the King, for establishing a separate trade to the East Indies, from which they hoped to derive large profits by carrying out goods to the Portuguese settlements in India and bringing home Indian produce from them for sale in England. The King himself was induced to grant his license for the new association, and even to accept of a share in the adventure. The preamble to the licence declared that it was founded upon the misconduct of the East India Company who "had neglected to establish fortified factories or seats of trade to which the King's subjects could resort with safety; that they had consulted their own interests only, without any regard to the King's revenue; and in general, that they had broken the conditions upon which their charter and exclusive privileges had been granted to them." Mr. Mill remarks, that this was probably the general opinion of the nation; nothing less being necessary to such a violation of the Company's charter; but "allowing the contrariety to the interests of the nation, the consequences were not so ruinous, but that the stipulated notice of three years might have been given, and a legal end been put to the monopoly."

Courten's Association were not slow in availing themselves of their newly acquired privileges. They equipped four vessels, and, according to Bruce, engaged the Company's naval and mercantile servants as officers and supercargoes. The Company petitioned the King, but without success. They then sent instructions to their agents in India to offer indirect opposition to the new association. Affairs would probably have long remained in this condition but for an event which the Company endeavoured to turn to its own advantage. One of the Company's ships from Surat brought information that one of Courten's vessels had seized on two junks belonging to Surat and Diu, had plundered them, and exposed the crews to torture; and that as soon as this event was known at Surat, the President and Council had been seized and imprisoned, and the Company's property confiscated, to make good the losses of the owners of the junks. All this was stated in a memorial which the Directors presented to the King: they predicted the ruin of the East India trade unless his Majesty should interfere in their behalf, and be pleased to take the illegality of the licences and their consequences to the trade into his consideration. The subject was referred to the Privy Council, but that body suspended the investigation until Courten's ships should return.

In 1637-8 Courten's ships did return, and their cargoes sold so well, that the adventurers reaped handsome profits. This produced fresh remonstrances from the Company to the Crown; but they did not prevent a new licence from being granted to Courten's Association for five years, but they were prohibited from trading to places where the Company had established factories, and the Company were equally prohibited from interfering with the establishments of the new association.

Amidst all their difficulties the Directors seem to have

relied more upon petitions and memorials than upon skill and increased efforts in the management of their trade. They again presented to the King a full statement of their grievances, and a Committee of the Privy Council was appointed to inquire into their complaints: the instructions to this Committee were to consider the propositions which the Company might offer on the subject of the trade; to form regulations for this trade which might satisfy the noblemen and gentlemen who were adventurers in it, that their stock had been properly managed;-to vary the principle on which the India trade had been conducted, or that of a general joint-stock, in such a manner as to enable each adventurer to employ his stock to his own advantage;-to have the trade under similar regulations with those ob served by the Turkey and other English companies;-to consider how the differences with the Dutch might be accommodated;-and to devise a plan for uniting Courten's Association with the Company.

The committee do not seem to have conducted the inquiry with much alacrity, for no report ever appeared, and the Company again petitioned the King for justice in the case of the seizure of the two junks by Courten's ships; for injuries sustained by the Dutch, and other matters. At length their petitions and remonstrances produced some results, for in the year 1639 the King resolved to revoke Courten's license, and to renew the Company's charter on condition of their raising a new joint-stock, such as would enable them to carry on the trade on an extensive scale.

