THE COURT AND CAMP OF DON CARLOS.

Tim author of this volume is, it appears, connected with the Morning Herald newspaper, as foreign correspondent; and his tour, we conjecture, was made with a view to professional pur- ,poses, althvgli both to the reader and the persons whom he en- -countered in Spain, a desire merely to see the state of affairs with his own e3 es is represented as his motive for locomotion. Be this

as it may, lie half smuggled himself across the frontier, tiller he

had tarried a short time at Bayonne; and went in search of the Court and Camp of Don Carlos. Having rambled about parts of the Basque provinces, he found the Court settled at °nate ; and the collect at of news was much struck with the proper form and order in which it was arranged, as well as with the band of music and other regal splendours surrounding the Don. After having dined well at a house used by the courtiers and oflicers,—" very gentlemanlike men,"—and been in' roduced to the Ministers and I he Pretender, with whose talents and virtues he was enchanted,—

Mr. Hosisst next set out for the Camp. Owing to the shifting and partisan nature of the war, this discovely cost the traveller much trouble : but at last he found the army, from twelve to fifteen thousand, at Mondragon,—anxious to fight the Christinos, who were very near them, but unable to venture into the plain from the want of cavalry, whilst the fear of the mountains seemed to restrain the Christinos. Having satisfied his curiosity or ful-

filled his mission, Mr. HOMAN returned to Bayonne; but reports of an insurrection being rife, he crossed the Southern extremity

of France to Perpignan ; traversed Catalonia to its capital, Bar- celona ; whence he returned by steam, having found the country -occupied by the troops of the Government, the roads in a state of

desert quiet; and heard that the people were well-affected to the cause of CARLOS, though somewhat. jyalons of the Biscayans, but

unable to act for want of leaders. Reaching Bayonne once more,

he next set out for Madrid by way of Saragossa; intending, we presume, to labour in his vocation : and here be remained a month, 'spending his evenings amongst the diplomatic corps ;" whoa he

was ordered away, or rather carried off by an agent of pllice. Mr. Hostem " has a strong opinion of the conduct of the British Go- vernment in his case,"--and a strong one of the Spanish too, we dare say ; but every rational and unprejudiced person must have

a clear opinion upon the subject. A man who came to Madrid, after threading every part of the insurrectionary districts, con- sorting familiarly with the subordinate officers, dining occasionally

with their chiefs, holding private interviews with ministers, and even with CARLOS himself, could only be looked upon, by any one

charged with practical responsibility, as a spy or an agent, what-

ever his ostensible character. The delay in deporting him, on which Mr. HOMAN comments, admits, we conceive, of ready ex-

planation. On his arrival, he refused to budge at a request; and, whether from respect to the English name, or from doubts as to bis identity, which his confidence might raise, the Government paused, till they made inquiry as to whether he really was the man they took him for.

Such are the peregrinations of Mr. HOMAN: manner of telling them is indifferent. He is never at a loss for words, but his words scarcely present to the mind the images of things, or at least of things worth presenting. He can neither see nature nor penetrate character : be only deals with the superficial ; and the circumstances he appears to have met with, in the greater part of his tour, are not of a kind to interest on repetition. Excepting the narratives of the rise and progress of the Carlist cause, (which

.11 ive been much better done by HENNINGSRN,) his book chiefly

consists of trifling gossip or minute events,—such as where and how he slept; what be got for supper; how the girls looked, and what they said ; the manner in which the peasants dressed, or the gentlemanlike way the Carlist officers behaved; or accounts of the travellers and cattle he met on the road. Descriptions— seemingly over-coloured—of the flourishing state of cultivation in the country occupied by the Carlists, estimates of their numerical force, and speculations as to their eventual success, form an oc- casional relief to the dry trivialities or the half-bred tastes of the author ; but the journies, as wholes, are dull and wearisome read- ing, like the unused matter of a "foreign correspondent," not like the essence of his experience.

