jAS TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, IN THE YEARS I775 AND I776. IN WHICH SEVERAL MONUMENTS OF ROMAN AND MOORISH ARCHITECTURE ARE ILLUSTRATED BY ACCURATE DRAWINGS TAKEN ON THE SPOT. By HENRT SWINBURNE, Esqj RIEN n'EST beau que LE VRAIJ LE VRAI SEUt EST AIMABLE. BOILBAV. LONDON: PRINTED FOR P. ELMSLY, IN THE STRAND, M.DCC.LXXIX. PREFACE. O S T travellers that favour the world with their obfervations on foreign countries, endea- vour to foften the edge of criticifm by declaring, that they had orginally no intentions of appearing in print, but were betrayed into the prefs by the importunities of their friends. This excufe feldom anfwers the end ; for when any effential defed raifes the indignation of the reader, as fevere a fentence is pafTed upon the ftraggler decoyed into the literary walk, as upon the moft avowed voluntary trefpafTer. I fhall therefore be very ingenuous, and acknowledge, that when I fet out upon my Spanifti journey, I had thoughts of publifhing my remarks on that country. I had an earneft defire of purfuing a track almofl: un- a 2 trodden iv PREFACE. trodden by travellers, that I might know how great a degree of credit was due to the accounts already given. In my plan of enquiry, an exadl inveftiga- tion of the foil, cultivation, government, commerce,, and manners of that kingdom, was to be the grand primary objedl ; but what I was more confident of my ftrength in, and what I own I found more fuit- able to my inclinations, was the ftudy of its antiqui- ties, efpecially the Moorifli : in that line, my own eye and labour were fufficient helps to enable me t» coUetSt interefting materials for a publication. The travels through Spain that have appeared iii print, are either old and obfolete, confequently irt many refpedis unfit to convey a proper idea of its. prefent ftate ; or only relations of a pafTage through particular provinces, vi?^here the authors had neither time nor opportunity to procure much information. Not being under any reftraint in point of time j being furniflied with letters, and every thing neceffary^ for rendering the tour eafy, and my ftay in the towns; agreeable and inftruftive,, with a fufficient knowledge of the language, I had fome reafon to hope I might accomplifh PREFACE. V accomplifh my purpofe, with fatisfadion to myfelf, and utility to the public. How far I have fucceeded, is fubmitted to the judgment of the candid reader ; at leaft fome little indulgence is due to me for having con- tributed my mite, however infignificant, to the com- mon ftock of topographical knowledge ; which of late years has been fo prodigioufly increafed by accumu- lated imports from all parts of the globe. There is but one merit I infift upon, that of a fteady adherence to Veracity, as far as I was able to difcern Truth from Falfehood. I may be detected in many miftakes ; be- caufe a foreigner muft often be expofed to receive partial accounts of things from the natives, who have an intereft in hiding the nakednefs of their country, and in exaggerating its advantages ; but I Ihall never be deteded in a wilful perverfion of the truth, be- ing as free from prejudices of all kinds as moft men» Many things in my private letters, of which the following jQieets are almoft exadl copies, were not deemed proper for the public infpedion ; as there are many trifling occurrences that fill up a letter very agreeably. vi P R E F A C E. agreeably, but when printed become ridiculous. The additions made to the correfpondence conlift chiefly of the hiftorical, commercial, and literary parts ; which J drew from the moft efteemed Spanifli authors, from fome manufcripts, and from books in the public li- braries. In tliefe refearches I was much affifted by the Reverend Mr. R. Waddilove, chaplain to the Bri- tifh embafly ; who, I hope, will excufe my making him this flight acknowledgment. I have been very particular in whatever regards the hiftory and archite(fture of the Moors, as thofe are fubjedis not yet worn thread-bare : with the help of the prints, I hope to give the curious a fatisfadlory idea of their manner of building, diftributing and adorning public edifices. The Alhambra of Granada is an wiique^ and its excellent prefervation affords an op- portunity of ftudying all the detail of their defigns and ornaments. I can anfwer for the exadnefs of the drawings ; as I never took the liberty of adding or retrenching a iingle objed:, for the fake of improving the beauty or harmony of the landfcape. Not PREFACE. vii Not to multiply notes and references in the body of the work, I thought proper to give at the beginning, a Chronological Table of the Kings of Spain ; Tables of weights, coins, and meafures ; and an Itinerary of our route, with the number of hours it requires to perform, each ftage. A C H R O- C i^ 3 Chronological Table of the Kings contains < 100 Libras, or 4- Arrobas ^•i lb. IZ lb. 8 01. 6 lb. 4 ox. 3 lb. a oz. i£ Onzas 8 oz. 4- oz. z oz. 4 quartas a Medios quartas z Adarmes z Medios Adarmes N.B. The Valencian and Catalan lb. contains only iz oz. but the oz. are larger. LONG MEASURE. tz Inches J Caftillianfeet I Caftillian foot I Vara J648 Varas f """"" ") i Mile 7680 Varas J t i League The Vara is about 33 Inches Englifli. igzo Varas make an Englifli Mile of 1760 Yards. > make J COINS. IMAGINARY. „ , , ,^ ,, C equal to half a real deplata or eight quar- RealdeVellonJ ^^^os z maravidis Efcudo de Vellon ' — — 10 reals de Vel. Ducado de Vellon — — — 11 r. V. i mar. Dueato de Plata nuevo — — i6 r. V. 17 mar. Ducato de Plata Antiguo — — zo -- -- Pobla de oro Decabua, Pefo — 14 — ~ C I s BRASS. Maravadi, the leaft coin in Spain Ochavo — - — Quarto — — Dofquartos -^ — « N. B. A Real de Vellon is worth 8 Quartos z Maravidis, or 17 Ochavos. 4 I maravidis 8\ SILVER Medio real de Plata — ... 1 I . de Vellon. Real de Plata — — _ a Real de z, pefetta, piftreen — 4- Real de 4 Sevillano — — . 8 Real de 8 Sevillano — — 16 Medio real columnario — I — 8 Real de Plata colum. — z — 17 Real de a z colura, — ^^ ^ Real de a 4 — — 10 Real de a » — ~ » ao GOLD. Veintino, pefo dure, hard dollar Efcudo de oro nuevo — Efcudo de oro Antiguo — Doblon de a 2 nuevo, piftola Doblon de a z Antiguo — Doblon de a 4 nuevo — Doblon de a 4 Antiguo — Doblon de a 8 nuevo, quadruple Doblon de a 8 Antiguo - — ■ b 2 — zo r. de Vellon. — 37 — ir — 37 — " — 7S —75—10 — 150 — 150 — zo — 380 — 301 — 6 ITINERARY. [ xii 1 I I N E R A R Y, Name.. Perpignaa — Boulou — Junquiera Figuera — Coldoriol — Girona — Mayorquien — Sanfalony — Rincon — Barcelona — Cipreret — Villa Franca - Figuereta — Tarragona. Reus — Hofpitalet — Venta del Platero. Venta Don Ramon. Torlofa — Ildecona ^— Benecarlo — Torrablanca Caftillon - Nule — Morviedro Valencia Alzira •— San Felipe — Mojentc — Inns. Notre dame ; bad. Dolphin J tolerable — Town-houfe — — S. Jofeph ; bad ; French houfe Single houfe ; bad — Fontana d'Oro ; good - Bad — — Bad — _ Single houfe — - Fontana d'Oro — Single houfe ; clean. — Bad — — — Single — — Bad _ _. _ Single ; no lodging. — Single ; as bad as' any in Spain Tolerable ; new —■ S. Jofeph; new inn — Poor __ _ _ S. Francifcoj good Good — Clean — — S. Andrea; not the beft French ; clean French ; new — Hburs= in going- 3; 3-i 6. 4i 4i S> si- 3h 3- S 3l 3 3^ 3 6| 7 3i 4 41- 6k 3i; - 4i N E R A R xui Name. Fuente de la Xiguera Villena — Monforte — Alicant — Elche — Orihucla. — Murcia — Venla San Pedro Carthagena — Fuente del Alama Totana -- Lorca — . Puerto Horniera Velez el Rubio Xirivel — Cuellar — Baca — — Venta del. Golpe Guadix — Ifnallos — Granada. — Loja — Antequera. — Vsnta de. Almoyna Malaga — ■ Venta de la Compania Antequera. — Padrera ~ — Offuna — Paebla — Arajal — Molares — Cabecas — Venta del Bifcayno Xeres — Puejto S. Maria Cadiz — Chielana — Cortijos — San Roque_ — Gibraltar — San Roque. — • Cara del Doque Inns. -_ _ Good S. Francifco ; pleafant Bad — Tolerable — Tolerable — Nothing — Aquila d'Oro ; excellent Bad — Clean — Tolerable — Very bad — M^rstched — — Tolerable — Al Sol ; there is a better Corona; clean Coffee-houfe — Good — Good — Very, had — Good — Arroyo ; good — Three Emperors ; Italian Cavallo Blanco ; Italian. Baudry ; good — Hours in going. — 3 — 4 - 6i — 4 - 4.- - Si — 4r — 5i — 2h — 4h — 6 — 4 — 3l — 6 — 31- — 5 — 4i — 6i — 3i — ii| - H — lO — II — 3 — . 3 — 3 — 3 — II — 3l -^ 3i — 4| — 4? — 6 — 3 — t| — 3i 2. — 4 — J4 — 12 — Il- — H — 1» IV tinerary. Name. ■"—■■"■■■^-■^ ■-•-■.■— —^ *i Chielana — Cadiz — Puerto — Xeres — . V. Bifcayno — V. Alcantirella V. Oran — Sevilla — Carmona — V. Monclova Eccija — Carlotta — Cordova — Carpio — Aldea — Anduxar — V. Rorabia — Carolina — v. Miranda — Vifo. — Santa Cruz — Valdepenas — Mancanares — Villaharta — Puerto Lapiche Confuegra — Mora — Toledo — lUefcas — Getafe — Madrid — Aranjuez — Madrid — Efcurial — V. S. Catalina S. Ildefcnfo - Segovia — S. Maria Villa S. Cruz Kornillo — Valladolid V. Trigeros Torquemads Inns. Clean La Reyna ; Italian Good S. Agoftino New ; good Fonda; Italian — New; excellent Good ; new. Good wine Gx)od — Sangre de Chriflo ; clean S. Sebaftian ; Italian Italian ; good — Good •— Good Hours in going. 4 of 3 7 6| 2 7i 54 4 4 5 6 5 S 4 7i 3 6 3i Si 5 5l *i 3i 6 H 6i 41 3 4 4 41 4 9 z sl- sl 4i Si 4 7 ^*. N E R R XV Name. Inns. Villa Rodri»o O Burgos - Torres Birviefca Pancorvo V. S. Gaetan ViiSoria Montdragon Vergara Tolofa Hernani Paflage S. Jean de Luz , Bayonne Good Poor place Tolerable Excellent Good Dirty Good — Good Good S, Etierine.- Hours in going. - 5, ~ 9% - 3t - Sk - Si - 7 2 - 61 - 2t - 9i - 3i - 6 -* 4 Dlre^rtions Diredions for placing the Prints. Arch of Hannibal — — To face Page 50 Arch of Barra — — — •— — — 72 Tomb of the Scipios — — — — 74 Venta del platero 7 Saxe — 3 "~ ~~ '~' Plan of the Alhambra — — — — -171 Gates of the Alhambra — — — —-172 Great bath of the Alhambra — — — 177 Court of the Lions — _ _ — lyS Pieces of Architefture — — — . — 179 Entrance of the tower of the two Hermanas — — 1 83 Plan of the mofque of Cordova — — — 296 Eaft front of the mofque — — — — 300 Chapel of the Koran — - — — — — J02 LETTERS „^'^ B L E O F CONTENTS, J7REFACE. Chronological tables — — . — — Pa^e ix Tables of weights, coins, and mealures — — xi Itinerary — ;— -= -- xU: Letter I. Journey from Bagneres to Perpignan — wine of Rivefaltes — bay of Leucate — Perpignan — — — . Pao-e i II. Pafs into Spain by Bellegarde — cork woods of Junquiera — Figuera, and its fortrefs — Girona — wild country — accident in the river — mode of drinking in Catalonia. -— - — 3 ^- III. Landfcape CONTENTS. Letter III. Landfcape near la Rocca — governor of Barcelona— comedy — liiftory of Catalonia — — — -P^ge 8 IV". Barcelona defcribed — port — Barceloneta — monument of La Mina— ramparts — Rambla — citadel — hiftory of the iVIajor — cathedral- palace — exchange — academy of drawing — antiquities — 15 V. Theatre illuminated — cabinet of natural hiftory — lifts of the army- pay of the troops — ftory of the Valencian boys — journal of the expedition to Algiers — — — 23 VI. Environs of Barcelona — convent of Saria — aloe lace — convent of Jefus— Campofanto — fandango — — ^ . 43 VII. Caftle of Montjuich — — — — 46 VIII. Journey to Montferrat — arch of Hannibal — abbey — church — trea- fure — ftory of brother John — camarines- — miraculous image-^ walk up the riiountain — hermitages — life of the hermits — plants and profpe£ls — — — — 49 IX. Bargain with the muleteers — account of Catalonia — its inhabitants- taxes, and mode of collecting them — thieftakers — drefs — cha- rafter of the Catalans — harveft — produce — commerce — popula- tion — manufactures — devotion — inquifition — Jews — epitaph of the foldiers of Sertorius — — _» 60 X. Journey to Reus — road — bridges — hufl^andry — arch of Barra — beau- tiful coaft — tomb of the Scipios — Tarragona — antiquities — ca- thedral — Campo Tarragones — Reus — its population and trade — ftory of the Monks — — — 70 XI. Journey through the defart — Venta del Platero — Ebro — bilhop of Tortofa — liquorice- works — Tortofa — Valencian drefs — journey along the coaft — Benicarlo — wine-trade — vale of Margal — mufic 79 XII, Vale CONTENTS. Letter XII. Vale of Almenara — Morviedro, the ancient Saguntum— ruins of the theatre — caftle — noble profpefl — plain of Valencia Page 88 XIII. Charafler of the intendant — climate of Valencia — character of the people — defcription of the city — Alameda — Grao or port — hack- ney-chairs — churches — ftyle of architefture — archbifhop — pa- laces—exchange — cuftom-houfe — hiftory of Valencia — exploits of the Cid — population — filk-trade — method of raifing mulberry- trees — ^produdions — play-houfe — — .94 XIV. Journey over the plain — Albufera lake — agriculture — rice-grounds — tillage of rice ■— San Phelipe — caftle and order of iVIontefa — Villena — Saxe — ftyle of falutation — encampment of carriers — harbour of Alicant — — — — 105- XV. Englifli faftory — climate — defcription of the town — caftle blown up with the Englifli garrifon — Las huertas — tent wine — watering: of the grounds — trade — dreffing of a ftatue — opera — colony of. S. Polo — — — — III XVI. Method of lodging in Spanifli inns — foreft of palm-trees — Orihuela. — fertility — vale of Murcia — defcription of the city of Murcia — cathedral — fteeple— trophies of the inquifition — plain of Cartha- gena — — — — nS XVIt. Arfenal — docks — ftores — engines and pumps worked by (laves— fevere ufage of the (laves — row round the harbour — defcription of it— play-houfe — hofpital — landing-place of Santiago — 122 XVIII. Account of the different forts of barilla — barilla — gazul — foza— - falicor — manner of diftinguifhing them — culture — earth, of Al- mazaron — — — — • 12a XIX. Journey over the defart — drefs of a gipfy — ancient gold mine— guadix — clay cliffs — Cueftayefma — — 134 A 2 XX. Defcription: CONTENTS. Letter XX. Defcription and hiftory of the ancient kingdom of Granada- etymology of its name — defcription of the city of Granada — chronological account of the kings — fiege of Granada — fpeech of the laft king — Gtuation of the conquered Moors — defpair and rebellion — Ferdinand de Valor — his murder — fubmiffion of the Morifcos — their final banifhment — Page 138 XXI. Story of the Sultana — plot of the Zegris — murder of the Abencer- rages — trial of the Sultana — combat — vidlory of the Spanifh champions — — — — 154 XXII. Ancient population — produdlions — chara£ter of the ancient Gra- nadines — fugar-plantations — Morifcos — 162 XXIII. Defcription of the Alhambra — palace of Charles the Vth — Moorifli palace — — — — 171 XXIV. Alameda — defcription of the city — cathedral — chancery — beggars —play — — — __ 188 XXV. Vale of Dauro — refervoirs — generaliph — anniverfary of the fur- render of Granada — governor of the palace — 197 XXVI. Journey to Malaga — Soto — improvements made by General Wall — his charader and way of life — Antequera — mountains — vineyards and plain of Malaga — defcription of the city — • caftle — harbour — pier — cathedral — foreign fadtory — commerce — fugar-mills — — — — 201 D" XXVII. Journey to Cadiz — banditti — brood mares — rich deep plain of Andalufia — Roman bridge — Xeres — Port S. Mary — paflage to Cadiz — — — . — 210 XXVIII. Defcription of Cadiz — ftreets full of rats— -tov/er of fign'als— po- pulation — Fort S. Sebaftian — cathedral — barracks — bay- — cuftom-houfe — commerce — fmuggling — robbers — amufements XXIX. Dances G O N T E N T S. Letter XXIX. Dances — hiftory of the gipfies— journey to Gibraltar — falt- pans — Chiclana — mills of Vegel — bad lodging at Los Cor- tijos — woods — Spanifh lines — defcription of Gibraltar — Jews — — — Page 228 XXX. Return to Cadiz— farms — dinner at Vegel — fail down the bay — dock-yards — General O Reilly — ride to S. Lucar — Gua- dalquivir — journey to Seville — Xeres — Carthufians — 242 XXXL Alcazar defcribed — feat of juftice of Don Pedro— charafter of that prince — rariible to Italica — amphitheatre — 251 XXXIL Hiftory of Seville — defcription of the city — cathedral — Giralda — aquedud — fnuff-manufadory — — 261 XXXIIL Journey to Cordova — caftle of Carmona — ancient road — nevr colonies — — — 272 XXXIV. Environs of Cordova — defcription of the town — bull-feaft — charadter of the Cordovans — hiftory of Cordova — 276 XXXV. Potro — mofque — cloyfters — children expofed — earthen jars »_ _ __ _ 295 XXXVI. Journey to Madrid — king's ftud — beautiful birds — Moorifli mill — colony of la Carolina — paflage of the Sierra Morena 306 XXXVII. La Mancha — wine of Valdepenas — eyes of the Guadiana dancing gypfy — defcription of Toledo — Mofarabic rite — approach to Madrid wretched — 217 XXXVIII. Situation of Aranjuez — woods on the banks of the Tao-us oar- dens — palace — town — water party— way of life — 327 XXXIX, Character of the royal family — orders of knighthood - 333 XL. King's CONTENTS. Letter XL, King's ftallions — -jack-afles — Campo Flamenco — buU-feaft— -dex- terity of a negro — ^parejas, or games on horfeback Page 340 XLI. Defcription of Madrid — churches, and ftile of architeflure— pidtures — royal palace — marbles — piftures — Armeria— Buenretiro — Prado — canal — bridges — diamonds — Cafa del Campo — — — 350 XLII. Charadter of the Spaniards — ftory of a friar and a girl — edu- cation of the nobility — account of living authors — Voto de S. Jago^ — charafter of the women — — 366 XLIII. Efcurial — defcription of it — church — burial-place of the kings —gallery of pidures — paflage of Fuenfrio — St. Ildefonfo — piftures — water- worlds — glafs-manufadlory — 388 XLIV. Aqueduft of Segovia— cathedral — Alcazar — Algerine prifoners —mint — wool — journey through Old Caftille — Valladolid —Burgos — hiftory of Caftille — defcription of the cathedral- origin of Gothic architecture difcufled— Bifcay — chearful country and good roads — ViiSoria— paflage of the Bidaflba, and entrance into France — * — 404 INDEX INDEX of PERSONS. A. ABDALLAH, king of Cordova, 284. Abdallacis, a Saracen general, 11. lOI. Abdoulrahman I, king of Cordova, 280, 296, n. king of Cordova, 283. III. king of Cordova, 284, 2865 382. Abenaboo,chiefof theMorifcos, 153. Abencerrage, a Moorifli family, 155, 181. Abiabdallah, king of Granada, 145. Abilhaflan, king of Morocco, 144. Abilhaffan, king of Granada, 150, 151. Abouabdallah, king of Granada, 151, 152, 155, 181, 185. Abouhadjad, king of Granada, 145. Abuabdalla, king of Granada, 143. Abuhagiagi, king of Granada, 144, 173- Abuliiaxex, king of Granada, 146, 185. Aboumelik, a vifier, 2 84. AcEton, Mr. a Tufcan officer, 40; Aguilar, a Spanifh hero, 160. Alabece, a Moorifli family, 155. Albinhamet, a Moor, 156, 199. Alexander VI. pope, 107. Algardi, fculptor, 329. Alihamed, a Moor, 160. Alhamar, king of Granada, 142.' Alizeriab, a Mooriih mufician, 282.' Alkahem I. king of Cordova, 283. II. king of Cordova, 282, 292. Almanzor, a vifier, 185, 293. Almaoainayar, king of Granada, 148. Almoradi, a Moor, 159. Almundar, king of Cordova, 284. Alphonfus of Aragon, 12. VI. of Caftille, 324. IX. of Caftille, 315. XI. of Caftille, 144. Arcos, duke of, a Spanifh champion, 160. Afturias, prince of, 331, 337, 348. • princefs of, 337. Ataulph, a Goth, n. Ayxa, a fukana, 151, 152. Azarque, a Moor, 159. 5 B, Balba, INDEX of B. Balba, king of Granada, 146. Barbara, queen of Spain, 352. Barcelo, D. Ant. 36, 38, 40, 87. Baroccio, a painter, 394. Bayer, D. Franc. 378. Benalhamar, king of Granada, 144. Benofmin, king of Granada, 148. Berwick, duke of, 13, 45. Bologna, John of, a ftatuary, 366. Bowks, Mr. Mich, 382. Catlot, engraver, 365.. Calderon, a poet, 378. Cafiri, D. Mich, 379. Campomanes, D. Rodr. 379. Cervantes, Mich. 109, 309, 377. Charlemagne^ 12, 281.. Charles the Bald, emperor, la.- V. emperor, 12, 102, 171, 201, 254, 391. ■ ' ■■- VI. emperor, 13. — I. king of England, ^s^- ■■ III. king of Spain, 248, 334. Charcon, Dv Juan, a Spanilh cham- pion, 158, 160. Cid Ruy dias, loi. Coello, painter, S9-7' Conti, an author, 155, 382. Copdova, D. Ferd. a champion, i6i\ = D. Martin, mailer of Ca- latrava, 272. Corrado, a painter, 353. Correggio, a painter, S53r S59i 39^* PERSONS. E. Elazari, king of Granada, 147, 148. Elzagal, a Moor, 151. Elzugair, king of Granada, 147. Effex, earl of, 216. F. Farinelli, a finger, 362.^ Fatima, queen of Granada, 151." Ferdinand Gonzales of Caftille, 4r4» regent of Caftille, 12,I46» de Valor, 153. St. 142, 262, 323. V. of Aragon, 12, 13, 151, 152, 193, 202, 406. VI. of Spain, 5, 269, 352^ 400. Flores, an author, 72, yg. G. Garcias, Sanchez, of Caftille, 415., Giles, Perez, an author, 154. Gomeles, a Moorilh family, 155: Gregory VII. pope, 323. Grimaldi, marquisof, 332, 227^ 34S»- Guercino, a painter, 351. Guido, a painter, 29 5^ 39^- Guarin, John, a hermit, 54.. H. Hadrian, emperor, 256. Hamilcar, Carthaginian, 11, 50>. Hannibal, Carthaginian, 50, 92. Henry Tranftamare, king of Spain,, Henry INDEX of Henry IV. king of Spain, 352. Hermenegild, a martyr, 268. Herrera, John, architeft, 270; Hiaya, king of Cordova, loi. HifTem, king of Cordova, 283, 297. I. James I. king of Aragon, 102. II. io8. Ibnbekir, a Moor, 292. Ignatius, St. 58. Ildephonfus, St. 323. Infants of Spain, 338. Joan, queen of Spain, 193. John of Auftria, 13, 199, II. king of Caftille, 265. Ifabella, queen of Spain, 151, 152, 406. Ifidore, St. 323. Juan, George, author, 381; Julian, count, a Goth, 140. Ifmael, king of Granada, 149. Jufef, king of Morocco, 261. Juvara, Philip, architeft, 354, L. Lago, king of Granada, 144. La Mina, marquis de, 17. Leo, emperor, 286. Leovigild, a Goth, 268. Lewis the Debonnair, emperor, 1 1 . ■ XIV. king of France, 13. Licinius fura, 72. Lopes la Vega, poet, 377. Luca Giordano, painter, ^§2' Lucan, poet, 279. Luna, Peter de, antipope, 85, PERSONS. M. Mahomet, king of Morocco, 315. Marti, dean of Alicant, 90. Martin of Aragon, 12. Mary, queen of England, 207. Mayans, Gregory, author, 379. Mengs, painter, 330, S55^ 359' Mudo, painter, 393. Murillo, painter, 266, ^53^ 358. Muza, a moor, 157, 159. Muza, a Saracen general, 140, 261. Muley, king of Granada, 142. N. Nata, daughter of Count Julian, 140. Nazer, king of Granada, 143. Olavides, intendant of Seville, 271. O Reilly, general, 27, 28, 29, 30, 41, 248. P. Padilla, Maria de, 273. Pedraza, hiftorian, 139. Pedro, I?ing of Caftille, 144, 253, ' 254. 255, 272. Pelayo, king of Afturias, 140. Peter, king of Aragon, 315. Petronilla, of Aragon, 12. Pharagi, king of Granada, 143. Philip I. king of Caftille, 193. II. : 207, 330, 39°y 39I' 411. B Philip INDEX of Philip III. king of Caftille, 154, 411, IV. _ ,3, 398. V. 13, 107, 186, 253, 400. Ponz^ an author, 381. Queen of Granada, 155, 160. R. Ramiro II. of Leon, 383. 11. of Aragon, 12. Raymnnd V. of Barcelona, 12. Raphael, painter, 353,, ^gg, ^gy^ Rodrigo, king of the Goths, 140. Rubens, painter, 358, 39,4. Sabatini, archited, 363, Sachetti, architeft, 354. Sancho, the brave, king of Caftille, 265. Sancho of Navarre, 315, 415. Sarte, Andrea del,, painter, 39-6. Scipio, 74, 258. Seneca, 279,. 30.5... Sertorius, 70. Spagnolet, 3,58, 394. PERSONS. T. Tacca, ftatuary, 362. Tarif, Saracen general, 140, 141W. Terefa, St. 398. Tiepolo, painter, 3^5. Theodofius, emperor, 256. Tintoret, painter, 396. Titian, painter, 330, 351, 3575, 393- Trajan, emperor, 2^6. U. Vandyke, painter, 3-58, 394. Velafco, Lewis, 9. Velafquez, painter, 353, 35^, 3'94, Veronefe, painter, 394. Veruguete,. architeft, 175^. Ulloa, author, 381. W. Walid, Caliph, 140. Wall, general Richard, 180, 2or. 328. Wifred, the hairy, 12. X. Ximenes, Cardinal, .324, ^2^., Zegris, a Moorilh family, 155. INDEX INDEX of PLACES. a: ALCALA', 269. Alcanterilla, 212. Aldaya river, 410. Alhama, 150. Algiers, 31. Alicanr, in. Altnazaron, 133. Aimenara, 89. Almeria, 152. Alpuxaras mountains, 139. Alzira, 106. Anduxar, 309. Antequera, 204. Aranjuez, 327. B. Bafa, 152; Balaguer, 80. Barcelona, 11. Bellegarde, 4. Benicarlo, 84. Befos river, 8. Boulou, 3. BidafToa river, 427, Burgos, 413. C. Cabe9as, 213. Cabefon, 412. Cadiz, 215. Carlotta, 274. Carmona, 272. Carolina, 310. Carpio, 309. Carthagena, 122. Cafa Campo, ;^66. Caftillon, 86. Cenia river, 84. Ceuta, 238. Chiclana, 232. Conil, 233. Cordova, 276. Cortigos, 234. Confuegra, 319. D. Dauro river, 141. Duero river, 411. E. Ebro river, 81. Eccija, 274. B 2 Elche INDEX Elche, ii8« Elda, 109. Efcombrero ifland, 122; Efcurial, 389. Figuera, j. Francolis river, 75. Gaya river, 73. Gibraltar, 237. Girona, 6. Granada, 141. Guadalete river, 214. Guadalquivir river, 248. Guadaviar river, 98. Guadiana river, 319. Guadix, 136. H. Hornillo, 410. Hoftalric, 7. Huertas of Alicant, 113. I. lldefonfo, St. 355; Ida, 231. Ifnallos, 134. Italica, 256. Junquera, 5. L. Lebrixa, 213. Llobregat river, 51." of PLACES. Leucate bay, 2. Loja, 204. Lorca, 135. Luifiana, 274." Madrid, 326. Malaga, 205, 291.' Marbella, 169. Martorel, 50, 60. Mataro, 65. Mejares river, 86. . Medina Sidonia, 221,' Miranda, 422, Montefa, 108. Montfort, 109. Montferrat, 50- Montjuich, 46. Morviedro, 88. Motril, 169. Moxente, 108. Murcia, 119. Molares, 212. N. Narbonne, i. Navas de Tolofa, 315. Nules, 'j^. O. Orihuela, 118. Ofmedo, 410. Ofruna> 210. P. Pancorvo, INDEX P, Pancorvo, 422. Pardo, 389. Parillo, 81. Pedrera, 210; Penifcola, 85. Perpignan, 2. Puerto Lapice, 318.' Puerto Real, 22 1^ Puerto Santa Maria, 214? Puiferga river, 412. Reus, 76. Rota, 221. R. S. Salo, 77. Salinas, 426. San Lucar, 248; San Felipe, J 07. San Polo, 115. San Roque, 236. Segovia, 404. Seville, 133, 142, 250, Sierra Morena, 306, 309. Sitges, 65. Sijean, 2. Sierra Elvira, 142. Sierra Nevada, 141. Simancas, 411. 262. of PLACE S. Sua^o bridge, 215.' T. Tagus river, 320, 328^ Tangiers, 238. Tarragona, 75. Tech river, 4. Tetuan, 238. Toledo, 320. Tortofa, 83. Torq'jemada, 412; Tolofa, 427. Valencia, 98. Valdepenas, 319. Valladolid, 411. Vegel, 233, 245. Ventaplatero, 80. "Villena, 109; Villa Real, 86. Ville Santa Cruz, 410.' Villa Franca, 72. Victoria, 425. Vinaros, 85. X. Xenil river, 141. Xercs, 140, 214. Xucar river, 106, ERRATA. • : E R R A T A. ,\ .'If -. I Page jx for Faruifa, rcsd Fa'vila. xi. for Maraiiadi, read MaraveA. 44.. for offuch 'verm'ine, read of njermint, 45. ioT by nn holloiv, reiA by a holloiv . 65. for Mataiv, read Matara. 7j. for lo^veji trees, read &fi At SS TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN'. 8th. At half paft three, the men of war began the attack, with fufficient prudence not to be under any apprehen- fion^ of the enemy's balls reaching them. The two Tufcan frigates, and the chebec commanded by Barcelo, by drawing too near the land, deftroyed the beautiful uniformity of the line formed afar by our men of war and frigates ; whofe fire was perfeAly well kept up, but unfortunately of no manner of fervice, on account of their vaft diftance from the enemy. At half after four, the admiral hung out the fignal for going afhore. Se- ven galliots advanced to clear the beach ; they were followed by feven divifions of boats, each divifion car- rying a brigade of foldiers, which was to form itfelf in- to a line of battle fix deep, as foon as landed ; but the boats were thrown into confufion, as they had not been properly feparated and difpofed before they left the place of rendezvous. This diforder, which might have occafioned our total overthrow, would have been pre- vented, had we been provided with boats proper for fuch an operation. Luckily for us, we met with no obftacles, the leaft of which would have been fatal to us ; and we landed about eight thoufand men on the fhore eajR: of Algiers : the boats left us immediately, and went back to fetch the fecond divifion, which did not arrive till an hour after, and then only part of the troops could get on fhore. The TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 59 The grenadiers of the army drew up in front, and ad- vanced ; but they had not marched an hundred yards before many of their men, and ahuoft all their officers^, were killed or wounded. Thofe next them moved for- ward to fupport them, without having time to form their ranks, a necefTary confequence of the manner in which they had been put into the boats and difem- barked. Some companies never could get together, having landed in different places, and by parcels. The light infantry was by this time cut to pieces. The un- evennefs of the ground we occupied, rendered every fand- heap a fmall breaftwork, from behind which the Afri- cans fired upon us by platoons, as they kept retiring to- wards the foot of the hills, about fix hundred paces from the fea, where they hid themfelves among the woods and gardens. The general now ordered the left wing to advance. It was jufl: fix o'clock, and -his fcheme was to march the left wing to the brow oE the hill, (the right refting on the fea fhore) and then to form a column and advance about a league farther, to the attack of the caftle of Charles the fifth, which commands the whole town. The ftorming of this fort would have enfured the conquefi: of Algiers. Whilft our left wing marched on with an in- trepidity fcarce to be expedted in fo dangerous a pofi- tion, fome battalions of the center being rather before the reft, drew up in battle array, and with the Spanifii guards 40- TRAVELS THROl/GH SPAIN. guards faced to the right, that they might defend us froiii the cavalry of the bey of Mafcara. This body of horfe was foon difperfed by their fire, and that of the chebec of Ant° Barcelo. But the bey of Conftantina, who com- manded a large detachment of cavalry on our left, feized this opportunity to drive a herd of camels againft the head of the Walloon guards. By this unexpected affault, he was in hopes of drawing off their attention, whilft he difpatched a body of fifteen thoufand horfe to cut off their communication with the fea, from which we were now pretty far diftant. Our corps de referve wheeling off to the left, drew up to fill the fpace between the fea and the column of Walloons, who were forming their lines to repel the enemies that attacked them from be- hind the camels ; but the greateft fteadinefs v/ould have availed us little, nor could we have avoided being bro^ ken and flaughtered to a man, as our formation was too weak to refill the impetuofity of fuch a body of horfe, had not Mr. A6ton, the Tufcan commander, cut his cables, and let his fhips drive in to fhore, juft as the enemy was coming on us full gallop. The incefiant fire of his great guns, loaded vv^ith grape-fliot, not only flopt them in their career, but obliged them to retire with great lofs. Being delivered from this danger, we made our retreat towards the fea-fide, in fuch diforder as mufl enfue from a want of proper commanders, abandoning to the fury of TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIK. 4t of the barbarians our unbappy fellow- foldiers, that were ■unable to keep up with us. Our general had been bufy for the laft two hours, throwing up an entrenchment with fafcines, earth-bags, and chevaux de frize. We continued the work, and, to cover our front and flanks, placed a feM^ eight and twelve pounders, that had been of great fervice to us all the morning, in our different operations. We remained thus the bell part of the day, pretty fecure from all attacks of the Moorifh cavalry, but by no means fheltered from the balls of their carabines, which, carrying at leaft one third farther than our firelocks, killed upwards of four hun- dred of our men, in this kind of camp. Here I faw our general on horfeback going about to encourage the fol- diers ; who, ftretched out on the burning fands, feemed heedlefs of the dangers around, and only anxious to pro- cure a little reft to their weary limbs. By one o'clock, the Moors had finiflied a battery on the right of our camp ; and we were fo pinched for room, and huddled together, that every fhot took place. Ge- neral O Reilly, having called for a return of the killed and wounded, affembled a council of war, in which it was decided, that at four we fhould reimbark, as the enemy was raifing another battery in front, which we muft pafs under if we perfifted in the undertaking. The Algerines, for want of experience in thefe matters, fuf- fered us to accomplifh our ends undiflurbed ; and about G three 42 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. three in the morning the laft divifion of the army reim- barked, leaving behind them fourteen field pieces, twor howitzers, fome ehefts of ammunition, and the materials of our encampment, which the enemy broke into the moment the grenadiers of the rear guard puflied off from the {hore. We left on the field of battle one thoufand three hundred men, and brought off three thoufand def- perately wounded* There being unfortunately hofpitals only for four hun- dred men, the boats that had landed the Walloons, were taken up for the reception of the wounded ; this oc- cafioned the greateft diforder imaginable in our bat- talions, who came off as well as they could, in. the firft boats or tartans they could meet with. They remained iji this confufion above four-and-twenty hours, employ- ed, as well as many other regiments, in getting together, their disjointed companies^. The Moors, as foon as they had burft into our camp, cut off the heads of all our llain, and carried them off in bags, to demand the premium offered by the dey, for every chriftian head ; they afterwards heaped up the corfes upon the fafcines of the entrenchment, and fet fire to the pile, which we faw burning for two days and tv/o nights. loth, and nth. All hurry ; no water to be had, though there were iliip-loads of it in the fleet, 1 2th. At t RAVKLS THROUGH SPAIN. '^x 1 2th. At fix, a. m. fignal for weighing anchor. Soon after moll of the fleet failed out of the bay. 15th. At feven, a. m. cam.© to an anchor in Alicant road. The Walloon guards were ordered afhore, and quarter- ed at Sanjuan. Auguft loth. We reimbarked, and 20th. Landed at Barcelona. LETTER VI. Barcelona, November ii, 1775, E fliall poftpone our departure from this city a few days longer, to give the roads time to dry. There has been of late a very uncommon run of bad weather; it has thundered and lightened, with many ihowers, for feveral days together. Our time has not hung heavy upon our hands, for all our acquaintance vie with each other in loading us with G 2 civilities. 44 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN; civilities. The intendant has fliewn us every pofllble mark of politenefs, and rendered eafy to us the accefs to the arfenal, magazines, &c. which in this military towa they are very chary of fhewing to ftrangers. Yefterday we took advantage of a gleam of funfliine, to accompany the conful to his villa in the playa. The moifl warmth of the day brought out fuch fwarms of infe£ls as almoft devoured us ; I am afraid the great quantity of fuch vermin muft make the fummers in this delightful country very uncomfortable. However, it muft be allowed to be a very fine climate, for, in fpite of all the foulnefs of the fky, the air has always been mild and balmy. This plain abounds with gardens and orchards of oranges and other rich fruits. Few fpots of the globe can furpafs it in fertility, but they tell us wonders of the environs of Valencia and Granada. In the afternoon the weather was heavenly, a pre- lude, I hope, to a total change for the better ; we em- ployed it in riding up to Saria, a convent of capuchin friars on the hills. The city and port of Barcelona ap- pear finely from hence, coUeded into a moft perfed landfcape. The garden, on the flope of the hill, is truly romantic ; the walks are fhaded and fheltered by fweet- fcented evergreens ; ftreams of clear water run down on every fide in all the wildnefs of nature, or fpout through the eyes of a little Magdalen, or the fiigmata of a Saint Francis. As the Romans had many villas on thefe emi- nences, TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 45 nences, we may prefume that thefe limpid rills were then wont to gufh out of the breafts of the Graces, of trickle from the qui\^er of the God of Love. Don't be furprifed, that in November I fpeak feelingly of thefe walks being iliady ; I can affure you we found the rays of the fun very powerful, and relifhed much the fhade of the bowers, and the coolnefs arifing from the running; water. Our return to town was by an hollow way, under banks of Indian figs and aloes, when the butterflies were as briflc as in the middle of fpring. The women in the little hamlets were bufy with their bobbins making black lace, fome of which, of the coarfer kind, is fpun out of the leaf of the aloe ; it is curious, but of little ufe, for it grows mucilaginous with wafhing. We paffed by the convent of Jefus, belonging to the cordeliers or grey friars. The duke of Berwick razed it to the ground in 17I4, to punifh thofe fathers for their zeal in the revolt of Catalonia. Their prefent ha- bitation is fmall. They have a fine fpring of v/ater, and an extenfive garden furrounded with a wall of lemon- trees J adjoining is the Campofanto, where thofe that died in the laft plague were buried. It now ferves as a flower-garden, and contains fome curious plants ; among the reft the aroma^ a fpecies of mimofa or fpunge-trec, bearing a round yellow flower with a faint mufky fmell, to which they attribute many odd qualities. If you chew 46 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. chew the feed, and breathe it out into a room, it will icnmediatelj fill it with an overcoming ftench, and tura all white paint black. . . Our evening ended with a ball, where we had for the firfk time the pleafure of feeing the Fandango danced. It is odd and entertaining enough, when they execute with precifion and agility all the various footings, wheelings of ;the arms, and crackings of the fingers ; but it exceeds in v/antonnefs all the dances I ever beheld. Such motions, fuch writhings of the body and pofitions of the limbs, as no modefl: eye can look upon without a blufh ! A good Fandango lady will ftand five minutes in one fpot, wrig- gling like a worm that has juft been cut in two. If the day proves clear, we fliall go to-morrow up the mountain to the caflle. LETTER VIL Barcelona, November 12, 1775. IAm this moment returned from the fortrefs of Mont- juich, where the finenefs of the day and the beauty of the profped: aiForded me much real fatisfadtion ; but it fell greatly fiiort of what I felt on finding a letter from you ^TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN". 47 you on my table. I have not met with the book you mention, nor indeed ever heard of Mr. T * * * 'till now. By your account, he has not been in this part of Spain, therefore my letters as yet convey fomething new to you ; perhaps, even in thofe provinces where he has travelled, the difference of our difpolitions, ftudies, and purfuits, may ftrike out a fufficient fund of variety for my future correfpondence, to make it entertaining to you, though you have read his tour. I am fure I fhall be no plagiarifb; for it is highly improbable the book fhould fall in my way for fome time to come. Montjuich, a name corrupted either from Mo7ts yovis or Mons Judakus^ is a mountain that ftands fingle, on the fouthr-weft point of Barcelona. This eminence is happily placed for the city, as it intercepts and diffipates the putrid exhalations pumped up by the fun from the ponds near the Llobregat, which are fometimes fo ftrong as to affedt with great violence the centinels on duty. The extent of its ba/is is very great. Large crops of wheat are reaped on the north and eaft fides, and all bought up at an high price for feed-corn, the quality being particularly found. A good deal of ftrong wine is made on the fouth-eaft angle ; but it is faid to be me- dicated with lime, and mahogany chips, to give it fpirit and colour. The face of the mountain towards the fea- k already by nature, or foon will be made by art, an in- ' furmountable. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIlSr. Surmountable precipice. The road up to the top is very Heep ; about half way, is the ancient burial-place of the Jews, where many large ftones, with Hebrew infcrip- tions, are ftill lying fcattered about the field. Every part of the old caftle is deftroyed, and large works in the modern manner built upon its foundations, on the crown of the hill. From hence you command a view over the coaft, plain, and harbour ; not a houfe in Barcelona but lies expofed to your fight. They are Hop- ing off the glacis at an incredible expence, fo that no ap- proaches can be made under fhelter, as every part is open, and liable to be raked by the cannon of the batteries. All the walls are of ftone, and multiplied to an extrava- gant number. Spain cannot afford men to garrifon fuch overgrown fortreffes. The main body of the place is bomb proof, very neat- ly finifhed ; two ftone ftaircafes, with iron railing fit for a palace, lead down to the vaulted quarters for the fol- diers, which are near four hundred yards long. One of the principal baftions is fcooped out into a ciftern ca- pable of containing feventy thoufand cubic feet of water, of which only a fmall quantity is let off at a time into a draw-well, to prevent any traitor from poifoning the ftock of water. Above the quarters is a grand terrace round a court, with turrets at each angle. On the cen- ter of the fouth line ftands the tower of fignals ; if one fh P TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 49 fliip appears, a baiket is hung out ; if two or more, it is raifed higher, and if a Spanifh man of war, they hoift a flag. This caftle has already coft immenfe fums in the fpace of fifteen years, and in all probability will not be finifhed in as many more, tho' above three hundred workmen are employed at the works. Each new engineer alters the plan and counteracts the fcheme of his predeceflbr, which occailons fuch a delay and wafte of treafure as is fcarce to be credited. Befides the inconvenience of requiring fo large a gar- rifon, the iituation appears to me too elevated to annoy an enemy encamped in the plain. LETTER VIIL Barcelona, November 17, ,1775, IExpeded to have been by this time in the kingdom of Valencia ; but the badnefs of the mountain- road having determined us to take the new one, along the coaft, we laft Wednefday hired mules for Montferrat, which is not in the line of that lower route, This has retarded our departure for fome days* H For so TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. For aUout five or fix miles the road is finiftied with a magnificence equal to the befl in France, but after that, it relapfes into its original ftate ; however, though rough for carriages, it is very foft and pleafant for riding. The country up the Llobregat is well cultivated, but fubjed: to frequent inundations, that make cruel havock. As you approach the mountain, the number of vineyards di- minifties, that of olive-grounds increafes. At Martorel, a large town, where much black lace is manufadured, is a very high bridge with Gothic arches, built in 1768, as we are informed by the infcription, out of the ruins of a decayed one, that had exifted 1985 years from its eredlion, by Hannibal, in the 535th year of Rome. At the north end is a triumphal arch or gateway, faid to have been raifed by that general in ho- nour of his father Hamilcar. It is almofl: entire, well proportioned, and fimple, v/ithout any kind of ornament, except a rim or two of hewn ftone. The large ftone- cafing is almoft all fallen off. After dinner we continued our journey through Ef- palungera, a long village full of cloth and lace manu- facturers ; and about three arrived at the foot of the mountain of Montferrat 3, one of the moft fingular in the world, for fitij9,tion, Ihape, and compofi.tion. It ' Monte ferrado me?ns a mountain fawed j and the arms of th€ abbey are, the; Virgin Mary fitting at the foot of a rock half cut through by a faw. Hands d'l. cf>Jc.jy;rS. JiAyVJWB.iL' S ArCH. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 51 ftands fingle, towering over an hilly country, like a pile of grotto work or Gothic fpires. Its height is about three thoufand three hundred feet. We afcended by the fleepeft road, as that for carriages winds quite round, and requires half a day's travelling. After two hours tedious ride from eafl; to weft, up a nar- row path cut out of the fide of gullies and precipices^ we reached the higheft part of the road, and turned round the eaftermoft point of the mountain, near the de- ferted hermitage of Saint Michael. Here we came in fight of the convent, placed in a nook of the mountain ; it feems as if vaft torrents of water, or fome violent con- vulfion of nature, had fplit the eaftern face of Montferrat, and formed in the cleft a fufficient platform to build the liionaftery upon. The Llobregat roars at the bottom, and perpendicular walls of rock, of prodigious height, rife from, the water edge near half-way up the mountain. Upon thefe mafTes of white ftone refts the fmall piece of level ground which the monks inhabit. Clofe behind the abbey, and in fome parts impending over it, huge cliffs fhoot up in a femicircle to a flupendous elevation ; their fummits are fplit into fharp cones, pillars, pipes, and other odd fhapes, blanched and bare ; but the inter- faces are filled up with forefts of evergreen and deci- duous trees and plants. Fifteen hermitages are placed among the woods ; nay, fome of them on the very pin- nacles of the rocks, and in cavities hewn out of the H 2 loftieft 52 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIJSr. loftieft of thefc pyramids. The profpedt is not only aftonifliing, but abfolutely unnatural. Thefe rocks are. compofed of limeftones. of different colours, glued to- gether by a fandj and a yellow calcarious earth* In fome parts they confift of freeftone and white quartz, mixed with fome touchftone. There may perhaps be reafon to fufped fire to. have been a principal agent in the forma- tion of this infulated mountain. Having brought a letter for the abbot, whom we found a polite, fenfible ecclefiaftic, a native of Eftrema- dura, we were lodged and. entertained in the convent. L cannot fay much in favour of the cookery ; it coft us fome wry faces to get down the faffron foup and fpiced ragouts. After dinner a plate of caraways, and a falver of wine, was handed about ; which brought to my mind the treat Juftice Shallow offers Sir John Falftaff in his orchard. This is one of the forty-five religious houfes of the Spanifh congregation of the order of Saint Benedidt ; their general chapter is held every fourth year at Valla- dolid, where the deputies choofe abbots and other digni-^ taries for the enfuing Quadrennium. In this monaflery, they eledl for abbot a Catalan and a Gaftillian alternate- ly. Their poffeiHons are great, confifting of nine vil- lages lying to the fouth of the mountain ; but the king has lately curtailed their income about fix thoufand livres a year, by appropriating to his own ufe the beA houfe TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 53 Eoufe in each village, fome of which, with their tythes, are worth 200 dollars per annum. Their original foun- dation, in 866, gave them nothing but the mountain ; and to donations and ceconoray they owe the great increafe. of their landed property. They are bound to feed and harbour, for three days, all. pilgrims that come up to pay their homage to the Virgin ; the allowance is a luncheon of bread in the morning, as much more, with broth, at noon, and bread again at night. About three years ago, the king propofed to. them to abolifh this obligation of hofpitality,. on condition that the convent fhould fub- fcribe a fixed fum towards the eftablifhment of a poor- houfe in Barcelona. The principals of the abbey were inclined to accept of the propofal, but the mob of monks oppofed it vehemently; and, fuch a fcheme being very contrary to the interefts of the miraculous image, fhe refented it highly, and, according to -her old cuftom, va- nifhed in anger from the altar. Soon after, fhe was dif- covered in the cave where fhe was originally found, nor would fhe ftir, till the intended innovation was over- ruled. It was . thought expedient to wink at this jug- gling, not to alarm the common peoplCj, who are not fufliciently enlightened to fee through fuch grofs impo- fitions. The number of profefTed monks is 76, of lay-brothers 28, and of finging-boys 25, befldes phyflcian, furgeon,, and fervants*. Having; 54 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Having breakfafted very early, a German monk waited upon us to fliew us the church. It is gloomy, and the gilding much fullied with the fmoke of eighty- five lamps of filver, of various forms and fizes, that hang round the cornice of the fandluary. Funds have been bequeathed by different devotees for furnifhing them with oil. The choir above ftairs is decorated v/ith the life of Chrift in good wooden carving. A gallery runs on each fide of the chancel, for the convenience of the monks. A large iron grate divides the church from the chapel of the Virgin, where the image ftands, in a nich over the altar, before which burn four tapers in large filver candlefticks, the prefent of the duke of Medina Cell. In the facrifty, and pafTages leading to it, are prefTes and cupboards full of relicks and ornaments, of gold, filver, and precious ftones ; they pointed out to us, as the moft remarkable, two crowns for the Virgin and her Son, of in- eftimable value, fome large diamond rings, an excellent cameo of Medufa's head, the Roman emperors in ala- bafter, the fword of Saint Ignatius, and the cheffc that contains the afhes of a famous brother, John Guarin, of whom they relate the fame ftory as that given in the Spedator of a Turkifli fanton and the fultan's daughter. They differ however in the following circumftance — The Catalan anchoret repents of his crime, and lives feven years on all fours like a wild beafl. The earl of Bar- celona, whofe daughter John had raviflied and murdered, catches TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 55 catches the favage in his hunting-toilsj and brings him as a (liew to the ciij ; when behold I the earl's fonj only a month old, fpeaks aloud, and bids John arife, for his fins are forgiven. The eafy prince pardons him alfo, and all of them go in queft of the body of the Princefs. To their great aftonifhment, they meet her reftored to life by the Virgin Mary, and as beautiful and young as ever. It is not faid that £he recovered her virginity ; that is a mi- racle never once attempted by any faint in the calendar ;, however, fhe liked the mountain fo well, that fhe there founded a monaflery, in which £lie ended her days as a nun. Immenfe is the quantity of votive offerings to this miraculous ftatue ; and, as nothing can be rejected or otherwife difpofed of, the {helves are crowded with mof^ whimfical Ex votos^ viz. iilver legs, fingers, breafts, ear- rings, watches, two-wheeled chaifes, boats, carts, and fuch-like trumpery. From the facrifty we went up to the Camarines^ fmall rooms behind the high altar, hung with paintings, feveral of which are very good. A ftrong filver-plated door be- ing thrown open, we were bid to lean forward, and kifs the hand of Nueflra Senora. It is half worn away by the eager kiffes of its votaries, but we could not afcer- tain whether it be marble or filver, as it is painted black. The face of the mother is regularly handfomcj, bu.t the colour of a. negro-woman. Havinf?: 56 XRAVIELS THROUGH SPAIN. Having feen every place about the convent, where •they are now building a new wing, and blafting a great deal of the rock to enlarge the gardens, we fet out for the hermitages, and took the fhort way, up a crevice -between two huge maffes of rock, where in rainy wea- ther the waters dafh down in furious torrents. We count- ed fix hundred iioles or fteps, fo fteep and perpendicular that from below we did not difcern the leaft track. A hand-rail, and a few feats to take breath upon, enabled us to perform this fcalade. Soon after, we arrived, through a wdldernefs of evergreens, at the narrow platform where the iirft hermit dwells. His cells, kitchen, chapel, and gardens, are admirably neat and romantic, built upon various patches of level on the tops of precipices. The view from it is wild, and in fuch a fine clear rnorning moft delightful. The hermit feemed a chearful, fimple old man, in whofe mind forty years retirement had ob- literated all worldly ideas. ' The hermits are all clad in brown habits, and wear long beards ; their way of life is uncomfortable, and their refpeAive limits very much confined. They rife at two every morning, ring out their bell, and pray till it is time to go to mafs at the hermitage, called the PariJJj ; it is always faid at break of day : fome of them have above two hours walk down to it. The convent allows them bread, wine, fait, oil, one pair of ilioes, and one pair of ftockings a year, with twenty-five reals a- mouth for other necefTaries. A couple of TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 57 of men are kept to aiTifl; them in their labour, each in their turn. A mule carries up their provilions twice a week, and is occafionally driven to Barcelona for falt- fifli, and other things, which they buy by clubbing to- gether. They get fome helps from the convent, in re- turn for flowers, greens, &c. which they fend down as prefents. They never eat meat, or converfe with each other : their novicefhip is very fevere, for they mud undergo fix months fervice in the infirmary of the abbey, one year among the novices, and fix years further trial, before they are fuffered to go up to an hermitage ; which they cannot obtain but by the unanimous confent of the whole chapter. They make every vow of the monks, -and, over and above, one of never quitting the mountain ; but none of them are allowed to enter into orders. Their flrft habitation is always the moft remote from the con- vent, and they defcend according as vacancies happen in the lower cells. Having left a fmall pre-fent in the chapel-window, wc continued our walk : wherever the winding paths are level, nothing can be more agreeable than to faunter through the clofe woods and fweet wilderneffes that fill up the fpaces between the rocks. It is impoflible to give you an adequate idea pf the fublime views and uncouth appearance of the different parts of the mountain ; a painter or a botanift might wander here many days with ipleafure and profit. There are few evergreens in Eu- I rope 58 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. rope that may not be found here, befides a great variety of deciduous plants. The apothecary of the houfe has a lid of four hundred and thirty-feven fpecies of plants, and forty of trees. The greateft hardship here is a fear- city of good water. Except one fpring at the pari£h, and another at the convent, they have no other than ciftern-water, and that bad enough ; this in fummer is a terrible inconvenience, and gives the lye to the florid de^ fcriptions I have read of the purling ftreams and beau- tiful cafcades tumbling down on every fide from the broken rocks. The want of water is fo great, that nei- ther wolf, bear, nor other vi^ild beaft, is ever feen on the mountain. The Second hermitage we came tc^ ftands on a point of the rock, over a precipice that defcends almoft to the very bed of the river ; my head was near turning with look- ing down. The profpe6t is inimitably grand, extending over the northern and eaftern parts of the province, which are very hilly and bare, bounded by the moun- tains of RoufTillon. The true Pyreneans appear only through fome breaks in that chain. Manrefa, where Inigo de Loyola made his firft fpiritual retreat, is the principal town in the view. In a clear day, they afTured us they could fee Majorca, which is one hundred and eighty-one miles diftant. Upon the round rock that hangs over the hermit's cell was formerly a caftle, with its cifterns and drawbridge, where forae banditti harbour- ed* TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 59 ed. From this ftrong hold they made excurflons to pillage the neighbouring vallies. By rolling down ftones, they kept the monks in perpetual alarm, and obliged them to fend up whatever provifions were wanted in the garrifon. At laft, a few miquelets climbed up the rock from tree to tree, like fo many fquirrels, furprized the fort, and deftroyed this neft of robbers. In commemora- tion of this event, the hermitage is dedicated to Saint Dimas, a faint, I prefume, you never heard of in your life. You mull know he is the good thief in the gofpel. At la Trinidad, the next cell we walked to, the monks by turns go up to pafs a few days in fummer by way of recreation. The hermit has many rooms, and is allowed a boy to wait upon him. He gave us a glafs of good Sitges wine, and a pinch of admirable fnuff, made from tobacco raifed in his own garden. The officers of the cuftoms have extended their tyranny even to thefe foli- tudes, and fent orders that jjo more tobacco be fuffered to grow. Having fcrambled up to one or two more hermitages, we found our curioHty fatisfied, as, except in point of extenfivenefs of profped:, they varied very little from thofe we had already feen ; and therefore we turned down another path, which led us to the dwelling of the vicar, a monk who during four years takes upon him the direc- tion of the hermits, I 2 Lower 6o TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIlSr. Lower down we arrived at Santa Cecilia, the parlfh church, where every morning the filent inhabitants of this Thebais meet to hear mafs, and perform divine fer- vice, and twice a week to confefs and communicate. About eleven, we got down to the abbey for dinner ; and, having received the cuflomary donation of bleffed croffes and holy medals, mounted our mules and came to lie at Martorel. We reached Barcelona early this morn'- ing, and have been ever fince making ready for our de- parture. LETTER IX. Barcelona, November i8, 1775. ALL our affairs are fettled for beginning our journey to Valencia to-morrow afternoon. We have agreed with a mafter muleteer, to furnifh us with mules at the rate of fifteen reales de vellon a day for each mule, clear of all other expences whatever. If we part with him at Valencia, he is to be paid for his return, eight days ; if at Alicant, ten ; at Cadiz, thirty ; at Madrid, fifteen ; and at Liibon, thirty. We have alfo hired a miquelet, compleatly accoutred, to attend us. You fee we are fit- ted TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 6i ted out in good earneft for a long journey, which I hope will afford us fome pleafant hours, to compenfate for the trouble and fatigue that we forefee muft frequently fall to our fhare. I belie\re you are not forry to find I am on the point of leaving Catalonia, which muft by this time be a fubje6l my frequent letters have rendered ra- ther tirefome to you ; however, I entreat your indul- gence one letter more, while I endeavour to bring to- gether the remarks I have made on the character of this people, and all the material information my friends have furnifhed me with. Catalonia is almoft throughout extremely mountain- ous. The nature of the country appears to have great influence on that of the inhabitants, who are a hardy, adive, induftrious race, of a middle fize, brown com- plexion, and ftrong features ; their limbs well knit to- gether, and by education and pradice inured to th^ greateft fatigues ; there are few lame or diftorted perfons, or beggars, to be met with among them. Their Mocos or mule- boys are ftout walkers ; fome of them have been known to go from Barcelona to Madrid, and back again, in nine days, which by the high road is fix hundred miles. The lofs of all their immunities, the ignominious prohibition of every weapon, even a knife, and an enor- mous load of taxes, have not been able to ftifle their in- dependent fpirit, which breaks out upon the leaft ftretch of arbitrary power j but within thefe few years, many of their 62 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. their ancient privileges have been gradually reftored ; and this is at prefent one of the moffc flourifhing pro- vinces of Spain. Their taxation is ftill very high. All trade is afTeffed according to the buHnefs you are fup- pofed to tranfad: in the courfe of the year, without re- gard to your lofs or gain. One mode of coUeding the revenue is fomewhat fingular ; — the intendant (who ma- nages all the finances, and, belides numberlefs emolu- ments and fecret profits, receives one third of all feizures of contraband goods) has a certain number of clerks or apprentices, with a ftipend for each allowed by the king. Thefe young men are fent out into the villages to gather the taxes ; an operation which they fpin out to the ut- rnoft, as their profits, and thofe of their mafter, are en- creafed by every delay, the communities being obliged to find them food, lodging, and two pefos a day. When the peafantry of a place proves refra(9;ory or dilatory in its payment, an order is given by the treafurer to an officer, who goes with his foldiers to the fpot, to receive his own and his regiment's pay, and live at difcretion upon the poor wretches until full fatisfad-ion be made. Amongft other reftridions, the ufe of flouched hats, white fhoes, and large brown cloaks, is forbidden. 