When the terms of the projected fourth joint-stock came to be considered, it appeared that the proprietors of the third joint-stock had made frequent but unavailing calls upon the Directors to close that concern, and bring home what belonged to it in India. It appears also that payment was demanded of the capital of those separate funds called the joint-stocks of the Company. "Upon this occasion a difficult question might have presented itself. It might have been disputed to whom the immoveable property of the Company, in houses and in lands, both in India and in England, acquired by parts indiscriminately, of all the joint-stocks, belonged. Amid the confusion that pervaded all parts of the Company's affairs, this question had not begun to be agitated: but to encourage subscription to the new joint-stock, it was laid down as a condition, that to prevent inconvenience and confusion the old Company or adventurers in the third joint-stock, should have sufficient time allowed for bringing home their property, and should send no more stock to India after the month of May.' It would thus appear that the proprietors of the third joint-stock, and by the same rule the proprie tors of all preceding stocks, were, without any scruple to be deprived of their share in what is technically called the dead stock' of the Company, though it had been wholly purchased with their money. There was another condition to which inferences of some importance may be attached; the subscribers to the new stock were themselves in a General Court to elect the Directors to whom the management of the fund should be committed, and to renew that election annually. As this was a new Court of Directors, entirely belonging to the fourth joint-stock, it seems to follow that the Directors, in whose hands the third jointstock had been placed, must still have remained in office, for the winding up of that concern. And, in that case, there existed, to all intents and purposes, two East India Companies, two separate bodies of proprietors, and two separate Courts of Directors, under one charter."

The previous misfortunes of the Company, the ascendancy of the Dutch in India, and the unsettled state of political affairs at home, all seem to have had an unfavourable effect on the new subscription. No more than 22,5007. was raised; and the Directors, as usual, presented a memorial to the King lamenting their fate and craving relief.

New difficulties, however, awaited the Company. The Parliament having refused to grant supplies for conducting an army against Scotland, and the King being in urgent want of money for the public service, obliged the East India Company to sell to the Crown the whole stock of pepper in their warehouses, amounting to 2310 bags, or 607,522 lbs., which was bought by the King on credit at 2s. 1d. per pound, or 63,2831. 11s. 1d., for which four bonds of 14,000%. each, and one for 72837. were given by the farmers of the customs and Lord Cottington to the Company, under agreement that one of the bonds was to be paid regularly every six months. This pepper was sold by the King to different merchants for ready money at 1s. 8d. per pound, thus producing 50,6261.

THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. THE stranger who visits Seville from Cadiz, is at once impressed with the strong contrast between these two cities. In Cadiz every one seems to be engaged in the heartless pursuit of pleasure. In Seville the pursuit is perhaps equally heartless, but the object is different; here the Romish church has established her gorgeous court, here her sway is absolute, and here her throne is propped by wealth, bigotry, and power. The following are some of the sights and sounds that a visitor meets with at Seville. "From the first appearance of early dawn, and throughout all hours of the day, the chiming of bells from the innumerable monasteries, churches, and chapels, strikes in varied tones upon his ear, and when about to close his eyes, the mournful toll of some neighbouring convent, reminds him that its fair recluses are summoned to midnight prayers from their hard couches. He walks out to view the city; at every step he takes, a friar crosses his path; and he sees with surprise canons, ecclesiastics, monks, and lay brethren, hurrying about in all directions, with looks swelled with importance and good living: he hears at dark the sound of distant music, and sees numerous lights approaching, and mixing with the assembled crowd, he learns that it is one of those beautiful and imposing processions called novenas, which during nine nights move in slow and solemn order through different parts of the city, the inhabitants as the pageant passes along the streets, displaying wax-lights from their windows, which are thrown open, and from which are suspended coverlets and silk hangings. As the procession slowly passes, he perceives a high costly standard of cloth of gold, bearing the figure of the Virgin, and preceded by eight large rich silver lamps, raised on high supporters. A number of beautiful children, dressed as cherubs, next advance, bearing lanterns, adorned with a profusion of flowers. After these are carried numerous other lamps, followed by a band of choristers and musicians, the whole procession being headed by a single military trumpet.

"Nothing can be more striking than the effect of these nocturnal pageants at Seville, when the darkness which pervades the city is chased away by the sudden beautiful illumination, and the silence of a sultry Andalusian night is interrupted by the swelling strains of the chorus. As the procession is seen at a distance, crossing the great square with slow and solemn steps, and casting a deep gleam on the base of the tall gigantic Arab tower, one of the fine remaining monuments of the Moslem race; the lofty head of this building seems to look down with proud contempt on the procession at its feet*."

