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MAI' 
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S  P  A  1  V. 


A 

VIEW  OF  SPAIN; 

COMPRISING 

A  DESCRIPTIVE  ITINERARY, 

OF 

EACH   PROVINCE, 

AND  A 

GENERAL  STATISTICAL  ACCOUNT 

OF    THE    COUNTRY; 

INCLUDING 

ITi  POPULATION,  AGRICULTURE,  MANUFACTURES,  COMMERCE,  AND  FINANCE»; 

ITS    GOVERNMENT,     CIVIL,     AND    ECCLESIASTICAL     ESTABLISHMENTS} 

THE    STATE    OP    THE    ARTS,    SCIENCES,    AND   LITERATURE} 

CT8  MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,   NATURAL  HISTORY,  ^C. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH  OF 

ALEXANDER  DE   LABORDE, 


IN  FIVE  VOLUMES. 
VOL.    I. 


LONDON  *. 

riD    K>a    LONGMAN,    BURST,    MUM,   AM)  ORME,    PATEA 
'STLK-HOW  J    AM)    K.  DCJ.AU   AND  C'U.    BOJtlO  SQUARE. 

1809. 


J.  G.  Barnard,  Printer,  Skiuner-street,  Loudon. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


M 


.  ALEXANDER  DE  LABORDE,  the  author  of  the 
following  work,  is  well  known  as  an  elegant  scholar,  and 
erudite  antiquary,  possessed  of  a  highly  cultivated  taste, 
and  extensive  information  on  all  literary  and  philosophical 
subjects. 

For  a  publication  of  the  nature  of  the  present  he  was  in  many 
respects  eminently  qualified,  as  well  from  his  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  most  of  the  subjects  it  would  necessarily 
embrace,  as  from  his  love  of  travel,  and  previous  habits  of 
observation  and  research  ;  but  for  a  work  on  the  interesting 
country  which  he  has  here  chosen  for  his  subject,  he  possessed 
many  peculiar  and  exclusive  advantages  of  great  value.  He 
was  himself  personally  known  to  several  Spanish  families  of 
rank  and  influence,  and,  through  their  mean*,  had  every  de- 
sirable facility  for  obtaining  introductions  to  such  persons  as 
could  be  thought  capable  of  aiding  him  in  his  pursuits,  and 
access  to  every  object  <>f  curiosity,  and  every  source  of  in- 
f  Tination,  worthy  the  attention  of  the  intelligent  and  philo- 
:cal  traveller.  Of  these  :-<lv.tntages  he  appears  as  much 
a*  possible  to  have  availed  himself.  His  "  Voyage  Pittoresque 
(1  l'Espagne/'  one  of  the  most  splendid  works  that  has  ever  ap- 
peared, and  the  present  publication,  evince  bow  d<  serving  he 
of  everj  patronage  and  assistance  he  received.  Few 
men,  indeed,  could  have  pro6ted  by  them  to  the  -  me  i  «ct<  :  t. 
T>>  travel  as  our  author  bas  done,  ■■">■   i  with  so  much 

minuteness,  a  country  so  e,  so  abundant  in  objects  to 

arrest  the  attentioi    i  loui  it,  and  withal  10  destitute 

latiom    h<r  journeying  from  place  to 


Ï2067057 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

place,  could  not  be  cfH  cted  but  at  an  expense  which  few  have 
either  the  ability  or  the  disposition  to  meet.  It  is  supposed» 
and  our  information  is  derived  from  the  most  respectable 
authority,  that  our  author's  travels  in  Spain,  including  the 
various  expences  incurred  with  a  view  to  his  two  works  on . 
that  country,  have  not  cost  him  less,  upon  a  moderate  calcu- 
lation, than  twenty  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

The"  Itinéraire  Descriptif  de  l'Espagne,"  &c.  of  which  these 
volumes  arc  a  translation,  has  experienced  a  most  favourable 
reception  in  France,  having  in  a  short  period  passe\l  through 
several  editions.  To  this  success  the  immediate  interest  of  the 
subject  could  not  indeed  fail  to  contribute  :  but  the  work 
itself  possesses  great  intrinsic  merit,  and  may  perhaps  be 
considered  as  the  most  complete  account  we  possess  of  any 
country  in  the  world. 

In  the  translation  few  liberties  have  been  taken  with  the 
original  text  :  some  compliments  to  the  reigning  family  of 
France,  and  particularly  to  Joseph  Buonaparte,  in  our  au- 
thor's estimation  the  destined,  if  not  the  reigning,  monarch 
of  Spain,  have  been  omitted,  as  too  fulsome  for  an  English 
ear  ;  the  chapter  on  the  language  of  the  country,  wherein  the 
author  entered  into  an  elaborate  comparison  of  the  Spanish 
with  the  French  tongues,  has  been  retrenched  in  such  par- 
ticulars as  appeared  of  no  value  or  interest  to  the  English 
reader  ;  the  chapter  on  Natural  History  in  the  fifth  volume 
has  received  some  necessary  corrections  in  the  scientific  clas- 
sification of  the  subjects;  in  other  respects  it  remains  in  its 
original  state.  All  that  it  is  deemed  necessary  to  remark 
farther  is,  that  a  few  short  notes  have  been  occasionally  in- 
troduced, particularly  in  the  fourth  volume,  where  the  text 
appeared  to  recpaire  illustration. 

ÎLISH  EDITOR. 


CONTENTS 


FIRST    VOLUME. 


Pag» 

INTRODUCTION i 

Observations  on  travelling  in  general,  and  on  tra- 
velling in  Spain  in  particular     ....  cxxviii 
Manner  of  travelling  in  Spain    ....  cxxxiv 
Natural  geography  of  Spain          ....  clvni 
Observations  on  the  face  of  the  country  and  on 

the  climate  of  Spain clix 

Historical  geography  of  Spain        .        .        .        i  clxxiv 

Chronological  table  of  the  king's  of  Spain    .        .  clxxvi 

Division  of  Spain            clxxviii 

CATALONIA. 

Road  from  Perpignan  to  the  frontiers  of  Spain        .        .  l 

Observations  on  Catalonia 2 

Road  from  Col-de-Pertus  to  Gironna         ....  9 

from  Gironna  to  Barcelona IS 

■ by  the  Sea-side if) 

Baucelona.  ....  .27 

Excursions   from   Barcelona 63 

Environs  of  that  town C7 


CONTEXTS. 

Page 
Road  from  Barcelona  to  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of 
Aragon , 69 

— —  trou»  the  Frontier?  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  to 

Tarragona 85 

from  Tarragona  to  Barcelona ib. 

Statistical  Abstract  relative  to  Catalonia 104 

View  of  the  Natural  Hi-tory  of  Catalonia 123 

Character,  manners,  customs,  6iC.  of  the  Catalans    .     .      129 

VALENCIA. 

General  observations  on  the  kingdom H6 

Road  from  the  frontiers  of  the  New  Castile  to  Valencia      140 

from   the   frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of  Murcia  to 

Valencia 143 

— -  from  the  same  frontiers  near  Almanza  to  Valencia    167 

Valencia 175 

Excursions  in  the  environs  of  Valencia 251 

Road  from  Valencia  to  Segorbe 257 

-  to  San-Felipe 266 

2d  to  the  same ib. 

— —  3d  to  the  same ib. 

Road  from  Valencia  to  the  frontiers  of  Catalonia  .  .271 
Statistical  abstract  relative  to  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  293 
Table  of  the  productions  of  the  kingdom  .....  306 
Commercial  Tables 314 

ESTREMADURA. 

General  observations  on  this  province  ....  337 
Road  from  the  frontiers  of  New  Castile  to  the  frontiers 

of  Portugal 339 

Truxillo 34-3 

Merida 349 

Road  from  Merida  to  Badajoz 353 

2d  to  the  same 355 

Badajoz ...  356 


CONTENTS. 

Page 
Road  from  Almaraz  to  Talavera-la-  Vieja        :        .       .  359 

from  Almaraz  to  Plasencia,  Coria,  Alcantara,  and 

Caceres,  and  thence  to  Merida 361 

Plasencia  363 

Coria ,  369 

Alcantara 371 

Caceres 374- 

Cross-road  from  Caceres  to  Merida  .        .        .        .375 

Statistical  abstract  relative  to  Estremadura      .        .        .     ib. 

Manufactures  and  commerce 379 

Roads,  carriage,  and  inns 380 

Natural  History 381 

Arts  and  Sciences 383 

Character,  Manners,  &c.         .        .        .        .        ,        •  381 


ALPHABETICAL  TABLE 

OF  THE  ROADS  DESCRIBED  IN 

THE  ITINERARY  OF  SPAIN; 

Contained  in  the  1st,  2d,  and  3d  Volumes. 


Page 

ALAVA  (from  the  frontiers  of)  to  Burgos,  Valladolid, 
and  the  frontiers  of  New  Castile  on  the  port  of 
Guadarrama,  G I  leagues.  III. 10 

Albacete  (from)  to  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of  Va- 
lencia, 14leagues.  (PI.  15.)  II 209 

Almaraz  (from)  toPlasencia,  Coria,  Alcantara,  and  Ca- 
cerez,  from  thence  to  Merida,  57  leagues.  (PI  25.) 
I. 3G1 

Aranjuez  (from)  to  Reqnina  and  the  frontiers  of  Va- 
lencia, 42  leagues.   (PI.  5  cS:  I .'{.)  III. 176 

N.B.  The  ancient  road  ran  only  he  travelled  on 
horseback. 


TABLE  OF   THE   ROADS. 

Pag, 

Aragon  (from  the  frontiers  of)  by  Daroca  and  Urzes  to 
Madrid,  35  leagues  and  a  quarter.  (PI.  5, 10&  n.) 
III. 07 

iY  1'..  Head  from  the  frontiers  of  France  through 
P<  rpignan,  Barcelona,  and  Saragossa  to  Ma- 
drid. 
Aragon  (from  the   frontiers  of)   by   Calataynd   and  Si- 

samon  lo  Madrid,  31  leagues.  (PI.  5, 10  &  11.)  III.     G9 
N.  B.    Road    from   the   frontiers   of   France  by 
Perpignan,  Barcelona,  and  Saragossa  to  Ma- 
drid. 
Astorga  (from),  in  the  kingdom  of  Leon,  to  Lu<n>  in  Ga- 
licia,  and  St.  Ja^o  or  St.  James  of  Compo.-,tella,   49 

leagues.  (PI.  26&27.)   II. 4-27 

Astorga  (front)  to  Zamora  and  Toro  by  Benevente,  28 

leagues.  II. >.  484 

BARCELONA  (from)  to  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of 

Aragon,  34  leagues  and  a  quarter.   (PI.  8.)  I. 69 

Bedazoa  (from)   to  St.  Sebastian,  Bilbao,   and    Orduna, 

25  leagues.  II 347 

CADIZ  (from)  to  the  fiontiers  of  the  kingdom  of  Gra- 
nada, 19  leagues.  (PI.  21.)  II 83 

N.  B.  Road  from  Cadiz  and  Xercd  de  la  Fron- 
tera  to  Ronda  and  Malaga. 

Carmona  (fruin)  toCadiz,  26  leagues.   (PI.  23.)  II 62 

Catalonia    (from   the   frontiers    of)    to   Saragossa,    22 

leagues.   (PI.  9.)  II.     _ 245 

N.  B.  Su  ih.   road  through  Perpignan  and  Bar- 
celona to  Saragossa  and  Madrid. 
Ceuta,  Spanish  possessions  on  the  coast  of  Africa  (from) 
to  Penon  de  Veltz,  Penon  de  Alhuzemas,  Marzal- 
cjuivir,  and  Oram  III.     403 


TABLE  OF  THE  ROADS. 

Page 
Col  de  Pertus  (from)  the  frontier  of  France,  to  Gironna, 

11  leagues.  (PI.  6.)  I 9 

N.  B.  '1  his   road  leads  from  Perpignan   to  Bar- 
celona, Saragossa,  Valencia,  and  Madrid. 

Cordova  (from)  to  Seville,  21  leagues.   (PI.  20.)  II. 38 

Corunna  and  Ferrol  (from  the  coast  of)   to  Biscay  and 

the  Asturias.   II. 453 

Corunna  (from)  to  Ferrol,  9  leagues.   (PI.  26.)  II. 438 

ECIJA  (from)  to  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of  Gra- 
nada, 6  leagues.   (PI.  20.)   II mm     85 

Estremadura  Spanish,   and  the  kingdom  of  Leon  (from 

the  fronti;  rs  of)  to  Salamanca,  19  leagues.   II 488 

Estremadura  (from)  to  Cordova,  by   the  Sierra  Morena, 

84  leagues.  II , j 

FRANCE  (from  the  frontiers  of),  by  Bayonne,  to  Pam- 

peluna,  7  leagues.  II __  3]g 

>,'.  B.    The    distance  from   Bayonne   to  Pampe- 
luna  is  reckoned  at  17  geographical  leagues. 
France   (from    the   frontiers  of)   over  the   mountain   of 
Atienza  to  Madrid,    19  leagues  and  three  quarters. 

in.  ---- go 

France  (from  the  frontiers  of)  by  Bayonne,    to   St.  Se- 
bastian, Bilbao,  and  Orduna.  II. 34g 

France  £from  the  frontiers  of)  from  Rayonne  to  the 
frontiers  of  Old  Castile,  by   Guipuzcoa  and  Alava, 

22  leagues  and  a  half.  II. 300 

N.  B.  Tiie  road  from  the  frontiers  of  France  to 
Burgos,  Yahadohd,  and  Madrid. 


'J  AH  LE    OF    THE    ItO  ADS. 

rage 

GIRONNA  (from)  to  Barcelona,  through  the  interior, 

16  leagues.  (PI.  (>.)  1. -- IS 

N.  B.  FSrel  road.  This  is  the  road  for  the  post  and 
muleteers. 

ad  road.    By   the   sea-side    road    17 

leagues  and  a  quarter.   I „«,,..• 19 

Granja  and  St.  [ldefonso  (from)  to  Segovia,  and  further 

en  to  Cuella  and  Tudela,  19  leagues  and  a  half.  III.     33 

LEON  (from)  to  Astorga,  7  leagues.  (PI.  28.)  II.    4-78 

Leon  (from  the  frontier  of  the  Kingdom  of)  to  Oviedo, 

13  leagues.     (PI.   28.)   II. 405 

Llerena  (from)  to  Seville,  17  leagues.  (PI.  23.)  II. 2 

Lugo  (from)  to  Mondonedo,  9  leagues.  (PI.  26.)  II. *5l 

Lugo  to  Corunna,  14-  leagues.  (PL  26.)  II 433 

MADRID  (from)  to  Rcqucna  and  the  frontiers  of  the 

kingdom  of  Valencia,  4  t  leagues.  (PI.  5  &  13.)  III.   176 
N.  B.  Old   Post-road   from   Madrid  to  Valencia, 
it  can  only  be  travelled  an  horseback. 
Madrid  (from)  to  Requcna  and  the  frontiers  of  the  king- 
dom of  Valencia,  passing  through  Cuenca  in  the 

Sierra  of  that  name,  55  leagues.  HI 184 

Madrid   (from)    to   the    frontiers  of    Estremadura,    27 

leagues.  (P1.5&25.)    III. 204 

N.  B.  Road  from  Madrid  to   Portugal  through 
Estremadura. 

Madrid  (from)  to  Toledo,    12  leagues.  (PI.  5.)  Ill 173 

Madrid  (from)  to  Aranjuez,  and  the  frontiers  of  La 

Mancha,  9  leagues.   (PI.  5.)  III. 168 

Y  B.  The  road  from  Madrid  to  Murcia,  Cartha- 
gena,  and  Valencia. 
Madrid    (from)    to   the    1'scurial  and  San  Lorenzo,  7 
leagues.  (PI.  5.)    III. - 143 


TABLE    OF    THE    ROADS. 

Page 
Mahon,  island  of  Minorca,  (from)  to  Cuidadella.  (PI.  29.) 

III. - 453 

Malaga  (from)  to  Gibraltar  by  the  sea  coast,  20  leagues. 

(PI.  21.)  III.„ 364 

Mancha  (from  the  frontiers  of)  to  Cordova,  12  leagues. 

(PI.  20.)  II.   22 

Mancha  (from  the  frontiers  of)  to  Murcia,  25  leagues. 

(PI.  16.)   II.   158 

N.  B.  The  road  from  Madrid  and  Aranjuez  to 
Murcia  and  Carthagena. 
Medina  del  Rio  Seco  (from)  to  Tordesellas,  7  leagues. 

II.   431 

Merida  (from)  to  Badajoz,  by  La  Puebla  de  la  Calzada, 

9  leagues.  (PI.  24.)  1 353 

Merida    (from)    to    Badajoz,    by    Lobon,    9    leagues. 

(PI.  24.)   I. ^ 353 

Murcia  (from)  to  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of  Valen- 
cia, 3  leagues.  (PI.  16'.)    II - 206 

Murcia  (from)  to  Lorca,  13  leagues.   (PI.  16.)   II. 192 

Murcia  (from  the  frontiers  of)  above  Orihuela  to  Valen- 
cia, 32  leagues  and  a  half.   (PI.  14&16.)  1 143 

Murcia  (from  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of)  near  Al- 
manza  to  Valencia,  15  leagues  and  three  quarters. 

(PL  14.)  1 167 

N.  B.  Tiie  road  from  Madrid  and  Aranjuez  to 
Valencia. 

NAVARRE  (from  the  frontiers  of)  below  Valtierra,  to 
those  of  New  Castile  on  Mount  Atienza,  23  leagues 
and  a  half.  III. 7 

New  Castile  (from  the  frontiers  of)  through  Aranjuez 
and  Ocana  t>.  the  Sierra  Morena,  the  frontiers  of 
Andalu,ia,  27  leagues.  (PI.  I  HI 34] 


TA  15  LE  OF  Till:   HO  ADS. 

Page 
New  Castile  (from  the  fronti  irt  of)  ah  ive   Aranjuez    to 

the  frontiers  of  Murcia, 23  leagues.  (PI.  15.)  HI--  327 
New  Castile   (from   the   frontiers   of)   to  Valencia,  7 

leagues.  (Pi.  13.)  1 - 140 

New  Castile  (from  the  frontiers  of )  through  Talavera 

delà  Reyna,  to  the  frontiers  of  Portugal,  38  leagues 

and  three  quarters.   (PI.  25.)  1 339 

OLD  Castile  (from  the  frontiers  of)   on   the  Puerto  de 

Guadarrama  to  Madrid,  9  leagues.   (PI.  5.)  III.  ._     65 
Note. — Road  from  the  Frontiers  of  France,  by 
Bayonne,  Burg  «,  and  Valladolid  to  Madrid. 

Orense  (from)  to  Requejo,  frontier  of  the  kingdoms  of 
Galicia  and  Leon, 24 leagues.  (PL  27.)  II 450 

Oviedo  (from")  to  Santillana,  through  Onis,  La  Fuente  de 

Nansa,  and  Cabezon.  II 413 

Oviedo  (from)  to  Aviles,  4  leagues.  (PL  28.)  II. 410 

Oviedo  (from)  to  Gijon,   4  leagues.  II. 409 

PALEXCIA  (from)  to  Leon.    (PI.  28.)  II 468 

Palencia  (from)  to  Medina  del  Rio  Seco,   8  leagues.  II.  480 

Palma,   in  the  Isle  of  Majorca,  (from)  to  Alcudia  and 

Pollenza.    (PI.  29.)    Ill    — 424 

Pampeluna  (from)   to  St.  Jean  Pie  de  Port,  capital  of 

French  Navarre,  by  Roncevaux,   is  leagues  and  a 

half.  II -- 321 

Pampeluna  (from)  to  the  frontiers  of  Old  Castile,    19 

leagues.  II. _ 323 

Ponte  Vedra  (from)  to  Orense,  1  t  leagues.  (PI.  26.)  II.       443 

\M  \NCA  (from)  to  Cuidad  Rodrigo,   16  leagues. 

II --   504 

Salamanca  (from)  to  Medina  del  Rio  Seco,   14  leagues. 

II. 502 


TABLE  OF  THE  ROADS- 

Page 
Salamanca  (from)  to  Avila,  on  the  frontiers  of  New  Cas- 
tile, 21  leagues.  II. -. 4-99 

Sant Jago  (from)  to  Corunna,  10  leagues.  II 438 

Sant  Jago  (from)  to  Tuy,,  by  Vigo,  17  leagues  and  a 

half.  (PL  20.)  II.    442 

Saint  Jago  (from)  to  Orense,   14  leagues  and  a  half. 

(PI.  26.)    II 449 

Saragossa  (from  to  the  frontiers  of  New  Castile,  by  Da- 

roca,  14  leagues.  (PI.  10.)  II 272 

Saragossa  (from)  to  the  confines  of  New  Castile,  by   Ca- 

latayud,  20  leagues  and  a  half.  (PI.  10.)  II 276 

Seville  (from  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of)  below 
Grazalema,  as  far  as  Malaga,   14  leagues.  (PI.  21.) 

II _ 85 

Seville   (from  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of)  below 
Alameda,  as  far  as  Granada,   10  leagues.  (PI.  20.) 

II 83 

Sierra  Morena  (first  passage  in  the)  19  leagues.  (PI.  19.) 

II. 4 

(Second   passage)    12  leagues.    (PI.  19.) 

II. 8 

Sierra  Morena  (from  the)  to  Jaen,  by  Linares,  14  leagues 

andahalf.  (PI.  19.)  II. -    112 

Sierra  Morena  (from  the)  to  the  frontiers  of  La  Mancha 
as  far  as  Alcala  Real  and  the  limits  of  the  kingdom 

of  Granada.  (PI.  19.)  II 108 

Sierra  Morena  (from  the)  as  far  as  Jaen,  by  Anduxar, 

9  leagues.  (PI.  19.)   II Ill 

TALAVERA  de  la  Reyna  (from)  to  Toledo,  11  leagues. 

(PI.  5.)   Ill 242 

Toledo  (from)  to  Aranjuez,  7  leagues.  (PI.  5.)  III.  _^._  279 
Torre  d<-  Si  Has  (from)  to  Medina  del  Campo,   4  leagues. 

II. 483 


TABLE    OF    THE    ROADS. 

Page 
Tuy  (from)  to  Orensé,  13  leagues.  (PI.  26.)  II. 447 

VALENCIA  (from)  to  San-Felijie,  <)  leagues  andahalf. 

(PI.  II)  1 266 

Valencia  (from)  to  the  frontiers  of  Catalonia,  21  leagues 

and  thitee  quarters.  (PI.  12.)  I. __ 271 

Valencia    (from)   lo    Liria,   Xerica,    and   Segorbe,  21 

leagues  and  a  quarter.  (PI.  12.)  I.    257 

Valencia  (from  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of)  to  Tar- 
ragona, and  from  Tarragona  to  Barcelona,  34 
leagues.     (PI.  7.)  1 85 

Vigo  (from)  to  Orensé,  It  leagues.  (PI.  26.)  II.-.. 447 


INTRODUCTION. 


Y 

JlN  the  existence  of  nations,  as  in  the  life 

of  men,  there  are  certain  events,  which, 
as  it  were,  bring  their  history  to  a  point, 
and  indicate  tue  time  for  describing  them. 
The  historian,  acquainted  with  their  past 
and  contemplating  their  present  situation, 
may  compare  the  latter  with  the  former, 
and  observe  their  relations  and  distinctions, 
without  feeling  himself  called  upon  to  dive 
into  the  unknown  ocean  of  futurity. 

Such  is  the  present  state  of  Spain,  now 
terminating  an  important  period  of  her 
history,  and  taking  a  new  form.  This 
noble  country,  which  has  always  been  go- 
verned   by    some   foreign    House,    though 

a 


li  INTRODUCTION. 

never  conquered  by   any,  always  swayed 
but   never    debased,    seems   to   rise   with 
greater  vigour,  and  to  derive  fresh  lustre 
from  changes  which  usually  cause  the  de- 
cline of  empires.     Fortunate  would  be  the 
writer  who  was  prepared  at  this  moment 
to  trace  the  events,  which,  through  every 
period,  have  contributed  their  influence  in 
the    fate  of  this   monarchy.      We    might 
hope  to  receive  from  him  a   history,  not 
the  stale  one  of  its  kings,  but  of  its  pro- 
vinces, of  their  customs,  of  the   progress 
of  their    industry,    of  their    civilization; 
above   all  of  their  prosperit}r,    that  true, 
that  important  era  in  the  annals  of  nations. 
He  would  not,  like  his  predecessors,  lose 
his  time  in  detailing  all  the  campaigns  in 
the  Milanese,  from  Charles  V.  to  Maille- 
bois.     He  would  spare  us  those  never-fail- 
ing rebellions  of  the  Low  Countries  against 
the  princes  of  the   house  of  Austria,  those 
long   sieges   of  small   towns,    those   great 
battles  of  little  armies,  which  generally  led 
to  negotiations,  no  less  tiresome  and  insig- 
nificant. 

Unconnected   as  these  events   are  with 


INTRODUCTION.  U* 

Spain,  they  compose  three-fourths  of  the 
works  written  on  that  country,  while  its 
philosophical  and  political  history,  perhaps 
the  only  important  one,  is  the  only  one 
neglected.  Though  too  much  engaged  to 
attempt  this  task  myself,  I  hope  that  I 
have  contributed  to  render  the  execution  of 
it  easier  to  those  who  may  be  inclined  to 
undertake  it,  by  communicating  to  them 
the  enquiries  I  have  been  able  to  make, 
and  the  information  I  have  obtained. 
All  the  materials  I  have  collected  I  here 
present  to  the  public  in  a  form  which  ap- 
peared to  me  the  most  convenient  for  the 
different  classes  of  readers,  particularly 
for  those  whom  a  taste  for  travelling,  or 
other  motives,  may  induce  to  visit  Spain. 
The  three  first  volumes  contain  a  descriptive 
Itinerary,  and  a  statistical  account  of  each 
province  :  the  two  last  are  devoted  to  a 
general  view  of  the  country  in  whatever 
relates  to  the  different  branches  of  the  go- 
vernment and  of  political  economy.  These 
delineations  are  not  digested  wifh  all  the 
pains  I  might  have  taken  with  them,  had 
I  been  less  eager  for  their  appearance  ; 
a2 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

,but  I  have  preferred  publishing  them  such 
as  they  are  at  a  moment  when  they  may 
be  of  the  greatest  utility,  and  throwing  my- 
self upon  the  indulgence  of  the  public  for 
the  faults  they  contain.  The  work,  indeed, 
is  of  that  kind  in  which,  perhaps,  elegance 
is  not  so  requisite  in  the  style  as  accuracy  is 
necessary  in  the  facts  ;  and  in  this,  at  least, 
it  has  been  my  strenuous  endeavour  to  de- 
serve no  blame. 

Spain,  long  neglected  in  our  political 
interests,  in  our  commercial  views,  and 
scarcely  an  object  even  of  our  curiosity, 
is  becoming  interesting  in  all  these  respects, 
and  will  completely  fix  our  attention,  when 
she  makes  a  part  of  the  same  system,  and 
adopts  the  same  European  habits,  and 
when  travelling  is  rendered  less  difficult: 
but  to  judge  of  what  she  may  then  be,  we 
ought  to  know  what  she  is  at  present,  and 
what  she  was  formerly.  The  social  organi» 
Nation  of  Spain  is  still  less  known  than  her 
monuments,  though  her  historians  are  more 
numerous  than  her  travellers,  and  one  is 
astonished  to  find  the  received  opinions  on 
her  present  state,  and  her  situation  in  the 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

diiïcrent  periods  of  history,  contrary  to 
real  facts  and  authentic  documents. 

I  bad  occasion,  in  another  work  on  this 
country  *,  to  scrutinize  sonic  historical  tra- 
ditions which  did  not  appear  to  me  found- 
ed on  truth  ;  I  shall  do  the  same  in  the 
following  volumes,  in  all  that  relates  to 
industry  and  government,  whenever  it  ap- 
pears to  me  that  the  public  is  misinformed. 
I  am,  nevertheless,  sensible  of  the  difficulty 
of  combating  ideas  generally  received  ; 
but  these  ideas  are  not  so  rooted  in  Spain, 
and  as  lam  supported  in  my  opinion  by  se- 
veral enlightened  men  of  that  kingdom,  I 
cannot  but  hope  some  indulgence  from 
others. 

It  will,  no  doubt,  appear  strange  to 
assert,   that  Spain  was  never  more  flourish- 

j,  better  cultivated,  or  perhaps,  more 
populous  than  at  present  : 

That  it  has  never  experienced  any  de- 
cline, never  having  attained  any  eminent 
degree  of  prosperity  : 

That  the  splendour  of  the  boasted  reigns 

*  Picturesque  Travels  in  Spain 

a3 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

of  Ferdinand  V.,  Charles  V.,  and  Philip 
II.,  were  owing  only  to  military  glory  and 
foreign  politics,  without  the  welfare  of  the 
country  being  a  step  advanced  : 

That  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centu- 
ries, which  are  considered  as  the  most 
brilliant  ages  of  Spain,  were  less  prosper- 
ous than  the  eighteenth,  which  constitutes 
a  part  of  its  supposed  decline  : 

That  the  discovery  of  America  was  never 
injurious  either  to  its  population  or  indus- 
try, and  that  it  is  at  present  eminently 
advantageous  to  both: 

That  the  inquisition,  atrocious  and  san- 
guinary as  it  was  in  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries,  did  not  in  those  times 
prevent  the  increase  of  population,  or  the 
progress  of  knowledge,  while  its  influence, 
which  seemed  to  be  null,  has,  for  sixty 
years  past,  been  prejudicial  to  every  kind 
of  improvement: 

And  lastly,  that  if  Spain  were  governed 
by  an  enlightened  prince,  it  would,  from  its 
present  state  in  the  two  worlds,  be  able  in 
a  very  short  time  to  rise  to  the  highest  de* 


INTRODUCTION.  Vil 

grée  of  wealth  and  splendour,  and  rival 
the  great  powers  of  Europe. 

A  brief  examination  of  the  state  of  this 
kingdom  in  its  different  revolutions  will 
illustrate  these  assertions,  and  serve  as  a 
connecting  chain  to  the  different  parts  of 
this  work. 

The  philosophical  history  of  Spain  may 
be  divided  into  four  great  epochs*:  the 
first  under  the  Carthaginians  and  Romans, 
till  the  invasion  of  the  northern  nations  ; 
the  second  under  the  government  of  the 
Goths  and  Arabs  till  the  reign  of  Charles 
V.;    the  third   under   the  princes   of  the 


*  I  have  likewise  divided  the  History  of  Spain  relative 
to  its  monuments  into  four  epochs,  but  in  a  different  way  : 
the  first  epocha  comprehends  the  Romans  and  Goths  toge- 
ther, the  arts  of  the  latter  having  been  only  the  continu- 
ation and  decline  of  those  of  the  Romans  ;  the  second  is 
confined  to  the  Arabs;  the  third  to  the  Gothic  style  hi 
use  among  the  Christians  from  the  eleventh  century, 
gradually  introduced  as  the  monarchy  was  forming  anew  ; 
trie  fourth  comprehends  all  the  modern  monuments  from 
the  revival  of  the  arts  under  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to 
our  days.  Voyage,  pittonsyuc  d'Espagne,  Vol,  I. 
Introduction, 

a  4 


vm  ixTiionrcTinK, 

house  of  Austria  ;  the   fourth  under+those 
of  the  house  of  Bourbon. 

In  the  first  epoclui,  the  Spaniards  made 
part  of  the  grand  system  which  governed 
the  world;  but,  lather  allies  than  subjects 
of  the  Romans,  becoming  like  them  civi- 
lized, but  not.  civilized  by  them  ;  they 
equalled  them  in  almost  all  useful  know- 
ledge, and  were  at  once,  the  prop  and 
wealth  of  their  empire.  In  the  second 
epocha  they  began  to  compose  an  inde- 
pendent state,  subject  to  new  laws, 
and  under  sovereigns  of  their  own  nation  : 
bttt,  soon  reduced  by  the  conquests  of  the 
Moors  to  a  small  territory,  they  were  oblig- 
ed to  form  their  monarchy  anew,  and  the 
improvement  of  their  laws,  commerce,  and 
agriculture,  was  necessarily  slow.  Divid- 
ed into  several  kingdoms  which  had  not 
even  a  feder.:  .;  ad  like  other  states  of 

Europe,  they  long  languished  under  an  im- 
perfect order  of  things,  till  at  length  the 
crowns  of  all  the  provinces  united  on  the 
bead  of  Ferdinand  V.,  one  of  their  most 
.  ringuished  sovereigns.  That  monarch, 
no  longer  having  enemies   to   combat  at 


PRODUCTION.  IX 

home,  and  desiring  no  conquests  abroad, 
devoted  his  whole  attention  to  the  welfare 
of  his  subjects. 

This  period,  regarded  by  historians  as 
that  of  the  splendour  and  felicity  of  Spain, 
was,  however,  only  remarkable  for  a  false 
gleam  of  prosperity,  no  sooner  seen  than 
vanished.  Spain,  escaping  from  the  dis- 
astrous wars  of  Henry  IV,  Ferdinand's 
predecessor,  was  involved  in  still  more  dis- 
astrous oik  *  which  followed  the  reign  of 
the  latter  monarch,  in  that  of  Charles  V, 
his  successor,  and  v. inch  blasted  all  hope 
of  internal  improvement. 

This  is  our  third  epocha,  during  which 
the  Spaniards  dared  to  pretend  to  univer-» 
•sal  monarchy,  for  the  transient  glory  of 
which  they  paid  very  dear.  Torn  from 
their  families,  and  despatched  to  fight  with- 
out reason  against  distant  nations,  or  cm- 
ployed  without  any  advantage  in  quelling 
rebellions,  thev  were  doomed  to  see  th* 
produce  of  their  soil,  the  treasures  of  their 
colonies,  and  the  (lower  of  their  population 

it  far  from  their  native  land.     The  feeble 

tfteeessom  of  Charles  !.  and    Philip  II. , 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

persevering  in  the  system  of  these  mo- 
narchs  without  their  talents,  aggravated 
the  calamities  of  the  nation,  and  Spain, 
disheartened  and  distressed,  wished  the 
extent  of  her  dominions  diminished  with 
as  much  reason  as  other  countries  covet  an 
augmentation  of  theirs. 

The  fourth  epocha  begins  in  the  18th 
century,  when  the  grandson  of  Louis  XIV. 
took  possession  of  the  throne  of  Spain. 
At  this  juncture  a  general  commotion  took 
place  in  all  the  provinces  of  this  empire, 
which  proved  favourable  to  each.  It  hap- 
pens with  political  bodies  as  with  the  hu- 
man body,  when  it  sinks  into  a  kind  of 
stupor  and  relaxation  ;  a  spontaneous  agi- 
tation brings  it  to  itself  by  compelling  it 
to  make  use  of  its  strength  :  if  this  move- 
ment be  not  too  violent,  or  too  long,  it 
will  be  followed  by  a  developement  of  all 
the  organs,  a  revival  of  all  the  faculties 
eminently  favourable  to  ameliorations  of 
every  kind.  Such  was  the  effect  produced 
by  the  change  of  dynasty  among  the  Spa- 
niards. They  had  been  industrious  under 
the   Romans,  warriors  under  the   Goths, 


INTRODUCTION  XI 

ambitious  under  the  Austrian  princes,  and 
they   found   themselves,  under   Philip  V., 
in  that  happy  state  of  equanimity,  in  that 
age  of  wisdom   as    it  were,    which  leads 
men  to  employ  the  experience  of  the  past 
in  improving  the  advantages  of  the  future. 
Then  it  was  that  enriched  by  the  loss  of 
their  distant  provinces,  they  concentered 
their   industry  within   the  limits  of  their 
empire,  and  enjoyed  a  repose  and  welfare 
which  they  had  never  experienced  in  the 
most  brilliant  periods  of  their  history.     The 
manufactures  of  Flanders  and  the  Mila- 
nese were  soon  established  in  Catalonia, 
Aragon,  and  the   kingdom   of  Valencia; 
ports  and   arsenals  multiplied  along  the 
coasts,  and  population  rapidly  increased: 
agriculture,  relieved  from  some  of  its  fet- 
ters, drew  the  attention  of  sensible  men, 
and  all  the  efforts  previously  directed  to 
objects  beyond   the  limits  of  the  empire 
now  turned  towards  its  centre. 

Could  I  here  enter  into  a  full  examina- 
tion of  the  state  of  Spain  during  those  dif- 
ferent epochs,  the  truth  of  the  opinions 
I  have  advanced  might  perhaps  be  made 


Ml  INTRODUCTION". 

to  appear  at  once  ;  but  I  think  that  the 
J  acts  being  stated  in  their  proper  places 
through  the  course  of  the  following  work 
-will  have  a  better  effebt,  and  that  they  will 
in  that  way  be  illustrated  to  greater  ad- 
vantage. Still,  before  we  set  out  upon 
Hits  long  journey,  i  judge  it  right  to  recall 
to  the  reader's  memory  the  principal  revo- 
lutions which  have  had  an  influence  in  the 
fate  of  Spain,  and  to  present  them  to  him 
in  a  light  conformable  to  the  opinions  I 
have  expressed,  in  order  that  he  may  be 
satisfied  beforehand  that  those  opinions 
are  neither  unlikely,  nor  dictated  by  par- 
tiality. 

"  We  follow  what  is  probable,"  says 
Cicero,  "  and  resolving  not  to  go  farther, 
we  are  prepared  to  receive  criticism  with- 
out anger,  and  to  reply  to  it  without  per- 
tinacity*." 

Spain,  situated,  in  a  manner,  between 
Europe  and  Africa,  uniting  the  productions 
of  both  these  quarters  of  the  world,  and 
enriched   with   every    gift    of  nature,  was 

*  Tuscul.  Lib.  II.  C.  c. 


INTRODUCTION.  Xlll 

long  an  object  of  desire  to  nations,  and  a 
theme  of  fabulous  histories  to  writers. 
While  the  Phenicians  and  the  Grecian* 
confined  themselves  to  trading  with  the 
inhabitants,  these  readily  gave  up  to  them 
riches  of  which  they  felt  not  the  value  ; 
but  they  defended  them  the  moment  thny 
discovered  that  they  were  to  be  robbed  of 
them.  The  Carthaginians  and  Romans 
felt  the  effects  of  their  courage,  and  found 
that  while  the  bosom  of  their  soil  teemed 
with  every  treasure,  the  bosoms  of  its 
inhabitants  flowed  with  everv  virtue. 
After  a  long  resistance  however,  the 
whole  peninsula,  compelled  to  submit  to 
the  masters  of  the  world,  delivered  up 
their  triumphal  gold,  their  captive  zzealtk, 
to  adorn  the  trophies  of  Rome;  but  it  was 
not  long  before,  oppressed  by  the  avarice 
of  the  Roman  governors,  they  resumed 
the  avenging  steel  of  their  forefathers.  It 
does  not  belong;  to  this  work  to  describe 
those  remote  times,  the  great  exploits  of 
which  have  been  so  often  re-achieved  by 
the  Spaniards.  "Without  hope  of  succour, 
without  even  an  object  in  their  resistance, 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

those  proud  barbarians  slaughtered  in  their 
mountains  armies  sufficiently  numerous  to 
conquer  kingdoms,  and  were  not  com- 
pletely subdued  till  the  reign  of  Augustus, 
when  incorporated  with  the  Roman  empire 
Spain  partook  its  tranquillity,  and  received 
at  least  in  exchange  for  her  liberty  wise  laws 
and  a  mild  government.  If  she  could  not 
prevent  herself  from  falling  under  the  do- 
minion of  the  masters  of  the  world,  she  was 
at  least  the  most  powerful,  the  richest,  and 
the  happiest  province  of  their  empire.  Co- 
lumella has  left  us  an  interesting  account 
of  her  agriculture  under  the  first  emperors. 
The  tradition  of  her  ancient  population  is 
probably  exaggerated,  but  the  ruins  of 
several  towns  prove  it  to  have  been  con- 
siderable. It  was  increased  by  a  great 
many  Roman  families  after  the  conquest: 
several  legions  were  established  in  Spain  ; 
five  and  twenty  colonies  were  distributed 
in  the  most  fertile  parts  of  the  country, 
and  intermarried  with  the  inhabitants. 
After  a  while  the  Spaniards,  seeing  in  their 
masters  only  countrymen,  were  the  first  to 
solicit  the   rights  of  Roman   citizens,  by 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

which  they  were  completely  consolidated. 
Some  municipal  towns  went  so  far  as  to 
desire  permission  to  take  the  title  of  colo- 
nies, though  in  the  change  they  lost  their 
independence  nearly  in  the  same  manner 
as  certain   proprietors  of  lands  under  the 
feudal  system  converted  their  domains  into 
fiefs,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  honours  attached 
to  them.     The  government  was,  in  general, 
milder  in  Spain  than  in  the  other  Roman 
provinces.     The  administration  was  carried 
on  in  the  towns  by  magistrates  named  by 
themselves,   and   the   different    provinces 
were  under  the  superintendence  of  praetors, 
proconsuls,   and   legates   or  deputies,  ac- 
cording to  the  different  eras  of  the  Roman 
empire  :  these  in  their  respective  depart- 
ments took  care  of  all  the  works  of  public 
utility,  the  aqueducts,  baths,  circuses,  and 
highways,  whose  magnificent  ruins  are  still 
existing;  but  they  were  principally  employ- 
ed in  collecting  the  revenues  of  the  state, 
which  were  singularly  analogous  to  those 
of  the  present  times.  They  principally Jarose 
from  dues,  fines,  or  alienations  of  property, 


XVI  INTRODUCTION". 

and  the  produce  of  the  mines.  Spain  at 
that  lime  drew  from  her  own  mines  the 
same  riches  she  now  draws  from  the  new 
world,  and  they  were  distributed  in  nearly 
the  same  manner  ;  one  part  belonged  to 
the  state,  and  the  other  to  the  people  of 
the  country,  who  paid  a  certain  duty  on 
the  metals  they  dug  ont  of  the  earth. 
Their  returns  went  on  increasing,  and  like 
that  of  America,  depended  solely  on  the 
number  of  hands  which  could  be  devoted 
to  working  the  mines.  But  this  laborious 
employment,  which  required  a  numerous 
population,  tended  to  decrease  it  by  the 
excessive  fatigues  it  occasioned.  The  po- 
pulation of  Spain  was  considerably  dimi- 
nished under  the  last  emperors,  and  its 
ao-riculture  suffered  by  the  accumulation 
of  estates  in  the  hands  of  a  small  number 
of  rich  people,  by  the  little  attention  paid 
to  it  by  the  proprietors  of  lands,  and  by 
the  defects  inherent  in  the  system  of  cul- 
tivating by  slaves.  Commerce  and  in- 
dustry,  in  the  same  manner,  became  lan- 
guid, and  Spain  after  sharing  the  grandeur 


INTRODUCTION.  XVU 

of  Rome  was  beginning  to  participate  its 
decline,  when  a  new  calamity  by  complet- 
ing her  ruin  prepared  her  regeneration. 

If  we  are  to  credit  the  historians  of 
the  4th  and  5th  centuries,  it  should  seem 
that  the  north  must  have  suddenly  poured 
forth  innumerable  swarms  of  barbarians 
over  civilized  Europe.  The  icy  plains  of 
the  pole,  and  the  forests  of  the  Sarmatians 
and  of  the  Huns,  might  in  that  case  have 
been  justly  called  the  qfficina  gentium,  a 
term  which  only  the  fine  countries  of  the 
east  deserved  ;  but  on  reflection  and  an 
examination  of  those  very  authors,  we  find 
that  the  successes  of  the  barbarians  were 
less  owing  to  their  number  than  to  the  bad 
organization  of  the  Roman  troops  at  that 
time,  and  to  the  indifference  of  the  people 
in  the  choice  of  their  masters*. 


*  When  the  Vandals,  under  the  conduct  of  Genseric, 
:-.  izedoo  Africa,  they  were  but  50,000  in  number,  and  yet 
lin  J  instantly  subdued  that  province,  the  richest  and  most 
populous  of  the  empire.  Th<  y  there  destroyed, according 
to  1'iocopius,  upwards  of  0,000,000  of  uicn;  so  much 
can  courage  and  cruelty  terrify  enervated  nations,  and  so 
fey  an-  the  obstacles  opposed  b)  the  latter. 

Vol.  j.  b 


XVUl  INTRODUCTION. 

The  Suevi,  Alani,  and  Vandals  con- 
tended for  Spain,  and  spread  through  this 
unhappy  country  all  the  evils  attendant  on 
war  and  famine;  till,  vanquished  at  length  by 
the  Goths,  the  inhabitants  gave  up  their  de- 
solated country  to  the  new  invaders.  These, 
far  from  repairing  the  losses  of  the  nation, 
aggravated  them  the  more  :  they  seized  on 
two-thirds  of  the  lands,  which  they  de- 
voted to  the  feeding  of  cattle.  Adhering  to 
the  manners  of  their  fathers,  more  of  herds- 
men than  husbandmen,  and  more  of  warriors 
than  herdsmen,  they  looked  with  indiffer- 
ence on  all  that  constitutes  the  wealth  of 
empires  and  the  happiness  of  nations* 
Their  princes,  perpetually  engaged  in  civil 
or  religious  wars,  contented  themselves 
with  conducting  the  affairs  of  their  states, 
and  dispensing  justice  among  their  subjects, 
without  encouraging  industry  by  any  law 
or  establishment  favourable  to  it.  It  is  to 
the  character  of  these  people,  and  to  the 
idle  and  warlike  life  they  introduced, 
and  which  events  kept  up  in  their  succes- 
sors, that  we  are  to  attribute  the  origin  of 
that  spirit  of  indolence  which  now  seems 


INTRODUCTION.  XIX 

natural  to  the  Spanish  nation,  having  been 
thus  transmitted  from  age  to  age.     The 
history  of  the  Goths,  then,  offers  nothing 
to  our  contemplation  in  respect  to  the  me- 
chanical arts  or  political  economjr  ;  but  in 
another  point  of  view  it  is  interesting;  it  ex- 
hibits Spain  to  us  at  length  delivered  from  a 
foreign  yoke,  concentered  within  its  natural 
limits,  governed   by   princes   of  its  own, 
and  forming  an  independent  state,  a  com- 
pact monarchy,  whose  laws,  manners,  and 
religion,  have  in  a  great  measure  remained 
unaltered  for  fourteen  hundred  years,  in 
spite  of  all  the  events  that  have  tended  to 
effect  a  change. 

In  reflecting  on  the  condition  of  Spain 
under  the  Romans  and  under  the  Goths, 
it  is  to  be  observed  that  those  two  nations 
have  left  in  it  memorials  of  their  residence 
nearly  equal  as  to  number,  but  of  a  dif- 
ferent nature.  The  public  works,  such  as 
aqueducts,  bridges,  &c.  and  the  modes  of 
agriculture  and  industry  descend  from  the 
Romans  ;  and  the  laws,  customs,  adminis- 
tration, and  form  of  government,  are  to 
be  traced  to  the  Goths.     The  rich  cultiva- 

».  ? 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

tion  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  ;  the 
horses,  the  oils,  the  wines  of  Andalusia  ; 
the  corn  of  the  Castiles  ;  the  linens  and 
other  manufactures  of  the  Taragonnese, 
and  the  mines  of  Aragon  and  Biscay,  con- 
tinue the  boast  of  Spain  as  they  were  in 
the  time  of  the  Romans.  We  evidently 
trace  too  the  Visigoth ic  code  and  ecclesi- 
astical hierarchy,  such  as  they  were  in  the 
times  of  the  Goths,  the  intolerance  in  af- 
fairs of  religion,  the  principles  of  the  in- 
quisition in  the  persecution  of  the  Jews, 
the  origin  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  no- 
bility, and  that  jealousy  of  the  royal  au- 
thority in  the  great,  which,  after  causing 
the  ruin  of  the  empire  under  Rodrigo, 
constantly  impeded  its  complete  re-estab- 
lishment under  his  successors,  and  gave 
rise  to  their  bloody  wars,  which  continued 
to  the  end  of  the  15th  century.  The  com- 
position and  debates  of  the  councils  have 
their  counterparts  in  the  cortes  of  the  dif- 
ferent kingdoms  ;  the  election  and  depo- 
sition of  kinçs  bring;  to  mind  the  terrible 
union-junta»  of  Aragon,  and  the  states- 
general  of  Castile.     Above   all,  the   law* 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 

are  remarkable  for  a  spirit  of  chivalry  and 
an  evangelical  character,  which  by  the 
union  of  parts  of  the  Roman  law  with  the 
christian  morality,  composed  a  code  su- 
perior to  all  others  then  existing. 

Spain  thus  governed,  thus  consolidated 
as  a  nation,  not  split  into  petty  feudal 
principalities  like  most  of  the  other  states 
of  Europe,  must  no  doubt  in  time  have 
attained  the  degree  of  perfection  to  which 
other  countries  have  risen.  Its  contested 
elections,  its  tumultuous  assemblies,  to  be 
tranquillized  wanted  only  the  influence 
of  a  distinguished  prince  to  impress  this 
multitude  with  veneration,  and  render 
his  authority  hereditary.  The  founda- 
tions of  a  temperate  monarchy*,  wisely 
limited,  were  already  laid  by  the  existing 


*  Among  conquering  nations  an  aristocratic  monarchy 
is  naturally  formed,  on  the  one  hand,  by  the  valour  of  the 
chief,  and  on  the  other  by  the  power  of  his  armies,  to 
whom  be  is  under  the  necessity  of  granting  rewards  and  a 
certain  degree  of  authority.  This  is  the  reason  that  the 
ii(  \v  governments  of  Europe  were  not  the  work  of  legis- 
lators, hut  a  natural  result  of  tin-  spirit  that  prevails  ia 
tamp-,  and  of  the  balance  existing  long  after.     \W  take 

bS 


XXII  INTRODUCTION 

institutions,  and  the  people  were  prepared 
to  appreciate  the  value  of  them.  Religious 
and  warlike  like  other  nations  in  those 
times,  they  would  no  doubt  like  them  have 
civilized  themselves  by  bringing  back  with 
them  from  the  crusades  useful  knowledge 
in  return  for  useless  battles.  But  that 
happy  lot  was  not  reserved  for  Spain  :  a 
memorable  event  took  place  which  gave  a 
complexion  to  its  histor3r  different  from 
that  of  the  other  states  of  Europe. 

Mahomet  had  appeared  in  the  east,  and 
his  religion  was  putting  arms  into  the  hands 
of  the  tranquil  hordes  of  the  Arabs,  while 
Christianity  was  instilling  a  peaceful  spirit 
into  the  warlike  nations  of  the  north. 
Stimulated  by  the  presence  of  the  prophet, 
and,  when  they  no  longer  had  himself,  by 
his  doctrine,  the  Mussulmen  extended 
their  conquests  from  the  frontiers  of  India 
to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  ocean.   AVhen 


pleasure  in  observing  the  resemblance  of  modem  con- 
stitutions to  that  of  the  Goths,  as  we  recognize  in  the 
Egyptian  temples  the  model  of  the  Greek  beauties,  with-» 
out  being  able  to  determine  the  origin  of  either. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXU1 

they  had  reached  those  limits  of  the  known 
world,  Spain  appeared  to  them  an  import- 
ant and  easy  conquest.  By  one  battle  they 
acquired  the  possession  of  that  extensive 
country.  There  is  scarcely  an  historian 
who  does  not  impute  that  calamity  to  a 
supposed  crime  of  Rodrigo,  for  which  there 
is  no  authority,  and  which  ought  to  be 
ranked  in  the  number  of  those  fables  so  com- 
mon at  the  origin  of  empires.  It  was  not 
to  revenge  an  injury  done  to  his  daughter, 
that  Count  Julian,  the  governor  of  Africa, 
drew  the  Moors  into  Spain,  but  to  raise  a 
faction  that  was  hostile  to  the  king,  and 
to  gratify  that  ambition  with  which  we 
have  reproached  the  Gothic  nobility,  and 
of  which  they  soon  became  the  victims. 
It  was  much  less  owing  to  Rodrigo's  weak- 
ness that  he  wras  ruined  than  to  the  con- 
stitution of  his  empire,  which,  by  keeping 
the  royal  authority  in  a  state  of  dependence 
on  the  nobility  and  clergy,  prevented  the 
general  union  of  resistance  against  the 
common  enemy. 

The  wrecks   of  the    army  of  the  Goths 
b4 


XXIV  INTRODUCTION- 

and  some  of  their  faithful  leaders,  retired 
to   the  mountains  of  the    Asturias  to  seek 
the  asylum  and    reflect  on  the  virtues  of 
the    ancient   Cantabrians.      The    rest     of 
Spain  submitted  to  the  Moors.     Exulting 
in   so   noble  a  conquest,  the   Mahometans 
scorned  to  complete  it,  but  conceived  the 
(lesion  of  penetrating  bej-ond  the  Pyrenees 
to  iound  a  new    empire.     The    whole    of 
Europe    would   have   been   lost,    had    not 
tfbose  i. -rrible  invaders  met    with    soldiers 
I  <îîerdiscipli!ied,and  with  abler  chiefs.  The 
lie  of  Tours  forever  secured  the  empire 
;i   the  Franks  to  the  Gauls,  and  led  to  the 
revival   of  that    of    the    Goths    in     Spain, 
The   whole  of   the    country    occupied   by 
that  handful  of  warriors,   was  confined   to 
the  little  principality   of  the  Asturias,   of 
which  the  hamlet  of  Cangas  was  the  capi- 
tal ;    but   towards   the   conclusion    of  the 
eighth  century,  the  successors  of  Pelagius 
extended  their  states  into  Galicia,  Biscay, 
Ts avarie,    and    a    part   of    Aragon.    The 
conquests  of  Alphonso  E  and  of  Alphonse 
HE  farther  enlarged  the  limits  of  this  em, 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

pire,  and  though  the  victories  of  Almanzor, 
over  the  feeble  Veremont  weakened  the 
Christian  States  in  1020,  they  acquired 
new  lustre  under  Ferdinand  I.  and  under 
Alphonso  VI.;  who  at  length  re-establish- 
ed his  seat  of  Government  at  Toledo, 
which  had  before  been  the  capital  of  the 
kingdom.  I  shall  not  enter  into  a  detail 
of  the  wars  and  events  which  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  kingdoms  of  Leon,  Na- 
varre,  Castile,  and  Aragon,  and  which 
were  signalized  by  heroic  actions.:  suffice 
it  to  say  that  no  history  records  a  succes- 
sion of  princes  so  remarkable  as  those  who 
shone  in  those  different  states.  Eleven 
kings  of  the  name  of  Alphonso  were  most 
of  them  distinguished  characters  :  the  tenth 
invented  the  Alphonsine  tables,  and  super- 
intended the  digesting  of  the  code  of  laws 
which  likewise  bears  his  name.  Three 
F<  rdinands  were  no  less  celebrated,  and 
the  last  reigned  over  the  whole  of  the 
Spanish  monarchy,  by  virtue  of  his  mar- 
riage wiih  the  heiress  of  Castile.  That  i>e- 
neral  and  important  union  would  have 
ken  place  much  sooner,  had  it  not  been 
G 


XXVI  INTRODUCTION. 

for  the  dismembering  of  the  territories,  oc- 
casioned by  alliances,  by  the  personal 
wars  of  sovereigns,  and  the  portions  which 
they  always  had  the  imprudence  to  settle 
upon  their  children.  At  length,  after  the 
duration  of  a  balance  of  power  for  eight 
centuries,  the  Moors  were  reduced  to 
nearly  the  same  space  of  territory  as  the 
Romans  preserved  in  the  reign  of  Justinian, 
and  from  which  they  were  driven  likewise 
by  a  Gothic  king. 

It  remains  for  us  to  enquire  what  was 
the  political,  agricultural,  and  commer- 
cial state  of  Spain  during  those  trouble- 
some times,  under  the  government  of  its 
ancient,  and  of  its  new  masters.  Divided 
anion»;  sovereigns  of  different  nations  and 
religions  ;  parcelled  out  in  little  states 
without  frontiers  or  guaranty,  and  perpe- 
tually a  prey  to  war,  Spain  could  not  hope 
for  prosperity,  or  any  improvement  of  its 
industry.  Besides  the  general  wrars  of  na- 
tion against  nation  between  the  Christians 
and  Arabs,  both  sides  were  torn  by  dissen- 
sions among  themselves,  caused,  on  the 
part   of  the    Moors    by    the  difference  of 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV11 

sects,  family  animosities,  and  the  multipli- 
city of  nations  of  which  their  empire  was 
composed  ;  and  on  that  of  the  Christians 
by  the  defects  of  the  feudal  laws,  the 
rights  of  private  wars,  and  the  jealous 
power  of  the  great  and  of  the  clergy.  The 
Goths  particularly  could  hardly  be  induced 
to  relinquish  their  ancient  habits,  of  which 
there  are  still  traces  in  the  later  laws,  and  in 
several  parts  of  the  form  of  government. 
Heedless  of  the  experience  of  former  calami- 
ties resulting  from  such  a  form  of  government 
the  kingdom  of  Leon  continued  lone  elec- 
tive,  and  the  right  of  election  remained  in  the 
palatins  and  bishops.  Notwithstanding  the 
advantages  of  agriculture,  of  which  they 
were  fully  sensible,  they  preferred  the  wan- 
dering and  martial  life  of  their  fathers.  The 
care  of  flocks  and  herds,  which  from  time 
immemorial  had  enriched  the  kingdoms  of 
Leon  and  Castile,  appeared  to  them  a 
seeurer  source  of  wealth,  as  it  was  more 
easily  removed  from  the  inroads  of  an 
enemy.  In  fact,  their  armies  in  those  days 
were  composed  of  all  the  inhabitants,  who 
followed  (lie  standards  of*  their  lords  or  the 


XXV111  INTRODUCTION. 

colours  of  their  parish.  They  left  behind 
only  their  old  men,  women,  and  children, 
to  whom  thev  might  trust  the  care  of  flocks 
and  herds,  but  whom  they  could  never 
leave  to  till  the  land,  which  requires  con- 
stant and  laborious  occupation,  and  a 
se  tablishment.     The  small  quantity 

o  grew  in  the  interior  parts  of 

i  and   in     the    northern    pro-» 

v  sufficed  for  their  consumption. 

To  them    to    purchase  grain  and 

nu.  i fàctured  commodities,  of  which  they 
were  likewise  in  want,  they  sold  their 
wools,  hides,  iron  and  oil,  which  from  the 
tenth  century,  were  always  resorted  to  for 
balancing  what  they  took  from  foreigners. 
The  wool  was,  even  in  the  ninth  century, 
so  fine,  that  the  kings  of  Persia  and  Africa 
sent  a  certain  quantity  of  it  to  Charlemagne 
as  a  present,  and  added  to  it  some  Spa- 
nish horses  and  mules,  which  were  highly 
prized. 

ri  he  aversion  of  the  Spaniards  to  agri- 
culture, was  nothing  compared  to  that 
which  they  showed  to  the  mechanical  arts. 
This  of  course  rendered  them  constant  tri- 


INTRODUCTION.  XXIX 

butaries  to  the  industry  of  other  nations, 
even  during  the  boasted  reigns  of  Ferdi- 
nand,  Charles  V.  and  Philip  II.  Then- 
situation  was  never  better  in  this  respect; 
and  the  complaints  of  decline  which  we 
perpetually  meet  with  in  the  latest  authors 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  prove  nothing 
more  than  that  men  in  general  have  a  ha- 
bit of  looking  back  to  past  times,  to  find 
consolation  for  present  ills,  laudatores 
temporis  octi  :  such  are  the  inhabitants  of 
every  country,  the  historians  of  all  times, 
Man  feels  a  certain  uneasiness  in  his  pre- 
sent condition,  a  regret  or  impatience  of 
happiness  which  renders  his  writings  as 
well  as  his  hopes  fallacious  :  hence  that 
uncertainty  respecting  the  periods  of  the 
greatness,  and  of  the  decline  of  nations, 
those  accounts  of  their  power  always  the 
more  exaggerated  the  nearer  they  ascend 
to  their  origin,  and  which  are  at  length 
lost  in  tradition  so  remote  as  to.  be  no 
longer  subject  to  the  test  of  reason. 

This  was  the  case  with  Spain,  and  we 
are  astonished  to  find  the  account  of  its 
riches  and  population  more  and  more  bril- 


XXX  INTRODUCTION. 

liant  the  higher  we  go  into  times  when  its 
territory  was  less  considerable*  In  the 
history  of  the  wars  we  always  find  more 
soldiers  when  there  are  fewer  people. 
Ytfithout  taking  into  consideration  the  fa- 
bulous  exploits  of  the  battle  of  Clavijo, 
suffice  it  to  adduce  that  of  Las  Navas,  in 
which,  according  to  eye-witnesses,  and  all 
the  Spanish  historians,  200,000  Moors  were 
killed,  and  only  twenty-five  Christians. 
From  this  exaggeration  we  may  form  an 
idea  of*  the  confidence  to  be  placed  in  the 
same  writers  on  other  points. 

If  agriculture  had  been  in  a  flourishing 
state  in  the  reigns  of  Ferdinand,  and  of 
Charles  V.,  as  is  generally  believed,  how 
comes  it  that  we  hear  of  no  public  esta- 
blishment of  those  times  that  proves  it? 
Where  are  the  canals,  the  highways,  the 
bridges,  the  dikes,  the  parish  roads,  and, 
above  all,  the  ordinances  of  the  kings,  and 
the  statutes  of  corporate  police,  which  show 
the  protection  of  the  government,  and  the 
zeal  of  the  governed  ?  On  the  contrary,  is 
not  the  principal  object  of  the  laws  of 
those  times,  institutions  in  direct  oppose 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXÎ 

tion  to  agriculture,  such  as,  the  privileges 
of  the  Mesta,  the  removing  of  flocks  and 
herds,  and  the  management  of  bees?  And 
why  do  all  the  historians  of  that  age  com- 
plain of  the  bad  state  of  that  important 
branch  of  public  welfare? 

Cardinal  Ximenes,  at  the  end  of  Ferdi- 
nand's reign,  engaged  Don  Alonzo  de  Her- 
rera,  to  write  a  treatise  on  agriculture,  for 
the  encouragement  of  that  neglected  sci- 
ence. Several  passages  in  this  work  show 
how  little  cultivation  was  attended  to,  and 
what  obstacles  were  in  the  way  of  its  im- 
provement. We  shall  be  still  more  con- 
vinced of  this  in  reading  the  rescript  of  Phi- 
lip II.,  in  1594,  which  begins  thus  :  "  We 
"  have  been  informed  thai  the  husbandmen 
"  are  in  want  of  seed  to  sow  their  lands, 
"  and  of  cattle  to  plough  them  ;  that  the 
"  earth  being  badly  cultivated  does  not 
"  return  what  it  ought,  and  that  persons 
M  possessing  farms  reap  no  advantage  from 
"  them.  Therefore  to  remedy  these  evils 
M  we  are  desirous  of  employing  the  means 
"  proposed  to  us  by  the  Cortes  now  as- 
Y  sem bled  in  our  city  of  Madrid.     Having 


5XX11  INTRODUCTION". 

"  consulted  our  council,  we  desire  that 
"  tillage  should  not  cease,  hut  on  the  con- 
"  trary  that  it  should  be  carried  on  and 
"  increased,  Sec."  Some  time  after,  there 
appeared  on  the  subject  of  this  rescript,  a 
commentary  by  J acobo  Collante*,  which 
shows  still  better  all  the  evils  to  be  reme- 
died. The  same  proofs  are  likewise  to  be 
found  in  a  work  of  Lope  de  Deza's,  en- 
titled Political  Government  of  agriculture  +. 
Such  is  the  sterility  of  our  country,  says 
the  preamble  of  a  law  of  Aragon,  that  if 
we  did  not  find  amends  for  our  poverty 
in  our  rights  and  in  the  liberty  which  dis- 
tinguishes us  from  the  other  inhabitants  of 
Spain,  we  should  quit  the  kingdom  and 
seek  a  settlement  in  a  better  country  J. 

Let  any  one  go  through  Andalusia  and 
Estrcmadura,  and  judge  whether  the  towns 

*  In  three  volumes  4to,  Madrid,  ]0OG,  intitled  '  Com- 
mentariarum  pragmatica  in  favor  em  rei  frumentaria  et 
Jgricohnum,  by  Jacobo  Collante  of  AveUaoeda. 

-j-  G obierno  politico  delà  Agricultura,  tome  ], Madrid,, 
iClS.  See  the  History  of  the  Commerce  of  Barcelona 
by  M.  Campany. 

X  Blanca,  Comment,  p.  751- 


introduction.  xxxiii 

and  villages  are  not  the  same  that  existed 
there  three  centuries  ago,,  and  enquire 
■whether  any  other  places  were  ever  men- 
tioned in  any  chronicle  or  account  of  the 
journeys  and  expeditions  of  the  kings. 
From  Seville  to  Cordova,  a  distance  of 
twenty-two  leagues,  there  never  were  any 
other  towns  than  Carmona  and  Ecija  ;  and 
from  S.  Lucar  to  Seville  only  three  petty 
villages  without  the  vestige  of  a  farm, 
which  does  not  say  much  in  favour  of  the 
cultivation  of  the  country.  If  the  kins:- 
dom  of  Leon  and  old  Castile  be  very  defi- 
cient in  villages,  as  we  have  had  occasion 
to  observe,  on  the  other  hand  Madrid, 
which  then  was  nothing,  has  increased  in 
population  130,000  souls;  new  towns  have 
every  where  risen  in  the  environs  of  Cadiz, 
Malaga,  and  Valencia;  and  the  Sierra 
Morena,  once  the  haunt  of  robbers,  is  set- 
tled in  various  places  by  foreigners.  Be- 
sides, how  could  agriculture  have  tlourish- 
ed  after  all  the  plagues  and  epidemic  dis- 
by  which  Spain  was  overwhelmed 
during  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries. 

In  L483j   the   plague    raged    in  Catalonia  : 

Vol.  i.  c 


XXXIV  INTRODUCTION. 

in  I486,  in  Aragon  ;  it  spread,  in  1488, 
into  Andalusia  ;  in  1  100,  into  the  kingdom 
of  Granada;  and  raged  so  violently  at  Sa- 
ragossa  in  14,95,  that  kino-  Ferdinand  was 
obliged  to  hold  the  States  at  Tarazona. 
It  was  the  same  in  1501  and  in  1506  :  but 
the  most  violent  and  most  general  was  in 
1507  ;  it  was  so  horrible,  according  to  the 
account  given  by  Miguel  Martines  de 
Leyva,  that  for  a  century  after,  the  lands 
were  seen  lying  waste,  and  the  villages 
empty,  nor  have  the  disasters  then  sus- 
tained been  repaired  since  that  period. 

It  docs  not  appear  that  manufactures, 
during  the  same  reigns,  were  in  a  better 
state,  or  that  Spain  had  acquired  that  de- 
gree of  industry  and  wealth  which  have 
been  attributed  to  it.  Had  that  been  the 
case,  how  happens  it  that  foreign  contem- 
porary authors  take  no  notice  of  it  ?  Bal- 
ducciPegalotti*,  in  his  voluminous  Treatise 
on  Commerce,  written  in  the  year  13->9, 

*  The  Prat  tea  Mercantile  ùf  Francisco  Balducci  Pega- 
lotti,  1339.  See  Cnpmany's  History  of  the  Commerce  of 
Barcelona. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXV 

does  not  make  any  mention  of  the  ports  or 
manufactures  of  Spain  ;  yet  he  speaks  of 
all  the  marts  of  Europe,  of  those  of  Flan- 
ders, Champagne,  Provence,  Lombardy, 
and  England  ;  and  we  find  that  the  few 
commercial  towns  of  Spain  which  he  names 
exported  only  raw  materials.  His  coun- 
tryman Giovanni  de  Usano*,  who  wrote 
a  hundred  years  after,  also  passes  over  in 
silence  those  famous  manufactures  of  Se- 
govia, Toledo,  Burgos,  and  Seville,  about 
which  the  pleading  historians  of  Spain 
make  so  much  noise;  but  he  gives  an  ex- 
act account  of  the  quantity  of  wool  that 
was  sent  out  of  the  country  f . 

In  the  archives  of  the  crowns  of  Castile 
and   Aragon  J,  there   is  a  statement  of  all 

*  The  Pratica  del  Commercio  of  Giovanni  de  Uiano 
1440. 

f  By  the  19th  article  of  the  Cortes  of  Barcelona  of 
the  year  1481,  a  tax  of  six  deniers  per  arroba  was  laid  on 
unwashed  wool,  and  twelve  on  the  washed,  which  was  ex- 
ported from  Aragon  and  Castile  by  the  way  of  Tortosa  : 
it  paid  four  times  as  much  if  sent  by  any  other  port  of  Ca- 
talonia.   Capmany,  Qucstionrs  varias. 

X  Book  of  the  Laws  and  Rescripts  collected  by  order  of 
C  2 


xxxvi  iNîTionrcTT 

the  duties  paid    from  the  thirteenth  to  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  Century  for  foreign 
cloths  sold  in  Spain,  and  for  other  articles  of 
consumption   coming  from    abroad.     The 
principal  cloths  came  from  Bruges,  Mont- 
pellier, and  London;  the  velvets  from  Ma- 
lines,  Courtrai,  Ypres,  and  Florence.    This 
trade  became   so    injurious  to  Spain,  that 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  thought  themselves 
bound  to  limit  it  entirely  to  the  stuffs  re- 
quired for   the   ornaments  of  the  church, 
which  of  itself  was  a  considerable  quantity. 
Their  prohibition  is  the  subject  of  the  re- 
script of  Sept.  2,   1494,  for  the  provinces 
of  the  crown  of  Castile.     Even  so  far  back 
as  the  ordinances  of  Barcelona  in    1271, 
mention   is   made  of  the  taxes   levied  on 
the   cloths   of   Flanders,   Arras,    Lannoy, 
Paris,  St.   Dennis,    Chalons,    Beziers  and 
Rheims.     When  James  II.  of  Aragon,  in 
1314  and   1322,  was  thinking  of  sending 
presents  to  the  Sultan  of  Egypt,  he  made 

the  Catholic  kings,  and  printed  at  Alcala  de  ilenarez  in 
.8,  by  Miguel  de  Eguia.     Sec  what  is  said  on  this  head 
in  the  article  Manufactura  in  Vol.  IV.  of  this  work. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXV11 

choice  of  the  green  cloths  of  Chalons,  and 
the  scarlet  ones  of  Rheims  and  Douay,  but 
sent  no  Spanish  stuff,  not  thinking  them 
sufficiently  fine  to  be  given  as  a  present. 
By  the  accounts  of  Ferdinand  Vs.  stew- 
ard, we  see  that  that  monarch  and  his 
whole  court  wore  none  but  foreign  cloths  *. 
It  was  the  same  with  all  silks,  velvets,  and 
gold  and  silver  brocades,  which  were  taken 
from  Lucca,  Florence,  and  Pisa  ;  with 
linens,  muslins  and  laces,  which  were 
brought  from  Flanders  and  Ireland  ;  with 
hard- ware,  glass,  and  gold  and  silver  arti- 
cles, which  came  from  Lombardy  and  Ger- 
many ;  and,  which  is  more  extraordinary, 
with  ammunition  for  fire-arms  t.  All  the 
demands  of  the  Cortes  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  sixteenth  century,  tend 
to  the  prohibition  of  all  those  commocU- 

*  Capmany,  Questiones  varias.  This  excellent  memoir 
U  vciy  accurate  on  this  subject,  and  has  been  extremely 
un  lui  to  me. 

t  See  tli<   work  of  Doctor  Francisco   Villalobos,  phy- 
i'  uui  t<>  the  emperor  Chuil^V.iuûilwl  Problem*  ^(lt^ra^ 
and  Moral, 

c  3 


XXXV111  INTRODUCTION. 

ties*,  which,  they  said,  robbed  the  country 
of  the  treasures  which  they  sent  for  to  the 
new  world.  This,  however,  was  the  period 
of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  so 
much  boasted. 

In  the  list  of  duties  paid  by  the  com- 
pany of  Burgos  merchants  in  1514,  it 
does  not  appear  that  they  exported  a 
gingle  article  manufactured  ;  the  whole 
trade  of  the  Castiles  consisted,  as  before, 
of  wool,  iron,  wine,  oil,  and  other  raw 
materials.  The  same  articles  are  found  in 
the  ordinances  of  1537.  We  shall  see,  a 
little  further,  that  this  unfavourable  state 
only  grew  Avorse  during  the  reign  of 
Charles  V.  and  Philip  II.  The  little  pro- 
gress made  by  the  Spaniards  in  all  kinds  of 
industry  was  owing,  as  Ave  have  already 
said,  to  the  continual  Avars  in  which  they 
Avere  involved.  The  enthusiasm  of  honour 
and  religion,  the  grand  spring  of  action  in 
chivalrous  times,  had,  during  peace,  dege- 


*  See  the  petition  of  the  Cortes  of  Vallkdolkl  in  154$ 
and  in  1593. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXIX 

nerated  into  a  spirit  of  pride  and  idleness, 
incompatible  with  application  to  mechani- 
cal arts.  This  fault,  which  among  the 
Spaniards  originated  more  in  their  insti- 
tutions than  in  their  character,  might  easily 
have  been  corrected  by  their  sovereigns, 
had  they  taken  pains  to  overcome  it  ;  but 
while  they  had  wars  to  sustain,  it  was  not 
their  interest  ;  and,  afterwards,  their  power 
was  always  too  much  limited.  The  privi- 
leges which  most  of  the  commons  had  ac- 
quired in  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  the  Moors 
themselves,  or  by  other  services  done  in 
times  ol"  difficulty,  were  so  considerable, 
that  the  kings  of  the  different  states  pos- 
sessed but  little  influence  over  them,  and 
still  less  over  the  great  and  the  clergy.  It 
was  not  possible  therefore  to  effect  such 
an  improvement  till  the  reign  of  Ferdinand, 
who  had  not  time,  and  was  perhaps  mis- 
taken in  the  means  of  success. 

That  prince,  one  of  the  greatest  mo* 
narchs  Spain  had  ever  had,  united  on  his 
own  head  the  crowns  of  all  the  provinces; 
hehad  conquered  the  kingdoms  oi  Granada 
and  Navarre,  and  what  was  still  more  dif- 

c  4 


Xl  iNTROnrCTÎrtN. 

iicult,  he  had  lowered  the  power  of  the 
great,  and  incorporated  in  his  own  domains 
the  immense  properties  that  had  been  an- 
nexed to  the  appointments  of  the  military 
orders. 

It  only  remained  for  him  to  encourage 
industry  in  his  states,  and  to  set  on  foot  an 
economical  system,  which  he  might  have 
left  to  his  successors  to  follow   and  conso- 
lidate.    By  a  single  error,  or  rather  by  too 
precipitate  a  measure,  he  lost  the  fruit  of 
all  his  care,  and  the  advantages  of  his  situ- 
ation.    I    allude  to  the  expulsion  of  the 
Jews    and    Moors,    the  former   of   whom 
were  the  merchants,    and   the  latter   the 
agriculturists   of    Spain.     There    are  two 
ways   of  considering  this  important  ques- 
tion, the  one  in  a  political  point  of  view, 
the  other  in  a  view  relative  to  industry. 
No  doubt  it   must  have  appeared  advan- 
tageous in  the  former.     Ferdinand,  though 
master  of  Spain,  was  not  yet  master  of  its 
inhabitants;  and  he  had   learned  by    ex- 
perience, that  conquered   nations  are  wol 
subjects  unless  they  adopt  the  same  reli- 
gion,  language,  and   habits.     The  Jews, 


INTRODUCTION.  xli 

whom  he  had  determined  to  banish,  were 
the  descendants  of  those  who  had  in  the 
reign  of  Roderic  invited   the  Moors  from 
Africa,  and  who  had  afterwards  fomented 
most  of  the  divisions  which  brought  on  the 
ruin  of  those  very  Moors;  they  were  the  Jews 
who  exercised  all  the  trades,  who  possessed 
all  the  capitals,  who  impeded  the  rising 
efforts    of  the    Catholics  in  industry,   and, 
keeping  the  nation  dependent  upon  them, 
would   have  constantly  obliged    them   to 
devote  themselves  to  a  kind  of  life  to  which 
they  were  unhappily  but  too  much  inclined, 
that  of  war   and    idleness.      Poland    and 
Russia  are  striking  examples  of  the  harm 
the  Jews  do  in  a  country  but  little  civiliz- 
ed.    Masters   of  the   cash  of    the   nation 
without  attachment  to  the  soil,  possessing 
influence  by  their   fortune  and    intrigues 
without  being  citizens,  they  may  be  con- 
sidered as  foreign  plants  sucking  the  juices 
of  the  state,  and  their  clandestine  riches*,  to 

Encyclopédie  Méthodique,  Hv.l.  page  72,  <>>i  Poli- 
tical Economy.  I  allow  that  Jews  may  sometimes  be 
.1  •  lui  to  the  country  in  which  they  reside,  but  men  ii 
j'li^t  I"  nations  naturally  industrious,  or  totally  in- 

;      e  of  becoming 


Xlli  INTRODUCTION'. 

use  the  expression  of  a  writer  on  political 
economy,  know  neither  king  nor  country. 

The  Moors,  who  were  more  attached  to 
their  country  than  to  their  religious  opinions, 
were,  doubtless,  less  dangerous  :  nor  were 
they  expelled  at  once;  but,  being  oppress- 
ed, most  of  them  withdrew  from  the 
country  in  a  short  time  after  the  conquest, 
and  the  remainder  were  driven  out  in  the 
next  century.  From  the  time  of  Ferdi- 
nand to  Philip  III,  more  than  three  mil- 
lions of  those  two  nations  quitted  Spain, 
and  carried  with  them  not  only  a  great, 
part  of  their  acquired  wealth,  bur  industry 
and  the  love  of  work,  which  are  the  soul 
of  it. 

Spain  still  feels  this  loss,  and  it  is  one 
that  it  will  never  completely  repair.  Cer- 
tainly, it  was  desirable  to  do  without  those 
two  classes  of  industrious  subjects  ;  but 
then  it  was  necessary  to  be  able  to  replace 
them;  it  was  necessary,  by  wise  laws,  re- 
wards, and  encouragements,  to  direct  the 
natural  bent  of  the  Spaniards  for  every 
kind  of  serious  occupation  towards  indus- 
try ;  in  short  it  was  necessary   either   to 


INTRODUCTION.  xlhl 

naturalize  among  them  the  qualities  of  the 
Arabs,  or  by  proper  treatment  to  bring 
these  over  to  the  belief  which  it  was  de 
termined  should  be  general  throughout  the 
kingdom.  If  the  kings  of  the  different 
christian  provinces  of  Spain  had  adopted 
this  s}rstem,  as  the  Mahometan  kings  had 
done,  industry  would  have  been  preserved 
in  their  states  in  the  same  manner,  and  they 
would  have  learned  from  their  enemies  how 
to  surpass  them  in  wealth  as  well  as  in 
courage  and  military  science  :  thev  had 
only  to  imitate  them.  The  Goths  hardly 
took  a  fewr  fields  or  a  town  but  they  found 
themselves,  in  the  one  case,  masters  of  plan- 
tations, canals,  granaries,  and  instruments 
of  agriculture  ;  in  the  other,  of  looms,  forges, 
glass-houses,  mills,  winding  machines,  &c. 
which  they  had  only  to  keep  up  and  con- 
tinue, and  thus  to  extend  at  once  the 
limits  of  their  states  and  of  their  know- 
ledge-: the  Moors,  expert  in  all  the  me-, 
chanical  arts,  and  particularly  skilled  in 
agriculture,  bad  carried  every  branch  of 
public  and  private  economy  to  the  highest 
d\  gree  of  perfection.     They  had  introduced 


Xliv  INTRODUCTION. 

into  Spain  the  cultivation  of -sugar,  cotton, 
silk,  and  rice  ;  they  had  made  canals  for 
irrigation,  and  reservoirs  by  means  of 
which  they  conveyed  water  to  the  highest 
and  driest  lands.  Their  estates,  divided 
into  little  fields  and  constantly  tilled,  as  is 
the  case  in  countries  of  confined  cultiva- 
tion, formed  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
immense  wastes  of  the  Spanish  lords,  to 
the  domains  of  the  crown,  and  to  those  of 
religious  corporations.  The  Arabs  obtain- 
ed their  knowledge  of  agriculture  from  the 
traditions  of  the  east,  the  works  of  the 
Galileans,  the  writings  of  Mago  the  Gar- 
thaginian,  and  some  Greek  authors  whose 
books  have  not  come  down  to  us  :  they 
possessed,  in  particular,  a  treatise  on  Na- 
bathaen  agriculture,  which  they  seem  to 
have  constantly  followed,  and  which  was 
found  to  be  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
climate  and  soil  of  the  country  they  in- 
habited. Almost  the  whole  of  this  invalu- 
able work,  which  was  written  in  Chaldean, 
has  been  translated  and  new  modelled  in 
the  complete  Treatise  on  Agriculture,  by 
Abu  Zachariah,  of  Seville,  better  known 


INTRODUCTION.  xlv 

by  the  name  of  Ebn  el  Ax  am.     We  see  in 
it  the  minute  attention  which  those  nations 
paid  to  every  branch  of  cultivation,  to  the 
analysis  and  classification  and  manure  of 
the  soi  Is,  and  to  rustic  buildings,  plantations, 
and  the  care  of  animals.    It  is  a  memorial  of 
the  highest  degree  to  which  this  species  of 
industr}'  can  be  carried*;  and  Spain  may 
boast  the  possession  of  the  three  most  com- 
plete works,  written  in  different  ages  on 
this  subject  ;  that  of  Columella  under  the 
Romans,  that  of  Alonzo  de  Herrera  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  the  Treatise  of  which 
we  are  speaking. 

The  Moors  were  no  less  skilful  in  all 
kinds  of  manufactures  :  the  invention  of 
paper  is  due  to  them  ;  and  particularly 
Mlk  and  cotton  stuffs,  morocco  leather, 
Sec.  were  brought  to  perfection  by  them. 
The  Geographer  of  Nubia  who  travelled  in 

*  The  Moors  had  gone  so  far  as  to  unite  the  tropic 
plants  with  those  of  Europe  ;  they  raised  in  the  open  air 
the  banana,  the  piatachio,  the  sesamum,  the  sugar-cane, 
and  a  species  of  rice,  the  cultivation  of  which  hud  the  ad- 
vantage of  not  requiring  so  much  water,  and  consequently 
inwholeaomn. 


Xlvi  IKTTîODUCTIOX. 

Spain  about  the  twelfth  century,  declares 
that  in  the  kingdom   of  Jaen  alone  there 
were  six  hundred  towns  or  borouohs  which 
traded  in  silk.     The  stuffs  made  at  Gra- 
nada were  prized  in  the  cast,  and  even  at 
Constantinople,  where   all   the    arts    were 
flourishing  at  that  period.     They  are  fre- 
quently mentioned    in   the   Greek   manu- 
scripts of  the  Low-Empire,  among  others, 
in  a  review  published  on  the  History  of  the 
Deacon  Leo*;  and  we  find  that  Granada 
stuffs,  the  beauty  of   which  was   greatly 
admired,  appeared  in  Greece  in  the  reign 
of  Comnenus  j-. 

*  Sec  Xotice  Je  M.  liasse,  inserted  in  the  extracts  of 
the  Imperial  Library,  vol.  viii.  M.  Hasse  began  a  trans- 
lation of  that  curious  work,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he 
will  soon  publish  it. 

*}•  There  is  in  the  Imperial  Library,  a  satirical,  but  un- 
published work  in  Greek,  something  in  the  style  of  the 
[Mennipcan  satire,  and  composed  in  the  reign  of  the  Com- 
menuscs.  Timario,  one  of  the  speakers  in  the  piece,  give» 
an  account  of  his  journey  from  Constantinople  to  a  great 
fair  held  at  Salonica  on  St.  Demetrius's  day,  and  treats 
very  much  at  large  of  the  productions  and  merchandise 
then  collected  in  the  great  plain  on  the  side  of  the  Axiuf 
to  the  north  of  the  town.  This  curious  monument  rela- 
tive to  the  history  of  the  commerce  of  the  twelfth  century. 


INTRODUCTION,  xlvii 

With  a  state  of  industry  so  improved,  the 
Moors  united  the  study  of  letters  and  the 
sciences  ;  and  so  early  as  in  the  reign  of 
Abderame  I.  who  was  contemporary  \£ith 
Charlemaine,  they  had  a  great  many  li- 
braries and  public  schools.  The  illustrious 
names  of  Avicenna  and  Averroes,  bring  to 
mind  the  glorious  times  of  Greece.  To 
this  extraordinary  concurrence  of  talents, 
knowledge,  and  genius,  they  added  the  mar- 
tial and  chivalrous  virtues.  They  had  no 
sooner  subdued  Spain  by  their  arms  than 
they  sought  to  attach  the  people  by  their 
favours.  They  left  the  vanquished  nations 
their  laws,  religion  and  language,  and  only 
required  of  them  the  tribute  which  they 
had  paid  to  their  former  masters  :  and  they 
particularly  showed   great   deference  and 

which,  however,  is  in  many  places  very  difficult  to  be  un- 
derstood, mentions  that  Sclavonians,  Italians,  Spaniards, 
and  Frenchmen  walked  about  in  the  long  streets  formed  by 
the  booths.  The  cotton  of  Livadia  and  the  Morea  was 
there  iu  as  much  request  as  it  U  at  this  lime  ;  but  the  most 
admired  tissues  were  those  of  the  Moors  of  Granada  and 
Andalusia,  (the  columns  of    Hercules).     'Hg*KXiti>   »$-5?>*»», 


Xlviii  INTRODUCTION, 

respect  to  the  women,  which  proves  a  high 
degree  of  civilization.  Their  noble  con- 
duct  inspired  the  Christian  princes  with 
suc&i  confidence,  that  they  sent  their  chil- 
dren to  their  schools  for  instruction,  and 
called  in  their  physicians  in  dangerous 
cases. 

Disposed  to  a  ready  adoption  of  what- 
ever springs  from  nobleness  of  sentiment, 
the  Spaniards  soon  surpassed  their  rivals 
in  generous  qualities,  but  scorned  to  imi- 
tate them  in  arts,  literature,  and  useful 
knowledge.  A  false  pride,  the  relic  of 
feudal  times,  a  barbarian  prejudice  that 
considered  war  as  the  only  noble  profes- 
sion, restrained  that  happy  disposition:  it 
appeared  to  them  shameful  to  engage  in 
the  servile  occupations  of  their  vanquished 
enemies.  The  habit  of  tempérance,  the 
pride  of  independence,  and  military  glory, 
prevented  their  being  sufficiently  charmed 
by  luxury  to  sacrifice  to  it  the  tranquil  en- 
joyment of  life  and  the  prejudices  of  self- 
love.  The  Spaniard  had  always  fortitude 
enough  to  endure  privations,  but  never 
courage  enough  to  encounter  work,  and 


INTRODUCTION;  xlix 

fctili  less  the  power  of  surmounting  the 
shame  which  he  thinks  attached  to  it.  It 
is  this  old  and  unconquerable  disposition* 
that  rendered  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors 
and  Jews  fatal  to  Spain,  because  it  pré» 
vented  the  loss  of  them  being:  remedied. 
The  country  has  surfered  no  decline,  as  it 
has  been  the  practice  to  inculcate,  for,  in 
fact,  it  never  attained  any  eminent  degree  of 
prosperity.  The  cause  just  mentioned  has 
always  prevented  every  improvement  of 
the  branches  of  its  industry  ;  and  even  now, 
when  the  progress  of  civilization,  patriotic 
societies,  encouragements  by  sovereigns, 
and  the  reasonings  of  enlightened  men, 
have  combined  to  honour  industry,  the 
prejudice  against  it  still  exists  in  the  most 
numerous  class  of  the  nation.  The  pro- 
\  inces  formerly  behind  hand  in  this  respect, 
are  still  so  in  proportion  with  the  others, 
and  it  would  require  new  and  more  active 
means  to  surmount  this  terrible  obstacle  to 


'    See  what  is  said  on  this  head  i»  the  account  J  have 
a   of  the   Spanish  character,  VoF.  V.    The  Spapiih 
writers  have  at  all  tïmei  lamented  this  unfortunate  failing 

Vol.  i.  d 


1  INTÎIODUCTION. 

the  prosperity  of  Spain.  No  manufactory 
that  is  established  lasts  long:  the  very  man 
who  argues  strenuously  against  such  folly 
would  be  wretched  if  he  thought  that  any 
ancestor  of  his  had  made  a  fortune  by 
trade*.  }3y  an  unaccountable  caprice,  the 
condition  of  a  servant  in  Spain  appears 
less  degrading  than  any  business  what- 
everf-.  For  the  time  being,  they  say,  nobi- 
lity sleeps,  but  in  commerce  it  becomes  ex~ 
tinct. 

However   absurd    such    ideas    may    be, 

*  Those  who  exercise  any  trade  endeavour  to  ennoble  it 
by  an  alteration  of  the  name.  The  bricklayer  calls  himself 
an  architect,  the  farrier  a  master  smith,  the  workman  an 
artist,  and  the  dealer  a  merchant:  his  shop  he  denominate» 
a  magazine,  where  his  wife  seldom  chuses  to  appear  and 
assist  him  in  his  trade  ;  on  the  contrary,  with  scarcely 
enough  to  live  upon,  she  herself  bires  a  servant,  who,  as 
idle  and  as  proud  as  her  mistress,  only  serves  her  to  escape 
working  in  the  fields,  which  is  more  laborious,  and,  in  her 
idea,  still  more  humiliating. 

•f-  Count  de  Froberg,  with  whom  I  travelled  for  some 
time  in  Spain,  having  occasion  to  hire  a  servant,  was  ap- 
plied to  by  a  man  from  the  mountains  of  St.  Andero,  whom 
he  told  to  go  and  bring  his  certificates,  when  he  would 
determine,  if  they  were  right.  The  man,  not  knowing  what 
was  meant,  returned  with  the  most  authentic  documents  of 
uobility  from  king  Ordonius  II. 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

certain  it  is  that  we  cannot  but  admire  that 
native  loftiness  which  is   inherent   in   the 
minds  of  the  Spaniards  of  every  class,  and 
that  hereditary  honour  which  nothing  can 
shake;  which  shows  itself  in  all  their  con- 
duct ;  which  gives  a  nobleness  to  their  ap- 
pearance,   to    their    behaviour,    to    their 
slightest    expressions  ;    that  makes    them 
prefer  poverty  in  their  native  country  to 
better  living  in  a  foreign  land  ;  which,  in 
short,  seems  to  bo  a  combination  of  the 
patriarchal  dignity  of  the  eastern  nations 
and  of  the  austere  virtues  of  the  primitive 
Christians.     But  the  more  we  feel  disposed 
to  honour  these  original  qualities,   the  less 
must  we  think  them  incompatible  with  exer- 
tion and  activity;  yet  it  is  but  too  common 
to  depreciate  industry  by  calling  it  mean, 
as  if  the  principle  which  enriches  and  ren- 
ders states  happy  had  any  thing  in  it  that 
tended  to  degrade  them.     Did  not  Venice 
sustain  a  war  against  all  Europe  while  she 
was  the  emporium  of  the  commerce  of  the 
whole  world  ?   When    the   Dutch  beat  the 
fleets  of  England  and  Spain,  was  it  not  at 
a  time   when  they  were  the  only    vendors 

d  (1 


Hi  INTRODUCTION". 

of  pepper  and  indigo  ?  Have  the  French 
degenerated  since  the  administration  of 
Colbert  ?  And  among  the  Spaniards  are  not 
the  Catalans,  Aragonese,  and  Biscayans 
the  most  warlike  of  the  nation,  though  they 
are  the  most  commercial  ?  Not  reckoning 
that  a  fourth  of  the  population  of  Spain  is 
composed  of  persons  living  on  their  pro- 
perty without  doing  any  thing,  the  country 
contains  100,000  individuals  existing  as 
smugglers*,  robbers,  mule  shearers,  pirates, 
and  assassins  escaped  from  prisons  or  garri- 
sons ;  about  30  or  40,000  officers  appoint- 
ed to  take  these,  and  having  an  under- 
standing with  them  ;  250,000  servants,  ac- 

*  While  I  was  laboriously  employed  in  Estrcmadura  in 
tracing  the  Roman  ways  described  in  Antoninus's  Itinerary, 
I  happened  to  fall  in  with  a  band  of  thirty  smugglers,  who 
were  giving  their  horses  water  ;  they  were  come  from 
the  frontiers  of  Portugal  with  a  great  quantity  of  to- 
bacco. Wanting  information  on  several  things  which  it 
was  difficult  for  me  to  obtain  in  that  country,  where  one 
sometimes  travels  nine  or  ten  leagues  without  seeing  a 
house,  I  joined  these  men  and  travelled  three  days  in  conx- 
pany  with  them.  I  never  met  with  better  people  :  they 
called  one  another  cavalleros,  and  paid  me  great  attention. 
Their  leader,  who  was  a  good-looking  man  and  excellent 
company,  told  me  all  the  abuses  prevailing  in  the  custom- 


INTRODUCTION.  liii 

cording  to  the  enumeration  of  1788,  of 
whom  100.000  at  least  are  not  employed, 
though  of  a  proper  age  ;  and  G0,000  stu- 
dents, most  of  whom  beg  charity,  at  night, 
under  pretence  of  buying  books.  If  to 
this  list  we  add  100,000  beggars  whom 
60,000  monks  feed  at  the  gates  of  their 
convents,  we  shall  find  in  Spain  nearly 
600,000  persons  who  are  of  no  use  whatever 
in  agriculture  or  the  mechanical  arts,  and 
who  are  frequently  dangerous  to  society, 
Heaven  forbid,  however,  that  I  should 
think  of  advising  violent  means  for  recti- 
fying these  abuses;  the  slightest  perse- 
cutions might  be  attended  with  the  most 
serions  consequences;  but  wise  laws,  en- 
couragements, a  strict  police,  and  activity 
on  the  part  of  the  government,  would  soon 
remedy  them.     Meanwhile,  the  influence 

houses,  and  the  means  which  he  took   to  avoid  the  king's 
thodgh  he  had  little  fear  of  the  rencontre  if  they 
to  meet.     He  was    related  to  several  manufacturers 
.it  Seville,  who  lent  him  money,  which  he  punctually  re- 
paid,    lit-  said  that  he  had  often  been  tempted  to  give  up 
this  occupation,  which  he  found  unpleasant  in  some  thi 
DUl  that  BjJhâr&l,  for  which  he  could  dot  account,  attached 
independent  and  wandering  life  lie  led. 

d3 


liv  INTRODUCTION. 

of  the  high  clergy  and  the  use  they  make 
of  their  riches  have  great  effect  in  main- 
taining  peace  and  good  order.  They  act  as 
stewards  managing  the  property  of  the 
poor,  and  distributing  it  to  them  without 
suffering  them  to  make  a  bad  use  of  it.  A 
rigid  economy  and  an  excellent  manage- 
ment of  their  estates  enable  those  religious 
men  to  support  a  number  of  wretched  be- 
ings, and  at  least  to  save  them  from  despair. 
They  do  not,  as  is  imagined,  encourage 
idleness,  but  prevent  crimes,  and  supply 
the  place  of  institutions  till  institutions  shall 
supply  the  place  of  their  ministry. 

In  addition  to  th's  repugnance  to  work, 
with  which  the  Spaniards  are  so  ..much  re- 
proached b}T  their  best  writers,  there  were 
political  causes  no  less  injurious  to  them, 
and  which  perhaps  rendered  the  over- 
vaunted  reigns  of  Charles  V.  anc|  Philip  II. 
brilliant  in  the  annals  of  the  Austrian  mo- 
narchy, but  of  iittleinterest  in  those  of  Spain. 
Those  princes  had  immense  dominions 
spread  over  the  north,  east,  and  south  of 
Europe.  To  them  Spain  was  but  one  of 
the  provinces  of  their  empire,  and  all  the 
resources  of  which  they  exhausted  for  the 


INTRODUCTION.  Iv 

interest  of  their  other  states.     That  period 
gave  birth  to  the  science  of  politics,  which 
before  it  produced  the  balance  of  Europe 
was  lone  the  cause  of  its  calamities.    In  thé 
general  shock  of  those  times  Spain  might 
have  stood  aloof,  as  well  on  account  of  its 
situation  as  the  little  interest  it  had  in  aug- 
menting its  empire.     Instead  of  sending  its 
sons  to  perish  in  the  rebellions  of  the    Low 
Countries,  in   fruitless   invasions  of  Italy, 
of  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  or  of  the  coasts 
of  Africa,  all  its  inhabitants  and  all  its  riches 
should  have  been  employed  in  improving 
its  industry,  and  in  spreading  cultivation  to 
the  deserted  portions  of  its  lands.   The  only 
return  made  by  most  of  the  distant  coun- 
tries to  which  the  blood  of  its  people  and 
the  treasures  of  its  colonies  were  sacrificed, 
was  the  ruin  of  its  commerce  and  manu- 
factures. 

We  have  already  seen  to  what  a  degree 
the  commodities  of  the  Milanese  and  of 
the  Low  Countries  at  all  times  made  their 
way  in  Spain,  without  the  slightest  oppo- 
sition or  competition  ;  they  succeeded  in- 
finitely more  when  those  provinces  united 
i  d  4 


Jvi  INTRODUCTION. 

under  the  same  government,  participated 
the  monarch's  favour,  and  were  even  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.  constantly  preferred. 
So  early  even  as  the  thirteenth   century, 
Bruges  had  become  the  greatest  entrepot 
of  the  merchandise  of  the  east,  and  of  the 
manufactures  of  the  north;   thence  they 
were  sent  to  the  other  parts  of  Europe,  and 
principally  to  Spain.     Lombardy  had  an- 
other kind  of  traffic  no  less  injurious,  that 
of  lending  its  money  at  exorbitant  interest. 
Spain  was  thus  tributary  to  the  Lombards 
on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the  Flemings  on 
the  other,    though  the  mother-country  of 
both.     It  is  evident  how  irksome  this  state 
of  things  became  to  the  Spaniards  about 
the  sixteenth  century,  by  the  repeated  re- 
bellions that  took  place  under  Charles  V., 
and  by  the  opposition  made  to  granting 
him  the  subsidies  he  demanded  for  his  fo- 
reign wars,  while    he   would    easily    have 
obtained  them  by    an  amelioration  of  the 
country.     The   deputies  of  Castile   spoke 
openly  on  the  subject  in  15-37  and  refused 
every  grant,     The  petition  124  of  the  Cor- 
tes of  Valladolid in  1542  runs  thus  ;  "  Your 


INTRODUCTION.  Ivu 

w  Majesty's  enterprises  in  Germany  and  in 
"  Italy  have  drawn  into  this  country  an 
"  enormous  number  of  foreigners,  who, 
*•  not  satisfied  with  the  exchanges,  com- 
"  missions,  and  profits  they  make,  and 
<;  that  your  majesty  allows  them,  have 
"  monopolized  every  kind  of  commerce 
"  by  which  your  subjects  gained  their 
"  livelihood.  They  do  not  confine  them- 
"  selves  to  fanning  the  estates  annexed  to 
"  Bishoprics,  Lordships,  Official  Reve- 
"  nues,  &c.  and  to  making  a  profit  of]  and- 
M  ed  property,  they  even  go  so  far  as  to 
"  buy  up,  wholesale,  wool,  silk,  iron,  and 
K  other  raw  materials,  thus  cutting  off  all 
"  the  means  of  existence  from  the  greater 
"  part  of  your  subjects,  who  see  with  grief 
"  what  belongs  to  them  go  into  the  hands 
"  of  those  covetous  people."  The  Spanish 
merchants  discouraged  by  the  advantages 
which  the  foreigners  possessed  over  them, 
and  by  the  capitals  of  which  those  persons 
hud  the  disposal,  resigned  all  business  to 
them  ;  and  the  Jews,  whose  expulsion 
might  at  lenst  have  been  politic,  were  suc- 
cecded  by  other  people  not  it^s  avaricious, 


TVlll  INTRODUCTION. 

and  more  dangerous,  from  the  circumstance 
of  their  not  settling  in  the  country.  Da- 
mien  de  Olivares  says  that  in  1 6 1 0  there 
were  160,000  foreigners  in  the  Castiles,  and 
among  those  10,000  Genoese,  who  filled 
almost  all  the  lucrative  places,  and  trans- 
acted all  the  business  of  the  country. 
Sancho  de  Moncada,  who  wrote  in  1 6 1 9> 
complains  of  the  indifference  of  the  people 
of  the  country,  and  says  that  foreigners 
carried  five-sixths  of  the  commerce  of 
Spain,  and  nine-tenths  of  that  of  the  In- 
dies ;  and  that  they  drew  from  the  two 
Castiles  alone  upwards  of  twenty-five  mil- 
lions of  ducats  yearly,  twenty  for  the  mer- 
chandise they  sold,  and  the  remaining  five 
in  pensions,  exchange,  agency,  commis- 
sion, ecclesiastical  rents,  farms,  &c.  so 
that  eight  millions  a  year  was  the  most 
that  Spain  derived  from  its  fleets. 

The  trade  of  the  Low  Countries  was  so 
unfavourable  to  Spain  in  1545,  that  Jod 
dam  Houder,  a  Fleming*,  who  wrote  at 

*  Tlii.s    work  is   inthled  :    Dcclamatio  pancgyrica   in 
laitdcm  llhpavitc  nationis  qua  in  Flandria  jam  u/imjixa 


INTRODUCTION.  lix 

that  period,  expresses  himself  thus  :  "  Of 
•  all  the  nations  of  Europe,  Spain  far- 
4  Dishes  us  the  most  with  every  kind  of 
■  merchandise.  The  quantity  of  wool  she 
4  sends  us  is  so  great,  that  what  comes  to 
4  Bruges  amounts  annually  to  from  thirty- 
4  six  to  forty  thousand  bales  and  upwards, 
4  each  of  which  costs  sixteen  ducats  and 
'  makes  tzco  pieces  and  a  half  of  cloth, 
4  which  is  at  once  more  than  double  the 
4  worth  of  the  bale  after  the  first  prépara- 
4  tion,  and  before  it  receives  the  finish: 
4  all  these  cloths  are  sent  back  in  the  \ery 
4  Spanish  ships  which  bring  the  wool,  and 
4  are  distributed  in  the  kingdoms  of  Cas- 
4  tile,  Majorca,  Navarre,  Aragon,  Portu- 
4  gal,  Andalusia,  Seville,  Valencia,  Catalo- 
4  nia,  and  other  rich  countries  of  Spain  ; 
4  and  from  this  we  may  judge  of  the  pro- 
4  fits  which  Flanders  makes  by  this  kind 
'  of  commerce.  Besides  these  cloths,  we 
4  send  from  Holland,  Friesland,  Amster- 
'  dam,   Bruges,  Ghent,  &c.  all  the  linens, 

sedc  celeberrifnam  negotiationtm  txercet.  This  celebrat- 
ed trade  which  Spain  carried  on  was  leading  bel  to  the 
finest  ruin  pOftible* 


ÏX  INTRODUCTION, 

cc  cambrics,  cotton  and  muslin  stuffs,  Ou- 
"  denarde  and  Brussels  carpets,  &c.  and 
<c  so  great  a  quantity  of  hardware,  that  the 
ew  Spaniards  frequently  load  fifty  ships 
"  with  it." 

If  such  was  the  commerce  Spain  carried 
on  with  the  Low  Countries,  what  shall  we 
say  of  her  trade  with  the  rest  of  Europe, 
particularly  Italy  ?  It  was  in  vain  that  the 
Cortes  petitioned  against  the  admission  of 
foreign  merchandise,  or  that  the  kings  pro- 
hibited  it,    the  frequent  journeys   of  the 
snonaichs,  the  concerns  of  politics  which 
entirely  absorbed  them,  and  the  low  state 
pf  the  finances,  which  made  it  necessary  to 
augment  the  public  revenue   by   custom- 
houses and  to  permit  importations,  render- 
ed all  the  other  measures  null.     This  dis- 
astrous state  grew  much  Avorse  under  the 
]ast   monarch    of  the    House   of  Austria. 
Following  the  steps  of  their  ancestors  with- 
out possessing  their  genius,  they  completed 
the  ruin  of  their  country,  and   enervated 
all  the  branches  of  the  monarchy.     When 
Philip  V.  ascended  the  throne,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  those  distant  provinces  still 


INTRODUCTION.  JX1 

belonging  to  Spain,  was  by  the  treaty  of 
Utrecht  conveyed  to  other  hands,  men 
beheld  with  astonishment  the  skeleton  of 
that  monarchy,  the  population  of  which 
was  reduced  to  nothing,  and  all  the  bran- 
ches of  industry  and  government  in  the 
most  disastrous  state.  It  seemed  as  if 
Philip  V.  had  succeeded  the  last  Gothic 
King  in  the  eighth  century,  rather  than  a 
descendant  of  Charles  V.  in  the  eighteenth. 
Europe  amazed,  enquired  by  what  illusion 
it  had  been  subjected  to  a  country  which 
had  not  six  millions  of  inhabitants,  which 
it  had  furnished  with  its  ships,  warlike 
stores,  clothes,  all  the  articles  of  luxury, 
and  even  most  of  those  of  necessity  ? 

The  civilians  and  political  writers  who 
had  ascribed  to  Spain  alone  the  power  of 
Charles  V.  and  Philip  II.  sought  iikewise 
in  Spain  alone  the  cause  whence  such  a 
decline  could  proceed,  and  they  did  not 
perceive  that  that  kingdom,  taken  singly, 
had  never  been  either  richer  or  more  flou- 
rishing, and  that  it  had  never  even  had 
the  means  of  becoming  so. 

Among  the  Lre;;ei-a!  causes  the     I       jned 


Ixii  INTRODUCTION. 

for  this  supposed  decline,  there  are  two 
that  have  been  particularly  received  and 
credited,  no  doubt  from  their  whimsi- 
cal and  paradoxical  air.  The  first  is  the 
discovery  of  America  ;  the  second  the 
establishment  of  the  inquisition.  There 
was  something  acute  in  maintaining  that 
the  country  of  gold  had  produced  poverty, 
and  that  religious  institutions  had  at  all 
times  been  nurses  of  ignorance.  A  mo- 
ment's exam  nation  of  these  assertions  is 
enough  to  convince  us  that  they  are  un- 
founded. 

We  know  the  difficulties  experienced  by 
Columbus  in  his  application  to  the  power.'; 
of  Europe  for  the  ships  and  crews  neces- 
sary for  the  execution  of  his  enterprise  ;  but 
we  seem  to  have  forgotten  that  it  was 
without  the  concurrence  of  Ferdinand  that 
Queen  Isabella  consented  to  be  at  the  ex- 
pence  of  that  expedition,  and  that  she 
then  reserved  for  her  subjects  of  Castile 
exclusively,  all  the  advantages  of  an  un- 
dertaking, the  whole  charge  and  cost  of 
which  they  supported. 

Columbus's   expedition   could    not   but 


INTRODUCTION.  lxhi 

succeed,  and  the  issue  of  it  was  less  a 
discovery,  though  it  lias  retained  that 
name,  than  the  taking  possession  of  a 
country,  the  existence,  and  nearly  the  situ- 
ation, of  which  was  no  longer  doubtful. 
However,  the  greater  the  queen  thought 
the  hazard  in  that  respect,  the  more  she 
exacted  a  rigid  performance  of  the  com- 
pact entered  into  ;  and  in  fact,  only  the 
people  of  Castile  were  allowed  to  go  and 
trade  in  the  new  possessions,  and  to  settle 
there,  not  only  at  first  but  for  two  centu- 
ries after  the  conquest.  The  states  of 
Aragon  then  could  never  suffer  by  a  thing 
with  which  they  never  had  any  concern 
whatever  ;  yet  we  see  that  at  that  time, 
and  long  after,  their  situation  was  at  least 
as  bad  as  that  of  the  other  provinces, 
whereas,  on  the  contrary  we  may  date 
their  prosperity  and  wealth  from  the  mo- 
ment they  were  enabled  to  trade  freely  with 
America. 

In  lSo'8  Catalonia,  including  Iloussillon 
and  Cerdagne,  could  reckon  only  365,000 
inhabitants.  In  15.53  the  number  was 
25,000  less  :  and  thus  it  continued  till  the 


Ixiv  INTRODUCTION. 

end  of  the  17th  century,  without  the  pos- 
sibility of  being  affected  by  the  diseovery 
of  America.  At  the  end  of  the  18th 
century  its  population  was  doubled,  though 
it  nolonger  had  Iloussillon,  which  had  been 
given  up  to  France  by  the  treaty  of  the 
Pyrenees  ;  and  it  is  observable  that  this 
population,  though  greatly  augmented  in 
the  interior  of  the  province,  was  much  more 
considerable  on  the  coast,  where  wealth 
flowed  chiefly  from  commerce.  The  king- 
dom of  Valencia,  which  in  1550  contained 
only  54,555  families,  reckons  at  present 
200,000  ;  and  that  of  Aragon  has  increas- 
ed in  population  nearly  one-half  in  the 
sarue  time.  These  three  provinces  have 
chiefly  experienced  this  prodigious  increase 
since  the  edict  of  free  trade  in  17?8  ;  and 
the  establishment  of  their  numerous  ma- 
nufactures, may  likewise  be  dated  from  the 
same  period.  The  case  is  the  same  with 
several  other  parts  of  Spain,  such  as  Ga- 
licia,  Biscay,  and  the  Asturias.  Now,  as 
both  before  and  since  the  discovery  of 
America,  the  provinces  which  had  no  par- 
ticipation in  it,  suffered  the  same  diminu- 


INTRODUCTION.  lxV 

tiott  in  their  population  as  the  others,  it 
follows  that  this  ruinous  state  through- 
out the  monarchy  must  have  been  owing 
to  other  causes  more  direct  and  more  gene- 
ral. But  taking  the  question  in  another 
point  of  view,  we  shall  be  still  more  com- 
pletely convinced. 

The  statements  published  by  Baron  de 
Humboldt  show  beyond  a  doubt  that  the 
proportion  of  births  to  deaths  is,  almost 
throughout  New  Spain,  as  170  to  100,  and 
even  in  the  high  plain  of  Mexico  as  230  to 
130.  According  to  this  calculation  the  po- 
pulation must  have  doubled  itself  in  the  one 
case  in  19  years,  in  the  other  in  fourteen  or 
fifteen  *,  and  acquired  a  considerable  ex- 
tension, especially  when  we  consider  that 
for  three  centuries  the  inhabitants  of  that 
peaceful  country  have  been  exempt  from 

1  Voyage  de  M.  A.  de  Humboldt,  lib.  ii.  cap.  4.  p.Gl. 
shall  Dot  think  this  calculation  exaggerated,  when  we 
recollect  that  in  New  Jersey  the  proportion  is  three  bun- 
dle d  to  on  hundred  ;  ana  that  Russia,  the  inhabitants  of 
which  in  1783  did  nut  amount  to  more  than  C25,G77,000, 
^p  at  present  a  population  of  upwards  40,000,000,  thouf  h 
•  nut.  d  in  a  rigorous  climate. 

