Soria

“ Poor man! in Spain it is so natural for love to come in at the window!
During the interval, it seems, he came and walked in the passages. This I learned from the chief secretary of the Spanish embassy, who also told the story of a noble action of his.
As Duc de Soria he was to marry one of the richest heiresses in Spain, the young princess Marie Heredia, whose wealth would have mitigated the bitterness of exile. ”

“ The French endeavoured to counteract this system of national hostility, in the province of Soria, by forcing the men into their own service: with this view they ordered a conscription, and the alcalde of Valdenebro was put to death by them in Burgo de Osma, for not having enforced it in obedience to their authority. They called for all single men from fifteen to forty years of age, and all married ones whose marriage was not of earlier date than the year on which this dreadful struggle ♦D. José Duran.♦ was begun. ”

“ For Agreda, therefore, Lili began his march at daybreak. By two in the afternoon he had reached Villar del Rio, five leagues from the place which he had left, eight from that to which he was bound; but here he met intelligence of fresh disasters and new dangers. Agreda, it was said, had already been abandoned by the Spaniards;436 1200 French cavalry, with a small body of foot, were on their way to that town from Soria, which had opened its gates to the enemy; other columns from Soria and from Almazan were to follow in the same direction. ”

“ The southern angle of the province contains also the sources of the Jalon, which, flowing through a break in the Idubeda range, finds its way to the Ebro, and thence to the Mediterranean, the upper courses of the two rivers completely overlapping. In spite of these two river-valleys the province is very unproductive. Soria, near the site of the Keltiberean Numantia, which held out for twenty-nine years against the Romans, contains but 6000 inhabitants. Osma, on the Douro, has barely 1000, and Agreda (4000) is celebrated only for the visions of a nun in the sixteenth century. ”

“ On the lofty parameras of Soria and other parts of Old Castile the vegetation has an almost alpine character.
The southern or African province is distinguished chiefly by the abundance of plants which have their true home in North Africa (a fact explained by the geologically recent land connexion of Spain with that continent) , but is also remarkable for the occurrence within it of numerous Eastern plants (natives of Syria and Asia Minor) , and plants belonging to South Africa and the Canaries, as well as natives of tropical America which have become naturalized here (see Agriculture) . ”

“ This city stood near the river Douro; out of the ruins of which has arisen the town of Soria. According to Strabo, it was the capital of Celtiberia.
Strong by nature and art, and by the number of its inhabitants, it was built upon a hill, difficult of [Pg 43] access, and on three sides surrounded by mountains. Its extent was, also, so great, that it had within its circuit pasture for cattle. It was unprotected by walls or towers; yet it bravely maintained itself, for a considerable time, against the power of the Romans. ”

“ With Father Soria he left the convent at 6 A. M., in a carriage, and was driven to Cerro de las Campañas, beyond the western limits of 449the city, Mejia and Miramon following in other carriages. Arrived at the “Hill of Bells,” the prisoners were placed against a low wall of adobe erected for the purpose. Maximilian was expected to occupy the centre, but he stepped to the right and placed Miramon in the centre, saying, “A brave soldier must be honored by his monarch even in his last hour; therefore, permit me to give you the place of honor.” ”

“ Duran entered Soria, and raised a contribution in the lower town; Villa Campa, Bassecour, and Montijo, coming from the mountains of Albarracin, occupied Molino and Orejuella, and invested Daroca; the Catalonian Gayan, taking post in the vicinity of Belchite, made excursions to the verySee Plan, No. 6. gates of Zaragoza; the Frayle, haunting the mountains of Alcañiz and the Sierra de Gudar, interrupted Suchet’s lines of communication by Morella and Teruel, and along the right bank of the Ebro towards Tortoza. Finally, Gay and Miralles infested the Garriga on the left bank. ”

“ As soon as the news was known, Duran and the Junta of Soria sent to the French commander in that city, reminding him that the prisoners taken there had been treated with humanity, and threatening reprisals if the persons who had now been captured should be put to death. This was of no avail. The vice-president of the Junta, D. Pedro Gordo, who was the parochial priest of Santibañez, was inhumanly scourged by Moreno, ... perhaps from some impulse of private enmity: the prisoners were then conducted to Aranda, from whence the soldiers contrived to effect their escape. ”

