[* A public-house]

I also delivered a letter from Monsieur Chevariere to his father, who immediately offered me the use of his house, and of every thing in it; but when I only requested he would allow my horse to be put in his empty stable out of the rain, the difficulties were so numerous that I begged he would give himself no trouble about it. Being at a loss where to seek for a dinner, I asked the advice of Monsieur Cassadevant, who shewed me to a dirty house, kept by Messrs. Briere and Colignon, where I got some good soup and a cutlet, and not without difficulty a bottle of Val de Penes, the other wines being execrable.

At an early hour I repaired to my quarters in the Retiro, to pass a most uncomfortable night on a hard bed swarming with vermin, and in the morning (December 2) was called up soon after daylight by the Adjutant de Place, who informed me in a most dictatorial manner that I was to accompany him to breakfast with General Belïard. While I was dressing he entered the room several times, exclaiming, “allons donc, dépéchez vous, le Général vous attend.” At length he so tired my patience, that I told him, “if he was to accompany me, he might return to the General and inform him, I preferred staying where I was to having such an attendant,” which sent him off grumbling. I however was following him, when to my great surprise the centinel at the gate stopped me, presenting his bayonet to my breast; I of course returned, and finding out the Adjutant enquired if it was by the General’s orders, I was thus made a close prisoner, or if the centinel acted from his orders only? He replied, that the centinel received his orders from the officers of the guard, of whom I immediately demanded by what authority he acted, and found, that in fact, the orders originated with the Adjutant; to this latter, I therefore stated, that the General having invited me to breakfast the evening before, could not be so inconsistent as to order my being prevented from accepting his invitation; that therefore I would again proceed, and if stopped would write to the General for an explanation. This savage I suppose finding that he would be likely to get into a scrape, walked with me to the gate, and with much nonchalance ordered the centinel to let me pass: I had not, however walked many paces before I found him close by my side, and as I did not think it worth while to be angry with so insignificant a fellow, I entered into conversation with him. “Apparemment, Monsieur est quelque temps Adjutant de Place.” –– “Oui, parbleu, depuis le commencement.” –– “Monsieur est entré donc avec l’armée lorsqu’elle a pris possession de la ville.” –– “Oui, parbleu!” He then told me, that he commanded a detachment of grenadiers; pointed out as we passed the beautiful gate d’Alcala, the principal point of attack at the angle of the Calle d’Alcala, and described the massacre of the inhabitants with such energetic marks of delight, that he seemed to fancy himself at the moment in the act of perpetrating the horrors he recounted. I could not refrain from ejaculating an involuntary sigh of pity for those who should ever be in the power of this wretch; and this feeling was not diminished by the recollection that I was myself at the moment thus situated. These melancholy reflections were however dissipated by the cheerful elegance of the Prado which we were crossing: the immense number of statues, the numerous fountains, pouring out streams of the purest water, the superb Calle d’Alcala, terminated by the Plaza de Sol, a perfect circus, with streets branching from it like rays from the sun, all united to fix entirely the attention.

On my arrival at General Beliard’s, I found several officers in the anti-room, and among them a Mr. Walsh, one of the General’s aides-de-camp, who had formerly served in our 9th regiment of infantry. Though this person seemed to wish to be extremely civil to me, I met his advances with the greatest coolness; or rather with that contempt which every loyal man feels for the traitor to his country and king, when he considers the total dereliction of principle which must be the attendant of this species of crime; for even the wretch who hesitates not at robbing on the highway, feels for the glory of his country, and will resent the disrespectful mention of it as a personal insult; how low, therefore, must the man of family and education be degraded, before he can join the standard of his country’s enemies!

After some time the General made his appearance; his little round figure was enveloped in a uniform covered with lace and embroidery. We immediately sat down to an excellent breakfast, in company with Generals Lavoisier, Buchot, and other officers. The General knew I had served in Egypt, where indeed I had rendered his countrymen an essential service, on our taking possession of Grand Cairo; for being there attached to the Grand Vizier’s army, in a detachment commanded by Colonel Stuart, it was only by our strongest exertions that we were able to prevent the Turks from massacreing all the French and their adherents that fell in their way. The conversation, in consequence of our mutual recognition, turned on the affairs in Egypt after the French had quitted it; and on my relating the massacre of the Beys, the General observed that the evacuation of the country by the French was a real misfortune to its inhabitants, in which I could not help concurring. Indeed it would have been better, in the eye of humanity, had they remained, for the power of the Turks and Mamelukes being so equally balanced that neither of them can acquire a lasting superiority, the country suffers all the misery and desolation of an endless civil war.