'Till of late, they durft not carry any kind of knife; but m each public houfe there was one chained to the table, for the ufe of all comers. The good order maintained by .the police, and the vigilance of the thieftakers, fupply the TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, 6^ the place of defenfive weapons, robberies and murders being feldom heard of; you may walk the ftreets of Barcelona at all hours unarmed, without the leaft ap- prehenfion, provided you have a light ; without it you are liable to be carried to prifon by the patrol. The minones, or thieftakers, are men of truft and con- sideration, and of approved courage ; their drefs is that of the miquelets or mountaineers, who fo cruelly har-r raffed the French armies in the wars at the beginning of our century. They wear their hair in a net ; a broad filver-laced hat, fqueezed flat like thofe of the Englifli failors, hung on one fide of their head ; an handkerchief loofely tied round the neck ; a fhort ftriped waiflcoat, and aver it a red jacket, with large filver buttons like bells dangling from it ; a blue fkirt, bound with yellow tape, rolled feveral times round their waifl, in which they carry their knife, handkerchief, &c. Over this jacket they wear two crofs belts, one for an ammunition-pouch, the other for their broad fword and piftols ; on the left fhoulder hangs a blue great coat embroidered with white thread ; their breeches arc blue and white ftriped; their ftockings, rolled below the knee, and gartered with an enormous buckle, and bunch of black ribbons, reach only down to the ankle, where they tie feveral rounds of blue fillet very tight, to keep on their packthread fan- dais, that feem fcarce to cover their toes. The 64 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. The common drefs of a Catalan failor or muleteer is brown, and the diftindive mark by which they are known in Spain, is a red woollen cap, falling forwards, like that of the ancient Phrygians. The middling fort of people and artificers wear hats and dark cloaths, with an half-wide coat carelefsly tolTed over the fhoulders. The drefs of the women is a black filk petticoat over a little hoop, fhoes without heels, bare fhoulders, and a black veil ftiffened out with wire, fo as to arch out on each fide of the head, fomething refembling the hooded ferpent. The Catalans are excellent for light infantry, on the forlorn hope, or for a coup de mai7i ; but tho' brave and indefatigable, they are averfe to the flridtnefs of regu- lar difcipline, unlefs it be in their own national regi- ments. They cannot brook the thoughts of being menial fervants in their own country, but will rather trudge it all over v/ith a pedlar's pack on their fhoulders, or run about upon errands, than be the head domeftic in a Catalan family. Far from home they make excellent fervants, and moft of the principal houfes of Madrid have Catalans at the head of their affairs. They are the general muleteers and calefiieros of Spain ; you meet with them in every part of the kingdom. : their honefty, fl:ea- dinefs, and fobriety, entitle them to the confidence of travellers, and their thirft after lucre makes them bear with TRAVELS THIIOUGH SPAIN. 65 i,^ith any hardfliips. With good words, you will always -find, them docile, but they cannot bear hard ufage or op- probrious language. .0 jThofe ,th^t remain at hojtne for the^l%^,ou,rs of the .field, are exceedingly induftrious. Their corn-harveft is in May or early in June ; but, as thofe crops are liable to frequent burftings and mildews, they have turned their attention more to the vine, which they plant even upon the fummits of their moft rugged mountains. In many places, they carry up earth to fix the young fet in ; and in others, have been known to let one another dov^^n from the brow of the rock by ropes, rather than fuffer a good patch of foil to remain ufelefs. Their vintages are commonly very plentiful. This autumn, there was fuch a fuperabundance of grapes in the valley of Talarn, in the neighbourhood of Pallas, that whole vineyards were left untouched for want of veffels to make or hold the wine in ; notice was pafled upon the church-doors, that any one was at liberty to take away what quantity he pleafed, on paying a fmall acknowledgment to the proprietors. The beft red wine of Catalonia is made at Mataw, north of Barcelona, and the beft white at Sitges, between that city and Tarragona, The fcarcity of corn is fometimes very great, the prin- cipality not producing above five months provifion. Without the importation from America, Sicily, and the north of Europe, it would run the rilk of being famifhed. K. From 66 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. From four hundred thoufand to fix hundred thoufand" quarters of wheat are annually imported, Canada alone fent this year about eighty thoufand quarters. There are public ovens, where the bakers are bound by contra(5t to bake every day into bread one thoufand bufliels of flour, or more, at a ftated price, and, in cafe the other bakers fhould refufe to work, they are under the obliga- tion of furnifhing the city with bread. The number of the inhabitants of Barcelona is made to. amount to one hundred and fifty thoufand fouls, and thofe of Barceloneta to ten thoufand ; but, although trade and population have increafed furprizingly in the courfe of a few years, I doubt there is fome exaggeration, in this reckoning. The great export-commerce confifts in wine, brandie^y fait,, and oil, which are moftly taken in by foreign fhips at the little ports and roads along the coaft, and not brought to be fhipped off at the capital-. There are mines of lead, iron, and coal, in the moun- tains, but they are ill wrought, and turn to poor account. The manufadtures are of more importance. Barcelona fupplies Spain with moft of tbe cloathing and arms for the troops. This branch of bufinefs is carried on with much intelligence ; they can equip a battalion of fix hundred men compleatly in a week. A great trade is driven in filk handkerchiefs, ftock- ings, &c. 3 in woollens of various qualities j in filk and thread TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 67 thread lace ; in fire-arms. The gun-barrels of Barcelona are much efteemed, and coft from four to twenty gui- neas, but about five is the real value ; all above is paid for fancy and ornament : they are made out of the old fhoes of mules. Several manufadures of printed linens are eftablifhed here, but have not yet arrived at any great elegance of defign or livelinefs of colour. The imports are, befides corn, about eighty thoufand hundred-weight of Newfoundland cod, which pays three pefettas per hundred-weight duty, and fells upon an. ave- rage at a guinea ; beans from Holland, for the poor peo- ple, and an inferior fort from Africa, for the mules ; falted conger eel from Cornwall and Britany, fold at forty or fifty fbillings per quintal ; this is an unwholefome, luf- cious food, which they cook up with garlick and fpices : Englifh bale goods, and many foreign articles of neceflity or luxury. Houfe-rent and living are dear ; provifions but indifferent : the fifh is flabby and infipid ; the meat poor ; but the vegetables are excellent, efpecially brocoli and cauliflower. I believe their meat and iifh are much better in fummer than at this feafon of the year. The devotion of the Catalans feems to be pretty much upon a par with that of their neighbours in the fouthern provinces of France, and, I am told, much lefs ardent than we fhall find it as we advance into Spain ; but they ftill abound with ftrange pradices of religion and local worfbip. One very odd idea of theirs is, that on the ift K 2 of 68 TRAVELS THROtfGM SPAIN. of November, the eve of All Souls, they run about from houfe to houfe to eat chefnuts, believing that for every chefnut they fvi^allow, with proper faith and undiori^- they fhall deliver a foul out of purgatory. The influx of foreigners, increafe of commerce, and protedion granted to the liberal arts, begin to open the underftanding of this people, who have made great ftrides^ of late towards fenfe and philofophy. There are now but one or two churches at moft, in each city, that are allowed the privilege of protecting of- fenders, and murderers are excluded from the benefit of the fanduary. The proceedings of the Inquifition are grown very mild. If any perfon leads a fcandalous life, or allows his tongue unvv'arrantable liberties, he is fum- moned by the Holy Oflice, and privately admonifhed ; in cafe of non-amendment he is committed to prifon. Once a year you muit anfwer to that tribunal for the orthodoxy of your family, and of every fervant you have, or they muft quit the country ; but the foreign proteflant houfes are paffed over unnoticed. Avoid talking on the fubjed: of religion, and with a little difcretion you may live here in what manner you pleafe. Every Jew that lands in Spain mufb declare himfelf to be fuch at the Inquifition ; which immediately appoints a familiar to attend him all the time he flays afhore, to whom he pays a piftole a day. Were he to negledt giving this information, he would be liable to be feized. Yet I have TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 69 have been affured by perfons of undoubted credit, that a Jew may travel incognito from Perpignan to Lifbon, and fleep every night at the houfe of a Jew, being recom- mended from one to another ; and that you may take it, for granted, that wherever you fee a houfe remarkably decked out with images, relics, and lamps, and the owner noted for being the mofl: enthufiaftic devotee of the pariih, there it is ten to one but the family are Ifrael— ites at heart. If a ftranger is defirous of becoming acquainted with Spain, the manners and difpolition of its inhabitants, he muft proceed further ; for I am told this province bears fo little refemblance to the reft of the kingdom, that he will derive no real knowledge on that fcore from travel- ling in Catalonia. Here it is not uncommon to hear them talk of a journey into Spain, as they would of one into France ; and their language is not under Rood by the. Spaniards, being a dialed; of the ancient Limofine tongue, a kind of Gafcon. I cannot clofe this fketch of the charader of the modern Catalans more properly, than with the epitaph of their countrymen who ferved under Sertorius, and after the murder of that great, man, difdaining to obey another leader, facrifieed themfelves to his manes. It is takea from the annals of Catalonia. Hk 70 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, * Hie multce qute fe manihus ■ ^ Sertorii T'urmce et Terrae. Mortalium omnium Parenti devovere dum eo fublato fuperejfe tender et et for titer pugnando invicem cecidere Morte ad prcefens optata jacent* Valete Pojieri. LETTER X. Reus, November 24, 1775. WE left Barcelona on Sunday the 1 9th inftant. Our firft clay's journey was very fliort ; the road good, but made upon too expenfive a plan to be con- tinued far. The bridge over the Llobregat is grand, but unluckily fo placed as never to be feen by travellers in an ■oblique direction. •* Here lie the bones of many companies of foldiers, who devoted them^ felves to the manes of Q^SertoriuSj and to the common mother Earth, as loathing all thoughts of furviving him. Fighting bravely with each other, they fell, and met the death which they then wiflied for. Farewell Fofterity. We TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 71 We flopped at Cipreret, a neat houfe in a wild moun- tainous country, with a few pines fcattered about, feldom enough to form a grove, much lefs a wood. We here for the firft time faw a true Spanifh kitchen, viz. an hearth raifed above the level of the floor under a wide funnel', where a circle of muleteers were huddled together over a few cinders. Next morning we paffed a broad glen or hollow, over which they intended to convey the high road in a ftrait line, by means of a bridge of three rows of arches one above the other. Had they turned a little to the left by a gradual flope, the defcent had been trifling, and a Angle arch fuflicient for the paflage of the water. This great work has failed, and feems abandoned. I fliould fufpeS: they built here for the diverflon of future antiquaries, not for the ufe of the prefent generation, which feels all the weight of the expence, without reaping any benefit from fuch ill-calculated undertakings. In the prefent ftate of things the pafs is very dangerous, and further on the road~ grows worfe, in a large foreft of pines, where the rocks and gullies render it next to impoflible for a carriage to get through without damage. On account of the great number of bridges neceflary among thefe broken hills, and of the obftinacy with which the engineers (whofe profits increafe by delays and difficulties) perflfl: in carry- ing the road ftrait through rocks and torrents, the work advances 72 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. advances fo flowly, that before a fecond mile be finiChed, the firft is ruined for want of repairs. The country at the foot of the mountains is fertile and populous. About Villa Franca de Panades the foil is re- markably light. The hufbandmen fhovel up the ftubble, weeds, and tops of furrows, into fmall heaps, which they burn, then fpread them out upon the ground, and work them in with a plough, which is little more than a great knife faftened to a lingle flick, that jufl fcratches the fur- face. In this country all the corn is trod out of the flieaf by means of horfes and mules driven backwards and for- wards over it on a ftone or ftucco area. In the evening we pafl'ed by torch-light under a Ro- man arch, which I returned next morning to examine, our inn not being more than a mile beyond it. This arch is almoft entire, elegant in its proportions, and flm- ple in its ornaments ; the gateway lofty ; the entablature is fupported on each iide by four fluted Corinthian pila- fters. All I could read of the infcription was ex test; which Flores, in his Efpana fagrada, makes out to be part <)f EX TESTAMENTO L. LICINII. L. F. SERGII. SURAE CONSECRATUM. This Licinius was thrice conful under Trajan, and was famous for his extraordinary wealth. No reafonable con- jedure KS ■ .f/fS' A K.C Tr~f > V - 1 - ! ) KkK I )l?l^;j t^tm"A ,-„ f r.fn/n^,'^ JM ^ IV ( TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 73 je^ture has been made why he ordered by his will this monument to be eredled, or what was the ufe of it when built. Some think it was the entrance of the Campus Tarraconenfis, and that a wall ran from the fea, which is about half a mile diftant to the fouth-eaft, through the olive-grounds quite up to the hills. There appear fome remnants of a wall in that direction, but I won't pretend to fay they are of fo ancient a date. The next day was the moft delightful of our whole journey. The fun fhone out in all his fplendor ; the fea was fmooth and calm ; the profpect was inceffantly vary- ing as we moved on, fometimes along the rich level on the fhore, where the bufhy heads and glofTy leaves of the loweft trees, contrafted with the pale green of the olive- woods, made it appear quite a fummer fcene ; fometimes over gentle eminences, from which we commanded views of numberlefs bays and promontories, crowned with towers and antique fortifications. The little river Gaya diftributes its waters in ftbne channels to all parts of the valley, and gives vigour to its produdiions, which other- wife would be parched up by the drought. Here the tender olive-fets are nurfed up in long bafkets, till they get out of the reach of goats and other enemies. As we defcended the hill of Bara to the beach, Tarragona pre- fented itfelf to our view, like a ruined fortrefs, on a round point projediing into the fea ; and a little further on we turned off the road to the right, into a wood of pines L and 74 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. and flirubs, to vifi.t a monument that tradition has named the tomb of the Scipios. They were the father and uncle of Scipio Africanus, both killed in Spain. This building is fmall, being about nineteen feet fquare and twenty-eight high. In the front, facing the fea, are two ftatues of warriors in a mournful pofture, roughly cut out of the ftones of the fepulchre, and much worn away by the fea air. The infcription is fo much defaced, that it is hard to make any thing of it : what remains is as follows : ORN...TE...EAQ\'E....L..O...VNVS...VER..BVSTVS...I..S.,NEGL. VI...VA..FL...BVS..SIBI..PERPETVO REMANERE. I think it has been erected by fome prieft, for himfelf and family, as the fragments of the lafh line may be inter- preted in that manner. Some take the firft word of the firft line to have been Cornelius, a name belonging to the Scipios. The top of the monument, which probably ended in a pyramidal form, is fallen off ^ From the heavy fands of the fea-fhore, where a great many fifhermen were hauling in their nets, we afcendcd the naked rock of Tarragona. It produces nothing but the dwarf palm or palmeto. Tfiis plant grows among the ftones to the height of one. or two feet : the leaves are ftiff and fharp, fpread out like fingers, or the fticks of a ■ 5 The tomb of Theronj at Girgenti in Sicily, refembles this in form; fan. yJa^^^[L_ Tomb oftKe 5CIPI05ne..-TS^.,on '775 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 75 fan, and very much refembling the leaves of the date palm. This alfo produces fruit, and the infipid pith of its root is a favourite eating of the peafants. The leaves make good brooms and ropes, and are a great fattener of cattle. The ancient Tarraco is now contracted to a very tri- fling city, that covers only a fmall portion of the Roman inclofure, and is an ill-built, dirty, depopulated place. Many antiquities have been found, and are ilill to be feen in the town, and almoft all round the walls. A few vef- tiges remain of the palace of Auguftus, and of the great circus : an arch or two of the amphitheatre, and fome fteps cut in the folid rock, ftill exift, impending over the fea. About three miles from the city, is the Puente de Ferriera, an ancient aquedud, which we did not go to fee, not having heard of it till we had paiTed, too far on to turn back. Father Flores has given a plate of it. The cathedral, dedicated to Saint Thecla, is ugly, but the new chapel of that tutelar faint is beautiful. The infide is cafed with yellow and brown marbles, dug up in the very center of the tov/n, and ornamented with white foliages and bafs-reliefs. The architecture is accounted heavy, but I confefs I did not think that fault very gla- ring. The whole together has a very plealing effed:. In Queen Anne's war, the Englifh were in poffeflion of this poft, and intended to keep and fortify it, by bring- ing the river Francolis quite round it. For this purpofe L 2 they 76 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. they threw up vaft outworks and redoubts, of which the ruins are yet very vifible. Having fecured Minorca and Gibraltar, they renounced the projed: of fixing a garrifon in Tarragona. From this city we defcended into the Campo Tar- ragones, a plain of about nine miles diameter, one of the moft fruitful fpots in Europe : there is not an uncul- tivated part in the whole extent. The abundance and excellence of its producSlions have induced all the foreign houfes fettled in Barcelona to eftablifh agents and factors at Reus, the principal town, pretty near the center of the plain. Here we have again been loaded with civilities by our friends, and detained fonie days in feafts and amufe- ments. Indeed the crazy vehicle our fervants travel in, contributed much toward the facility with which we yielded to their entreaties ; for, about an hundred yards before we reached this place, both its fliafts fnapped in two, fo that very little, except the hind wheels and fome braces, now remains of the original carriage that left Pafcal's coach-houfe, in the Rue Guenegaud, at Paris. It has blown for three days a moft bitter north wind ; the froft is pinching and the ice thick, but no kind of vegetation feems affeded by it, and the fun fhines out burning hot every day. Reus increafes daily in fize and population 5 the num- ber TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 77 ber of its inhabitants has within thefe fifteen years rifen above two thirds, and now amounts to twenty thou- fand fouls. The fuburbs are already twice as large as the old town. They have begun to build a very pretty theatre, and have engaged a company of comedians. Wines and brandies are the flaple commodities of Reus : of the former, the beft for drinking are produced on the hills belonging to the Carthufians ; thofe of the plain are fitteft for burning. The annual exports are about twenty thoufand pipes of brandy, all very pale, but afterwards, by mixtures in Guernfey and Holland, brought to the proper colour for our market. There are four degrees of proof or ftrength — common, oil, Holland, and fpirit. Brandy of common proof froths in the glafs in pouring out, and remains fo. Oil proof is when oil finks in the brandy. Five pipes of wine make one of ftrong brandy, and four make one of weak. The king's duty is ten pefettas a pipe on the high proofs, and twelve on the low : the town dues come to three fols, and both duties are paid by the exporter. This branch of trade employs about one thoufand ftills in the Campo, of which number the town contains an hundred and fifty. It is all carried in carts, at half a crown a pipe, down to Saloj an open but fafe road five miles off. Here it is left on the beach till it pleafes the Catalan failors to float it off to the fhips : as they are paid by the year, they only work when they choofe, and in fair pleafant weather. 7« TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. weather. Nuts are likewife an article of exportation, upwards of Hxty thoufand bufhels from the woods at the foot of the v/eft mountains having been fhipped off laft year. Every thing here wears the face of buiinefs, but it is greatly at the cxpence of the inland villages, many of which are left almoft deftitiite of inhabitants. Not far behind the mountains that furround this plain "{lands a rich convent of Bernardine monks ; Had the "weather been milder we fhould have paid them a vifit, there being many fine views and natural curiofities in its neighbourhood. As they are far removed from the eye of the world, we have been affured that they lead a moft diffolute life : the immenfe lordfhips they poffefs are faid to ferve as fo many nurferies and feraglios for them, where the wives and daughters of their vafTals are hum- bly devoted to their pleafures. A modefi: woman would run great rifk of being infulted by the lufty friars, fhould fhe venture within their territories without proper attend- ance. Some years ago, a fet of wild young officers, who owed the holy fathers a grudge, carried thither a bevy of common (trumpets dreft out like ladies, and contrived matters fo, that while the men of the party went up the hills to fee profpeds, the females were left to be com- forted by the Bernardines, The hot-livered monks em- ployed the time of abfence to the befi: advantage, but fmarted fo feverely for the favours they obtained from the good-humoured nymphs, that for many months after- wards TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 79 wards the chief dignitaries of the houfe were difperfed about in the neighbouring towns, under the care of the barber-furgeons. LETTER XL Nules, November 29, 1775. YOU will not find upon the common maps the name of the place I date this from, though it is a confi- derable town, inclofed with walls and towers alia morifca^ with two handfome fuburbs. This is all I can tell you of it,, as we are juft arrived by moon-light. I am now melting with heat, and fitting clofe to the window for air, but I fear the twanging of a wretched guitar will foon drive me away. How wonderfully fortunate we have been in the weather ! not a drop of rain on the road from Perpignan hither, and we are to reach Valencia to- morrow. Laft Saturday we took an affedionate leave of our friends, and left Reus loaded with provifions of all forts. The road through the plain hollow and bad, the view confined on every fide by groves of locufl and olive trees, till we entered the defart near the fea-fhore, at a ruined So TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. a ruined tower called the Cafa yerma. In the afternoon we came through a rocky pafs under the fort of Balaguer, lately built to command the defile and the coaft. The evening journey lay among bleak uncomfortable hills, covered with low fhrubs, where nothing but the profpedl of the fea, and watch-towers placed as beacons along the fhore, afforded the leaft variety ; the road moft abomi- nably rough and trying for carriages. The approach of night, and the danger of venturing in fuch broken ways in the dark, obliged us to ftop at the Venta del Platero, a hovel that beggars all defcription ; fo fuperlatively wretched, that I thought an exa6l drawing of its out- ward appearance would be a real curiofity. We were lodged in part of a ground-floor, the remainder of which was occupied by the mules and pigs ; the fervants flept in the carriages. A pool of water behind the houfe, and above the level of our floor, made our apartment fo damp, that the next morning our cloaths might have been wrung. Thanks to the wholefomenefs of the cli- mate, we felt no bad effects from it. Several companies of fifhermen, that hawk their fifli about thefe fcattered cottages, kept all night a perpetual knocking at the gate of our court, and brought to my mind very lively ideas of the enchanted caftles of Don Quixote. As foon as it was light we left our inn, and found the wafte grow more and more barren. The fteepnefs and . roughnefs of the defcents made the road exceilively jolt- ing TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 8i ing and dangerous ; the chaifes cracked and groaned, and we either rode on horfeback, or walked, all the way. Torrents that rufh from the adjoining ridge of moun- tains, after every heavy fhower, have fwept away all bridges and caufeways, and wafhed the road to the very rock. We paffed through Parillo, a fmall village, which is the ufual baiting-place, and feems, by the ruins near it, to have been formerly a place of greater confequence than it is at prefent. In a few hours we emerged from this defart, which is at leaft ten leagues long. In fome places it pro- duces locuffc and olive trees, which, when the under- wood is cleared away, and the earth moved about the roots, become produdive of good fruit. A little turn. of the road to the weft brought us in fight of the mouth of the Ebro, which appears to wafte itfelf before it reaches the fea, by running through various channels, in a tra6t of flat lands containing near one hundred thoufand acres. This land is very capable of improvement, and the mini- ftry have actually before them a plan for draining thefe grounds, and properly diftributing the wafte water for the purpofes of cultivation. There are two good harbours at the mouth of the river, which is navigable for veftels of fifty tons, up as far as Tortofa, and for fmall craft much higher, into the kingdom of Arragon. The waters of the Ebro, though muddy, are conftantly drunk by the inha- bitants ; the flime they leave after great floods is eftecmed M as S2, TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. as beneficial to the lands they overflow as thofe of the Nile are to Egypt. The rich narrow vale along the banks is laid out in corn-fields and mulberry-plantations. An amphitheatre of bleak gloomy mountains fhuts up the valley to the weft, where the river makes its way through a narrow breach in the vaft chain of rocks. Juft before we entered Tortofa, we met the bifhop of that fee, clad in the plain Ample manner of the inferior clergy of the province. His lank black hair was cut clofe to his ears, and covered by a great hat, fqueezed up on each fide into the form of a boat. The order of bifhops in this king- dom leads a very exemplary life, much retired from the world, expending their great revenues in feeding the poor, building and endowing churches, convents, and hofpitals, and allowing very fcantily for their own ex- pences. Their charity, however laudable as to the inten- tion, is certainly moft prejudicial to the public welfare, as it encourages beggary and idlenefs ; for who will work in a country where he is fure of a good dinner every day at the gates of a monaftery or palace, befides the chance of occafional alms ; and where the foftnefs of the climate renders cloaths and lodging objedis of luxury rather than of prime neceflity. Perhaps it would be better for Spain, were its prelates as extravagant as thofe of France, as their wealth would then be divided among the indu- llrious and honeft, and not lavifhed to fupport the exift- ence of the idle, and often of the profligate, In fpite of TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. S$ fo good an example, the inferior clergy, and above all the monks, (one or two orders excepted) are notorious for the loofenefs of their morals. The biiliopric of Tor- tofa is worth about thirty thoufand dollars a year. A little further on we came to a liquorice-work, car- ried on by an Englifhman. The liquorice plant grows in great plenty on all the low grounds near the river. He employs above an hundred hands in gathering it, and about fifteen at conftant work in the mills. Fie pays a certain fum to the proprietors of thofe lands, yet fuch is their envy, that this feafon they would not fuffer him to pluck a iingle flick, though the lofs falls upon them- felves, and the very extraction of the root brings the ground almofl: to a ftate of cultivation. This confpiracy obliged him to fend up into Arragon for liquorice, at a great additional expence. Much of it alfo is found about Villanova, and other places along the coaft. Four hundred tons of root make fifty of cake, which in Eng- land fells at about three pounds fifteen fhillings per hun- dred weight : this year he expedts to export about that quantity. Tortofa is an ugly town on the declivity of a hill, north of the Ebro, over which there is a bridge of boats. Its commerce in filk and corn is but at a low ebb. We purchafed of fome nuns the moft delicate filk gloves I ever beheld, made of what they call the flower of filk. We next traverfed the rich vale of Garena, where the M 2 olive- 84 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. olive-trees grow to a great Hze, their luxuriant branches not being fo clofely pollarded as in France. Here the peafants wear the Valencian drefs, which differs totally from that of Catalonia ; a monftrous llouched hat, cropt hair without a net,, a fliort brown jacket, white waift- coat and trowfers, ftockings gartered below the knee, and packthread fandals. At the paffage of the Cenia, a pretty brook in winter, but dry in fummer, we entered the kingdom of Valen- cia. After croiling a large tra£t of heath, we came to the fea~fhore, which is beautifully planted to the wa- ter-edge with olive, mulberry, fig, and algarrobo trees. We found a rich red foil, and vineyards neatly trimmed in rows, without ftakes, in the diflridl of Benicarlo, a fmall place entirely fupported by the wine trade. Eight thoufand pipes of a very ftrong, fweet, red wine, bought in the country at the rate of five guineas per pipe, are annually fliipped in this road for Holland, Germany, and Bourdeaux, where they are mixed with the fecond-rate claret, to give it colour and body. The wine for Bour-r deaux is conveyed along the coaft to Cette, on board Spanifli barks, which .are exempt from all duties on exportation. By reafon of their apprehenfions of Moorifh corfairs, and the chance of bad weather, they come to an anchor every night, and commonly make it a voyage of a month at leaft. At Cette thefe wines are put upon the great canal of Languedoc, and fmuggled into Bour- deaux TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 8s deaux as high-country wines ; for foreign ones are not allowed to be entered at that port. A fociety of mariners' float all the cafks from Benicarlo to the fhips, and, from the time of their taking charge of them, become anfwer^ able for all loffes by weather or mifmanagement. A good deal of wine goes likewife from Vinaros, a neighbouring town to the north ; but the quality of that wine is much inferior to thofe of Benicarlo and Penifcola, a tov/n and fort fituated fouth of Benicarlo, on a rock in the fea, where the famous antipope, Peter de Luna, took refuge. In this plain they fuffer much for want of water; the vintage is frequently diminifhed by the exceffive heats, which dry up all the fprings. It was once in agitation to bring a canal from the Ebro to water this country,- but the project ended in fmoke, like feveral others pro- pofed for the amelioration of many parts of Spain. Wherever they can procure water from wells, by means of a wheel turned by a mule, they have fine vegetables all the year. They cut lucerne every week in fpring, and every fortnight in winter, and mix it with the fweet bean of the locuft, for the provender of their mules. Provifions are very fcarce here, no kind of meat being killed, except kid. In fpring, goats milk is plentiful ; but the peafants in the adjacent mountains live moft part of the year upon the roafted acorns of the ever-green oak, a food which we found furprifingly favoury and pa- latable, 86 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. latable, but not very nourifliing. The gentlemen, pro- prietors of vineyards, refide up in the mountain villages, in a poor ftyle, always diftreffed for money, notwith- ftanding the fure and ready fale of their wines. The fea hereabouts is full of fliarks. From Benicarlo we had much flony road, alternately Ikirting the fhore, or climbing up wild rocky hills. Few vales furpafs in beauty that of Margal, a noble plain, full of trees, villages, and towns. The fea forms a pi^lurefque bay before it, and the mountains run behind in a vaft femicircle. The locuft and olive trees are old and branchy, the foil deep, and the grounds fertile, as being well drenched with water. We dined at Caftillon de la Liana, the largeft and beft built town in our route. The women are very ugly, and render themfelves ftill more uncomely, by frizzling their hair all round the forehead, and twifting it on the crown of the head round, a nafty brafs bodkin. Villa Real is another large town, near the Mijares, a river of a green colour, in a large plain. The moment we entered this petty kingdom of Valen- cia, we began to feel a fenlible change in the climate : the days are troublefomely hot, the nights foft and mild, -like our fine fummer evenings. Early and late in the day I walk an hour or two, to enjoy the fweetnefs of the morning and evening breeze, and contemplate at leifure the enchanting profpeds along the calm Mediterranean. The numberlefs creeks and bays, the bold promontories, with TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 87 with each its flender tower, of various fhapes and dimen- fions, the green woody vales, with rocks impending over them, are fcenes that can feldom be met with, and never outdone in any country, and fuch as no defcription of mine can do juftice to. But, as all human pleafure is allayed with fome mixture of pain and diftrefs, thefe charming coafts are not without their calamities ; till lately, they were cruelly infeiled by the Barbary rovers, who frequently cut barks out of their roads, and carried off whole families from the fmall villages. At prefent Barcelo keeps fo fliarp a look-out, that their appearance is lefs frequent in thefe feas. The fcarcity of water is another misfortune, and feverely felt almofb every fum- mer. Of the innumerable beds of rivers and torrents that we have croffed between. Barcelona and Nules, fix only have any water in them, viz. the Llobregat^ Gaya, Francolis, Ebro, Cenia, and Mijares : two of thefe are dry during the hot weather. Hereabouts the little canals from the hills fupply the lands with a gi'eater plenty of water. All thefe nights pafl we have heard the people iinging doleful ditties under our windows, to the found of a guitar, which they flirike v/ith their nails, without any notion of air, but merely as a kind of an accompa- niment, fometimes high, fometimes low, but very coarfe and monotonous. I can compare their mufic to nothing fo well as to the beating of a frying-pan, to call down a fwarm of bees, LETTER S8 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. LETTER XII. Valencia, November 30, 1775. HIS morning, like many of the foregoing ones, was delicious ; the fun rofe glorioufly out of the fea, and the air all around was perfumed with the efflu- via of the aloe, as its rays fucked up the dew from the leaves. From an eminence we had a noble view of the valley of Almenara, a kind of land bay, furrounded by lofty mountains, and adorned with fix pretty towns, riling out of the bofom of a foreft of dark and light greens, varied in a multitude of tints. The long range of turrets upon the hill of Murviedro (once the too faithful Saguntum) juts out towards the fea, from the chain of mountains that runs parallel with the coaft, and divides the vale of Almenara from that of Valencia. We halted at Murviedro, to view the ruins of fo cele- brated a city, and to take drawings of its moft remark- able remains. The prefent town is very confiderable, and feems to ftand upon the fame ground as the ancient Roman city, but in all probability the Saguntum which was dellroyed by Hannibal was built upon the fummit of the hill. That the Romans alfo had a fortrefs on the top, TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 89 top, is clear, from the large ftones and regular mafonry, upon which the Saracens afterwards eredted their cafcle. Half way up the rock are the ruins of the theatre, in fuiEcient prefervation to give a tolerable idea of its fize and diftribution. It is an exad; femicircle, about eighty- two yards diameter from outfide to outfide ; the length of the orcheftra, or inner diameter, twenty-four : the feats for the audience, the ftaircafes, and pafTages of communication, the vomitoria, and arched porticoes, are ftill eafy to trace. The back part refts againft the hill, and fome of the galleries are cut out of the rock. Two walls going off at an angle ferve to turn off the rain-wa- ter that wafhes down from the cliff behind. As the fpeftators faced the north and eaft, and were fheltered from the weft and fouth, nothing could be more agree- able in this climate than fuch a place of entertainment ; open to every pleafant and falubrious breeze, and de- fended from all winds that might bring with them heat or noxious vapours. It is computed that nine thoufand per- fons might aflift without inconvenience at the exhibitions in this theatre. I paffed fome time in taking an oblique drawing of the prefent appearance of the ruins ; but, in fpite of all my attention, I found it a very difficult tafk, the heaps of rubbifh, broken porticoes, and vaults, and remnants of walls, creating fuch a perplexity, that my «ye could fcarcely diftinguifh the proper form and iitua- tion of each objed. The lilence that reigns in this N auguft 90 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, augufb ruin, which anciently refounded with the applaufea of proconfuls, and Roman citizens, is now broken only by th.Q feguidilias of a few rope-makers, who have patch- ed up a ftraw fhed againfl the ftage, and fpin out their work acrofs the profcenium^ regardlefs of the furrounding fcenery ^ From the theatre we climbed up to the fummit of the mountain, which is about half a mile in length, and not a tenth part as wide ; quite a narrow ridge,, covered with ruins and Moorifh bulwarks. A few uninterefting in- fcriptions, two mutilated ftatues, the veftiges of the floor of a temple, and fome Roman arches thrown over a large ciftern, are all the antiquities we found. One of the in- * In the Latin Letters of Em. Marti, dean of Alicant, written about the year 1720, is along and learned differtation on this theatre. He gives the fol- lowing meafures : — ■Perimeter of the femi-circle, 564palmosj diameter, 330; diameter of the orcheftra, 94 ; height from the orcheftra to the top of the higheft wall remaining, 1444- j breadth of the upper portico, i54:i height, 1 24 i diftance of the pulpitum from the orcheftra, 1 2 ; height of the pulpi- tum, 6^ 5 diftance from the orcheftra to the fcena, 28 j breadth of the pro- fcenium, 12; breadth of the pulpitum, 164. The palmo he ufes contains about nine Englifti inches. He adds, that great part of this theatre is ftill entire ; and that we ftiould fee it in a much more perfefl: ftate, if the barba- rous hands of the Morviedrefe had fpared it as much as time has done ; for they have purpofely deftroyed this ancient monument, by wrenching off all the cafing-ftones for the purpofes of building convents. There is no doubt but they intended to demolifti the whole, if the obftinate hardnefs of the ce- ment had not wearied them out. Marti extorted from the magiftrates a public decree, inflidtive of fevere penalties on all fuch as fhould injure it in any manner whatfoever, fcriptions TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 91 fcriptions is placed topfy-turvy over a gate. The fortifi- catioi;s divide the hill into feveral courts, v^ith double and triple walls, eredted upon huge maffes of rock, laid in regular courfes, by the Romans. The charadteriftics of the Moorifh military architediure : — A wall built by means of fquare forms of wood, into which a mortar, compofed of pebbles mixed with a ftrong cement, is run, and left a certain time to harden ; then the boards are taken away, but the marks remain, and give the wall an appearance of regular mafonry. Battlements perpendicularly placed on the wall, not projeding over, nor with borders round, as in the Norman and Gothic caftles, where the hollows behind the battlements ferved to throw ftones and com- buflibles through, as the enemy approached to fcale them. A gateway turned in an arch, neither pointed like what we call Gothic, nor femicircular like the Grecian ; but one, the parts of which refting upon the impofts, come much farther in towards each other, and form the figure of a horfefhoe. Sometimes, but very feldom, the Moors employed ftones of a large fize, and more regular cut ; and fome few of their arches may be found that are fharp like the Gothic ; but I fufped them to be of the latter times of the Moorifh empire in Spain. What was wanting in interefting antiquities in the caftle, was amply made up to us in piofped, which was fo furprifingly fine, that I dare hardly attempt to fpecify its beauties, left you fljould think me too eafily enrap- N 2 tured, 92 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. tured, or too unequal to the tafk of imparting to others the fenfations it raifed in me. This lafl accufation I plead guilty to, for no pen can convey an adequate idea of this view, and few painters ever poffefled that richnefs of touch, and clearnefs of manner, fuch a fubjedl would require. The vale of Almenara, on the north, is fo de- lightful, that from any other ftation it would have en- grolTed all our attention ; but we foon negledled its beau- ties, and, gliding rapidly over the immenfe volume of fea ftretched out before us to the eaftward, where the fun-^ beams played in full force, we fixed our eyes on the almoft boundlefs plain of Valencia, that lay to the fouth. It is four leagues in breadth from the fea to the hills, in the wideft part, and in length five times that extent, lofing itfelf in a ridge of diftant mountains. The yellow green of the mulberry plantations, and the paler hue of the olive-trees, regularly planted in fields of bright green corn ; that regularity now and then broken by large plots of dark-coloured algarrobos ; villages and convents, thick fcattered over this great expanfe, with numberlefs gay flender fteeples ; the city of Valencia, about twelve miles oft, with all its fpires : thefe objects, united, form the moft inimitable landfcape it is poflible to conceive. The day was fo clear, the air fo pure, as to add in- finitely to the charm.s of the profpe£t. Hannibal is a great favourite of mine, but I cannot forgive him for having dealt fo hardly by fo fweet a place : had he come TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 93 come upon this hill in fuch a day as this, the foftnefs of the air, and beauty of the view, would have melted the obduracy of his heart, and opened it to pity and forgive- nefs. From hence to Valencia is one perfedt garden, fo thick of trees, that there is no feeing at any diflance on either iide. Villages and monafteries every hundred yards, and fuch crouds of people on the road, as I fcarce ever faw but in the neighbourhood of London, All the grounds are divided into fmall compartments by water-channels, the work of the Moors, who underftood the art of water- ing land in the utmoft perfection. The ruinous ffcate thefe drains are now in, proves the indolence and infe- riority of the prefent proprietors ; what little fkill they ftill fliew in agriculture is nothing but the traditional re- mains of the inftrudtions left by their mafters in huf- bandry, the Arabians. Our pleafurable ideas were a little ruffled by the fight of fome hundreds of women in the villages, fitting in the fun louling each other, or their hufbands and children. When a young woman con- defcends to feek for lice in a man's head, it is fuppofed that the lall favours have been granted by the fair one, or at leaft that he may have them for a/king. Valencia is lituated in fo dead and woody a flat, that we were in the fubfirbs before we thought ourfelves near it, and, having made half the round of the walls, came 94 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. came to an inn on the Alicant road, as it was late, and we did not choofe to be detained at the gates by the enftomhoufe officers. LETTER XIII. Valencia, December 3, 1775. OUR firfl morning here pafled very ftrangely, in a vifit to the old intendant of the province, to whom we brought a letter of recommendation from his confrere of Catalonia. The old ufurer, whofe figure refembles that of the bandy-legged apothecary in Ho- garth's Marriage a la mode^ received us very ungra- cioufly, took our letter and flung it on the table, with- out faying a word to us, or even oflcring us a feat. Having waited feme time, we began to look at each other and laugh. Upon this the intendant looked up, and alked me if we v/ere not Catalans ? No, replied I, we are Englifli gentlemen upon our travels. This anfwer produced a wonderful effed. Oh, oh, you come from a better country ; Can I be of any fervice to you ? Bring thefe gentlemen chairs. Do you choofe to take any re=- freilimtnt? TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 95 frefliment ? faid he, pulling off his hat with great reve- rence, and making us a mod profound bow. We afked him for the only thing we flood in need of, a protection, againft the people of the cuftomhoufes, who, though they do not meddle with your baggage, pefler you at every gate for fomething to drink, or buy tobacco with. The intendant's charader is very little refpefted, nor in- deed does it deferve the love or efteem of the Valencians, if the traits they relate be true. Many are the ftcries they tell of his avarice and hardnefs of heart ; but one will fuiEce to fet him in his proper light. Not long ago he was coniined to his bed by a fevere fit of illnefs, and pofitive orders were given, that he fhould not be dif- turbed by applications, petitions, or any thing appertain- ing to his employment. It fo happened, that a tradef- man who had been taken up for fmuggling, and kept ir^ prifon for fome weeks, was difcoversd to be perfeftly in- nocent of the crime laid to his charge. One of the magi- firates thought, that for fo juft a caufe as that of reftoring an honeft man to his liberty, and to his diftreffed and in- digent family, whofe very exiftence depended upon his induftry, he might venture to break through the in- jundion of the intendant, and accordingly procured ad- mittance, and prefented the proper paper requifite to be iigned, before the jailor could deliver up his prifoner. As foon as the old rogue underftood the purport of the vifit, he flew into a moll violent rage, and obflinately refufed 96 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. refufed to fign. Another officer, feeing the door open, took that opportunity of handing up an order for the commitment of a fellow that had been detedted in illicit pradlices. The intendant no fooner read it, than he called for a pen, and fet his hand to it with great plea- fure, at the fame time perfilling in his refufal to comply with the firft requeft. We fhall leave Valencia to-morrow, being heartily tired of our quarters. The climate is mild and pleafant, but there is fomething faintiili and enervating in the air. Every thing we eat is infipid, and void of fubftance ; the greens, wine, and meat, feem the artificial forced pro- ductions of continual waterings and hot-beds. It puts me in mind of the IJle frivole of the Abbe Coyer, where things were fo feeble and unfubftantial, that they were little better than the fhadows of what they are in other countries. Here a man may labour for an hour at a piece of mutton, and, when he has tired his jaws, find he has been only chewing the idea of a dinner. The meat, as foon as cut into, yields abundance of gravy, and may be faid to bleed a fecond time to death, for nothing remains but a mere withered caput mortuum^ as our fervants know "by woful experience. Vegetables, with the fineft outward ihew imaginable, tafte of nothing but water. This wafliy quality feems alfo to infed the bodies and minds of the Valencians : they are largely built, and perfonable \XiZi\ but flabby and inanimate. We have feen no wo- men TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 97 men out at work in the fields ; but this may proceed from their conftant employment within doors, as much as from any remnants of the Moorifh jealoufy, though the Valencians ftill retain much of the features and man- ners of their old Saracen mafters. To this day the farm- ers won't allow their wives to fit at table, but make them fliand at their elbow and wait upon them. The Caftillians and Catalans hold the Valencians in fovereign contempt, and ftigmatize them with many opprobrious appellations, dictated, as we mufh in charity fuppofe, by the rancour of national antipathy. The inhabitants of this province are faid to have more of the filth, and ful- len unpolifhed manners of the old Spaniards, and to have adopted lefs of foreign improvements in civilization, than moft other parts of Spain. They firut about all day in redicillas, or nets, monftrous hats, and dark-brown cloaks, which give the crowd in the llreets the appear- ance of a funeral proceflion. Scarce any fociety is kept up amongft them, tho' the falubrity of the climate, and reafons of oeconomy, induce feveral very confiderable fa- milies to make this city the place of their abode. In fome ftrange way or other they fpend very large incomes, without doing themfelves the leaft credit. Their chief expence lies in fervants, mules, and equipages ; low, ob- fcure amours often confume the beft part of their for- tunes j and they live in fo pitiful a manner, that moft O part 98 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN*. part of them fend out to the wiae-vault for a pint oT wine to their meals. This city is large, and almoft circular ; its lofty walls have towers remaining in one quarter, the reft have been demoliflied : a fine broad road goes quite round : the two fuburbs are confiderable. Several large, clumfy bridges crofs the bed where the river fhould run ; but either from drought, or from the many bleedings it un^ dergoes above, for the purpofe of watering the fields., there is fcarce water enough in the Guadaviar to wafh a handkerchief; but in rainy feafons the floods are very tremendous. The captain-general refides in the fuburbs, in an uncouth Gothic palace, at the entrance of the Alameda^ a long double avenue of poplars, cyprefles, and palms, where, on great feftivals, the nobility take the air in their coaches. About a mile below is the Grao, or port of Valencia, which, properly fpeaking, is only an open road, the mole having been long ago fwept away by fome violent ftorm. The dufty highway from the city hither is the fafhionable drive; and, for the accommodation of fuch as have no carriages of their own, feveral fingle-horfe chairs wait at all hours at the gates. This vehicle is very uneafy, and open to all weathers ; but the horfes are excellent, and run along like lightning. The driver fits fideways at your feet, and all the way keeps chattering to the horfe, and TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 99 and patting him on the buttock. Having occafion one day for a coach to carry us about, the ftable-boy of our inn offered his fervices, and in a quarter of an hour brought to the door a coach and four fine mules, with two poftiliions and a lacquey, all in flaming live- ries ; we found out they belonged to a countefs, who, like the reft of the nobility, allows her coachman to let out her equipage when flie has no occafion for it : it coft us about nine fiiillings, which no doubt was the perquifite of the fervants. The ftreets of Valencia are crooked and narrow ; no^ being paved, they are full of duft in dry weather, and in wet knee-deep in mud. The reafon alledged for this fcandalous negledt, is, that by thefe means a greater quantity of manure is produced, which, in a plain fo full of gardens, is of ineftimable value. Various and over- powering are the ftinks that rife up in every corner ; in which refpedt, as well as in many others, this country refembles Lombardy. The houfes are filthy, ill built, and ruinous ; moft of the churches tawdry, and loaded with barbarous orna- ments both without and within ; the moft agreeable ar- chited;ure I met with, is in the church of the Efcuelas piasy and of nueftra Senora de los Defamparados^ both rotundas. In the multitude of facred edifices, fome may be found that excel in particular parts ; as, one may pleafe the eye by the juft proportions of its dimenfions, another O 2 ftrike loo TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. ftrike by the richnefs .of its marbles and paintings ; but in all, the judicious obferver will be difgufted with loads of garlands, pyramids, broken pediments, and monftrous cornices ; a tafte too gothic and trifling for any thing but the front of a mountebank's booth, or a puppet-fliew in a fair. Some churches have domes, but the greater part tall flender turrets, painted and bedecked with all forts of pilafters and whimlical devices : every thing is gilt and bedaubed with incredible profufion ; the Spaniards underftand the gilder's buflnefs perfedly, and the purity of their gold, with the drynefs of the climate, preferves their work for years in its primitive luftre. The convent of the Francifcan friars has fomething very grand and pleaflng in its double court, which is divided by a light wing, upon an open portico, with fountains playing in each diviflon. The cathedral is a large gothic pile ; its archbifhopric one of the beft in Spain, faid to bring in about forty thoufand pounds fterling a year, paid in cafh into the hands of two receivers. The revenues of Toledo are much greater, but alfo more troublefome to colle6t, and more precarious, as being paid in kind, and requiring a great number of bailiffs and fervants. The prefent arch- biihop of Valencia, as well as the laft one, is the fon of a peafant ; the ruling pailion of both has been convent building : the late prelate built and endowed a magnifi- i&etlt habitation for the Francifcans, the champions of the. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. lor the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary ; the prefent archbifliop, whofe fcholaftic tenets are diametri- cally oppofed to thofe of his predeceiTor, has done as much for the fathers of th.Q-Efcuelas pias. Priefts, nuns, and friars, of every drefs and denomina- tion, fwarm in this city, where fome convents have more than an hundred monks, all richly provided for^ Among the profane buildings, many of which are prettily fet ofF with painted architedure, after the Italian manner, the palaces of Dofaguas and "Jura real deferve the mod notice ; the former for its ftatues and frefco- paintings, the latter for the elegant fimplicity of its. front. The Lonja, or exchange, is a very noble gothic hall,, built about the latter end of the fifteenth century, with; all the beauty and richnefs that ftyle is fufceptible of. The cuilom-houfe, where the intendant and other of&cers of the revenue are lodged, is a new large edifice in a great fquare, a very clumfy mafs of brick and^ ftone. This kingdom and city were conquered by the Moors= under Abdallah Ciz, and loft by them in 1094, whenr the famous Cid Ruy dias de Vivar, taking advantage of the confufion and civil war that raged in Valencia, after the murder of Sultan Hiaya, made himfelf mafter of the city by ftorm, at the head of a chofen^ band of valiant knights. This was the laft exploit of that hero,, fo. 102 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, fo long the terror of the mufTulmen. A few years after his death, the king of Caftille, finding it too far diftant from his other dominions to be conveniently fuccoured in cafe of a fudden attack, thought proper to withdraw his troops, and fuffer the Moors to repoffefs themfelves of it. It was again taken from them by James the Firft, king of Arragon, in the year 1238, and for ever united to that crown, the fate of which it has ever fince fol- lowed through all its various revolutions. In the begin- ning of the reign of Charles the Fifth, this province was .diftraded by civil commotions and flruggles between the nobility and commons. Since the laft conqueft, Valencia has been much en- larged ; for the gate through which the Cid made his .triumphal entry, is now very near the center of the town. The number of inhabitants is computed at one hun- dred thoufand ; but, to fpeak more exactly, according to the laft authentic enumeration, made in 1768, which allows four perfons to each 'vecino^ at twenty thcufand is^ecinos, or fathers of families ; which makes the number to be eighty thoufand inhabitants. The population of the whole kingdom of Valencia amounts to one hundred and feventy-nine thoufand two hundred and twenty-one vecinos, or feven hundred and fixteen thoufand eight hundred and eighty-four fouls, refident in five hundred 5nd feventy towns and villages. The manufadures of filk TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 10;^ filk are the caufe of a population that may be reckoned confiderable, if compared to that of other provinces of Spain. The produce of this article came this year to one million pounds, but one year with another the ave- rage quantity is about nine hundred thoufand pounds, worth a doubloon a pound in the country. The crop of iilk this laft feafon was very abundant. Govern- ment has prohibited the exportation of Valencian raw filk, in order to lay in a flock to keep the artificers con- ftantly employed in bad years ; for it has happened in fome, that half the workmen have been laid idle for want of materials. As they are not fo ftrid about Murcian filk, which is of an inferior quality, I am told that fome from Valencia is fent out of Spain under that denomina- tion. The great nurferies of mulberry- plants, in this plain, are produced from feed, obtained by rubbing a rope of effarto over heaps ot ripe mulberries, and then burying the rope two inches under ground. As the young plants come up, they are drawn and tranfplanted. The trees, which are all of the white kind, are afterwards fet out in rows in the fields, and pruned every fecond year. In Murcia, only every third year, and in Granada never. The Granadine filk is efteemed the befi: of all ; and the trees are all of the black fort of mulberry. The fruit exported from Valencia to the north of Europe may be eftimated, commtcnibtis annis, at two mil- lions. 104 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. lions of pefosj about three hundred and thirty-four thou- fand pounds. The annual crop of hemp may be worth three hun- dred thoufand pefos, at three pefos per arroba. One hundred and forty thoufand loads of rice, at ten pefos a load, make one million four hundred thoufand pefos. The vintage of 1767 produced four million three hundred and nine thoufand meafures of wine, which, at three reals a meafure, come to about eight hundred and iixty-one thoufand one hundred and thirty-three pefos. There is alfo much cotton made in this province, from the cotton-plant, which rifes to the height of three feet at moft, and very much refembles the rafp- berry-bufh. They make in good years four hundred and fifty thoufand arrobas, worth one million three hundred and fifty thoufand pefos, and in middling years two hun- dred and eighty-five thoufand fix hundred arrobas. Notwithftanding all this abundance, nothing can be more wretched than the Valencian peafantry, who can with difficulty procure food to keep their families from ftarving. We were laft night at the play, which gave us no very refped;able opinion of the tafte and politenefs of a Va- lencian audience. The houfe was low, dark, and dirty ; the adors execrable ; and the pit full of men in cloaks and TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 105. and night-caps, driving fuch puffs of tobacco out of their cigarros, as filled the whole room with fmoke, and at laft forced us to make a precipitate retreat. We there met with our old acquaintance the duke of C. P. who a few. months ago came poft from France, to embark for the expedition againft Algiers. When he arrived at Valencia,, he found the fleet was failed, and an order for him to remain in exile here. The derangement of his finances, and fome amorous connections, have procured him this, order from court. His fate is truly ludicrous, but he did not drop the leafl hint to U5 of this unkind return for hi& patriotic fpirit, and eagernefs to ferve the king. LETTER XIV. Alicant, December 8j lyyj, E fet out early on Monday morning, without regretting in the leaft the rich gardens or bril- liant fky of Valencia, which would be an admirable laft retreat for our confumptive countrymen, were the ap- proach by fea or land lefs difficult. We travelled that day in a plain, as fertile as nature and frequent waterings can render it. At fome miles P diftancg io6 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. diftance from the city the foil is a red, fandy loam ; near the Albufera, a lake about four leagues long, it is very fhallow, and communicates with the fea only as often as they open the iluices, to let in a fupply of water in dry feafons, or to give vent to the overcharge of water brought down in winter by the land floods. On the edge of it are falt-pans. It fupplies the city with fifh and water- fowl. Once or twice in a feafon all the fhooters in the country aflemble upon it in boats, and make prodigious havock among the flocks of birds, that almoft cover the furface of the pond. Sometimes they meet with flamingos here. Before we arrived at Alzira, a large town in an ifland of the Xucar, a deep, muddy river, we crofled a large trad; of land aftonifliingly fruitfuL The peas and beans in the fields were very high, and in full blow. The huf- bandmen ufe in their tillage a fhovel-plough, with which they turn the foil from the roots of the olive-trees, that they may benefit by the nioifture of the feafon. We were ilopped feveral times by long droves of mules, car- rying corn to Valencia ; their conductors, mofl favage- looking fellows, all clad in leather ; their broad belts were faflened round their waift with feven buckles. In the afternoon, at the entrance of a more moun- tainous country, we came to the rice-grounds, now in flubble. The procefs of that tillage is as follows : — In winter, they plow out a piece of land, and fow it with beans that TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 107 that come into bloflbm about March, when they plow them in for manure ; water is then let in upon the ground about four inches deep. It next undergoes a third ploughing, after which the rice is fown. In fifteen days it comes up about five inches out of the earth, and is pulled up, tyed in bundles about a foot diameter, and carried to another well-prepared field, covered with wa- ter to the depth of four inches. Here each planter fets the plants of his bundle in the mud, in rows at about a foot diftance one from another. Every ftem ought to produce irom ten to twenty-four fold, and grow fo cloie, that the ears may touch. When ripe, it is gathered in fheaves, and put into a water-mill, where the lower grinding-ftone is covered with cork ; by which means the chaff is feparated from the grain without bruifing. The rice of Valencia is yellower than that of the Levantj but much wholefomer, and will keep longer without growing mufty. We entered the highlands, and came to lie at Xativa^ which was a ftrong fortrefs, till deftroyed by Philip the Fifth, who ordered it to be rebuilt by the name of San^ Felipe. That monfter Rodrigo Borgia, pope by the name of Alexander the Sixth, was a native of this town. The farmers hereabouts have a very fturdy, good-looking :^ breed of horfes. Our route from San Felipe lay up long winding vales^, between ridges of high bleak mountains. On the right P 3. hand. idS TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. hand ftands the caftle of Montefa, head of the military order of Montefa, inftituted in 1 317, by James the Se- cond king of Arragon, after he had driven the Moors as far back as the territories of Granada. All the pofTefTions of the knight- templars in the province were beftowed upon the new order, into which none but natives of Va- lencia were to be admitted. They wear a plain red crofs. The commanderies belonging to the foundation are thir- teen in number ; and their yearly income, according to -the king's books, w^here they are very low rated, amounts to four hundred and four thoufand one hundred and twelve reales de vellon. In 1748, an earthquake over- threw the caftle, and all the adjacent buildings ; burying under the ruins the greateft part of the chaplains, fervi- tors, &c. belonging to the congregation. The remainder were removed to Valencia, where a new church is build- ing for their ufe. We did nothing the whole day but afcend through .<5live plantations, pine forefts, and bare chalky hills, up the courfe of a little brook, till we came to its fource, ■which breaks out in the middle of a town on the con- fines of Caftille. Hitherto, the olives I have feen are all •of the fmaller fort. Next morning the froft was very fmart on the high, bare hills, where there is much corn-land, but no trees ; ihe farm-houfes are fcattered about pretty much as they in the uninclofed parts of England. Juft uc TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 109 Juft as we were going into Villena, a little, round, iquat figure, in a brown montero cap, jacket, and breeches, with a yellow waiftcoat, caught my eye. It is not poflible to paint a better Sancho Panca ; and we were a<5tually in a corner of the country of that 'fquire, which makes me conclude Cervantes drew the pidure from real life, in fome of his journies through La Mancha. All the inhabitants of the town wear the fame drefs, which is neat enough. The caftle of Villena is large, well fituated, and has been ftrong. I never faw a country fo full of ruined towers, as thefe fkirts of Valencia and Caftille ; not a village without its rocca perched upon fome almoft inacceffible cliff; none more lingular than that of Sax. The hills here are broken, the landfcape bleak ; but about Elda the plain is improved to the beft advantage. We paffed by a firing of ponds and caves, where the inhabitants of that town keep their provifioii of ice, for the fummer's confumption. As there was a thin coat of ice on the furface of the water, they were very bufy carrying it off with the greateft expedition, left a fudden thaw iliould deprive them of it. Before we came into the plain of Montfort, we had a vile piece of road, through a broken range of marly hills. We now found the llyle of falutation quite altered.. Hi- therto the peafants were wont to accoft us as they paffed, with a Dios guarde ujled : *' God keep your worfhip ;" but iiere they begin, twenty yards before they come up to you, and no TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. and bawl out as loud as they carij Ave Maria purijftma ; to which you are expected to anfwer, either Sin pecado concebida^ or Dzo gratias. Late in the evening, we pafTed a large encampment of carriers of falt-lifli. Their carts formed an outer circle, and their oxen a fmaller one, round a roaring fire, where fome of the men were cooking, others working at their tackle, but the greater part ftretched out faft afleep. The moon fhone very bright, and all was foft and ftill ; I quite envied the pleafant fenfations of thofe fellows. Our road this morning was bad, the country abomina- ble, a white clay in powder, and not a ftick of wood. In rainy years the crops of corn are extremely plentifuL Though it was a bitter cold day, the clouds of duft al- mofl: ftifled us. We got in here very early, and took up our lodgings at an inn, which hangs over the fea ; the waves beat gently againft the v/alls under our windows, and the whole road and harbour lie beautifully ftretched out before us. Un- fortunately, the warmth and ftillnefs of the fituation tempt the boat-men to make ufe of this part of the beach as a neceifary, and we cannot venture to lean out, and feaft our eyes with the fine profpect of the fea, without fuffering exceedingly in another fenfe. The landlord endeavours to comfort us, by afiuring us that to-morrow's.; fun will dry all up. I begin to have my apprelienficns, that my letters, in- ileadi TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, iii flead of acquiring life and fpirit from our progrefs, in this kingdom, have, on the contrary, betrayed of late a great propensity towards ftupidity. Heaven forbid, the en- feebling air of Valencia fhould have fettled upon my pen ! I muft fhake it off, and flrive to afford you better enter- tainment. LETTER XV. Alicant, December ii, 1775. E have been received with the ufual politenefs by the Britifh fubje<5ls reliding here, whofe hof- pitality knows no bounds, when any of their wandering countrymen appear to lay claim to it. The factory, which conlifts of five houfes, lives in a ftyle of elegance we did not expedl to meet with any where out of a ca- pital ; every circumflance attending our reception here, is beyond meafure agreeable. After fo warm an acknow- ledgment of our obligations to the inhabitants, you wijl naturally fuppofe I fhail launch out in praife of the town, and varnifh over every , defed ; but there you will find yourfelf miftaken. I confefs it has neither buildings nor ftreets to recommend it to notice ; though the houfes in general 112 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. general are folidly built, with flat roofs, covered with cement ; their walls are plaiflered, and every thing as white as the foil of the adjacent country ; which fatigues the eye mofl cruelly in fun-fhiny weather, that is, almGil every day in the year. Then the dull flies about in whirlwinds ; if it rains, there is no poflibility of making one's way through the ftreets without boots, the Calk- mayor being the only paved ftreet in the whole town. In the hot months, this place is a very furnace, its form being the befl: calculated in the world for intercepting the rays of the fun, and colled:ing them as in one focus j the mountain behind fliuts out the winds, that, blowing from the cool quarters, might refrefli the atmofphere ; but I believe the fea-breeze mufl: occaflonally contribute to the cooling of the air. In fuch mild winter weather as we have felt here, it is impoflible not to be delighted with the climate, and the beauties of fituation that the port of Alicant affords. It fl:ands on the middle of a narrow neck of land, that runs out into the fea a confi- derable way, and almoft comes round in a femi-circular form ; in the center af which fliips ride with as much fafety as in a harbour ; a rocky mountain rifes diredly behind the town ; on its fummit is the caftle, now forti- fied after the modern method, and extended far beyond the limits of the old fortrefs, great part of which v/as blown up, with a fragment of the rock, in the war with the allies, in the reign of our queen Anne. The Englifh garrifoa TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, ii^ garrifon refufed to capitulate, though the French gave them notice of the mine being ready to be fprung. A well that communicated with the mine, gave it fome vent, and prevented the reft of the mountain from being fliivered to pieces by the explofion ; however, moil of the officers were blown up, and the remainder of the troops fo ftunned by the fhock, as to be many hours de- prived of all power of motion. Behind the caftle-hill, is a plain fome leagues in cir- cumference, called Las huertas ; the gardens of Alicant lying along the fea-fhore, furrounded on three fides by very lofty mountains. It is a very beautiful vale, thickly fludded with villages, villas, farms, and plantations of all kinds of fruit-trees ; but in the hot part of the year the air is very unwholefome, and few or none efcape agues or fevers. Here the fine Alicant and Tent wines are made. Only two, of the great number of proprietors of vine- yards, make a pradtice of keeping their wine to a proper age. As the value is enhanced many-fold by keeping, the high price they get for their wines amply repays them for the time they are out of their money. Of the common forts, about five thoufand tun may be the amount, moft of which is deftined for the Bourdeaux merchants. Water is the great agent, the primum mobile of all productions in this country ; every thing languifhes, and foon is parched up, without an ample fupply of it ; abun- Q^ dance 114 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. dance of rain fecures both a plentiful harveft and a co- pious vintage. Wherever a fpring breaks out, the king's people feize upon it, and allot to each landholder a pro- per hour for letting the water upon his grounds. It is of fo much confequence, that the value of a guinea has been paid for an hour extraordinary. The Englifh, fadlory imports all forts of bale goodsy corn, and Newfoundland eod. The articles of exporta- tion are wine and barilla. This laft grows in great quan- tities along the coaft, efpecially near Carthagena : as I fhall, in all probability, get better intelligence there about it, in its vegetable ftate, I fhall defer entering into any detail at prefent on that head. The merchants here, as they employ agents to tranfad: the bufinefs for them, are very little informed of the qualities or peculiarities of the feveral forts of barilla they fhip off. It is brought hither in boats, duty free ; afterwards it is packed with rufh- mats,. in lumps of about fix hundred weight, which ought to be worth about three or four dollars per hund. ; but,, as this year has been favourable to the crops, it does not. fetch above two and a half. We have been all the morning in great uneafinefs about Sir T. G.'s valet de chambre, who, till within this hour, was not to be found in any of the places he ufually frequents* Hi& appearance has quieted our apprehensions ; and it feems he has been, from fun-rife till dinner-time, locked up in the iacrifty of the great church, curling and frizL- zling TRAVi::LS THROUGH SPAIN. 115 zlino- the flaxen perriwig of the ftatue of the Virgin, who is to-morrow to be carried in folemn proceflion through the city. There is a forry kind of an Italian opera here ; bad as k is, there is a fomething in Italian mufic, however ill executed, incomparably foft and grateful to ears like ours, fo long fatigued with French fqualling, and the drone of Spa.m{h. Jeguidi/Ias. We were upon the point of being deprived of this amufement, by the wifdom of the clergy, who attributed the want of rain to the influence of that ungodly entertainment ; luckily for the poor ftrollers, and for us, there fell a fmart fhower juft as the orders were ready to be iffued out againfl: any further performance, and as it continued to rain all next day, the church thought no more of the opera. From Alicant is feen, at nine miles diftance fouth, the ifland of S. Polo, where the Conde de Aranda fettled a colony of Genoefe and others, who formerly inhabited an ifland on the African coaft. The regency of Tunis de- ftroyed their fettlement, and carried them all into flavery ; from which they were redeemed by Spain, and, with the allowance of a piftreen a day, fent to form a nev/ town on this barren ifland. As it yields no produdtions of any kind, they are obliged to be fupplied from the main land with every neceflTary of life ; fo that fliould the admini^ ftrators neglect to lay in a fuflicient flock for their fufle- nance, in cafe of tempefluous weather they muft incvi- Q^ 2 tably ii6 TRAVELS THROUGH SFAIK. tably perifli with hunger and thirft. Even as matters now Hand, from their fcanty allowance and perpetual confine- ment, I believe they think themfelves no great gainers by being refcued from their flavery. LETTER XVL Carthagena, December 15, 1775; TO continue the journal of our peregrinations: — We left Alicant on the 12th, and brought away with lis fome bottles of choice Tent for you. We hope, on our return, to prefent you with a compleat colledion of the beft wines in Spain ; travelling with fuch a waggon-load of things, a few bottles more or lefs are not felt ; we are obliged to carry, not only our beds, but bread, wine, meat, oil, and fait, from one great town to another ; for we feldom meet with any thing in the inns but the bare walls, and perhaps a. few eggs, which they fell at an un- confcionable price. If we chance to find a few unbroken chairs,^ we efteem ourfelves uncommonly fortunate ; yet it is ailonifhing how dear travelling is in this country. They alk as much for giving you houfe-room, and for the rujdo de cafa-^ or the noife you make, as would purchafe a eood TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 117 a good fupper and lodgings In the beft inns, in moft other parts of Europe. As our health is excellent, and confe- quently our fpirits good, we are ealily reconciled to thefe kinds of hardships. Indeed we no longer look upon them in that light ; the mildnefs of the climate obviates all inconveniences that might accrue from a total want of glafs, or even paper, in the windows ; or of a door or fhutter that can be faftened clofe enough to keep wind or rain out. As foon as we arrive at one of thefe barns, called Ventas, our firft care is to fet up our beds. The kitcherr is generally at one end ; the mules ftand in the back part,, and our apartment is a partition run up againft the wall. to the ftreet, with a hole or two for light, defended by three or four very ufelefs iron bars, for a pigmy could not fqueeze through the window. Next, our cook takes his ftand at the hearth, to warm our broth, which we carry, ready made, in a kettle be- hind our chaife ; and if he can procure fuel and elbow- room, toffes up a halh, or fome fuch campaign difh.. Sometimes we are lucky enough to have an opportunity of fetting our fpit, or broiling a chop upon our gridiron ;: but thefe are luxuries we are not to expedt above once or twice in the courfe of a week. While our repaft is preparing,^ we read, draw, or write, by the light of a long brafs lamp. Our fupper dif- patched, and a bottle of wine placed between us, we en- ii8 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. joy an hour's merry chat, to give the fervants time to fup, and then we retire to bed, where we lie very fnug till the dawn of day calls us up, to our ufual tafk of four or five leagues before dinner, and about three in the af- ternoon. The continual tinkling of the bells of the mules was very irkfome to us at fir ft, but we are now fo well accuflomed to thefe chimes, that I believe we fhall not be able to go to fleep without them, when we return to France. We flopped at Elche, a large town belonging to the duke of Arcos, built on the fkirts of a wood, or rather foreft, of palm-trees, where the dates hanging on all fides in clufters of an orange colour, and the men fwinging on bafs ropes to gather them, formed a very curious and agreeable fcene. The palms are old and lofty ; their number is faid to exceed two hundred thoufand. Many of the trees have their branches bound up to a point, and covered with mats to prevent the fun and wind from getting to them. In procefs of time the branches become quite v/hite, and are then cut off, and fent by fhip-loads from Alicant to Genoa, and other parts of Italy, for the grand prcceffions of Palm-Sunday ; an uncommon fpecies or traffic. The country round this town is very chearful, and fo are the environs oi Orihuela. They are indebted for their fertility to the abundance and proper diflribution of v/ater. In dry years, every field that has not fome fpring TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, rig- Ipring or aquedud, to furnifh it with repeated rigations, is fure to fail in its crop. There is a Spanifh proverb in favour of the laft-mentioned city ; Si llove^ aytrigo en Orihuela, y Ji no Hove aytrigo in Orihuela : " If it rains, there is plenty of wheat in Orihuela, and if it does not rain, there is ftill plenty of wheat in Orihuela." Indeed we found its bread excellent, and it has the reputation o£ producing the befl: corn in Spain. It is a bifhop's fee, pretty large, and well enough built, at the foot of a ridge of bare rocks, near the head of a very fruitful vega or vale. Near it are avenues of Peric-pepper-tree, or Schinus molle, loaded with bunches of a handfome rofe- coloured fruit ; the people of the country call it "Tira- vientosy probably from, fome wind-expelling quality.. From hence we proceeded along the fkirts of the rocks,- up into the celebrated vale of Murcia, far fuperior, in the variety and richnefs of its culture, to any plain we had hitherto travelled through. Although we were then Ifl the heart of winter, its general appearance was a bright green, the colour of the young corn, flax, lucerne, pulfe, and orange- groves. As this vale is not too exteniive, but moft agreeably bounded on both fldes by mountains, the inflpid famenefs that cloys the eye in mofl: fiat coun- tries, however well cultivated, is not perceptible here. The city of Murcia is neither large nor handfome. The Segura, a muddy river, which divides it into two unequal partSj though it contributes nothing to the em~ bellilhment I20 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. bellifliment of the town, claims the merit of creating, by means of its waters, the furprizing fertility of the plain. Hundreds of fmall drains convey them to the inclofures ; and, in fpite of the effedis of the fcorching rays of the fun, preferve the vegetable fyftem frefh and fucculent. The walks about the place are trifling ; the ftreets fo full of black ftagnated water, as to be almoft unpafTable. The only thing we found worth feeing was the cathedral, .a large maflive pile. Round one part of it is a chain, cut in ftone, with a great deal of truth and eafe. The fteeple, though un- £nifhed, is lofty, and intended, I prefume, to exhibit fpecimens of every one of the five orders of archited:ure. You may ride up to the top by a paffage that goes gra- dually winding round the tower. From it we had a full view of the town and country ; but at this feafon of the year, the landfcape was not decked out in all its beauty, and the bare brown mountains appear too near to pleafe. The names and banners of the Jews, that have been burnt in this town by the inquifition, are ftuck up in the church like fo many trophies won in the day of vidory from fomc mighty foe. From Murcia we ftruck diredtly acrofs the vale, into the chain of mountains on the fouth fide of the town, and the rugged bed of a torrent was all the road we found. You cannot conceive a more fhocking one. The naked TRAVELS THROUGH SPAtN. 121 naked clayey cliffs that hemmed us in on each fide, were very unpleafant. As foon as we emerged from this ditch, and furmounted a very greafy, marly height, we found before us a plain, almoft without bounds, and abfolutely without a tree. A ridge of mountains feparates it from the fea-fhore. Our muleteers pointed out to us the break, in it, where the illand of Efcombrera clofes in the harbour of Cartha- gena. A duller of iflands to the left, appear as if they had been ftruck off the mountain by fome furious earth- quake, and tumbled headlong into the fea. Moft of the plain is fown with barilla. We dined at the door of a moft pitiful vejita^ where we found only one man, fent out by the magiftrates of Carthagena to wait upon travellers, as the inn-keeper and all his family had been lately carried to prifon, on account of a woman, who had been murdered and thrown into a pond behind his houfe, in which tranfadion they were fufpedied of being, at leaft, acceffaries. We arrived early at Carthagena ; for the ftory of the murder had operated powerfully on the minds of our muleteers, who drove very faft over the plain, to get in before night. We are lodged at the Golden Eagle, kept by a Frenchman, the beft cook, in the beft inn we have met with in Spain. R LETTER 122 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. LETTER XVIL Carthagena, December ly, 1775: 1AM in a very bad difpofition for writing, for we are juft returned from the arfenal, where every feeling of our humanity has been put to the torture. Heaven for- bid I fhould communicate to you any part of the difa- greeable fenfations the fight of fo many of my fellow- creatures in mifery has excited in my foul ! but I fhall dwell upon the fubjed: no longer than will be neceffary to inform you of the plain matter of fa6t. A letter from Barcelona procured us an order from the governor for fee- ing the docks and magazines of this port, one of the mofl confiderable of the Spanifli dominions. This arfenal is a fpacious fquare, fouth-weft of the town, under the mountains ; forty pieces of cannon de- fend its approach from the fea ; but on the land-fide it is without defence. We only faw one feventy-gun fhip on the ftocks, and a rotten hulk heaved down to be re- paired, which fcarce feemed worth the time and expence beftowed upon it. Mr. Turner, an Englifliman, is the head builder. The timber for fhip-building lies in ponds, behind a long range of magazines for flores, oppofite which the men of war are moored in a wet dock, each before TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 123 before the door of its own magazine. We were told that every one of thefe ftore-houfes contained all things requi- site for the compleat equipment of a fllip of war ; but, from the flight furvey I took in walking through, I dare venture to affirm, that there is not at prefent, in the whole yard, a fufficient quantity of every article to fit out a frigate. The new ropery, and the forges where they put freih touch-holes into old cannon, are eftablifhed upon an extenfive plan, but there is little adivity in either. The government of this yard is now in the hands of the officers of the navy, having been lately taken out of thofe of the civil intendants. Upon the whole, the making of thefe docks, and their adlual management, have been, and ftill are, conducted after the moft prodigal manner ; and either from the vaft demands of the late expedition, or from negfed: in the adminiftrators, there is now fo incon- fiderable an aflbrtment of arms and flores, that, were it not for its celebrity, it would fcarce deferve a minute's attention from a curious traveller. Yet the Spaniards are very jealous, and appear uneafy when ftrangers vilit it ; perhaps from a confcioufnefs of there being nothing in it. There was, no perfaading them that we travelled merely for pleafure, with no finifter views. The fhips are heaved down in a dry dock, which, by reafon of the back water, and the fprings that ooze through the marffiy foil, would never be clear of water, R 2 were 124 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. were it not for feyeral fire-engines continually going, and. for the great pump, which is plied without intermiffion by Spanifh criminals and Barbary flaves. Of the former, they have eight hundred ; of the latter, fix hundred : mofi: of thefe wretches are kept at it fixteen hours out of the twenty-four, by four hours at a time ; fome work only twelve, and moft of the Moors only eight hours. It is the hardeft labour in the world : ten men are fet to each pump, to the amount of about an hundred, in the room above ground, and as many in a kind of dungeon below. In fummer-time,, fcarce a day paffes without fome of them dropping dow^n dead at their work ; and even at this cool feafon of the year, we have met every day fome of them carrying to the hofpital. The defpair that feizes them is fo outrageous, that if they can get within reach of a weapon, there are many inftances of their having plunged it into their own breaft, or that of fome perfon near them, which anfwers the fame purpofe, a fpeedy deliverance from all their woes by death. As we were looking at them, a dirty little keeper ftruck a fine tall Moor over the head, for leaving his pump to beg of us. The Algerine darted a look of indignation at his tyrant, and refumed his tafSc, without faying a word or fhrinking from the blow,. On our leaving this houfe of forrow, we met feveral firings of galley-flaves, going to relieve thofe at work, or to fetch their provifions. The Moors had an M on the ikckclotii TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 125 fackcloth that covers them, and the whole gang were lively pidtures of malady and defpair. The king allows them a piftreen a day, but I am afraid they are defrauded of their allowance j for v/e faw them making their din- ner upon black bread, and horfe-beans boiled in falt- water. We are returned quite melancholy from this fcene of woe. The only reflection that diminifhes our compaf- Hon, is, the atrocioufnefs of the crimes that have brought the Chriftians to the chain ; none are here that have not deferved death in fifty fhapes. One boy, of fifteen years old, is here for the murder of his father and mo- ther ; and either murder, facrilege, or fome fuch enor- mous and horrible ofi'ences, have been perpetrated by almoft all thofe condemned for life to this puniQiment. The feverity exercifed over the Moorifli captives, is not fo eafily reconciled to the principles of humanity, and the meek doctrine of Chriftianity, Retaliation does not feem a fufficient plea. Since J wrote the foregoing part of my letter, we have been upon a more agreeable party, which has helped to diffipate the gloomy impreflions of the morning. The governor gave us leave to take a boat and row round the harbour. Some gentlemen of our acquaintance were fo obliging as to accompany us, and explain the fituation and intent of each particular place and fortification. The port of Carthagena is the compleateft 1 ever faw, formed by the hand of Nature in the figure of a heart. ThcL 126 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. The illand of Efcombrera blocks up the entrance, and fhelters it from the violence of wind and waves. High, bare mountains rife very fteep, from the water-edge, on the eaft and weft. On the north, a narrow, low ridge of hills, on which the city ftands, fhuts out the view of the inland country. We firft rowed by the arfenal, and un- der the mountains on the right hand, the deepeft and fafeft polition in the whole bay, where a large fleet may lie in the utmoft fecurity, out of the fight of all fliips that may be at fea, or even in the narrow part of the en- trance of the harbour. There are at prefent two frigates and four chebecs in port. As we came along-flde of the St. Jofeph, the commodore, fhe fired a gun, which our fteerfman informed us was the fignal for weighing an- chor and gettinor under fail, orders beino; come from court for them to leave Carthagena this day. As we were defirous of learning a little of the method and fkill of the Spanifh feamen, we defired our mafter (who, from having been long employed in the fervice of the Englifh merchants, has contracted the habit of looking upon him- felf as an Englifliman) to lie upon his oars and remain along- fide, that we might have the pleafure of feeing the men of war move out. The old failor laughed heartily at our requeft, and, after reminding us that we were not at Portfmouth, nor thefe fliips Englifh men of war, bade his men row av/ay, as he was very certain none of the veiTels would be ready to aepart for three days at leafl, and TRAVELS THROUGH S^AIN. 127 and that the gun was fired merely in compliance with the letter of the orders. On our approach to the mouth of the harbour, we got out of the calm, ftill water we had hitherto glided upon, and began to be tofled about with great violence. The day grew cold, and the fky looking lowering towards the fea, we flruck diredlly acrofs the paflage, in order to re- turn to the town by the eaft fide of the bay. This en- trance is much wider than I had any idea of; the forts on the rocks, on each promontory, feem to be too far diftant from the middle to do any damage to an enemy that might think it neceffary to pufh through ; but with- out a fkilful pilot, I doubt a ftranger would pay dear for his temerity ; for diredly in the center of the haven, in a line between the mouth and the mole-gate, lies a ledge of rocks, only five feet under water, without any breakers or rippling near it. The eaft fide of this port is much fhallower than the weft fide, and the anchorage is loofe and fandy. Vefiels have been frequently forced from their anchors, and dafhed to pieces againft the rocks, by the ftorms from the fouth-weft. However, with good cables, I was aflured there is no great danger to be apprehended. In any other part of the harbour, the waters are perfedly dormant, never rufHed by wind or tides. There is fo little agita- tion in them, that, during the flay of the many hundreds of veffels deftined for the Algerine expedition, they be- came 128 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. came abfolutely putrid and infectious, from the filth thrown out of t;he fliips. Juft as we landed on the piti- ful platform called the mole, we had an opportunity of knowing the exadl fpot where the rocks lie. An Englifh merchantman coming in at a great rate before the wind, but unfortunately without a pilot, ftruck upon the ledge, and was not got off without fome damage. We are now going to the play, where we are not to expert any fcenes, as it is a working-day ; and the aftors come out from behind a bit of red curtain hung acrofs the ftage, and never move far from it, as a file of promp- ters are drawn up behind, whofe fhadows and motions are not unlike that kind of entertainment called Italian Jhades. Though there are three regiments here in garri- fon, befides engineers and naval officers, you can fcarce imagine any thing fo dull as this town. Except the wretched comedy, and the coffee-houfe, there is not the ieaft life or amufement going forward. This city is large, but has very few good ftreets, and ftill fewer grand or remarkable buildings. The hofpital is a large fquare houfe, round two courts, three ftories high towards the fea, and only one towards the land : the architecture, and method of laying out the plan, are good ; but the ftone is of fo foft and friable a contexture, that the fea air has corroded it, and made it crumble away more than half: there is no probability of any care being taken to repair the injury. Farther TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 129 Farther eaft, at the foot of the fummer-evening walk, is a fmall church, ereded in honour of St. James, the patron of Spain, who is pioully believed to have landed here, when he came from Paleftine to convert this coun- try to Chriftianity. LETTER XVIII. Carthagena, December i8, 1775. IH A V E been bufy all morning walking about the fields near the town, in fearch of fpecimens of the various plants, that produce the falfe and true barilla ; but the feafon of the year is unfavourable to my refearches, and I have only been able to meet with two forts. Mr. James Macdonnel, a young gentleman lately fettled in bufinefs here, has been fo obliging as to furnifh me with fome notes on that head, which contain the refult of many obfervations made on thefe plants in their vegetable ftate, and on the different modes of cultivating and preparing them for fale. The following pages convey the fubftance of his memorandums. There are four plants, which in the early part of their growth bear fo ftrong a refemblance to each other, as S would. I30 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. would deceive any but the farmers, and very nice ob- fervers. Tliefe four are, barilla.^ gazul (or, as fome call it, algazulj foza^ ^.nd. falicornia ot falicor. They are all burnt to aihes, but are applied to dijfFerent ufes, as being poffeffed of different qualities. Some of the roguifli farr mers mix more or lefs of the three laft with the firft ; and it requires a compleat knowledge of the colour, tafte, and fmell of the afhes, to be able to deted; their knavery. The I ft. Barilla, is fown afrefh every year. The greateft height it grows to above ground is four inches : each root pufhes out a vaft number of little ftalks, which again are fubdivided into fmaller fprigs, refembling famphire, and all together form a large, fpreading, tufted bufh. The co- lour is bright green ; as the plant advances towards matu- rity, this colour dies away, till it comes to a dull green tinged with brown. The 2d, Gazul, bears the greateft affinity to barilla, both in quality and appearance ; the principal difference confifts in its growing on a ftill drier, falter earth, con- fequently it is impregnated with a ftronger fait. It does not rife above tv/o inches out of the ground, fpreading out into little tufts. Its fprigs are much flatter, and more pulpy, than thofe of barilla, and are ftill more like famphire. It is fown but once in three, four, or five years, according to the foil. The 3^3 Soza, when of the. fame fize, has the fame ap-* ipearance TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 131 pearance as gazul, but in time grows much larger, as its natural foil is a ftrong falt-marlli ; where it is to be found in large tufts of fprigs, treble the fize of barilla, and of a bright green colour, which it retains to the laft. The 4th, Salicor, has a ftalk of a green colour, inclining to red, which laft becomes by degrees the colour of the whole plant. From the beginning it grows upright, and. much refembles a bufh of young rofemary. Its natural foil is that on the declivities of hills, near falt-marihes, or on the edges of the fmall drains or channels cut by the huibandmen for the purpofe of watering the fields : before it has acquired, its full growth, it is very like the barilla of thofe feafons in which the ground has been dunged before fowing. In thofe years of manuring, ba- rilla, contrary to its nature, comes up with a tinge of red ; and when burnt, falls far fliort of its wonted goodnefs, being bitter, more impregnated with falts than it fhould be, emitting a difagreeable fcent if held near the nofe, and raifing a blifher if applied for a few minutes to the tongue. The other three fpecies always have that eifed:. Barilla contains lefs falts than the others ; when burnt, it runs into a mafs refembling a fpungy ftone, with a faint caft of blue. Algazul, after burning, comes as near barilla in its out- ward appearance, as it does while growing in its vegeta- ble form 5 but if broken, the infide is of a much deeper S 2 and 1^,2 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. o and more gloffy blue. Soza and Salicor are darker, and almofl black within, of a heavier confiftence, with very little or no fign of fpunginefs. All thefe aflies contain a ftrong alkali ; but barilla the beft and pureft, though not in the greatefl quantity. Upon this principle, it is the iitteft for making glafs, and bleaching linen ; the others are ufed in making foap : each of them would whiten linen, but all, except barilla, would burn it. A good crop of barilla impoverifhes the land to fuch a degree, that it cannot bear good barilla a fecond feafon, being quite exhaufted. To avoid this inconvenience, the richer farmers lay manure upon, the ground, and let it lie fallow for a feafon ; at the end of which, it is fown afrefh without danger, as the weeds that have fprung up in the year of reft, have carried off all the pernicious effects of the dung. A proper fuccef- iion of crops is thus fecured by manuring and fallowing, different parts of the farm, each in its turn. The poorer tribe of cultivators cannot purfue the fame method, for want of capital, and are therefore under the neceflity of fowing their lands immediately after manuring, which yields them a profit juft fufficient to afford a prefent fcanty maintenance, though the quality and price of their barilla be but trifling. The method ufed in making barilla, is the fame as that we follow in the north of England, in burning kelp. The plant, as foon as ripe, is plucked up and laid in heaps^ TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 133 heaps, then fet on fire ; the fait juices run out below, into a hole made in the ground, where they confolidate into a black vitrified lump, which is left about a fort- night to cool. An acre may give about a tun. I was told, that there is a fpecies of Scarabaeus, or beetle, that: burrows in the root of the barilla, and there depofits its eggs, which foxes are fo fond of as to dig up the plaat to come at this favourite morfel. To gratify this ap- petite, they would in one night lay wafte a whole plan- tation, if the peafants did not keep a ftrid: watch with guns to dcftroy or drive them away. Neverthelefs, I can- not depend enough upon my information, to vouch for its authenticity. Not far from Carthagena, is a place called Almazaron, where they gather a fine red earth called Almagra, ufed in the manufadures of Saint Ildephonfo, for polifhihg looking-glafTes. In Seville, it is worked up with the to- bacco, to give it a colour, fix its volatility, and commu- nicate to it that foftnefs, which conftitutes the principal- merit of Spanifh fnufF. LETTER S34 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. LETTER XIX. Ifnallos, 7 at Night, December 14, 1775'. WE are juft arrived at this difmal ruinous village of mud walls, after the hardell day's labour of our whole journey, benighted, our baggage-vehicle broken to pieces, and every bone about us aching. We have been fourteen hours on the road without unharneffing the mules, I have walked many miles to-day, which has tired my legs ; but at leaft my fpirits are lefs jaded than they would have been had I remained locked up in the chaife, through the dangerous pafTages and dreadful pre- cipices of this day. I am happy to hear that from hence to Cadiz is almoft all level road, and, if it does not rain, not very bad ; if there fhould fall a great quantity of rain, I doubt we may come to ftick in the clays of Andalufia. One cook is hard at work below flairs, making us a di/h. of fomething warm to cheer our drooping hearts ; with that help, a bottle of wine, and a tolerable clean room, w^e hope foon to drive away all remembrance of our dif- treiTes and fatigues. On the 19th, we left Carthagena, and for two long days travelled up the plain, 'till the two ridges of mountains, that run on each iide of it, unite at its head. The TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 135^ The firft part of this plain is very naked, but well cul- tivated, the laft two-thirds are as compleat a defart as any in the fands of Africa ; not a bu£h, tree, or houfe, to be feen in all the vaft expanfe of level ground ; the mountains are as bare as the low lands. The want of water, produdive of a want of inhabitants, accounts for this prodigious defolation ; for the foil feems very fit for tillage. One of the days we dined at Lorea, a large town at the foot of the hills. I faw nothing in it to make a note of, but the drefs of a gipfy, daughter to the innkeeper. Her hair was tied in a club, with a bunch of fcarlet ribbons ; large drops hung from her ears ; and on. her bread fhe wore a load of relics and hallowed me- tals ; the fleeves of her gown were faftened together be- hind by a long blue ribbon, that hung to the ground. I could not prevail upon her to explain the ufe of this laft piece of ornament. On the 2 1 ft, the fcene changed, but did not im- prove upon us ; the dry. bed of a torrent was our high- way for half the day, and fteep barren mountains for the remainder. This proved the firft day of difagreeable weather we had met with on the road fince we left France. It blew a perfect hurricane, and rained very heavily, with a fbarp biting wind. The next morning brought us back funfliine and genial warmth; the road grew mountainous, and more difgufting- ly bare, except for a mile or two, while we paffed through. I3& TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. an uneven country pretty well tilled, and planted with large bufhy evergreen oaks, exadlly in the manner of fome of our Englilh parks. We faw this day many vultures on wing, but they never came within reach of our guns. I