This Arab tower forms part of the vast edifice of the cathedral, and with the court and garden leading to the modern sacristy, was the work of the Moors. In this garden, or court of the orange trees as it is called, the devout Musulmans were accustomed to perform their ablutions preparatory to entering the grand mosque.

When Seville surrendered to the victorious Christians, the Moslems, dreading to behold the desecration of the most sacred of their edifices, stipulated that the mosque, together with its tower, the pride of the city, should be razed; but fortunately for the admirers of Moorish art, the request was not complied with, and the Giralda yet continues the pride and boast of the "Sevillanos."

The cathedral is not surpassed in magnitude by any edifice of the kind in Spain, and in wealth it far exceeds that of every other. It is situated on the south side of the city, and is built on uneven ground, so that towards the east and south it is level with the pavement, but in other parts is ascended by a flight of steps. A range of marble columns, nearly seven feet high, runs round the building, and they are united at the top with bands of iron. The neighbouring buildings to the north and west are not calculated to embellish the site of this magnificent temple; but to the south is the Exchange, a very fine building, whilst the most open side is to the east. The author of A Year in Spain, describes the exterior of the cathedral as presenting a grotesque grandeur, produced by the combination of three utterly different species of architecture. The church itself is of Sketches in Spain and Morocco, by SIR ARTHUR DE CAPELL BROOKE, Bart.

gothic construction, partly erected at an earlier period than the eighth century. The sacristy is entirely in the modern taste, whilst the court and garden adjoining, with the thrice-famous Giralda, date from the dominion of the Arabians. Mr. Standish* describes the architec ture as belonging to "all classes,-Arabic, Gothic, the 'Plateresco' and the Greek-Roman. Although all these are jumbled together, and an abominably unsightly grand entrance' has been recently attempted, (though, fortunately, not finished,) by a Sevillan architect, Cano, and a good deal of the outer walls are left rough, nevertheless, of all the cathedrals I have seen, this is the one which, on the whole, has most pleased me in Europe; for, from without, its construction recalls many interesting epochs of the world, and within are specimens of the finest Spanish masters in art. The horse-shoe Arabic arch, and the pillared windows of the East, predominate in what is called the Giralda, or tower of Geva, which was built in the year 1000 by a Moor, who used it as an observatory. It was in his time only 250 feet high: four brazen balls, which stood on the top, fell down in the earthquake of 1395, and were_replaced by a gilt weathercock shaped as a harpoon. In 1568, Ferdinand Ruiz, an architect, raised it one hundred feet higher, which was then considered a hazardous attempt. The entrance of this tower is very narrow, but it widens in the course of the ascent; the form is a quadrant, of 55 feet diameter. In the different windows are twenty-five bells of various sizes, and in the dome hang six large ones with clappers. Where the bells end, the Christian part of the work begins, and in the first tier stands the accurate clock made by the Franciscan friar, Joseph Cordero, in the middle of the eighteenth century. It is audible all over the town, but strikes only the hours; its bell is placed in the story above, which is formed with Doric pillars; on the exterior frieze are the following Latin words, distributed round the four faces after this manner-Turris-Fortissima-Nomen-DNI. Prov. 8.' The third story is Ionic and spherical; upon it is placed a statue of Faith in gilt bronze, which revolves upon a globe of the same metal, serving as a weathercock. It is fourteen feet high, and is the work of Bartholomew Morel, who, in 1568, copied it from a design by Luis de Vargas, the eminent painter, whose frescoes adorned the Moorish exterior, and the intercolum niations of the lower part. These, owing to the carelessness of the masons in preparing their cement, and exposure to the weather, have almost altogether faded."

The Giralda tower has furnished a theme for the eloquence of so many writers that we are tempted to give another description.