“ C’est la première fois qu’il arrive à une armée de quitter toutes les positions offensives, pour se mettre dans de mauvaises positions défensives, d’avoir l’air de choisir des champs de bataille, lorsque l’éloignement de l’ennemi, les mille et une combinaisons différentes qui peuvent avoir lieu, ne laissent point la probabilité de prévoir si la bataille aura lieu à Tudela, entre Tudela et Pampelune, entre Soria et l’Ebre, ou entre Burgos et Miranda. ”

“ In the early days of Castilian history the number of places represented was unlimited; but a right that in the disordered state of the country was both expensive and tiresome, if not actually dangerous, was regarded as a burden by most of the municipalities. By the fifteenth century only seventeen cities and towns sent members to the Cortes. These were: Toledo, Burgos, Seville, Cordova, Murcia, Leon, Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, Zamora, Cuenca, Jaen, Valladolid, Madrid, Toro, Soria, and Guadalajara, while Granada was added after her conquest in 1492. ”

“ Amid clouds of dust you are whirled to Soriano, through the desert Campagna and past Mount Soracte, in a business-like tramway--different from that miserable Olevano affair which, being narrow gauge, can go but slowly and even then has a frolicsome habit of jumping off the rails every few days. From afar you look back upon the city; it lies so low as to be invisible; over its site hovers the dome of Saint Peter, like an iridescent bubble suspended in the sky. ”

“ Les reconnaissances qui tous les jours se dirigeront du côté de Soria, de Burgos, sur Palencia, et du côté d’Aranda, peuvent former tous les jours trois postes d’interception, trois rapports d’hommes arrêtés, qu’on traitera bien, et qu’on rélachera quand ils auront donné les renseignemens qu’on desire. On verra alors venir l’ennemi, on pourra réunir toutes ses forces, lui dérober des marches, et tomber sur ses flancs au moment ou il meditera un projet offensif. ”

“ Among the most highly honored religious in this province a very important place is taken by Don Fray Diego de Soria, second bishop of Nueva Segovia. It was he who began the conversion in this province, and who might therefore be called the father in Christ of that church. Father Fray Diego was a native of Yebenes, near Toledo, and professed religion in the convent of the order at Ocaña. Giving signs of promise as a student and a preacher, he was sent to the college of Alcala, where he continued to follow the rigorous rules of the order forbidding the eating of flesh. ”

“ On the evening of the 21st, general Jomini and colonel D’Esmenard, staff officers of the sixth corps, arrived at Soria with an escort of eighty cavalry. That town is situated upon a rocky height, with a suburb below, and the conde de Cartoajal, who was retiring from the mountain of Nalda, happening to be in the [405] upper part, the magistrates endeavoured to entrap the French officers. The latter were met at dusk by the municipality, and invited to enter the town with great appearance of cordiality ”

“ The Burgolese joined the Comunidad in 1520, allying themselves with Toledo and Segovia, Zamora, Toro, Madrid, Avila, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Alcala, and Soria. The citizens seized the castle and murdered an unpopular official, Garcia Jofre, afterwards sacking the episcopal palace. They surrounded the palace of the Constable of Castile, Don Iñigo Fernandez de Velasco, and were deterred from burning it to the ground only by the intercession of the clergy, who exposed the Sacrament over the doorway. ”

“ Moon!' she screamed. 'Canst thou tell me the way to Soria Moria Castle?'
'No,' said the Moon, 'that I can't, for when I shone there, there was a cloud before me.'
'Wait a little longer,' said the old woman to Halvor, 'for the West Wind will presently be here, and he will know it, for he breathes gently or blows into every corner.'
'What! have you a horse too?' she said when she came in again. 'Oh! let the poor creature loose in our bit of fenced-in pasture, and don't let it stand there starving at our very door. ”

“ First by Cornejo, in 1790; who, starting from the confluence of the rivers Centa and Tarija, reached the Paraguay in fifty-five days; the distance by the river being, according to his computation, no less than 4071⁄2 leagues. And more recently, in 1826, by Don Pablo Soria, the agent of some spirited individuals in Buenos Ayres, who about that time formed an association for the purpose of endeavouring to open a water-communication between the capital and the rich districts of the Upper Provinces. ”

