Having Paid Him An Ironical Compliment For His Politeness And Urbanity, I Asked Whether He Reckoned Amongst The Selfish Actions Of The English Government And Nation, Their Having Expended Hundreds Of Millions Of Pounds Sterling, And An Ocean Of Precious Blood, In Fighting The Battles Of Spain And Portugal Against Napoleon.

"Surely," said I, "the fort of Elvas above our heads, and still more the castle of Badajoz over the water, speak volumes respecting English selfishness, and must, every time you view them, confirm you in the opinion which you have just expressed.

And then, with respect to the present combat in Spain, the gratitude which that country evinced to England after the French, by means of English armies, had been expelled, - gratitude evinced by discouraging the trade of England on all occasions, and by offering up masses in thanksgiving when the English heretics quitted the Spanish shores, - ought now to induce England to exhaust and ruin herself, for the sake of hunting Don Carlos out of his mountains. In deference to your superior judgment," continued I to the officer, "I will endeavour to believe that it would be for the advantage of England were the war prolonged for an indefinite period; nevertheless, you would do me a particular favour by explaining by what process in chemistry blood shed in Spain will find its way into the English treasury in the shape of gold."

As he was not ready with his answer, I took up a plate of fruit which stood on the table beside me, and said, "What do you call these fruits?" "Pomegranates and bolotas," he replied.

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