can give you no information concerning the town of Ba9a, as we entered it after it was dark, and left it before break of day. It ftands quite in a bottom, furrounded by high mountains, over which we, next morning, found the paffage both difficult and frightful. Not the leaft agree- able patch of country on the heights, except fome poor remains of ancient forcfts of evergreen oaks. We dined at a venta near fome mountains, where we were told of mines of gold having been wrought in days of yore, but now long loft and forgotten ; the little brook that runs down from them abounds in many metallic particles, which appeared to the eye lead and copper. Much gypfumy or plaifter-ftone, is alfo to be found in this torrent, Yefterday afternoon, we had nothing but rapid afcents and defcents, rendered incredibly greafy and fatiguing by the heavy rain of the foregoing night. Guadix, an epif- copal fee J is exadly iituated in the fame kind of gully as Ba9a ; a narrow valley worn down by the river. The clay-hillsj that encompafs it on every fide, are the moft extraordinary in nature ; they are very high, and wafhed into broken mafles, refembling fpires, towers, and mi- fhapen rocks. Whole villages are dug in them, the windows TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 137 windows of which appear like pigeon j or rather mar- ten holes. The paffage through is remarkably Angu- lar, winding for half a mile between two huge rugged walls of earth, without the leaft mixture of rock or gravel. The Cuefta yerma, which with the utmoft difficulty we climbed up this morning, is perhaps not to be matched for badnefs on any carriage-road in the world. All our mules yoked together were fcarce able to wrench either of the carriages out of the narrow pafs between the rocks, or drag them up the almoU perpendicular parts of this abominable mountain. After this happy deliverance from our well-grounded fears of paffing the whole day, and perhaps night, in fruitlefs endeavours to extricate ourfelves, we travelled along a high level coun- try, winding round the mountains of Granada. The wind was very loud, but the air warm and pleafant, though the fnow lay in view along the top of that high ridge of mountains called^ from their covering of fnow, jierra nevada. Thus, methinks, I have brought you very fairly as far as myfelf on our dreary journey ; and am of opinion, that neither the beauties of nature, nor thofe of art, to be met with in this kingdom, can be deemed an equivalent for the tedioufnefs of travelling, the badnefs of the roads, or the abominable accommodations of the inns : certain it is.; that no man has as yet undertaken this tour a fecond T time 138 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. time for pleafure ; and, if my advice be liftened to, no body will ever attempt it once, Granada, December 25. Our baggage being put upon a cart this morning, we proceeded down a valley, and over fome heath and foreft 'land, till we came in view of the plain and city of Gra- nada. — Beautiful beyond expreffion even in its winter weeds, what mull it be when decked out in all the gaudy colours of fpring ? You muft not exped; an ac-- count of it for fome days, as I intend getting all poflible intelligence, turning over all my books, and examining every place, before I venture to defcribe this city, its pa- lace,^ and environs. LETTER XX. THE Moorifh kingdom of Granada confifted of thofe parts of Spain that lie in the fouth-eafl: cor^ ner of the peninfula, and at its moft flourifhing period never exceeded feventy leagues in length from eaft to weft, and twenty-five in breadth from north to fouth. Its hiftorians have laboured hard to prove, that it had i(;^ parate TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 139 parate monarchs foon after the Moorifli conquefl; of Spain ; but it is more than probable, that this country , did not become a diftindt fovereignty, while the Caliphs of the Eaft retained any authority in Europe. By de- grees, the weaknefs of the other Mahometan potentates, who could afford no fuccour againft the common enemy ; the coalition of the Chriftian kingdoms under one or two powerful heads ; and, more than all, their own civil difcords and deadly feuds, had, long before its final over- throw, reduced the kingdom of Granada to little more than the Alpuxaras mountains and the capital city. The Granadine antiquaries, with Pedraza at theif head, inlift that Granada was a colony of the Phoenicians, known to the Romans by the name of Illiberia. They allege, in fupport of their fyftem, that the walls of the moft ancient of its inclofures, which was afterwards call- ed the Alca9aba, are of a different fort of mafonry from thofe of the Romans and Saracens, and fimilar to fuch remains of antiquity as are univerfaily acknowledged to be the work of the Phoenicians. The fpot where this mode of building is moft confpicuous, is, the Het72a-ro~ man^ a tower where the ftones are very long and narrow, laid regularly upon beds of cement of equal thicknefs with the ftones. It is now of little confequence to en- deavour to difcover the founders of this city, and an analyfts of the volumes publiflied on thefe chimerical T 2 topics. I40 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. topics, would but ill repay the time loft in writing and reading fuch a diflertation. Another argument, that has aiForded much entertain- ment to many doAors profoundly {killed in etymologies, is, the meaning, date, and origin, of the name of Gra- nada. Some writers make out the derivation by com- pounding the word Nata^ which they fet down as the name of Count Julian's daughter ^, with the word Gary a cave, where fhe retired after the battle of Xeres : others will have it to come from the abundance of corn (Grmio)v and fome again from Nata^ a goddefs of the Aborigines : others, with an appearance of probabilityj afcribe the ori- gin of the name to the pleafantnefs and fertility of its environs, a word very like it, in the Phoenician language, meaning fruitful and agreeable. The Romans expreffed the fame Signification by the title of ?nunici'piu?n floren- ■^ It is the common opinion (though not fufficiently warranted by authentic teftimonies) that Rodrigo, laft king of the Goths, raviflied the daughter of Julian, governor of Africa. The father, enraged at fuch an injury, made a treaty with the Saracens, whom he induced to crofs the Straits and invade Spain. Mufa, lieutenant of the Caliph Walid, fent over Tarif with a fmall force to try his ftrength. There being great appearance of fuccefs, Tarif received a confiderable reinforcement, and attacked the Goths rrear Xeres de la frontera. The Goths were defeated, their king killed, and the Gothic empire annihilated in 712. Mufa, and his immediate fucceffors, completed the conqueft of all Spain, except the mountains of Oviedo, where Pelayo afterwards formed a principality, the parent of all the other Spanilh king- doms, tinura TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 14*- tinum ilUberitanum, The Arabs called it Roman ; the Jews Rimmon : and there are authors that derive it from Gra- natum^ a pomegranate, brought from Africa, and firft planted near this place. Many affirm it to be called fo from the refemblance its polition bears to that fruit when ripe ; the two hills to reprefent the burfting fkin, and the houfes crowded into the intermediate valley, the pips. This is a very favourite opinion, and feems to be adopted by the nation, which gives a fplit pomegranate for its arms, and places it upon every gate or ornamented poft in the ftreets and public walks. Granada ftands on two hills, at the foot of the Sierra nevada, where two fmall rivers join their waters. One of them, the Dauro, fometimes wafhes down gold ; the other, the Xenil, virgin filver ; but it was not poffible for me to procure any fpecimens of either, on account of the fevere prohibition iffued out by government againft all fearchers after mines and minerals. The ancient pa- lace of the Alhambra^ and the 'Torre vermeja, crown the double fummit of the hill between the rivers ; the other hill, north of the Dauro, is covered with the Albaycin and Alcaqaha. The remainder of the city extends along the fkirts of the plain in a femicircular form. The Vega, or plain, is eight leagues long, and four broad; a gentle flope of beautiful hillocks bound the horizon on all lides, except that of the Sierra nevada, and to the north- weft, where it is terminated by the bare top of the Sierra Elvira^ 142 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Elvira^ or Sierra de los infantes. This mountain was fo named from the death of the princes of Caftille, Peter and John, who perifhed here, through excefs of heat and thirft, in a battle againft the Moors, 13^9. TJie country about Granada was fo alluring, the iltua- tion fo ftriking, and the falubrity of its air fo univerfally -celebrated, that the viftorious Saracens foon were in- duced to turn their arms that way. It was taken by the forces of Tarif in 715, the ninety-fifth year of the He- gira ^ As long as Spain remained fubjed: to the viceroys of the Caliphs of the family of the Ommiades, Granada does not appear to have undergone any great revolution, although now an dthen an ambitious governor might make an attempt towards independency. The firft that brought this defign to bear, and rendered the crown he- reditary in his family, was Mehemed Alhamar, governor of Arjone, who began his reign in 1236. Mehemet Alhamar. 1236. This firft king became tributary to St. Ferdi- nand, king of Caftille, and paid him one moiety of all his revenues, which half amounted to one hun- dred and feventy thoufand pieces of gold : he even afiifted that prince in his conqueft of Seville. 1273. The fecond king was his fon Muley Mehemed Abdallah, who is faid to have begun the Alhambra. * The flight of Mahomet, which happened in the night between the 15 th and 1 6th of July, in the year 622. 1302. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 143 1302. 3. Mehemed Abe?ialhamar the blind, fon to Mu- ley, was dethroned and murdered by his brother. Mehemed had a great pailion for building ; one of the magniiicent monuments he left for the admira- tion of pofterity, was the great mofque included in the Alhambra. The form was moft eleg-ant, the inllde mofaic, adorned with ingenious devices in fculpture, fupported upon lofty pillars with' lilver bafes and capitals. He endowed thi« pious founda- tion with revenues ariling' from the baths, which he had built oppolite to it, out of the tribute paid by the Chriftians and Jews. He alfo purchafed lands, and let them out for the benefit of this mofque. 13 10. Nazer aba algueiufch murdered his brother, and was himfelf driven into banifhment by his lifter's fon, 1315. Ifmael ben pharagi abulgualid^ who was murdered by the alcayde of Algeziras, from whom he had forcibly taken a very beautiful fem.ale captive. 1326. Mehemed Abuabdallah^ his fon, fucceeded. This prince was murdered by his own fervants ^, and fucceeded by his fon. ' In a fally which the Chriftians made during the fiege of Baeca, this king of Granada hurled a lance, enriched with precious ftones, at a Spanifh foldier ; who, finding himfelf grievoufly wounded, limped away towards the town with the weapon fixed in his body. The Moors rufhed forwards to re- cover the lance, but Mehemed forbade them to moleft the poor wretch, and fuffered him to carry away the fpear to pay for his cure. 144 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. ^333' Jufaf Abuhagiagu In 1340, this king, and Abi HafTan, king of Morocco, were defeated in the fa- mous battle of Salado, by Alphonfus the eleventh. From that day Granada declined in power, and gradually dwindled away. The uninterrupted fe- ries of evil fortune that attended this unhappy prince, at length drew upon him the univerfal hatred of his fubjeds, one of whom flabbed him in the ftreet. -1354. His fucceffor was Mehemed Lago^ a younger bro- ther of Pheragi. He was dethroned by his coufin, Mehemed Iffjtael ben Alhamar. Don Pedro, king of Caftille, having always been intimately connected with Lago, efpoufed the caufe of that exiled prince with great warmth, and made feveral attempts to reinftate him. Ben Alhamar, diffident of his own ftrength, and preffed to it by the entreaties of his counfellors, thought it fafeft to fubmit, and pur- chafe the friendjQiip of Pedro at any rate. With this view, he demanded a fafe condudl, and went to the court of Seville, where he threw himfelf at the feet of the Spanilh monarch, with the immenfe treafures he had brought with him as prefents. That king received him with all apparent refpe6t and cordiality for a few days, but then he ordered -him, and thirty of his moft noble attendants, to be led TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 145 led round the city upon alTes, and afterwards to be brought to the field of the Tablada, where, if any credit is to be given to the Spanifh hiftorians, Don Pedro himfelf ran the unfortunate Mehemed through with a lance. His death being made known at Granada, Lago refumed the reins of government without oppofition, and died quietly in 1379. 1379. His fon Mehemed Abouhadjad, was one of the beft kings that ever reigned in Granada. He pre- ferred the folid advantages of peace to all the bril- liancy of military glory. Under his wife admini- flration, the kingdom gradually recovered its vi- gour ; commerce and hulbandry gave fpirit and alacrity to every part of the realm, and fpread abundance over the face of the land. His atten- tion to the more important objefts of governmentj did not prevent his fhewing himfelf an earneft pro- moter and protedloT of the fine arts. The cities of Granada and Guadix were embellifhed with many noble ftrudures during his reign. His afFedion for the latter was fo coufpicuous, that he was fur- named by his people, Mehemed of Guadix. He had the addrefs to maintain peace with the Caf- tillians, and at his death left a flouriftiing, peaceful fucceffion to his fon, 1392. Juzaf Abiabdaliahj who was deftroyed by means U of 146 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. of an envenomed fhirt, fent as a prefent by tKe- Sultan of Fez. 1396. Mehemed Balba, fecond fon to Juzaf, feized vl^otl the crown in prejudice of his elder brother, and pafTed his life in one continual round of difafters. His wars with Caftille were invariably unfuccefsfuL. His death was alfo caufed by a poifoned veft. As foon as he found his cafe defperate, he difpatched an oiEcer to the fort of Salobrena, to kill his brother Ju- zaf, left that prince's party fhould form any obftacle to his fon's fucceeding to the crown. The Alcayde found the prince playing at chefs with an Alfaqui or prieft. Juzaf begged hard for two hours refpite, which was denied him ; at laft, with great relu (St- ance, the officer permitted him to finifh the game.. Before it was ended, a meffenger arrived with the news of the death of Mehemed, and of the unani- mous eledion of Juzaf to the crown. 1408. Juzaf Abul Haxex. The moft unwearied impor^ tunity, and abjedl fubmiilion, were unable to pro- cure him a peace with the Chriftians. The re- gent of Caftille, D. Ferdinand, being inflexibly bent upon expelling the whole Saracen race out of our continent. At length, Ferdinand was eled:ed king of Aragon, and finding fufficient employment with the affairs of his new kingdom, gave up all thoughts of his Moorifh conquefts, and liftened to the pro- pofals I'RAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, 147 pofals of the king of Granada, A truce was agreed uponj and afterwards a peace concluded, which af- forded Juzaf an opportunity of repairing his lofTes. He wound up the end of his days in tranquillity, and employed them folely in gaining the afFed:ions of his people, by a fteady purfuit of a moft equit- able plan of adminiftration. From the time Juzaf became poffeiTed of the royal dignity, he was never known to fhew the leaft fign of refentment againft the grandees that had ailifted his brother in depriving him of his birth-right and liberty : nay- more, he conferred great honours and favours upon many of them, and gave them pofts of truft in va- rious capacities. Some of his own party found fault with his lenity, and endeavoured to work him up to the deftrudion of thofe noblemen ; but Juzaf always made anfwer, Would you have me, by my cruelty, furnifh them with an excufe for having preferred my brother to me? He educated the fons of Mehemed in his palace, and treated them in every refpedt like his own children. 1423. His eldeft fon, Mehemed Elazari, or the left-hand- ed, fucceeded. He was more remarkable for the ftrange viciffitudes of his fortune, than for any thing great of his own atchieving : his tyranny and negligence encouraged his coufin-german, ^427. Mehemed El Zugair, or the leffer, to take up U 2 arms 148 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. arms again ft him, and drive him out of the king- dom. Two years after Elazari, with the affiftance of the kings of Caftille and Tunis, retook Granada, and made El Zugair prifoner, whom he put to death in the moft cruel and ignominious manner that could be devifed. 1429. Elazari being thus reftored to his throne, was far from altering his method of proceeding ; in con- fequence of which, after many defeats in a bloody war againft the Chriftians, he was a fecond time dethroned, and the grandfon of that Mehemed who was killed at Seville, raifed up in his ftead. 1432. Juzaf aben Almaoalnayar gave great hopes of his proving a juft and wife monarch ; but his death, which happened in the fixth month of his reign, put an end to all his projeds, and Mehemed Ela- zari, was once more proclaimed king. The peo- ple of Granada were now become fo well accuftom- ed to a frequent change of mafters, and fo very prone to novelty, that it was no longer poffible for any prince to remain firm in the royal feat for any length of time. Accordingly Elazari, that perpe- tual butt of fortune, was for the third and lafi: time deprived of his fceptre, and fhut up in a clofe prifon by his nephew, 1445, Mehemed ben Ofmin, furnamed the Tame. In the beginning of his reign, he waged war againft the TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 149 the Chriftians with great fuccefs ; but in the year 1452, his good fortune abandoned him, and he met with nothing ever after but croffes and dif- appointments. The king of Caftille fpirited up againft him a competitor for the crown, Ifmael, his coufin-german ; who being admitted into the ca- pital by a party he had previously fecured, fur- prized Mehemed, and threw him into the fame dungeon where their common uncle had already languifhed eight years. Thus ended thefe two princes like puppets, which, after having been made to move upon the ftage the time allotted for repre- fentation, are thrown by in a lumber-room, and never thought of more. 1453. Ifmael thus found himfelf in the peaceable pof- feffion of a crown, which had been fo often iliifted from head to head, and fo mutilated and curtailed during a long feries of misfortunes, that any faga^ cious obferver might fafely pronounce the period of its final diflblution to be near at hand. The Chriflians had fo long laid wafte with fire and fword the rich plain of Granada, that Ifmael found that fource of plenty almoft irretrievably loft. To make up in fome degree for this deficiency, he ordered a large trad; of foreft to be cleared, and, the moun- tainous lands behind Granada to be levelled, and converted into arable and, garden grounds. Earth was 150 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. was even brought from the Vega, to render the hills more fruitful. Great fupplies of water were conveyed from the Dauro, by means of aqueduds and conduits, to water thofe eminences naturally barren and parched up by the fun. Thefe im- provements were the fupport of the Granadines, af- ter their implacable enemies had not only burnt their crops in the plains, but even deftroyed their farms, cut down their fruit-trees, rooted up their vines, and changed one of the moft delightful fpots on earth into a mere naked defart. Upon engag- ing to pay an annual tribute of twelve thoufand ducats, and to deliver every year fix hundred Chrif- tian captives, or, in cafe of there being none to re- leafe, an equal number of Moors (an almoft in- credible condition, which more than any thing evinces the miferable ftate of this kingdom) the Moors at laft obtained a peace, or rather truce, which even did not extend to that part of the king- dom that is near Jaen. tA-75- Muley Mehemed Abilhaffan fucceeded his father Ifmael, and was fo imprudent as to engage in a war with Caftille, which ended only with the ruin of the MufTulman empire in Spain. The firft impor- tant conqueft of the Spaniards was Alhama, a town famous for its magnificent baths, whither the Moorifh princes were wont frequently to retire for their TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 151 their health and diverlion. In 1484, Abilhaflan having put away his wife Ayxa, and taken to his bed Fatima, a Grecian flave, furnamed for her beauty Zoraya^ or the morning-ftar, the difgraced Sultana made her efcape from the Alhambra, and raifed a rebellion in favour of her fon. Abouabdoulah. The old king was forced to fly for re- fuge to Malaga, to his brother El Zagal, who foon after gained great glory by a vidlory he obtained over the grand mafter of St. Jago. About the fame time, the young king was routed and taken prifoner by the Caftillians at Lucena, being the firft Arabian prince led into captivity by the Chriftians. HafTan was reftored ; but Ferdinand of Aragon, hufband to Ifabella of Caftille, fet the fon at liberty, with a view of fomenting their civil diffenfions, and thereby facilitating the conqueft of their kingdom. El Zagal, foon quarrelled with the old king, and drove him into exile, where he died foon after, in mifery and defpair. Abouabdoulah, or the young king, was the lawful monarch ; but his uncle, who had already deftroyed one rival, endeavoured to put the other alfo out of the way by affaffination. The plot was difcovered, the nephew's party prevailed, and El Zagal, rather than fubmit to his own relation, from whom he had no right to expe6t mer- cy, went over, and delivered up all his polTeffions to Fer- dinand. The Spanifh monarch immediately fummoned; Abouabdoulah to fulfil the conditions of the treaty, upon 152 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. upon which he had obtained his liberty. Thefe were, to deliver up Granada, as foon as Almeria, Guadix, and -Baca, fhould be in the hands of the Spaniards. This con- tingency was now come to pafs. It was not natural to fuppofe the Moor would fubmit tamely to his utter ruin ; therefore Ferdinand, who had forefeen his refufal, laid iiege to Granada. After nine months blockade, for the compleating of which he built a new town, called Santa Fe, he obliged the Moorifh king to furrender. Ferdi- nand and Ifabel made their triumphant entry on the 2d of January 1492. Abouabdoulah, in his way to Pur- chena, the place appointed for his refidence, flopped on the hill of Padul, to take a laft farewell look of his beloved Granada. The fight of his city and palace, to which he was then about to bid an eternal adieu, over- came his refolution : he burft into a flood of tears, and, in the anguifh of his foul, broke out into the mofi: bitter exclamations againft the hardnefs of his fate. The Sulta- nefs Ayxa, his mother, upbraided him for his weaknefs, in the foUov/ing terms : " Thou doft well to weep, like a woman, over the lofs of that kingdom, which thou kneweft not how to defend, and die for, like a man." This prince was the lafh Moor that reigned in Spain, where their empire had fubflfted feven hundred and eighty-two years. Such Moorifh families as remained in Granada after the difTolution of the monarchy, were continually molefted by TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 153 by zealous priefts and bigotted princes. Every article of the capitulation was in its turn eluded, or openly vio- lated, and the Moors reduced to the alternative of re- nouncing the religion of their anceftors, or of abandon- ing their native country. The Spanifli clergy, not at all fatisfied with the outward fhew of conversion in tho(e that had embraced the Chriftian religion, were eager to difcern the Jinccre from the hypocrite, and therefore fet fpies over them, encouraged all accufations, and cavilled with every part of their drefs and behaviour. Thus liar- raffed, and urged to the very brink of defpair, the Mori- fcos, as they were then called, formed a grand confpiracy, which broke out on Chriftmas night, in the year 1568. Having placed at their head a young man, defcended from their ancient princes, by name Ferdinand de Valor, which he changed to Mehemed Aben Humeya, they rofe in arms in moft parts of the kingdom of Granada. The revolt began by wreaking the moft bloody vengeance on all Chriftiansjcfpecially priefts, that fell into their hands. Not- withftanding conliderable forces were fent againft them, and many furious battles fought between the Spaniards and the infurgents, generally to the difadvantage of the latter, the rebellion continued in great vigour near two years. Aben Humeya, having betrayed an inclination to capitu- late, was murdered by his ov/n officers, and a defperate captain, called Abenaboo, eledled in his ftead. This Sha- dow of royalty foon paffed away, and met with the fate X of 154 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. of his predeceffoT. After his affafflnation, the Morifcos fubmltted, and were difperfed all over Spain, the rabble of the two Caftilles being fent to occupy their lands. In the year 1610, Philip the third iflued out an edid:, commanding every perfon of Moorifh extradion, without exception, to retire out of Spain, which rigorous, and extraordinary order was to all appearance punctually obeyed ; yet fo late as the year 1724, the inquifition fer- retted out, and drove into banifhment, fome confiderable remnants of that unfortunate race.. LETTER XXI. RYDEN has built the ground-v/ork of his play,, of 'The conquefi of Granada^ upon circumftances taken out of a romantic hiftory of the diffentiom between the Zegris and the Abencerrages^ noble Moors of Granada, by Giles Perez. The Spanifh ballad, tranflated in Dr. Percy's relics of ancient poetry, is drawn from the fame fo. rce. As Peres is an author read by ail ranks of people in this counrry, his dreams are generally received as undoubted fads, confecrated by tradition ; and moft of the tales repeated by the keepers of the palace, &c. have TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 155 have been learnt in his book. Indeed " Medina Conti, author of the Pajfeos de Granada, pretends to have found an Arabic manufcript account of thefe times, which cor- roborates the teftimony of Peres ; but thefe writers are fuch notorious impoftors, that little credit can be given to any thing they advance : however, there mufl: undoubt- edly be fome foundation for thefe anecdotes, and a previous knowledge of them is rather neceffary for the perfed: underftanding of the dcfcription of the Alhambra ; I fhall therefore prefume fo far upon your patience, as to fketch you out an abflradt of the latter part of his hiftory. In the days of Boabdil or Abouabdoulah, the laft king of Granada, the Alabeces, Abencerrages, Zegris, and Gomeles, were the moft powerful families in that city ; " Conti, in order to favour the pretenfions of the church in a great law- fuit, forged deeds and infcriptions, which he buried in the ground where he knew they would fhortly be dug up again. Upon their being found, he pub- lifhed engravings of them, and gave explanations of their unknown charac- ters, making them out to be fo many authentic proofs and evidences of the afTertions of the clergy, Flis impollure was detefted, and he now lies in prifon, without much hope of ever recovering his liberty. I am told he is a moft learned, ingenious man, profoundly fkilled in the antiquities of his coun- try. The Morocco ambaflador, in his way through Granada, purchafed of this man a copper bracelet of Fatima, which Medina proved, by the Arabic infcription, and many certificates, to be genuine, and found among the ruins of part of the Alhambra, with other tre^afures of the laft king, who had hid them there in hopes of better days. Th,is famous bracelet turned out after- wards to be the work of Medina's own hajids, and made out of an old brafs candleftick, X 3 156 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. they filled moll of the great employments about court, and fcarce a brilliant atchicvement in war was heard of, that, was not performed by the arm of fome knight of thefe four houfes. High above the reft towered the Abencerrages, un- equalled in gallantry, magnificence,, and chivalry. None among the Abencerrages more accompliihed, more diftin- guifhed, than Albin Hamet, who for his great wifdom and valour flood defervedly foremofl in the lift of the king's favourites. His power rofe to fuch a pitch, that it ex- cited the moft violent envy in the breaft of the Zegris- and Gomeles, who determined to pull him down fronii this poft of fuperior eminence. After concerting many fchemes for his deftru£tion, none appeared to them more, effectual than one propofed by a confummate villain of the Zegri family. He feized an opportunity of being alone with the king, whofe character was as yet frank, and unfufpicious ; affuming an air of extreme anguifhj of mind, he obferved to the prince how very weak his conduct appeared to all wife men, by repofing fuch un- bounded confidence in, and trufting his perfon with, fuch traitors as the Abencerrages, who were well known to be. laying a fcheme for a general revolt, thereby to deprive Abouabdoulah of his life and crown. Nay more, he, and three men of honour, had feen the queen in wanton dal- liance with Albin Hamet Abencerrage, behind the lofty cypreffes in the gardens of the Generaliph, from whence Hamet had returned infolently crowned with a garland of TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 157 of rofes. Thefe calumnies roufed all the furies of jealoufy m the breaft of the credulous monarchj and the deftruc- tion of the whole lineage of Abencerrage was planned in the bloody junto. The principal men of the devoted fa- mily were, under fome pretence or other, fummoned one by one to attend the king in the court of lions. No fooner was each unhappy vidlim admitted within the walls, than he was feized by the Zegris, led to a large alabafter bafon in one of the adjoining halls, and there beheaded. Thirty-fix of the nobleft of the race had al- ready perifbed, before the treachery was difcovered. A page belonging to one of thofe noblemen, having found means to follow his mafter in, and to get out again un- feen, divulged the fecret of this bloody tranfadion. The treafon once known, all Granada was in an inftant up in. arms, and many defperate combats enfued, which, by the great havock made amongft the moft valiant of its chief- tains, brought the ftate to the very brink of ruin. Thefe tu- mults being appeafed by the wifdom of Mufa, a baftard^ brother of the king, a grand council was held, in which Abouabdoulah declared his reafons for the punifhment inflided on the Abencerrages ; viz. their confpiracy, and the adultery of the queen. He then folemnly pronounced her fentence, which was, to be burnt alive,, if within thirty days fhe did not produce four knights to defend her caufe againft the four accufers. The queen's relations were upon the point of drawing their fcimitars in the audience- 15S TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. audience-chamber, and refcuing her from the danger that threatened her ; but their fury was checked by the elo- quence of Mufa, -who obferved to them, they might by violence fave the life of the Sultana, but by no means clear her reputation in the eyes of the world ; which would certainly look upon that caufe as unjuft, which re- fufed to fubmit to the cuftomary trial. The queen was immediately fhut up in the tower of Comares. Many Granadine warriors were ambitious of having the honour of expofing their lives in her quarrel, but none were fo happy as to prove the object of her choice. She had conceived fo high an idea of the Chriftians, from the va- lour fhe had feen them difplay in a great tournament lately held at Granada, and the treachery of the Zegris had impreffed her with fo defpicable an opinion of Moorifh honour, that fhe was determined to reft her de- fence upon the gallantry of the Spanifh knights. In hopes of roufing their noble fpirit to adion, fhe difpatched a trufty meffenger with a letter to Don Juan de Chacon, lord of Carthagena, entreating him to efpoufe her caufe, and like a true knight, bring with him three brave war- riors to ftand her friends on the day appointed. Chacon returned for anfwer, that he fet too high a price upon that honour, not to be punctual to the hour of trial. The fatal day arrived, and all Granada was buried in the deepeft afflidtion, to find that their beloved queen had been fo remifs as not to have named one of her defenders. - Mufa, TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 159 Mufa, Azarque, and Aimoradi, the judges of the com- bat, preffed her, in vain, to accept of their fwords, or thofe of feveral other warriors willing to affert the juftnefs of her caufe. The Sultana, relying on the Spanifh faith, perfifted in her refufal ; upon which, the judges con- ducted her down from the Alhambra, to a fcaffold in the great fquare, hung with black, where they feated them- felves on one fide. At the fight of this beauty in diftrefs, the whole place refounded with loud cries and lamenta- tions ; and it was with difficulty that the fpediators could be reftrained from attacking her enemies, and refcuing her by main force. Scarce were the judges feated, when twenty trumpets announced the approach of the four ac- cufers, who advanced armed cap-a-pie, mounted on the fineft courfers of Andalulia. Over their armour they wore loofe vefts, with plumes and fafhes of a tawny co- lour. On their fhields were painted two bloody fwords, and thefe words : For the ti'uth we draw them. — All their kinfmen and adherents accompanied them to their poft within the lifts. In vain did the crowd caft a longing eye towards the gate through which the champions of in- jured innocence were to ent^r 3 none appeared from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon. The Sultana's courage began to fail her ; and, when four valiant Moors prefented themfelves, to fue for the honour of drawing their fwords to vindicate her innocence, fhe promifed to trufl her life in their hands, if within two hours the per- fons i6o TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. foils flie expeded fliould not appear. At that inflant a great noife was heard, and four Turkifh horfemen came prancing into the fquare. One of them addreffed the judges, requefting the favour of fpeaking to the Queen ; which being granted, he knelt down, and told her aloud, that he and his companions were Turks, come to Spain with the defign of trying their flrength againft the heroes of Ferdinand's army ; but that, hearing of this folemn trial, they had changed their refolution, and were now arrived at Granada, to devote their firft effay of arms in Spain to her fervice, and hoped £he would approve of them for her champions. As he fpoke, he let drop into her lap the letter fhe had written to Don Juan ; by the fight of which, fhe difcovered this feigned Turk to be no other than the lord of Carthagena, who had brought with him, as companions in this dangerous conflid:, the duke of Arcos, Don Alonzo de Aguilar, and Don Ferdi- nand de Cordova. The queen accepted of their propofal ; and the judges having folemnly declared her choice, gave orders for the charge to found. The onfet was fierce, and the fight long doubtful. At length, Don Juan over- threw Mahandin Gomel, and the duke flew Alihamet Zegri ; Mahandon Gomel fell by the ' fword of Aguilar, and the lafl of all, the arch-traitor Mahomed Zegri, difabled by repeated wounds, and fainting with lofs of blood, funk at the feet of Don Ferdinand ; who, fetting his knee on the infidel's breaft, and holding his dagger to TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. i6i to his throat, fummoned him to confefs the truth, or die that inftant. "Thou need'ft not add another wound," faid Mahomad, " for the laft will prove fufficient to rid the world of fuch a monfter. Know then, that to revenge myfelf of the Abencerrages, I invented the lye that caufed their deftrudion, and the perfecution cf the Sultana ; whom I here declare free from all ftain or reproach whatfoever, and with my dying breath implore her for- givenefs." The judges came down to receive this depofi.- tion of the expiring Zegri, and it was afterwards an- nounced to the people, who expreffed their joy by the loudeft acclamations. The day ended in feftivity and rejoicing. The queen was efcorted back in triumph to the palace, where the penitent Abouabdallah fell at her feet, and with floods of tears endeavoured to atone for his crime ; but to no purpofe ; for the queen remained in- flexible, and, retiring to the houfe of her neareft of kin, refufed to have any further intercourfe with him. The four knights left Granada, without difcovering them- felves to any other perfon ; and foon after, the numerous friends and adherents of the Abencerrages abandoned the city, and, by their feceflion into Caflille or Africa, left Abouabdallah deflitute of able ofliGers, and entirely at the mercy of his enemies, who in the courfe of a few months deprived him of his kingdom. LETTER i62 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. LETTER XXII. 'E have got acquainted with a very converfable old Spanifh officer, of a great family, and ftill greater appetite. He has very freely imparted to us all he knows about the prefent as well as ancient ftate of thia province, and the comparifons he makes between them, often draws a figh from us all three. His nephew is pof- feffed of large lordfhips and eftates in the neighbourhood ; which has afforded him many opportunities of coming at good information on a fubjed: we are very defirous of in— veftigating, I mean, whether there exift any remains of Moorifh families in this country, and what is the tradi- tion concerning the manners and cuftoms of that people before their expulfion. Granada, while governed by its own kings, the lafE years excepted, feems to have enjoyed greater affluence and profperity than ever it has done fince it became a province of Spain. Before the conqueft, it was one of the moft compact, well-peopled, opulent kingdoms in the world. Its agriculture was brought to great perfedlion, its revenues and circulation were immenfe ; the public works carried on with great magnifience, and its popula- tion not to be credited by any perfon that fees it in its prefent TRAVELS THRpUGH SPAIN. 163 prefent condition. Nothing but the numerous ruins fcattered over its hills can induce one to believe, that thofe bleak, barren waftes, which make up more than two-thirds of the province, were formerly covered with luxuriant plantations of fruit-trees, abundant harvefts, or noble forefts. Each Moor had his allotment of a^s much ground as fufficed for his habitation, the mainte- nance of his family, and the provender of his horfe, which every man was obliged to keep. Thefe fmall free- holds formed the general appearance of the country, be- fore the inceffant inroads and ravages of the Chriftians had driven the Moors to cities, mountains of difficult accefs, or quite away to the coaft of Barbary. The fingle city of Granada contained eighty thoufand families, and frequently fent out armies of thirty thoufand foot, and ten thoufand horfe. An Arabian author fays, that the' kings had a conftant ftock of an hundred thoufand horfes for their own ufe, and for mounting their cavalry in time of war, and more than once had muftered two hun- dred thoufand foldiers in ad:ual pay, for the purpofe of making war upon the Caftillians. A great deal of lilk was produced in the plain, and the hills behind the city afforded corn enough for its confumption. The rich mines of the mountains were opened, and, tho' not wrought with any thing like the {kill of modern miners, yielded fuch a quantity of gold and iilver, that both metals were more common in Gra- y 2 nada 164 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIK. nada than any country in Europe. I cannot give you a more diftinft idea of this people, than by tranilating a pafTage in an Arabic manufcript, in the library of the Efcurial, intitled, " The Hiftory of Granada, by Abi Ab- *' dalah ben Alkalhibi Abfaneni," written in the year of the Hegira 778, which anfwers to the year of Chrift 13.78; Mahomet Lago being then for the fecond time king of Granada. It begins by a defcription of the city and its environs,, nearly in the following terms :. " The city of Granada is fiirrounded with moft fpa- *' cious gardens, where the trees are fet fo thick as ta *' refemble hedges, yet not fo as to obftruft the view of " the beautiful towers of the Alhambra, which glitter *' like fo many bright ftars over the green forefts. The *' plain, ftretcliing far and wide, produces fuch quantities. " of grain and vegetables, that no revenues but thofe " of the firft families in the kingdom are equal to their " annual produce; Each: garden is calculated to bring " in a neat income of five hundred pieces of gold " (aurei ") out of which it pays thirty minae " to the " king. Beyond thefe gardens lie fields of various cul- *^' ture, at all feafons of the year clad with the richeft " verdure, and loaded with fome valuable vegetable pro- ""I was not able to obtain from the interpreters of Arabic, any fatisfaftory. account of the real value of tliefe Granada coinsj therefore have left them as I found them in C'afire's Latin tranflation. Tit A VELS THROUGH SPAIN. 165 ** dudion or other ; by this method, a perpetual fucceflion " of crops is fecured, and a great annual rent is produced, " which is faid tc/ amount to twenty thoufand aurei. " Adjoining, you may lee the fumptuous farms belong- *' ing to the royal demefnes, wonderfully agreeable to the " beholder, from the large quantity of plantations of *' trees, and the variety of the plants. Thefe eftates oc- " cupy an extent of twenty miles fquare ; for the purpofe ** of taking care of and working them, they keep num- " bers of able-bodied hulbandmen, and choice beafts both " of draught and burthen. In moft of them are caftles, *' mills, and mofques. Great mull be the profit upon " thefe royal farms, ariUng from confummate fkill in " hulbandry, afTifted by the fertility of the foil, and the " temperature of the air. Many towns, remarkable for " the number of their inhabitants and the excellence of "' their produdiions, lie difperfed round the boundaries of '* thefe crown lands. The plain contains alfo large trails " of meadow and paflure, villages and hamlets full of " people, country-houfes and fmall dwellings belonging ^' to one perfon, or to two or three copartners* I have " heard the names of above three hundred hamlets in the " environs of Granada: within fight of the city walls " may be reckoned fifty colleges and places of worfhipj. " and above three hundred water-mills." He next proceeds to the charader of the inhabitants. *' The Granadians are orthodox in religion^ of the fed "of SI i66 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. *' of the Molekites. They pay implicit obedience to the "mandates of their princes ; are patient of labour, and *' above meafure liberal : in perfon comely ; of a middle " ftature, with fmall nofes, clear complexions, and black. *' hair : elegant in their language, but rather prolix in, " difcourfe : in diflerting and difputing, haughty and *' obflinate. The greater number of their families de- " rive their origin from houfes of Barbary. Their drefs " is ftriped Perfian or Turkifh robes of the higheft " prices, either fine woollens, linens, filks, or cottons. In winter they wear the Albornos^ or African cloak ; in fummer a loofe white wrapper. The foldiers of " Spanifh extradion ufe in war a fliort coat of mail, " light helmet, Arabian horfe-furniture, a leathern buck- " ler and flender fpear. Thofe born in Africa bear very long ftaves, which they call A?nrasy i. e. rope- ' ends. Their dwellings are but flightly built. It is very curious to affift at the diverfions of their feftivals ; for then the young people affemble in fets at the danc- *' ing-houfes, and fing all manner of licentious ballads. The citizens of Granada eat the very beft of wheaten bread, throughout the year ; the poorer fort, and la- " bourers, are fometimes, in winter-time, obliged to put up with barley-bread, which, however, is excellent in its kind. They have every fort of fruit in abundance, " efpeclally grapes, of which the quantity eaten is incre- " dible. The vineyards in the neighbourhood bring in " fourteen cc (C CC cc cc TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 167 *'' fourteen thoufand aurei. Immenfe are the hoards of ** all fpccies of dried fruits, fuch as figs^ raiiins, plumbs,, '* &c. They have alfo the fecret of preferving grapes, *' found and juicy from one feafon to another. " Both their gold and filver coin is good, and near to " purity. " Many are the amufements and recreations of the " citizens, when they retire in autumn to their pretty " villas in the fuburbs. They are paflionately fond of " decking themfelves out v^^ith gems, and ornaments of ** gold and precious ftones. " The women are handfome, but of a ftature rather ** below the middle Hze, fo that it is rare to meet with " a tall one among them : they are very delicate, and " proud of encouraging a prodigious length of hair ; ** their teeth white as the driven fnow, and their whole *' perfon kept perfectly fv/eet, by the abundant ufe of " the moft exquilite perfumes ; light and airy in their gait, of a fprightly acute wit, and fmart in converfa- tion. In this age, the vanity of the fex has carried the " art of dreffing themfelves out with elegance, profuiion, " and magnificence, to fuch an excefs, that it can no ** longer be limply called luxury, but is become abfolute " downright madnefs." In Granada, no houfe was without its pipe of water, and in every ftreet were copious fountains for the public convenience. In ihort, they negleded no art or inven- tion~ i6,8 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. tion that could contribute towards rendering their lives eafy and voluptuous. I am afraid their urbanity and re- finement helped to accelerate their ruin. You have hitherto been fhewn the brilliant fide of the ^pidure ; alas ! how different will you find it, when con- fidered from another point of view, that of its prefent ftate. The glories of Granada have pafTed away with its old inhabitants ; its ftreets are choaked with filth ; its aqueducts crumbled to duft ; its woods deftroyed; its ter- ritory depopulated; its trade loft; in a word, every thing, except the church and law, in a nioft deplorable fitua- tion. At the time of the expulfion of the Moors, fuch of them as were particularly fkilled in the filk-manu- fadures, or in the art of conveying and diftributing wa- t^r to the grounds, were fuifered to remain in the king- dom. Befides thefe, fome were lucky enough to find powerful protedors, who fcreened them from fliaring the common fate of their brethren. So late as the year 1726, the Inquifition, with the fandion of government, feized upon three hundred and fixty families, accufed of fecret Mahometifm, and confifcated all their effedls, which have been eftimated at twelve millions of crowns : an immenfe fum, of which no account was ever given ! The anceftors of thefe people had at their baptifm afTumed the fur- names of their godfathers, by which means they had the fame appellations as many of the beft families in Spain; a kind TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 169 a kind of relationfliip that was of great fervice to them in their misfortune, and probably faved their lives from the fury of the holy office. They were difperfed into diftant parts of Spain, where, it is faid, that with fo much experience and fkill in commerce, they foon grew rich again, and no doubt acquired wifdom enough to fe- cure their fecond acquiHtions better than their firft. They were the principal merchants and monied men of Gra- nada ; their cuftom was to buy up for ready money all the iilk made in the Vega, and fometimes advance the value of it to the landholders before the feafon. This raw fiik they diftributed to the manufadurers in the city, whom they fupplied with cafli for their prefent maintenance, and were repaid by degrees in wrought lilks. All thefe artificers thrived under their protection, and provided a comfortable fubfiftence for themfelves and their families. The proprietors of land felt the fweets of a ready fale for their commodities ; and the annual produce of filk in this province, before the year 1726, feldom fell lliort of two millions fix hundred thoufand pounds weight, where- as now it does not exceed one hundred thoufand. The fea-coaft of Granada, from Marbella to Motril, afforded formerly large quantities of fugar, which was an article of commerce to Madrid, till within thefe thirty years. What is now produced, is confumed in the neigh- bourhood in fweetmeats. From heavy duties which were laid on this branch of trade, and ftiil continue, it is al- Z moft lyo TRAVELS T H R O U G S SPAIN. mofl; loft, there being now only three mills at work, in a declining ftate. At Motril, and at Toros near Velez, fugar-canes have been produced nine feet high, and of a proportionable thicknefs. They fay, the firft plants were carried from thence to the Weft Indies, and that the quality and grain of the fugar is ftill equal to any imported from thence. A village in the mountains up the Dauro, is to this day almoft wholly compofed of the defcendants of Moors ; but it is not pofTible to know whether they have retain- ed any attachment to the cuftoms and religion of their anceftors, or whether they are as good Chriftians at heart as in outward appearance. You may eafily diftinguifli them from the Caftillians who were tranfplanted hither, by their round plump faces, and fmall bright eyes, little nofe, and projefting under jaw. In their deportment, they are extremely humble and fmooth-tongued ; but lb tenacious of their ready money, that it is with dijfHculty they can prevail upon themfelves to part with the rents and dues which they cannot well avoid paying. Thefe people, and the progeny of the Mofarabic Chriftians, who inhabited the country before the conqueft, are efteemed a much better race of , men, both as to morals and induftry, than the defcendants of thofe vagabonds o-f Cafti le, who conftitute the major part of the prefent inhabitants. Many veftiges of Moorifti manners and cuf- toms may. ftill be traced: — ^when they go in fummer to. bathe.^ X s 4 < LxJ X o < ft '7 ^ o o •^-.