Vol.  i,  e 


ÎXvi  INTRODUCTION. 

wars,  epidemic   diseases,  and   other  cala- 
mities, with  which  the  continent  of  Europe 
has  been  infested.     Nor  do  Europeans  or 
descendants  of  Europeans  form  an  eighth 
of  the  population,  and  they  inhabit  only 
the  interior  of  the  country  which  compre- 
hends the  States  of  Montezuma  IL,  and  in 
which  the  principal  mines  are  situated.    If 
the  emigration  to  the  new  world  had  been 
so  considerable  as  to  depopulate  the  old, 
as  some  have  thought  proper  to  say,  and 
that  popidation   had  increased   for   three 
centuries  in  the  proportion  we  have  just 
shown,  the  number  of  the  whites   would 
have  been  much  greater,  and  would  have 
spread  throughout  the  fertile  countries  of 
the  coasts,   where   a  more   active  climate 
unites  the  productions  of  the  tropics  with 
those  of  Europe,  which  are  found  in  the 
regions   more  elevated.     The   number   of 
1,200,000  whites  spread  over  the  whole  of 
New  Spain,  is  nothing  in  proportion  to  the 
extent  of  the  country,  the  mass  of  the  ori- 
ginal inhabitants,  and  the  increase  of  po- 
pulation.    It   does    not   indicate  a  mué 
greater  emigration  than  that  which   still 


INTRODUCTION".  Ixvii 

takes  place,  and  which  does  not  exceed 
800  individuals,  including  the  agents  of 
the  government,  who  almost  make  up  that 
number,  and  who  are  remunerated  by  the 
American  Colonists,  whose  affairs  bring 
them  to  the  continent. 

We  may  form  a  judgment  of  the  state 
of  Spanish  America,  in  the  centuries  past, 
by  that  of  the  United  States  in  this.  These 
provinces  left  to  themselves  multiply  their 
inhabitants  in  a  prodigious  manner  entirely 
by  affording  them  a  comfortable  existence, 
by  the  extent  of  property,  and  by  the 
facility  of  living,  and  even  of  acquiring 
wealth  in  cultivating  the  land  ;  they  have 
no  need  whatever  of  new  settlers  from  Eu- 
rope. The  present  political  writers  never- 
theless would  fain  persuade  us  still  that 
the  increased  population  of  the  United 
States  of  America  is  owing  to  the  emigra- 
tion from  Europe.  Mr.  Page*,  in  his 
work  on  St.  Domingo,  in  other  respects 
highly  valuable,  asserts  that  the  United 
States  annually  receive   100,000  new  set- 

#  Vol.  II.  page  427. 
e  2 


Lwiii  INTRODUCTION. 

tiers,    while  in   the  Statistical   statements 
published  two  years   ago  by  authority  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States*,  we 
sec  that  in  the  two  years  when  the  emigra- 
tion was   greatest,    that  is   to  say  in  1784 
and  1792,  it  did  not  exceed  five  thousand 
individuals,  part  of  whom  were  going  to 
Canada.     Nevertheless  the    population  of 
Europe  is  treble  what  it  was  in  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries.     America  is   the 
only  country  in  which  the  unfortunate,  the 
dissatisfied,    and    speculators    from    every 
part  of  the  world,  can  find  an  asylum  ;  it 
is  the  only  neutral  country  where  agricul- 
ture and  commerce  still  offer  a  chance  of 
acquiring  wealth.     Now  if,  notwithstand- 
ing all  these  considerations,  the  number  of 
people    emigrating   from    Europe   is   not 
greater,  what  must  it  have  been  when  the 
emigration  was  but  from  one  half  of  Spain, 
only  twice  in  the  year,  and  that  to  an  un- 
known  country   at  avery  hazard?    There 
were  several  other  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
this  emigration,  and    principally  the  very 

*  Samuel  Blgdget's  Statistical  Manual,  18Q0L 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixi 

laws  of  the  country,  which  included  the 
subjects  of  the  crown  of  Castile.  By  a  law 
of  the  ?th  of  August  1584,  it  is  enacted, 
that  no  persor»  shall  go  to  America  without 
an  express  permission  from  the  king,  and 
that  permission  was  not  to  be  obtained  but 
by  producing  a  certificate  of  morals  and  a 
regular  life,  a  condition  very  unlike  the 
customs  of  other  countries,  which  consider- 
ed their  colonies  as  the  proper  place  for  all 
the  worthless.  Besides  this  formality,  the 
persons  applying  were  obliged  to  fix  them- 
selves in  the  province  they  had  chosen, 
without  the  power  of  removing  to  another, 
and  the  priests  were  bound  by  the  same 
laws.  Furthermore,  no  person  who  had 
incurred  an  ecclesiastical  censure,  or  re- 
ceived any  reprimand  whatever  from  the 
tribunal  of  the  inquisition,  was  allowed  to 
£0  to  America. 

Wé  may,  even  from  the  marvellous  ac- 
counts given  by  historians,  be  convinced 
that  the  first  conquerors  of  America  were 
but  few  in  number.  Cortez  took  with  him 
only  508  soldiers  and  109  sailors  badly 
armed,  and  with  those  managed  to  subdue 

• 


IXX  INTRODUCTION* 

a  country  containing  6,000,000  of  inhabit- 
ants ;  and  Pizarro  made  himself  master  of 
Peru  with  180  men.  How  absurd  soever 
these  tales  may  be,  they  at  least  tend  to 
prove  that  the  number  of  those  adven- 
turers was  not  considerable,  which  is  still 
further  confirmed  by  the  cruelties  they 
committed,  as  being,  doubtless,  thought 
necessary  to  awe,  and  to  supply  the  want 
of  number  by  terror.  Besides,  the  ships  at 
that  period  could  not  convey  large  armies 
to  such  a  distance. 

It  is  not  only  believed  that  America 
was  peopled  at  the  expense  of  Europe,  but 
also  at  the  expense  of  the  unfortunate 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  the  race  of 
whom  has  been  thought  to  be  almost  an- 
nihilated. Spain  would  thus  have  expiated 
the  crimes  she  committed  in  the  new  world, 
by  the  calamities  she  suffered  at  home. 
But  both  the  crimes  and  the  punishment 
are  imaginary  :  with  the  exception  of  the 
first  cruelties  committed  at  the  moment  of 
conquest,  and  inseparable  from  that  kind 
of  expeditions,  never  was  the  lot  of  the 
Indians  so  mild  as  it  has  long  been  under 
the  Spanish  government,  and,  what  will 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixi 

no  doubt  appear  more  extraordinar)r,  never 
were  they  so  numerous*.  They  were  slaves, 
oppressed  by  the  kings  of  the  country  ;  they 
are  now  free,  protected  and  happy  under  the 
dominion  of  their  conquerors  ;  even  the 
laws  are  so  favourable  to  them,  that  it  is  al« 
lowed  by  all   enlightened  travellers    that 

*  In  a  recent  publication,  it  is  said,  that  in  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  inhabitants  of  Peru,  made  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Lima,  Fray  Geronimo  de  Loaysa,  in  the  year  1551, 
the  Indians  amounted  to  8,285,000.  A  fact  like  this  must 
afflict  those  who  are  aware  that  in  1793,  in  the  very  accu- 
rate calculation  made  .  by  command  of  the  Viceroy  Gil- 
Lemos,  the  Indians  of  Peru,  in  its  present  state,  Chili  and 
Buenos  Ayres  being  separated,  did  not  exceed  G00,000  in- 
dividuals. Here  then  are  7,600,000  Indians  whom  we 
may  suppose  to  have  been  swept  from  the  face  of  the 
earth  ;  but  happily  the  assertion  of  the  Peruvian  author 
proved  to  be  completely  false  ;  for  in  consequence  of  the 
careful  researches  of  Father  Cisneros  in  the  archives  of 
Lima,  it  was  found  that  the  existence  of  the  eight  mil- 
lions in  1551,  was  not  supported  by  any  historical  docu- 
ment :  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  discovered  in  the  ar- 
chives of  the  sixteenth  century,  that  the  Viceroy  Toledo, 
justly  regarded  as  the  Spanish  legislator  of  Peru,  calcu- 
lated, in  1575,  in  the  visits  which  he  made  in  almost  the 
whole  extent  of  the  kingdom,  only  about  1,500,000  Indi- 
ans. (  Sute  taken  from  M.  dc  llumboldCs  w  irl^lib.ii. 
>:ap.  4.  p.  55.) 

e  4 


Ixxii  INTRODUCTION. 

they  tend  to  keep  them  in  a  state  of  idle- 
ness and  puerility  to  which  they  are  but 
too  much  inclined,  and  from  which  they 
might  be  in  some  degree  roused  by  a  se- 
verer government  *.  The  working  of  the 
mines,  against  which  so  much  clamour 
has  been  raised,  has  for  a  great  while  been 
brought  to  such  perfection,  that  the  num- 
ber of  deaths  is  not  greater  among  the 
miners  than  in  any  other  employment  +. 
Besides,  this  occupation  is  entirely  voluntary 
on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  and  out  of  a  po- 
pulation of  6,000,000  of  natives  there  are 
scarcely  30,000  engaged  in  it.     Such,  how- 

#  M.  de  Humboldt,  lib.  2.  ;  De  Pons,  Voyage  de  la 
Terre-fcime,  tome  I.  See  iu  Robertson  and  the  Spanish 
writers  all  the  laws  in  favour  of  the  Indians,  and  the  zeal 
of  the  bishops  in  enforcing  them. 

•f-  In  the  kingdom  of  New  Spain,  at  least  within  thirty 
or  forty  years,  the  working  of  the  mines  is  a  free  labour; 
not  a  trace  of  the  mita  exists  there,  though  a  justly  cele- 
brated author,  Robertson,  has  advanced  the  contrary  :  in 
no  part  of  the  world  do  the  lower  people  more  fully  enjoy 
the  fruit  of  their  labour  than  in  Mexico  for  working  the 
mines.  There  is  no  law  to  compel  the  labourers  to  un- 
dertake this  kind  of  work,  or  to  restrict  them  to  a  particu- 
lar mine.  If  a  miner  is  dissatisfied  with  the  proprietor  of 
one  mine,  he  leaves  him  and  offers  his  services  to  another, 


INTRODUCTION,  lxxiîi 

ever,  are  the  grounds  on  which  rest  all  the 
sentimental  declamations  of  the  last  cen- 
tury ;  such  was  the  ignorance  or  treachery 
of  certain  writers  who,  becoming  enemies 
of  their  country  through  philanthropy,  de- 
prived France  of  her  colonies,  and  robbed 
her  of  a  revenue  of  sixty  millions  nett, 
her  navy  and  commercial  fleets,  and  the 
most  natural  means  of  struggling  against 
the  power  of  England. 

If  it  be  at  least  doubtful  that  the  dis- 
covery of  America  was  injurious  to  the 
population  of  Spain,  it  is  not  less  so  that 
it  put  an  end  to  its  industry,  and  plunged 
its  inhabitants  into  despondence  and  indo- 
lence, by  the  increase  of  specie,  and  an 
abundance  of  the  precious  metals.  The 
view  we  have   given   of  the   state   of  the 

who  pays  more  regularly  or  in  ready  money.  Another 
mi«take  is,  that  of  supposing  that  the  working  of  the  mines 
absorbs  and  reduces  the  population.  In  the  whole  kingdom 
of  New  Spain  there  are  not  more  28  or  30,000  miners, 
and  deaths  are  not  more  frequent  among  them  than  among 
the  other  inhabitants  ;  this  is  proved  by  the  list  of  mortality 
drawn  up  in  tin  parishes  of  Guanakuato  and  Zaeatecas. 
(Vote  A/-  taken  from    hi.   de  Humboldt's  IVorlc, 

lib.  ii.   cup.  ,").  ;,.  73. 


lwiv  INTRODUCTION'. 

commerce  and  agriculture  of  Spain  in  for- 
mer times,  would  alone  be  enough  to  prove 
that  this  notion  is  as  little  founded.  If 
any  thing  could,  an  the  contrary,  rouse 
the  Spaniards  from  their  loved  indolence, 
it  was  the  discovery  of  a  new  continent, 
which  providing  a  prompter  allurement  to 
speculations,  opened  a  new  career  to  all 
adventurers,  and  taught  them  that  the  ad- 
vantages of  commerce  and  property  are 
greater  than  those  of  a  military  or  wan- 
dering life. 

The  Spanish  possessions  in  the  new 
world  ought  not  to  be  called  colonies  : 
those  immense  domains  are  in  some  sort  in- 
tegral parts  of  the  mother  country.  The 
monarchy  is  thus  divided  into  two  parts, 
governed  by  the  same  laws,  containing  a 
population  nearly  equal,  and  both  tending 
to  increase  their  inhabitants  rapidly  in  a 
progression  proportionate  to  the  extent  of 
their  territory.  Nothing  can  be  more  like 
the  ancient  system  of  the  Roman  empire 
in  its  colonies  than  the  Spanish  and  Por- 
tuguese establishments  in  America.  These 
new  nations  united  with  their  countrymen 


INTRODUCTION.  IxXV 

by  the  bonds  of  religion,  loyalty,  and 
habit,  have  nevertheless  a  distinct  and 
equally  complete  social  organization.  They 
have  their  clergy,  their  nobles,  their  trades- 
men, and  the  natives,  who  are  the  com- 
mon people.  Their  incomes  do  not  con- 
sist, as  is  generally  believed,  in  the  produce 
of  the  mines  alone,  but  in  tiie  excessive 
fertility  of  the  soil,  a  source  of  wealth  no 
doubt  more  valuable,  as  it  is  not  liable  to 
be  exhausted,  and  as  it  may  increase  in- 
finitely ;  they  consist  of  the  exclusive  pos- 
session of  cocoa,  tobacco,  cochineal,  ginger, 
Jesuits'  bark,  all  the  woods  used  in  medicine 
or  dying,  all  the  precious  balms,  innumer- 
able herds  of  wild  bullocks,  mules,  horses, 
vicunas,  in  short  in  the  union  of  all  the 
productions  of  Europe  with  those  of  the 
tropics. 

Where  is  the  country  that  can  even  ap- 
proach such  wealth  ?  Is  it  France  ?  Her 
possessions  are  confined  to  a  few  islands, 
the  most  important  of  which  she  has  to  re- 
cover. J  s  it  Holland  ?  The  balance  of  her 
trade  docs  not  exceed  fifteen  millions. 
Nay,  is   it  England  ?    lier  colonial   power 


ÎXXvi  INTRODUCTION. 

is  entirely  of  a  different  nature,  and  is 
not  embodied  with  her  ;  it  is  not  on  the 
soil  that  it  depends  :  counterparts  of  the 
mother-country,  combinations  like  her 
of  industry,  the  English  settlements  arc 
rather  counting-houses  than  colonies  ;  they 
are  the  means  of  entrepots  for  a  manufac- 
turing and  commercial  people,  whose  only 
object  in  increase  of  dominion  is  increase 
of  business,  and  who,  possessed  of  capitals 
and  engaged  in  turning  them  to  advantage, 

©       O  CD  O      ' 

seek  no  better  basis  for  their  power.  The 
nations  they  have  rendered  tributary  in 
India  do  not  become  their  subjects,  and 
the  persons  sent  out  to  govern  them  scori) 
to  think  of  settling  among  them  as  a  home. 
Ever  since  England  lost,  the  American  pro- 
vinces she  has  been  still  more  afraid  of 
fixing  disloyal  branches  at  a  distance,  and 
seeks  only  to  maintain  her  singular  organi- 
zation, that  phenomenon  in  commerce,  po- 
litics and  legislation. 

Spain  alone  seems  to  have  in  view  an 
immense  futurity,  Latis  audax  Hispania 
terria*.     She  traces  the  limits  of  new  king- 

*  Tibullus,  lib.  IV.  carm.  1,  v.  137. 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixxviî 

doms  in  the  deserts  of  a  new  world  ;  the 
steps  of*  the  wandering  traveller  or  of  the 
imprudent  missionary  daily  mark  her  eon- 
quests,  and  prepare  new  riches  for  her  chil- 
dren :  the  untouched  and  fertile  land 
scarcely  requires  cultivation  to  yield  every 
fruit:  it  was  that  land  which  formerly 
made  Seville  the  entrepot  of  the  commerce 
of  the  world,  taking  it  from  Venice  and 
from  Genoa;  it  was  that  land  which  al- 
lowed Charles  V.  and  Philip  II.  to  under- 
take all  the  wars  which  they  sustained 
during  their  long  reigns  ;  the  rebellion  of 
the  Low  Countries  alone  cost  the  latter 
monarch  upwards  of  five  hundred  millions 
of  livres,  nearly  twenty-one  millions  ster- 
ling :  what  sums  must  he  not  have  sacrificed 
to  maintain  the  troubles  of  the  league  in 
France,  to  fit  out  the  fleets  which  gained 
the  battle  of  Lepanto,  and  those  that  were 
destroyed  with  the  name  of  the  Invincible 
Armada;  for  the  expeditions  to  the  Mi- 
lanese, to  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  to  the 
coast  of  Africa;  for  the  expenses  of  sixty 
fortified  towns,  nine  sea-ports,  twenty -fwr 
arsenals,  as  many  palaces,   and   the  Escu- 


XXVlll  INTRODUCTION". 


rial,  which  alone  cost  sixty  millions  of 
livres,  2,500,000/.  sterling?  Whence  could 
this  monarch  have  derived  the  means  of 
meeting  such  expenses  ?  Was  it  from  Ger- 
many ?  the  imperial  crown  had  just  passed 
into  another  branch  of  his  family:  from  the 
Low  Countries  ?  he  was  at  war  with  them: 
from  Italy  ?  it  could  hardly  pay  its  garri- 
sons :  from  Spain  itself?  it  was  exhausted; 
and  besides,  to  obtain  subsidies,  the  con- 
sent of  the  states  was  necessary.  All  those 
expenses  were  defrayed  by  America  alone*. 
By  the  books  of  the  bank  of  Seville,  it  ap- 
pears that  from  the  year  1519  to  1620,  it 
issued  the  su  m  of  fifteen  hundred  millions  of 
ducats,  and  five  hundred  which  had  not  been 
entered  on  the  books- j-.    There  is  no  remark- 

*  Spain,  said  Bocalini,  is  to  Europe  what  the  mouth 
is  to  the  body  ;  all  goes  into  it,  but  nothing  remains  in  it. 

y  One  is  frightened  at  adding  up  all  the  specie  that  was 
put  into  circulation  from  l(jy0  to  1800.  The  quantity 
coined  at  Mexico  alone  of  gold  and  silver  amounts  to 
J ,298/2 17,47-  piasters.  What  became  of  this  enormous 
sum  I  \V  hat  channel  could  it  have  followed ?  This  it  is  very 
easy  to  determine.  Except  the  little  which  remains  in 
America  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants,  and  which  is  made 
up  by  what  is  scut  off  in  contraband,  the  rest  ©f  the  cash 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixxîx 

able  event,  no  critical  situation  in  the  history 
of  Spain,  from  Charles  V.  to  Philip  V.  which 
does  not  manifest  that  the  revenues  from 
America  have  saved  the  monarchy,  so 
clearly  that  the  arrival  of  the  galleons  is 
become  a  proverb. 

Would  Charles  V.  or  Philip  II.  have 
been  less  ambitious  had  America  not 
been  discovered  ?  Would  they  have 
paid  more  attention  to  the  happiness  of 
the  Spaniards  ?  Would  they  not,  on  the 
contrary,  have  found  themselves  obliged  to 
exact  of  them  greater  sacrifices  to  support 
their  unfortunate  enterprises  ?  Would  not 
Spain,  instead  of  remaining  in  a  stationary 
condition,  have  really  declined  to  a  degree 
from  which  it  would  have  been  difficult  to 
recover  herself?  It   was,  on  the  contrary, 

goes  to  Cadiz,  spreads  through  Spain,  passes  into  England 
and  France  to  pay  the  balance  on  the  commodities  which 
Spain  and  her  colonies  take  from  those  two  countries; 
and,  without  stopj  ing  in  England,  runs  away  to  India  and 
China,  where  it  js  inguipbed  never  to  appear  Qg&ini  beiug 
lhe  annual  tribute  which  luxury  has  doomed  Europe  to  pay 
to  Asia,  till  some  unthought  of  revolution,  h;  opening  new' 
channels  of  circulation,  shall  main  th<  fiches  u!  the  eas! 
hack  to  the  " 


1XXX  ÎNTKODUCTION'. 

when  she  was  compelled  to  share  those 
possessions  with  rebellious  subjects,  be- 
come her  rivals,  (hat  she  began  to  be 
feeble  and  her  provinces  to  despond.  The 
Dutch,  who  knew  that  the  sources  of  her 
power  were  in  the  new  world,  soon  con- 
tended with  her  for  them.  In  1003  and 
and  1691  j  companies  of  merchants  were 
formed,  who  dared  to  cope  with  the  most 
powerful  prince  in  Europe,  and  made  Am- 
sterdam the  new  entrepot  of  the  world. 
Taking  advantage  of  all  the  faults  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  committing  none,  they  en- 
riched themselves  at  the  expense  of  Spain*. 
America,  far  from  having  injured  Spanish 
industry,  has,  on  the  contrary,  ever  encou- 
raged it,  by  opening  certain  and  constant 
■vents  for  the  productions  of  the  manufac- 
tories by  the  advantages  accruing  to  it  from 

*  Has  Holland  been  depopulated  or  impoverished  since 
her  connection  v;ith  the  colonies  ?  Is  it  not,  on  the  con- 
trary since  that  period  that  it  has  become  an  important 
state  in  Europe?  The  same  may  be  said  of  Switzerland, 
which  for  four  hundred  years  has  suffered  an  annual  emi- 
gration of  its  inhabitants  sent  into  the  service  of  the  dif- 
ferent princes  of  Europe;  audit  is  the  same  with  England 
and  other  countries  that  possess  colonies. 


INTRODUCTION".  lxxxi 

an   exclusive  trade*.     It  is   to  the  wealth 
and  increase  of  population  in  the  two  In- 
dies that  the  provinces  of  Catalonia,  Va- 
lencia, and  Biscay,  and  the  ports  of  Cadiz, 
Malaga,   and    Barcelona,    have   been  in- 
debted for  their  improvement  and  prospe- 
rity.    The  advocates  of  the  contrary  opi- 
nion  go    farther,    and    without   troubling 
themselves  to  be  convinced  that  the  Spa- 
nish colonies  have  at  present  all   the  ad- 
vantage without  any    disadvantage,  that 
the  produce  of  their  mines  have  been  in- 
creasing in   an  extraordinary   progression 
for  twenty  years,  that  the  emigration  from 
Spain  is  confined  to  the  agents  of  the  go- 
vernment,  that,    without  reckoning  forty 
millions  which  they  pour  into  the  treasury 
of  all  expence,  they  contribute  greatly 
to  the  king's  revenue  by  the  custom-houses 
and  the  circulation   of  specie  ;  in  spite  of 

V»  ages  are  ^till  too  high  in  Spain,  industry  too  little 
improved}  and,  above  all,  the  custom-house  duties  too 
.  Icrablc,  to  allow  of  any  competition  in  manufacture» 
with  oth'.r  nations,  if  the  trade  Were  l<>  Cease  being  exclu- 
sive. The  only  excitement  in  tbat  bate  to  mercantile  con- 
nection! would  be  habit  and  fiduhiy. 

Vol.  i.  f 


Ixxxni  INTRODUCTION  . 

all  these  considerations,  I  say,  they  serir- 
ously  pretend  that  a  sound  philosophy  and 
the  knowledge  of  ber  real  interest  should 
injure  Spain  to  separate  from  her  colo- 
nies, and  declare  them  independent,  con- 
fining themselves,  say  they,  to  keeping  up  an 
amicable  intercourse  with  them. 

h  h  not  an  object  of  this  work  to  enquire 
what  the  state  of  Spain  would  be,  separate 
from  her  colonics  ;  or  what  would  be  the 
fate  of  her  colonies  under  a  government 
independent  of  the  mother-country  ;  the 
latter  question  has  been  fully  treated  by 
the  eloquent  writer  of  the  Three  Ages  of 
the  Colonies,  whose  work  acquires  addi- 
tional interest  from  the  present  situation  of 
things.  The  author,  supposing  colonies  in 
general  independent  from  the  moment  they 
could  become  so,  and  that  that  period  was 
arrived,  has  endeavoured  to  find  out  the 
means  of  remedying  an  inevitable  evil  ; 
but  it  does  not  follow  from  that,  that  he 
ever  considered  it  as  a  good,  at  least  in 
regard  to  the  mother-countries.  On  the 
contrary,  "  Spain,"  says  he*,  "has  always 

*   Trois  Ages  (/,\?  Coloiues,  torn  I.  p.  \  IS. 


INTRODUCTION'.  IxXXlli 

c;  thought  it  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
"  preserve  an  exclusive  intercourse  most 
"  rigourouslv  with  those  countries,  the 
';  sources  of  her  own  wealth  as  well  as  that 
"  of  Europe,  the  circulation  of  which  she 
"  maintains  by  the  metals  she  provides  for 
"  it.  England,  on  her  part*  has  always 
"  been  desirous  oï  a  connection  with  some 
<:  portion  of  this  opulent  property,  and 
"  of  turning  towards  herself  the  stream  of 
"  some  of  its  rivers  of  silver*." 

*  Spain  was  formerly  Utile  known,  although  from  the 
fifteenth  century  the  events  of  its  history  have  been  con- 
stantly mixed  with  those  of  France,,  and  though  its'  posses- 
sions formed  the  half  of  the  two  hemispheres.  Not  to 
mention  the  philosophical  writers,  whose  mistakes  do  not 
always  arise  from  ignorance,  theie  is  in  other  authors-,  in 
mpect  to  Spain,  a  singular  letity,  a  want  ôf  investigation 
or  accurate  notions  not  correspondent  with  the  other  park 
of  their  works.  Montesquieu  himself  appears  always  to 
have  had  erroneous  or  superficial  information  respecting 
this  country.  He  sets  out  with  denying  the  existence  of 
its  gold  and  silver  mines  under  the  Romans  (Spirit  of 
Laws,  lib.  9.1,  c.  11.),  though  every  traveller  in  Spain 
woulil  bave  informed  him  that  the  galleries  of  the  mint ifl 
v.  >rk»d  b)  the  Romans;  and  since  then  by  the  Arabs,  prove 
th«ir  importance,  and  are  entirely  conformable  to  the  tra- 
dition» "lvci/  in  authors.  The  V'isigoihic  code,  which  it 
•i  be  dlffleult  (ft  to  admire,  he  scorn*  to  make  kno\m: 
f  2 


IXXXÎV  INTRODUCTION. 

The  separation  of  the  colonies  from  the 
mother-country  is  very  uncertain  ;  but  sup- 

"  These  laws,"  says  he,  "  are  puerile,  silly,  idiotic  ;  they 
do  not  attain  their  object,  but  are  theoretical  and  without 
sense,  frivolous  in  reality,  and  gigantic  in  style."  {Spirit  of 
Lazes,  lib.  28,  c.  2.)  So  violent  a  criticism  seems  to  me 
to  have  required  a  more  detailed  explanation.  The  faults 
imputed  to  modern  Spain  are  still  greater,  and  Mon- 
tesquieu lets  no  occasion  slip  of  multiplying  them.  After 
repeating  the  trite  stories  of  the  cruelties  which  the  Spa- 
niards are  said  to  have  committed  in  America,  he  thus  de- 
duces the  consequences  of  them  :  *f  Since  the  devastation 
"  of  America,"  says  he,  (i  the  Spaniards  who  took  place 
"  of  its  ancient  inhabitants  have  not  been  able  to  re-people 
"  it  ;  on  the  contrary,  by  a  fatality,  which  I  might  better 
'*  call  divine  justice,  the  destroyers  are  destroying  them- 
"  selves  and  daily  consuming  away."  (Persian  Letters.) 
We  have  shown  how  little  founded  this  opinion  is;  that 
which  attributes  the  ruin  of  Spain  to  the  discovery  of  the 
new  world  is  still  less  so,  as  we  think  we  have  equally 
proved.  Besides,  the  reasons  employed  by  that  illustrious 
writer  to  demonstrate  it,  are  weaker  than  many  others  that 
liave  been  advanced  by  Spanish  authors,  which  neverthe- 
less did  not  decide  the  question  in  their  favour.  To  have 
given  any  weight  to  the  positions  laid  down  by  Montes- 
quieu, it  would  have  been  necessary  to  prove,  l?t.  that  the 
produce  of  the  mines  did  not  increase,  whereas  it  has  con- 
stantly increased  for  sixty  years  past;  2dly,  that  all  the 
specie  coined  remained  in  Europe,  so  as  to  diminish  in 
current  value  by  increasing  in  quantity,  whereas  the  prodi- 
gious efflux  of  it  annually  to  the  East  Indies  and  China 


INTRODUCTION.  \XXXY 

posing  that  it  were  to  take  place,  the  con- 
sequences which  would  result  from  it  de- 
pend upon  the  nature  of  the  separation. 
If  it  be  not  entirely  hostile  on  either  side, 
it  would  not  be  entirely  injurious.  The 
advantages  which  Spain  derives  and  may 
hope  to  derive  from  her  colonies,  do  not 
rest  altogether  on  the  tributes  which  they 

tends  to  maintain  nearly  the  same  equilibrium  between  the 
medium  of  wealth  and  other  productions,  and  to  establish 
a  balance  in  favour  of  the  advancement  of  the  mines,  aug- 
mented by  the  diminution  of  the  expellees  of  working  them  : 
3dly,  that  agriculture  and  population  were  injured  by  the 
emigration  to  America,    whereas  long  before  Montesquieu 
wrote  that  emigration  had  ceased,  and  Spain  owed  her  im- 
provement or  decline   entirely   to  herself.     Montesquieu 
likewise  expresses  himself  thus  :  "  I  have  sometimes  heard 
"  the  blindness  of  the  council  of  Francis  I.  deplored  for 
"  repulsing  Christopher  Columbus,  who  proposed  Ame- 
u  rica  to  them.   In  truth,  they  did,  peihaps  through  impru- 
'*  deuce,  a  very  wise  thing.     Spain  has   acted   like  that 
"  foolid»    king  who  requested  that  whatever  he  touched 
"  might  be  tamed  into  gold  ;  but  who  was  obliged  to  repair 
u  agaiu  to  the  god-  to  supplicata  them  to  put  an  end  to  his 
"  misery."  (Spirit  of  Lata,  b.  v!l,  ih.  W.)   I  do  not  think 
that  Spain  will  ever  have  cause  to  express  similar  sorrow, 
and  renounce  her  advantages;   but  if  it  should  he  the  case, 
1  pray  to  H»  averi  to  bt  tow  a  part   of  her  leavings  on  my 

»  OU! 

:   I 


lx'XxW  INTRODUCTION. 

pay  her,  but  likewise  on  the  objects  which 
they  consume,  and  on  the  works  which 
they  encourage  :  now,  in  respect  to  com- 
merce, there  exist  between  the  Spanish  co- 
lonics and  the  mother-country  the  close 
ties  which  arc  drawn  by  the  same  religion, 
the  same  language,  the  same  character, 
and  the  same  origin  ;  and  the  Spaniards  do 
not  easily  renounce  such  ties*. 

The  second  cause  to  which  the  depopu- 
lation and  defective  industry  of  Spain  are 
imputed,  is  the  establishment  of  the  Inqui- 
sition. Here  too  it  is  necessary  to  go  back 
to  the  origin  of  things.  It  has  been  al- 
ways the  fashion  to  see  in  the  Inquisition  an 
institution  devised  by  fanatic  priests  to 
persecute  the  people,  or  by  suspicious 
nobles  to.  enforce  their  authority  over  their 
vassals,  or  by  a  weak  government  to  aug- 
ment its  power  :  we  forget  that  at  that  pc- 

*  The  commerce  of  America  once  centered  exclusively 
in  Cadiz,  hut  it  has  heen  opened  to  the  othrr  ports  of  Spain. 
Cadiz,  however,  continues  to  carry  on  a  great  part  of  the; 
business  it  had,  and  preserves  all  its  correspondents;  i\ 
\vill  be  the  same  with  Spain  in  general  in  re§pec|  to  the 
other  countries  of  Europe. 


INTRODUCTION.  lxXXvil 

riod  every  class  of  men  was  also  fanatic, 
and    that  the    priests    were   less    so    than 
others,   being  more  enlightened  ;  that  this 
institution,  established  by  tiie  pope  alone 
in    1205,   and   adopted   in   Spain  in  1478, 
could  not  but  have  displeased  the  clergy  in 
general,  as  it  took  away  part  of  their  func- 
tions to  confine  them  to  the  monks  of  St. 
Dominic  ;    that   the   nobles,  already  pos- 
sessed of  complete  power  over  their  vas- 
sals,   had    no    occasion    for    any  indirect 
means  to  enforce  their  authority,  and  that 
on   the  contrary   they  lost  their  seignorial 
jurisdiction  over  them  in  consequence  of 
it.  With  respect  to  the  kings,  nothing  could 
more  diminish  their  power,  previously  so 
limited,  as  increasing  that  of  the  clergy, 
of  whom  they  had  frequently  cause  to  be 
jealous.     The    Inquisition    was    not   esta- 
blished with  any  of  these  views,  and  had 
not  in  its  origin  such  importance  ;  it  was 
an  institution  purely  relative,  and  a  means 
adopted  for  effecting  more  easity  the  odious 
measure,   the  consequences  of  which  we 
have  fully  deplored;  I  mean  the  expulsion 
of  the  Jews  and  Moors,  or  the  conversion 

f4 


lxxxviii  INTRODUCTION. 

of  those  who  remained.  A  tribunal  was 
then  established,  specially  commissioned 
to  attend  to  the  execution  of  that  law  ;  but 
this  cruel  office  had  no  effect  on  the  ca- 
tholic subjects,  on  the  nobles,  artizans,  in 
short,  on  the  mass  of  the  Spanish  nation. 
We  have  only  to  read,  in  the  archives  of 
the  order  of  St.  Dominic  and  the  histories 
of  the  Inquisition,  the  names  of  the  per- 
sons condemned  in  the  different  autos-da-fe, 
to  be  convinced  that  they  were  all  what 
were  then  called  new  christians,  half  chris- 
tians, or  part  christians,  which  meant 
baptized  Jews,  and  relations  or  connec- 
tions of  Jews  and  Moors.  So  true  is  this, 
that  there  was  an  end  to  the  persecutions 
altogether,  when  in  the  succeeding  gene- 
rations of  these  people  not  a  trace  re- 
mained of  the  belief  of  their  fathers.  The 
Inquisition,  in  fact  and  right,  could  not 
take  cognizance  of  any  other  offence. 
Inquisitores  non  possunt  se  intermittere  in 
aliis  causis  quam  in  delectis  contra  /idem*. 
No   doubt   some   vindictive   acts    were 

*  Clem,  de  Ilœres,  cap.  mult.  prim,  parag.  propter. 


INTRODUCTION.  IxXXlX 

committed  under  this  pretext,  and  some 
Spanish  names  are  found  on  those  horrible 
lists;  but  it  was  only  at  the  period  when 
the  doctrines  of  Luther  and  Calvin  set  all 
Europe  into  flames,  and  had  also  made 
proselytes  in  Spain.  The  Inquisition  then 
included  the  Spaniards  in  the  number  of 
its  victims.  I  do  not  mean  to  excuse  its 
cruelties  ;  they  were  atrocious,  but  not  nu- 
merous, nor  ever  exercised  without  warn- 
ing. If  anywhere  innovations  in  religion 
could  be  considered  as  criminal,  it  was  no 
doubt  in  Spain,  where  the  government  had 
always  been  in  a  manner  theocratic,  where 
the  catholic  religion  was  the  fundamental 
law  of  the  state,  and  where,  long  before 
Luther  was  born,  the  Inquisition  was  esta- 
blished, in  order  to  prevent  every  kind  of 
.schism  or  dissenting  whatever.  It  must 
be  allowed,  that  the  Spanish  government 
was  cruel  and  intolerant  in  this  respect, 
but  it  was  never  treacherous  :  we  do  not 
sec  in  its  history  that  jumble  of  caprice 
and  wavering,  of  toleration  in  words  and 
persecution  in  acts,  of  paternal  edicts  and 
tardy  aEVoc  »  riONS,  which  destroy  all  the 


XC  INTRODUCTION. 

benefit  of  them  ;  we  do  not  see  arnon^  the 
victims  of  superstition  the  names  of  a 
Henry  IV.  or  of  a  Coligny.  Spain  seemed 
early  to  have  foreseen  all  the  evils  that 
would  spring  from  irresolute  measures  on 
so  important  a  point  ;  she  adopted  a  fixt 
plan,  which  she  declared  openly,  and 
which,  far  from  injuring  the  progress  of  her 
population,  was,  on  the  contrary,  favour- 
able to  it,  by  keeping  her  out  of  the  reli- 
gious wars  which  desolated  Germany  and 
France  after  the  Reformation,  and  with 
which  England  is  still  a  Ml  ic  ted*.  This 
unity  of  worship  and  belief  has  contributed 
more  than  is  thought  to  consolidate  all  the 
Spaniards  in  both  hemispheres  into  a  single 
uniform  nation,  one  homogeneous  mass  of 
men  having  the  same  ties,  the  same  cha^ 
racter,  and  the  same  will. 

*  The  author  surely  means  wars  of  words,  or  he  must 
be  ignorant  ;  one  woul<l  be  sorry  to  think  that  an  ingenuous 
man  should  be  guilty  of  such  a  paltry  insincerity  to  deceive 
his  countrymen  into  an  idea  of  the  peace  of  England  being 
disturbed  by  any  actual  religious  war.  The  author's  words 
are,  "  en  lui  évitant  les  guerres  de  religion  qui  ont  désole 
M  l'Allemagne  et  la  France  depuis  la  reforme,  et  qui  aftii- 
**  gent  encore  aujourd'hui  l'Angleterre." — Tkanslatou, 


INTRODUCTION.  XC1 

It  is  equally  fafee  that  the  Inquisition  has 
impeded  the  progress  of  the  sciences  and 
literature  in  Spain.     The  epoch  of  the  in- 
stitution of  that  tribunal,  in  1478,  in  the 
reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  was  pre- 
cisely the  period   of  the  revival  of  letters. 
The   reigns  of  Charles  V.  Philip  II.   and 
Philip  III.  during  which  the  sciences  at- 
tained the  highest  degree  of  splendour,  in 
which  the  Spanish  language  and  literature 
prevailed  in  Europe,  are  those  which  are 
the  most  remarkable  for  the  ravages  of  the 
Inquisition,    those   in  which   it   destroyed 
upwards   of   80,000    persons  in    the   Low 
Countries,  and  a  considerable,  number  in 
Spain.       On    the    contrary,   its   influence 
ceased  at  the  juncture  of  the  decline   of 
letters,  and  of  all  the  branches  of  the  ad- 
ministration under  the  last  princes  of  the 
house  of  Austria. 

It  was  from  this  period,  at  which,  accord- 
ing to  all  authors,  the  influence  of  the  In- 
quisition appears  to  have  ceased,  that  I 
think  it  became  really  injurious  to  the 
expansion  of  all  useful  knowledge;  not, 
certainly,  bee  use  it  ceased  to  be  cruel,  but 


XCH  INTRODUCTION. 

because  it  changed  its  nature  and  acquired 
new  powers. 

When  the  race  of  the  Moors  and  of  the 
Jews  became  extinct  in  Spain,  when  reli- 
gious quarrels  seemed  at  an  end  in  Europe, 
the  Inquisition  still  retained  its  organiza- 
tion, was  still  composed  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished persons  of  the  nobility  and 
clergy,  and  observed  the  same  forms  in  its 
proceedings,  but  had  no  more  occasion  for 
the  exercise  of  its  ministry.  The  mem- 
bers of  it  then  thought  that  the  only  means 
of  maintaining  its  power  was  to  unite  it 
with  that  of  the  throne,  and  to  support  it 
by  that  sceptre  which  it  had  a  little  before 
threatened  to  break*.  They  persuaded  the 
princes,  that  as  it  had  been  serviceable 
to  religion  against  schismatics,  it  might 
also  be  serviceable  to  the  state  against 
factions.  They  pointed  out  to  them  that 
new  dangers  had  arisen  around  them  against 
which  new  preservatives  were  necessary, 
and  that  the  liberty  of  the  press,  which  pre- 

*  The  grand  inquisitor  upbraided  Philip  III.  violently 
for  being  affected  at  an  auto-da-fe. 


ÎNTRODUCTIO.N.  Xciïî 

vailed  "every  where,    was  no  less  alarmin^ 
than  that  of  worship. 

This  opinion  for  which  there  might  have 
been  some  foundation  in  other  countries, 
had  not  any  in  Spain,  neither  the  organiza- 
tion of  which,  nor  the  characters  of  the 
people,  contained  the  elements  of  a  revo- 
lution. Yet  the  nature  of  the  books  that 
were  printed  in  foreign  countries  gave  an 
appearance  of  truth  to  this  reasoning,  and 
caused  it  to  be  favourably  received.  In 
fact,  there  are  few  works  on  political  eco- 
nomy, on  commerce,  or  even  on  agricul- 
ture, written  during  the  last  sixty  years, 
which  do  not  contain  some  digressions  upon 
the  nature  of  governments,  the  principles 
of  public  law,  and  the  law  of  nations,  and 
particularly  on  those  moral  views  to  which 
the  name  of  liberal  ideas  has  been  given, 
and  which  the  Inquisition  called  danger- 
ous ideas.  Spain,  at  this  period,  was  no 
longer  superior  to  Europe  for  its  learning; 
France  and  England  had  gone  beyond  it, 
and  it  could  no  longer  hope  to  equal  other 
nations  but  by  imitating  then).  I  fence 
urosu  that  general  dcsnc-  of  every  class  of 


XC1V  INTRODUCTION'. 

society  to  become  acquainted  with  new  in* 
vent  ions,  to  participate  in  the  improve- 
ments of  all  kinds  which  had  taken  place 
in  Europe,  and  in  short  to  read  and  com- 
ment upon  foreign  works.  From  the  fear 
of  the  evil  that  these  writings  might  pro- 
duce, the  Inquisition  thought  it  better  to 
drpri\e  the  country  of  the  advantage  at- 
tached lo  them  ;  they  prohibited  most  of 
die  foreign  books,  and  raised  a  great  many 
impediments  to  the  obtaining  of  others. 
Instead  of  the  obscure  names  which  filled 
die  lists  of  the  auto-da-fé,  those  of  Mon- 
tesquieu, Smith,  and  Robertson,  were  seen 
at  the  head  of  their  literary  proscriptions. 
The  Spaniards  then  continued  behind-hand 
with  their  neighbours,  though  perpetually 
anxious  to  give  and  receive  instruction. 
Proud  of  their  immense  possessions  in  tin 
two  worlds,  and  humbled  by  their  political 
gradation  in  Europe,  they  seemed  fet- 
tered by  the  narrow  spirit  of  their  laws, 
and  lost  in  the  extent  of  their  dominions. 
Envious  of  other  nations,  of  whom  form- 
erly they  wmdd  only  have  been  jealous, 
they  were  seen  struggling  between  emula- 


INTRODUCTION.  XCV 

tion,  which  excited  them  to  attempt  every 
kind  of  industry,  and  local  difficulties, 
which  prevented  them  from  arriving  at 
perfection  in  any.  Several,  exasperated 
by  this  new  kind  of  persecution,  even  went 
beyond  truth  in  their  systems,  and  the  only 
country  in  Europe  where  religion  is  uni- 
versally uniform  and  the  monarchy  abso- 
lute, is  perhaps  that  in  which  there  are 
most  atheists  and  démagogues  amongst  the 

CD      CD  O 

enlightened  part  of  society. 

If  Spain  was  not  able  to  raise  itself  to 
an  eminent  degree  of  splendour  and  wealth 
during   the   reigns    of  such   distinguished 

CD  CD  <D 

princes  as  Ferdinand,  Charles  V.  and  Phi- 
lip II.  what  was  to  become  of  it  under  a  suc- 
cession of  weak  and  incapable  kings,  such 
as  Philip  III.  Philip  IV.  and  Charles  IL 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  reign  of  the  la  t 
king  it  had  fallen  into  such  a  state  of  lan- 
guor, that  the  potentates  of  Europe  impa- 
tiently waited  for    its  spoliation,  and  had 
already  signed  a  treaty  of  partition  to  share 
it,  when  the  death  of  Charles  li.  brought 
to  light  a  will  in  favour  of  the  grandsons 
of  Louis  XIV.  and  in    which  it  was  stipu- 


XCV1  INTRODUCTION. 

kited  that  its  territory  should   be  preserved 
entire. 

Louis  XIV  accepted    this  gift  with  the 
difficult  task    of  defending  it.      Philip  V. 
was  at  first  received  with  enthusiasm,  and 
for  some  time  reigned  tranquilly;  but  the 
storm  soon  collected  from  every  point  over 
his  head.     The  reverses  which  Louis  XIV. 
experienced  were  principally    felt  by  his 
grandson,  who,  obliged  to  leave  his  capital 
and  to  retire  to  Buncos,  was  indebted  solely 
to  his  perseverance  and  the  talents  of  some 
of  his  generals  for  his  throne   to  which  he 
returned,  and  which  was  formally  confirm- 
ed to  him  by  the   treaty  of  Utrecht. 

It  is  from  this  celebrated  era  in  the  His- 
tory of  Spain  that  we  are  to  date  the  pros- 
perity of  that  kingdom,  which  a  combina- 
tion of  circumstances  then  placed  in  the 
situation  most  adapted  to  it,  as  well  for 
improvement  at  home  as  peace  abroad. 
Bound  in  interest  with  France,  its  eternal 
rival,  it  had  110  longer  continual  wars  to 
fear,  nor  any  thing  that  could  retard  the 
progress  of  its  industry.  The  politics  of 
Europe  were  changed,  and  that  ambition 


IXTRODCCTIOX.  XCV11 

of  universal  monarchy   which   had  passed 
from  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Austria  to 
Louis  XIV.  at  last  gave  place  to  the  ideas 
of  a  balance  of  power,  which  could  more 
lastingly  ensure  the   tranquillity  of  states 
and  diminish  the  sources  of  war.     Already 
had  the  treaty  of  Westphalia  proved  that 
political  legislation  was  in  a  state  of  im- 
provement  as    well    as  social   legislation. 
That  of  Utrecht,  still  more  temperate,  was 
particularly  favourable  to  Spain,   securing 
to   her  the   integrity  of  her  territory,  and 
her    colonies,    the   true   source    of  riches 
when  their  industry  is  combined  with  that 
of  the  mother-country.     The  government* 
placed  in   the  middle  of  this  exchange  of 
productions,  of  this  circulation  of  revenue 
between  the  two  worlds,  profiting  by  the 
advantages   which  it  drew  from  both,  en- 
couraging one  by  the  other,  saw  the  nuin- 
b'(  r   of  its    subjects    and  the  mass    of   its 
wealth  increase,  without   having  any   oc- 
casion for  address   in    its  politics,  strength 
in    ils   armies,  or   'jenius  in  its  ndnmhstra- 
It  owed   it    niccesfl    neither  to  pro- 
found combinations,  nor  to  the  decline  of 

\  OL.  I. 


Xrvill  INTRODUCTION". 

its  neighbours,  but  to  the  nature  of  thing», 
which  tends  always  to  good,  when  it  is  not 
thwarted,  when  a  corrupt  organization  of 
the  state  does  not  raise  continual  obsta- 
cles to  its  improvement.  What  rapid 
changes  did  not  Spain  experience  in  that 
happy  century!  In  less  than  eighty  years 
its  population  doubled  itself;  the  sums  of 
money  expended  in  conséquence  of  the 
wars  of  the  succession  remained  in  the 
country  :  the  energy  which  it  had  produced 
had  formed  soldiers;  and  at  the  same  time 
the  revenues  of  the  state  were  trebled,  and 
a  formidable  army  of  100,000  men  assem- 
bled :  the  arsenals  were  fdled  with  work- 
men, seventy  ships  of  the  line  were  built 
in  a  short  time,  the  genius  of  Louis  XIV. 
'ned  to  hover  over  this  new  empire  and 
to  promote  its  restoration.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  reign  of  Philip  V.  Spain  be- 
came important  in  a  military  point  of  view. 
What  was  deficient  in  this  reign  was  com- 
pleted in  the  following;  Ferdinand  VI. 
restored  order  in  the  finances,  encouraged 
the  arts,  and  founded  patriotic  societies 
for  the  improvement  of  agriculture  ;  and 


INTRODUCTION.  XC1X 

Charles  III,  whose  government  at  Naples 
had  already  predicted  what  he  would  per- 
form upon  a  larger  theatre,  surpassed  his 
predecessors.  The  edict  of  free  commerce 
with  America  multiplied  the  connections 
with  that  country,  and  spread  the  advan- 
tages of  industry  and  activity  over  all  the 
kingdom;  roads  were  opened  in  the  prin- 
cipal provinces,  canals  were  commenced, 
the  manufactures  shook  off  the  yoke  of 
foreigners,  the  arts  and  sciences,  which  al- 
ways find  a  home  in  tranquil  countries, 
fixed  themselves  in  this  ;  and  the  Spaniards 
were  soon  seen  to  follow  the  French  in 
t  very  useful  and  hazardous  undertaking. 
Condamine  was  not  long  in  finding  such 
men  as  Don  Georges  Juan  and  Don  An- 
tonio Ulloa,  as  companions  of  his  travels. 
It  was  a  Spaniard  who  returned  alone  from 
California,  and  published  the  observations 
of  {hé  unfortunate  Chappe.  Does  learn- 
ing display  more  brilliant  names  in  Europe 
than  those  of  Bayer,  Mayans,  Sarmiento, 
Flores,  Feïjoo,and  Jsla?  or  philosophy  an'd 
political  economy,  better  Works  than  those 
of  Ca'mpo  Manes  and  Jovellànos'?  This 
g  S 


c  î\ï  Ronrcnox. 

expansion  of  every  faculty,  this  encourage- 
ment of  every  talent,  was  felt  beyond  the 
seas.  The  Spanish  possessions  iii  America 
surpassed  the  mother-country  in  the  in- 
crease of  their  riches  and  prosperity.  The 
annual  produce  of  the  mines  rose  from  five 
millions  of  piastres  to  thirty-live  millions, 
by  the  excellent  administration  of  Galvez, 
and  of  those  who  accompanied  him;  but 
still  these  revenues,  as  uncertain  as  brilliant, 
have  not  improved  so  much  as  agriculture, 
a  more  lasting  basis,  and  upon  which  the 
future  gigantic  prospects  of  this  country 
are  founded;  the  progress  which  it  made 
has  spread  amongst  all  classes  of  the  inha- 
bitants that  happiness  which  mild  laws 
have  for  a  long  time  been  preparing.  We 
have  seen  above  with  what  astonish- 
ing rapidity  population  increases;  one 
scourge  alone  retarded  its  progress  ;  a 
considerable  number  of  people  were  annu- 
ally carried  off  by  the  small-pox,  princi- 
pally among  the  Indian  easts.  This  mis- 
fortune is  no  longer  to  be  dreaded  ;  a 
philanthropic  expedition  has   lately    been 


INTRODUCTION.  CÏ 

sent  out  to  remedy  it  forever  ;  two  frigates 
have    taken  to    the    countries   of  gold,   a 
treasure  more    precious  than    that  which 
it  possesses,  twenty  children,  some  of  whom 
had  previous  to  their  being  embarked  re- 
ceived the   vaccine   principle,  which  was 
communicated   to   the  others    during   the 
voyage,  that  it  might  be  preserved  in  all 
its    freshness  ;     an     ingenious    idea     and 
worthy  of  the  Spanish  character.     As  sOon 
as  intelligence  of  the  arrival  of  the  frigates 
was  spread  in  the    country,  the    Indians 
descended   from   their   mountains   on   all 
sides  ;  the  bishop  of  Vera  Cruz,  attended 
by  his  clergy,  went  to  the  shore  to  receive 
this  precious  charge;  he  took  one  of  the 
children    in    his    arms    and    raising   it   to 
heaven,  addressed  a  prayer  to  God,  amidst 
the  acclamations  of  the  crowded  beach  : 
blessings  of  a  holy  religion  and  a  paternal 
monarch,  what  an  affecting  scene  did  you 
present  upon  this  distant  land  ! 

Spain  undoubtedly  increased  in  wealth 
and  prosperity  during  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.  The  descendants  of  Louis  XIV.  have 

g  3 


Cil  INTRODUCTION. 

Restored  this  kingdom  to  the  political  situa* 
tion  which  must  be  favourable  to  it;  they 
have  brought  forward  part  of  its  means 
pf  industry  :  they  have  restored  t he  aits  and 

sciences  to  it,  but  the  y  have  still  left  fetters 
remaining  that  prevent  a  complete   ame- 
lioration :    though  wise  enough  to  reform 
abuses,    they  were  not  perhaps  sufficiently 
powerful  to  abolish  laws  or  change  habits, 
equally    injurious    to    the    increase   of   in- 
dustry.    The   greatest  part  of  the  lands  of 
the  kingdom,  entailed  on  the  families  of  the 
nobility  or  belonging  to  religious  corpora- 
tions,  :  as  uncultivated,  and  the  little 
that  [s  alienable  is  sold  above  its  value,  on 
account  <  f   the  difficulty   of  obtaining  it. 
The    v.  f  communication    among   the 
pro]           .  ta  the  inland  commerce, 
anil  $ausgs  -  in  sorue,  while  there  is 
a  superfluous  abundance  in  others;  the  de- 
ficiency of  highways  and  cross-roads  is,  also 
injurious    to    foreign     commerce.      Corn 
broughtfrom  theUnited  Slates  to  Cadiz  in, 
neutral  vessels   and    re-exported    under    a, 
ianish  name  to  South  America,  is  cheapej 


INTRODUCTION.  Clll 

in   that   country1  than  the   Spanish   corn 
sent  directly  from  its  own  ports,  notwith- 
standing the  risks  of  the  double  passage. 
The  case  is  the  same  with  manufactures  : 
the  productions    of    the    national   or  fo- 
reign manufactories    exported  on  the  na- 
tional account  are  so  overburthened  with 
duties  at  entering  and  clearing,  and  fetch 
such  a  price  in  America,  that  smuggling  is 
in  a  manner  solicited,  and  the  advantages 
of  the  exclusive  trade  rendered  null.    The 
direct  taxes  are  not  less  heavy  upon  agri- 
culture,   though  they  return  little  or  no- 
thing to  the  Treasury.     The  revenues  of  the 
Alcabala  and  the  Almoxarifazgo,  as  barba- 
rous  as  their  names  and  as   the  times  in 
which   they    were   devised,  produce   very 
little,  and  are  very  expensive  in  collecting; 
the  tax  of  Crusade  bulls  founded  on  pueri- 
lities and  unworthy  of  a  true  religion  and 
of  a  wise  government,  diminishes  daily  as 
the  country  becomes  more  enlightened,   or 
as   the   administration  relaxes.     AY  e    have 
seen  before    to  what    a  degree    indolence 
still  prevails.     In  short,  the  country  which 


ciV  iKTnODî'CTION. 

furnishes  Europe  with  all  its  specie  is  over* 
burthenedwith  a  paper  of  no  credit,  without 
value  and  without  security  ;  tjie  melan- 
choly sign  and  more  melancholy  pledge 
of  a  considerable  debt. 

To  remedy  these  serious  evils  requires  a 
union  of  courage,  genius,  and  activity  : 
with  these  the  happiest  changes  may  be 
effected,  and  Spain  may  resume  alone  the 
rank  which  she  formerly  occupied  in  Eu- 
rope only  by  the  assistance  of  its  other 
states. 

It  must  not  be  dissembled,  that  Spain  is 
too  fertile  and  its  population  is  too  thin, 
to  think  of  any  thing  but  extending  its 
agriculture,  the  chief  source  of  all  wealth. 
It  will  soon  become  a  manufacturing  na- 
tion, when  a  greater  abundance  of  pro- 
ductions shall  have  increased  the  popula- 
tion and  rendered  labour  cheaper.  As  the 
taxes  may  then  be  collected  on  the  spot, 
there  will  no  longer  be  occasion  to  clog  in- 
dustry so  much  by  custom-houses,  and 
there  will  be  less  to  fear  from  the  competi- 
tion of  foreign  merchandise  ;  but  it  is  ne- 


INTRODUCTION.  CV 

cessavy  to  begin  the  edifice  at  its.  founda- 
tion. 

Almost  all  Spain  is  the  unalienable  pro- 
perty of  the  Lords,  of  the  religious  corpo- 
rations, or  of  the  commons  ;  nothing  can 
dismember  their  domains,  while  entails, 
alliances,  or  bequests  are  continually  in- 
creasing them.  The  little  land  which  is, 
as  it  were,  in  circulation,  is  neither  suf- 
ficient for  the  investment  of  the  capitals 
made  by  commerce,  nor  for  the  industry 
of  individuals  of  small  property,  who  are 
desirous  of  commencing  their  fortune  in 
that  way,  or  of  realising  that  which  they 
have  acquired.  Thus  society  is  entirely 
composed  of  usufructuaries,  proprietors,  or 
farmers,  but  all  equally  indifferent;  the 
first  because  they  have  no  power  to 
transmit  their  fortune,  the  others  because 
they  never  can  acquire  the  property.  The 
lords  inhabit  the  towns  and  pay  no  man- 
ner of  attention  to  their  estates;  the  con- 
vents spend  their  revenues  in  alms  and  iii 
free  gifts  to  the  king;  the  commons  build 
cathedrals,  and  the  tenants  of  each,  having 
for  the   most  part  leases  of  only  three  or 


fvi  INTRODUCTION. 

fbtir  yeafs,  ciulciivoiir  speedily  to  make  the 
most  of  the  land  without  attempting  toim- 
prové  it  :  whole  fields  remain  fallow  solely 
because  they  form  part  of  these  gigantic 
accumulations.  Such  are  the  reasons  of 
the  solicitation  long  made  for  the  abolition, 
or  at  least  restriction,  of  the  civil  and  reli- 
gions rights  of  succession.  They  are  so 
considerable  in  Spain,  and  swallow  up 
such  an  immense  quantity  of  land,  that 
there  is  no  reason  to  fear  that  the  conse- 
quence will  be  too  great  a  division  of  pro- 
perty, as  took  place  in  France  after  the 
law  of  the  seventeenth  Nivose  ;  there  would 
be  besides  other  means  of  remedying  this 
abuse,  if  it  Were  to  be  feared;  or,  if  it 
were  thought  proper  to  preserve  a  certain 
number  of  these  rights,  it  might  be  by  al- 
lowing the  rich  proprietors  to  let  out  their 
hinds  upon  leases  of  eighteen  years,  to  be 
binding  on  their  heirs,  or  to  grant  very 
long  leases,  -which  would  have  the  double 
advantage  of  preserving  the  property  in  a 
family,  while  it  gives  a  long  term  of  en- 
joyment to  others.  By  wise  laws  these 
neglected  lands  might  become  cultivated, 


INTRODUCTION.  CYU 

so  however  as  not  to  destroy  inheritances 
too  much,  or  tend  to  impoverish  distin- 
guished families,  whom  it  is  of  -conse- 
quence to  the  state  to  preserve  in  a  situa- 
tion suitable  to  their  name.  Besides  the 
prosperity  which  this  measure  would  spread 
over  the  country  by  the  improvement  of 
agriculture,  it  would  employ  on  the  land 
the  capitals  which  remain  dead  in  the 
hands  of  individuals  of  small  property,  and 
those  of  the  rich,  who  purchase  public 
paper  with  them,  or  invest  them  in  foreign 
banks.  By  thus  increasing  the  number  of 
little  landholders,  all  those  who  may  hope 
in  acquire  easy  circumstances  bf  it,  or  at 
least  to  gain  some  future  profit,  would  be 
included  in  and  sensible  or  the  value  of 
labour.  The  land-tax  would  soon  be  esta- 
blished on  a  firm  footing,  and  meanwhile 
it  would  fttrriish  a  considerable  augmenta- 
tion  in  the  alcabala  on  sales,  the  return  of 
which  is  the  fourteenth  of  real  property, 
but  which,  from  the  deficiency  of  convey- 
ance-;, returns  almost  nothing.  The  other 
important  changes  in  the  laws  would  be 
respecting  the  courts  of  justice,  the  civil 


Cviil  INTRODUCTION*. 

and  criminal  codes,  the  administration  of 
the  forest  laws,  the  privileges  of  the  Mesta, 
the  regulations  of  the  police,  the  system  of 
taxation,  and  the  drawing  for  the  militia  ; 
in  all  of  which  the  organization  is  still  very 
imperfect  in  Spain. 

The  most  important  object  of  the  admi- 
nistration would  be  without  doubt,  the 
consolidation  and  progressive  extinction  of 
the  national  debt  by  the  sale  of  a  part  of 
ecclesiastical  property.  This  which  suc- 
ceeded in  Naples  would  be  still  more  easily 
effected  in  Spain,  where  it  would  not  be 
so  novel.  It  was  adopted  some  years  back 
by  Charles  IV.  under  the  authority  of  the 
Pope,  and  its  success  would  have  been 
complete  if  it  had  been  executed  on  a 
greater  scale,  and  if  the  money  poured 
into  the  sinking  fund  (c<ua  de  consolidacion) 
had  been  faithfully  employed  in  paying  of! 
the  royal  Vales;  but  scarcely  had  this  fund 
been  created  when  the  wants  of  the  state 
caused  it  to  be  put  to  other  uses.  The 
buying  up  of  the  public  debt  ceased  at 
the  moment  of  the  last  declaration  of  war 
against  England.     The  funds  which   were 


INTRODUCTION.  C1X 

intended  for  that  purpose  were  then  de- 
manded by  the  public  treasury  for  the  cur- 
rent expejiees,  as  an  advance  to  be  paid  to 
that  fund  on  a  peace  ;  but,  instead  of  ad- 
vancing this  sum,  the  directors  of  the  con- 
solidated fund  undertook  to  defray  the 
expences  of  the  treasury,  which  at  the 
same  time  burdened  that  fund  with  a  part 
of  its  returns.  The  directors  thus  became 
in  fact  the  ministers  of  finance,  and  the 
nature  of  the  institution  was  changed,  or 
at  least  the  object  of  it  deferred  to  a  future 
time.  This  operation  has  been  of  no  other 
use  than  to  show  how  easy  it  was.  The 
property  of  the  reformed  convents,  and 
that  of  the  other  pious  establishments,  have 
been  sold  at  the  same  rate  as  patrimonial 
property,  that  is  to  say,  at  a  discount  of 
forty  and  forty-five  per  cent,  which  would 
nevertheless  give  a  revenue  of  four  pet- 
cent,  on  the  capital,  on  account  of  the  de- 
preciation of  the  Vales,  which  were  taken 
in  payment.  Supposing  that  sufficient 
landed  property  were  put  up  to  sale  for 
paying  off  the  national  debt,  that  debt  is 


CX  INTRODUCTION. 

So  inconsiderable  fpr  the  country*,  there 
exists  such  a  demand  for  land,  and,  in 
spite  of  the  received  opinion,  so  great  a, 
quantity  of  capitaH"  t» >  be  invested,  that 
the  value  of  landed  property,  would  not  be  re- 
duced by  it.  On  the  other  hand,  the  livings 
of  the  monks  would  not  in  an}r  way  be  hurt 
by  it  ;  because  their  order  has  for  a  long 
time  been  in  fact  suppressed,  as  they  are 
not  allowed  to  receive  any  more  novices  ; 
and  being  paid  three  per  cent,  for  the 
capital  arising  from  the  sale  of  their 
estates,  the  sum  exceeds  the  revenues 
which  they  drew  from  them  annually. 
This  suppression,  besides  was  effect- 
ed wjth  ureal  management  in  Spain  J, 
though  it  might  have  been  more  easily 
done  at  once  on  çood  grounds  than  in  any 

*  Sec  Vol.  IV.  article   Finances. 

•\  There  is  in  Spain  a  great  deal  of  capital  lying  dead 
in  the  hands  of  the  citizens  and  country  people.  The  in- 
ability of  the  possessors  to  make  use  of  it  prevented  the 
circulation. 

X  They  begaa  by  uniting  in  a  single  house  the  monks  of 
8<?v.  [a]  <  <>ii\t  His  of  the  same  order,  and  they  proposed  to 
suppress  several  entirely. 


INTRODUCTION".  CXI 

other  country.  In  fact,  the  Cavils  have  at 
all  times  opposed  the  alienation  of  landed 
property  in  favour  of  the  convents*,  and 
have  never  sanctioned  it  :  this  is  o'ene- 
rally  known  by  all  classes  in  Spain,  and 
removes  all  scruples  on  this  head. 

The  funds  arising  from  the  sale  of  the 
convents  would  not  only  be  useful  for  the 
securing  and  paying  the  national  debt,  but 
also  for  those  important  improvements 
from  which  all  others  spring,  and  which 
were  only  begun  in  the  preceding  reigns,  such 
as  roads,  canals,  public  granaries  {positon) 
the  ports  «Sec.  on  which  would  be  em- 
ployed that  crowd  oï  idle,  dangerous 
men,  who  could  not  immediately  find  em- 
ployment in  tillage,  and  who  find  it  difficult 
to  fix  themselves  to  that  kind  of  hard  and 
continual  labour.  "What  the  government 
would  do  for  the  general  welfare  of  the 
state  and  for  the  works  which  require  con- 
siderable capitals,  the  administration  of 
the  provinces  should  do  lor  their  own  par- 


*  See  on  this  subject  tbe  article  of  Agriculture.,  ]>.  VJO, 

Vol.  IV. 


(\ll  I  \  iCODUCTION. 

tieular  amelioration;  tne^  would  find  consi- 
derable resources  in  local  taxes,  and  in  a 
better  use  of  the  property  of  the  commons; 
those  changes  would  scarcely  take  place 
when  confidence  would  revive  on  all  parts, 
and  with  it  the  expansion  of  every  faculty, 
and  the  spring  of  useful  enterprises.  The 
system  of  taxation  would  become  less  bur- 
densome and  more  profitable,  m  short,  the 
/  ales,  without  its  being  necessary  perhaps 
to  buy  up  the  fourth  part  of  them,  would 
rise  with  tiie  same  rapidity  as  the  three  per 
cents  in  France  did,  and  would,  like  that, 
be  a  light  debt,  scarcely  sufficient  for  the 
investment  of  the  money  of  minors,  batche- 
Ibrs,  and  men  whose  middling  fortune  would 
ruined  in  purchasing  landed  property, 
and  who  prefer  a  larger  income  when  they 
think  it  so  secure. 

The  Spaniard  is  distrustful  and  reserved. 
his  wariness  is  of  long  continuance,  but 
when  once  overcome,  when  he  thinks  that 
he  discovers  in  his  superiors,  and  even  in 
his  equals,  the  loyal  and  generous  qualities 
which  form  the  basis  of  his  own  character, 
he  pusses  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  his 


introduction,  cxiii 

confidence,  like    his    attachment,  has  no 
bounds.     This  is  a  tribute  which  gratitude, 
as  well  as  truth,  calls  upon  me  to  pay*. 
It  now  remains    to   examine   the  third 

*  It  was  the  confidence  withwliicli  my  father  inspired  the 
Spaniards  that  enabled  him  to  render  the  state  some  im- 
portant services.  I  shall  only  mention  one  circumstance: 
The  Marquis  d'Aubeterre,  the  French  ambassador  in 
Spain,  had  been  commissioned  in  1738,  to  solicit  from 
Ferdinand  IV.  a  loan  of  30  millions:  he  had  delivered  ;i 
letter  to  that  prince  from  the  king  of  France  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  had  had  the  mortification  of  meeting  with  a  re- 
fusal. The  necessities  of  the  state  becoming  more  urgent, 
the  king  sent  my  father,  then  very  young,  to  Madrid,  to 
try  and  renew  this  negotiation.  After  many  difficulties, 
he  received  the  following  answer  from  Count  Valdeparaiso  : 
"  I  know  that  you  aie  a  good  servant  of  his  Most  Christian 
"  Majestj  :  I  know  your  heart  and  its  nobleness;  you  are 
"  my  friend,  and  1  have  done  on  every  occasion  what  you 
"  have  asked  of  me.  The  refusal  of  the  loan  of  monev, 
"  on  the  part  of  my  master,  may  disoblige  his  Most  Chrrs- 
u  tian  Majesty:  you  are  attached  to  his  interest,  but  vou 
"  are  also  attached  to  a  good  understanding  between  the 
"  two  courts.  Thinking  thllSj  and  knowing  your  wisdom, 
"   I  must  not  keep  \ou  any  longer,  in  suspense.       We  shall 

"  not  giant  his  Most  Christian  Majesty  the  loan  of  SO 

"   million    livres    which  you  demand;    but  I  wili  lend  you, 

"  personally,  two  millions  of  piastres,  which  is  one-thini 

"  of  that  sum.     The  conditions  and  tune  of  payment  shall 

be-  arranged  to  youi  satisfaction  ;  we  will  treat  by  cor- 

Vol.  i.  h 


Cxiv  T\M  ROD  UCT  ION. 

means  which  the  government  possesses  ;  I 
mean  its  influence. 

It  is  not  only  bad  laws,  but  bad  habits 
that  impede  the  prosperity  of  empires  ;  and 
though  the  power  of"  sovereigns  can  change 
the  former,  their  influence  alone  can  have 
weight  on  the  latter  ;  it  is  that  which  gives 
a  new  direction  to  men,  and  points  their 
emulation   to   the  kind  of  merit  which  is 
adapted  to  his  views.   When  the  kings  had 
reason  to  fear  the  nobles,  it  was  their  poli- 
cy to  fix  them  at  their  court,  neutralize 
them   by  honours,  offices,   and  pleasures  ; 
but  as  soon  as  their  throne  was  secured  by 
the  progress  of  civilization,  more  even  than 
by  their  rights,  the  welfare  of  the  provinces 
called   for  those   powerful  men,  who,  by 
their   riches,    preponderance,   and    know- 
ledge, are  more  formed  to  animate  them 
than   common   agents,  who  were,  besides, 
vrry  few  in  number.     It  was  by  the  atten- 
tion of  such  men  that  England,  France, 
Germany,   and   Italy,   were    embellished  : 

"  rrspondencc.  You  may  depart  as  soon  as  you  will  ; 
M  for  the  English  ambassador  h;is  his  eyes  upon  you,  and  I 
''  know  is  bent  on  discovering  the  object  oi' your  journey." 


INTRODUCTION.  CXV 

the  Spanish  nobility  lived  alone  in  the 
towns,  and  seemed  to  have  inherited  from 
their  fathers  only  their  courage  and  their 
names  :  they  looked  with  indifference  on 
the  estates  taken  from  the  Moors  with  the 
blood  of  their  ancestors,  and  by  that  alone 
made  sufficiently  precious  to  their  de- 
scendants. They  had,  however,  a  noble 
example  before  them  in  the  members  of 
the  high-clergy,  to  whom  their  country 
is  indebted  for  most  of  the  churches, 
hospitals,  roads,  aqueducts,  fountains,  and 
other  public  establishments  of  their  dio- 
ceses. I  am  delighted  to  repeat  it,  those 
respectable  men  have  at  all  times  set  exam- 
ples of  philosophy  and  beneficence,  as  well 
as  inculcated  Christian  morality  :  their  es- 
tates are  the  best  managed  in  Spain.  It 
would  have  been  the  same  throughout  the 
country,  if  the  nobility,  instead  of  spend- 
ing their  fortunes  at  court,  instead  of  con- 
tracting debts  in  the  capital,  had  lived 
upon  their  estates,  and  had  had,  as  in 
England,  country  meetings  for  laying  out 
private  roads,  digging  canals,  making 
bridges,  mills,  hydraulic  machines;  for  en- 

h  2 


CXVI  INTRODUCTION. 

couraging  plantations,  meadows  made  by 
art,  the  different  kinds  of  cultivation,  the 
amelioration   of   the    brute    creation,   and 
whatever     requires    the    use    of   capitals 
and     personal    attention.       Is    it    not  ex- 
traordinary, that  in    the  whole   extent  of 
Spain,  there  is  not  a  single  detached  sear, 
a  single  considerable  mansion,  or  a  single 
villa  in  which  we  could  suppose  a  lord  of 
the  country  resides?    The  iew  edifices  of 
that   kind   we   meet  with  in  the  country 
arc  old  towers,  the  ruins  of  which  equally 
show   the  glory  of  their  ancient  and   the 
negligence  of  their  new  masters.     What 
can  change  such  an  ancient,  such  an  in- 
veterate  habit,  if  it  be  not   the  influence 
of  the  head   of  the  state,   whose   desires 
have  frequently  more  force  than  the  laws, 
and  whose  favour  is   more  valuable  than 
wealth  ?  The  country  would  then  recover  its 
natural  protectors,  the  knowledge  concen- 
trated in  the  towns  would  extend  to  ham- 
lets,   improvements  in  agriculture  and   the 
the  mechanical  arts  would  supersede  bad 
customs,  and  the  convents,  suppressed  on 
account  of  the   exigencies   of  the    state, 


INTRODUCTION.  CXVU 

would  be  converted  into  asylums  for  the 
poor.  What  a  source  of  good  would  be 
produced  by  all  these  changes,  and,  above 
all,  by  the  admirable  agreement  between 
the  head  of  the  state,  the  proprietors,  and 
the  laborious  class  of  the  people  ;  and  be- 
tween the  country  and  the  towns.  The 
merchants  and  the  manufacturers  would 
then  redouble  their  zeal  to  acquire  lands, 
and  to  enjoy,  as  they  grew  old,  a  noble  and 
happy  life  in  their  provinces.  Idleness 
would  no  longer  be  either  honourable  or 
honoured;  and  Spain  would  attain  that 
height  and  splendour  to  which  it  seems 
called  by  its  situation,  natural  riches,  and 
the  distinguished  qualities  of  its  inhabi- 
tants. If  within  a  century  it  has  advanced 
in  every  thing  we  have  mentioned,  what 
would  it  not  do  if  it  were  freed  from  the 
chains  which  confine  it?  Its  population, 
which  has  more  than  doubled  in  less  than 
a  century,  would  augment  in  a  still  greater 
proportion;  its  revenues,  which  frofti  50 
millions  have  risen  to  240,  would  make  a 
similar  progress,  Jt  would  be  the  same 
:ii  industry  and  commerce,  both  of  whicl» 
ho 


OXviii  INTRODUCTION. 

bave  no  other  basis  than  agriculture  and 
population.  Its  armies  would  be  more 
disciplined,  and  its  fleets  more  numerous, 
as  the  country  became  more  populous,  and 
the  king  richer.  It  would  be  no  exaggera- 
tion to  affirm,  taking  as  a  ground  the  pro- 
portion of  the  present  increase  and  that 
which  these  happy  changes  must  produce, 
that  Spain  might  have  in  fifty  years  a  popu- 
lation of  20  millions  of  inhabitants  *  on  the 
Continent,  SO  in  its  distant  poesessionsT, 
500  X  millions  of  revenue  from  the  two 
worlds,  and  all  the  advantages  which  must 
accrue  to  a  well  governed  people,  from 
the  beauty  of  the  climate,  the  fertili- 
ty of  the  soil,  and  a  position  every  where 
unassailable. 

*  Its  population,  which  was  not  more  than  six  millions 
in  1720,  had  risen  to  13  millions  in  1797.  It  would  then 
be  26  millions  in  80  yeais,  and  at  least  20  in  50,  even 
allowing  that  the  country  made  no  improvement. 

T  See  the  progression  of  which  we  have  spoken  above,, 
page  lxv. 

X  By  this  I  mean  the  revenues  of  the  state  produced  by 
the  taxes  from  all  parts  of  the  monarchy.  I  have  only 
doubled  those  which  exist,  whereas  they  may  be  raised  three 
and  four- fold,  according  to  the  wealth  of  individuals,  which 
must  augment  in  an  enormous  proportion. 


INTRODUCTION.  CX1X 

Yes,  I  dare  to  predict  it,  the  Spaniards 
will  one  day  rise  equal  to  the  brilliant  œras 
of  their  history  ;  a  new  Trajan  will  be  born 
within  some  of  their  walls*;  another  Han- 
nibal will  owe  his  successes  to  them  t  ; 
they  will  carry  to  battle  the  names  of 
Saountum  J,  Numancia,  the  unconquered 
standard  of  the  Cantabrians,  and  that  steel 
which  the  Romans  used  to  conquer  the 
world  §;  the  forests  **  of  Asturias  converted 
into  numerous  fleets  will  again  be  the  ter- 
ror of  the  east  f +;  and,  not  less  formidable 
to  England  than  the  invincible  armada, 
they  will  not  always  have  the   elements 

•  Trajan  was  born  at  ltalica,  a  town  of  Spain,  near 
Seville. 

+  Hispaniam  bellatricem,  Annibalis  éditait rlce/n.  (Flo- 
rus,  lib.  II.  c.  6.) 

|  The  names  of  Saountum,  Numancia,  and  Caa- 
tabria,  are  those  of  three  Spanish  regiments  which  have 
always  distinguished  themselves. 

§  The  Romans  adopted  the  Spanish  sword,  the  temper 
of  which  is  superior  to  any  other. 

*•  Tlit'  forests  of  Asturia  and  Galicia  contain  wood 
enough  for  the  building  ot'  several  considerable  fleets. 
The,  battle  of  Lepanto. 

li  4 


CXX  INTRODUCTION. 

against  them*;  the  shade  of  the  Cid  will 
see  from  the  top  of  his  rock  +  harvests  co- 
lierrog  the  uncultivated  and  uninhabited 
plains  of  his  country,  and  his  countrymen 
listening  to  his  beloved  ballad.];,  sung  amidst 
orchards  of  fig-trees,  pomegranates,  and 
oranges,  the  branches  of  which,  loaded  with 
fruit,  will  be  united  with  the  vine,  and  at  the 
foot  of  which  there  av  ill  grow  cotton,  flax, 
sugar-cane,  and  corn.  lîœtica,  celebrated 
by  Homer  and  Fenelon,  will  again  become 
the  Elysium  of  fable,  and  the  country  of 
people  happy  in  history.  The  vast  coun- 
tries of  America,  and  those  immense  di- 
visions which  already  bear  the  name  of 
the  provinces  and  towns  of  the  mother- 
country,  will  be  soon  peopled,  and  a  dou- 
ble nation,  warlike,  commercial,  and  agri- 
cultural, will,  in  either  hemisphere  be 
worthy  of  the  heroes  from  whom  they 
dëâcencf, 

*  Philip  II.  said,  on  hearing  of  the  destruction  of  his 
lli  it,  "  I  did  not  send  them  to  war  with  the  elements." 

•|-  The  Cid's  rock,  pena  del  Cid,  in  Andalusia. 

%  The  ancient  Romance  of  the  Cid.  A  masterly  trans- 
m  of  this  curious  and  interesting  work  has  lately  been 
given  to  the  English  public  by  Mr.  Soil  they. — T. 


INTRODUCTION.  CXX1 

It  is  with  pain  I  repeat,  that  I  have  dared 
to   present   to  the   public  a  work  written 
and  printed  with  such  haste;  I  have  left  it 
nearly  as  it  was  committed  to  paper  on  the 
\evy  spots  where  it  was  written  ;  but  the  cause 
of  its  faults  may  be  an  excuse  for  them. 
It  would  have  taken  me  three  years  to  exe- 
cute this  work  tolerably,  which  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  finish  in  a  few  months.    If  I  had 
delayed  it,  it  would  have  been  of  no  use. 
The  works  which  relate  to  the  laws,   cus- 
toms,   and  even   manners    of  Spain,   will 
soon    be  to  that  country  what  the  ancient 
ordinances  of  Avar,  the  arrets  of  parliament, 
and  of  the  chamber  of  accounts,  the  liber- 
tics  of  the  Gallic  church,  Sec.   are  now  to 
the  French.  "Whatever  may  happen, bounds 
arc  now  fixed  between  the  past  history  of 
this  country, and  the  future  unknown  events 
to  which  it  is  destined;  and   as  the  "  Pic- 
turesque Travels  through  Spain"  will  de- 
scribe the  monuments,  such  as  they  have 
been  preserved  to  this  lime,    so  1  have  en- 
<    avoured,   in  this  work,  to  ascertain  the 
state  of  the  législation  and  of  the  industry 
i)i'  the  country  before  they  experienced  any 


CXxii  INTRODUCTION. 

change  whatever.  My  design  is,  that  these 
two  works  should  illustrate  each  other,  and 
that  neither  should  encroach  too  much  on 
what  belongs  to  the  other.  Thus  the  de- 
tails in  the  Itinerary  of  the  public  edifices, 
of  the  arts,  sciences,  and  literature,  will  be 
little  more  than  a  simple  nomenclature*  in 
comparison  to  the.  expansion  they  will  re- 
ceive in  the  other  work  ;  whereas,  all  that 
relates  to  political  economy,  will  appear 
simply  as  a  sketch  in  the  Voyage  Pitto- 
resque. The  reader  may  convince  himself 
of  this  by  examining  the  province  of  Cata- 
lonia, the  whole  of  which  is  published  in 
the  eleven  first  numbers  of  the  large  work  : 
the  description  of  Mont-Serrat,  the  anti- 
quities of  Tarragona,  the  abbey  of  Poblett, 
the  mountain  of  Cardona,  and  the  Arabic 
monuments  of  Gironna  make  almost  three- 

*  The  reader  -will  find  in  this  Itinerary  a  sketch  of  all 
the  monuments  of  the  arts,  but  given  without  criticism,  and 
perhaps  treated  with  too  much  indulgence.  I  have  here 
considered  the  Spanish  school  independent  of  others  :  in 
the  Voyage  Pittoresque,  I  shall  examine  it  comparatively 
with  the  works  of  other  countries,  and  according  to  the 
strict  rules  of  art. 


INTRODUCTION.  CXXlll 

fourths  of  it,  and  arc  scarcely  mentioned 
in  this. 

The  form  of  the  Itinerary  appears  to  me 
to  be  the  most  methodical,  and  the  most 
conformable  to  the  taste  of  the  generality 
of  travellers.  It  is  particularly  convenient 
in  a  country,  the  face  of  ivhich  is  hardly 
known,  and  of  which  there  are  only  im- 
perfect maps,  such  as  those  of  Lopez, 
which,  besides,  are  not  to  be  procured. 
The  atlas  which  accompanies  this  work 
has  been  composed  for  it,  and  taken  from 
Lopez's  maps,  Torino's  charts  of  the  coasts, 
Median's  triangles  in  Catalonia,  the  king- 
dom of  Valencia,  and  several  points  lately 
determined  by  M.  de  Humboldt.  The 
maps  arc  of  the  same  size  as  the  work, 
that  they  may  be  bound  up  with  it 
if  desired  ;  but  they  are,  however,  on  a 
larger  scale  than  the  maps  of  Spain  by 
MeoWlk  and  Lopez,  in  four  sheets:  they 
are  by  M.  Lartigue,  ehart-maker  to  the 
navy,  who  is  at  work  upon  the  large  map 
For  the  7  oj/agc  Pittoresque  de  l'Espagne. 
I  ranuot  be  thankful  enough  to  this  mo- 
dest artist,    whose  work  would   have  been 


CXMV  rVTRODUCTrON. 

perfect,  it  lie,  like  myself,  had  not  been 
obliged  to  hasten  it.  1  am  happy  to  pay 
the  same  tribute  to  the  other  persons  who 
have  assisted  me  in  my  work,  at  the  head 
of  whom  I  shall  place  my  respectable 
friend  baron  de  Humboldt,  who  has  had 
the  sfoodness  to  communicate  to  me  what 
relates  to  the  finances  of  America,  and  to 
tike  geological  part  of  Spain.  1  shall  not 
attempt  to  praise  this  learned  man,  there  is 
BO  praise  that  is  not  inadequate  to  his 
rnurage  and' talents,  and  he  alone  will  dare 
to  go  again  among  people  so  barbarous  as 
to  be  unacquainted  with  his  name.  I  owe 
Hi  J  information  respecting  Galicia  and  the 
Astunas  to  count  de  Marcillac,  a  Spanish 
officer,  who  has  already  published  several 
works  on  the  last  wars  in  Spain.  Not 
having  been  in  the  Balearic  islands,  the 
details  concerning  them  are  taken  from  the 
Travels  of  M.  Grasset  de  S.  Sauveur*; 
but  I  am  most  indebted  to  M.  Carrere,  a 

*  I  may  say  the  same  with  regard  to  some  roads  which 
I  have  not  travelled,  and  which  I  have  taken  from  the  Spa- 
nish Journey  by  the  abbé  Pons,  which  has  been  of  great 
iervke  to  me. 


INTRODUCTION.  CXXV 

physician  of  the  academy  of  Montpellier, 
■who  died  in  Spain,  where  he  had  long  re- 
sided. This  estimable  man  has  left  infor- 
mation on  different  subjects,  which  has 
been  of  «Teat  service  to  me.  The  whole 
article  of  medicine,  a  part  of  those  which 
concern  the  sciences  and  natural  history 
are  from  him,  as  well  as  many  other  partial 
details. 

As  to  the  Spaniards,  it  would  be  to» 
long  to  enumerate  all  the  learned,  obliging, 
and  disinterested  men  whom  I  have  met 
with  in  my  travels:  there  was  no  place  of 
the  least  importance  where  I  did  not  find 
some  one,  and  often  several,  perfectly  well 
acquainted  with  every  thing  relative  to  the 
place  he  lived  in,  and  sometimes  with  the 
whole  province.  "Without  having  occasion 
for  letters  of  introduction,  I  asked,  on  ar- 
riving, where  the  learned  man  of  the  place 
lived  (el  hombre  erudito  del  lugarjy  on 
which  I  was  carried  to  some  canon  for  his- 
torical information,  or  to  the  botkurio  (apo- 
thecary) fur  things  relative  to  natural  his- 
tory, or  tu  sumo  merchant  or  lawyer  for 
what  relates  tu  eommcrae  and  agriculture: 


cwvi  iNirvOiucTioN. 

the  lawyers  in  Spain  are  in  genera]  well  in- 
formed on  these  heads,  from  the  habit  they 
are  in  of  deciding  all  disputes  relative  to 
them.  1  have  also  met  among  the  nobility 
and  high  clergy  men  of  the  highest  merit  : 
all  at  first  received  me  very  coldly,  and  in 
a  rough  manner,  waiting  to  discover  my 
design,  and  who  1  was  ;  but  after  half  an 
hour's  conversation  they  confided  in  me  all 
that  I  could  desire,  and  heaped  attentions 
on  me  ;  my  very  curiosity  becoming  a  title 
to  their  kindness.  I  have  no  where  expe- 
rienced that  painful  sensation,  which  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  the  misery  of  travellers, 
and  sometimes  of  those  who  receive  them, 
that  attendant  upon  saying  to  one's  self, 
"  It  is  useless  to  attach  myself  to  this  man, 
I  shall  never  see  liim  again." 

Good  Spaniards  !  who  have  thus  heaped 
kindnesses  on  me  without  even  looking  for 
my  gratitude,  who  have  rendered  these  un- 
happy  times  so  easy  to  me,  may  you  in 
turn  find  some  asylum  amidst  the  troubles 
which  rend  your  country  !  Alas!  perhaps 
liâmes  are  about  to  consume  those  houses 
in  which   [  have  been  received!  Perhaps 


INTRODUCTION.  CXXVli 

cannon  are  already  destroying  those  mo- 
numents of  your  religion  and  history,  of 
which  you  are  so  proud  !  Ah  !  may  you 
yourselves,  at  least,  escape  these  disasters, 
and  soon  recover  a  tranquil  existence  !  You 
will  then  know  that  there  are  still  comforts 
in  life  after  great  misfortunes,  when  we 
have  preserved  an  upright  heart,  the  esteem 
of  our  friends,  and  the  love  of  our  own 
countrv. 


rxxvni 


OBSERVATIONS 


CPON     TRAVELLING     IN     GENERAL,     AND    PARTICU- 
LARLY    IN    STAIN. 


A 


mon gst  the  modes  of  employment  which  for  thir- 
ty years  have  been  supported  by  fashion,  there  is  none 
perhaps  more  rational  than  the  taste  for  travels,  whether 
it  be  considered  as  a  method  of  instruction,  of  re-establish- 
ing health,  of  diverting  sorrow,  or  as  the  ambition  of  be- 
ing useful  and  of  promoting  the  sciences.  It  is  singular 
that  a  custom  which  unites  so  many  advantages,  and  plea- 
sures was  so  little  followed  in  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. If  a  history  of  the  French  travellers  were  to  be 
written,  the  greatest  part  of  them  would  be  found  to  be 
missionaries  and  pilgrims,  and  the  remainder  merchants  or 
naturalists  ;  no  man  of  the  world  and  but  few  learned  men 
passed  the  frontiers.  The  first  persons  who  travelled 
through  Switzerland  spoke  of  it  as  of  a  discovery,  and 
were  looked  upon  on  their  return  as  extraordinary  people. 
-Almost  all  the  travels  written  before  that  period  treat  only 
of  laws,  the  etiquette  of  courts,  and  diplomatic  negoti- 
ations; not  a  word  as  to  the  arts,  the  face  of  nature,  as- 
tronomical and  geological  information,  or  even  what 
concerns  public  and  domestic  economy.       Several  cir- 


TRAVELLING,  &C.  CXXix 

cumstances  have  contributed  to  render  the  taste  for  tra- 
vels in  late  times  more  general.  The  American  war  obli- 
ged a  great  number  of  Frenchmen  to  travel  in  the  English 
provinces  of  that  country,  and  made  them  desirous  of  be- 
coming acquainted  with  the  language  and  customs.  The 
philosophical  notions  which  were  then  broached,  and  the 
study  of  different  branches  of  administration  turned  atten- 
tion towards  England,  whose  laws,  customs,  and  improve- 
ments of  all  kinds  were  considered  as  models  for  adop- 
tion ;  on  the  other  hand  the  taste  for  the  arts,  which  was 
introduced  into  society  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
Lotus  XV.  and  the  discovery  of  Herculaneum  and  Pom- 
peia,  created  an  cagc-ness  to  become  acquainted  with 
Italy  and  Greece;  lastly,  descriptive  poetry,  so  much  in 
fashion  for  these  thirty  years,  unfolded  the  great  beauties 
of  nature,  and  made  men  sensible  of  their  value.  At  that 
time  a  kind  of  enchantment  spread  itself  over  the  monu- 
ments of  antiquity,  over  those  of  the  revival  of  the  arts, 
and  over  the  picturesque  aspects  of  mountainous  countries. 

If  new   ideas  encouraged  travels,  travels  in  their  turn 
improved  ideas  ;  in  the  forms  of  edifices,  in  dress,  furni- 
ture, pictures,  they  revived   a    purity    of  style,  a  polish 
which  was  for  a  long  time  lost  ;  in  works  of  literature  they 
produced  a  fidelity  of  description,  sometimes  minute,  but 
always  interesting;  they  taught,  particularly  in  more  se- 
rious  subjects,  such  as  the  laws  and  morals  of  nations,  to 
truth  and  justice  in  every  thing,  without  being  preju- 
diced by  national  attachment  or  the  vanity  of  ignorance. 
They  showed  that  there  is  no  people  who  have  not  from 
particular  circumstances   perfected  something  more   than 
others,  though  perhaps  they  arc  behind  other  countiies  in 
ry  thingelse.  Hence  men  became  more  impartial  intheif 
ment     and  showed  less  pretentious  in 
ourse  of  life. 

V  )L.  i.  i 


CXXX  OBSERVATION'S    ON 

The  taste  for  travelling  was  however  too  novel  to  spread  at 
once  into  all  countries,  the  knowledge  of  which  was  int.  - 
re-ting.  There  sprung  up  in  this  respi  ct,  as  in  all  customs 
at  their  commencement,  a  habit  of  imitation,  a  kind  of 
routine  that  people  w<  re  contented  to  foHow.  A  line  was 
laid  down  in  Europe  which  was  mechanically  adopted'by 
all  travellers,  according  to  the  different  reasons  which  in- 
duced them  to  go  from  home.  Persons  in  ill  health  went 
to  Nice,  and  Montpellier:  the  more  enterprising  to  Pisa  ; 
naturalists  followed  the  steps  of  M.  de  Saussure,  travelled 
over  the  glaciers  of  Switzerland,  and  climbed  to  the  sum- 
mit of  Mount  Blanc;  the  amateurs  of  the  arts  traversed 
Italy  bv  the  post  road,  without  reflecting  that  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left,  and  in  the  interior  of  the  Apennines,  they 
passed  bj  the  most  beautiful  sites  of  nature,  and  the  most 
curious  monuments.  Lastly,  economists  conceived  that 
there  was  nothing  to  be  learned  out  of  the  country  of  Smith 
and  Arthur  \  oung. 

Hence  it  followed,  that  there  were  soon  a  hundred  works 
descriptive  of  some  countries,  and  none  respecting  those 
which  Mere  not  included  in  the  received  list.  Spain  was 
fora  long  time  amongst  the  latter,  and  not  being  on  the 
road  to  any  other  country,  it  was  neglected,  and  did  not 
even  enter  into  what  the  English  call  the  g  rand  tour,  which 
lasts  for  two  years,  and  which,  in  that  country,  forms  a 
part  of  the  education  of  the  rich  as  much  as  rhetoric  and 
philosophy. 

It  must  be  allowed,  however,  that  no  country  in  Europe 
united  more  advantages  for  every  class  of  travellers  than 
Spain.  Those  who  went  abroad  for  their  health  might  have 
found  in  some  province  of  this  kingdom  a  mildness  of  cli- 
mate perhaps  no  where  else  to  be  met  with.  I  doubt  whether 
any  thing  can    be  conceived  equal  to  the  soft  and  balsamic 


TRAVELLING,    &C.  CXXXÎ 

air  which  we  breathe  in  winter  in  the  plain  of  Valencia 
(Vega  de  Valencia),  in  those  of  Mnrcia,  in  the  environs  of 
Seville,  and  in  some  parts  of  Ëstrèmadtira.  I  have  bathed 
in  the  Betis,  now  the  Guadalquivir,  0.1  the  20th  of  Fe- 
bruary. There  are  mineral  springs  in  Spain,  in  greater 
number  and  of  a  better  quality  than  are  to  be  found  in  any 
other  part  of  Europe.  The  greater  part  have  never  been 
analysed;  but  those  that  have  and  which  are  frequented, 
produce  such  effects,  that  they  are  the  onlv  remedies  for 
complaints  difficult  to  be  treated  elsewhere  by  the  strongest 
drugs.  They  are  found  in  all  the  provinces,  but  particu- 
larly in  Andalusia.  The  fruit*  are  superior  in  quality  to 
any  thing  that  can  be  conceived,  and  are  more  numerous 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world;  extraordinary  cures  have 
been  performed  entirely  by  the  juice  of  sugar  canes  and 
dates.  The  climate  is  in  general  sufficiently  mild,  and  the 
Bummers  are  perhaps  not  >o  hot  as  in  some  northern  coun- 
tries. Except  the  high  plain  of  the  Caatilesand  some  parts 
of  Andalusia,  the  country  is  either  covered  with  mountains 
or  situated  upon  the  sea  shore,  and  cooled  by  the  east  and 
north  winds  :  besides  none  of  those  unwholesome  airs 
prevail  in  it  which  are  endemic  in  some  countries,  and 
which  destroy  «very  charm  of  them,  such  as  the  Cazita 
aria  of  the  environs  of  Rome  from  Radicofani,  on  the  road 
from  that  town  to  Naples;  and  the  Calabrian  fever,  of 
which  Virgil  died,  Calabri  rapuere,  and  which  still  ar- 
rests the  progress  of  population. 

In  what  country  will  those  who  f  mploy  themselves  in 
natural  history  find  more  interesting  objects  ?  Three-fourths 
of  the  mountains  in  Spain  are  composed  of  admirable  mar 

tndalabaster.  [n  Cot  alone  there  are  177  < 

Kinds,  without  including  theja  pet  ofTorl  >sa.     The  g    • 
t>ie<  f  Granada  and. the  flesh  colo  ised  I  avea  briJ 


OBSERVA  110. V  S     OS 

tin  »  yi  and  a  fineness  to  the  touch  which  rank  them  with 
the  moal  beautiful  oriental  sub.-tauct  s.  Several  of  the  pro- 
vint (  s  of  Spain  are  still  enriched  by  mines  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver, ped  lead  ami  quicksilver.  A  FlOf  a  and  a  herbal  of 
tiiîs  kingdom  are  desiderata*  and  no  other  couptry  would 
afford  such  complete  ones. 

Those  who  are  interested  by  (he  love  of  the  art»,  histo- 
rical recollections,  and   the  nionmnenls  of  antiquity,  may 
in  Spain  walk  over  the  ruins  qf  Baguntutn,  Numantia,  Tar- 
ragona, and  Merida  ;  the  theatre  of  the  campaigns  of  Han- 
nibal, the  Scipios,  and  the  unfortunate  sons  of  Pompeyj 
they  nay  repose  in  the  shade,  of  the  anli  que  cypresses  of  the 
fountain  of  Sertorius,  and  read  the  name  of  Optima*  in  the 
inscriptions,  in  the  native   country  of  Trajan  and  Adrian, 
lint  the  monuments  which  the  iimiian  people  left  profusely 
in  every  pat  t  of  the  empire  are  not  the  only  ones  in  Spain. 
Ijk.  people  less  .powerful   though  as  celebrated,  less  known, 
though    as  worthy  of  being  so,  have  left  in  this  country 
perhaps  the  only  monuments   which  exist   of  them   in  the 
world.     The  Arabs  spent  ages  in  embroidering,  if  I   may 
use  the   expression,  the   walls   of  Granada  and  Cordova, 
and  in   completely   clothing   them  with  an   assemblage   of 
ornaments,  the  grace  and  lightness  in  the  details  of  which 
liit  6.«rUaJ  to  the  grandeur  of  the  masses.    While  those  vo- 
luptuous people  ornamented  in  this  manner,  the  baths  and 
11  tired  cabinets  of  their  seraglios  in  the  south,  the  Goths 
raised  the  dark  and  austere  monuments  of  their  religion  in 
the  north  :  forests  of  columns  supporting  pointed  roofs, 
•  d  Uj  windows  stained  with  glaring  colours;  immense 
p  gates,  loaded     with   carved   ornaments;    and   marble, 
mausoleums   casting    long  shadows    upon  funeral    inscrip- 
tions, present  another  kind  of  monument,  more  solemn  and 
more  historical  j  at  last  the  era  of  the  revival  of  the  arts  in 


TRAVELLING,    &C.  CX.XXili 

the  age  of  the  Medicis  commenced  in  the  reign  of  Charles 
V,  and  it  may  be  supposed  that  Spain,  which  at  that  pe- 
riod was  superior  to  the  rest  of  Europe,  was  not   inferior 
to  it  in  this  kind  of  glory.     In  line,  persons  who  delight  in 
the  knowledge  of  politics,  laws  and  customs,  will  find  in 
Spain  a  primitive  people,  whose  character  retains  all  its 
purity,  and  a  fresh  soil  whose  principle  of  vegetation  is  in 
full  vigour.     Half  of  this  beautiful  country  still  lies  fallow; 
but  the  other  half  proves  what  it  might  be  made.     All  its 
productions   are  of  a  remarkable   quality  :  the  corn  only 
loses  five  parts  in  a  hundred  in  grinding,  while  every  where 
e.-se  it  loses  fifteen.     The  olives  are  twice  as  large  as  those 
of  Provence,  and  would  produce  as  good  aa  oil,  if  the  peo- 
ple knew  how  to  make    it  well.     The  wines  of  Malaga, 
Xeres,    and     Alicaut,     arc     sufficiently    known.        The 
wools    will    long  excite    the  admiration   and  jealousy    of 
-hbouring   nations.     It    is   in  Spain  only  that  we  meet 
with  forests  of  palm  trees  without  crossing  the  desert,  and 
plantations  of  sugar  canes  w  ithout  seeing  slavery.     As  to 
social  organization  by  means  of  a  gradual  unfolding,  we  shall 
not  repeat  what  we  have  said  above.     An  exalted  destiny 
awaits  Spain,  and  the  improvements  of  every  kind  that  it 
must  one  day  experience,  will  render  travels  still  more  in- 
teresting and  undoubtedly  more  commodious.     The  princi- 
pal reasous  that  have  hitherto  kept  travellers   from  Spain, 
are  the  numberless   inconveniences  which  they  experience 
in  travelling  through  that  country:  there  are  few  roads,  the 
iuui  arc  bad,  and  the  means  of  proceeding  slow,  dear,  and 
incommodious.     If  these  three  inconveniences  were  reme- 
died there  U  undoubtedly  no  country  in  which  so  much  en- 
|  >\in<  ut  of  i  very  kind  is  to  be  found.      To  go    to  it  from 
M  «     v.i-  ptM  tl  rough    tli''  ino-t  beautiful  of  the  I'Yellch 
provi  i  one  rtdfl  v,<   (ratal  along  the   banks  of  the 


CXXXlV  OBSERVATIONS    OV 

Loire,  on  the  other  along  those  of  the  Rhone  ;  we  çrowl 
the  Pyrenees  by  convenient  and  easy  roads,  without  being 
obstructed  by  the  tempests,  the  falling  of  the  snow  from 
Mount  Cenis,  the  overflowing  of  the  rivers  of  Piémont, 
&x.  Those  whom  health  carries  to  Barrege  have  only  a 
Jew  leagues  to  travel  to  pass  the  mildest  winter  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Pyrenees.  liut  for  this  purpose  travelling  must 
be  easier.  Meanwhile,  till  the  country  is  organised  as  it 
ought  to  be,  I  shall  give  an  idea  of  what  it  is,  and  of  the 
different  modes  of  travelling  through  it. 

Manner  of  travelling  in  Spain. 

There    are    no    posts   for    carriages   in   Spain    except 
only  on  the  road  from  Madrid  to  Cadi/.,  and  from  Madrid 
to  the  different  royal  palaces.     The  project  of  the  Count 
de  Florida  lilanca,  to  whom  we  ure  indebted  for  this  esta- 
blishment!  was  to  place  them  upon  all  the  grand  commu- 
nications of  the  kingdom.     He  also  established  a  diligence 
from  iiayonne  to  Madrid,  in  which  travellers  p;tid  only  12 
piastres  and  went  this  journey  very  quickly  ;  but  the  demands 
of  the  coachmen  and   innkeepers,  and  parti»  ularly  the  loss 
which  resulted  to  the  royal  chest,  chocked  this  kind  of  enter- 
prise, and   even  put  an  end  to  v\hat  was  already   begun. 
The  post  from   Madrid   to   Cadiz,  and  those  to  the  royal 
palaces,  nevertheless  Continue,  and   are   a  model   for   the 
other  roads.     We  should    have  nothing  to  wish  for  in  this 
respect  if  the  communications  were  us  good,  and  travellers 
as  well  served  through  the  whole  of  Spain.    Mules  are  em- 
ployed on  this  road,  and  carnages  are  furnished  to  those 
who  are  in  want  of  them:  there  are  four-wheel  carriages, 
chaises  that  hold  two,  and  sulkies,  or  cabriolets,  with  room 
for  only  one.    These  carriages  are  of  different  kinds  ;  some 
of  them  are  handsoimr  and  more  convenient  than  others; 


TRAVELLING,      &C. 


CXXXV 


these  ar^  called  distinguished,  and  are  charged  at  a  higher 
rate.  The  following  table  of  the  charges  of  the  posts  from 
Mu^!  id  to  tin»  different  royal  palaces,  will  give  an  idea  of 
the  expences  attending  this  manner  of  travelling. 


From   Ma  '.rid. 

to  ih 
i  Le 

Pardi 

..  ii . 

curjal?  '• 

tbi    i 
eagues. 

t..  Saint 
IS    L. 

Id.foruo 

r.al»  r,( 
vi  lloa. 

Bterl 

IB;:. 

.ii-  .i 
>.  Hon. 

sterling-. 

reels  oi 
velloa. 

st  riirMf. 

A  Tto.  or  six 

rnul>s  wiili  yoar 

s. 

d. 

1.     s.  d. 

1.   g.     d. 

own  carriage. 

45 

9 

4] 

S94 

3      13 

616 

cat 

Iiitto   with    a 

jK^t  coach. 

45 

9 

41 

336 

3  10    0 

-( 

7     5  10 

Four  mules. 

ay 

a 

l\ 

106 

S     0  JO 

4w 

4     7o 

Two      mule» 

■with  a  chaise  for 

two  people. 

£6 

5 

5 

147 

1    10     7i 

jo:i 

3     4; 

Onto,  with  a 

post  chaise. 

32 

6 

8 

175 

1    16     t\ 

364 

3  15  10 

Ditto,  aud    a 

distinguished 

chaise. 

36 

7 

6 

ICO 

1    19     4\ 

392 

4     1     8 

Males       with 

yourown  sulky. 

20 

4 

2 

98 

1     0    5 

210 

2     3    0 

Ditto,  with    a 

post  Milky. 

24 

5 

0 

1C6 

1     6     3 

266 

2  15    5 

Ditto,    and    a 

<ii<tii-_'„ishid. 

sulky. 

£3 

5 

10 

110 

1     9    2 

294 

3     13 

As  to  the  road  from  Madrid  to  Cadiz,  the  following  are 
the  particulars  relative  to  it.  The  post  is  obliged  to  carry 
two  persons  whose  baggage  does  not  exceed  two  hundred 
pounds  weight,  with  two  horses,  and  the  price  is  four  reals 
three  quartillos  or  lid  7-Sths  a  league  for  each  horse  ;  this, 
with  two  reals  which  it  is  customary  ta  give  the  postillion, 
and  four  reals  which  is  the  charge  for  a  carriage  when  you 
have  not  one  of  your  own,  makes  the  expences  of  the  jour- 
ney twelve  or  thirteen  reals  or  O.S.  Sàl  a  league  (or  legua); 
but  then  we  go  on  well,  and  travel,  for  instance,  the  iOO 
leagues  from  Madrid  to  Cadiz  in  four  days  and  four  nights. 
The  distance  of  the  posts  varies  in  the  different  roads  ; 
but  as  we  fount  only  by  leagues,  we  cannot  be  cheated. 
'I  In  re  is  a  little  post  book  to  be  found  in  all  the  large  towns 
v.  hit  h  it  is  right  to  be  provided  with  :  but  what  is  more  ne- 
,  and  without  which  nobody  will  furnish  yotiwith 
14 


C'X'XXVl  OBSTRUAT  IOXS    ON 

horses,  if  to  take  the  permission  of  the  directors  apd  agent* 
of  the  posts.  This  permission  coats  thirty-seven  reals  and  a 
halt"  or  7fi.  9id.  for  every  person. 

Though  the  posts  for  carriages  are  only  established  upon 
the  road  fromMadrid  to  Cadiz,  they  are  upon  all  the  other 
communications  for  horsemen  j  and  as  nothing  but  horses 
are  furnished,  and  as  those  of  the  country  are  excellent,  they 
are  in  a  state  of  great  perfection.  I  have  rode  full  speed 
from  Lisbon  to  Madrid  in  three  days,  without  fatiguing 
myself,  the  long  gallop  of  the  horses  is  so  easy.  Yet  the 
post  for  saddle  horses  is  seldom  found  en  the  grand 
roads,  but  most  frequently  upon  cross  roads,  or  roads  that 
have  been  formerly  great  roads,  but  are  given  up.  A  pos- 
tillion always  rifles  before,  of  whatever  number  the  party 
consists.  The  charges  are  double  for  the  first  post  on 
leaving  Madrid  or  the  roval  palaces  when  the  court  is 
there.  The  rate  of  horses  varies  :  in  all  the  provinces  of 
the  crown  of  Castile  it  is  the  same  as  for  carriages)  four 
reals,  three  quartillos,  or  ]  id  7-8ths  a  league  for  each 
horse;  but  in  Navarre,  Aragon,  Catalonia,  and  the  kingdom 
of  Valencia,  it  is  five  reals  and  a  half  or  Is.  Ifd.  besides 
the  two  reals  at  each  post  for  the  postillion,  to  which  some- 
thing is  generally  added.  We  are  carried  on  fast,  and  if 
we  have  but  tolerable  health  and  a  good  English  saddle  this 
manner  of  travelling  is  the  most  expeditious  and  the  most 
convenient;  we  may  even  take  a  good  deal  of  luggage  with 
us,  the  postillion  takes  care  of  your  portmanteau,  which 
may  weigh  as  much  as  sixty  pounds.  Yet  travellers  who 
wbh  to  become  acquainted  with  Spain  seldom  take  tins 
method,  which  does  not  allow  time  for  enquiry,  and  only 
leads  through  uninteresting  roads. 

The  best  manner  of  travelling  in  Spain  is  to  follow  the 
common  custom,  that  ii  to  say,  to  hire  horses,  or  to  buy 


TKÀVELI  IX  G,   SCC.  CXXW  il 

them,  if  one  intends  to  stay  long  in  the  country.  Conduct- 
ors are  to  be  found  in  all  the  considerable  towns,  and  are 
almost  all  from  \  alencia,  Murcia,  or  Catalonia,  and  who 
convey  travellers  every  where  ;  they  even  go  as  far  as  Per- 
pignan, Bourdeaux,  and  Lisbon.  They  travel  six  or  eight 
léguas  a  day,  twelve  French  leagues  at  most,  and  their 
charges  are  according  to  the  number  of  mul  s.  They  are 
generally  paid  two  piastres  a  day  ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  ob~ 
strve  what  follows  : 

You  hire  a  carriage,  expressly  for  yourself,  or  one  ou  its 
return.  In  the  first  case  the  journey  as  well  as  return  of  the. 
coach  must  be  paid  for  at  the  place  from  whence  you  set 
out;  which,  for  great  distances,  amounts  to  a  considerable 
sum  ;  but  it  is  seldom  that  you  are  obliged  to  hire  a  carri- 
age for  yourself,  as,  very  frequently,  most  of  the  coachmen 
go  to  the  great  towns  upon  speculation*.  Thus  in  the  con- 
siderable inns  of  Madrid,  Cadiz,  Seville,  Badajoz,  &.c. 
people,  called  corredores  de  carrnages  t/  coches,  are  every 
day  to  be  met  with  who  have  a  list  of  all  the  carriages  for 
which  they  are  commissioned  to  find  passengers.  It  is 
easy  therefore  to  obtain  return  carriages',  for  which  you 
merely  pay  for  the  journey  which  you  make  ;  but  it  is 
necessary  to  treat  with  the  driver  coolly  and  pay  no 
attention  to  the  advice  of  the  innkeepers,  or  to  the 
loud  voice  of  the  corredores,  and  to  mist  absolotdj  upon 
your  own  terra.  When  they  perceive  that  you  are  deter- 
mined not  to  give  them  more,  the  master  of  the  carriage 
cornea  himself,  'and  endeavours  to  settle  matters  with  you. 
If  it  happen*,  as  is  often  the  case,  that  several  coachmen 
going  to   the   same   town  and  paiticulaily  to  the  sea-ports, 

*  This,  ami  the  three  following  pages,  as  well  as  some  other  hinti 

•  ■■•■•■'.•  j  ■  .  the  aiannej  oi  ira\c!ln»g 


CXXXV11!  OBSERVATIONS   ON* 

where  tluy  like  to  go  in  preference,  should  be  found  in  the 

place,  xon   have    th«    choice,  and  mav  even   sometimes  be 

able  t<>  make  them  lo\  er  their  price  sonic  piastres. 

