turned out he had never lost. But there are a multitude of new and amusing instances. We give one for its brevity: "Prince Mgave notice to the police that he had been robbed of his cloak. Some days afterwards an officer came to inform him that all his endeavours to find his cloak had been fruitless. The prince went out with him into the ante-chamber, and actually saw the man put on his own cloak !"

M. Golovine denies to Nicholas that strength of character which, with all his faults, has been generally acceded to him. He says that, on the day of his accession, and the insurrection of which all have heard, that he was with difficulty persuaded to show himself, and that before leaving the palace he prayed with fervour. In the square itself he was pale and trembling. This boasted strength of character he in fact refers to obstinacy and cruelty, and not courage. This is evidently an invidious view of the emperor's character, but his late progresses, his anxiety on the score of food, his care in regard to his appurtenances, his unwillingness to sleep on a bedstead, his purposely riding in a carriage different from that which would appear to be intended for him, his sending off on his departure various carriages in different directions in order that the route taken by himself may not be known, and his sudden appearances and disappearances would certainly seem to corroborate this unfavourable view of the despot's character.

Count Nesselrode is, it appears, an Englishman, and belongs to the parish of Stepney, for he was born of German parents, on board an English ship, and baptised according to the rites of the Church of England. Agriculture is stated to be in a condition of alarming backwardness. Dearths occur periodically, and each time bring the country to the brink of ruin. This from a Russian, does not uphold the fears entertained by some Englishmen of an inundation of the staff of life from these primitive lands. It appears that the Russians have scarcely even settled their language yet, their authors being divided into two parties, one of whom prefer sei for this, the other eto. Several Greek letters have, however, been excluded by imperial ordinances. Imperial wisdom will, no doubt, gradually introduce a language of less doubtful harmony and less equivocal richness than the present Russian; but this can only be done by fusing into it more Slavonian roots, but to this our author, and most Russians, except their most eminent poets, appear to have an objection. We observe, also, in our author himself, irregularities of orthography, as sometimes Kaissacks, at others Cossacks; and sometimes Tcherkesses, at others Circassians. The war in the Caucasus is spoken of in detail, and in very sensible language, in fact, excepting a strong hostility against one who has brought power to bear against an untried man; the great characteristics of this work are sound common sense, and great absence of national prejudice, the presence of one and the absence of the other being much to the advantage of the work, and most creditable to the author. The closing reflections upon the war in the Caucasus, attest how often human foresight is baffled in anticipating the results of wars carried on for no other purpose than mere conquest. It appears as if Providence opposed such unnatural aggressions, and that out of the very circumstances of the case there emanated an Akbar Khan, an Abd-al-Khadr, or a Schamyl.

SPANISH BALLADS RELATING TO KING ALFONSO THE WISE.

TRANSLATED BY JOHN OXENFORD.

ALFONSO X., of Castile, son of Saint Ferdinand (renowned for his victories over the Moors, and especially for the conquest of Seville) is especially prominent in the history of Spanish literature. For his knowledge of history, philosophy, and astrology, he is greatly celebrated; he had a part in the formation of the code of laws called Las siete partidas, and a poem on the "philosopher's stone" attributed to him is still extant. His wisdom as a ruler is less established than his learning, and hence his title, "Salibo," should perhaps be translated "learned" rather than "wise," though Mariana hints that the name may have been given him by the malice of his enemies, probably by way of irony.

His days were embittered by the rebellion of his second son, Don Sancho, and the Spanish nobles, who eventually succeeded in dispossessing him of nearly the whole of his kingdom with the exception of Seville. One of the chief causes of the disaffection seems to have been the debasement of the national coin. In the place of a coin of a good standard, called the pepion, he substituted another called the burgales (from Burgos, where it was made) in which the gold was alloyed with baser metals. Another description of money, called black, from the quantity of base metal it contained, was a further innovation.

In the second ballad we find, besides the debasement of the coin, that the freedom of Portugal from vassalage, and the gift of the sum of money to the eastern empress, are enumerated among the pretexts for revolt. Alfonso III., King of Portugal, had repudiated his wife, Mathilde, Countess of Boulogne, and had contracted marriage with Beatrice, a natural daughter of Alfonso X. By this union he released himself from an annual tribute which had long been paid by Portugal to Castile. The "Empress of Constantinople," who appears so prominently in the first ballad, is Maria, wife of the Latin emperor, Baldwin II., who, according to some accounts, when driven out of Greece by Michael Palæologus, was taken prisoner by the Sultan of Egypt, and ransomed precisely in the manner described. The story is told by Mariana, who does not, however, give it implicit credence. It is curious enough that in the ballad the generosity of Alfonso to the empress is made one of the causes of his being chosen Emperor of Germany. The election referred to took place during the period of anarchy that followed the fall of the house of Hohenstauffen, and preceded the rise of the house of Hapsburg. Alfonso had only the name of emperor, and his title to the house was disputed by Richard, Duke of Cornwall.

In the strait to which Alfonso was reduced by the rebellion of his subjects he pledged his crown to the King of Morocco, Abu Yusef (in the second ballad called Abenyuca), who not only advanced him money, but went over to Spain on purpose to assist him. He landed at Algecira, and the place where the two kings met, as described in the second ballad, was Zahara, in Granada. Matters were, however, not brought to so settled a state, as the end of this ballad would lead one to suppose. King Alfonso died in Seville, in the year 1284, not forgiving every body, as the third ballad says, but retaining his hatred for Don Sancho, as he

showed by his will. He bequeathed his kingdom to his grandsons, children of his eldest son, Ferdinand de la Cerda, providing that in case of their death without issue, the King of France should succeed.

The above imperfect sketch of Alfonso's reign will probably be more than enough for the comprehension of the following ballads.

J. O.

"And the King of France has granted
To my pray'rs another third;

Now they tell me of thy husband,
Of his goodness I have heard.

11.

"So I come to crave his succour,
Sure so good a king as he,
From the anguish which he suffers,
Will my wretched husband free,—

12.

"From the pris'n, where, as I told

you,

He is now condemn'd to sigh;
And I may not eat at table
Till I know the king's reply."

13.

Which her rank may claim he Then the queen to good Alfonso

gives;

And he takes her to the palace,
Where the queen, his consort lives.

Made the lady's wishes known,

And he vow'd that he would aid her
By his faith and royal crown.

14.

And he bade her without scruple,
At the table take a seat;
By the queen then sat the empress,
And her happiness was great.

15.

Now the good king, Don Alfonso,
When some twenty days had fled,
Gave the whole amount of silver,
To the empress, as he said.

16.

All the money France had lent her,
And the pope, she might repay,
And redeem her captive husband
From the dungeon where he lay.

17.

When the emperor left his prison,
All this kindness he made known,
And the goodness of Alfonso,

Was to ev'ry nation shown.

18.

So the German people chose him

To succeed their king, who died; For he well deserv'd the honour, And a greater boon beside.

II.

KING ALFONSO, ON THE REBELLION OF HIS SON DON SANCHO, OBTAINS THE ASSISTANCE OF ABENYUCA, KING OF MOROCCO.

Aguese Infante Don Sancho, &c.