< 1>2 J- - ^ t PS ^ ic^fnz/ii-jc. ffS. J^t. COUlWo/fA, LlOJVS.n (/u yiLIIAJf/ULl o,- Moo/i LS'II /lU.ACi: o/ Gn .VXLiDA JT ln\ym/4i/i,i/u /t- . prove that there is very little of it remaining that is not the work of Abulhaghagh, or of Abouabdoulah. Having thus completed the tour of the upper apart- ments, which are upon a level with the offices of the new palace, you defcend to the lower floor, which con- fifted of bedchambers and fummer-rooms : the back- flairs and palTages, that facilitated the intercourfe be- tween them, are without number. The moft remarkable room below is the king's bedchamber, whick communi- cated, by means of a gallery, with the upper ftory. The beds were placed in two alcoves, upon a raifed pavement of blue and white tiles; but as it has been repaired by Philip V. who pafTed fome time here, I cannot fay how it may have been in former times, A fountain played in the middle, to refrefh the apartment in hot weather^ TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 187 weather. Behind the alcoves are fmall doors, that con- dud you to the royal baths. Thefe confift in one fmall clofet with marble cifterns for walhing children, two rooms for grown-up perfons, and vaults for boilers and furnaces, that fupplied the baths with water, -and the ftoves with vapours. The troughs are formed of large ilabs of white marble ; the walls are beautified with party- coloured earthen ware 3 light is admitted by holes in the coved cieling. Hard by is a whifpering-gallery, and a kind of laby- rinth, faid to have been made for the diverfion of the women and children. One of the palTages of communication is fenced off with a ftrong iron grate, and called the prifon of the fultana ; but it feems more probable that it was put up to prevent any body from climbing up into the women's quarter. Under the council-room is a long flip, called the king's ftudy ; and adjoining to it are feveral vaults, faid to be the place of burial of the royal family. In the year i574j four fepulchres were opened, but, as they con- tained nothing but bones and afhes, were immediately clofed again. I {hall finifh this defcription of the Alhambra, by ob- ferving how admirably every thing was planned and cal- culated for rendering this palace the moft voluptuous of all retirements ; what plentiful fupplies of water were B b 2 brought i88 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. brought to refredi it in the hot months of fummer ; what a free circulation of air was contrived, by the judicious difpolition of doors and windows ; what fhady gardens of aromatic trees ; what noble views over the beautiful hills and fertile plains ! No wonder the Moors regretted Gra- nada ; no wonder they ftill ofFer up prayers to God every Friday for the recovery of this city, which they efteem a terreftrial paradife. LETTER XXIV. Granada^ December 30, 177^. FTER the Alhambra, I am afraid the reft of the city will go down but poorly : indeed there is little worth feeing here. The Alameda, along the banks of the Xenil, is as plea- fant a walk as any in Spain, but the river has feldom wa- ter enough to enliven the profped with a refledled land- fcape. The hill rifes boldly, to back the avenue, with orange-groves, cyprefs-alleys, and clufters of houfes, grouped upon the waving line of its fides and fummit. This, and another drive beyond the river, are the chief places of refort for people on foot or in coaches ; and the beauty; TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 189 teauty of Granada is no where more ftriking than from thefe points of view. The more diftant parts of the hill are rather bare, and hollowed out into caverns, inhabited by a tawny, ill-favoured tribe, who have either excavated the mountain, or found it ready fcooped out to their hands by the ancient poffefTors of the country. In win- ter, thefe grottos are fo warm, that they fieep in them without cloaths or covering to the bed , and in fummer they are fo cool as to be dangerous for fuch perfons. as come fuddenly out of the heat of the external atmo- iphere. The environs of the town are charming even now. Every body tells us, that in fummer Granada is a de- licious abode, never too cold nor too hot, refrelhed by numberlefs ftreams, and perfumed by all the fweets wafted by the breeze from the gardens that lie fcattered over the declivities of the neighbouring hills. Nothing can be more agreeable, in the rnild funfhiny afternoons which we enjoy here, though atChriftmas, than the walks along the heights of the Alhambra. There is always a great concourie of people fitting on the grafs, bafking in the fun, and diverting themfelves, as if it were a fair. Venders of cakes, toys, and liquors, call their wares through the crowd. The women come to fhev/ them- felves in their holiday finery, drefl out in black filk pet- ticoats and veils. In that habit every wom-an has fome- thing uncommonly alluring. Here indeed the fex is reallj igo TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN: j-eally handfome in any drefs; their complexions arc fairer, their {kins clearer, and their cheeks glow with a brighter tinge than any faces we have met with in our journey down the coaft. The diftance of Granada from the fea-ports has probably preferved it from that general infedion of the odious difeafe, which rages with fuch virulence in all the trading towns. The furprizing purity of its air muft alfo greatly contribute towards the frefh- nefs of their looks. In many houfes, a current of water paffes in an uncovered channel through bedchambers where people fleep, winter and fummer, without its having the leaft bad effedt upon their health. Fruit and butchers meat remain in the Alhambra an unufual length of time without taint or putrefadion. The walls and gates of the town, very few parts excepted, are demolilhed or built up, and the city is open -on all fides. Moft of the ftreets are narrow and dirty. To the lanes and alleys the common people retire to per- form the moft filthy of nature's functions ; but they do it with much decency, having by long pradice acquired great expertnefs in calling their cloak like a net, fo as to fall exadly round at a proper diftance from the body. Though it is common enough to find them fquatted down in the ftreets, you never fee any bodymake water publicly, for when prefied, they always retire behind a door, into an entry, or to fome fecret corner. The Rambla is a very broad, long ftreet, leading to the TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, igt the great walk : a lofty cliurch, and fome public build- ings, give this ftreet an air of grandeur not common in a Spanifh city. Moft of the fmall hoijfes are Mooriih built, or coarfe imitations of that manner, the modern mafons decorating their walls with uncouth copies of Saracenic mofaics. I believe there is fcarce a houfe in Granada that has not over its door, in large red characters, the words, ^ve Maria purijjlma fin pecado concebidar, which is the cri de guerre of the Francifcan friars, who are the heads of the party that maintain the conception of thcj Virgin Mary to have been performed without her parti- cipating of the ftain of original Hn. This is a favourite- tenet in Spain, ftrengthened and confirmed by the infti- tution of the new order of knighthood of Carlos Tercero, by the vows of the ancient military orders, and by the oath adminiftered to all candidates for degrees. At their reception they fwear to defend, by word and deed, the dodtrine of the immaculate conception. The Dominic cans are the grand antagonifts of the Conceptionifls. The market-place is fpacious, but its buildings are hor- ridly ugly. They are Mooriih, and from top to bottom feem to be nothing but rows of large windows, divided by nar- row brick pilafters. The fhambles are a building apart, and clean enough. All meat bought in them muft be weighed before a fitting committee of magiftrates, before the buyer is fuffered to carry home his purchafe. One of our fervants was yefterday hurried to jail, through ignorance ^ • or 192 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAm. of this regulation. An alguazil, coming up behind him, feized on his catering bafket : this abrupt mode of pro- ceeding was repulfed by a violent blow on the chaps with a fhoulder of mutton, which brought the Spaniard to the ground. Our hero was marching off triumphant, when the pride of vi<5tory getting the better of his pru- dence, he fuffered himfelf to be furprized by a detach- ment of alguazils, who lodged him m prifon, till our banker waited upon the magiftrates, and procured his difcharge. The outlides of the churches are painted in a theatri- cal tafte, and their infides fet off with a profuiion of marbles, brought from the neighbouring mountains : the dark green, from the Sierra Nevada, is the moft valuable. Tables of an extraordinary iize have been lately cut of that marble, for the infant Don Lewis ; but as the roads have been (ince quite deftroyed by the torrents, the future carriage of fuch large blocks from the moun- tain will be attended with great expence and trouble. There are alfo many handfome brown marbles and alaba- flers, diverfilied with an infinite number of fhades and tints. One whole ftreet of artificers is employed in making little boxes, bracelets, necklaces, and other knick-knacks, of fuch materials, which they retail cheap enough. It is ufual in gentlemen's houfes to frame fine fpecimens of marble, and hang them up in the apart- ments by way of ornament. The TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 193 The cathedral, which, in point of architedture, flands very high in the opinion of the Granadines, is an affem- blap-e of three churches. The firft is a clumfy pariili- church ; the fecond, a large chapel, erefted by Ferdi- nand V. at that unfortunate sera of the arts, when all the liffhtnefs and beautiful caprice of the Saracenic tafte was laid alide, to make room for an unwieldy, prepofterous mode of building, and a few years before the magnifi- cence, elegance, and purity of Grecian architedlure came again to be underftood, reliflied, and copied. Both within and without, this chapel is incumbered. with the "weight of its own ill-proportioned ornaments. Ferdir- naiid and Ifabella repofe before the altar, under a large marble monument full of figures and grotefques, in a pretty good ftyle; which proves what a furprizing revo- lution the arts had undergone fince the time of building the chapel. The two catholic monarchs lie by the fide of each other y and adjoining, on a fimilar tomb, are ftretched out the effigies of Philip the Fair, of Auftria, their fon-in-law, and of Joan their daughter, his wife. Over the great door is the emblem of the united mo- narchies, a- bundle of arrows tied together, and clutched in the talons of a fingle-headed eagle. From the chapel you pafs into the main church, be- gun in the reign of Charles V. but not yet quite finifiiedi It has the advantage of receiving abundance of light in every part j but the archited, . who has elTayed. every C c order.; 394 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. .order of architedure both on the outfide and infide of the church, has combined and difpofed them in fo heavy and confufed a manner, that they produce none of that grand effedl which refults from the well-proportioned parts of one whole, when placed in perfed harmony with each other ; fuch as fills the eye with one great objedt, and affords the fenfes a repofe and fatisfadlion, undifturbed by the irregular predominance of any of the component members. Here they have carried the extravagance of fancy to fuch a pitch, that at one altar they have turned a fet of twifted columns of beautiful marble topfy-turvy, and placed the fmaller end on the bafe : the uncouthnefs of the appearance correfponds with the abfurdity of the idea. The high altar is infulated, after the Roman fafhion, under a very lofty dome, which would be entitled to the admiration of connoif- feurs, had they taken lefs pains to load the arches, and the angles of the cupola, with ftatues, pidlures, and feftoons. The area round its bafis, with the fine iron railing, and marble pavement, makes a great fhew. I ob- ferved no very good paintings over any of the altars ; but read an order, hung up in one of the iles, which thun- ders out the pain of the greater excommunication againft all fuch as walk here for their pleafure, or converfe with women in any of the chapels. Left this anathema fiiould not reftrain the idle and the amorous, the fpiritual court has added to it a fine of four ducats for each offence. The TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 195 The church of St. John of God is richly ornamented, and To are many others in Granada ; but I faw none that did much credit to their architects, few of whom feem to have comprehended or admired the principles upon, which Verruguete proceeded in building the new palace in the Alhambra. The amphitheatre for buU-feafts is built with flone, and paiTes for one of the beft in Spain. The court of chancery fits in a new building, of a dif- agreeable ftyle, heavy and disjointed. There are fome medallions, and pillars of fine marble, in the main front. This court of judicature (of which fpecies there is but another in the kingdom, eftablifhed at Valladolid) com- prehends within its jurifdidion more than half Spain, extending to the very neighbourhood of Madrid. Appeals lie to it from all the audiences and lower courts, and; from it to the council of Caftille only. Before the con- demnation has been ratified here, no inferior judge iv authorized to execute the fentence of death upon a cri- minal, under the pain of forfeiting five hundred mara- vedis, a fum fo trifling, according to the prefent value of. money, that it is not likely to deter a refokite officer of juflice from punifhing an oifendcr without delay. This tribunal draws a fwarra of lawyers to the place,, who abforb its riches, and are the only people that live: with any degree of luxury or affluence. They foon con-« fume the little wealth a farmer or tradefman. may have. C c 2 fcraped. 196 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. fcraped together, by involving him in fome Jaw-fuit or other, out of which he cannot extricate himfelf, as long as he has a farthing left to pay his attorney with. This, and many other kinds of oppreflion, have reduced Granada to a ftate of great poverty and defpondency. Commerce is very feebly carried on, without encourage- ment or protection -, the crops of the fertile Vega dimi- nilli annually ; population gradually decreafes. The city does not contain more than fifty thoufand inhabi- tants, of which number about eighteen thoufand only are ufeful working hands ; the furplus is made up of law- yers, clergymen, children, and beggars. There are not lefs than a thoufand fhurdy, able-bodied rafcals, that live by alms and conventual donations. We this morning faw a whole regiment of them drawing off in great order from the gate of the Carthufians, where they had been to receive a luncheon of bread and a platter of porridge apiece. Many of them afterwards adjourned to a fhop, where feveral perfons were playing publicly at dice. The play-houfe differs in fome refpects from thofe we have feen in other parts of the kingdom : the men occupy all the ground-floor, and the women fit very high up, in a crazy kind of gallery. The fire of the flints and fteels was fo quick among the men, vv^ho were all preparing to fmoke, or fmoking, that it looked like foldiers going through their exercife. They gave us one day a ftrange farce, which it was impoffible to make any thing of; it was TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 197 was all metamorphofis, a continual change of cloaths and char^dter; at laft out came a Capuchin friar, mounted on an.afs, who, after many grimaces and buffooneries, coupled the other adors in the bands of holy wedlock. LETTER XXV. Granada, January i, 1775. YESTERDAY morning we took a ftroll behind the Alhambra, pafling below the Puerta de ''los Jtete fuelos, which was formerly the great entrance. This gate has been long blocked up, and the feven ftories of vaults, from which it derived its name, filled with rubbifh. A little farther on, the wall turns to the north- eaft, where the towers. are very high. Part of the hill, which is a ftrong-cemented gravel, has been cut through, to make a dry ditch before them. A fingle arch crofTes it, and conveys into the palace a copious fupply of water. The path down this folitary, gloomy hollow, is rugged, and broken by the wafte waters. About the middle is a very low poftern, through which the court pafTed, when it chofe to retire to the fpring palace, which ilands on a hill to the right. Nearer xgS TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Nearer the Dauio, the water has burft all its conduits, and broken the gravel-bank into a tremendous precipice. Here we defcended into the charming vale of Dauro, where we remarked the remnants of a Mooriili bridge and tower, that appear to have fupported a gallery of communication between the Alhambra and Albaycin. The view from the little green bank near the river, tho' a confined one, is unfpeakably beautiful j at the bottom, where the cathedral and other fteeples rife in a group,, in the narrow reach, the little flream winds its way into the heart of the city. To the fouth, the fine verdant Hopes are crowned with the turrets of the Alhambra, the hanging woods and gardens of the Generaliph, and the. banks of the Sierra del Sol : on the north, are the Albay- cin, innumerable gardens and orchards, and caverns full of inhabitants. We found our mules waiting for us here,, and proceeded up the river, a very pleafant ride,^ between villas and convents, romantically fituated, mills and wa- ter-falls, gardens, and plantations of fruit-trees, and thickets of filberts. Wfe turned oiF to the fonthward, bv the ruins of a fmall aquedud:, and came back over the mountain, on the top of which is a long ridge of ftones, faid to be the remains of the ancient lUiberia. It has. more the appearance of a park-wall, or line of circum- vallatioo. On the point that overlooks the Alhambra, i|pod formerly the fort of the Sun^ or Saint Helena, under ■whiqh, run. three canals, cut in. the rock, one above the other. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 199 other, which ferve to convey water to the city, from the mountains, fprings, and the river. Some large refervoirs, of Moorifh, or perhaps more ancient origin, ftill fubfift below, in perfed prefervation. The water of the largefl: is very limpid, and it was never known to be dry. Hiflorians relate a very lingular proof of the abundance of its fprings and fupplies, though none can be difcerned to boil up in the bafon. When D. John of Auftria marched a body o£ troops of five thoufand men into the Alpuxaras moun- tains, againft the Morifcos, at the hotteft feafon of the year, he halted at this refervoir, to allow them time to quench their burning thirfl. They drank and walled as much of its water as they chofe, yet there could not be perceived the leaft diminution in the original quantity contained in the pond. We flopped at the Generaliph, which was the relidence of the fultan in April and May : it now belongs to the Conde de Campotejar, a Genoele nobleman, of the name of Grimaldi, defcended in the female line from the royal family of Granada. The re- mains of the building are fcarce worth looking at ; for the nobleft halls, and beft finifhed work, are almoft en- tirely demolifhed. The things yet exifting, that claim attention, are the following : the double hedge of royal myrtle, above fifteen feet high ; a row of cyprefies of prodigious height and bulk — the fervant pointed out a little recefs behind them, where the fultana was accufed of having committed adultery with Abencerrage; — .great abundance 200 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. abundance of water running through all the little coiirtsy but the grand jet d'eaus are no longer kept in repair. This day, being the anniverfary of the furrender of Granada to Ferdinand and Ifabella, was obferved as a great feflival, and day of rejoicing. Two or three feeble cracks from the cannon of the palace announced the feaft to the populace, who flocked to the hill to pay their annual viiit to the Moorifli palace, which is this day open to all comers that can pay an acknowledgment to the governor's fervant. He accounts to his mafiier for thefe perquifites, which in fome years amount to five hundred pezzettas. The prefent alcalde, or governor, re^ fides in a fmall corner of the palace, where the emperor had made his chapel, and from a little window fuperinr tends the bufinefs, counting the heads that pafs the threfhold, and calculating the fum they may have taxed themfelves at. He lives quite retired in his caftle, and employs his many leifure hours, not in profound fpecu- lations or learned refearches, but in emptying as many bottles of wine as the only arm he has left (for he has. lofi; one) has fteadinefs to pour into his glafsi We entered the Alhambra with the crowd, and took a. laft farewell of that charming fpot, where we have pafled . many delicious hours every day during our ftay in Grar nada. B ETTE TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 201 LETTER XXVI. Antequera, January 8, 1776. TH E fecond day of this new year, we fet out from Granada, by the way of the Vega, in which we faw neither vines nor mulberry-trees, but all arable lands, which, near the city, let at about a doblon the fanega for the upper grounds, and in the low, well-wa- tered parts, at a doblon de a ocho : fome fpots, that are proper for growing water-melons, run up to near fix doblons a year. The fanega contains 31,700 fquare feet. Copioufnefs of water fertilizes thefe plains ; but in rainy weather the roads are not paflable. We came for dinner to the Soto de Roma, where we had already paid a vilit. This was originally a hunting-feat for Charles V. iince occafionally inhabited by his fucceffors, and now granted for life to Lieutenant-general Richard Wall, late prime minifter of Spain. It was quite in ruins when he came to live here : he has rebuilt part of it, cleaned it, and fitted up the houfe with elegant Englifli furniture, in the ilyle of one of our villas. The waters of four rivers meet here, and caufe frequent in- undations in winter. In fummer the air is very un- D d wholefome. 202 TRAVEL? THROUGH SPAIN. wholefome, as the woods and ditches at that feafoii abound with reptiles and vermin of all forts. The fo- reft round it contains about four thoufaad acres, and was referved to the crown by Ferdinand the Catholic, when he divided the conquered country among his fol- lowers. Elm, poplar, and fome oak, are the kind of trees that grow hexe in any quantity : they are cut down for repairs of the eftate, and for the fervice of the roval arfenals. Mr. Wall has drained moft of the woods, opened pleafant drives throughout, filled up the naked fpots with plantations of ufeful timber treesj and thinned the old quarters with great judgment* This is almoft the only place in Spain where pheafants thrive and multiply. In the beginning of fpring, at the end of autumn, and during the winter, months, this is a very agreeable rural habitation. Mr, .Wall refides at the Soto from Odlober to May ; he then goes to Aran^ juez, to attend the court for a month ; after which he comes for the fummer to the city of Granada. The king has given up to him all the revenues arifing from thefe demefnes,^ and they are laid out in improving and beautifying the place, which Mr. Wall feems to under-r- ftand perfectly well. He has every thing within, him* felf : his own flocks, herds, and poultry, fupply his table with meat provifions ; the woods furnifh it with gamcj the rivers with fifh, and the kitchen-garden with every TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 203 every kind of vegetable. He is now in his eighty- third V year, a man of a fpare, neat make, adive, and fond of exercife, of a fair complexion, and engaging counte- nance. He rifes betimes, walks feveral hours a day, fuperintends his workmen, and, though he fees but little company, takes the greateft care to have every thing that is excellent in its kind ferved up at his table, where his behaviour is as eafy and chearful as if he were only thirty years of age ; not the fmallell grain of minifterial referve or affedation : he is free and com- municative in his converfation, which he renders infi- nitely agreeable, by feafoning it with a variety of lively anecdotes of events and perfons, which fo long a life of public employment has furnifhed him with in great abundance. He is fond of talking, but acquits himfelf fo well of the taik, that the mofl: loquacious mull: liften with patience and pleafure to his difcourfe, always heightened with mirth and good-humour. Courts and minifters he treats with the ridicule they, for the moft part, deferve. A man who has paffed fo many years behind the curtain, mufl often relied: with contenlpt on- the futile, abfurd fprings, that fet in motion the grand political machine. It was with the greateft re- gret that we took leave of this mofl: amiable ftatefman '^5 '! Mr. Wall died in the beginning of 1778. D d 2 and 204 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. and purfued our journey to Loja, a large town on the Xenil, where we got in jull in time to efcape a moft terrible florm of thunder and lightning, followed by a very heavy fhower. The next morning we faw all the mountains covered with fnow. This ftorm foaked fo deep into the fat,. greafy foil^ that it was not without very extraordinary efforts that our mules dragged us up the fteep hills. The country between Loxa and this place is very hilly,, except an extenfive plain in this neighbourhood. We paffed through fome very fine woods of evergreen oak. Antequcra is a large ftraggling town, at the extre- mity of the plain, fituated on feveral hillocks in a nook of the mountains. On the 5th inftant we hired a guide, and fet out on horfeback for Malaga, by the mountain road, which is- a ride of about feven leagues, whereas it requires a couple of days to go round in a carriage. At a fhort league from Antequera we came to. the foot of the Efcaruela, an almoft perpendicular rocky mountain,, which we afcended by a very dangerous winding path. A fellow employed to keep the mule-track in repair, lives in a hut half way up, and fells brandy to tra- vellers, who very often ftand in great need of a cordial in this cold region of the air. Having gained the fum- mit, we traverfed a plain encircled by fhaggy rocks, and TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 205 and then rode for fome hours up and down a chain of high wild mountains. We then defcended gradually to lower hills in cultivation. The vines are planted in rows, without props : the intervals are ploughed with oxen once a year, and the flioots pruned, which is al- mofl all the dreffing they require. Thefe are the out- skirts of the high" country vineyards, which produce the wine we drink in England by the name of Moun- tain. We next got down to ftill lower land, where we found the almond-trees white with bloflbms, and the hedges full of periwinkle, myrtle, marigold, oleander, ciftus, honeyfuckles, and many other flowers in full blow. We dined upon fome cold meat, at the door of a venta, in the {hade, for the fun was too powerful to fit in. An itinerant beggar made no difficulty, though- it was Friday, of partaking of what we could fpare from our repafl: ; and in return for our kindnefs, rolled up a little minced tobacco in a piece of white paper, put it in his mouth, to try if the roll was properly conftru£ted, and then prefented it, ready lighted, to my friend S. T. as the moft polite acknow- ledgment he could make. After dinner, we jogged on over hills and dales, , along very narrow paths, to the playa. or plain of Malaga, at which city we arrived about four o'clock ; 2o6 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. and here met our miquelet, whom we had difpatched from Granada acrofs the mountains with a letter. He had paffed a fevere night in the Sierra during the great ftorm, and was very near being imprifoned on his arri- val, for being the bearer of a letter, which nobody is allovv'ed to carry in Spain without leave from the poft- office. Malaga ftands in the very corner of the plain, which is quite bare of v/ood, except the little that grows about the country-houfes ; the naked craggy mountains hang over the fhore, and fcarce leave room for the city. A Moorifh caftle, on the fharp point of a rock, com- mands every part of it. This lituation renders Malaga moft infufferably hot for eight months in the year. I was ajTured it was hardly poflible to breathe in it in fummer. The port and road feem fafe enough, but will be much improved, when the new mole is carried out its full intended length into the fea. The folid manner in which it is built, by rolling large mafles of rock into the water, to form a foundation for the wall of the pier, infures an almoft eternal duration to the work, but at the fame time makes it diificult to com- pute the number of years it will require to complete the undertaking. The fea has loft ground here, on account of the fand hurried down from the mountains by a neighbouring river, and accumulated annually along the fhore* TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 207 iliore. The Darfena, or docks where the Moors kept their gallies, are ftill remaining on the wharf, and now ferve as warehoufes. The ftreets are narrow : fome fquares are of a good fize ; but I do not recollect . any very remarkable building, except the cathedral, which is indeed a ftupendous pile, begun by Philip II. while married to Mary queen of England, Their united arms are ftill to be feen over the door. Two gentlemen, who faid they had meafured both churches, alTured me this cathedral was- as large as that of St, Paul's in London 5 but I am not convinced of the exacl- nefs of their meafurement. The church of Malaga may be as wide, but I cannot think it near as long. No doubt a Proteftant church appears larger within than a Ro- man Catholic one of the fame dimenfions, as the latter is incumbered with pictures, tapeftry, altars, &c. The outfi.de of this edifice is crowded with columns and em-bellifliments. The two belfreys are already of a prodigious height, and an order or two more are yet to be added. Its interior appearance is pleafing and ma-- jeftic. The biftiop's palace, in the fame fquare, loaded with frivolous ornariients, is a large building, but looks in- ligniiicant fo near the other. Its prelate enjoys an ia- - come of ^T. 16,000 fterling. General O'Connor, an old Irifh officer, is governor of this 2o8 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. this province, and reiides at Malaga. Brute bealls are his delight, and all his apartments are fluffed with bears, dogs, cats, and monkies, to the great terror and annoyance of his visitors. There are about fourteen foreign houfes fettled in trade at Malaga, who export five thoufand butts of wine a year, of which the average price is from ten to thirty pounds a butt. Till within the laft fifteen years, the quantity fent off was ten thoufand butts; but, as no difference is made in England, in the duties, be- ■tween old and new wine, the exporter grew carelefs in the quality of the wine fent, and the demand for it fell one half. The grapes, of which the choiceft raifins are made, (a capital branch of commerce here) are half cut off the ftem, and left four days to dry and candy in the fun. If preffed, they would make a rich white wine. The raifins dried upon the coaft of Valencia are of an inferior quality, being dipped in a lye of lees of wine and afhes. Yefterday I took a long walk into the Vega, and af- ter enjoying the fight and perfumes of the orange- groves near every villa, was very much furprized to perceive in a farmer's yard a large bufh of yellow rofes in full beauty. This exceeded all idea I before had of the v^^armth of the climate, and earlinefs of its fpring. In the evening we afiifted at a very bad Ita- lian TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 209 lian opera. In the middle of a fong, all the adors and audience dropped upon their knees at the found of a facring bell, which let them know that the hoft was pafling by. In a few minutes the finger refumed his amorous ditty. We returned this afternoon from Malaga by the fame joad. The great variety of flowers blown flnce we had pafled, made the mountain ride very agreeable, till we were overtaken by a ftorm of wind and rain that haa not yet abated any of its violence. Between Malaga and Gibraltar are twelve fugar- mills, where they have wrought time out of mind. The tradition is, that the fugar-cane was firft brought into Spain by the Arabs. Being now upon the point of taking leave of this eaftern coaft of Spain, which we have feldom loft iight of for thefe three months, it might be proper to intro- duce fome general remarks upon the inhabitants and country ; but I really have not prefumption enough to attempt it, as I am confcious that the difpolition of a people, their habitual character, cuftoms, and man- ners, are not to be learnt without a long ftay among them, and without becoming in fome fort a melTmate and familiar acquaintance of theirs. With all due re- fpedt for the Spanifh- nation, I don't wifh to facrifice th.e time fuch a ftudy would require, as I apprehend I E e fhould. 210 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. fliould not be very amply rewarded for my pains. The peafantry feems very poor, and frugal in their diet : bread fteeped in oil, and occafionally feafoned with vinegar, is the common food of the country-people from Barcelona to Malaga. LETTER XXVIL Puerto Santa Maria, January 13, 1776. ^N the 9th inftant, on leaving Antequera, we were ftopt by a river much fwelled by the late rain, and loft a great many hours in feeking a road to the diftant bridge. This was a real difafter to us, as, by retarding us half a day, it broke the chain of our ftages, and laid us under the difagreeable necef- iity of flopping each enfuing night at a very bad inn, the good ones being placed at our dining diftances. From Antequera to Pedrera the country is champaign and pleafant; fome large lakes appearing between us and the mountains, and now and then fome foreft-land and olive-plantations, ferving to enliven the profped. About OiTuna, a large ftinking town, we obferved a great TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 211 great many croffes fet up along the road-fide, to mark the places, as we were informed, where murders had been committed : but I very much doubt that piece of intelligence. Before we came into Spain, we had been fb much alarmed by all we had heard of the number of banditti in the kingdom, and the danger of pafling from one province to another, that we thought wcj could not take too many precautions, and accordingly made ample provifions of arms and ammunition ; but having feldom heard any mention of robbers fince we came into the country, our apprehenfions have in- fenfibly worn off, and" we walk unarmed along the' roads, about the villages, and in the bye-paths, without the leaft fear, or indeed reafon to fear. In Catalonia and. Valencia, where a regular police is eftablifhed for apprehending thieves and preventing robberies, travel- lers go without arms ; further fouth, I have obferved that no horfeman,. muleteer, or afs-driver, is without his gun or fabre flung at the pommel of his faddlev Whether this implies any real danger, or only an ancient cuftom, I cannot pretend to determine. What- ever rifks a fingle paffenger may be fuppofed to run in a crofs road, and unfrequented wafte, I am very certain that a caravan like ours need be under no apprehen- fions of attack. At Offuna we found we were come to the country of E e 2 large. 212 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, large white hats, few of the men wearing any other. The environs of the town are handfome ; gentle emi- nences covered with young corn, and large olive-yards on the declivities. On the nth, a beautiful park-like country, where the fv/ells are covered with forefts of pines and cork- trees, or rows of olive-trees. The intermediate vallies in pafture, full of herds of brood mares feeding at large. That afternoon we came to a flat heath of rufhes and palmetos, where we faw great flights of vultures, ftorks, and plover. We pafled the night in a moft infa- mous pofada at Molares ; the place fo wretched as to aflbrd no wine. No innkeeper is allowed to fell li- quor, and the wine-houfes are generally near the inn ; but in this miferable hamlet there was no fuch thing. On the 1 2th, boundlefs heaths and arable grounds ; on the former innumerable herds of cattle ; on the latter we faw no lefs than twenty-four ploughs at work in the fame field, each drawn by a pair of oxen. We had now fairly entered the rich plains of Andalu- fia, where we found the roads cruelly fpoiled by the wet w^eather, and our wheels almofl: buried in the ftifF clay. At Alcanterilla is a bridge of two arches, over a deep runner, guarded by an old Moorifh tower at each end. The lower part of the bridge is Roman, as it is very eafy to difcern by the regular ruftic cut of the ftones, TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 213 ftones, and the words AVGVST....PONTEM, the re- mains of an infcription, between the arches. A little beyond a place called Cabecas we met the firft travel- ling coach we had feen on the road fince we left Bar^ celona. Farm-houfes are difperfed about this country, as they are with us in England. The harvefl: is gotten in by the Galliegos, that travel from Galicia to aflift thofe provinces, where the inhabitants are too lazy or too few in number to gather the riches which Nature, almofl unfolicited, throws before them with profufion. The excefllve badnefs of the highway obliged us to drive through the lands, which in their year of fallow run up into the thickeft and ftrongeft crops of French honey- fuckle I ever beheld. Were this province properly peo- pled there would be no bounds to its produce, for the foil is inexhauftible, fo eminently rich, that through all this luxuriancy of vegetation the wheels penetrated many inches into the loam. To balance thefe advan- tages, it muft be confefled that the crops in AndaluHa are very precarious, for if a fudden glare of funfhine fucceeds too rapidly to a morning fog, the whole coun- try is blighted. We pafTed by the lake of Lebrixa, a handfome piece of water, furrounded by Hoping grounds, and regular plantations of olive-trees. Xeres 214 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Xeres is a large town, with winding ftreets, and hor- rible kennels of bliack ftagnated water ; as the wheel broke the cruH upon them, there arofe an almoft fuffo- cating ilench. The. hills about the town- are pretty,/ and the views towards Cadiz very pleafing. Some poets, have placed the Elyfian fields in this neighbourhood,, and, pretended that the Guadalete was Lethe or the river of oblivion* If fo, they had never feen the place, or it has undergone ftrange alterations fince. their days;, for this paradife is now an immenfe marfhy flat, through which a narrow river, much refembling thofe in the Lincolnfliire fens, winds its courfe. to the fea : not a ftick of wood to be feen near it. We are to pafs this Lethe to-morrow, and, left the influence fhould operate upon mCi I think it advifable to end my letter with aflTuring you, while I yet remember the ties and friend- fhip of this upper world, that I am yours affedion- ately.. Cadiz, January 14;. Our carriages were fent oiF this morning, feveiv leagues round, by the bridge of Sua90, which joins the ifland of Leon to the main land of Spain ; and we hired a bark, and fell down the Guadalete. Port St. Mary's is a long town, pleafantly fituatcd on the river fide,. The bar at the mouth of the river is often very dan- gerous ; TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 215 gerous ; our mafter made a colledion among us for the fouls of fuch as have perifhed there. The view of the bajj fhipping, and city ftretching into the ocean, is one of the moft beautiful in the world. The paflage, which is about nine miles broad, took us two hours, as the wind failed us, but it may be done in lefs than half the time. LETTER XXVIII. Cadiz, January 30, 1776. IS C A R C E hope to fee a fair day again, for we have had nothing but rain iince our arrival. The fea has been very boifterous, and feveral fhips have been caft away along the coaft. Yefterday two men coming to town with provifions were fwept off the ifthmus by a fudden fwell of the waves, and never heard of more. Cadiz occupies the whole furface of the weftern ex- tremity of the iile of Leon, which is compofed of two large circular parts, joined together by a very narrow bank of fand, forming all together the figure of a chain- £ho£. At the fouth-eaft end, the ancient bridge of Suaco, 2i6 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Suago, thrown over a deep channel or river, affords sl: communication between the illand and the continent ; a ftrong line of works defends the city from all ap- proaches along the ifthmus ; and, to render them ftilL more difficult, all the gardens and little villas on the beach were in 1762 cleared away, and a dreary, fandy glacis left in their room, fo that now there is fcarce a tree on the whole ifland. They expedled an attack from the Englifh during the laft war; but it would be madnefs in an enemy to attempt it on this fide ; and a. by-ftander is apt to think an immenfe fum of money has been lavifhed on thefe fortifications without any apparent neceffity ; but the Spaniards are warranted in their caution by the authority of hiftory, from vv^hich we learn that the earl of Effex ftornied Cadiz in 1596, by an affault on the land-quarter. Except the Calle Ancha^ all the ftreets are narrow, ill- paved, and infufferably ftinking. They are all drawn in flrait lines, and moft of them interfedb^each other at right angles. The fwarms of rats that in the nights run about the ftreets are innumerable ; whole droves of them pafs and repafs continually, and thefe their mid- night revels are extremely troublefome to fuch as walk late. The houfes are lofty, with each a veftibule, which being left open till night, ferve paflengers to retire to ; this cuftom, which prevails throughout Spain, renders TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 217 renders thefe places exceedingly offenfive. In the mid- dle of the houfe is a court like a deep well, under which is generally a ciftern, the breeding-place of gnats and mofquitos ; the ground-floors are warehoufes, the firft ftories compting-houfe or kitchen, and the principal apartment up two pair of flairs. The roofs are flat, covered with an impenetrable cement, and few are without a mirador or turret for the purpofe of com- manding a view of the fea. Round the parapet-wall at top are placed rows of fquare pillars, meant either for ornament according to fome traditional mode of decora- tion, or to fix awnings to, that fuch as fit there for the benefit of the fea-breeze may be flieltered from the rays of the fun ; but the mofl: common ufe made of them, is to faften ropes for drying linen upon. High above all thefe pinnacles, which give Cadiz a moft fin- gular appearance, ftands the tower of fignals : here flags are hung out on the firfl: fight of a fail, marking the fize of the fhip, the nation it belongs to, and, if a Spanifh Indiaman, the port of the Indies it comes from. The fliips are acquainted with the proper fignals to be made, and thefe are repeated by the watchmen of the tower : as painted lifl:s are in every houfe, perfons concerned in commerce foon learn the marks. The city is divided into twenty-four quarters, under the infpedlion of as many commifiioners of police, and F f its 2i8 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. its population is reckoned at one hundred and fort)^ thoufand inhabitants, of which twelve thoufand are French, and at leaft as many more Italians. The fquare of Saint Antonio is large, and tolerably handfome, and there are a few fmaller openings of no great note. The public walk, or Alameda, is pleafant in the evening : it is fenced off the coach-road by a mar- ble raiL The fea-air prevents the trees from thriving, and deftroys all hopes of future fhade. From the Alameda, continuing your walk weftwards,^ you come to the Campofanto, a large efplanade, the only airing-place for coaches ; it turns round moft part of the weft and fouth fides of the ifland, but the build- ings are ftraggling and ugly ; the only edifice of any. fhew is the new orphan-houfe ; oppofite to it is the fortrefs of Saint Sebaftian, built on a neck of land run- ning out into the fea.. The round tower at the extre- mity is fuppofed to have faved the city, in the great earthquake of 1755, from being fwept away by the fury of the waves. The building proved fufficiently folid to withftand the fhock, and break the immenfe volume of water that threatened deftru£lion to the whole ifland. In the narrow part of the ifbhmus the furge beat over with amazing impetuofity, and bore down all before it ; among the reft, the grandfon of the famous tragic-poet Racine, who llrove in vain to. efcapCj^, TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 219 efcape, by urging his horfe to the utmoft of his ipeed. On Saint Sebaftian's feaft, a kind of wake or fair is held in the fort ; an aftonifliing number of people then pafling and repafling, on a ftring of wooden bridges laid from rock to rock, makes a very lively moving pidure. From hence to the wooden circus where they exhibit the bull-feafls, you keep turning to the left clofe above the fea, which on all this fi.de dafhes over large ledges of rock ; the fhore feems here abfolutely inacceffible. This part of the walk is dirty, and infeded with all manner of nafty fmells, for here the whole filth of the town is brought, to be tumbled through a hole in the wall, into the fea. It might puzzle an obferver, what caufe to afcribe this piece of management to, whether to the great diftance from garden or tillage grounds, which renders the carriage of the dung too expenfive ; or to the lazinefs of the citizens, who are glad to rid themfelves, with the leaf! pofiible trouble, of the obli- gation laid upon them of removing that dirt, which they had rather were left to rot under their nofes. As water-carriage muft be cheap, I am inclined to attri- bute this wafte to the latter caufe. On this Ihore ftands the cathedral, a work of great F f 2 expence. 220 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. expence, but carried on with fo little vigour, that it is; difficult to- guefs at the term of years it will require ta bring it to perfedion ; I think fifty have already elapfed fince the firft flone was laid, and the roof is not yet half finifhed. The vaults are executed with great folidity. The arches, that fpring from the cluf- tered pilafters to fupport the roof of the church, are very bold ; the minute fculpture beftowed upon them leems fuperfluous, as all the effed: will be loft from their great height, and from the fhade that will be thrown upon them by the filling up of the interftices. From the fea, the prefent top of the church refembles the carcafe of fome huge monfter caft upon its fide, rearing its gigantic blanched ribs high above the build- ings of the city. The outward cafings are to be of white marble, the bars of the windows of bronze ; but I fear the work will be coarfely done, if one may draw an inference from the fample of a fmall chapel, where the fquares are fo loofely jointed and ill fitted, that in a few years the facing will be quite fpoilt. It is unfair to prejudge a piece of architediure in fuch an imperfect ftate, but I apprehend the ftyle of this will be crowded and heavy. Next, crofling before the land-gate and barracks, a fuperb edifice for ftrength, convenience, and cleanli- nefsj you come down to the ramparts that defend the city TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 221 city on the fide of the bay. If the profpe^t to the ocean is folemn, that towards the main land is animated in the higheft degree j the men of war ride in the eaftern bofom of the bay ; lower down the merchant- men are fpread far and near ; and clofe to the town an incredible number of barks, of various fhapes and fizes, cover the furface of the water, fome moored and fome in motion, carrying goods to and fro. The op- pofite fhore of Spain is ftudded with white houfes, and enlivened by the towns of Saint Mary's, Port-real, and others, behind which, eaftward, on a ridge of hills, ftands Medina Sidonia, and further back rife the moun- tains of Granada. Weftward, Rota clofes the horizon, near which was anciently the ifland and city of Tar- teffus, now covered by the fea, but at low-water fome. part of the ruins are ftill to be difcerned. In a large baftion, jutting out into the bay, they have built the cuftom-houfe, the firft ftory of which is level with the walk- upon the walls. When it was refolved to eredl a building fo neceffary to this great emporium of trade, the marquis di Squillace gave or- ders that no expence fhould be fpared, and the moft intelligent architedls employed,, in order to eredl a mo- nument, which by its tafte and magnificence might excite the admiration, of pofterity j the refult of thefe precautions 222 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. precautions proved a piece of vile architedure, compofed of the worft of materials. Don't exped from me a long, fcientific detail of the operations of commerce in this port ; fo much has been written on the fubjed by perfons verfed in thefe matters, that, as it would be impertinent to repeat their obferva- tions verbatim, fo it would be ridiculous in me, who am not initiated in the myfteries of trade, nor long relident in the place, to attempt to add any thing to their accounts ; all I have to obferve amounts to this, that of late years the Spaniards have entered with more fpirit into the concerns of the ilota "^ than they did formerly; and that there have been fome egregious breaches of that fo-much-celebrated punctilio of honour, which, added to the immenfe profits expeded from the rifk, induces foreigners to truft their property upon this venture, with no other feeurity than the bare word of a Spanifh fupercargo. Not along ago, one of thefe, upon his landing at Vera Cruz, made a declaration before the governor, that the cargo entered and fliipped in his name was not his own, but belonged to a French houfe. Matters turned out rather contrary to his expedations j '4 The flota is a fleet of large fhips (fourteen this year) which carry out the goods of Europe to the ports of Americaj and bring back the produce of Mexico, Peru, and other kingdoms of the new world, for TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 223 for the governor threw him into gaol, where he ftill remains; but I believe the French owners give tip their merchandize for loft. The ftir here is prodigious during the laft months of the ftay of the flota. The packers pofTefs the art of preffing goods in great perfection ; but, as they pay the freight according to the cubic palms of each bale, they are apt to fqueeze down the cloths and linens fo very clofe and hard, as fometimes to render them unfit for ufe. The exportation of French luxuries in drefs is enormous ; Lyons furnifties moft of them ; England fends out bale-goods ; Brittany and the north, linens. As the king exads four per cent, on all gold and filver coin exported, and punifhes very feverely all delinquents taken in the fadl, the fmugglers have long followed a very fimple but fure method of defrauding him of his duty : — A man well known in the town comes to any merchant that he thinks may want to make a remit- tance of dollars, and propofes to fend the fum wanted on board fuch a fhip, at two and a half per cent, the fmuggler to advance the money, and to be repaid upon producing the captain of the fliip's receipt. As the officer at the gates is commonly one of the confede- rates, this pra«£lice has been long carried on with tole- rable fecurity ; but fince the late coinage, the profits upon running money are fcarce equivalent to the ri/ks of 224 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. of having the fhip confifcated, and all concerned in the tranfadion fent for life to the African prefidios. Great intereft is made to protrad the departure of the flota beyond the day fixed for its failing, that all the goods expedled may have time to arrive ; and in this cafe, as in moft others, money properly diftributed feldom fails of producing the defired effed:. Every commercial nation has a conful refident at Cadiz ; thofe of England and France are the only ones not allowed to have any concern in trade. This fmall, populous, and well-inclofed city has the misfortune of being under worfe regulations of police than any place in Europe. All this vs^inter, ftreet-rob- beries and houfe-breakings have been frequent, and no effedual fteps taken to prevent the diforder. I have heard that the Conde de Xerena Bucarelli, the gover- nor, has made a vow to fhed no blood during his re- gency ; this cruel clemency has given fuch fpirit to the operations of the robbers, that they have had the auda- cioufnefs to pafte up an advertifement in the ftreets, cautioning all people whatever to avoid refiftance, and to fubmit quietly to be rifled, that their plunderers may not be reduced to the difagreeable neceflity of employ- ing the poniard. A very little diligence, with the affiftance of fo ftrong a garrifon, would reftore the public fafety in a fhort time j but, as a burgher always accompanies TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 225 accompanies the patrol, the military cannot ad but under his diredion, and he will never hurt or moleft any of his countrymen or neighbours, for the fake of preferving the lives and property of ftrangers : indeed, if a native be apprehended for the moft enormous of- fence againft the laws of his country, it is next to im- poffible to procure a fentence againft him ; for, as long as he has a groat in the world to fpend in prifon, or a friend to folicit in his favour, the alcade or judge will never bring him to trial ; and when at laft his purfe is drained, and his crimes proved againil him, it is ten to one they can get no body to make a gallows to hang him upon. A foldier is foon difpatched, if he falls un- der the fame predicament. Burglaries have been, com- mitted, and large fums of money carried out of compt- ing-houfes, the thieves taken and lodged in gaol, yet the owners have not been able to recover any part of the cafh; which the gentlemen of the robe and the culprit have fpent in carouling together. Nay, one villain, in an attempt to carry part of his prize out of the gates, in order to take fhipping for the Indies, being ftopt, and the money feized as contraband, the perfon who had been robbed could not prevail upon the governor to re~ ftore his property to him, notwithftanding the cleareft' proofs of the robbery. Take notice, that in cafes of con- G g , fifcationj, 226 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. fifcation, one half of the feizure goes to the informer, the other to the governor. However, this moft glaring piece of injuftice could not be tamely fubmitted to, and the caufe v^as laid before the council of Caftille, w^here it is ftill depending. In lefs confiderable lolTes, the befl way is to fit down contented with your misfortune, and take better care for the future, as it would coft you dou- ble the fum loft, were you to purfue any of the methods pointed out by the law for redrefs. The way of life here is not very brilliant. The dif- ferent nations keep much among themfelves. The French houfes follow rather a gayer plan than the others. Our countrymen fettled here, live in a very hofpitable, focial ftyle, and are always happy to contri- bute every thing in their power towards rendering the place agreeable to fuch travellers as vifit their city. In- deed this is a tribute of praife our gratitude will ever prompt us to pay to the Britifti merchants eftablillied beyond feas, having in many parts of Europe had occa- iion to experience their friendly difpolition. At this time of the year neither the meat nor the fifh is excellent. The bottom of the bay being muddy, and the fifliermen not venturing from the coaft, the quality of the fifli brought to market is not fo firm and good as might be expeded ; at fome feafons the oyfters taken TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 227 taken here are rank poifon ; the water of the ifland is bad, and what moil families drink comes from Port.. Saint Mary. The ufual afternoon arriufements in winter are, a faun- ter on the Alameda, and the theatres. The Spanifh play, which exhibits but a poor fet of adlors, begins about four ; the Italian opera, not much better pro- vided, about feven ; and the French houfe opens rather earlier, and ends fooner, by which means the company may partake of great part of each of the entertainments in the fame evening. The laft-mentioned theatre is upon a very grand footing, fupported by the voluntary iubfcriptions of the French merchants fettled here. As the out-goings exceed the profits, they begin to be fick of fo heavy a load, and it is likely their ftage will be given up, upon the expiration of the term for which the fadory entered into engagements with the adors* Ggz LETTER. 