Tims  then  the  fit 'St  rule  that  must  be  observed,  is  to 
agree  that  you  are  not  t<  pay  for  the  retint)  of  the  carriage; 
the  Wteonà  '..  to  take  care  not  to  be  cheated  as  to  the  num- 
ber d  ■  be  spent  on  the  road.  Tor  instance,  Ba- 
yonne  is  sixty  léguas  from  Madrid,  and  tin- journey  may 
be  made  in  eight  days.  The  charge  lor  six  mules  at  two 
piastres  each,  a  day,  amounts  for  eight  days  to  ninety-six 
piastres  ;  but  a  dishonest  conductor,  can  make  ten  days 
journey  of  it,  either  to  spare  his  mules,  or  to  make  you 
pay  for  two  days' journey  more.  To  avoid  this  inconveni- 
ence, it  is  necessary,  before  you  set  out  to  obtain  exact  in- 
formation, and  to  stipulate  with  the  coachman  that  he  shall 
make  the  journey  in  a  reasonable  and  fixed  time,  under  the 
penalty  of  losing  a  third  of  the  money  that  he  is  to  receive. 
The  third  rule  is  never  to  agree  to  give  a  farthing  over 
either  for  the  coachman,  or  the  mules,  tolls  or  repairs,  Sec. 
If  the  traveller  should  think  proper  to  defray  the  expellees 
of  the  coachmen's  dinner,  or  to  add  other  mules,  the 
r.umber  being  always  restricted  to  two,  the  duly  cxpi 
would  be  enormous  ;  in  general  it  is  better  to  allow  theru  a 
reasonable  sum  to  get  something  to  dtiiiK  with,  about 
four  piastres.  Nor  must  he  agree  to  pay  for  their  to- 
bacco, which  they  very  frequently  ask;  an  inexperienced 
traveller  would  consider  this  as  a  trifle,  but  before  long  he 
would  see  with  what  effrontery  the  coachmen  would  abuse 
his  indulgence,  and  how  freely  they  would  at  all  the  inns  make 
provision  at  hisexpeiice  for  their  acquaintance  ;  which, con- 
sidering the  (  nortnous  price  of  tobacco  in  Spain  (three  pias- 
tres :i  pound)  would  not  fail  to  amount  to  a  large  sum:  it  is 
much  better,  upon  the  road,  to  give  them  cigars,  for  which 
they  will  be  very  thankful  to  you.      ïvurth  rule  :  ;v;  in  pay 


TRAVELLING,  &C.  CXXxix 

ing  for  the  six  mules  you  obtain  an  exclusive  Tight  to  the 
carriage^  the  coachman  cannot  without  your  express  con- 
sent take  up  another  person,  even  upon  his  box  ;  but  the 
traveller  has  a  right  to  underlet  the  empty  places,  or  to  allow 
them  to  be  occupied  giatis.  Fifth  rule  :  it"  you  wish  tostop  iu 
some  place  on  the  road  for  one  day,  the  coachman  must 
stay  for  yon,  it  being  understood  that  you  will  pay  him  for 
his  day's  ifroi  k  ;  it  is   the  same  if  you  wish  to  turn  out  of 
the  road  to    any  place  ;    and  in  this  case,  three  or   four 
léguas  will  be  considered  as  half  a  day.    But  as  it  is  some- 
times  the   interest    of   the  coachmen  themselves   to  rest 
their  mules,  the  traveller  is  often  able  on  these  occasions  to 
make  them  charge  one-third  less.     Sixth  iule:  the  coach- 
man is  responsible  for  every  trunk  or  package  that  is  trust- 
ed to  him  ;  except  iu  the  case  of  an  open  robbery.  Seventh 
rule  :   in  making  these  arrangements  about  their  charges,  it 
is  necessary  to  mention  the  coin  with  which  the  payment  is 
to  be  made  ;  for,  as  at  Barcelona,  for  example,  and  at 
Bilbao,  one  gains  by  money,  it  is  customary  at  the  forme* 
place,   to  ask  only   doublons  or  quadruples,  and  at  the  lat- 
ter place  piastres.     The  traveller  then  should  agree  to  pay 
them  with  the  cash  he  has  about  him,  and  not  engage  to 
change  on  purpose  to  pay  them  the  odd  money. 

It  may  be  easily  supposed  that  a  person  travelling  alon 
will  not  feel  much  inclined  to  hire  a  carriage  with  six  mules 
to  himself.  These  are  only  hired  by  families,  Or  by  com- 
panies of  travellers  ;  when  a  traveller  is  alone,  it  is  better 
for  him  to  take  a  single  place.  In  this  case,  when  the 
coachman  canitot  let  the  whole  of  his  carriage  at  once,  he 
1  tokfl  out  for  several  travellers,  and  charges  for  the  first 
place  at  the  rate  of  three  or  four  piastres,  and  something  less 
forth,  others:  these  places  are  often  advertised  in  the  pub- 
lic papers.    If  the  two  or  three  first  aie  previously  taken,  the 


Cxi  OBSJEftVATIOBTS    OS 

coachman,  to  hasten  his  departure,  frequently  disposes  of  the 
last  place-ut  a  piastre,  or  a  piastre  and  a  balfa  day.  The 
persona  who  have  the  two  first  places  hare  a  right  to  carry 
a  trunk  with  then,  but  the  coachmen  make  no  difficulty  iu 
taking  porAmanieausj  packets,  &c. 

If  it  happens  that  there  an  no  single  places  to  he  had, 
the  traveller  may  take  half  a  chaise  (ca/estii)  ;  in  which, 
with  respect  to  its  return,  it  is  necessary  to  observe  what 
we  have  said  above.  The  charge  then  is  two  piastres  a 
day  for  one  mule.  If  you  have  not  much  baggage,  that  is 
to  day,  if  it  does-not  exceed  fifty  pounds  weight,  you  may 
take  another  traveller  with  you  to  lessen  the  cxpence.  To 
determine  the  weight  that  is  allowed,  it  is  sufficient  to 
know,  that  it  is  calculated  at  the  rate  of  from  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  to  eight  hundred  pounds  to  one  draft  mule. 
The  Cah'teros  being  generally  proprietors  of  these  carri- 
ages, ami  fearing  to  stay  long  in  the  large  towns,  the  tra- 
veller may  be  able  to  make  them  abate  a  third  of  th:ir 
price;  but  the  precaution  that  we  have  before  meuttotied, 
namely,  to  fix  the  number  of  days  on  the  road,  should  n 
be  forgotten. 

Jo  general,    it  is  necessary   to   treat  the  c  and 

cacheras,  in  a  very  particular  manner^  never  with  rudeness 
or  incivility,  but  at  the  sane  time  with  no  respect  or  defer- 
ence; a  serious  air,  calm  and  even  manners;  dignity  and 
firmness  are  indespen.-able  qualities  to  manage  matters 
well  with  this  sort  of  people.  There  is  no  occasion  for 
written  agreements  with  them;  for  in  spite  of  their  coarse- 
ness they  are  faithful  to  their  bargains.  You  may,  how- 
ever, make  them  sign  the  terms  agreed  on,  with  a  coun- 
terpart subscribed  by  both  partie*.  The  carriages  in 
Spain  are  commonly  of  three  kinds:  volantes  or  calc- 
chines,    cakchas,    and  coches   de  culleras,    all    tolerably 


OVERLING,    <XC.  Cxli 

«  enunodious,  but  in  general  very  clumsy:.  The  rolante- 
or  calechines  are  small  cabriolets,  on  two  wheels,  with 
leather  curtains  before,  and  a  seat  able  to  hold  two  per- 
sons, but  rather  close;  they  ar*  drawn  by  a  mule  or  horse, 
and  driven  by  a  mlantero  or  conductor,  who  goes  some- 
times on  foot  by  the  side  of  his  beast  and  sometimes  sit- 
ting on  the  shaft.  These  little  machines  carry  considerable 
loads;  two  trunks  may  be  put  inside  and  a  bed  behind. 
The  charge  for  these  was  tolerably  moderate  before  the 
last  war;  b<  leg  generally  from  twenty  to  four  and  twenty 
reals  of  vellon,  that  is  to  say,  from  four  to  five  shillings  a 
day,  taking  them  to  go  and  come  back  ;  they  were  dearer, 
if  they  were  not  paid  for  returning,  more  or  less,  accord- 
ing to  the  likelihood  of  finding  other  travellers  at  the  placi  s 
thev  were  going  to.  The  charges  are  double  since  the 
These  carriages  are  suspended  by  very  short  and 
thick  straps,  so  that  they  follow  every  motion  of  the 
wheels  and  shafts,  and  the  persons  in  them  are  violently 
and  continually  jolted;  they  let  in  the  weather  on  all  sidi  -; 
the  leather  curtains  never  shut;  they  always  remain  half 
Open,  and  the  traveller  is  exposed  to  wind,  rain,  s,un,  and 
du^t. 

Tu»  ..re  also  a  kind  of  cabriolets,  of  the  same 

form  and  construction  as  the  volantes,  and  they  arc  almost 
always  confounded  with  them,  but  thev  are  larger  and 
deeper;  they  are  drawn  by  two  mules  or  horses,  upon  one 
of  which  the  calechero  or  conductor  rides;  yet  he  almost 
always  goes  part  of  the  way  on  foot.  Though  these  car- 
ive  tv.o  mules  or  hoi  ses,  thev  do  not  go  the 
kei ,  and  are  as  many  daj  i  on  the  road  a  i  the  volantes  , 
the  only  advantage  that  a  traveller  <:u:io  is,  that  he  iq  * 
little  mon-  at  bis  ease,  and  is  enabled  to  carry  more  lug- 
gage.    The  price  of  them  is  rather  hjghcj  than  that  of 


cxln  observations  on 

tin*  volailles,  but  the  difference  is  nor  great.  }\  e  are  less 
■ncotnfortable  in  them  than  in  the  volantes,  more  at  case, 
and  better  supported:  some  of  them  are  better  bung  and 
more  sheltered  ;  but  they  are  seldom  to  be  met  with,  ex- 
ei  pt  m  Portugal;  in  Spam  then  is  scarcely  any  thing  to 
be  seen  but  volantes  drawn  by  a  single  horse. 

The  coches  de  cutlc/as  are  carriages  which  hold  four 
persons,  built  with  greater  solidity  than  elegance,  close 
and  on  better  springs,  easy  and  much  more  commodious. 
TIk-v  are  drawn  by  sis  mules,  two  abreast,  and  harnessed  to 
each  other  and  to  the  pole  by  common  ropes,  which  are 
I  rag  enough  to  allow  a  considerable  distance  between  the 
mules;  this  is  called  a  tiro.  These  carriages  are  under 
the  direction  of  two  persons,  the  principal  of  whom  is 
called  mayoral,  and  the  other  zagal,  or  mozo,  the  for- 
mer arts  as  coachman  and  the  latter  as  postillion;  hut  they 
are  never  mounted;  they  carry  very  considerable  loads  both 
behind  and  before.  They  perform  almost  always  the 
journey  in  the  same  time  as  the  volantes  and  calcchas, 
unless  by  a  particular  agreement,  which  is  paid  for  extra- 
vagantly, the  proprietor  or  mayoral  undertake  to  go 
quicker,  and  to  perform  the  journey  in  a  certain  number  of 
days.  The  fare  of  these  carriages  is  not  always  the  same; 
ji  varies  according  to  circumstances  ;  but  maybe  always 
ulated  at  three  piastres  a  day  for  two  persons,  and  two 
piastres  at  the  least  for  a  single  person,  without  reckoning 
wli'ji  l-  given  to  the  conductor.  The  standard  for  all  the 
prices,  and  which  may  serve  as  a  guide,  is  one  piastre  a 
day  each  mule,  and  one  piastre  or  half  a  piastre  at  least 
for  iho  conductor  ;  we  are  then  to  calculate  the  return, 
which  would  greatly  add  to  the  sum,  but  it  seldom  hap- 
that  return  carriages  are  not  t'>  I»  found,  as  we  have. 
m*  nti   .)♦  d  above. 


j  îiAVi.LLixG,  kc.  cxliii 

The  manner  in  which  the  coches  de  ailleras  move 
on  is  singular  enough,  laughable,  and  sometimes  alarm- 
ing, but  never  dangerous.  One  cannot  be  easy  while  the 
mules  without  bridles  or  guides,  fastened  only  by  traces 
of  a  surprising  length,  which  allow  them  to  go  to  a 
distance,  to  return  and  wander  at  pleasure,  and  this 
over  roads,  often  winding,  uneven,  rugged,  sometimes 
steep,  and  sometimes  unbeaten;  you  think  every  moment 
that  thcv  are  going  to  overset  the  carriage*,  to  drag  it  over 
dangerous  heights,  and  throw  it  down  deep  precipices; 
but  \our  fears  are  soon  removed  by  the  vigilance,  by  the 
active  and  prompt  dexterity  of  the  conductors,  and  by 
the  docility  of  the  animals  which  draw  it.  These  have  no 
other  bridle,  guide  or  spur,  than  the  voice  of  the  con- 
ductors; they  know  it,  they  know  the  different  inflexions 
and  meanings  of  it,  which  they  obey  with  an  astonishing 
promptitude:  a  sound  from  the  mayoral  is  sufficient  to 
stop  and  direct  them  ;  his  voice  encourages  them,  puts 
them  on,  makes  them  go  faster  or  slower,  turn  to  the 
right  or  Left,  go  farther  or  come  nearer,  and  stops  them 
instantly  :  if  a  mule  goes  on  one  side,  moves  too  fast  or 
too  slow,  the  mayoral  calls  him  by  his  name,  which  is 
commonly  that  of  a  military  rank,  as  generate,  capitana, 
commissariat  and  tells  him  in  his  language  what  he  ought 
to  do;  the  docile  animal  hears,  understauds,  and  obeys 
him  :  he  also  animates  and  brings  in  those  that  go  out  of  the 
path  by  thr  wing  small  pebbles  ut  them,  which  method, 
without  hurting,  gives  them  a  warning  that  they  understand. 
The  mayoral  and  zngal  keep  watch  at  the  front  of  the 
Carriage,  which  serves  them  as  a  scut;  on  the  slightest 
appearance  of  danger,  the  zagal  springs  forward  with  a 
-in piisin^  agility,  walks  by  the  sid«-  of  die  mules,  runs 
;.'J'>ni;  side  of  them,  encourages  them  with  his  "voire.,   (ies 


cxlîv  OBSERVA'I  1 

11"  ta  the  traces  with  which  they  are  harnessed,  and 
>%Iiiiîi  lie  directs:  sometimes  it  he  thinks  there  is  any 
danger»  especially  in  difficult  places,  he  puts  himself  at 
their  head  between  the  two  reading  milles,    and  guides 

m   with  skill;   lie  then  n  turns  to   his    post   until  some 
danger  obliges  him  to  renew  the  same  operation. 

One  may  also  travel  through  Spain  in  one's  own  carri- 
age ;  but  then  it  would  cost  double,  and  sometimes  trebles^ 
•what  it  would  otherwise;  For  as  the  conductors  cannot 
carry  people  back,  the  return  must  ho  paid  for:  besides 
s  .  h  thei  make  what  agreements  they  please,  for  one 
is  obliged  to  rive  what  they  demand  when  there  are  not 
muleteers  enough  to  raise  a  competition.  \\  lien  a  tra- 
veller takes  his  own  carriage,  he  is  obliged  to  pay  on 
entering  Spain  a  considerable  duty,  or  he  must  be  re- 
commended to  a  merchant  on  the  frontiers,  to  engage 
that  it  shall  be  carried  out  of  the  kingdom  in  a  stated 
iitne  ;  an  alteration  must  also  be  made  in  the  carriage, 
and  one  is  sometimes  delayed  two  days  on  the  frontiers, 
to  adapt  a  new  pole  suitable  to  the  harnessing  of  the 
mules  :  by  this,  however,  an  advantage  is  gained  in  the 
m$yorai*s  not  sitting  on  your  box,  which  is  left  free  for 
the  servants.  This  mode  of  travelling  is  undoubtedly 
expensive,  but  it  is  the  only  one  really  commodious. 

If  ybu  do  not  choose  to  take  either  post-horses,  or 
hire  puWic  carriages,  you  may  go  on  horse  back  (à  caballo  ) 
*s.  the  Spaniards  say,  even  when  they  ride  mules,  hi 
that  case  you  hire  a  mule  with  its  conductor  (nwzo  de  es- 
lus,  literally  groom  of  the  spurs)  and  may  make  the 
common  journey  of  six  or  seven  leagues  tolerably  quick, 
-  •  -•  conductors,  who  act  as  servants,  are  generally 
very  good  foot  travellers.  The  price  of  a  mule  is  one 
sometimes,  however,  it  is  one  and  a  half. 


TRAVELLING,    &C.  Cxlv 

Then  the  conductor  besides  his  victuals,  has  another 
liait"  piaster  for  his  trouble.  With  regard  to  eating  and 
drinking,  one  is  expected  to  have  two  common  dishes  and 
a  quartillu  (a  pint)  of  wine  each  meal  ;  all  more  than  that 
is  at  the  pleasure  of  the  traveller.  The  conductor  of 
whom  we  are  speaking,  is  usually  a  faithful  and  serviceable 
companion  in  travelling,  perfectly  acquainted  with  t!;^ 
roads  from  having  often  travelled  them.  He  takes  care  to 
bespeak  dinner  for  his  master,  and,  by  his  connection  at 
inns,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  prices,  reduces  the  reck- 
onings to  a  just  and  reasonable  price.  One  may  travel, 
with  these  conductors,  from  Vittoria  to  Cadiz,  and  there 
are  no  return  expences  to  be  defrayed. 

it  was  in  this  manner  that  I  generally  travelled  in  Spain y 
and  I  am  persuaded  that  all  who  adopt  this  mode  will  do 
well:  it  requires  only  to  have  good  mules  and  to  hire  them 
for  a  long  time,  not  to  be  perpetually  changing;  it 
>sould  be  better  to  puichase  them,  arid  to  hire  a  vouuc" 
and  intelligent  muleteer.  Nothing  can  be  more  agreeable 
than  travelling  the  beautiful  country  of  Spain  on  horseback 
in  this  manner;  all  the  roads  are  embalmed  with  the  odour 
of  aromatic  plants,  the  aspect  of  the  country  varies  per- 
petually among  the  mountains  we  go  over,  where  we 
now  have  an  extensive  view,  and  now  a  wild  and  pictu- 
rc-qiie  scene. 

The  badness  of  the  roads  is  not  perceived  on  horseback, 
and  by  going  a  little  out  of  our  way  we  find  different  pro- 
visions to  buy  as  we  proceed,  chiefly  game.  We  sleep  for 
ill.  ijj« v,t  pari  on  beds  of  straw,  but  they  are  covered  with 
ibe  woollen  counterpanes  which  are  fixed  to  our  saddles, 
and  \\c  wiap  ourselves  up  in  our  cloaks;  the  habit  once 
acquired  we  deep  as  well  i*  this  maimer  ai  in  the  beet 
bed,  and  an-  read)  to  proceed  at  daj  br<.:ik  and  breathe  the 

V.ji.  t . 


Cxlvi  OBSERVATIONS    ON 

fine  morning  air  :  we  dress  at  noon  at  the  place  where  we 
stop  to  dine,  and  take  an  hour  of  siesta  after  dinner  before 
.  t  ont  on  our  evening's  journey.  This  free  and  wan- 
dering life  in  a  country  where  nature  is  beautiful,  and  in 
which  there  are  fine  monuments,  is  more  delightful  than 
can  be  imagined. 

Those  who  think  that  all  these  modes  are  still  too  ex- 
pensive, may  travel  with  the  carriers  (arrieros) — these  have 
mules  also,  or  carriages.  In  the  first  case,  the  mule  costs 
a  piécette  the  league,  or  a  piaster  for  five  leagues,  and  the 
traveller  may  carry  his  baggage  weighing  as  much  as  ten  or 
eleven  arobas,  that  is  to  say,  from  £50  to  272  pounds. 
In  travelling  this  way  there  is  no  occasion  to  keep  with  the 
other  mules  which  travel  in  a  body;  but  if  you  choose, 
may  go  on  before  to  get  sooner  to  the  inn;  only  taking 
care  that  you  have  not  a  lame,  blind,  or  restive  mule, 
which  often  happens;  this  manner  of  travelling  is  not  at- 
tended with  the  expence  of  changing  your  cattle  or  with 
any  additional  disbursement. 

If  one  is  not  accustomed  to  the  Spanish  cookery, 
it  would  be  right  to  make  at  the  same  time  a  bargain  with 
the  carrier,  or  arriero,  for  eating,  wine,  and  lodging,  and 
to  rely  on  him  for  settling  the  account.  In  this  case  a 
journey  of  sixty  or  seventy  leagues,  costs  in  all  from  six- 
teen to  nineteen  piasters,  and  much  expence  at  inns  Î3 
avoided,  without  being  worse  served  ;  for  a  traveller 
must  of  course  pay  treble  what  an  arriero  does,  who  goes 
the  roue  every  month,  and  with  whom  consequently  the 
inn-keepers  wish  to  keep  friends.  I  should  particularly 
recommend  this  last  manner  of  travelling  to  mineralogists 
and  botanists.  In  the  first  place  the  journeys  are  short 
and  slow;  and  then  the  arriéres  pass  over  the  highest 
parts  of  mountains,  where  there  are  most  objects  for  the 


TRAVKLLINO,     See.  CXlviî 

researches  of  naturalists.  Another  advantage  is  that  of 
often  travelling  with  a  great  deal  of  company;  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  see  thirty  mules  together:  a  person  if  he 
likes  may  then  stay  behind  without  being  in  danger  of 
straggling.  Besides  there  is  nothing  disgraceful  in  this 
manner  of  travelling:  it  is  the  way  ecclesiastics,  mer- 
chants and  gentlemen  travel.  It  would  be  otherwise  with 
those  who  choose  to  hire  only  half  a  mule,  and  to  go  in 
the  file  with  the  animal  haJf-loaded.  In  this  case  the  per- 
son pays,  as  for  a  portmanteau>  according  to  weight  ;  and 
as  the  arrvba  (twenty-five  pounds)  is  charged  a  piaster, 
a  person  weighing  near  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds 
(five  arrobas)  pays  for  the  same  distance  five  piasters;  but 
this  mode  is  so  despicable  and  incommodious,  that  it  is 
the  custom  in  Spain  to  say  in  contempt  of  a  person  who 
adopts  it,  that  he  travels  por  arrobas,  by  weight. 

Other  arrieros  carry  merchandise  in  carts.  We  meet 
with  these  more  frequently  in  the  interior  of  Spain,  es- 
pecially to  the  south,  than  in  the  northern  provinces;  it 
would  however,  considering  the  improvement  that  ha3 
taken  place  in  the  mountainous  roads,  be  as  easy  as  ad- 
vantageous to  introduce  this  mode  of  travelling.  A  mule 
cannot  carry  above  three  hundred  weight,  and  even  then 
is  very  much  loaded  ;  but  it  will  draw  nearly  eight  hun- 
dred. Since  the  passage  by  sea  has  been  put  a  stop  t  > 
by  the  war,  there  are  carriers  of  this  kind  from  Lisbon 
t<>  Barcelona,  and  from  Cadiz  to  Bayonne.  They  have 
two-whiffled  covered  carts,  drawn  by  four  mules;  and. 
contain  com  m  for  travellers.     The  laic  is  les3 

for   tins   kind    of  carriages,    and   one   may   travel   in   this 
manner  a  hundred  leagues,  at  the  rate  of  eleven  or  twelve 
i   ,  including  a  large  portmanteau.     As  the  distance 
in  a  day  ie  very  ikort  and  ÙQ¥ft   fol  example,  the 
k'J 


CXlVlii  OBSERVATIONS     ON 

hundred  leagues  from  Cadiz  to  Madrid  lake  up  fifteen 
days,  thej  would  be  likewise  very  convenient  for  mineral- 
ogists and  botanists.  Add  to  which  the  advantage  of 
'<  eping  all  night  in  the  carriage,  particularly  in  summer, 
which,  it  one  carries  one's  maltrass,  is  far  preferable  to 
the  filthy  and  infectious  beds  o(  the  inns. 

In  general,  there  are  ordinaries  or  couriers,  going  back- 
wards and  forwards  to  all  the  great  towns,  either  with 
mules,  or  carriages;  lor  example,  there  is  a  courier  goes 
regularly  once  every  fortnight,  and  also  once  every  week 
from  Bilbao  to  Madrid.  There  are  ordinarios  going 
every  fortnight  from  Madrid  to  Malaga,  Barcelona, 
Badajoz,  &c.  Every  one  has  his  particular  inn  where 
be  puts  up;  which  is  easy  to  be  known:  besides  which  it 
may  always  be  found  in  the  Mercantile  Almanack. 
One  sometimes  is  at  a  loss  for  an  opportunity  of  going 
directly  from  Madrid  to  Lisbon;  but  then  the  distance 
from  Badajoz  to  Elvas  the  first  Portugese  fortress  is  but 
three  leagues  more  or  three  leagues  to  Estremos,  where 
there  are  always  a  great  many  return  carriages.  Th« 
ordinario  del  rey  goes  every  month  with  the  dispatch*  s 
of  the  cunt  to  Lisbon,  and  takes  travellers  who  are  re- 
commended to  linn  at  a  \evy  reasonable  rate. 

A-  to  the  manner  of  travelling  on  boricos  or  asses,  it 
is  as  follow*:  when  a  person  is  only  going  a  lew  leagues, 
he  may  very  well  make  use  of  them  ;  if  the  conductor 
belongs  to  the  place  he  is  going  to,  he  only  pays  at  most 
two  reals  a  league,  but  on  a  great  road,  if  he  wishes  to 
hire  a  borico  expressly  to  go  from  village  to  village,  he 
not  only  runs  a  risk  of  not  finding  one,  on  account  of 
the  distance;  but,  .supposing  he  does,  he  must  pay  for 
going  and  coming  six  reals  a  league.  Add  to  this,  that 
it  U  a  very  inconvénient  mode,   to  be  stated  on   a  coarse 


TRAVELLING,    &C.  Cxlix 

and  unsteady  pack-saddle,  on  an  animal  often  restive, 
without  curb  or  bridle,  made  to  go  on  with  a  stick,  and 
which,  at  every  blow  he  receives,  kicks,  jumps  from  side 
to  side,  and  keeps  you  always  on  the  watch. 

H  alkers. — Travelling  alone  and  on  foot  in  Spain  ex- 
poses one  to  many  inconveniences.  I  do  not  remember 
to  have  met  a  single  foot  traveller  in  this  country,  except 
between  two  villages  very  near  each  other.  Pilgrims, 
soldiers,  beggars,  and  in  short  all  who  travel  on  foot,  go 
always  in  company  with  an  arriéra,  or  some  carriage.  A 
single  foot  traveller  runs  a  risk  of.  not  being  admitted  into 
the  inns.  If  we  add  to  this  the  great  distances  between 
the  different  towns,  and  the  insecurity  of  the  roads,  an  in- 
convenience not  exaggerated,  it  will  be  easily  imagined  that 
travelling  on  foot  in  Spain,  is  not  so  practicable  or  so 
common  as  in  France  or  Germany. 

What  I  have  said  respecting  the  insecurity  of  the  roads, 
k  not  to  be  understood  of  all  Spain.  It  is  true  that  rob- 
beries and  assassinations  are  not  uncommon  ;  but  the  go- 
vernment sends  soldiers  on  the  highways,  and  have  been 
endeavouring  for  a  long  time  past,  to  render  the  roads  se- 
cure. It  is  necessary  to  be  well  armed  in  travelling  in 
Spain,  less  perhaps  to  defend  one's  self  than  to  prevent  an 
attack.  The  greatest  part  of  the  robberies  are  made  from 
intelligence  gained  by  the  robbers  themselves  at  the  places 
where  the  travellers  alight;  I  shall  mention  only  one  ex- 
ample which  happened  to  my  own  knowledge.  Travel- 
ling on  horseback,  I  arrived  with  my  servant  at  Antequcra, 
a  town  situated  half  way  between  Grenada  and  Malaga; 
there  had  bei  □  a  heavy  rain  all  day,  and  in  spite  of  OUT 
lotions,  our  anus  were  all  wet  J  the  first  thing  we 
Hid  on  alighting  at  the  inn,   was  to  clean  and  Vj  take  them 

to  pieces  with  the  greatest  care    There  were  two  good 

k   .3 


Cl  OBSERVATIONS    ON 

looking  men  near  the  fire  preparing  their  supper  ;  I  asked 
them  if  they  would  allow  us  to  put  into  their  pan  the  same 
quantity  of  rice,  saffron,  fat,  and  a  rabbit,  as  we  could 
rot  attend  to  the* dressing  of  them;  we  supped  in  compa- 
ny, and  in  the  morning,  after  taking  some  chocolate, 
lighted  our  cigars  together,  and  separated.  I  was  very 
much  surprised  at  my  arrival  at  Malaga,  to  hear  that 
these  two  very  men  (and  it  was  impossible  to  mistake  the 
description  given  me  of  them)  had  robbed  M.  Martens, 
the  son  of  a  rich  merchant  at  Hamburg,  who  travelled 
without  arms;  they  had  forced  him  to  go  out  of  the  road 
and  enter  a  hollow  way  in  the  middle  of  a  despobladn,  on 
the  read.  They  would,  without  doubt,  have  done  the 
same  thing  by  us,  had  they  not  feared  they  would  have 
nut  with  more  difficulty  and  doubtless  less  profit. 

We  are  now  to  speak  of  the  inns  of  Spain;  and  these 
do  not  form  any  part  of  its  splendour.  There  is  a  general 
clamour,  and  with  reason,  against  the  difficulties  travellers 
meet  with  in  this  country,  in  procuring  lodgings  and  re- 
freshment, and  against  the  inconveniences  of  the  places 
meant  for  their  accommodation. 

Inns  are  not  common,  good  ones  are  still  more  scarce, 
in  many  places  they  have  only  bad  public  houses  ;  dirty 
loathsome  places,  where  the  beds  are  vile,  aie  in  most  of 
the  provinces,  the  only  resource. 

The  houses  for  the  reception  of  travellers  are  divided 
into  three  classes:  the  fondât,  tne  posadas,  otherwise 
called  casas  de  posada,  or  mesones,  and  the  tentas.  The 
fondas  and  posadai  are  always  situated  in  the  towns  and 
villages  ;  the  ventas  are  detached  houses  in  the  country  by 
the  side  of  roads,  at  a  distance  more  or  less  removed  from 
the  villages. 

fondas   are   real   inns,  where   travellers  may  find 
lodging  and  every  thing  they  want;  there  is  always  some- 


TRAVELLING,    &C.  cil 

thing  ready  cooked  in  several  of  them,  particularly  in  great 
towns  ;  the  dinner  at  the  table  d'hote  is  fixed  for  a  certain 
hour  and  at  a  certain  price  ;  those  who  wish  it,  however, 
are  served  in  private,  which  makes  a  difference  in  the 
price.  In  others,  travellers  do  not  intermix,  but  are 
served  by  themselves;  and  the  price  varies  according  to 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  what  is  ordered. 

The  fondas  are  divided  into  two  classes  in  the  great 
towns  ;  the  one  more  and  the  other  less  distinguished 
in  proportion. 

The  inns  of  the  first  class  are  dearer  at  Cadiz  and  at  Ma- 
drid, than  any  where  else;  we  pay  at  the  table  d'hote, 
twelve  reals  or  half  a  crown  English,  a  meal  ;  in  the  latter 
town,  we  also  pay  for  lodging,  the  price  of  which  varies 
according  to  the  beauty  of  the  apartments  ;  it  is  from  six 
reals  or  fifteen  pence  to  twenty-four  reals  or  five  shillings  a 
day.  There  are  some  tolerably  decent  inns  in  Madrid,  in 
which  we  only  pay  from  six  to  eight  reals,  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  pence  a  meal.  The  common  price  at  almost  all 
the  other  inns  of  Spain  is  eight  reals,  or  twenty  pence,  for 
a  dinner  at  the  table  d'hote;  it  is  in  most  of  them 
fixteen  reals  or  35.  Ad.  ster.  a  day,  in  which  are  reckoned 
dinner,  suppes,    and  lodging*. 

The  poscdas,  or  casai  de  posada,  or  mesones,  are  houses 
in  different  quarters  of  the  towns  and  villages,  where  the 
.traveller  is  provided  only  with  lodging,  where  nothing  is 
.furnished  for  the  tabic  and  whither  he  must  carry  every 
thing,  or  have  it  bought,  the  master  or  mistress  of  the 
place  undertaking  only  to  prepare  the  eatables  given  to 
them.  These  are  in  general  nasty  and  disgusting;  there 
;irt:  scaicfly   even  paltry  bedsteads,  with  old  Hock  mat- 

•  [hMC  pricts  have  beta  raisul  io  lèverai  places,  within  ten  years, 
k  4 


Cliî  OBSERVATIONS   ON 

trasses  fulling  to  pieces,  and  coarse  sheets,  badly  washed, 
scarcely  larger  than  a  good  sized  napkin  ;  benches  for  seats, 
greasy  plates,  pewter  or  iron  spoons,  always  very  dirty} 
oil  lamps,  and,  to  complete  the  picture,  landlords  filthy, 
inattentive,  rude,  coarse  and  brutal;  the  manner  of  dress- 
ing the  victuals  detestable1  ;  and  one  is  often  unable  to 
procure  any  thing  in  the  places  where  these  houses  are 
situated. 

A  traveller  who  is  unprovided  with  the  necessary  pro- 
visions, cannot  on  arriving,  repose  himself  from  the  fa- 
tigues of  his  journey;  though  often  very  weary,  he  is 
forced  to  run  from  house  to  house  t"  buy,  in  one  bread, 
in  another  wine,  in  a  third  oil,  ami  in  others  meat,  eggs, 
and  salt;  and  he  may  think  himself  well  off  if,  after 
having  run  about,  often  in  the  dark,  he  can  piocure 
any  thing. 

These  houses  of  posada  arc  very  numerous  in  almost 
every  part  of  Spain  ;  there  is  scarcely  any  other  place  of 
accommodation;  the  fondas  are  only  in  a  few  considerable 
towns,  and  there  are  even  some  great  towns  in  which  there 
are  none:  the  tentas,  of  which  we  shall  speak,,  are  only 
in  detached  places,  at  a  distance  from  the  villages. 

Some  of  these  houses  of  posada,  however,  are  less  dis- 
agreeable than  others;  some  have  tolerable  chambers, 
passable  beds  kept  in  a  clean  state,  and  the  land- 
lords of  which  are  more  complaisant  and  attentive;  but 
such  are  very  uncommon;  and  we  may  travel  a  good  way 
without  meeting  with  one. 

There  are  others  where  the  traveller  finds  persons  whose 
office  it  is  to  offer  their  services,  and  who,  for  a  little 
money,  undertake  to  go  and  buy  whatever  is  necessary  ; 
the  landlords  cannot  in  this  case  undertake  it,  and  they  are 
cfterj  expressly  prohibited  from  intermeddling  with  it. 


TRAVELLING,    &C  Clui 

The  Dénias  are  detached  houses,  situated  on  the  great 
roads,  more  or  less  distant  from  the  villages  ;  they  are  tor 
the  accommodation  of  travellers.  They  are  in  general  as 
bad  and  as  disagreeable  as  the  casas  de  posadas  ;  but  they 
ofteu  have  provisions,  tlrough  not  the  best,  and  in  a  small 
quantity.  The  distance  from  the  villages  obliges  the  laud- 
lords  of  the  tairas  to  keep  provisions,  in  order  to  furnish 
travellers  with  things  they  cannot  purchase  on  the  spot. 

There  are  neither  casas  de  posadas  nor  Veritas  in  Catalo- 
nia ;  there  they  are  all  hostal,  that  is  to  say  inns  ;  the  tra- 
veller need  not  take  care  about  his  provisions,  for  he  may 
depend  on  finding  plenty  wherever  he  puts  up.  There 
are  tolerable  inns  in  this  province,  those  of  Figucras, 
Martorell  and  Emposta,  are  passable;  those  of  Gironna 
and  Calelhi  are  good;  those  of  Mataro,  at  the  sign  of 
Monserat,  of  Lerida,  at  the  sign  of  St.  Louis,  and  of 
Villa  Franca  de  Panadez,  and  some  of  those  at  Barcelona 
are  excellent. 

In  every  other  part  of  Spain,  the  fondas,  those  houses 
in  which  provisions  are  kept  ready,  and  in  which  we  are 
served  without  any  trouble,  are  uncommon.  There  are 
none  of  them  in  Galicia,  the  Asturias,  the  kingdom  of  Leon, 
Lstremadura,  la  Mancha,  and  the  kingdom  ofjaen:  that 
of  Cordova  has  only  one,  which  is  in  the  town  of  the 
same  name.  There  is  only  one  in  the  kingdom  of  Murcia, 
at  Albacete,  wbû  h  is  tolerable,  and  another  at  Carthagena, 
which  is  better;  the  town  of  Murcia,  the  capital  of  that 
province,  bas  none.  There  are  several  in  the  kingdom  of 
ille,  at  the  town  of  that  name,  and  at  Cadi/,  most  of 
them  very  good.      Biscay   has  some  at  Bilbao  ;   GuipuZCOa 

at  S.  Sebastian,  and  Tolosa  and  Alava  at  Vittoria.    'Hie 

kingdom  of  Valencia  has  three   m   the  town  of  that  name, 
f-"    at    Aluant,    two    at     Vinaro/,   two    ut  Cssteilo  de 


Cliv  OBSERVATION'S     OS 

îa  Plana,  and  one  at  Fuente  de  la  Higuera.  There 
arc  onlv  two  in  Arragon,  one  at  FVaga,  which  is  tole- 
rable, and  one  at  Saragossa,  which  is  bad.  New  Cas- 
tile lias  one  at  Puerto  de  Guadarrama,  which  has  fallen 
off  a  great  deal  from  what  it  was  ;  one  at  Toledo,  which 
is  excellent  ;  one  at  Acala  dc  Hcnarez,  which  is  good, 
and  several  at  Madrid,  among  wliich  those  of  the  Golden 
fountain,  the  S.  Sebastian,  and  the  Cros6  of  Malta,  are 
the  principal,  and"  several  tolerably  good,  at  the  different 
royal  residences,  when  the  court  is  there. 

The  casas  de  pusadas  and  the  ventas  of  Arragon,  Ga- 
iicia,  the  kingdom  of  Leon,  Estremadura,  Old  Cas- 
rile,  the  kingdoms  of  Jaen,  Cordova,  and  Murcia,  are 
dttcstable  ;  nothing  can  be  worse,  more  disagreeable  or 
more  disgusting.  Those  situated  on  the  roads  from  Mad- 
rid to  Cadiz,  and  to  Valencia,  are  infinitely  better  kept, 
cleaner,  better  provided  and  better  provisioned.  All  those 
on  the  great  road  which  goes  through  the  kingdom  of  Va- 
lencia are  the  real  fondas,  where  travellers  are  comfortable 
enough. 

Several  causes  contribute  to  keep  up  those  detestable- 
lodging  houses,  which  are  the  pest  of  travellers. 

I.  Most  of  those  houses  belong  to  towns,  villages,  and 
particular  lords,  who  let  them  out  at  a  very  high  price  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  subject  them  to  considerable  taxes. 
The  inn  of  Fraga  in  Arragon,  pays  65  reals,  or  J  3s.  Old. 
a  day  for  the  rent  of  the  house  and  the  right  of  keeping  an 
inn-,  and  23,725  reals  or  2341.  12s.  3^d.  sterling  a  year 
for  different  duties,  services,  and  taxes,  which  amount  an- 
nually to  a  sum  of  47,241  reals  or  4061.  5s.  lOd.  sterling. 
The  ram  de  posada  of  Murcia  pays  30  reals,  or  6s.  3d. 
a  day  for  the  rent,  and  750  reals,  or  71.  15s.  lOd.  sterling 
a  year  for  the  duty  of  alcabala,  which  amounts  yearly  to 
11,500  reals  or  1 181.  4s.  7d.  sterling. 


TRAVELLING,    &C.  civ 

II.  Almost  every  where,  in  the  provinces  of  the  crown 
of  Castile,  the  landlords  of  casas  de  posadas  are  prohibited 
from  keeping  any  kind  of  provisions,  or  even,  iu  some  places, 
jiv  ■  poultry. 

Ill  In  many  places  every  inhabitant  is  bound,  to  keep 
in  turn,  the  casa  de  posada  fora  certain  time;  they  are 
obliged  t!»  d  )  it,  and  cannot  refuse  until  their  stated  time 
is  expired»  '  'ie  consequence  is,  that  those  who  perform 
this  office  by  force,  do  it  badly  and  with  an  ill  grace  ;  the 
v  of  habit  occasions  ignorance  of  the  buiness  and  want 
dress  in  the  exercise  of  it,  and  the  new  possadero 
I  .  ;;oor,  cannot  provide  their  casas  de  posadas  with  fur- 
niture and  other  necessary  things. 

IV.  in  a  great  part  of  Spain  the  trade  of  an  innkeeper 
and  passadero  is  regarded  as  mean  and  abject  ;  and  those 
who  exercise  it  are  generally  despised.  Hence  few  are 
willing  to  undertake  it;  hence  those  who  are  forced  to  it 
perform  the  task  with  reluctance  and  disgust;  and  hence 
too  they,  from  having  amassed  some  money,  are  able 
to  be  at  the  necessary  expences  for  keeping  a  good  inn,  will 
not  undertake  this  business,  which  renders  them  con- 
temptible in  the  eyes  of  their  fellow  citizens. 

V.  There  are  in  general  but  few  travellers  in  Spain, 
.iiher  natives  or  foreigners;  most  of  those  who  travel  are 
settled  in  the  country  and  engaged  in  commerce,  some  pro- 
fession, or  busine88,  and  seldom  have  the  towns  where 
th(-\    have   fixed    their   residence.      Great    inns  could    not 

be  ftffpported  but  in  great  towns  where  people  assemble  : 
tbej  could  not  be  kept  up  long  on  the  toads. 

As  to  the  season  for  travelling  in  Spain,  I  think  the  most 

convenient  time  is  from   April  to  October.      Townsend, 
indeed,  gives  the  preference  to  winter  for  the  south  pro 

On    account    of    the  heat;     but    i    am   not   of  hi| 


Chi  OBSERVATIONS    ON 

opinion:  for  in  fact  the  heat  is  much  greater  in  the  bearl 
of  Spain  and  in  the  mountains  to  the  north,  than  on  the 
south  side,  where  the  sea  always  softens  the  air,  and 
where  the  nights  are  almost  always  Cool.  I  have  passed  the 

hottest  months,  those  of  July  and  August,  in  Andalusia, 
and  have  often  remained  in  the  streets  till  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon,  without  ever  having  had  a  coup  de  soleil 
or  an}'  other  accident*.  Resides,  in  the  southern  pro- 
vinces of  Spain,  the  frequent  rains  which  fall  during  the 
winter,  render  this  season  very  inconvenient  for  travelling; 
and  add  to  this  the  shortnesss  of  the  days,  a  cloudy  sky, 
and  the  tiresomeness  of  the  long  evenings  in  the  ventaa 
and  detached  posadas.  When  we  travel  from  north  to 
south  in  Spain,  we  hecome  accustomed  hy  degrees  to  the 
climate  ;  and  if,  in  the  hot  months,  we  travel  according 
to  the  ancient  Spanish  custom,  in  the  morning  and  evening, 
we  suffer  little  from  the  heat,  and  enjoy  in  the  three  best 
seasons  all  the  charms  of  the  country. 

As  to  specie,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  only  money 
of  the  country  is  current  in  Spain.  We  may  now 
however  get  rid  of  French  money,  though  at  a  loss.  The 
best  way  therefore  is  to  take  Spanish  pieces  at  Bayonue; 
which  may  be  done,  if  not  with  profit,  at  least  without 
loss.  When  I  went  from  Bayonue  in  the  spring  of  :7Q7, 
I  changed  my  French  pieces  of  six  livres  for  Spanish 
doubloons,  at  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  gain,  on  account  of 
the  scarceness  of  the  one  and  the  quantity  of  the  other. 
In  France  and  Italy  there  is  a  considerable  profit  in  using 
piasters  ;  but  in  Spain  the  carrying  them  out  of  the  coun- 
try is  prohibted,  so  that  a  person  «ho  has  no  other  resource, 

*  This  last  paj:e  and  part  of  the  precedii  g  are  from  Mr.  I  idler. 


TRAVELLING,  &C.  civil 

must  obtain  a  licence,  by  winch  he  loses  four  per  cento  : 
but  unfortunately  not  more  is  allowed  to  be  taken  than  to 
the  amount  of  seventy  pieces,  so  that  when  a  man  has  a 
greater  sum,  he  finds  himself  encumbered, 


NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY 

OF 

SPAIX. 


X  HE  best  panegyric  that  could  be  bestowed 
on  Spain  would  be  to  give  a  view  of  its  situation, 
its  temperature,  the  direction  of  its  mountains, 
the  beds  of  its  rivers  ;  in  a  word  of  the  compo- 
sition of  its  territory.  We  should  then  see  a 
vast  country  situated  between  two  seas  which 
spread  its  commerce  into  every  part  of  the 
world,  and  protect  its  bounds  from  all  invasion. 
The  only  part  that  unites  it  to  the  Continent,  at 
the  same  time  separates  it  ;  and  the  Pyrenees 
furnish  it  either  with  a  formidable  barrier,  or 
an  easy  communication.  The  whole  of  those 
mountains,  forming  a  semi-circle  close  to  the 
eastern  shores,  shelter  them  from  the  north 
winds,  and  produce  the  mildest  climate  on  that 
side.  On  the  other  side  they  surround  an  ex- 
tent of  country  large  enough  to  allow  the  rivers 
which  rise  in  those  mountains,  and  all  of  which, 


NATURAL    GEOGRAPHY    OF    SPAIN.         cl'lX 

with  the  exception  of  the  Ebro,  throw  them- 
selves into  the  Atlantic,  to  expand  themselves 
sufficiently  for  the  commerce  and  agriculture  of 
a  great  country.  An  inspection  of  the  map 
will  give  a  better  idea  of  this  happy  distri- 
bution. 

No.  1. 

Jlap  cf  the  Mountains  of  Spain. 

Spain  is  situated  between  55  degrees  57 
minutes  south,  and  43  degrees  44  minutes  north 
latitude,  from  Gibraltar  to  Cape  Ortegal,  and 
between  8  degrees  20  minutes  and  21  degrees 
longitude*  from  Cape  Finisterre  to  Cape  Créas  ; 
which  makes  it  lyô  leagues  from  north  to  south, 
and  219  from  east  to  we^t  in  its  greatest 
breadth  towards  the  north.  Exclusive  oi'  Por- 
tugal its  surface  is  25,137  square  leagues.  It 
lies  between  the  fifth  climate  on  the  south,  and 
half-way  between  the  sixth  and  seventh  on  the 
north;  therefore  the  longest  days  are  fourteen 
hours  and  a  half  in  the  southern  part,  and  fifteen 
and  a  half  in  the  northern. 

From  the  inspection  of  this  map  it  would 
appear,  that  all  the  mountains  of  Spain  arc 
composed    of    one    tingle    mass  ;    and   in    f    I 

*  Meridian  of  Talis. 


CÎX         NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY    OF   SPAIN". 

they  arc  nil  ramifications  from  one  another, 
which  follow,   correspond,   and  leave  between 

them  considerable  intervals,  yet  all  linked  to 
thé  same  ^tock.  We  shall  now  take  a  rapid  view 
of  tht  m. 

The  first  chain  that  we  perceive,  on  leaving 
Cape  I  inisterre,  stretches  along  the  whole  of 
the  north  of  Spain,  and  joins  the  Pyrenees;  in 
this  are  the  sources  of  the  Mino  and  the  Duero, 
which  throw  themselves  into  the  Atlantic;  and 
that  of  the  Ebro,  the  course  of  which  is  tow  aids 
the  Mediterranean.  These  mountains,  advancing 
towards  the  south-east,  divide  the  streams  which 
flow  into  the  Ebrô  from  those  which  augment 
the  Duero.  On  one  side  they  form  the  outline 
of  Aragon,  and  on  the  other  that  of  Old 
Castile.  They  advance  thus  as  far  as  Cuença 
and  .Molina,  the  name-,  of  which  they  take,  and 
soon  after  give  rise  to  the  Tagus  on  the  right, 
and  the  Xuear  and  the  Guadalaviar  on  the  left. 
Here  we  find  the  nucleus,  and,  as  we  may  say, 
the  knot  of  the  whole  chain;  Mount  Cayo,  which 
seems  to  he  the  reservoir  of  all  the  waters  that 
rise  in  springs  around  this  point,  and  ta-ke 
their  course  towards  the  two  seas.  This  same: 
chain,  slill  advancing  towards  the  south,  forms 
a  mass  from  whence  the  Guadiana  flows,  and 
further Oti  the  Guadalquivir;  it  then  stretches  on 
and  terminates  at  the  cape  de  G  at  te.   Let  us  novn 


NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN.         clxi 

reflect,  that  the  rivers  which  rise  within  this 
chain,  in  a  manner  divide  it  into  so  many  large 
valleys  and  intermediate  plains,  yet  leaving  in 
the  intervals  considerable  ramifications,  all  of 
which  are  attached  to  the  principal  trunk.  Just 
as  they  all  flow  in  parallels  towards  the  ocean, 
so  do  the  mountains  which  overhang  and  swell 
them  with  their  waters,  run  in  parallel  ridges 
from  the  mountains  of  the  Asturias  in  the  north 
to  the  Alpuxarras  in  the  south.  Thus  the 
mountains  of  Saint  Andero,  which  join  the 
Pyrenees,  run  along  between  the  Duero  and 
the  sea.  The  mountains  of  Guadarrama,  which 
separate  Old  from  New  Castile,  run  between  the 
Tagus  and  the  Duero.  Another  chain,  which 
divides  New  Castile  from  the  plains  of  La 
Mancha,  rises  from  the  north-east  to  the  south- 
east between  the  Tagus  and  the  Guadiana;  in 
this  we  find  the  Sierra  de  Guadalupe,  On  the 
other  side  of  the  Guadiana  is  the  famous  Sierra 
Morcna,  from  which  we  descend  into  the  beau- 
tiful plains  of  Andalusia,  which  are  watered  by 
the  Guadalquivir,  and  overlooked  by  the  la.st 
chain  of  mountains  in  Spain,  the  Alpuxarras, 
which  extends  to  the  coast. 

The  direction  of  the  mountains  and  rivers  of 
this  country  sufficiently  points  out  what  are  ita 
natural  lines  of"  defence.  To  set  out  from  the 
defiles  of  Pamorv»,    four  barriers  shut  up    the 

Vol..  r.  i 


clxii     NATtrnAi.  ceography'  of  stain*. 

avenues  of  Spain  from  north  to  south,  and  these 
Id»*   retarded    the  progress  of  the   Christians 
:ist  the  Moors.     They  would  have  protected 
them  much  longer,  if  those  people,  driven  into  the 
AlpuxarraS  as  formerly  the  Christians  were  into 
the  Asturias,  had  known  how  to  maintain  them- 
selves  with  equal  obstinacy.     The  mountains  of 
Spain  are  almost  all  calcareous,    and  no  traces 
are  to  be  seen  in  them   of  Volcanoes.     I  shall 
give  a  description  of  the  different  chains,   and 
of  the  rivers   which  run  from  them,  «with  that 
of  the  provinces  which  contain  them  ;   but  one 
observation,  which  I  must  make  here,  from  the 
influence  the  object  of  it  has  upon  the  tempera- 
ture of  Spain,  is  the   singular   height   of  this 
country  above  the  level  of  the  sea.     Though 
from  the  north-east  the  country  gradually  be- 
comes lower,  yet  the  high  plain,   or  table  land 
of  the  Castiles,    has  an  elevation  of  upwards 
of  300  fathoms.     This  singularity  may  lead  to 
curious  observations,  and   I  imagined  that  my 
•readers  -would  be  pleased  to  hâve  it  placed  in  a 
view  more"  striking  to  the  senses,  by  a  represen- 
tation of  it    in  two  geological  engravings*,  for 
which,  as  well  as  for  the  interesting  explanation 
that  accompai/ies   them,  I  am  indebted   to  the 
great  kindness  o.?  &.  tie  Humboldt. 


Sec 


niâtes  -i  and  3. 


NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN.       clxiîl 
{ 

Observations  upon  the  Face  of  the  Country  of  Spain 
and  its  Climate.     By  M.  A.  de  Humboldt. 

Ko  country  of  Europe  presents  so  singular 
a  configuration  as  Spain.  It  is  this  extra- 
ordinary form  which  accounts  for  the  aridity 
of  the  soil  in  the  interior  of  the  Castiles,  the 
power  of  evaporation,  the  want  of  rivers,  and 
that  difference  of  temperature  which  is  observ- 
able between  Madrid  and  Naples,  two  towns 
situated  in  the  same  degree  of  latitude.  We 
shall  only  be  able  to  give  a  rough  sketch  of 
this  meteorological  view  of  Spain.  Very  few 
observations  have  hitherto  been  made  on  the 
mean  temperature,  or  on  the  height  of  the 
barometer.  A  great  deal  of  valuable  materials 
perhaps  remains  unknown  in  the  manuscripts 
of  enlightened  persons,  who,  without  com- 
municating with  one  another,  or  with  the  learn- 
ed of  other  nations,  have  given  themselves  up 
to  researches  of  this  kind.  When  we  do  not 
possess  exact  observations,  we  must  content 
ourselves  with  the  analogy  seen  in  neighbouring 
countries.  It  is  easier  to  trace  the  natural  aspect 
of  New  Spain  than  that  of  Old  ;  and  in  this  re- 
spect we  are  better  acquainted  with  the  colonies 
than  with  the  mother  countiy. 
1  S 


Clxiv     NATURAL  GKOGRAFHV  OF  SPAIN. 

The  interior  of  Spain  is  an  elevated  plain,  and 
is  the  highest  of  any  of  the  same  kind  in  Europe 
which  occupies  a  large  extent  of  country.  Swit- 
zerland, the  Tyrol,  and  Scotland,  contain  ranges 
of  mountains  close  to  one  another.  These  are 
masses  furrowed  with  deep  valleys,  and  sur- 
rounded with  low  plains.  Switzerland  is  not 
really  a  raised  plain.  The  cantons  of  Berne, 
Fribourg,  Zuric,  and  all  those  countries  covered 
with  a  new  formation  of  free-stone,  are  plains, 
the  height  of  which  is  only  from  240  to  280 
fathoms  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  They 
form  part  of  the  grand  longitudinal  valley  which 
extends  from  the  south-west  to  the  north-east, 
between  the  chain  of  the  upper  Alps  and  Mount 
Jura,  as  appears  by  the  beautiful  geological 
maps  just  published  by  M.  Ebel.  In  France, 
and  particularly  in  Germany,  there  are  raised 
plains,  not  of  very  great  extent  certainly,  but 
well  worth  being  mentioned.  In  France,  the 
highest  plain  is  that  of  Auvergne,  in  which 
Mont-d'Or,  Cantal,  and  the  Puy  de  Dome  stand. 
It  is  S70  fathoms  above  the  sea,  according  to 
the  barometrical  calculation  of  a  celebrated 
mineralogist,  Ml  de.  Buch.  Lorraine  forms  a 
raised  plain  that  extends  between  the  Vosges 
and  the  chain  of  mountains,  which,  passing  by 
Epinal  and  Saint-Mihel,  joins  the  Ardennes. 
This  elevated  plain,  however,  is  only  from  130 


NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIX.       clxv 

to  140  fathoms  high.  The  centre  of  the  plains 
of  France,  the  department  of  Loir  and  Cher,  is 
from  eighty  to  ninety  fathoms  high. 

Bavaria  is  the  most  extensive  and  the  highest 
level  land  of  Germany.  A  vast  plain,  the  bed  of 
an  ancient  lake,  extends  from  the  granite  moun- 
tains of  the  upper  Palatinate  (Fichtel  Gebiirge) 
to  the  foot  of  the  Alps  in  the  Tyrol.  These 
plains  (and  this  fact  is  very  curious  and  hither- 
to little  known),  like  the  small  plain  of  Au- 
vergne, are  from  250  to  260  fathoms  above  the 
level  of  the  ocean. 

The  interior  of  the  two  Castiles  presents  a 
raised  plain  which  exceeds  in  height  and  extent 
all  those  that  we  have  just  mentioned.  Its  mean 
elevation  appears  to  be  three  hundred  fathoms. 
The  height  of  the  barometer  at  Madrid  is  twenty- 
six  inches  two  lines  and  two-fifths,  according  to 
a  notç  communicated  by  M  Bauza,  a  distin- 
guished astronomer,  employed  in  the  depot  of 
charts  for  the  navy  at  Madrid.  It  is  therefore 
two  inches  or  one-fourteenth  lower  than  the  mean 
height  of  the  mercury  at  the  level  of  the  ocean. 
This  is  the  difference  of  the  pressure  of  the  at- 
mosphere which  is  experienced  by  all  bodies 
exposed  to  the  open  air  at  Madrid,  Cadiz  or 
Bordeaux.  At  Madrid  the  Barometer  falls  as 
low  as  twenty-five  inches  six  lines,  and  even 
lower.    The  Diario  de  los  mtevoi  descubrimientus  dc 

\  3 


elXTT     V..TURAL  GEOGRAPHY*  OF  SPAIN". 

tcdas  las  Ctencias -Jmca's,  volume  iii.  page*  56, 
200,  407,  contains  a  series  of  very  interesting 
meteorological  observa tionS,  but  which  unfor- 
tunately to  not  include  a  whole  year. 

The  following  is  a  table  of  the  variations  of 
the  pressure  of  the  air  in  the  nine  fir.st  months 
of  the  year  i  79 3—      • 


1793." 
Months, 

Maximcm. 

MlNIMTJÏ. 

» 

Mean  Height 
of  the 

Barometer. 

• 

Inch.  Lines. 

Inch.  Lines. 

Inch.  Lines. 

January, 

26       5       8 

25       9 

8 

26       2       6 

February, 

25       5       3 

26      6 

2 

26       1       6 

1V1  arch, 

126-4       7 

25       6 

0 

25     11       6 

April, 

Juno, 
July, 

AllgUSf, 

26       4       6 
W      4       0 
26       4       3 
26       5       2 

25       5 

25  10 
2.5     n 

26  0 

25      11 

9 
5 

8 
7 
5 

25  11       6 

26  0       8 
26       1        6 
26       2       4 

26       1       4 

September, 

25       4       3 

25      J I 

0 

36       J       7 

The  mean  height  of  the  barometer  at  Madrid 
observed  by  Don  Felipe  Bauza  shows  that  capital 
to  be  elevated  three  hundred  and  nine  fathoms 
three-fifths  *  above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  ac- 
cording to  M.  de  Laplace  and  the  new  coefficient 
of  AI.  Ramond,  allowing  the  barometer  on  the 


*  Recueil  d'Observations  Astronomiques;  by  M.  de  Hum" 
boldt,  page  18. 


NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN,     chiyii 

coasts,  with  Shuckburgh  and  Fleurieu  Bellcvuc, 
to  be  at  three  hundred  thirty-eight  and  twenty- 
four  lines.  Madrid  consequently  stands  as  high 
as  the  town  of  .Jnspruck,  which  is  .situated;  in 
one  of  the  very  high  defiles  of  the  Tyrol.  The 
elevation  of  Madrid  is  fifteen  times  greater  tliau 
that  of  Paris,  three  times  greater  than.rthat  °* 
mount  Valerian,  and  also  three  times  greater 
than  that  of  Geneva*. 

Irlande,  was  the  first  who  made  known  the 
elevation  of  Madrid,  according  to  the  observa- 
tions which  were  communicated  to  him  by  the 
celebrated  geometrician  Don  George  Juan, 
(Mémoires  de  t Académie ,  ifes  &'fi|}ç^;  de  jParisf 
i'or  the  yfiar  1776,  page  148).  He  says,  that 
in  the  street  of  lus  Presiados,  near  the  portijo  de 
Scui  Alartin,  the  town  is  21)4  fathoms  higher 
than  Paris  ;  which  makes  it  three  hundred  and 
fourteen  fathoms  above  the  level  of  the  ocean. 
According  to  M.  Thalacker,  the  mineralogist, 
who  has  taken  several  heights  with  the  baro- 
meter iu  the  euviïons  of  Madrid,  the  king's 
palace    at   St.   Ildefonso    is    five    hundred    and 

*  The  level  of  the  Seine  at  the  Pout  tfoyal,  at  No.  13  of 
the  old  scale,  was  elevated  nineteen  fathoms  five  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  Ocean.  The  gallery  of  the  church  of 
Mount  Valerian  is  elevated  seventy-four  fathoms  above  the 
mean  height  of  the  Seme.  (Cotte  Journal  des  Mines,  April 
o.  313)  Geneva  is  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  fa- 
<.>...„„  ulo.elhe  level  eft),-:  Sea. 


Clxviii    NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN. 

ninety-three  fathoms,  which  is  higher  than  the 
edge  of  the  crater  of  Mount  Vesuvius.  No 
other  monarch  in  Europe  is  possessed  of  a  palace 
in  the  regions  of  the  clouds  :  in  our  countries  the 
heavy  summer  clouds  are  from  five  hundred  and 
fifty  to  six  hundred  fathoms  high. 

The  height  of  the  plain  of  the  Castiles  has 
an  effect  upon  its  temperature.  We  are  astonish- 
ed at  not  finding  oranges  in  the  open  air  in  the 
latitude  of  forty,  the  same  as  that  of  Tarentum, 
part  of  Calabria,  Thessaly,  and  Asia  Minor.  The 
mean  temperature  *  of  Madrid  appears  to  be 
59  degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  while  that  of  Peters- 
burgh  is  30  degrees  52  minutes  and  30  seconds; 
that  of  Berlin  46  degrees  57  minutes  and  50 
seconds  *  that  of  Paris  53  degrees  56  minutes 
and  15  seconds;  that  of  Marseilles,  58  de- 
grees 33  minutes  ;  that  of  Toulon  61  degrees 
15  minutes;  that  of  Naples  63  degrees  30 
minutes  ;  and  that  of  the  countries  situated 
under  the  equator  and  on  the  level  of  the  ocean 
from  79  to  81  degrees.  Genoa  is  4  degrees 
more  to  the  north   than  Madrid,  and  yet  the 

*  Naturalists  find  the  mean  temperature  of  the  year  by 
adding  together  all  the  heights  of  the  Thermometer  observed 
in  the  course  of  the  year,  and  dividing  the  total  by  the  num. 
ber  of  observations.  The  mean  heat  of  a  place  in  the  tem- 
perate zone  differs  sensibly  from  the  medium  taken  between 
the  maximum  and  the  minimum  of  the  thermometer. 


NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN-,      clxix 

temperature  of  Genoa  raises  the  glass  almost 
2  degrees  higher  than  that  of  the  capital  of 
Spain.  Such  is  the  influence  of  local  causes, 
of  the  elevation  of  site,  the  proximity  to  the  sea, 
a  chain  of  mountains  which  keeps  off  the  cold 
northerly  winds,  and  a  great  number  of  little 
circumstances,  the  combination  of  which  mode- 
rates the  temperature  of  places. 

Rome,  which  is  2  degrees  32  minutes  to  the 
south  of  Genoa,  but  1  degree  29  minutes  to  the 
north  of  Madrid,  has  almost  the  same  mean 
temperature  as  the  latter  town.  It  is  between 
60  degrees  7  minutes  and  30  seconds,  and  6 1 
degrees  15  minutes  of  Fahrenheit's,  according 
to  a  great  number  of  very  exact  observations 
made  by  M.  Calandrelli  and  the  elder  M.  de 
Humboldt,  minister  of  the  king  of  Prussia  in 
Italy.  The  following  table  shows  the  mean 
temperature  for  nine  months  observed  at  Madrid 
and  at  Rome  in  1793  and  1807.  I  have  not 
been  able  to  procure  observations  made  at  the 
same  period;  bat  in  mean  temperature  we  know 
the  variation  of  one  year  from  another  is  hard  Im- 
perceptible. 


CiXK         NATURAL    GEOGRAPHY    OP   SP.AUO 

MEAN    TEMPERATURE. 
AT    MADRID.  AT    ROME. 

deg.  min.  sec.  deg.  min.  sec. 

Latitude     40     25     IS  Latitude     41     53     54 

Elevation  SO:)  fathoms.  Klevation 

Fahrenheit.  Fahrenheit. 

January  3c,  3  0  40  1 1  15  January 

February  43  24       0  47  49  30  February 

March  47  54       &°  50  15  -15  March 

April  52  B  30  à  3l  50  April    I 

May  50        4  30  0  5  50  15   May 

June  72  32  15  7g£f0O  V  0  June 

July  77  13  30  7>  y        0  July 

August  Ù  34  30  79  15       0  August 

September  tt  |g       0  72  34  30  September' 

Even  at  Rome  orange-trees  are  not  able  to 
endure  the  rigours  of  winter,  and  it  is  neces- 
sary to  house  them.  The  mean  temperature 
vT.rtainîy  docs  not  alone  decide  what  kind  of 
cultivation,  is  proper  for  different  climates,  yet 
it  has  the  greatest  influence  upon  cultivation, 
and  the  following  table  points  out  with  suffi- 
cient certainty  what  is  the  mean  temperature 
below  which  particular  productions  cannot  be 
cultivated  with  success. 

Fahrenheit, 
min.   deg.    sec. 

Vineyards  yielding  wine       -     48     52     30 

Olive-trees  ------     55     37     30 


NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN.      clxxi 

Fahrenheit, 
deg.     min.     sec. 
Orange-trees     -     -     -    -     -     62     c22     30» 
Coffee -     64     37     30 

Sugar-canes       -----68       0       0 

If  the  mean  temperature  of  the  elevated  plains 
of  Spain  is  59  degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  that  of  the 
coasts  from  the  41st  degree  of  latitude  to  the 
36th,  is  between  £1$  anc^  ^8  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
Thus  we  see  banana-trees,  heliconias,  and  sugar- 
canes  growing  upon  these  coasts  in  situations 
that  are  sheltered  from  the  cold  winds. 

The  geological  profile  annexed  to  this  work 
is  drawn  upon  the  same  principles  as  I  thought 
it  necessary  to  follow  in  my  natural  atlas  of  the 
new  continent.  This  profile  (Pi..  2.)  presents 
to  the  view  of  the  observer  the  extraordinary 
structure  of  this  country,  part  of  the  coasts  of 
Avhich  appear  to  have  been  swallowed  up  by  the 
waves,  while  the  central  elevated  plain  resisted 
the  irruption  of  the  ocean.  Recollecting  the 
traditions  of  the  Samothracians,  and  the  great 
catastrophe  which  occurred  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean, we  do  not  pretend  to  decide  a  question 
Which  has  recentlv  eimaoed  the  attention  of 
learned  men  of  distinguished  merit. 

The  analogy  of  form  and  geological  structure 
[>.  ^uted  by  the  peninsula  and  Mexico,  has  led 
to  a  comparison  which  m:;y  be  interesting   to 


Clxxii         NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY   OP   SPAIN. 

naturalists.  We  have  given  an  outline  of  Old 
and  one  of  New  Spain,  engraved  upon  the  same 
scale  (Pl.  3)  These  are  the  outlines  of  countries, 
the  central  elevations  of  which  enjoy  different 
climates  from  that  on  the  coasts.  The  capitals 
of  both  are  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  interior 
plain  ;  but  the  plain  of  the  mother-country  may- 
be said  to  be  the  miniature  of  that  of  the  colony. 
The  difference  in  height  between  the  highest, 
mountains  of  the  old  and  new  world  is  only  j)00 
fathoms.  The  Chimborazo  is  only  one-fourth 
higher  than  Mount  Blanc,  whilst  the  high  plains 
of  the  Castiles  are  four  times  lower  than  the 
central  one  of  Mexico.  The  mean  temperature 
of  Mexico  is  eight  degrees  lower  than  that  of 
Vera  Cruz  and  Acapulco.  That  of  Madrid  is 
probably  no  more  than  from  two  to  three  de- 
grees below  that  of  the  coasts  of  Valencia.  The 
climate  of  the  capital  of  New  Spain,  like  that 
of  Madrid,  is  not  quite  so  cold  as  might  be  sup- 
posed from  the  height  of  the  two  towns,  as  the 
extent  of  the  elevated  plains  imparts  a  degree  of 
warmth  to  the  air.  The  mean  temperature  of 
Mexico  is  62  cleg.  22  min.  30  sec.  Fahrenheit; 
it  is  below  that  of  Cadiz,  and  is  almost  a  de- 
gree and  a  half  within  that  of  Madrid.  The 
height  of  the  barometer  at  Mexico  is  21  inches 
7  lines.  The  pressure  of  the  air  is  indicated  by 
a  column  of  mercury  five  inches  shorter  than  at 
Madrid. 


NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN.        clxXHl 

European  Spain,  situated  in  a  latitude  under 
which  palm  trees  (phœniv  dactilifcra,  chamcerops 
humilis)  grow  upon  the  plains,  presents  the  ma- 
jestic spectacle  of  a  chain  of  mountains,  the 
tops  of  which  shoot  up  into  the  regions  of 
everlasting  snows.  Don  Clémente  Roxas*  has 
discovered  by  a  levelling  survey,  executed  with 
the  greatest  care,  that  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  of 
Granada,  the  Pico  de  Venleta  is  elevated  1781 
fathoms  16,  and  the  Mulahaceh  1824  fathoms 
47,  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  None  of  the 
mountains  of  the  Pyrenees  are  of  so  great  a 
height  ;  for  Mount  Perdu,  the  highest  ridge  of 
the  Spanish  Pyrenees,  is  only  1763  fathoms, 
and  the  highest  of  the  French  Pyrenees  is  only 
1722  fathoms.  The  peak  of  Mulahacen  m  the 
Sierra  Nevada  of  Granada  wants  only  76  fa- 
thoms of  being  as  high  as  the  peak  of  TenerifTe. 
Yet  even  this  summit,  if  situated  in  the  same 
latitude  as  the  town  of  Mexico,  would  not  be 
perpetually  covered  with  snow;  for  the  never 
inciting    snows    begin f  under   the  equator  at 

M  tnuscfipt  note  communicated  by  M.  Iîauaa.  M.  Tha- 
iackt-r,  in  the  Annals  of  Cicn<ias  Natvralcs,  published  bj 
CavanilU-,  bas  c-tim'ated  the  Peak  of  Veleta  to  be  only  1154 
fathoms   high.    Tin    barometer  of  this  traveller   must  have 

been  out  of  order. 

J  laj  upon  the  RcfractiotM  in  the  Torrid  Zone,  by  A.  dp 
E!mnb<  Idt,  p    'i 


CÎXXlV  NATURAL  CEOSRAPHY  OF  SPAIN. 

2460  fathoms  high  ;  under  the  20th  degree  of 
latitude  at  2350  fathoms;  under  the  46th  at 
1300  fathoms;  and  under  the  &2d  at  900  fa- 
thoms. Such  is  the  depression  of  the  curve  from 
the  equator  to  the  pole. 


Civil  and  historical  Geography  of  Spain. 

The  first  known  division  of  Spain  took  place 
under  the  Romans,  originally  into  two  parts 
only,  under  the  names  of  Spain  citerior  and 
ulterior,  but  was  soon  called  by  three  denomi- 
nations Lusitania,  Bcetica,  and  Tarraconensis. 

Lusitania  comprehended  the  eastern  part,  and 
extended  as  far  as  the  Atlantic  ocean  ;  its  limits 
were  marked  on  the  north  hy  the  Duero,  on  the 
south  hy  the  Guadiana,  and  from  one  to  the  other 
by  a  straight  line  drawn  from  Simancas  to  Puente 
de  TArzobispo,  and  from  thence  as  far  as  the 
•country  of  the  people  called  Oretani,  in  which 
-the  town  of  Almagro  at  present  stands;  it  in- 
cluded in  its  extent  the  towns  of  Avila,  Sala- 
manca, Coria,  the  territory  of  Plasencia,  Trux- 
jdlo,  Mcrida  and  Portugal,  the  kingdom  of 
Leon  and  part  of  Estremadura. 

Bcetica  was  almost  surrounded  on  two  of  its 
sides  by  the  Guadiana,  bounded  on  the  south 


NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN.  clxXl* 

by  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Ocean,  and  ter- 
minated on  the  east  by  a  line  drawn  from  Mur- 
gis  or  Muxacra,  a  village  near  the  ancient  pro- 
montory of  Charidemus,  now  called  the  cape  de 
Gatte,  to  the  territory  of  Castulo,  which  was 
nearly  in  the  same  situation  as  the  modern  Caz- 
lona,  and  to  the  country  of  the  Oretani  ;  it 
formed  what  is  called  Andalusia,  containing  the 
kingdoms  of  Seville,  Jaen,  Cordova,  and  Gra- 
nada ;  it  also  included  a  part  of  modern  Estre- 
madura,  and  extended  as  far  as  Badajoz,  which 
was  within  its  boundaries. 

Hispania  Tarraconensis  comprehended  all 
the  other  parts  of  Spain,  and  was  the  same  as 
what  was  previously  called  citerior  Spain. 

This  division  of  Spain  underwent  some  al- 
terations under  the  last  Roman  emperors,  and 
was  totally  changed  after  the  invasion  of  the 
northern  nations.  Spain  was  at  that  time  a 
great  power,  which  was  overthrown  in  a  single 
battle,  and  reduced  to  the  small  province  of 
the  Asturias  by  the  conquest  of  the  Arabs.  It 
is  from  that  era  that  we  date  the  modern  di- 
vision of  Spain,  and  the  origin  of  the  different 
kingdoms  and  principalities  which  were  formed 
progressively  from  the  middle  of  the  8th  cen- 
tury to  the  end  of  the  15th.  As  I  am  going 
to   describe   them   tepuiately,    I    shall    confine 


ClxXVÎ        NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN. 

thyself  here  to  presenting  a  chronological  table; 
of  the  periods  of  their  formation,  and  of  the 
kings  by  whom  they  have  been  governed,  with- 
out entering  into  any  critical  examination  of 
the  subject. 


Chronological  Tabic  of  the  Kings  of  Spain  from 
Pela<rius. 

0 

This  table  might  have  been  more  complicated 
but  it  would  have  been  more  confused  ;  and  I 
have  thought  it  better  to  confine  myself  to  the 
principal  transmissions  of  inheritance  or  of 
conquests  until  the  complete  formation  of  the 
Spanish  monarchy  by  the  marriage  of  Ferdinand 
the  5th,  king  of  Aragon,  with  Isabella  of  Cas- 
tile. The  kingdom  of  Spain  then  arose  from 
the  union  of  the  provinces  of  these  two  crowns, 
the  number  being  four  for  that  of  Aragon,  and 
twenty-two  for  Castile,  not  including  the  lord- 
chip  of  Biscay  and  Navarre.  The  provinces  of 
the  crown  of  Aragon  consist  of  the  kingdom 
«)f  that  name,  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  the 
principality  of  Catalonia,  and  the  kingdom  of 
Majorca;  those  of  the  crown  of  Castile  consist 
of  the  kingdom  of  Calicia,  the  provinces  of 
Burgos,  Leon,  Zauiora,  Salamanca,  Estrcma- 
dura,  Palencja,  Valladolid,  Segovia,  Avila,  Toro, 


\ 

NATURAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPAIN.        Clxxvii 

Toledo,    La   Mancha,     Murcia,     Cuadalaxara, 
Cuença,  Jaen,  Granada  and  Seville. 

Though  this  division  of  Spain  is  the  most 
ancient,  and  serves  as  the  basis  for  the  impo- 
sition and  levying  of  the  taxes,  for  the  muni- 
cipal laws  and  the  nature  of  privileges,  the 
modern  division  of  Spain,  with  respect  to  the 
administration,  is  limited  to  thirteen  provinces, 
kingdoms,  or  lordships,  all  of  which  have  a 
captain  general  except  Navarre,  the  intendant 
of  which  has  the  title  of  Viceroy.  These  pro- 
vinces are  laid  down  upon  the  general  map, 
and  form  the  geographical  division  most  com- 
monly adopted. 

The  order  that  I  have  followed  in  the  de- 
scription of  them  is  the  same  as  that  which 
I  have  adopted  in  the  Picturesque  Journey 
through  Spain,  that  these  two  works  may  il- 
lustrate each  together.  Thus  both  of  them  are 
divided  into  four  parts  ;  the  first  comprehending 
the  provinces  of  Catalonia,  Valencia,  and  Es- 
tremadura  ;  the  second,  the  four  kingdoms  of 
Andalusia;  the  third  all  the  northern  pro- 
vinces ;  and  the  fourth  those  of  the  centre  and 
the  other  Spanish  possessions  detached  froiu 
the  continent  but  in  the  Mediterranean.  I  shall 
take  no  not  ire  of  the  Spanish  colonies,  ;ts  the 
most  important  of  them  are  so  well  described  in 
Jtf.  de  Humboldt's  work. 

Vol.  i.  m 


clxxviii     N.\rnt.\i.  olograph v  of  spain. 

No.  4. 

General  Map  of  Spain. 

This  map,  like  every  other  of  Spain,  pre- 
sents the  thirteen  provinces  which  we  have  just 
been  speaking  of,  and  which  we  are  about  to 
describe;  but  Ï  must  just  observe  that,  following 
the  ancient  division,  I  have  incorporated  the 
kingdom  of  Granada  with  the  three  others  of 
Andalusia,  that  I  have  separated  the  country 
of  the  mountains  of  St.  Andero  from  old  Cas- 
tile, and  that  of  La  Mancha  from  new  Castile, 
and  shall  describe  them  by  themselves.  These 
trifling  alterations  are  more  suited  to  the  course 
of  the  work.  There  are  other  demarcations 
besides  this  division  of  Spain  into  thirteen  pro- 
vinces, to  facilitate  the  levying  of  the  taxes 
and  the  drawing  for  the  militia.  It  is  subdi- 
vided into  thirty  provinces  and  into  six  districts, 
which  form  six  separate  departments;  but  this 
new  organization  is  principally  carried  into  ef- 
fect in  Castile  and  the  kingdom  of  Leon;  it 
will  be  mentioned  under  the  article  finances. 
Spain  has  besides  two  other  divisions,  the  one 
relating  to  religion  and  the  other  to  the  courts 
of  law  ;  these   will  be   taken   notice  of  in   the 


NA TUBAL    GEOGRAPHY    OF   SPAIN-,      clxxix. 

articles    concerning  the   ecclesiastical   and  ju- 
dicial administration. 

\ofe. — There  not  being  time  to  engrave 
maps  of  all  the  roads  contained  in  the  Itinerary, 
the  principal  ones  and  those  or*  that  part  of  the 
country  the  description  of  which  is  most  de- 
tailcdj  have  been  selected. 


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Chronological  Tabic  of  the  Kings  of  Spain  from  Pelagii  S. 


I.F.ON 

K 1NGS 

COUNTS. 

KINGS 

KINGS 

MONARCHY 

A«I>  THE  Annuls. 

o..  Castiib. 

OF  Barcelona. 

OF  Araoon. 

op  Navarre. 

OF   SrilN. 

113  Pelaoils  is    As- 

331    AzHAtt,  count 

1516  Ciiae.i 

7S7  Faviia. 

35 ■'•  Garcias,  count 

emperor  of  Ger- 

739  ,u  phi     «J  I.     the 

857  Garcia».     Kimi 

Cal     ill 

Be  abdicates. 

717  Fa.iiLA  I. 

880  Forwkio  I.   firs 

7:16  AtniL.o. 

1555  Pinup     II.     his 

774  Iilo 

905   San  :ho  1 

.     U     ■  JECAT,   ail 

926   GaRCIAS  I. 

Usurper. 

801    Bera. 
320  Bernard. 
844  Aldsran. 

973  Sancho IL 

Union    of    Portugal 

788  Bermudus   I. 

994  Garcias  II. 

until  1640. 

791  Alpiionsu  11.  Hie 
Chaste. 

100U  Sa>ciio  HI.  or  the 

1598  PniLielll. 

842  IlAMinus  I. 

1035  Garcias  III. 

1621   Pinup  IV. 

B50  Ohdocko  Ï. 

1054  Sanciio  IV. 

B66  Alfbonso  III.  or 
tin  Great. 

911    Cahus. 

872  Salomon. 

B80    WlFRED    II.    TIIE 

Warlike 
911  M  iron. 

Ii.i76  Sancho  V.    son  ô 
Ramirus  king  0 
Aragon. 

1605    CHAULES  IL 

Dies  without  issue. 

914  Qe.uoc.xu    II. 

1094  Peter  I.  also  king 

9M  Ftuit»   II. 

of  Aragon. 

58.1    limoHSOlV. 

1104   Aiphonso   also 

927  Ramibui  11. 

king  of  Aragon. 

OF    BpURBON. 

95U  Oauocito  ill. 

1134  Garcias  IV. 

955  0»   cisio.anusiir. 

115*0  Sancho  VI. 

1700  Pump  V. 

907    BORBLLVS. 

194  Sancho  VII. 

234  Thibaut    I.     als.. 

17Î3  Louis   I.   in  eon- 

Mh7  Ramirus  1IL 
989   Be.-mudus  11. 
g     1     iLPBOMSOV. 
1UJ7  Bbiimudus  III. 

h'l?    Berencer  I. 
K»3J  RaymoncIL 
1067    Raymond  III. 
1031  Raymond-  Bl- 

niM.cn  IV. 
[131    Raymond-  Be- 

rbngbr  V.    died 

in  1162. 

1035  Ramiri-sI. 
!U70  Sancho  I. 

1094  Peter  T. 
110+  AlphONsq  I. 
1134  Ramirus  II. 
1137    Petonille      and 

count  of  Chain 
pagne. 
1253  Thibaut  II. 

1270     H.NRY. 

1274  Joanna  Land  Phi- 

Bome  .ilio,  king 
of  France. 

sequence  of  the 

abdication  of  his 
father. 

1724  Philip  V.  again 

1746  Febdina.sd  VI. 

1    .      kings     ol 

1    -i  le  beoail  e 

1035  PanDiSAKDl,     "* 

of  Castile. 

Raymond  Ueeien- 

13115  Louis  Huxin,  also 

1759  Charles  III. 

of  Leon  anil  ol 

Hi7fl  Sancho  II. 

king  of  .France. 

the  Austurias, 

1072  AtraoHM  VI.  re- 

Interregnum. 

1788  Charles  IV. 

p  rod  aimed. 
1109    *  u"*c*  a'ld 

Iuy    t  Alhioi.su  VIII 
1151  SahchoIII. 

1158    F.RDINAND   II. 

king  of  Leon,  aï 

1183  Alfhombo  IX. 

1214  Henry  I. 

1316  John 

1316  Philip  the   Long 
also,     king    0 
France. 
1322  Charles  the  hand 
some    also   king 
of  France. 
1329  Joanna  and  PniLir 
count  of  Evreux 

1162    The     county    of 
Barcelona  p.is-- 

Aragon. 

Also  king  of  Miircia 
and  Valencia. 

1162   Raymond,    sur- 

II. 
1196  Peter  II. 
1213    Jayme  or   James 

the  Victorious. 
1276    Peter     11.      de- 

1235  AlphonsoIII. 
1291  James  II. 

1217   Lec»     united     to 

1217   Flbdinano  III. 

1349  CuiRiES  the  Bad 

Castile."™"     °' 

125*2    Uphomo    X.  the 
Wise. 

1387  Charles  III. 
1424  John,  son  of  Per 

1284  Sancho    IV.    de- 
thrones his  Util  r 
119'    PUDIMAKD  IV. 

1336  Peter  IV. 

1337  John  I. 

i:95    Martin. 

Aragon. 
1479  EleONora. 

1312  AxstUrMso  XI. 

1479     Gaston-  PhœoUs 

1350  Peter  the  Cruel 

Inu-negnum. 
1412  Ferdinand. 
1416   Ar.HoNsoV. 
1458  John  II. 

1369   Henry  II. 

1481   Interregnum. 

1379  Fob»  I. 

.  t    III. 

I4S3  Catherine 
1512  They  are  dis] 

1406  John  II. 
1454  Henry  IV. 

Also  king  of  Navarre. 

1479  Ferdinand  11. 
The  kingdom  of  Ara- 

' 

1474  Isabella  andFsa- 

gon  passes   to  the 

Navarre  hy  Pm- 

kiogs  of  Castile  by 

Catholicjierlius- 

Ferdinand  V. 

Lir  . 

: 

1 

HOUSE  OF  AUSTRIA. 

15 

94      Joanna     AND      PHIIIP. 

The  kin 

gdoms  united  to  the  cro. 

D  ofC  ■  tile  form  the  Spanish  Monarchy,  See  C€ 

uniiiVI. 

To  face  page 


ACCOUNT 

OF 

SPAIN. 

CATALONIA. 


THE    ROAD    FROM    PERPIGNAN     TO    THE    FRON- 
TIERS   OF   SPAIN,    THROUGH    CATALONIA. 

X  here  is  a  good  road  from  Perpignan  to  Bolo, 
of  three  leagues*,  which  passes  through  a  part  of 
the  plain  of  Roussillon.  On  the  right  we  leave 
the  Masdeu,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Templars, 
and  the  villages  of  Pollestras,  Vilamulaca,  Passa, 
and  Tresserra  ;  and  on  the  left,  on  an  eminence, 
that  of  Banuls  dels  aspres.  Bolo,  now  only  a 
village,  was  formerly  a  fortified  town  :  some  of 
its  walls  and  the  ruins  of  the  fortification  are 
still  to  be  seen.  It  is  in  a  fine  situation  on  the 
right  hank  of  the  Tec,   and  close  to  a   fertile 

♦  Throughout  this  work   we  shall  confine  Otirseltei  to  the 
Spanish  league  of  20  to  a  degree. 
Vol..   Is  M 


«J  CATALONIA. 

plain.  A  Roman  military  road  passed  through 
this  ancient  town,  the  name  of  which  was  Sta- 
bulum. 

Leaving  Bolo  we  cross  the  Tec,  the  bed  of 
which  is  very  broad  and  sometimes  dangerous 
from  the  swelling  of  the  river  and  the  shifting 
of  its  sands.  In  the  ordinary  state  of  it,  car- 
riages and  cattle  cross  by  the  ford,  and  foot 
passengers  on  rafts,  or  in  a  little  boat.  There 
ought  to  be  a  bridge  here.  At  some  distance 
from  Bolo  we  begin  to  ascend  the  Pyrenees  by 
a  gentle  rise,  which  gradually  becomes  steeper. 
The  road  is  fine,  wide,  and  supported  on  the 
precipices  by  very  good  walls.  Having  tra- 
velled two  leagues  we  arrive  at  the  village  of 
Ecluse,  the  Clausura  of  the  Romans,  and  soon 
after  reach  the  summit  of  the  Pyrenees,  which 
we  cross  through  the  Pass  of  Pertus,  the  ancient 
Portus  :  the  castle  of  Rcllegarde,  standing  on  a 
lofty  insulated  mountain,  defends  this  defile. 
There  is  an  office  here  for  the  examination  of 
passports,  and  a  guardhouse. 

A  little  farther  on  we  come  to  a  bridge  which 
separates  France  from  Spain:  their  limits  were 
marked  by  columns  which  were  destroyed  dur- 
ing the  last  war.  On  crossing  this  bridge  wc 
are  in  Catalonia. 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  CATALONIA. 

Catalonia  is  situated  at  the  North-East  ex- 


CATALONIA.  3 

tremity  of  Spain,  extending  40  leagues  from  East 
to  West,  and  44  from  North-East  to  South-East. 
It  lies  to  the  North  on  the  Pyrenees,  where  it 
is  separated  from  France  ;  it  is  bounded  on  the 
East  by  the  Mediterranean,  on  the  South  by  the 
kingdom  of  Valencia,  and  on  the  West  by  Ara- 
gon. 

It  contains  an  archbishopric,  seven  bishoprics, 
eight  cathedral  and  eighteen  collegiate  chapters, 
twenty-two  abbeys,  enjoying  nearly  episcopal 
privileges,  a  grand  priory,  and  sixteen  com- 
manderies  of  the  Order  of  Malta;  two  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  thirty-eight  parishes,  two 
hundred  and  eighty-four  religious  houses,  eighty- 
four  hospitals,  "a  university,  fifteen  colleges  for 
the  education  of  youth,  fourteen  cities,  two 
hundred  and  eighty-three  towns,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  six  villages,  twenty-two  for- 
tresses, and  five  ports. 

Its  principal  towns  are  Barcelona,  a  bishop's 
See  and  the  capital  ;  Tarragona,  the  See  of  an 
archbishop;  Urgel,  Lerida.  Gironne,  Salsona, 
Vich,  Tortosa,  Episcopal  Sees;  Figueras,  Aulot, 
Igualda,  Reus,  Mataro,  Villa  Franca  de  Panader, 
Cervera,  Manresa,  Palamos,  &c. 

This  province  is  watered  by  twenty-six  rivers, 
ten  of  which  fall  into  the  sea  :  the  Ebro,  the 
largest  of  them,  is  very  important  for  its  navi- 
gation. Catalonia  has  five  harbours  in  the  Me- 
diterranean, Palamos,  Cadaques,  Rosas,  Salon, 

u  2 


4  CATALONIA, 

and  Barcelona.  Its  mountains  make  a  part 
the  chain  of  the  Pyrenees,  which  runs  to  the 
North  of  it  from  the  sea  on  the  East  to  Aragon 
on  the  West:  the  branches  of  it,  stretching  for- 
ward far  into  the  country,  form  second  rate 
mountains,  of  which  the  chief  are  those  of  Mpri- 
Negre,  Valgorguina,  San-Gran,  Alsinellas,  Re- 
quesens,  Monseny,  Montserrat,  &c.  The  prin- 
cipal vallies  are  those  of  Barabas,  Aran,  Car- 
dons,  Farrera,  Andorra,  Ancu,  Aro,  &c. 

Catalonia  was  one  of  the  first  provinces  of 
Spain  that  drew  the  attention  of  the  Romans, 
the  first  in  which  they  established  their  power, 
and  also  one  of  the  first  freed  from  the  yoke  of 
the  Arabs.  It  was  taken  from  the  Romans  by 
the  Goths,  under  the  conduct  of  E varie  their 
kimr,  about  the  year  712;  and  from  the  Moors 
by  the  French  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  and  be- 
ginning of  the  ninth  century.  It  was  at  that 
time  that  Barcelona  became  the  capital  of  a 
county  of  the  same  name.  After  the  year  839 
it  had  sixteen  counts,  including  Raymond  V. 
the  last  of  them,  who  died  in  1 172,  after  having 
ascended  the  throne  of  Aragon,  in  consequence 
of  his  marriage  with  Petronilla,  the  heiress  to 
that  kingdom.  As  long  ago  as  the  ninth  cen- 
tury this  province  formed  a  separate  sovereignty, 
which  took  a  great  part  in  the  times  of  the  di- 
vision of  the  fiefs.  The  family  in  possession  of 
it,  who  were  originally  French,  raised  it  to  re- 


CATALONIA.  5 

spectable  power;  their  dominions  comprized 
Catalonia,  Roussillon,  Cerdagne,  the  county  of 
Foix,  and  a  great  part  of  Languedoc.  Being 
afterwards  divided  among  several  of  its  branches 
it  formed  separate  states.  This  house,  having 
ascended  the  throne  of  Aragon,  extended  its 
dominion  over  the  islands  of  Majorca  and  Mi- 
norca, Sicily,  and  the  kingdom  of  Valencia; 
and,  at  length,  united  under  its  sway  the  whole 
Spanish  monarchy. 

Under  the  counts  of  Barcelona,  Catalonia  was 
divided  into  Tziguericsi  or  jurisdictions,  each  go- 
verned by  a  figuier  (Vicarius)  or  lieutenant  for 
the  counts.  This  kind  of  magistracy,  which 
enjoyed  a  very  extensive  authority,  existed  even 
after  the  union  of  Catalonia  with  the  Spanish 
monarchy.  But  the  viceroys,  or  governors,  on 
whom  the  king  conferred  the  command  of  this 
province,  gradually  undermined  the  authority  of 
the  Viguiers,  who  ceased  to  enjoy. the  elevated 
state  of  their  predecessors  in  the  original  insti- 
tution. At  the  conclusion  of  the  seventeenth 
century  these  magistrates  had  lost  their  most 
important  privileges, 

The  political  revolution  which  seated  a  branch 
of  the  royal  family  of  France  on  the  throne  of 
Spain,  gave  a  fatal  blow  to  Catalonia.  Having 
taken  up  arms  againsl  its  sovereign,  the  pro- 
vince lost  its  privileges,   laws,  customs,  and  \\- 

B3 


6  CATALONIA. 

guiers,  and  was  placed  like  the  rest  of  the  king- 
dom  under  Corregidors. 

Until  this  period  Catalonia  may  be  said  to 
have  governed  itself.  From  the  middle  of  the 
eleventh  century  it  had  its  own  laws  and  iocal 
customs,  which  count  Raymond,  in  106'S,  sub- 
stituted for  the  Gothic  laws,  which  had  fallen 
into  disuse.  The  vassal^  were  serfs  of  the  Lords, 
as  in  all  the  countries  subject  to  the  feudal  sys- 
tem. The  custom  was  gradually  abolished  ;  the 
last  serfs  of  Catalonia,  of  whom  any  mention  is 
made,  were  the  inhabitants  of  Remenca,  whom 
Ferdinand  the  Carholic  enfranchised  iu  the  year 
J483. 

After  the  union  of  Catalonia  with  the  crown 
of  Aragon,  the  province  still  had  its  own  States, 
which  shared  the  legislative  power  with  the 
sovereign  :  they  proposed  to  the  king  such  laws 
as  they  thought  necessary,  and  the  monarch  ap- 
proved and  promulgated  them  ;  or  they,  on  the 
other  hand,  gave  their  sanction  to  those  which 
originated  with  him.  Those  states  assembled  at 
Barcelona.,  and  in  several  other  towns  of  the 
principah:y  of  Catalonia:  after  the  union  of 
Roussillon  with  this  province,  in  respect  to  the 
administration,  they  sometimes  met  at  Perpig- 
nan. The  deputies  of  the  three  orders  of  Rous- 
sillon were  admitted  to  the  assembly,  distin- 
guished, however,  from  those  of  Catalonia,  who 
were  also  composed  of  the  three  orders  ;  of  the 


CATALONIA.  7 

clergy,  xovility,  and  commons.  The  first  con- 
sisted of  the  bishops,  abbots,  the  deputies  of 
the  chapters,  and  those  of  some  religious  bodies; 
the  second  of  all  the  nobles  above  the  age  of 
twenty,  and  of  Proprietors  of  noble  fiefs  ;  the 
third  order  was  not  called  the  third  state  but  uni- 
versidades,  better  expressed  by  the  word  Com- 
mons ;  for  in  Catalonia  the  name  of  University 
is  given  to  the  municipalities  and  corporations 
of  towns.  The  deputies  of  towns  admitted  to 
the  States  were  very  few. 

The  States  still  assembled  at  Barcelona  in 
1 702,  under  Philip  V  ;  but,  as  we  have  already 
said,  that  monarch  abolished  the  privileges  of 
which  the  Catalans  were  extremely  jealous,  and 
they  preserved  only  the  empty  right  of  sending 
deputies  to  the  States-General  of  the  Spanish 
Monarchy,  when  they  are  convened. 

Catalonia  had  three  military  orders,  which 
were  confined  to  the  nobility. 

The  first  was  that  of  Mountjoy,  in  Latin 
monte  gaudio,  called  by  the  Castillians  Mon- 
franc,  and  by  the  Catalans  and  Valencians, 
Monjoya.  It  was  instituted  in  1 143  by  Raymond 
Déranger,  the  last  count  of  Barcelona,  and  con- 
firmed in  1 189  by  the  Pope,  who  subjected  it  to 
the  observances  of  St.  Basil.  The  uniform  was 
white,  and  the  Knights  wore  a  red  cross  of  eight 
points.     It  was  united  in  1221  to  the  order  of 

Calatrava. 

b  4> 


S  CATALONIA. 

The  second,  with  the  title  of  St.  George  of 
Alfama,  was  instituted  in  1201  by  Peter  II, 
king  of  Aragon.  The  Castle  of  Alfama,  at  the 
south-east  point  of  Catalonia,  between  the 
defile  of  Balaguer  and  the  mouth  of  the  Ebro, 
was  the  chief  seat  of  it.  This  order  was  sub- 
jected to  the  observances  of  St.  Augustin.  The 
Knights  wore  likewise  a  red  cross,  but  close, 
like  that  of  Montesa  at  present.  They  were 
under  the  government  of  a  grand-master;  of 
whom  there  were  ten,  the  first  was  in  1202,  and 
the  last  in  1400,  the  period  when  it  was  united 
with  the  order  of  Montesa,  which  had  been  insti- 
tuted for  some  time. 

The  third  was  the  order  of  the  Hatchet,  whose 
chief  seat  was  at  Tortosa.  It  was  instituted  in 
1150  by  Raymond  Bérenger,  with  the  view  of 
honouring  and  rewarding  the  women  of  Tartar 
gona,  for  bravely  defending  their  town  against 
the  Moors.  The  female  knights  wore  a  red 
hatchet,  and  took  precedence  of  the  men  on 
public  occasions.*  This  order  has  long  beer; 
extinct. 

*  This  brings  to  mind  the  act  of  heroism  of  Jane  Hachette, 
v/hoat  the  head  of  the  women  of  Beauvais  defended  th:.'. 
fown  in  1472, 


CATALONIA.  5 

-'f 

The  Road  from  the  Pass  of  the  Pertus  on  the  Frontier  of 
France  to  Gironne,  1 1  leagues.* 

Bridge  at  the  Pass  of  Pertus  to  leagues; 

La  Junquera,  (a  town) 1 

LeLlobregat,  (river  but  no  bridge) 

Hostal-nou,   (a  hamlet) ... „       2 

La  Muga,  (a  river  and  bridge  of  Molins)_„ 

Figueras,  (a  town)   - . ....       lil 

Santa  Locaya,  (  a  village)   j 

Fluvia,  (a  river  without  a  bridge,  a  ferry)--» 

Bascura,  (a  village) . j 

Pass  of  Oriols,  (a  hamlet).... . ._         x 

Villa  de  Mills,    (a  village)   ._       j 

Medina,  (a    village) „ o 

Le  Ter,   (a  river,  and  the  Mayor  bridge) 

Pont  Mayor,  (a  village) 3 

Gironne,  (atown) x 

After  leaving  the  bridge  of  Pertus,  which 
separates  France  from  Spain,  we  descend  to  the 
foot  of  the  Pyrenees  by  a  very  fine  road  which 
takes  us  to  La  Junquera. 

La  Junquera  is  a  little  town,  situated  at  the 
entrance  of  a  plain,  which  Strabo  tells  us  was 
fertile  in  flax  and  spart,  or  sea-rush,  whence  it 
acquired  the  name  of  Campus  juncarius,  and 
the  town  that  of  Juncaria,  It  has  a  parish 
church,  an  office  for  the  king's  duties,  and  a 
guard  of  lilty  men.  It  lias  little  hade,  though  po- 
pulous enough:   there  is  but  one  inn  in  the  town 

*  The  road  from  Perpignan  to  Barcelona,  Saragossa,  Va> 
lend  a,  Btyd  Mad i  id. 


10  CATALONIA. 

and  that  a  bad  one  ;  yet  compared  to  the  posadas 
we  meet  with  in  many  parts  of  Spain,  it  may  pass 
as  a  good  one.  La  Junquera  is  the  birth-place 
of  Antonio  de  Aguilara,  an  able  physician  of 
the  16th  century,  known  by  his  writingson  the 
practice  of  physic. 

At  this  first  office  for  duties  travellers  are 
usually  very  strictly  searched  :  but  it  is  easily 
avoided  by  means  of  a  few  piécettes  (coins  worth 
lOd.  English  each)  unless  the  chief  officers  are 
present,  or  too  great  a  crowd  of  curious  spec- 
tators flock  about  the  carnage.  But  there 
is  one  thing  not  to  be  avoided  if  a  man  travels 
in  his  own  carriage,  and  that  is  paying  an 
enormous  duty,  amounting  generally  to  three- 
fourths  of  the  value  of  the  carriage.  The  only 
way  of  escaping  this  expence  is  to  engage  to 
send  the  carriage  out  of  the  country  within  a 
settled  time.  In  that  case  it  is  necessary  to 
have  a  letter  of  recommendation  or  credit  to 
some  person  established  at  Junquera  to  answer 
for  the  performance  of  your  engagement,  by 
binding  himself  to  pay  the  supposed  duty  for 
you.  The  merchants  at  Perpignan  take  care 
to  furnish  travellers  with  the  letters  necessary 
for  complying  with  the  formality. 

When  we  leave  Junquera  we  have  no  longer  a 
fine  road:  it  is  stony,  neglected,  and  cut  up  with 
gutters.  It  runs  a  long  way  by  the  side  of 
the  mountains  through  passages  more  or  less 


CATALONIA.  if 

narrow,  crooked  and  deep.  We  cross  seven  times 
over  the  river  of  Llobregat,  which  by  its  sharp 
windings,  makes  this  way  dangerous  at  times  : 
it  is  frequently  dry,  but  in  rainy  weather  it 
compels  travellers  to  stop.  After  proceeding 
two  leagues  we  come  to  the  Hostai-nou,  and 
pass  the  river  Muga  over  the  bridge  of  Molins 
deRey  and  enter  the  district  of  Ampurdan,  with 
an  immense  plain  before  us,  carefully  cultivated, 
and  full  of  fruit  and  olive  trees.  Fruit,  wheat, 
rice,  vegetables,  flax,  and  hemp  cover  the  earth  : 
the  whole  is  beautiful,  smiling  and  fertile.  After 
travelling  a  league  through  this  rich  plain  we 
arrive  at  Figueras. 

Figueras  is  a  little  town  situated  in  the 
middle  of  the  plain.  It  has  a  parish  church, 
two  convents,  one  of  Cordeliers  and  another  of 
Capuchins,  an  hospital,  and  a  small  garrison. 
The  streets  are  tolerably  wide,  and  there  is  a 
square  with  piazzas  round  it.  This  would  be 
handsome  if  the  houses  in  it  were  better  built. 
The  town  contains  about  4000  inhabitants,  but 
has  little  trade,  and  the  chief  of  what  it  has 
is  owing  to  its  proximity  to  France.  There  are 
two  passable  inns,  in  regard  to  eating  and 
drinking  ;  but  the  beds  are  hard,  as  is  the  cus- 
tom in  Spain.  The  luggage  of  travellers  is 
searched  here  by  the  revenue  officers,  who  are 
got  rid  of  as  at  Junquera.  French  money  passes 
at  Figueras:   it  is  taken  at  all  the  shops,  am] 


IÎ  CATALONIA. 

the  loss  upon  it  is  frequently  no  more  than  a 
real,  or  two-pence  farthing  English  in  a  Louis 
d*or  ;  never  more  than  five  pence  English.  Tra- 
vellers should  take  care  to  change  their  French 
money  here  for  Spanish,  for  the  farther  one  ad- 
vances into  the  kingdom  the  greater  is  the 
loss  incurred  in  the  change. 

In  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  VI.  a  citadel  was 
built  near  Figucras,  which  cost  immense  sums. 
It  stands  on  a  little  eminence,  and  bears  the 
name  of  the  Castle  of  St.  Ferdinand  :  it  displays  a 
magnificence  rarely  met  with  in  fortresses.  The 
walls  are  of  free  stone  and  thick  ;  the  moats 
deep  and  wide,  and  the  approaches  mined.  The 
principal  cordon  is  not  seen  from  without  ;  the 
ramparts,  magazines,  stables,  cellars,  caserns,  and 
hospital  are  defended  by  a  casemate;  it  is  pro- 
vided with  every  thing  necessary  for  its  defence; 
and  the  firm  bare  rock  on  which  it  is  built  has 
been  turned  to  such  advantage,  that  trenches 
can  scarcely  be  opened  on  any  side,  the  ground 
being  every  where  stony.  This  fortress  is  an 
irregular  pentagon,  the  shape  of  which  may  be 
compared  to  the  flaps  of  the  pointed  pockets 
formerly  worn-  It  stands  nearly  in  the  middle 
of  a  great  plain, which  it  can  therefore  defend  on 
every  side,  serving  as  an  intrenched  camp  of 
from  16  to  17,000  men.  It  is  one  of  the  finest 
fortifications  in  Europe.  Political  motives,  the 
discussion   of  which    docs    not  belong  to  pu? 


CATALONIA.  13 

subject,  caused  it  to  be  reduced  in  the  last  war, 
but  the  event  was  not  attended  with  any  re- 
flection on  the  Spanish  valour.  In  the  council- 
room  of  the  fortress  there  are  still  to  be  seen 
spots  of  ink,  occasioned  by  the  rage  of  an  officer 
who  threw  his  pen  against  the  wall,  determining 
not  to  sign  the  capitulation,  or  in  despair  at 
having  been  obliged  to  sign  it.  Since  then  the 
walls  have  been  whitened,  but  through  negli- 
gence or  by  chance,  the  honourable  spot  still 
appears. 

On  leaving  Figueras  we  proceed  by  an  uneven 
road,  badly  kept,  full  of  stones  and  mud,  which 
leads  to  the  village  of  Santa  Locaya,  and  far- 
ther on  to  the  river  Fluvia,  which  we  cross  by  a 
ford  when  the  waters  are  low,  or  in  a  bad  ferry 
boat  when  they  are  high  :  it  is  impassable  in 
any  manner  after  a  hard  rain,  or  during  the 
melting  of  the  snows. 

Leaving  the  village  of  Bascura  to  the  left  we 
go  through  the  pass  of  Oriols,  and  the  villages 
of  Villa  de  Muls  and  Medina,  and  thence  to  the 
Mayor  bridge,  on  which  we  cross  the  Ter.  A 
considerable  number  of  houses  in  two  lines  form 
a  kind  of  a  village  here,  which  may  be  consider- 
ed as  the  suburbs  of  Gironne,  where  we  now 
arrive. 

Gironne,  in  Latin  Gerunda,  in  Spanish  Gerona, 
is  a  fortified  town,  situated  on  the  side  and 
at  the  foot  of  a  steep  mountain.     The  Ter  runs 


14  CATALONIA. 

through  the  town,  which  is  surrotnded  Vith 
good  walls,  flanked  with  fortifications,  and  de- 
fended hy  two  forts  erected  on  the  mountain. 
This  is  an  ancient  city,  and  formerly  gave  its 
name  to  the  eldest  son  of  the  kings  of  Aragon, 
who  took  the  title  of  prince  of  Gironne  :  it  is 
also  famous  for  the  different  sieges  it  has  sustain- 
ed, and  the  defence  it  has  almost  always  made. 
In  787,  when  it  was  besieged  by  Louis,  king  of 
Aquitania,  the  son  of  Charlemagne,  it  was  sur- 
rendered to  him  by  the  Christians,  who  put 
the  Moorish  garrison  to  death.  In  1462  it  was 
the  refuge  of  the  queen  of  Aragon  and  her  son, 
when  pursued  by  the  Catalonian  rebels.  Count 
Pallas,  one  of  the  rebel  generals  besieged  and 
took  it,  and  was  about  to  storm  the  castle,  into 
which  the  queen  had  retreated,  when  a  French 
army  commanded  by  the  Sire  of  Albret  appear- 
ed and  delivered  that  princess.  In  16\56  it  was 
taken  by  a  French  army;  and  again,  in  1694, 
in  seven  days  after  the  trenches  were  opened.  It 
was  one  of  the  first  towns  that  violated  the  oath 
which  they  had  taken  to  Philip  V,  and  it  opened 
its  gates  in  1705  to  the  Archduke  Charles,  ac- 
knowledging him  king  of  Spain,  under  thename 
of  Charles  III.  For  six  years  it  persisted  in 
this  conduct,  sustained  a  long  siege,  and  was  at 
length  reduced  to  obedience  by  a  French  army 
under  the  command  of  the  duke  de  Noailles 
in  1711.     Heing   again  besieged  in   the  follow- 


CATALONIA,  15 

mg  year  by  the  Au3trians  and  Catalonians,  it 
was  defended  by  the  Count  de  Brancas,  who, 
after  a  blockade  of  eight  months  forced  the  be- 
siegers to  retire. 

The  history  of  the  town  of  Gironne  was  pub- 
lished in  1673  by  Pere  Roig  :  it  is  a  work  full  of 
absurdities  and  fabulous  traditions,  and  it  is 
singular  that  it  should  have  been  written  at  the 
time  when  criticism  flourished  in  Spain,  when 
the  marquis  de  Mondejar,  don  Nicolas  Antonio, 
and  don  Josef  Pellicer,  were  clearing  eccle- 
siastical and  civil  history  of  all  the  fables  with 
which  it  had  been  long  inundated  by  the  old 
writers.  Gironne  is  the  birth-place  of  Antic 
Roca,  a  philosopher  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
author  of  a  Latin  and  Catalonian  dictionary  ; 
and  also  the  birth  place  of  Rafael  Mox,  a  phy- 
sician of  the  17th  century,  who  wrote  on  the  di- 
seases of  women. 

Estent  and  Population.  The  town  is  nearly  of  a  triangular 
form.  The  streets  are  narrow  and  crowded,  but  the  houses 
are  tolerably  well  built.  It  has  a  good  many  churches  and 
convents.  The  inhabitants  lead  a  sad  and  undiversifiedkind 
of  life.  They  have  no  company,  no  theatre,  no  kind  of  dis- 
sipation or  pleasure  ;  every  one  seems  to  live  alone.  The 
population  amounts  to  above  14,000  persons,  a  fourth  of  whom 
at  least  is  made  up  of  priests,  monks  and  nuns,  scholars  and 
students. 

Ecclesiastical  Administration.  Gironne  is  the  see  of  a  bi- 
shop, suffragan  of  Tarragona.    His  diocese  is  divided  into  four 


16  CATALONIA, 

arch -deacon  ries,  and  contains  470  parishes,  two  collegiate 
chapters,  and  eight  abheys  or  priories,  which  enjoy  almost 
episcopal  rights.  There  is  likewise  a  collegiate  chapter  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Felix.  There  are  five  parishes  in  the  town,  nine 
convents  for  men  and  three  for  women,  a  nunnery  of  Béguines, 
a  college,  seminary,  general  hospital,  and  a  charitable  asy- 
lum. 

It  is  said  that  in  the  commencement  of  the  third  century,* 
a  council  of  twenty-four  bishops  assembled  at  Gironne,  and 
that  the  pagans  setting  fire  to  the  building  in  which  it  was 
keld,  all  the  prelates  perished  in  it.  It  is  more  certain,  that 
since  the  time  of  that  dubious  event,  several  provincial  council» 
have  been  held  here  :  one  in  5  \J ,  composed  of  ten  bishops, 
in  which  divers  canons  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  were* 
made;  another  in  10G3,  of  which  cardinal  Hughes  was  the 
president,  in  which  fifteen  canons  were  made  against  simony 
and  the  incontinency  of  the  clergy  ;  and  another  ten  years 
after  relative  to  the  same  objects,  and  to  tithes. 

Civil  and  Military  Administration.  The  king  appoints  a 
governor,  who  acts  both  in  a  civil  and  military  capacity. 
There  is  besides  at  Gironne  a  king's  lieutenant,  a  mayor,  a 
governor  of  the  little  castle  of  Mont-Jouy,  an  alcade  major 
lor  the  administration  of  justice,  a  municipal  body  of  twelve 
regidurs,  and  a  small  garrison. 

Industry.     This  town  carries  on  hut  very  little  trade,  and 

the  only  manufactories  it  has   consist  of  a    few    looms  for 

stockings,  coarse  cloths,  and  woollen  and  cotton  stuffs,  which 

have  only  been  established  in  the  asylum  within  twenty 
year  6. 