The only exception to this remark is the account of his sojourn at Madrid; which, if not distinguished by higher qualities, is ampler in its details. Except a ludicrous account of a grandee's ill-conducted ball, given to rival the entertainments of the English and French Ambassadors, and failing completely at all points, the narrative chiefly relates to the worn-out subject of hull-fights. Still, something of novelty and even of interest is given to it by the fulness of the report. We learn the importance attached to the genealogy of the hulls; the mode in which they are trained, singled from the herd, driven to the metropolis, met by the people en masse, and tried by a member of the Royal Family. Here is the latter edifying process.

When, at length, the animals are passed into the cells, the Infante and his friends go to a range of galleries which are above them, and through which a number of trap-doors open to the places where the bulls are confined. Then each hull is separated, and as he rushes from the goad of the herdsman, who plunges into his back or sides from above, from one cell to another, the Infante lets fall before him a pink silk scarf, which he dangles to and fro by means of a long string. If the bull rushes the scarf with fury, he is pronoanced to be pod ; if he is scared at it, or paws the groitud, trying to wolk himself up to a passion, he is bail, or doubtful. A hisrli cottraged bull never refuses this test, and I have seen them drive their limas ..'huost fast into the Jaws of the cells after rushing past the scarf. It is amusing t.. see the Infante on th oec tsions; and a stranger will form no great opinion of she blood royal oc sip tin from the exhibition. Don Francisco is a fat, gooil-nato.-ed, simple-lo di Mg personage, who has but one idea, and that is bull-fighting : ,he examines each animal as Lord Sefton would a race.liarse ; and as courage or cowardica is displayed, he turns to his attendants or the strangers present, with tip.•rapriate remarks: " Dia!" "Dios mio !" " Es otra coma !" " Hombre f" Qt16 tal !" " Vi mita can dins !" and numerous other exclamations. The evectators echo all the Prince's remarks, adding a few of their own,—sueli as "'Este et al canonigo," a favourite taunt to a cowardly bull. " Este es bravo." This trial is almost infallible, :toil the bull is certain to conduct hinaself in the Plaza with the same genie which he exhibits in the cell. When the loc are thus examined, and pent up in other cells, which have a communication- with the entrance to the Plaza. the Infante and his party change their grou ■il. awl through another trap alonr drive into the bull's back a small nail, to whic!i are attached various coloured ribands, the devices of the breeders, just as at New- market every stud-owner has his own colour.

Even the fight itself, stale as it seems, receives something of novelty by individualizing the exploits of the ring in the perssn of its hero, MoNrEs.

The whole ring is mati with delight on such occasions; and Monte% if be Ir. in good temper, gives some adilitio.nal specimens of his art. Having taken off

the bull from the picador (lioreernan), he suddenly gathers the scarf into tlne film of a mantle, and as the furinus animal rushes at it Its shifts it from side tu, side without being struck. Ile then ledils it before it, and makes the bull run rt lllll d hitn in a circle, his eyes straining at the scarf, and having no sight for the man who is close to him. After playing with the bull for two or three minutes in tiliS manner, he boldly turns and fares him, and rolling up the se trf

stands right lwfore 111111. as if daring I • to do his worst. The bull appears

overatveil, and to shrink from the steady gaze of his master ; and, after a fe.v seconds' pause, moves away to seek another enemy-.

Sonwtiines he draws back, puts his nose to the ground, and scrapes up the earth. throwing it over the hack with his hoof, which is a sign of cowardice ; but if lie rushes at his foe, Monte, coolly slips aside, and another chub o is at hand to catch his attention. Sametintes Mentes is hard pressed, and then he jumps between the bull's horns and over his back. I have not seen him execute that feat, but I have seen him clear one horn, and run round and round the bull, with his black cap in his hand, without the animal being able to touch him. These are the most beautiful displays that can be made; and if bull-fighting had no other end, it would be a magnificent sport. The audience are enrap- tured ; alai shouts and cheers and the waving of handkerchiefs proclaim the en- thusiasm uti the people. !Vloutes, who is a plain, slight, ill made man, more like Lord Chancellor Brougham than any other person I know, receives all these honours with composure, and, after one or two bows to his patrons, flies again