228 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. T LETTER XXIX. Gibraltarj March 9, 1776. "^ H E end of the carnival at Cadiz differed very little from the beginning ; no public balls or mafquerades being allowed ; the only marks of the fe- ftivity of fhrove-tide, were the pailfuUs of water which the women in the balconies poured upon the men in flouched hats and cloaks that paffed within their reach. There were, however, many affemblies and balls of a lower clafs, where the fandango was danced a la ley^ that is, in all the perfedion it is capable of. Among the gip- iies there is another dance, called the Ma?iguindoy^ fo lafcivious and indecent, that it is prohibited under fevere penalties ; the tune is quite fimple, little more than a conftant return of the fame fet of notes ; this, as well as the fandango, is faid to have been imported from the Havannah, being both of negro breed. I have been told, that upon the coaft o{ Africa they exhibit a variety of flrange dances, pretty fimilar to thefe. Whatever may have been the birth-place of the fandango, it is now fo thoroughly naturalized in Spain, that every Spaniard may be faid to be born with it in his head and heels ; I have TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 229 I have feen a child of three years of age dance it to the mother's finging, with fteps and turns fcarce to be cre- dited in an infant of that age. Towards the clofe of the great balls given heretofore in the theatre, when all the company appeared drooping with fatigue and over- powered with fleep, it was a conftant trick of the iidlers to ftrike up the fandango. In an inftant, as if roufed from the {lumbers of enchantment by the magic touch of a fairy's wand, every body ftarted up, and the whole houfe refounded with the uproar of clapping of hands, footing, jumping, and fnapping of fingers. As I have mentioned the gitanos, or gipfies, who fwarm in this province more than in any other part of the realm, I think it a proper place to note down fome particulars relative to this fingular fept, who have kept themfelves feparate from the reft of mankind ever fince their firft appearance recorded in hiftory. Their ori- gin remains a problem, not to be fatisfadlorily folved, and I doubt whether -the gitanos themfelves have any fecret tradition that might lead to a difcovery of what they really were in the beginning, or from what coun^ try they came. The received opinion fets them dow^n for Egyptians, and makes them out to be the defcen-- dants of thofe vagabond votaries of Ifis, who appeared to have exercifed in ancient Rome pretty much the fame profeftion as that followed by the prefent gipfies, viz. fortune- ^So TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. fortune-telling, flrolling up and down, and piltering. Few of them employ tliemfelves in works of hufbandry or handicraft ; indeed the Spaniards would not work with them. Except a fmall number that follow the trade of blackfmiths or vintners, moft of the men are makers of little iron rings, and other trifles, rather to prevent their being laid hold of as vagrants than really as a means of fublifliance. Several of them travel about as carriers and pedlars, but none enlift as foldiers or fai- lors,. or bind themfelves as fervants. Though they con- form to the Roman catholic mode of worjfhip, they are looked upon in the light of unbelievers ; but I never could meet with any body that pretended to fay what their private faith and religion might be : all the gip- fies I have converfed with, aflured me of their found catholicifm ; and I have feen the medal of Nueftra Senora del Carmel fewed on the fleeves of feveral of their women. They feldom venture upon any crimes that might endanger their lives ; petty-larceny is the ut- moft extent of their roguery. Their men are tall, well built, and fwarthy, with a bad fcowling eye, and a kind of favourite lock of hair left to ^row down before their ears, which rather increafes the gloominefs of their fea- tures : their women are nimble, and fupple-jointed ; when young, they are generally handfome, with very £ne black eyes ; w^hen old, they become the worft-fa- voured TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 231 voured hags in nature. Their ears and necks are loaded with trinkets and baubles, and moft of them wear a large patch on each temple. Both fexes are remarkably ex- pert at dancing, and fing the wild feguidillas with a peculiar turn of humour or tendernefs, according to the fubjecl. The prefent king had thoughts of baniih- ing- the whole race out of his dominions : but I believe the project is dropt, as the gipHes are rather an ufelefs than a mifchievous people. Their abode in the coun- try, or their expullion, feems a matter of little confe- quence, for the lofs would not be feverely felt, except in the apparent diminution of population ; as they are of little or no fervice in the ftate, neither cultivating its lands, forwarding its manufactures and commerce, con- veying its productions to foreign parts, or fighting its battles. Perhaps they render themfelves necefTary to the amufement of the common people, out of whole fimpii- city they work themfelves a maintenance. The weather being tolerably fettled, we fet out on horfeback from Cadiz, about a fortnight ago, taking with us our beds and provifions, a precaution of great confequence in this journey. We left Cadiz in the af- ternoon, travelling along the fandy ifthmus to the Ifla, a town of a lin^le ftreet, that leads down to the bridge and redoubt of Suaco, where we o;ot once more upon the main land. Soon after we flruck off the great Xeres road, 232 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN/ roadj into a flat marfhy country, interfered by number- lefs drains and ponds for making fait, of which we faw many large heaps. This commodity is made with fo- little trouble, and fold to fo fmall an advantage, that the makers don't think it worth their while to fet up fheds, or build magazines, but prefer running the rifk of loiing half of it by the wet. Faffing through a great mill, acrofs many bridges and creeks, and through a very iine wood of pines, we arrived by moonlight at Chiclana, the Clapham or Hampftead of the merchants of Cadiz. It is a large well-built town, upon a navi- gable river, that winds through the low lands into the bay. After Eafler, all is mirth and jollity here, for it is then crowded with families that retire hither to^ divert themfelves, and to rub off the dull ruft of Lent. The houfes are exact copies of thofe of Cadiz, and the ftreets very near as offenfive to the fmell ; but the envi- rons are charming, and beautifully rural. The next morning we were out very early, expecfling a long laborious ride. After a troublefbme afcent up* fome greafy hills, we paiTed through a noble pine- wood, into an immenfe expanfe of heath-land, fpeckled with an incredible variety of £owers, mofl of them unknown to me in their natural- uncultivated ftate. I here faw a great many of the fmall red and yellow tulip, whichj I am told, is the only fpecies indigenous^ in TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 233 in Europe, and many beautiful kinds of the orchis, fonie reprefenting bees and flies fo naturally as to de- ceive at firft iight> On our right we left Conil, once famous for its tunny- fifhery, which of late has dwindled away to nothing. We had afterwards an hilly corn country to pafs, v/here the peafantSj at work weeding the fields, amufed them- felves with giving us a volley of abufe, which to us was utterly unintelligible, but v/as no doubt very witty, as every fpeech the orator of the crew made raifed loud peals of laughter in his companions. Their mirth was a little difturbed by a piece of humour of our Catalans, who, fetting their fharp three-cornered hats up perpen- dicular on their heads, in imitation of horns, and flick- ing out their fingers, began to whiftle with might and main. The Andalufians did not Teem to relifh the joke, and after fome filence, fet a fcolding at us in a very angry tone of voice, which lafted as long as we were within hearing. From thefe bare heights, we defcended into a narrow vale, which almoft encompaffes the mountain that the town of Vegel ftands upon. Seven pidurefque aque- dudts, or rather divifions of one, convey a fine fupply of water from the hills to feven mills belonging to the Duke of Medina Sidonia. Each mill is placed at a confiderable diftance below the other, the feventh ftands H h quite 234 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. quits in the level at the bottom. Nothing can be prettier than thefe terraces, and little falls of water. Round each dwelling is a fweet orange-grove. The hedges along the fteep fides of the road are thick fet with lau- ruflinus, now in flower, and many other handfome plants. The loweft part of the valley is a delightful fpot, full of orchards and gardens, refrefhed by innu- merable ftreams of clear water running through the meadows into a deep river, which falls into the fea a few miles below. We intended to liave dined at the foot of the moun- tain of Vegel, but the hovel, called an inn, was fo in- tolerably nafty, and the appearance of the iky feemed {o much to threaten us with a dark, rainy evening, that we determined to pafs by, and content ourfelves with eating a morfel on horfeback, as we jogged on. We croffed the river on an ancient Roman bridge, plain, and foiid, and then mounted a very fteep fandy bank, on the top of which I found a ledge of mouldering rocks, full of ojtracites and peSiinites^ fome in a hard natural ftate, others fo foft as to crumble to duft under the finger. The road lay afterwards through a foreft of cork-trees, and the latter part of the day along a wet open pafture country. After being thirteen hours on horfeback, with a drizzling rain upon us half the time, we were glad to ftop at hos Cortijos about eight at night. Here TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 235 Here had formerly been a venta, but all we could find was the cabin of a retailer of tobacco. This miferable dwelling confifted of one room, not well enough thatched to prevent the rain from beating through, and yet too clofe to let out the fmoke of a few flicks burning in the - middle of the houfe. The landlord, his wife, and chil- dren, occupied one end of the habitation, and aban- doned the remainder to us, who were feven in number, fqueezed into the fpace of a few feet fquare. The fmoke grew fo powerful, and the company fo ftreigh- tened for room, that after fupper I retired acrofs a kind of yard, to a manger in the liable, where I lay down, wrapped up in my cloak, upon the llraw, and got a very comfortable nap till day-break, when we proceeded on our journey. We travelled through a large trad: of wet pallures, full of herds of cattle, with here and there a wretched hut for the herdfmen. After a long dreary ride over the hills that encircle thefe plains, we entered the woodlands, where we found the roads fo wet and flony, that our baggage-mules were more than once laid fall. This forell extends many miles, during which we faw but one houfe ; and that being white, and placed at the head of a lawn, environed with hanging woods, made a moll romantic appearance. The profpedls in thefe wildernelTes are delightful, and we fhould have H h 2 found 136 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. found the rid'e through them charming, had our atten- tion been lefs engaged hj the continual apprehenfions we were under of our horfes falling in the deep broken roads. High mountains, and bold rocky cliffs, hang on every fide over the groves ; the timber trees are oak and cork, the underwood, fhrubs of numberkfs kinds, growing with the greateft vigour and luxuriancy ; fuch as the lauruftinus, arbutus, brooms, citifus, forb, maf- tick-tree, privet, phylirea, ciflus, oleander, pomegra- nate, bay, laurel, myrtle,, butcher's broom, wild pear, heath at leaft fifteen feet high, 8cg. but the moft re- markable is the rhododendron ponticum, with large purple flowers ; it grows by the edge of the torrents that tumble down through the woods, ajid is a plant of finr gular beauty. Upon leaving the thickets, we had a fine view of the iQck of Gibraltar and the coafl of Africa, a very grand marine fcene. We then came to a rich vale of corn- land, and a pretty meandring river, which we crofTed twice near Los Barlosy a fmall hamlet. From thence we found all the country marfhy by the fide of the bay of Gibraltar, or bare and hilly near San Roque, a large village on the top, of a hill, overlooking the whole bay. Here the Spanifh governor of the lines refides. The next day we waited upon Don Joachim de Men- doza, the governQij.who gave us the neceffary pafTports* TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 237 By his perfuaiion, we depoHted wKat cafli we had in the hands of his fecretary, as it is forbidden to take above a crown apiece out of the Spaniih territory. This proved a very fuperfluous caution, for we paffed unfearched through the lines, and might have carried out of the Spanifh bounds as much gold as we pleafed. The lines are a fortification, that runs acrofs the ifthmus which feparates Gibraltar from the continent. A regiment of infantry, feveral batteries, and a fort at each end, de- fend this barrier of the Spanifli monarchy. It is about half an hour's ride from the land-gate of the Englifh garrifon. The moft extraordinary fortrefs and mountain, from which I date my letter, have been fo often defcribed by particular hiftories, prints, and drawings, that I fhall ■not take up your leifure with needlefs repetitions. The views publifhed by Major Mace are exact, and convey a very good idea of the four different faces of the mouii'- tain. Since the time of their publication, general Boyd has compleated the roads up the hill in every ne- ceffary direction : a carriage may now go up to the fig- nal-houfe, which before feemed a place where none but goats could' climb up to. The hofpitality of the governor, officers, and inhabi- tants ; the buftle, military mufic, and parade ; the fine appearance of the troops ; the variety of tongues Ipoken and. 238 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. and of dreiTes worn here, are themes I could enlarge upon for whole pages. After fo long a journey through the ftill waftes and filent ftupid towns of Spain, where every thing bears the marks of languor and indolence, we were at firft quite flurried and confounded with the hurry in the garrifon, the perpetual noife of cannon, and the reports of the foldiers going through their firing exercife. In the firft nights we were ftartled with the frequent pafling of the parole, which runs like a train of fire round the line of fortifications. It feemed ftrange to hear our native language fpoken in the ftreets, to read it under the figns, and to meet fo many Englifh faces. I fhould have forgotten how far I was from home, had I not been reminded of the latitude by the brilliant clear nefs of the deep blue fky, and the fight of the African mountains, whofe fnowy tops, and even the objeds at their feet, are very diftindly feen by the na- ked eye. You may difcern all the buildings in Ceuta, and even in Tangier the houfes may be diftinguifhed in a clear day. We indulged the honeft pride of Englifh- men, in admiring the tall, handfome figures, and fpi- rited, martial prefence of the foldiers, and in drawing very comfortable parallels between them and the dirty melancholy dwarfs we had ken. mounting guard in the Spaniih garrifons. We are now waiting for a fair wind to carry us over to TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 239 to Tetuan or to Tangiers. The boat-loads of frefh orano-es brought over almoft every morning from the coaft of Barbary, and tumbled out into the ftreets, in- ereafe the eagernefs we have long felt for that expe- dition : but the wind is very cruel, and I begin to have my fears about the poflibility of it. The Barbary oranges are exquifite, but, as the fummer advances, are apt to grow too lufcious, though they preferve their juicinefs., Gibraltar, March 1 1 . We are wind-bound, but remain in hourly expeda- tion of failing to Africa. Owx fettee^ or bark, and bag- gage, are ready, and we ourfelves on the watch for an eafterly breeze. Yefterday the wind came about to the eaft, and in a trice the bay was covered with Dutch men of war, and all forts of merchantmen, crowding, fail to get through the Gut before the wind fhould change: above fifty fail came from the Mediterranean, round Europa Point, but in lefs than an hour the wind fhifted to its old corner again, and every one of them was driven back into the bay, or behind the rock^ , where they may beat about for weeks againft wind and current. Never was there known fo long a continuance, ©f weflerly winds at this time of the year. Gibraltarj 240 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Gibraltar, March 13. Laft night all the Jews were in mafqueradc, dancing and merry-making ; a fine contraft with the gloominefs of Lent, a few miles to the north of us. This place may literally be ftyled the Paradife of that difperfed na- tion ; for here they feem to be at home, carry on a great retail trade, and fupply the garrifon with many common articles of confumption. They are Barbary Jews, a comely race of men, and much better featured than their Portuguefe or German brethren. Their drefs differs from that of the common Moors in nothing but the cap, which the latter wear red, the Jews black, though here they venture frequently to put on red ones. All religions feem welcome to this town, and meet without animofity, as on fome neutral ground. The Spanifh church is ferved by a jolly prieft, who, befides very ample emoluments and cafualties, receives from the Englifh government a ftipend of fifty pounds : with this income he gives balls and entertainments to his parifhioners, and lives in a very jovial manner. He feems perfedly well pleafed with his Proteftant neigh- bours, and quite reconciled to feeing the Cordelier con- vent converted into the refidence of an Englifh go- vernor. The TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 241 The Barbary beef, furnifhed on contrad by the Moors, is excellent, and the fifh taken in the bay is the beft I have tailed fince I left Bourdeaux. The mountain abounds with partridges, which breed in peace, and pafs their lives undifturbed, as no body is allowed to Ihoot within the garrifon. The young offi- cers take the diverfion of fox-hunting on the Spanifh hills, where there is abundance of foxes, but little run- ning : the great number of holes among the rocks pre- vents the game from being kept going, after the firft burfl. That beautiful bird, the whoopoop, or March cock, is common on the mountain ; and high up are herds of large monkies, but I never was lucky enough to get a fight of them. On the eaft fide, in the moft broken part of the pre- cipices, is ■s.Jiratum of bones of all fizes, belonging to various animals and fowls, enchafed in an incruftation of a reddifh calcarious rock. L E 1^ T E 242 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. LETTER XXX. Seville, April 8, 177&; LAS! all our fchemes upon Africa came to no- thing : the inflexible weft wind continued blow- ing with uninterrupted fury, till the time fixed for our ftay at Gibraltar was elapfed. At firft we intended to crofs over to Tetuan, and there hire horfes or mules to carry us over land to Tangiers, which would have af- forded us an opportunity of feeing a good deal of the country : but this project was dropped, in confequence of an order iffued out by the emperor of Morocco, pro- hibiting all Chriftians from approaching, or even looking upon the holy city of Tetuan, where fome Englifh had lately committed an outrage upon the Moorifh women. Being difappointed in our firft plan, we pitched upon that of running over to Tangiers, and from thence making an excurfion into the inland parts. Both thefe hopes were defeated by the contrary winds, and we were under the neceflity of giving up fo favourite a point> which, you may believe, was a moft fenfible mortifica- tion to us both. We returned to Cadiz by our former route, fome trifling deviations excepted j one of which was, to vific the TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 243 the almoft imperceptible remains of the city of Carteia, where Cneius, fon of Pompey the Great, took refuge after the battle of Munda. Thefe ruins, of which fcarce any thing but part of a wall is to be feen, ftand on a r iing ground at the mouth of a little river, which falls into the north-weft corner of the bay. Writers have blundered ftrangely about the fituation of this town, fome placing it at Alge9iras, or Old Gibraltar, and others fo far off as Tariff. The rubbifh, and the quan- tity of its own coins found here, which are common enough among the Jews of Gibraltar, leave no room to doubt of the truth of the tradition which Exes it upon this fpot. In paffing the woods beyond Los Varios^ we raifed a prodigious eagle of the golden kind : our fer- vants, who went before, took it for a boy muffled up in. a yellowifh cloak, and were fo furprized when it took wing, that we could not prevail upon the man who car- ried the blunderbufs to fire at it, till it was got out of reach. Its colour was a dufky yellow fhaded with green, its head very fmooth and dark 5 about the belly it was of a muddy brown. At nightfall we came to a farm-houfe belonging to the duke of Medina Sidonia, where the fervants, in the abfence of the mafler farmer, refufed to give us leave to pafs the night. One of our men being difpatched into the field, brought the farmer with him, very much out lis of 244 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. of humour at his houfe being made an inn of, and fully determined to pack us off about our bufinefs, as he fafpeded us to be little better than rogues and fmug- glers ; indeed the appearance of our mefTenger was not unfavourable to that opinion. S. G* exhibited a fet of ftern features, with a thick black beard ; an old laced hat fiercely cocked hanging over his eyes ; a military jacket, acrofs which was flung a fcimitar and a pair of piftols ; dirty leather fpatterdafhes, a hoarfe voice, ftrange language, and foreign accent. All this together could hardly, in fuch a country, convey the idea of any thing but a captain of banditti. When the farmer entered his court-yard, and faw fuch a formidable fet of armed men in poffefllon of his caftle, he thought it ad- vifeable to alter his tone, and be very civil. We accepted his offer of a new barn or granary, where we pitched our tents, fupped, and llept very comfortably, having previoufly ftuffed with ftraw the boles which had been left in the wall for the free ingrefs and egrefs of the pigeons. Thefe farms are very extenfive, and entirely uncon- neded with their neighbours. Each farm has its own baker, who twice a week diflributes a certain quota of bread to each houfe-fervant, herdfman, plough-boy, and fliepherd. The plain about the houfe is a deep rich foil, the pafturage luxuriant, but in many places over-run with TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 245 with weeds and rank grafs ; a muddy rivulet winds through the flats, and is often a very troublefome pafs for travellers. We met with nothing remarkable on the road to Ve- gel ; ftorksj whoopoops, and a fox, were the only living creatures we faw. The fun grew fo extremely powerful, that we were glad to pafs the noon-tide hours under a large tree before the door of one of the fiete molinos^ by the fide of a brook. The miller and his neighbours were very civil, and furniflied us v/ith a table, chairs, glaffes, and every thing neceffary for our repaft, one of the moft delicious I ever made. The old and young formed a circle round us, while we devoured our cold ham and turkey. As I perceived one of the young fel- lows fmile and look very arch, I told him I hoped he was not fcandalized at our eating meat in Lent,, as v/e were allowed that liber ty^ as travellers. " No, no," replied he, " not I indeed ; for I know you belong to a happy " fetof people, with whom to-day is always the holiday:, " and to-morrow the vigil, and /i^." ' His joke made us laugh, and fet all his companions in a roar : in the height of our mirth and good-humour, a little old wo- man ventured to afk a tafte of a bumper of Malaga, which being the bottom of a bottle I had given my man to drink, he endeavoured to put her off, with tell- ing her that it was the wine of the Moors, conlequently ungodly, 246 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIxM. ungodly, and fuch as a zealous Spaniard would think liimfelf poifoned were he to put it to his lips ; however the old dame begged fhe might tafte it out of curiofity, and having once got the glafs into her hands, fwallowed every drop of the wine at one gulp, to the great afto- nifhment of poor S. G*** ; to comfort him, fhe affured him fhe fhould have a better opinion of the Moors as long as fhe lived, fince they made and drank fuch ex- cellent liquor. In about three hours ride we got to Chiclana, and next day hired a bark to carry us to Cadiz. The row-, ing down the river was very pleafant, as by its conti- nual winding we kept in light of the pretty hill of Chiclana, till we paffed through the arches of the bridge of Sua90 into the bay. The channel through the fhal- lows is very narrow and crooked. The king's dqck- yards at the Caraccas lie near the entrance ; and far- ther down. is the Trocadero, or magazines and docks for merchantmen. The approach to the city was beautiful ; but the flownefs of our motion, retarded by contrary winds and currents, made us heartily fick of our water party. On the 3d of April we left Cadiz, and in lefs than an hour landed at Port Saint Mary, where we were re- ceived and entertained for three days by general count Alexander O'Reilly, with every polTible demonftration of TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 247 of politenefs and cordiality. This gentleman has been of late fo much talked of, that I was eager to feize the opportunity of pafling fome time with him. To at- tempt to draw his character is far above my powers, or thofe of any three days' acquaintance. It would be: unfair and prefumptuous to decide upon the merits or demerits of any man on fuch flight grounds. He ap- pears to be very active, intelligent, and fevere, in the poll of infpedtor-general of the Spanifh infantry, an employ- ment of great bufinefs. I believe him fkilled in tallies ; to have read a great deal in his more advanced time of life (for I don't imagine his education furniilied him with any great ftock of learning ;) to have feen with a penetrating eye, and to have ftudied profoundly the cha- radiers and weaknefTes of men. His intrepidity in facing, and fleadinefs in conquering, all difficulties, that may lie in his way to preferment, are fufficiently known and varioufly defcanted upon : his memory is prodigious ; his judgment of men and things quick and precife, perhaps too peremptory. He has much ready wit at command, efpecially when he has a mind to turn the laugh againfl any particular perfon, in which cafe he is accufed of of- ten carrying the joke too far ; and I don't know but he- may owe fome of his many enemies to the ridicule he has fometimes thrown upon them. Some think him rather too fond of talking, and of making himfelf the fubjed of his- 248 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. his difcourfe, but they muft acknowledge he fpeaks with great eloquence in a variety of languages. His counte- nance and figure are rather comely ; but a wound in his knee caufes him to limp, an imperfedlion which has af- forded his enemies great fcope for raillery : the king's fondnefs for him bears him up againft all their eiForts to ruin him ; his majefty, who thinks himfelf indebted to O'Reilly for his life, in the fedition of Madrid '^, fup- ports him with inflexible conftancy. When the new road was making to the palace of the Pardo, a little, ugly ever-green oak was found to ftand in the line marked out for the highway. This tree, by its oddity and folitary pofition, had attracted the notice and gained the favour of the king, who forbade the engineers to meddle with it. In fpite of all the remonftrances of the minifter and furveyors, the oak ftill remains (land- ing in the middle of the road ; the king often fhews it to his courtiers, and, obferving with a fmile, that it has no frie'pd but himfelf, calls it O'Reilly. The only morning we had free from rain, we em- ' ployed in a ride to Sanlucar, to fee the mouth of the Guadalquiver,the ancient B^tis, where the fleets of Spain were wont to rendezvous, before Cadiz was made the '' He rode into the crowd of rioters, and Jhot a fellow dead that had taken up a ftone and was going to throw it at the king. ftaple TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 249 ftaple for Indian goods, and before the bar at the mouth became fo confiderable as to impede the navigation of large veffels. The ground rifes very beautifully weft of Saint Mary's; it is a perfed: garden : fpring, which is now in full vi- gour, and every hedge and bufh covered with flowers, rendered our jaunt delightful. The kermes or holme- oak is in great beauty, quite on fire with the fcarlet gall-nuts of the little infecl which produces the falfe cochineal. Near the Guadalquivir, the country is ara- ble, with few inclofures. In times of remote antiquity Sanlucar was called Fanum Luciferi. It was once the port of Seville, and at the feafons for the arrival or de- parture of the fleets, the moft ftirring place in Europe : at prefent it is a neat, quiet town, without much bufl- nefs. The fmall fhips that carry on its trade, lie half a league farther up in the Anfa, where the Indian flota ufed to moor. The river is wide and very rough at the bar ; the oppofite fliore fo dead a flat, that it is dif- ficult to diftinguifli it from the water. I fauntered along the Playa de Sanlucar, without meeting a foul : how changed from what it was in the days of Cervantes ; when it was crowded with the bufy and the idle, the honeft and the profligate. On Friday evening we came to Xeres. I was much furprized to hear, from good authority, that this city K k contains 250 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. contains no lefs than forty thoufand inhabitants, of which a twentieth part are eccleliaftics. We went next morning to the monaflery of Carthufian monks, a few miles off, remarkable for its breed of horfes, and for a very fine view over the plains towards the bay and fhipping of Cadiz. The day was fultry, and I could with pleafure have lolled it out in the prior's garden, under the fhade of a noble lemon-tree, refrefKed by the foft perfumes afcending on every fide from the neigh- bouring orchards. This convent, founded in 1482 by Alvaris de Val- leto, a citizen of Xeres, is grand, and well laid out : water is conveyed into every public hall and private cell. We were difappointed o{ the principal end of our journey, which was to fee thqir fine ftallions, but they were all out in the country at the covering-ftables. The earth, in the cemetries of Xeres, has the quality of preferving corpfes incorrupted for years and ages. Upon leaving Xeres, we found the roads much the worfe for the heavy rains ; and two days were fpent in travelling a few miles through ftiif, deep clays, where we expeded to ftick fail: every inftant, as the wheels were clogged to a great height. We faw fome buftards in thefe plains. This morning we arrived m Seville, which appears to reat advantage from the hills, at the diftance of a cou- ple TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 251 pie of miles. The foil upon the heights is fandy, planted with pine-trees and vines, inclofed with hedges of various kinds of fhrubs, among which there is a great quantity of yellow jafmine. Round the city is a great plain of corn-lands, paftures, and gardens ; the Guadalquivir, which runs through it, is very fubjedt to overflow its banks, and lay all the adjacent country under water ; the lowlands by the river fide are com- mon, and two years cropped with corn, the third left to run up into grafs. When we entered the city, our muleteers were obliged to ride as poftillions on the foremoft mules, to comply with the orders of the magiftrates for preventing ftop- pages and accidents in the ftreets, which are uncom- monly crodked and narrow,. Kk2 LET^EjSi 252 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. LETTER XXXr. Seville, April 9, 1776, WE arrived yefterday morning in this capital of Andalufia ; and as foon as we had dined and dreft ourfelves, walked out with no particular objedl in view, but merely to flroll through the ftreets, by way of making ourfelves acquainted with the city ; chance led us into the court of the Alcazar, or royal palace, and the centry directed us to a gallery, which he faid would bring us to the gardens. You have often heard me launch out in praife of fome hanging-gardens in Italy, fo refrefhing and voluptuous in the fummer even- ings ; this of the Alcazar is exadly fuch another ; fe- veral parterres, furrounded by galleries and terraces, in- terfed:ed by myrtle hedges and jafmine bowers, and perfumed by clumps of orange-trees, have alfo the ad- vantage of abundance of water. A large party of fprightly damfels and young men that were walking here, were much indebted to us for making the water- works play, by means of a fmall bribe to the keeper. Nothing can be more delicious than thefe fprinklings in a hot day ; all the flowers feemed to acquire new vigour, the TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 253 the odours, exhaled from the orange, citron, and lemon- trees, grew more poignant, more balfamic, and the com- pany ten times more alive than they were ; it was a true April fhower. We fauntered near two hours in the groves, till we were quite in extafy with fweets. 'Tis a moft heavenly refidence in fpring ; and I fhould think the fummer heats might be tempered and ren- dered fupportable enough, by the profufion of water that they enjoy at Seville. Philip the Fifth relided here many years, and paffed his time in drawing with the fmoke of a candle on deal boards, or angling for tench in a little refervoir. On our firft entrance into the palace, which is a paf- ticcio of Saracenic, Conventual, and Grecian architec- ture, I was much taken with the principal front of the inner-court ; a piece of as good Morifco work as any I had yet feen. Having read that the Moors built one part of this palace, I concluded I was admiring fome- thing as old as the Mahometan kings of Seville ; but upon clofer examination was not a little furprized to . find //(7;^j, cajlles^ and other armorial enfigns of Cafiille and Leon, interwoven with the Arabefque foliages ; and ftill more fo, to fee, in large Gothic characters, an infcription informing me, that thefe edifices v/ere built in the fourteenth century, by the moft mighty king of Caftille and Leon, Don Pedro. Within 254 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Within this portico is a court ninety-three feet by fixty-nine : it is flagged with marble, and furrounded with a colonnade of white marble columns of the Co- rinthian order, elegantly proportioned, and well exe- cuted ; the walls behind are covered with grotefque deflgns in the Moorifli tafte : Charles the Fifth has con- trived to foifl: his eagle and his plus oultre into every cor- ner. The great hall adjoining, called the Media na- ranja, or half-orange, from the form of its cupola, is richly gilt and ftuccoed in the fame manner. Here I own, my little knowledge of architedure was fairly nonpluflTed ; I. was convinced that the portion of the fabric, called by the travel-writers the Moorijh party was the work 6f Peter the Cruel, who might eaflly pro- cure fkilful artifts from the kings of Granada, with whom he was connected moft part of his reign ; but there was no accounting for the Corinthian pillars, un- lefs I fuppofed them to have belonged to fome Roman edifice, deftroyed for the fake of fupplying materials for the palace, or to have been placed by the emperor under the old gallery, in lieu of others in a barbarous ftyle or ruinous ftate. Next to the court of the lions in the Alhambra, this fquare is the moft pleafing piece of Arabic building I have met with, though in delicacy of defign and execution, the ornaments of the Sevillian are- much inferior to thofe of the Granadine palace. Near TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 255 Near the weftern entrance was formerly to be feen a ftone feat, with its canopy fupported by four pillars, all now deftroyed. Here that fevere judge, Don Pedro, fat to decide caufes, and give fentence upon malefadors. His juftice was fo very inflexible, that in thofe days of feudal anarchy, it was looked upon in the light of wan- ton cruelty and tyranny ; perhaps that unfortunate mo- narch owes to the hatred of thofe he meant to reduce to order, much of the obloquy which has been fo plen- tifully beftowed upon him by hiftorians, who have painted him to us as a tyrant fo bloody, fo wicked, as almoft to exceed the bounds of probability. In Anda- lufla, where he fixed his refidence, and feemed moft to delight, his memory is not held in the fame abhorrence. The Sevillian writers fpeak of him very differently ; and inftead of his ufual appellation of Pedro el cruei^ diftin- guifh him by that of El Jufticiero. It is certain that his baftard-brother and murderer, Henry of Tranfta- mare, v/as guilty of crimes full as atrocious as any of thofe imputed to Don Pedro 5 but as he deftroyed him, his family, and adherents, the friends of the new fpuri- ous race of monarchs were left at full liberty to blacken the charadlers of the adverfe party, without fear of being called to an account for calumny, or even contradided. Truth is now out of our reach ; and for want of proper proofs to the contrary, we muft fit down contented with what 256 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. what hiftory has left us, and allow Don Pedro to have been one of the moft inhuman butchers that ever dif- graced a throne. We devoted this morning to an excurfion in fearch of the ruins of Italica, where Trajan, Hadrian, and Theo- do{ius the Great, are fuppofed to have been born ; a fearch it may moft properly be called, for we wandered a long league wide of the mark, but had no reaion to be forry for the miftake, whatever our Catalan running- footman might think of the matter. We took too much to the left, after croffing the river on the bridge of boats, and ftrayed along the walls of a convent, where the monks were felling the lemons of their gar- dens through a hole in the wall. The wind was rather brifk, and wafted fuch perfumes from the orange-groves, as almoft lulled us to fleep ; the meadows and corn- fields that we rode through were delightful, as rich and luxuriant as any I ever faw in Flanders. On our right hand a range of orange-gardens perfumed the breeze before it reached us ; and on the left the Guadalquivir ran winding through the plain. Our foft reveries were difturbed by a full flop, that our runner Chriftoval made at a gully, where a brook falls into a river. It could only be paffed on foot, as there was. no bridge but a few yawning planks, on which our horfes, however willing, could not pretend to find a footing ; this obliged us to difmountj TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 257 difmount, and fend our horfes round half a league to join us at the ruins of Italica, which we thought ap- peared very confpicuous Upon a hill before us. The fun was hot, but the fpirit of antiquarianifm gave us ftrength and courage to climb up to the platforjn of Saint John de Alfarache. After fitting awhile to take breath under fome arborjudas in full flower, we pro- ceeded to explore every corner of the crown of the hill ; it is almoft fquare, inclofed with the ruins of vail tow- ers and bulwarks, built of cemented mud and pebbles. From the knowledge I had acquired of the different modes of building, fince I came into the fouth of Spain, I ventured to pronounce, that if this was Italica, the Moors had built upon the fite, and antiquaries were grofly mifbaken when they talked of Roman edifices and amphitheatres ; not but what I thought the Situa- tion fuch, as the judicious Romans might have prefer- red to that of Hifpalis, the prefent Seville, both for beauty and ftrength. The view from it over that city, the courfe of the river, and the rich plain, are worth more than the labour it coft us to get fo high : at this blooming feafon of the year, when every thing is in full vegetation, green and frefli, I don't remember to have feen a finer country. An old peafant fet my heart at eafe (for I confefs I was a little out of humour, as every difappointed L 1 virtuofo 258 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. virtuofo would have been) by informing us that this was a Moorifli caftle, '* and that Sevilla Vieja, or old Seville (the name they give to Italica) was a little be- yond a great church of Hieronymites, a league to the north in the fkirts of the plain. Our error once difco- vered, we trotted away through the flats to that con- vent, and there picked up a fellow without fhirt or ftockings, with a patched cloak, white hat, and long black beard ; which gentleman undertook to fhew us the antiquities. Of the ancient colony of Italica, fuppofed to have been compofed by Scipio of his veteran foldiers, fcarce the leaft veftige remains. It is faid the Moors deftroyed it, not to have a rival- fo near Seville, where they in- tended to fix the feat of their empire ; but I doubt this is the mere furmife of fome modern hiftorian. I could not pofitively afcertain it, but from a view of the ground, am apt to believe it was built in imitation of Rome, on feven hills, and that the river Bcetis ran at the foot of them. By accidental obftrudlions and banks of fand, accumulated in a long feries of inundations,. the river may have been driven from r-z aacient bed, and forced more into the heart of the plain, where it '^ After the lols of Sevillcj the Moors are faid to have remained fome time at Ah'arachej under the government of a kind of king.. now TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 259 now takes its courfe. Such an event as this would ac- count for the ruin of fo considerable a city as Italica ; and without fuppoling that the Saracens were at the pains of demolifhing it, would afford fuiEcient caufe for giving the preference to Seville, which Hands upon the Guadalquivir. On the fummit of the firft hill are fome ruinous brick walls, called El Palacio^ not in the leaft remarkable. The peafants that were here at work in the olive-yards, told us, that underneath there had formerly been found columns of filver and brafs j but as they were bewitched by fome magician, nobody was ever able to draw them up-; and now-a-days, not a foul has the courage even to dig for them, as they have all the reafon in the world to believe, that the conjurer would twifl their heads off for attempting it. This is a popular fuperftition, which I have found to be common to moft countries, wherever any great remains of vaults and ancient edifices are to be feen. ' On the mofl diftant eminence are confiderable ruins of an amphitheatre, built with pebbles, and brick arches ; moft probably the marble cafing has been car- ried away, or deftroyed by burning to lime. The form is a moft perfedl oval; the arena meafures, as near as the corn v/ouid allow me to be exadl, one hundred yards in its greateft length, and fixty in its greateft breadth ; L 1 3 fome 26o TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, fome of the vomitoria, cells, and paffages, are yet dif- cernible, but fcarce any traces of the feats ; however I made out twenty rows, tv/o feet fix inches wide, and two feet high ; each flep of the ftairs of communication is one foot high and one wide. This amphitheatre is now more like Stonehenge than a regular Roman edi- fice ^^ Not far from it is a fine pool of water, in a large vault under the hill ; which I take to be the remains of • fome aquedu6t, as the water is too warm to be near the fpring head. Being very hot and hungry, we made the beft of our way home through large plantations of orange-trees^ which here grow to the fize of moderate timber trees ; the fruit is much more pleafing to the eye, if lefs fo tO; the palate, than tlie oranges of Portugal, as the rich bJood-colour is admirably contrafted with the bright tint of the leaves. '' The corporation of Seville, having occafion for fEones to embank the river, which, by its frequent inundations, caufed great damage to the city, ordered the amphitheatre of Italica to be knocked dovra. Many hands were employed to batter the v/alls, and_to blow up with gunpowder fuch. jjarts as refifted the pick-ax. By thefe means they procured fuilicient ma.- tprials for tlreir embankment j but, as if the Guadalquivir meant to revenge the caufe of tafbe upon thefe harbaria-jS, the very firft flood fwept away the- wi^ple fabrick.= LETTER. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 261 LETTER XXXII. Seville, April ii, 1776. E V I L L E is fuppofed to have been founded by the Phenicians, who gave it the name of Hifpalis : the Romans called it Julia ; in after-ages the old name returned, and after a variety of corruptions, feems to have been revived in the modern appellation of Sebilla, or Sevilla, for the Spaniards ufe both indifcriminately. Under the Roman government, it v^^as embeliifhed with many magnificent buildings, deftined for purpofes of public utility and amufement ; but I believe the very ruins of thofe edifices have long ago difappeared. The Gothic kings refided here before they removed their court to Toledo. Mufa, the Saracen viceroy, took Seville by fEorm,, foon after the yi^gtj obtained at Xeres over king; Rodrigo*. In the general confufion that enfiied upon the down- fal of the kingdom of Cordova, in 1027,. Seville became an independent fovereignty, which was annihilated by the violence of the African prince Jufef Almoravides, who came into Spain in 1097^ Ferdinand a62 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Ferdinand the third, king of Caftille, (who, in con- fidcration of his great fuccefs againft the Mahometans, as well as for his fandity, was canonized after his death, aiid is ftill honoured as a faint of the firft rank) took Cordova, and many other important places, from the enfeebled, difunited Muffulmen ; drove them from poft to poll, till he reduced the bounds of their empire to a very confined corner of the peniniula ; after a year's liei^e ht^ forced Seville to open its gates to him, and ac- knowledge his iVay. Three hundred thoufand Moors are faid to have left the city upon the capitulation, and to have carried their arms and induftry to fuch coun- tries, as were ftill obedient to the law of Mahomet. It is difficult to conceive how Seville could continue to be a great and populous town after fuch an emigration ; yet we find it in a few years enlarged, adorned with new buildings, the chief of which was the cathedral, and long enjoying the rank of one of the moft confide- rable cities in Spain. Its moft Imlliant eppcha was fboo after the difcovery of America, when all the new-found treafiiies were pouted into £un^ 6om the fteets that returned from the new hemi^here into the Guadalquivir, and made Seville the magazine of its invaluable piodudions. The lbc%3Fdgii traquoLtly honoured this place with his pre- i&xice ^ f^achants hom. all paits Socked hither to open faoolbs TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 263 houfes of commerce, or to provide themfelves with goods for foreign markets ; the failors and adventurers of the Indian fleets rendezvoufed here, and with wanton prodigality lavifhed the wealth, which they had acquired in America. Then indeed was the time, when the Spaniard cried out in the fullnefs of his heart, ^luie?i 710 a vijio Sevilla^ no a vijlo meravilla *^. Its court was then the moft fplendid in Europe j its flreets were thronged with an immenfe concourfe of people ; its river was crowded with fhips, and its keys covered with bales of precious merchandize. Great were the builds ings begun, and ftill vafter the projefe for future ones. Its profperity feemed proof againft the ficklenefs of for- tune ; but ia the courfe of a very few years, it fell from the higheft pitch of grandeur to folitude and poverty, by the danger and embarraffments in the navigation of the Guadalquivir. The fuperior excellence of the port of Cadiz, induced government to order the Galepns to be ftationed there for the time to come. The fhape of Seville is circular, without any great lifing in the whole fpace. The walls feem of Moorifh Gonftrudion, or of the ages which immediately followed the. diflblution of the Saracen empire ; as I guefs by their form and materials. The ditch is filled up in !' He that has not feen Sevillej has not feen the wonder t)f the world. many 2^4 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. many places. The circumference of the walls is not more than five miles and an half. The fuburb of Tri- ana, on the weft fide of the river, is as large as many towns, but remarkable for nothing but its gloomy Go- thic caftle, where, in 1482, the inquifitio'n formed its rfirft eftablifhment in Spain. The ftreets of Seville are crooked, dirty, and fo nar- row, that in moft of them two coaches find it difficult to pafs a-breaft. The wideft and handfomeft place is the Alameda, or great walk of old elms, in the heart of the city ; it is fix hundred yards by one hundred and fifty, decorated with three fountains, and the ftatues of Hercules, the reputed founder, and Julius Casfar, the reftorer of Seville. Moft of the churches are built and ornamented in fo barbarous a ftyle, that I had not the patience to examine them ; the cathedral, the capuchins, and the charidad, are the only facred edifices really interefting ; the firft by its antiquity, fize, and reputation , the two latter by the chef-d'ceuvres of Murillo. The cathedral is more cried up than I think it de- ferves ; it is by no means equal to York minfter, for lightnefs, elegance, and Gothic delicacy. The cluftered pillars are too thick, the ailes too narrow, and the choir, by being placed in the center, fpoils the whole coup d'ceil, and renders the reft of the church little better than a heap TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 265 a heap of long paffages. The ornamental parts, com- monly faid to be after the Gothic manner, feem rather to be clumfy imitations of the models left by the Moors. Not one of the great entrances or porches is iinifhed ; and to disfigure the whole pile, a long range of build- ings, in the modern ftyle, has been added on to thq old part. Don Sancho the Brave began this church, near the clofe of the thirteenth century ; and John the Second finifhed it about an hundred years after. Its length within is four hundred and twenty feet ; its breadth two hundred and feventy-three ; and its greateft height one hundred and twenty-fix. The circumference of each clufter of pillars is forty-two feet. It has nine doorsj eighty windows, and eighty altars, at which five hun- dred maffes are faid every day. The pavement is brick, but they are now new-laying it with marble. The great gate of the cloyfters, (the only remains of the mofque) is a piece of handfome Moorifh architedlure. The large 'orange-trees that fliade the fountains in the middle of the cloyfters, make them a moft agreeable walk. At one angle ftands the Giralda, or belfry, a tower three hundred and fifty feet high, and fifty fquare : the Moors erected it about the year 1000 : the Chriftians have added two ftories, and a prodigious vi^eatliercock, which, altogether, agree much better with the ancient M m building 266 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. building than patchwork is wont to do : the fculpture of the Saracenic part, which is two hundred feet high, is in a much fimpler tafte than their artifts were accuf- tomed to difplay in public works. The effed of this to^er rifing far above every edifice in Seville, is ex- tremely noble. Tradition relates, that to form a folid foundation for it, the Moors made a deep hole, into which they caft all the marble and ftone monuments of the Romans that could be found : when repairs have been neceffary, and the ground has been opened near the bottom, many broken ornaments and. infcriptions have been difcovered. The whole work is brick and mortar ; a winding ftair-cafe is contrived within, fo eafy and wide, as to admit of two horfemen riding a-breaft, above half v/ay up. For fome purpofe, unknown to us, the archited; has made the folid mafonry in the up- per half, juft as thick again as that in the lower, though on the outfide the belfry is all the way of the fame dimeniions. Murilio has adorned the charidad and capuchins with: feveral moil valuable pictures, which may be ranked among his very befl: performances ; his manner puts me much in mind of Guercino : the defign of his hands and arms is generally faulty, as he gives them rather too great a length ; there is fuch expreffion, fuch truth of colouring, and intelligencej. in the compofition of his- groupes;,. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 267 groupes, that a trifling defed of that kind is eaiily overlooked. In the firfl of thofe churches, Saint Elizabeth, queen of Hungary, curing fome lepers, and other difeafed per- fons, by anointing them with holy oil, is an admirable piifture ; there is -an old woman, and a boy under the hand of the faint, full of truth, charailer, and expref- fion. In the reprefentation of Mofes ftriking the rock, are feveral excellent figures, and a very beautiful white horfe. In the church of the capuchins, out of many of his pictures, which hang in every chapel on each iide, thofe that gave me mofl: pleafure, were a Saint Anthony of Padua, holding the infant Jefus on a book ; a friar em- bracing Chrift crucified, who ftoops from the crofs, and brings down an arm to prefs the faint's fhoulder ; an adoration of the fhepherds ; and Saint Thomas of Vil- lanova, archbifhop of Valencia, diftributing alms at his palace-gate ; which lafl I like the beft of the whole col- lection. In our way to this church, which ftands without the walls, we looked into many others ; but found nothing particular in any, except in one, a lift of the books lately condemned by the inquifition ; among many others we faw the famous Fray Gerundio by father Ifla ; fome common French books relative to geography ; fome M m 2 of 268 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. of Voltaire's late publications ; and the political hiftory of the European fettlements, by Raynal, prohibited not only as favouring of deifm and infidelity, but alfo as containing many pafTages derogatory to the glory of the Spanifli nation. We returned by the great road round the walls, pafT- ing near the gate and tower where Saint Hermenegild was put to death by order of his father Leovigild, king of the Goths, for deferting arianifm, and for raifing an unfuccefsful rebellion againft him. Further on we walked under the Canos de Carmona, or the great aquedud: ; which is efteemed by the Sevil- lian hiftorians, one of the moft wonderful monuments of antiquity exifting in the univerfe. We were much difappointed to find none of that beauty or grandeur they talk fo much of; on the contrary, it is rather ugly, its arches unequal, the architecture neglefted, and its direction very crooked. The conduit is fo leaky, that a rivulet is formed of the wafte water. Authors are divided in their opinions concerning this aqueduct ;. whether to look upon it as a Roman, or as a Moorifh work. I believe it was originally planned and built by, the former ; but the innumera^ble repairs it has under- gone have almoft obliterated every trace of their man- ner : however, what it wants in fhew, it certainly makes, up. foe in utility ; it conveys a very abundant, fupply of watQ.i: TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 269 water, feveral leagues from a place called Alcala. The rocks are there bored, in various diredlions, an immenfe length of way under ground, in order to intercept every little runner, and collect fo confiderable a ftream as to turn feveral mills, and bring fuch a volume of water down to Seville, that almoft every houfe in town has the benefit of it ; except thofe of the quarters, which are fupplied by the pipes from the fountain of the archbifhop. We re-entered the city at the new gate, which forms an elegant termination to a handfome ftreet of regidar houfes one flory high, behind the Alcazar. The fnuff manufadory is fituated in this ftreet : for the more con- venient carrying on this lucrative branch of commerce^ Ferdinand the Sixth ere«d9«aeeao^® dee»ea»«o«9*»a* I Z ir/ica/'A'/i ' 1 ^/•/I'jtJ yioo7nJ T/li' ( h//// ri/ A/>////n'//J p yii)i////e/i /o yif /f/o/^Jlfr>Jylf /o -Z'/'/r// w/ieff //i^i' /y^- ''/'-''• • '/^"c/ // JJi>iJ/-j /loii ■ // v/Z/ft/ u/i o//., /'.,/•/. ,?7l> TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 297 the work two years before he died : his fon Hiffem or Ifcan finished the whole mofque about the year 800. It was more than once altered and enlarged by the Mahometans themfelves, and has fince undergone fe- veral changes fince it became a Chriftian church. The greateft alteration was made in the fifteenth century, by building a cupola in the center upon Gothic arches, and fcooping away part of the ancient edifice to form a large choir. In the days of the Muflulmen, the mofque was a fquare building, with a flat roof upon arches, which did not rife more than thirty-five feet above the pave- ment. It was four hundred and twenty in breadth, and five hundred and ten in length, including the thick- •nefs of the walls. The roof was borne up by near a thoufand columns according to fome accounts, and by feven hundred and feventy-eight according to others, which formed nineteen .iles from eaft to weft, and twenty-nine from north to fouth, if we may truft to the defcription given by Morales, and many other hifto- rians ; but I own I cannot fee how there could ever have been more than feventeen, and the plans of the academy mark no more ^*. The columns were of the richeft '■'' From my own obfervations, and an examination of the plans taken by the academicians, fent by the king to meafure and draw this and other Qjl ancient 298 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. richeft marbles ; the twenty-four gates were plated with bronze, emboffed in a moft curious manner. The principal entrance had its folding doors covered with plates of gold. Upon the highefl; cupola were three golden balls, bearing up a pomegranate and a flower de luce of the fame precious metal. Four thoufand fe- ven hundred lamps burned in the mofque every night, and confumed in a year near twenty thoufand pounds o{ oil ; it alfo required annually £xty pounds of wood of aloes, and fixty of ambergreafe, for the perfumes. Such is the defcription of this famous temple left us in the writings of the Arabian and old Spanifli authors. I now proceed to give you a minute account of its prefent ftate, after the notes I took down upon the fpot with the utmoft attention. The ftreets round the mofque are narrow, and ill calculated for affording a general view. But indeed there is nothing very fhewy on the outfide. The walls are plain enough, and not very high : the roof is hid behind battlements cut into fleps. On the eaft ancient buildings in the fouth of Spain, I find the meafurements given by moft hiftorians, who defcribe the dimenfions of thia church, to be extremely- difficult to reconcile, and I believe erroneous, at leaft not much to be de- pended upon 3 for which reafon 1 have adhered to the plans above men-- tioBed, . fide. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 299 fide, the whole length is divided by buttreffes into thirteen divifions, and about the fame number on each of the other three fides. The doors opened in many of thefe compartments are ornamented with ftucco of dif- ferent colours. On the north fide is a lofty belfry, a modern building, that has made a total alteration in the appearance of that front. Seventeen gates admit you into the church and cloyfter. The cloyfter, or court, which ferved the Mahometans for their ablutions, and as a place to leave their flippers in, before they entered the holy houfe, is an oblong fquare of five hundred and ten feet, (the length of the church) by two hundred and forty. A portico of fixty-two pillars environs it on three fides, about twenty-five feet wide. The middle is taken up with three hand- fome and copious fountains, groves of orange-trees, and fome towering cyprefTes and palms, which form a moft delightful retreat in the fultry hours. We have had occasion to experience the comforts of this fhade at noon-day, when the natives being all retired to their jiejia^ we were left in full poffeffion of this ancient fa- bric. Contrary to the cuflom of the reft of Spain, the doors are left open all day, and nobody finds fault with thofc that faunter about in the church out of idlenefs or curiofity. Near the great gate, that leads from the cloyfter into Q^q 2 the 30O TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. the mofque, are three pieces of columns, each with an infcription, which vary from each other only in the name of the emperor, the reft of the words being alike in all three. T.I. C.A.E.S.A.R. D.I. V.I. A.V.G.V. S.T.I. F. D.I. V.I. I. V.L.I. N.E.P.O.S. A.V.G.V.S.T.V.S. P.O.N.T.V.F.E.X. M.A.X. X.X.I. C.O.S. V. I.M.P. T.R.I.B. P.O.T.E.S.T. X.X.X.V.I.I. A.B> I.A.N.O. A.V.G.V.S.T.O. Q.V.I. E.S.T. A.D. B.O.E.T.I.M. V.S.QiV.E. A.D. '_ O.C.E.A.N.V.Mi ul. X.I. 1. 1. 1. The others bear the names of Auguftus and Caius. What thefe kind of mileftones, and the Janus Auguftus 1 were, I confefs I am not able to inform you, nor can I procure any information from Maffei's colledlion of infcriptions, as, inftead of explaining thefe lines, he doubts of there being any fuch exifting. The grand entrance of the church is at the thirteenth ile from the eaft wall, which is rather v/ider and loftier than the reft, and the parts more decorated. Nothing can be more ftriking than the firft ftep into this fingulai, rather than beautiful edifice. To acquire fome idea of it, you muft reprefent to yourfelf a vaft gloomy labyrinth, like what the French are fo fond of in. ■ //(f/. f/y^ Part of tlie Ea^tProiit TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 301 in their gardens, a fine qui?2cuftx. It is divided into feventeen iles, or naves^ (each about twenty feet wide) by rows of columns of various marbles, viz. blue with white veins, yellow, red, red veined with white, grey, and Granadine and African green. Thefe pillars are not all of the fame height ; for the Arabs having ta- ken them from Roman buildings, ferved them in the fame manner as the tyrant Procruftes did his guefts : to the fhort ones they clapped on monflrous capitals, and thick bafes ; thofe that were too long for their purpofe had their bafe chopped off, and a diminutive fhallow bonnet placed on their head. However, the thicknefs of the {haft is pretty equal throughout, about eighteen inches diameter, and the capitals are generally barba- rous imitations of thofe of the Corinthian order. A couple of arches, one above the other, riling from the columns, run along the rows ; and from the fame bafis fprings an arch that forms the roof of each ile. By feveral alterations and additions, the Moors had divided the whole mofque into four parts, marked out by two lines of cluftered pillars, crofling each other at right angles : three of thefe portions were allotted to the populace and the women ; the fourth, in the fbuth- eaft angle, was referved for the nobility and clergy. In this lalt quarter was the zancarron, or holy chapel, where they depofited the books of the law» The door of 302 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. of it faced the great gate, down the principal ile. The •ornaments and architedlure of this fandiuary, and of the throne of Almanfor, which is in front, at the diftance of fix intercolumniations from it, are very different from thofe employed in the other parts. . Two ranges of columns that fupport the fcreen before this penetrale^ are about fix feet high ; the upper ones of red and white marble, the lower of green, with capitals moll: minutely carved and gilt. The roof of the dark inner fand:uary is faid to be of one block of marble, eighteen feet wide : if fo, it is not only curious for its iize and quality, but alfo for the ingenuity of the archited:, in placing it in fo perfedl an equilibrium as to remain un- fhaken fo many ages. The manner of calling the arches, grouping the columns, and deligning the folia- ges of this fcreen and throne, (which is an exad: repe- tition of it) is very heavy, intricate, and barbarous, un- like all the Moorifli architediure I faw at Granada. Indeed it is many centuries more ancient than any or- namental work at that place. The zancarron is now the property of the duke of Alba, who has his family vault under it. Behind this chapel, and on each fide of it, were the lodgings of the dervifhes, which now ferve for chapter- houfe, facrifty, and treafury. This church is extremely rich in plate, and has lately added to its flore four ponderous 77^.^^ Chapel of the Alkoram nv the Mosque of Cofdova^^"^^^^ TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 303: ponderous filver candlefticks, very nicely wrought : they were made in Cordova, and coft about eight hundred and fifty pounds flerling apiece. It is fcarce poflible to afcertain the exadl number of columns in the mofque, as they originally flood, becaufe great changes have been made, many taken away, dif- placed, or built up in the walls of chapels, and feveral added when the choir was ered:ed in the center of the whole. Were it in any other church, it would deferve great praife, for the Gothic grandeur of the plan, the loftinefs of the dome, the carving of the ftalls ""% and the elegance and high finifhing of the arches and orna^ ments : but in the middle of the Moorifh mofque, it deftroys all unity of defign, darkens the reft, and ren- ders confufed every idea of the original general effed; of the building. Many chapels, ftuck up in various parts between the pillars, interrupt the enfilade, and block up the pafTage. The worfl: of all, is a large chapel of the Virgin, that clofes the main ile exaftly in the middle j and the throne of Almanfor is now occupied by a poor piece of legendary painting. I can imagine no coup-d' ceil more extraordinary than that taken in by the eye, when placed in fuch fpots of the church as afford a clear reach down the iles, at right *' The ftalls were carved after the defigns of Cornejo of Seville. It took: twelve years to finijQi the work,, and one to put it up.. anglesg, 304 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. angles, uninterrupted by chapels and modern erections. Equally wonderful is the appearance, when you look from the points that give you all the rows of pillars and arches in an oblique line. It is a moft puzzling fcene of confufion. Light is admitted by the doors, and feveral fmall cu- polas ; but neverthelefs the church is dark and awful : people walking through this chaos of pillars feem to anfwer the romantic ideas of magic, inchanted knights, or difcontented wandering fpirits. In one of the cupolas hangs the tooth of an elephant ; which, our guide told us, had formerly belonged to one of thofe animals, that was particularly ufeful in car- rying ftones, and other materials, for building the mofque. A very extraordinary circumftance attending this church, which we have been thrice eye-witneffes of, is, that when the foundlings given out to parifh-nurfes die, they are brought into the cathedral, and laid upon a particular altar, that the chaplain may take them away to bury them. I went up to thefirft I faw, miftaking it for a votive waxen faint, prepared for feme ceremony ; nor was I undeceived till I touched the poor little crea- ture. The fecond was laid down while we were there, and had all the fymptoms of having been ftarved to death. There are not lefs than five hundred children loft TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 305 loft to the population of Cordova every year in this liianaer, by negled: or ill treatment. An officer took us out this afternoon to the bifliop's country houfe down the river. The late prelate was very fond of it, and had made it a pleafant, comfortable retreat ; but fince his death it is become very ruinous. The revenues of the fee amount to three thoufand five hundred pounds fterling a year. As the bifhops can- not devife by will, all they die poffeffed of efcheates to the king. I wifh I could contrive a method of carrying you fome of the fine earthen jars, called buxaros^ which are made in Andalufia. They are remarkably convenient for water-drinkers, as they are light, fmooth, and handy : being not more than half baked, they are very porous, and the outfide is kept moift by the water's fil- tering through : though placed in the fun, the water in the pots remains as cold as ice. The moft difagree- able circurhftance attending them is, that they emit a fmell of earth refrefhed by a fudden fhower, after a long drought. I am juft informed that our wheel will require ano- ther day to be refitted ; which is a terrible piece of news indeed this rainy weather ; for every day the roads will grow worfe and worfe, and we are not able to ride about to fee the environs. Were there fuch a thing as R r a book- 3o6 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. a bookfeller in this once learned city, I would buy Seneca, and try what confolation his philofophy affords in his native country.. LETTER XXXVI. Santa Cruzj April 21, 177 5; 1 Write this from the Campo de Montiel, not very far from a Lugar de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme "^^ i Have pafTed over the Sierra Morena, and being now fairly entered into Don Quixote's own country, cannot refift the temptation of beginning a letter, let the end of it be written where it may fo happen. On the 1 8th we made our departure good from Cor- dova ; but proceeded with fear and trembling, every moment peeping out to examine the ftate of our wheels, and, at each unmerciful jolt, biting our lips, and draw- ing up into our refpe(3:ive corners, to prepare for an overturn. Time gave us courage, and the anxiety paff- ing off by degrees, we ventured to look out, and enjoy *' The firft words in Don Quixote,, the TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 307 the fine vale of the Guadalquivir, which runs between two ridges of hills, covered with hanging woods and olive yards ; feveral clear ftreams traverfe the plain, and fall into the river. The ancient raifed road, be it Roman or Moorifh, was always moil acceptable to us, whenever we got upon it ; for it is a fine hard gravel above the level of dirt and water. Every brook had its bridge, but fcarce one in twenty now remains. At the bridge of Alcolea, where we paffed to the fouth of the river, are kept the king's ftallions. One or two of them are noble horfes ; but an Andalufian breeder values a horfe for fuch points in the make, as would deter an Englifli jockey from buying him. The former requires his horfe to be forward and bulky in the fhoulders, with his forelegs far back under his belly, and the tail fet fo low, as always to be fqueezed clofe to his hams ; he never fuffers him to lie down, but keeps him conftantly on a clean pavement floping from the manger, with his forelegs clofe chained to the ground. You know Cordova has long been famous for its breed of horfes, but it feems to be ftrangely fallen off; very few good looking ones are now to be met with. A gentleman of that city affured us, as indeed we had heard before, that the breed was much negleded, and little care taken to preferve it pure and genuine ; the king having given the fuperintendence R r 2 of 3o8 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. of his ftud to a ftranger, a foot officer, who perhaps never rode any thing but an afs or a mule in his life. Before this change, the employment was always held by a Cordovefe nobleman, who, as well as his friends, piqued himfelf upon breeding and exhibiting the choiceft horfes poffible ; but now in difguft, they have entirely laid afide all thought or tafte for that pur- fuit, and feem quite indifferent about the animals they ride or drive. For two days we travelled up the river. The country . it waters is very rich and beautiful ; the plains extend- ing far and near, charmingly ftreaked with rows of olive-trees ; towns and caftles near each other along the banks ; the northern hills darkened with woods,^ and all the diftant eminences to the fouth, green with, corn : this luxuriance of vegetation and fatnefs of foil, rendered the roads abominably deep ; our baggage was obliged to be carried upon mules half a day to eafe the draught of the carriages. The cliffs along the river-fide fvvarmed with flocks of a moft elegant water bird, called an Abejartixa or Bee-eater : we fliot feveral of them, and longed much to be able to preferve them in their feathersj or to have time and opportunity to • paint them for your infpedlion, as I am certain the fight of them would give you great pleafure. They are about the fize of a blackbird ; their back is of a light TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 309 light brown colour, fliaded with burnifhed gold, grow- ing more deep and ardent towards the head, ending in a pale yellow, mixed with a greenifli blue about the beak, which is very long, black, iharp, and ftrait ; a black ftroke runs from the beak round the eye, which is of a bright fcarlet colour; the throat is yellow; the breaft, down which runs a narrow black line, is of a fine blue, that becomes lighter along the belly ; the upper part of the tail is azure, the under brown ; the wings of a brownifh yellow, furrounded with a blue ftripe, tipped with black. At Carpio is a Mooriili mill or engine, with three huge wheels, which raifes water to a great height, and conveys it to enrich a large trad: of level. The land- fcape near it is remarkably pleafing. At Anduxar we took our leave of the Roman road, and of the river, which however we had now and then a diftant peep of from the heights. Yefterday we entered the Sierra Morena, a chain of mountains that divides Caftille from Andalufia ; render- ed famous by the wars of the Chriftians and Mahome- tans, but perhaps better known by being the fcene where the immortal Miguel de Cervantes has placed the moft entertaining adventures of his hero. As we were near the eaftern extremity, the land, though very high, and commanding a vaft profpedl to the fouthj 310 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. foutlij did not in the leaft refemble a ridge of moun- tains, fuch as the Alps, the Pyreneans, or many others. It did not appear much more broken and elevated than many parts of England, which are well inhabited and cultivated. The journey was very agreeable up the courfe of the Rio de las Piedras, a clear roaring torrent, tumbling over a bed of rocks, through glens of beautiful woods : the waftes are covered with a profufe variety of flower- ing fhrubs ; particularly ciftus of many forts, among which the gum-ciftus or rock-rofe is the handfomeft : they gather manna from it in fpring, by beating the bufhes with fmall twigs, to which the vifcous fubflance -of the plant adheres. Sumach alfo grows in great abun- dance on thefe hills ; it is cut down in Augufl, the leaves, flower, and ftalk, are all pounded together, and ufed in lieu of oak-bark in dreiTmg hides. We now entered the new Colony of La Carolina, and its dependencies, planted eight years ago by the king, in a very extenflve trad: of woody mountainous country. The fir ft fettlers v/ere Germans ; but from eating unwholfome herbs, and drinking too much wine and -brandy, above half of them died, and now the in- habitants are the mixture of Germans, French, Sa- voyards, Catalans, and other Spaniards. The reach of land in cultivation, and full of houfes and villages, where TRAVELS THROUGFI SPAIN. 311 where there was nothing before but forefts, the retreats of banditti, extends at leaft three leagues in length, and, I believe, very little lefs in breadth. They talk often thoufand families being already fettled here ; but I do not fee how it is poflible there can be any thing like that number. La Carolma, the capital of all the colonies, ftands on a fine hill that towers over the whole fettlement, and indeed over moft part of the provinces of Granada and Cordova. For the fake of thus overlooking the reft of the plantations, they have placed it in a fpot deficient in wood and water ; and reduced themfelves to the ne- ceffity of digging an incredible number of wells for the purpofes of drinking, and watering their gardens. The whole town is new from the foundations, for there was not a cottage there eight years ago, the ftreets are wide, and drawn in ftrait lines, but the ground is not fufficiently levelled ; the houfes are upon an uniform plan, without the leaft decoration : the church fronts the principal fouth road ; and a tower placed at each angle marks the extent of the town, which is to be an exadt fquare : the market place and another fquare, are very fpacious and fhewy. All the flat on the crown of the hill before the town is laid out in kitchen gar- dens, and planted with avenues of elms, which are to ferve hereafter for public walks. r nevei*. 312 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. I never faw a fcene more pleafing to the eye, or more fatisfadlory to the mind of every perfon that feels himfelf interefted in the w^elfare of his fellow- creatures : his humanity muft exult at the probability of their lot being fo much ameliorated : for my part, I enjoyed the moft agreeable fenfations at the fight of this abfolute creation, this new world rifen out of the very heart of defolation and folitude ; every thing feems fo alive, fo green, neat and thriving ; in a word, fo unlike the reft of this unadiive kingdom. About a year ago, the department or diftridt of the town of La Caro- lina, contained near eight thoufand fouls, but I was not able to obtain any exad; information of the extent com- prized under that denomination ; three hundred Cata- lan manufadurers came to fettle here in the courfe of laft year : cloth and other manufaftures feem to go on brifkly ; but I fear there is an inconftancy, a languor in the purfuit of projeds, inherent in the very eflence of the Spanifh government, that will greatly retard the further progrefs of this colony ; in the beginning, they fpare neither pains nor expence to carry on a fcheme, as may be feen here, where it is aftonifhing to behold how much has been done in a very fhort fpace of time. Our mafter muleteer, who had never been here fince the Miquelets were fent to fcour the country, and de- ftroy the gang of robbers, that harboured hereabouts, could TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 313 could fcarce believe his eyes, and did nothing but raife his hands to heaven and crofs himfelf, as if he had got into a land of vt^itches. It was no fmall en- hancement of the merit of the place, to find an excel- lent inn and good dinner, and to regale ourfelves upon excellent cow's milk and butter, to which we had been long ftrangers ; for though they have cows in ma- ny parts of Spain, they feldom milk them, but keep them for breeding, and fattening in their old days for (laughter. Now I have ihewn you the fair fide of La Carolina, I cannot, as a juft and impartial correfpondent, avoid informing you of the vices of its conftitution, the de- feds in its eftablifhment and diredion, with the rea- fons I have for fi.ifped;ing it will fall off every year, 'till it dwindles away to a petty Spaniih town, juft kept alive by the monies fpent at the inns by muleteers and pafiengers. The foreigners complain, with what juftice I know not, of not having been treated with the indulgence and tendernefs an infant colony requires ; if any of theni expreffed difcontent, or feemed defirous of re- turning to his native country, he was inftantly fecured, and chaftifed by a long and fevere imprifonment. Many families were two or three years before their allot- ments were made out, during which time they v/ere S f obliged 314 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. obliged to work gratis for the other fettlers ; unmar- ried people were allowed no fliare of land, but employ- ed as fervants to the reft ; when the poor Alfacians or Savoyards had the good fortune to be placed upon a rich patch of foil, and had brought it into tolerable condition, they were frequently oufted by the gover- nor, their habitation transferred to a Spanifh family, and themfelves fent to improve a more bleak and bar- ren part of the hills. The king gives all new-comers one year's feed corn, two cows, ten goats, fome imple- ments of hufbandry, and fome houfhold ftuff, which is generally infinitely worfe than his majefty intends it fhould be : he pays them a ftipend for their main- tenance for the firfl three years. Some few foreigners, having numerous families grown up, thrive and improve in their circumflances, but the reft will in all proba- bility leave the country as foon as the time of their eontracl expires, provided they be allowed to remove. The Spaniards have gradually got poffeflion of the beft plantations, and the town of Carolina has fcarce any other inhabitants. The worft of all is, that there feems to be no outlet from this fettlement, in cafe their ma- nufadtures Ihould arrive at any degree of perfeddon, for it is on every fide extremely remote from the fea, and many days journey by land from the great cities of Spain, where the confumption of their commodities. ' " might. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 315 might be expeded to turn to any conliderable ac- count. A little north of Carolina, we palled through a new village called Las Navas de Tolofa, from the old name of the defile in the neighbouring mountains; where, in 1 212, Alfonfo the ninth, king of Caftille, Peter the fe- cond, of Aragon, and Sancho the feventh, of Navarre, with their joint forces, attacked and cut to pieces the army of Mahomet, king of Morocco. Hiftorians gravely tell us, that there fell no lefs than two hundred thou- fand Moors, more than half their army, with the lols of only twenty-five Chriffcians. In a letter faid to have been written by Alfonfo to the Pope, this lift of the flain is given. I always thought it a moft extraordi- nary ftory, but now that I have feen the field of battle, I look upon it to be full as wonderful how three hun- dred and fifty thoufand Moors, without reckoning the Spanifli forces, could contrive to fqueeze themfelves into fuch a heap of mountains jumbled together, where you could not find twenty yards of level ground for fome miles round the fpot. The evening was very fine, and the hills fteep, which induced us to walk moft part of the way. Having got a good diftance before the carriages, among fome woody dells, we began to be in great hopes and conftant ex-^ pedation of fome Cardenio or Dorothea bolting out 8 f 2 upon 5i6 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. upon us. WKile we were amufing ourfelves with fuch Quixotic reveries, the found of a guitar fuddenly ftruck our ears. At a turn of the road^ clofe by the iide of a fweet murmuring brook, we met with about a dozen well dreiTed men, and as many fmart, handfome dam- fels,. dancing upon a platform of large level ftones. The females that were not bufy dancing, were feated under fine hanging woods, on a natural. am.phitheatr£ of rocks. The principal men came very politely up to us, and invited us to partake of their fport, while a very pretty girl prefented us with fweetmeats and fu- gar-plumbs. A jolly friar feemed to do the honours of this fete champetre,. and to have the privilege of throw- ing his handkerchief at which of the fultanas he plea^- fed ; for they all courted his fmiles and carefles. We ftayed fome time with this merry crew, who danced feveral fequidillas, and fang feveral fongs at our requeft. They prefled us much to go back up the hill, and pais the night with them at the houfe they belonged to, where they intended to be very frolicfome ^ but as it began to rain, we declined the kind offer, and parted with our new friends, whole mufic and jovial fhouts we had the pleafure to hear re-echoed by the rocks, almoft during our whole walk up to our inn at Mi^- randa. This morning, the heavieft of our trunks being put "upon. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 317 upon mules, to lighten the chaifes, we croffed the Sierra Morena, at the pafs called El Puerto del Rey. The road is far from bad, though fteep ; but the mountain is as dreary and difagreeabJe as any thing can well be. The heavy rain did not render us more indulgent to its ill-favoured afped:. In Cervantes's days, there were perhaps noble woods to cover all this nakednefs, as here and there fome venerable pines and chefnut-trees remain, fad monuments of ancient forefls. All the Mancha before us feems to be a bare corn- country, ugly and tedious beyond expreflion. For my part, unlefs it be to look out at a venta, or peep about for an adventure at the meetinor of the crofs--. roads, I intend jQeeping all the way to Madrid. LETTER XXXVn. Madrid, April 27, 1776. WE perceived a very fevere alteration in the cli- mate as foon as we defcended the Sierra Mo- lena, and entered the Mancha; from the beginning of fummer we were in a manner thrown back to the laft months 3i8 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. months of winter. In Andalufia, the vines were all in leaf, and their fruit fet ; the flowers of the fhrubs fall- ing off to make way for the feed. On the northern iide of the mountains fcarce a frefli leaf was to be feen, or a bud in the vineyards ; the poor ftarved bufhes, with juft a flower or two blown ; the weather cold and rav/ : in a word, it is diflicult to conceive fo fudden and fo thorough a change of feafons as that which we expe- rienced in this journey. The Mancha is an immenfe plain, interfedled by dif- ferent ridges of low hills and rocks : not an inclofure of any kind, except mud-walls about the villages: and really I can almoft fay, there is not a tree to be feen from the SierraMorena to Toledo, nor from the banks of the Tagus to Madrid : a few dwarfifli evergreen oaks, huddled to- gether in nooks of hills, and fome ftumpy olive-plants, fcarce deferve the name of trees. ■ All this vaft trad of open country is cultivated in corn or vines : there can- not be an uglier. The villages are large ; few or no Angle houfes ; and not a venta that I could fix upon for the fcene of any adion in Don Quixote. We lay at Puertolapiche, a fmall village mentioned by Cervantes ; but I think he omits telling us what adventure was at- chieved there. In fhort, with all the helps of imagina- tion, and reading the book a,ll the way, the <:ountry did not raife one agreeable idea, nor tempt me to take a Angle TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 319 a fingle fketch of any part of it. The houfes are built with mud and gravel. The women cover their heads with coloured handkerchiefs, and their necks with laced palatines. Val de Penas produces a very pleafant red wine, the moft drinkable, for common ufe, of any in Spain. The provision of wine for the king is kept in hogfheads ; the remainder of the vintage in fkins. The beft wine fells at the rate of twenty reals the arroba. The badnefs of the weather hindered us from riding a few miles out of the road to viiit Los Ojos dela Gua- diana.^ where that river, after running eight leagues un- der ground, rifes up to day, and thence takes its courfe towards Eftremadura. We paiTed over the fubterra- neous river at the Venta de Quefada, where the well in the yard communicates with it. Straw, or any kind of light fluff, dropped^ into the well, is hurried away with fuch rapidity by the ftream, that you will not bring up a fingle ilraw, though you let down the bucket almoft inftantaneouHy. The incurious Spaniards have m.ade fo f^w experiments upon- this phenomenon, that we could procure no further intelligence on this head. The Manchegos have a pretty fong about thefe eyes of the Guadiana, which, however, they declare to be much lefs wonderful than thofe of their miftrefs. At Confuegra, a. moft beautiful gipfy girl,, with the fv/eeteft eyes in the 320 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. the world, fung it to us, and danced fequidillas to the tune with admirable agility and expreflion. She was quite Fi^eciofa the little gipjy-, with her foft voice and afFeded lifp. It is a pity her beauty was much impaired by her mode of dreffing, which gave her a moft prominent belly, a defeat itw Spanifh women are free from, and a flat low breaft, which they efteem a great perfedlion in a lady's fhape. Toledo is the ftrangeft city you can imagine in point of fituation ; fomething like Durham, or Richmond in Yorkfhire, but not equal to either in beauty, as it is to- tally bare of wood. The Tagus, after winding at large through a fine plain, which a little more wood would render very agreeable to the eye, comes at laft to be wedged in be- tween two ramparts of high fteep rocks : the paflage is very narrow, and before the river gets out again into a broad bed and open ground, it almoft returns to the place where it-entered the defile. On this rocky penin- fula ftands the city, exceedingly ill built, poor, and ugly. The flreets are fo fleep, that no ftranger in his fober fenfes would venture up or down them in a car- nage. The Alcazar, or ancient palace, which was burnt down by the allied army in the beginning of the cen- tury, is placed on the higheft point of all. It is a noble TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 321 noble extenlive building, and has jufl: undergone a tho- rough repair, at the expence of the archbifhop, who has fortunately taken a turn towards employing fome por- tion of his great revenues in works of public utility, fuch.as this palace, a new road to Aranjuez, and a ftreet in the town '"^. It is fuppofed that the Alcazar will be converted into an hofpital or orphan-houfe. The architedure is chafte and unaffedled ; the inner court is very grand ; its colonnade of granite columns, of the Corinthian order, makes a noble appearance ; the chapel is lofty and narrow, which renders it conve- nient to attend divine fervice, as there is a balcony in each ftory of the houfe that leads into it. The ftables are under the kitchens and offices, and are large enough to contain a very confiderable number of horfes. The garret ftory is one open gallery for playing in, above ^' The fee of Toledo is faid to be worth four hundred thoufand ducats a year ; but there are large deductions to be made. Befides the proportion the infant Don Lewis receives, and penfions to different people, it pays an- nually fifteen thoufand ducats to the monks of the Efcurial, notwithftand- ing Philip the fecond granted to them no lefs than thirty villages in their neighbourhood. The Spanifh court finds many ways of leffening the reve- nues of the church, by penfions, donations to hofpitals, charitable founda- tions, and premiums to the focieties of agriculture. There is not a bifhop- ric in the kingdom but has fomebody or other quartered upon itj and I believe the fecond-rate benefices are in the fame predicament. Out of the rich canonries and prebends are taken the penfions of the new order of knights of Carlos tercero. T t eighty S22 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN". eighty yards in length. In the middle ftories are feveral large halls, the rnoft fpacious of which meafures about one hundred and fixty feet by thirty-fix. The cathedral has nothing particularly beautiful on the outfide above the common run of Gothic churches : it is not to be compared with many we have in Eng- land. The fteeple is in the ugly ftyle of the Flemifh and German fpires, a heap of blue turrets piled one upon another. The iniide is well lighted and chearful, neither heavy, nor confufed with too many ornaments: the decorations added of late years are not in the beft of taftes, but in richnefs of gilding without a competi- tor. The wealth of the archbifhop and chapter difplays itfelf in the profusion of gold lavished on the walls ; they have gilded the iron rails, the Gothic arches, and even drawn lines of gold to mark the joints of tke jRiones with which the pillars of the choir are built. The group of angels, called El tranfparente^ which is fixed behind the choir, and efteemed by the Tole- dans the glory of their church, is at befl: but a clumfy^ ill-defigned monument, remarkable for nothing but the finenefs of the marble and other materials. One of the greateft vexations a curious perfon expe- riences in travelling through Spain, is the fcarcity, the non-exiftence of tolerable Ciceroni', thofe you meet with are generally coblers, who throw a. brown cloak ©vex.- TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 323 over their ragged apparel, and condud you to a church or two, where they cannot give you the leaft fatisfadory information concerning its antiquities or curioiities. This is literally the cafe at Toledo : but to make amends, they lead you to a hole in a pillar, where the hoft \vas hidden all the time that the Saracens were in poiTeflion of the city, though the whole fabric has been built from the ground fince the expuliion of the Moors ; for Saint Ferdinand laid the iirft flone of the prefent church in 1226. They alfo fhew you the ftone on which the Virgin Mary ftood, when fhe came to pay a vifit to Saint lidephonfus, and which is worn through by the fingers of the pilgrims. Afk them any thing about the Mofarabic chapel, and what is done there, they will tell you, as they did us, that mafs is faid there in Greek. That you may not accufe me of being as bar- ren of inflruftion as our condudiors, I fliall put too-e- ther the chief points wherein the '° Mofarabic rite dif- fers from that of the Roman millal. The former li- turgy was conftantly ufed by the church of Spain, down to the pontificate of Gregory the feventh, in the eleventh century : it had been confirmed by feveral Spanifh councils, commente-d upon and iiiufirated by Saint Ifidore of Seville : but the policy of the court of '" The Mofarabic rite is fo called from its having Been obferved by the Chi-iftians that remained in the provinces conquered by the Arabians. T t 2 Rome, 324 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Rome, and its influence' over the mind of Alphonfus the fixth, who had lately conquered Toledo, overcame the obftinate attachment of the Spanifli clergy. Not- withflanding the prowefs of the Mofarabic champion, who came off victorious in the fight (for it was agreed to try the merits of the two liturgies by fingle combat) notwithftanding the flames were not more indulp^ent to the Roman than to the Gothic ritual, when, in hopes of a decifive miracle, the two books were thrown into the fire before the king, notwithfl:anding the clamours raifed by the natives, the ancient rite was abrogated in the greater part of the kingdom. It fubfifl:ed in fix pariflies of Toledo as late as the fifteenth century, but is now reftrained to the fingle chapel of St. Eufliatia, in the cathedral, where Cardinal Ximenes, unwilling that his church fiiould lofe all remembrance of its an- cient forms, made a foundation for thirteen priefl:s and three clerks, who ofliciate every morning according to- the Mofarabic manner.. In eflfentials this ritual agrees perfedlly with. Rome, but in many outward forms differs widely. I fufped: it varied much more in its original ftate ; for it is hardly credible the difpute could have been fo obflinately maintained for fuch trifling deviations as what now fubfifl:. But indeed that would not amount to an un- deniable proof; we know that the church has always looked: TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 325 looked upon the refiftance tO' its authority to be of more confequence than the difference in outward cere-^ monies. The prayers before mafs are not the fame ; not al- wavs the fame portions of fcripture read on the fame feftivals. In the Roman miffal are two leflbns, one from the Old Teflament or the Epiftles, and one from- the Gofpels : the Mofarabic gives three, one from the Old Teftament, another from the Epiftles, and a third from the Gofpels. The Romans fay the creed before the offertory, the others after the confecration. Toledo has lain in the route of moil of thofe travel- lers that have written on Spain ; and in them you will find ample accounts of every thing remarkable. As I hate repetitions, and would willingly avoid them when- ever it is poffible, give me leave to refer you to the works of thofe gentlemen. One circumftance only I cannot refufe myfelf the fatisfadion of acquainting you with, though I make no dotibt but it is an anecdote to be met with in twenty books of travels. In the con- vent of St. Francis, founded by Ferdinand and Ifabella, the firft novice received was Ximenes, who, in the courfe of the fame reign, rofe to be cardinal, archbifhop of To- ledo, and prime minifter of Spain. His hiftory, as well as that of Don Juan de Padilla, have lately acquired re- doubled luftre from the pen of Dr. Robertfon ; in whofe admiiabk 326 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. admirable life of Charles the fifth is to be found every neceffary iniormation relative to the revolt of To- ledo. From the ancient capital of New Caftille to within half a league of Madrid, the prefent feat of government, the roads are as bad as in any part of the kingdom, and the country extremely ugly. I do not imagine the moft pitiful city in the peninfula can cut a more defpicable figure than this metropolis of all the Spains docs from the oppolite hills, as you approach it on the fouth fide ; neither tree, villa, nor garden, until you arrive at the avenues of the town; the corn-fields run up clofe to the houfes ; in fhort, the whole landfcape round you is the bareft and moft melancholy I ever beheld : but as foon as the trees of the walks fhut out the profped: of the neighbouring country, the appearance of Madrid is grand and lively ; noble ftreets, good houfes, and excel- lent pavement, as clean as it once was dirty. The court is abfent from Madrid, fo that our ftay here will be no longer than will be fufiicient to reft ourfelves, and get our things put in order for our ap- pearance at Aranjuez. LETTER TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 327 LETTER XXXVIII. Aranjuez, May ^d, 1775, ^ I ^HIS place is twenty miles from Madrid ; the road jL to it extremely fine ; but the trees planted on each fide are as yet too young to fhut out the abomi- nable country it palTes through. The prefent king made it at the vaft expence of one hundred and thirty thoufand pounds fterling. The new bridge over the Xarama, at the defcent into the plain, is very long and grand. Aranjuez has great beauties, and would pleafe you much ; for here are numberlefs avenues of aged elms on a perfed level ; green banks to reft: upon, near a fine meandring river ; fountains and fhady groves ; plenty of milk and butter, and vegetables in great perfection. The fituation of this place renders it one of the moft agreeable refidences I know belonging to a fovereigrn prince. It ftands in a very large plain, furrounded with bare hrlls, which to be fure, are excefiively ugly ; but they feldam appear, being very well hidden by the noble rows of trees that extend acrofs the flat in every direction. The compartments between the avenues are railed 328 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. railed off, ,and laid down in pafture and meadow, for the fupply of the large dairy of cows eftablilhed here by the prefent king. That part of the vale which ftretches out towards the eaft is left in a ruder flate, and, except fome few fields of corn, is moftly foreft- land, through which the Tagus winds in a deep (hady bed. The walks and rides along the banks, through the venerable groves, and under the majeftic elms that overhang the roads, are luxuries unknown to the reft of Spain. The beauties of the fcenery are enhanced by the flocks of many-coloured birds that flutter and fing on the boughs, by the herds of deer, which amount to no lefs than feven thoufand head, and by the droves of buffaloes, flieep, cows, and brood mares, that wander uncontrouled through all thefe woods. The wild boars are frequently feen in the evenings in the ft;reets of the town. The fineft avenue, called the Calh dela Reyna, is three miles long, quite ftrait from the palace gate, crofling the Tagus twice before it lofes itfelf in the thickets, where fome noble fpreading elms and weep- ing poplars hang beautifully over the deep ftill pool. Near this road is a flower-garden for the fpring, laid out with great taile by Mr. Wall during his miniftry. The gay variety of flowers at this time of year is parti- cularly pleaflng to the eye ; but its beauty foon fades on TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 329 on the approach of fummer. As the weather grows hot, the company that choofes to walk retires to a garden in an illand of the Tagus, on the north fide of the palace. This is an heavenly place, cut into various walks and circular lawns, which in their primitive ftate may have been very ftiff and formal ; but in the courfe of a cen- tury, Nature has obliterated the regular forms of art ; the trees have fwelled out beyond the line traced for them, and deftroyed the enfilade, by advancing into the walks, or retiring from them. The fweet flowering fhrubs, inflead of being clipped and kept down, have been al- lowed to fhoot up into trees, and hang over the flatues and fountains they were originally meant to ferve as humble fences to. The jet-d'eaus dalh up among the trees, and add frefh verdure to the leaves. The ter- races and baluftrades built along the river, are now overgrown with rofes, and other luxuriant bullies, hanging down into the ftream, which is darkened by the large trees growing on the oppofite banks. Many of the flatues, groupes, and fountains, are handfome, fome mafterly, the works of Algardi : all are placed in charming points of view, either in open circular fpots, at a dillance from the trees, or elfe in gloomy arbours, and retired angles of the wood. The weft front of the palace is handfome : two new wings, which are to be brought out from the main U u body, 330 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. body, will increafe its bulk, but, I am afraid, will not add much to its beauty. The firft part of the building was ereded by Philip the fecond, who purchafed the eftate, planted many of the avenues, and, in order to extend his chace, or to indulge his fplenetic difpofition,. had all the vines that grew on the hills rooted up. By that means he drove away the inhabitants, and ren- dered the environs of his villa a perfed defart. Thefe hills are full of fprings, that throw up large q^uantities of a ftrong purgative fait. The apartments are good, but contain no great num- ber of paintings or ftatues. There is an Annunciation in the chapel, by Titian, and Mengs has painted fome holy fubjedls in the bed-chamber, and an allegorical piece of Time and Pleafure, in the ceiling of the theatre. In a Francifcan church lately finifhed, the piAure of San Pafqual, by the fame hand, is much ad- mired. The town or village formerly confifted of the palace,, its offices, and a few miferable huts, where the em- bafladorsj and the attendants of the court, endeavoured, to lodge themfelves, as well as they could, but always very uncomfortably ; many of the habitations were vaults half under ground. What determined the king to. build a new town, and to embellifh the environs, was an accident that happened at the nuncio's ', a coach broke TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 331 broke through the ceiling of his dining-room, and fell in upon the table. The court then began to apply very coniiderable fums to the purpofe of erecting pro- per dwellings, for the great number of perfons that jflock to the place where the fovereign reiides ; near ten thoufand are fuppofed to live here two or three months in fpring ; the king keeps one hundred and fifteen fets of mules, which require ^ legion of men to take care of them. Half a million fterling has been laid out at Aranjuez, fince the year 1763 ; and it mull be acknowledged, that wonders have been performed; feveral fine ftreets drawn in ftrait lines with broad pavements, a double row of trees before the houfes, and a very noble road in the middle ; commodious hotels for the minifters and embaffadors ; great fquares, markets, churches, a theatre, and an amphitheatre for bull feafts, have been raifed from the ground. Neat- nefs and convenience have been more ftudied and fought for than fiiew in the architefture, but altogether the place has fomething truly magnificient in the coup- d'oeil. This afternoon we had a very pretty entertainment on the river. The prince of Afturias, and his atten- dants, embarked in a galley richly decorated, preceded and followed by other fmaller barges, adorned in a lefs fplendid, though ftill a very gay manner. They rowed from his banqueting-houfe up into the woods, where U u 2 the 332 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. the meandrings of the river are exceedingly beautiful, forming fine fweeps and reaches with green banks, fhaded by aged trees that hang in various clumps over the ftream. Crowds of holiday-folks in their beft ap- parel, lined both fides of the Tagus, and were no fmall- addition to the rural fhew. The pleafures of Aranjuez are walking or riding in the morning, going to court, dining at fome of the open tables kept by the great officers of ftate, a game at cards, a drive along the avenue, and the Italian opera. The minifters are quite eafy in their behaviour, and their houfes free from ceremony and reftraint ;• that of the prime minifter, the marquis Grimaldi, is fuperlatively fo : he keeps an open houfe, where we are always fure of meeting with a numerous company, cards, and converfation ; the mafter of it is always glad to fee us, and fliew us every civility the place ad- mits of : I am afraid we do not attend as much per- haps as we are in gratitude bound ; for there are fo many temptations at our own embaffador's, that it is with difficulty we can bring ourfelves to facrifice the pleafures we firid at his houfe to the duties impofed upon us by fociety. The eafy franknefs, affability, and friendfhip, with which Lord G. treats us, make us loath to wafte elfe where the hours we can pafs fo agree- ably under his roof» L E TTE R TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 333 L E T T E R XXXIX. Aranjuez, May 6, 1776. E have juft finiflied our round of prefentations, which in fo numerous a royal family, is a work of more days than one ; as I know you expedi: a minute account of each of thofe that compofe it, I am forry I am incapable of fatisfying your curiofity, in as ample a manner as I could wifh ; you fhall have a defcription of their perfons, and as much of their charaders, as I have learned from well-informed people, in whofe judgment I can confide. I beg you will confider how hard it is to difcern the true charadler of the great, as your in- telligence can only flow to you through the fufpicious channel of many jarring paffions and interefts. It is impoflible for a ftranger to feize a good likenefs in fo fhort a time, and to tfanfmit to others a faithful re- prefentation, of a prince, that does not admit him to a familiar intercourfe. I don't know but fovereigns are the moft difficult charadiers to define in a whole na- tion ', for all princes appear pretty nearly alike ; their mode of life is uniform ; by feeing none but inferiors about them, they acquire a great indifference in their manner 334 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. manner, and feldoin betray in their countenance any of thofe ftrong emotions that mark the various feelings of men obliged to buftle through the world; their paflions lack the relifh which arifes from delays and difficulties; what the French call Ennui, wearifomenefs, is, methinks, the grand malady of princes, and therefore amufement is their main purfuit in life. In the princes of the Houfe of Bourbon, the paflion of fowling predominates ; yet in the Spanifh royal family, there are fome who toil at the gun with more reludance than the farmer's boy does at the plough; have a tafte for arts and fciences, and wifh for nothing more than to be freed from the obliga- tion of following the diverfion. The ceremony of prefentation is performed as the king rifes from table. Charles the third is a much bet- ter looking man than moft of his pidlures make him ; he has a good-natured laughing eye ; the lower part of his face, by being expofed to all weather, is become of a deep copper colour; what his hat covers, is fair, as he naturally has a good fkin ; in ftature he is rather fhort, thickly built about the legs and thighs, and narrow in the fhoulders. His drefs feldom varies from a large hat, a plain grey Segovia frock, a buff waiftcoat, a fmall dagger, black breeches, and worfted ftockings ; his pock- ets are always fluffed with knives, gloves, and /hooting tackle. On Gala days, a fine fuit is hung upon his {houldcrs, I TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 335 fhoulders, but as he has an eye to his afternoon fport, and is a great ceconomift of his time, the black breeches are worn to all coats. I believe there are but three days in the whole year that he fpends without going out a fliooting, and thofe are noted with the blackefl: mark iri the calendar ; were they to occur often, his health would be in danger, and an accident that was to con- fine him to the houfe, would infallibly bring on a fit of illnefs. No ftorm, heat, cold, or wet, can keep him at homei and when he hears of a wolt being feen, diftance is counted for nothing ; he would drive over half the kingdom rather than mifs an opportunity of firing upon- that favorite game. Befides a moft numerous retinue of perfons belonging to the hunting eftablifhment, feveral times a year all the idle fellows in and about Madrid, are hired to beat the country, and drive the wild boars, deer, and hares, into a ring, where they pafs before the royal family. A very large annual fum is diftributed among the proprietors of land about the capital, and near the country palaces, by way of indemnification for the damage done to the corn. I was aflured that it cofts feventy thoufand pounds fterling for the environs of Madrid, and thirty thoufand for thofe of Saint Ilde- fonfo. In order to be entitled to this reimburfement, the farmers fcatter juft as much feed-corn over their grounds, as will grow up into fomething like a crop ; but 236 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. but they do not always give themfelves the trouble of getting in the fcanty harveft, being fufficiently paid for their labour by the royal bounty. Being naturally of an even phlegmatic temper, the king is fure to fee events on their favorable fide only; and vi^henever he has determined in his own mind that a meafure is proper to be purfued, he is an utter enemy to alteration. As far as I can judge, by comparing the different accounts I have had, he is a man of the ftridefl probity, incapable of adopting any fcheme, unlefs he is perfedlly fatisfied in his confcience that it is jufl: and honourable ; of fuch immoveable features, that the mofh fortunate or the mofl difaftrous occurrences are alike unable to create the fmalleft variation in them : rigid in his morals, and flrenuoufly attached to his re- ligion ; but he does not fuffer his devotion to lay him open to the enterprizes of the court of Rome, or the encroachments of his own clergy; on the contrary, they have frequently met with rougher ufage at his hands than they might have expeded from a free-thinker. The regularity of his own life renders him very ftrid ^bout the condu(St of his children, whom he obliges to be out fifhing or fhooting as long as he is abfent on the fame bufinefs ; this he does to prevent their having time jor opportunity to harbour bad thoughts; and truly I jb.elieye he goes put fo cpnftant.ly himfelf, in order to keep TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 337 keep down the vigour of his own conftitution. He feldom addrefles himfelf to any young men of his court ; but delights in converling and joking with elderly per- fons, and fuch as are of his own age, efpecially monks and friars. He is very partial to Naples, and always Ipeaks of that country with great feeling. Since his acceflion, many great works have been com- pleted ; noble roads made to all the palaces round the metropolis ; feveral others undertaken in more remote provinces : he has iiniflied the palace at Madrid, and added confiderably to thofe of the Pardo and Aran- juez; built new towns at Aranjuez, the Efcurial, and Saint Ildefonfo ; and planted a great deal at Aranjuez. The marquis of Grimaldi has the merit of having fuggefted and conducted moll: of thefe improvements, and of having urged on the king, who, although he has naturally no great relifh for the arts, thinks it the duty of a fovereign to encourage them. The prince of Afturias is of an athletic make, his countenance rather fevere, and his voice harfh. He feemed in a great hurry to get away from us ; but the princefs flayed chatting a great while. She is not hand- fome, being very fickly, but feems lively, and genteely fhaped, with a very fine hand and arm. If fhe lives to be queen, I dare fay fhe will render this court a very gay one ; for fhe appears to like to go abroad, and con- X X verfe 338 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. verfe with ftrangers. When £he walks out, all perfons that have been prefented, and chance to be in the way, are expedled to join her company, and efcort her as long as fhe thinks proper. Her mildnefs and good-na- ture have foftened much of her hufband's roughnefs of manner; and of late he feems to have more pleafure in fitting with her in a domeftic way, than in trudging over the heath in queft of game. Don Gabriel is a tall well-looking man, but timid to excefs. He pofleffes many talents, but his conftant avocations out of doors prevent his applying to ftudy as much as he could wifh. I have feen fome good pic- tures done by him with the flock of cloth, and have heard much of his clailical learning, and turn for ma- thematics. Don Antonio appears to be very well pleafed with, the adive life of a fportfman. The Ijtifanta Maria Jofepha has realbn to envy every country wench flie fees roaming at liberty; for confine- ment, etiquette, and celibacy, are likely to be her lot during life. Don Lewis, the king's brother, after having been a. cardinal and an archbifhop, is now on the eve of ma- trimony with a pretty Arragonefe girl, whom he took a fancy to laft year, as fhe was running acrofs the fields after a butterfly. As he has made a colledion of natu- ral TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 339 ral hiftory, this Similarity of tafte made a great im- preffion upon him. This wedding, which the king has confented to with reludance, has produced a total re- volution in the marriage-laws of Spain, A new prag- matica or edi6l i,s publifhed, to prevent all matches be- twixt perfons of unequal rank and quality ; by this decree, the old cuftom is abrogated. Heretofore it was out of the power of parents to hinder their children from marrying whom they liked, and the church inter- pofed to oblige them to make a fuitable fettlement upon the young couple. Don Lewis's bride is not to be allowed the title or rank of a princefs of the blood, nor are her children to be deemed qualified to fucceed to the crown ; he is to refide near Talavera, where I make no doubt but he will lead a happy life, as he has a great tafle for mufic and natural hiflory ; his cabinet already contains a very valuable coUedion of rarities, efpecially fuch as are found in the Spanifh dominions. This prince is chear- ful, humane, affable, and full of pleafantry ; good qua- lities that render him the darling of the nation. The king and all the males of his family wear the enfigns of a great variety of military orders. On their left breaft is a row of ftars like the belt of the conltcl- lation of Orion : they are alfo decorated with the blue ribband of the French order of the Holy Ghoft, and X X 2 the ^ 340 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. the infignia of the Burgundian golden fleece. They have befides the Neapolitan red fafh of Saint Januarius, the red croffes of Calatrava, founded in 1158, of Saint lago, dating from 1175, and of Montefa, inftituted in 131 7, and the green crofs of Alcantara, invented in 1 176. After all thefe badges, comes the blue and white ribband of the Conception or Carlos tercero, eftabliihed by the prefent king, on the birth of the late fon of the prince of Afturias.. L E T T E R XL. Aranjuezj May 28, 1776. IN the courfe of laft week, we faw the king's ftal'- lions, fome of which are beautiful creatures. Be- fore I came into Spain, I thought handfome horfes were to be met with in every part of the kingdom, but to my great furprize, found them very rare in all the pro- vinces ; fo little attention has there been paid to the breed of that generous animal, formerly the boaft of Spain. At Villamejor, a few miles from hence down the Tagus, TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 341 Tagus, his majefty has a ftable of a lefs noble, but not lefs ufeful race of fliallions, that of Jack-affes. Thefe beafts are of a fliape and iize you can have no idea of : they are fourteen hands high, and have fuch monftrous large heads, thick legs, and rough coats of long hair over their whole body, that fcarce a trace re- mains of the figure of an animal. They fay thefe Ga~ ranonesy as the Spaniards term them, are extremely fu- rious in the covering feafon ; I am fure at prefent, they are the mofl; flupid of their dull fpecies. Each afs covers twenty mares, and cofts near thirty thoufand reals, about two hundred and eighty pounds fterling. They are bred in the mancha.. The way to Villamejor lies along the vale through a confiderable new farm, called the Campo jimnefico^ lately taken in by the marquis Grimaldi, and laid out in a grand fcale. On an eminence ftands the farm houfe, with large rooms for the royal family to take a hunter's repafl in. The road up to it is a fliewy, royal work, but might have been fpared had the building been erected a little lower, or had it been intended for the reception of none but common huifbandmen. In our return in the evening we overtook the bulls intended for the next day's feaft or fight. They ap- peared very peaceable and tradable. Whatever may be faid of their ferocity, when irritated in the arena by darts, fire, and lances, I am apt to think they can ne- ver 342 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. ver be fo terrible or dangerous as our vicious bulls in England. Tliofe I have feen wanted fize and weight, and did not appear to me to have any real fury in their nature, 'till it is raifed by repeated provocations, and the defultory attacks of fo many adverfaries. To bring them quietly along the roads from their pafture, the drovers employ certain white oxen, trained up to be decoys ; thefe go along with the bulls, 'till they lead them into the ftables under the amphitheatre. I have now been a fpeftator of feveral Fiefias de l^oros, but cannot bring myfelf to have any relilh for the di- veriion. Whatever they may have been in former times, they are certainly but a poor exhibition at prefent, though the crowds of people affembled in a circle, and agitated in a moft tumultuous manner, muft be allowed to be an interefting and curious fpedlacle. None of the royal family ever appear at thefe favorite amufe- ments of the Spanifh nation : the nobility no longer pique themfelves upon their ftrength, courage, or dex- terity, in thefe rough exercifes ; and the fair condefcend to yield up their hearts and perfons to lovers that have given no proofs of their prowefs, but in combats of a fofter nature : the confequence is, a total want of emu- lation : no gentleman cares to hazard his life in a trial of llsill that promifes no advantage to him of any kind. The fhew is condudied with great ceconomy and nig- gardlinefs ; none but the worft of horfes are bought for the TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 343 the day ; and the mercenary gladiators no longer ftudy the moft dexterous, but the moft fecure way of deftroy- ing the bulls, being allowed fo much a head for each beaft they flaughter. The money paid for boxes and feats, is appropriated to the building or endowing of fome hofpital. The coup-d'ceil of the amphitheatre, filled with fo many fpediators of all ranks, is very ftriking. They are fo very noify and impatient till the fhew begins, and in fuch violent commotion while it lafts, that one is kept in perpetual alarm and flurry of fpirits for the firft or fe- eond time of aflifting at this diverfion. Contrary to the cuflom of the ancient Romans, who placed the fenators next to the podium.