Public  Edifices.  The  cathedral  and  collegiate  churches  are 
the  two  most  remarkable  edifices  in  Gironne.  The  former 
is  built  on  the  ridge  of  t lie  mountain,  which  gives  it  a  very 
elevated  foundation  :  it  displays  a  majestic  front  at  the  top  of 
three  grand  terraces',   ornamented  with  granite  balustrades  : 

•  3d  July, 


CATALONIA.  17 

we  ascend  to  it  by  a  superb  flight  of  steps,  eighty-6ix  id 
number,  and  of  a  breadth  the  whole  extent  of  the  church. 
The  front  is  decorated  in  a  bad  taste,  with  three  orders  of 
architecture,  Doric,  Corinthian  and  Composite  ;  it  is  flanked 
with  two  hexagon  towers.  The  interior  of  the  church  is 
large  and  handsome,  it  has  only  a  nave  in  the  Gothic  ?tyle: 
the  chief  altar  is  insulated,  and  consists  of  a  pavilion,  sup- 
ported by  four  columns  of  mixed  marble  ;  the  pavilion,  the 
tabernacle,  and  the  steps  are  of  silver,  ornamented  with  pre- 
cious stones  and  raised  figures.  The  table  of  this  altar  has 
four  faces,  three  are  of  vermilion,  decorated  with  figures 
similar  to  the  preceding,  and  it  is  asserted  that  the  front 
face  is  of  gold  ;  it  is  full  of  precious  stones. 

The  monuments  of  Raymond  Bérenger,  count  of  Barcelona, 
and  of  the  countess  Mahault,  or  Mahalta,  his  consort,  are 
placed  against  the  wall  of  the  sanctuary,  one  on  each  side. 

The  treasury  of  the  cathedral  is  very  rich  in  chalices,  pa- 
terns,  staves,  crosses,  shrines,  relics,  censers,  lamps  and  other 
things  of  gold  and  silver,  set  with  jewels. 

The  collegiate,  or  church  of  St.  Feliu,  formerly  St.  Mary's 
extra  muros,  is  of  Gothic  architecture  with  a  body  and  two 
aiiles  divided  by  pillars,  with  a  large  and  beautiful  casement 
in  the  middle.  There  is  a  very  high  and  very  old  tower  in 
front  of  the  façade.  The  body  of  St.  Narcissus  is  here  pre- 
served in  a  chapel  built  at  the  expence  of  the  bishop  Loren- 
zana,  who  died  in  1796  :  it  has  the  form  of  two  ellipses 
joined,  one  of  about  forty-three  feet  in  diameter,  the  other 
forty  by  seventy-eight  in  length.  It  is  coated  with  a  colour- 
ed marble,  ornamented  with  pilasters  of  the  composite  or- 
der, and  terminates  with  an  oratory,  or  small  chape},  in  a 
recew ,  which  the  Spaniards  call  camarin. 

There  is  a  very  curious  piece  of  architecture  at  Gironne, 
in  the  Capuchin  convent  ;  an  Arabian  bath,  constructed  in 
the  ino-t  elegant  style,  consisting  of  columns  standing  on  an 
octagon  stylobatc,  or  low  base,  encircling  a  reservoir  to 
MDtail  water. 

Vol.  r.  c 


18  CATALONIA. 

About  â  mile  from  Gironne  there  is  a  Benedictine  nunnery, 
dedicated  to  St.  Daniel,  under  the  government  of  an  abbess. 
This  is  one  of  the  principal  in  Catalonia  of  the  order  of  St. 
Benet  ;  and  only  ladies  who  can  bring  proofs  of  nobility  are 
admitted. 

Public  Instruction.  The  University  of  Gironne,  founded  in 
1521,  by  Philip  II.  was  abolished  in  1715,  by  Philip  V.  ;  at 
that  time  the  Jesuits  had  all  public  instruction  in  their  hands, 
except  two  chairs  of  philosophy  and  theology  established  out 
of  their  house.  After  the  suppression  of  that  order,  the  public 
instruction  was  concentrated  in  one  college,  where  there  are 
nine  hundred  students,  who  are  taught  the  Latin  grammar, 
rhetoric,  philosophy,  and  theology.  The  library  of  the 
Jesuits  was  left  ;  it  is  a  very  extensive  and  well-chosen  one  : 
it  has  been  opened  to  the  public.  There  are,  besides,  three 
other  chairs  supported  at  the  expence  of  the  town. 

The  community  of  the  Beguine  nuns  keep  schools  for  the 
instruction  of  poor  girls  gratuitously,  and  a  boarding-school 
for  young  ladies.  This  institution  is  due  to  the  bishop  Don 
Thomas  de  Lorenzana,  who  held  out  a  helping  hand  to  the 
unfortunate,  and  who,  with  a  generosity  guided  by  good 
sense,  encouraged  throughout  his  diocese,  agriculture,  manu- 
factures, and  all  the  useful  art-^. 

The  first  Road    from   Gironne  to  Barcelona,  inland, 
1G  Leagues. 

Gironne  to                                                 leagues. 
Hostal  de  la  Ceba  (some  houses) 2\ 

t      Las  Mallorquinas  (a  village) 2§ 

Hostalric  (a  village) ..... 2 

Battlloric  (a  village) . . .._! 

San-Celons  (a  village) 1 

Linarez  (a  village)  __.. .1 

La  Roca  (a  village)..... .1 

La  Tordera  (a  river  and  bridge)...... 

:8 


CATALONIA. 


19 


LEAQCES. 


Monmelo  (a  village) 

Los  Hostalz  (some  houses). 

Moncayo  (a  village) *.« 

Saint- André  (a  village).,... 
Barcelona  (a  city) ..... 


It  would  be  useless  to  describe  this  way;  the 
roads  are  very  bad,  and  the  inns  detestable. 
They  are  now  frequented  only  by  muleteers  ; 
it  is,  however,  the  post  road. 


Another  Road  by  the  Sea-Side,  17  Leagues,  1  Quarter. 

Gironne  to  .  leagues. 

La  Granota,  (three  or  four  houses) .3| 

La  Tordera,  (a  river  without  a  bridge) 

Tordera,  (a  village) If 

Malgrat,  (a  village) £ 

Pineda,  (a  village) . ......1 

Calella,  (a  little  town) 1 

San-Pol,  (a  village) . 1 

(Le  Bellet,  a  river  without  a  bridge) 

Canet  de  Mar,  (a  village) 1| 

Santa-Maria  de  Mar,  (a  village) $ 

Arens  de  Mar,  or  Santa-Maria  de  Arens £ 

Mataro,  (a  town) .. 1 

Vila-ar  de  Baix,  (a  village) Î. 

Pr<  mia  de  Baix,  (a  village) I 

MaMIOUj  (a  village) ....   I 

BgBt,  (a  village) * 

tlona,  (a  village) I 

Bm* Adrift,  (a village) _.  j 

I      !■•  /"-,   (a  .  .w t  without  a  hi!' 

Barcelona,  (a  city) | 

c  2 


20  CATALONIA. 

There  is  a  very  broad  road,  but  very  ill  kept, 
leading  from  Gironne  to  the  river  Tordera,  five 
leagues  distant;  it  passes  through  a  light  soil, 
without  substance,  which  becomes  moist  with 
the  least  rain  ;  it  is  very  muddy  in  winter  and 
dusty  in  summer;  it  is  cut  at  all  times  with 
deep  ruts,  which  render  it  rough  and  jolting; 
and  it  is  scarcely  passable  by  foot  passengers. 
As  it  approaches  the  river  it  becomes  still  worse, 
and  sometimes  dangerous;  the  soil  is  softer,  the 
road  grows  narrower,  and  is  frequently  covered 
with  pools  of  water  which  conceal  dangerous 
places,  from  which  jt  is  difficult  to  clear  one's- 
self. 

Almost  the  whole  country  is  uncultivated. 
We  proceed  to  Granata,  a  poor  hamlet,  where 
there  is  a  bad  inn  not  far  from  the  Tordera.  On 
the  left  we  see  Blanas,  a  little  town  situated  on 
the  sea-side,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river;  there 
are  some  leather  manufactories  there.  It  was  the 
native  place  of  the  historian  Gaspard  Roig  y 
Jalpi,  who  wrote  the  History  of  Gironne,  of 
which  we  have  spoken. 

Arriving  at  Tordera,  we  cross  the  river  by  a 
bad  wooden  bridge;  it  is  sometimes  forded  with- 
out difficulty;  but,  with  the  least  rain,  it  be- 
comes an  impetuous  torrent,  which  inundates 
the  neighbouring  country.  It  is  the  custom  to 
cross  this  river  in  boats  when  it  begins  to  fall  ; 
"but  through  the  impatience  of  travellers  it  some- 


CATALONIA.  21 

times  happens,  that  a  boat,  on  reaching  the  mid- 
dle of  the  current,  has  been  carried  away  and 
overset  by  the  rapidity  of  the  water.  The  con- 
fidence of  the  country  people,  or  their  avarice 
which  blinds  them  to  the  danger,  frequently 
deceives  strangers,  and  many  have  been  victims 
of  it. 

After  crossing  this  river,  we  come  to  the  vil- 
lage of  the  rame  name  ;  then  to  those  of  Mal- 
grat  and  of  Pineda,  in  each  of  which  there  is  a 
forge  for  anchors,  and  a  distillery  for  brandy  : 
the  women  and  girls  are  employed  in  making 
lace  and  blonds.  One  league  further  on  is  the 
little  town  Calella,  in  a  charming  situation.  It 
û  well  built,  and  contains  about  two  thousand 
four  hundred  inhabitants,  a  parish  church,  a 
convent  of  monks,  an  hospital,  forges  for  an- 
chors, and  distilleries  for  brandy  ;  various  laces 
and  fishing-nets  are  made  here.  The  inn  is  a 
tolerably  good  one,  and  is  always  abundantly 
provided  with  fish. 

The  sea- coast  begins  here,  on  which  account 
this  way  has  been  called  the  sea-side  road;  in 
fact,  we  never  lose  sight  of  the  sea  again  until 
we  get  to  Barcelona  ;  there  is  a  constant  suc- 
cession of  villages  and  houses. 

We  now  arrive  at  San-Pol,  a  new  village,  situ- 
ated on  the  river  Bellet,  which  we  cross  by  a 
ford.    Its  population  is  about  two  thousand  per- 
sons, and  is  daily  increasing. 
c  5 


22  CATALONIA. 

At  Canet  de  Mary  a  considerable  village,  there 
is  a  distillery  for  brandy. 

At  Santa-Maria  del  Mar,  another  village,  we 
find  as  much  industry  and  activity  as  in  the 
preceding  ones  ;  at  Arenez  de  Mar,  or  Santa- 
Maria  de  Aremz,  there  are  three  thousand  five 
hundred  inhabitants.  There  is  a  beautiful  parish 
church,  a  convent  of  Capuchins,  forges  for  an- 
chors, manufactories  of  cotton  and  silk  stock- 
ings, and  callico;  a  school  for  navigation,  and 
a  dock  for  the  building  of  small  vessels. 

These  villages  are  all  on  the  sea-coast,  and 
their  situation  is  agreeable  ;  they  possess  a  pleas- 
ing air  of  studied  neatness.  The  activity  of  the 
inhabitants  is  every  where  apparent  :  the  women 
and  children  make  laces  and  blonds;  the  men 
are  employed  in  fishing,  navigation,  and  com- 
merce. The  coast  is  covered  with  small  vessels 
and  barks,  which  carry  on  a  coasting  trade  in 
Spain,  Roussillon,  and  Italy,  and  which  some- 
times even  stretch  away  to  Spanish  America. 

We  travel  this  road  with  pleasure,  and  do  not 
perceive  the  length  of  the  way  from  Calella  to 
Mataro,  the  distance  of  which  is  five  leagues. 

Mataro  is  an  ancient  town  :  it  existed  under 
the  Romans  ;  but  more  inland,  on  a  place  where 
vestiges  of  its  ancient  buildings  are  still  found  : 
being  rebuilt  by  the  Moors  on  the  spot  which 
it  now  occupies,  it  was  limited  to  a  middling 
extent  by  an  enclosure  of  walls.    Within  twenty 


CATALONIA.  23 

years  it  has  increased  rapidly.  It  is  thought  to 
be  the  ancient  Illuro  of  Ptolemy  and  Pompo* 
nius  Mela.  Under  the  Moors  it  took  the  name 
which  it  still  bears. 

Malaro  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  sea-side, 
at  the  extremity  of  a  small  fertile  plain,  which 
terminates  at  the  foot  of  a  chain  of  woody 
mountains.  The  old  town,  built  on  an  emi- 
nence, retains  its  enclosure,  its  walls,  and  its 
gates.  Its  streets  are  narrow,  yet  less  crooked 
than  those  of  the. ancient  towns  of  Spain:  the 
largest,  called  la  Riera,  which  runs  through  the 
middle,  is  handsome,  broad,  straight,  tolerably 
well  built,  and  watered  by  a  small  stream,  with 
a  row  of  trees  by  the  side  of  it.  It  would  make 
an  agreeable  walk,  if  the  stream  were  widened 
and  a  second  row  of  trees  added,  with  some 
benches  among  them.  The  new  town,  which 
was  perhaps  ■djauboiirg  to  the  preceding  one,  is 
much  larger,  more  open,  and  better  constructed. 
It  is  lately  built,  and  runs  towards  the  east  as  far 
as  the  sea-side  ;  the  streets  are  broad,  long,  and 
fctraight;  the  houses  are  agreeable,  simple,  and 
most  of  them  ornamented  with  paintings  in 
fresco.  It  daily  increases  in  extent.  The  sur- 
rounding country  is  fertile  and  well  cultivated; 
the  town  has  many  fountains  of  excellent 
water. 

The  approach  to  Mataro,  in  coming  from 
Choline,    is   beautiful  ;    we  enter  by  a  superb 

C  4 


24  CATALONIA. 

street,  in  which  all  the  inns  are  situated  :  that 
called  Mont  Serrât  is  excellent.  Leaving 
the  town,  the  view  on  the  Barcelona  road  is 
still  more  magnificent. 

Population.  Mataro  is  become  a  considerable  town  by  its 
industry  and  commerce;  new  inhabitants  flock  thither*  and 
its  population,  which,  about  1770,  was  from  four  to  five 
thousand  persons,  is  now  upwards  of  twenty-live  thousand. 

Clergy.  It  has  a  parish  church,  three,  convents  of  monks, 
two  of  nuns,  and  a  hospital. 

Administration.  There  is  a  military  and  civil  governor,  an 
alcade  major  for  the  administration  of  justice,  a  port-captain, 
a  minister,  an  auditor  of  the  navy,  and  a  garrison  of  two 
squadrons  of  cavalry. 

Public  edifices.  The  church  of  the  Brothers  of  the  Ecole- 
pie  has  a  tolerably  fine  nave,  ornamented  with  pilasters  of  the 
Ionic  order.  The  parish  church  has  a  nave,  which  would  be 
a  fine  one,  if  it  were  not  6o  disfigured  by  the  small  pilasters 
placed  against  the  intermediate  piers  of  the  chapels,  and  the 
extreme  smallness  of  which  is  a  contrast  to  the  grandeur  of 
the  building.  In  the  chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Sorroiçs  are  two 
good  pictures  by  Viladomat,  one  of  which  represents  Saint 
James  on  horseback  striking  the  Moors  to  the  ground. 

Agriculture.  At  Mataro  the  labourers  form  a  society  dis- 
tinguished for  their  work  and  wealth. 

Manufactories.  In  this  town  there  are  four  manufactories 
of  printed  callicoes,  two  of  callico,  seven  of  lace,  seventeen  of 
blonds,  two  of  soap,  fifty-two  looms  for  silk  stockings,  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  for  cotton  stockings,  forty-eight  for  silk 
stuffs  and  velvets,  eighty-nine  for  ribbons  and  silk  galloons, 
six  distilleries  for  brandy,  five  manufactories  of  sail-cloth, 
eight  tan-yards,  and  eighteen  manufactories  of  silk  twists, 
which  yearly  make  on  an  average  about  twenty  thousand 
pounds  weight. 


CATALONIA.  25 

The  road  which  leads  from  Mataro,  and  which 
runs  along  the  sea-coast  is  a  line  one.  On  the 
right  we  see  a  chain  of  hills  with  green  trees, 
and  a  number  of  single  houses.  On  the  heights 
are  the  villages  Cabrera,  Vilasar  de  dalt,  and 
Premia  de  dalt.  "We  shortly  after  come  to  Vilasar 
de  baiv,  where  there  are  some  brandy  distilleries. 
Prejnia  de  balr  is  agreeably  situated  ;  the  inha- 
bitants are  active  and  laborious.  We  afterwards 
pass  the  Masnou,  which  was  formerly  only  a 
solitary  hotel,  but  which  became  almost  all  at 
once  a  very  large  village.  The  village  Montgat  is 
about  a  mile  farther  on  ;  we  then  cross  a  small 
mountain  by  a  deep  cut  made  to  open  the  road, 
having  a  wall  on  each  side  to  keep  up  the  banks. 
On  the  top  of  this  mountain  is  the  castle  of 
Montrât  ;  it  has  no  other  merit  than  its  situa- 
tion,  which  commands  the  sea,  and  serves  to 
protect  the  coast  against  the  incursions  of  the 
barbarians. 

Continuing  along  the  sea  side  we  come  to 
the  villages  of  Bagalona  and  San-Andria.  Here 
we  see,  to  the  right  and  left,  an  immense  curtain 
of  verdant  foliage,  formed  by  a  thick  wood  of 
poplars,  covering  the  banks  of  the  Bezos.  This 
river  is  usually  crossed  by  a  ford  ;  but  is  fre- 
quently rendered  impassable  by  the  waters;  it 
easily  s  utils  and  overflows  in  a  manner  the  more 
dangerous,  as  its  sands  shift  and  form  excava- 
tions, in  which  the  traveller  may  lose  himself. 


26  CATALONIA. 

The  small  forest  of  poplars  on  the  opposite  bank 
of  the  river,  is  passed  in  five  or  six  minutes. 
After  leaving  this  forest  we  discover,  to  the  right, 
the  village  of  Sa/i-JIarti,  situated  at  the  foot  of 
a  mountain,  and  enter  into  a  long  fertile  plain 
covered  with  trees  of  all  kinds,  watered  by 
numerous  streams,  and  travel  through  a  beau- 
tiful avenue  of  nut  trees  all  the  way  to  the 
gates  of  Barcelona.  This  road,  which  runs  in 
this  manner  for  a  league,  is  well  laid  out,  and 
would  be  pleasant  if  it  were  better  kept. 

As  we  proceed,  the  scene  becomes  more  live- 
ly. We  are  surrounded  by  a  country  where,  in 
the  nne  season,  we  see  all  the  riches  of  nature. 
Every  thing  is  animated  ;  the  fields  are  full  of 
active  husbandmen,  the  roads  covered  with 
carriages  and  cattle. 

A  great  number  of  buildings  gradually  show 
themselves  to  the  right,  and  continue  almost 
from  the  middle  of  the  plain  to  the  side  of  the 
neighbouring  mountains.  They  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  a  considerable  town,  but 
these  habitations,  numerous  without  confusion, 
are  country  houses  extending  to  the  villages  of 
Sarria,  Horta,  and  Gracia,  which  are  themselves 
delightfully  situated. 

Barcelona  then  presents  itself  with  a  ma- 
jestic appearance.  We  perceive  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  its  buildings,  and,  on  the  opposite  side, 
the  mountain  of  JShmt-Jowj,  which  command* 


CATALONIA.  27 

it.     We  enter  the  town  by  the  new  gate,  called 
the  gate  of  France. 

Barcelona,  in  Latin  Barcinona,  in  Spanish 
Bacelona,  is  the  capital  of  the  principality  of 
Catalonia,  and  one  of  the  principal  towns  of 
Spain.  It  formerly  existed  under  the  Romans. 
It  is  celebrated  for  its  situation,  extent,  the 
number  of  its  population,  the  richness  of  the 
country,  the  industry  of  its  inhabitants,  its  com- 
merce and  its  opulence. 

It  was  founded  by  the  Carthaginians,  who 
gave  it  the  name  of  their  General,  Annibal  Bar- 
cino  ;  it  passed  successively  under  the  dominion 
of  the  Romans,  Goths,  Saracens  or  Moors,  and 
French  ;  the  last  took  it  from  the  Moors  in  the 
ninth  century.  It  afterwards  had  its  own  par- 
ticular sovereigns,  under  the  title  of  the  counts 
of  Barcelona,  who  annexed  Catalonia  to  the 
crown  of  Aragon,  and  subsequently  to  the 
Spanish  monarchy,  when  they  became  possessors 
of  it  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

Extent.  The  different  limits  of  Barcelona  in  the  various 
periods  of  history  are  still  perceptible.  The  town  formerly 
extended  only  to  la  Rambla;  l>ut  it  had  six  hundred  houses  to 
the  \v<-.-,t,  which  were  demolished  m  the  eighteenth  century» 
in  order  to  build  (he  citadel. 

The  street!  arc  by  no  means  handsome,  especially  those 
within  the  old  limit-:    most  ofthem   arc  narrow  ami  crooked] 

there  are  L<  wevti  some  that  are  widej  such  are  the  Carrer 
amp  la  or  broad  street,  the  streets  of  /.</  Porta  Ferissa,  La 
Jtiera  de  San  Juan,  San  Pere  met  bail,  S-m  Pere  me  salt,  La 
Gamtda  del  pi,  the  quare  of  Sainte  Anne,  which  might  be 
patted  .1  fine  itret  I  if  it  were  a  little  longer.    In  th<   new  town 


28  CATALONIA. 

lieyond  la  Rambla  there  are  also  some  good  streets,  as  those 
of  St.  Paul,  Cannes,  St.  Antony,  and  above  all  the  new  street 
of  Coude  del  assalto,  which  is  very, straight  and  long,  and 
lead»  from  la  Rainbla  to  the  ramparts. 

AH  the  streets  are  paved  with  square,  flat,  smooth  stones; 
lujt  for  want  of  attention,  they  sink  and  form  inequalities 
where  carriages  pass.  An  aqueduct,  or  rather  a  common 
sewer  runs  under  most  of  the  streets  in  the  old  limits  ;  it  is 
covered  in  with  long  narrow  stones,  unconnected  and  badly 
put  together  ;  these  stones  start  and  sink.  An  unwholesome 
vapour  exhales  from  it  in  summer,  produced  by  the  filth  which 
stagnates  there. 

At  night  these  streets  are  lighted  by  lamps  fixed  to  the 
walls  of  the  houses  and  squares  :  they  are  placed  in  a  line  on 
both  sides  it  small  distances  from  one  another.  The  squares 
in  Barcelona  are  all  small  and  irregular  ;  and  though  there 
arc  a  great  many  of  them,  there  is  but  one  that  deserves  the 
name;  which  is  that  of  the  governor's  palace;  it  is  square, 
spacious,  very  open,  and  ornamented  on  one  side  by  the  front 
ef  houses,  on  another  by  the  General's  palace,  on  the  opposite 
side  by  the  beautiful  building  la  Lonja  or  the  Exchange,  and 
on  the  fourth  by  the  sea-gate,  having  on  the  left  the  new 
building  of  the  Custom-house,  and  on  the  right  the  magnifi- 
cent promenade  of  the  quay,  called  the  wall  of  the  sea. 

This  would  be  a  superb  square,  if  the  design  of  throwing 
back  the  sea-gate  were  executed,  and  a  public  monument,  a 
fountain,  or  a  statue  of  a  monarch  placed  in  the  centre. 

Edifices.  Though  the  town  is  well  built,  there  are  none  of 
those  sumptuous  palaces  to  be  found  in  it,  none  of  those 
superb  hotels,  in  which  architecture  and  sculpture  arrest  the 
eye  of  a  stranger.  The  houses  in  general  are  of  a  tolerably 
pleasing  structure,  but  very  simple  :  they  run  from  four  to 
five  stories  high  ;  they  have  large  windows  ornamented  with  a 
variety  of  balconies  almost  all  new,  two-thirds  of  the  town 
having  been  built  within  about  30  years.  On  most  of  the 
fronts  of  the  houses  there  are  paintings  in  fresco.  The  house 
of  Dnfay  in  the  street  of  Rcgomir,  and  that  of  Cardana,  now 


CATALONIA.  29 

the  duke  of  Medina  CWj's,  in  the  square  of  Cocurilla,  are  re- 
markable. Both  of  them  are  ancient  ;  the  former  is  built 
upon  the  site  of  the  palace  of  Gomir,  a  king  of  the  Moors, 
who,  it  is  said,  reigned  until  this  town  was  taken  by  the  French 
in  802.     These  two  are  noble  and  elegant  houses. 

Population.     The  civil  wars  in  Catalonia  in  the  sixteenth, 
seventeenth,  and  eighteenth  centuries  ;  the  five  sieges  which 
Barcelona  sustained  in  the  space  of  sixty-two  years  ;  the  de- 
cline of  its  manufactures  and  the  stagnation  of  its  immense 
commerce,  has  much  diminished  its  population,  which  was 
formerly  considerable.  So  early  as  1715,  after  the  siege  of  the 
preceding  year,  it  was  reduced  to  thirty-seven  thousand  per- 
sons; but  peace  soon  restored  industry,  the  arts  and  manu- 
factures were  resumed;  commerce  returned  with  vigour;  new 
inhabitants  came  in  crowds,  and  in  the  course  of  half  a  cen- 
tury the  population  was  increased  sixteen   thousand  persons. 
In  17Ô9  there  were  about  fifty-four  thousand  individuals:  the 
increase  afterwards  became  more  rapid,  and  was  more  than 
doubled  in  the  space  of  eighteen  years  ;  for  by  the  numbering 
of  the  people  in   1737  there  were  one  hundred  and  eleven 
thousand  four  hundred  and  ten  inhabitants,  not  counting  the 
army,  which  is  generally  from  nine  to  ten  thousand  men,  and 
foreigners,  of  whom  there  are  a  considerable  number.     In 
1798  there  were  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  inhabit- 
ants in  Barcelona.     The  population  would  still  be  greater  if 
the  calculation  were  extended  beyond  the  ramparts.     There 
are  now  in  it  twenty  thousand  live  hundred  and  eight  families, 
ten  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-seven  houses,  eighty- 
two  churches,  fifty  convents  of  monks  and  nuns,  thirty  foun- 
tain-:, and  many  large  buildings. 

Clergy.  Barcelona  ha9  an  episcopal  see,  one  cathedral,  and 
one  collegiate  chapter,  eighty-two  churches,  twenty-six  con- 
vents of  monks,  eighteen  of  nuns,  two  houses  of  congrega- 
tion» of  oratory  and  missions,  three  Iraterios,  five  hospital*, 
one  seminary,  one  mont-de-pit-té,  and  one  tribunal  of  the 
inquisition.  The  bishopric  of  this  town  existed  under  the 
Cotbic  kinçï  ;  it  va;  superseded  under  the  Moors  but  wa« 


30  CATALONIA. 

re-established  by  count  Raymond  Bérenger  in  1 14(5,  and  made 
by  lii m  a  suffragan  to  the  metropo'itan  of  Tarragona. 

This  diocese  contains  two  chapters  and  two  hundred  and 
fifty-three  parishes.  The  clergy  of  the  cathedral  is  numer- 
ous  ;  its  chapter  is  composed  of  eleven  dignitaries,  twenty- 
four  canons,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-two  priests  of  the  low 
choir,  each  possessed  of  a  benefice.  The  habit  of  the  canons 
is  scarlet,  with  an  ermine  surplice.  The  collegiate  chapter, 
under  the  title  of  St.  Anne,  is  composed  of  fifteen  canons,  four 
prebends,  with  a  prior  for  the  president.  There  are  more 
monks  in  Barcelona  than  in  any  other  town  in  Spain  ;  each 
parish  has  from  twenty  to  thirty  priests  ;  besides  a  great 
number  that  are  not  attached  to  any  church,  and  many  others 
who  perform  service  in  the  oratories  and  chapels  of  the  nun- 
neries. In  179°  there  were  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  Fran- 
ciscans in  the  procession  on  St.  Anthony's  day,  and  those 
were  only  a  part  of  the  monks  of  the  two  houses  which  that 
order  possesses  in  the  town. 

There  were  two  councils  held  at  Barcelona  in  the  time 
of  the  Goths,  one  in  54-0  or  5-H,  and  the  other  m  j99  or  600. 
The  acts  of  the  latter  are  unknown  ;  but  the  former  made 
many  canons  relative  to  ecclesiastical  discipline  :  the  third 
canon  prohibits  the  ecclesiastics  from  shaving  their  beards, 
and  from  letting  their  hair  grow. 

Hospitals  and  Asylums.  There  are  six  hospitals  at  Barce- 
lona, a  charity  house,  and  one  asylum.  The  hospital  of  St. 
Anthony's  abbey  is  no  longer  made  any  use  of,  having  been 
suppressed  since  the  year  1791.  That  of  Si.  Sever  is  for 
priests  ;  and  in  it  are  contained  one  for  pilgrims,  one  for  or- 
phans, and  one  for  incurabk-. 

The  most  considerable  of  all  is  the  General  Hospital;  it 
receives  the  sick  of  both  sexes,  and  foundlings.  In  1700, 
some  young  women  who  had  been  sent  to  Paris  for  six  years 
to  receive  the  necessary  education  were  established  here,  under 
the  name  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Lazarus  ;  but  no  advantage  re- 
sulted from  the  plan.  The  house  for  the  convalescents  is  large, 
well  distributed,  and  well  aired. 


CATALONIA.  3i 

The  Asylum  is  for  all  sorts  of  poor,  and  children.  The  wo- 
men and  children  are  employed  in  spinning,  knitting,  and 
making  lace;  and  the  men  in  carding  or  combing  hemp, 
wool,  and  cotton  ;  and  making  tissues.  There  are  common- 
ly one  thousand  four  hundred  poor,  a  thousand  of  whom 
work,  the  others  are  either  too  young  or  maniacs  ;  there  are 
three  hundred  of  the  last. 

Civil  and  Militari/  administration.  A  captain-general,  or 
governor,  and  an  intendant  of  the  principality  of  Catalonia, 
reside  in  this  town  ;  it  is  also  the  seat  of  the  royal  audience, 
or  supreme  tribunal  of  the  province. 

The  military  staff  consists  of  a  military  and  civil  governor, 
a  lieutenant  of  the  king,  a  major  and  two  aide-majors.  There 
is  a  contador  and  war  auditor,  a  port-captain,  a  marine  mini- 
ster and  an  auditor,  a  foundery  for  cannon,  a  considerable 
arsenal,  and  a  numerous  garrison,  which  usually  consists  of 
a  regiment  of  cavalry  or  dragoons,  four  battalions  of  Spanish 
guards  and  Walloons,  two  regiments  of  infantry  and  one 
battalion  of  artillery.  The  civil  government  consists  of  five-and- 
thirly  noble  regidors,  a  procureur-général,  a  syndic  personero, 
and  two  alcades-majors,  who  administer  justice. 

Fortifications.  Barcelona  is  a  fortified  town  ;  its  fortifica- 
tions were  formerly  calculated  to  make  a  long  resistance.  It 
is  impregnable  on  the  side  towards  the  sea,  it  not  being  deep 
enough  to  permit  large  ships  to  approach  ;  it  is  guarded  oa 
the  land  side  with  many  bastions,  the  approaches  to  which 
are  defended  by  many  advanced  works,  and  principally  by  a 
citadel,  situated  at  the  north-east  point,  and  by  the  fort  of 
Mont-Juoy,  situated  on  the  summit  of  a  mountain  at  the 
south-east  point. 

Public  Instruction.  There  was  formerly  an  university  at 
Barcelona  in  which  the  sciences  were  taught  ;  it  was  suppres- 
sed at  the  beginning  of  the  Ibth  century,  by  Philip  V. 
1  In- building,  which   il    at    tin-   extremity  til'  la  liambla,  and 

which  ii  called  Lo.  •  Hi       is  at  present  Med  as  barrack*. 
t  period  tliere  hare  been  only  schools  i'^r  theology 


SG  CATALONIA. 

and  philosophy,  which  are  kept  by  ecclesiastics  under  the 
inspection  of  the  bishop.  There  are  private  schools  kept  by 
several  religious  orders.  There  is  a  private  school  for  ma- 
thematics, for  engineer  officers  and  young  soldiers  ;  fortifica- 
tion is  taught  «.here. 

There  is  a  valuable  collection  of  the  productions  of  nature 
at  the  house  of  a  private  person.  Don  Jacques  Salvador,  an 
apothecary  of  Barcelona,  took  a  liking  to  Natural  History,  and 
applied  himself  to  it  with  success  at  the  commencement  of 
the  18th  century  ;  a  time  when  this  science  was  little  cul- 
tivated in  Spain:  he  formed  a  collection,  and  augmented  it  ; 
bis  cabinet  of  Natural  History  soon  became  very  curious,  and 
his  descendants  have  preserved  it  with  care.  It  contains 
some  Roman  antiqui'.ie-,  sepulchral  urns,  vases,  medallions, &c; 
a  fine  collection  of  Spanish  marble,  a  great  many  minerals, 
congélations,  crystallizations,  a  quantity  of  the  wealth  of  the 
new  world,  and  a  valuable  collection  of  shells.  This  cabinet 
merited  the  particular  attention  of  Tovrnefort.  That  famous 
botanist  having  a  great  esteem  for  Salvador,  made  him  a 
present  of  a  fine  herbal,  which  is  still  to  be  seen,  and  which 
contains  a  great  many  plants  from  the  Levant. 

There  are  two  public  libraries  in  the  town,  one  belonging 
to  the  school  for  surgery,  and  the  other  to  the  convents  of 
the  Dominicans  of  Saint-Catherine.  The  former  is  only 
for  works  on  surgery,  and  some  parts  of  medicine.  The 
other  is  considerable  :  moral,  scholastic,  and  ascetic  theology, 
jurisprudence,  especially  the  canon  law,  paripatetie  philo- 
sophy, and  history,  particularly  national  ones,  form  the  princi- 
pal part  of  it.  It  ha»  very  few  modern,  foreign  books  ;  but 
there  are  excellent  and  valuable  one*  of  the  different  kinds  we 
have  mentioned. 

Though  the  means  of  instruction  are  few  at  Barcelona,  and 
the  establishments  that  might  assist  it  are  scarce,  the  Cata- 
lonians,  in  their  activity,  their  zeah  and  their  desire  of  in- 
struction, find  resources  which  enable  them  to  surmount  every 
obstacle.  This  zeal,  which  never  quits  them,  has  been  thr 
means  of    establishing  four  academies   at  Barcelona,  which 


CATALONIA.  33 

without  patronage  or  revenue   is  maintained   solely  by  the 
emulation  of  the  members  who  compose  them. 

The  first,  of  Jurisprudence,  is  formed  by  the  most  eminent 
lawyers  of  the  town. 

The  second,  of  Practical  Medicine,  long  languished  ;  but  re- 
covered itself  in  1790  ;  made  a  certain  advance,  and  changed 
its  form  in  correcting  its  institution.  It  prescribed  to  itself 
every  useful  labour,  and  obtained  association  with  the  Royal 
Society  of  Medicine  at  Paris. 

The  third,  of  Natural  Philosophy,  principally  owes  its 
existence  to  the  liberality  of  one  of  its  members,  the  marquis 
of  Llupia,  who  generously  made  it  a  present  of  his  interesting 
collection  of  philosophical  instruments  and  machines,  and  his 
extensive  and  well  chosen  library. 

The  fourth,  of  History,  is  chiefly  occupied  on  the  history  of 
Spain,  and  more  particularly  on  that  of  Catalonia  ;  its  re- 
searches have  already  been  interesting.  In  the  year  1791 
it  met  with  a  loss  not  easily  repaired,  in  the  person  of  D. 
Jacobo  Caresmar,  a  regular  canon,  and  an  able  antiquary, 
and  one  who  had  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  geography 
and  of  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  his  country. 

Barcelona  has  not  produced  any  great  poets  :  this  town, 
however,  formerly  had  a  fraternity  of  gate-science,  which 
was  instituted  at  the  end  of  the  14th  century,  in  the  same 
manner  as  that  which  existed  at  Toulouse,  and  which  has 
continued  to  our  times,  under  the  name  of  Académie  des  jeux 
Jlorauic. 

The  most  distinguished  persons  born  in  that  town,  arc 
Pedro  liossan,  a  poet  of  the  loth  century  ;  the  historian  John 
Pujades;  the  physician  Andrcu;  and  a  female,  Jane  Morel; 
all  three  of  the  hist  century.  This  lady  was  at  once  a 
theologian,  philosopher,  lawyer,  mistress  of  languages,  and 
musician.  Jacobo  Salvador,  a  naturalist,  and  Antonio  Vila* 
dontat, a  painter,  equally  honoured  then  country  in  the  18th 
<  .  utiiry. 

Antiquitiet   and    Monuments.     Barcelona   was    s    town    of 
;  .    /  I) 


34  CATAlôNÏA. 

importance  tinder  the  Romans,  tohù  embellished  it,  and  t: 
works  bore  the  marks  of  their  grandeur  and  magnificence. 
Me  tôf  i  he  m  hare  perished.  An  amplntheatre  orcupi'd  the 
place  which  is  now  covered  with  houses  between  the  street  of 
the  Boquera  and  Trinity-square  :  the  spot  for  a  long  time 
retained  the  name  of  Arenaria  ;  but  there  remain  no  traces 
of  it. 

In  a  niche  on   the  grand  staircase  of  the  college    of  the 
Cannes  of  la  Rambla  there  is  a  colossal   half  foot  of  white 
marble;  it  is  a  woman's  foot,  with  a  sandal  on,  and  finely 
rmed. 

On  the  ground  of  the  parish  church  of  St.  Michael  there 
was  formerly  a  remarkable  pavement,  of  which  there  are  now 
but  remnants  ;  it  is  a  mosaic,  composed  with  little  white  and 
blue  stones,  representing  tritons  and  fishes. 

The  water  was  carried  to  Barcelona  by  an  aqueduct;  of 
which  there  re  mams  a  very  lofty  arch  at  the  entrance  of  the 
street  of  the  Cnpellans  ;  there  is  nothing  remarkable  in  its 
structure  ;  it  is  only  very  massive  and  solid.  It  seems  to 
run  towards  the  cathedral  church  and  towards  the  remains 
of  the  temple  which  are  still  to  be  seen  behind  this  church, 
and  of  which  wt  .hall  presently  speak.  There  is  room  to 
believe  that  it  took  up  the  water  on  the  mountain  of  Colsc- 
rola,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Barcelona,  where  there  are 
vestiges  of  an  aqueduct  found,  which  appears  to  be  of  the 
game  structure. 

A  basin  of  white  marble  serves  at  present  as  a  cistern  to  a 
fountain  in  the  house  of  the  archdeacon,  near  the  cathedral  ; 
it  forms  a  parallelogram,  rounded  at  the  four  corners.  Only 
three  fronts  of  it  are  to  be  seen  ;  the  fourth  is  concealed  by  a 
wall.     These  three  fronts  are  covered  with  reliefs 

Some  interesting  remains  of  a  great  and  superb  monument 
is  found  in  Paradise  street,  behind  the  cathedral;  it  is*  the 
highest  spot  of  the  town,  and  centre  of  the  ancient  Bar- 
celona. 

There  remain  six  large  fluted  columns  with  capitals  of  the 


CATALONIA.  3i 

Corinthian  order,  of  white  marble  ;  they  are  29  feet  10  lines 
high,  including  the  bases  and  capitals,  and  are  supported  by 
pedestals  from  7  to  8  inches  ;  the  plinths  of  the  pedestals 
are  of  the  greatest  simplicity.  The  capitals  have  been  in- 
jured ;  but  the  remains  show  that  they  were  wrought  with 
taste  and  delicacy.  These  columns  are  shut  up  in  a  house, 
and  cased  in  the  thickness  of  the  walls  ;  they  reach  from  the 
ground  of  the  house  higher  than  the  second  s,tory  ;  but  wc 
cannot  trace  them  farther. 

There  were  formerly  public  baths  at  Barcelona  ;  there  are 
two  streets  of  that  town  which  have  taken  the  name  of 
them  ;  they  are  called  Carrer  dels  bans  in  the  Catalonian  dia- 
lect, Calk  delos  banos  in  Spanish  :  in  a  house  in  the  street 
of  this  name,  which  is  at  the  corner  of  the  Boquera,  there  is 
still  a  remarkable  monument,  which  can  only  be  attributed 
to  the  Moors  :  it  consists  of  several  pieces,  supported  by 
columns  rather  misshapen,  with  vaults  in  the  shape  of  a  horse- 
shoe 

The  walls  of  the  court  of  a  house  which  is  falling  into  ruins 
on  the  square  of  the  Cucurulla,  and  which  belongs  to  the 
Pinos,  are  ornamented  with  many  antique  sculptures  ;  such 
as  medallions,  some  heads  of  emperors,  an  unknown  head 
wish  this  inscription  :  AVGVSTVS.  PATER  ;*  a  little  statue 
of  Bacchus,  wanting  the  head,  but  of  exquisite  workmanship  • 
a  Qgure  in  bass-relief  in  a  gallery  over  the  court.  This  house 
was  in  a  manner  deserted  and  left  open  to  every  body  ;  in- 
truders daily  broke  or  carned>.oft'  some  of  these  antiques.  Jt 
has  just  been  rebuilt. 

Th«.-y  tell  an    anecdote   singular   enough    concerning   it, 
.  >»,   to  whom    il  lekng'-d   at  the   beginning  of  the   18th 
century,    was   one    of  the   principal    leaders   of    the    Cata- 
lonian   rebellion  ;    this    house    was    almost    destroyed    by 
bombs    during    the    siege   of  B-.vrcd<.n;\    in    1713    and 
io    17]4-  ;    I\'i.'os    souk  lime    after,     when    he   was    dyir^r, 

*  It  is  finely  executed. 

1)  2 


36  CATALONIA. 

recommended  to  bis  son  not  to  have  it  repaired,  that  if?  fuitts 
might  be  a  monument  of  his  fidelity  to  the  sovereign  to  whom 
he  had  devoted  himself,  and  of  his  hatred  to  Philip  V.  Hii 
descendants  allowed  the  house  to  go  to  ruin  till  the  journey 
which  the  reigning  king  took  into  Catalonia. 

Public  Edifices.  Some  of  the  public  buildings  of  Barcelona 
deserve  the  attention  of  the  lovers  of  the  arts,  both  for  their 
exterior  beauty  and  for  what  they  contain  within. 

The  cathedral  church,  the  building  of  which  was  begun  at 
the  end  of  the  1 3th  century,  is  not  yet  finished  ;  the  portal 
yet  remains  to  be  done.  We  ascend  to  it  by  large  steps  of 
free-stone,  which  extend  the  whole  breadth,  and  are  in  a  bad. 
state.  Yet  for  upwards  of  three  hundred  years  a  duty  has 
been  imposed  on  the  marriage  licences  given  by  the  eccle- 
siastical court,  and  the  produce  of  it  assigned  for  the  build- 
ing of  this  portal.  This  duty,  which  has  continued  to  be 
levied,  has  already  furnished  sufficient  sums  for  the  purpose, 
and  yet  the  work  is  not  even  begun.  The  whole  appearance 
of  this  church  is  majestic  :  its  length  is  one  hundred  and 
sixty  feet,  and  breadth  sixty- two.  The  nave  and  aisles 
are  separated  by  twelve  large  Gothic  pillars,  formed  by  clusters 
of  columns  of  various  sizes.  There  are  some  obscure  galleries, 
each  ornamented  by  nine  small  columns  over  the  arches  which 
connect  the  twelve  large  pillars.  The  aisles  turn,  and  meet 
behind  the  sanctuary.  In  the  middle  of  the  space  between 
the  great  door  and  the  choir,  there  is  a  great  octagon  dome, 
in  Gothic  architecture  ;  it  has  eight  galleries,  ornamented 
with  little  columns  and  balustrades. 

The  sanctuary  is  formed  by  ten  pillars,  smaller  than  those 
of  the  aisles,  which  meet  at  the  top,  forming  a  semi-circle, 
where  the  great  altar  is,  which  is  aleo  of  the  Gothic  style,  and 
of  delicate  workmanship.  By  the  side  of  the  door  of  the 
vestry  there  are  two  sepulchral  urns  of  wood,  containing  the 
allies  of  Baymond  Bérenger,  count  of  Barcelona,  and  the 
counte»?,  his  wife,  the  founders  of  this  church.  The  sanc- 
tuary stand»  over  a  subterranean  chapel,  where  the  relics  of 


CATALONIA.  37 

Saint  Eulalia,  patroness  of  the  town,  are  preserved  in  a  superb 
shrine. 

The  choir  is  in  the  middle  of  the  nave  ;  it  19  decorated  on 
the  outside  by  very  slight  columns  with  various  ornaments, 
and  the  part  about  the  door  in  front  of  the  principal  entrance 
of  the  church,  called  in  Spanish  Trascoro,  is  pargeted  with 
red  and  yellow  marble.  There  are  two  statues  of  saints  and 
two  pieces  of  bass-relief.  The  door  of  the  choir  is  in  the 
middle,  between  two  columns  of  the  Corinthian  order  ;  sur- 
mounted by  a  balustrade.  The  whole  of  this  decoration  is  in 
white  marble.  In  150Q,  Charles  I.  having  held  a  chapter  of 
the  Golden  Fleece,  the  armorials  of  the  knights  who  com- 
posed it  were  placed  above  the  stalls,  with  inscriptions  to 
preserve  the  memory  of  it. 

The  subterranean  chapel  of  Saint  Eulalia  is  very  hand- 
some ;  the  others  are  remarkable  only  for  some  paintings  by 
Antonio  Viladomat  and  Emanuel  Tramullas. 

The  cloister  at  the  side  of  the  church  is  extensive.*  The 
treasury  is  fine,  but  not  equal  in  magnificence  to  those  of 
many  other  churches  in  Spain. 

Convent  ofla  Merci.  The  church  is  large;  its  front  is  com- 
posed of  two  stories  of  architecture,  the  Corinthian  and  the 
Ionic  ;  its  portal  n  of  the  Doric  order.  The  cloister  of  this  con- 
vent is  very  fine,  and  superbly  executed  :  it  is  sixty  feet  square. 
There  is  a  portico  along  the  four  faces,  of  sixteen  arcades, 
supported  by  twenty  Doric  columns  of  dark  grey  and  mixed 
marble;  a  like  number  of  pilastres  of  the  same  marble,  with 
their  capitals  of  white  marble,  ornaments  the  interior  walls, 
which  are  besides  tiled  to  a  certain  height,  ornamented  above 
with  nineteen  large  paintings  relative  to  the  foundation  of  the 
order  <>|  !a  .Merci.  The  windows  in  the  roof  of  the  vault  con- 
tain the  portraits  in  fresco  of  the  princes  who  were  the  patrons 

•    I'ti'-y  raise  and  \>;  •    <    m   tin     iluister.      A  rent  is  Mtifocd 

ir  support.     It  ii  said  to  be  an  endowment  of  considerable  «u- 
U'jn.ty. 


38  CATALONIA. 

and  benefactors  of  the  order;  some  of  these  paintings  are  by 
Vinols. 

Over  this  portico  there  is  a  gallery  the  whole  length  of  the 
four  fronts  ;  it  has  on  the  outside  thirty-two  arcades  on  Ionic 
columns,  coupled,  and  of  white-grey  marble  ;  it  is  ornament- 
ed all  round  by  a  balustrade  of  grey  marble.  The  floor  of  it 
is  very  ancient,  and  made  of  inlaid  wood.  The  area  of  the 
cloisters  is  spacious;  its  centre  is  ornamented  with  a  beautiful 
fountain  of  white  marble,  on  an  octagon  plan;  it  is  a  great 
basin,  in  the  middle  of  which  stands  a  large  cistern  with  eight 
cocks,  surmounted  with  a  round  shell,  having  eight  jets  d'eaux, 
and  in  the  middle  another  jet  larger  and  higher.  The  appear- 
ance of  this  cloister  altogether  is  striking. 

The  convent  of  San  Francisco  belongs  to  the  Cordeliers  ; 
the  church  is  very  large,  Gothic,  and  handsome.  Several 
princes  and  princesses  of  the  royal  house  of  Aragon  were 
buried  there.  The  cloister  is  ornamented  with  twenty-five 
\  i... tings,  representing  the  particulars  of  the  life  of  St.  Fran- 
cis, all  painted  by  Viladomat. 

The  convent  of  the  Dominicans,  under  the  title  of  Saint 
Catherine,  has  a  church  with  a  nave,  but  no  aisles;  it  is 
large,  and  built  of  free-stone.  The  chapel  of  S.  Raymond 
has  a  dome,  ornamented  with  paintings  ia  fresco.  That  of 
Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary  is  remarkable  for  the  confusion  of 
sculptures,  ornaments,  and  gildings  ;  there  is  a  good  picture 
of  the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  Viladomat,  and  upon 
the  altar  a  fine  statue  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  in  white  marble, 
executed  at  Rome.  In  the  vestibule,  leading  to  the  cloisters, 
there  is  a  white  marble  tomb  of  Thomas  Ripoll,  general  of 
the  order,  who  died  at  Rome  in  1733.  Only  one  of  the  two 
cloisters  deserves  any  attention.  It  is  Gothic,  and  in  the 
middle  planted  with  orange  trees;  two  of  its  fronts  are 
ornamented  with  sepulchral  urns,  tombs,  and  marble  statues. 
The  walls  of  it  are  covered  with  paintings,  intended  to  pre- 
serve the  memory  of  the  people  who  have  been  condemned  by 
the  Inquisition.  They  represent  piles,  dishevelled  heads, 
bodies  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  devils  carrying  off  bodies, 


CATAÎ.OXIA.  5% 

and  inscriptions  containing  the  name,  country,  age,  profession, 
and  nature  "f  punishment  of  each  person,  with  the  dates  of 
their  sentence  and  execution.  The  first  is  in  the  year  1-1 SS. 
and  the  list  in  J726,  A  very  long  inscription,  placed  over 
ope  of  the  doors  of  the  cloister,  informs  us  that  the  monu- 
ments of  uie  punishment  of  the  condemned  were  formerly  de- 
ported in  tue  same  place;  but  t  having  been  almost  de- 
stroyed by  the  injuries  of  time  and  the  ravages  of  war,  espe- 
cially during  the  siege  of  Barcelona,  in  1713,  the  Inqui>ition 
had  supplied  their  place  by  this  picture  which  they  had  put 
up  in  1745-  This  inscription  likewise  tells  us,  that  during 
the  same  *>iege,  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  bombs  had  fallen 
into  this  convent. 

The  parish  church  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Sea  was  built 
in  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century;  it  is  the  handsomest 
in  Barcelona,  from  its  regularity.  It  has  a  nave  and  two 
aisles,  separated  by  lofty  arcades,  delicately  formed.  In 
thee  there  are  five  pictures  of  the  Passion,  by  Viladomat. 
The  chief  altar  is  a  prodigious  assemblage  of  white,  black, 
and  mixed  marble  ;  but  this  richness  is  injured  by  carvings 
on  wood  of  a  bad  taste. 

The  Ilulel-de-Ville  is  in  a  ver}r  narrow  sheet  behind  St. 
James's  church;  its  front  on  that  side  has  no  ornament  ;  in 
the  interior  there  are  Gothic  columns,  with  a  great  variety  of 
sculpture»  done  w  th  much  taste.  The  front,  towards  the 
garden,  has  considerable  beauty. 

The  HotcJ  of  the  Deputation  was  the  place  where  the 
States  of  Catalonia  assembled,  and  is  now  used  for  the  sit- 
•ldience  :  it  stands  opposite  to  St.  James's 
church,  ;iud  ji  accounted  one  of  the  handsomest  buildings  in 
Barcelona.  H  due*,  m  fact,  bring  to  mind  the  beautinjd 
palac  -  of  Bah-,  allowing  for  a  few  defects.  In  this  hold  are 
valuable  charters  and  archives  pf  tin-  crown  of 

the  treaties  of  peace,  and  tin-  concetaionp 
grant  corporations,  and  communities.     These 

in  bin     -ire  kept  ii  .:  order. 

D  4 


40  CATALONIA. 

The  palace  of  the  counts  of  Barcelona  and  kings  of  Ara- 
gon is  séparât  d  from  the  cathedral  only  by  a  little  street  : 
its  principal  front  looked  on  a  square,  which  retains  the  name 
of  Plaza  del  Rey.  At  present,  one  part  of  this  antique  palace 
is  occupied  by  the  nuns  of  Saint  Claire  ;  another  part  serves 
for  the  Academy  of  Medicine,  and  another  for  the  Inquisition 
and  its  prisons.  All  that  it  is  now  remarkable  for  are  its  walls, 
the  size  of  its  rooms,  and  its  noble  simplicity. 

The  General's  Palace,  in  the  square  of  the  same  name,  was 
built  in  1444,  at  the  expence  of  the  town,  as  a  market  for 
cloth?.  The  municipality  turned  it  into  an  arsenal  in  1514-, 
and  kept  the  arms  of  the  commons  there.  It  was  confiscated 
by  Philip  IV.  in  16.52,  when  he  reduced  the  Catalans,  who 
had  held  out  against  him  for  twelve  years  :  he  there  made 
it  the  residence  of  the  viceroys  of  Catalonia.  It  is  a  large, 
regular,  square  building,  with  battlements  on  the  top,  and 
covered  on  the  outside  with  bad  paintings  in  fresco. 

The  Custom- House  is  a  modern  edifice,  built  according  to 
the  designs  and  under  the  direction  of  Roncali,  and  finished 
in  1792.  It  stands  close  to  the  Sea-gate,  opposite  one  of 
the  side  fronts  of  the  General's  Palace  :  it  is.  a  square  insulated 
building  :  the  front  has  two  tiers  of  pilasters  and  columns  ; 
the  lower  of  the  Tuscan  and  the  upper  of  the  Doric  order.  It 
has  three  porticos,  faced  with  coupled  columns  of  the  Tuscan 
order,  and  a  terrace  runs  round  its  four  fronts.  The  pilasters, 
columns,  and  ornaments  are  in  stucco,  or  cased  with  stucco, 
to  which  the  colours  of  different  marble  have  been  given,  by 
which  the  neatness  of  the  façade  is  injured.  So  early  as  in 
1798  the  stucco  began  to  chip,  in  consequence  of  the  con- 
tact with  the  sea  air.  The  windows  have  iron  balconies, 
painted  red.  The  whole  of  this  building  betrays  the  extreme 
of  bad  taste. 

The  Exchange  is  likewise  in  the  square  of  the  General'* 
Palace.  It  would  certainly  be  the  finest  building  in  the  town, 
if  a  part  of  it,  by  projecting  much  too  forward,  did  not  injure 
its  principal  front  :  be  that  as  it  may,  the  taste  of  its  decora. 


CATALONIA.  4Ï 

tions  corresponds  with  the  nobleness  and  beauty  of  the  struc- 
ture, and  the  whole  is  majestic.  It  was  built  by  a  duty  laid 
on  the  commerce  of  Barcelona.  It  is  a  long  rectangular 
building  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  by  seventy-seven. 
The  body  is  insulated.  Its  principal  front,  towards  the 
square,  has  three  entrances  by  large  porticos,  and  is  orna- 
mented with  the  Doric  columns,  over  hich  is  a  terrace  with 
balustrades,  :i"  •  beneath  there  is  a  handsome  vaulted  vesti- 
bule. The  upper  tury  rises  from  the  terrace,  and  is  orna- 
mented with  four  Ionic  pilasters  on  the  sides,  and  in  the  mid- 
dle with  six  columns,  between  which  there  are  three  large 
windows.  An  attic,  decorated  with  sculptures  finishes  this 
front,  which  is  all  of  free-stone.  The  inside  is  distributed 
into  a  multiplicity  of  rooms  ;  one  of  which  is  appropriated  to 
a  school  for  navigation,  and  several  others  for  drawing. 

The  Playhouse  is  on  the  promenade  of  la  Rambla.  Its  front 
has  a  kind  of  vestibu  ,  entered  by  three  arcades,  which  are 
supported  by  four  Ionic  columns:  above  which  there  are  four 
of  the  Corinthian  order;  but  the  facade  is  small,  crowded, 
and  poor.  The  interior  is  handsome,  spacious,  well  laid  out, 
full  of  out-lets,  and  adorned  with  three  rows  of  boxes  of  an 
elegant  simpficity.  The  theatre  is  large;  the  front  of  the 
stage  done  with  taste,  and  the  decorations  are  numerous  and 
well  executed.  In  the  inside  it  is  the  handsomest  playhouse 
in  Spain. 

The  School  for  Surgery,  .he  amphitheat  e  for  anatomy 
is  large,  and  tolerably  well  plann  ,  but  perhaps  not  lofty 
enough  :  there  is  too  much  bronze  and  gilding  about  it. 
I  hen:  is  a  gallery  round  it.  It  contains  a  marble  bust  of 
Pedro  Virgili,  a  Catalonian  surgeon,  who,  in  the  course  of 
the  18th  century,  \\a^  the  restorer  of  surgery  in  Spain,  and 
the  promoter  of  ii^  schools*  The  bust,  which  i*  finely  exe- 
cuted, was  put  up  on  the  6th  of  October,  177s,  by  the  pro- 
fessors,  ai  a  U  itiroooy  of  gratitude. 

Atarazana.     This  i^  a  name  g  yen  to  a  large  space  which 
was  formerly  a  pari  of  the  COast,  but  now  Crowded  with  build- 


4-  CATALONIA. 

ings  erected  upon  it  :  a  considerable  portion  of  it  however 
remains  open.  It  is  situated  between  the  sea-wall  and  the  pro- 
menade ol  la  Rambla,  with  which  it  forms  the  communication. 
An  immense  range  of  barracks  has  been  lately  erected  here, 
and  several  buildings  for  casting,  polishing,  and  boring 
cannon,  besides  which  there  is  an  arsenal  here  for  all  kinds 
of  arms.  There  is  another  building  opposite  the  barracks, 
which  is  al»o  used  for  the  fabrication  of  arms  :  it  has  only 
a  ground  story,  with  twelve  windows  in  front  separated  by 
Doric  pilasters  ;  it  has  a  large  portal  in  the  middle  hetwsi 
four  pilasters  of  the  same  order,  surmounted  W  ilh  a  pedim»  nt, 
at  the  top  of  which  are  the  arms  of  Spain. 

Promenades  of  Barcelona.  Barcelona  has  a  great  many 
handsome  walks,  both  in  and  out  of  ihe  town.  Those  with- 
out are  on  the  sides  of  the  fosses  ;  they  are  shaded  by  laige 
trees,  and  they  would  be  agreeable  were  it  not  for  the  in- 
convenience of  the  dust.  The  walks  within  run  roixnd  the 
town.  Setting  out  from  the  sea-gate,  we  ascend  the  sea- 
wail,*  and  go  the  whole  extent  of  it,  then  descend  on  the 
Rambla  to  the  Atarax  an  as  ;  on  tbifi  walk  we  proceed  about 
::00  paces,  then  turn  to  the  left  through  the  street  which 
leads  to  the  land-wall,  we  ^o  round  this  to  the  Esplanade  and 
the  wall  lately  made  there,  in  which  we  continue  till  we  come 
to  a  very  short  street  which  leads  as  again  to  the  sea-gate, 
•whence  we  set  out.  It  takes  about  one  hour  and  a  half  to 
make  the  tour  of  this  agreeable  walk. 

The  sea-wall  extends  in  a  right  line  from  the  sea-gate  to 
the  foot  of  Mont- Jouy,  about  380  fathoms  in  length  and  46 
feet  in  breadth.  It  forms  a  superb  terrace  along  the  harbour 
and  seaside.  On  the  riçdit  it  has  a  line  of  houses  well  built, 
and  covered  with  an  agreeable  variety  of  paintings  in  fresco  ; 
on  the  left  is   die  harbour  and  an  immense  extent  of  sea,  on 

•  I  always  make  use  of  the  word  naif,  from  its  being  con- 
secrated in  the  country  :  it  means  however  nothing  more  than  the 
rampart, 


CATALONIA.  43 

>hich  a  multitude  of  sails  and  ships  of  different  nations  are 
?cen  at  a  distance.  There  are  a  number  of  stone  seats  in 
this  beautiful  walk  :  it  wants  nothing  but  trees;  of  these, 
however,  the  defence  of  the  place  and  the  vaults  over  which 
a  great  part  of  it  is  built  will  not  allow.  The  count  de  Kicla, 
who  was  captain-general  of  Catalonia  about  the  middle  of 
the  ISth  century,  beim;  desirous  of  rendering  this  prome- 
nade more  frequented,  had  coffee-houses  and  other  attractions 
established  on  it  :  after  Ins  time  they  were  put  down. 

The  laud-wall  begins  nearly  where  the  sea-wall  finishes, 
and  terminates  towards  the  Esplanade,  thus  forming  a  length- 
ened semi-circle  embracing  three  quarters  of  the  town.  This 
wall  stands  high  ;  on  one  side  it  looks  down  on  the  town,  and 
ou  the  other  it  looks  over  the  country  :  there  we  see  a  num- 
ber of  pleasant  houses  and  manufactories,  and  here  rich  and 
fertile  fields  clothed  in  verdure. 

The  Esplanade  is  a  large  open  piece  of  ground  extending 
from  the  new  gate  to  the  citadel,  below  and  on  the  side  of 
the  extremity  oT  the  land-wall  :  it  was  turfed  and  planted 
with  trees,  but  it  was  not  frequented.  In  1797  &  handsome 
walk  was  begun  to  be  made,  which  was  finished  in  ltOl  under 
the  care  and  direction  of  Don  Augustin  de  Lancaster,  the 
captain-general  of  Catalonia.  It  is  444  yards  in  length  and 
is  divided  into  three  alleys,  the  middle  one  of  which  is  broad- 
en :  a  green  rail  nearly  breast-high  runs  round  it,  with  open- 
ings here  and  there  for  walkers;  but  all  the  openings  have 
turnstiles  in  thern.  In  the  alleys  there  are  circular  places 
surrounded  with  white  marble  teats  in  form  of  canopies,  vwth 
iron  backs  painted  green.  In  each  of  these  places  there  is 
a  basin  with  a  balustrade  round  it,  and  in  the  midle  a  jet- 
d'eau  which  rises  to  the  height  of  from  25  to  30  feet.  The 
■Jleys  at  their  <  xtremith  b  terminate  in  a  semi-circular  apace, 
in  the  middle  of  which  is  a  chateau  d'<au,  or  reservoir,  in  the 
I  ■  of  a  triumphal  arch,  built  in  grotto  work.  There  is 
a  ntw  alley,  on  the  outaide,  18  feet  wide,  intended  for  car- 


44-  CATALAN  TA. 

riages.     This  promenade  is  only  frequented  at  the  fine  time 
cfthe  year. 

The  Rambla,  the  ancient  interior  walk  of  the  town,  in  a 
gully,  whence  it  took  its  na  f\  went  round  the  old  limits  of 
Barcelona.  It  joined  the  two  walls,  sea  and  land,  forming  a 
communication  between  them,  and  extended  from  the  des- 
cent of  the  sea-wall  to  the  Atarazanas,  and  to  the  barracks 
called  los  estudibs.  This  promenade  was  904  yards  in  length, 
and  had  trees  from  the  convent  of  Santa  Monica  to  the 
streets  of  the  Carme  and  the  Puerto  Ferissa,  where  it  terminated 
in  an  open  place  where  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  were 
exercised.  The  ground  of  the  walk,  which  was  distributed 
into  several  alleys,  was  muddy  in  winter,  and  very  dusty  in 
summer  ;  the  trees  upon  it  were  small,  and  not  sufficiently 
bushy,  as  they  could  not  thrive  in  so  bad  a  soil.  The  ne- 
cessity of  opening  a  way  for  the  carts  and  wains  of  the 
adjacent  quarters  gave  the  idea  of  changing  the  form  and 
use  of  this  walk,  and  dividing  it  into  several  parts  :  the  great 
opening  at  the  descent  from  the  sea-wall  to  the  Atarazanas 
has  been  suffered  to  remain,  to  the  extent  of  110  yards  in 
length  and  22  in  breadth  :  on  one  side  of  it  a  terrace  is 
raised  two  feet  high,  paved  with  brick,  having  on  each  side 
walled  causeways,  serving  it  as  parapets  ;  it  is  27  feet  wide 
and  falls  into  another  square  14-4  feet  by  126,  without  trees, 
where  the  playhouse  is.  There  a  similar  terrace  has  been 
made  211-  yards  in  length,  which  in  like  manner  leads  to 
another  square  of  156  feet  by  133,  into  which  the  streets  of 
the  hospital  and  the  Boqueria  open.  The  two  terraces  are 
planted  on  both  sides  of  the  exterior  with  large  poplars  close 
to  one  another,  but  with  openings  here  and  there  for  passages. 
At  the  extremity  of  the  latter  square  a  promenade  of  a  dif- 
ferent kind  begins:  it  is  174  yards  in  length  and  30  feet 
in  breadth,  composed  of  a  single  alley,  not  raised,  bat  having 
a  wooden  rail  on  each  side  painted  green,  with  turnstiles  for 
walkers  ;  it  leads  to  a  large  square  tolerably  handsome,  but 
without  trees  :  it  has  been  left  in  its  old  state. 


CATALONIA.  4  3 

This  walk  as  well  as  that  of  the  Esplanade  was  made  at  a 
time  when  the  people  were  deprived  of  work  and  stood  in 
the  greatest  want  of  assistance  ;  these  two  extensive  under- 
takings served  to  employ  and  to  support  them.  Nor  must 
the  beneficent  establishment  which  furnished  the  means,  pass 
unnoticed  here.  In  1798,  during  the  war  between  England 
and  Spain,  commerce  became  languid,  a  great  number  of 
manufactories  were  shut  up,  and  others  confined  to  fewer 
hands  ;  many  mechanics  also  failed,  and  a  multitude  of  men 
and  women  were  reduced  to  extreme  want.  The  inhabi- 
tants were  every  day  assailed  by  the  poor  of  all  classes, 
and  this  beggary,  almost  general,  raised  great  apprehensions 
for  the  safety  of  the  streets  and  houses.  At  that  juncture 
the  captain-general  of  Catalonia,  Don  Augustin,  afterwards 
called  Duke  of  Lancaster,  and  whose  name  should  be  im- 
mortal in  Barcelona,  undertook  to  relieve  the  general  distress. 
He  obtained  the  king's  permission  to  give  public  balls,  and 
make  lotteries  of  different  kinds.  The  produce  of  both  was 
applied  in  assisting  the  unfortunate  :  the  direction  of  which 
was  confined  to  a  company  of  merchants,  who  performed  this 
duty  with  equal  zeal  and  disinterestedness  :  all  who  could 
work  were  employed  for  public  service,  and  to  those  of 
either  sex  who  could  not,  a  daily  distribution  was  made  of 
food  ready  dressed.  These  two  modes  of  relief  were  con- 
tinued a  long  time  :  the  latter  went  by  the  name  of  Olla pu- 
blico, or  the  Public  put.  The  directors  themselves  attended 
everyday  to  the  distribution  to  the  people,  who  came  up  in  a 
line  with  great  order  and  quiet.  To  each  was  given  a  large 
bason  of  thick  rice  or  vermicelli  soap,  with  ci  bbage,  pease,  a 
bit  of  the  lights  of  beef  or  mutton,  and  a  slice  of  pork  or 
mutton.  It  was  not  «;i-\  to  eat  this  portion  at  "one  meal. 
rtain  number  of  similar  portions  were  likewise  sent  to 
the  prisons  and  to  the  asylum.  From  the  commencement  oi 
this  charity  in  March  1799  t<s  1801,  3,83^,746"  portions  were 
touted,  making  about  336o  portions  daily.  The  weekly 
•onsumptiou  was  usually  as  follow 


40  CATALONIA, 

Vermicelli,  which  was  always    furnished   gratis   by    thr 

makers  of  it    . )  cwt. 

Rice »* from  30  to  32  do. 

Fease , 32  to  35  do. 

Cabbage*,  exclusive    of  those  sent   m 

charity 6~0  to  80  doz. 

Beef  and   Mutton  Lights _. 1200  cwt. 

Fork    18    do. 

Mutton |8    do. 

Salt 4   do. 

Wood    H2    do. 

This  philanthropic  establishment  was  long  kept  up,  and  u 
not  yet  entirely  extinct.  At  the  same  time,  the  societies  of 
mechanics  joined  to  give  assistance  likewise  to  such  of  their 
own  business  as  had  fallen  into  indigence.  The  goldsmiths 
lor  near  three  years  fed  a  great  number  of  unfortunate  people, 
and  the  quantity  of  rations  furnished  by  them  alone  amount- 
ed to  upwards  of  36,000. 

Commerce.  Barcelona  is  the  centre  of  the  commerce  of 
all  Catalonia  :  in  this  city  reside  the  principal  merchants  of 
the  country,  and  hither  flock  the  foreign  merchants  ;  here 
are  made  the  great  speculations  which  extend  to  and  include 
the  trade  of  the  other  ports  of  the  province  ;  and  here  too  is 
received  a  great  part  of  the  immense  coinage  which  Spanish 
America  sends  every  year  into  Spain. 

The  productions  of  the  earth  of  a  «reat  part  of  Catalonia 
form  a  no  less  interesting  branch  of  the  commerce  of  this 
town  :  the  harbour  is  always  full  of  ships  ;  a  thousand  are 
computed  to  enter  every  year,  of  all  bulks  and  of  every  na- 
tion. Nearly  a  like  number  of  Spanish  clear  for  Holland, 
France,  England,  Italy,  the  North  of  Europe,  and  America. 
Barcelona  exports  silver,  gold,  and  plain  stuffs  ;  silk  stockings 
middling  cloths,  printed  callicoes,  striped  and  flowered  cot- 
tons, cottons  of  every  kind,  stained  and  plain  papers,  fire- 
arms, laces,    shoes,    vines,   and  brandies.     It  imports  silks 


CATALOXJA.  47 

from  Lyon  and  Nismes,  silk  stockings  from  Nismes  and  Ganges, 
cloths  from  Elbeuf  and  Sedan,  jewellery  from  Paris,  iron  ware 
from  Forez,  millinery  from  France,  cotton  goods  and  stock- 
fish from  England.  The  amount  of  the  trade  outward  and 
inward  is  computed  at  upwards  of  1,750,0001.  sterling. 

The  cotton  cloths  and  stuffs  alone  manufactured  at  Bar- 
celona, exclusive  of  a  great  quantity  of  printed  callicoes, 
yield  an  annual  produce  of  442,510  1.  8s.  4d.  sterling.  About 
one-twelfth  is  consumed  in  the  province  ;  two-twelfths  go  to 
the  other  provinces  of  Spain  :  two-thirds  of  it  are  sent  to  the 
Spanish  colonies.  The  exports  from  the  province,  therefore, 
amount  to  about  36  millions  of  reals,  or  375,000  1.  sterling. 

The  trade  in  shoes  is  considerable  ;  700,000  pair  are  an- 
nually exported,  the*  trade-price  of  which  was  two  shillings 
and  a  penny  the  pair.  Since  the  war  the  price  is  increased. 
The  Catalonians  carry  their  industry  so  far  as  to  turn  the 
very  filth  and  sweepings  of  their  houses  to  profit,  which  they 
collect  and  sell  to  manure  the  lands.  It  is  said  that  the 
quantity  yearly  sent  out  of  Barcelona  brings  in  a  sum  of 
6S75  1.  sterling.  From  the  great  trade  of  this  town  several 
courts  have  been  established  for  its  protection,  and  foreign 
nations  send  consuls  to  reside  here. 

The  arts  arc  cultivated  at  Barcelona,  but  chiefly  those  con- 
nected with  manufactures.  At  the  expence  of  the  commer- 
cial interest  of  this  town  two  public  free  schools  have  been 
established,  from  which  great  advantages  are  already  derived. 
One  is  a  school  for  navigation,  and  the  other  a  school  lor 
drawing,  where  every  one  that  desires  it  is  admitted  :  there- 
are  a  great  many  masters  in  the  different  branches.  This  es- 
tablishment has  been  very  successful  under  the  direction  of 
Don  Pedro  Moles,  and  ha^  lunicd  out  some  very  good  pupils. 

Barcelona  has  produced  few  painter',  sculptors,  or  archi- 
tects ;  it  owes  its  celebrity  and  prosperity  to  its  manufactures, 
and  the  flourishing  industry  of  the  merchants.  There  in  a 
kind  of  panning,  however,  in  which  tin:  lia  re  lonians  succeed 
v< ry  w.  il,  tiiittn  ïVc;co,  with  which  the  houses  are  covered. 

5 


4R  CATALONIA. 

Manufacturée.  The  manufactures  of  Barcelona  were  very 
considerable.  So  early  as  the  13th  century  the  inhabitant» 
manufactured  a  quantity  of  woollens,  silks,  linens,  hempen 
cloths,  and  cottons,  which  supported  themselves  till  the  end 
of  the  IfJth  century.  They  revived  in  the  middle  of  the  18th, 
and  are  at  present  in  a  very  flourishing  state,  and  are  more 
numerous  and  various  than  ever.  They  consist  principally 
of  printed  callicoes,  silks,  silk  stockings,  ribbons,  and  silk 
galloon.  There  are  214  manufactories  of  printed  cottons, 
524  looms  of  silk  stuffs,  and  2700  of  ribbons  and  silk 
galloon. 

The  printed  callicoes  are  in  general  rather  coarse, but  there 
are  some  tolerably  handsome  :  the  designs  have  been  much 
improved  lately,  and  more  taste  has  been  displayed  in  them, 
but  the  colours  rarely  stand. 

The  s-ilk  works  consist  of  taffetas,  twilled  and  common  silks, 
satins,  velvets  of  every  kind  and  colour  ;  these  are  mixed 
with  gold  and  silver  :  gold  cloths  and  brocades  are  also  made 
there.  The  manufactures  are  not  carried  on  by  manu- 
facturing companies,  but  dispersed  among  the  workmen 
themselves,  by  which  perhaps  the  qualities  may  income  de- 
gree be  injured.  It  is  remarked  that  the  stuffs  would  be 
better  if  they  were  closer,  for  their  texture  is  commonly 
loose  :  they  are  also  diffèrent  in  the  gloss,  which  is  seldom  fine, 
and  is  never  equal  to  that  in  the  manufactures  of  France. 
Another  fault  in  all  these  stuffs  is  the  silk  being  badly  pre- 
pared, which  leaves  it  almost  always  shaggy  :  the  cause  of 
this  is  the  silk  being  spun  Or  twisted  in  an  uneven  manner. 
The  same  unpleasant  effect  is  observed  in  the  silk  stockings; 
taey  cannot  be  fine,  their  stitches  being  uneven,  and  often 
large  and  shaggy  :  they  do  not  last  long,  and  are  as  dear  as 
the  French  stockings  after  the  duty  on  their  entrance  into 
Spain  ha>  been  paid. 

At  Barcelona,  laces,  blonds,  net-work  and  tapes,  employ 
about  twelve  thousand  persons  ;  galloons,  laas,  and  gold 
and  silver   fringes  are    likewise  made  here  ;    but  these  are 


CATALOXIA.  49 

of  no  great  importance.  Silk,  gold,  and  silver  embroideries 
are  very  common,  and  the  embroiderers  are  so  numerous,  thai 
they  are  to  be  found  in  every  street. 

Among  the  manufactures  of  all  sorts  of  woollen,  there  are 
some  of  blankets,  which  are  neither  fine  nor  handsome,  but  of 
a  good  qualitj'.  For  several  years  past  some  manufactories 
of  hats  have  been  established,  and  two  manufactories  of  stain- 
id  paper  to  ornament  chambers;  the  finest  designs  of  the 
manufactures  of  France  are  imitated  in  them.  A  manufactory 
of  cotton  stuffs  has  kcu  setup;  it  belongs  to  a  Swiss  :  here  they 
make  flannels,  swansdown,  dimities,  cloths,  and  blankets;  and 
stuffs  of  cotton  and  silk  mixed,  plain,  striped,  and  of  se- 
veral colours,  fur  clothes.  This  undertaking  has  been  re? 
markably  successful:  the  stuffs  are  good  and  pleasant,  and  of 
a  moderate  price.  Several  manufactures  of  cotton  have  been 
set  up  in  imitation  of  it.  Formerly  printed  callicoes  were 
stamped  on  cotton  which  came  from  abroad  ;  which  consi- 
derably raised  the  price  of  them  ;  but  a  new  species  of  in- 
dustry has  been  introduced,  which  is  become  very  advanta- 
geous, this  is  called  cotton-spinning,  which  since  1790 
has  made  «0  rapid  a  progress,  that  there  are  already  a  hundred 
workshops  engaged  in  tliis  branch  ;  considerable  advantages 
r-  ;ilt  from  it,  such  as  that  of  making  muslins,  nankins,  and 
velvets.  For  cottons  they  reckon  about  4000  looms,  which 
employ  10,700  persons*  The  following  table  will  serve  to 
show  the  importance  and  value  of  this  branch  of  national 
industry. 


V  or.  i 


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o 

CATALONIA.  51 

Shoe-making  constitutes  a  new  branch  of  industry  at 
Barcelona.  There  is  a  great  number  of  shoe-makers  ;  they 
work  incessantly  to  furnish  a  great  part  of  Spain,  India,  and 
Spanish  America:  the  whole  amount  of  shoes  exported  are 
700,000  pairs  a  year. 

Lastly,  two  new  manufactories  have  been  established,  one 
for  gauzes  like  blond  lace,  and  the  other  for  glass  :  this  fur- 
nishes square  glasses  of  all  sizes,  even  of  three  feet  four 
inches  long,  by  three  feet  wide.  The  Barcelonians  have  not 
much  invention  in  their  manufactures,  but  they  easily 
imitate  the  works  of  other  people. 

C:  trader  and  Manners.  The  character  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  town  is  the  same  as  that  of  all  Catalonia,  of  which  we 
shall  hereafter  speak  ;  however,  it  is  more  softened  by  the 
commercial  connections  which  are  produced  by  the  strangers 
that  frequent  il,  yet  it  retains  a  kind  of  asperity  natural  to 
the  Cataloniuns.  The  people  are  not  mischievous  ;  they  cry 
out,  threaten  much,  and  rarely  strike.  On  all  remarkable 
occasions,  an  immense  crowd  assemble  day  or  night,  whether 
for  processions  or  pubhe  feasts  ;  but  disputes  very  seldom  hap- 
pen. In  spite  of  the  roughness  in  the  character  of  the  Ca- 
talonians,  in  spite  of  the  concourse  of  strangers,  the  streets 
of  Barcelona  are  safe  in  the  night-time  ;  they  are  guarded 
by  patroles  in  every  quarter.  The  Serenos,  who  are  the  same 
as  watchmen  in  Germany  and  England,  contribute  to  the 
public  safety.  They  are  armed  with  swords  and  pikes,  and 
carry  a  lanthorn  ;  they  call  out  the  hour  and  the  slate  of  the 
weather.  We  ^hall  ^pe-ak  more  of  them  in  the  description  of 
Valencia,  where  this  establishment  began.  In  spite  of  the 
.net  of  Barcelona,  the  Wealth  is  divided  in  such  a  mari- 
ner as  to  render  it  lcs<  apparent,  an  1  the  ta  ..e  for  economy,  na- 
tural to  tin-  Çatiloi  eps  it  shut  up,  and  as  it  were  m  a 
manner  in  km  w.i.  Tue  p  ople  live  easily  herr,  but  n<  t  at 
Their  ease,  and  they    become  very    p»  or  whei  e  «r  Spun 

a  marit  me  war  :   ou  tbe.contrary,  th;y  gro"'  r'cbi 
E  (2 


CATALONIA. 

when  there  u  a  war  with  Trance,  by  the  rmmeasti  suttu 
that  the  armies  spend  and  Leave  in  the  country. 

The  merchants  and  tradesmen  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes,  the  one  very  opulent,  and  the  other  barely  <^t  their 
case.  The  nobility,  some  families  excepted,  were  not  very 
rich  ;  but  tor  twenty  vcars  past  their  incomes  have  increased 
prodigiously  :  the  produce  of  the  funds  have  almost  trebled  : 
since  the  last  war  rapid  fortunes  have  been  made,  and  the 
nobility  have  participated  in  this  increase  of  wealth. 

The  ladies  of  every  condition,  from  the  nobility  to  the  high- 
er trades-people,  wear  the  Spanish  dress  only  when  they  go  to 
church  or  walk  in  the  town  ;  but  at  home,  in  company,  at  half?, 
and  plays,  they  dress  themselves  according  to  the  French 
fashion,  which  they  follow  very  minutely;  and  most  of  their 
apparel  comes  from  France.  The  neatness  of  the  foot  is 
important  object  in  the  dress  of  the  women  :  silk  stockings  are 
very  common  in  every  class  ;  and  their  shoes  are  embroi- 
dered with  silk,  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and  spangles. 

No  great  round  hats,  no  cropped  beads  without  powder, 
are  to  be  seen  in  the  town,  among  the  Catalonians,  as  in 
almost  all  the  rest  of  Spain.  The  mechanic  is  always  well 
>sed  j  even  the  common  workmen  are  frequently  frizzed 
and  powdered  in  their  own  shop.  The  nobility  distinguish 
themselves  on  great  days  by  a  richness  in  thoir  clothes  ;  thr  y 
are  made  of  superb  embroideries,  velvets  mixed  with  gold 
and  silver,  and  tissues  entirely  of  gold  or  silver. 

Amusements  and  Society.  At  Barcelona  every  thing  breathes 
the  taste  for  luxury  and  pleasure  :  the  inhabitants  are  pas- 
sionately fond  of  plays,  and  every  class  delights  in  dan- 
cing. There  were  formerly  public  dances  during  the 
Carnival  in  the  play-house,  called  Piécettes,  from  the  name 
of  the  coin  which  is  paid  for  entrance  ;  these  balls  were 
prohibited  about  the  year  1778,  and  the  suppression  of 
them  has  never  ceased  to  be  a  cause  of  the  greatest  regret. 
Bat,  as  lias  been  said,  the  king  in  \79&  permitted  the  renewal 

6 


CATAI.OXÎ.v.  53 

of  public  .balls.     The  passion  for  dancing  then  revived  with 

all  it?  ardour;  the  inhabitants  crowded  to  these- balls;  the 
trades-people  shewed  such  eagerness,  that  some  were  seen 
there  whose  earnings  were  not  enough  for  the  subsistence  of 
their  families.  Many  women  have  been  even  known  to  sell 
their  furniture  to  defray  the  expences  of  this  amusement. 

There  were  likewise  brilliant  masquerades  during  the  Car- 
nival. High  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  disguised  themselves 
under  various  forms  :  they  assumed  the  dress  of  every  nation  ; 
dresses  in  character  increased  every  year  ;  there  was  a  dis- 
play of  studied  taste,  and  frequently  of  magnificence.  Thé 
lîrimbla  was  the  principal  rendezvous  of  the  masks,  the  win- 
dows were  fdled  with  ladies,  well  dressed;  the  whole  was  a 
beautiful  sight.  The  Barcelonians  have  been  deprived  of  this  - 
enjoyment  by  the  government.  They  still  speak  with  enthu- 
siasm of  that  happy  time  ;  the  remembrance  and  regret  of 
which  appear  to  be  indelible. 

The  inhabitants  seldom  associate,  and  their  meetings  are 
rarely  gay.  The  nobility  formerly  met  every  night,  some- 
times at  one  house,  sometimes  at  another  ;  their  parties  were 
always  very  numerous,  at  times  amounting  to  two  hundred 
persons.  For  some  years  past  they  have  become  very  un- 
common, and  the  nobility  live  alone. 

There  is  a  play  every  night  ;  the  representation  is  alter- 
nate]}' a  Spanish  comedy  and  an  Italian  opera  :  there  are 
0  Limes,  such  as  the  Carnival,  when  two  representations 
are  given  in  the  course  of  the  day;  first  at  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  then  at  eight  or  nine  iu  the  (veiling.  Tliv 
Barceloniam  are  very  fond  of  this  kmd  of  amusement  ;  and 
indeed  it  is  not  very  expensive,  though  the-  entrance  money 
•  d  snee  the  year  1800. 

The  Larcclonians  like  the  eoimtry,  and  spend  as  much  of 
the  summer  then    as  they  can.      There  is,  perhaps,   DO  town 

h  "pain,  or  perhaps  throughout  Europe,  which  has  so  manj 
country-bouses,  oj  all  sizes,  m  its  neighbourhood,    We  shall 
peak  more  at  large  of  tb<  ■  of  Barcelone 

L  J 


54  CATALONIA. 

Festivals  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Church.    The  festivals  of  the 
church  at  Barcelona  are  brilliant,  ami  always  accompanied 
with  grand  illuminations      Those  in  the  holy  week  are  the 
most   remarkable  :    some  chapels   are   decorated    in   every 
church  tor  grand  rtposoirs  or  oratories;  they  are  made  in  the 
form  of  a  separate  temple  ;  some  are  elegant,  others  majes- 
tic :  on  Holy  Thursday  and  Good  Friday  they  are  lighted  up 
with  white  wax  tapers,  which  burn  for  four-and-twenty  hours. 
In  the  parish  churches  this  illumination  is  continued  in  a  line 
round  the  nave.     The  cathedral  is  far  superior  in  this  respect 
to  all  the  other  edifices  :  a  large  oratory  occupies  the  whole 
bottom  ;   it  is  full  of  wax  tapers,  and  the  illumination  is  con- 
tinued in  two  rows  round  the  great  nave  and  the  choir;  there 
are  ahout  three  hundred  wax  tapers  burning.     There  is  no 
town,  after  that  of  Valencia,  where  there  are  so  many  proces- 
sions, and  where  they  are  so  much  liked  as  in  Barcelona. 
However,  none  of  those  superstitious  mummeries  are  capable  of 
distracting  the  attention  from  the  principal  object  which  ought 
to  fix  it.     There  are  three  processions  in  the  holy  week;  one 
on   Palm  Sunday,    the  other  on  Holy  Thursday,    and  the 
third   on  Good-Friday.     They  were  formerly  made  up  of 
flagellants,   penitents  tied  in  a  cross   to  iron    bars,  giant» 
in  armour,  and  other  personages  still  more  ridiculous  ;  but 
within  twenty  or  five-and-twenty  years  they  have  been  sup- 
pressed, and  the  processions,  in  consequence,  have  become 
more  respectable.  They  go  out  of  church  at  dusk,  and  return 
three  or  four  hours  after;  they  are  formed  of  individuals  of 
every  class  ;  some  are  in  black,  and  others  covered  with  a  sack 
of  long-tailed  penitents  ;   it  is  made  of  a  black   and  shining 
cloth,  open  before  above  the  waist,  and  kept  up  by  a  thick  white 
cord,  to  which  a  chaplet  issu>pended:  some  wear  on  their 
heads  a  sort  of  cowl,  which  ends  in  a  point  reversed  behind, 
and  falls  before  as  low  as  the  breast,  entirely  covering  the 
face,  and   having   only   two  openings  for  the   eyes;  others 
have  a  différent  sort  of  cowl,  the  points  of  which  are  about 
twenty-four  inches  above  the  head;  many  have  their  hea4s 


CATALONIA.  55 

uncovered,  antl  their  hair  frizzed  and  powdered  firming  upon 
their  ;  boulders.  The  noblemen  are  distinguished  by  a  great 
dagger  which  they  carry  at  their  waist;  they  are  followed  by 
several  servants  in  livery.  Most  of  them  wear  white  gloves, 
'  and  carry  white  wax  flambeaux  ;  they  walk  two  by  two  with 
a  great  deal  of  gravity,  and  at  a  great  distance  from  on? 
another,  so  as  to  leave  a  space  for  the  trailing  of  their  sack- 
tails,  which  are  about  five  feet  long.  There  are  about  six 
thousand  of  these  penitents.  Among  them  there  aie  some 
who  walk  alone  between  the  ranks,  and  at  the  distance  of 
twenty  paces  from  each  other  :  the  latter  go  barefoot  and 
have  their  cowls  reversed  ;  an  iron  chain  is  fastened  to  their 
waist,  and  dragging  after  them  on  the  pavement  :  some  carry 
on  their  left  shoulder  heavy  crosses,  and  others  hold  in  their 
hands  the  different  instruments  of  the  passion  of  our  Saviour. 
Then  come  a  company  of  soldiers,  clad  and  armed  like 
Ron. ans,  commanded  by  a  centurion  decorated  with  a  purple 
mantle,  and  carrying  another  mantle  of  the  same  colour, 
having  these  letters,  S.  P.  C-i.  R. 

About  thirty  litters,  which  differ  every  procession,  an.- 
distributed  at  a  distance  ;  each  is  carried  by  twelve 
men,  concealed  by  the  drapery  which  ornaments  these 
litters,  in  such  a  manner,  that  these  machines  appear  t<"  go 
on  of  themselves  ;  on  them  are  placed  the  representa- 
tions and  principal  events  of  the  life  and  passion  of  Our  Sa- 
viour. Most  of  the  figures  are  of  wood,  or  pasteboard,  but 
poorly  executed.  As  to  the  dresses,  they  are  appropriate  to 
the  personages  ;  these  litters  are  very  magnificently  orna- 
mented; they  are  covered  with  a  drapery,  which  fulls  all 
round  to  the  earth  ;  it  is  of  black  velvet  enriched  with  galoons, 
fringes,  embroideries,  and  gold  tassels,  of  the  greatest  ndi- 
Dets;  and  they  are  decorated  with  artificial  flowers,  and  bands 
of  embroidery  with  spangles  and  pearls.  I  ranee  had  formerly 
it,  brancard,  or  litter;  it  was  attended  in  the  procession  by  the 
ettled  at  Barcelona,  with  the  consul  and  vice-i  • 
i    I 


CATALONIA. 

ill  carrying  a  wax  candle  in  their  hands  ;  m  Inch  has  not 
been  repeated  since  the  year  1792.  This  retinue  takes  op- 
wards  of  two  hours  in  passing. 

The  consumption  of  wax  «luring  the  holy  week  is  inconeeiv- 
ahlc  ;  and  in  the  three  processions  there  are  burnt  nearly 
thirty  thousand  flambeaux  of  white  wax,  weighing  from  five 
to  six  pounds  each.  It  is  consequently  a  great  branch  of  in- 
dustry and  trade,  though  the  greater  part  of  this  wax  comes 
from  Africa. 

There  are  two  more  processions,  one  on  the  1.3th  of  June, 
for  the  festival  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua;  the  other  fer  the 
festival  of  the  Holy  Sacrament  ;   the  latter  is  very  long,  well 
ordered,  and  striking.     All  the  arts  and  trades  join  in  it, 
hearing  each  a  damask  standard.    The  religious  communities 
and  a  part  of  the  secular  clergy   of  all  the  parishes,   and 
of  the  cathedral  chapter  are  in   it;  most  of  them  in  cbapi  s 
and    chasubles,    every    one    holding   in    his   hand    a    taper 
of  white  wax.     Thirty-six  priests   come  next,  dressed  with 
the  richest  ornaments,  and  are  followed   Ly  twenty-four,  in 
tunes,  carrying  large  white  wax  flambeaux.     Young  children 
dressed  like  angels,  like  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  like  car- 
dinals, carry  incense  and  censers,  and  strew  the  streets  with 
flowers.    Iîands  of  music  are  distributed  at  certain  distances, 
A   detachment  of  grenadiers   surrounds   the  canopy.     The 
magistrates  and  others  follow  it.    The  procession  is  closed  by 
the  grenadier  company  of  the  Spanish  and  Walloon  guards  ; 
the  rest  of  the  troop-  arc  stationed  by  detachments  in   the 
Streets  and  .-qnares.     The  report  of  the  artillery  firing  on  the 
ramparts   mingles  with    the   ringing  of  bells,  the   beating  of 
drums,  and  the  flourishing  of  trumpets.* 

During  the  octave  of  this  festival,  processions  less  numerous 
go  from  different  churches;  whither  the  inhabitants  repair, 
or  scud   their  servants    with    flambeaux,    in   consequence  of 

*  D    was   formerly    pr.crded    by  giants   and   animals, 

■I  on  by  men  hid  in   their  bodies;  Lut  all  those  vere  suppressed 
yean  ago.     The  giants  a^ain  made  their  appearance  in  | 


CATALONIA.  57 

which  there  is  always  a  very  long  file  of  lights.  Oratories 
are  erected  in  different  places  in  the  streets  where  the  proces- 
sions pass,  and  great  pains  are  taken  to  decorate  them. 

It  is  certain,  lliat  the  ease  which  generally  reigns  in  Cata- 
lutiia,  contributes  greatly  to  render  these  people  fond  of 
amusements,  ceremonies,  and  all  that  tends  to  recreation  and 
a  relief  from  work;  they  have  several  days  m  the  year  on 
which  they  take  occasion  tu  rr.ake  a  noise  in  the  streets,  and 
to  enjoy  the  liberty  of  which  they  are  so  jealous.  This  prin- 
cipally takes  place  on  Holy  Saturday,  at  (he  moment  that  the 
"Gloria  in  excelsis  to  announce  the  resurrection  is  sung  in  the 
church  :  the  stroke  of  the  bed  which  proclaims  it  is  a  signai 
of  a  dreadful  hurly-burly,  made  by  all  the  workmen  in  their 
shops,  the  porters  in  the  streets,  and  the  towns-people  in  their 
houses  ;  nothing  is  heard  but  shouting  and  the  firing  of  gun.-. 
Another  circumstance  not  less  turbulent  takes  place  on  the 
day  of  Mid-Lent  :  boys  of  ten,  twelve,  and  fourteen  years 
old,  in  bands  of  thirty  or  forty  together,  run  through  the 
streets,  some  armed  with  sjw-  in  their  hand»,  others  carry- 
ing logs  ai.tl  faggots,  and  others  again  baskets  to  receive  the 
presenis  made  to  them.  They  run  through  the  sfcre»  1-  sing- 
ing a  so  :g,  which,  in  the  language  of  the  country,  expn 
that  they  are  in  search  of  an  old  woman  in  the  town,  to  raw 
her  body  in  two,  in  honour  of  Mid-Lent.  They  stop  from 
time  to  time,  particularly  before  the  BhopS,  roaring  tfaen 
..  They  have  now  found  the  old  woman;  and  at  that 
moment  seme  oi  them  holding  the  saw  on  both  sides,  put 
tin  i.        •  de  of  sawing,  and  mimic  the  motion. 

in- v  meet  with  a  different  reception  m  the  different  pi 
in  which  the}  re  Banned  with  their  play,  and 

them  money,  bread,  wine,  ej_g*,  and  wood,  which  is 
supposed  t<»  b  d  i..  burn  the  o'd  woman,  after  taw- 

ing her  m  two;  othen  arc  angry  :it  the  noise  they  make, 
turn  them  away  n  glily,  and  often  throw  a  kittle  fall  of 
wat<  r  o\<  r  them  ;  th<     I       k  the  forax  r  i>     i  in  ii 

-,  and  ;•.'  vi  th  hlssaa  and  thoutifl 


oS  CATALONIA. 

Climate  of  Barcelona.  The  climate  of  Rarcclona  lias  bui: 
ninth  extolled;  and,  perhaps,  formerly  with  cause;  the 
inhabitants  allow  that  it  is  altered  of  late  years.  There  is  a 
searching  moisture  in  the  air,  and  the  east  winds  are  \ery 
privaient.  The  south-east  and  south-west  winds  are  likewise 
much  felt,  communicating  to  that  moisture  a  degree  of  heat 
which  renders  it  more  unwholesome.  Those  wind.-,  are  often 
very  violent  here.  The  north  winds  rarely  blow,  and  those 
are  the  most  necessary  for  purifying  the  atmosphere,  con- 
densing the  air,  and  preventing  the  effects  of  a  moist  heat. 
Kain,  it  is  said,  was  formerly  uncommon;  at  present  it  is 
very  frequent  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  The  climate  is 
uncertain  ;  the  four  seasons  are  frequently  experienced  here 
in  one  day,  and  the  change  is  wonderfully  sudden. 

The  winters  are  tolerably  mild;  in  some  years  Reaumur's 
thermometer  does  not  fall  helow  the  sixth  or  seventh  degree  ; 
there  are  times,  however,  when  it  falls  to  the  fourth  or  fifth, 
below  the  freezing  point  :  it  is  ascertained  that  formerly  it 
never  snowed  here  ;  lately,  however,  it  has  snowed  almost 
every  year  ;  but  the  snow  does  not  last  long.  The  cold  here  is 
rarely  of  a  dry  nature  ;  the  humidity,  almost  constantly  pre- 
vailing in  the  atmosphere,  makes  it  more  penetrating  and 
more  disagreeable  ;  there  are  even  some  years  when  the 
rains  are  almost  incessant.  The  spring  is  seldom  fine  ;  it  is 
almost  a  continued  succession  of  wind,  rain,  heat  and  cold  ; 
it  is  the  worst  season  of  the  year.  The  summers  are  warm; 
but  the  great  heats  do  not  last  more  than  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  days  ;  they  are  moderated  by  the  east  winds, 
which  cool  the  air  to  such  a  degree,  as  to  make  a  sudden 
*  bange  from  heat  to  cold.  The  autumn  was  always  the 
finest  season  of  the  year  ;  the  sky  was  serene,  and  the  atmo- 
sphere calm  ;  but  for  some  years  it  has  become  stormy  and 
rainy. 

The  air  is  always  moist  at  Barcelona  ;  which  is  probably 
owing  tu  its  being  near  ^ie  sea,  and  to  the  frequency  of  the 
east  winds.     The  shape  of  the  basin  in  which  this  town  is 


CATALONIA.  5$ 

situated  may  also  contribute  to  it  :  it  is  open  on  the  east, 
north-east,  and  south-east  to  the  sea  ;  on  the  north  and 
south-east  it  has  the  river  Bezos,  and  to  the  south  the  Llobre- 
gat  ;  on  the  north  and  north-east  it  is  shut  up  by  little  moun- 
tains. The  east  wind,  which  frequently  blows,  is  stopped  by 
these  mountain-;,  and  beat  back  into  the  basin,  where  it  de- 
posits the  watry  particles  with  which  it  is  charged;  and 
there  also  the  moisture  arising  from  the  river  is  retained. 
The  humidity  is  very  perceptible  in  winter  and  spring  ;  in 
summer  the  heat  of  the  day  counteract»  it;  but  as  soon  as 
the  sun  sets  it  becomes  very  piercing,  and  leave»  a  hot  and 
disagreeable  sensation  on  the  skin.  The  state  of  the  atmo- 
sphere has  a  great  effect  upon  the  health,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Barcelona  are  affected  with  the  moisture  of  the  air  ;  for  there 
is  a  tendency  to  scurvy  in  the  town.  Inflammatory  diseases 
and  catarrhal  fevers  are  common  enough,  produced  by  frequent 
changes  in  tile  atmosphere  ;  bilious  fevers  prevail  in  summer, 
and  are  inflammatory.  Diseases,  however,  are  not  very  com- 
mon ;  epidemic  disorders  are  very  rare,  and  the  inhabitants 
are  generally  healthy  enough.  It  is  said  that  apoplexies 
are  frequent  ;  but,  on  an  exact  calculation,  not  more  so 
here  than  in  other  towns  of  equal  population  :  the  Academy 
of  Medicine  has  endeavoured  to  investigate  the  causes  of 
this  pretended  frequency,  but  the  result  has  not  yet  been 
satisfactory. 

//j/i?.  Barcelona  has  several  principal  inns,  the  Golden  Foun- 
tain, the  Arms  of  France,  the  Four  Nations,  and  the  Fonda*; 
formerly  travellers  found  good  rooms  and  beds,  and  were  u<  .1 
provided  for  two  pieectten  or  i'Od.  each  meal,  or  four  pica 
the  day  ;  the  prices  bare  been  increased  since  the  war  to 
three  pjccetteê  a  meal  find  five  piécettes  a  day.  The  two 
first  of  these  inns  an  jn  y  fallen  off  and  are- at  present 
very   iodiflbrent.     There  are  several  other  inns  called  I><  cos, 

t   ,\  ,    i«  UOI,   with  tlt«  name  of '. 


00  CATALONIA. 

îvlierc  you  pay  only  for  what  you  cat,  anil  some  of  them  are 
not  bad. 

Provisions  are  dear  at  Barcelona,  beef  is  usually  sold  for 
six  sol*  six  deniers  Catalonian  money,  or  eight  pence  half- 
penny English  for  six-and-thirty  ounces  ;  veal  eigbt  sols,  or 
ten  pence  three  farthings  ;  mutton  nine  sols  nine  deniers,  or 
two  shillings  and  two  pence  half-pénny;  fish  for  two  anda  half 
or  three  piécettes,  or  two  shillings  one  penny  ;  pork  dripping 
for  four  piécettes  and  a  half,  or  twenty  pence  ;  lard  three  piécet- 
tes, or  two  shillings  and  six  pence  ;  brown  bread  five  quartos, 
or  about  three  half-pence  the  pound  of  fourteen  ounces  ;  coal* 
twenty-pence  the  hundred  weight  ;  green  oak  or  olive 
wood,  two  shillings  and  a  half-penny  the  cwt  ;  bad  wood  half 
a  crown  for  a  small  load  ;  a  common  fowl  fifteen  pence  ;  and  a 
fat  pullet  two  shillings,  or  half-a-crown  ;  turkeys  three  shil- 
lings, or  three  and  six  pence  each  ;  they  have  been  sold  as 
high  as  twelve  shillings  and  six-pence  ;  and  lambs  as  high 
as  thirteen,  fifteen,  and  seventeen  shillings.  The  prices  have 
risen  since  the  present  war  with  England,  and  would  be  still 
higher,  should  there  be  an  augmentation  of  the  troops  for 
the  "-arrison  of  this  town  audits  neighbourhood. 

I  shall  conclude  this  account  of  Barcelona  with  a  sketch  of 
the  different  sieges  it  has  sustained,  almost  all  of  which  have 
been  signalized  by  acts  of  intrepidity  and  of  heroism. 

When  it  wa>  in  the  possession  of  the  Moors,  it  made  an  ob- 
stinate resistance  in  802,  against  the  generals  of  Louis,  king 
of  Aquitania  ;  and  held  out  against  them  for  seventeen  months: 
during  the  last  six  weeks  it  sustained  continual  assaults;  the 
buildings  were  destroyed,  the  walls  demolished,  and  one  half 
of  the  inhabitants  were  killed  or  perished  with  famine;  notwith- 
ding  which  it  held  out  :  it  was  however  at  length  taken, 
aud  the  Moors  driven  out  ;  it  was  then  peopled  by  French. 

It  was  besieged  in  5)^5  by  the  Moors,  and  carried  in  six 
days,  after  a  victory  obtained  by  the  troops  of  Almanzor,  king 
of  Cordova,  over  the  Ca\alonians  :  it  was  set  on  fire,  and 
almost  all  the  inhabitants  were  carried  away  into  slavery  ;  but 


CATALONIA.  Cl 

the  count  Borel  retook  it  some  time  after,  and  secured  him- 
self in  the  possession. 

Barcelona  in  the  l.'jth  century,  was  the  hot-bed  of  the  Ca- 
talonian  rebellion  agaiiwt  John  the  second,  king  of  Aragon, 
its  sovereign  ;  it  sustained  a  siege  against  its  kino-,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  raise  it  in  1462  ;  it  made  a  similar  resistance 
against  him  in  1172;  but  being  besieged  by  a  superior 
force,  it  fell  on  the  17th  of  October  in  the  same  year,  after  a 
siege  of  six  months. 

Engaging  again,  in  1610,  in  a  new  rebellion»  it  held  out 
for  twelve  years  against  all  the  efforts  of  its  king,  Philip  the 
fourth  ;  but  was  at  last  taken  in  ]65Z,  after  a  blockade  and 
siege  of  ten  months. 

It  again  resisted  Charles  the  second  in  iGSp  ;  but  was 
subdued  by  force  of  arms. 

In  l6f)7,  it  was  taken  by  the  French  army,  under  the 
command  of  the  Duke  de  Vendôme.  Its  inhabitants  were 
armed  ;  they  were  supported  by  a  garrison  of  1 '2,000  men, 
and  defended  by  the  Prince  of  Darmstadt  ;  a  superior 
army  came  to  their  assistance,  under  the  command  of  Don 
Francisco  Yelasco,  which  army  was  beaten,  and  the  town 
compelled  to  capitulate  fifty  days  after  the  trenches  wcv< 
opened. 

In  170<>  it  dared  to  defy  Philip  the  lifth,  its  sovereign. 
This  prince  besieged  it  in  person  ;  but  the  approach  <'i 
an  English  fleet  obliged  him  to  raise  the  siege. 

The  king  whom  this  town  had  chosen  had  deserted  it  ;  the 
neighbouring  provinces  had  resumed  their  allegiance  to 
Philip  the  fifth;  the  other  towns  of  Catalonia  bad  submit- 
ted, ami  tin-  spirit  of  the  Cataloniaos  was  broken,  yet  Barce« 
|i>n:i  persisted  in  its  rebellion;  it  dared  to  Mi-tam  a  siege  in 

171^    and    17  11,  against   the    muled   forces   «1    France    and 

n.    This  sie  1  will  never  be  forgotten  :  efTorts  of  com- 
feats  of  in  roism  worthy  of  tin-  finest  ages  of  Home,  were  b<  n 
displayed*     The    inhabitants,    h-ù  i>>    themselves,   without 
troop-,  without  a  gavrisonj  dared  to  brave  huge  and  warlike 


6'2  CATALONIA. 

armies,  commanded  by  celebrated  generals  ;  they  feared 
neither  hunger,  nor  misfbrtare,  nor  death. 

Exploits  of  the  mo>t  heroic  nature  were  performed  by  com- 
mon tradesmen  ;  the  students  <>f  the  university  formed  in 
battalions  which  were  loiiç  invincible  ;  priests  and  monks, 
with  a  sword  in  one  hand,  and  the  «Tueilix  in  the  other,  went 
from  rank  to  rank,  animated  the  soldiers,  confirmed  their 
courage,  and  excited  them  to  slaughter  in  the  name  of  the 
God  whose  image  they  carried;  capuchins  were  seen  with 
their  robes  tucked  up,  their  beards  tied  with  ribbons,  blessing, 
loading1,  presenting,  and  firing  the  cannon;  women,  more 
inveterate  still,  prepared  what  was  necessary  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  place,  ran  on  tin-  beach,  mixed  themselves  with 
the  combatant-,  striking  as  good  blows  as  ihe  soldiers, 
amidst  whom  they  fought. 

Nothing  could  reduce  them  ;  in  their  very  losses  they  found 
new  motives  of  courage  and  perseverance.  Berwick  re- 
doubled his  efforts,  he  carried  the  bastion  of  -Saint-Clair  *  ; 
which  was  bathed  with  the  blood  cf  the  French  nobility  ; 
the  besieged  returned  to  the  charge  and  again  made  them- 
selves master  of  it.  Again  repulsed,  they  beheld  their  ram- 
parts demolished  by  cannon-balls  ;  but  incapable  of  yielding 
rror,  they  evinced  upon  the  beach  the  same  courage  which 
they  had  shown  behind  their  walls.  Forced  at  la.^t,  yielding  to 
r  ambers,  tl  i -y  retreated  in  good  order  into  the  town  where 
they  found  a  new  theatre  for  their  courage  :  the  streets  be- 
came the  fields  of  battle  ;  there  battle  after  battle  was  fought. 
When  beaten,  they  fell  back,  but  enly  to  return  to  a  new 
charge.  Berwick  offered  them  their  lives,  but  still  they 
would  not  surrender.  The  night  concealed  feats  of  heroism, 
which  antiqttity would  have  celebrated;  it  concealed  ex- 
ploit which,  would  have  done  honour  to  the  town  that  was 
toe  theatre  of  them,  had  they  not  been  tarnished  by  the 
^s  which  directed  them. 

•  It  was  in  the  plain  now  ocrup'el  by  the  citadel. 


CATALOXIA.  63 

Daylight  appeared,  and  showed  the  horrors  which  the 
night  had  enveloped  in  darkness.  Blood  every  where  ran 
in  streams;  the  streets  were  heaped  with  dead,  and  yet  tbe 
Barcelonians  continued  to  fight.  The  women,  from  the 
tops  of  the  houses  threw  down  upon  their  assailants  showers  of 
stones,  beams  and  burning  brands.  Berwick  again  offered 
them  their  lives  ;  he  was  not  attended  to  ;  they  were  still 
determined  to  fight.  He  then  ordered  the  houses  to  be  set 
on  fire  ;  the  flames  ascended  into  the  air,  and  the  Barce- 
lonians yielded,  and  surrendered;*  but  they  retained  their 
hatred  and  their  pride.  They  saw  their  standards  burnt  by 
the  executioner  ;  they  lost  their  privileges,  and  were  punish- 
ed for  their  rebellion;  their  rage  became  impotent,  but  re- 
mained not  the  less  in  the  hearts  of  the  rebels,  where  it  wa« 
too  deeply  engraven. 

Thus  fell  this  proud  and  powerful  town,  which  had  so 
often  dared  to  raise  iis  haughty  and  menacing  head  against 
its  princes;  which  had  dared  to  struggle  against  the  two  first 
monarchs  of  Europe,  and  long  withstood  their  power.  It  fell  ; 
but,  subject  to  new  lav\s,  and  submitting  to  the  tranquil  do- 
minion of  its  lawful  masters,  it  soon  recovered  a  new  lustre, 
and  again  became  a  town  equally  rich  and  powerful. 


EXCURSIONS  TX  THE  ENVIRONS  OF  BARCELONA. 

CitaJtl.  The  town  is  defended  by  a  citadel,  situated  at  the 
(  xtremity  of  it  to  the  north-east.  It  was  built  by  the  or- 
der of  Philip  V,  after  he  hud  reduced  the  Catalonians  to 
obedience.  This  citadel  occupies  a  tolerably  large  extent,  on 
a  place  which  formed  a  part  of  the  town,  and  which  Contained 
six  hundred  houses,  three  convent*,  and  one  parish  church. 
There  are  good  ramparts  of  overs  i  ..."  with  moats.  It  has 
a  ttaff,  cotnpoi  rnor,  a  king's  lieutenant,  a  major 

*   On  *hc  23th  BeptCfl  b     (  t,  1*714. 


64»  CATAI.OX  i.\. 

and  aid-major,  and  a  battalion  of  infantry,  which  is  i ï s  <  01 
mon  garrison.     This  citadel  serv<  -  neither  to  awe  nor  defend 
the  town,  being  too  little  elevated  to  command  the  interior  of 
it  ;  it  only  commands  the  houses  near  the  north  uate,  and  is 
at  the  same  time  commanded  by  Mont-Jmnj, which   is  al 
crush  it  ;  it  is  equally  too  low  on  the  side  towards  the  country , 
and  its  distance  does  not   permit  it  to  protect  the  town  i  • 
C<  pi  a  very  small  part  of  it. 

The  Port  of  Barcelona  is  situated  below  the  citadel,  be- 
tween the  town  and  Harcelonetta,  and  at  the  cast  end  ;*it  has 
an  anchorage  beJow  the  sea-wall,  which  extends  as  far  as 
il l ont  -Jo  in/.  Both  of  them  wen:  at  the  beginning  of  the  Hit  h 
century  an  open  coast,  which  however  had  more  water  than 
they  have  now.  The  ancient  port  was  on  the  other  side  of  AI 
Jouy  and  behind  this  mountain,  which  separated  it  from  the 
town.  It  is  formed  and  sheltered  by  a  mole,  which  was  built 
in  1477  by  S/ucio,  an  engineer  of  Alexandria  ;  but  this  port 
was  choaked  up  and  the  mole  destroyed  by  storms  in  th< 
lbth  century. 

