The ale which was brought was not ale which I am particularly fond of.
The ale which I am fond of is ale about nine or ten months old, somewhat
hard, tasting well of malt and little of the hop--ale such as farmers,
and noblemen too, of the good old time, when farmers' daughters did not
play on pianos and noblemen did not sell their game, were in the habit of
offering to both high and low, and drinking themselves. The ale which
was brought to me was thin washy stuff, which though it did not taste
much of hop, tasted still less of malt, made and sold by one Allsopp, who
I am told calls himself a squire and a gentleman--as he certainly may
with quite as much right as many a lord calls himself a nobleman and a
gentleman; for surely it is not a fraction more trumpery to make and sell
ale than to fatten and sell game. The ale of the Saxon squire, for
Allsopp is decidedly an old Saxon name, however unakin to the practice of
old Saxon squires the selling of ale may be, was drinkable, for it was
fresh, and the day, as I have said before, exceedingly hot; so I took
frequent draughts out of the shining metal tankard in which it was
brought, deliberating both whilst drinking, and in the intervals of
drinking, on what I had next best do.

* * * * *

Late in the afternoon we reached Medina del Campo, formerly one of the
principal cities of Spain, though at present an inconsiderable place.
Immense ruins surround it in every direction, attesting the former
grandeur of this 'city of the plain.' The great square or market place
is a remarkable spot, surrounded by a heavy massive piazza, over which
rise black buildings of great antiquity. We found the town crowded with
people awaiting the fair, which was to be held in a day or two. We
experienced some difficulty in obtaining admission into the posada, which
was chiefly occupied by Catalans from Valladolid. These people not only