^ the nobility fit here in wooden galleries and boxes, the mob on benches below, next the arena. A row of foldiers, behind the circular pa- rapet wall, or palifado, hold out halberts and bayonets, to keep the beafts within the lifts : but it fometimes happens that a bull, while yet in full vigour, will take a run, and leap over into the crowd on the benches. The confufion it creates is very great ; but as the bull is itfelf hampered and difabled by the feats and wood- work, it can do but little mifchief before it is dif- patched ^\ The " In fome of the lifts delivered out with an account of an approaching buU-feaftj notice is given, that people are permitted to flap their hats in the fun. Since the revolt of Madrid (when all hats were ordered to be worn. 344 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, The common method of conduding a bull-feafl: is as follows : One or two I'oriadors, drelTed in rich jackets, broad- brimmed hats, and breeches and boots made of a tough, impenetrable leather, and holding under their right arm a long aflien lance (tipped with a broad fhallow- pointed head, that can only enter Ikin-deep) parade on horfeback round the lifts^ and pay their devoirs to the governor of the place. They then retire to their poft, al- moft in front of a large door, which is opened to let out the bull. The fellow that opens it takes care to climb up immediately into the gallery ; for it is not unufual for the bulls to flop fhort as foon as they get out, and make a home-thruft at the porter : fome rufh forth with the utmoft impetuofity, and run diredly at the horfemen ; others gaze around, and take their meafures with more circumfpedlion. The cavalier prefents the head of his horfe to the bull, and with the lance, which cuts along its Shoul- ders, puflaes it away to the right, at the fame time bearing off his horfe to the left : his antagonift is driv.en out of the line by the violence of the thruH, and its horns pafs behind, without hurting either horfe or rider. When the m.an is mounted on a nimblej fpirited, worn cocked up, wherever the court refides) the common hangman is com- manded to wear his flouched, that others may not be tempted to let theirs down, for fear of being miftaken for him. and TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 345 and docile fteed, there is no difficulty in this evolution, as the motions of both animals coincide in giving addi- tional force to the well- directed ilroke : but if the horfe is numb or refradlory, the bull is likely to fcrike him in the flank, and throw both horfe and cavalier to the ground. There is another way of attacking, with a kind of forked dagger. The horfeman ftands clofe by the door, and as the bull fprings forward into the lifts, he plants the weapon in the back of its neck, and kills it on the fpot. Should he mifs his aim, there is fcarce a polli- bility of his efcaping from the enraged animal ; for which reafon this mode of combat is feldom pradtifed. To take off the bull's attention, and to make fport, feveral nimble fellows on foot run about and tofs darts with curled paper tied to them, which, flicking in the head and fhoulders, drive the poor creature to madnefs, and caufe a great effufion of blood. This light infan- try is often in imminent danger, obliged to run for its life, and fave itfelf by flying into the receffes in the pa- lifadoes, or by jumping over the parapet : it fometimes happens that neither the fhouts of the multitude, nor the aflTaults of the other runners, can call off the bull from the purfuit of one particular fellow; who has then nothing to truft to but his own agility, being totally unprovided with offenflve as well as defenflve weapons. Y y When 346 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. When the governor thinks a viftim has afForded fuf- ficient diverlion, leave is given to put an end to its life. A well-made champion fteps forth, with a fhort brown cloak hung upon a ftick held out in his left hand, and a flrait two-edged fword in his right ; the blade is al- ways of the fineft Toledo temper, and the hilt covered with leather. This Matador advances up to the bull, and provokes it to adlion ; as the bull darts at him, and makes a pufh obliquely, with its eyes fhut, he turns it ofF with the cloak, retiring a little on one fide to be ready for the return. On the fecond attack, he holds the fword in an horizontal poiition, with fuch fteady aim, that the furious beaft rufhes upon the point, and by its own impetuofity forces it up to the hilt. The fword enters at the collar-bone, and either pierces the heart, or cuts the great artery. Sometimes the bull drops down dead inftantaneoufly ; fometimes ftands a {k:.\n minuter, heaving and fpouting a torrent of blood out of the mouth and noftrils. When the bull proves fo powardly, or fo exhaufted with fatigue and lofs of blood, as to refufe to run at the matador, it is difpatched by ftabs in any part of the body, or worried by bull-dogs. The laft bull of each fiefta is efnbobado^ that is, his horns are muffled, and all the mob is let in, with flicks in their hands, to learn the trade, to beat the animal, or to be bruifed and toffed about TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 347 about themfelves. Three mules, adorned with ftream- ers and bells, draw ofF the flaughtered bulls and liorfes between each battle. I have been thus particular in my account of a bull- fight (though you may find defcriptions of it in almoft every book that treats of Spain) becaufe mod: of thofe I have read talk of royal feafts and exhibitions, which are very different things from the common flievi^s now a days. Our laft was a very bloody one: two bulls killed feven horfes, but luckily no men loft their lives, though many had hair-breadth efcapes. I never faw any thing fo weak and inadive as the poor horfes were ; they had not agility enough to avoid one ftroke : and of all hor- rible fights, that of the bull's tearing out their entrails, and tofling them about with its horns, was the moft naufeous and fhocking I ever beheld. Both the bulls were hacked to death in a very awkward manner ; but the fpedators were mightily delighted with the barba- rity and bloodfhed. We were the other night at a pup- pet-fhew, that ended in the reprefentation of a bull- fight ; the mob in the pit was to the full as violently affeded, as riotous, and noify, as they could pojGibly have been at the real fpediacle, Laft year a negro from Buenos Ayres, where he had' been trained up from his infancy to hunt the wild cat- tle of the defart, exhibited fome very extraordinary Y y 2 feats 348 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. feats of ftrength and dexterity : he took a long rope^ with a running noofe, and throwing it over the horns of a bull, brought it clofe to a ftrong ftake, fixed in the middle of the area, where he tied it tight, till he had faften€d a faddle on its back, on which he feated him- felf ; he then cut the cord, and let the beaft run about and exert ineffedtual efforts to fhake off" fo unufual a load by the moft furious movements. When fatigue had fufficiently tamed it, he drove this uncommon fteed againft another bull, which he foon difpatched, and then at one blow ftruck the beaft that he was mounted upon, dead. The violence of this exercife generally brought on him a dangerous fpitting of blood. The prirnces and their attendants are now very bufy preparing,^ by daily rehearfals, for the Parejas ; which, we cannot ftay to fee,, as they are feldom exhibited till the middle of June. Thefe Parejas are a kind of dance on horfeback, in imitation, perhaps, of the Trojan games defcribed by Virgil in the fifth book of the iEneid ; or more pro- bably of feme tournament in the times of Moorifh chi- valry. The prince of Afturias, Don Gabriel, Don Antonibj and Don Lewis, have revived them, and each heads a. fquadron of twelve young gentlemen, arrayed in the an- cient Spanlfh drefs ; the divifions diftinguifhed by the particular TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 349 particular colour of their cloaths, feathers, and horfe furniture. They parade with mulic before them in a large tilting yard near the palace ; feparate themfelves into detachments, and perform various intricate figures, refembling thofe of a ftage dance. The docility and ele- gance of the horfes, the fplendour and gaiety of appa- rel of the riders, more than any thing there is in the game itfelf, render it entertaining for the firft time of feeing; but it languifhes from a want of that adion, that fpirit, which interefts us fo ftrongly in all public fports, when the adors exert uncommon ftrength and fkill, and are, or feem to be, in fome kind of danger. However^, it is a pompous fpe<9;acle, and may produce very falu- tary effects, by rouling the nobility from their lethargy, and encouraging them to be a little more attentive to the breed and education of their horfes. LETTER 350 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, LETTER XLI. Madridj June 4, 1776. INCE our return from Aranjuez, the mornings have been employed in turning over a multitude of books and prints, and in taking extrads of fuch parts as tend to elucidate the hiftory, literature, or antiquities of Spain. In the afternoons, we have fpent our time in vifiting the moft remarkable edifices of the city ; if you except the royal palaces, there are few buildings worthy of attention, nor do I believe there is in Europe a capital that has fo little to fliew as Madrid ; having never been the fee of a bifhop, it has of courfe no ca- thedral, nor indeed any church, that diftinguiflies it- felf much from the common herd of parifhes and con- vents. Allowing fome few exceptions, I think I may fafely pronounce the outward architecture of them all to be barbarous, and their manner of ornamenting the in- iide as bad as that of the worft ages ; mofl: of them were ereded or retouched during the term of years that elapfed between the middle of the feventeenth century and the year i7S9> a period in the hiftory of Spain, TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 351 Spain, when all arts and fciences were fallen to the loweft ebb of depravement ; the effeA of the degeneracy of manners, the want of public fpirit, and the diforder and weaknefs of a decaying monarchy. Thefe vices in the political fyftem under the three lafl: princes of the Aullrian line, could not be removed immediately on the acceflion of another family ; the wars that fhook the very foundations of their throne for the firft ten. years of this century, kept all polite arts groveling in. the dufi: ; and when they ventured to raife their heads again, and court the favour of the fovereign, there feems to have been a total want of able profefTors to fecond their efforts, and ailifl; them in returning to the paths of good fenfe and true tafte. No mad archite6t ever dreamed of a diftortion of members fo capricious, of a twift of pillars, cornices, or pediments, fo wild and fantaftic, but what a real fample of it may be produc- ed in fome or other of the churches of Madrid. They are all fmall, and poor in marbles as well as pidures. Their altars are piles of wooden ornaments heaped up to the ceiling, and ftuck full of wax lights, which more than once have fet fire to the whole church. The convents which may be faid to poflefs a good collec- tion of pidures, are thofe of Saint Pafqual and of the bare-footed Carmelite nuns. The former has a fine Titian, a capital Guerchino, and many other pieces by efteemed 352 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. efteemed Italian raafters. In the facrifty of the latter, is a numerous colledlion of paintings by various hands, many of which are of fuperior merit. The tombs of "Ferdinand the iixth and of his queen Barbara, in the church of the vifitation, are almoft the only fepulchral monuments of any confequence. The iirft king that made any long abode in Madrid, was Henry the fourth. Before his reign, this was but an infignificant place, with a fmall caftle for the con- venience of the princes that came to hunt the bear in the environs, which were then as woody as they now are naked. Its fituation on a hill overlooking many leagues of country, open on every jGide to a wholefome circulation of air, and abundance of good water, in- duced the emperor Charles the fifth to build an ample palace here, which he intended to make his chief refi- dence, as he thought the climate beft adapted to his conftitution. The fovereign being once fixed at Madrid, the nobility fbon abandoned their hereditary caftles and houfes in other cities, to follow the court. They were under the neceffity of fettling in the houfes they found ready built ; and for that reafon, added to the fupine indifference that feized the Spaniards during the laft two-thirds of the feventeenth century, and near half of this, moft of the great families flill continue to inha- bit vaft ranges of ugly fabrics not diftinguifhable from the TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, s^z the common houfes in the ftreets, except by their larger dimenfions. The palaces of the grandees that contain either fta- tues or pictures of value, are few in number. In that of Medina Celi are many precious monu- ments of antiquity in marble, the remains of a great coUedion brought from Italy, by one of the Dukes of Alcala. The duke of Saint Eftevan polTefles many of the beft works of Luca Giordano. In the gallery of the marquis of Santiago, Murillo has painted the life of Jacob and a Madonna, which may be reckoned among the moft capital of the Spanilh fchool. At the Duke of Alba's is to be feen a very famous pidure of Corregio, called the fchool of Cupid ; it re- jprefents Venus giving the God of Love to be tutored by Mercury. There is alfo an holy family, faid to be by Raphael ; a charming Venus, by Velafquez, lying half reclined with her back to the fpedtator, and her face refleded in a mirror fhe holds in her hand. Among the portraits, the moft curious are thofe of Anna Builen, and the great Duke of Alba. Here are alfo very fine hang- ings, executed after the Cartoons of Raphael, which, with the Venus of Correggio, once formed part of the coUedion of that nice connoifleur and unfkilful mo- narch, Charles the firfl; of England. Z z Thefc 354 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. Thefe pidures naturally lead me to fpeak of the royal palace; which I fhould have mentioned firfl, had I not wilhed to difpatch the leffer objects, that I might Jiave nothing to think of that could interfere with the defcription of the noble colledlion in the new palace. The old palace was burnt down to the ground in 1 734, a,nd Philip Juvara commiflioned by Philip the fifth to give a plan for rebuilding it in the moft fplen- did manner. The model he made is ftill exifting, but was rejecfted on account of the immenfity of the fize, and the greatnefs of the expence, as well as of the want of fufficient room to place it, the king being de-. termined on account of the air, to have it rebuilt on the exa6t fpot where the old one ftood. Juvara dying before he could prepare a fecond defign, his difciple Sachetti produced that which has been carried into execution ; both his and his mailer's plans have th« defeat of being clumfy and confufed in the windows, pilafters, and ornaments y where they have aimed at fimplicity, they have funk their architedture under a load of ftone, and where they have ftudied to be rich and light, th^y have generally given into the capricious rather than the beautiful. It is all of white ftone. Each of the fronts being four hundred and feventy feet in length, by an hundred high, this pile towers over all the country, where nor- thing intercepts th? view for many miles. The en>- trances. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 355 trances and ground-floor appear more like thofe of fome mighty fortrefs, than of the peaceable habitation of a powerful monarch, an hundred leagues removed from his frontiers. The range of large glazed arches round the inner court, refembles the infide of a manu- faftory : this is the more unpardonable, as they had at no great diftance in the Alcazar of Toledo, as ele- gant a colonnade as the niceft critic could defire. The beautiful circular court of Granada might have fug- gefted noble ideas to the archited, but probably at that time, the very exiftence of fuch a thing was a fecret at Madrid. The ftair-cafe was meant to be double, but it was afterwards judged more convenient to fhut up one flight, as the remaining half anfwered every purpofe. At the foot of the ftairs I fhall leave all my fpleen, and prepare myfelf with unfeigned fatisfadlion to defcribe to you the beauty and grandeur of the upper apart- ments. I know no palace in Europe, fitted up with fo much true royal magnificence. The ceilings are chef-d'ceuvres of Mengs, Corrado, and Tiepolo. The richeft marbles are employed with great tafte in form- ing: the cornices and focles of the rooms, and the frames of the doors and windows. What enhances the value of thefe marbles, is the circumftance of their be- ing all produced in the quarries of Spain, from whence Z z 2 it 35^ TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. it is the opinion of a learned writer, that ancient Rome was fuppiied with many of the precious materials that enriched her porticoes and temples. At leaft, there is no prefumption in afierting, that the bowels of the earth in Spain contain moft of thofe ff>ecies of marbles, alabafterSj &^c. that are to be feen in the ruins of the miilrefs of the world, whatever might be the countries from which they were drawn. Porphyry is found near CordovM ; the fineft jafper near Aracena ; the moun- tains of Granada furnilli a beautiful green, thofe of Tortofa a variety of brown marbles ; Leon and Ma- laga lend alabafter ; Toledo, Talavera, Badajoz, and Murviedro, abound in marbles of different colours j and moll parts of the kingdom afford fome fpecimen or other of jafper, befides the amethyft and its radix, for which Spain is celebrated above moft other coun- tries. The ffreat audience chamber is one of the richeft I inow. The ceiling, painted by Tiepolo, reprefents the triumph of Spain ; round the cornice the artift has placed allegorical figures of its different provinces, dif- tinguiilied by their productions, and attended by feve- ral of their inhabitants in the provincial habit ; thefe form a moft uncommon pi<9:ure, and a curious fet of Cof- tjimi. The walls are incruftated with beautiful marble, aad all round hung with large plates of looking-glafs la TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 357 in rich frames. The manufadory of glafs is at Saint Ildefonfo, where they caft them of a very great fize ; but I am told they are apt to turn out much rougher and more full of flaws than thofe made in France. A colledion of pidures, by the greateft mafters of the art, adorns the walls of the inner apartments ; but even this vaft fabric does not afford room for all the riches his Catholic Majefty poffeffes in this branch. The detail and catalogue of a number of paintings is fure to fatigue a reader who has never feen, nor can ever rationally expeft to fee them ; therefore it is in- cumbent upon me to feled: only a few of my favorites from my memorandums. The gallery of the Efcurial is faid to be ftill more valuable, efpecially as the famous picture of Raphael of the carrying the crofs, called the Spafimo di Sicilia^% remains in this palace unplaced, and confequently un- feen. Of the works of Titian, the moll remarkable are, a Bachanalian woman lying on her back, afleep ; the liquor has diffufed a glow over her beautiful face, and her body is divinely handfome ; one of the greatefb painters of the age has often declared, he never palTed before this pidure without being flruck with admira- 2* Raphael painted it for the Church of the Madonna dello Spafimo, or the mother of Dolours, in Siciljf. tioiL- 358 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. tion. Some boys playing, full of grace and a charming variety of attitudes. Rubens : Chrift and St. John Baptifl, lovely chil- dren. A prieft on horfeback, carrying the viaticum to a fick perfon, accompanied by Rodolph earl of Hapf- burgh, one of the mafter-pieces of his pencil. Murillo : A vintager, M^inefeller, holy family, two boys ; all in their different charadters, excellently paint- ed with a rich mellow colour. Vandyke : The feizing of Chrift in the garden, a ftrong compolition ; feveral portraits abfolutely alive. Spagnolet : Ifaac feeling Jacob's hands ; very capital. Velafquez : Many portraits. His genius fhines moft confpicuous in the equeftrian figure of the Conde Duque Olivares, prime minifter of Philip the fourth, which I really think the beft portrait I ever beheld : I know not which moft to admire ; the chiaro fcuro, the life and fpirit of the rider, or the natural pofi- tion and fire of the horfe. Another of a young prince alfo on horfeback, is a beautiful piece : the little cavalier fits upright, and feems proud of his exalted ftation ; but the fixed ferious caft of his features, be- trays the apprehenfion he feels of his prancing fteed. The water-feller of Saville, an admirable old figure ; fome women fpinning ; and Velafquez himfelf draw- ing the portrait of an Infanta. Mengs : TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 359 Mengs : Many fine things, which, even in this rare collediion, do not feem intruders ; moft of them re- prefent devout lugubrious events, the moft gloomy of which, fuch as the flagellation and crucifixion, have been chofen by the king to adorn his bed-chamber. Among the profane and allegorical fubjedls he has treated, I was much delighted with four light airy genii over the doors, reprefenting the different parts of the day. The laft pidures I fhall mention, in order to clofe my catalogue with eclat, are an holy family, and a Chrift praying in the garden, by Correggio, not infe- rior to any of the fmall-fized works of that child of the graces. Of the laft-mentioned piece I have feen more than one repetition. In the Capodimonte colledioa near Naples, is one exactly fimilar. I have pafled over many excellent pictures by a crowd of Italian and Flemifh painters, that would hold the iirft rank in moft other galleries. In the magazines and ftore-rooms lie unforted, a number of pictures, fufficient to furnifh fuch another fuite of apartments. - " At the bottom of the palace-yard is an old building, called the Armeria, containing a curious affortment of antique arms and weapons, kept in a manner that would have made. poor Cornelius Scriblerus fwoon at every ftep^ no 36o TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. no notable houfe-maid in England has her fire-grates half {o bright as thefe coats of mail ; they 'fhevv thofe of all the heroes that dignify the annals of Spain; thofe of St. Ferdinand, Ferdinand the Catholic, his wife Ifabella, Charles the fifth, the great captain Gonfalo, the king of Granada, and many others. Some fuits are embofled with great nicety. The temper of the fword-blades is quite wonderful ; for you may lap them round your waifl; like a girdle. The art of tempering fteel in To- ledo, was loft about feventy years ago, and the projed of reviving and encouraging it, is one of the favourite fchemes of Charles the third, who has ereded proper works for it on the banks of the Tagus, As the new palace ftands on the brow of a fteep hill, «,nd is hemmed in very clofe behind by the buildings of the town, it became necefiary to open a communi- cation with the vale of Manganares below, that his Ma- jefty might go into the country without paiBng through the whole city of Madrid, In order to effed this, they have cut a broad road, with an eafy afcent from the river to the palace, and adorned it at the foot of the hill with a kind of triumphal arch, dedicated to St. Vincent. This expence might have been faved, as well as the many thoufands of dollars buried in the vaults and fubftrudions that ferve as foundations to the pon- derous mafs of buildings which compofe the palace, had TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 361 liad the kings thought proper to re-build or embellifh their houfe at the Buenretiro, on the hill eaft of Ma- LETTER XLIV. Saint Jean de LuZj June 19, i']jS'i THE firft obje£t in Segovia that attrads the eye^ is: the Aquedud ; as the road from Saint Ildefonfo runs near it a confiderable way through the fuburbs.. It is perfedly well preferved, and does not feem leaky in any part. From the firft low arches to the refervoir in the town, its length is two thoufand four hundred Spanifh feet ; its greateft height (in the. Plaza del Azo- bejo '. Jti^er Jii^iasSda ■ a. 'J'^'tviBa^Cm/eycnces'^St)- 3 /fvJ-a^.-. 4 J'p.txm. 5 J7?«/«/A cuitflnv-Ao/Qpy^: ^rtJ/ur-Y. C^Tienc^nutQTTt, TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 405 bejo at the foot of the walls) is one hundred and four ;, it is there compofed of a double row of arches, built of large fquare ftones without mortar, and over them a hol- low wall of coarfer materials for the channel of the wa- ter, covered with large oblong; flags. Of the lower range of arcades, which are fifteen feet wide by fixty-five high, there are forty-two. The upper arches are one hundred and nineteen in number y their height twenty- feven Spanifh feet, their breadth feventeen ; the tranf- verfal thicknefs or depth of the piers eight feet. This^ Aqueduct is not only an admirable monument of anti- quity for its folidity and good mafon's work, which have withftood the violence of fo many barbarians, and. the inclemencies of the feafons during fo many ages, but alfo wonderfully beautiful and light in its defign. I do not think the Pont du Gard equal to it in elegance of proportions. Antiquaries have not agreed upon the epocha of its erection ; fome attribute it to the time of Trajan, and others are -willing for the honour of their country to give the credit to Hercules. The Romans certainly were the builders of it, but no infcription leads to the knowledge of the precife period of their empire, in which it was conftrudted : perhaps a perfon accuf- tomed for years to ftudy among the ruins of Rome, the diiferent modes of building adopted in d liferent ages by that people, might be able from an infpedion of the ftone- 4o6 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. ftone-work, to determine the aera. It is likely to re- main in its prefent ftate as long as Segovia exifts ; for the fituation of that city on a dry rock renders this fup- ply a thing of indifpenfable neceility. The Cathedral, dedicated to Niceftra fenora de la Paz, is one of the handfomeft churches in Spain, in the lateft Gothic manner. The infi.de is majeftic, and re- markably clear of the embarraffments of altars and cha- pels fo common throughout the kingdom. The high altar is rich and fhewy. The Alcazar, or Caftle, flands in one of the fineft pofitions pofUble, on a rock rifing above the open coun- try ; a very pretty river waflies the foot of the preci- pice, and the city lies admirably well on each lide on the brow of the hill ; the declivity is woody, and the banks charmingly rural ; the fnowy mountains, and dark forefts of Saint Ildefonfo, compofe an aweful back-ground to the pidiure. Towards the town there is a large court before the great outward tower, which you are as well acquainted vi^ith as I am ; the prifon of Gil Bias is fo well defcribed by Le Sage, that the fubjed: requires no farther explanation. The reft of the build- ings form an antique palace, which has feldom been in- habited by any but prifoners fince the reign of Ferdi- nand and Ifabella, who were much attached to this fituation. There are fome magnificent halls in it, with much TRAVELS THROUGH SP41N. 407 niuch gilding in the ceilings, in a femi-barbarous talle. Alt the kings of Spain are feated in ftate along the cor- nice of the great faloon ; I know not whether they are like the princes whofe names they bear, but if that re- lemblance be wanting, I am fure they have no other merit to claim. The royal apartments are now occu- pied by a college of young gentlemen cadets, educated at the king's expence in all the fciences requifite for forming an engineer. The grand mailer of the ord- nance refides at Segovia, which is the head eflablifh- ment of the Spanifh artillery. Another court of the palace is allotted as a prifon to eleven Algerine Reis, or captains of fhips. Their crews work in the arfenal of Carthagena. Thefe Turks are very handfome portly figures, with clean looks, and well-combed beards ; they are well treated, and left to themfelves. Moft of their time is fpent in converfa- tion, walking up and down a long gallery, fmoking, and playing at chefs, except when they go down at ftated. hours to fetch water for their own ufe. Confinement apart, their lives pafs in eafe and tranquillity. As fooi>! as they faw us walking about the court, they immedi- ately knew us to be Englifhmen, moft of them having been feveral times at Gibraltar, and being well ac- quainted with the Britifla character of face ; it being the. hour of fetching water, and the door open, they flocked- 4o8 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. flocked about us with great demonftrations of joy, and tears of pleafure ftarting into every eye. They kilTed Gur hands, and called us Ingles buens hueno Amigosy over and over again, with difficulty prevailing upon themfelves to leave us to go about their work at the well. My man S. G. by our orders, followed one of the principal men among them, and in lingua ' Franca, which indeed is the common jumble of tongues he makes ufe of at all times, gave him an account of the Spanifh defeat be- fore Algiers. They had heard of the preparations for the expedition, and had been much caft down vi^ith the ' thoughts of it, but had begun to entertain fome hopes of a mifcarriage, as many months had elapfed fince they knew of the departure of the fleet, and not a fyl- lable concerning its fuccefs had dropped from any of their guards. The venerable old Mufulman raifed his hands to heaven, and feemed to look upon the pains and irkfomenefs of flavery, to be more than re- paid by the exquifite fenfations he enjoyed in this happy moment. . When his informant added, that the Algerines had loft a great number of camels, the Turk turned upon him with a, ' ' What talk ye to me of Camels ? had they killed thoufands of them, there would ftill remain enough, and the beafts themfelves muft be proud of dying to fave their country." After ihaking them all by the hand, and leaving a prefent to buy TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 409 buy tobacco, we took our leave of our allies^ who fol- lowed us down the portico with longing eyes and a thoufand benedidions ; which, if their prophet has any jurifdidion over the roads, will preferve us from over- turns and broken limbs. The mint is below the Alcazar, a large building, the moft ancient place of coinage in the kingdom. The machines for melting, ftamping, and milling the coin, are worked by water. I believe that of Seville has at prefent more bufinefs, as being nearer the fource of riches, the port of Cadiz, where the lingots of America are landed. The unevennefs of the crown of the hill, gives a wild look to this city. MofI: of the ftreets are crooked and dirty ; the houfes wooden and very wretched: nor do the inhabitants appear much the richer for their cloth manufactory. Indeed it is not in a very fiourifh- ing condition ; but what cloth they make is very fine. The country hereabouts has the reputation of being the bell for feeding the kind of fheep that gives the celebrated wool ; but as thofe flocks wander over many other parts of the kingdom, and are not bred here, I do not fee any right Segovia has to this exclufive claim. A fmall quantity of it is manufadured in the coun- try, and through mifmanagement, lazinefs, or lack of hands, the greateft part of the wool is carried to 3 G France ; 410 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. France ; and, at Orleans and other places, made up into caps and cloths, many of which return to Spain for fale. The country grew fandy as we advanced into Old Caftille. In general it is extremely open, but now and then we came to woods of pine-trees, efpeciaily near the rivers. It appears much better land, and more po- pulous,, than New Caftille, for the villages ftand. pretty thick in moft parts of it. At Villa de Santa Cruz, the only thing we remarked was a cow's tail, in which the hoftefs ftuck her combs ;. as this was the iirft in- ftance we had met with of a cuftom which prevailed in Sancho Pan9a's time, and was of fuch fervice in fur- nifhing the barber with a falfe beard, we took parti- cular notice of it. You know how fond I am of the fat fellow, and how happy I muft be to find any thing that explains and exemplifies the traits of his inimi- table hiftory. Olmedo, which I think is a place that occurs in Gil Bias, is a ruined town in a fine plain, rich in corn and pafturage, in droves of brood mares, and flocks of black fheep ; fome pine woods, in one of which is a grand monaftery of Bernardines, bound the horizon very agreeably. We flept on the tenth at Hornillo, a fmall village on the river Aldaya, the banks of which are prettily wooded, and form many interefting points o£ ■?iewv The TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN, 411 The next morning we came through a very fandy trad; of foreft land, to a hill from which we difcover- ed the plains of Valladolid, and the courfe of the Duero ; a fine river, that falls into the ocean at Porto, in the kingdom, of Portugal. Beyond a chain of bare white hills, at one of their angles, ftands the town of Simancas, where, in 938, was gained that fignal vidory over the Moors, which gave rife, as is pretended, to the voto de Santiago. The archives of the realm were depofited, by Philip the fecond, in the caftle of Siman- cas, where they ftill remain. Valladolid is a very large rambling city, full of edifices; which, during the reign of Philip the third, who made it his conftant refidence, were the palace of his great officers and nobility. Be- ing abandoned by their owners, who have followed the court in all its different emigrations, they are fallen to decay, and exhibit a pidiure of the utmofi: defolation : the palace of the king is fo ruined, that I could with difficulty find any body to ffiew me the fpot where Philip had refided. The private houfes are ill-built and ugly. The great fquare, fome ftreets built upon porticos, many colleges and convents, are ftill grand, and denote fomething of the magnificence of a place that had been long honoured with the prefence of its monarch ; but in general, Valladolid has the appearance of having been run up in a hurry 3 G 2 to 412 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. to receive the court, and that it was meant to be re- built afterwards at leifure, of more durable materials than bad brick and mud, the compofition of moft of its prefent houfes. The Dominican convent, a gothic edifice, is the moft remarkable in the city. The unir. verfity is in the laft ftage of a decline, and trade and manufadures at as low an ebb. It is melancholy to behold the poverty and mifery painted in the meagre faces, and difplayed in the tattered garments of the common people ; the women go quite bare-headed. We pafTed the river Puiferga at Cabe^on, which has the reputation of producing the beft wine in the pro- vince. The foil is clay mixed with fand, and moft of it planted with vines. The hills are compofed of flirata of clay and marie ; great fcarcity of wood ; but a much more chearful look in the country than in any part of New Caftille : the number of fmall towns or large villages rather confiderable y on moft of the hills, ruined towers and remains of ancient caftles. We tra- velled up the Puiferga for many miles, through a broad vale, bare of trees, but tolerably well cultivated ; we crofted and recrofted the river feveral times ; the largeft bridge is near Torquemada, of twenty-two arches* The houfes hereabouts are built with pieces of clay fquared and baked in the funj but their concodion is very imperfecta. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 413 On the 13 th we came to a much more agreeable country, better provided with wood, and more throng- ed with habitations ; on every fteeple one or two ftcrks' nefts ; thofe birds feem to be held in the fame veneration here as they are in the Low Countries. That morning we arrived at Burgos, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Caftille, but long fince abandoned by its princes to obfcurity and decadency. The approach to it, up a long valley, is rather pleafing : the caftle, the ancient broken walls floping down from it, and lower down the cathedral, terminate the profped: in a pidurefque manner. The drefs of the women differs from all thofe we have feen elfewhere ; and were there any fmartnefs in their manner, any beauty in their faces, or even the ufual bright SpanifK eye to peep out from under their veil, it would be a. very becoming garment for a country girl : but all thofe we faw were the uglieft awkward hoydens in nature ; they wear large clumfy fhoes, almoft as bad as the French fabot, a brown gown thrown back and tied behind, a blue and white apron, and a large flowing white veil faftened with blue ribands. The montero caps of the men are ali faced with red or blue. Before we entered Burgos, we pafTed by the famous Abbey delas Huelgas, one of the beft endowed in Spain. Its nuns are all noble, and the abbefs almoft a fove- reign 414 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. reign princefs, hj the extent of her territories, the num- ber of her prerogatives, and the variety of her jurifdic- tions. The convent is not a fhewy building ; the fitua- tion is low and unpleafant. The little river Alarcon feparates the fuburbs from the city ; vi^hich is built in a very irregular manner, on the declivity of a fteep hill, commanded by an antique caftle, once the abode of the counts, and afterwards of the kings of Caftille. As foon as the petty fovereigns of Afturias ventured to fteal out of their mountainous faftneffes and retreats, to extend the limits of their little kingdom at the ex- pence of the Mahometan caliphs, their conquefts feem to have been entrufted to the care of generals or counts. As the kings of Leon and Afturias were al- Vv-ays bufied in warfare, if men of ftrong bodies and va- liant fpiritSj and if princes of a weak conftitution and an unwarlike turn, were unable to form any ftrong op- pofition, thefe counts gradually encroached upon the royal perogative, and converted a precarious delegated command into the folid eftablifhment of hereditary power. By thefe means, about the clofe of the tenth century, the counts of Caftille became entirely inde- pexident of the crown of Leon, in the time of Fer- dinand Gonzales, and during the minority of Ramiro the third, king of Leon. Some authors have advanced, that the Caftillians at one time had formed themfelves into TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 415 into a commonwealth, governed by two judges, one ap- pointed to fuperintend all civil affairs, and the other to command the troops. But the proofs alleged to fupport this opinion, ^re extremely v^eak and fufpici- ous ; it is however a favourite ftory in Caftille. The male line of Gonzales failed in the perfon of Garcias Sanchez, who was murdered by fome exiled noblemen ; and his fifter Munia transferred the fove- reignty to her hufband Sancho the Great, king of Na- varre. This prince was the common ftock of all the princes that afterwards governed the feveral monarchies of Spain. The title of king of Leon was foon ab- forbed, or at leaft fuperfeded in point of rank, by the new one of Caftille. Over the city gate are fome ftatues of the judges or counts, ftill objeds of great veneration in the eyes of the patriotic Caftillian. The cathedral is one of the moft magnificent ftruc- tures of the gothic kind, now exifting in Europe ; but although it rifes very high, and is feen at a great dif- tance, its fituation in a hole cut out of the fide of the hill, is a great difadvantage to its general effed. Its form is exadly the fame as that of York-minfiier, which. I, look upon to be the criterion according to which the beauties or defeds of every Gothic church are to be. eftimated. At the weftern or principal front are two, fteeple^ 4i6 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. fteeples ending in fpires, and on the center of the edi- fice rifes a large fquare tower, adorned with eight pinnacles ; on one fide of the eah: end is a lower odagon building, with eight pyramids, which cor- rcfpond exadlly to the Chapter-houfe at York. We were iftruck with the refemblance between thefe build- ings ; both were embellifhed with a profufion of ftatues ; moft of thofe at York were deftroyed in the firft emotions of iconoclaftic zeal ; thofe of Bur- gos are ftill in full poffeffion of the homages of the country, and confequently entire ; feveral of them are much more delicate than one would expe<9:, confider- ing the age they were fculptured in. Santiago, the pa- tron of this cathedral, ftands very confpicuous on his war-horfe among the needles of the main fteeple ; and the Virgin Mary is feated in folemn ftate over the great window of the weft porch. The foliage-work, arches, pillars, and battlements, are executed in the moft ela- borate and finifiied manner of that ftyle which has ufually been called Gothic ; of late this appellation is exploded, and that of Arabic fubftituted for it. I con- fefs, I fee fome reafon to doubt of the propriety of this fecond epithet. In the buildings I have had opportu- nities of examining in Spain and in Sicily, which are undoubtedly Saracenic, I have never been able to dif- cover any thing like an original defign, from which the TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 41^ the Gothic ornaments might be fuppofed to be copied.' The arches ufed in our old cathedrals are pointed ; thofe of the Saracens are almoft femi-circular, whenever they are not turned in the form of an horie-flioe. The churches of our anceftors fhoot up into fpires, towers, pinnacles and filigree work, and no fuch thing as a cu- pola feems ever to have been attempted ; the mofques and other buildings of the Arabians, are rounded into domes and coveet roofs, with now and then a flender fquare minaret terminating in a ball or pine-apple ; the Arabic walls fhine with painted tiles, rnofaics, and ftucco, none of which ever appear in our ancient edi- fices ; the pillars in the latter are generally grouped many together, .^swid fro«v a very fmall member of an entablature fprings one or two arches ; in the former, the columns ftand fingle, and if placed more than one together t^ fuppprt fome heavy part, they never touch, or as it were 'grow into each other ; there is always a thick architrave at leafl: to fupport the arch, and com- monly an upright piece of wall to refift the lateral preffure. - W>henevei;. it,: hap.pensj f s in the great divi- fions of the mofque at Cordova, thaf four pillars are joined together, it is by means of a fquare wall or pier, at the four angles of which are 'placed the columns, perfedlly feparated and diftindt. In all the varieties of capitals I have taken drawings of, I never found one ex- 3 H aaly 4i8 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. a6tly the fame in dejGign or proportioas, as our Gothic ones in the churches of England, or in thofe of France^ at leaft fuch as I have examined ; viz. Saint Denis, Amiens, Rouen, Bordeaux, Tours, and others. The Chriftian ftruclures are extremely lofty, and full of long windows with painted glafs ; the porches and doors are deep receffes, with feveral arches one within ano- ther, crowded with little faints and angels. Now every thing is different in the mofque of Cordova, the only one I have ever feen, but which I think may be fairly deemed a proper fample of Arabian facred architediure,. to eftabli£h a judgment upon ; whether we confider its antiquity, being built before the ninth century; its prefent ftate, which, fome parts e^ccpccd, is exadly as it was a thoufand years ago; or laftly the princely hands that raifed it. It was ereded by Abdoulrahman the firft, probably upon the defigns, and under the in- fpedlion of the ableft archited:s of the age, and ac~ cording to the method of diftribution obferved in holyr edifices built in Arabia and Egypt. Here, and I have reafon to think it is fo in moft, if not all, mofques, the elevation of the roof is trifling, not a feventeenth part of the length of the iles ; there are no windows of any fize, and what there are, are covered with: filigree- work in ftone, fo as never to admit any great quantity €)f light, which was received from iky-lights and cu- golasa. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 419 polas, and from the occafional opening of the doors : the finking back of the arches over the gates is fcarce perceptible, as they are aimoil of an equal projedion with the wall of the building. From all thefe differen- tial marks, I am inclined to fufped; that our old flruc- tures have been new-named, and Mahometanifed with- out fufEcient proof of their Arabic origin. At the fame time I acknowledge it is difHcult to find them a more fatisfaftory and genuine pedigree. The beft age of that flyle of conftrudlion began in England in the reign of Henry the third, for till then we built in the clumfy manner called Saxon, deftitute of every recommendation but folidity ; the new tafte came in all probability from France, introduced by fome Proven9als that followed the queen. If you fup- pofe it imported into that kingdom by thofe that re- turned from the crufadoes, we muft of courfe fet it down as an eaflern invention. The queflion is what part of the eaft it came from, and whether it was the fame as that employed by the Arabians, If there were clear proofs of its being a branch of the Arabic ar- chitediure, it would ftill appear extraordinary, that its very firfb inrodudion into Chriftendom fhould be attend- ed with fo great a variation from the models it was meant to imitate ; and that any prince or learned prieft 3 H 2 that 420 TRAVELS THROUGH SPAUST. that thoiight it worthy of being employed in his couii- try, fliouii immediately fet about new fafhioning it in all its points. We may, if we pleafe to indulge our fancy, fay that fome fublime genius ftarted out from the dufty gloom of a monadic library, altered and im- proved upon the hints he found in books of Arabian archite6lure, fubftituted bold and aftonifhing ideas of his own ; found bifhops, princes, and abbots, willing to adopt them; and built churches in a ftyle entirely aew, and apparently original. We may fuppofe him to have formed a fchool of other monks, the only architedts of thofe ages among the Chriftians ; and that thefe pupils gradually new modelled the precepts of their mafter, -and reduced his method to certain rules 5, which afterwards ferved as guides through all the fan^. taftic mazes of our ecclefiaftical architedure. Some perfons have fufpeded it to have been the manner praftifed by the eaftern Chriftians, and not adopted by the Arabs; who might difdain to have any thing limi- lar in their places of worfliip, with thofe of a conquered peoole. Others have been of opinion., that it comes originally from Perfia, or further eaft ; and fome again snaintain it to be an European invention, or at leaft a barbarous mode of building brought by fome great ge- nius to the elegant perfedion we behold in our ca- tliedrals.. TRAVELS THROUGH SPAIN. 421 thedrals. The argument would require a great number of comparifons, confrontations, and combinations, to iind out the conne