The  present  port  is  nothing  more  than  a  great  bason  form- 
ed by  piers,  kept  up  by  solid  quays,  and  on  the  whole  of  one 
side  by  the  ramparts  of  the  town.  When  it  was  an  open 
shore  the  depth  was  considerable,  but  since  it  has  been  nt- 
closed  in  the  form  of  a  bason,  the  sand  which  goes  into  it  re- 
mains there,  and,  there  being  no  issue,  forms  into  banks,  and 
is  thus  filling  it  up  by  degrees.  The  depth  is  daily  insensibly 
decreasing,  in  spite  of  the  labour  of  the  men  employed  to 
clear  it  out.  Large  stups  cannot  enter,  and  frigates  can  only 
approach  at  the  distance  of  half  a  league. 

The  entrance  to  this  port  is  difficult,  and  even  sometimes 
danr/rous,  being  shut  in  by  a  bar,  Which  is  frequently  very 
high,  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Bezos  and  Llobregat  ; 
these  two  rivers  fall  into  the  sea,  the  former  behind  the  citadel 
and  the  latter  behind  Mont-Jouy  ;  this  course  brings  them 
towards  one  another,  and  a  quantity  of  sand  is  thrown  into 
the  harbour  by  their  meeting.     There  was  an  idea  of  throw- 


CATALONIA.  OS 

iog  their  embouchures  further  off,  and  giving:  them  another 
direction  ;  this  plan  however  was  abandoned.  There  was  also- 
formed  a  project  for  removing  the  port  to  the  south-east 
part  of  the  to«n,  that  is  between  Mont-Jouy  and  the  ram- 
parts ;  it  would  have  been  very  large  and  might  l>e  continued 
within  the  walls.  This  project  was  never  put  into  exe- 
cution. Within  a  few  years,  the  project  of  brigadier-general 
Smith's  has  been  added,  which  is  confined  to  continuing 
the  pier  much  farther  on,  and  by  that  means  to  procure  an 
inclosure  in  which  the  vessels  may  find  thirty-six  feet  of 
water. 

In  spite  of  the  inconveniences  we  have  mentioned,  the 
present  harbour  is  tolerably  secure,  well  sheltered,  and  much 
frequented  ;  it  is  always  full  of  ships  of  different  nations;  the 
total  for  one  of  the  last  years  amounted  to*five  hundred  (or  the 
Spanish,  two  for  the  French,  one  hundred-and-fifty  for  the 
English,  sixty  for  the  Danes,  forty-five  for  the  Dutch,  and 
more  than  three  hundred  of  different  other  nations. 

Mont  Jouy.  The  mountain  called  Mont  Jouy  is  situated 
to  the  south,  on  the  sea-side,  to  the  west  of  Barcelona  ;  the 
highest  part  is  occupied  by  a  fortress  which  takes  its  name 
from  it.  It  is  large,  spacious,  and  noble  ;  the  resources  of 
art  have  been  exhausted  in  augmenting  its  strength,  to  ren- 
der an  attack  more  difficult,  and  the  defence  of  it  surer. 

This  fortress  has  a  particular  governor,  a  major,  and  a 
garrison  formed  by  a  detachment  of  Spanish  guards,  or  Wal- 
loons, taken  from  the  garrison  at  Barcelona.  Mont  Jouy 
commands,  in  a  striking  manner,  the  town,  the  port,  the 
citadel  the  neighbouring  country,  and  the  sea  to  a  great 
extent. 

Iiarreloncttri  is  a  little  nt  w  town  dc]>endent  on  Barcelona, 
and  which  leemi  to  have  been  one  of  itl  faubourgs.  It  is 
situated  to  the  south-east  of  the  town,  bettreeo  the  sea-gate 
ami  t  he  light-house  of  the  Mole,  which  projects;  into  the  sea. 

Vol  :.  f 


66  CATALONIA. 

The  place  tvhich  Barcelonetta  occupies  was  a  vast  piece  of 
useless  ground,  where  there  were  some  straggling  fish-huts. 
The  marquis  de  la  Mina,  captain-general  of  Catalonia,  con- 
ceived the  project  of  turning  this  ground  to  advantage,  by 
making  it  at  once  an  entrepot  and  an  asylum  for  .seafaring 
people.  About  the  middle  of  the  18th  century  the  new  town 
was  built  according  to  the  plans  of  Don  Pedro  Cermeno,  and 
under  the  direction  of  Ribas,  the  architect.  Its  form  is  a 
perfect  square,  with  four-and-twenty  regular  streets,  each 
being  a  little  more  th^n  twenty-five  feet  broad  ;  fifteen  of  the 
streets  are  direct  and  parallel,  intersected  by  the  nine  others 
at  equal  distances.  The  houses  are  uniform,  and  built  with 
bricks,  having  but  one  story,  all  of  the  same  height,  twenty- 
five  feet  and  a  half  in  front.  There  are  two  squares  in  it, 
that  of  St.  Michael  and  that  of  Los  Voteros,  and  two  large 
ranges  of  barracks.  This  parish  is  under  the  invocation  of 
."'t.  Michael.  The  front  of  this  church  has  two  large  stories 
of  architecture  ;  the  one  of  eight  columns  coupled,  with  three 
large  gates;  the  other  of  four,  also  coupled.  Above  these 
stories  there  is  a  triangular  pediment,  ornamented  with  three 
statues,  one  of  the  hoh/  Virgin,  the  other  of  St.  Michael,  and  the 
third  of  St.  Gonzalez  Tclmo.  The  church  forms  a  kind  of 
Grecian  cross,  with  pillars  of  grouped  columns  in  the  Gothic 
style  ;  the  delicacy  and  harmony  of  which  are  diminished  by 
their  size.  The  tomb  of  the  marquis  de  la  Mina,  who  was  the 
founder  both  of  Barcelonetta  and  of  this  church,  is  seen  on 
the  right  of  the  chief  altar.  There  is  a  bust  of  this  general 
executed  in  bass-relief,  surrounded  with  military  trophies,  and 
ornamented  with  different  devices  relative  to  his  family;  un- 
derneath is  a  Latin  inscription  :  he  died  on  the  25th  of 
January,  1767. 

'flic  view  of  Barcelonetta  excites  pleasure  at  first  sight;  but 
the  too  great  uniformity  of  the  streets  and  houses  gives  it  a 
sameness,  and  renders  it  less  agreeable.  It  is  inhabited 
almost  entirely  by  soldiers*  sailors,  and  other  seafaring 
people. 


CATALONIA.  67 

ENVIRONS  OF  BARCELONA. 

We  have  already  said  that  Barcelona  was 
surrounded  by  a  beautiful,  pleasant,  fertile,  and 
well  cultivated  country;  abounding  with  trees 
of  all  species,  and  productions  of  all  kinds.  It 
forms  altogether  an  oblong,  irregular  plain,  sur- 
rounded by  gentle  hills,  and  terminates  at  the 
sea-side. 

The  whole  surface  is  covered  with  country- 
houses,  from  the  gates  of  Barcelona  to  the  foot 
and  on  the  side  of  the  mountains  situated  to 
the  north-west  of  the  town  ;  they  extend  farther 
on  to  the  north  towards  the  river  Bezos,  and  to 
the  west  on  the  road  leading  to  the  Llobregat. 
They  occupy  a  space  of  about  three  leagues  ; 
we  cannot  come  on  any  side  into  this  town 
without  seeing  the  numerous  succession  of  those 
houses,  called  Torres,  which  the  astonished  tra- 
veller takes,  at  a  distance,  for  considerable  set- 
tlements. 

Several  of  those  houses  are  handsome,  and  all 
are  in  general  agreeable;  many  are  decorated 
with  taste,  ornamented  with  paintings  in  fresco, 
and  have  water  in  abundance;  those  at  some 
distance  from  the  coast  are  most  advantageous- 
iv  situated;  the  eye  at  once  wanders  over  the 
country-houses  which  cover  the  plain,  takes  in 
the  town  of  Barcelona,  ;ind  views  an  immense 
extent  of  the  sea.     Almost  all  these  habitati. 


68  CATALONIA. 

have  a  very  essential  fault  for  this  country,  that 
is,  the  want  of  trees.  We  see  no  covered  alleys, 
thickets,  and  arbours  ;  these  objects  would  or- 
nament them  agreeably,  and  would  be  very  use- 
ful in  a  hot  country. 

The  village  of  Sarin,  which  is  at  the  end  of 
this  plain,  is  situated  on  the  slope  of  a  hill,  at 
the  distance  of  a  league  from  the  city,  and  op- 
posite to  it.  It  is  in  a  delightful  situation,  and 
commands  all  the  country-houses  that  are  be- 
fore it.  The  prospect  is  magnificent.  This  vil- 
lage is  remarkable  for  the  abundance  and  purity 
of  its  waters,  the  beautiful  houses  which  it 
contains,  and  the  good  company  who  meet 
there  in  the  fine  season. 

It  has  a  convent  of  Capuchins,  in  which  there 
is  a  great  number  of  monks  :  their  gardens  are 
large,  having  fine  alleys,  and  ornamented  with  ar- 
bours, terraces,  and  amphitheatres;  all  well  kept. 
They  have  monuments  which  display  patience 
and  skill;  consisting  of  different  representations 
of  subjects  of  piety,  is  small  earthen  figures, 
of  animals,  edifices,  and  trees,  executed  with 
much  nicety.  They  are  the  productions  of  some 
of  the  monks  of  this  house. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  town  retire  to  this 
village  to  forget  the  ceremonies  of  a  city  ;  all 
ranks  seem  to  delight  in  seeking  a  level  ;  they 
forget  all  bus-mess,  and  enjoy  the  happy  calm 
which  characterizes  nature  under  a  fine  climate. 


CATALONIA.  ÔV 

ad  from  Barcelona  to  the  Frontiers  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Aragon,  34  Leagues,   1  Quarter. 

Barcelona  to  leagvus. 

Saint-Félice,  (a  village) » l£ 

"N'enta  de  Mi  1ms  de  Rey   _... 1 

Llobr,  ?at,  (a  river) V   I 

Pont  r  •  Molins  de  Rey J 

S.André  de  la  Barca,  (a  village) I 

Martiorell,  (a  small  town) ") 

La  Noya,  (a  river,  with  a  wooden  bridge)  J 

VegodaAlta,  (a  village) J 

Masqi.efa,    (a  village) 1 

Piera,  (a  village) } 

La  Noya,   (a  river  without  a  bridge)....  5 

V.'lbona,    (a   village) « 

Puentedel  Rcyna,  (a  village) § 

La  Pobla,  (a  village) 1 

Vilanova,  a  (village) . .... ,  § 

Igualada,  (a  town)    ....   l£ 

Yorha,  (a  vdlage) .. 1 

Venla  del  Gancho . 1 

Santa  Mana,  (a  village) i 

Por  Carists,   (a  village) If 

.Meson   nueva   de   Monmaneu . i 

llostalets 1 

Cerera,  (a  town)  _ 1 

Curulla,  (a  village)   1 

Tarrega,  (a  town) . 1 

Vila-Gras'-a,  (a  village) 1 

Beflpuab«  (a  town) *>.  1 

dormez,    (a  Tillage) .■£ 

Molleruza,  (a  village) . j 

Vall-Fonga,  (a  village) 1 

Bellorh,   (a  tillage) 1 

The  Scgro,  (a  river  and  bridge)  -- 

Lerida,   (a  town) _ 

F  9 


} 


70  CATALONIA. 

Alcaraz,  (a  village)  the  limits  of  Catalo- 
nia  and   Aragon.. _. „ ...  2  league». 

We  leave  Barcelona  by  the  gate  of  San- 
Antonio;  we  cross  the  country  which  we  have 
mentioned,  leave  the  sea  to  the  left,  and  follow 
a  much  frequented  road,  broad,  and  bordered 
with  trees,  through  which  on  each  side  we  see 
many  villages  scattered  about  ;  on  the  left  are 
those  of  Sans  and  Sanboy  ;  on  the  right,  Sarria, 
San-Just  Plivces  and  Ginestcra  :  we  then  come 
to  the  hospitalet  and  afterwards  to  Saint-Félice. 
This  is  large  and  well  peopled  ;  we  pass  through 
the  whole  length,  a  fine  street,  in  which  there  are 
a  great  many  houses  handsomely  decorated.  To 
the  right  at  a  small  distance  we  leave  the  village 
of  Molina  de  Rey,  and  proceed  to  the  Venta  of 
the  same  name  ;  soon  after  a  short  avenue, 
planted  with  poplars,  brings  us  to  the  bridge 
of  Molins  de  Rey,  over  which  we  cross  the 
Llobregat.  This  bridge,  lately  built,  is  rather 
heavy;  but  is  of  a  solid  construction,  and  is 
ornamented  on  each  side  by  a  foot  pavement. 
We  quit  it  by  another  avenue  like  the  former, 
leaving  to  the  left  the  road  which  leads  to  Tar- 
ragona 'and  Valencia,  as  well  as  the  village  of 
Pereja  :  turning  to  the  right  we  pass  the  vil- 
lage San- André  de  la  Barca,  and  in  an  hour 
after  arrive  at  Martorell.  Before  we  enter 
this  town  we  see  to  the  right,  near  the  road,   a 


CATALONIA.  71 

bridge  over  the  Llobregat  ;  it  lias  three  arches, 
and  is  very  high  and  narrow,  it  is  called  in  the 
country  the  Devil's  bridge.  Its  building  is  at- 
tributed to  Annibal  ;  but  fragments  of  Roman 
ruins  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  piles  prove 
it  to  have  been  built  at  a  later  period. 

Martorell  was  the  Tclobis  of  the  Romans  ; 
it  is  a  small  town  ,  dirty,  close  and  ill-built  :  it 
is  situated  on  the  Noya,  at  the  confluence  of  that 
river  and  the  Llobregat;  it  has  a  parish  church, 
a  convent  of  monks,  and  some  barracks  :  the  in- 
habitants are  laborious;  the  women  make  lace  and 
blonds  :  it  has  a  tolerable  inn.  Near  this  town 
is  a  triumphal  arch  of  Roman  construction. 
In  going  from  Martorell  we  cross  the  Noya 
over  a  wooden  bridge,  and  a  little  afterwards  we 
enjoy  the  interesting  view  of  Mont-Serrat,  fa- 
mous in  Catalonia  for  a  celebrated  rich  monas- 
tery of  Benedictines.  This  mountain  is  formed 
by  an  assemblage  of  immense  cones,  situated 
one  above  another,  on  a  range  of  rocks,  upwards 
of  three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  The  rocks  are  absolutely  naked,  and  at 
a  distance  present  no  trace  of  vegetation  ;  but 
as  we  approach  them,  these  wilds  assume  a 
smiling  aspect.  There  are  groves  of  ever- 
greens, aromatic  plants  of  all  kinds,  and  charm- 
ing retreats  inhabited  by  happy  men,  whom 
philosophy  alone  would  be  sul'ticu  nt  to  retain 
m    these  abodes,   but   who  find  in  religion  and 

i    V 


73  CATALONIA. 

in  a  regular  course  of  life  still  greater  consola- 
tions. I  have  dwelt  too  long  on  this  admira- 
ble spot  in  the  Picturesque  Journey  through 
Spain*  to  mention  it  lightly  here,  and  I  choose 
rather  to  refer  the  reader  to  that,  or  to  leave 
the  traveller  to  the  impressions  which  it  cannot 
fail  to  make. 

This  mountain,  which  we  do  not  loose  sight 
of  for  four  leagues,  fixes  the  attention  of  the  tra- 
veller, who  arrives  at  Fiera  without  perceiving- 
it,  after  having  passed  the  villages  of  Veguda- 
alta,  and  Masqucfa. 

Piera  is  a  tolerably  large  village  situated  on 
a  height.  We  here  observe  large  iron  chains 
suspended  to  the  gate  of  a  house,  which  is  of- 
ten met  with  in  Spain,  chiefly  in  the  kingdom 
of  Aragon  :  they  indicate  that  a  king  lodged  in 
the  house  on  which  they  are  hung.  The  inn  of 
Piera  is  bad.  We  go  from  this  town  down  a 
steep  road,  cross  the  Noya  at  a  ford,  ascend  a 
rough  and  difficult  hill,  and  then  travel  for  a 
long  time  over  dry,  barren,  and  uninhabited 
mountains  of  granite.  In  descending  we  go 
through  a  number  of  small  charming  valleys, 
where  the  coolness  of  the  streams  with  which 
they  are  watered,  the  verdure  that  covers, 
and  the  trees  that  embellish  them,  delight 
the  senses.     We  now  ascend  new   mountains, 

*  A  work  recently  published  by  the  siunc  au'hor.  ■■«    T, 


CATALONIA.  73 

over  which  we  pass  and  enter  a  plain  in  which 
ïgualada  is  situated  We  arrive  in  this  town  af- 
ter travelling  four  hours  and  a  half,  and  pas* 
sing  the  villages  of  Valbona,  Fuente,  La  Rcyna, 
La  Pobla,  and  Villanova.  We  leave  to  the  right 
that  of  Esparragnera,  and  some  small  villages  or 
hamlets  to  the  left.  On  the  way  we  often  follow 
the  banks  of  the  Noya,  sometimes  riding  in  its 
bed,  and  ford  it  a  dozen  times  ;  the  road  is  mud- 
dy, difficult,  dangerous,  and  sometimes  impas- 
sable in  rainy  weather.  It  is  enlivened  by  pa- 
per manufactories  or  mills,  agreeably  situated  : 
there  are  a  great  number  of  these  in  this  part 
of  Catalonia,  and  they  furnish  an  important 
branch  of  the  commerce  of  this  province. 

Igualada  is  a  town  which  contains  about 
12,000  souls,  tolerably  large,  situated  in  a  plain 
abounding  in  corn,  and  olive  trees  ;  it  is  sur- 
rounded by  large  suburbs  embellished  with  trees, 
and  houses  lately  built.  It  has  a  parish  church, 
three  convents  of  monks,  a  vicar-general  of  the 
bishop  of  Toitosa,  for  the  exercise  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal jurisdiction,  and  an  alcade  major  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice.  A  great  many  fire-arms 
are  made  here,  which  arc  famous.  There  are 
also  several  manufactories  of  printed  callicoes 
or  stained  cottons. 

In  going  from  Igualada  the  road  becomes 
tolerably  hue,  but  spoiled  in  some  parts  by  deep 

.   •-.     We  again  past  over  parched  and  uncul- 
tivated mounsainsj  we  come  to  Yorboj  Venta  del 


7i  CATALONIA. 

Gaucho,  Santa-Maria,  Porcari.scs,  Jlfeson  nueva 
de  Jtfonmaneu,  and  Ilostakts.  Cervera  is  here 
seen  situated  on  a  height  ;  it  expands  as  we  ap- 
proach; the  country  becomes  more  beautiful, 
and,  through  openings  between  the  mountains 
that  surround  us,  we  have  glimpses  of  a  fine 
country.  When  we  arrive  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  on  which  Cervera  is  situated,  we  en- 
ter the  town  by  a  long,  steep  hill,  made  some- 
thing easier  by  many  turnings. 

Cervera,  in  Latin  Cenaria,  is  a  small  town 
on  aconsiderable  eminence  on  the  Barcelona  side, 
and  which,  on  the  opposite  side,  is  on  a  level  with 
and  at  the  entrance  of  a  large,  noble,  and  rich  plain. 
This  town  is  surrounded  with  walls,  in  which  there 
are  seven  gates.  Some  of  the  streets  are  tolerably 
well  paved.  It  has  a  parish  church,  with  a  nave  and 
two  aisles,  which  is  of  Gothic  construction;  five 
convents  of  monks,  one  commander,  of  the  order 
of  St.  Antonio,  which  became  extinct  in  Spain 
in  1791;  a  hospital  for  the  sick,  an  asylum  of 
Mercy,  five  colleges,  one  university,  a  governor, 
and  about  five  thousand  inhabitants.  The  con- 
vents of  the  Minimes  and  of  the  Capuchins  are 
in  a  most  delightful  situation:  the  former, 
placed  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  overlooks  all 
the  country  on  the  side  of  the  Barcelona  road; 
the  latter  is  situated  out  of  the  town  on  the 
opposite  side,  and  is  in  the  middle  of  a  rich  and 
fertile  country,  surrounded  with  trees,  gardens, 
and  rivulets. 


CATALONIA.  75 

This  town  has  been  twice  besieged,  once  in 
1652,  by  count  Mortemar,  in  the  name  of  the 
king,  when,  with  the  rest  of  Catalonia,  it  re- 
volted ;  and  the  second  time,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  18th  century,  during  the  war  for 
the  succession  of  Spain,  by  the  combined 
armies  of  the  Catalonians  and  Germans,  this 
town  supporting  the  cause  of  the  new  sovereign. 
At  the  time  of  the  first  siege  it  was  taken,  but 
defended  itself  against  the  last  with  courage 
and  success. 

Publie  Instruction  and  University.  Cervera  was  the  native 
place  of  Jérôme  Loreta,  a  theologian  of  the  16th  century,  some 
of  whose  writings  on  theology  are  extant,  printed  in  1570. 
This  was  almost  the  only  town  of  Catalonia  which  preserved 
the  allegiance  they  had  sworn  to  Philip  V.  This  prince,  to 
recompense  them,  founded  an  university  there  in  171 S, 
which  he  formed  by  the  union  of  all  those  of  this  province 
which  he  suppressed.  The  Latin  grammar  and  the  sciences 
are  taught  there.  There  are  forty-three  professors,  viz. 
For  the  Latin  Grammar  and  Philological  Studies  5 

For  the  Mathematics — 1 

For  Philosophy » ,. .5 

For  Medicine .-,.. „ 7 

For  the  Canon  Law J) 

For  the  Civil  Law 0 

FOV  T lieol ogy . „_. 7 


•n 


There  are  about  eight  hundred  scholars.     Some  of  the  pro- 

ort|  irbo  ire  leculaT  ecclesiaatjçi,  obtain  after  a  certain 

tun».-  of  teaching  cathedral  canonriea  j  one  from  etch  of  the 


76  CATALONIA. 

eight  cathedrals  of  Catalonia  has  been  added  to  llieni  :  they 
succeed  according  to  seniority. 

A  particular  education  is  also  given,  in  the  Hospice  de  la 
Miséricorde,  to  young  girls  ;  this  school  is  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  mistress  and  an  ecclesiastic. 

There  are  five  colleges  united  to  the  University  :  those  of 
Assumption,  Conception,  the  Secular  College,  and  that  of  the 
monks  of  Cileaux,  have  been  transferred  to  it  ;  the  three  first 
of  Lerida,  and  the  last  of  Poblct.  The  fifth,  that  of  Ochenta, 
or  the  Eighty,  is  newly  created;  it  is  so  called  from  the 
number  of  the  scholars  it  maintains,  taken  in  an  equal  num- 
ber from  the  different  dioceses  of  Catalonia  :  this  is  now  in  the 
ancient  house  of  the  Jesuits,  and  ought  to  be  placed  in  the 
University  itself. 

The  Seminary  may  be  regarded  as  another  college  of  the 
University  :  it  maintains  about  a  hundred  students.  Notv\itli- 
standing  of  all  these  establishments  the  University  does  not 
answer  the  idea  we  might  conceive  of  it.  It  still  wants  many 
establishments  necessary  for  the  formation  of  good  pupils  in 
some  of  the  branches  it  professes  to  teach.  It  has  no  anatomical 
amphitheatre,  no  botanical  garden,  no  laboratory  for  che- 
mistry and  pharmacy,  no  philosophical  apparatus,  nor  any 
course  of  clynical  medicine.  In  consequence  of  which,  nei- 
ther anatomy,  nor  the  operations  of  surgery,  nor  botany,  phar- 
macy, chemistry,  nor  the  materia  medica,  &c.  &c.  are  properly 
taught.  The  professors  in  medicine  follow  Galen's  system  ; 
making  a  mixture  of  it  with  that  of  Boerhaave,  the  one  spoil- 
ing the  other.  Those  of  philosophy  follow  in  great  part  the 
peripatetic,  blended  with  the  precepts  of  Jaquier  ;  the  result 
is  that  the  whole  is  unintelligible.  Those  of  theology  adhere 
to  the  scholastic  morality,  and  do  not  extend  so  far  as  the 
dogmatic.  The  building  of  the  University  is  magnificent,  and 
its  architecture  very  fine  ;  its  depth  is  almost  as  great  as  its 
length.  Its  front,  which  is  three  hundred  and  nineteen  feet, 
is  tolerably  well  decorated  ;  there  are  in  the  interior'two-large 
courts  surrounded  with  arcades,  in  which  the  students  meet 


CATALONIA.  77 

preparatory  to  attending  their  classes  ;  there  are  here  more 
than  eighty  columns. 

The  country  of  Cervera  is  extremely  fertile,  and 
very  well  cultivated  ;  it  produces  wine,  oil,  corn, 
and  pulse  in  abundance  ;  the  fields  are  beautiful 
and  cheerful,  particularly  near  the  plain  of 
Urgel'y  but  the  town  has  a  very  gloomy  aspect; 
the  scholars  and  fellows  of  the  University  form 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  its  population  ;  and 
it  appears  deserted  in  the  times  of  vacation. 

In  going  from  Cervera,  we  cross  the  large 
plain  of  Urgel,  fertile  in  wheat,  vines,  and  olive 
trees  ;  the  eye  wanders  a  great  way  over  ver- 
«  dant  carpets,  and  catches  some  vistas,  which 
form  an  agreeable  whole.  AVe  soon  arrive  at 
the  village  of  Ciirulla,  and  in  an  hour  after  at 
Tarrega. 

This  town  is  situated  on  an  agreeable  plain, 
and  in  a  country  which  produces  oil,  wine,  corn, 
pulse,  and  hemp.  It  has  a  parish  church,  three 
convents  of  monks,  an  ancient  commandery  of 
St.  Antonio,  now  suppressed,  an  hospital  which 
was  at  the  charge  of  this  commandery,  a  board 
of  economy,  and  an  alcade  major  for  the  ad- 
ministrât ion  of  justice.  Two  ranges  of  bar- 
racks, out  of  the  town,  are  formed  out  of  two 
small  symmetrical  pavilions.  There  are  not 
more  than  about  two  thousand  inhabitants  in 
this  town;  they  cany  on  a  con  iderable  com- 
merce in   corn,    wine,  and   oil  ;  there   arc    two 


78  CATALONIA. 

markets  a  week,  which  are  much  frequented; 
they  particularly  abound  in  corn  which  is 
brought  from  Urgel.  This  town  was  the  native 
place  of  Gabriel  de  Tarrega,  a  physician  of  the 
16th  century,  who  has  left  several  indifferent 
writings. 

At  a  league  beyond  Tarrega,  we  leave  on  the 
sides  of  the  road  the  two  small  towns  of  Vertu  and 
single-Solas.  The  former  to  the  south  of  Tarrega, 
which  has  about  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
inhabitants,  is  famous  for  a  fair,  very  much  fre- 
quented, particularly  for  the  sale  of  mules;  it 
is  held  yearly  in  the  month  of  April,  and  lasts 
eight  days  ;  the  latter,  to  the  west,  has  a  con- 
vent of  Trinitarian  monks,  and  a  population  of 
one  thousand  persons.     We  pass  to  the  village 
of  Vilagrassa,  containing  about  live  hundred  in- 
habitants; and  three  hours  after  arrive  at  Bell- 
puch,  a  small  town,  with  a  population  of  about 
one   thousand    two   hundred   persons.     It  is  ill 
built  and   badly    kept;    but  is   situated  in  the 
midst  of  a  country  which  produces  a  great  quan- 
tity of  wine,  oil,  corn,  and  almonds. 

Edifices  of  Delljiuch.  This  town  has  a  Franciscan  convent, 
which  contains  some  objects  worthy  the  curiosity  of  a  travel- 
ler. It  is  situate  d  at  a  small  distance  to  the  left,  on  the  slope 
of  a  hill  ;  it  was  founded  by  the  House  of  Cardona,  to  which 
the  seigniory  of  Bellpuch  belongs.  This  convent  has  two 
square  cloister?,  one  above  the  other  ;  at  the  extremity  of  the 
lower  cloister  there  is  a  spiral  staircase  which  goes  up  to  the 
belfry.     It  i-j  bui't  in  such  a  manner  that  the  spindle  has  an 


CATALONIA.  79 

opening,  forming  an  eye  of  about  two  inehes,  through  which 
we  look  from  the  top  to  the  bottom.  It  is  shewn  to  the  cu- 
rious as  a  wonder,  though  there  is  nothing  extraordinary  in 
it.  The  upper  cloister  deserves  attention  ;  it  is  in  the  Gothic 
style,  supported  by  small  white  marble  columns  in  couples, 
breast  high  ;  their  capitals  are  decorated  with  human  figures, 
animals,  flowers,  foliage,  and  other  things,  forming  groups 
of  different  kinds.  The  church,  which  was  built  in  1507,  at 
the  expence  of  Raymond  de  Cordona,  viceroy  of  Sicily,  is 
large  and  well  constructed  ;  the  tomb  of  that  nobleman,  who 
died  in  1521,  is  to  be  seen  in  it.  It  is  a  large  marble  monu- 
ment, and  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  sculpture  produced  on 
the  revival  of  the  arts. 

Leaving  Bellpuch,  we  proceed  successively  to 
the  village  of  Gomez  and  that  of  Mothernza  ; 
the  houses  of  which  are  made  of  mud,  and  the 
inn  is  very  bad  ;  to  those  of  Vallfonga  and  of 
Bellocli,  leaving  at  a  distance  on  either  hand  the 
villages  of  Sidamon,  of  Fondarella,  of  Palma, 
and  of  Alamos. 

At  Jielloch  the  fields  begin  to  look  bare; 
they  are  without  trees,  parched  and  -full  of  little 
hillocks.  In  about  an  hour,  we  discover  the 
.spires  of  Ltrida.  This  town  comes  gradually 
into  sight  as  we  approach  it,  and  is  soon  after 
seen  to  its  whole  extent.  The  fields  about  it 
begin  to  look  handsome,  the  trees  to  be  mon 
numerous,  the  cultivation  more  general  and 
more  attended  to;  and  Lerida  scorns  to  rise 
..midst  superb  gardens.    We  approach  this  town 

through  a  line  avenue  foi  a  quarter  of  a  league, 

ed  like  a  causeway  and  planted  with  poplars. 
2 


B(>  CATALOXIA. 

We  pass  through  theSegro  over  a  handsome  stone 
bridge,  composed  of  seven  arches,  and  built  oir 
the  ruins  of  a  Roman  bridge.  Here  we  are 
searched  by  the  custom-house  officers,  and  show 
our  passports,  which  are  sent  to  the  governor, 
and  returned  to  us  at  our  inn. 

Leiuda,  in  Latin  Ilerda,  holds  a  rank  equally 
distinguished  in  ancient  and  modern  history,  for 
the  great  events  which  have  taken  place  in  its 
interior  and  at  the  foot  of  its  walls.     It  was  the 
capital  of  the  country  of  the  Ilergetes  long  be- 
fore the  first  invasion  of  Spain  by  the  Romans  ; 
it  had  then  its  own  particular  princes,  the  last 
of  whom  Mandonius  and  Indibilis,  after  having 
frequently  changed   sides  between  the  Romans 
and  Carthaginians,  were  at  length  the  victims  of 
those  two  nations;  Mandonius  was  given  up  by 
his  own  soldiers  to  the  Romans,   and  Indibil  or 
Indibilis  fell  in  a  battle  which  he  fought  with 
them.      It  was  in    the   plains    of  Lerida  that 
Scipio  gained   a  signal  victory  over  Hanno   the 
Carthaginian  general,  in  the  year  of  Rome  537. 
It  was  likewise  under  the  walls  of  this  town  that 
Julius    Ccesar     conquered    the    Lieutenants    of 
Pompey  in  the  year  of  Rome  705,  and  40"  be- 
fore Christ. 

The  beauty  of  its  situation  and  the  fertility  of 
the  country  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Romans,  and  as  soon  as  they  had  made  a  con- 
quest of  it  they  planted  colonics  there,  and  gave 


CATALONIA.  SI 

it  the  title  of  Municipium  Ilerdense.  This  town 
having  fallen  under  the  dominion  of  the  Goths 
embraced  the  Christian  religion,  and  was  the 
jeat  of  a  celebrated  council  held  here  in  the 
year  528,  though  according  to  others  in  524*. 
Suffering  again  the  fate  of  the  rest  of  Spain  it 
became  a  prey  to  the  Moors,  and  was  at 
first  subject  to  the  Caliphs  of  Damascus,  and 
afterwards  to  the  Moorish  kings  of  Cordova, 
but  its  own  governor  erecting  the  standard  of 
rebellion  and  usurping  the  supreme  power,  it 
had  a  separate  king.  At  length,  in  the  year 
1 149,  Raymond  Berenger,  the  last  Count  of  Bar- 
celona, who  had  just  ascended  the  throne  of 
Aragon,  took  Le  rida  from  the  Moors,  and  from 
that  time  it  formed  a  part  of  Catalonia.  Its  in- 
habitants did  not  under  their  new  sovereigns  de- 
generate from  the  virtues  of  their  ancestors  :  led 
by  James  I.  king  of  Aragon,  they  contributed 
much  to  the  taking  of  Valencia  in  1238,  which 
procured  their  town  the  honour  of  sending  a 
colony  to  repeople  a  part  of  it,  and  to  establish 
there  its  weights  and  measures.  In  later  times 
they  no  less  distinguished  themselves  under  Don 
George  Brice,  their  governor,  by  the  most  vigo- 

*  Several  otheri  have  been  since  held  hen.-.     One  mei 
eJ  to  have  taken  place  about  tin-  year  54fl|  is  i<  m  irkable  toi 
two  of  its  canons  ;  one  prohibits  ecclesiastics  from  shedding 
human  Moot],  ami  ■  permit!  the  communion  tu  be  ad- 

ministered to  magiciai  i  tvhen  they  iredyin 
.    J  G 


o3  fATALOXr.U 

ions  resistance  which  they  twice  made  against 
the  Ere  net  armies:  thus  tiny  compelled  the  earl 
of  Harcourt  to  raise  the  siege  of  their  town  in 
1646,  and  the  Prince  de  Coudé  in  1047.  But 
joining  in  the  rebellion  with  the  rest  of  Cata- 
lonia against  Philip  V.  they  were  besieged  by 
the  duke  of  Orleans,  their  town  taken  by  assault, 
October  12th>  1707,  and  delivered  up  to  pillage. 
Such  of  the  inhabitants  as  then  took  refuge  in 
the  castle  surrendered  after  a  month  of  fruitless 
résistai 

Situation  and  Exlent. — Lerida  is  on  the  declivity  of  a  hill, 
at  the  top  of  which  the  castle  stands  on  the  riglit  and  west 
bank  of  the  river  Segra,  which  bathes  the  walls  of  it.  The 
position  which  it  had  under  the  Romans,  as  described  by 
Lucan  is  still  discerned.  The  town  is  long,  narrow,  almost 
triangular,  close,  and  ill  built.  The  streets  are  narrow,  crook-* 
cd,  uneven,  and  paved  with  pointed  stones,  unequally  driven 
in;  there  is  but  one  tolerable  street,  which  would  be  hand- 
some if  it  was  wider  ;  it  is  a  quarter  of  a  league  long.  Though 
very  gloomy  within,  one  of  the  quarters  of  the  town  is  well 
situated,  that  towards  the  river.  There  has  been  lately  built 
a  fine  qua;  1  extends  the  whole  length  of  if,  uniting  the 

double  advantage  of  restraining  the  waters  of  the  Segra,  and 
of  furnishing  the  inhabitants  with  the  means  of  amusement: 
it  would  even  be  a  handsome  promenade,  if  it  were  planted 
with  tree»  ;  it  lus  a  view  of  the  river  which  runs  below,  of 
trees  on  the  banks  of  it,  and  a  vast  extent  of  country  richly 
wooded,  beautifully  cultivated,  and  rendered  fertile  by  the  wa- 
kgft  of  ill.-  river. 

Rapulatim. — About  18,000  inhabitants. 

*    For  ttlis  ttie    town   is   indebted  to  a  Frenchman,    Louis  Blqj 
-criior  of  LcriJa. 

6 


CATATONIA*  18 

■  :.  It-  bishoprié  is  suffragan  t  »  the  mjthcr  church  of 
Tarragona;  its  revenue  is  estimate  J  at  03,000  C'atalonia'i 
livres,  or  10,3331.  6s.  Sd.  sterling-.  Its  diocese  includes  two 
hundred  and  fifty  parishes,  three  collegiate  chapters  at  Monzo, 
Tamarita,  and  Alvclda,  and  two  cathedral  chapters  at  Lcrida, 
and  Roda  in  Aragon  ;  the  last  is  composed  of  regular  canons  of 
the  order  of  St.  ÀuguStine.  Lerid.t  has  one  cathedral  chapter, 
four  parishes,  eight  convents  of  monks,  three  of  nuns,  one 
hospital,  and  one  college.  There  was  likewise  a  commandery 
©f  the  order  of  St.  Antonio,  which  was  suppressed  in  1791. 

The  clergy  of  the  cathedral  includes  six  dignitaries,  twenty- 
three  canons,  six  prebendaries,  eighteen  chaplains,  thirty- 
three  beneficed  priests,  four  psalm-singers,  and  one  silenciariu*. 
The  canons  have  a  revenue  of  3000  piastres,  or  468/.  ]  5s. 

Civil  and  Military  Administration.  The  town  has  a  civil 
and  military  governor,  a  king's  lieutenant,  a  major,  a  small 
garrison,  and  an  alcalde  major  for  the  administration  of  jiu- 
tice. 

i  'tbiic  Instruction.  A  university  was  established  here  in 
1300,  by  James  II.  king  of  Aragon,  which  was  famous  in  the 
ï  it  h  and  1Mb  centuries,  and  boasted  of  having  admitted  Saint 
Vincent  Terrier  and  Pope  Calisto  1IL  to  their  degrees.  But 
at  the- commencement  of  the  1 8th  century  it  was  suppressed 
by  Philip  V.  The towtl  at  present  lias  only  a  college,  wliicli 
is  maintained  by  the  bishop:  sixty  young  cleiks  are  sup- 
ported and  instructed  gratuitously.  :  ici  can  nun» 
likewise  give  public  and  :  i               instruction  to  girlsi 

This  town  g  ive  birth  to  the  on  acher  <  'hri  tobal  tialvez,  and 
to  the  lawyer,  Francisco  Moli,  whose  writing  on  the  canon 
law  arc  extant, 

».     At  the  top  of  the  hill  tfo  n  an  th<    r<  - 
mains  of  a  pal  m  bad  inbabil 

there  alto  wa  e&ral  church  which  has  been 

.-.  h.    'I  bal  i  bun  h  conl  un.  d 

*  A  t  I  Ik,   to  V'  ■  ; 


54  CATALONIA. 

monuments,  which  were  left  for  a  long  lime  exposed  to  ihi 
injuries  of  the  air,  and  to  the  destructive  hands  of  the  igno- 
rant; but  they  were  at  length,  in  1781,  removed  into  the 
town:  these  were  the  tomb  of  Alphonso  IV.  king  of  Aragon, 
and  Count  of  Barcelona,  who  died  in  1325,  of  which  there 
•nly  remains  a  wooden  urn  painted  black,  with  an  inscription; 
the  tomb  of  Nicholas  Moratell,  a  man  celebrated  in  the  16th 
century,  for  his  virtues,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew, 
Greek,  and  Latin  languages,  and  Theology;  the  tomb  of 
Luis  de  Requesens,  who  died  in  1509;  a  marble  statue  and 
two  Roman  inscriptions. 

The  cathedral  is  the  only  edifice  of  Lerida  that  is  worth 
attention  ;  it  is  but  very  lately  built.  We  go  up  to  it  by  a 
double  flight  of  about  twenty  steps,  which  lead  to  a  terrace, 
on  which  the  gates  of  the  church  open.  These  flights  are 
terminated  by  two  great  iron  gates,  and  the  terrace  is  deco- 
rated with  ornaments  of  the  same  metal.  The  front  has  six 
fluted  pilasters  of  the  Corinthian  order,  between  which  there 
are  three  large  doors,  with  iron  gates  of  handsome  workman- 
»hip;  it  has  two  fine  scpiare  towers  terminating  in  round  pa- 
vilions where  the  bells  are  hung.  These  pavilions  are  sur- 
mounted with  gilt  ornaments.  The  whole  front  is  of  free-stone. 
The  church  has  a  body  and  two  aisles  ornamented  with  Corin- 
thian pilasters.  It  does  not  stand  in  a  place  where  it  can 
be  seen  to  advantage  ;  being  in  a  narrow  street,  and  likewise 
screened  by  the  very  lofty  edifice  of  the  hospital. 

Commerce  and  Vroditcliona.  Lerida  formerly  carried  on  a 
trade  in  salt-fish,  which  has  absolutely  failed.  Its  present 
commerce  is  confined  to  the  exportation  of  some  productions 
of  the  land,  chiefly  fruits  and  pot-herbs  ;  which  are  sent  in 
great  quantities  to  L'rgel  and  Aragon.  The  country  of  Le- 
rida, which  runs  three  leagues  from  north  to  south,  and  two 
from  east  to  west,  is  very  fertile  and  valuable  for  the  variety 
and  abundance  of  its  productions  ;  wheat,  oats,  flax,  hemp, 
oil,  wine,  beans,  haricots,  and  all  kinds  of  excellent  fruits  and 
pot-herbs.  The  country  is  intersected  with  canals  supplied 
by  neighbouring  rivers,  and  is  carefully  and  tkilfdly  watered. 


CATALONIA-  85 

^ilk-worms  are  likewise  bred  in  this  country,  but  to  no  ex- 
tent. 

Inns.  The  sign  of  S.  Luis,  kept  by  Italians,  has  very  neat 
apartments,  and  the  living  is  good  :  it  is  altogether  equal  to 
a  good  French  inn  :  one  may  dine  for  three  piécettes,  or  half 
a  crown  English. 

Leaving'  this  town  we  enter  on  the  mountains, 
where  we  continue  to  travel  ;  the  road  is  not 
bad  but  disagreeable,  on  account  of  the  constant 
view  of  naked,  parched  rocks,  and  the  multitude 
of  hills.  Here  every  thing  is  dry  and  wild,  and 
looks  as  if  nature  were  entirely  left  to  herself  ; 
at  last  the  view  is  perpetually  bounded  by  a 
succession  of  hillocks.  After  travelling  two 
leagues  we  pass  through  a  poor  miserable  vil- 
lage, the  last  in  Catalonia,  on  this  side  ;  it  is 
called  Alcaraz,  and  is  said  to  be  the  Orcia  of 
Ptolemy;  it  was  formerly  a  fortified  town,  taken 
from  the  Moors  in  1 149,  by  Guillémo  Raymond 
de  Moncada,  and  by  Armengol,  count  of  Ur- 
gel.  At  the  end  of  this  village  to  the  right  we 
see  a  very  old  square  tower,  with  battlements 
and  loop-holes,  which  appear  to  be  the  ruins  of 
ancient  fortifications. 

About  half  a  mile  from  this  village  there  are 

two  blocks    of   freestone    to  show  the   bounds 

between  Catalonia  and  Aragon, 

The  road  from  tin  Frontier!  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  tg 
Tarragon,  and  from  Tarragon  to  Barcelona,  34  leagues. 

The  Ctnia,  (a  river  and  bridge) 

:  \in-Cailo-,  (a  Mnall  town) I,  ]ei 


8o  CATALONIA. 

Emposta,  (a  town). 7 

The  Ebro,  (a  river  and  ferryboat) 3  ' 

Perillos,  (a  tillage)». 4, 

Venta  del  Plata l| 

Venta  de   Balaguer 3$ 

The  Hospitalet 1 

Vèntade  Rufa I| 

A    Ravine    —  £ 

Cambrils,  (a  villas) .__  § 

Villa  Seca,  (a  village) if 

The  Francoli,  (a  river  and  bridge) „.  If 

Tarragona  (a  town) J 

The  (Java,  (a  river  without  a  bridge).,  f 

A'taiulla,  (a  small  town) 5"  * 

Torre  de  Bare,  a  small  town) . .  £ 

A  hamlet * 

La   Figareta    venta i 

Lc  Vendrell,    (a  small  town) 1| 

E.'Uvey,  (a  village) ]| 

Gornal,  fa  village) £ 

Arbos,  (a  small  town) ._..  £ 

without  a  bridge $ 


{ 


\  small  river  -, 

with  a  bridge x 

La  Piordeta,  (a  house) £ 

River  and  bridge "\ 

Ixjs  Alonges,  (a  village) J      * 

Villa  Franca  de  Panadez,  (a  town) .      S 

Venta  de  Casa  roja  .. i 

Venta  Nova,  or  Hostal  de  Orlal If 

La  Palma,  (a  hamlet) _.  ^ 

Venta  de  Lladoner $      * 

Venta  del  Cipreret J 

Venta  del  Tnjuet 5 

Le  Llobregat,  (a  river)    -\ 

Bridge  of  Molina  de  Rey C    \\ 

Ventade  Molins  de  Rev \ 


CATALONIA.  8/ 

LFAGUES. 

San-Feliip,  (a  village)  _. I 

Barcelona,  (a  town).,*». 1  + 

Catalonia,  to  the  south,  adjoins  the  kingdom  of 
Valencia;  separated  only  by  the  little  river  Ccnia; 
we  pass  it,  over  a  bridge  of  one  arch.  Entering 
Catalonia  this  way,  we  travel  on  a  fine  road 
from  this  river  to  Emposta.  The  country  is 
sometimes  cultivated  and  sometimes  not,  but 
almost  always  planted  with  trees.  In  about 
three  miles  we  have  a  view  of  the  sea,  travel 
parallel  to  it  a  little  distance,  and  having  gone 
another  league,  arrive  at  San-Carlos,  a  little 
town,  situated  on  the  Mediterranean,  opposite 
the  point  of  the  Aljaqucs',  a  name  given  to  a 
narrow  semi-circular  tongue  of  land,  which  is 
only  the  continuation  of  the  left  bank  of  the 
Ebro,  at  the  mouth  of  that  River.  The  town 
of  San-Carlos  was  built  in  179-,  at  the  expence 
of  the  crown.     We  enter  it  by  a  1.  reet 

which  leads  to  the  very  shore,  and  which  is  so 
broad,  that  nine  or  ten  carriages  can  pais 
a-breast  :  the  houses  of  the  town  aie  uniform, 
but  very  low,  and  the  street  very  short,  which 

ms   a    singular    contrast    to    its     pro< 
breadth.     There  is   a  church  out  of  the   o>\\n, 
erected  on  a  square  foundation,    the  portal  of 
•.•'. liieli  is  composée)  of  foui  large  Ionic  columns. 
This  tow.n  had   al   first   very  few   inhabitants; 


$$  CATALONIA. 

scarcely  a  hundred  persons.     The  air  of  it  is 
not  very  wholesome.     Here  the  lands  are  faU 
low  and  full  of  brambles,    but  half  a   league 
farther  on  the  soil  becomes  better,  is  variously 
cultivated    and    full  of  trees  :  it  leads  to  Em- 
posta,  a  poor  little  town  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Ebro,  and  above  the  mouth  of  that  river  : 
it  is  the  chief  place  of  a  bailiwick  of  the  order 
of  Malta  ;  though  it  appears  very  poor  it  might 
become  rich  by  the  execution  of  the  project  of 
establishing  the  navigation  of  the  Ebro.  A  little 
canal  has  been  dug  from  Em  posta  to  San-Car- 
los •  it  is  filled  and  supplied  by  streams  from  the 
adjacent  meadows  :  on  this  provisions  and  other 
necessaries  are  conveyed  to  San-Carlos  in  little 
boats.     The  entrance  of  the  Ebro  is  very  dif- 
ficult, the  mouth  being  obstructed  by  shifting 
banks  of  sand,  which  increase  and  diminish  in 
size,    and   which  change   their  situation    after 
storms  and  the  swelling  of  the  water.      These 
inconveniences  may  be  avoided  by  entering  the 
Ebro  at  Emposta  by  means  of  the  little  canal. 
There  is  a  design  of  widening  and  increasing 
it  by  means  of  water  to  be  taken  from  the  river, 
and  of  building  a  harbour  at  its  embouchure 
into  the  sea  at  San- Carlos  ;  by  which  means  an 
easy  and  safe  communication   will  be   opened 
between  the  sea  and  the  Ebro  ;  the  canal  would 
then  be  attended  with  the  further  advantage  of 
fertilizing  the  uncultivated  lands  of  the  neigh- 


CATALONIA.'  £Q 

bourîiood  of  San-Carlos,  in  establishing  fire-* 
engines  to  raise  the  water  into  an  aqueduct, 
whence  it  might  be  easily  distributed  to  every 
part,  high  and  low.  The  soil,  which  is  good, 
and  which  has  not  been  turned  up  for  a  long- 
time, would  be  very  productive,  and  the  pro- 
prietors would  be  soon  repaid  for  their  ad- 
vances. 

Leaving  Emposta,  we  cross  the  Ebro  in  a 
ferry-boat,  which  takes  a  quarter  of  an  hour  if 
the  water  be  low.  We  proceed  to  Perillos 
through  an  uncultivated  country,  which  is  fre- 
quently stony,  and  without  trees  ;  full  only  of 
shrubs  and  aromatic  plants.  After  travelling  a 
league  we  perceive  the  sea,  which  we  hardly 
ever  lose  sight  of  again  for  nine  leagues.  Here 
the  road  begins  to  wind  a  great  deal  and  to 
become  hilly,  and  in  parts  very  steep.  "We 
come  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  pass  the 
Col  and  the  Puerto  de  las  Forças,  whence  we 
perceive  a  valley,  which  we  reach  by  a  short 
and  tolerably  easy  descent  :  it  forms  a  kind  of 
bason,  surrounded  by  mountains,  rising  one 
over  the  other;  the  village  of  Perillos  is  situ- 
ated at  the  bottom  of  it,  where  we  arrive  aft»  i 
four  leagues  from  Emposta,  which  require 
six  good  hours  riding.  Leaving  the  village,  we 
pass  through  the  valley,  which  is  handsome, 
Well  Cultivated,  and  full  of  trees;  the  road, 
".Inch  has  been  lately  made,   is  good  for  about 


90  CATALONIA, 

three-quarters  of  a  league  ;  after  which  the 
mountains  we  are  obliged  to  go  over  are  at 
dice  very  fatiguing  and  tiresome.  Sometimes 
we  are  raised  to  a  considerable  height,  where. 
wo  only  see  abysses,  on  which  the  eye  looks 
down  with  terror;  sometimes  we  arc,  as  it  were» 
buried  in  the  bottom  of  narrow,  deep  gullies, 
and  where  we  see  only  a  small  part  of  the  sky, 
locks,  and  shrubs.  La  Venta  del  Plata  is  the 
cnly  house  mc  meet  with  at  the  beginning  of 
this •  mountain  ;  but  we  soon  discover  another 
:  mountain  which  we  must  also  pass  over, 
Formerly  travellers  despaired  at  the  .sight  of  it; 
it  was  impossible  to  climb  it  ;  it  was  necessary 
to  scale  it.  It  has  been  made  easier  by  increas- 
ing the  windings  of  the  road,  and  earthing  it  up. 
This  road  is  three-quarters  of  a  league  long, 
and  it  is  secured  from  accidents  by  parapets  : 
at  the  top  stands  the  Venta  de  Balaguer,  and 
the  passage  is  called  Le  col  de  Balaguer.  The 
castle  bears  the  same  name  ;  it  is  a  small  fort, 
having  a  governor  and  a  garrison. 

The  road  becomes  even;  we  travel  along 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  then  on  the  sea-side, 
and  arrive  at  the  Ilospilakl.  This  is  an  old 
building,  resembling  the  ancient  Gothic  castles; 
it  is  large,  spacious,  surrounded  with  high  walls, 
and  flanked  with  towers;  a  prince  of  the  royal 
house  of  Aragon  founded  an  hospital  here  for  the 
reception  and  aid  of  travellers;  the  revenues 


CATALONIA.  91 

which  he  assigned  for  this  foundation  are  still 
received,  and  the  huilding  exists,  yet  the  object 
is  no  longer  attained.  One  part  of  the  edifice 
serves  for  an  inn,  another  part  for  a  glass-house, 
and  the  rest  is  occupied  by  a  chaplain  who  en-* 
joys  the  revenues.  Every  one  at  present  is  ac» 
commodated  here  for  his  money,  but  the  travel-» 
1er  will  only  stop  from  necessity,  for  the  inn  is 
detestable. 

The  plain  into  which  we  afterwards  enter  be- 
comes wild  in  about  a  league  ;   to  the  right  are 
seen  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  castle,  situated  by 
the  sea-side;  it  is  spacious  within  and  in  tole- 
rable preservation  ;  it  is  flanked  with  four  square 
towers  ;  and  has  one  in  the  centre  almost  whole. 
A  careful  cultivation  soon  again  appears,  and 
increases  as  we  proceed.     We  meet  with  a  great 
many  vineyards,    olive,  and  carob,  and  in  some 
parts,  mulberry,  nut,  and  almond  trees.     After 
passing  the  Venta  de  l\ufa%   we  go   through  a 
very  wide  gulley  formed  by  the  rains,  and  soon 
after  arrive  at  CamhrUs,   a  village  where   there 
are  good  springs,  and  the  church  of  which  has 
a  square  tower  with  loop-holes,   for   a   belfry. 
The  country  becomes  handsomer  and  more  di- 
versified as  we  approach  Tarragona*     The  plain 
woody,   with  intervals  of  cultivation:  it 
is  pleasant,   and    terminates   with   a  superb  cur- 
.  dun:  formed  by  a  chain  ol' mountains, 

in  the  centre  of  which  Tarragona  begins  to 


<fc  Catalonia, 

appear.  In  about  an  hour  we  discover  to  the 
right,  at  no  great  distance,  the  tower  and  har- 
bour of  Salona,  where  a  military  governor  re- 
sides ;  we  then  come  to  Villa  Seca,  a  poor  little 
town,  a  part  of  the  walls  and  gates  of  which 
are  still  standing  :  there  are  some  good  springs 
in  it  :  the  church  has  a  portal  with  two  co- 
lumns. 

The  prospect  here  is  exquisite,  displaying  al- 
most the  whole  of  the  rich  and  fertile  Campo  de 
Tarragona.  Vineyards,  gardens,  corn-fields,  and 
fruit-trees  of  all  kinds  appear  in  the  greatest 
abundance.  The  villages  arc  numerous,  and 
the  town  of  Tarragona,  seen  at  a  distance,  serves 
to  augment  the  interest  of  this  agreeable  land- 
scape. We  even  forget  that  the  road  becomes 
again  fatiguing  and  disagreeable;  in  wet  weather 
it  is  deep  in  mud,  and  when  dry,  full  of  ruts 
difficult  to  pass  :  after  travelling  over  it  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  we  cross  the  river  Francoli 
by  a  bridge  of  six  arches,  about  a  mile  from 
Tarragona,  into  which  we  enter  by  a  pretty  steep 
hill  through  the  gate  of  San  Carlos,  which  is  of 
modern  construction. 

Tarragona,  in  Latin  Tarraco,  is  one  of  those 
famous  towns  which  only  recall  the  remem- 
brance of  their  former  grandeur,  and  serve  as  a 
comparison  for  the  vicissitudes  which  may  fall 
to  the  lot  of  the  largest  and  most  populous  ci- 
ties.    We  shall  not  stop  here  to  enquire  either; 


CATALONIA.  9$ 

into  its  origin  or  foundation,  which  some  au- 
thors have   carried   back  above   two  thousand 
years  before  the  Christian   era.     Be  that  as  it 
may,  it  must  have  been  a  considerable  place  be- 
fore the  Romans  invaded  Spain  ;  and  under  its 
new  masters  its  limits  extended  to  the  shore  and 
harbours  of  Salona,  which  at  present  is  a  league 
and  a  half  distant  from  them.     It  became,   un- 
der the  dominion  of  Home,   the  capital  of  the 
Tarragonese  province,  or,  in  other  words  Citerior 
Spain.  The  town  of  Tarragona  was  the  residence 
of  the  Consuls  and  the  Pretors.  TheScipios,  Oeta- 
vius  Augustus,  and  Adrian,  made  some  stay  here; 
its  antique  walls  built  by  Scipio,  were  repaired  by 
Adrian;  it  had  all  the  advantages  of  Rome  itself 
an  amphitheatre,  a  circus,  palaces,  temples,  and 
aqueducts.     In  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Adrian, 
its  circumference  was  34,  li)0  fathoms;  its  popula- 
tion was  adequate  to  its  immense  size,   if  what 
the  historian  Antonio  Augustin  says  be  accu- 
rate; he  states  it  at  600,000  families,    which 
would  make  upwards  of  2,500,000  inhabitants. 
This  historian,  who  lived  In  the  lGtli   century, 
complaining  of  the  decline   of  this   illustrious 
town,  grieves  that  in  his  days   there    were  only 
b0,000  families    in  it,    or  about  380,000  inhabi- 
tants;  but  Mariana,    who  was  almost   contem- 
porary with   him,    dec  laics   that   the  population 
of  it  was  not  above  7000  families,  and  that  t; 

re  not  2000  houses  in  it.     Its  power  first 
declined   under   the   (  Euric    their   kiri£ 


Û|.  CATALOXt.4. 

took  it  in  46"7,  and  his  soldiers,  in  revenge  fof 
its  resistance,  destroyed  it.  It  was  again  sack- 
ed by  the  Moors,  who  besieged  it  in  714,  and 
put  all  the  inhabitants  to  the  sword.  Louis 
d'Aquitaine  drove  out  the  Moors  in  thé  year 
605,  but  they  recovered  it.  Raymond  Berengcr 
took      fi  i  in  1 150,  cn(\  repeopled  it  the 

year  following.  I  laving  afterwards  fallen  again 
under  the  yoke  of  the  Moors,  it  was  finally  re- 
scued from  them  by  Alfonso  el  Batallador,  king 
of  Aragon  in  1C£0.  Tarragona  is  at  present  re- 
duced in  its  size  to  about  MOO  fathoms  in  cir- 
cumference, a  population  of  0000  soul?,  very 
ordinary  buildings,  and  almost  to  a  state  of  po- 
verty. 

Situation.  Extent.  Tarragona  is  at  present  situated  on  an 
eminence  of  rocks  elevated  about  seven  hundred  and  sixty 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sèa,  and  near  the  river  Francoli. 
It  is  surrounded  with  walls,  and  has  six  gates  and  two  castlci 
of  little  impov  bat   of  the  Â7>?£,  and  that  of  the  Ta* 

tiiarc/i. 

Clergy.  Tarragona  is  the  See  of  one  of  the  most  ancient 
archbishoprics  of  Spain  ;  it  existed  under  king  Waraba  ;  and 
was  reestablished  in  10S8,  by  Raymond  Berenger,  count  of 
Barcelona,  after  having  expelled  the  Moors  from  it.  For- 
merly its  jurisdiction  extended  very  far;  but  it  has  been  di- 
mi:i  .he  erection  of  new  superior  jurisdictions.     At 

7  sent  this  See  has  the  bishop  of  Ivica,  and  the  seven  bishops 
of  Catalonia.  jans.     Its  diocese  contains  a  cathedra] 

chapter,  and  seven  hundred  and  forty  parishes  ;  the  arch- 
fcfishtJp  !..'.-  the  i  '.':•  of  prince  of  Tarragona;  he  crowned  the 
ling»  of  Aragon.     The  tow»  haa  only  one  parish,  which  i? 


'    \  TALON  I  A.  ;-■;-> 

• 

i>d  to  the  cathedral;  it  has  monasteries,  four  nunnei 
and  one  house  of  Béguines  of  the  order  of  Saint  Dominic. 

The  cathedral  has  seven  dignitaries  twenty-one  canons, 
twenty-three  prebendaries,  and  forty  beneficed  clergymen. 

The  Slates-general  of  Catalonia  formerly  assembled  in  this 
town,  and  fifteen  councils  have  been  held  here,  that  of  1 
annulled  the  marriage  of  James  I.  king  of  Aragon,  with  an 
infanta  of  Castile.  That  of  1240  threatened  the  archbishop 
of  Toledo  with  excommunication  if  he  continued  to  act  a? 
primate  of  Spain.  That  in  1-iCi  was  the  most  remarkable; 
the  cardinal  de  Foix,  legate  of  Martin  the  Fifth  was  the  pre- 
sident, the  object  of  it  was  to  put  an  end  to  the  schism  which 
bad  long  divided  the  church.  Gil  sans  de  Munos,  who  had 
teen  elected  Pope  by  the  cardinals,  in  obedience  of  the 
anti-pope  Bennett  the  13th,  relinquished  the  popedom,  and 
with  his  cardinals  reentered  into  the  union  of  the  Roman 
church. 

Hospitals.     A  general  hospital  for  orphans. 

Çi&U  and  MiHturi/  Administration.  Tarragona  is  the  c\. 
place  of  acorregidorat,  which  contains  one  hundred  and  ninety 
feulements  ;  it  has  a  civil  and  military  governor,  a  king's  lieu- 
tenant, a  major,  a  garrison  of  fifty  men,  an  alcalde  major  for 
the  administration  of  justice,  a  minister  of  the  marine,  a  port 
captain,  and  a  board  of  public  economy. 

I'ublic  Instruction.  A  school  for  the  education  of  young 
adies,  aud  a  college  for  b 

It  likewise  had  a  university,  which  wa*  founded  in  15"'2by 
the  arebbisbop  Gaspard  de  G  and  which  was  includ- 

ed with  the  universities,  of  Catatonia  suppressed  by  Philip 
the  fifth. 

Sdjfiou.  'I  lie  cathedral  church  is  at  present  the  only  build- 

b  eh  <  .ni  is  attend  ion,  nor  is  it  o  i  to  d<  I  tin  us 

Et  ii  m  6  ne  sp  i<  ioui  ■  d  '      h  iill  .  one  bun* 

dred  -,       , 

vide,  and  i»  divided  into  a  body  and  two  titles:   winch  are 


§6  CATALONÏA. 

separated  by  five  arches  on  each  side  :  they  are  supported  hj 
great  pillais  of  an  enormous  size,  on  each  of  which  twelve 
Corinthian  columns  are  clustered;  the  architecture  of  the 
vault  is  Gothic.  The  cross  of  the  church  ia  large  and  open» 
well,  forming  a  kind  of  octagon  dome,  but  heavy  and  without 
grace  ;  the  principal  altar  is  almost  entirely  formed  by  the 
union  of  several  slabs  of  very  fine  white  marble  in  demi-relief, 
representing  divers  events  of  the  life  and  death  of  St.  Tecle  ; 
the  figures  being  too  numerous  produce  confusion,  but  there 
are  some  parts  in  detail  very  pleasing.  The  chapels  are 
worth  inspection,  that  of  St.  Francis  for  two  large  pictures  of 
him,  that  of  St.  Cecilia  for  the  tomb  of  Cervantes  Tautillo,  car- 
dinal and  archbishop  of  Tarragona  ;  that  of  the  Conception 
for  its  paintings  and  gildings  ;  that  of  the  Holy  Sacrament  for 
the  tomb  of  the  famous  historian  Don  Antonio  Augustin,  who 
was  also  archbishop  of  Tarragona,  and  legate  of  the  holy  See 
in  Spain  ;  that  of  St.  Tecle  for  its  form  and  decorations  all  in 
marble.  We  go  from  the  church  into  a  great  square  cloister 
which  has  six  large  arcades  on  every  side,  each  of  which  is 
divided  into  three  smaller  arches;  the  latter  are  supported  by 
Doric  columns  of  white  marble  ;  their  capitals  are  ornamented 
with  bass-reliefs  of  great  delicacy,  representing  different  things, 
such  as  foliage,  branches  of  trees,  birds,  other  animals,  figure:. 
of  infants,  of  men,  and  other  devices. 

Promenades.  There  is  nothing  pleasant  in  the  town  except 
its  situation  ;  in  other  respects  it  is  very  gloomy,  without 
pleasures,  society,  or  public  amusements  ;  the  streets  are' 
narrow,  short,  crooked,  and  frequently  hilly  ;  the  houses  are 
ill  built,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  number,  which  look 
well  enough.  Theiv  are  no  squares,  fountains,  wells,  or  pro- 
menades ;  those  in  which  they  walk  do  not  deserve  this  name, 
being  only  a  beaten  road  un  one  side  of  it,  and  a  kind  of  ter- 
race, very  short,  which  looks  over  the  sea  ;  both  are  without 
trees,  or  any  other  cover.  Within  fifteen  years  a  large  street 
bas  been  built  leading  to  the  gate  of  San-Carlos:  it  is  very 
long,  broad,  straight,  and  contains  some  fine  buildings. 


CATALONIA.  97 

Climate.  Tarragona  has  a  fine  sky,  and  the  climate  is  tem- 
perate, but  rather  warm  than  cdld.  There  are  frequently  vio- 
lent winds  here.  Provisions  are  good,  the  fruits  are  delicious, 
and  the  wine  excellent,  but  strong.  The  town  had  no  fountain 
or  well  water  ;  the  inhabitants  were  reduced  to  drink  cistern 
water,  which  was  commonly  bad,  when  the  last  archbishop 
built  a  superb  acqueduct,  which  conveys  excellent  water  to 
the  town.  This  acqueduct  is  partly  built  on  the  ruins  of  a 
similar  work  erected  by  the  Romans. 

"We  have  already  spoken  of  the  several  sieges 
which  Tarragona  formerly  sustained  :  since  then, 
this  town,  revolting  with  the  rest  of  Catalonia 
against  Philip  IV.  was  besieged  and  taken  by  the 
troops  of  its  sovereign  in  1640.  Four  years  after, 
it  was  besieged  by  the  French,  who  were  forced 
to  raise  the  blockade  ;  at  the  beginning  of  the 
lgth  century  it  followed  the  Austrian  party; 
gave  i 'self  up  in  170J  to  the  Archduke,  and  open- 
ed its  gates  to  the  English  troops,  who,  after  the 
peace  of  Utrecht,  in  17  IS,  set  lire  to  the  town 
when  they  left  it.  This  conflagration  destroyed 
a  part  of  the  buildings  and  fortifications.  This 
vas  the  period  of  the  total  decline  of  Tarragona: 
it  is  now  beginning  to  recover  itself. 

The  new  port,  the  building  of  which  was  begun 

en  or  eight  years  ago,  and  which  will  be  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  Mediterranean,  must  ncccs- 

:ly  contribute  to   the  prosperity  of  Tarra- 
gona;  it  will  make  it  an  important  fortified 
,;,  and  one  of  a  profitable  commerce* 

We  Leaflre  Tarragona  by  the  Barcelona  gate, 

I  H 


98  CAIALONÎA. 

and  pursue  tor  twenty  minutes  the  side  of  asfee*p 
and  rocky  mountain.  '1  his  road  was  forrrferly 
covered  with  unequal  brok(  tt  marhle  ;  we  then 
proceed  along  the  séa-shore,  and  travel  for 
three-quarters  of  a  league  on  soft  sand;  some- 
times so  near  the  sea  that  the  waves  break  at 
the  horses' feet  :  we  then  return  inland,  but  to 
no  great  distance  from  the  sea-shore.  A  few 
years  si  nee,  this  road  was  entirely  new  made, 
and  is  now  complete.  We  see  to  the  left, 
at  a  small  distance,  the  village  Ferrent;  and 
cross  the  river  Jaya.  Soon  afterwards  we  arrive 
at  Alta-Fulla,  a  town  almost  entirely  rebuilt, 
and  situated  on  the  sea-side. 

In  the  road  which  we  have  passed,  we  leave 
to  the  left  a  Roman  monument,  on  a  spot  called 
Las  Plagas  Llargas:  a  pi  pular  tradition  makes 
it  the  tomb  of  the  Scipios,  but  without  any  pro- 
bability. Having  passed  the  small  town  of 
Torre  en  Bfrra,  surrounded  with  fields  sown 
with  corn  or  planted  with  vines,  we  arrive  at 
the  Venta  de  la  Figareta,  near  which  there  are 
seme  houses  standing  together;  in  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  after  we  see  on  the  road  a  fine  trium- 
phal arch  of  Roman  construction,  in  free-stone, 
and  of  the  Corinthian  order  ;  the  country  peo- 
ple call  it  Portai  de  Bara.  In  an  hour  and  a  half 
afterwards  we  arrive  at  Vendrele,  a  small  town 
on  an  eminence;  its  ancient  walls  are  still  seen; 
it  lias  two  fauxbourgs\  the  one   which  is  the 


CATALONIA.  OD 

largest  and  lower  than  the  town,  is  separated 
from  it  by  a  small  river  which  has  no  bridge  ; 
the  parish  church  has  a  square  tower,  with  two 
stories  of  massy  architecture,  for  a  steeple,  on 
these  are  placed  three  other  stories,  smaller  and 
more  airy,  in  the  form  of  an  octagon. 

On  the  left,  at  a  quarter  of  a  league,  we  leave 
Sauta-Oliba,  a  large  village,  in  the  middle  of 
a  fine  country  ;  at  the  same  time  we  see  in 
front,  at  a  little  to  the  left,  Mont-Serrat,  which 
we  perceive  for  a  long  time.  We  go  to  the  smali 
village  of  Belvey,  then  to  Gonial,  formerly  a  for- 
tified town,  placed  on  a  hill  ;  there  are  still  some 
of  its  ancient  walls  remaining.  To  the  left  we 
see  the  village  of  Baueras,  situated  on  a  height, 
and  at  length  arrive,  by  a  rugged  and  difficult 
ascent,  at  Arbos,  a  small  insulated  town,  also 
situated  on  a  height,  agreeably  commanding  a 
fertile  country;  it  has  still  the  ruins  of  gates, 
walls  and  moats.  The  steeple  of  the  church  is 
in  the  form  of  an  octagon  tower,  which  ter- 
minates in  a  terrace,  and  is  ornamented  with  a 
stone  balustrade.  We  go  round  this  town,  and 
a  descent  leads  into  a  line  valley,  watered  by  't 
small  river:  it  is  Surrounded  by  curtains  of  ver- 
dure; the  fields  and  vineyards  seem  mixed  and 
confounded  one  with  the  other;  it  is  com- 
manded at  one  end  by  the  village  oï  J'upio/, 
which  we  see  at  three  hundred  paces  to  the 
left 

H  2 


100  CATALONIA. 

A  wood  of  pine-trees  begins  here  ;  it  is  more 
than  a  league  long,  alternately  opening  and 
closing-,  extending  and  contracting  ;  it  spreads 
at  first  over  the  neighbouring  heights,  and 
covers  a  small  plain  through  which  we  have 
to  pass  ;  it  opens  circularly,  embracing  three 
other  valleys  in  succession  ;  then,  continuing,  it 
opens  and  shews  a  Dominican  convent  to  the 
right,  built  on  the  side  of  a  mountain  :  it  after- 
wards agreeably  leads  to  a  small  distance  from 
Villa  Franca.  We  go  on  to  Bordeta,  an  assemblage 
of  small  uniform  houses,  built  on  the  same  line, 
opposite  the  Dominican  convent  ;  we  then  cross  a 
river  over  a  bridge  which  brings  us  to  the  ham- 
let  of  Los  JMonges,  where  there  are  several  inns. 
An  hour  and  a  half  afterwards  we  arrive  at 
VU 'la- Franca  de  Panada. 

Villa -Fraxca,  an  ancient  town,  which 
Amilcar  Barcas,  the  Carthaginian  general  is 
said  to  have  founded,  was  the  first  colony  that 
that  nation  had  in  the  peninsula  :  it  is  pretend- 
ed that  it  was,  at  that  time,  called  Carthago 
retus  ;  but  it  is  more  probable  that  the  site  of 
the  town  was  on  an  eminence,  where  the  her- 
mitage of  Saint  Michael,  of  Olcrdofa,  is  now  to- 
be  seen.  It  was  subdued  by  the  Romans, 
and  Moors,  and  conquered  by  the  counts  of  Bar- 
celona ;  one  of  whom,  Raymond  Borrel,  re- 
peopled  it  in  the  year  1000,  and  granted  il 
many     privileges,      from    which     it     acquired 


CATALONIA.  101 

Its  present  name.  This  town  is  the  chief 
place  of  the  Pa?iadez,  and  contains  1  ll2  villages 
in  its  circuit  :  it  has  a  civil  and  military  gover- 
nor, an  alcalde  major,  eight  regidors,  a  parish 
church,  three  monasteries,  one  nunnery,  an 
hospital,  an  hermitage  of  St.  Laurent,  and  one 
chapel  of  Oar  Lady  cf  Sorrows;  the  altar  of 
which,  famous  in  the  country,  cost  a  great 
deal,  but  is  of  bad  taste.  The  town  is  in  a  very 
fine  situation,  in  the  middle  of  a  large  and  rich 
plain;  but  within  it  is  gloomy;  the  streets  are 
narrow,  and  the  houses  ill  built.  It  wants 
squares,  elegant  buildings,  and  even  prome- 
nades, though  in  a  situation  where  very  fine 
ones  may  be  made;  its  population  is  about  six 
thousand  persons,  whose  industry  is  confined  to 
one  manufactory  for  linens;  and  ten  or  twelve 
distilleries  of  brandy.  There  is  an  excellent 
inn  here,  kept  in  the  French  style.  This 
town  was  the  birth-place  of  Pedro  Camaiia,  who 
lias  left  several  works  on  judicial  astrology  ;  he 
lived  in  the  17th  century. 

We  leave  I "ilia- Franca  by  a  good  road  lately 
made;    we  cross  a  valley   where  united  beauties 
agreeably   h>:   the  attention;   it   is   an  absolute 
garden.      We  proceed  to  the  I'cnla  de  l'usaroja, 
!  see,   at  three  bundled  paees  to  the  kit,   the 
village  of  San-Culuul.     The  road,  though  equal- 
ly handsome,  begins  to  be  muddy  lure,  and  eou- 
90   for  a  long   way.      When  wc  get    into 
n  3 


102  CATATONIA. 

the  mountains  we  do  not  leave  them  again  til) 
we  approach   the   Llobregât  ;  but  the   ascents 

and  descents  are  gentle.  We  proceed  mostly 
through  deep  and  narrow  passes,  enclosed  by 
mountains,  sometimes  naked,  and  sometimes 
covered  with  woods;  there  are  some  small  cul- 
tivated valleys  here  which  are  watered  some  by 
brooks,  and  others  by  small  rivers  ;  there  are 
also  detached  houses,  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  vcntas,  or  inns:  that  of  the  Vaila  Xcva, 
or  Hosted  de  Orlal,  has  the  préférence,  liait  a 
league  further,  that  is,  three  leagues  and  a  half 
from  Villa  Franca,  the  road  turns  on  the  side 
of  a  very  steep  mountain  ;  and  there  is  no  other 
way  than  a  passage  cut  out  of  the  rock,  where  a 
communication  between  the  two  pails  oi'  the 
mountain  is  established  to  provide  against  dan- 
gers ;  this  structure  calls  to  mind  the  Romain 
works  :  it  is  a  succession  and  a  double  row  of 
arches,  of  a  considerable  height,  resembling  tv.  «. 
bridges  raised  one  above  the  other.  The  lower 
lias  seven  arches  ;  the  higher,  which  is  on  .1 
level  with  the  road,  has  thirteen  ;  each  arch 
being  twenty-live  feet  high  and  thirty-one  wide, 
all  in  free-stone,  and  built  over  enormous  mas- 
ses of  the  same  stone  ;  the  whole  is  above  seven 
hundred  feet  long.  This  superb  work,  almost 
finished  a  long  time  ago,  Mas,  nevertheless, 
abandoned,  and  travellers  were  forced  to  alight 
from  their  carriages  to  walk  by  a  difficult  foot- 


CATALONÎA.  103 

path,  which  leads  them  above  the  lower  part  of 
this  building,  the  whole  length  of  which  they 
vent  over  by  means  of  small  gates  formed  on 
the  jams  of  six  of  the  higher  arches  ;  and  while 
they  found  it  difficult  to  cross  to  the  other  side 
of  the  mountain,  they  had  the  disagreeable 
sight  of  their  carriage,  which  was  left  on  the 
parrow  foot-path,  exposed  to  destruction  by 
overturning  into  a  deep  gulley,  from  which  it 
would  have  been  impossible  to  extricate  it. 
His  Catholic  Majesty,  in  his  journey  through 
Catalonia,  gave  orders  for  the  finishing  of  this 
building,  and  it  has  for  a  year  past  been  put  to 
the  use  for  which  it  was  intended. 

We  now*  arrive  at  the  hamlet  of  la  Palmay 
and  afterwards  at  the  l\)itci  del  Lladoner;  a 
league  further  on  we  find  those  of  del  Cipreret 
and  del  liquet.  Houses  and  detached  farms,  * 
but  at  no  great  distance  from  one  another,  ap- 
pear, and  enliven  the  dales  and  little  valleys 
through  which  we  pass:  on  the  mountains,  at 
very  great  depths,  we  iind  layers  of  schistic*  be- 
tween calcareous  beds.  At  length  descend- 
ing from  the  mountains,  we  leave  to  the  left 
the  road  which  goes  from  Barcelona  to  Aragon, 
and  perceive,  on  the  saint  .side,  the  vill  ge  of 
Pereja;  we  enter  an  alley  of  poplars  which  leads 
to  the  Llobregat,  over  which  we  cross  by  th< 
bridge  of  Molina  de  Rey,  of  which  we  have  al- 
ready spoken.      To  the   left    is    the  village  and 

ii  4 


104  CATALONIA. 

venta  of  the  same  name.  The  road  whieli  we  thea 
lake  would  be  a  fine  one,  if  it  were  not  always 
either  muddy  or  dusty  ;  it  leads  in  a  direct  line 
to  the  gates  of  Barcelona,  and  is  bordered  with 
poplars,  willows,  elms,  and  mulberry-trees. 
There  are  frequent  ascents  and  descents,  but 
they  are  gentle  and  easy.  We  see  the  large  vil- 
lage of  San-Fdiu  ;  and  pass  through  it  by  a 
broad  and  very  long  street,  in  which  there  are 
some  good  houses.  The  prospect  of  the  en- 
virons of  Barcelona  now  presents  itself  to  us 
under  a  new  point  of  view,  and  with  the  same 
magnificence.  To  the  left  we  have  a  sight  of 
the  village  of  Gmesiera,  on  a  hill,  and  that  of 
P  hives,  also  on  a  small  eminence;  in  front  the 
castle  of  Mount-Jouy,  and  to  the  right  the  vil- 
lage of  San-Boy.  After  having  passed  some 
country-houses,  and  to  the  left  the  hill  on 
which  the  village  of  St.  Just  is  situated,  we  per- 
ceive Barcelona,  which  we  soon  lose  behind  the 
hills,  with  which  this  road  abounds  ;  the  view 
is  terminated  by  a  long  row  of  houses,  which  at 
one  end  join  the  village  of  Saria,  and  at  the 
other  the  town  of  Barcelona. 

STATISTICAL    ABSTRACT    RELATIVE    PARTICU- 
LARLY   TO    CA  TALON  JA. 

Population.  Catalonia  had  formerly  an  immense  popula- 
tion, if  we  may  judge  by  the  numerous  armies  which  it  kept 
on  foot,  by  the  considerable  fleets  which  it  equipped,  by  the 
conquests  which  it  made  in  Greece,  and  lastly  by  the  great 


CATALONIA.  105 

number  of  settlements  spread  over  it,  and  of  which  the  name 
and  memory  are  alone  preserved. 

The  frequent  wars,  of  which  it  was  the  theatre,  or  which 
it  carried  into  the  neighbouring  countries  the  cruises  and 
enterprises  of  the  Barbary  corsairs,  the  fall  of  its  manufao 
tures  and  immense  commerce,  and  the  emigration  of  its  in  - 
habitants  to  Italy,  Flanders  and  America,  have  gradually 
decreased  its  population. 

It-  greatest  decline  took  place  in  the  16th  century;  it  was 
-  Navajero,  the  Venetian  ambassador  say<, 
that  having  travelled  through  Catalonia  in  1523,  he  found  it  al- 
tnost  all  drpopulatcd,  and  full  of  bunds  of  robbers  and  brigands. 
The  calculation  of  Don  Jayme  Carcsmar  strengthens  this  as- 
sertion.    Tiiat  learned  friar,    svho  did  honour  to  his  c  >untry 
by  the  extent  of  his  knowledge  and  justness  of  his  mind,  dis- 
covered that  this  province   had  lost  a  quarter  of  its  ancient 
of  which  nothing  remains  but  the  name. 
The  p  i  of  Catalonia,  in  I3DS,  comprehending  the 

counties  c  Von  and  Cerdagne,  amounted   to  36'5,0;)O 

iuh.b,;   h..-:   l.i  1495,  to  4-73,000  j-Hbut  in  the  year  1.5 jo,  it 
JO  souls  at  least,  and  was  no  more  than 
.  too.     It  ■  ly  in  this  state  that   it  supported  itself 

till  the   beginning  of  the  1  ?:h  century.     A  paternal  govern- 
ment then  re-established  order  and  justice  in  it;  industry 
revived  by  the  establishment  of  manufactories;  agricul- 
ture recovered  its  energy  ",  commerce  its   activity  . 
flocked   thither    and   settled,     and    the  population   inert 
with     •  lity. 

table,  taken  from  the  diffèrent  enumerations, 
•  by  order  of  the  government,  shews  tV'  progn  >&ioool 

Population  in  1718 - 

lu  -.722    W 

In  i?87  &  1788 i  '■■<    " 


1 06  CATALONIA. 

The  last  is  nearly  the  state  of  the  present  population.  Jsî 
the  number  are, 

Parochial  Prie-ls .1082 

Priests _. _ i<)  '» 

Monks _ 4544 

Nuns -1257 

12,409 

Nobles  ., 1260 

{Students _ 6968 

Writers t»;o 

Lawyers 370 

Servants 20 

30,21? 

Villages,  formerly  of  little  note,  have  also  had  an  increase 
of  population  which  almost  equals  that  of  the  smaller  towns, 
ligueras  is  enlarged  ;  Reuss  and  Mataro  are  become  large 
towns;  the  sea-coast  is  covered  with  handsome  villages,  popu- 
lous and  opulent.  Barcelona  has  enlarged  its  limits;  and  its 
population,  which,  in  1715,  was  not  nuire  than  37,000  per- 
sons, was  in  1788,  111,400;  in  1798  it  is  said  to  have 
risen  to  130,000. 

Agriculture  and  Soi!.  Of  all  the  provinces  of  Spain,  Cata- 
lonia is  the  most  active  and  industrious,  whether  in  com- 
merce, manufactures,  or  agriculture. 

An  ungrateful  soil,  intersected  by  mountains  and  rocks,  be- 
comes productive,  and  even  fertile,  under  the  hands  of  the 
laborious  Catalonians.  Tiny  cultivate,  with  the  greatest  suc- 
cess, the  plains  and  valley-  which  their  province  contains; 
but  where  their  skill  appears  to  greatest  advantage  is  in  the 
poorest  and  driest  lands.  They  cultivate  even  craggy  rocks, 
which  seem  to  have  been  de-tined  only  for  the  residence  of 
deer,   and  which  appear   by  degrees  fertilized  fields.     The 


CATALONIA.  10/" 

Catalonian  peasants  particularly  excel  in  the  art  of  irrigation; 
the  numerous  canals  which  they  make  wonderfully  assist  their 
labours.  In  many  places  there  is  a  regularity,  or  rather  an 
exact  police,  maintained  for  watering,  founded  on  received 
customs  and  principles,  which  were  the  result  of  their  specu- 
lations. 

For  example,  the  country  about  l«rida,  which  is  three 
leagues  long  by  two  broad,  is  divided  by  the  Segra  into  two 
portions,  the  one  la  Fontanel  and  the  other  Noguera  ;  the 
former  is  irrigated  by  the  waters  of  the  Ses;ra,  taken  at  three 
leagues  distance  from  Lerida,  in  the  county  of  Villauueva  de 
la  Barca,  and  the  latter  by  the  water  taken  from  the  little 
river  of  la  Norguera  Aragoneza,  near  Pinana,  at  six  leagues 
from  Lerida.  Each  proprietor  enjoys,  in  turn,  the  right  of 
watering  for  a  limited  time,  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  the 
land  which  he  possesses,  for  an  annual  duty  of  a  small  quan- 
tity of  corn.  The  produce  of  these  duties  serves  for  keeping 
up  the  canals,  and  for  the  salary  of  the  directors  employed 
in  the  conducting  and  distributing  of  the  waters.  The  ad- 
ministration of  this  police  is  confided  to  a  junto,  or  commis- 
i-ion,  formed  by  the  corregidor,  or  alcalde-major,  a  regidor,  a 
cathedral  prebendary,  an  inferior  ecclesiastic,  and  two  far- 
mers. This  is  one  of  the  finest  and  richest  cantons;  but 
Catalonia  contains  many  others  that  come  near  it  :  the  plains 
of  Urgel,  Cardagne,  Valiez,  Selva,  Panadez,  the  plain  of 
Iqualada,  the  environs  of  Cervera,  the  superb  Campo  de  Tar- 

.    na,  anil  Ampurdan,  are  all  remarkable  for  their  fertility 
and  the  variety  of  their  productions. 

'I  be  lands  of  Catalonia  may  be  divided  iato  two  «lasses, 
into  plain?  and  rallies,  and  mountains.  The  former  are  ex- 
cellent ;  less,  however,  than  many  others  situated  in  th** 
i  of  Spain,  the  cultivation  of  which  is  unfortunately 
«  ith<  i  totally  unatttndi  d  to,  or  greatly  neglected.  The  latt<  r, 
pr  mountains]  <'ll<  r  few  resources,  The  indusl  1  >  of  the  ( 
lonians  however,  turns  il  to  agréai  advantage  ;  consequent" 
ly  productions  of  all  kind*-  aie  \ery  numesoui  ni  Catalonia, 


iOS  CATALOXIA. 

There  arc  fruit-trees  in  abundance,  chiefly  in  the  many 
beautiful  gardens  which  are  on  the  bank  of  the  Segra;  in 
those  about  Lerida,  Bangier,  Organa,  Gironne,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Jdobregat,  on  the  Ampurdan,  and  on  tlie  sea-side  fiom 
Mataro  to  Barcelona.  There  are  many  almond  and  fill 
trees  in  the  Campo  de  Tarragona,  and  in  Segara  ;  orange  and 
lemon-trees  in  the  countries  aboui  Alella,  Taya,  Promis,  Vila» 
ear,  Cabrera,  Argcntona.,  Mataro,  and  all  the  south  side.  Figs 
almost  every  where,  principally  in  the  country  of  tnea  : 

Carobs,  at.  Yendrell,  at  Caiasell,  on  the  coast  of  Tajrag 
on  that  of  Tortosa,  and  from  Badalcna  to  LWva  ,<u\t~ 

trees  at  Arbuellas,  Yilladro,  Selva,  Ujagostera,  Vjdreras,  in 
the  plain  of  Bas,  and  in  the  innumerable  garden 
country.  Walnuts  in  the  countries  of  Vicq,  St.  Hilary,  St. 
Hippolito,  Arbucias,  Valiez,  and  Gironne.*  There  are  ches- 
nuts  in  many  places,  particularly  in  the  country  of  Gironne, 
and  on  the  mountain  of  Santa-Croce  de  Osso. 

Olive-trees  are  very  numerous   in  Catalonia  ;  they  yield 
annuall}',  on  an  average,  about  1800  loads  f  of  oii,  which,  at 
als  of  Vellon  (31.  6s.  Sd.)  produce  SO,83Sl.  sterling. 

Grain  of  every  kind  is  raised  here  :  wheat,  rye,  maize,  oats, 
barley,  &c.  The  south  side,  the  country  of  Lerida,  and  the 
Ampurdan  abound  in  wheat  ;  the  mountains  and  some  vai- 
lles yield  rye  and  the  other  grains. 

The  following  table  is  the  quantity  and  value  of  them  : 


600,000  loads  of  wheat  at  144  reals,  or  £\   10  0 

120,000  loads  of  rye  at  98  reals,  or  ...  1     00 

0  loads  of  maize  at  80  reals,  or  .  .  0  16  8 


Reals  ol 
Velio». 

u»g. 

86,1' 
11,5. 
1,160,000 

£W0,00O 
120,000 
1 1 . 

99,080,000 

£1,038,33;; 

The  harvest  of  oats  is  not  considerable  ;  that  of  barley  is 
much  more  abundant. 

*  It  is  said  that  the  walnuts   alone    annually  produce  upwards  of 

_£35,416  sterling. 

f  A  load  is  equal  to  2j0  lb.  4  oz.  avoirdupois  weight. 


CATALOXIA.  109 

The  harvest  of  wheat  rarely  suffices  for  the  consumption 
*f  the  province,  which  commonly  obtains  what  it  wants 
from  Aragon,  Italy,  Africa,  and  France. 

There  are  a  great  many  vineyards  in  the  east  part  of  Cata- 
lonia the  wine  of  which  is  excellent  ;  there  are  some  also  to 
the  west  and  north,  but  the  wine  is  of  an  inferior  quality 
They  gather  yearly,  on  an  average,  about  60,000  loads  (a  load 
is  120  Paris  pints).  The  price  of  it  is  different  in  the  dif- 
ferent cantons,  or  according  to  its  quality.  The  average 
price  is  from  fifty  to  sixty  reals  the  load  (from  lis.  8d.  to 
12s.  Gd.)  The  whole  produce  amounts  to  about  4,920,000 
reals  (£0 1,250.) 

Rice  is  also  cultivated  in  many  parts,  particularly  in  the 
Ampurdan  ;  they  commonly  gather  about  S,000  loads, 
three  quintals  each,  which  sells  for  ICO  reals,  or  />'.!  13s. 
which  gives  a  produce  of  1,280,000  reals,  or  £13,333  6s.  8d. 
.Since  the  last  war,  this  produce  has  diminished  :  the  people 
of  Ampurdan,  who  were  the  first  victims  of  the  unwholesome- 
ness  of  the  air,  which  was  attributed  to  the  cultivation  of 
rice,  in  a  moment  destroyed  most  of  their  rice  fields. 

The  cultivation  of  flax  and  hemp  seems  to  be  carried  to  no 
great  extent;    it   is  attended  to,  however,  in  some  places, 
mostly  in  the  country  of  Lerida.     The  average  harvest 
Catalonia  produces  annually 

of  Velio».      Sfei  I 

18,000  quintals,  of  hem]),  at  about  £.        s.d. 

08  reals,  £\    15  0  each 8,1 64,000     32,750  0  0 

8,000  quintals  of  flax,  at  1.     r< 

or  ^2  0  10  each 1,603,000     18,750  0  0 

There  are  agréai   man]  flocks  of  sheep  in  the  different 
pari-  of  Catalonia';  thi  ■',  however,    0  numerous  at 

thry    might    Le.     The  quantity   of    wool    obtained    i 
them  rarely  exr< .  I  quintals,  which,  at  the  rat 

192  reals,  or  £1  l6Y    d.  1    •      gives  on  an  average,  annually, 
5,76*0,000  reals  (j  This  quantity  is  insufficient  for 

the  want-,  of  the  province,  and  for  iirpplyinf 


110  OATAIOXr>. 

tories  ;  it  likewise  obtains  yearly  about  10,000  quintals  {'•  ,  I 
Aragon. 

Planting  is  one  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  attention  of 
the  Catalonians  :  they  vie  with  one  another  in  multiplying 
trees  of  all  kinds,  and  in  every  part  of  their  province  they 
carefully  watch  their  growth.  There  are  beech-trees  on  the 
mountains  of  Mont-Seny  ;  elms  in  many  places;  in  the  Val- 
iez, un  the  hanks  of  the  BegOS,  the  Llobregat,  &c.  poplars 
and  willows,  pines,  cork-tiers,  and  oaks  in  great  abundance, 
on  the  Pyrcnnces,  in  the  Valiez,  and  in  the  countries  of 
Hostalric,  San  Celoni,  llici-de-Arcnas,  Palafolls,  Los  Metges, 
Romana,  &c.  ;  pine  forests  in  parts  of  Solsona,  Beigu,  Mon- 
sec,  Mauresa,  MatarOj  andGironne;  a  great  number  of  green 
oaks  in  the  countries  of  Vicq,  St.  Hilairio,  Arbucias,  Villadrau, 
Kit  11^,  Amer,  the  Ainpnnlan,  and  on  the  mountains  between 
Gironne  and  Aulot:  a  great  quantity  of  shrubs,  such  as  the 
Arbutus,  myrtles,  &e.  as  well  on  the  chain  of  mountains  near 
Barcelona,  as  on  those  of  Mon.t-Negrej  Vallgorguina,  Mont- 
Serrat,  San-Gran,  San-Daniel,  beyond  Gironne,  and  between 
Blanat  andSan-Felieude  Guinols  ;  cork-trees,  in  the  Concade 
Tremp,  on  the  mountains  of  Alsinella,  in  the  valley  of  Aro, 
in  the  county  of  Darnius,  on  the  mountains  of  Resequens,  &c. 
these  last  trees  are  extremely  numerous.  The  oaks  yield  a 
great  quantity  of  acorns.  The  cork-trees  are  stripped  of 
their  bark,  which  furnishes  about  33,000  quintals  annually  ; 
this  at  720  reals,  or  .£7  10  each  quintal,  gives  25,700,000 
reals,  or  <£2t7,500.  This  province  furnishes  almost  the 
whole  of  Europe  with  cork. 

There  are  very  few  mulberry-trees  in  Catalonia,  though 
they  thrive  very  well.  They  breed  consequently  fewer  silk- 
worms than  some  other  provinces  of  Spain  ;  not  making  much 
mere  than  200,000  pounds  of  silk,  which  sells  for  IS  reals, 
or  10s.  the  pound. 

The  madder,  the  root  of  which  is  of  great  use  in  dying, 
was  not  cultivated  in  Catalouia  till  lately,  and  is  still  an  in- 
considerable object. 


CATALONIA. 


in 


ïn  giving  here  a  table  of  the  productions  of  ihi*.  province, 
we  are  confined  to  the  most  remarkable,  and  such  as  are  ab- 
solute necessaries  ;  we  have  no  account  to  be  depended  upon 
of  other  productions,  such  as  barky,  oats,  almonds,  nuts, 
chesnuts,  carobs,   and  other  fruits. 


PrtK 

A  MO  IN  r. 

Hull*. 

Quantity. 

Reals  of 

Sterling. 

Reals  of 

Sterling. 

Villon. 

Vellon. 

Wool    •• 

quint. 

192 

•2 

0     0 

5,760,000 

55,000     0  O 

Silk   •••• 

>  lb. 

48 

0 

10     0 

■0,000 

100,000     0  0 

Wheat  •  • 

600,000  load 

144 

1 

10    o 

87,61 

912,500    0  0 

Ry 

1  load 

96 

1 

0     0 

11,53 

00     0  0 

Maize  •  • 

22,000  load 

SO 

0 

16     8 

1,16 

1S,353     6  8 

Rice.... 

1  load 

160 

1 

13     4 

1,2 

1  \:  33     6  8 

Oil    •••• 

Ion! 

320 

3 

6     8      5,76  ,000 

60,000     0  0 

Wine     •• 

60,000  load 

64 

i) 

13     4     4,920,000 

51,250     0  0 

V. 

10  sacks 

96 

1 

0     0     3,400,000 

35,416  13  4 

Hemp  ■  • 

1  8,000  quint. 

16S 

1 

15     01     5.164,000 

32,750     0  O 

Max 

8,000  quiot 

196 

2 

0  10      1,6<     001 

16,750     0  O 

Cork 

3.3,000  quint. 

7J0 
i 

h 

10     I 
Total 

23,760,000 

247,875     0  0 

160,124,000 

1,663,208     6  3 

Manufactures.  The  labour  and  industry  of  the  Catalonians 
are  not  confined  to  agriculture;  they  themselves  work  the 
raw  matt-rials  which  ;t  furnishes. 

Catalonia  had,  m  t ht-  remotest  times,  celebrated  and  con- 
sideiable  n  anufa  ici  -.  Jt  manufactured  cloths  and  various 
other  woollen  stuff»;  all  kinds  «>f  s.lks  and  velvets,  linens, 
hemp  and  cotton  cloths  ;  and  it  had  excellent  dyers.  In  speak- 
ing of  its  panerai  commerce,  we  shall  mention  the  causes 
which  occasioned  the  decline  of  its  manufactures,  and  those 
which  revived  'hem  in  the  18  h  centurj  ;  they  have  rapidly 
increased  in  more  than  one  kind,  and  we  shall  here  give  a 
view  oi  them. 

Silk  Si    '  .    These  are  manufactured  at  Manre  a,  Cardona, 

and  M  laro,  which  has  forty-eight  looms,  but  principally  at 

Barcelona,  «   ere  there  are  five   hundred  and  twenty-four. 

i         tin  y  make  vi  ;  as,  damasks,  silk-,  tafetas,  and 

d  silvei     nil        rhe  town  ol  Barcelona  alone  uses  an* 

nually  !iOO,OOU  lbs,  ol  raw  silk. 


Il:  C  A  TA  tO>*  I  A. 

• 
Tutlhts,  Handkerchief*,  and  Silk  Sashes.  They  make  a  great 

quantity  of  these  at  Barcelona,  where  there  aie  a  good 
many  little  manufactories  of  this  kind  :  there  are  a  hundred 
and  fifty  looms  at  ïteuss,  and  six  hundred  at  Manresa.  At 
the  last  place  sixty-thousand  dozen  handkerchiefs  are  made, 
which  take  about  70,000 lbs.  of  raw  silk. 

Gauzes.  The  manufacture  of  these  is  considerable  at  Bar- 
celona, where  they  are  made  plain  and  striped,  while,  and 
of  all  colours.  Some  time  ago  a  particular  manufactory  was 
established  there  for  gauzes  in  imitation  of  blond  lace. 

Silk  Twisters.  There  are  some  of  these  in  several  towns  ;  a 
great  many  in  Barcelona.  There  are  eighteen  frames  at 
Mataro  which  twist,  one  year  with  another,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  quintals  of  silk;  and  thirty^seven  at  Tarragona, 
which  twist  eleven  thousand  quintals. 

Silk  Stocking*.  These  are  made  at  Tarragona,  Mataro, 
Aulot,  Manresa,  and  Barcelona.  At  .Mataro  there  are  fifty- 
two  looms,  and  at  Barcelona  nine  hundred. 

Cotton  Stockings.  They  are  made  in  the  Asylum  at 
Gironne,  at  Arens-del-Mar,  Villanova,  Mataro,  Tarragona. 
Aulot,  and  Vice].  In  the  fast  town  there  are  three  manufac- 
tories, at  Mataro  one  hundred  and  sixteen  looms,  and  at 
«Aulot  ninety. 

Worsted  Stockings.  These  likewise  are  made  in  the  Asylum 
at  Gironne,  at  Arens-del-Mar,  Aulot,  and  Vicq:  the  town 
of  Aulot  makes  a  great  number,  and  Vicq  furnishes  twenty- 
four  thousand  pair  every  year. 

Blankets.  There  are  several  manufactories  of  blankets  in 
different  parts  of  Barcelona;  they  are  good,  but  not  fine, 
light,  or  handsome. 

Rateens.    There  is  a  manufacture  of  them  at  Aulot. 

Coarse  Cloth,  Serges,  Frieze.  There  aie  a  considerable 
number  of  manufactories  of  these  to  be  found  at  Aulot. 
Gironne,  Tarrassa,  Capelladas,  Centellas,  Sabadel,  Esparra- 

G 


CATALONIA.  US 

guera,  tJrgell,  Camprodon,  Cardona,  Solsona,  Vicq,  and 
Monistrol. 

Fine  Cloths.  Several  manufactories  are  established  at  Tar- 
rassa,  an  ancient  Roman  town,  three  leagues  from  Barcelona, 
where  Roman  relics  are  still  found:  it  is  the  ancient  Egara. 
There  are  seventeen  manufactories  at  Tarrassa,  the  cloths  are  of 
a  quality  approaching  to  those  of  Elbeuf;  but  they  are  not  suf- 
ficiently beaten,  and  they  do  not  take  the  dark  colours 
well. 

Linens.  These  are  in  the  hands  of  private  weavers  settled 
at  different  places,  but  there  is  no  manufactory  on  a  large 
scale.  Agramunt,  Banolas,  Capellados,  Cardona,  and  Vicq, 
are  the  places  where  we  meet  most  of  the  private  looms. 
They  are  in  general  common  or  household  linens.  The  quan- 
tity made  yearly  at  Ma» aro  is  about  two  thousand  varas  :  at 
Vicq  the  consumption  of  flax  amounts  to  about  three  thousand 
quintals,  and  of  hemp  to  nine  thousand.  There  are  also  fire 
manufactories  of  sail-cloth  at  Mataro. 

Laces  and  Blonds.  These  constitute  the  employment  of 
women  and  children.  The  work  is  principally  done  at  Pi- 
neda, Malgrat,  San-Celoni,  Tosa,  Canet,  Arens,  Callcla,  San- 
Pol,  Mataro,  Esparraguera,  Martorell,  and  Barcel  ma. 

Tapes  and  Nets.  These  two  articles  and  the  making  of  lace 
e mploy  twelve  thousand  persons  in  Barcelona  alone. 

Ribbons  and  Galloons.  There  are  eighty-nine  looms  at  Ma- 
taro, five  hundred  at  Manresa,  and  two  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred at  Barcelona. 

Silk  and  Cotton  Bindings.  Most  of  these  are  made  at 
Manresa,  where  there  are  four  hundred  looms;  at  EteUM 
there  are  forty  for  cotton  tapes;  a»  Tarragona  they  mike, 
one  year  with  another,  nin<  hundred  thousand  pieces;  and 
gt  Hareelona  they  al>o  make  a  great  quantity  <>l  both  sorts. 

C  '■itton-spinning.  There  are  ninety-nine  placet  for  spinning 
cotton   in  Harcelona.      At  Aulot  there  are  two  hundred  and 

a  machinei  ;  and  at  Reusi,  where  'here  arc  three  bun- 
I .  I.  I 


114  CATALONIA. 

tlreil  and  thirty-three,  the  quantity  of  cotton  thread  spui> 
every  day  weighs  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  which  gives 
employaient  to  one  thousand  three  hundred  women. 

Cotton  Stuff's.  These  are  made  in  the  Asylum  at  Gironne, 
at  Arena,  and  at  Tosa.  There  are  two  manufactories  of  them 
at  Mataro,  five  at  Aulot,  a  great  number  at  Reuss,  which  em- 
ploy two  hundred  and  forty  looms;  a  still  greater  number  at 
Barcelona,  where  they  reckon  four  thousand  looms,  which 
employ  ten  thousand  seven  hundred  persons.  Here  cottons 
are  woven  to  be  stairied  in  imitation  of  the  Indian  calicoes  and 
for  clothes,  white,  coloured,  plain  and  striped  ;  fustians, 
muslins,  velvets,  ami  nankeens.  Muslin  is  also  made  at  Tar- 
ragona. At  Barcelona  alone  the  manufacturers  make  every 
year  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  pieces  of  calico, 
fine,  middling,  and  of  a  common  quality  for  printing;  thir- 
teen thousand  pieces  of  nankeen,  velvets,  and  striped  cotton, 
nine  thousand  pieces  white  for  clothes,  &c.  and  three  thousand 
seven  hundred  pieces  of  fine  and  middling  musliris. 

Printed  Calicoes.  The  manufactories  of  these  are  very  nu- 
merous :  they  reckon  eighteen  at  Mataro,  nineteen  at  Man- 
rcsa,  nine  at  Vicq,  twelve  at  Reuss,  fourteen  at  Aulot,  eight 
at  Igualada,  and  two  hundred  at  Barcelona. 

Hats.  At  Barcelona  four  manufactories  ;  at  Manresatwo; 
«it  Vicq  two;  at  Mataro  six.  These  hats  are  in  general  coarse 
and  heavy. 

Playing  Cards.     They  are  made  at  Aulot. 
Soaps.     The  soft  soap  is  manufactured  by  several  indivi- 
duals at  Tortosa.     For  the  hard  soap  there  are  manufactories 
at  Aulot,  Yillanova,  and  Tortosa. 

Gim-powder.  There  are  two  manufactories  at  Manresa,  but 
they  work  only  in  winter. 

Skins,  Leather,  and  Shoe-soles.  A  sufficient  quantity  of 
these  are  prepared  and  made  to  supply  the  province,  to  fur- 
ni-ii    materials  for  seven  hundred  thousand  pair  of  shoes, 


CATALONIA.  115 

which  are  yearly  sent  out  of  Catalonia,  and  to  export  shoe- 
soles  to  the  value  of  nearly  «£42,000  sterling.  There  are  se- 
veral manufactories  of  these  articles  at  Barcelona,  three  at 
Vicq,  three  at  Tortosa,  seven  at  Aulot,  and  eight  at  Ma- 
ta ro. 

Shoes.  They  make  shoes  at  Barcelona  to  be  sent  into  the 
other  provinces  of  Spain,  and  for  exportation  to  some  of  the 
American  colonies.  Generally  seven  hundred  thousand  pair 
are  sent  every  year  out  of  the  country,  which  produce 
7,400  000  reals  or  upwards  of  £77,000  sterling. 

White  Glass.  For  some  time  past  there  have  been  glass- 
houses at  Barcelona,  where  panes  of  every  size  for  windows 
are  made. 

Earthen-ware.  There  are  two  manufactories  at  Tortosa, 
where  a  very  common  sort  is  made. 

Aquafortis.     It  is  made  at  Manresa. 

Salt  of  Saturn.     Two  manufactories  in  the  last  town. 

Cutlery,  Iron-ware,  and  Locksmith's  Work.  A  great  many 
of  these  articles  are  made  at  Cardona  and  Solsona  ;  but  the 
workmanship  is  neither  delicate  nor  finished.  Shears  are 
principally  made  at  Aulot  and  Monistrol. 

Iron  and  Brass  -j.irc.     These  are  made  at  Salient. 

Anchors.  The  forges  are  at  Pineda,  Malgrat,  San-Pol,  Ca- 
Ulla,  and  Arens  del  Mar. 

Fire  Arms.  A  great  quantity  are  made  at  Barcelona, 
Jgualada,  and  Ri  poll  :  the  last  place  is  very  famous  for  them. 

Cannon.  There  is  a  very  fine  foundery  at  Barcelona,  which 
belongs  to  the  king,  the  cannon  are  of  brass.  » 

Paper.  This  branch  of  commerce  lias  considerably  in- 
creased.   There  were  but  eigbty-ii*  mills  in  Catalonia  in 

1776;  in  \7*'j  they  reckoned  one  hundred  and  sixty,  and  at 
present  there  tut  more  than  two  liiiiidivd.  Th<  y  have  thrm 
Bt  Aulot,  Alcoccr,  Bereytc,  M;mre:.i,  C'eiiKi,  Capelladai,  San* 

I    tl 


116  CATALONIA. 

Celoni,  Vails,  all  along  the  road  to  Martorell,  &c#  The 
quantity  made  yearly  amounts  to  four  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  reams.  The  prices  are  regulated  according  to  the 
quality:  the  mean  price  is  6s.  Sd.  the  ream,  and  the  total 
amount  is  estimated  at  „£l60,000  sterling. 

Stained  Papers.  There  are  three  manufactories  at  Baree* 
lona. 

Brandy.  The  distilleries  are  at  Manrcsa,  Mataro,  Tortosa, 
Villanova,  Alellu,  Calella,  Reuss,  Agramunt,  Arens,  Salon, 
Canet,  Vails,  Vilasar,  Pineda,  besides  various  other  places. 
The  principal  entrepôt  is  at  Reuss.  The  quantity  distilled 
is  generally  thirty-five  thousand  pipes  every  year,  which,  at 
720  reals  or  £l.  10s.  a  pipe,  give  2  ^,200,000  reals  or  ^262,500 
sterling. 

Commerce.  While  the  industry  and  activity  of  the  Cata- 
lonians  are  turned  to  agriculture  in  the  interior  of  the 
country,  those  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  maritime  dis- 
tricts are  chiefly  devoted  to  the  profitable  speculations  of 
commerce,  to  which  the  situation  of  Catalonia  is  peculiarly 
favourable.  This  province  has  a  vast  extent  of  coast,  where 
there  are  several  harbours,  of  no  great  importance  indeed, 
but.  as  they  serve  to  protect  the  merchantmen,  as  entrepots, 
and  as  points  of  rendezvous.  There  are  five  of  them,  Rosas, 
Pajamos,  Cadaques,  Barcelona,  and  Salon, 

The  commerce  of  Catalonia  was  in  a  flourishing  state  in 
remote  times  ;  and  since,  under  the  dominion  of  the  Counts; 
it  became  still  more  so  under  the  kings  of  Aragon.  In  the 
13th  century  this  province  had  a  great  number  of  manufac- 
tories :  it  furnished  the  island  of  Corsica,  the  kingdom  of 
Naples,  Smyrna,  Alexandria,  and  various  other  places  of 
Greece,  and  even  Frizeland  and  Holland  with  cloths.  It  ma- 
nufactured velvets,  silks,  linpns,  and  calicoes,  and  exported 
the  produce  of  its  industry  to  distant  countries.  It  had  a 
great  number  of  ships,  some  of  which  were  armed  vessels  for 
the  protection  of  the  coast  :  at   that  time  its  commerce  e.\» 


CATALONIA.  117 

tended  to  the  opposite  shores  of  Africa,  the  Archipelago, 
Syria,  and  Egypt.  The  Catalonians  had  factories  on  the 
confines  of  Europe  and  Asia,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tanais,  at 
the  end  of  the  14th  century.  We  find  a  Catalonian  and  a 
Biscayan  consul  among  those  of  different  nations  settled  at 
Azoph  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  imploring  the  clemency  of 
Timour  or  Tamerlane,  and  making  him  presents,  when  that 
prince  returned  triumphant  in  1397,  from  his  expedition  into 
the  Kipzac,  to  the  East  and  to  the  West  of  the  Caspian  Sea 
and  the  Wolga. 

The  epocha  of  its  decline  was  at  the  end  of  the  15th  and 
beginning  of  the  1 6th  century.  The  introduction  of  the  duty 
of  bulla  or  seal,  on  manufactured  stuffs,  depressed  the  manu- 
facturers ;  their  looms  languished,  and  the  negligence  of  the 
government,  with  the  vexations  created  by  its  subaltern 
agents,  put  an  end  to  all  kind  of  emulation  ;  the  Barbary 
corsairs  harassed,  reduced,  and  destroyed  commerce,  and 
Catalonia  at  the  same  time  became  the  theatre  of  frequent 
long  wars.  A  considerable  decrease  of  population  was  the 
consequence  of  these  causes  :  the  province  lost  its  inhabitants, 
industry,  manufactures,  commerce,  wealth,  and  splendour. 
It  was  a  country  without  means  and  without  resources  when 
Philip  V.  added  it  to  his  dominions. 

