of the most precious gems from any one collection in the world, they would choose this, though only five hundred in number, to supply them.

The third Duke of Devonshire formed this rare assemblage of gems, conspicuous both from their intrinsic value and artistic worth; from it Mr. Hancock selected eighty-eight gems, the choicest both as regarded splendour of material and beauty of device, to form a 'parure' for the Countess of Granville to wear as Ambassadress of England at the Coronation of the Czar. The 'parure' consisted of a comb, a bandeau, a stomacher, a necklace, a diadem, a coronet, and a bracelet. The idea of using these more than regal ornaments on an occasion so worthy of them, appears to have been purely accidental. A portrait of Queen Elizabeth, one of the finest cinque cento camei in existence, the chief ornament of the diadem, suggested the complete design, which met with the most unbounded admiration at the Russian court. 'While others,' says Mr. King, who for ten long pages of his almost too voluminous treatise on antique gems, fairly gloats over this fond topic, 'displayed a perfect blaze of diamonds, in which the Russian nobility are particularly rich, no one attracted so much notice as the Countess of Granville, whose "parure was the triumph of art over material wealth. For while their diamonds if lost might be replaced, each of these gems was unique; and so far has the art been lost, that there exists no artist who could produce anything to compare with the choice works of the cinque cento, much less with the far higher excellence of the best times, and the greatest masters of Greek and Roman art.'

(To be continued.)

THE GEOGRAPHY OF SPAIN IN RELATION TO ITS HISTORY.

HISTORY cannot be either accurately learned or long remembered unless it be studied with the aid of the map. Especially is this the case with Spain, a country as remarkable for its great variety of climate as for its well-defined geographical divisions.

Various is the character of Spanish geography, considered both in the relation of its different parts to each other, and in the aspect which the whole country bears to the world.

In a good map of Spain the first thing which strikes the eye is the mountain system, which rises in successive chains from the shores of the Mediterranean to those of the Bay of Biscay. Most of the ranges run east and west, though the ancient kingdom equally with the modern province of Aragon was and is greatly shut out from the rest of the country by a chain running north and south.

The presence of mountains implies that of rivers, and equally, if the

ranges are at no vast distance from each other, that the intervening space is occupied by narrow valleys, rather than by vast plains.

Surrounded on nearly all sides by the sea, Spain is in times of unskilful navigation apparently cut off from the rest of the world. But when the sea has lost its terrors, and is looked upon rather as the means of uniting than dividing nations, the position of Spain is unrivalled for commerce with all parts of the world, both ancient and modern.

The whole history of the eight hundred years' war with the Moors, the causes which were instrumental in the Spaniards, at first rapidly, afterwards more slowly, expelling their enemies, the divisions of the Spaniards and the Moors, the rise of the towns, and the tendency of the three principal kingdoms to unite, will be largely explained and better understood, when the physical divisions of the peninsula are fairly grasped.

The kingdoms of Leon and Aragon were both restricted in their boundaries, the one by its neighbour Castile, and the other partly by the same power, and partly by the mountains on one side and the sea on the other. The kingdom of Castile, favourably situate between these, and occupying the very heart of the peninsula, was at leisure to extend downwards and make what head it could against the Moors, the common enemy of all three.

Though Aragon also enlarged its boundaries at the expense of its Mussulman foes, it did not obtain such accessions of territory as fell to the lot of Castile. This it could not do, from the necessity of its geographical position, since it could not push back its western frontier at expense of its Christian neighbour.

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It resembled at its fullest extent an isosceles triangle, whose base was supported by the Pyrenees, while one side was washed by the Mediterranean, and the other formed the frontier of Castile. Aragon could not advance further southward, because it was agreed, when James the Conqueror gained possession of Valencia, the Balearic Isles, and Murcia, that the last should be transferred to Castile, thus effectually barring in this direction the further progress of Aragon. The energies of its kings and people thenceforward were engaged in foreign expeditions, and they played an important part in Mediterranean politics.

The position of these kingdoms was somewhat similar to that of the Heptarchic kingdoms of Kent, Sussex, and Wessex, as the former two could not extend their boundaries, while there was no sister kingdom to prevent Wessex getting the remainder of the south of England into its power.

When the Saracen Empire was first established in Spain, and the greater part of the peninsula had acknowledged the religion of the Koran, the mountains of the Asturias and the Pyrenees sheltered those Goths who preferred exile to living as tributaries under infidel masters. Driven as far as they could be, the Goths made a stand, and in their graduál re-conquest took advantage of physical barriers. Thus the river Douro

and the mountains of the Guadarrama formed successively the boundaries of the kingdom of Leon. This kingdom gradually extended itself at the expense of the Moors.

The Pyrenees formed the base of the kingdom of Aragon, whose limits were determined eventually by the neighbouring kingdom, the mountains, and the sea.

As the hill country formed a refuge for the fugitive Goths, so the great extent of the peninsula was the weakness of the Moors. They did not form the entire population, as a large number of Christians existed among them, and they continued to dwell in that part of the country where the Christians had regained the upper hand. The increasing territory the Spaniards re-conquered and their enemies lost, tended partially to reverse their positions; as the Moors, being confined within a narrower space, were able, from their great resources, and the assistance of their brethren on the other side of the strait, to offer a more vigorous resistance, while the tide of re-conquest was stayed until the new acquisitions were effectually peopled by an exclusively Christian population. When at last the Moors were confined to the kingdom of Granada, the best part of Spain, and the most capable of supporting a very large population, two hundred and fifty years were occupied in driving them out from this narrow possession. If it be urged that the divisions of the Christians were a great hindrance to the final expulsion of the Moors, it is not difficult to see what an important part geography performed in promoting those divisions. Between Leon on the one side and Aragon on the other, gradually arose, from what had been the frontier of Leon, the land of castles, the land rescued from the infidels and gradually but surely increasing. Small at first, it figured as a dependency of Leon, and so continued till their separation.

