castle which surmounts the town itself, and looking at the barren hills and little mole which seemed to form the only attraction of the place. The Bay is but a very small affair, and much exposed; so much so, that there is scarcely any anchorage for large vessels. This renders the access to the place difficult, in many conditions of the sea and wind. There was a good deal of amusement afforded us in watching the coming and going of their boats to and from the shore; and, as the sea was much agitated, there was considerable difficulty in embarking.

We had just weighed anchor, at about eleven, when our steam was up again for Malaga, and our vessel was passing rapidly through the water, when the captain missed one of his passengers, and, looking towards shore, perceived a boat with many rowers making for the ship. He immediately slackened speed to allow of the approach of the small boat. The passenger had just reached the side of the steamer, when he began to swear at the captain for having left him behind. "Will," cried the captain, "I thought I had waited for a gentleman long enough, and therefore very inconveniently stopped my ship for him; but now I find that I only stayed for a blackguard-I shall leave him behind." And so he did, for the order was given to "go on ;" and thus the foolish passenger on;" was left behind, five miles away from land in a small craft. We spent a very pleasant day, and were delighted with the varied beauties with which the coast abounds; and, as night closed in, we were treated with a concert of vocal and instrumental music, by some of the passengers who were proficient in the art.

Saturday, May 20, 1854. We reached Malaga early this morning, after thirteen hours' run from Almeria, and anchored in the pretty harbour, close to a captured Russian ship, which had been seized by the Spanish Government. Here we bade adieu to our noble ship, the Tharsis, in which we had spent six most pleasant days, and landed about seven o'clock. We sent our heavy luggage on shore, but took the light things with us. On touching land, however, everything was seized and marched off to the Custom House, to which place we were also conducted, like a gang of thieves. Of course we expected all sorts of seizures, though, on entering, the door was immediately shut upon us, the officer merely held out his hand for a bribe, made a demand for money, which he quickly pocketed, and out again we sallied, luggage and all untouched. This is a good example of Spanish roguery, which, though vexatious to the traveller, must be borne with patience and fortitude. Our hotel, the Alameda, situated, as its name implies, on the Alameda of the town, was soon reached, and proved to be a most excellent and moderate house. We were too fatigued and too hot to see much of Malaga during this day, as we could do

little else than make our arrangements for our trip to Granada. To-morrow, too, being Sunday, afforded us such an opportunity for repose that we could not resist the dolce far niente, and therefore gave ourselves up to rest and idleness. The Alameda, opposite our own windows, the resort of all the loungers and idlers in the place, is a very agreeable promenade, shaded by trees, and offering a refreshing retreat during the heat of the day. The gaudily dressed Andalucian, with his round hat, short jacket, and gaiters, was a wonderful study, as he strolled uneasily along the shaded avenues; and, as the evening came on, many of the dark-eyed Spanish beauties of the place also graced the walk with their presence. In the afternoon, we visited the Cathedral, which is a very fine building externally, though yet in an unfinished state; the fine facade and marble compartments, together with its lofty and unfinished towers, is the most prominent building in the whole town. During a storm, we took shelter in the adjacent Archipiscopal palace, also a fine specimen of the architecture of the same period. The interior of the Cathedral is very lofty and grand, built with many columns of the Corinthian order, with superadded columns which support a finely wrought roof. The choir, as usual in most of the Spanish churches, occupies the centre of the nave, and the high altar is so arranged as to allow of the devotees passing behind it. There are neither pictures nor sculpture of a very high order, though the whole church must be reckoned as a fine one for Malaga. The walks by the side of the sea shore, the new pier surrounding the harbour, and the clean streets of Malaga, were all the wonders of the place we could muster courage to inspect. At our hotel we found many English, some of whom had passed the winter there. It is a cheap place on the whole, as the charges for living are so much per day; for rooms, breakfast, and dinner, one dollar and-a-half, on the second floor; two dollars on the first, including wine of the famous Amontillado vine, good and cheap.

(To be continued.)

I

270

THE UNMIXABLES.

RUMOURS arise like mists on the sea shore, so sudden and so unexpected that the wisest amongst us are puzzled to account for their origin or formation. Such is the foggy and unsatisfactory nature of the Coalition gossip, which now weighs heavily on the minds of men, through the inventive genius of some unknown newspaper worthy. We have often heard of the impossibility of mixing together oil and water, of the hopelessness of blanching the nigger, or making the enlightened American nation answerable for their debts; we have discussed the still greater impossibility of inducing the Prussian people and their heavy-hearted king to enter the western alliance, and oppose a barrier to Russia; as we have thoroughly understood the like impracticability of quieting Greece, or getting the Spaniards to pay their patient bond-holders; but we cannot grasp the length and breadth of a Coalition such as that which is rumoured, and which aims at uniting in one glorious triumvirate such disjointed materials as the Radical Bright, the Anti-Protestant Gladstone, and the brilliant and most Conservative Disraeli. In a word, we cannot and will not bring ourselves to believe such an absurd and ruinous combination; such a total eclipse of all that is consistent, honest, and statesmanlike; such a sacrifice of principle; such an apostacy of party; such a scandalous and dangerous policy. If we know anything of man and his motives, and of the responsibilities which his moral condition requires, we should say at once that such a combination would be impossible, with such men for its component parts. Gladstone has already shown himself the supporter of the extreme Church party, with too tender sympathies and prejudices in favour of Rome. He has won golden laurels by his participation in the government of Lord Aberdeen, and his unwillingness to stand the brunt of popular opinion, when his conduct in office had to be inquired into. He will for ever have to bear the reproach of having shrunk into retirement when his doings were about to be investigated in the penetralia of the Sebastopol Committee, and for having held a place in the councils of his Sovereign when he was in heart and soul a friend of her greatest enemy. His present opposition to his best and staunchest friends savours more of "the dog and the manger" principle, than the high and