The  protection  it  received  from  that  monarch  and  his  suc- 
cessors revived  the  natural  activity  of  its  inhabitants:  they 
recovered  their  energy,  and  Catalonia  became  again  one  of 
the  most  commercial  and  wealthiest  provinces  of  Spain.  IN 
coasts  are  covered  with  ships,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  parts 
near  the  sea  have  become  seamen  or  traders  :  the  whole 
length  of  the  shore  furnishes  harbours  or  roads;  ships  and 
boats  are  seen  all  along  ;   it  is  impossible  to  follovr  them  from 

Blanas  to  Tortosa,  without  admiring  the  prodigious  industry 

an<l  unceasing  activity  of  the  Catalans. 

The  natural  productions  of  the  province  furnish  an  impor- 
tant branch  of  .'    commerce.     The  rice,  flax,  hemp,  acorn-. 


118  CATALONIA. 

wool,  and  silk  are  consumed  in  the  country.  ISIoft  of  tliç 
nuts  and  almonds  go  to  England  and  the  North  :  of  26,00(K 
sacks  of  nuts,  '«.'0,000  are  sent  to  England  every  year,  and 
produce  26,0001.  sterling.  Cork  in  sheets  is  sent  to  the 
North  ;  about  30,000  quintals  are  exported,  with  which  from 
fifteen  to  eighteen  ships  are  usually  freighted  :  bottle  corks  go 
to  France  ;  the  quantity  is  commonly  1200  quintals,  together 
31,200  quintals,  producing  22,462,996  reals,  or  233,9  SQL 
sterling.  About  1200  quintals  are  likewise  sent  into  different 
provinces  of  Spain. 

A  part  of  the  oil  is  kept  in  the  country  for  its  own  con- 
sumption, and  for  the  manufactures  :  about  8000  loads  of  it 
are  sent  into  France  and  Holland,  and  bring  about  2,560,000 
reals,  or  26,6661.  13s.  4d.  sterling. 

A  part  of  the  wine  is  drunk  in  the  country,  but  a  great  part 
is  converted  into  brandy,  of  which  about  4000  loads  are  sent 
to  Italy,  and  sell  for  256,000  reals,  or  2,6661.  13s.  4d.  sterling. 

The  most  important  branch  of  the  commerce  of  Catalonia 
consists  of  the  exportation  of  its  manufactures.  Muslins,  flan- 
nels,  cotton  counterpanes,  mixed  stuffs  of  cotton  and  thread,  and 
of  cotton  and  silk,  are  likewise  partly  kept  for  the  consumption 
of  the  country,  but  at  least  two-thirds  of  them  are  exported  to 
Valencia,  Saragossa,  and  Madrid.  One-twelfth  and  a  half 
of  the  linens  and  cotton  velvets,  of  the  nankeens  and  muslins 
are  used  in  the  province,  and  the  rest  are  exported,  viz.  two- 
twelfths  and  a  half  to  the  other  provinces  of  Spain,  and  two- 
thirds  to  the  colonies.  Barcelona  alone,  one  year  with  an- 
other, manufactures  them  to  the  value  of  463,3331.  sterling, 
and  what  are  exported  amount  to  upwards  of  291,6661. 
sterling. 

Silk  handkerchiefs  and  sashes  are  articles  of  considerable 
importance,  and  there  are  a  great  many  made  in  Catalonia  %. 
Manresa  furnishes  annually  60,000  dozen,  which  produce 
8,400,000  reals,  or  91,6661.  13s.  4d.  at  the  rate  of  140  reals 
4he  dozen.    Ten  thousand  dozen  are  sent  to  Aragon,  Biscay» 


CATALONIA.  119 

and  the  two  Castiles,  and  35,000  dozen  tô  America,  which 
together  produce  the  sum  of  66.0411.  13s.  4d.  sterling. 

A  great  quantity  of  worsted  stockings  are  made  in  this 
province  ;  the  town  of  Vicq  furnishes  24,000  pair  yearly,  half 
of  which  are  sent  into  the  adjacent  provinces,  and  bring  about 
5001.  sterling. 

The  quantity  of  silks  and  silk  stockings  sent  to  Madrid  is 
but  small;  the  chief  export  of  these  is  to  the  American  co- 
lonies. 

A  part  of  the  coarse  cloths  and  coarse  woollens,  worsted 
sashes  and  blankets,  linens,  tapes,  sail-cloth,  aj  anchors  re- 
main in  the  province  :  a  great  part  of  the  coarse  ciuths  and 
serges  serves  for  the  clothing  of  the  troops,  and  is  sent,  made 
up  in  clothes,  into  the  different  provinces  of  Spain  :  the  fine 
cloths  are  sent  to  Madrid,  Aragon,  and  other  places.  Thread 
nets  are  sent  to  every  part  of  Spain. 

The  cannon  are  reserved  for  the  king  :  the  fire-arms  are 
sent  to  other  parts  of  Spain,  and  to  Spanish  America. 

The  iron-ware  goes  partly  to  the  other  provinces,  and  partly 
to  America. 

The  laces  are  almost  all  shipped  for  the  New  World. 
The  printed  calicoes  are  sent  to  Valencia,  Saragossa,  Ma- 
drid, and  the  two  Castiles,  but  most  of  them  to  America. 
This  branch  of  exportation  is  very  considerable. 

Of  480,000  reams  of  paper,  about  10,000  only  are  used  in 
the  province,  consequently  470,000  reams  are  exported,  of 
which  220,000  are  taken  by  Aragon,  the  two  Castiles,   and 
Kstremadura.     It   produces    a  sum  of   15,240,000   reals  pi 
J  \$J5601  13s.  4d.  sterling. 

Of  brandy  35,0<>0  pipes  arc  exported,  of  which  4000  go  to 
Guernsey  and  Aldemey,  10,000  to  England,  and  the  re  I  t.. 
Holland  and  the  North  of  Europe,  even  to  Ku- u.  They 
produce  25 ,200,000  reals,  or  262  5001.  iterl 

'lli«  ralue  of  the  exportation  of  shoes  furnished  by  B 
lona  has  been  already  stated  :  200,0)  ricaa 

and  joo,ooo  into  the  interior  of  Spain 

1  4 


KO 


CATALONIA. 


They  ship  annually  from  Barcelona  so  great  a  quantity  of 
the  sweepings  of  the  houses,  that  the  produce  amounts  t» 
60,000  ducats. 

In  Catalonia  a  commerce  is  carried  on  for  silver  coined, 
which  goes  to  France,  and,  though  it  is  prohibited  under  the 
severest  penalties,  it  is  very  considerable. 


A  TABLE  OF  THE  EXPORTS  OF  CATALONIA. 

EXPORTS    TO    FOREIGN    COUNTRIES. 


Commodities. 


Quantity  exported. 


Nuts. . 

Oil   

Cork  in  sheets 
Bottle  corks.. 

Wine    

Barcelona   li- 
nens      and 
cotton  stuffs 
Manresa     silk- 
handkerchiefs 

Paper  

Brandy    

Shoes    

Sweepings     of 
Houses . 


26,000 
8,000 

30,000 
1,200 
4,000 


sacks 

loads 

quint. 

quint. 

loads 


3,101,000  varas 


35,000 
220,000 
350,000 
200,000 


dozen 
reams 
pipes 
pair 


AMOUNT. 


In  reals  of 

In  Sterling. 

Vellon. 

£. 

s. 

d. 

2,496,000 

26,000 

0 

0 

2,560,000 

26,666 

25 

4 

21,600,000 

225,000 

0 

0 

862,990 

8,989 

0 

10 

256,000 

2,666 

13 

4 

28,320,667 

295,006 

18 

4 

4,900,000 

51,041 

13 

4 

7,240,000 

73,333 

6 

8 

25,200,000 

262,500 

0 

0 

2,114,284 

22,023 

15 

10 

600,000 

6,875 

0 

0 

90,209,847 

1,000,103 

3 

B 

CATALOXIA. 


121 


EXIORTS    TO   THE    INTERIOR   OF  SPAIN". 


Commodities. 


Barcelona  li- 
nens and 
cotton  stufl 

Manresa  silk 
handkerchief* 

Vicq  worsted 
stockings 

Paper  

Shoes    .. 

Shoe-soles 

Cork 


Quantity  exported. 


1,026,011  varras 

1 0,000  dozen 

12,000  pair 
250,000  reams 
500,000  pair 


AMOUNT. 


In  Reals  of 
Vellon. 


7,SS6,S<37 


In  Sterling. 


82,113      3      4 


1,200  quint. 


Total  Interior  Exports 
Foreign  Exports 

Total  Exports    _- 


1,400,000 

14,583 

6 

-: 

18,000 

500 

0 

0 

8,000,000 

S3,333 

b 

a 

5,285,712 

55,059 

10 

0 

4,000,000 

41,666 

13 

4 

864,000 

9,000 

0 

0 

27,484,579 

256,256 

0 

0 

90,209,817 

1,000,103 

3 

a 

17,69l,l2o 

1,286,359 

3 

$ 

There  are  some  commodities  omitted  in  the  first  of  these 
tables,  such  as  nuts,  almonds,  &c.  of  which  it  is  impossible  to 
procure  any  tolerably  accurate  statement,  but  the  profits  of 
which  are  in  favour  of  the  province. 

If  to  the  above  sums  were  added  the  amount  of  detach'  .1 
articles  dependent  on  some  manufactures,  and  which  the  pro- 
prietors keep  a  profound  secret,  it  would  be  found  that  the 
commerce  of  Catalonia  amounts  to  a  very  considerable  sum. 

With  respect  to  its  imports,  this  province  frequently  re- 
ceives corn  from  Aragon  and  from  Franct  ;  it  likewise  re- 
ceives about  10,000  quintals  of  wool  and  80)000 lbs.  of  silk 
from  Aragon;  and  100,000 lbs.  of  silk  from  the  kingdom  of 
Valencia;  it  :  Lyo  ,    Gang       ad  Nismei  <ilk 

sJockingt,  fine  clotbs,  linens,  tssences,  perfumes,  pomatums 


1'J'J  CATALONIA. 

jewellery,  and  millinery  from  France.  It  is  furnished  with 
superfine  cottons,  herrings,  and  codfish,  by  England,  and 
with  some  spiees  by  Holland.  Nevertheless  the  amount  of 
its  imports  is  much  lower  than  that  of  its  exports. 

Commerce  in  general,  hut  particularly  exportation,  is  car- 
ried on  along  the  coast  of  Catalonia  ;  in  the  five  ports  of  the 
province,  in  the  roads  of  Tarragona  and  Tortosa,  on  every 
part  of  the  coast  from  Calella  to  Mataro,  along  which  there 
are  an  infinity  of  little  roads  always  full  of  ships  ;  but  Barce- 
lona is  the  most  considerable  port  ;  then  follow  those  of 
Salona  and  Tarragona,  and  the  road  of  Tortosa. 

Carriage,  Carriages,  and  Inns.  Catalonia,  so  opulent,  so 
industrious,  and  perhaps  the  most  active  province  in  Spain, 
is  nevertheless  one  of  those  that  have  the  worst  roads, 
and  where  they  are  the  least  taken  care  of.  Those  entering 
Catalonia  from  the  French  part  of  the  Pyrenees  have  been 
already  noticed,  and  those  also  leading  from  Barcelona  to  the 
frontiers  of  Aragon  and  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  :  the 
cross-roads  are  still  worse,  and  are  frequently  impassable, 
particularly  in  rainy  weather,  and  during  the  melting  of  the 
snows,  on  account  of  the  number  of  rivers  to  be  crossed, 
which  are  then  impetuous  torrents.  Travellers  are  continual- 
ly liable  to  be  stopped  by  the  I.lobregat,  the  Fluvia,  the  Ter, 
the  Muga,  the  Tordera,  the  Bezos,  the  îs'oya,  and  several 
others:  very  few  bridges  are  to  be  met  with;  not  any  m 
the  most  frequented,  most  important,  and  most  dangerous 
1  art'. 

To  atone  for  the  badness  of  the  roads,  there  are  plenty  of 
inns  throughout  Catalonia.  In  this  province  we  meet  none 
of  those  disagreeable  mesones,  or  posadas,  so  common  in 
Spain, which  are  a  torment  to  travellers,  where  they  meet  only 
with  liaic  bedsteads,  eat  only  what  they  bring  or  send  out  to 
purchase,  and  where  they  are  sometimes  obliged  to  cook  their 
own  vidua!-,  without  bcincr  able  to  recover  from  the  fatigue 
of  their  journey. 

()m  the  contrary,  there  aie  a  grcal  many  inns  on  the  roads 


CATALONIA.  123 

in  Catalonia,  and,  though  some  of  them  are  bad,  many  are, 
if  not  good,  at  least  tolerable  :  those  of  Figueras,  Calella, 
Gironne,  Barcelona,  and  Igualada,  are  good,  and  those  of 
Mataro  and  Lerida  excellent  :  their  usual  price  for  a  meal  is 
two  piécettes,  or  twenty-pence. 

They  travel  in  Catalonia,  as  in  the  rest  of  Spain,  in  coaches 
drawn  by  six  mules,  called  there  coches  de  colleras,  in  Cakchas, 
a  kind  of  open  chaise  drawn  by  two  mules,  and  in  Volantes, 
another  kind  ofopen  chaise,  rather  smaller,  drawn  by  one  mule. 
These  carriages  travel  about  eight  leagues  a  day.  A  covered 
waggon  sets  out  once  a  week  for  Madrid  ;  by  this  convey- 
ance those  persons  travel  who  either  cannot  or  will  not  afford 
a  dearer  mode.  Those  who  go  post  in  Catalonia  ride  on 
horseback,  for  there  are  no  post-horses  to  be  met  with  for 
carriages. 

Goods  are  conveyed  in  carts  drawn  by  four  or  five  mules, 
yoked  in  aline  following  oue  another:  they  carry  immense 
weights.  The  mules  are  handsome,  strong,  well  fed,  and 
skilfully  managed.  The  Catalans  are  the  most  adroit,  ex- 
pert, and  attentive  carriers  ;  those  of  the  other  provinces  are 
not  equal  to  them  either  in  driving  their  carts,  or  in  the 
manner  of  taking  care  of  their  mules. 

SKETCH    OF    THE    NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    CATA- 
LONIA. 

The  natural  history  of  Catalonia  is  not  well  kuowti  :  it 
would  furnish  many  objects  of  instruction  and  curiosity,  and 
it  is  a  pity  that  some  able  naturalist  does  not  bend  bis  atten- 
tion on  this  province,  and  display  the  treasures  it  contains. 

We  only  know  that  there  is  a  great  number  of  iron  mines, 
particularly  near  Alius  and  Taull  ;  that  petrifactions  are 
found  on  the  mountain  opposite  to  tlie  Torre  alta  dc  >iain]>t:n-, 
but  on  the  --idi.-  turned  from  it;  lead  mines  near  Tori. 
and  amethysts,  topazes,  and  coloured  crystals  near  Vicq, 
;h  the  goldsmith!  of  Barcelona  cut,  mount,  anil  sell  ;  coal 


124  CATALONIA. 

mines  near  the  new  bridge  of  Manresa,  at  Isona,  Tarassaj 
San-Saturne,-  Subiras,  near  IMartorell,  Sellent,  in  the  terri- 
tory of  Llansa,  near  the  sea,  and  at  Montanola.  The  last, 
which  is  in  the  diocese  of  Vicq,  is  very  considerable  ;  that  of 
Clansa  is  accounted  the  best  ;  and  the  merchants  of  Barce- 
lona are  endeavouring  to  have  it  opened  and  worked. 

Catalonia  contains  a  great  many  mineral  waters  ;  some 
cold,  some  hot.  Of  the  former,  the  most  remarkable  are 
those  of  Monistrol,  near  Mont-Serrat  ;  those  of  Vail  de  Ebron, 
a  league  from  Barcelona;  those  of  Tortosa,  San-Ililario,  and 
Rivas,  fifteen  leagues  from  Barcelona  :  the  two  last  of  these 
are  gazcous.  Of  the  latter  the  principal  are  those  of  Caldas, 
Malavilla,  and  Taull,  in  the  corregidorat  of  Talaru  ;  those  of 
Garriga  and  of  Caldetas,  in  the  corregidorat  of  Mataro  ;  those 
of  Caldas  de  Mombuy,  Gironne,  and  Esparraguera,  near 
iUont-Serrat  ;  of  the  Espluga,  near  the  monastery  of  Poblet  ; 
and  of  Torello,  or  San-Eeliu  de  Torello,  eleven  leagues  from 
Barcelona.  All  these  places  are  more  or  less  frequented,  but 
the  nature  of  the  waters  is  not  well  known,  for  they  have  not 
been  accurately  analyzed. 

Marbles  of  différent  kinds  are  very  common  in  Catalonia. 
There  is  a  black  marble  streaked  with  with  white,  near  the 
Torre  dc  Sempere,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Barcelona.  It 
was  at  a  former  period  used  for  the  columns  of  the  Carmelite 
convent,  and  for  those  of  La  Merci,  and  lately  for  the  cisterns 
at  the  new  custom-house  at  that  town.  There  is  likewise  a 
black  marble  with  white  veins,  near  the  Torre  aita,  belonging 
to  the  same  person,  but  it  is  of  a  superior  quality  ;  a  whitish 
marble  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  mountain  which  faces  this 
Torre;  branching  marbles,  forming  landscapes  and  figures 
of  various  kinds,  in  the  environs  of  Tortosa;  marbles  of  dif-> 
fi.  n  nt  colours  in  the  territory  of  San-\  icens  del  Horts,  on  the 
other  side  of  Molens  de  Rev,  to  the  right  of  the  Venta  del 
Cipreret,  near  the  road  of  Villa-Franca  de  Panade/  ;  about 
quarries  of  mixt   marbles   near  Salient  :  thirty-sere* 


CATALONIA.  125 

specimens,  well  wrought  and  highly  polished,  were  presented 
to  the  king  by  Messrs.  Xipell. 

There  are  two  mountains  remarkable  for  their  uniformity, 
situated  very  near  the  sea,  between  Figueras  and  Gironne; 
they  are  both  of  a  pyramidal  form  and  of  equal  heigkt  ;  their 
bases  touch.  Mr.  Bowles  says,  that  they  have  all  the  signs 
of  ancient  volcanoes. 

Mont-Serrat  is  equally  remarkable  for  the  composition, 
form,  arrangement,  and  position  of  the  rocks  upon  it.  It  is 
a  compound  of  calcarious  6tone,  sa»>d,  and  pebbles  cemented 
together,  forming  the  kind  of  aggregation  known  to  natu- 
ralists by  the  appellation  of  pudding-stone.  '■'  le  rich  earth,  on 
part  of  these  rocks  being  dissolved  by  the  action  of  the  rain- 
water, has  formed  crevices  full  of  trees  and  aromatic  plants. 
This  vegetation  is  the  more  extraordinary,  as  there  is  no  spring 
on  the  mountain  :  the  streamlets  sometimes  seen  thire  ap- 
pear to  me  to  proceed  from  reservoirs  formed  by  rains  in  the 
crevices  of  the  mountains,  and  running  in  the  bed  of  porous 
stones  which  lie  across  the  midule  of  it.  This  mountain  is 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
pleasant  places  in  the  world.  The  cause  we  have  assigned 
for  the  intermitting  -treams  on  Mont-Serrat  is,  perhaps,  ap- 
plicable to  the  intermission  of  a  spring  at  Tamarite,  near 
Lerida. 

Among  the  natural  curiosities  of  Catalonia,  certainly  the 
most  remarkable  is  the  famous  Mountain  of  Salt,  near  the 
town  of  Cardona,  sixteen  leagu  from  Barcelona:  it  is  an 
immense  mass,  a  real  mountain,  nearly  three  miles  in  cir- 
cumference, composed  almost  entirely  of  salt.  It  is  about 
five  hundred  feet  high,  without  cleft  or  crevice;  and  is  situ- 
ated close  to  the  river  Cardonero,  towai  i-  which  its  side  is 

cut  alunit  perpendicularly.     The  salt  of  which  it  is  composed 

i-  v  r\  ■  ulntt  m  almost  all  parts  of  it;  ;i  small  quantity  of 
a  reddish  and  "t  a  bluish  east  is  found,  which,  bow<  vt  r,  be- 

mes  white  on  being  reduced  to  powder.    The  rains  ci 
:i    diminution  of  the  mass.    The  rjver  at  the  fool  o\  i(  1» 


1£6  CATALONIA. 

salt.,  and  becomes  still  salter  after  rain  :  it  kills  the  fish,  but 
this  effect  is  not  perceived  beyond  three  leagues.  At  Cardona 
they  make  and  sell,  at  a  very  cheap  rate,  various  little  trans- 
parent articles  ;  such  as  altars,  figures  of  saints,  crosses,  chan- 
deliers, salt-cellars,  Sec.  ;  they  are  as  clear  as  crystal,  and  to 
all  appearance  as  lasting. 

STATE    OF    THE    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES    IN  CATA- 
LONIA. 

The  liberal  arts  are  little  cultivated  in  Catalonia  ;  the  ge- 
nius of  the  inhabitants  is  principally  turned  to  the  useful 
arts,  and  especially  those  connected  with  manufactures. 
There  are,  however,  at  Barcelona,  and  in  some  other  tow  ni 
of  Catalonia,  painters  who  embellish  the  outside  of  the  houses 
with  paintings  in  fresco,  from  the  works  of  the  great  masters, 
which  they  copy  skilfully. 

Tuo  drawing-schools  have  been  lately  established  in  this 
province  ;  one  at  Barcelona  and  the  other  at  Aulot.  I  know 
nothing  of  the  latter;  the  former  is  a  good  one,  and  has  al- 
ready been  mentioned.  Designs  relative  to  manufactures  are 
the  chief  objects  of  these  schools  ;  they  may,  however,  form 
the  painter,  the  sculptor,  and  architect. 

But  even  in  the  arts  connected  with  manufactures  and 
maritime  commerce  the  Catalans  have  hitherto  shown  no 
invention,  though  they  are  active  and  intelligent  imitators 
of  the  inventions  of  other  countries  :  this  is  fully  proved  by 
the  great  number  and  variety  of  their  manufactures,  and  the 
ready  sale  they  find  for  them.  They  are  succes>ful  in  the 
mechanic  arts,  which  indeed  are  more  cultivated  in  Cata- 
lonia than  in  any  other  province  of  Spain  :  this  may  certainly, 
in  some  measure,  be  attributed  to  the  active  and  intelligent 
genius  of  the  Catalans,  but  is  still  more  owing  to  another 
cause,  founded  on  opinion,  and  that  is,  that  in  Catalonia  ar- 
tizans  are  treated  with  respect,  while,  in  the  greater  part  of 


CATALONIA.  1.7 

the  kingdom  they  are  despised,  or  looked  down  upon,  and 
trades  considered  as  mean. 

The  genius  of  the  Catalans  is  likewise  turned  to  science, 
and  Catalonia  has  produced  men  who  have  distinguished 
themselves  in  that  career.  In  the  principal  towns,  and  par- 
ticularly in  Barcelona,  we  find  many  well-informed  men,  who 
owe  the  knowledge  they  have  acquired  entirely  to  their  taste 
for  study,  their  application,  and  the  happy  bent  of  their  na- 
tive penetrating  understanding.  There  are  enlightened  theo- 
logians, profound  lawyers,  and  men  of  letters.  Medicine 
may  still  be  a  little  behind-hand,  but  modern  natural  philo- 
sophy and  natural  history  have  made  some  advance. 

This  province  has  produced  several  writers  worthy  of  praise. 
Ramon  Vidal  de  Bezalu,  and  Godefroi  de  Fosca,  a  Benedic- 
tine, published  each,  in  the  13th  century,  an  "  Art  of  Poetry,'' 
in  the  Provençal  tongue.  That  of  Vidal  was  the  first  of  the 
kind  that  ever  appeared  in  Spain.  Roberto  Selot,  Emanuel 
Pier,  and  Vital  de  Canellas  distinguished  themselves  in  the 
11th  and  15th  centuries  :  the  first  wrote  a  history  of  Cata- 
lonia ;  the  second  wrote  on  veterinary  medicine,  at  a  time 
when  that  science  was  not  known  ;  the  last,  bishop  ofJIu?sca, 
was  a  famous  lawyer  ;  by  command  of  the  king  and  of  the 
states  of  Aragon,  he  compiled  the  ancient  laws  of  Aragon 
and  of  Sobrarbe,  and  formed  a  new  civil  and  criminal  code. 
The  l6"th  century  produced  Antic  Roca,  of  Gironne,  who 
wrote  on  philosophy,  and  published  a  Catalan 'and  Latin 
dictionary;  Gabriel  de  Tarraga,  a  native  of  Tarraga,  whose 
writings  on  medicine  are  extant  ;  the  theologian.  Ji  rome  of 
<  -  rvi  ra  Loreta  ;  the  poet,  u  an  Boscan,  of  Barcelona  ;  Antonio 
Aguilara,  ofjunquera,  who  lias  1<  ft  writings  on  the  practice 
of  medicine;  and  the  lawyer,  Juan  Pedro  Fontanelle,  of  Vicq, 
wbowa  the  oracle  of  thé  bar,  and  is  to  this  day  the  guide 
and  authority  of  lb<  Catalan  lawyer»,  (nthe  1 7 1 1»  century, 
Rafael  Mox,  of  Gironne;  Pedro  Canana»,  ofVHla  Franca  de 
Paneder;  and  tadreu,  "i  Barcelona,  published  their  works  ; 
the  first  wrote  on  the  di  1 1  worm  d,  the  second  onjudU 


I  £8  CATALONIA. 

cial  astrology,  and  the  third  gave  a  Practica  Gotholanorum. 
The  same  age  cave  birth  to  three  historians,  Juan  Gaspard 
Roig  y  Jalpi,  of  Blanas,  who  published  a  history  of  G  iron  ne  ; 
Estevan  de  Cerbera,  who  pave  one  of  Catalonia  ;  and  Jerome 
Pujados,  of  Barcelona,  whose  writings  are  esteemed  :  Bal- 
thazar de  Segovia,  another  Catalan,  wrote  in  the  same 
period  on  the  art  of  engraving.  Catalonia  also  produced 
Francisco  Moli,  and  Cristobal  Galvet,  of  Lerida,  the  former 
known  by  his  writings  on  the  canon  law  ;  the  latter  known 
by  his  sermons.  Barcelona  was  honoured  by  the  birth  of  a 
learned  lady,  Juana  Morella  ;  and  a  painter  of  distinguished 
merit,  Viladomat,  was  also  born  there  :  they  have  both  been 
already  mentioned. 

^'e  shall  just  mention  here  the  names  of  four  learned  men 
whom  we  have  already  noticed,  and  who  did  honour  to  the 
ISth  century  :'  Jacobo  Salvador  distinguished  himself  by  his 
knowledge  in  natural  history  ;  Jacobo  Cavennar,  a  regular 
canon  of  St.  Augustin,  who  died  in  1791  ;  Jerome  Pasqual, 
of  the  convent  of  Las  Avellanas,  near  Lerida,  a  learned  and 
worthy  man  ;  and,  lastly,  Pedro  Virgili,  who  was  the  re- 
storer of  surgery  in  Spain,  who  founded  the  schools  at  Barce- 
lona and  Cadiz,  and  was  rewarded  for  his  labours  with  the 
appointment  of  first  surgeon  to  the  king.  He  died  in  1/7(5, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-seven. 

Besides  the  academies,  the  schools  of  different  kinds,  and 
the  public  libraries  in  Catalonia,  there  were  formerly  two 
academies  in  this  province  under  the  title  of  Gay  Science,  on 
the  model  of  that  which  was  then  established  at  Toulouse, 
and  which  has  been  transmitted  to  our  days  under  the  name 
of  Académie  des  Jeux  floraux.  One  of  them  was  founded  at 
Barcelona,  towards  the  end  of  the  1-ith  century,  by  John  I. 
king  of  Aragon,  who  began  to  reign  in  1387,  and  it  was 
formed  by  two  supporters  of  that  of  Toulouse,  whom  the  king 
of  France  sent  at  the  request  of  that  prince.  A  parly  sepa- 
rating from  this  academy,  formed  a  similar  establishment  at 
Tortosa,  at  the  commencement  of  the  15th  century,   undt.r 


CATALONIA.  129 

king  Mail  in.  Hero  (be  Provençal  poetry  was  cultivated, 
verses  were  recited  ami  sung,  and  prizes  decreed  to  the  vic- 
tors. The  academy  of  gat/  science  at  Tortosa,  supported 
itself  but  a  very  >hort  time  ;  that  of  Barcelona  had  greatly 
declined  so  early  as  when  Ferdinand  I.  ascended  the  throne 
in  1410  :  that  monarch  wished  to  revive  the  spirit  of  it,  and 
gave  the  direction  of  it  lo  the  Marquis  de  Villena,  at  thai 
time  celebrated  for  his  literary  talents.  That  nobleman  ne- 
glected nothing  in  his  power  to  accomplish  the  wishes  of  his 
sovereign,  but  his  efforts  were  ineffectual.  Since  that  period 
the  Catalans  have  made  little  progress  in  poetry,  and,  the 
works  of  Volfongona  excepted,  nothing  striking  in  their  lan- 
guage is  known. 

CHARACTER,     MANNERS,     CUSTOMS,     HABITS, 
DRESS,    AND    LANGUAGE. 

The  Catalans  are  charged  with  asperity  of  character,  rough- 
ness of  expression,  and  vehemence  of  action.  There  are 
grounds  for  this  charge  ;  but  if  we  enquire  into  the  cause, 
and  at  the  same  time  recollect  the  good  qualities  which  atone 
for  those  defects,  we  shall  perhaps  be  less  disposed  to  blame 
them, 

The  Catalans,  accustomed  under  the  kings  of  Aragon  to 

re  the  legislative  power  with  the  sovereign,  to  look  upon 

their  prince  only  as  count  of  Barcelona,  and  to  pay  no  taxes 

hut  such  as  they  chose  to  grant,  considered  themselves  as  all 

partaking  of  the  supreme  authority,  and  each  in  particular 

m  a  little  sovereign.     In  those  days  they  had  ideas  of  indc- 

pendence  which  they  long  cherished,  and  which  at  length 

blican  spirit.     Hence  the  haughtiness 

peculiar  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  provint  e,  the  authoritative 

to  what»  vit  bas  the  ilighte  I  appear- 

of  command  in  another,  or  even  of  subordination. 

the  r<  ughnesa  of  «  ipn  - 
.  nplained  of     its  proi  i   hard,  kharp, 


130  CAr.u.oxiA. 

dry,  and  it  often  utters  the  tenderest  ami  most  enrpassîbneci 
sentiment  without  grace  or  delicacy. 

Activity  is  the  basis  of  the  Catalan  character;  it  is  blunt 
in  penoiis  «-ho  have  not  received  the  polish  of  education; 
But  we  must  do  the  Catalans  justice  :  this  propensity  to  mo- 
tion, this  natural  vivacity  impelled  them  to  great  under- 
takings ;  it  frequently  rendered  them  victorious  in  the  times; 
of  the  counts  of  Barcelona  and  kings  of  Aragon;  it  led  them 
into  Greece  and  gained  them  important  conquests  ;  it  car- 
ried them  to  the  island  of  Majorca,  and  there  destroyed  the 
empire  of  the  Saracens  ;  it  established  the  dominion  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  kings  of  Aragon  in  the  island  of  Sardinia  ;  it 
guided  them  on  the  seas,  and  carried  them  to  every  part  of 
the  new  world;  it  opened  the  career  of  the  sciences  to  them; 
it  turned  their  genius  to  commerce,  and  expanded  it  in  every 
branch  ;  it  developed,  sustained,  and  increased  their  in- 
dustry ;  it  improved  their  agriculture;  it  was  the  grand 
spring  of  the  establishment  of  their  manufactures,  and,  in 
fine,  of  the  opulence  of  their  province. 

The  Catalans  are  indefatigable  in  their  undertakings  ;  they 
have  a  horror  at  idleness;  no  obstacle  can  deter  them.  The 
activity  of  their  genius,  and  the  ambition  that  attends  it,  lead 
them  to  every  part  of  the  world  :  there  is  not  a  town,  not  a 
port  in  Spain,  India,  or  Spanish  America,  where  Catalane 
are  not  to  be  found  ;  they  are  to  be  met  with  in  France,  Italy, 
England,  Germany,  in  all  the  ports  of  Europe-,  and  through- 
out the  colonies.  They  are  valiant,  and  sometimes  even 
rash;  they  are  not  to  be  terrified  by  the  greatest  dangers  ; 
in  war  they  never  fly,  nor  do  they  ever  give  up  an  enterprize. 
They,  the  Aragonese,  and  Galicians,  are  the  best  soldiers  in 
Spain.  Their  bravery  and  firmness  have  been  so  often  proved, 
that  for  ages  past  no  doubt  has  ever  been  entertained  of 
them  ;  they  'have  several  times  displayed  them  with  the 
greatest  energy,  and  in  the  remotest  periods  •*  and  in  the 

*  The  Catalans  conquered  the  island  of  Majorca,  and  reduced  that 
M  Sardinia.     The  remain-  of  the  army  which  had  assisted  the  king  of 


CATALOXIA.  131 

beginning   of  the  18th  century,  they  sustained   the  united 
efforts  of  the  armies  of  France  and  Spain  against  Catatonia. 

After  what  has  been  just  said,  it  will  be  easily  imagined 
that  they  have  very  violent  passions  :  in  fact,  they  can  en- 
counter any  thing  to  satisfy  them.  The  desire  of  wealth 
makes  them  industrious;  emulation  makes  them  active,  leads 
them  to  every  pari  of  the  world,  and  enables  them  lo  brave 
the  perils  of  lung  voyaqc-s;  and  glory  blinds  them  to  every 
kind  of  danger.  When  they  love,  they  love  warmly  ;  but 
their  hatred  is  implacable,  they  have  rarely  sufficient  strength 
of  mind  to  stifle  their  resentment.  But  we  are  not,  therefore, 
to  imagine  the  Catalan  disposed  to  mischief;  he  is  not  so 
naturally.  He  works  himself  into  a  rage,  and  is  loud,  but 
seldom  commits  acts  of  violence.  In  a  political  point  of  view 
the  Catalan  is  restless  and  factious  ;  he  is  for  ever  sighing 
for  a  liberty,  or  rather  independence,*  which  he  has  often 

Aragon  to  take  Sicily,  collected  into  a  body  and  went,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  14th  century,  to  the  assistance  of  Andronicus  the  elder,  emperor  of 
Constantinople  :  they  beat  the  Turks  and  delivered  Asia,  but  became  soon 
after  the  terror  of  Greece;  and  they  defeated  the  emperor  Michael,  son  of 
Andronicus,  both  by  sea  and  land.  Having  made  themselves  masters  of 
«iallipoli,  they  intercepted  the  commerce  of  Constantinople  and  the  Black 
Sea,  and  at  the  same  time  ravaged  the  Hellespont  and  the  frontiers  of 
Europe  and  Asia  ;  they  took  Athens,  where  they  placed  a  prince  of 
their  own  nation,  and  divided  Attica  and  Beotia,  among  them.  In 
alliance  with  the  Venetians,  they  again  fought  in  conjunction  with  them 
for  the  Greeks  against  the  Genoese  :  and  they  distinguished  theniselvi 
the  famous  naval  engagement  fought  under  the  walls  ofConStantii 
on  the  13th  of  February,  1332. 

*  Catalonia  has  rebelled  so  many  times,  has  10  frequently  and  ob- 
rereigns,  and  has  so  often  ittempteJ  ko  i 
(en  public,  that  a  sketch  of  its 

.  ii  wouM  almost  i  tory. 

In  1273  the  CataloniaD  n  d  to 

.      nd'r 

,  retence  of  L-.  i>,  |  to  I 

try. 

I  :c:<n.     I'    UH    lit- 


-  CATALONIA. 

attempted  tu  acquire,  add  which  1 1 a ^  bo  frequently  impelled 
him  to  take  up  arms.     But,  as  devoted  in  Ins  attachment' at 

i,  wider  put. nee  of  his  having  neglected  to  convoke 
the  state*,  and  to  swear  to  observe  its  privileges. 

In  Us.;,  the  Catalonian  nobility,  in  league  with  the  Aragouese  nobi- 
lity, took  up  anus  against  Peter  III.  at  the  moment  when  K<-  was  at- 
tacked by  a  French  army,  aud  compelled  him  to  grant  them  new  pri- 
vileges. 

In  1460,  thé  Catalans  rose  to  deliver  Don  Carlos,  the  son  and  heir 
of  John  II.  icing  of  Aragon,  out  of  prison.  In  less  than  a  fortnight  Cata- 
lonia equipped  a  fleet  of  tuent}'- four  galleys,  and  raised  a  considerable 
army,  which  besieged  and  took  Fraga,  an  Aragcmese  town,  and  forced 
king  John  to  restore  his  son  to  liberty,  to  give  him  up  to  the  Catalans, 
and  to  sign  a  treaty,  the  terms  of  which  were  dictated  by  the  rebels. 
The  death  of  the  young  prince,  which  happened  on  the  23d  of  September 
1461,  and  which  was  suspected  to  have  been  caused  by  poison  adminis- 
tered by  his  mother-in-law,  confirmed  the  Catalans  in  their  rebellion. 
They  at  first  attempted  to  erect  themselves  into  a  republic  ;  but  soon 
after,  declaring  John  to  have  forfeited  the  sovereignty  of  Catalonia,  they 
gave  themselves  to  the  king  of  Castile.  They  besieged  the  queen  of 
Aragon  and  her  son  the  infant  Fernando,  at  Gironne,  took  the  town, 
&c.  Being  given  up  by  the  king  of  Castile,  they  called  in  Don  Pedro 
the  infant  of  Portugal,  and  proclaimed  him  king  in  1464,  in  virtue  of 
the  rights  of  his  grandfather  the  Count  of  Urgel.  This  prince  dying  iu 
1460,  they  chose  Rene,  duke  of  Anjou,  whose  son,  John  de  Cakjbre, 
went  to  Barcelona,  and  took  possession  of  his  new  sovereignty,  but  he 
also  died  in  the  end  of  the  year  1470.  The  Catalans  then  formed  them- 
selves into  a  republic.  During  the  whole  of  this  time  they  were  never 
without  arms  in  their  hands  :  they  had  by  turns  good  and  bad  fortune, 
and  they  resisted  all  the  forces  of  the  king  of  Aragon.     However,  in 

1471,  they  lost  Gironne,  Ostalric,  and  Rosas.  After  surprising  ami 
very  nearly  taking  the  king  .at  Peralta,  they  were  completely  beaten 
on  the  5th  of  November,  in  the  same  year.  At  length  Barcelona,  being 
closely  besieged,  was  compelled  to  surrender  on  the    17th   of  October 

1472,  after  a  blockade  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four  days  and  a  siege 
of  six  months.  From  that  time  Catalonia  submitted,  afkr  having 
persisted  for  twelve  years  in  this  rebellion. 

In  1640,  two  deputies  of  Catalonia  being  arrested  at.  Madrid,  by  com- 
mand of  Philip  IV.  the  whole  province  rose  iu  an    instant,  and  flew  to 
:  they  declared  that  monarch  to  have  forfeited  his  sovereignty,  abd 


CATALONIA.  13:.' 

terrible  in  his  hatred,  he  is  ready  to  make  every  sacrifice  for 
a  prince  who  knows  how  to  gain  his  love.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war  with  Fiance,  Catalonia  made  the  king  an 
offer  to  defend  him  themselves  against  all  the  troops  of  the 
enemy.  In  the  number  of  the  volunteers  there  were  30,000 
monks  or  priests  :  this  oflfi  r  was  not  accepted,  chiefly  on  ac- 
count of  the  nature  of  the  war,  which  was  to  be  an  offensive 
one,  and  required  an  army  of  regular  troops.  Catalonia,  far 
from  having  suffered  by  the  campaigns  of  which  it  was  the 
theatre,  grew  rich  by  the  sums  expended  in  the  province,  and 
it  is  obvious  that  a  war  with  France  is  as  useful  to  it  as  one 
with  England  is  disastrous. 

The  Catalans  are  charged  with  an  eagerness  for  money, 
which  induces  them  to  undergo  any  labour  in  the  acquisition 
of  it,  and  to  take  the  greatest  care  to  keep  it.  But  the  fact  is 
they  spend  as  readily  as  they  earn,  and  are  capable  of  genero- 
sity, of  which  they  gave  a  striking  proof  m  the  unhappy  pe- 
riods of  the  French  revolution.     A  multitude  of  Trench  peo- 

erectcd  themselves  into  a  republic;  but  being  «loscly  pressed,  they 
pave  themselves  to  Louis  XIII.  kin;:  of  Prance,  whom  they  proclaimed 
Cunt  of  Barcelona  in  it' 5  1.  Inky  persisted  in  theii  rebellion  till 
1652. 

In  1669  it  revolted  anew,  on  pretence  of  a  breach  of  its  privileges,  and 
again  became  a  republic,  but  Was  soon  compelled  to  yield  to  superior 
force. 

In    1705,    after   swearing   allegiance   to  Philip   V.    it    gave  itself  to 

<      îles,   Archduke  of   Austria,    and  proclaimed  him  king  under  the 

III.   It  obstinately  and  often  successfully  sustained  the 

ted  efforts  of  the  Spanish  and  French  armies.     Deserted  bj  tfc  i.n.; 

i  it  bad  chos(  n,   i<  maintain  d  itself  in  tin-  pair  ii  had  takenj  and 

was  subdued  by  numben   iftci   ■  n  m  yea' 

I  insurrecti  taken  place  to  Catalonia  sin  i    thai 

period,  particularly  in  Ban  elona,  in  1772,  and  in  I78s. 

the  i     o  .  i  i   ../  indi  pi  ndi  n<  i    and  pridi 
It]  o(  i  italonia,  thai    omi  Familii    have  constantly  re» 

■         •       !  ■    -,  I yk  id  m  this 

■     tin-  king'   last  journey  into  this  pi         p,  where  'hat 
:.d  the  royal  fan  Catalans. 

K    3 


lï>4<  CATALONIA. 

pic,  men,  women,  and  children  of  all  ranks,  found  help  and 
consolation  in' this  province.  Reuse,  Monblanc,  Blanas,  and 
the  frontiers  towards  France,  particularly  distinguished  them- 
selves  in  that  respect. 

The  inhabitants  of  Catalonia  have  a  decided  taste  for  the 
ceremonies  of  the  church,  for  processions,  public  feasts,  as- 
semblies, balls/ dances,  and  other  meetings.  The  romciias 
are  in  great  vogue  ;  these  are  journies  on  certain  days  to  soli- 
tary chapels,  and  to  hermitages,  whither  the  people  flock  in 
crowds.  The  bull  feasts  have  scarcely  found  their  way 
here. 

The  Catalan  has  a  national  pride  peculiar  to  him  :  he  sees 
nothing  above  himself.  He  looks  down  on  other  Spaniards, 
lie  even  despises  a  part  of  the  nation,  and  his  hatred  of  the 
Castilian  is  beyond  all  expression.  He  does  not  love  stran- 
gers; the  French  with  whom  he  has  most  occasion  to  commu- 
nicate he  hates  the  most  ;  the  cause  of  which  is  very  ancient  : 
it  takes  its  source  in  the  old  quarrels  and  frequent  wars  be- 
tween the  kings  of  France  and  those  of  Aragon  ;  the  wars  of 
the  last  century  increased  it  ;  Catalonia  gave  itself  to  France, 
and  the  Catalans  can  never  forgive  the  French  for  giving  it  up 
to  its  old  masters.  The  war  of  the  succession  at  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century  completed  the  animosity:  the  French 
sacked  Catalonia,  subdued  the  spirit  of  its  inhabitants,  and 
compelled  them  to  acknowledge  the  legitimate  authority  of 
their  king.  Thefactsare  impressed  on  the  minds  of  tl 
people  with  indelible  characters,  and  they  retain  in  their 
hearts  an  invincible  aversion  to  the  nation  that  brought  them 
into  subjection. 

The  mantle  and  round  hat  common  in  the  other  parts  of 
Spain  are  not  worn  in  Catalonia  ;  and  the  Mayo  jacket  is 
scarcely  ever  seen  :  a  close  coat  in  the  French  fa»hiou  is  the 
xiMial  dress  in  almost  all  conditions.  The  peasants  who  live 
in  the  mountains  wear  a  double-breasted  waistcoat,  and  over 
it  a  kind  of  wide  great  coat  which  "foes  no  lower  than  the 
knees,  they  call  it  a  gambtto.    There  i>  besides  these  a  variety 


CATALONIA.. 

of  dresses  among  the  common  people  of  both  sexes,  the  details 
of  which  would  be  too  long  here,  but  shall  be  given  in  an- 
other place.* 

The  Catalans  have  a  tongue  peculiar  to  themselves  :  it  is 
the  ancient  language  of  the  provinces  of  the  South  of  France, 
the  inhabitants  of  which  took  Catalonia  from  the  Moors,  and, 
peopling  it,  introduced  their  laws,  customs,  and  usages  ;  and 
their  patois  or  dialect,  called  the  Limousine  tongue,,  has  conti- 
nued down  to  our  days  in  Gascony,  Languedoc,  and  Pro- 
vence ;  where  it  has  undergone  alterations  more  or  less  re- 
markable, occasioned  by  the  mixture  of  the  modern  French  ; 
it  has  remained  purer  in  Catalonia  and  Roussillon,  but  with  a 
mixture  of  Castilian  in  the  former  of  these  two  provinces. 
The  Catalan  tongue  has  lost  that  agreeable  sweetness 
which  formerly  characterized  it,  and  which  is  better  pre- 
served in  the  kingdom  of  Valencia;  it  has  taken,  in  the 
mouth  of  the  Catalan,  hard  terminations  and  a  rough  and  dis- 
agreeable pronunciation:  it  has  likewise  at  present  a  great 
resemblance  to  the  modern  French  tongue,  in  the  construc- 
tion and  turn  of  expression,  in  the  grammar  rules,  and  in  the 
sameness  of  a  great  many  of  its  words,  which  differ  from  the 
French  only  in  the  termination.  It  is  spoken  throughout  Ca- 
talonia with  considerable  variation,  according  to  the  different 
districts  ;  with  greater  purity  in  the  mountains;  and  more  al- 
liTtd  in  large  towns.  The  national  prejudice  of  the  Catalan 
makes  him  prefer  bis  language  to  that  of  the  Spaniards,  the 
Castillan  is  therefore  little  in  use  in  Catalonia,  and  when  it 
-  beard  there,  it  is  di>fii,rured  and  scarcely  tu  be  known  iu 
consequence  of  the  mixture  of  Catalan  phrases  and  turns. 

* 


136 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  VALENCIA 


GENERAL    OBSERVATIONS. 

1  he  kingdom  of  Valencia  is  one  of  the  small- 
est provinces  of  Spain.     It  i3  bounded  on  the 
north,  south,   and  west  by  Catalonia,    the  king- 
dom of  Àlurcia,   New  Castile,  and  Aragon  ;  the 
Mediterranean  bathes  the  whole  of  the  cast  ; 
forming  a  coast  almost  sixty  leagues  in  extent. 
The  length  of  it  from  north  to  south  is  sixty- 
seven   leagues;    and   its  breadth  from  cast  to 
vest  is  ten  leagues  at  the  northern  extremity, 
which  runs  in  a  point  between  Catalonia  and 
Aragon;  six  leagues  at  the  southern  extremity, 
which   adjoins    the  kingdom   of  Murcia;    and 
twenty  leagues  in  the  middle  part. 

This  province  formerly  contained  many  in- 
dependent settlements;  but  this  independence 
was  destroyed  by  the  Carthaginians,  who  con- 
quered this  beautiful  country.  Some  towns  that 
r  till  preserved  their  liberty,  when  the  Romans 
made  Spain  the  theatre  of  the  war  against  the 
Carthaginians,  were  subdued  after  a  resistance 


VALENCIA.  13? 

more  or  less  protracted.  Among  those  towns, 
Saguntum,  now  Murviedro,  will  always  be  cele- 
brated for  the  length  and  vigour  of  its  defence, 
as  "well  as  for  the  greatness  of  the  courage  and 
the  heroism  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  Romans  were  driven  from  this  province 
by  the  Goths,  who,  in  their  turn,  were  sub- 
dued by  the  Moors:  this  was  the  era  (713)  in 
which  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  was  established. 
It  was  dependent  at  first  on  the  caliphs  of  Da- 
mascus ;  but  it  soon  afterwards  fell  under  the 
dominion  of  the  kin^s  of  Cordova.  In  the 
frequent  revolutions  of  the  Moorish  empire, 
the  kingdom  of  Valencia  very  often  changed 
masters  ;  it  even  had  at  times  its  own  kings. 
Don  Jayme  united  this  kingdom,  in  1C30',  to 
that  of  Aragon  :  at  length  the  marriage  of  Fer- 
dinand the  Catholic  with  Isabella  of  Castile, 
intermixing  and  merging  their  rights  and  states» 
the  kingdom  of  Valencia  has  since  made  part 
of  the  Spanish  monarchy. 

This  province  preserved  its  privileges  for  a 
long  time  after  the  union  :  it  had  its  particular 
Jaws,  its  juries,  or  heads  of  municipalities, 
[dtidadanoi]  whose  authority  was  great,  and 
who  acquired  nobility  when  they  had  exercised 
their  fonctions  io  thé  towns  of  Valencia,  Xativa, 
and  Orihuela.  They  had  also  their  particular 
which  shared  the  legislative  authority 
with  the  sovereign.    These  states,  whose  chain- 


135  \ali:n'Cia. 

ber  for  assembling  is  still  to  be  seen  at  Valencia, 
were  composed  of  the  clergy,  the  nobility,  and 
commons.  There  now  remains  only  the  re- 
membrance of  these  prerogatives;  the  province 

lost  them  all  by  its  rebellion  against  Philip  V. 
at  the  commencement  of  the  last  century.  That 
prince,  on  being  obliged  to  conquer  a  country 
that  belonged  tc,  him,  rigorously  used  the  rights 
of  a  conqueror.  ITe  abolished  all  their  privi- 
leges, and  subjected  the  Valencians  to  the  laws 
by  which  his  states  of  Castile  were  governed. 

The  Guadalaviar,  Xucar,  aiid  Segura,  are  the 
three  great  rivers  which  flow  through  this  pro- 
vince, which  is  watered  besides  by  fifteen 
smaller  ones,  the  Elda,  IMurviedro,  Canadez, 
Palencia,  Mijarez,  Linarez,  Minarez,  Serval, 
Cenia,  Cahiel,  Oliena,  Millas,  Segrez,  Chalba, 
and  the  Siete-Aguas. 

.  Its  principal  mountains  are  a  continuation  of 
the  Sierra  de  Cuença.  "We  distinguish  amonjr 
others  the  Sierra  Picochera,  in  the  centre  of 
the  west  part  which  forms  the  limits  of  this 
province  with  New  Castile  ;  the  Sierra  de  las 
Cabrillas  to  the  west  ;  las  Pedreras  de  Elche, 
Sierra  de  Orihuela,  Sierra  de  la  Canada,  Sierra 
de  la  Morada,  Sierra  de  Salimctas,  Sierra  de 
Camara,  and  Sierra  de  Santa-Anna,  to  the  south  ; 
Sierra  d'Almanza  to  the  south-west  ;  and  the 
mountain  of  Lacobas,  Vellido,  Cubilo,  Mongo, 
Aytana,  Peua-Goloza,  Mariola,  &c. 


VA]  EWC  [A.  13$ 

-  country,  though  mountainous,  contains 
beautiful  plains  and  fertile  valleys.  Indepen- 
dently of  the  rivers  we  have  mentioned,  there 
are  a  great  many  streams  and  canals  that  inter- 

t  the  land,  and  give  to  the  vegetation  an 
astonishing  luxuriancy  and  variety.  The  mild- 
ness of  the  climate  *  augments  the  fertility  of 
the  soil,  and  developes  the  riches  of  its  pro- 
ductions. The  flowers  of  spring  every  where 
united  with  the  fruits  of  autumn,  the  orange- 
trees  and  cedars  which  surround  the  rich  mea- 
dows, and  a  number  of  trees  which  with  us  arc 
only  seen  in  hot-houses,  where  they  change 
their  nature,  and  which  on  their  native  soil 
embalm  the  air  that  gives  them  life,  render  this 
province  a  magnificent  garden  and  a  delightful 
place  of  residence  ;  and  in  which  we  conse- 
quently find  a  great  many  villas. 

The  activity  of  the  inhabitants  profits  by 
the  happy  influence  of  the  climate  :  the  most 
ungrateful  lands  are  cultivated,  and  productions 
of  all  kinds  multiplied  every  where;  manufac- 
tures, commerce,   fishing,   ami  the  shipping  in- 

'  In  summer  tbethi  •  rods  atb<  t\u<  a 

1  ',     Rod  •  :i<l     m     v.  >i!t>  r     i"  ;  ".  <    n    7    mid     13  : 

the  cold  rarely  ulakeail  fall  lower  than  t"  iboto  uV 

>  .  i  and  fogs  hate  be<  n  seen  01  .  ei  '1 

centuries.  Th<  air  is  in  •■<  and  dr^y,  that  sail 

l  i"  1!  for  wh  LlfadU 

1 


140  VALENCIA. 

crease  the  means  of  work,  and  diffuse  case 
among  the  Valencians.  The  men  of  this  coun- 
try possess  the  vigour  of  health,  and  are  frank 
and  lively:  the  women  are  handsome;  their 
embonpoint  takes  nothing  from  their  graces  ; 
they  have  a  suavity  of  manner,  and  a  spright- 
liness  which  render  their  society  agreeable. 

Road  from  the  Frontiers  of  New  Castile  to  Valencia, 

7  Leagues. 
Limits  of  New  Castile  on  the  Mountain  of  Los  Cubrilla.i. 

LEAGUES. 

Venta  del  Relator _., :1 

Venta    de  Bunol...... "2 

Venta  del  Moral I 

Chiva,  (a  village) \ 

Quarte,  (a  village) 2 

Mislata,  (a  village) £ 

Valencia .». \ 

In  leaving  Aranjucz  and  Madrid,  to  go  into 
the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  we  continue  to  climb 
and  descend  the  mountains  of  Las  Cabrillas, 
which  renders  the  road  extremely  difficult. 
After  an  hour's  travelling  we  arrive  at  the 
Venta  del  Relator,  a  lonely  house  in  the  midst 
of  these  mountains,  built  by  a  reporter  of  the 
council  of  finances,  for  the  convenience  of 
travellers.  The  road,  always  bad,  becomes 
worse  at  a  little  distance  further  on,  where  we 
are  obliged  to  climb  up  a  very  steep  and  stony 
ascent. 


VALENCIA.  14  î 

The  mountains  we  have  now  come  over  are 
calcareous  :  in  spite  of  their  being  rugged,  steep 
and  fatiguing,  we  here  begin  to  observe  the  ef- 
fects of  the  industry  of  the  Valencians,  who 
have  neglected  no  part  susceptible  of  cultiva- 
tion ;  and  who  carry  it  even  to  places  the  most 
difficult  of  access.  This  view  çives  a  secret 
satisfaction  to  the  traveller,  whose  pleasure  is 
so  much  the  greater,  as  he  has  been  travelling- 
over  some  of  the  sterile  plains  and  rocky  arid 
mountains  of  New  Castile.  We  enjoy  a  delicious 
prospect  when  we  arrive  at  the  summit  of  these 
mountains.  The  immense  plain  in  which  the 
town  of  Valencia  is  situated  presents  itself  to 
the  astonished  beholder  :  it  is  a  view  the  ex- 
tent of  which  does  not  permit  a  detailed  exa- 
mination, but  which  altogether  presents  a 
mixture  of  settlements  and  cultivated  lands,  of 
houses  and  villages  rising  in  the  middle  of  a 
verdant  carpet.  The  town  of  Valencia  is  seen 
at  the  end  of  this  plain  ;  all  the  habitations 
which  surround  it  seem  as  if  they  were  part  of 
it,  and  we  imagine  that  we  see  the  largest  town 
io  the  world  :  the  sea  terminates  the  back 
ground  of  the  picture,   and  adds  to  its  beauty. 

We  descend  these  mountains  by  a  road  as  bad 
as  that  we  have  quitted.     We  find  at  the  foot 

of  them  the  Venta  de  Jjimr  1,    two  leagues  from 
that  of  del  Relator;  it  is   neai    a  little  town  of 

the  same  name,   situated  on  the  river   Siete- 


Î4£  VAl.KSClAt 

Aguas  ;  ils  population  js  abput  ISQQ  inhabit- 
ants, and  it  has  a  paper  manufactory  :  it  is  said 
that  it  was  formerly  called  Benqlaron.  "We  soon 

after  come  to  the  \'enia  del  Moral,  then  to  the 
village  of  Chiva,  and  see  on  either  side  tliose 
of  Cheste  and  Toris. 

The  change  of  the  temperature  is  here  sen- 
sihly  felt  ;  aiul  we  discover  about  Chiva  the 
brilliant  cultivation  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia. 
The  trees  are  numerous;  hedges,  for  the  most 
part  formed  of  fine  aloes,  inclose  the  estates: 
olive  and  mulberry  trees  rapidly  succeed  one 
another;  fruit-trees  are  loaded  with  fruit,  and 
the  earth  enriches  the  cultivator  with  its  gifts. 

At  half  a  league  beyond  Chiva  these  beauties 
disappear,  or  at  least  lose  much  of  their  bril- 
liancy; olive  and  mulberry-trees  are  scarce;  the 
land  is  often  fallow  ;  and  the  cultivated  part 
yields  nothing  but  shrivelled  wheat  :  the  road 
is  even,  but  not  handsome.  At  some  distance 
the  fields  resume  their  beauty;  they  arc  watered 
with  numerous  streams,  and  the  most  delight- 
ful fertility  is  every  where  seen. 

The  villages  succeed  each  other  quickly  ; 
among  others  we  see  that  of  Torrcntc,  known 
by  its  wines  and  brandies  ;  that  of  j\Ianiser, 
where  there  are  manufactories  for  earthen-ware 
and  crockery.  ^Ve  arrive  at.  Quarte,  a  very 
large  village,  well  peopled,  and  situated  in  one 
of  the  finest  and  richest  parts  of  the  hucrta  of 


VALENCIA.  Ï43 

Valencia.     This  place  was  called  by  the  Romans 
Quart  urn. 

The  country  becomes  more  strikingly  beauti- 
ful, as  we  approach  Valencia,  here  not  more  than 
a  league  distant.  The  road  is  tolerably  broad,  but 
very  stony.  We  proceed  to  Mislata,  a  village 
which  has  the  title  of  Barony,  and  which  con- 
tains about  500  inhabitants;  it  is  the  rendez- 
vous of  tipplers.  To  the  left  we  leave  the  en- 
trance of  the  superb  quay,  which  extends  a 
league  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Guadalaviar, 
by  the  walls  of  Valencia;  we  take  the  road  to 
the  right,  and  a  little  afterwards  we  enter  the 
town  by  the  faubourg  of  Quarte,  and  by  the 
gate  of  the  same  name. 

Jload  from  the  Frontiers  of  Murcia  over  Orihiula,  to  Valencia, 
32  Leagues  and  a  half. 

The  Sierra  o/Orihuela,  (Frontiers  of  Murcia.) 

LLACl  Es. 

La  Farecia,  (a  village), g 

Orihuela,  (a  town) | 

Batara,  (a  village) 2 

Fiche,  (a  town) 3 

Mpntfort,  (a  town; 2   \ 

Elda,  (a  town).... - 

The  river  Elda,**  (without  a  bridge) i 

Villena,  (a  town  t)  - 

♦  We  crow  and  recro  Hwew< 

the  kingdom  of  Mur<  ia. 

■  il  m  the  kingdom  ol  'i  'l  **'■ 

eatti  t-Lut  oi  VaU 

C 


Î44  VALENCIA. 

•  H;?, 

Tuente  de  la  Higuera,  (a  village  *) 4? 

Valencia,! 13  \ 

Leaving  the  kingdom  of  Murcia,  we  continue 

to  wind  round  the  mountain  of  Orihuela,  which 
is  a  calcareous  rock.    We  proceed  to  la  Parecia, 

a  small  village,  situated  at  the  foot  of  this 
mountain  ;  and  half  a  league  further  on  we 
discover  the  castle  of  Orihuela,  half  way  up 
the  side  of  the  same  mountain,  which  we  go 
along  to  the  left,  having  the  Heurta  to  I  he- 
right  ;  we  soon  after  perceive  the  steeples  of 
Orihuela  :  this  town,  the  side  of  which  is  first 
seen,  gradually  opens  to  the  view,  and  we  ar- 
rive there  after  an  hour's  travelling  from  the 
frontiers  of  Murcia.  <#n  entering,  we  discover 
to  the  right  a  Franciscan  convent,  in  a  delight- 
ful situation  ;  to  the  left  we  see  a  large  and  fine 
building,  which  is  a  range  of  barracks  ;  we  then 
go  into  a  short  but  beautiful  avenue  of  trees, 
which  looks  over  the  Iluerta,  and  which  leads 
to  the  gates  of  the  town. 

Orihuela  is  a  tolerably  large  town,  agree- 
ably situated  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  of  the 
same  name  on  both  banks  of  the  Segura,  which 

*  A  league  from  this  village,  the  road  joins  that  which  leads  from 
the  gate  of  Almanza  to  Valencia. 

f  The  itinerary  and  description  of  the  road  from  Fuente  de  la  IligH-  ra 
to  Valencia,  may  be  found  with  the  description  of  that  from  the  fronti<  :  ■> 
•f  the  kingdom  of  Murcia  after  Aimanta  to  Valencia. 


Valencia.  14a 

runs  through  it,  and  which,  on  the  confines  of 
a  beautiful  country,  forms  the  continuation  of 
the  Iluerta  of  Murcia. 

This  town  was  taken  from  the  Contestani  by 
the  Carthaginians,  from  them  by  the  Romans, 
and  from  these  by  the  Goths;  it  was  conquered 
by  the  Moors  in  7\5,  and  was  at  first  part  of 
the  kingdom  of  Cordova;  in  1057  it  had  its 
own  king,  whose  existence  was  of  short  dura- 
tion :  it  soon  afterwards  returned  to  the  kings 
of  Cordova  :  a  fresh  revolution  rendered  it  de- 
pendent on  the  new  kingdom  of  Murcia,  estab- 
lished in  1H36;  it  remained  under  the  Moors  for 
550  years.  It  was  taken  from  them  in  1L'64  by 
James  I.  king  of  Aragon,  who  peopled  it  with 
Christians;  and  it  received,  in  1537,  the  title 
of  city  from  Alphonso  V.  In  164S  it  was  de- 
populated by  the  plague  ;  and  the  overflowing  of 
the  Segura,  in  1651,  destroyed  a  great  part 
of  it. 

Orihuela  had  almost  as  many  names  as  mas- 
ters. We  are  ignorant  of  that  which  it  bore 
under  the  Carthaginians  ;  it  M'as  called  Auriola 
by  the  Romans,  Orzuella  by  the  Goths,  Qrgu- 
ella  by  the  Moors,  and  Orihuela  by  the  Aragon 
and  the  Spanish, 

Population.   This  town  is  narrow,  but  extei 
<•■.h-.iili.raly!»  length,  following  tin  (gpl  <•!  tin.  mountain,  round 
which  it  winds.    It  is  tolerably  well  built;  the  streets  are  in 
Vol.  j.  i. 


146  VALENCIA. 

gi  lierai  airy,  straight  and  broad,  but  not  paved.  ':  There  arc 
«levcn  principal  ones,  tolerably  handsome,  the  broadest  of 
which  bave  on  each  side  convenient  foot-pavements.  There 
are  many  regular  edifices,  and  good  looking  houses.  The 
town  has  two  bridges  over  the  Segura,  seven  gates,  and  five 
squares.  In  these  squares,  which  are  all  large  and  of  regu- 
lar dimensions,  nothing  is  wanting  but  handsome  buildings. 
It  has  no  fountains,  and  the  inhabitants  drink  the  water  of 
the  Segura.  It  bas  a  cheerful,  open,  agreeable  air  through- 
out.    The  population  is  about  20,000  souls. 

Ecclesiastical  Administrât / on.  Orihuela  was  formerly  of  the 
diocese  of  Carthaginia  and  afterwards  of  Murcia  ;  it^  prin- 
cipal church  was  made  a  collegiate  in  1413  by  the  Anti- 
Pope  Benedict  XIII.  The  Council  of  Basil,  at  the  request  of 
Alphonso  V.  king  of  Aragon,  ordained  that  it  should  be  a 
cathedral  in  11-10,  and  that  an  episcopal  see  should  be 
established  in  it  ;  this  establishment,  however,  did  not  take 
place  :  Pope  Eugene  IV.  united  this  new  chapter,  in  14*3, 
to  that  of  the  cathedral  of  -Murcia.  At  length  Tope  Leo  X. 
in  1564,  established  a  bishop's  see  here,, which  has  continued 
ever  since,  and  the  diocese  of  which  comprehend?  a  cathe- 
dral chapter,  which  is-  at  Orihuela  ;  a  collegiate  chapter, 
which  is  at  Alicante;  four  vicarages,  and  fifty-five  parishes. 

The  chapel  of  the  cathedral  of  Orihuela  consists  of  five  dig- 
nitaries, seventeen  canons,  twelve  prebendaries,  twelve  semi- 
prebendaries,  and  forty-one  beneficed  clergymen.  There  are 
in  this  town  three  parish  churches,  nine  monasteries,  three 
nunneries,  one  church  of  Our  Lady  of  Mont-Serrat,  a  hos- 
pital of  pity,  one  for  the  sick,  a  foundling  hospital,  and  one 
tribunal  for  the  cognizance  of  causes  arising  in  the  diocese. 

Civil  and  Military  Admit  .     A    criminal  judge,  an 

alcalde -major  for  the  administration    of  justice,    a   certain 

*  See  (pal)  what  is  said  in  speaking  of  the  sand  which  eov< 
streets  of  Valencia. 


VALENCIA.  147 

number  of  regidors,  half  nobles  and  half  citizens,  who  form 
the  municipality  ;  and  a  garrison  of  two  squadrons  of  cavalry 
or  of  dragoons. 

Public  Instruction.  Public  instruction  is  much  neglected  at 
Oribuela.  There  is,  however,  a  university  there,  which  was 
founded  in  1 550  for  the  four  learned  professions  ;  that  of  medi- 
cine was  suppressed  in  the  1 8th  century  ;  theology,  juris- 
prudence, and  philosophy  are  now  taught  ;  but  the  radical 
vices  of  the  other  universities  of  Spain  are  found  in  it,  a  theo- 
logy purely  scholastic,  and  a  philosophy  almost  entirely 
peripatetic,  with  a  syllogistical  form,  fertile  in  subtleties  and 
subterfuges  :  it  has  none  of  the  establishments  proper  to  ac- 
celerate the  progress  of  the  sciences.  There  are  also  in  tliis 
town  one  seminary  and  two  colleges;  in  one  of  which  there 
are  about  three  hundred  young  men  ;  but  they  also  partake 
of  the  bad  plan  of  the  university,  on  which  they  arc  de- 
pendent. 

Public  Edifices.  There  is  nothing  in  the  public  édifie»  >> 
of  tliis  town  to  excite  curiosity.  The  cathedral  church  is 
small  and  obscure  ;  the  iron-railing  of  the  principal  altar  is 
a  master-piece.  The  parish-church  of  St.  James's  has  a 
tolerably  fine  portal  in  the  Gothic  style;  that  of  Our  Lady 
of  Mont-Serrat  has  two  stories  of  architecture  of  the  Corin- 
thian order,  each  of  four  columns  of  green  marble.  The 
front  of  the  Dominican  convent  is  very  wide,  and  without 
ornament:  it  h  ortals  that  seem  lost  m  the  immensity 

of  its  front,  and  which  would  have  more  effect  if  they  had 
any  exterior  decoration.      The  front  of  the  chun  h  of 
An-.'  .-  two  fine    qu  u e  tow ers,  one  on 

each  side,  having  three  storii    ol    irehitecture  ;  the  (wo  fi 

uament  ;  tin-  third  has  ''*■•■>  fine  Ionic  pilasti  rs 
>.  i!  by  .i  fine  <  oi  nic< ,  w Inch  sup- 
ports urns,  placed  at  equal  di  In  the  f*ear  1791  they 

ii.    chi   ch  ol  th<    E ainti  J 
■l  i  ;    it  j      f  -,       .1  ii  ornament 


14S  VALENCIA. 

Doric  pilasters  ;  il  has  a  portal  ornamented  with  four  Coriiv» 
thian  columns  of  the  same  stone,  supported  by  pedestals  of 
blue  and  white  marble. 

Orihuela  is  a  very  gloomy  place  to  live  in;  there  i*>  no 
ty,  though  the  inhabitants  are  nor  in  want  of  any  of  the 
necessary  principles  to  form  very  agreeable  ones.  Through  a 
mistaken  principle  of  devotion  they  destroyed  the  playhouse 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  From  that  time  all 
society  was  broken  up,  individuals  secluded  themselves,  ea<  h 
confined  himself  to  liis  own  house,  and  a  gloom  pervaded  the 
whole  town.  In  17^1,  however,  M.  Aguada,  a  private  gen- 
tleman, gratuitously  gave  up  one  of  his  houses  to  a  person 
who  made  a  theatre  of  it  at  his  own  expence.  It  is  small, 
but  handsome  enough,  though  without  ornament.  It  is  ver) 
much  frequented  from  the  month  of  October  to  the  mouth  ot 
April.  A  taste  for  plays  will  insensibly  recal  the  citizens  to 
the  pleasures  of  society.  Strangers  will  visit  them  the  more 
willingly  on  account  of  this  town  being  agreeable  for  th« 
beauty  of  its  situation,  the  richness  of  the  neighbouring  fit  Ids, 
and  also  for  the  suavity  of  the  manners  of  the  inhabitants, 
who  are  active  and  laborious  :  they  are  every  where  indus- 
trious in  cultivating  the  lands  to  a  degree  not  easily  sur- 
passed. 

This  town  was  the  birth-place  of  Danien  C  avail  us,  an  ora- 
tor of  the  16th  century  ;  of  Anastasio  Vivez  de  llocamora, 
bishop  of  Segorba,  who  published,  in  1071-,  the  Synodal  Acts 
of  bis  Diocese  ;  and  of  the  historians  Gaspard  Garzia  and 
Francisco  Martinez  ;  both  lived  in  t lie  beginning  of  the  17th 
century  :    the  latter  wrote  the  history  of  hiscountry. 

There  are  no  inns  at  Orihuela;  there  are  only  posadas; 
that  of  the  Pisada  is  the  best  ;  it  is,  however,  very  middling; 
but  the  prices  are  moderate. 

The  country  about  the  town  is  extremely  beautiful  ;  it  is 
the  continuation  of  the  Iluerta  of  Murcia,  the  same  land,  the 
same  soil,  the  same  watering,  and  under  the  same  climat)  , 
but  it  is  belter  cultivated,  it  is  also  infinitely  more  beautiful 


^ 


VALENCIA.  149 

fine!  there  are  more  productions  and  in  a  greater  variety.  It 
forms  a  succession  of  gardens  in  which  fruit  trees  of  every 
kind  display  their  riches,  in  which  the  orange  and  lemon  are 
mixed  with  the  almond  and  pomegranate  trees,  in  which  mul- 
berries multiply  in  great  variety,  embellishing  the  fields  and 
«nrichtng  their  proprietors  ;  inv.liich  pulse  and  the  most  savory 
and  delicate  herbs  grow  in  abundance  ;  and  in  which  the 
lands  are  never  at  rest,  but  always  producing  :  whence  the 
proverb  Ilueia  6  ne  llueva,  tri^o  en  Orihuela  ;  that  is  to  say, 
*  rain  or  no  rain,  then'  is  wheat  in  Orihuela.'  They  raise 
a  prodigious  number  of  silkworms,  which  furnish  the  inhabit- 
ants with  a  new  source  of  wealth. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century  Orihuela 
followed  the  party  of  the  Archduke  Charles  of 
Austria,  who  disputed  the  crown  of  Spain  with 
Philip  V.  ;  but  it  was  attacked  in  October  1076; 
by  Bellinga,  bishop  of  Murcia,  who  had  just 
.  ved  his  episcopal  town  and  preserved  it  for  his 
king.  This  prelate  seconded  by  M.  de  Medi- 
nilla,  carried  the  place,  gave  it  up  to  pillage  for 
twenty-four  hours,  disarmed  the  inhabitants, 
and  took  away  the  original  title  of  their  piivi- 
es. 

We  leave  Orihuela  by  a  fine  road,  which,  for 
half  a  league,  proceeds  along  the  mountain  to 
the  left  and  the  Huerta  to  the  right  ;  it  termi- 
nates at  a  cross  placed  under  a  dome  in  the  form 
of  a  large  pavilion,  sustained  by  four  columns 
of  white  mai  ble.  The  road  then  becomes  stony, 
edes  from  the  Huerta,  which  we  seenomore, 
i  approaches  the  mountain,  which  it  soon  af 


150  VALENCIA. 

leaves  and  becomes  smoother.  We  see  at  a 
distance  to    the  left   thé  continuation  of  the 

Sierra  d'Orihuela,  the  Sierra  de  la  Canada  to 
the  right,  and  the  Siena  de  Morada  in  front. 
We  insensibly  approach  this  last;  but  leave  it  to 
the  left  ;  the  prospect  at  the  same  time  becomes 
more  extensive,  the  lands  are  cultivated,  and 
we  enter  the  plain. 

The  country  becomes  beautiful;  is  covered, 
here  and  there  with  trees,  which  form,  in  some 
parts,  especially  to  the  left,  agreeable  skreens. 
The  villages  are  near  one  another;  \vc  see  at 
first  at  a  little  distance  to  the  right,  the  village 
of  Co,  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  small  eminence, 
on  which  is  an  old  castle  of  the  saine  name  : 
and  soon  after,  that  of  La  Granja. 

Here  the  road  becomes  uneven,  broken,  stony, 
and  often  muddy;  it  is  very  much  incommoded 
by  gnats  ;  it  leads  to  Balara,  a  small  village  two 
leagues  from  Orihuela,  and  most  of  the  houses 
of  which  have  only  a  ground  floor  ;  it  has  a 
parish  church,  under  the  invocation  of  St. 
James.     Its  architecture  is  tolerably  good. 

^Yc  continue  in  the  same  plain,  in  which 
there  are  a  great  many  thick  olive  woods,  fre- 
quently succeeding  one  another.  After  travel- 
ling two  hours  and  a  half,  we  discover  Elche, 
where  we  arrive  half  an  hour  after.  As  we 
approach  the  town  it  appears  as  if  surrounded 


VALENCIA.  I  SI 

tli  forests  of  palm-trees;  and  on  the  left  there 
is  a  large  handsome  square  building,  which  is 
used  as  barracks  for  the  troops.  We  enter  the 
faubourg  by  a  descent,  come  to  a  beautiful 
large  bridge,  but  without  any  stream  under  it, 
at  the  end  of  which  there  is  a  circular  marble 
fountain,  which  throws  out  water  bv  eio-ht 
pipes  ;  and  we  enter  the  town. 

Elche  is  a  town  of  a  middling  size,  situated 
in  a  plain  almost  entirely   covered   with  palms. 
It   was  comprised,  under  the   Romans,   in  the 
country  of  the  C'ontestani  ;  it  was  at  that  time 
called  lllici,   and  gave  its   name  to  the  gulf  of 
Illicitanus;    it  had    the   title   and  rights  of  a 
Roman  colony.     There  are  in   it  2700  houses, 
and    about    15,000  persons,  of  whom  some  are 
noble  families,  and  about  500  families  of  labour- 
ers.   There  are  some  tolerably  good  streets,  some 
showy    houses,    several  spacious    squares,,    but 
without  any  decoration,   and  six  fountains;   one 
of  which  is  of  marble,    and    in   the  form   of  a. 
tomb  ;  it  throws  out  water  by  twenty  pipes  ;    it 
U  the  only  one  of  which  the  water  is  drinkable; 
that  of  the  other  fountains  is  brackish. 
The;;   pretend  that   Elche  was   formerly  an 

jcopal  See;  that  John,  who  lived  in  5  17  was 
the  first  bishop  of  it,  and  Teudegatus  who  lived 
in  862  the  last.  1  am  ignorant  of  the  grounds 
of  this  opinion  :  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  the 

l4 


15C  VALENCIA. 

date  of  sCv2  with  that  of  the  invasion  of  the 
Moors  in  714:  we  know  that  those  people  al- 
lowed of  no  bishopric  in  the  beginning  of  their 
dominion. 

Tli is  town  lias  three  parishes  churches,  two  convents  of 
monks,  one  of  nuns,  and  one  hospital  with  twenty  bed*.  It 
is  the  residence  of  a  vicar  general  of  the  bishop  of  Orihuela. 
It  is  governed  by  an  alcalde  major,  who  is  charged  with  the 
administration  of  justice,  four  regidors,  and  some  deputies 
of  the  commons.  There  are  no  remarkable  edifices.  The 
parish  church  of  St.  Maria  has  a  marble  portal  :  it  is  a  mon- 
strous assemblage  of  plain,  twisted,  and  spiral  fluted  columns. 
There  are  some  inscriptions  in  the  square  of  St.  Lucia. 

There  is  in  this  town  a  soap  manufactory,  and  also  several 
tanneries.  It  has  a  great  commerce  for  dates  and  palms  ; 
these  are  the  principal  produce  of  the  land,  which,  to  a  certain 
distance,  is  almost  entirely  covered  with  them. 

Elcheisvery  gloomy;  there  is  no  kind  of  amusement,  no 
walk,  no  play,  noplace  of  assembling  ;  every  one  lives  alone, 
and  never  visits  except  on  indispensable  occasions  and  for  eti- 
quette. The  two  most  considerable  classes  of  the  inhabitants, 
the  nobles  and  labourers,  devote  themselves  entirely  to  agri- 
culture, and  never  occupy  the:'  selves  with  any  other  pursuit. 
The  ladies  of  the  nobility  visit  only  among  themselves,  and 
that  rarely  :  which  greatly  contracts  the  circle  of  society  . 
the  middling  class  follows  this  example.  They  have  in  con- 
sequence a  general  appearance  of  gloominess  and  ennui, 
■which  all  acknowledge,  but  do  not  e<  rrect.  The  inhabitants 
however  are  rich,  the  husbandmen  especially  ;  they  never- 
theless live  wretchtflly  ;  a  man  possessed  of  100,000  or- 
150,000  ducats  (.£11,458  6*s.  $d.  or  «£17,187  10s.  sterling) 
lives  on  barley  bread,  and  the  commonest  vegetables. 

This  town  justly  boasts  of  having  given  birth  to  the  famous 
George  Juan,  one  of  the   greatest   men  Spain   produced  n\ 


VALENCIA.  153 

the  I8th  century;  be  distinguished  himself  by  his  knowledge 
in  navigation,  geometry  and  astronomy,  and  the  works  be 
published  on  those  sciences. 

They  eat  no  beef  h?   Elche;  in  lTQp  mutton  vras  sold  for 

32  quarts,  or  9|,  a  pound  of  35  o-incos  ;  lamb  33  quarts,  or 

;  pork  36  quarts,  or  lOhd.  ;  wheaten  bread  4f  <piarts,  or 

lid.    a  pound  of  16  ounces,  and  bailey  bread  2  quarts,  or  a 

little  more  than  a  halfpenny. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century,  Elche 
joined  the  party  of  the  pretended  Charles  III. 
during  the  war  of  the  succession,  and  received 
an  English  garrison  within  its  walla;  but  the 
troons  of  Philip  V.  took  it  at  the  end  of  1706, 
and  made  a  thousand  English  prisoners. 

Ey  going  a  little  out  of  our  way,  in  leaving 
Elche,  we  meet,  lour  leagues  to  the  right,  with 
Alicant,  a  town  remarkable  tor  the  fertility  of 
its  soil,  and  the  extent  of  its  commerce. 

Ar.iCAXT.  This  town  is  situated  between 
mountains  at  the  entrance  of  a  hay  formed  by 
the  cape  of  the  Huerta  and  that  of  San-Pablo, 
in  the  ancient  country  of  the  Illicitani.  It  is 
defended  by  a  situated  on  the  mountain, 

which  was  formerly  very  strong  by  i;  i  position, 
but  which.  g  i  ecu  very  much  damaged  in 

the  war  i  the  succession,  I  :••  r  been  re- 
paired. 

Ali  an1  pa  sed  From  I  h  Romans  I  l  >ths; 
it  was  given  up  in  552  with  the  country  in 
phich  it  is  situated  to  the  Greeks;   it   returned 


J54  VALENCIA. 

to  the  Goths  in  624  ;  it  was  taken  from  them  in 
71o  by  Abdelasis,  the  son  of  Musa,  general  of 
the  •Moors;  it  was  taken  from  these  in  the 
loth  century,  by  Ferdinand  II.  king  of  Castile, 
who  united  it  to  the  kingdom  of  Murcia;  it 
was  ceded  in  J  304,  to  James  II.  king  of  An 
by  Ferdinand  the  Justicier,  and  then  b(  t 

part  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia.  Faithful  to 
Philip  V.  this  town,  in  1 706  made  an  obstinate 
resistance  to  the  English  troops,  who  besieged  iu 
in  the  name  of  the  Archduke  Charles  of  Austria  ; 
but  being  attacked  soon  after  by  superior  forces 
it  was  reduced  and  fell  into  the  power  of  the 
enemies  of  its  king.  The  Marquis  of  Asfelt  hav- 
ing laid  siege  to  it  for  Philip  V.  in  the  month  of 
December  1708;  the  people,  ever  faithful  to 
their  sovereign,  rose,  and  forced  the  English 
governor  to  surrender  the  place;  he  retired  to 
the  castle  and  maintained  with  honour  a  siege 
of  five  months;  but  was  forced  to  capitulate  in 
June  I/O9,  after  a  part  of  the  castle,  and 
mountain  on  which  it  was  situated,  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  blowing  up  of  a  mine.  The 
family  of  Pasqual  dc  Pubill  was  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  by  their  attachment  to  their  legi- 
timate king. 

In  this  town  it  was  that  Mahomed  ben  Abdel- 
haman,  the  Arab,  famous  for  his  poetry,  was 
born;  he  wrote  the  annals  of  Spain;  and  died  at 


VALENCIA.  153 

Trcmen,  in  the  year  o'lO  of  the  hegira,  or  1213. 
This  town  was  also  the  birth  place  of  Ferdinand 
de  Loazes,  a  great  theologian,  and  famous  law- 
yer, whose  merit  placed  him  in  the  archipiseopal 

see  of  Valencia,  in  1567. 

Extent  and  Population.  This  town  is  in  the  figure  of  a  half- 
moon  ;  the  streets  are  narrow  and  ill  paved  ;  its  population  is 
about  17,300  inhabitants. 

Clergy.  There  are  four  parish  churches,  one  collegiate 
chapter  with  three  dignitaries,  eleven  canons,  fourteen  chap- 
lains, sixteen   beneficed  clergymen,  and  eight  convents. 

Administration.  It  has  a  military  and  civd  governor,  a 
king's  lieutenant,  a  major,  a  king's  lieutenant  particularly 
for  the  castle,  an  alcalde  major  for  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice, a  municipality  composed  of  eight  hereditary  regidors, 
two  assessors  and  two  solicitors  of  the  Commons;  a  posl- 
captain,  and  a  minister  and  an  auditor  of  the  marine. 

Instruction.  A  drawing  school  has  been  established  here, 
the  expence  of  which  is  defrayed  by  a  duty  en  commerce, 
with  annual  prizes  for  the  pupils. 

There  is  a  small  manufactory  where  coarse  linens,  and 
some  of  a  finer  quality,  and  cotton  ami  thread  bandkerchiefi 
are  made.  It  \\u>  established  by  a  canon  of  Alicant  in  favour 
of  the  poor;  it  supports  a  master,  two  servant  boys,  and 
twelve  orphans,  who  are  taught  this  branch  of  industry. 

Th'  \  useful  establishments  in  this  town, 

a   free  »r  poor  orphans,  and  the  children  of 

iers  burdened  with  a  numerous  family.     It  is  a  kind  <>i 

military  school,  in  which  tiny  are  taught  t<>  read,  write,  and 

cypher,  the  manual  exercise,  and  every  thing   i  r  fa 

ry  service,  for  which  they   are   intended,  and  in 

v  lii«  h  the  rank  ol  w  i  :  anl  i  is  reserved  fo   thi  rn. 

J  l:  ation  (■!   |  of  all   C0J 


ISO  VALENCIA* 

under  the  name  of  the  Brothers  of  the  Tonr,  which  is  com-» 
posed  of  ecclesiastic.^,  noblemen,  citizens,  merchants,  artizans, 

and  peasants. 

This  society  nominates  its  own  governors  and  trustees  ;  they 
hare  divided  the  town  into  twelve  parts  ;  each  part  is  confided 
to  the  care  of  a  trustee  and  three  assistants  ;  these  inform 
themselves  of  the  number,  situation,  wants,  and  civil  and  re- 
ligious conduct  of  the  poor,  and  they  distribute  to  them 
weekly  the  allowance  granted  them  by  the  governors  ;  this 
allowance  is  in  money,  victuals,  medicine,  or  whatever  else 
they  may  be  in  want  of.  This  society  likewise  provides  for 
the  bringing  up  of  sortie  children  in  common,  and  directs 
their  education  towards  the  mechanical  arts  and  manufac- 
tures. It  has  no  otljer  support  than  the  voluntary  contribu- 
tions of  the  inhabitants  ;  what  they  distribute  yearly  amounts 
to  64,000  reals  (<£<566  135.  \d.  sterling).  This  society  has 
stablisbed  only  since  178b". 

Agriculture.  This  town  is  almost  surrounded  by  high, 
steep,  bare  calcareous  mountains,  little  susceptible  of  culti- 
vation ;  but  their  valleys,  though  small,  are  very  fertile  ;  their 
sod  is  sandy  with  beds  uf  marl  and  clay.  The  neighbouring 
extensive  and  level  country,  called  la  Huerta,  is  very  beautiful 
and  still  more  fertile;  it  has  the  same  productions  as  the 
richest  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia;  it  is  irrigated  with 
water  carefully  collected  in  a  superb  bason,  which  they 
call  panthario,  and  which  is  situated  between  two  moun- 
tains, five  leagues  from  Alicant  ;  it  is  inclosed  with  two  very 
thick  walls;  it  resemble-  a  large  lake  23b'  feet  in  length 
ISO  in  breadth,  and  12-1  in  depth  ;  an  exact  and  well  ordered 
police  superintends  the  distribution  of  the  water,  so  that  all 
the  landholders  may  profit  equally  by  it  at  a  stated  pr.ee, 
which  is  moderate  enough. 

Commerce.  This  town  is  the  principal  entrepot  of  the  com- 
merce of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  Murcia,  Aragon,  and  a 
part  of  New  Castile.     Next  to  Cadiz  and  Barcelona  it  is  the 


VALENCIA.  1^7 

most  commercial  town  in  ;>pain  ;  it  has  a  bay  which  is  a 
great  resort  of  Spanish  ships  ;  it  is  good,  large,  and  secure,  but 
h  as  very  little  depth  ;  eight  or  nine  hundred  vessels  ofdifferent 
nations,  the  half  of  which  are  Catalans,  enter  it  yearly.  In 
17<)I,  nine  hundred  and  sixty-one  entered,  about  OOO  01' which 
were  Spanish,  and  most  of  them  Catalans.  From  this  harbour 
are  exported  aniseed,  almonds,  brandy,  cinnamon,  dried-figs, 
raisins,  cochineal,  licorice,  essence  of  lemon,  pomegranate, 
bark,  salt,  saffron,  vinegar,  wine,  wool,  and  >ilk  from  Mur- 
cia.  It  imports  linens  from  France  and  Swisserland,  cloths 
from  Trance,  iron- ware  from  France  and  England,  and 
cod-fish  from  England.  The  exportation  is  estimated  at 
iSO,000,000  reals,  or  £],$1j,QQQ  sterling. 

Lias.  There  is  a  good  inn  at  Alicant,  and  well  attended. 
Though  a  great  trade  is  carried  on  in  this  town,  provisions 
were  .at  a  moderate  price  in  1799'-  bread  sold  for  4  quarts, 
or  ]£</.  the  pound  of  10  ounces;  beef  10  quarts, or  about 
Sd.)  mutton  lo^  quarts,  or  \';tt  \  veal  17  quarts,  or  5d.\ 
pork  18  quarts,  or  5\d.  ;  fresh  fish  8  quarts,  or  '2]<l.\  and  oil 
19  quarts,  or  about  5\d. 

la  leaving  Elche,  we  proceed  in  the  same 
plain,  by  a  road  which  runs  through  forests 
of  palm-trees.  The  plain  then  discovers  itself 
to  a  considerable  extent  ;  it  presents  a  smilii 
country,  covered  with  trees,  principally  olive, 
v.hkh  form,  at  a  distance,  agreeable  curtains  of 

en    foliage.      We    insensibly    approach   the 
mountains;    the   ground    becomes   stony,    the, 

d  jolting,   and   we  travel  at  intervals  over 

Ju  about  thrce-quai  tei  •  we 


15S  VALENCIA. 

leave  Elehe,  we  begin  to  ascend  by  a  hollow, 
narrow  road,  often  on  the  bare  rock,  but  the 
ascent  is  easy  :  we  soon  however  come  to  a  deep, 
narrow  defile,  overhung-  by  very  high  marble 
mountains;  in  half  a  league  it  widens,  forming 
a  small  cultivated  valley,  in  which  there  are 
three  small  houses,  and  mulberry,  olive,  almond, 
and  carob  trees;  it  then  closes,  and  soon  after 
opens  again,  forming  another  valley,  smaller 
than  the  first,  partly  uncultivated,  and  partly 
cultivated. 

AVenow  push  again  into  the  mountains,  where 
we  admire  the  patient  and  laborious  industry  of 
the  Valeneian  ;  we  here  sec  how  he  can  reap 
advantage  from  the  most  sterile  land,  from 
the  most  ungrateful  soil.  lie  cuts  the  sides  of 
the  mountain,  he  converts  them  into  terraces, 
which  he  props  with  little  walls  of  stones  heaped 
one  upon  another  without  cement  ;  and  makes 
them  into  fields,  which  he  ploughs,  and  sows, 
and  which,  by  their  produce,  repay  him  for 
his  labour. 

We  then  enter  a  narrower  and  deeper  defile, 
in  whiffl  we  continue  for  five  or  six  minutes  ; 
at  length,  after  having,  during  an  hour  and  a 
quarter  ascended  this  mountain,  which  has  been 
justly  called  las  Pedreras  de  Elche,  we  reach  its 
summit.     We   then  descend  by  a  narrow  aceli- 


VALENCIA.  15g 

vity  on  the  rock  :  it  is  very  rough  at  first;  but 
soon  becomes  easier  ;  we  discover  at  the  same 
time  a  pretty  large  dry  dale  a  good  deal  cut, 
but  full  of  olive  trees,  and  which  by  a  narrow 
path  runs  into  a  valley,  winch  we  enter  after 
passing  over  a  very  stony  eminence. 

The  eye  ranges  over  this  valley  with  pleasure. 
It  is  rendered  agreeable  by  its  extent,  by  a 
careful  cultivation,  by  the  multitude  of  trees  in 
it,  and  by  the  villages  which  present  themselvc- 
Axpe  is  to  the  left,  Monforte  in  front,  and 
Novelda  in  the  back  ground  of  the  landscape. 
I  laving  entered  the  plain,  we  soon  afterward  s  leave, 
half  a  league  to  the  left,  the  small  town  of  Axpe, 
.situated  in  a  hilly  country,  on  the  side  of  the 
little  river  TaratTa  ;  it  has  a  population  of 
about  4000  persons.  We  cross  the  valley  by  a 
road,  which  would  h'j  a  handsome  one,  if  it 
were  not  muddy;  it  is  surrounded  with  fields, 
vine-yards,  olive  and  mulberry-trees.  We  ar- 
rive, three  quarters  of  an  hour  after,  at  .Mon- 
forte, a  very  small  town  of  about  îsOO  inhabit- 
ants, .situated  almost  in  the  middle  of  the 
valley,  011  a  large  stream,  with  a  parish  church 
and  a  Franciscan  monastery.  In  twenty  mi- 
nutes more  we  see,  about  three  quarters  of  a 
mile    oil",    the    small    town    of  Novelda,    called 

Nihulla  by  the  Moo;  .,  situated  on  the  Tarafta, 

and  having  a  population   of  about     51  lis. 


I  GO  VALENCIA. 

After    passing  through    forests    of   olives    \.  ( 
come  to  the  extremity  of  the  valley,   which  we 
quit  after  having  been  an  hour  and  half  in  it. 
-  We  now  begin  to  ascend,  and  in  a  quarter  of  an 

hour  see  to  the  left,  on  the  side  of  an  adjacent 
mountain  from  which  we  are  separated  by  a 
prolongation  of  the  preceding  valley,  an  old 
castle,  winch  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the 
palaces  of  the  Moorish  kings. 

We  soon  enter  the  mountains  of  Salinctas:  we 
ought  here  to  arm  ourselves  with  patience  and 
courage,  for  we  are  entering  on  a  long  and  dan- 
gerous passage.  We  first  pass  into  a  narrow, 
close,  and  deep  defile,  overhung  by  very  high 
parts  of  the  mountain;  we  arc  ten  minute- 
going  through  it,  and  we  do  not  travel  it  with- 
out trembling.  Another  defile  succeeds  this  : 
it  is  wider  and  more  uncovered  ;  it  is,  however 
equally  dangerous  on  account  of  its  windings, 
its  remoteness  from  all  habitations,  and  its 
length  :  we  are  nearly  three  quarters  of  an  hour 
passing  it,  during  which  time  we  see  only  three 
or  four  labourers'  huts,  which  are  not  able  to 
afford  any  succour;  it  is  closed  in  by  very  high 
mountains,  all  of  a  red  earth  with  a  marble 
bottom;  we  see  with  pleasure,  however,  that 
they  are  cultivated  halfway  up  to  their  summit, 
bv  an  industrv  similar  to  that  which  we  have 


•        VALENCIA.  161 

just   noticed   in    speaking  of  las  Pedreras  de 
Elche. 

On  <roing  out  of  this  passage,  we  look  clown 
on  a  delightful  valley.  Innumerable  trees  and 
vast  verdant  carpets  are  singularly  contrasted 
with  the  naked  dry  mountains  which  surround 
it,  whilst  die  villages  that  every  where  appear  give! 
it  an  appeal ance  of  life*,  we  enter  it  over  a  fine 
stone  bridge  of  one  arch,  under  which  there  is  a 
consideraole  defile.  We  presently  see  at  a  certain 
distance  to  ihe  right  the  village  of  Patrol. 
We  gradually  discover  the  whole  richness  of  the 
valley  as  we  pass  along;  it  is  every  where 
cultivated,  every  where  beautiful;  fields,  vines, 
gardens  and  enclosures  succeed  one  another; 
mulberry,  olive,  pomegranate,  almond,  apricot, 
and  many  other  fruit  trees  there  display  their 
riches  and  embellish  it.  After  having  travelled 
half  an  hour  we  arrive  at  Elda. 

Eld  a  is  a  small  town  with  the  title  of  county, 
situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  small  river  of  the 
same  name,  almost  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
or  Sierra  de  Camara.  It  was  peopled  by  t lie 
Mdore,  who  called  it  Idtlla,  that  is  to  say,  the 
house  of    lea,  'ire. 

Extent,  rbe  streeti  arc  narrow,  without  pavement,  nn.l 
dirty;  two  ônïj  re  worth  noticing,  tnd  thai  on  account  <.t' 
their    léfl  -<lth,    and  itnCM.     'lli-     hoUKI    are 

■mall  and  ill  built  :   méfrl   i    not  one  of  any  appearance.    Tlu: 

VOL  I.  M 


(63  VALENCIA. 

population  is  about  3000  soul?.     The  house  of  the  posatfa,  vT   - 
inn,  looks  tolerably  ;  but  destitute  of  every  accommodation. 
Clergy.     It  has  a  parish  church  of  poor  architecture,  and 
a  Franciscan  convent,  agreeably  situated,  out  of  the  town. 

In  leaving  Elcla  we  proceed  by  the  side  of 
the  mountain  of  Camara  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour;  we  cross  the  little  river  of  Eldu,  and 
recross  it  three  times  in  short  distances  ;  which 
renders  this  road  dangerous,  and  even  impassi- 
ble in  heavy  rains,  this  river  becoming  an  im- 
petuous torrent,  A  steep  and  stony  ascent  for 
twenty  minutes  on  the  side  of  the  mountain 
leads  to  an  even  but  muddy  road,  and  then  to 
a  small  valley  on  the  heights,  almost  entirely 
planted  with  vines.  Cultivated  fields  full  of 
olive-trees  lead  to  another  valley  likewise  plant- 
ed with  olives. 

We  here  leave  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  and 
enter  that  of  Murcia,  which  by  a  singular  prolon- 
gation, runs  a  great  way  within  the  territories  of 
the  former. 

We  soon  éee,  at  a  small  distance  to  the  left, 
Sar,  a  large  village  -built  in  the  form  of  an  am- 
phitheatre on  the  ridge  of  a  mountain,  that 
terminates  in  a  sugar  loaf,  on  the  top  of  which 
are  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  castle. 

We  still  ascend;  then  travel  over  a  plain,  the 
view  of  which  is  agreeable  :  fields,  vines  and 
olive  trees  spread  over  the  surface  ;  and  extend 


VALENCIA,  \6C> 

to  the  foot  of  the  lofty  mountains  which  enclose 
it.  Here  we  again  ascend  ;  the  mountains  draw 
closer  towards  the  right  ;  but  a  small,  narrow 
valley  three  quarters  of  a  mile  long  appears  to 
the  left:   it  is  very  fine. 

The  mountains  again  open,  the  plain  expands, 
the  country  becomes  richer,  the  road  is  fine  and 
level,  and  we  discover  in  front  the  castle  of  Vil- 
lena,  at  the  distance  of  a  league  from  us.  We  see 
the  steeples  of  the  town  of  that  name,  which 
gradually  shows  itself  as  we  approach  it  ;  one 
side  appears  rising  on  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
and  the  other  extending  into  the  plain;  a  moun- 
tain rises  behind  it,  on  which  its  castle  is  seen, 
and  a  higher  mountain  still  appears  farther  off, 
where  we  discover  the  hermitages  and  castle  of 
Salvatierra.  We  at  length  arrive  at  Villena  by 
a  beautiful  road,  but  so  muddy  that  it  must  be 
very  bad  in  great  rains. 

Villlxa,  which  bore  the  name  of  Arbacula, 
under  the  Romans,  is  a  town  of  the  kingdom  of 
Murcia,  having  the  title  of  a  city,  and  the 
chief  place  of  a  marquisate  of  the  same  name. 
It  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  rich  plain,  before, 
and  almost  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  of  S. 
Christobal  with  a  castle  which  was  formerly  very 
strong;  it  is  placed  on  a  height  that  com- 
mands the  town.  In  ancient  times  it  was  sur- 
rounded by  walls,  which  are  now  in  ruin< 


104?  VALENCIA. 

Exlent  and  Population.  It  has  1  4-  principal  streets,  4  squares, 
a  great  many  fountains,  and  a  population  of  about  12,000 
souls.  There  are  several  promenades,  one  of  which  is  toler- 
ably handsome  and  ornamented  with  fountains.  It  has  a 
faubourg  larger  and  more  modern  than  the  town  ;  forming  ;i 
semicircle,  which  takes  in  a  large  part  of  it.  In  arriving  from 
Elda  we  cross  this  faubourg  through  three  fine  streets,  which 
are  very  broad,  long,  and  straight,  but  the  houses  of  which 
are  unequal,  low  and  ill  built. 

Clergy  and  Administration.  There  are  in  this  town  two 
parish  churches,  'one  house  for  the  congregation  of  the  ora- 
tory, one  monastery,  one  nunnery,  a  hospital,  twelve 
chapels  or  oratories,  and  an  alcalde  major  for  the  adn.inistr a- 
tion  of  justice,  The  front  of  the  Ilôtcl-de-ville,  and  that  of  St. 
James's  church  merit  attention  ;  the  palace  of  the  Marquasses 
of  Villena  is  likewise  shown  here. 

Here  is  a  distillery  for  brandy,  and  a  manufactory  for 
soap  ;  a  considerable  quantity  of  coarse  household  linen  is 
also  made  here.  , 

There  is  no  inn  at  Villena  ;  they  have  only  posadas,  which 
ave  tolerably  good.  Beef  was  sold  here  in  1799  for  6  quarts, 
er  \$d.  for  a  pound  of  10  ounces,  and  mutton  for  12  quarts 
©r  3 {d. 

This  was  the  birth  place  of  P.artolomé  de  Valverdey  Gandia, 
many  of  whose  writings  on  theology  are  extant,  but  are 
more  voluminous  than  useful. 

There  is  a  salt  pit  in  the  neighbourhood  of  this  townwhich 
furnishes  a  great  deal  of  salt  ;  it  is  two  leagues  in  circumference. 
The  fields  about  Villena  are  very  fine  and  fertile;  they  pro- 
duce corn,  wine,  oil,  and  hemp.  The  cultivation  of  the 
lands  bespeaks  the  neighbourhood  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  ; 
it  is  much  more  attended  to  than  in  the  kingdom  of  Murcia, 
though  this  town  is  a  part  of  it. 

2 


VALENCIA.  165 

We  scarcely  leave  Villena,  when  we  again 
enter  the  kingdom  of  Valencia.  We  con- 
tinue through  the  same  plain  by  a  road  as 
muddy  as  the  preceding  one.  This  plain, 
equally  rieh  near  Villena,  afterwards  contracts 
and  becomes  in  part  uncultivated.  To  the  left 
is  seen,  at  a  league  distance,  the  town  of 
Omelette. 

Caut-ktte  is  a  small  town  situated  at  the 
foot,  and  on  the  side  of  the  mountain  of  St. 
Anne,  on  which  is  a  castle  in  ruins,  having 
four  dismantled  bastions  remaining:  it  has  a 
pirih  church,  two  monasteries,  one  hospital,  a 
palace  belonging  to  the  bishop  of  Orihuela,  two 
alcades,  three  regidors,  and  a  population  of 
about  6000  inhabitants.  It  was  taken  from  the 
Moors  in  1240. 

The  heights  which  surround  this  town,  and 
which  we  see  as  we  go  along  the  road,  were  the 
scene  of  a  battle  that  M'as  fought  in  1706  on  tlic 
day  after  the  battle  of  Almanza,  by  a  detach- 
ment of  the  combined  armies  of  France  and 
Spain  against  the  confederate  troops  which 
supported  the  party  of  the  Archduke  Charles 
of  Austria:   five  English,  five  Dutch,    and  three 

Portuguese   battalions  were  defeated    by    the 
Marcfuis  D'Asfett,    who  commanded  the  Spa- 

j-.hh  and  French  troops,   and  who  gained  a  corn- 
ai 3 


166  VALENCIA. 

1 

plete  victory.  He  attacked  and  carried  the 
enemy's  entrenchments,  and  defeated  and  made 
prisoners  the  thirteen  battalions;  this  victory 
consolidated  the  happy  consequences  of  that 
which  Berwick  had  gained  the  day  preceding 
in  the  fields  of  Almanza. 

A  mile  and  a  half  from  Caudette,  we  ascend,  ex- 
cept in  a  tew  places  where  the  road  is  level,  for 
an  hour  and  three  quarters,  and  arrive  at  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  from  which,  by  an  easy 
descent,  we  come  in  a  short  time  to  luente  de 
la  Higuera,  a  small  town  of  about  3000  inhabit- 
ants. It  has  a  church,  which  contains  some 
good  paintings  by  Joannes.  This  town  is  built 
on  a  rock  at  the  foot  of  a  calcareous  mountain, 
and  situated  at  the  entrance  of  a  fine  valley, 
which  it  commands,  -while  it  is  itself  com- 
manded by  mountains  of  calcareous  rocks. 

This  valley  seems  an  uninterrupted  succession 
of  fine  gardens  ;  the  sides  of  the  mountains 
which  enclose  it  are  cultivated  and  verdant, 
and  form  an  agreeable  termination  to  it. 

At  Fuente  de  la  Higuera  we  enter  into  the 
valley,  whence  we  perceive,  to  the  left,  the 
mountains  and  the  puçrto  (CAlmanza  :  proceed- 
ing we  find  ourselves,  in  about  half  an  hour,  in 
the  road  leading  from  Madrid  to  Valencia,  which 
we  follow  till  we  come  to  the  latter  town,  a, 


VALENCIA.  16  J 

distance  of   13  leagues   and  a  quarter.     Thii 
road  we  shall  now  describe. 

The  road  from  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of  Murcia,  near 
Almanza,  to  Valencia,  13  leagues  and  3  quarters  *. 


LEAGUES. 

Venta  del  Puerto  (of  Almanza.) 

Hermita  de  Santo-Christo \  ^ 

Venta  de   Alcudieta J 

Suria,  (a  village) . » { 

Rocla,  (a  village) ^    i 

Venta  del  Re  y .  -  -  - 5 

Jucar,  (a  river  and  ferry  boat) 1{. 

Alberica,   (a   town)_. , -1 

Masalabes,  (a  village) ..... -- \ 

Montarton,  (a  village)... ,.  —  ...__._-.  § 

Alcudia,   (a  town)    --  i 

The  Llombay,  (a  gulley  with  no  bridge) £ 

<-ineta,    (a  village).. I 

The  Torre    Pioca — 1 1 

Catarocba,  (a  village) .... li 

Maeanasa,  (a  village) . . 4 

Valencia... -- 1 

We  are  scarcely  past  the  puerto  d'Almanza 
and  the  Venta  del  Puerto,  when  we  find  our- 
selves in  the  kingdom  of  Valencia.  Descend- 
ing, we  pass  by  the  little  town  of  Fuenta  de  la 
[liguera,  leaving  it  to  the  right  about  thx\ 
quarters  of  a  mile  oil. 

•  the  road  from  M  i<lrid  tnd  from  Araii'icz  to  V.lrnc.a. 

II  4 


168  VALENCIA. 

The  road  is  the  same  as  that  from  Madrid 
and  Aranjuez  ;  but  it  is  here  haqjj  -mer,  ai  d 
firmer:  it  runs  almost  in  a  direct  e  to  Va- 
lencia, is  frequently  raise*',  in  the  fori)  <<f  a 
causeway,  and  is  full  of  little  bridges  ti  iewn 
over  eulleys:  it  follows  the  track  of  the  moun- 
tains,  and  the  ascents  and  descents  are  so  well 
managed  that  we  scncely  perceive  them. 

This  road  lies  between  two  great  chains  of 
calcareous  mountains,  which  extend  almost  in 
a  direct  line,  six  leagues  on  each  side;  the 
country  between  them  is  a  succession  of  culti- 
vated lands  and  immense  forests  of  olive  and 
carob  trees  :  they  form  an  agreeable  prospect,  and 
the  collective  view  bespeaks  at  once  the  acti- 
vity of  the  husbandman,  and  the  fertility  of  the 
soil.  The  side  on  the  right  is  delightful  :  it  is 
a  narrow  valley  extending  to  the  foot  of  a  chain 
of  mountains,  and  is  both  beautiful  and  rich  ; 
the  mountains  that  terminate  it  are  covered 
with  trees  and  shrubs  which  afar  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  verdant  moss. 

After  travelling  a  league  and  a  half  we  dis- 
cover, to  the  right,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
a  great  square  building,  with  a  pavilion  above 
it  in  the  form  of  an  open  dome,  which  proves 
to  be  a  beautiful  country  house.  We  soon  after 
see,  on  the  same  side,  the  village  of  Mojente, 
situated  in  a  bottom,  at  the  foot  and  a  little  on 


VALENCIA.  169 

the  slope  of  a  mountain  on  which  stand  the 
ruins  of  an  ancient  castle.  This  was  the  birth 
place  of  Christobal  Moreno,  a  theologian  who 
lived  towards  the  end  of  the  16th  century.  In 
another  league  we  perceive  the  village  of  Balla 
on  the  ridge  of  the  mountain.  Proceeding  a 
league  farther  we  discover,  to  the  left,  at  a  very- 
little  disi  .iice,  the  small  town  of  Montesa, 
built  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre  on  a  moun- 
tain which  stands  forward  detached  from  the 
chain  :  there  we  see  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
castle  of  Montesa,  the  seat  of  the  military  order 
of  that  name.  Most  of  the  monks  perished 
there  by  an  earthquake  which  happened  on  the 
23d  of  May  1 748  :  the  rock  on  which  the  castle 
was  built,  snht  open  ami  .nuts  of  it  fell  otK. 
A  very  extraordinary  circumstance  took  place 
at  the  time  :  a  crevice  had  been  formed  in  a 
rock;  a  man  thinking  to  save  himself  sprang 
into  it,  but  the  sides  of  the  rock,  meeting  ai 
the  very  instant,  he  was  crushed  to  such  a  de- 
gree, that,  on  beinu-  afterwards  taken  out,  nota 
vestige  could  be  distinguished  of  his  scull,  or  of 
any  of  the  bones  of  hi-,  body.  A  great  part  of 
this  castle  is  still  standing,  of  a  long  icefangulai 
form,  the  walls  of  which  are  flanked  with 
tower-,  and  ]>icrec;|  with    loop  holes. 

In  lesJS  than  ;inolh<  1  league  we  paM  by  I  hermi- 
tage,  called    Jlciinita    de    Santo    CbrÎBtO,    and, 


170  VALENCIA. 

leaving  the  village  of  Alcudietta  to  the  left, 
arrive  at  the  Venta  of  the  same  name.  This 
inn  is  handsome  and  the  rooms  are  well  distri- 
buted, but  it  is  very  deficient  in  provisions, 
which  arc  charged  very  high.  Three  quarters 
of  a  mile  further  we  go  through  the  village  of 
Suria,  and  soon  after  that  of  Rocla  :  at  the  end 
of  the  latter  there  is  a  large  handsome  house, 
which  was  built  in  1786,  by  order  of  the  king, 
for  the  accommodation  of  travellers  :  it  is  callc  1 
Venta  del  Rey,  and  is  a  comfortable  place. 
The  road  is  bordered  on  both  sides  with  mul- 
berry trees. 

In  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  the  mountains  on 
the  right  recede,  those  of  the  left  approach  and 
turn  in  front,  where  they  appear  to  present  a 
barrier  to  stop  the  traveller;  but  they  have 
been  opened  with  such  skill  that  we  proceed  for 
nearly  a  league  among  them  on  a  very  fine  road, 
in  which  the  hills  are  so  gentle  and  so  well 
managed  that  they  are  scarcely  perceived  :  at 
about  two-thirds  of  the  way  we  were  delighted 
to  find  a  fountain  with  two  pipes,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  which  was  a  large  cistern  for  watering 
horses. 

On  arriving  at  the  top,  the  eve  ranges  over  a 
valley  of  considerable  extent,  full  of  habitations. 
Though  abounding  in  trees,  it  is  not  so  agree- 
able as  the  valleys  we  came  through;    it  has 


VALENCIA.  171 

none  of  those  verdant  carpets  which  refresh  the 
sight,  but  a  dark  and  gloomy  bottom  gives  it 
en  air  of  sadness  :  this  is  owing  to  the  nature 
of  the  tillage,  which  is  principally  for  rice.  We 
00  through  it  along:  a  road  straight  and  still 
handsome,  leading  to  the  river  Jucar,  which  we 
cross  in  a  ferry  boat*,  leaving  the  village  of 
Manuel  to  the  right,  and  those  of  Sumacarccl 
and  Benejida  to  the  left,  besides  several  others 
which  we  could  not  see,  on  account  of  the 
thickness  and  multiplicity  of  the  trees. 