It was erected by Al Geber, a distinguished mathematician and architect who lived in the reign of Almanzor, towards the end of the twelfth century. From him the science of quantities, first introduced into Europe by the Arabs, received its name. Though known many centuries previously, Algebra, like most other branches of abstract tutors of European royalty as well as the promoters of science, was successfully cultivated by them: they were the learning; and Alonzo the Wise in preparing his astronomic tables, made use of the calculations of the astronomers of Granada. There are many original inventors, and many simultaneous discoveries made, of which Newton and Leibnitz afford instances; and though the processes of Algebra

were known some centuries before the Arab founder of the Giralda lived, there is little reason to doubt that he also discovered, and introduced, the same system among his have first erected the Giralda for an observatory. He raised countrymen. He was a native of Seville, and is believed to the tower to an elevation of 280 feet, and after the expulsion of the Moors, when the cathedral was commenced, it was raised to the height of 364. Surmounted by an iron globe of enormous size, splendidly gilded, its refulgence at a distance and in the brilliant moonlight, is said to have surpassed everything that art had before achieved. Directly below this ball was the gallery, from which the muezzins were used to summon the faithful to prayer, at the least five times during the twenty-four hours. The ascent to the summit is by a spiral staircase without steps, so gradual as to admit of being regularly composed of a neat pavement of tiles, and easy enough to allow two persons abreast riding up to the top. The towering pile terminates in a colossal statue, which is intended to represent the Faith. The Giralds (Anglice, a weathercock) is thus singularly made the emblema

* Seville and its Vicinity, 1840.

index.

of a Creed, which, like the fortunes of the city over which it seems to preside, has experienced many a change during the storms of destiny, of which, with the wind that bloweth where it listeth,' it may be considered equally the "The prospect from the summit is extensive as it is striking, churches, towers, and convents, (Mr. Inglis says I counted no fewer than one hundred and twenty spires and towers, belonging to the city and the neighbouring villages and convents,') the old Alcazar, amphitheatres and ruins; the vast cathedral immediately below, and beyond the rude walls and dilapidated turrets of Hispalis, masts, yards, and flags, the wooded walks of the Almeda; while still further stretches the level tracts of the Vega, through which the meanderings of the bright river break at intervals on the eye, altogether forming a panorama equally picturesque and beautiful. Its appearance in the full glow of summer has been described by Sir Arthur Brooke, who observes, that the immense extent of burnt up country actually presents the aspect of the sands of the desert, the waters of the Guadalquiver* and the extensive orange and olive groves only occasionally refreshing the parched landscapet."

No other city in Spain has more numerous public edifices, devoted to objects of religion and charity, or to so gorgeous a display of the emblems of Roman Catholic worship. Besides twenty-five parish churches, Seville comprehends five chapels of ease, a commandery of St. Jean d'Acre, exempted from episcopal jurisdiction, about thirty nunneries, three congregations of canons regular, three religious communities, called Beaterios, two seminaries, and two houses of correction. For this reason the archiepiscopal see of Seville is one of the wealthiest in the world. It is united with that of Toledo, which had formerly still higher pretensions both as respects dignity and wealth.

The history of this cathedral is somewhat imperfect, the plans and records relating to it having been removed by Philip the Second to Madrid, and destroyed in the fire which consumed the old palace of that capital on the 24th December, 1734. Other sources of information are, however, open; from which it appears that in 1401, the chapter of Seville had subscribed largely for the erection of a new cathedral instead of the old one which then existed, and had determined to make it "such and so good that none in the kingdom should exceed it." Their own riches and the subscriptions of "the faithful," enabled them to commence this design, which does not seem to have been finally completed until the year 1519. The ground-plan of the church is quadrilateral, from east to west 398 feet, from north to south, 291. It contains 36 columns, composed of groups of small ones, of 15 feet diameter: there are 78 arches of stone: the distance between each vault, in the lateral naves, of which there are eight, is 40 feet, the three between the cross vault, under the dome and the upper end of the church, being considerably less, namely 59 feet to the cross-vault in its width, and 20 to each of the chapels of St. Peter and St. Paul. The interior of this temple is of the plainest Gothic. The pavement is formed in lozenges of black and white marble. The gates of the cathedral are nine in number, three to the west, two to the east, three to the north, and one to the south; the middle one to the west being the principal entrance. That of St. Michael is the one whence the processions issue. Mr. Standish says that the painted glass in this cathedral is not exceeded in beauty perhaps by any in Europe. "These beautiful windows shed what may indeed be termed a religious light' through the vaulted edifice they adorn."