dignified policy of which he loves to boast, whilst his crude and impossible crotchets injure his reputation as a political leader, and make him alike the object of distrust amongst all parties. That he should so soon again attempt to grasp the helm of state, before he has atoned for past delinquencies, is somewhat startling; or that he should. tacitly acquiesce in rumours fatal to his career as a politician and ruinous to his Libero-Russian aspirations, appears utterly impossible. The gulph that yawns between the rival factions of Democracy and Conservatism needs no such shaky bridge to span the turbid intervening stream; for each opposing party is far too strongly prejudiced to listen to the coaxing carols of such a peace disciple as Gladstone, who unblushingly declared himself to be at one and the same time the friend and champion of Russia, the minister and adviser of Queen Victoria.

Next upon the scene comes forth the peace negotiator, the worthy guest of Nicholas, and his tail of persecuted ill-used Muscovites; the individual who has, all his political life, been opposed to despotism and despots, crowns and kingdoms, armies and aristocrats; whose aim has been to rouse the manufacturing population to the most ephemeral of radical movements; who has done his best to ruin the agriculturalists, breed dissatisfaction between landlord and tenant, and rouse the democratic spirit to the cry of "cheap bread, cheap bread" who would conclude a peace with Russia on any terms, and not be ashamed to subscribe to those dangerous opinions of Mr. Cobden, that we are "carrying on a war more unnecessary, rash, and aimless, than any in our history; and which, for the visionary objects avowed by its advocates, has no parallel since the Crusades. The political ends of this particular school are worse than inexpli cable; they are more than dangerous to our constitution and our national honour, whilst, as yet, they have failed to produce, by substantial arguments, a healthy solution of our difficulties, or a line of action consistent with our grave position. To mystify, to grumble, and to blame, has ever been the "humble" duty of these reformers; though how to solve the question of the war, or how to carry on the contest in an English spirit, their spirit hath not moved them to declare. "Bombastes Furioso" is but chided by the patient "pilgrim," though little wiser is he for the rowing*. Yet these are the men that rumour points at as the political associates of Disraeli, and the overthrowers of the existing Government of Lord Pal

merston.

"The cruellest cut of all," however, is the free and easy manner in which our enemies have associated the name of Disraeli with this party of "inconsistents;" as though it could be possible that one so thoroughly and entirely a Conservative should, even

* Vide "Cobden on the War."-Times, Nov 5th.

under the most tempting offers, be induced to lend his name and sanction to such a coalition. It is neither possible nor probable that such a treacherous part could, under any circumstance, be played by our faithful leader; that he could be induced to throw away party ties and responsibility as easily as the pliant Peel, or that he could be brought at last to believe that "England loves coalitions," that we have had enough of war and its disastrous chances, and had best make peace at any price. We sincerely believe that he still holds as firmly as he ever did the opinions and principles of Lord Derby, both on the subject of the war and conservatism; that, had he been present with the noble Earl the other day in Scotland, he would have reiterated the same sentiment: "that England would never sheathe the sword which she had so reluctantly drawn, until the noble and disinterested designs of the allies had been completely obtained-the independence of Turkey secured, and the schemes of Russia upon Europe and Asia effectually checked;" and, moreover, "the country would persist in the struggle till the great ends to which it aspired were attained."

On other grounds than political consistency, "THE COMBINATION IS IMPOSSIBLE." Disraeli, for a great length of time, has been the champion of the country party, has enjoyed the confidence of the Tory party in the House of Commons, and has boldly denounced the idea of truckling to Russia; he has ever been a willing advocate of the increase of our army establishment, for the maintenance of the war on the most vigorous and practicable principles; whilst he has spoken loudly against coalitions, and against the usurpation of Russia; blaming alike the democratic and peaceful tendencies of Mr. Bright, by ridiculing his trip to Russia, his visionary schemes of peace, and his spirit-moving propensities. He has uniformly supported the Established Church, the Throne, and Constitution; and has not failed to raise his voice both loud and strong against that stream of democracy which has of late too often threatened our very hearths and homes, and made us tremble, lest the scat of government should ere long be hastily removed from old St. Stephen's to an empty cotton mill in Manchester.

We say again, the time has not arrived when men like these can throw away the rooted predilections of more than half their lives, when earnest, thoughtful, politicians can change with one fell swoop their rooted prejudices and ties of party, and, for sake of place and power, upset the equilibrium of a constitutional government.