The  Jucar,  in  its  usual  state,  is  no  very  con- 
siderable river,  but  it  swells  in  rainy  weather* 
frequently  overflows  its  banks,  and  inundates 
part  of  the  valley  and  adjacent  plain,  covering 
even  the  road,  though  considerably  raised. 
At  those  times  it  would  be  very  dangerous  to 
attempt  passing  it.  There  are  several  posts 
erected  at  certain  distances,  to  guide  passen- 
gers during  the  floods. 

Continuing  through  the  valley  for  a  mile,  we 
enter  into  an  immense  plain  which  the  eye 
cannot  take  in,  and  which  goes  all  the  way  to 
Valencia.  It  is  prodigiously  rich,  and  seems  to 
be  a  succession  of  beautiful  gardens.  It  re- 
quires the  pen  of  a  poet  to  describe  them  :  the 
eve  runs  eagerly   from  object  to  object,   the 

f  \  i.n.k":  wpbuih  livre  in  the  year  l80O 


ITS  VALENCIA. 

senses  are  deliciously  regaled  ;  pleasure,  admi- 
ration, a  sensation  almost  voluptuous  transports 
you  :  you  conceive  yourself  to  be  in  one  of  those 
abodes  of  delight  created  by  the  poets,  where 
they  have  placed  the  seat  of  bliss.  Fields, 
vineyards,  gardens,  follow  in  rapid  succession  ; 
a  variety  and  multitude  of  trees  embellish  and 
enrich  it;  immense  grassy  carpets  blend  their 
tints  of  verdure  with  those  of  the  ripening  corn. 
Pulse  and  herbs  of  all  sorts  intermix  their 
sweets.  Poplars,  alders,  mulberry,  olive,  carob, 
pomegranate,  orange,  and  citron-trees,  form 
forests  as  agreeable  as  useful  ;  the  villages  are 
numerous  and  close;  the  fields  are  covered  with 
labourers  ;  all  is  in  motion,  and  alive.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  climate,  the  excellence  of  the 
soil,  the  fertility  of  the  land,  and  the  great 
variety  of  its  productions,  the  population  is  nu- 
merous. 

The  Jucar,  which  runs  through  this  plain, 
distributes  every  where  its  fertilizing  waters  by 
numerous  canals. 

About  two  miles  and  a  quarter  after  leaving 
the  valley  we  come  to  Alberica,  a  little  town 
containing  about  2000  inhabitants,  with  a  con- 
vent of  monks,  and  a  parish  church,  the  steeple 
of  which  is  a  square  tower.  In  another  mile 
we  pass  the  village  of  Masalabes,  and  a  mile 
and  a  half  further  that  of  Montartan.      From 


VALENCIA.  Ï7S 

the  last  a  fine  avenue  of  alders,  three  quarters 
of  a  mile  in  length,  leads  to  Alcudia,  commonly 
called  Alcudia  de  Carlet.  This  little  town  con- 
tains about  2000  souls,  and  has  a  convent  of 
Franciscans,  and  a  parish  church  with  a  hand- 
some steeple.  Alcudia  was  the  birth-place  of 
the  painter  Joseph  Vergara,  and  of  the  equally 
distinguished  sculpture,  Ignacio  Vergara,  his 
brother,  who  worked  for  the  Basilica  of  the 
Vatican,  and  died  in  176*1,  at  the  age  of  48. 

Another  avenue  of  alders  and  poplars  of  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  brings  us  to  a  gulley,  called 
Llombay,  where  commonly  there  is  little  water, 
which,  however,  in  rainy  weather  becomes  very 
considerable:  there  should  be  a  bridge  here. 
Proceeding  for  a  league  we  come  to  the  village 
of  Gineta,  in  the  middle  of  which  we  see  an 
ancient  castle  surrounded  by  moats,  furnished 
with  battlements,  and  defended  by  large  round 
towers.  We  no  sooner  leave  the  village  than  we 
have  a  sight  of  the  sea  at  a  great  distance.  We 
now  travel  through  a  country  completely  cover- 
ed with  carobs,  and  at  the  end  of  a  league  and 
a  half  meet  with  some  houses  and  the  Torre 
PJOCa,  a  little  old  square  tower  of  free-stone, 
standing  entirely  by  itself. 

W  e  now  go  through  a  long  avenue  of  aiders, 
and  in  three  quarters  of  a  mile  leave  the  village 
of  Chilla  to  the  right,  at  trl  time  disco- 


174  VALENCIA, 

vering  the  city  of  Valencia  presenting  a  side  to 
us  to  a  considerable  extent;  but  we  soon  loose 
sight  of  it  again  to  see  it  no  more  till  we  arrive 
at  its  gates.  As  we  proceed  we  see  to  the  left 
four  villages  at  different  distances.  A  league 
from  this  we  pass  by  a  convent  of  Grands-Car- 
mes, go  through  an  avenue  of  alders  three  quar- 
ters of  a  mile  long  and  come  to  Catarocha,  a 
large  village  of  a  tolerable  appearance,  which 
we  leave  by  a  short  avenue  of  mulberry-trees, 
and  in  three  quarters  of  a  mile  more  arrive  at 
Mesanasa,  another  large  village  of  about  1200 
inhabitants,  u  here  there  are  some  good  looking 
houses,  and  a  Qreat  number  of  barracks  made 
çf  canes  and  earth,  thatched  with  straw,  but 
large,  handsome,  white  outside,  and  with  every 
appearance  of  cleanliness. 

We  leave  Masanasa  by  a  magnificent  avenue, 
a  league  in  length,  planted  with  alders  and  pop- 
lars, which  leads  t  the  very  gates  of  Valencia. 
The  greatest  beauties  are  here  united  :  green 
fields,  trees  in  great  variety,  handsome,  clean 
barracks,  houses  rising  every  where,  and  vil- 
lages, if  the  expression  may  be  allowed,  accu- 
mulated, form,  with  the  many  passengers  on  the 
road,  and  the  general  and  constant  moving 
scenes  before  our  eyes,  an  interesting  and  de- 
lightful picture.  We  might  imagine  ourselves 
in  the  garden  of  Eden,  especially  when  we  see 


VALENCIA.  175 

in  the  month  of  December,  a  time  when  the 
trees  are  every  where  else  stripped  of  their 
leaves,  smiling  fields  and  trees  as  green  as 
elsewhere  in  May.  But  this  beauty  prevents  the 
city  of  Valencia  from  appearing  ;  it  is  hidden 
by  the  multitude  of  trees  which  surround  it,  and 
we  do  not  see  it  till  we  enter  it.  At  length  we 
arrive  there  by  the  suburbs  and  gate  of  St. 
Vincent. 

Valencia*.  The  traveller  agreeably  sur- 
prised and  prepossessed  by  the  approach  to  Va- 
lencia, will  not  be  disappointed  on  his  arrival 
is  the  idea  he  has  formed  of  the  town.  A  great 
city  presents  itself  to  his  view,  he  is  struck  with 
a  .succession  of  handsome  houses,  and  surprised 
at  the  majestic  masses  of  noble  edifices  :  the 
variety  of  the  shops  elegantly  decorated  gives 
him  an  idea  of  the  luxury  prevailing  here  ;,  the 
crowd  of  inhabitants  announces  a  considerable 
population  ;  he  finds  every  thing  in  motion,  he 
every  where  perceives  the  marks  of  opulence;  he 
ices  that    all    is    lively,  smiling  and  agreeable, 

that  all  corresponds  with  the  beautv  of  the  cli- 

\ 

*  The  description  of  Valencia  will  perhaps  appear  too 
long,  but  this  town  requires  a  detailed  examination  :  there 
are  more  monuments  of  the  fine  arts  in  it  than  in  any  Other 
town  in  Spain,  more  beautiful  building-.,  more  v.irnd  u>agrs 
and  different  customs,  more  beauties  collected  in  oik*  \m-w, 
and  more  différence  in  manners  from  the  rest  of  the  kingdom, 
It  require^  thcrtfwrc  to  be  shown  in  all  iu  putfc 


176  VALENCIA. 

mate;  and  this  union  of  gratification  mnkcs  art 
impression  upon  him  which  he  never  before  ex* 
perie  i  éd  in  any  town  of  Spain. 

Valencia,  which  was  the  Valentin  Edetan- 
orum  of  tne  Etonians,  and  situated  in  the  country 
of  the  Ederani,  is  at  present  the  capital  of  a 
province  of  the  same  name,  with  the  title  of 
kingdom.  It  was  well  known  in  the  time  of  the 
Romans,  but  the  vicinity  ofSaguntum,  for  which 
they  had  a  predilection,  prevented  its  attaining 
the  degree  of  splendour  and  celebrity  which  its 
situation  claimed. 

It  shared  the  fate  of  the  rest  of  Spain  ;  was 
taken  from  the  Romans  by  the  Goths,  and 
from  the  Goths  by  the  Moors;  Abdalasis,  the 
son  of  Musa,  general  of  the  latter,  made  him- 
self master  of  it  in  715;  it  was  then  subject  to 
the  caliphs  of  the  cast;  it  passed  in  756  under 
the  dominion  of  the  new  Moorish  kings  of  Cor- 
dova; it  was  separated  from  the  kingdom  of 
Cordova,  and  in  1027  became  the  capital  of  a  new 
empire,  whibh  bore  itfe  natté,  Ilui  Diaz  de 
Bivar,  better  known  by  the  famous  name  of  the 
Cid,  took  it  from  the  Moors  in  1094,  whence 
it  was  called  Valencia  del  Cid  :  the  gate  by 
which  this  warrior  entered,  and,  to  which  his 
name  is  given,  is  still  shown.  Though  the 
Cid  had  conquered  it  for  the  king  of  Castile, 
yet  he,  notwithstanding,  maintained  it  and  go- 


VALENCIA.  177 

verned  it  with  entire  independence.  At  his 
death,  which  happened  in  1099,  the  famous 
Ximene,  liis  widow,  gave  it  up  to  the  king 
of  Castile;  she  still,  however,  remained  in  it, 
and  had  soon  to  defend  it  against  the  Moors, 
who  besieged  it  in  1100  ;  this  new  heroine  con- 
ducted the  defence  of  the  place  ;  she  frequently 
joined  in  the  battle,  and  obliged  the  assailants  to 
raise  thé  siege;  but  in  the  following  year  Valen- 
cia was  obliged  to  surrender  to  the  generals  of 
the  king  of  Cordova.  A  new  revolution  sepa- 
rated it,  in  ]  144,  from  the  kingdom  of  Cordova, 
and  it  became  once  more  the  metropolis  of  a 
separate  kingdom,  belonging  to  the  Moors. 

James  I.  surnamed  the  Conqueror,  king  of 
Aragon,  desirous  of  uniting  the  kingdom  of 
Valencia  to  his  crown,  entered  it  at  the  head  of 
an  army,  possessed  himself  of  several  places, 
laid  siege  to  Valencia  in  the  month  of  May, 
1238,  and  established  his  camp  at  llusafa.  The 
town  defended  itself  for  four  months;  but  it  was 
obliged  to  yield  to  superior  force,  and  it  sur- 
rendered on  the  88tfa  of  September  in  the  same 
year,  and  king  .lames  made  his  entry  into  it  on 
the  9th  of  October  following.  This  prince  peo- 
pled it  with  (  utuluiiians  from  Gironne,  TortoiO, 
Tarragona,  Lerida,  and,  above  all,  with  a  num- 
ber of  French  from  the  southern  provinces  of 
Fiance.  Trom  that  time  it  became  united  to 
the  crown  of  Aragon,  and  passed  with 
Vot.   I  H 


1?*  VALENCIA. 

kingdom  in  the  16th  century  under  the  dominion 
of  the  kings  of  Spain. 

This  town,  after  having  acknowledged 
Philip  V.  abandoned  that  prince's  party,  and 
opened  its  gates  to  the  general  of  the  arch- 
duke Charles,  who  caused  himself  to  be  pro- 
claimed Charles  III.  Some  of  the  nobility, 
who  remained  faithful  to  the  king,  left  it; 
the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  joined  the 
rebels  ;  but  after  the  battle  of  Almanza,  this 
town,  finding  itself  without  the  means  of  re- 
sistance, abandoned  by  the  prince  for  whom 
it  had  rebelled,  and  with  the  army  of  Philip 
the  Fifth  at  its  gates,  was  obliged  to  implore 
the  clemency  of  the  prince  to  whom  it  had 
been  unfaithful.  The  inhabitants  wept,  if  we 
may  believe  the  marquis  de  San  Felippc,  who 
wrote  a  history  of  the  war  of  the  succession, 
more  from  rage  than  grief.*  The  victorious 
army  appeared  before  this  town  on  the  second 
of  May,  1706,  and  entered  it  on  the  following 
day.  The  Valencians  were  punished  for  their 
misconduct  by  the  execution  of  a  great  number 
of  the  rebels,  by  the  loss  of  their  privileges, 
the  suppression  of  the  states,  the  abolition  of 
their  laws,  and  by  being  obliged  to  adopt  and 
to  follow  the  customs  of  Castile. 

Situation.    Valencia  is  most  beautifully  and  advantageous- 
ly situated.     It  is  in  a  plain  completely  open,  and  of  cou- 

*  Mas  eraii  lacrymas  de  rabia,  que-  de  dolor. 


VALENCIA.  179 

iiderable  extent,  within  half  a  league  of  the  sea,  upon  the 
right  bank  of  the  river  Turia,  or  Guadalaviaf,  which  flows 
at  the  foot  of  its  walls,  separating  it  from  part  of  its  sub- 
urbs, and  it  is  surrounded  by  beautiful,  cheerful,  and  rich 
fields,  intersected  with  canals,  which  carry  water  for  their 
fertilization  every  where.  It  is  of  a  round  heure,  if  the  cir- 
cumference of  its  walls  be  only  considered  ;  but  if  the 
whole  of  its  suburbs,  which  are  almost  as  large  as  the 
town,  are  included,  its  form  is  oblong,  approaching  to  an 
oval. 

Circumference  and  Walls.  It  was  formerly  a  fortified  town, 
at  the  time  when  the  art  of  sieges  was  still  in  its  infancy  ; 
but  it  has  at  present  no  fortifications  ;  it  is  notwithstanding 
•urrounded  with  ramparts,  whose  walls  are  entire,  and  in  a 
state  of  good  preservation  ;  they  are  of  common  brick-work, 
rather  high,  thick,  flanked  at  equal  distances  with  round 
towers,  and  without  moats.  It  has  a  citadel  situated  near  the 
sea-gate;  but  it  is  small,  very  badly  fortified,  and  likewise 
without  moats  ;  it  is  of  no  use,  and  is  not  in  a  state  to  make 
any  defence  ;   it  docs  not  even  command  the  town. 

The  river  Turia,  or  Guadalaviar,  flows  at  tha  foot  of  ite 
walls  the  whole  extent  of  the  eastern  side.  Its  bed  is  about 
three  hundred  feet  broad,  but  the  water  is  generally  very 
low,  in  consequence  of  its  being  let  out  on  all  sides  to  water 
the  fields.  It  sometimes  rises  very  high,  and  has  often 
carried  away  several  of  its  bridge*;.  It  is  bordered  on  eacl 
iide  by  very  beautiful,  large,  and  well  kept  terraces,  orna- 
mented with  foot-pavements  oi  freestone.  These  ten- 
extend  along  the  side  of  the  town  beyond  the  rampart*  ;  they 
are  lined,  on  the  opposite  *-ide,  with  tolerably  hands».; roe 
edifices,  and  only  want  to  be  adorned  with  tia». 

Bridget.     There  are  five  blid  the   Tûl 

all  equally  handsome  ;  they  are  nil  Dearly  the  same  length 
and  breadth,  that  is  to  say,  16  feet  broad  by270  and  ! 
fed  long.    They  ar<  built  parallel  to  each  other,  ;ind  at  m- 
ible  distances,  »o  that  we  can  tea  them  all  sAthf 


180  VALENCIA. 

s-uiie  time.  The  stone  bridge  is  the  first  towards  the  north- 
t!^t:  it  was  fust  built  m  1591,  carried  away  by  the  river 
in  1776,  and  rebuilt  in  17 So'  ;  it  lias  twelve  arches,  and 
opens  on  the  Mde  of  the  town,  towards  the  new  gate,  and  on 
the  other  side  into  the  country.  The  bridge  of  Serrano» 
comes  next;  it  was  built  in  1357,  carried  away  by  the  river, 
rebuilt,  again  destroyed,  reconstructed  in  i\bO,  one»'  nun 
broken  down  by  the  river  in  the  1 6th  century,  and  built  for 
the  last  time  in  l6'0t>:  it  has  ten  arcb.es,  and  opens  on  the 
side  of  the  town  towards  the  gate  of  Serranos,  and  on  the 
other  at  the  entrance  of  the  faubourg  of  Murvicdro.  The 
third  is  the  bridge  of  the  Trinity,  which  was  built  in  135o'  ; 
it  has  ten  arches,  and  opens  on  the  side  of  the  town  towards 
the  gate  of  the  Trinity,  and  on  the  other  side  into  the  fau- 
bourg of  the  same  name  The  fourth  is  the  bridge  of  the 
Real,  formerly  called  the  bridge  of  la  Xarea,  from  the  name 
of  the  gate  which  is  at  the  end  of  it;  it  was  of  wood,  and  wa» 
broken  in  by  the  weight  of  the  people  at  the  entry  of 
Charles  I.  It  was  rebuilt  in  1599,  in  the  reign  of  Philip  III.  ; 
it  is  of  free-stone,  and  has  ten  arches  and  six  beautiful  seaU 
of  stone,  three  on  each  side  ;  it  is  ornamented  with  two 
statues  of  saints,  as  large  as  life,  supported  upon  pedestals, 
and  placed  in  triangular  pavilions,  which  are  supported  by 
three  Corinthian  columns  ;  the  whole  is  of  white  stone,  ex- 
cepting the  columns,  which  arc  of  blue  marble  ;  the  exe- 
cution is  indifferent,  and  the  eflèct  not  very  agreeable; 
This  bridge  opens  on  the  side  of  the  town  towards  the 
gate  of  the  Real  ;  on  the  opposite  side  it  joins  the  square 
which  is  before  the  Real,  or  the  palace  inhabited  by  the 
captain  general,  having  on  the  left  the  terrace  of  the  college 
of  Saint  Pius  V.  and  on  the  right  the  entrance  of  the  beau- 
tiful promenade  of  the  Alameda.  The  last  bridge  is  the 
bridge  del  Mar,  or  of  the  sea  ;  it  is  upon  the  same  plan  and 
decorated  similarly  to  the  preceding  :  it  was  built  in  1590  ; 
it  open9  on  the  side  of  the  town,  at  the  entrance  of  a  fau- 
bourg which  is  indiscriminately  colled  by  the  names  of  th^ 


VALENCIA.  181 

Sea,  of  the  Rèmèdio,  or  of  the  Trinitarians;  on  the  opposite 
side  it  joins  a  road  which  leads  to  Grao,  having  the  country 
on  the  right,  and  the  entrance  of  the  promenade  of  the  Ala- 
meda on  the  left. 

If  the  hed  of  this  river  were  full  of  water,  the  view  of  it  would 
be  beautiful  and  majestic  ;  the  eye  would  wander  c/tr  a  con- 
siderable extent,  a  large  body  of  water,  the  beautiful  ter- 
races which  border  it,  the  handsome  edifice»  which  line  its 
banks  and  the  five  bridges  which  cross  it. 

Division.  Valencia  includes  in  its  circuit  four  neighbour- 
ing villages,  Campanur,  Patraix,  Rusafa,  and  Benimamet; 
which,  with  their  lands,  are  its  dependencies;  they  are 
called  the  four  quarters  of  Valencia. 

Population.  Its  population  is  computed  to  be  20,000 
families,  or  about  100,000  souls  ;  but  the  four  villages  and 
their  dependencies  are  comprised  in  the  calculation  ;  ihey 
may  contain  nearly  1>,000  souls,  so  that  the  population  of 
the  town  of  Valencia  and  its  suburbs  is  about  82,000  in- 
habitants. 

St  nets  and  Extent.  The  streets  of  this  town  are  narrow, 
short,  crooked,  and  intersected  by  a  great  number  of  lanes 
and  alleys;  there  are  many  where  tw<>  carriages  cann.it 
pa  s  ;  but  they  are  widened  at  short  distances,  where  they 
form  larger  spaces,  though  still  very  narrow,  to  which  uiv 
improperly  applied  the  name  of  squares,  and  which  would 
scarcely  deserve  the  name  of  passable  streets  if  they  wew. 
loager.  These  little  squares  are  very  useful,  from  the  oppor- 
tunity which  they  afford  to  carriage  -  t<>  turn  into  t lu  m,  that 
they  may  allow  those  which  tlxy  meet  to  past;  but  the} 
are  also  \<ry  dangl  rous  in  the  night  from  the  facility  of  at- 
;d  to  villain'-. 

The  streets  are  not  paved;  they  are  covered  with  sand, 
which  ia  al  first  jery  inconvenient,  bul  it  makes  a  smooth 
rond  u  hen  it  bas  been  pressed  by  1 1  *  «  -  bones  and  carriai  • 

n  it  ram-,  the  w<  t  sand  stopi  tl  :  ; 


132  VALENCIA. 

puddles j  the  streets  are  then  impassable.  From  time  to  time 
thi>  sand  fa  taken  to  manure  the  land,  and  is  replaced  hy 
fresh.  This  custom,  which  is  very  inconvénient,  could  not 
be  easily  suppressed:  the  Valencians  are  generally  persuaded 
that  this  sand  is  full  of  salt  particles,  which  renfler  it  of  gene- 
ral service  in  manuring  the  lands,  and  that  the  neighbour- 
ing fields  owe  to  it  apart  of  their  fertility;  this  prejudice, 
which  has  been  vainly  opposed,  is  so  inveterate,  that  it 
•would  perhaps  rahe  a  riot  if  the  streets  of  this  town  were 
attempted  to  be  paved. 

Valencia  might  be  better  lighted  at  night  ;  there  are  C  86"0 
lamps  against  the  walls,  on  both  sides,  in  the  form  of  a  zig- 
zag, and  not  opposite  each  other;  but  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  oil  is  never  put  in  them  ;  the  lights  go  out  early,  and 
leave  us  in  darkness.  This  is  very  dangerous  in  a  town  where 
the  houses  are  high,  the  streets  narrow,  crocked,  and  full 
of  turnings.  This  inconvenience  is  the  greater  as  there  is 
no  other  patrole  than  the  guard  of  an  alcalde  de  Barrio,  com- 
posed of  fifteen  or  twenty  men,  who  make  a  great  noise  in 
speaking  and  marching,  carry  lights,  and  are  not  distributed 
in  different  parts  at  the  same  time,  but  go  from  one  to  an-, 
ether. 

Most  of  the  streets  bave  cavities  under  them,  which  pass 
also  under  the  houses,  and  through  every  part  of  Valencia; 
they  serve  as  sewers.  They  are  laige,  well  built,  and  strong  ; 
tradition,  true  or  false,  declares  them  to  be  the  work  of  the 
Romans. 

Private  Houses.  Valencia  is  tolerably  well  built,  though 
among  the  houses  of  individuals  there  is  not  one  to  be  seen 
which  deserves  attention.  The  houses  have  in  general  a 
tolerably  good  appearance,  and  their  exterior  is  handsome. 
Some  can  be  mentioned  which  are  very  handsome  and  ele- 
gant, as  that  of  the  Marquis  of  Jura  Real,  opposite  the  con- 
vent of  the  Cordeliers.  There  is  one  in  the  square  of  Villarasa, 
that  is  distinguished  by  a  contrary  effect;  it  is  an  incon- 
gruity of  architecture,  a  ridiculous   assemblage  of  statues. 


VALENCIA.  1S3 

Colossal  paintings  without  design,  taste,  or  beauty,  which 
hurts  the  eye,  and  makes  us  regret  the  large  sums  that  the 
marquis  de  Dos  Aguashas  expended  in  its  decoration.  Must 
of  the  houses  have  terraces  on  the  tops  of  them  ;  these  might 
be  made  very  pleasant,  and  considerably  to  contribute  to  the 
embellishment  of  the  town  if  they  were  covered  with  flowers, 
shrubs,  and  small  trees,  particularly  citron  and  oral) 
trees.  The  interior  of  the  houses  is  generally  decorated  with 
earthen-ware  tiles,  made  at  Valencia  ;  they  are  principally 
used  to  pave  the  apartments,  and  produce  an  agreeable 
efilct  ;  they  are  painted  with  all  kinds  of  subjects,  frequent- 
ly historical;  these  paintings  are  covered  with  a  varnish,  by 
which  means  they  are  washed  without  being  damaged. 

Though  this  town  is  close,  and  the  streets  are  narrow,  yet 
it  has  an  open  and  pleasant  appearance.  The  clear. liness 
which  reigns  in  it  contributes  to  this,  and  makes  it  particu- 
larly pleasing,  especially  to  those  who  have  been  passing 
some  time  in  the  Castiles. 

Valencia  has  eight  gates,  a  great  number  of  squares,  five 
faubourgs,  and  yet  but  one  fountain,  which  is  frequently 
dry. 

Gaits.  The  gates  are,  first,  that  of  Quarte,  which  was 
opened  in  1+++  ;  it  is  supported  by  two  towers,  and  lead» 
to  the  faubourg  of  Quarte  ;  it  is  by  this  that  we  enter  the 
town,  coming  from  .Madrid  by  the  road  of  New  Castile  : 
secondly,  that  of  San-Vicente,  which  opens  toward  the  fau- 
bourg of  the  same  nau:e  ;  it  i-  by  this  we  arrive  from  Madrid 
by  the  road  of  la  Mancha  ;  thirdly,  that  of  Rotafa,  or  Rusafa, 
which  opens  into  the  fields  ;  fourthly,  that  del  Mai,  i  I 
the  Sea,  winch,  bavrag  been  formerly  opened,  and  after- 
wards shut,  was  re-opened  in  1701  ;  it  is  on  the  same  sid« 

Citadel,   and    had-,  to  the    faul 
Trin.ty  quay;  fifthly,  that  of  del  pened  in 

•  1  Philip  ill.  who  came  i" 

1  lui  h  lead    ' 


184  VALENCIA. 

the  Real  ;  sixthly,  that  of  the  Trinity,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  built  in  1536,  was  afterwards  closed  up,  and  re-opened 
in  1792;  it  leads  to  the  bridge  and  faubourg  of  the  same 
name;  seventhly,  that  of  Serranos,  opened  in  1138,  upon 
the  conquest  of  Valencia  by  king  James  ;  it  opens  upon  the 
bridge  of  Serranos  which  leads  to  the  faubourg  of  Murviedro  ; 
it  is  by  this  that  we  arrive  from  Catalonia  ;  it  is  supported  hy 
two  massive  towers,  which  were  begun  to  be  built  in  1349» 
and  finished  in  1418:  Sthly,  That  of  St.  Joseph  or  New- 
gate, which  was  opened  in  141'J.  The  traveller  will  perhaps 
expect  here  the  gate  of  the  Cid,  which  has  been  mentioned, 
and  which  became  famous  by  the  entry  of  that  conqueror; 
but  it  made  part  of  the  ancient  limits  and  is  at  present  includ- 
ed within  the  new;    it  is  seen  on  the  side  of  the  temple. 

Squares.  The  public  squares  at  Valencia  are  not  orna- 
mented, and  the  houses  which  surround  them  are  very  common  ; 
yet  there  are  some  which  ought  to  be  excepted.  The  two 
squares  before  the  cathedral,  the  one  before  the  chapel  of 
la  Virgen  de  los  Desemparados,  the  other  on  the  side  of  the 
archiépiscopal  palace  ;  they  are  of  a  considerable  extent,  and 
very  irregular  figure.  The  plaza  del  Arzobispo  is  very  near, 
before  the  archiépiscopal  palace  ;  it  is  small  but  of  a  tolerably 
regular  square  and  embellished  by  the  front  of  the  house  of 
Olocado.  The  plaza  de  las  Barcas  and  that  of  Villaraza  are 
very  near  one  another  ;  they  would  rather  be  handsome  streets, 
if  they  were  longer.  The  square  of  the  Carmelites,  before 
the  convent  of  that  name,  ia  of  a  very  long  rectangular 
form.  The  plaza  de  Santo  Domingo,  situated  opposite  the 
citadel,  and  before  the  convent  of  Dominicans,  is  very  large, 
but  very  irregular  :  the  Custom-house  would  be  an  embel- 
lishment to  it  if  the  houses  in  \t  were  better  built.  The 
square  of  the  congregation  is  of  a  middling  size,  and 
adorned  by  the  front  of  the  house  of  the  congregation.  The 
square  del  Real  is  situated  out  of  the  town,  at  the  end  of  the 
bridge  del   Real,  and  before  the  royal  palace;  it  is  grand. 


VALENCIA.  135 

spacious,  perfectly  square,  open  and  cheerful.  It  is  embel- 
lished by  the  view  of  the  river,  the  bridge  which  joins  it, 
the  beautiful  terrace  of  the  college  of  San  Pio  Quinto,  which 
bounds  it  on  the  left,  the  delightful  promenade  of  the  Ala- 
meda, where  it  terminates  on  the  light,  and  the  front  of  the 
royal  palace,  which  occupies  the  whole  of  one  side  ;  it  is  the 
only  pleasant  and  beautiful  square,  but  it  is  the  most  out  of 
the    way. 

Faubourgs.  Valencia  has  five  faubourgs,  which,  if  they  were 
joined,  would  be  of  greater  extent  and  have  a  larger  popula- 
tion than  the  town.  1st.  The  Faubourg  of  Quarte  beyond  the 
gate  nf  the  same  name  ;  it  is  through  this  that  we  arrive  from 
Madrid,  by  the  road  of  New  Castile  :  2dly.  The  faubourg 
of  San-Vicente,  beyond  the  gate  of  the  same  name;  it  is 
through  this  that  we  arrive  from  Madrid  by  the  road  of  la 
Mancha  :  3dly.  The  faubourg  of  the  Trinity  or  del  llemedio, 
or  also  of  the  sea,  beyond  the  gate  of  the  sea,  between  that 
gate  and  the  bridge  of  the  same  name  ;  it  is  through  this 
that  we  arrive  from  Grao  •  4-thly .  The  faubourg  of  the  Tri- 
nity at  the  end  of  the  bridge  of  that  name;  it  is  divided  by 
the  river  Guadalaviar  :  .5thly.  The  faubourg  of  Murviedro, 
at  the  end  of  the  bridge  of  Serrano-;,  also  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river;  we  pass  through  it  in  coming  from  Catalonia.  All 
these  faubourgs  are  tolerably  handsome,  and  more  open  and 
airy  than  the  town  ;  their  streets  are  broader  and  more  open  ; 
that  of  Murviedro  is  of  the  greatest  extent,  and  spreads  out 
into  the  country. 

All  that  space,  extending  along  the  borders  and  on  the 
other  s<de  of  the  river,  from  the  end  of  the  bridge  of  Serra- 
nos  and  the  entrance  of  the  faubourg  of  Murviedro,  to  the 
entrance  of  the  promenade  of  the  Almeda,  in  the  square 
and  at  the  entrance  of  the  bridge  of  the  ileal,  may  also  be 
considered  ;i^  tb«  suburbs  of  Valencia  :  it  is  covered  with 
boutes  to  ft  considerable  extent,  and  the  situation  of  them  is 
deligfatfjU  ;    ia  front  they  look  upon  the  river  and  the  t-  :  | 


186  VALENCIA. 

that    run  along    both   ils  bide*,  and  behind   upon   beautiful 
fields. 

The  holds  which  surround  Valencia  may  still  be  considered 
as  the  extended  suburbs  of  this  town,  from  the  great  number 
of  houses  and  barracks  that  are  built  upon  them,  very  near 
to  each  other,  and  which  contain  a  numerous  population. 

'Ecclesiastical  Administration.  Valencia  is  the  see  of  an 
archbishop,  which  is  said  to  have  existed  under  the  gothic 
kings,  and  to  have  been  re-established  in  1238  by  king  .lame» 
I.  after  the  conquest  of  that  town  by  the  Moors;  it  has  a  re- 
venue of  about  300,000  ducats,  jf.3  1,37-5  sterling.  Its  diocese 
includes  one  cathedral  and  two  collegiate  chapters,  and  533 
parishes.  The  archbishop  has  also  an  ass-istant  bishop,  who 
is  bishop  in  partibus  infidelium,  and  who  performs  many  of 
his  functions. 

The  cathedral  chapter  resides  at  Valencia.  It  is  com- 
posed of  7  dignitaries,  24  canons,  10  provosts,  and  280  bene- 
ficed clergy.  The  canons  enjoy  a  revenue  of  about  60,000 
reals  {£.625). 

This  town  contains  14-  parishes,  16"  convents  of  monks,  a 
house  of  minor  clergy,  a  house  of  the  congregation  of  the 
oratory,  a  convent  of  monks  of  the  military  order  of  Mon- 
fesa,  an  ancient  convent  of  Antonins,  suppressed  in  17.91  ; 
a  house  of  the  brothers  of  the  charity  school,  two  houses  of 
secular  priests,  known  under  the  names  of  the  college  of  the 
Patriarch  and  the  school  of  St.  Thomas  of  Villeneuve,  the 
ancient  house  of  professed  Jesuits;  14- convents  of  nuns,  a 
great  number  of  particular  chapels,  those  of  la  Virgen  de  los 
Desemparados,  of  la  Casa  de  la  Ensenanza,  the  oratory  of 
St.  Vincent  Ferrier,  and  that  of  St.  Luis  Bertrand.  There  is 
a  tribunal  of  the  inquisition  here,  composed  of  two  inquisi- 
tors, a  fiscal,  an  alguasd-major,  and  several  registers  ;  and 
a  diocesan  jurisdiction,  composed  of  an  official,  a  fiscal  proc- 
tor, and  six  registers. 

The  clergy  is  extremely  numerous  in  this  town,  there  are 


VALENCIA.  187 

550  secular  priest'.  Tlie  convents  and  tie  hoas<  s  of  the  con- 
gregation contain  about  1670  monks,  and  the  convents  of  nuns 
about  350  person.  The  total  number  of  secular  and  regular 
clergy  is  2610  individuals,  out  of  a  populate  n  of  about 
S 0,000  souls. 

In  this  town  there  is  a  bank  of  charity,  (mont-di'-pictv) 
where  money  is  advanced  without  interest  to  the  labourers 
and  farmers  who  are  unable  to  purchase  the  grain  necessary 
to  sow  the  fields  :  the  funds  of  it  arc  taken  from  the  reve- 
nues of  vacant  benefices. 

Hospitals.  There  are  several  hospitals  at  Valencia,  among 
others  a  general  hospital,  a  charity-house,  and  a  hospital  for 
the  orphans  of  St.  Vincent.  Sick  persons  are  received  into 
the  first  ;  the  poor,  either  married  or  widowers  and  their 
children,  into  the  second,  and  they  are  occupied  with  diffe- 
rent employments  ;  and  orphans  are  received  and  brought  up 
in  the  last. 

Military  Administration.  Valencia  is  the  chief  place  of  a 
military  government,  and  the  residence  of  the  captain  gene- 
ral of  the  province,  who  formerly  had  the  title  of  viceroy; 
Valencia  and  Mureia  are  included  in  his  military  depart* 
ment. 

This  town  has  its  particular  military  staff,  composed  of  a 
king's  lieutenant,  a  major,  two  aid-majors,  a  captain  of  the 
gates,  and  an  almoner.  The  citadel  has  ;l  separate  governor. 
The  Ileal,  which  is  the  palace  occupied  by  the  captain  gene- 
ral, forma  a  separate  government,  almost  independent  of  him  ; 
it  has  a  governor  under  the  title  of  alcade  \  this  officer  has  a 
separate  tribunal  ovi  r  which  he  presides,  assisted  by  an  as- 
sessor, a  fiscal,  a  register,  and  an  alguasil  major. 

Here  are  other  military  tribunal»  :   i-t.  a  tribunal  of  war, 

composed  of  the  captain  general,  an  auditor  of  u  ir,  ■  ii-cal, 

.-ister,  and  an  Blguati]  major.     2dly.  A  tribunal  of  the 

military  order  of  Mont  which  the  lieutenant-general 


188  va r  FACIA. 

of  the  order  presides,  and  which  is  composed  of  two  assessors, 
a  secular  fiscal  advocate,  an  ecclesiastical  fiscal,  a  solicitor, 
a  register  and  two  alguasils.  3dly.  A  tribunal  of  the  mili- 
tary ecclesiastical  court,  composed  of  a  lieutenant  of  the 
vicar  general  of  the  armies,  two  assessors,  a  fiscal  advocate, 
two  solicitors,  and  a  register.  4thly.  An  auditor  of  war. 
Mhly.  An  auditor  and  a  minister  of  the  navy. 

administration  of  Justice.  Valencia  is  the  seat  of  a  Royal 
audience,  the  jurisdiction  of  which  includes  the  whole  pro- 
vince; the  captain  general  commonly  presides,  and  after  him 
the  regent  ;  it  is  divided  into  three  courts,  the  two  first  hav- 
ing four  judges,  who  are  called  auditors,  and  the  last  which 
is  the  court,  a  governor  and  four  judges,  who  are  called 
alcaldes  del  crimen.  This  tribunal  has  two  fiscals,  an  alguasil 
major,  a  secretary  of  the  acuerdo,  a  lieutenant  of  the  chan- 
cellor, and  several  registers.  Justice  is  administered  in  the 
inferior  tribunals  by  a  corregidor  and  two  alcalde  majors. 
There  are  also  a  great  number  of  tribunals  for  determining 
special   pleas.     It  has  also   a  port-captain. 

Municipality.  The  municipality  is  composed  of  a  corre- 
gidor, and  in  his  absence  an  alcalde  major,  21-  regidors,  one 
half  of  whom  are  taken  from  among  the  nobility  and  the 
other  from  among  the  burgesses,  four  deputies  of  the  com- 
mons, a  syndico  procurador  general,  and  a  syndieo  personero. 

Public  Edifices.  Perhaps  there  is  not  a  town  in  Spain  in 
which  there  are  so  many  edifices  as  in  Valencia.  Several  are 
remarkable,  cither  for  the  richness  of  their  decoration,  which 
has  not  always  been  directed  by  a  correct  taste  ;  or  for  a 
number  of  paintings,  the  greater  part  of  which  are  by 
artists  born  in  this  town.     We  shall  describe  the  principal. 

El  Real.  This  is  the  ancient  palace  of  the  kings,  occupied 
at  present  by  the  captain  general  of  the  province  ;  it  is  out 
of  the  town,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  is  delightfully  situ- 
ated,   in  a  large  beautiful   and    open  square,    having    the 

5 


VALENCIA.  .139 

bridge  del  Real  before  it  ;  a  very  large  beautiful  terrace, 
which  borders  the  river,  on  the  right,  the  delightful  prome- 
nade of  the  Alameda  on  the  left,  and  looking  down  upon  green 
and  cheerful  fields  behind  ;  the  prospect  is  magnificent.  The 
building  appears  rich  and  graceful  ;  but  we  must  not  examine 
it  minutely,  for  we  should  find  neither  beauty  nor  correctness 
in  the  architecture,  nor  elegance,  nor  proportion  in  the  de- 
corations. It  is  a  large  edifice  built  about  the  beginning  of 
the  15th  century;  there  is  a  long  gallery  before  it,  which 
was  afterwards  added  to  it;  the  front  of  this  is  disfigured  by 
the  principal  body  of  the  edifice,  which  rises  unequally  above 
it  behind,  and  terminates  it  disagreeably. 

The  apartments  are  large,  ill  distributed,  and  without 
ornaments"  ;  the  gallery  is  tolerably  handsome.  In  one  of 
the  halls  of  this  palace  there  is  a  very  interesting  series  of  the 
portraits  of  all  the  viceroys  and  captains-general  of  the  king- 
dom of  Valencia. 

College  of  St.  Pio  Quinto.  This  is  a  house  of  minor 
clergy,  situated  out  of  the  town  upon  the  terrace,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  between  the  bridge  of  the  Real  and 
that  of  the  Trinity,  not  far  from  the  palace  of  the  Real.  The 
front  of  this  college,  seen  at  a  distance,  has  a  grand  effect, 
and  gives  us  the  idea  of  a  magnificent  building.  It  is  termi- 
nated on  both  sides  by  a  square  tower  which  rises  above  the 
edifice.  The  portal  of  the  college  is  in  the  middle;  that  of 
the  church  at  the  end  of  this  front,  but  in  a  recess  ;  it  has 
two  stories  of  architecture  ;  the  first  is  composed  of  four 
fluted  Doric  pilasters,  which  support  large  square  urns;  the 
second  story  has  four  smaller  Ionic  pilastres;  above  them 
there  is  a  small  representation  of  the  Resurrection  in  bass-re- 
lief, a  semicircular  front  on  which  are  placed  a  cross,  and 
lour  square  urns. 

Church  of  St.  Moniac.  This  church  belongs  to  a  convent 
of  Petita-Auguatiit,  situated  oat  of  the  town  at  the  entrance 

of  the  faubourg  and  Itruat  of  Murviedro.     It  ha    ;t  monstlOUl 


190  VALENCIA. 

appearance,  like  many  others  in  Valencia,  from  the  quantity 
and  deformity  of  sculptured  compartments;  it  is  only  re- 
markable tor  a  miraculous  crucifix  which  is  kept  in  it:  it  is 
•aid  that  this  crucifix,  which  was  intended  by  the  patriarch 
Ribera,  archbishop  of  Valencia,  for  the  college  that  he  had 
just  founded,  would  not  remain  there,  but  declared  that  it 
would  be  placed  in  the  church  of  the  Petits- Augustin*,  to 
which  it  was  carried. 

The  Convent  of  the  (.'rands  Carmes  is  situated  in  the  square 
of  that  name,  plaza  del  Carmen. 

The  church  is  handsome  and  the  roof  is  well  pointed  ;  it  \  = 
ornamented  with  fluted  pilastres  of  the  Corinthian  order,  and 
a  cornice.  The  principal  altar,  which  is  of  a  handsome  Co- 
rinthian architecture,  is  ornamented  with  several  pictures, 
amongst  others  a  large  one  of  the  transfiguration  of  the  Lord, 
one  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  and  some  other  very  small  ones,  by 
Espinosa  ;  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  is  covered  with  a  half- 
length  picture  of  our  Saviour  by  Joannez,  which  is  full  of 
expression. 

In  some  of  the  chapels  of  this  church  there  are  some  toler- 
able paintings  ;  the  Conception,  St.  Francis  de  Sienna,  a 
picture  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  St.  Joachim  and  St.  Anne,  all  by 
Gaspard  de  la  Iluerta;  St.  Martin,  and  a  Flight  into  Egypt, 
by  Pedro  Orrente  ;  a  St.  Koch,  by  Orrente;  the  Holy  Vir- 
gin de  los  Desemparados,  with  a  Birth  of  Jesus  Christ  be- 
low it,  by  Joseph  Vergara  ;  a  St.  Albert,  by  Conchillos;  a 
St.  Teresa,  by  Ribalta  ;  a  St.  André  Corsini,  by  Espinosa  ;  a 
St.  Peter,  in  the  style  of  Joannez.  In  the  chapel  on  the 
side  of  the  sanctuary,  there  is  a  marble  mausoleum,  very- 
little  ornamented  ;  it  supports  a  recumbent  statue,  clothed  in 
the  habit  of  the  order  of  Mont  Carmel. 

The  chapel  of  the  communion  deserves  particular  attention. 
It  is  a  large  long  building,  ornamented  with  fluted  pilasters  of 
the  Corinthian  order.  The  principal  altar,  which  is  of  wood, 
gilt,  is  of  a  handsome  architecture  ;    the   pedestals  of  the 


VALENCIA.  191 

columns  of  the  first  story  and  the  tabernacle  are  covered  with 
bass-reliefs  ;  the  middle  of  the  first  story  is  occupied  by  a 
large  picture  of  the  Saviour  of  the  World,  painted  by  Ri- 
balta;  two  doors,  which  are  on  each  side  of  the  altar,  arc 
covered  with  two  pictures  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  The 
sculptures  are  by  Gaspard,  a  monk  of  the  saine  convent,  who 
died  in  1(34-4. 

The  chapel  of  our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel,  is  remarkable  for 
the  richness  of  the  ornaments  which  have  been  lavished  upon  it  ; 
it  forms  a  large  oval,  which  displays  itself  with  elegance.  The 
walls  to  a  certain  height  are  encrusted  with  pale  rose-coloured 
marble,  streaked  with  white.  It  is  ornamented  with  twelve 
large  fluted  columns  of  the  Corinthian  order,  covered  with 
white  stucco,  with  gilt  fluting,  in  the  lower  part,  and  gilt 
capitals.  The  spaces  between  the  columns  are  occupied  by 
a  door  of  entrance,  handsomely  decorated,  two  side  ones, 
and  eight  statues  as  large  as  life;  tbt se  are  of  terra-cotta  and 
are  tolerably  well  executed;  ten  pieces  of  bass-relief  appear 
above  the  statues  and  side  doors.  The  frieze  and  the  cornice 
are  covered  with  light  ornaments  delicately  worked,  and  gilt. 
A  large  and  beautiful  dome  rises  in  the  middle;  over  the 
vault,  which  is  ornamented  with  borders  and  over  massive 
medals,  a  round  lanthorn  rises  ;  this  is  too  small,  and  ha- 
eight  windows  separated  by  Corinthian  columns  with  gilt 
capitals.  The  altar,  which,  with  every  thing  that  belongs  to 
it  is  of  marble  of  different  colours,  is  of  a  handsome  archi- 
tecture. A  large  picture  of  the  Holy  Virgin  is  placed  in  the 
middle.  A  beautiful  picture  of  the  discovery  of  the  statue 
of  the  Holy  Virgin  covers  the  door  of  the  tabernacle.  There 
are  some  pictures  in  the  sacristy,  amongst  which  there  is  one 
attributed  to  Joanne z  :  H  represents  St.  Joseph  111  his  bed,  the 
Holy  Virgin  gi\mg  him  broth  ;  groups  and  figures  in  diilerent 
attitudes,  and  above  the  eternal  Father  with  two  groups  of 
angels;  this  il  an  excellent  picture. 

'J  nil  convent  bai  two  cloUtcri  ;  tht  first  ii  tolerably  large, 


ty<2  VALtXCTA. 

Miuarc,  of  Gothic  arehitecure,  and  opens  through  tour  arcades 
m  each  iront.  In  one  of  its  angles  here  i*  a  picture  of  mid- 
dling  size  and  tolerably  good,  the  painter  of  which  is  un- 
known, though  it  appears  modern  ;  it  is  the  placing  a  Jesus 
Cbrist  in  the  tomb,  with  group*  of  figures:  at  two  other 
angles  there  are  two  chapels;  in  one  of  these  there  are  two 
large  pictures,  the  comhat  between  David  and  Goliath,  and 
Saul  following  his  son  Absolom  ;  in  the  ether  the  altar  is 
covered  with  very  ancient  paintings  upon  wood,  done  with 
delicacy  and  expression.  The  second  cloister  is  larger,  and 
likewise'  square,  it  opens  upon  a  garden  by  eight  arches  in 
each  front,  which  are  supported  by  Doric  columns;  there  are 
eight  large  pictures  at  its  four  angle-,  which  are  said  to  be 
by  Espinosa,  and  which  we  are  told  were  good  ;  but  from  the 
little  care  that  has  been  taken  of  them,  it  is  impossible  to 
distinguish  any  thing  in  them. 

Convent  of  St.  Sebastian.  This  is  a  convent  of  Minims. 
It  is  in  the  faubourg  of  Quarte,  in  a  beautiful  situation,  over- 
looking a  lively  country  of  great  extent. 

The  church  is  of  a  simple  architecture  of  the  Corinthian 
order:  it  would  have  an  air  of  grandeur,  if  some  heavy  orna- 
ments of  sculpture,  which  spoil  the  appearance  of  the  roof  and 
the  arches  that  sustain  it,  were  taken  away.  The  principal 
altar  has  some  bad  picture*  ;  bt;t,  behind  the  sanctuary  in 
that  part  called  by  the  Spaniard-  traa  sacrario,  amends  is 
made  by  a  small  picture  representing  the  Lord's  Supper, 
painted  by  Joannes,  with  all  the  delicacy  and  taste  which 
distinguish  the  pencil  of  that  artist.  Some  of  the  chapels 
contain  paintings  which  deserve  notice,  particularly  the  altar 
of  the  Holy  Virgin.  A  small  altar  of  the  infant  Jesus,  called 
del  r.ino  de  la  pasion,  has  in  its  base  three  very  small  pic- 
tures one  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  and  the  other  two  of  the  in- 
fancy of  Jçsuï.  In  the  chapel  of  St.  Luis  there  are  some  by 
Vergara  ;  but  they  are  the  productions  of  his  youth,  and  by 
no  means  correspond  with  the  fame  he  afterwards  acquired. 


VALENCIA.  193 

The  cross-aisle  opens  on  the  right,  forming  a  particular 
chapel  under  the  invocation  of  St.  Francis  de  Paule.  There 
are  two  large  paintings,  in  an  oval  medallion,  on  the  two 
sides  of  this  chapel  ;  one  represents  St.  Francis  de  Paule,  at 
the  moment  when  the  Pope  ordered  him  to  go  to  France,  on 
the  invitation  of  Louis  XI.;  the  other  the  arrival  of  that 
saint  at  the  court  of  the  French  king.  On  the  four  pillars 
there  are  four  other  paintings  in  fresco  ;  they  preserve  the 
memory  of  four  miracles  of  the  same  saint:  above  them  are 
the  four  cardinal  virtues,  a?  large  as  life,  also  painted  in 
fresco;  one  of  the  four,  Purity,  is  said  to  be  the  portrait  of  a 
Madame  Soret,  a  French  lady,  whose  husband  was  a  mer- 
chant at  Valencia.  These  paintings  executed  in  1744,  are 
by  Joseph  Llaser.  In  the  middle  of  the  altar  is  a  paint- 
ing of  St.  Francis  de  Paule  leaning  on  his  stick  ;  Joannez  sur- 
passed himself  in  this  work  ;  the  illusion  is  carried  to  such  a 
degree  that  one  takes  the  painting  for  a  statue,  and  fancies 
the  saint  in  the  act  of  setting  out  to  walk.  The  compart- 
ments of  the  base  of  this  altar  are  ornamented  with  two  ex- 
cellent paintings  by  the  same  artist,  representing  two  mira- 
cles of  the  saint. 

This  church  has  another  chapel  built  about  the  year  1730, 
under  the  invocation  of  the  blessed  Bono.  The  altar  of  this 
chapel  is  ornamented  with  a  painting  representing  the  bless- 
ed Bono  in  his  coffin,  surrounded  by  groups  of  sick  people 
imploring  his  assistance,  and  spectators,  attracted  by  devotion 
or  curiosity  :  it  is  by  Salvador  Mariano-Maella.  This  chapel 
built  after  the  plan  pf  Maitinès,  unites  taste,  elegance,  and 
magnificence  ;  it  presents  a  profuseness  of  marble,  and  a 
multitude  ofgiltobjecls,  without  confusion  ;  the  different  orna- 
ments which  decorate  it  are  executed  with  delicacy.  The 
architecture  is  in  general  good. 

There  are  also  in  this  convent  some  paintings  of  Conchillos 
tod  r.a&pard  de  la    HuerU,  and  another  painted  by   Cudt7, 

Vol.  1.  o 


194  VAIJ.NCFA. 

and  lir.  nnht  from  Rome   in   1701.     It  represents  the  blessed 
Bono  scourging  himself  under  the  arch  of  a  stairca>e. 

Pansh  Church  of  St.  Nicholas.  This  church  is  as  remark- 
able for  the  inelegance  of  the  sculptures  with  which  it  is  over- 
loaded, as  for  the  beauty  of  the  paintings  it  contains. 

Tlie  vault  and  walls  are  covered  with  them  :  they  are  in 
fresco,  and  represent  the  most  interesting  epochs  of  the  life  of 
St.  Nicolas  tie  Bari  and  St.  Peter,  martyrs,  and  titulary  dig- 
nitaries of  the  church  ;  those  in  the  sanctuary  represent  thr 
moment  of  time,  when  angels  are  introducing  the  saints  into 
the  abode  of  glory.  At  the  bottom  of  the  church,  above 
and  on  the  side  of  the  principal  door,  is  a  portrait  bf  Pope 
Cal^tus  III.,  who  ha\3  been  the  minister  of  if,  and  allegories 
relative  to  the  Roman  church.  All  these  paintings  are  by 
Denis  Vidal,  Palomino's  pupil  :  we  cannot  look  at  them 
without  great  interest;  but  they  must  be  examined  sepa- 
rately, for  the  whole  presents  a  confused  mass,  which  hurt» 
the  beauty  of  the  details. 

The  chief  altar,  of  an  ordinary  architecture,  has  a  large 
painting  of  the  two  titulary  saints,  by  Vergara. 

Two  small  lateral  altars  are  ornamented  with  paintings  by 
Juan  de  Joannez.  On  the  one  are,  an  Annunciation,  a  Birth 
of  our  Lord,  an  adoration  of  the  Kings,  a  battle  of  St. 
Michael  with  the  Devil,  two  processions,  and  a  battle  be- 
tween the  Israelites  and  Philistines  ;  on  the  other,  the  doc- 
tors of  the  church,  the  Apostles,  some  Martyrs,  and  some 
Virgins.  Two  other  paintings  on  each  side  of  the  lower 
part,  relate  to  the  Creation  of  the  World  ;  and  a  third  be- 
tween the  two  last,  represents  the  formation  of  Eve  during 
Adam's  sleep,  in  the  midst  of  a  beautiful  landscape.  There- 
is  likewise  an  admirable  Last  Supper,  in  which  the  artist 
has  united  the  beauty  of  invention,  and  a  correctness  of  de- 
sign, with  expression  and  justness  of  colouring. 

'Ibrre  are  also  excellent  paintings  in  the  vestry,  as  well 


VALENCIA.  195 

as  on  different  other  altars.  That  of  St.  Peter  the  martyr 
has  a  large  painting  of  tl>e  martyrdom  of  that  9aint,  and 
two  small  ones,  a  Birth  of  our  Lord,  and  a  Nativity  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  all  by  Espinosa,and  worthy  the  reputation 
of  that  painter.  In  the  chapel  of  Christ  is  a  good  painting 
of  the  Holy  Virgin  and  the  sisters  of  Lazarus.  A  small  ora- 
tory in  a  rccedure,  near  the  door  of  the  chapel  of  the  com- 
munion, contains  some  valuable  pieces,  particularly  a  picture 
of  the  Virgin  watching  the  infant  Jesus  asleep,  and  behind,  a 
-.  Anne  reading.  These  paintings,  being  in  a  manner  buried 
in  the  thickness  of  the  wall  and  in  a  dark  place,  escape  exami- 
nation, and  afford  no  gratification  to  amateurs;  they  deserve 
to  be  placed  in  a  more  conspicuous  situation. 

Church  of  la  Purissima.  This  is  a  church  of  the  ancient 
professed  house  of  the  Jesuits,  which  is  now  occupied  by 
priests  and  secular  clergy,  under  the  name  of  the  seminary 
of  St.  Thomas  de  Villanucva. 

It  is  a  tolerably  large  building,  ornamented  without  taste 
mi  J  without  elegance.  The  chief  altar  has  a  large  picture  of 
St.  Th ..mas  de  Villanueva,  by  Vergara.  The  lateral  altar  on 
the  left  side  of  the  cross-aisle  has  two  paintings  by  Espinosa  ; 
.  Ignacio,  „to  whom  the  Eternal  Father  appears,  and  a 
Holy  Virgin  giving  fruit  to  the  infant  Jesus. 

In  the  chapel  of  St.  Francisco  Xavier,  there  are  two  large 
paintings  of  the  miracles  of  that  saint,  and  several  in  fresco, 
representing  him  in  glory. 

J  e  chapel  of  the  Conception  is  also  ornamented  with  two 
large  paintings  by  Cone  lillos,  which  have  been  spoiled  by 
an  attempt  to  repair  them.  Each  of  these  paintings  is  be- 
ll two  statuts  of  white  marble,  as  large  as  life,  which 
•  m  to  be  four  kings  ;  above  each  statue  is  a  tolerable  bass- 
relief.  The  higher  parts  are  loaded  with  sculptures  in  con- 
fusion. The  absurdity  of  this  chapel,  however,  is  comptn-. 
sated  by  the  beauty  of  the  paintings  in  fresco  of  the  dome, 
which  represent  an  Assumption,  and  a  St.  Stanislas,  offering 

0  'J 


l.Ofi  VALtVriA. 

the  infant  Jesus  to  the  Virgin  :  tliey  arc  by  the  Canon  Vic- 
toria. A  painting  of  the  Conception,  with  the  holy  Trinity, 
in  the  midst  of  a  group  of  angels,  who  place  a  crown  on  the 
hear!  of  the  Virgin,  occupies  the  middle  space  of  the  altar  : 
it  is  by  Joanncz,  and  possesses  great  beauties. 

Lonja.  The  Lonjâ  is  a  large  oblong  building,  situated  in 
the  square  of  IVIcrcado,  and  built  in  1482,  in  the  reign  of 
Ferdinand  the  Catholic.  It  was  originally  an  exchange  or 
meeting-place  for  merchants,  but  afterwards  turned  into 
barracks,  and  is  now  used  for  what  it  was  fust  intended. 
The  tribunal  of  the  consulate  bold  their  meetings  in  it. 

The  front,  decorated  with  ornaments  in  the  Gothic  style, 
seems  to  form  two  different  edifices,  one  without  ornaments, 
the  other  with  some  Gothic  ornaments  at  two-thirds  of  its 
height.  Above  the  two  columns  are  placed,  in  pairs,  a  series 
of  medallions,  containing  in  bass-relief  the  busts  of  kings  and 
queens.  This  front  terminates  in  lofty  battlement»  in  the  form 
of  royal  crowns. 

A  few  broad  steps  lead  to  a  large  oblong  hall  of  a  simple 
yet  noble  appearance  ;  it  is  SO  feet  long  by  50  broad.  The 
whole  of  it  is  in  the  Gothic  style,  and  of  the  greatest  beauty. 
In  this  hall  the  dealers  in  silk  meet  to  make  their  bargains. 

An  adjacent  room,  built  in  the  same  style  and  with  the 
same  elegance,  contains  a  chapel.  It  leads  to  two  halls,  one 
of  which  serves  for  the  tribunal  of  the  consulate,  and  the 
other  for  commercial  meetings. 

Parish  Church  of  St.  Juan  del  Mercado.  It  is  in  the  square 
of  the  Mercado,  opposite  the  Lonja. 

The  interior  of  it  is  grand  and  spacious  with  a  flat  vault. 
The  frieze  and  cornice  are  covered  with  an  absurd  and  con- 
fused multiplicity  of  ornaments  in  stucco,  coarsely  carved 
and  of  bad  taste  :  the  statues  of  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob, 
the  heads  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  standing  against  the 
pilasters,  are  still  worse. 


VALENCIA.  \g7 

These  ornaments  are  a  striking  contrast  to  the  admirable 
paintings  with  which  this  church  is  every  where  enriched  : 
as  soon  as  these  attract  the  attention  all  else  is  forogttcn  in 
the  contemplation  of  their  beauties. 

The  medallions  above  the  arcades  of  the  chapels  contain 
paintings  in  fresco,  emblematic  of  the  lives  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  and  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  titulars  of  the  church. 

At  the  spring  of  the  vault  there  are  paintings,  also  in  fresco, 
emblematic  of  'lu?  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  above,  between 
the  windows,  the  twetve  apostles  sitting  on  clouds. 

The  whole  vault  :'  the  nave  is  likewise  painted  in  fresco  ; 
the  principal  subject  is  God  on  his  throne  surrounded  by  all 
the  orders  of  the  celestial  hieraichy.  Among  others  there  is 
a  remarkable  one  of  a  St.  Yincenzo  Feirier,  with  wings,  in  the 
attitude  of  taking  flight,  in  allusion  to  the  angel  in  the  Re- 
velations, and  several  ?  lint-  of  Spain,  particularly  of  the 
kingdom  of  Valencia.  The  other  parts  are  filled  with  difi'e- 
rtnt  subject-,  several  of  which  are  taken  from  the  Revelations. 
At  one  end  there  is  a  battle  of  St.  Michael  and  his  angels 
with  Lueifer  and  his  followers.  These  paintings  are  by  An- 
tonio Palomino,  who  has  displayed  in  them  all  the  skill  of  an 
artist  with  the  knowledge  of  a  scholar. 

The  same  pencil  and  similar  beauties  are  recognised  in  the 
sanctuary;  Palomino  has  covered  b<  vault  of  it  with  paint- 
ings in  fresco,  of  which  the  principal  subject  is  a  Holy  Tri- 
nity in  glory,  with  groups  of  angels,    patriarchs,  and   saints. 

The  master-altar,  of  gold  work,  is  of  indifferent  execution  ; 
it  is  ornamented  with  fifteen  1  ttle  statues  by  Munos,  a  sculptor 
of  the  17th  century  little  known.  At  the  side.-  of  the  altar 
there  are  two  good  pictures  by  Palomino. 

There  are  likewise  x.uic  excel!»  m  paintings  in  the  chapels 
of  this  church,  a  St.  Francis  de  Paule,  a  picture  of  all  the 
Saints,  and  a  baptism  of  Christ,  all  three  by  Vincent  Bru: 
be-i'Jes  tfeese  there  are  some  little  picture  ,  which  are  ancient 

u  J 


)£8  VALENCIA. 

but  excellent,  by  an  unknown  painter:  the  pulpit  of  tlii> 
church  is  also  remarkable;  it  is  of  white  marble,  with  pan- 
els of  blue  and  white  marbles,  and  decorated  with  bass- 
reliefs,  garlands,  vases,  cherubim  heads,  and  other  ornaments 
in  sculpture  tolerably  well  executed  ;  they  are  by  Ponzanelli. 
The  chapel  of  the  Communion,  where  neither  stucco  nor 
gilding  has  been  spared,  seems  divided  into  three  parts. 
The  first  is  a  kind  of  vestibule,  ornamented  with  three  large 
pictures  ;  the  second  a  kind  of  cross-aisle  with  a  dome  painted 
in  fresco;  and  the  third,  which  is  proprrly  the  Sanctuary, 
has  a  large  picture  on  each  side.  The  altar  is  ornamented 
with  two  paintings,  a  Holy  Virgin  and  a  Last  Supper;  the 
latter  is  by  Esteban  Marc  :  it  is  much  admired  by  con- 
noisseurs, 

Escuelas  Pias.  This  is  a  house  of  priests  for  the  propagation 
of  Christianity;  it  was  built  about  the  middle  of  the  18th 
century  under  the  direction  and  at  the  expence  of  Andres 
Mayoral,  archbishop  of  Valencia;  it  stands  in  a  little  square 
made  on  the  site  of  houses  pulled  down,  but  too  small  for 
the  size  of  the  edifice,  the  front  of  which  has  two  stories  of 
architecture,  one  Ionic  the  other  Corinthian  :  it  is  in  a  very 
bad  taste. 

The  church  forms  a  vast  and  superb  rotunda,  which,  in  its 
whole  compass,  is  composed  of  three  stories  of  architecture. 
Although  it  has  a  striking  and  majestic  appearance,  it  seems 
less  adapted  to  divine  worship  than  to  the  amusements  of  % 
circus  or  any  other  worldly  establishment. 

The  chief  altaj-  is  composed  of  four  green  marble  columns 
of  the  Corinthian  order:  in  the  middle  there  is  a  large  picture 
of  St.  Joachim,  by  Vergara. 

There  are  eight  altars  placed  under  the  arcades  of  the  first 
story,  which  are  ornamented  with  pictures  by  Vergara,  Planes, 
and  Camaron. 

Convent  of  la  Piedad  The  entrance  to  this  convent  is  by 
à  httle  vestibule  in  which  there  is  a  large  picture  by  Vergara, 


VALENCIA.  i, 

representing-  the  Holy  Virgin  amidst  clouds  and  surrounded 
by  groups  of  angels,  seraphim,  and  heads  of  cherubim  ; 
St.  Pedro  Nolasco,  a  pope,  a  king,  and  a  multitude  of 
monks,  nuns,  common  people  and  slaves  kneeling. 

The  cloister  is  square,  middle  sized,  and  of  a  good  ar- 
chitecture. 

The  interior  is  full  of  paintings.  The  wall  to  the  height 
of  five  feet  is  covered  with  Delf  liles,  on  which  various  fanci- 
ful subjects  are  painted  ;  amongst  the  number  of  paintings, 
there  are  few  good  :  some  are  the  portraits  of  iihiNtrious  men 
of  the  order  of  La  Piedad,  but  most  are  historical  and  painted 
by  Paul  Pontons.  Two  little  ones  deserve  notice,  one  in  the 
style  of  Riballa,  representing  a  crucifix  with  different  figures, 
the  other  a  dead  Christ  with  the  Virgin  at  his  feet.  The 
windows  are  also  full  of  paintings  by  Vergara,  containing  the 
life  of  St.  Pedro  Nolasco. 

The  church  is  simple  and  ornamented  with  several  pictures, 
among  which  one  by  E^pinosa  catches  the  eye. 

In  the  large  chapel  of  St.  Juan  de  Latran  there  are  five 
great  pictures  on  subjects  relative  to  the  foundation  of  that 
chapel:  some  of  these  are  by  Jacobo  Donoso,  and  others  by 
Pontons. 

It  also  contains  the  monument  of  Philip  of  Guimeran,  a 
monk  of  this  house;  it  is  of  white  marble  and  well  exe- 
cuted. 

The  church  has  some  other  indifferent  paintings  ;  a  mar- 
tyrdom of  St.  Serapio  by  Sebastian  Conca  ;  a  large  picture 
by  LSpinosa. 

Convent  of  the  Great  Augustin».  This  is  at  the  entrance  of 
the  town,  by  the  ^ate  of  St.  Vincent. 

In  front  of  the  church  there  i>  a  great  portico  with  three 
large  arcad  rated  by  six  Doric  pilasters;   the  portal  p 

ornamented  with   four  columm  of  the  ;>a:.ie  order,  and  a 
fctatue  ut' St.  Augustin  in  a  niche. 

It  is  of  a  tolerable  size  and  fine  architecture.    It  h  howevei 
o  4 


COO  VALENCIA. 

disfigured   by   a  confused   and   disgusting    mass    of  coarse 
carving. 

The  sanctuary  is  inclosed  by  a  handsome  balustrade,  the 
tables  of  which  are  of  white  marble  and  the  balu.-ters  of  yel- 
low and  white  ;  the  chief  altar  is  of  a  bad  taste. 

A  chapel,  dedicated  to  Nuestra  Senora  do  la  Correa, 
has  a  square  vestibule  in  front,  ornamented  with  Doric  pi- 
lastres and  two  large  pictures  ;  over  this  vestibule  is  a  little 
dome  on  four  arches,  the  four  corners  of  which  have  paintings 
in  fresco.     There  is  nothing  remarkable  in  the  altar. 

The  church  contains  some  good  paintings;  a  St.  Joseph, 
and  a  St.  Luis  Bertrand,  by  Espinosa  ;  a  Virgin  of  Sorrows 
in  the  chapel  of  that  name;  this  is  an  old  picture,  but  pos- 
sesses great  expression.  In  the  sacristy  are  the  following  : 
a  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  a  St.  Januarius,  at  St.  Theresa, 
a  St.  Anthony,  an  Annunciation,  a  Resurrection,  an  Ascen- 
sion, a  Conception,  a  Birth  of  Christ,  an  Adoration  of  the 
Kings,  and  a  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  :  the  four  first  are 
by  the  Chevalier  Maxime,  or  at  least  in  his  style.  The  others, 
which  are  by  Joannez,  are  excellent  ;  in  the  last  three  par- 
ticularly the  greatest  beauties  are  united. 

The  chapel  of  Neustra  Senora  de  Gracia,  which  is  in  one 
of  the  cloisters  of  the  convent,  forms  an  exact  cross,  two  ex- 
tremities of  which  terminate  in  chapels,  and  at  the  two  other 
extremities  are  the  doors  of  entrance.  Its  dome  admits  a 
good  light,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  vault  is  covered  with, 
paintings  in  fresco  The  altar  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Gracia, 
at  one  of  the  extremities  of  the  cross,  has  nothing  remarkable. 
At  the  altar  of  the  communion  there  is  a  large  picture  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  On  either  side  of  the  door  of  entrance 
there  are  two  medallions  containing  the  portraits  cf  the  kings 
Henry  II.  and  Ferdinand  VI.  with  inscriptions  in  honour  of 
those  princes.  This  chapel  is  built  with  taste,  and  decorated 
with  elegance.  The  paintings  are  by  Vergara,  and  the  sculp- 
tures by  his  brother. 


VALENCIA.  £01 

Convent  of  San-Francisco.  This  is  a  convent  of  Cordeliers  : 
it  is  built  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Moorish 
kings,  which  was  given  to  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  by  the 
king  Zeit-Abu-Zeit,  when  that  prince  embraced  the  Christian 
Teligion,  after  the  conquest  of  Valencia,  and  took  the  name 
of  Vincent  Velvis. 

The  portico  is  ornamented  with  paintings  in  fresco,  by 
Villa  Xueva,  a  monk  of  this  house. 

The  church  is  spacious  and  of  an  architecture  half  Gothic. 
It  contains  a  removal  of  the  Santa  Casa  de  Loreto,  by  Espi- 
nosa  ;  and  a  Guardian  Angel,  by  Ribalta.  There  are  pic- 
tures by  the  Canon  Victoria  in  the  Sacristy  ;  they  are  histo- 
rical subjects  with  the  figures  as  large  as  life  ;  one  of  them 
represents  the  Moorish  King  Zeit-Abu-Zeit  giving  up  his 
palace  to  the  monks. 

This  church  opens  into  the  chapel  of  the  third  order  of 
St.  Francis,  in  the  dome  of  which  there  are  paintings  in  fresco 
by  Vergara,  and  on  the  altar  a  good  picture  by  Estebal  Marc, 
in  which  St.  Francis  is  igving  the  rule  of  his  order  to  persons 
of  different  conditions.  Two  other  contiguous  chapels,  those 
of  St.  Anthony  and  of 'he  Communion,  contain  two  paintings 
by  La  Huerta,  representing  events  in  the  life  of  St.  Anthony. 
The  latter  of  these  chapels  is  overloaded  with  gildings  dis- 
tributed without  taste  ;  the  sanctuary  has  an  altar  rendered 
monstrous  by  the  multiplicity  and  ridiculous  variety  of  paint- 
ing! and  gildings  ;  but  it  has  two  pleasing  pictures  by  lluerta, 
representing  miracles  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 

The  cloister  of  this  convent  is  worthy  of  particular  atten- 
tion. 

It  i»  of  a  long  rectangular  form,  divided  in  the  mid- 
tile  of  ill  length  into  two  parti  by  a  transverse  aisle,  opening 
OH  either  side,  through  arcades,  into  two  gardens  full  of 
palm  and  orange  trees:  a  handsome  octagon  pavilion  stands 
over  ■  well  in  the  middle  of  one  of  the  gardens.  A  second 
cloister  extends  over  the  first*  with  -maljer  arcades  than  those 


C0£  VALENCIA. 

below,  from  which  they  arc  separated  by  Doric  pilasters. 
The  whole,  collectively,  appears  pleasing;  hut  on  examina- 
tion the  ornaments  evince  bad  taste. 

The  inner  part  of  the  inferior  cloister  U  airy  and  handsome. 
Pious  inscriptions  are  placed  at  intervals  within  medallions  or 
painted  borders.  The  windows  are  full  of  painting»  by  Villa 
Nova,  representing  divers  events  in  the  life  of  St.  Francis. 
A  small  altar  in  bad  taste,  at  one  of  the  angles  of  the  cloister, 
is  likewise  ornamented  with  pictures  ;  the  subjects  arc  taken 
from  the  New  Testament,  and  the  natural  attitudes  of  the 
figures  are  remarkable  :  they  appear  to  have  been  done  in  the 
conclusion  of  the  1 1th  century. 

College  of  the  Patriarchs.  This  college  was  founded,  in 
1586,  by  Juan  Ribera,  under  the  name  of  Corpus  Christi  ; 
but  has  always  gone  by  that  of  the  dignity  possessed  by  the 
founder*. 

This  is  a  very  large  edifice,  standing  partly  in  a  small 
square-that  bears  its  name  and  partly  in  a  little  street.  It 
has  no  exterior  ornament  but  two  indifferent  portals. 

The  church  is  108  feet  long  and  41  broad  in  the  nave,  the 
cross-aisle  is  47  :  it  is  low,  dark,  and  badly  decorated. 

The  principal  altar  is  of  wood  gilt,  ornamented  with  six 
columns  of  superb  green  variegated  marble,  with  gilt  capitals. 
The  middle  of  it  is  completely  covered  with  a  large  picture, 
behind  which  there  is  a  crucifix  as  large  as  life,  greatly  ve- 
nerated at  Valencia:  it  is  uncovered  only  once  a  week, 
which  is  done  with  great  solemnity.  First  the  picture  is  re- 
moved, then  four  curtains  which  are  before  the  crucifix,  and 
all  so  slowly,  that  it  is  impossible  to  perceive  any  motion. 
White  this  is  doing  the  Mitircre  is  sung,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  psalm,   the  crucifix  unveiled  presents  itself  to  the  eyes 

*  Juan  de  Ribera,  born  at  Seville,  after  beiTig  prufessor  of  Theology  in 
the  University  of  Salamanca,  and  Bishop  of  Badajoa,  became  patriarch 
ofAntioch,  raptain-genend  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  and  archbishop 
of  the  capital.     He  died  in  J61 1. 


VALENCIA.  1203 

of  the  faithful.  This  altar  is  in  a  very  had  taste  ;  the  varie- 
gated columns  placed  any  where  else  would  have  a  fine  <  fleet; 
but  appear  ridiculous  where  they  are,  as  they  hear  no  propor- 
tion either  to  the  mass  or  elevation  of  the  altar. 

If  there  he  nothing  in  this  edifice  to  excite  curiosity,  it  is 
impossible  to  look  without  pleasure  at  the  beautiful  paintings 
*  in  fresco  on  its  walls,  roofs,  and  dome  :  on  the  roof  of  the  choir 
there  are  groups  of  the  blessed,  on  that  of  the  nave  groups  of 
angels,  on  the  vault  of  the  dome  subjects  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, with  the  prophets  between  the  windows;  in  the  cross- 
aisle  the  martyrdom  of  S.  Vincent  Ferrier  preaching,  «Sec.  ;  in 
the  sanctuary  the  martyrdom  of  S.  IVIaur,  that  of  St.  Andrew, 
&c.  The  paintings  in  the  nave  and  in  the  vault  of  the  choir 
are  by  iJartoloir.é  Malarana. 

There  are  likewise  a  great  many  good  paintings  on  canvas: 
a  S.  Vincent  Ferrier  receiving  the  gift  of  preaching,  by  Ri- 
balta  ;  Souls  in  Purgatory,  by  Frederic  Zucaro;  a  Guardian 
Angel,  by  a  painter  known  only  under  the  name  of  Vicencio; 
and  a  particularly  fine  picture  in  the  middle  of  the  chief 
altar-piece  :  this  is  a  Lord's  Supper,  by  F.  Riualta,  in  which 
the  figures  are  represented  as  large  as  life,  with  equal  expres- 
sion and  dignity;  this  picture  is  generally  noticed  by  con- 
noisseur?. 

The  paintings  have  suffered  considerably  from  the  smoke  of 
the  incense,  which  is  burnt  in  this  church  with  excessive  pro- 
digality ;  they  were  so  much  blackened,  that  it  ivas  found  ne- 
ctary some  years  ago  to  clean  them;  but  they  lost  their 
coloui>  and  expression,  and  the  chin' part  of  their  merit  ;  and 
jt  is  to  be  feftred  that  nothing  will  remain  to  be  BÇ£Q  of  them. 
Incense  is   notwithstanding  continued  to  be  burnt   with  the 

►âme  profusion. 

The  WW  Wj  pMUfllf,  only  one  of  which 

i1  i  rvis  attention,  and  thai  is  a  Hirth  oi  Christ,  by  Doniiuico 
Preco,  «huh  is  unfinished. 

lu  tin.  i,t\t  room  there  is  at»  Lcct  Homo,  by  jn  unknown 

5 


204  VALENCIA. 

painter  ;  and  in  another  room,  where  the  relics  are  preserved, 
paintings  on  the  roof  in  fresco,  in  the  Arabesque  style. 

The  chapel  of  the  Conception,  the  vault  of  which  is  painted 
in  fresco,  contains  two  good  pictures,  attributed  to  Ribalta; 
these  are  a  Dead  Christ,  and  a  Christ  praying  in  the  Garden 
of  Olives. 

The  cloister,  divided  into  upper  and  lower,  is  decorated 
with  well-proportioned  marble  columns  :  the  collective  ap- 
pearance is  majestic  ;  a  fountain  in  the  middle  is  ornamented 
with  the  statue  of  a  woman  of  white,  marble.  The  statue  was 
mutilated  ;  and  by  a  vile  attempt  to  repair  the  head  and 
hands,  it  has  lost  much  of  its  value. 

There  are  four  large  pictures  at  the  four  angles  of  the 
lower  portico.  The  following,  kept  shut  up  in  closets,  have 
merit;  an  Ascension,  a  Nativity,  a  Lord's  Supper,  a  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  and  a  St.  John  the  Evangelist. 

Custom  House.  The  custom  house  is  a  large  handsome 
building,  of  modern  structure,  finished  in  1700,  in  the  reign 
of  Charles  III.  and  situated  in  the  square  of  St.  Dominico. 

This  edifice  is  handsome,  well  executed,  and  of  a  majestic 
appearance.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  in  Valencia  :  it  ought  to 
be  insulated,  that  it  may  be  seen  to  more  advantage  ;  but  be- 
hind and  on  one  side  it  joins  some  houses,  which  deprive  it  of 
the  grandeur  it  would  have  if  it  stood  alone. 

Convent  del  Remedio.  It  is  in  the  faubourg  heyend  the 
sea  gate,  and  belongs  to  the  Trinitarians  or  IMathurins. 

This  convent  has  two  lower  cloisters  and  one  upper  one, 
full  of  pictures,  among  which  are  some  by  Gregory  Bausa,  a 
Majorcan;  the  colours  having  faded,  they  were  spoiled  by 
an  attempt  to  retouch  th«m.  They  are  portraits  of  the  mar- 
tyrs of  the  order  of  the  Trinity.  There  are  also  four  small 
pictures  of  the  Passion  of  Christ,  which  have  great  expres- 
sion. 

In  a  little  place  at  the  entrance  of  the  choir,  there  is  a» 


VALENCIA.  20  J 

excellent  painting  on  wood,  representing  Christ  with  Magda- 
lene at  the  foot  of  the  cross  ;  and  another  of  the  Virgin  holding 
the  infant  Jesus  in  her  arms,  with  St.  Bernard  and  St.  An- 
selme on  each  side.  This  picture  deserves  to  be  taken  care 
of,  but  it  is  spoiling  from  neglect. 

The  choir  and  entrance  of  the  convent  likewise  contain 
some  good  paintings. 

There  are  three  monuments  of  the  Moncada  family  in  the 
church,  but  only  one  merits  attention,  which  is  that  of 
Juan  de  Moncada,  and  his  wife  the  lady  of  Villaragut.  It  is 
of  white  marble,  and  well  executed  :  it  is  a  work  of  the  com- 
mencement of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Convent  of  St.  Domingo.  This  convent  is  in  the  square  of 
the  same  name,  and  belongs  to  the  monks  of  the  order  of  St. 
Dominic. 

It  has  two  distinct  fronts,  that  of  the  convent  and  that  of  the 
church. 

The  front  of  the  convent,  simple  but  pleasing,  is  of  brick 
painted  white.  The  portal  leads  to  a  vestibule,  supported  by 
several  columns,  through  which  we  go  to  the  cloister.  This 
is  handsome,  spacious,  and  roofed  with  a  lofty  vault,  sup- 
ported by  a  multiplicity  of  little  crossed  arches,  in  the  Gothic 
style,  and  in  fine  taste.  There  are  fourteen  chapels  in  two  of 
its  sides;  one  of  the  other  sides  is  ornamented  with  two  altars. 
There  are  a  great  many  paintings  here,  some  of  which  have 
real  merit.  One  of  these  chapels,  called  El  Cabildo,  contains 
an  antique  monument,  said  to  be  that  of  one  of  the  ancient 
family  of  Rscala. 

In  the  sacristy  there  are  six  good  paintings  by  Ribalta,  a 
St.  Arnbrosro  of  Siena,  a  St.  James  of  Venice,  a  St.  Dominic, 
a  Holy  Virgin  of  the  Rosary,  a  Holy  Trinity,  and  a  Holy 
Family. 

From  this  cloister  we  go  into  a  gallery,  the  walls  of  which, 
to  the-  he, ght  of  lis  feet    are  comed  with  painted  tilts  made 


*J06  VALENCIA. 

at  Valencia,  representing  the  events  of  the  lives  of  S.  Vincent 
I'criier  and  of  S.  Luis  Bertrand  ;  the  upper  part,  as  well  as 
the  ve.-'.ibule,  is  ornamented  throughout  with  portraits,  as 
large  as  life ,  of  the  sup.  riora  an  1  of  the  monks  of  the  order  of 
S.  Dominic,  who  had  risen  to  the  rank,  of  IL-hop,  cardinal 
and  pope. 

The  front  of  the  church  is  beside  that  of  the  convent  :  it 
has  no  ornament  hut  that  of  the  portal,  composed  of  two  sto- 
ries of  architecture  :  the  first  is  of  the  Doric  order  ;  the  se- 
cond is  au  attic  ornamented  with  pilasters,  and  three  statue» 
of  saints  in  niches. 

At  one  end  of  this  front  there  is  a  very  high  square  tower, 
with  a  terrace  at  the  top  surrounded  with  a  ballustrade  :  from 
this  terrace  a  second  tower  rises  ornamented  with  two  Doric 
columns  ;  a  third  tower  rises  above  the  second  with  columns 
of  the  same  order,  and  terminates  with  a  lanthem  turret 
finely  executed.  This  tower  is  one  of  the  handsomest  pieces 
of  architecture  in  Valencia;  it  is  built  with  taste,  and  has  an 
elegant  appearance. 

The  interior  of  the  church  is  spacious,  and  without  aisles; 
it  is  overloaded  with  massive  and  useless  sculptures,  without 
grace  of  taste  ;  but  in  the  chapels  there  are  some  good  pic- 
tures bv  different  masters,  anion»  others  several  by  Vcrgara; 
a  rferrnif,  said  to  be  Espsgnolet's  ;  a  St.  Anne  with  the  Virgin 
in  her  arms;  and  a  St.  Joachim,  an  .  xcelient  painting  by  Ls- 
pinosa;  besides  some  good  picture»,  attributed  to  Joanne;;, 
in  the  chapel  of  St.  Joseph,  the  dome  of  which  is  embellished 
-vith  paintings  in  fre-ro,  which  are  not  without  merit. 

The  chapel  of  S.  Luis  Bertrand  is  richly  decorated  with 
panels  and  pilastres  of  white  and  green  marbles,  and  with 
pictures  representing  divers  events  in  the  life  of  S.  Luis  Ber- 
trand, by  Jeroru  Esplnosa;  Behind  the  chief  altar,  which  has 
tiotbing  remarkable  in  it,  there  is  a  camarin,  a  kind  of  large  ora- 
tory, where  the  he  !y  of  the  saint  is  kept  in  a  silver  shrine: 
here  also  are  several  paintings  by  Hippolitus  Botira,  in  which 


VALENCIA.  t!07 

the  merit  ol*  the  composition  is  injured  by  the  bad  colouring 
and  confusion  of  objects.  The  chapel  likewise  contains  the 
monuments  of  two  monks  of  this  convent,  Juan  Mico,  and 
Dominic  Anadon  Loskis;  they  are  of  white  marble,  with  co- 
lumns of  green.  The  architecture  is  fine,  but  the  two  re- 
liefs in  white  marble  at  the  bottom,  representing  the  good 
shepherd,  and  a  Holy  Trinity,  are  of  indiffèrent  execution  : 
still  the  collective  appearance  is  fine  and  noble. 

On  each  side  of  the  body  there  are  two  chapels  of  such 
extraordinary  size,  that  they  look  like  two  distinct  churches  : 
the  one,  under  the  invocation  of  our  Lady  of  the  Rosary,  is 
overcharged  with  gildings,  and  contains  some  indifferent  pic- 
tures ;  the  other,  dedicated  to  S.  Vincent  Ferrier,  is  preceded 
by  the  little  chapel  de  los  Reyes,  founded  by  Alphonso  V. 
king  of  Aragon,  built  in  the  Gothic  style,  and  with  striking 
simplicity  ;  it  contains  two  pictures  by  El  Bosco,  a  Crowning 
with  Thorns,  and  a  Christ  led  by  Soldiers,  and  a  magnificent 
tomb  erected  to  the  memory  of  Rodrigo  de  Mendoza,  mar- 
quis of  Zenete,  and  Maria  de  Monseca  his  wife  :  it  is  of  white 
marble,  and  ornamented  with  taste. 

This  secondary  chapel  leads  to  that  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrier, 
which  occupies  half  the  length,  and  is  but  lately  built.  In 
tbifl  we  meet  with  a  luxurious  display  of  marble  of  every  kind, 
a  pleasing  collection  of  good  paintings,  and  a  noble  and 
striking  magnificence,  which  do  honour  to  those  who  directed 
the  work,  and  merit  the  attention  of  connoisseurs. 

Temple.  This  house  wa^  built  after  the  enrlhquake  of  1718, 
which  destroyed  the  castle  of  Montesa  :  it  was  intended  to  be 
in  future  the  seat  of  the  military  order  of  that  name,  and  a 
lence  for  the  monks  of  it,  who  now  occupy  it;  it  is  situ- 
ated by  the  ancient  gate  of  the  Cid. 

The  front  of  the  church  is  simp! -,  but  elrgant  and  noble; 
bat  is,  notwithstanding*  disfigured  by  the  position  of  the  two 
towers,  winch  are  placed  a  little  too  far  bilk  in  the  interior 
of  the  cd.:.     . 


£CM  VALENCIA. 

Three  plates  open  into  a  fine  portico,  which  is  as  it  were 
divided  into  three  parts  by  cross  arches,  and  we  enter  the 
church  by  three  doors  correspondent  to  those  of  the  gates  in 
the  front. 

The  church  is  middle  sized  :  it  was  built  on  the  plan  and 
under  the  direction  of  IMichael  Fernandez,  and  does  him  ho- 
nour. Tile  architecture  of  it  is  simple  and  noble  :  it  is  per- 
haps the  handsomest  church  in  Valencia  :  it  has  paintings  in 
fre>co  by  Josef  Vergara  ;  some  pictures  by  Camaron  ;  a  Tri- 
nity and  an  Assumption,  by  Vergara  ;  a  Lord's  Supper  in  the 
style  of  Vandyke  ;  and  a  Carrying  of  the  Cross,  very  like  the 
Pasmo  de  Sicilia  of  Raphael.  Two  carved  medallions  are 
still  to  be  seen,  one  containing  a  bust  of  James  II.  king  of 
Aragon,  founder  of  the  order  of  Montesa,  with  this  inscrip- 
tion :  Jacobus  II.  Ara goiùœ  rex,  Montcsicc  dona/ or  ;  the  other 
the  bust  of  Charles  III.  with  these  words:  Carulus  III.  Ilisp. 
rex,  afundanit  ntis  t  rexit,  dotaxit. 

The  chief  altar  is  insulated,  and  forms  a  kind  of  pavilion 
supported  by  eight  Corinthian  columns  of  greenish  marble 
with  gilt  capitals,  standing  before  an  equal  number  of  red 
marble  pilasters.  On  each  side  of  the  altar  there  is  a  statue 
of  an  angel,  by  Josef  Puchol.  A  statue  of  the  Holy 
Virgin,  by  Gutierrez,  occupies  the  centre  of  the  pavilion;. 
it  is  wrought  with  delicacy,  but  the  marble  is  not  fine. 

There  are  some  good  pictures  in  the  sacristy,  amongst 
others  a  crucifix  with  Saint  Jerome  and  a  holy  bishop  kneel- 
ing, as  large  as  life,  by  Pedro  Orente.  The  treasures  of  the 
church  are  preserved  here,  and  a  Pix  in  a  tabernacle 
of  silver  made  in  the  gotbic  .style,  of  rich  and  delicate  work- 
manship. 

The  parish  church  of  San  Salvador  has  a  crucifix  which  ha» 
acquired  the  reputation  of  being  miraculous,  and  which  is* 
greatly  venerated  by  the  inhabitants  of  Valencia.  There  arc 
two  picture»  here  relative  to  the  history  of  this  crucifix,  which, 
bave  much  expression  ;  they  are  by  John  Conchillos. 


VA  LEX  CI  A.  Si/'O 

The'parish  church  of  Saint  Estevan  or  Saint  Stephen.  It  has 
no  exterior  ornament.  I  sought  in  vain  here  for  the  Doric 
pilasters  with  a  Holy  Virgin  over  them  in  a  niche,  which  M. 
Pons  says  he  saw  at  one  of  the  doors.  This  church  is  of 
middling  size,  and  is  covered  with  an  irregular,  confused,  and 
disgusting  mass  of  bad  sculpture  ;  we  must,  however,  except 
that  of  the  great  altar,  which  is  tolerably  well  executed. 
There  are  some  paintings  here,  relative  to  the  passion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  to  the  life  of  S.  Stephen,  and  to  that  of  St.  Vincent 
Ferrier,  in  the  style  of  Joannez  ;  and  a  fine  Last  Supper,  said 
to  be  by  Espinosa. 

The  church  of  S.  Juan  del  Hospital,  belonging  to  the  order 
of  Malta,  was  built  towards  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
by  the  empress  Constantia,  who  had  retired  to  Valencia  after 
the  taking  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks.  That  princess 
chose  this  for  her  burying-place,  and  we  still  read  near  the 
font  for  holy  water,  the  following  inscription  :  Aquhjacc  dona 
Constanta,  Augusta  Emper at  riz  de  Grecia.  Valencia  seuned 
destined  to  afford  an  asylum  to  dethroned  Greek  princesses; 
Constantia  retired  to  it  in  the  thirteenth  century  after  the 
of  her  empire  ;  Irene,  countess  of  Lascaris,  infanta  of 
Greece,  and  a  relation  of  James  II.  king  of  Aragon,  retired  to 
it  in  the  following  century  after  having  lost  li<  r  slates:  she 
too  was  interred  in  this  church.  Here  are  two  fine  paintings  re- 
presenting  the  battle  of  Lepanto,  by  Josepl  ited 

with  equal  taste  and  skill  ;  and  an  excellent  p  cture  of  Saint 
nui,  Saint  Anne,  and  the  Holy  Virgin  in  her  infancy,  by 
Ribalta;  a  Christ,  with   two  children  weeping,  by  Julio  Ca- 
,  at  th(    commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century  j  it  is 
■ 

ion,  belonging  to  thi  <  tratoriartf. 
ill  with  In  :<  '.  -  <>u  the  plan  of  P. Tow  a,  a  pi 
of  il  of  the  bad  «  \<  cution  ol  the  b 

effect,  and  il  an  orna« 

i. 


210  VALENCIA. 

ment  to  the  square  where  it  is  situated.  Tbc  church  has  i 
a  nave  of  the  Composite  order,  with  a  dome  that  admits  n 
good  light,  and  decorated  with  fluted  pilasters  slightly  gilt. 
This  edifice  has  neither  grace  nor  elegance  ;  the  ornami 
are  without  taste,  and  only  disfigure  the  architecture.  There 
are  some  statues  by  Ignatio  Vergara,  three  pictures  by  his 
brother  Joseph  Vergara  ;  a  Holy  Virgin  by  one  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  Leonardo  da  Vinci  ;  a  S.  Joseph,  by  Espinosa;  a 
St.  Francis  de  Soles,  by  Gaspard  de  la  lluerta,  and  some 
paintings  by  Ricarte  and  Vergara. 

The  church  of  Saint  Tecle.  This  church  belongs  to  a  con- 
vent of  nuns  in  the  street  de  la  Mar.  It  has  nothing  remark- 
able but  the  decoration  of  a  grotto,  in  which  it  is  said  S.  Vin- 
cent suffered  martyrdom.  This  subject  is  represented  in  a 
bass-relief  of  white  marble.  At  the  bottom  of  the  grotto  a  sta- 
tue of  S.Vincent  is  to  be  seen  in  good  sculpture;  it  was 
brought  from  Italy. 

Parish  church  of  Saint  Catherine.  This  is  situated  at  the 
extremity  of  the  square  of  that  name,  in  a  very  retired  situ- 
ation, where  a  door  opens  that  leads  behind  the  sanctuary; 
the  principal  door  is  in  a  very  narrow  street.  The  angle  that 
it  forms  at  the  extremity  of  the  square  of  St.  Catherine  ii 
flanked  by  a  lofty  tower  entirely  of  free-stone,  and  of  a  hexa- 
gonal figure  ;  it  has  five  stories  of  architecture,  each  separated 
by  a  projecting  plinth  ;  the  ornaments  are  massive,  except 
those  of  the  fifth  row,  which  are  wrought  with  sufficient  deli- 
cacy, and  distributed  with  taste.  In  an  inscription  which  we 
read  on  the  first  story,  this  tower  is  called  sumptuous,  and  is 
very  much  prized  in  the  country. 

The  church  is  of  Gothic  architecture,  and  had  a  mag- 
nificent appearance,  but  it  has  been  spoiled  by  endeavours  to 
improve  it  with  ornaments  in  stucco  of  a  very  bad  taste.  The 
vaulted  roof  is  fine,  well  pointed,  and  also  in  the  Gothic  style. 

The  aisles,  however,,  have  been  spared;  their  ancient  fc-fn* 


VALENCIA.  21] 

£nd  Gothic  simplicity  have  been  allowed  to  remain,  and  the) 
are.consequently  handsomer  and  nobler. 

The  ancient  paintings  of  the  chapels  have  been  taken  dow* 
and  modern  ones  put  up;  some  pictures  of  Riballa's  have 
been  destroyed.  A  Resurrection  of  the  Dead,  with  two  other 
pictures  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Eloi,  are  the  only  ones  preserved, 
and  they  have  been  inserted  within  the  wall.  It  is  sufficient 
to  see  these  to  regret  the  loss  of  the  others  ;  they  will  be  an 
everlasting  monument  of  the  bad  taste  and  ignorance  of  those 
who  presided  at  this  pretended  improvement  of  the  church. 

The  Hotel  of  the  Deputation,  in  the  street  of  the  Cavalleros, 
is  an  irregular  building,  which  has  no  other  merit  than  that 
of  having  been  the  place  where  the  states  of  the  kingdom 
were  formerly  held.  The  royal  audience  now  hold  their  sit- 
tings there. 

The  decorations  on  the  ceilings  of  some  of  the  rooms  of  this 
hotel  may  gratify  curiosity  :  several  are  wrought  with  deli- 
cacy ;  and  in  general,  though  very  ancient,  they  have  pre- 
served their  freshness. 

The  hall  where  the  states  assembled  particularly  deserve» 
observation  ;  it  is  still  entire  On  entering  it  we  feel  an  invo- 
luntary respect  for  the  ancient  use  to  which  it  was  put.  'Hie 
paintings  in  fresco,  with  which  the  walls  are  covered,  repre- 
sent the  assembly  of  the  states  ;  the  three  orders  are  sup- 
posed to  be  convened,  those  who  compose  it  are,  according  to 
their  rank,  dressed  in  clothes  of  ceremony,  and  drawn  in  such 
a  manner,  that  each  individual  is  easily  distinguished.  It  i-. 
the  only  remaining  monument  of  that  precious  liberty  which 
the  Valenciani  might  -till  hare  enjoyed,  had  they  not  vio- 
lated the  faith  which  they  owed  to  tin  ign. 

The  chapel  (       eNuesI  mp<  rados,situ- 

ated  behind  the  cathedral,     li-  principal  front  is  placed  in  a 
very  narrow  street,  and  concealed  under  the  ridiculous  n 
ofabalconj  in  form  oi  a  bud-.',  which  forms  the  communi- 


VALENCIA. 

ration  between  ,his  chapel  and  the  cathedral.  The  lateral 
front  on  the  contrary,  is  towards  a  square,  and  decorated  ra- 
ther pleasingly.  The  dome,  which  rises  above  the  edifice, 
forms  a  sort  of  crown  to  this  front,  and  is  surmounted  by  a 
turret,  which  terminates  it  agreeably. 

The  interior  arrhitecture  of  this  chapel  is  good  ;  its  orna- 
ments are  distributed  with  taste:  there  are.  paintings 
fresco  ;  amongst  others,  a  Holy  Trinity  on  a  throne  of  clouds, 
with  all  the  orders  of  the  celestial  hierarchy.  These  paintings, 
finely  executed,  are  by  Antonio  Palomino.  The  ostentatious 
and  ill-applied  inscription  which  is  placed  on  the  inside  of  the 
principal  door,  might  however  have  been  very  well  omitted: 
Kon  est  invention  talc  opus  in  wniversis  regtiis. 

The  tower  of  Miqueléte,  which  is  seen  on  one  side  of 
the  principal  door  of  the  cathedral,  is  extremely  simple,  and 
of  a  monstrous  bulk;  its  figure  is  octagonal,  and  its  circum- 
ference equal  to  its  elevation.  It  is  terminated  by  a  terrace, 
and  surmounted  by  a  turret  extremely  small,  which  forms  a 
ridiculous  contrast  with  its  enormous  size. 

This  tower,  which  is  neither  handsome  nor  pleasing,  de- 
stroys the  church,  and  injures  the  appearance  of  its  portal. 
It  advances  far  into  an  adjacent  street,  very  narrow  of  itself, 
and  confines  the  thoroughfare  in  the  most  frequented  part  of 
the  town  ;  it  has  not  even  the  merit  of  antiquity,  which  alone 
could  render  to  useless  a  monument  respectable. 

This  critique  will  probably  displease  the  Valencians,  who 
are  so  very  much  attached  to  this  tower  that  they  cannot  hear 
it  censured  without  being  out  of  humour.  But  their  town 
contains  so  many  valuable  objects,  that  a  monument  the  less 
can  be  of  little  importance. 

From  the  top  of  this  tower  we  behold  the  beautiful  country 
>vith  which  Valencia  is  surrounded  ;  but  this  is  not  the  only 
place  where  we  can  obtain  this  pleasure,  there  are  several 
steeples  and  houses  which  have  towers,  terraces,  and  belve? 
deres;   that  of  count  Carltt  affords  the  same  prospect.    ' 


VALEN<  IA  213 

The  cathedral  church.  The  cathedral,  or  at  least  the  church 
Which  previously  stood  on  the  same  site,  was,  it  is  commonly 
supposed,  a  temple  of  Diana  under  the  Romans,  a  temple 
consecrated  to  Christ  under  the  Goths,  a  mosque  under  the 
Moors,  and  again  a  christian  temple  consecrated  to  the  apostle 
St.  Paul  after  the  conquest  of  Valencia  hy  the  Cid  :  the 
Moors  having  taken  this  town  again,  converted  it  into  a 
mosque;  and  James  the  Conqueror,  king  of  Aragon,  be- 
coming master  of  Valencia,  re-established  the  catholic  wor- 
ship, and  made  this  the  principal  church  of  the  town,  with 
the  title  of  the  Virgin.  It  was  enlarged  in  1262  by  Andrès  de 
Albalud,  archbishop  of  Valencia;  its  dome  was  built  in  14-Ot 
at  the  expence  of  the  chapter.  In  fine,  pope  Alexander  Vf. 
again  enlarged  it  at  his  own  expence. 

It  is  a  great  building  without  a  façade,  irregular  in  every 
part,  and  the  outside  of  it  has  neither  beauty,  grandeur,  nor 
majesty.  Its  principal  front, situated  at  the  extremity  of  the 
street  of  Saragossa,  is  a  confused  assemblage  of  irregular 
buildings.  It  has  three  doors;  the  two  side  ones  are  in  the 
(ioihic  style,  and  open  at  the  two  extremities  of  the  cross- 
aisle  :  the  principal  door  faces  the  grand  altar.  This  is  orna- 
mented with  a  portal  erected  at  the  commencement  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  on  the  plans  of  Corrado  Rodulpho,  and 
which,  contrary  to  all  the  rules  of  architecture,  forms  a  re- 
ceding semi-circle.  The  tower,  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
was  the  cause  of  this  deformity  ;  it  confined  the  architect,  and 
rendered  the  edifice  ridiculous. 

The  portal  has  three  stories  of  architecture  :  the  first,  of  the 
Corinthian  order,  is  ornamented  with  statues  of  sainte  placed 
in  niches;  they  are  of  indifferent  execution  ;  a  cypher  ofthe 
Virgin  with  groupa  of  angels  on  each  side  in  bass-relief  is 
placed  above  the  door;  it  is  a  good  piece,  by  Ignacio  Vergafa. 
On  the  second  story,   which  is  also  of  the  Corinthian  order 

»  of  S.  Vincent  Ferriei    I  Vincepl  the  martyr,  S.  !.. 
rence,  and  bt.  Luis  Bertrand.     The  third  <.unv 


2  H  VALENCIA, 

sumption  between  two  medallions  in  bass-relief,  by  Kodulpho, 
well  executed.     This  portal   is  m  mum!   by  a  semi-circular 
iron  gate  rounded  outwards  on  a  marble  supporter,  formii 
circular  inclosurc  tolerably  agreeable,  which  compensates  in 
c  For  the  recedure  of  the  portal. 

The  church  i-  of  Gothic  Cbnstructibri,  to  which  were 
added,  towards  the  end  of  the  la<i  a  -ntury,  ornaments  of  the 
ithian  order.  It  has  a  nave  and  two  aisles,  the  vaulted 
roofs  of  which  are  supported  by  Square  pillars  ornamented 
with  (luted  pilasters;  that  of  the  nave  is  highest  and  longest. 
The  vaults  of  the  aisles  are  very  flat  and  low.  A  greater 
decree  of  elevation  would  have  given  more  majesty  to  this 
temple. 

The  choir  is  spacious;  it  has  two  rows  of  stalls  separated 
by  Corinthian  pillar*,  and  has  on  the  side  of  the  .sanctuary  a 
handïome  iron  gate  of  gilt  bronze. 

The  side  which  the  Spaniards  call  Trascora  is  particularly 
decorated  on  the  outside.  On  this  there  are  tablets  of  ala- 
baster on  divers  subjects  of  sacred  history,  some  in  bass- 
relief,  and  others  in  demi-relief,  several  of  which  are  well 
executed.  The  sanctuary  is  of  the  same  height,  size,  and 
architecture  as  the  nave. 

This  church  is  pleasing  to  the  eye,  but  the  stucco  and  gild- 
ings with  which  it  is  decorated  destroy  the  impressive  gran- 
deur which  ought  to  characterize  a  temple  of  religion  :  these 
ornaments,  generally  very  delicate,  are  much  more  appro- 
priate to  a  concert-room  than  to  a  church.  They  are  as  nu- 
merous in  the  chapels  ;  but  there,  they  have  a  better  effect  : 
to  these  they  give  an  appearance  of  elegance,  which  does  in 
no  degree  suit  the  serious  architecture  of  a  church. 

The  chapel  of  S.  Peter,  or  of  the  Communion,  contains  a 
profusion  of  ornaments  without  taste  ;  the  paintings  in  fix -co, 
which  are  in  the  dome,  are,  however,  worthy  of  remark.  The 
attitudes  are  graceful,  and  the  perspective  agreeable,  but  the 
colouring  is  weak.     Some  other  paintings  in  fresco,  relative  to 


VALENCIA.  '215 

the  life  of  S.  Peter,  are  on  other  parts  of  this  chapel;  they 
are  by  Antonio  Palomino.  A  Jesus  Christ  giving  the  Keys 
to  S.  Peter,  and  a  Conception  at  the  Altar,  by  the  same 
painter.  Two  pictures  cover  the  sides  of  the  chapel,  but 
neither  of  them  approaches  to  the  beauly  of  a  figure  of  the 
Saviour,  by  Joan  nez,  placed  on  the  door  of  the  tabernacle. 

There  are  five  other  chapels,  repaired  and  ornamented  in 
the  modern  style,  and  much  alike.  They  are  large,  well 
lighted,  surmounted  by  fine  domes,  ornamented  with  stucco, 
and  Corinthian  pilasters  of  the  same  materials.  In  the  chapel 
of  S.  Thomas  de  Villanueva  there  is  a  picture  by  Romaguera  ; 
m  that  of  S.  Francisco  de  Borgia,  there  are  three  paintings, 
one  representing  the  motive  which  determined  that  saint  to 
quit  the  world  ;  another  his  separation  from  his  family,  and 
a  third  a  miracle  which  he  performed  at  his  death.  The  first 
is  by  Maella,  the  two  last  by, Goya. 

The  chapel  dedicated  to  S.  Sebastian  is  of  a  different  con- 
struction. It  contains  a  painting  of  the  martyrdom  of  & 
Sebastian,  a  Saviour  giving  his  Benediction,  an  Annunciation, 
a  Visitation,  and  a  Nativity,  all  by  Pedro  Orente,  and  of  an 
execution  which  does  not  belie  that  painter's  reputation.  Two 
I  white  marble  are  ornamental  to  the  sides  of  this 
chapel;  they  contain  the  bodies  of  Diego  de  Covarrubias, 
chancellor  of  the  crown  of  Aragon,  who  died  in  1607,  and 
that  of  Maria  Diaz,  his  wife. 

Amongst  the  paintings  which  ornament  the  cathedral,  we 
r<  mark  above  the  fonts  a  Baptism  of  Jesus  in  the  Jordan,  ac- 
companied by  angels  and   seraphim,  by  Juan  Joannez;  the 
heads  arc  given  in  a  superior  manner. 
The  grand  altar  of  this  church,  constructed  in  1493,  is  all 
(T,  and  divided  into  compartments  containing  pictures 
in  relief,  u!-'>  in  silver,  on  various  subjects  of  the  life  of  JesÛs 
■  and  the  Virgin.    The  statue  of  the  Virgin  holding  her 
ton  m  her  arm,  [|   larger  than  life  ;  this  is  also  silver  as  Well 
•-  angels.     The  doors  of  tbil  altar  core  of  wuud  and  co- 

r  4 


£16  VALENCIA. 

vered  with  paintings  of  the  school  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  done 
in  1.506,  by  Paul  d'Aregio  and  Francisco  Neapoli  ;  tliey  re- 
present passages  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  that  of  the 
Virgin  :  the  figures  arc  as  large  as  life.  In  these  we  find  every 
thing  that  can  characterise  the  pencil  of  the  greatest  masters, 
the  fire  and  accuracy  of  invention,  the  exactness  and  correct- 
ness of  the  design,  the  beauty  and  just  proportions  of  the  co- 
louring, the  vivacity  of  expression,  richness  of  drapery,  and  a 
commanding  whole  in  the  assemblage  of  the  figures,  which 
occasioned  king  Philip  IV.  to  say,  "  if  the  altar  be  of  silver 
the  doors  are  of  gold." 

The  treasury  of  this  church  contains  some  precious  things. 
The  sacred  vessels  and  all  the  articles  appropriated  to  divine 
service  are  of  silver,  and  most  of  th'em  of  delicate  work- 
manship; we  find,  besides,  the  statues  in  silver  of  S.  Viticent 
Fenier,  of  St.  Luis  the  bishop,  of  St.  Thomas  dc  Villanueva, 
a  grand  and  superb  chalice  of  agate  ;  but  nothing  equals  the 
richness  of  the  tabernacle;  it  is  eight  feet  eight  inches  high, 
of  silver  gilt,  and  weighs  424  marks;  the  work  is  Gothic,  and 
was  executed  in  1452;  it  is  enriched  with  diamonds  and 
other  precious  stones  :  amongst  others,  there  is  a  small  statue 
of  St.  .Michael  all  of  diamonds;  the  pyx  is  of  gold,  and 
weighs  sixteen  marts. 

Antiquities.  The  antiquities  of  Valencia  consist  of  Roman 
inscriptions  and  fragments  of  ^antique  statues  and  pavement, 
which  have  been  brought  here  from  neighbouring  places. 
They  might  have  been  more  numerous,  if,  when  the  rid^e 
of  Serranos  was  building,  the  directors  had  not  been  bar- 
barians enough  to  throw  into  its  foundations  a  great  quantity 
of  stones  which  had  inscriptions  on  them,  and  other  frag- 
ments of  antiquity. 

An  obelisk,  in  free-stone,  is  raised  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  town,  on  the  banks  of  the  rirer.  There  are  two  antique 
stones  with  inscriptions,  and  we  read  on  a  third  the  period 
in  which  these  stones  were  found. 


VALENCIA.  £17 

The  finest  remains  of  antiquity  are  in  two  balls  of  the 
archiépiscopal  palace,  near  the  library  :  in  these  there  are 
Fragments  of  stones  lately  found  at  Pugel  and  Puch,  heads, 
arms,  trunks,  and  some  statues  almost  whole.  All  these 
fragments  are  extremely  well  executed.  It  is  a  pity  that  it 
should  have  been  thought  necessary  to  mutilate  them,  in  order 
to  conceal  their  sex  ;  the  archbishop  D.  Francisco Fabian  y 
Fuero,  doubtless  no  amateur  of  the  beautiful  antique,  was 
the  author  of  this  ridiculous  operation,  which  has  disfigured 
these  precious  remains. 

The  second  hall  contains  urns,  vases,  and  sepulchral  lamps 
•f  earths  ;  they  were  found  in  the  same  places  ;  some  are 
entire,  others  are  only  fragments;  there  is  also  a  cabinet 
containing  upwards  of  (J000  medals,  most  of  them  Roman, 
and  some  Greek  ;  there  are  a  few  Punic,  and  some  others, 
but  very  few,  with  unknown  characters  :  they  are  believed, 
without  any  certain  grounds,  to  be  of  the  primitive  times  of 
Spain;  there  are  also  many  modern  medals;  they  are  almost 
all  of  bronze  and  copper  ;  there  are  some  of  silver  and  gold  : 
these  last  are  few  in  number. 

The  pavement  of  this  hall  demands  particular  attention  ;  it 
is  formed  of  antique  pavements,  discovered  in  the  month  of 
February  1777,  three  hundred  paces  north-east  of  the  town 
«fPuch,  between  Valencia  and  Murviedro;  some  were  en- 
tire, others  were  only  fragments.  They  were  separated  with 
care,  and  placed  on  the  floor  of  this  ball,  where  they  are 
carefully  preserved.  They  are  different  mosaics,  formed  by 
little  stones  of  three  or  four  lines  in  diameter,  curiously  en- 
chased. They  are  distributed  into  seven  squares,  in  each  of 
which  medallions  and  divers  di  igns  have  been  drawn: 
their  compartments  are  of  blue  on  a  white  ground.  We 
observe  in  one  ol  :  resan  imitation  of  the  pavement 

of  Bacchus,  discovered  at  Murviedro,  and  of  which  there 
remained  but  av<  ;  il  was  copied  in  a  draw- 

j'jok  whii  b  a"]  pn  served  :  it  is 


21 S  VALENCIA. 

executed  with  such  art  and  exactness,  that  no  difference  can 
be  observed  between  thi>  modem  work  and  that  of  the 
Romans.  In  another  we  see  a  Neptune  seated  in  a  car,  in 
one  hand  holding  a  whip,  and  in  the  other  a  trident  and  the 

runs  of  the  horses  by  which  hia  ear  is  drawn  :  these  appear 
to  he  gal  lopping. 

