Henry D. Inglis

“ I did not leave Seville without visiting the snuff manufactory—the most celebrated in Spain. The building in which the manufacture is carried on, is more like a fortified palace, than a house destined for the preparation of tobacco. ”

“ The olive, the mulberry, the ilex, the algarrobo, the orange tree, and the palm, with all of which the plain is thickly dotted, give to it the appearance of a union of garden and orchard; but the populousness of the plain is even more striking than its beauty and fertility. I counted in it no fewer than forty-two towns and villages, and sixty-four spires of churches and convents, exclusive of the sixty spires and towers of the city. ”

“ Sometimes, when looking back towards Malaga, nothing intercepts the view—the whole bay,—Malaga in its centre,—the Moorish ruins,—the cathedral, and the cultivated plain, are all spread below. At another point, only the city and the bay are seen, the mountains shutting out all the rest; while still higher up, even the city is hidden, and the sea appears to wash the base of the mountains. ”

“ At the highest point which the road traversed, the view might be called sublime: it looked down into the sea, which seemed like a majestic river flowing between gigantic mountains; one of its banks being the mountain below me, which appeared to dip into the water—the other, the Barbary coast, stretching away in bold outline, and forming, directly opposite, that high and frowning promontory, which is the southern boundary of the Streights of Gibraltar. ”

“ Very different is the reception which the traveller meets with at a Spanish venta, or even posada, and at an English inn. At the Spanish posada, no bustling waiter with his clean napkin, bows you into the house; no smart demoiselle drops a curtesy, and leads the traveller forward with the glance of her black eyes. In the Spanish posada, the traveller is welcomed by nobody,—is never asked his pleasure, or what are his wants; he is left to feel his way along a stone wall ”

“ Every house, the centre of its own little farm, has a draw-well in its neighbourhood, from which the land is supplied. Some of these villages were singularly beautiful, particularly Cardetta, hanging upon some heights above the sea, with its little fertile plain,—all that the mountains would allow to it,—lying at its feet. These heights were entirely covered with the prickly pear, the last I saw; and near that village I also saw the last palm tree; but it was of stunted growth, not the stately and branchy palm of Elche. ”

“ At a venta close by the sea, called Hospitalet, we stopped to breakfast. Soon after, we entered the plain of Tarragona, almost vieing in fertility with the huertas of the more southern provinces, and reached the city to a late dinner.
I had expected much from the antiquities of Tarragona; but I confess they disappointed me. They possess few of those features which strike or delight the traveller who is not professedly an antiquarian. When a Roman amphitheatre is shewn to me, I always think of the amphitheatre of Nismes; if I look upon an aqueduct, I see placed beside it the Pont de Gard. ”

“ Every body in Gibraltar is bent upon amusement: there are balls and concerts, and private parties, and an excellent library and a reading room, where I saw the English magazines fifteen days after they were published in London. Add to all these agremens, charming rides on the fine sands within the Spanish lines; walks in the Alameda, where there are parades and military music every day; boating in the bay; and excursions to Algesiras, Ceuta, and Tangiers; and news from England by the steam-packet{163} every month,—and it will be admitted that Gibraltar is not a place of military banishment. ”

“ The manner of life in Granada differs little from that of Malaga; only that being inland, and having less communication with strangers, Spanish usages are more unmixed. Every one takes chocolate, and goes to mass in the morning. Every lady dresses, and seats herself upon her couch with her fan in her hand, her basket at her feet, and her embroidery{246} before her, waiting the arrival of visitors; every one dines a la cuisine Españole,—eats melon and pomegranate, and takes a siesta,—and every one goes to the paseo in the evening. ”

“ All the left bank of the Guadalquivir is a succession of orange groves,—beautiful to the sight, and filling the air with their refreshing and indescribably delicious perfume. When the wind blows from the east, nothing can be{71} more charming than an evening stroll down the river side: the broad Guadalquivir gliding by the fertile and richly-wooded banks that lie opposite, rising gradually to the hill of St. John, and diversified by country houses, and convents, and convent gardens ”

“ If a stranger wished to select a Spanish city as a residence, Seville would certainly be entitled to his preference. The climate, though not altogether faultless, is perhaps as near perfection as can be obtained. It is said, that there is not a day throughout the year that the sun does not shine upon Seville. Winter is scarcely felt; and if the heats of summer are oppressive, the streets, the houses, and the economy of life, are all adapted to the climate; and the demands of heat become, in fact, sources of luxury. The country around Seville is all that one could desire ”

“ On both sides of the road, luxuriant hedges of geranium in flower, captivated more senses than one; and the rocks, too, were covered with its scarlet and lilac blossoms. The road which I pursued looked down upon the Alameda, which I had not then visited, but which looked most captivating from above; I saw it sprinkled with fig trees, with their broad beautiful leaves and fantastic trunks—and acacias, with their little yellow tufts so full of fragrance—and orange trees, speckled thick with the bright fruit, embowered in its green alcove. ”

“ Wild olives grow profusely over the lower acclivities; but higher up, and in the defiles, ilex and pine throw their deeper and broader shadows upon the mountain side. The silence of the hills is felt in its fullest extent on the Sierra Morena, because it is not broken by the music of mountain rills, whose playful gush, and varying tone, often go far towards neutralizing the character of solemnity which naturally belongs to mountain scenes. Almost all the waters of the Sierra Morena descend on the southern side, and flow towards the Mediterranean. ”