“ Cette ville s’est constamment mal comportée. Une expedition qui se porterait sur Soria, la désarmerait, en prendrait une trentaine d’hommes des plus considerables, qu’on enverrait en France pour ôtages, et qui enfin lui ferait fournir des vivres pour l’armée, serait d’un bon effet.
3me. Une troisième opération qui serait utile serait l’occupation de St. Ander. Il serait bien avantageux qu’elle put ce faire par la route directe de Bilbao à St. Ander.
4me. Il faut s’occuper de désarmer la Biscaye et la Navarre; c’est un point important; tout Espagnol pris les armes à la main doit être fusillé. ”

“ The religious were warned to treat the Indians with great charity and a spirit of kindness, as beloved sons, showing them the love that we feel for them not only by words but by deeds, and striving to attract them by love. If punishment should at any time be necessary, it was not to be by our hands, that it might not happen to us, as Saint Gregory said, that corrections should be converted to arms of wrath. To the convent of Manila they gave the title of priory, and appointed as the first prior father Fray Diego de Soria. ”

“ When he got to the place where the light had come from, he saw a wretched little cottage, and through a small pane of glass he saw a couple of old folks inside. They were very old, and as greyheaded as a pigeon, and the old woman had such a long nose that she sat in the chimney corner and used it to stir the fire.
'Good evening! good evening!' said the old hag; 'but what errand have you that can bring you here? No Christian folk have been here for more than a hundred years.'
So Halvor told her that he wanted to get to Soria Moria Castle, and inquired if she knew the way thither. ”

“ But it was reserved for this government to introduce a new species of barbarity, which had never before been heard of in war. Kellermann, whom the English had rescued with such difficulty from the vengeance of the Portugueze at Lisbon, was at this time governor-general of what the French called Upper Spain, ♦Oct. 28.♦ that is, of the provinces of Salamanca, Zamora, Toro, Leon, Valladolid, Palencia, Burgos, Soria, Santander, Biscay, Guipuzcoa, and Alava. ”

“ So saying, he snatched the flask from Sorianus, and immediately turned to fly. The Greek sprang after his treasure, and failing to grasp Marcobad’s wrist, seized his beard, plucking the hair out by handfuls. The infuriated Persian smote him on the head with the crystal flagon. It burst into shivers, and the priceless contents gushed forth in a torrent over the uncovered head and uplifted visage of Sorianus, bathing every hair and feature with the most vivid purple.
The aghast and thunderstricken philosophers remained gazing at each other for a moment. ”

“ But upon this matter they waived all discussion; ... they answered the bills which an English agent at Madrid had negotiated333 for the use of their army, authorized Castaños to draw on them according to his wants, and immediately sent forward 200,000 dollars. This was just before the meeting of the Central Junta: the Andalusian army was then advanced to Soria, the Valencian under General Llamas moved to Zaragoza, and Blake toward Miranda upon the Ebro. ”

“ That night we passed in the fields, and next morning proceeded to Labajos, a village on the high-road from Madrid to Valladolid. In this place we offered no books for sale, but contented ourselves with supplying the neighbouring villages with the Word of God; we likewise sold it in the highways.
We had not been at Labajos a week, during which p. 211time we were remarkably successful, when the Carlist chieftain, Balmaseda, [211a] at the head of his cavalry, made his desperate inroad into the southern part of Old Castile, dashing down like an avalanche from the pine-woods of Soria. ”

“ Sorianus acknowledged the royal considerateness, but pleaded the indefeasible right of property which he conceived himself to have acquired in his own head.
“In respect,” responded the royal logician, “that thy head is conjoined to thy shoulders, it is thine; but in respect that it is purple, it is mine, purple being a royal monopoly. Thy claim is founded on anatomy, mine on jurisprudence. Shall matter prevail over mind? Shall medicine, the most uncertain of sciences, override law, the perfection of human reason? It is but to the vulgar observation that thou appearest to have a head at all ”