This did not long continue, but when an union was again effected, it was with Castile as the head and Leon as the subordinate partner. Even after this union, the Christian population of Spain was under two heads, the kings respectively of Aragon and Castile, and was in possession of the inferior parts of the peninsula. It was necessary for the whole of Spain to be under one government, before the Moors could be assailed with a reasonable hope of their final expulsion.

The union under Ferdinand and Isabella must not be considered as perfect, but rather as rendering united action against a common enemy possible, by putting an end to mutual rivalry. It bears somewhat the same relation to that under Charles V. and Philip II., as the union of Scotland and England under James I. bears to that under George III.

The rivers of Spain produce valleys rather than plains, as the mountain ranges are too close to admit of more than comparatively narrow spaces between them. This circumstance tended to disunite both the Spaniards and the Moors, and no great empire could be founded, as on the vast plains of Asia and Europe.

At first sight, there seems much plausibility in the view that Spain was

isolated from the rest of the world. Situate at the extreme south-west corner of Europe, it was shut off from other European nations by the Pyrenees, and enclosed entirely on three sides and partially on the fourth by the sea. It cannot be denied that the Pyrenees were a substantial barrier, and although they may, and have been passed, both in ancient, mediæval, and modern times, by an energetic conqueror, yet the formation of the different kingdoms on either side of them, and still more the cardinal difference of language, attest the fact. Even then, granted that by these mountains the Spaniards were partially shut off from the world, though by no insuperable barrier, had they no other means of communication?

Even in the very infancy of navigation, in the time when it was considered madness to venture out of sight of land, the south coast of Spain was within easy reach of Africa. At this time, though Europe was sufficiently barbarian, Africa was highly civilized, and had a large influence in the politics of the world.

As skill in navigation increased, Spain, still as accessible as ever to Africa, was more so to Italy, Sicily, and France; and we have only to look at the part Aragon played for years in the politics of Sicily and Naples, to refute the notion that Spain was out of the world.

Again, Castile and Portugal formed intimate matrimonial alliances with England in the reign of Richard II., and England was at a greater distance than either Italy or Africa.

This is indeed, and can only be, a slight sketch of a great subject; and in noticing the medieval period of Spanish history, the ancient and modern have been omitted. Perhaps that which has been chosen is the most instructive of any, being concerned with the longest war on record. It only remains to add that on the discovery of America, the great seaboard of the Spaniards, and their position on the outskirts of Europe, gave great facilities for conquest and settlement, of which they were not slow to avail themselves. How they used these advantages is not within the scope of the present essay to inquire.

RIGHT THROUGH A MOUNTAIN; OR, THE SALT MINES OF HALLEIN.

A TRUE STORY.

Do you remember the story of the poor boy who once went to sleep on a hill-side, and was somehow carried off by the Trolls or Hill-folk into their realm in the centre of the mountain? how he lived among them very happily for some time amid every luxury, till at last he remembered his home, and contrived to get away and to return there? and how he found

he had been away for a hundred years, and that only one old woman still lived who remembered hearing in her childhood of his disappearance! How terribly sad he felt when he found not a single one of his friends alive to care for him! I am not sure that he did not go back to the hillside and entreat the Trolls to take him in again. There was one day in my life in which I almost believed in the truth of this story, for I once went into the very inside of a mountain in the country where it is said to have happened. And first let me premise that though I assert I have been right through a mountain, I am not a steam engine, nor a flash of lightning, nor a trickling stream, but only an ordinary English lady with a love of adventure. Once when staying with some friends in a remote and mountainous district of Austria, near Salzberg, an opportunity presented itself of seeing the fabled haunts of the Trolls. 'Are there any Bergfolke* about here?' was one day asked of the waiter. 'Bergfolke! ja wohl, es sind viele,'-'Miners! yes, indeed, there are plenty,'-came at last in the deepest gutturals, and the mountain of their reputed haunts was indicated.

About three o'clock on a bright summer's afternoon, you might have seen a carriage making its way through the narrow streets of an oldfashioned German town. This carriage, although so small that it was hardly possible for Mr. and Mrs. M. and myself to squeeze in, (besides a boy on a perch in front,) required two powerful horses to draw it. The reason of this soon appeared; for at a sudden turn of the road we left the town, and began to ascend what seemed at the time rather like the side of a house. The horses scrambled like cats, we held on vigorously, and ere long we were far above the town, and the scenery became more enchanting continually. It is said to resemble that of Norway more than any other country, in the singular union of the most delightful greens ward, with patches of forest utterly wild, and the impressive black pines which give so peculiar a character to all scenery. Higher, higher, we rose, more and more exhilarating was the air; while the road, no longer so steep, and winding among beautiful varieties of forest and open country, allowed us to look about freely, and enjoy the ever-varying prospects. thought of poor Hans: was it anywhere here he had lain down? Was it from a trap-door in the side of one of these craggy slopes that the Trolls had come out, and fetched him in to join their revels? It was impossible not to look keenly for such entrances, not to listen sometimes for sounds of little voices below! Es sind hier Bergfolke?' stammered I to the phlegmatic-looking youth sitting in front. 'Ja wohl!' in a tone of aggrieved surprise. No further could we get in conversation. Just then a sudden turn of the road, which had lately been through a bleaker and less interesting tract of country, brought us into a clearing and partial excavation, and there stood in the centre of it the oddest little house. The driver stopped in front of it, and handed us out, with an incomprehensible speech about Bergfolke, and departed after delivering us over

* Bergfolke, the old name for Trolls, or mountain spirits, also signifies miners.