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834: MADRID French. Among the plazas, that of Oriente, before the royal palace and behind the Teatro Real, is the largest. In the centre of the grounds, which are oval, is a magnificent bronze eques- trian statue of Philip IV., removed from the Buen Retiro in 1844, 19 ft. high, weighing 20,160 Ibs., and cast in Florence in 1640 by Pedro Tacca, from a model in wood by Mon- tafies, with bassi rilievi representing Philip knighting Velazquez, and allegorical accompa- niments. The outermost promenade is embel- lished with 44 colossal statues of kings and queens. The Plaza Mayor, first named Plaza del Arrabal, 398 ft. long by 306 wide, was built in 1619 by Juan de Mora, under Philip III. , a bronze equestrian statue of the latter was re- moved from the Casa de Campo at the W. end to the centre of this square in 1848. Here stands the Real Casa de la Panaderia (so named because bread was formerly sold therein by weight), with its frescoed saloons by Cuello and Donoso, in which the king and courtiers former- ly assembled to witness the fiestas reales (bull fights, tournaments, &c.) and the autos de fe, which took place in the Plaza Mayor, the heretics being there arraigned before their judges, condemned, and then led to the stake without the gate. Laborers excavating for the formation of a new boulevard in 1869 discov- ered a succession of layers of charcoal mingled with the incremated remains of hundreds of victims. Many of the best buildings of the square were repeatedly destroyed by the flames. The duke of Osuna"s palace in the Plazuela de la Villa, near the casa de ayunta- miento (town house), was long occupied by the dukes of Infantado, and for a time by Ferdi- nand and Isabella. The town house dates from The Palace, Madrid. the 16th century. A very good bronze statue of Cervantes, the cost of which was defrayed by a religious fund, has been erected in the Plaza de las Cortes ; and there is a street named after him. The Plazuela de la Cebada, adjoin- ing the calle de Toledo, is the hay market, where criminals were formerly executed ; a house in the Plazuela de Santo Domingo, which was the principal scene of the revolution in June, 1866, was demolished by the government artil- lery ; in the Plazuela de la Paja, opening on the calle de Segovia, many victims were executed in the times of persecution and tyranny ; and a cross in the centre of the diminutive Plazuela de la Cruz Verde, N". of Paja, marks the spot where the last heretic was burned in Madrid. But the best known of all the Madrid squares is the world-famous Puerta del Sol, once the E. portal of the ancient town, and now the heart of the modern, and the favorite rendez- vous for business or pleasure. On the S. side of this, the Mecca of all true Spanish pilgrims, are the palacio de gobernacion (government pal- ace) and the post office ; while a handsome pile of edifices at the E. extremity occupies the site of the old church of the Buen Suceso, memora- ble as being the scene of the melancholy events of May 2, 1808. Here also are the best hotels and caf6s ; and in the immediate vicinity are grouped the modern clubs and reading rooms, which have largely diminished the old custom of lounging in the Puerta del Sol. First among the numerous promenades is the Prado, 2-J m. long, but divided into several branches. The Pra- do proper extends from the calle de Atocha on the south to that of Alcala north, and is thence continued by the Prado or Paseo de Recoletos. The most fashionable portion, the salon, between