The endowment of this temple accords with the magnificence of its construction; for so late as the last century the archbishop received the large income of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, with a corresponding provision for two hundred and thirty-five canons, pre

⚫ Literally "the great River," from the Arabic, Wada-l-Kebir.
+ Roscoe, Tourist in Spain, 1836.

bendaries, curates, confessors, musicians, singers, and levitical aspirants. Nor will this number of dependants officiate at no fewer than eighty-two altars, and perform appear extravagant when it is stated that they have to five hundred masses on a daily average.

The interior is very rich in paintings, statues and relics, and it contains the tombs of many illustrious men. The paintings are described as being above all praise. "It is indeed only in Seville that one may properly appreciate the school of Seville. This school owes its chief celebrity to Murillo, born in Seville, like his great master Velasquez, and who spent the greater part of his life in painting for the churches, convents, and hospitals of his native city. Scarce a public edifice there but contains something from the pencil of this great man. The. Hospital of Charity, near the bank of the river, is especially rich in these precious productions. Among the number are the Return of the Prodigal Son, and Moses smiting the Rock in Horeb. The men, women, children, and even the beasts of the thirsty caravan, are drinking with a joyful avidity that gives almost equal delight to the spectator."

Among the numerous treasures of the cathedral is an altar composed of solid silver, with silver images, as large as life, of St. Isidor and St. Leander, and a tabernacle for the Host more than four yards high, adorned with eight-and-forty columns. "Add to these the gold, precious stones, gifts, and relics of the piety and zeal of good Catholics when the riches of a newly discovered world were poured into the lap of the Church." This cathedral had the peculiar good fortune to save its pictures and other valuables during the invasion of the French by promptly removing them to Cadiz.

The Rev. Mr. Townsend gives an interesting account of his introduction to the Archbishop of Seville, in 1786. He received me with politeness, permitted me to kiss his he told me that as long as I continued at Seville I must ring, made me sit down, and then, having read my letter, dine every day with him, unless when I should be more agreeably engaged. After some little conversation he desired to see the address of my other letters, and calling a page he ordered that a coach should be got ready, and that one of his chaplains should attend me, to deliver my letters, and to show me every thing worthy of attention in the city. When I left him he desired me to come back to dinner, telling me that during my stay, that coach would be wholly at my service. Agreeably to this invitation I returned, and not only dined with him but almost every day during a fortnight's residence at Seville. I was indeed often pressingly invited by other families; but as it was the season of Lent, and as fish in Spain never agreed with me, I declined their invitations. ***

The archbishop is well lodged and keeps a hospitable table. He is quite the man of fashion: his manners are engaging and his conversation lively. His usual company at dinner was his confessor, his chaplains, his secretaries, and a few friends. He was attended by his pages, who are generally young men of family, recommended to his patronage, and educated under his inspection. The librarian sometimes sat down at the table, at other times waited behind a chair. He was commonly my guide, and with him I visited every corner of this city.

A library of twenty thousand volumes belongs to this cathedral. It was collected by Fernando Columbus, son of the great navigator, and distinguished both for his taste and learning. A marble slab in the cathedral bears the following inscription, in Spanish, to the memory of his immortal father:

To Castile and to Leon Columbus gave a new world.

ALL the time which the man of the world throws away, is gained by the solitary man; and no enjoyment on earth is so permanent as the real enjoyment of time. Man has many duties to perform; therefore, the good that he has it in his power to do, he must do immediately, that the present day may not be torn like a blank leaf from the book of life. We protract the career of time by employment, we lengthen the duration of our lives by wise thoughts and useful actions. Life, to him who wishes not to have lived in vain, is thought and action.-ZIMMERMANN,