“ From whatever point Granada may be contemplated, it is a sumptuous city; whether viewed from the plain, or from any of the neighbouring heights: even in walking the streets, vistas of astonishing beauty are occasionally discovered; and from the windows of my apartment in the Fonda del Comercio, I have never seen any thing more gorgeous than sunset upon the city of Granada; nor any thing more beautiful than the moonlight falling upon its gardens, and groves,{222} and convents, and towers, and neighbouring heights, and snow-clad mountains. ”

“ East and west flows the Guadalquivir,—the level stripe that lies along its banks, rich in every production that is congenial to the climate of Andalusia; a range of low hills wooded to the summit, and diversified by gardens, orange groves, and country houses, stretch, parallel with the river, bounding the prospect to the south; while the elevated chain of the Sierra Morena, pushes forward its picturesque outposts almost to the walls of the city. But situation is the only glory of Cordova that remains. Science has found other sanctuaries, and riches new channels ”

“ I walked through the cathedral, but saw nothing worthy of observation; and returned to the posada, where I fared well, and found the most delicious wine I had yet tasted in Spain;—how different from the small vin de pays of France.
San Felipe has no fewer than ten convents, seven for men, and three for women; and it contains about 12,000 inhabitants, the whole of whom find employment and subsistence from the huerta; for the city contains no manufacture of any kind. ”

“ The only handsome part of the town is the Alameda; the other parts present a labyrinth of narrow, intricate streets, almost wholly inhabited by the tradespeople, or by a low population; but{183} the buildings that line both sides of the Alameda are magnificent, and the interior of many of these houses, I found more splendid than any thing I had yet seen in Spain. The public buildings are but indifferent; with the exception of the cathedral, which is greatly admired by the people of Malaga; but which, after having seen those of Toledo and Seville, possesses but little attraction. ”

“ Before finally quitting Barcellona, I resolved to pay a visit to Monserrat,—a place that has derived remarkable notoriety from the singularity of its situation. I accordingly left Barcellona at the early hour of four, in a galera, which passed within half a league of the foot of the mountain. The country between Barcellona and Martorrel is the same as I have described on my journey from Tarragona; and from Martorrel to the foot of Monserrat, the land is divided between corn and wine; it is every where populous, and every where exhibits proofs of Catalunian industry. ”

“ Torreblanca, a poor little place, is undeserving of notice; but Alcala, which lies two leagues behind it, is a pretty town, remarkable for a magnificent church, and for the number of its clergy. The dinner at the posada appeared so little inviting,—the soup covered with oil, and the stew fragrant with garlic,—that I preferred a stroll through the town, and a loaf of bread.
The drive along the sea coast, from Alcala to Venicarlo, is singularly pleasing ”

“ The whole belt is occupied by gardens, woods, orchards, and innumerable avenues: and here and there, near the palace, the waters of the Tagus are trained into cataracts, that sights of shade and coolness may be answered by the refreshing sounds that fall upon the ear. Aranjuez was charming even when I saw it; although then the fresh verdure of spring had long passed away;{8} but here spring is constantly maintained by art;—and an unceasing succession of labour, assisted by irrigation, and aided by a warm climate, produces a never-ending renewal of beauty and vegetation. ”

“ But in Spain, one city does not represent the whole nation. In dress, usages, morals, as well as in the general aspect of external things, all those provinces which remained during the longest period subject to the dominion of the Moors, possess essential and characteristic distinctions; and Madrid, although nominally the capital of all Spain, is, in fact, but the metropolis of the two Castiles. Seville is the capital of the south, and Valencia of the east of Spain. ”

“ Nothing is so easy as to obtain a letter to a consul: friends and relations in England,—men who have travelled, and once dined with him,—consuls in other ports,—an ambassador will seldom refuse an application for a letter to the British consul at this, or that port; for he is considered a sort of public property, bound, almost by the duties of his office, to pay attention to strangers; and if a traveller carry a letter to a consul, and is not offered the hospitalities of his house, he is immediately set down as a very penurious representative of the British government. ”

“ At the table of a person in the middle ranks of life, the puchero is seldom seen; and among the upper classes there is an affectation of a preference of French wines, sufficiently ridiculous in a city situated so near Xeres, and in a country in which every little district produces its own peculiar, and often exquisitely flavoured wine. But those very things that diminish, in some degree, the interest of Cadiz in the eyes of a stranger, render it the most attractive city in Spain, for one who desires to pass a few months agreeably. There is, there, no shrinking from the eye of the stranger ”

“ Among them, the most remarkable and the most beautiful, are the Sarcophagi of Ferdinand and Isabella, the conquerors of Granada: which are of white marble,—sculptured with great taste and delicacy. The sword and sceptre of these illustrious personages, are preserved in the sacristy. I observed a curious notice affixed to every conspicuous part of the walls, forbidding any man to speak to a woman within the cathedral under the pain of excommunication, and the penalty of two ducats, to be given to holy purposes; thus making good spring out of evil. ”