The General informed me, on taking leave, that I was only to lodge in the Retiro until a billet de lodgement could be procured for me in better quarters.

In the course of the day I visited the Puerto del Sol, from which some of the principal streets of the city branch off, namely, the Calle de la Montera, de los Carrelas, d’Alcala, Mayor, la Carrera de St. Jeronimo, &c. The Plaza del Sol is open and cheerful, with a superb fountain in the middle, and surrounded by lofty elegant buildings; from its central situation it is the principal promenade of the loungers of Madrid, and the rendezvous of the merchants. In the Plaza Mayor is the chief vegetable market; it is of an oval figure, three hundred and fifty to four hundred feet long, and three hundred wide; the houses are all of five stories, well built, and each has a portico of hewn stone, balconies, and an iron railing before the windows. The centre house on one side of the Plaza is called la Casa de la Panadeira, and was appropriated formerly to receive the royal family, during public spectacles of bull-fights, fireworks, &c. which were exhibited in this place. I entered the court of this building, which presented nothing but dirt and neglect, except that in its centre still remained a marble statue of Diana. This edifice was burnt down in 1672 and 1790, and after the last conflagration rebuilt with superior magnificence.

The greater number of the streets leading from the Plaza Mayor by no means correspond with it, being narrow, dirty, and generally ill built. There are, however, a few worthy of the metropolis of a great kingdom, particularly the Calle de Toledo, la Carrera do St. Jeroninio de Antiocha, del Prado, Calle Mayor, and Calle d’Alcala, which latter is interior to none in Europe, for width and elegant termination.

After having amused myself in this promenade I visited General Lavoisier, who invited me to dinner, and recapitulated his bill of fare, which was sumptuous; he also proposed a plan for spending the evenings, by first attending the theatre, and then visiting some ladies of his acquaintance, where we should find an elegant petit souper, which was too agreeable to my wishes not to be immediately acceded to.

The officers having represented the situation of the men as extremely bad, I enquired into the subject, and found several English and Maltese sailors confined with a considerable number of Germans in a small dungeon, where the air could not be renewed, and that the only provisions they received were black bread and water. I remonstrated with the Adjutant de Place on this treatment, which must inevitably send many of the prisoners to the hospital, if not to the grave; and received, as I expected, a surly and evasive answer: indeed there could not exist a more unfeeling brute, nor one whose manners and appearance more clearly indicated a proper instrument for the perpetration of the most heinous acts. My remonstrances were, therefore, at this time in vain, nor could I even procure permission for the prisoners to visit the fresh air once a day under a guard.

At the dinner hour I repaired to General Lavoisier, feasting in imagination on the sumptuous repast he had announced to me; but was rather disappointed to find he had forgot to say he dined at home, and consequently that no dinner was prepared; I therefore, after writing him a note to tell him I had waited on him according to his invitation, ordered dinner at Briere and Collignon’s, which, though it wanted all the good things I expected to find at the General’s, had at least the comfort of not laying me under an obligation.

In the evening I received a visit from a Monsieur Longeau, a French merchant, who offered me his services with great civility. Knowing, however, that we were perfect strangers, and particularly as people are seldom so polite without some sinister view, I was cautious in my conversation with this gentleman, and more particularly as his first subject was very suspicious, for he entered fully into the situation of the French at Madrid, as well as into the characters of Generals Beliard and Lavoisier, and, from the anecdotes he related of the latter, I found that I ought not to be surprised at his forgetting having invited me to dinner. I however related the circumstance, adding that I was rejoiced at the General’s forgetfulness, as it had procured me the acquaintance d’un homme d’esprit tel que monsieur; in return for which compliment he launched into an encomium on England and the English, Our conversation next turned on the history of Spain, and I, could not help losing sight for a moment of my prudential reserve, when I recollected the glorious epoch of Ferdinand and Isabella, and compared it with the present moment. The Frenchman abused the whole conduct of his government with such virulence, that my suspicions of him were increased, and I changed the conversation to the objects worthy of a stranger’s notice in Madrid, with which he seemed to be well acquainted, and offered to accompany me in my perambulations, a civility which I accepted.