to save some of his companions' lives. • •

Sometimes the hull, particularly a half-game one, turns from the flag to rush at the man, whose life is put to the greatest hazard ; and he saves it by a lucky turn, or the assistance of a chub. The bull's horns are often far apart, and that is always a case of great danger ; for, as the animal must pass under the arm, it is possible that the point (Sone horn may catch some part of the dress, and the man be overturned. This was the case once with our hero Montes, and his life was nearly forfeited by an accident of the kind. The bull's horn caught in the sleeve of the (bless as he passed under it ; and Montes stumbling from the slight shock, the bull suddenly swung round and ripped up his thigh. Montes was thrown on his back, but no friendly chubo was at band to render him the same aid which he so often lent others; and, as he lay, there was a groan of despair heard all over the Plaza, and every one rose in consternation, and horror. struck at the loss of their favourite. Montes was the only cool person in the ring; and, undismayed, followed, with his usual sangfroid, the instructions given for such extremities—namely, to divert the

bull's attention, by repeatedly kicking him on the nose when he stops to gore. This manceuvre was so successfully tried on this occasion, that the bull was not able to plant one efficient blow on the hotly ; and as soon as the chub o took him off, Montes was found to have received no vital hurt, and was led to the surgery, always provided with two operators, where his wounds were dressed so well that he was confined but a fortnight from their effects.

The pretence for this brutal sport is, that it keeps up the national courage. How this exhibits itself, Mr. HOMAN reports at second-hand, in describing the effects of a few Carlist bombs at St. Sebastian.

Though very few shells haul fallen, and though it was evident that the Carlists had not the means of keeping up a constant succession, none of the officers would sleep in the private houses, and they all crowded in at night to the theatre, the roof of which was said to be bomb-proof, or at least stronger than that of the ordinary mansions. It was in vain that ladies entreated that the theatre should be reserved for them and for the wounded. No: these brave defenders of their own constitutions, if not of that given to them by the Queen, laid down their mattresses on the stage, in the pit, or in the boxes, and crept in and out like rabbits to and from a warren. The only persons who showed a manly pride, and who supported the spirit of the people, were the poor English artillery-men, who had been sent round from Santander to work the gams. They were furious against the cowardly native troops, and swore they would much rather turn their fire upon them than against the Carlists, who, whatever might be their faults, were daily evincing courage in the field. I was sorry to learn that several of the poor Navarese among whom Iliad overlooked the for- tress' had fallen victims to the superior skill of the British marksman; and that, as the latter had two guns always pointed on the same spot, when the Carlists ran from their cover to secure the ball from the first which fell harmlessly. be- yond them, they were killed by the second, which was fired at the nick of tunic. He further explained to me the portions of the Carlist positions in the neigh- bourhood of the town ; by which I found that no change of importance had taken place since I had personally inspected them. In politics Mr. HOMAN is a thorough Carlist. The opinions which a mind of his calibre forms, and the conclusions to which it comes, are not matters of very great importance ; but it may be useful to give the impressions which his descriptions, his state- ments, and his reasonings have left. According, then, to this author, the mountaineers of all the Pyrenean provinces are in favour of CARLOS'' the inhabitants of the cities are upholders of the Queen, or ratlier of what they call a Constitutional Govern- ment ; the agriculturists of the more level country may have their leanings, but are ready to submit to any power that is uppermost. The military statistics of Mr. Hortsst are obvious absurdities. He puts down the army of Catalonia, where the insurrection is not yet organized, at 24,000 men. But, judging from his state- ments of what he saw, the numerical force of Don CARLOS, in- cluding the armed peasantry, (who, however, are only of use when fighting in their own fastnesses,) are superior to those of the Queen; but his regular troops less, and unable systematically to act on the offensive from want of cavalry. The Christinos, on the other hand, are too few in number to be able to carry on the war effectively in the mountains. In short, there seems no pro- bable termination of the contest between these hordes, except through foreign interference, and that upon a large scale; a con- summation more desirable than prudent.

The reader who may feel inclined to read this book, should be warned against the gross partiality of the author: and this is not lightly said. The reader of UENNINGSEN cannot easily forget the coequal atrocities which he narrates. In the book before us, reference is occasionally made to the murders of the Carlists ; but they are mentioned generally, or glossed over, whilst those of the Christinos are fully dwelt upon in all their shocking details.