In  the  same  hall  are  also  seen  other  pavements,  of  which 
only  fragments  could  be  preserved.  Some  serve  for  borders 
and  ornaments  to  the  preceding  pavements.  On  these  are 
represented  a  tyger,  fishes,  buds,  houses,  flowers,  and  gar- 
lands, well  executed.  There  are  particularly  five  stuck  on 
wood  and  shut  up  in  a  closet;  on  these  are  birds,  fruits,  and 
flowers,  figured  in  diffi  rent  colours,  the  execution  of  which 
is  very  curious  ;  they  are  perhaps' the  most  precious  of  the 
whole.  3Iost  of  these  pavements  are  to  be  found  engraved 
in  my  work,  entitled,  the  description  of  the  Mosaic  of 
Italic  a. 

A  monument,  which  has  never  been  spoken  of,  fixed  my 
attention  at  Valencia  ;  it  consists  of  the  armorial  bearings  of 
the  ancient  family  of  the  Cabanillas,  now  extinct:  they 
are  placed  over  the  door  of  the  bouse  of  the  Count  de  Casai, 
near  the  church  of  St.  Juan  del  Mercado  ;  the  supporters  are 
two  young  women  whom  two  hands  hold  suspended  by  the 
hair.  According  to  the  tradition  which  has  preserved  the 
remembrance  of  the  event  that  was  the  origin  of  these  sup- 
porters, Francis  I.  being  made  a  prisoner  at  the  battle  of 
Pavia,  passed  through  Valencia  and  lodged  in  this  house, 
where  the  monarch  saw  two  young  ladies  whom  he  desired  to 
dance  with  ;  they  refused  and  fled.  The  father,  whose  name 
was  Cabanillas,  flattered  by  the  honour  which  Francis  I. 
intended  them,  ran  after  them  to  bring  them  back  ;  but 
they  again  refusing,  he  took  them  by  the  hair,  one  in  each 
hand,  and  thus  brought  them  to  the  king.  Another  tradi- 
tion delivers  the  fact  in  a  contrary  way,  reporting  that 
Francis  I.  was  dancing  with  these  young  ladies,  when  the 


VALENCIA.  219 

father  dragged  them  by  the  hair  out  of  the  room  in  which 
were.  In  the  first  instance  the  young  ladies  must  have 
been  extremely  wild,  and  insensible  to  the  gallantry  of  a 
sovereign  prince  ;  in  the  second,  the  father  must  have  been 
brutal  and  ungrateful  for  the  honour  intended  him  by  one  of 
the  first  monarchs  of  the  age. 

Promenades.  Amongst  the  public  walks  of  Valencia,  those 
of  Brio,  Mount-Olivet,  and  particularly  Alameda,  are  dis- 
tinguished, and  are,  pu  ithout  exception,  the  most 
magnificent  in  Europe.  They  extend  without  the  city  to 
the  east  from  the  bridge  del  Real  to  that  of  the  Sea,  a  space 
of  1800  feet.  They  are  adorned  throughout  with  stone-seats, 
and  shaded  by  elm,  poplar,  plantain,  orange,  lemon,  and  a 
great  number  of  other  trees,  brought  from  South  America, 
which  here  display  the  same  beauties  as  in  their  native  soil. 
A  beautiful  footway  of  free-stone  extends  along  both  sides  of 
the  principal  walk  ;  and  marble  seats  are  placed  at  short  in- 
tervals. Here  the  best  company  in  Valencia  assemble.  The 
great  alley,  which  is  carefully  watered,  is  appropriated  to 
carriage  ;  the  others  are  for  walkers.  This  promenade,  inter- 
sected by  canals  bordered  with  flowers,  is  still  more  embellished 
by  the  prospects  on  each  side,  and  by  the  number  of  t: 
the  tufted  and  green  foliage  of  which  gives  new  pleasure.  A 
broad  and  well-kept  road  runs  along  the  whole  extent  of  this 
promenade,  and  forms  another  walk  of  a  different  sort,  but 
not  less  agreeable.  This  road  is  edged  on  each  side 
thick  masse*  of  pomegranate  trees,  from  amidst  which  arise, 
without  order,  and  without  symmetry,  cypresses,  palm-trees, 
lars,  and  other  trees,  'liiis  irregularity  resembling  nature 
ar!y,  produces  a  rural  and  deli  ht.  The  trees 
have  still  their  leav<  -  m  the  month  of  November,  at  which 
Km  tin.  company  walk  as  late  as  five  o'clock  in  the 
evening. 

turn.     Education  n  y  consigned  to 

the  Jesuits  ;  at  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  tin    society,  it 


520  VALENCIA. 

transferred  to  the  university  of  this  town;  three  profea 
there  teach  the  elements  of  the  Latin  grammar  and  rhetoric; 

three  other  professors  give  lessons  in  the  Greek  and  Hebrew 
languages.  The  fathers  of  the  congregation  of  christian 
schools  also  keep  public  schools  for  Latin  grammar,  huma- 
nity, and  rhetoric.    Two  private  colleges,  independent  of  the 

university,  receive  young  people  as  pensioners,  who  are  like- 
wise instructed:  the  one  is  kept  by  secular  priests,  the  oth<  1 
by  priests  of  the  congregation.  The  academy  of  St.  Charles 
gives- lessons  in  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture  :  there 
are  free  schools  for  drawing  ;  and  a  free  school  for  girls,  under 
the  title  of  Ca^a  de  la  ensenanza. 

Sciences.  The  establishment  of  the  university  of  Valencia 
is  due  to  S.  Vincent  Ferrier,  in  1411.  Ferdinand  V.  con- 
firmed it  in  14-49;  it  received  a  new  form  by  the  changes 
which  Charles  III.  made  in  it  in  1  /Sc>  :  its  revenues  being 
small,  that  monarch  extended  them  to  8000  pezos,  or  1250  /. 
sterling,  and  has  again  augmented  them  to  12,000  pezos,  op 
18751.  sterling,  taken  from  the  revenue  of  the  archbishopric 
of  Valencia.  This  university  is  unquestionably  the  first  in, 
Spain*.  Here  are  sixty  professors  who  teach  theology,  phi- 
losophy, canon  and  civil  law,  the  practice  and  theory  of  me- 
dicine, chemistry,  botany,  anatomy,  astronomy,  mechanics, 
and  mathematics.  They  give  lectures  from  the  month  of 
October  till  the  end  of  May.  The  library  is  not  consider- 
able; but  it  contains,  besides  the  collections  of  Peres  Bayer, 
the  best  authors  in  medicine  :  it  is  open  daily  for  four 
hours. 

Arts.  The  arts  have  been  long  cultivated  at  Valencia, 
particularly  painting.  This  town  has  produced  good  artists. 
The  taste  of  the  Valencians  for  this  branch  of  the  fine  arts 

*  This  university  lias  produced  several  celebrated  personages: 
amongst  the  ancients  are  Vivez,  Qelida,  Peres,  Perea,  Trillas,  Ma- 
fnm,  and  many  others  $  among  the  moderns  Juan  Mayans,  and 
?f  uaez. 


VALENCIA.  221 

.  rise  to  the  establishment  of  an  academy.  Some  painters 
uniting-  in  1752,  under  the  protection  of  the  municipal  body, 
laid  the  foundation  of  it,  and  they  found  assistance  in  the  ge- 
nerosity of  Andres  Mayoral,  then  archbishop  of  Valencia. 
In  1705  Charles  III.  granted  it.  a  revenue  of  30,000  reals,  or 
312/.  10v.  sterling;  in  1/6'S,  made  it  a  royal  academy  with 
the  title  of  St.  Charles,  and  doubled  its  revenues:  it  has 
professors,  who  form  scholars  in  painting,  sculpture,  and 
architecture  ;  and  there  are  prizes  annually  distributed 
to  those  who  distinguish  themselves  most.  There  is  also  a 
drawing  school  much  frequented,  where  prizes  are  also  dis- 
tributed for  encouragement. 

:ieia  had  paper  manufactories  under  the  Moors  in  the; 
twelfth  century;  it  was  the  first  town  in  Spain  where  printing 
introduced;  they  have  a  Sallust,  and  a  Latin  vocabulary 
under  the  title  of  Comprehensorium,  printed  in  1475;  there 
are  still  excellent  presses,  amongst  which  we  ought  to  mention 
that  of  Benoit  Montfort. 

There  are  two  libraries  at  Valencia,  that 
ty  and  that  of  the  archiépiscopal  palace.     The 
-  founded  towards  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth,  cen- 
tury by  the  archbi  bop  M  tyoral,  who  gave  the  greatest  part 
oft  tit.    His  portrait  is  in  the  library.    This  library 

gallery;  it  is  in  two  row;,  each  has  six 
Above  the  cases  there  are  at  intervals  por- 
trious  in  var'n       si      ces  and  literature, 
which  contain  works  relative  to 
the  for  which  they  were  respectively  distinguished* 

re  are  fifty-two  ;>  irtraits,  amongst  which  are  those  of  n  - 
:   learned  men  burn  at  Valencia.    There  are  upwards  of 
fifty  thousand   volumes  in  the  library:  theology  is  the  sub- 
ject of  one  half.     It  contains  all  thé  Spanish  works  which 

.  the  bi  il  fon  i^n  works  on 
.  rapbv  and  b  Jto  y.    Thi  i  i  of  Natural  Hit 

.'•  ■:  mi  'I  ill  of  little  value.     :     . 


££2  VALENCIA. 

library  is  open  six  hours  a  day.  The  building  is  handsomer 
than  that  of  the  royal  library  at  Madrid.  An  ecclesiastic  is 
the  librarian. 

At  Valencia  there  are  likewise  libraries  sufficiently  numer- 
ous at  the  monasteries,  and  in  the  houses  of  individuals.  The 
former  are  almost  wholely  formed  of  ancient  books,  of  which 
scholastic  theology,  peripatetic  philosophy,  and  the  national 
historians  compose  the  greatest  part.  Amongst  the  latter 
should  be  placed  a  tolerable  fine  collection  of  good  books 
which  the  count  de  Carlet  made  in  his  travels  through  i 
land,  France  and  Italy  :  he  added  some  machines  of  experi- 
mental philosophy,  a  rich  collection  of  the  best  engravings  of 
every  kind,  and  several  excellent  copies  of  ancient  and  good 
pictures,  which  he  had  made  during  his  residence  at  Paris, 
Rome,  and  London.  The  Marquis  de  la  Romana  has  a  large 
collection  of  the  best  modern  books  and  some  very  valuable 
ancient  works. 

The  library  of  Don  Juan,  Baptiste  llermon  y  Aranda,  a 
canon  of  the  cathedral  of  Valencia,  is  very  numerous  and  well 
chosen. 

Learned  Men.  Litterati,Artists.  Valencia  has  produced  many 
persons  who  were  distinguished  for  their  piety  and  knowledge 
in  the  sciences.  The  most  remarkable  are  St.  Vincent  Ferrier, 
S.  Luis  Bertrand,  S.  Francis  Borgia,  the  bishop  of  Segorba,  J. 
B.  Percy,  known  by  his  works  on  ecclesiastical  history  ;  the 
theologians  Balfhazer  Sorio  and  Benito  Oliver  the  Jesuit 
Benito  Pereyra,  the  lawyers  Pedro  Bèlluga,  called  in  the 
fifteenth  century  the  Bartolo  of  the  Valencians  ;  Francisco 
Jerome  de  Leon,  Christobal  Crespi  de  Voldaura,  Francisco 
Roxas,  Grtgorio  Mayans,  and  Laurcnto  Mathen  ;  the  mathe- 
maticians, Jerome  Cortez,  and  Bartolomé  Antic,  Thomas 
Vincent  Josca,  Jerome  Munos,  an  astronomer  of  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century;  Gaspard  Torella,  who  wrote  in  1570, 
on  prodigii  -,  food,  and  drink  ;  C;a.-.pard  Tri-ton,  of  whom  we 
bave  a  book  de  Clerico  Medico,  published  in  lCOL  Andres 
Ô 


VALENCIA.  l2(2$ 

Piquer,  professer  of  medicine,  and  physician  to  the  king  of 
Spain. 

There  are  several  other  distinguished  Ktterati  who  were 
born  in  this  town  :  the  grammarians  Pedro  Juan  Nunez  and 
Luis  Vivefe,  Frederic  Furius  Seriolanus,  who  is  extolled  by 
de  Thou  ;  Andres  Strany,  known  l>y  his  commentaries  on 
Pliny,  Seneca,  and  Valerius  Maximus,  Gaspard  Geran,  a  rhe- 
torician  ;  Francisco  Decius,  an  orator  of  the  sixteenth  century; 
Jerome  de  Castro,  known  in  the  seventeenth  by  some  good 
plays;  Juan  Mortorell,  whose  romance  or  Tyran  le  Blanc,  has 
been  translated  into  several  languages;  several  poets,  of  whom 
we  shall  speak  at  the  end  of  this  province,  and  some  paint- 
ers, amongst  others  Pedra  Oriente,  Francisco  Riballa,  and 
Juan  Joannez. 

Manufacturée.  The  quantity  of  manufactures  is  a  proof 
of  the  industrious  character  of  the  Valencians:  they  are 
numerous  and  of  di fièrent  kinds,  occupying  a  multitude  of 
persons.  They  manufacture  reins  for  horses  with  the  fibres 
of  spart  and  of  aloes  ;  rigging  for  ships,  leather,  stuffs,  pa- 
loons,  laces,  and  gold  and  silver  fringes.  In  1790,  a  French- 
man established  a  manufactory  of  pot-ash  ;  another  of  nee- 
dles, nails,  and  yellttw  brass  v.  ire  was  established  n<  arly  at  the 
same  time,  by  Francis  Ros.  The  manufactories  of  silk  are 
the  most  considerable  :  they  employ  nearly  25,000  persons; 
they  make  tafFeties,  serges,  silks,  >atins,  plain  damasks  striped, 
printed,  of  one  colour  and  of  mixed  colours,  full  velvets,  flow- 

'  velvets,  plain  and  of  various  colours.  Thé  plain  stufl 
those  in  which  they  succeed  best.  T  e  re  are  also  fi.i 
made  and  worked  with  large  dowers.  They  have  broug  t  to 
great  perfection  the  art  of  making  mohair,  in  which  the  y  imi- 
tate the  works  and  try  them  according 
to  the  fashion.  A  great  many  silk  stockings  are  also/madeJ 
galoons  and  silk  riband-,  b  gr<  at  many  handkerchiefs,  sashes, 
and  other  things.  Tl  ecies  of  industry  ha» 
i                              d,  thai  h  1700  th<  re  were  423  looms 


î£4  VALENCIA. 

more  than  in  I7.6&  There  arc  3618  silk  looms,  which  work 
about  SOO,000  pounds  of  silk  annually  ;  the  handkerchiefs-, 
sashes  and  other  little  articles  of  lace  consume  100,000  pounds. 
These  looms  are  not  united  in  a  general  establishment  ;  the 
weavers  work  on  their  own  account,  or  for  the  merchants. 
These  manufactories  might  have  a  greater  <  d  be  more 

flourishing  if  the  process  of  winding  and  twisting  of  the  silk 
were  1 1 1 1<  r  understood.  A  manufacturer,  Joseph  de  la  Payesa, 
formed,  at  a  league  from  Valencia,  an  e.-t  it  to  twist 

silk  :  the  success  which  it  obtained  ought  to  induce  him  to 
redouble  his  efforts  to  carry  this  establishment  to  that  point 
of  perfection  which  it  might  attain.  It  is  at  Valencia  that 
the  tiles  of  earthern  Mare  are  made,  with  which  they  incrust 
walls  and  pave  apartments,  of  which  we  have  already- 
spoken  :  those  tiles  are  of  a  clayey  earth,  which  is  found  in 
the  territories  of  Quarte  near  Valencia  ;  they  harden  the 
earth  long  after  soaking  it  in  water  ;  the  tiles  are  formed  in 
moulds,  and  are  dried  in  the  sun  ;  they  are  then  beaten 
with  apiece  of  square  wood  of  the  dimensions  of  which  they 
are  wanted.  They  are  then  put  into  the  oven  where  they 
undergo  a  slight  baking.  As  soon  as  they  are  done  they  are 
glazed,  and  are  afterwards  painted  in  water  colours  with 
whatever  subject  is  intended  to  be  represented.  The  tiles  are 
then  replaced  in  the  oven  so  as  not  to  touch  o.ie  another,  and, 
that  the  action  of  the  fire  may  penetrate  them  all  equally  : 
as  the  colours  change  by  baking,  the  workmen  apply  them 
anew  in  proportion  to  the  changes  that  take  place  ;  the  rod 
alone  alters  entirely.  The  varnish  with  which  they  are  glazed 
is  made  with  lead,  tin,  and  white  sand.  These  three  sub- 
stances are  ground  in  a  mill  to  powder,  which  is  mixed  with 
water,  to  form  a  paste,  and  baked  in  the  oven  ;  it  is  again 
pounded  and  put  into  the  oven  where  it  crystalises:  being 
once  more  reduced  to  powder  and  diluted  with  water,  it  be- 
comes varnish.  There  are  two  kinds  of  it  ;  one  is  whiter 
i  the  oilier,  though  the  same  materials  are  used,  the  mode 


VALENCIA.  225 

Af  mixing  alone  makes  the  difference  ;  the  whiter  the  clearer 
the  tiles.  It  takes  a  certain  number  of  tiles  to  form  a  picture: 
they  are  of  different  dimensions  ;  the  smallest  are  three 
inches  nine  lines,  the  largest  seven  inches  nine  lines.  The 
price  varies  according  to  the  size  of  the  tile,  the  beauty  of 
the  varnish,  and  the  variety  of  the  drawings  :  the  lowest  price 
is  eight  pe/os,  (23s.)  a  thou.-<ai;d,  and  the  highest  lOOpezos  or 
of.  1 5  12*.  6d.  There  is  a  considerable  demand  for  them; 
they  are  superior  both  in  beauty  and  strength  to  those  used  in 
Holland. 

Commerce.  The  town  of  Valencia  has  long  carried  on  a 
considerable  trade,  which  formerly  extended  to  Barbary,  the 
Archipelago,  Syria  and  Egypt;  but  the  establishment  of  the 
[icy  of  Algiers,  and  the  Barbary  Corsairs  have  been  very 
injurious  to  it.  Its  commerce  is  at  present  confined  to  the 
provinces  of  Spain,  and  to  some  exports  to  several  powers  of 
Europe.  It  has,  however,  neither  harbour  nor  road  ;  it 
ships  its  merchandise  at  a  poor  place  on  the  coast  below  the 
village  of  Grao,  of  which  we  shall  presently  «peak.  This 
commerce  is  not  limited  to  the  town,  for  it  includes  that  of 
tiie  greater  part  of  the  province,  but  the  provincial  mer- 
chants have  their  houses  there.  There  are  some  societies  for 
the  security  of  commerce  m  the  town,  several  courts  for  the 
regulation  of  it,  and  consuls  and  vice-consuls  of  different 
nations. 

Climate.     The  temperature  of  Valencia  is  mild  and  agree- 
able, notwithstanding  the   east  and  west  winds  which  fre- 
:ntly  prevail  there.     The   winters  are  scarcely  ever  cold  ; 
»ringa  are  sometimes  rainy  ;  the  summers  are  very  hot; 
.it-  heat   is   moderated  by   the  moisture  of  the  adjacent 
.  and  by  easterly  breezes   which  cool  the  air  ;  the 
autumn  is  the  finest  season,  it  frequently  lasts  till  the  end  of 
December \  tin-  In  i  -  are  all  thai  lirai   as  green  as  in  spring- 
tnd  the  fields  as  smiling  as  elsewben    in  May:  the  wky  is 
continually   serene  ,  high   wines  are   uncommon,  and  rain 

Vol,  i. 


856  VALENCIA. 

Scarcely  tvtt  falls.  The  vicinity  of  the  sea,  and  the  quantity 
of  water  spread  over  the  country  round  Valencia  for  the  pur- 
pose of  irrigation,  render  the  atmosphere  damp  ;  but  it  is  not 
a  searching  dampness  ;  it  is  favourable  to  delicate  people, 
especially  such  as  are  subject  to  nervous  complaints,  but  the 
contrary  to  hypochondriacs,  and  those  who  have  pulmonary 
consumptions.  It  is  surprising  that  the  English,  who  so  fre- 
quently go  for  the  recovery  of  their  health  to  distant  climates, 
have  never  tried  that  of  Valencia. 

Provisions.  The  fruits,  vegetables,  and  grains  have  not  the 
same  relish  as  in  Aragon  :  this  is  perhaps  owing  to  the  num- 
ber of  canals  for  irrigation,  which,  while  they  fertilize  the 
land,  may  impart  too  great  a  share  of  aqueous  particles  to  its 
productions,  and  attenuate  their  nutritive  principles.  These 
aliments,  however,  are  very  good,  and  of  easy  digestion  :  it 
is  probable  that  the  pure  and  elastic  air  one  breathes  here, 
and  particularly  the  excellent  Alicant  wine  one  drinks,  con- 
tribute to  give  a  spring  and  a  tone  to  the  stomach,  for  one 
eats  with  great  appetite  at  Valencia.  Rice  is  the  food  most 
used  ;  the'rich  have  it  at  their  tables  every  day  ;  it  is  the  prin- 
cipal article  of  the  artizan's  diet,  and  the  poor  live  upon  it  ; 
consequently  a  great  deal  of  it  must  be  consumed.  The  in- 
habitants are  fond  of  cool  beverages,  and  ice  their  liquors  even 
in  winter.  They  eat  a  quantity  of  sweetmeats,  biscuits,  and 
preserves  of  every  kind.  They  have  bad  water  ;  there  is  but 
one  fountain  in  the  town  which  is  often  dry,  and  they  are 
obliged  to  drink  well-water.  Vegetables  are  very  cheap  ; 
fish  is  cheaper  than  any  thing  else,  and  is  plentiful  and  good. 
The  other  eatables  are  in  general  dear,  especially  poultry. 
The  dearness  is  owing  to  an  excise  which  the  town  has  im- 
posed, for  out  of  Valencia  the  prices  fall  almost  one-half. 

Tfceprki  of  provisions  at  Valencia  m  1199*  I>ref  ]s  2J. 
a  pound,  of  3b  Valencian  ounces,  which  is  equal  to  2  pounds 
10ouncesavoiidupoi.se;  mutton  16;/.  ;  veal  I6d.;  pork  1&&,  ; 
rice,  though  a  production  of  the  country,   Id.  a  pound,  of  12 


VALENCIA.  £27 

VatenCiari  ounces,  or  14-  ounces  avoirdupoise  ;  middling  wine 
at  least  2},d.  a  pint.  Bread  was  not  dear  in  proportion  to  the 
price  of  other  provisions;  it  sold  for  4-  quart?,  about  \\d.  a 
pound  of  12  Valencian  ounces. 

Inns.  There  are  at  Valencia  a  good  many  Mcsoncs  or 
houses  dc  potada,  where  only  lodgings  are  provided,  but 
where  they  will  cook  any  thing  that  travellers  bring  with 
them  or  send  out  to  purchase.  There  are  three  great  inns  :  The 
Three  Kings,  The  Four  Nations,  and  The  Golden  Lion, kept 
by  Frenchmen.  The  last  is  the  best  :  the  house  is  comfortable, 
and  the  meals  are  served  in  a  cleanly  manner.  The  price  at 
these  three  Inns  is  four  pincettes  or  3s.  id.  a  day,  for  lodging,  a 
breakfast  of  chocolate,  dinner,  and  supper  ;  and  two  piécettes 
each  meal  to  those  who  do  not  lodge  there. 

Character,  Manners, Habits, and  Customs.  Valencia,  take 
it  altogether,  is  an  agreeable  town,  inhabited  by  an  opulent 
nobility,  a  great  number  of  rich  merchants,  an  active  and 
industrious  people,  and  a  wealthy  clergy  ;  it  has  playhouses, 
and  other  places  of  resort;  a  taste  for  pleasure  is  manifested 
every  where;  the  streets  are  clean,  the  houses  agreeable,  and 
•.  meet  with  smiling  faces  ;  all  is  gaiety,  pleasures  arc  multi- 
plied and  feast  succeeds  feast  :  we  scarcely  believe  that  we  are 
in  Spain  on  finding  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  an  airy,  lively 
people,  passionately  fond  of  singing  and  dancing,  of  all  that 
can  amuse  them,  and  who  outwardly  appear  warm  and 
cordial. 

The  Valcncians  are  described  as  light,  inconstant,  and  only 
sociable  for  the  sake  of  pleasure,  not  associating  through  af- 
i'  ctioh.  Tins  is  the  picture  drawn  of  them  throughout  Spain, 
the  picture  given  by  their  own  authon  :  "The  agreeable  town 
"  of  Valencia,"  says  Gracian,  ''noble,  handsome  and  gay, 
•  letc  with  all  that  is  unsubstantial  V     Munllo  has  paint- 

*  A'rmhbit  mucho  /aci!tg'f,/orid*  y  mil.  Undid  de  VultntiA\  Uena  de  tod»  It 
■     I 

Q  8 


£2S  VALENCIA. 

ed  the  Valenciansas  "light  both in  mind  andbody*."  It  is 
even  become  a  proverb  among  the  Spaniards,  who  gay  in 
speaking  of  Valencia  : 

L.i  came  es  yerva,  In  yerva  agua, 

Los  hombres  mugeres,  Ins  mugeres  aada  : 

that  is,  the  meat  is  grass,  the  grass  water,  the  men  are  wo- 
men, thé  women  nothing.  But  they  have  been  judged  too 
harshly  ;  the  contrast  of  their  manners  with  that  of  the  rest  of 
Spain,  of  their  lively  disposition,  ever  ready  for  pleasure,  with 
Spanish  gravity  and  reserve,  have  been  the  grounds  of  this 
opinion. 

It  is  very  true  that  the  Valencians  have  a  great  degree  of 
levity,  a  fickleness  of  disposition,  and  a  gaiety  in  their  man- 
ners ;  that  they  are  swayed  by  the  love  of  pleasure  ;  that 
they  are  fond  of  singing  dancing,  banqueting,  and  all  kinds 
of  feasting  ;  that  these  are  perpetually  running  in  their  head, 
at  work  or  at  prayers,  abroad  or  at  home,  in  the  streets  or  in 
company;  the  very  festivals  of  the  church  become  with  them 
objects  of  recreation  ;  but,  notwithstanding  all  this,  they  can 
be  serious  when  circumstances  require  it  ;  they  are  not  the 
less  active  in  commerce,  the  less  industrious  in  the  arts,  the 
less  assiduous  in  agriculture,  or  the  less  profound  in  the  sci- 
ences ;  Valencia  can  adduce  scholars,  literary  men,  artists, 
and  able  merchants  enough  to  overturn  the  imputation  of  fri- 
volity, which  the  imposition  of  appearances  only  could  have 
driven  rise  to. 

The  women  are  still  less  deserving  of  reproach,  they  are 
mild  and  amiable,  and  sometimes  show  more  courage  and 
energy  than  the  men. 

On  juster  grounds  are  the  nobility  of  Valencia  charged 
with  an  excessive  pride,  which  the  prejudices  of  an  erroneous 
education  keep  up.     They  are,  by  themselves,  divided  into 

*  L'geroS)   no  mipos  Jr-  ar.if.w,  qui  de  cuerpt. 


VALENCIA.  £'29 

three  classe?*,  blue  blood,  red  blood,  and  yellow  blood. 
Blue  blood  is  confined  to  families  who  have  been  made  gran- 
dees, and  to  some  other  houses  thought  intitled  to  it.  Red 
blood  comprehends  families  of  great  antiquity,  and  the  old 
titles  of  Castile  and  Aragon.  Yellow  blood  comnrehends  the 
modern  titles  of  Castile,  and  families  the  date  of  whose  nobi- 
lity extends  no  farther  back  than  two  centuries.  This  division 
generates  envy  in  the  second  class  against  the  first,  and  in 
the  third  against  the  two  others,  so  that  no  attachment  takes 
place  except  among  the  nobles  of  the  same  class. 

The  tradesman  of  Valencia  loves  pleasure  and  good  living; 
so  would  the  lowest  class  of  people  if  they  had  the  means  of 
gratification.  These  appear  gentle,  hut  are  charged  with 
concealing  their  hatred  :  they  were  formerly  accused  of 
making  frequent  use  of  the  dagger,  and  it  has  been  even  said 
that  there  were  a  great  number  of  professed  assassins  for  hire 
in  Valencia  f.  One  shudders  in  passing  through  the  streets, 
particularly  those  near  the  Mercado  square,  at  the  sight  of 
crosses  on  the  walls  with  inscriptions  containing  the  names  of 
persons  assassinated  near  the  spot.  We  must,  however,  do 
justice  to  the  modern  Valencians  :  they  are  more  civilized  ; 
there  are  no  assassins  for  hire  among  them  ;  the  dagger  is  no 
longer  used;  and  murders  are  much  lees  frequent,  though  they 
are  still  heard  of  now  and  then. 

The  Valtncian  women  are  naturally  gentle, but  the  ascend- 
ancy they  have  acquired  over  the  men  renders  them  at  times 
imperious  ;  they  know  their  superiority,  and  some  of  them 
abuse  it.  The  more  active  and  industrious  the  men  of  the 
middle  clussrs  are,  the  more  lazy  are  the  women  of  every  class, 

*  Tb is  division,  however,  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Valencian  nobiJitj  ;  il 

■  jjii  to  almost  all  the  Spanish  nobility. 
f  S<  <-,  in  tU-  y.i.-.unt  oj  .1  Journey    m  Sj>.iint  by  .Madam  d'Aulnoy,  1ft 
:'  m.,,   vol.:;,  pa^eT*,  a  Inter  !>y  Ma- 

dame 1»  Aolooy  on  the  Bandoleros  ui  Valencia. 

y  3 


230  VALENCIA. 

the  more  do  they  fly  from  every  kind  of  occupation.  The 
women  of  the  lowest  class  work  against  their  inclination  to 
gain  their  living;  but  the  moment  they  can  do  without  work- 
ing, they  give  themselves  up  to  sloth,  till  necessity  compels 
them  to  work  again  :  those  of  a  higher  class  never  think  of 
work  at  all,  not  even  of  such  as  belong  to  the  sex,  or  of  read- 
ing: this  indolence  is  the  fault  of  their  parents,  who  accustom 
them  to  idleness  from  their  infancy. 

However,  in  consequence  of  the  mutability  of  disposition 
peculiar  to  the  country  they  live  in,  the  Valencian  women  arc 
always  in  motion  ;  they  walk  about  the  streets,  go  from  shop 
to  shop  without  buying,  and  frequently  into  the  churches  : 
the  festivals,  and  the  variety  of  appointed  times  and  occasions 
for  prayer  afford  them  excuses  for  their  trips.  They  have  a 
singular  predilection  for  St.  Catherine  square,  which  is  a 
place  for  the  men  to  meet  in  ;  they  never  go  abroad  without 
passing  through  it,  if  it  be  ever  so  much  out  of  their  way.  If 
man  were  to  remain  a  whole  day  in  the  square,  he  would  see 
three-fourths  of  the  women  of  Valencia  go  through  it  twice  or 
thrice. 

The  Valencians  are  among  the  most  superstitious  people  in 
Spain  :  they  mix  religious  works  with  profane  customs,  and 
think  by  exterior  observances,  which  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  worship  due  to  the  Divinity,  to  obtain  pardon  for  their 
sins.  They  have  particularly  great  confidence  in  the  saints, 
to  whom  they  attribute  the  power  of  protecting  from  acci- 
dents and  diseases.  St.  Roch  protects  against  the  plague, 
St.  Anthony  against  fire,  St.  Barbara  against  lightning  ;  St.  Ca- 
salida  cures  the  loss  of  blood,  St.  Apollonia  the  tooth-ach,  St. 
Augusta  the  dropsy;  St.  Raymond  has  the  care  of  pregnant 
women,  St.  Lazarus  of  lying-in  women,  and  St.  Nicholas  of 
marriageable  girls.  Every  waggoner  carries  about  him  the 
image  of  asaintto  whom  he  expresses  his  gratitude  if  his  jour- 
ney be  fortunate;  but  should  any  mishap  overtake  him  on  the 
road,  woe  be  to  his  protector  !  he   tramples  him  under  foot, 

5 


VALENCIA.  231 

loads  him  with  ahusc,  and  sends  him  al  Dpnonio  suntu  Bar- 
bara !  a  los  Diabolos  S.  Francisco!  al  inferno  nostra  senora 
del  Carmen  !  There  are  several  other  superstitions,  but  we 
shall  only  notice  that  called  the  mal  de  ojos,  fascination  :  the 
Valencian  women  secure  themselves  from  it  by  little  ivory 
hands,  moles'  feet,  or  scarlet  tufts,  and  likewise  tie  them  about 
their  children's  necks. 

Though  the  Valcncians,  in  general,  are  rich,  they  do  not 
know  how  to  make  life  agreeable  :  each  class  of  nobility,  as 
we  have  said,  live  among  themselves  ;  they  have  a  great  many 
useless  servants.  They  are  pillaged  by  attorneys  and  advo- 
cates, whom  they  cannot  do  without  ;  drained  of  their  money 
by  priests,  convents,  churches,  and  saints  daj7s,  and  ruined  in 
their  income  by  the  excessive  luxury  of  the  women  ;  so  that  at 
the  end  of  the  year  happy  is  he  who  is  not  in  debt.  Sometimes 
they  give  entertainments  in  which  gallantry  and  magnificence 
unite  ;  these,  however,  rarely  take  place  but  on  two  occa- 
sions ;  where  a  nobleman  marries,  or  when  it  comes  to  his 
turn  to  take  the  lieutenancy  of  the  maeslranza:  in  the  latter 
case,  tournaments,  balls,  and  refreshments  thrice  a  year  create 
a  great  expense,  but  nothing  equal  to  that  incurred  by  the 
old  French  lords  in  the  feasts  they  gave. 

The  merchants  are  not  surrounded  by  those  apoderados, 
those  lawyers  and  agents  who  prey  upon  the  nobility:  they 
transact  their  own  business,  and  of  course  know  better  how 
to  turn  their  wealth  to  account. 

The  tradesmen  would  all  be  in  easy  circumstances  if  they 
knew  how  to  make  a  better  use  of  their  business;  but  their 
gains  are  squandered  in  expenses  for  the  table  and  in  gam- 
ing; in  gills  to  monks,  convents,  chapels;  in  payments  to 
pion-  s,  in  illumination  of  altars,  and  in  alms  to  sturdy 

by  which  a  great  many  persona  who  would  rather 
live  by  begging  than  by  honest  labour  are  supported  in  idle» 
and  vice,  and  consequently  it  is  impossible  to  go  into  tlift 

Q  4 


£33  VALENCIA. 

streets,  particularly  in  the  night,  without  being  assailed  by  a 
crowd  of  those  wretches. 

Valencia,  in  spite  of  its  opulence,  of  the  taste  of  its  inhabi- 
tants for  pleasure,  and  of  their  natural  affability,  is  far  front 
being  an  amusing  town.  It  is  difficult  to  gain  admission  into 
private  houses;  and  without  great  intimacy,  no  one  sees  the 
ladies  but  from  twelve  at  noon  to  one  o'clock.  There  are  no 
coffee  houses  ;  some  out  of  the  way  places,  called  botelleriàs, 
6upply  their  place,  but  are  not  used  for  sociable  meetings. 
The  Valencians  seldom  give  dinners.  The  nobility  meet  ge- 
nerally in  large  and  boisterous  parties,  in  which  they  do  not 
converse  but  play,  an  amusement  of  which  the  women  are 
passionately  fond.  In  these  assemblies  strangers  are  ad- 
mitted without  much  difficulty  :  the  party  meet  because  it  is 
necessary,  and  separate  with  indifference,  going  away  with 
minds  as  vacant  as  they  came.  The  second  rale  societies  are 
much  less  numerous,  but  are  perhaps  more  amusing:  they 
often  make  parties  to  go  and  dine  at  Grao,  or  other  adjacent 
places,  and  spend  the  time  agreeably  enough. 

There  was  formerly  a  playhouse  at  Valencia  said  to  have 
been  very  handsome.  An  archbishop  of  the  town  through  a 
mistaken  zeal,  caused  it  to  be  demolished.  After  the  death 
of  that  prelate,  a  temporary  one  was  erected,  decorated  simply 
but  with  taste.  There  are  plays  in  it  every  night,  and  the 
prices  of  admission  are  moderate. 

The  women  of  every  class  carry  the  luxury  of  dress  to  the 
highest  pilch  :  those  of  the  first  and  second  never  wear  Spa- 
nish clothes  but  when  they  go  out  on  foot  or  to  church  ;  at 
home,  in  visiting,  in  parties,  at  balls  or  plays,  in  carriages  or 
on  the  promenade,  they  dress  in  the  French  fashion.'  Their 
Stuffs  are  handsome  and  choice  ;  they  are  elegantly  made  up, 
and  arranged  with  taste  :  they  come  from  France.  In  their 
head-dresses  they  wear  flowers  and  feathers,  and  they  are 
yery  attentive  to  their  shoes  and  stockings.     With  all  this 


VALENCIA,  233 

(richness  of  dress,  their  ear-rings  and  other  trinkets  are  of  false 
stones:  there  are  very  few  who  wear  diamonds. 

The  women  are  not  more  elegant  than  the  men  arc  simple 
a,nd  modest  in  their  dress.  The  nobility  find  the  uniform  of 
the  maestranza  very  economical,  as  it  exempts  them  from  fol- 
lowing the  fashions. 

The  same  luxury  appears  in  the  carriages.  There  is  a 
great  number  of  coaches  and  many  of  them  very  elegant. 
The  physicians  have  a  peculiar  kind  of  carriage  of  a  ridicu- 
lous appearance. 

Luxury,  however,  does  not  extend  to  the  interior  of  the 
houses:  the  furniture  is  simple;  tapestry  and  carpets  are 
very  rare.  'We  sec  none  of  those  glasses  or  clocks,  none  of 
those  diversified  pieces  of  furniture  which  embellish  our  apart- 
ments; no  elegant  cliimnies,  girandoles,  chandeliers,  bronzes, 
and  china  ornaments;  the  walls  are  bare,  or  at  most  lightly 
painted  with  some  festoons;  the  floors  are  matted;  the 
chairs  are  straw-bottomed  ;  and  their  large  lustres,  which 
constitute  the  principal  ornaments  of  their  rooms,  are  of  white 
glass. 

The  women  are  tolerably  handsome  ;  their  pesons,  which 
are  above  the  middle  size,  are  slim  and  light  :  they  have 
large  fine  eyes,  and  a  whiter  skin  than  is  commonly  met  with 
in  Spain. 

We  have  already  said  something  of  the  scrtxus  in  spcakit<~ 
of  the  guard  of  Valencia,  we  shall  here  add  some  particulars 
relative  to  their  institution.  Valencia  is  the  first  town  in 
.-viiii  in  which  they  were  established,  and  that  was  in  1777- 
,An  alcalde,  named  Joachim  Van,  finding  the  firei  ork-makera 
reduced  to  want  by  the  prohibition  of  fireworks,  conceived 
the  idea  of  giving  them  an  employment  useful  to  the  public 
without  being  a  harden  to  the  town  or  the  kinu  .  he  stationed 
a  certain  number  of  them  in  every  quarter.  These  men  have 
each  a  lantern  and  a  halberd,  they  walk  through  thestreets 
.     j  ned   (hem;   call  the  hour  and  btate  of  the  weather,  give 


234?  VALENCIA. 

notice  to  housekeepers  of  doors  left  open,  guard  against  fire, 
give  a  light  to  those  who  ask  it,  accompany  and  light  those 
who  want  their  assistance,  and  in  urgent  cases  go  for  doctors, 
surgeons,  midwives,  notaries,  and  confesiors:  tiny  have  no 
salary,  but  depend  upon  the  voluntary  bounty  of  the  inhabi- 
tants lor  a  weekly  recompence.  There  have  been  much  fewer 
thefts  and  murders  by  night  since  their  establishment  They 
are  called  serenos,  because  the  sky  being  generally  serene, 
sereno  is  their  usual  call. 

A  singular  custom,  founded  on  a  mistaken  charity,  is  ob- 
served at  the  hospital.  Oq  Good  Friday  night  every  year  a 
splendid  supper  is  provided  for  the  patients  at  the  expense  of 
the  archbishop.  Persons  of  every  rank  and  condition  go  in 
crowds  to  the  hospital,  where  they  squeeze  and  push  to  get  at 
the  dishes,  and  to  help  the  sick  with  then»  :  as  they  think  that 
they  are  doing  a  good  work,  to  render  it  still  more  meritorious, 
they  force  the  poor  patients  to  gorge  themselves  with  victuals. 
There  is  a  general  contention  as  to  who  shall  give  them  motf, 
who  shall  compel  them  to  eat  on  in  the  name  of  God,  and  for 
God,  in  the  name  of  the  Virgin  and  all  the  saints,  and  lor  the 
Virgin  and  all  the  saints.  How  can  so  pernicious  a  custom  be 
kept  up  in  an  enlightened  age,  and  in  a  civilised  town  ?  .Several 
men  of  sense  have  protested  against  this  abuse,  but  their  ar- 
guments have  had  no  effect. 

There  are  peculiarities  in  the  Valencian  festivals,  both  reli- 
gious and  profane,  which  may  gratify  curiosity,  and  we  shall 
therefore  give  the  particulars  of  some  of  them. 

The  maestranza  is  a  body  of  the  nobility  leagued  in  a  corps 
of  chivalry  :  to  be  admitted  into  it,  it  is  necessary  to  prove  a 
descent  of  four  degrees.  There  are  similar  corps  at  Seville, 
Granada,  and  Ronda.  Each  has  its  own  officers  and  particu- 
lar uniform.  They  have  no  appointed  duties  to  perform,  no 
service  to  attend  to  ;  yet  on  urgent  occasions  their  assembling 
might  furnish  the  sovereign  with' a  corps  of  well-mounted  ca  • 


VALENCIA.  235 

valry.     In  being  acquainted  with  that  of  Valencia,  we  shall 
Le  pretty  nearly  a  quainted  with  the  others. 

The  maestranza  is  commanded  by  a  lieutenant,  with  the 
name  of  hcrmano  mayor,  who  is  usually  a  prince  of  the  royal 
family,  and  elected  every  year.  It  has  several  officers,  a  fis- 
cal, two  assistants,  to  whom  the  functions  of  the  ancient  judges 
of  the  field  are  assigned,  a  secretary,  treasurer,  and  two  almo- 
ners :  these  are  chosen  from  among  the  knights,  and  elected 
yearly.  It  keeps  in  pay  a  draught-man,  a  pricker,  two  assist- 
ant prickers,  a  horse-breaker,  a  surgeon,  an  armourer,  two 
farriers,  an  alguazil  mayor,  a  kettle-drummer,  two  trumpets, 
and  eight  musicians.  The  knights  exercise  themselves  in 
their  evolutions  at  a  riding-house  appropriated  to  that  pur- 
pose. The  maestranza  is  divided  into  four  squadrons,  each 
commanded  by  a  knight  called  therefore  quadrillera. 

The  uniform  of  the  corps  is  a  blue  coat  faced  with  red,  a 
red  silver-laced  waistcoat,  and  blue  breeches:  the  coat  is 
laced  in  double  rows  on  the  lappels,  single  on  the  seams,  and 
with  three  pieces  on  the  pockets  and  sleeves.  The  officers  and 
(he  subaltern  agents  wear  a  plain  lace,  the  musicians  narrow 
laces  in  lozenges. 

It  gives  three  feasts  every  year,  on  the  birth-days  of  the 
kin/,  queen,  and  the  prince,  who  is  at  their  head.  The  \\  hole 
expense  falls  upon  the  lieutenant,  who  invites,  the  nobility  of 
Valencia,  the  officers  of  the  army,  and  strangers  of  distinction 
who  happen  to  be  in  the  town.  These  feasts  are  given  in  a 
spacious  place,  where  temporary  galleries,  handsomely  deco- 
rated, are  erected  for  the  ladies.  The  incl<  Hire  U  a  long  rectan- 
gular urea,  fenced  in  with  a  railing  breast  high  ;  the  railing 
uck  round  with  paintings  and  armorial  trophies.  A 
great  dot  in  the  middle,  opposite  to  which,  at  the  top, 

the  portrait  of  the  prince  or  princess  whose  binh-day  is  cele- 
brated appean  in  a  gilt  frame  under  a  canopy  of  crimson  vcl- 
Ornamented  with  gold  hue  and  fringes.     A  large  wooden 
gallery  occupies  mit  of  the  sides  it  i*  ornamented  with  six 


235  VALENCIA. 

pilaster?,  and  covered  with  hangings  interspersed  with  mili- 
tary trophies,  and  curtains  of  yellow  tatifety.  The  collective 
view  of  the  enclosure  and  its  decorations  is  pleasing. 

A  military  march,  the  beating  of  drums,  thé  sound  of  trum- 
pets, and  other  instruments,  announce  the  arrival  ofthe  maes- 
tranza. The  corps,  however,  stop  two  hundred  paces  from 
the  ground.  The  fiscal,  and  the  assistants, or  rallier  judges  of 
the  field,  (their  title  in  ancient  chivalry,)  preceded  by  Beveral 
subaltern  officers,  appear  on  horseback  ;  the  gate  is  opened, 
they  ente»,  go  round  the  enclosure,  reconnoitre  it,  then  go 
out  and  return  to  inform  the  maestranza  that  everything  is 
ready  f'>r  their  reception. 

The  corps  advance  and  enter,  drums  heating,  trumpets 
sounding;  they  form  in  column,  march  up  the  middle  to  the 
top,  where  they  divide  anil  file  off  on  both  sides;  the  two  files 
proceed  to  the  bottom  where  they  meet,  and,  again  forming  in 
column,  advance  towards  the  portrait:  the  two  judges  of  the 
lists  take  their  station  at  an  angle  ofthe  enclosure. 

The  knights  now  begin  their  evolutions.  On  a  constant 
gallop  they  intermix,  separate,  form  into  a  close  body,  and 
break  into  small  divisions:  they  sometimes  go  round  the  en- 
closure, sometimes  cross  it,  and  form  themselves  into  squares 
and  circles.  These  various  movements  are  executed  with 
exactness.  They  afterwards  form  the  line,  run  at  the  ring, 
and  at  heads  which  they  beat  down  ;  they  arm  themselves 
■with  bucklers,  and  engage  in  shanf  fights  ;  they  attack  and 
repel,  dart  their  lances,  and  throw  balls  made  of  a  spongy 
earth.  This  imperfect  representation  of  the  ancient  tourna- 
ments recals  the  times  when  our  worthies,  equally  faithful  to 
the  laws  of  honour  and  of  beauty,  delighted  in  consecrating  to 
them  their  skill  and  valour. 

When  the  tournament  is  over,  the  company  repair  to  the 
house  of  the  lieutenant  ofthe  maestranza.  The  apartments 
are  handsomely  decorated,  and  lighted  up  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  wax  candles.    The  ladies,  dressed  in  the  French  fashion 


VALENCIA.  £37 

w\\h  taste  and  elegance,  assemble  in  (he  most  spacious  hall, 
and  the  men  in  the  adjacent  rooms.  When  the  company 
are  all  seated,  the  servants  come  in  with  cups  and  baskets, 
presenting  chocolate,  sweetmeat?,  ices,  and  biscuits.  After 
this  collation  the  ball  begins.  A  sideboard  is  set  out  in  one 
of  the  rooms  furnished  with  every  refreshment  that  can 
be  desired.  Great  order,  politeness,  and  good  manners  are 
kept  up  in  these  enlertaiments  :  the  gentlemen  of  the  maes- 
tranza  do  the  honours  in  an  agreeable  manner,  uniting  French 
civility  with  Spanish  gallantry. 

The  private  entertainments  of  the  Valencian  nobility  yield 
neither  in  pleasantness  nor  magnificence  to  those  of  the  maes- 
tranza.  A  stranger  present  at  these  assemblies  is  astonished 
to  find  in  a  provincial  town  ladies  dressed  with  as  much 
splendour,  elegance,  and  taste,  as  at  the  most  brilliant  courts 
of  Europe. 

Customs  in  respect  to  Marriages.  ^Marriages  at  Valencia 
are  attended  with  an  enormous  expense,  which  is  the  more 
preposterous,  as  few  of  the  young  women  have  any  fortune. 
On  these  occasions  Spanish  vanity  displays  an  extraordinary 
magnificence,  lor  some  da\s  previous  to  the  ceremony,  the; 
gowns,  linen,  and  ornaments  of  the  intended  bride,  the  jewels 
to  be  presented  to  her,  and  the  presents,  she  has  received,  are  all 
publicly  shown:  these  matters  are  so  carefully  arranged, 
indeed  in  so  studied  a  mamur,  that  a  stranger  might  nii-ta!,c 
the  room  where  the  lady's  parapharnalia  are  exhibited  for  ;i 
milliner's  or  a  jeweller's  shop.  To  different  companies,  as 
they  com.  in,  a  I.  mil.  relation  enumerates  the  articles  ex- 
poised  :  Bhe  U  lis  what  place-  the  stuffs  came  from  ;  she  care- 
fully points  out  what  belongs  to  the  bride,  what  the  owes  to  the 
t<  nderness  or  the  vanity  of  her  lover,  and  what  is  given  to  her 
by  her  parents,  whose  generosity  i-  always  the  gn  ater  for  their 
knowing  that  the  public  Will  not  be  unacquainted  with  it 
The  luxury  in  the  wedding  feasts  in  the  balls  that  follow,  and 


238  \  ALE  S  Cl  A. 

in  the  equipages  of  every  kind  w  ith  which  it.  is  necessary  to  b« 
provided,  is  still  more  considerable. 

An  opposite  practice  sometimes  prevails  among1  the  com- 
mon people,  which  bring-,  to  mind  the  golden  ago  when  our" 
tir.-t  parents  had  nothing  more  than  a  hillock  of  moss  or  turf 
for  a  bed.  After  the  marriage  ceremony  the  bride  return-;  to 
her  father's  house,  where  she  remains  all  the  day  with  her 
friends  and  companions.  At  midnight  the  bridegroom,  ac- 
companied with  his  relations,  goes  for  her  and  takes  her  to  the 
yard  belonging  to  the  house,  where  the  nuptial  hed  has  been 
prepared  in  an  arhour  of  flowers  :  in  the  morning  they  return 
to  the  father's  house,  when  breakfast  is  prepared  for  their 
guests,  who  soon  meet,  and  the  girls  present  the  bride  with  a 
cradle  made  of  spurt.  The  day  Concludes  with  various  di- 
ver>ions. 

Festivals  of  the  Saints  in  the  Streets.  Images  of  the  Virgin 
and  of  several  saints  are  very  numerous  in  the  streets  of  Va- 
lencia ;  on  their  days  the  statues  are  ornamented,  the  streets 
where  they  are  situated  are  decorated,  great  illuminations 
take  place,  music  is  employed,  and  the  inhabitants  in  the 
quarter  form  processions.  The  people,  and  even  persons  of 
superior  .dations,  assemble  in  crowds,  pressing  and  pushing ; 
the  greater  the  crowd  the  finer  the  show,  and  accidents  are 
frequently  the  consequence. 

Processions.  The  Valencians  are  very  fond  of  procession», 
and  perhaps  there  is  not  a  town  in  all  Christendom  where 
there  are  so  many.  Some  of  them  present  odd  things  :  1  will 
five  an  account  of  the  most  remarkable. 

No  procession,  of  however  little  importance,  takes  place 
without  being  preceded  by  eight  statues  of  giants  of  a  pro- 
digious height  ;  four  of  them  represent  the  four  quarters  of 
the  world,  and  the  other  four  their  husbands  ;  their  heads 
are  made  of  pasteboard,  of  an   enormous  size,  frizzed  and 

dressed  in  the  fashion  ;  their  bodies  of  wooden  frames,  dress- 

i 


VALENCIA.  £39 

ed  in  coats,  or  robes,  and  various  ornaments,  all  altered  ac- 
cording to  the  prevailing  fashions  :  men,  covered  with  dra- 
pery falling  to  the  ground,  carry  them  at  the  head  of  the 
procession,  making  them  dance,  jump,  turn  and  twist  about, 
and  make  bows.  The  people,  quite  enchanted,  pay  more 
attention  to  the  gesticulations  of  these  giants,  than  to  the 
religious  ceremony  which  follows  them. 

The  existence  of  the  giants  has  been  deemed  of  sufficient 
importance  to  require  attention  as  to  the  means  of  perpetu- 
ating them.  There  is  a  considerable  foundation  in  Valencia 
for  their  support  ;  they  have  a  house  belonging  to  them, 
where  they  are  deposited  ;  two  benefices  have  been  particu- 
larly founded  in  honour  of  them,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
ecclesiastics  who  possess  those  benefices  to  take  care  of  them 
and  of  their  ornaments  :  particular  revenues  are  assigned  for 
the  expences  of  their  toilets. 

Procession  of  Holy  Thursday.     There  are  two  processions 
at   the   same  time  in    the  afternoon  of  Holy  Thursday,  one 
following  the  other.     The  first  is  composed  only  of  the  nobi- 
lity ;  every  one  attends  it  in  his  common  clothes  :  it  is  simple 
and  decent.     The  other  is   ridiculous:  we  see   penitents  co- 
vered  with   red   sack-cloth,  their  heads  cased  in  conic,   or 
tr-loaf  COwls,  slouched  behind,  and  lengthened  before,  so 
a-  to  cover  the  face.     This  procession  opens  with  two  trum- 
pets, flu-  sound  of  which   art   monotonous  and   discordant; 
ihey  are  followed  by  twenty-three  little  flags,  on  which  the 
instruments  of  ouï  I.'  r  l'a  pa  -ion  are  painted.     The  proces- 
.   is  made  up  of  a  multitude  of  men  in  their  usual  dress, 
carrying  large  white  wax   tapers;  of  boys  walking  in  the 
middle  dressed  m  long  violet  robes,    drawn   in   about  the 
waist  with  a  cord,  with  wigs  on  their  heads  falling  over  their 
. ..v.  h-  of  thorn-  on  the  wigs,  and   crosses  on  their 
'■boulders.     Hen   and  there  appear  penitents  in  red,  flags  of 
colour,  little  stages  carried  by  penitent!,  on  which 

ent  represent  •  «  xlalviti  d  :  the  first  ;    the  J 


240  VALF.NCiA. 

Supper  of  Christ  with  the  Apostles;  it  is  monstrous  from  its 
excessive  length,  the  ridiculousness  of  the  figures  and  their 
grotesque  apparel  :  the  second  is  an  EcCe  Homo,  preceded  by 
two  men  in  cuirasses,  and  with  pikes  reversed  ;  the  thud  ha» 
only  three  bad  statues,  as  large  as  life;  ue  are  here  sur- 
prised to  find  the  Virgin  Mary  wearing  a  scapulary  on  the 
arms  of  the  order  of  the  Trinitarians,  in  a  representation  re- 
lative to  a  time  when  neither  scapularies  nor  Trinitarians 
were  known  :  after  this  stage  comes  a  crucifix  elevated,  fol- 
lowed by  the  Trinitarian  monks  :  ,a  fourth  Stage*  carrying 
the  Holy  Trinity,  terminates  the  procession;  the  lather 
eternal  here  appears  in  an  alb,  stole,  and  cope,  a^  a  prelate 
going  to  perform  divine  service.  The  various  représentations 
are  accompanied  with  no  ornaments,  the  figures-  in  them  are 
badly  done,  and  tht  ir  dresses  are  ridiculous  :  the  procession, 
taken  altogether,  far  from  edifying,  provokes  laughter,  or  at 
lea.-^t  excites  pity.* 

Procession  of  Good  Friday.  There  are  five  d. fièrent  pro- 
cessions set  out  ut  the  same  time,  and  follow  one  after  the 
other  in  the  afternoon  of  Good  Friday  :  they  are  much  the 
same  a-  those  of  the  day  before;  the  nobility  take  their  part 
in  them.  Ore  of  the  five,  and  the  most  numerous  comes 
from  the  village  of  Rusaffa;  it  is  con. posed  of  labourers, 
most  of  whom  are  covered  with  blue  mantles.  The  trumpets, 
the  red  and  violet  flags,  the  children  clad  in  red  carrying 
crosses,  the  stage.-  with  their  representations,  are  still  more 
numerous.  Children  ate  seen  as  Veronicas,  thai  i-,  as  i  mages 
of  our  Saviour,  and  likewise  dressed  as  nuns,  representing 
Magilulenes,  penitents  no  doubt,  in  long  gowns  made  of  spart  ; 

*  They  are  not  fortunate  at  Valencia  in  the  choice  of  costume  for 
the  saints.  In  a  street  leading  from  the  square  of  la  Yerva  to  the  Corn 
Magazine,  near  the  corner  of  the  street  of  the  Salvador,  there  is  a  pic- 
ture of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  in  which  the  saint,  who  is  dtvssed  in  the 
habit  of  a  Cordelier,  has  on  his  head  a  cocked  hat,  gold  laced,  with  a 
fine  white  feather  stuck  in  it. 


VALENCIA.  241 

a  Christ  disgustingly  naked,  lying  on  a  red  bed;  tambourins 
dressed  in  black,  and  flageolets  in  black  likewise,  accompany 
Christ  to  the  tomb  ;  idiots  or  crazy  people  from  the  hospital,  in 
large  yellow  and  blue  coats,  with  handkerchiefs  round  their 
necks  and  sticks  in  their  hands,  which  they  hold  with  a 
towel;  a  garden  of  olives  surrounded  with  an  ozier  treillis, 
and  other  things  equally  ridiculous. 

Procession  of  Corpus  Christi.  The  procession  of  the  Cor- 
pus Christi  is  preceded  by  very  singular  customs. 

On  the  eve  of  it,  masqueraders  run  up  and  down  the  streets 
to  the  noise  of  tambourins  and  sound  of  trumpets  and  Ya- 
lencian  hautboys,  called  dulzaynas  *,  to  announce  the  solem- 
nity of  the  coming  day.  At  the  same  time  they  act  in  the 
streets  the  massacre  of  the  infants;  aman  in  the  dress  of 
a  woman,  and  mounted  upon  an  ass  represents  the  Virgin 
Mary  ;  he  holds  in  his  arms  an  infant,  which  is  meant  for  the 
infant  Jesus  ;  a  man,  clad  as  Saint  Joseph,  leads  the  ass  by 
the  halter  ;  an  ox  and  a  horse  follow  them,  and  thus  they  go 
through  the  streets  in  imitation  of  the  flight  into  Egypt. 
Men  in  the  Jewish  costume  run  about  like  furies,  with  knives 
and  cutlasses,  and  sabres,  as  if  looking  for  them,  and 
going  to  put  all  the  male  infants  to  death  ;  they  stop 
those  whom  they  meet,  menace  them,  and  put  their  knives 
against  their  throats;  they  confound  the  girls  with  them,  and 
by  way  of  attention  put  their  knives  against  their  bosom» 
also. 

On  the  day  of  the  festival,  the  procession  is  prepared  with 
great  bustle.  It  is  preceded  by  six  large  carts,  each  drawn 
by  six  mules  covered  with  ribbons.  Each  cart  has  a  wooden 
stage  which  completely  CODC4  all  it,  and  which  it  called  tacOÊ, 
On  the  first  are  represented  tlie  creation  of  the  world  ;  Adam. 
made  out  of  the  earth;  Eve  coming  from  th<  side  of  Adam, 
the  serpen!  seducing  Erej  Eve  seducipg  ber  husband,  both 
eating  the  apple;  the  exterminating  angel,  with  a  flaming 
Vol  n 


243  VALENCIA. 

sword  in  lis  hand,  driving  them  out  of  paradise,  the  eternal 
Father  lecturing  Adam,  and  declaring  to  the  disobedient 
couple  the  punishment  of  their  crime,  &c.  ^<-.  All  this  is 
performed  in  reality  bv  persons  clothed  in  différent  costumes, 
who  only  appear  in  their  turn,  when  it  is  time  to  show  them- 
selves <m  the  stage,  and  who  gravely  rtcitc  verses  in  the 
Italian  language  relative  to  their  ]  arts.  The  other  stages  are 
covered  with  men  and  women  dressed  in  different  costumes, 
who  perform1  several  dances.  These  representations  are  ac- 
companied throughout  by  music,  and  the  dulzaynas,  or  Va- 
lencian  hautboys  are  not  wanting. 

The  procession  follows.  It  is  composed  of  the  sev<  ral  ob- 
jects which  will  be  mentioned  in  the  description  of  the  festival 
of  Saint  Vincent  ;  dulzaynas,  tambourins,  standards  and  their 
balancers,  children  as  shepherds,  and  sailors  with  their  tam- 
bours dc  basque,  dancing  and  making  gambols  ;  grown  up 
persons  dressed  in  while,  likewise  dancing  to  the  sound  of 
their  castanets,  Moorish  kings  bearing  banners  ;  white  men  in 
red  mantles  throwing  canes;  giants  and  giantesses  with  their 
pages. 

In  every  place  where  the  procession  stops,  four  children 
dressed  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  which  does  not  resemble 
any  known  costume,  dance  upon  a  large  table  before  the  host, 
playing  with  castanets. 

Festival  of  St.  Joseph.  Every  year  on  the  ISth  of  March, 
the  eve  of  the  festival  of  St.  Joseph,  the  upholsterers  and  car- 
penters represent  scenes  in  the  streets  before  the  doors  of  their 
shops,  perfectly  theatrical  ;  these  are  figures  as  large  as 
life,  dressed  in  clothes  appropriate  to  the  characters  they  are 
intended  to  represent.  They  consist  of  bodies  of  very  light 
wood;  their  face  is  formed  by  a  mask  ;  their  cloihes,  their 
head-dress  and  their  apparel  are  made  of  paper,  and  are 
often  very  well  done.  These  figures  are  raised  upon  a  large 
wooden  pile,  which  is  not  seen,  and  which  is  surrounded  breast 


VALENCIA.  243 

high  by  a  thick  bundle    of  faggots  curiously  arranged,  that 
presents  something  of  the  form  of  a  small  theatre. 

A  hundred  and  fifty  of  these  representations  are  frequently 
seen  in  one  year,  and  many  of  them  are  very  handsome  ; 
amongst  them  are  a  Bacchus  astride  upon  a  barrel,  a  family 
a-embled  to  kill  a  hog,  a  Spanish  gentleman  and  lady  dan- 
cing the  bolero  to  the  sound  of  a  guitar  which  is  played  by 
another  figure,  a  giant  dressed  in  the  Dutch  costume,  who 
makes  a  bear  dance,  while  another  figure  beats  the  drum;  on 
one  side  are  seen  figures  supporting  each  other,  each  per- 
forming different  tricks  yet  all  joining  to  assist  in  a  greater 
one,   performed  by  a  figure  raised  entirely  above  them. 

At  the  close  of  the  evening,  the  faggots  are  set  on  fire  ;  in 
an  instant  the  scene  disappears  in  the  middle  of  flames,  and 
1:-  reduced  to  a->hes.  These  representations  are  called  full  an 
il.   Saint  Joseph. 

The  people  crowd  ;  persons  of  a  higher  condition  take  (he 
dress  of  the  people  and  mix  with  them  ;  they  run  together 
from  all  quarters,  and  the  most  important  affairs  are  forgot- 
ten. 

In  the    afternoon  these   representations  are  followed  by 
multitudes  ;  every  one  wishing  to  see  them  at  his  ease.    A  stran- 
ger baa  n<>  occasion  for  a  guide;  he  has  only  to  follow  the 
croud,  and  lie  may  \x   sure    of  seeing   every    thing.     When 
night  arrives,  each  person  takes  his  stand  near  the  represen- 
tation  which   he  thinks  th<-  mosl    interesting,  to  have  the 
p!'  asure  of  seeing  it  reduced  to  ashes.     This  is  the  mo>t  cri« 
tical  moment,  the  night  favours  Licentiousni  is  and  adventun  - 
pocket!  ply  their  craft  in  safety  ;  lover-,  keep  their  ap« 
itments;  the)  seek  and  find  :  this  night  is  generally  fer- 
tile m   adventures.     In   the    parties  which   are   afterward* 
d,  nothing  is  talked  of  but  the/alias;  every  other  sub- 
.  <  very  one  praiu  -  that  which  stn 
l:   '.' 


544  VALENCIA. 

him  the  most  ;  the  eulogiums  are  inexhaustible;  un  the 
following  day  they  are  thought  of  no  more. 

This  custom  might  be  productive  of  great  inconveniences, 
besides  those  which  always  accompany  nocturnal  festivals. 
The  streets  of  Valencia  arc  generally  narrow  ;  and  those 
wooden  piles  are  built  in  the  narrowest  as  well  as  the  broadest 
streets  ;  the  flames  rising  very  high,  and  the  sparks  flying- 
above  the  tops  of  the  houses,  these  might  easily  be  set  on  fire. 

Festival  of  St.  Vincent  Terrier,  This  saint,  who  was  born 
at  Valencia,  is  the  patron  of  the  town  ;  his  festival  is  cele- 
brated on  guusimodo  Monday;  or  the  Monday  after  Easter 
Monday. 

The  baptism  of  this  saint  is  represented  in  the  church  of 
St.  Stephen.  A  theatre  is  raised,  upon  which  are  placed 
twenty  btatues  or  puppets  as  large  as  life,  which  represent 
the  priest  and  clerk,  two  ancient  wardens  of  Valencia,  now 
railed  regidors,  who  are  supposed  to  have  been  the  god-fa- 
thers of  the  child  ;  one  of  them  holding  the  new  born  infant 
in  his  arms,  the  godmother  of  the  child,  the  mid-wife,  the 
viceroy  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  his  wife,  ten  ladies,  as 
if  invited  to  the  baptism  ;  a  negro  and  a  negress,  servants  of 
the  viceroy.  The  priest  and  the  clerk  are  clad  in  sacerdotal 
habits,  the  two  wardens  in  grand  robes  of  crimson  damask  ; 
the  god-mother,  and  the  midwife,  are  dressed  in  black,  like 
modern  Spaniards  ;  the  viceroy  has  a  blue  coat  in  the  French 
fashion  laced  with  silver  ;  the  ladies  are  likewise  dressed  in 
the  French  fashion;  their  gowns,  their  head-dresses,  their 
trimmings  are  changed  every  year  ;  they  are  made  according 
to  the  prevailing  fashion  ;  ribbons,  feather?,  flowers,  brace- 
lets, earrings,  and  watch-chains,  are  not  spared.  This  scene  is 
thus  exposed  for  three  days  to  the  eager  curiosity  of  the 
people,  who  flock  in  crowds  to  see  it.  It  is  useless  to  draw  a 
picture  of  the  indecencies  committed  in  the  church. 

At  the  same  time  a  great  number  of  altars  are  built,  some 


VALENCIA. 

large,  some  small,  more  or  less  ornamented,  in  the  different 
streets,  in  the  shops,  and  at  the  entrances  of  the  houses. 
Each  of  these  altars  is  surrounded  by  a  company  of  musi- 
cian.-, uho  play  at  intervals  on  their  instruments  during  the 
continuance  of  the  festival.  There  are  three  distinguished 
altars,  where  the  scene  becomes  more  interesting,  and  to 
which  the  crowd  more  eagerly  jun,  that  of  the  square  del 
Mercado,  that  of  the  street  Bolseria,  and  that  of  the  street 
del  Mar  :  the  last  is  always  the  handsomest,  the  most  fol- 
lowed, and  most  costly  ;  it  is  changed  every  year  according 
to  the  fancy  of  him  who  pays  for  the  festival  ;  this  is  one  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  street  del  Mar  who  bears  all  the 
expences  :  each  of  them  takes  his  turn.  We  will  now  de- 
scribe this  festival  as  it  was  celebrated  some  years  ago. 

The  altar  of  the  street  del  Mar  was  built  of  wood,  and 
covered  with  printed  linen  ;  it  was  raised  higher  than  the 
houses  against  which  it  stood.  It  had  two  stories  of  archi- 
tecture, the  first  was  composed  of  six  large  Doric  columns, 
with  the  statues  of  Hope  and  Charity,  and  four  large 
vases  of  flowers  placed  upon  the  cornice  ;  the  second 
was  filled  with  borders  and  several  other  ornaments,  two 
groups  of  angels  and  two  pictures  of  Saints,  of  the  order  of 
St.  Dominic.  An  almost  triangular  frontispiece  was  raised 
above  the  second  story,  which  was  filled  by  a  picture  in  me- 
dallions representing  a  miracle  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrier,  and 
surmounted  by  the  arms  of  the  town  of  Valencia.  A  large 
niche,  the  arch  of  which  was  ornamented  with  garlands  ol 
flowers,  was  placed  in  tin  middle  of  the  second  stury,  it 
contained  a  statue  of  St.  \  nc<  nt,  Burroundi  d  by  ;i  glory,  and 
oups  of  cherubim.  A  sea,  the  waves  of  which 
i  -i  the  bottom  of  the  altar,  and  il 
appeared  on  it  in  full  sail.  Tins  altar  was  placed  upon  a 
kind  of  theatre,  raised  about  five  feet;  it  was  lighted  by  two 

i.  (I  candles  <■!  white  u.ix.     'J  be  ,  i  ren  <! 

canvas,  which  prevented  th<  ,    .,,,  jt 


£46  VA]  i  \ci.\. 

neighbouring:  houses  were  hunc:  with  tapestry,  and  the  fraise 
oftheir  balconies  and  their  windows  were  decorated  with 
carpels  of  crimson  damask  ;  two  galleries  raised  on  the  two 
sides  contained  two  bands  of  musicians.  The  whole  of  (he 
street  and  of  its  decorations  formed  an  agreeable  appearance  ; 
it  would  have  been  dignified,  had  it  not  been  degraded  by  a 
mixture  of  theatrical  machines  ;  but  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  represent  annually  the  miracles  of  the  saint  and  to 
represent  them  in  a  striking  manner  to  the  comprehension  of 
the  multitude. 

It  was  the  same  in  the  Bolseria  and  the  Mercado  ;  the 
altars  were  there  also  placed  upon  theatres  and  accompanied 
by  theatrical  machines. 

The  miracle  which  was  chosen  for  the  altar  of  the  street  del 
Mar,  was  one  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  performed  by 
the  Saint  at  Barcelona,  at  a  time  when  that  town  was  abso- 
lutely in  want  of  bread  ;  it  is  said  that  the  saint  preaching 
on  the  sea-shore,  gave  his  blessing  to  the  watery  element, 
and  immediately,  ships  loaded  with  corn  arrived  in  the  har- 
bour. To  produce  this  effect,  the  saint  was  placed  upon  a 
chair  on  the  stage,  before  the  altar,  preaching,  some  figures 
were  introduced  to  form  his  audience,  and  a  sea  appeared  in 
motion.  The  miracle  of  the  street  of  the  Bolseria  was  the 
same:  the  chair,  the  saint  preaching,  the  audience,  the  sea 
were  also  there,  to  which  were  added  two  flour-mills.  The 
miracle  of  the  square  del  Mercado  was  of  another  kind  ;  it 
related  to  a  repast  given  to  the  saint,  for  which  a  husband 
having  desired  his  wife  to  bring  the  be-t  that  she  had  in  the 
house,  she  had  killed  and  prepared  her  own  children;  the 
table  was  placed  upon  the  stage,  and  had  on  it  a  cloth,  nap- 
kins, bread,  wine,  and  a  stewpan. 

The  festival  was  announced  on  the  Saturday  of  the  feast  of 
the  Passover,  at  noon,  by  ringing  all  the  bells  in  the  town.  At 
the  same  instant  four  drums,  eight  tambourins,  and  twelve 


VALENCIA.  247 

dulzaynas    were  carried   up  and  down  the  street    del    Mar 
from  one  end  to  the  other. 

At  that  instant  the  festival  began.  Persons  playing  drums, 
tambourins,  and  dulzaynps,  divided  and  distributed  them- 
selves in  different  parts  of  the  same  street  ;  they  never  ceased 
beating  and  playing  for  three  days,  except  at  the  time  when 
they  met  to  go  up  and  down  the  street  together,  which  they 
did  very  frequently  in  the  course  of  the  day. 

On  the  following  night  there  was  a  general  illumination  in 
the  town  ;  all  the  windows  of  the  fust  floor  were  ornamented 
with  large  flambeaux  of  wood,  in  imitation  of  flambeaux  of 
white  wax,  with  small  lamps  at  the  end  of  them.  This  me- 
thod appears  to  be  a  very  good  one,  the  flambeaux  always 
remained  at  the  same  height,  and  produced  magnificent 
streams  of  light.  This  illumination  was  repeated  on  the 
nightâ  of  Sunday  and  Monday. 

On  the  Sunday  morning,  the  representations  of  the  miracles 
be^an  at  the  three  altars. 

In  the  street  del  Mar,  the  saint,  in  the  chair  where  he 
was  supposed  to  be  preaching,  made  some  of  the  gestures  of 
a  preacher,  and  at  last  gave  his  benediction  to  the  sea  ;  the 
waves  were  then  put  in  motion,  the  billows  were  agitated, 
and  tos-cd  about  ;  bhips,  without  sailors,  which  were  seen  to 
be  loaded  with  corn,  arrived  at  full  sail  from  opposite  direc- 
tions ;  they  cut  through  the  waves,  passed  rapidly  before  the 
of  the  pleased  spectators  and  disappeared  ;  an  instant 
after  Bailors  were  seen  upon  the  shore  with  sacks  of  com  upon 
their  shoulders  which  they  put  down  on  the  shore  ;  tiny  then 
vent  away  and  returned  again  and  again  until  it  might  be 
pn  -uiiimI  thai  they  had  landed  the  whole  cargo,  every  thing 
was  tin  h  re-placed  m  its  first  situation, 

In  the  street  of  tin  Bolsei ja  tin  same  miracle  was  better 
p.  rformed  ;  the  ships  stopped,  the  sails  were  lowered,  and  the 

anchor-  call  ;  sailors  ran  in  '.;reat  number-  upon  tin  shore,  and 

-    isted  in  unloading  the  ships  ;  those  who  were  within  gav< 

it  4 


248  VALENCIA. 

the  sacks  of  corn  to  those  who  were  without,  who  placed  them 
upon  their  shoulders,  and  carried  them  to  the  two  mills  which 
were  always  at  work,  and  the  corn  was  then  immediately 
turned  into  flour.  When  the  ships  were  unloaded  the  sails 
were  spread,  the  anchors  were  raised,  and  they  went  away. 

The  miracle  of  the  square  of  Mercado  was  of  another  kind: 
the  husband  and   wife  expressed  by  their  gestures   the  grief 
which  they  felt  for  the  death  of  their  children  :  Saint  Vincent 
arrived   in  the  habit  of  the  order  of  Saint  Dominic,  followed 
by  a  lay-brother  of  the  same  order  ;  the  master  of  the  house 
informed  him  of  the  cause  of  their  distress;  during  this  time 
a  servant  entered,  carrying  a  pye  ;  but,  stupified  by  what  had 
passed  under  his  eyes,  he  forgot  to  put  it  on  the  table,  and  re- 
mained motionless;  the  saint,  affected  by  the  situation  of  the 
good  people   who  had    received  him    into   their  house,  ap- 
proached the  table,  and  gave  his  benediction  to  the  stewpan  ; 
immediately  the  two  children,  restored  to  life,  came  out  of  it; 
they  played,  they  leaped,  they  sprang  upon  the  table,  they 
Tan  to  all  the  company  one  after  the  other,  they  jumped  upon 
the  neck  of  the  father,  of  the  mother,  of  the  good  monks,  and  the 
maid,  and  overwhelmed  them  with  kisses  and  caresses.     The 
servant,   astonished  at  the   prodigy,   and  filled  with  gratitude 
towards  the  good  Dominican,  offered  him  the  pye,  which  she 
still  held  in  her  hands,  and  which  the  monk  refused  ;  the  holy 
man  gave  his  benediction  to  the  pye,  and  a  pigeon  which  it 
contained,  though  thoroughly  baked,  instantly  came  to  life, 
took  wing,  and  flew  away. 

All  these  figures  were  kinds  of  puppets  of  different  sizes; 
those  of  the  altar  of  iMercado  were  almost  as  large  as  life. 

These  representations  were  frequently  repeated  during  the 
days  and  nights  of  Sunday  and  Monday.  The  people  ran  to 
see  them  in  crowds,  and  beheld  them  with  an  eager  curiosity; 
fascinated  every  time  with  the  wonders  that  they  had  wit- 
nessed, they  remained  stationary  to  see  them  performed 
again. 


VALENCIA.  249 

In  the  afternoon  of  Sunday  the  fishermen  of  Valencia 
formed  a  procession,  in  which  they  walked  two  and  two  with 
a  wax  candle  in  their  hands,  several  of  them  in  black  velvet 
coats,  and  swords  by  their  sides,  and  some  of  them  in  hand- 
some dresses  of -figured  velvets  :  they  carried  eight  stages  with 
representations  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  Saint  Peter,  St.  Vincent 
Ferrier,  &c.  Very  extraordinary  things  were  seen  in  this 
procession  ;  two  men  dressed  as  Moorish  kings,  with  great 
beards,  and  royal  crowns  on  their  heads,  carried  banners  ;  a 
great  number  of  children,  some  dressed  a»  shepherds,  others 
as  sailors,  others  in  a  costume  which  cannot  be  defined, 
shook  their  tambourins,  dancing  and  leaping  along  the  pro- 
cession; twelve  men,  dressed  in  white,  played  the  ca>tanets, 
also  dancing  and  leaping  about  ;  twelve  other  men,  in  Turkish 
habits,  marched  with  a  grave  and  formal  step;  a  great  num- 
ber of  others,  in  white  breeches  and  waistcoats  with  red 
mantles  on  their  shoulders,  masks  upon  their  fjce>,  and  long 
white  sticks  in  their  hands,,  repeatedly  throwing  the  stick  into 
the  air,  and  catching  it  as  it  fell,  and  playing  various  tricks 
with  it. 

Another  extremely  numerous  procession,  set  out  from  the 
cathedral  in  the  afternoon  of  the  Monday.  It  was  preceded 
by  all  the  companies  of  tradesmen,  each  company  inarching 
in  a  body,  with  two  long  enormous  standards  btfore  them, 
accompanied  with  a  tambourin  and  a  dulzayna.  A  forest  of 
standards  was  seen  following  very  near,  which  continued  for  a 
g  time,  and  rising  from  the  middle  of  an  immense  crowd, 
seemed  to  proceed  from  a  moving  ground  ;  the  men  who  car- 
ried them  played  a  thousand  tricks  with  them,  tricks  of 
strength  and  balancing;  somi  times  the  standard  slipped  from 
their  hand»,  and  m  its  fall  sti  uck  the  inconsiderate  head  ofthe 
gaping  multitude;  at  tin  same  time  the  noise  of  so  many 
tambourin--,  and  the  slmll  and  dissonant  sound  of  so  many 
dulzav  nai  made  a  hurly-burly,  the  dis*  ordant  noises  of  which 
mijjht  excift   laughter  at  fir*t,  but  soon  becomes  tin  -omc. 


2  50  VALENCIA. 

The  eight  giants  followed,  also  playing  antics  ;  they  marched, 
they  .-lopped,  they  turned,  and  made  bows  ;  their  pages,  four 
,in  number,  preced.nl  them  ;  these  were  men  disguised  as 
dwarfs;  they  wore  pasteboard  heads,  which  were  monstrous 
from  the  enormity  of  their  size  and  their  figure  ;  they  were 
dressed  in  a  grotesque  maimer,  playing  castanets  and  dancing 
as  they  proceeded.  The  regular  clergy,  who  are  very  nu- 
merous, followed;  then  the  secular  clergy  of  the  parishes, 
preceded  by  their  crosses  ;  and  in  the  same  manner  the 
lower  clergy  and  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral;  after  which 
were  carried  the  relics  of  Saint  Vincent  Terrier.  The  muni- 
cipal body  closed  the  procession. 

!S<une  other  processions  which  took  place  on  the  same  day. 
at  ten  o'clock  at  night  concluded  the  festival  ;  they  only  went 
through  those  streets  where  there  were  altars  ;  in  each  of 
them  was  carried  a  statue  of  the  saint  to  be  deposited  in  the 
house  of  the  person  who  was  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
festival  on  the  following  year  ;  they  were  composed  of  persons 
of  all  ranks,  with  wax  candles,  and  preceded  by  drums,  tam- 
bourins, dulzaynas,  and  other  musical  instruments. 

It  is  difficult  to  describe  all  that  passes  at  these  festivals.  In 
the  day  every  business  is  neglected  but  that  of  walking  and 
running  about,  going  from  one  altar  to  another,  seeing,  being 
seen,  and  returning  ten  times  to  the  same  place.  The  streets 
and  squares  where  there  are  altars,  are  tilled  with  an  immense 
crowd;  the  streets  leading  to  them  are  also  full  of  persons  of 
both  sexes;  we  have  only  to  go  with  the  stream,  and  we  are 
sure  to  pass  by  all  tue  altars.  The  multitude  stop  before  the 
altars  to  see  the  representations  of  the  miracles;  they  seek 
their  friends,  find,  and  get  near  to  one  another  ;  the  crowd  fa- 
vours concealment  ;  the  stupid  attention  to  the  representation 
turns  the  attention  from  innumerable  tetê-d-tetês  which  are 
going  on  in  an  immense  crowd.  Night  arrives,  everything 
is  again  in  motion,  and  the  crowd  increases;  slouched  hats 
for    the    men  and   hoods   for  the   women     favour   intrigues 


VALENCIA.  251 

which  night  covers  with  its  shades  ;  the  mother  often  searches 
in  vain  for  her  daughter,  and  the  husband  lor  his  win.  ;  they 
lose  themselves  iu  the  crowd,  and  are  not  to  be  found: 
the  darkness  of  the  night  hides  the  consequences.  There 
is  little  fear  of  discovery  ;  they  are  surrounded  by  indivi- 
duals who  have  the  same  intentions,  indulgence  is  reci- 
procal. 

EXCURSIONS  IN  THE  ENVIRONS  OF  VALENCIA. 

El  Socas  is  3  convent  of  Great  Augustins,  situated  out  of  the 
town,  to  the  left  of  the  faubourg  of  Quarte,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  beautiful  country  which  surrounds  Valencia. 

We  arrive  at  it  by  a  short  and  broad  avenue,  at  each  end  of 
which  are  orange  trees  cut  breast  high,  and  the  sides  are  planted 
with  orange,  palm,  and  cypress  trees.  It  leads  to  a  portico 
of  six  large  arches,  supported  by  separate  Doric  columns» 
There  is  a  story  over  the  portico  ;  it  has  six  balconies  which 
correspond  to  the  six  arches  below;  they  are  ornamented 
with  iron-railings,  and  decorated  with  small  pilasters  of  the 
same  order. 

The  church  is  simple,  of  Ionic  architecture;  there  is  no- 
thing remarkable  in  it  but  some  paintings  by  Vergara.  The 
ceiling  of  the  sanctuary  is  covered  with  paintings  in  fresco, 
but  the  execution  cf  them  is  below  mediocrity  ;  they  arc  by 
Francisco  Bru.  Some  ancient  paintings  upon  wood  ornament 
the  altars  of  St.  Claude  and  of  the  Incarnation  :  the  nanus  of 
the  painters  are  not  known  ;  they  appeal  to  bave  be<  n  painted 
in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  All  these  pictures, 
though  good,  do  not  come  neai  to  the  beauty  of  a  BtnaU  pic- 
tun  which  i"  placed  behind  a  glass  a!  the  bottom  1  f  the  altar 
of  Sain!  Augustin;  it  is  a  Virgin  raising  bei  eye»  towards 
heaven  with  her  bead  covered  with  a  veil  ;  d<  i.  icy,  expres- 
sion, truth,  colouring,  and  uncommon  beauty  in  the  drapery, 
are  found  in  this  picture;  it  is  by  Guido. 

In  tb  chapel  of  Christ  ol  the  good  Death,  there  is  a  cm 
cifixj  the  sculptor  of  which  ha  express*  !  in  the  features  of  the 


'251  VALENCIA. 

countenance  all  the  pangs  of  the  agony  ;  the  name  of  the 
artist  is  not  known  ;  it  is  believed  to  have  been  a  production 
of  the  reign  of  Philip  II. 

In  the  saerisly  there  are  likewise  some  good  paintings,  one 
of  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  wood,  the  painter  of  which 
is  not  known  ;  a  Virgin  of  ihe  Sorrows,  by  Moralez  ;  a  Sa- 
viour of  the  World,  by  Ribalta;  and  two  very  small  pictures 
which  are  amongst  the  relics  ;  one  of  the  Birth  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  other  of  the  Adoration  of  the  Kings  ;  the 
former  appears  to  be  of  the  school  of  Raphael,  the  latter 
seems  from  another  pencil  and  of  a  more  remote  date. 

The  chapel  of  Saint  Thomas  de  Villanueva,  which  is  of 
modern  construction,  forms  a  small  distinct  church,  and  has 
a  handsome  appearance;  but  there  are  a  number  of  orna- 
ments in  it  without  either  taste  or  proportion.  The  paintings 
are  by  Vergara  ;  but  they  prove  the  youth  of  the  artist,  and 
the  hurry  in  which  they  were  done.  The  statues  of  the  four 
cardinal  virtues  are  by  the  brother  of  this  painter;  and  the 
execution  of  tjie  principal  altar  is  by  a  monk  of  the  same 
convent. 

Convent  of  Saint  Mary  of  Jesus.  This  is  a  convent  of  Ob- 
servantin  Cordeliers,  situated  about  a  mile  from  Valencia,  sur- 
rounded by  a  magnificent  country;  it  is  inhabited  by  130 
monks.  The  church 'of  it  is  simple,  and  has  nothing  remark- 
able but  the  chapel  of  the  blessed  Nicholas  Factor,  which  was 
built  in  1787- 

This  chapel  is  ornamented  with  Corinthian  pilasters,  cased 
in  stucco,  with  gilt  fillets  and  capitals;  they  are  supported  by 
pedestals  of  red,  yellow,  and  white  marble.  It  has  a  hand- 
some dome,  which  is  ornamented  with  paintings  in  fresco. 
Similar  paintings  ornament  three  sides  of  the  chapel  above 
the  cornice,  and  the  four  angles  of  the  spring  of  the  dome; 
all  these  paintings  are  by  Planes.  Two  large  pictures,  repre- 
senting the  miraculous  achievements  of  the  saint  decorate  the 
two  sides  of  the  chapel;  they  are  by  the  same  painter.     The 


VALENCIA.  253 

altar  is  simple  ;  it  has  a  picture  by  Vergara,  representing 
Philip  II.  opening  the  tomb  of  Nicolas  Factor,  to  see  the 
mortal  remains  of  that  holy  monk. 

The  church  of  St.  John  de  la  Rivera.  This  is  the  church 
of  a  convent  of  reformed  Franciscans  situated  out  of  the  town, 
almost  at  the  end  of  the  Alameda,  below  the  bridge  of  the 
Sea.  It  has  nothing  remarkable  but  some  pictures,  one  of  the 
baptism  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  the  principal  altar,  by  Alfonso 
Cano  ;  one  of  the  Conception,  in  the  chapel  of  that  name  ; 
one  of  Saint  Franci*,  one  of  Saint  Pascal,  one  of  Saint  Claire, 
and  angels,  upon  brass,  by  Lazarus  Baldi,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  choir.  The  sanctuary  is  ornamented  with  paintings  in 
fresco,  by  Antonio  Eicarte. 

The  monastery  of  Saint  Michael  de  los  Reyes.  This  is  a 
monastery  of  Jeronimites,  situated  upon  the  road  which  leads 
from  Valencia  to  Murviedro  and  into  Catalonia,  about  a  mile 
from  Valencia,  leaving  it  by  the  gate  and  bridge  of  Serannos, 
and  by  the  faubourg  of  •Murviedro.  It  was  founded  by  Fer- 
dinand of  Aragon  and  Ursula  Germaine  de  Foix,  his  wife. 

This  monastery  i^  in  a  delightful  situation,  in  the  middle  of 
varied  and  ever-verdant  fields.  It  is  rich  and  contains  fifty 
monks,  who  acknowledge  that  it  has  a  revenue  of  20,000 
pezos  (3,125/.)  It  is  easy  to  believe  that  they  do  not  exagge- 
rate; report  give»  them  double  that  sum. 

Its  appearance  is  not  striking.  A  low  wall  without  orna- 
ment présenta  itself,  through  which  a  very  ordinary  gate 
is;  we  enter  into  a  large  court,  at  the  bottom  of  which 
we  perceive  the  fironl  of  the  church,  and  on  one  side  the  gate 
of  the  monastery. 

The  front  of  the  church,  which  is  of  !  has  three 

stories  of  architecture  of  six  columnseach;  the  first  of  the 
Doric  oider,  tin  second  of  tin-  Ionic,  and  the  third  of  the  Co- 
rinthian; some  wreathed,  and  others  with  spiral  flutes  J  ami 
- 


Ç5-t  VALENCIA. 

large  square  towers,  which  rise  on  each  side  above  the  edifice  ; 
these  towers  have  three  stories  of  architecture,  the  two  first 
without  ornaments  ;  an  arched  window  opens  on  each  side  of 
the  third  between  four  Doric  pilasters,  and  is  terminated  by  a 
balustrade 

In  the  interior  of  the  monastery  there  is  a  large  cloister,,  the 
architecture  of  winch  something  resembles  that  of  the  cloister 
of  the  Evangelists  in  the  Escurial,  but  the  roof  of  it  is  perhaps 
too  flat. 

This  monastery  has  a  library,  which  is  not  very  large; 
there  are  scarcely  30;'0  volumes,  almost  all  of  theology  and 
history,  and  all  ancient  ;  but  a  collection  of  manuscripts  of 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  is  present  d  there,  re- 
markable for  the  beauty  and  neatness  of  the  writing,  as  w<  !1 
as  for  the  delicacy  and  good  preservation  of  the  vignctw  s 
:  -s,  and  other  paintings. 

The  church  has  only  a  nave,  of  a  good  Doric  architecture  ; 
it  is  ornamented  with  fluted  pilasters,  and  galleries  decorated 
with  Ionic  columns  and  pediments.  The  roof  of  it  is  rather 
.1  it,  but  well  shot  ami  with  good  taste.  The  cross-aisle  is 
targe  and  handsome,  but  not  sufliciently  extended  ;  it  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  well-formed  dome,  something  like  that  of  the 
Escurial. 

The  sanctuary  is  raised  in  the  form  of  a  terrace,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  handsome  balustrade  that  extends  along  the 
by  which  it  is  asc<  <\<h-d  ;  it  is  paved  with  large  squares 
of  blue,  marble,  inlaid  with  lace  and  flower- work,  which  is 
f!  ;  med  by  incrustation-;  of  white  marble.  Two  monuments  of 
similar  structure  of  the  two  founders  are  placed  on  the  two 
si ■!■  -  of  tli<  sanctuary  ;  their  execution  is  but  middling. 

The  principal  altar  it;  a  ridiculous  mixture  of  wooden  orna- 
ments, confused,  without  taste,  and  of  columns  made  of  dif- 
ferent pieces  of  marble,  which  are  badly  polished  and  badly 
put  together.  The  tabernacle  is  simple,  but  noble  and  hand- 
some;   the  front  of  the  alrar  is  a  mixture  of  marble  of  all  co- 


VA  LEX CIA.  255 

lours,  put  togeîher  with  great  art,  in  imitation  of  birds  and 
other  animals,  houses,  Chinese  pavilions,  urns,  vases,  flowers; 
there  are  a  number  of  similar  fronts  of  altars  in  this  church  ; 
they  are  the  work  of  some  monks  of  the  monastery. 

The  sacristy  is  a  handsome  Gothic  room,  which  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  small  church;  thereare  some  good  paintings  in  it 

upon  stone  and  upon  copper. 

This  church  contains  a  Crucifixion,  by  Ribalta;  an  Appa- 
rition of  the  Holy  Virgin  to  Saint  Bernard,  which  is  by  some 
attributed  to  Ribalta,  and  by  others  to  Zurinena  ;  some  pic- 
tures of  the  school  of  Joannez,  hut  more  correctly  designed; 
some  paintings  upon  wood  relating  to  the  birth  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  life  of  Saint  Jerome,  have  been  removed  from 
the  church  to  a  gallery  near  the  choir  ;  they  are  antiques, 
but  good:  they  are  thought  to  he  the  productions  of  the 
earliest  times  of  the  revival  of  the  arts.  It  is  a  pity  that  they 
are  kept  in  a  dark  plate,  where  they  cannot  be  seen  without 
a  candle. 

Sichaa.  In  a  great  number  of  villages  in  the  environs  of 
Valencia  we  find  monuments  of  the  industry  of  the  Moors; 
these  are  large  excavations,  the  openings  of  which  are  narrow, 
but  which  enlarge  in  the  interior;  they  are  dug  straight 
down,  tolerably  deep,  and  cased  with  free-stone.  In  these 
places  the  Moors  preserved  their  corn,  and  the  modern  Va  - 
lencians  make  them  serve  the  same  purpose.  They  are  called 
richaa  and  8ilho8.  The  handsomest  are  at  Burjasot;  this  vil- 
lage is  the  place  where  the  celebrated  actress  [/Advenant  was 

b'Jli:    I. 

Tke  Albufera  ii  a  large  lake,  which  begins  near  the  village 
ofCatarroja,  a  league  south   of  Valencia,  and  «Mends  four 

£ues,  as  far  as  Cullera.     Wh  n  it  it  full,  it  is  lour  leaj 
in.  length,  tu  »  in  breadth,  and  »i*  in  circumference  ;  yd  il  .. 
mall  boats  are  scarce!    able  to  float  in  itt  JVhen 
there  is  not  enough  of  water  in  it,  it  m  filled  by  m 


'256  VALENCIA. 

machine  which  draws  into  it  the  neighbouring  waters;  when 
it  is  too  full  it  is  carried  into  the  sea  by  means  of  an  opening 
made  on  purpose  ;  it  contains  a  great  many  fish,  and  there  are 
a  number  of  aquatic  birds  upon  it.  On  certain  days'  in  the 
year,  the  inhabitants  of  Valencia  amuse  themselves  with  going 
out  to  shoot  these  birds,  and  the  lake  is  covered  with  boats. 

Mdnisi  z  is  a  village  situated  a  league  and  a  quarter  north 
of  Valencia.  It  is  seen  on  the  left  coming  from  New  Castile. 
It  is  noted  for  its  manufactories  of  earthen  ware,  which  em- 
ploy thirty  kilns,  and  occupy  a  great  part  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  women  are  employed  in  forming  the  designs  and  applying 
the  colours.  There  are  two  large  manufactories  of  a  superior 
kind,  the  earthen  ware  of  which  is  tolerably  fine,  of  a  beau- 
tiful white,  and  à  moderate  price.  They  also  make  here  vases 
worked  with  a  great  degree  of  delicacy. 

The  society  of  these  workmen  possess  the  secret  of  the 
compostion  of  a  colour  which  in  the  fire  takes  the  tint  and 
brightness  of  a  beautiful  gilt  bronze.  It  has  been  unsuccess- 
fully attempted  to  be  imitated;  the  heads  of  the  society  com- 
pose the  colour  themselves,  and  distribute  it  to  the  masters 
who  take  care  of  it;  it  is  a  liquid  of  the  colour  of  Spanish 
tobacco,  but  a  little  deeper. 

Grao.  We  leave  Valencia  by  the  gate  of  the  Sea,  follow 
the  faubourg  of  the  Trinity,  the  bridge  of  the  Sea,  the  road 
which  is  opposite  the  bridge  along  the  left  side  of  the  Ala- 
meda, pass  the  convent  of  Saint  John  de  la  Ribera,  after- 
wards take  a  lower  road  and  arrive  at  Grao.  This  village  was 
formerly  surrounded  by  a  wall,  part  of  which  still  remains. 
It  has  two  gates,  one  on  the  side  of  Valencia,  the  other  to- 
wards the  sea.  On  the  latter  side  there  is  a  bad  fortress, 
where  a  governor  resides  ;  a  lighthouse  on  the  most  elevated 
part,  and  which  is  lighted  every  night,  serves  as  a  guide  to 
sailors. 

The  coast  of  Grao  is  very  low,  and  exposed  to  the  violent 


VALENCIA.  257 

east  and  west  winds.  It  has  neither  shelter  for  ships,  depth 
of  water  sufficient  to  allow  them  to  approach,  nor  a  conve- 
nient spot  for  landing,  so  that  they  must  remain  half  a  league 
out  at  sea;  the  cargoes  are  put  into  boats  which  bring  them 
towards  the  shore,  and  they  are  drawn  by  oxen  to  the  dry 
land. 

Notwithstanding  these  inconveniences,  there  are  always 
several  ships  seen  at  anchor  at  Grao,  and  others  which  are 
refitting  or  preparing  to  put  to  sea  ;  they  carry  on  a  coasting 
trade  along  the  Mediterranean  ;  on  one  side,  on  tjie  coasts  of 
Catalonia,  Roussillon,  Languedoc,  and  as  far  as  Marseilles; 
and  on  the  other  side,  to  Alicant,  Carthagena,  and  Malaga  ; 
some  even  pass  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  into  the  Atlantic, 
and  go  to  Cadiz;  sometimes  they  go  round  Portugal  as  far  as 
the  ports  of  Galicia.  The  largest  of  these  ships  are  from  fifty 
to  sixty  tons,  their  crews  do  not  exceed  eleven  men  ;  they 
carry  out  wines,  silk,  wool,  dry  fruits,  and  kali,  and  bring  back 
in  return  linens,  woollens,  ironmongery,  spices,  and  corn. 

It  was  upon  this  flat  shore  that  the  troops  of  the  archduke 
Charles  of  Austria  attempted,  in  1700,  to  effect  a  debarkation 
to  surprise  Valencia  ;  but  they  were  repulsed  by  Antonio  del 
Valle,  who  commanded  in  the  town  for  Philip  V. 

Grao  is  very  pleasant  in  summer,  on  account  of  the  sea- 
baths  which  are  there  ;  a  great  number  of  people  resort  to  it 
in  tartanes  by  water,  or  in  one-horse  chaises  by  land,  to 
l»athe;  and  several  families  pass  a  part  of  the  fine  season  in 
their  country  houses  near  this  village. 

noAD     PROM     VALENCIA     TO    LIMA    XE1UCA    AND    SECORDE,    1 
I.I  AGUES   AND    A   QUAllTER. 

LE AG UT 

Valencia  to - 

B  nifarach  (a  village) -.-- I 

Moncada  (a  town)     .__. ,--- 

Vor.  i. 


258  VALENCIA. 

LEAGUES. 

Porta-Ccli  (a  Carthusian  monastery) 3 

La  Torre  (a  barn)     . .. T § 

Liria  (a  town) '- 1£ 

Alcublas  (a  village) .<> + 

Andilla  (a  town)  ._ ^ '2 

Canales  (a  village)   _ 1 

Canalcs  (a  river  without  abridge)   . 1' 

Bexis  (a  town) ... ....  I 

Toras  (h  village) ^ £ 

Vivel  (a  town) If 

Xerica  (a  town)    £ 

Palencia  (a  river  and  bridge) 1__ \ 

La  Esperanza  (a  monastery  of  Jeronimites) I 

.Segorbe  (a  town) . „   \ 

We  leave  Valencia  by  the  faubourg  of  Mur- 
viedro,   and  cross  the   village  of  Benifatach . 

after  travelling  a  league  we  come  to  Moncada, 
an  old  town  now  reduced  to  a  village,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  beautiful  country  which  sur- 
rounds Valencia  :  it  has  a  parish  church,  a  con- 
vent of  Dominicans,  and  a  population  of  about 
a  thousand  inhabitants 

The  country  here  begin  to  be  parched;  it  is 
nevertheless  covered  with  vines,  olive,  and 
carob-trees.  The  land  rises  insensibly,  and  after 
travelling  a  league  we  pass  near  the  village  of 
Vetera,  which  we  leave  on  the  left.  We  con- 
tinue to  ascend  for  a  league,  then  enter  a  wood 
of  pines,  intermixed  with  fields  and  plantations 
of  olive  trees,  which  leads  to  Porta  ecli. 


VALENCIA.  c259 

Porta  cf.i.i  is  a  Carthusian  monastery  built 
on  an  eminence,  in  a  fine  situation  amidst  fertile 
lands,  commanding  a  vast  extent  of  sea,  and  a 
rich  and  delightful  country.  Every  thing  here 
breathes  peace  and  tranquillity ;  ail  is  simple 
and  rustic,  but  agreeable.  The  cells  are  clean, 
the  buildings  of  an  elegant  simplicity,  the 
gardens  are  variegated  and  well  kept  ;  the 
tombs,  where  the  bodies  of  the  monks  are  depo- 
sited, have  a  peculiar  beauty  ;  pdm-irces  shade 
them,  and  ro,es*  diffuse  through  the  air  a  sweet*- 
ness  which  counteracts  the  infectious  odour  of 
the  miasmata,  that  exhale  from  the  dead  bodief. 

The  church   has  several  good   pictures  by  Cano,  Espinosa, 
and  Ribalta,  amongst  which  we  distinguish  a  Virgin  feeding 

an  infant  Je>us  ;  a  statue  of  the  Virgin  by  Ignacio  Vergara  ; 
paintings  in  fresco  by  Luis  Planes,  cover  the  vault  <>f  the 
sanctuary.  In  Ibe  sacristy  is  an  infant  Jesus  surrounded  by 
seraphim,  a  St  John  the  BaptUt  in  his  infancy,  and  St.  John 
the  Evai>£t!i3t  al>o  in  infancy,  a  Birth  of  Christ, 

On  leaving  the  Carthusian  monastery,  We  fol- 
low the  road  to  the  west;  after  travelling  half  a 
league  we  come  to  la  Tone,  a  barn  belonging  to 
the  same  monastery;  it  is  here  that  the  good 
wine  de  la  Cartuxa  is  made,  which  is  sold  as 
high  as  ten  reals  a  bottle.  The  land  her*  be- 
comes \e\  el,  and  is  nted  j  mo  I  throughout 
h  olive  and  carnb-tn  ■-.  The  plain  is  b 
d  on  the.  rij ;ht,  ••<!  •'■    mall  di  e  mc  -,   by  a 


260  VALENCIA. 

mountain  of  no  great  elevation,  on  which  are  seen 
the  villages  of  Gatova,  Marines,  and  Olla.  Wc 
now  arrive  at  Liria,  two  leagues  distant  from 
the  monasteiy. 

Li  u  ta  is  a  very  ancient  town,  which,  it  is  said, 
existed  before  the  arrival  of  the  Phenicians  in 
Spain.  It  bore  the  name  of  Edera  under  the 
Carthaginians,  and  of  Edeta  and  of  Laurona un- 
der the  Romans,  when  it  was  the  capital,  or  chief 
place  in  the  country  of  the  people  called  Edc- 
tani.  There  are  some  Roman  monuments  to  be 
seen  here,  amongst  which  we  distinguish  an  in- 
scription found  in  1759  in  one  of  the  channels 
of  a  fountain,  and  placed  at  the  door  of  the  ab- 
bey de  la  Cure. 

This  town  was  almost  destroyed  during  the 
wars  of  Sertorius  and  Pompev  ;  but  being  after- 
wards rebuilt,  was  taken  by  the  Goths  from  the 
Romans,  from  the  Goths  by  the  Moors,  and 
from  them  in  125'i  by  James  the  Conqueror, 
king  of  Aragon,  who  changed  its  position  a 
little. 

It  is  situated  between  two  little  hills.  It  has 
a  parish  church,  two  chapels  of  case,  two  con- 
vents of  Trinitarian  and  Franciscan  monks,  and 
a  population  of  about  six  or  seven  thousand 
souls.  The  front  of  the  parish  church,  which 
has  three  stories  of  architecture,  is  well  exe- 
cuted. 


VALENCIA.  l2b} 

This  town  has  the  title  of  duchy.  It  was 
given  by  king  Philip  V.  to  marcsehal  Berwick, 
whose  descendants  possess  it  to  this  day. 

On  leaving  Liria  we  cross,  for  the  space  of  two 
leagues  and  a  half,  a  plain  interspersed  with 
fields  and  vineyards,  and  abounding  in  olive 
and  carob-trees.  A  steep  and  long  ascent 
called  Las  Lacobas  leads  to  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain on  which  there  is  a  plain,  and  at  its  extre- 
mity the  village  of  Las  Alcublas,  four  leagues 
from  Liria,  and  which  has  a  population  of  about 
fourteen  hundred  inhabitants. 

We  proceed  for  two  leagues  amidst  lofty  yet 
agreeable  mountains,  covered  with  shrubs,  me- 
dicinal plants,  and  occasionally  with  plots  of 
vines;  and  then  arrive  at  the  entrance  of  a  very 
deep  valley,  where  we  find  the  little  town  of 
And  ilia. 

An  dill  A  was  only  a  farm  under  the  Moors, 
and  became  a  town  under  James  I.  king  of 
Aragon,  who  built  and  peopled  it.  It  is  situ- 
ated on  a  mountainous  site,  and  its  population 
is  only  about  five  hundred  inhabitants.  Its 
church  has  some  good  paintings,  amongst  which 
we  distinguish  several  by  Castaneda,  and  parti- 
cularly four  by  Ribalta;  a  Presentation  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  in  the  Temple,  a  Circumcision,  a 
Nativity  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  and  a  Visitation. 
Chi  leaving  Andilla  we  still  follow  a  steep 
s  3 


262  VALENCIA. 

ascent,  come  to  the  village  of  Canales,  con- 
tinue along  the  side  of  the  mount  iin  called 
Vellkla,  and  perceive  very  near  va  that  of 
Cubillo.  The  road  becomes  very  had  from  a 
constant  Succession  of  acclivities  and  declivities, 
on  the  very  brinks  of  precipices.  On  reaching; 
a  dell  we  cross  the  little  ii\ei  Canalcs,  and  again 
ascend  an  eminence,  where  we  find  Bexis. 

Tkxis,  a  little  town  of  about  a  thousand  in- 
habitants, formerly  a  fortified  town,  and  now  a 
commandery  of  the  order  of  Calatrava.  It  is  in 
a  situation  not  very  agreeable,  on  the  top  of  a 
mountain,  surrounded  by  other  mountains, 
which  being  more  lofty  cover  and  command  i". 
It  was  inhabited  by  the  Romans;  there  are  still 
legible  two  Roman  inscriptions  on  the  barn  of 
Alcaydon,  which  is  only  a  quarter  of  a  league 
from  it. 

Haifa  league  beyond  Bexh  we  come  toToras, 
a  little  village.  The  land  becomes  more  even, 
and  rhe  road  is  bordered  with  vineyards.  In 
the  course  of  a  league  and  a  half  we  reach 
Yivel 

Vivj  l  is  a  little  town  ;n  a  fine  situation  near 
the  river  Paiencia.  It  has  a  parish  church,  a 
convint  of  minim  monks,  and  a  population  of 
about  thirlcen  bundled  inhabitants.  Some  think 
that  it  is  the  ancient  Behinum,  afterwards  Vi- 


VALENCIA,  §63 

variiim  of  Ihc  Romans.     We  still  find  in  h 
veral  Roman  inscriptions. 

Soon  after  leaving  Vivel  we  perceive  to  the 
left  the  villages  of  Candiel  and  of  Maté,  ami 
half  a  league  more  brings  us  to  Xerica  by  a 
pleasant  road,  through  a  fertile  country  well 
wooded  and  cultivated. 

X  Line  a,  according  to  some,  is  the  ancient 
Ociserda  or  Etobesa;  according  to  others  the 
Lexeta  or  Laxataof  the  Romans.  This  town  is 
situated  near  the  river  Palencia,  on  the  side  of 
a  mountain  at  the  top  of  which  are  to  be  seen 
the  ruins  of  a  strong  castle:  it  is  surrounded 
with  walls  flanked  with  towers,  and  was  taken 
from  the  Moors  in  lSi^o  by  James  I.  king  of 
Aragon.  Its  population  is  &8ÛQ  inhabitants.  Jt 
lias  a  parish  church  served  by  a  considerable 
number  of  clergymen,  two  convents  of  Capu- 
chins and  Great  Augustins,  a  hospital,  three 
hermitages  or  private  chapels,  three  fountains, 
and  a  bridge.  We  here  iind  some  Roman  in- 
scriptions, the  greater  part  of  which  are  se- 
pulehral.  It  is  said  that  the  Romans  had  sçliools 
hoe,  where  the  sciences'  i+nd  the  me  of  arms 
were   taught.     This    little    town    gave    birth  to 

Francisco  Loscos,  who  wrote  on  philosophy. 

We    proceed    on    a  road  between  little  moun- 
tains, sometimes  separated  by  small  vales.     We 
.  the  river  Paleacia  u\cr  a  bridge  built 

•   i 


£64  VALENCIA. 

1570,  at  the  expence  of  Juan  de  Muîiatones, 
bishop  of  Segorbe.  After  travelling  a  league 
and  a  half  we  come  to  la  Esperanza,  a  monas- 
tery of  Jeronimites,  situated  on  a  mountain,  at 
the  foot  of  which  a  spring  produces  sufficient 
water  to  turn  two  mills,  and  water  the  countries 
of  Navajas,  of  Segorbe,  and  Altura;  it  is  pre- 
tended that  these  waters  have  the  property  of 
petrifying  bodies  which  continue  any  time  in 
them.  About  a  quarter  of  a  league  farther  we 
arrive  at  Segorbe. 

Segorbe  is  a  town  with  the  title  of  duchy, 
agreeably  situated  in  a  very  fertile  vale,  abound- 
ing in  grain  and  in  fruit,  on  the  river  of  the 
same  name,  which  there  takes  that  of  Mur- 
viedro.  Its  population  is  twelve  hundred  fa- 
milies, or  about  six  thousand  souls. 

Some  people  relying  on  the  similarity  of 
names,  pretend  that  this  is  the  ancient  Sego^ 
briga,  which  we  find  on  many  Roman  medals  ; 
others,  on  the  contrary,  place  that  ancient  town 
in  Castile,  and  others  again  in  Aragon. 

Segorbe  is  the  see  of  a  bishop,  suffragan  to  Valencia,  the 
diocese  of  which  comprehends  forty-two  parishes.  The  clergy 
of  its  cathedral  are  composed  of  four  dignitaries,  ten  canons, 
twenty-four  beneficiaries,  and  thirty-three  chaplains. 

This  town  has  four  convents  of  monks;  Franciscans,  Do- 
minicans, capuchins,  and  of  Mercy  ;  a  convent  of  nuns,  a 
seminary,  a  hospital,  five  hermitages,  oratories  or  chapels,  a 
provisor,  who  is  at  once  official  and  vicar-general  of  the  dio- 
5 


VALENCIA.  C6"5 

eese  ;  nine  gates,  and  six  squares.  It  abounds  in  fountains  ; 
there  are  three  which  are  public,  and  about  forty  in  private 
houses.  It  was  taken  from  the  Moors  in  1215  by  James  L 
king  of  Aragon. 

The  cathedral  church  has  some  paintings  of  the  school  of 
Joannez,  and  of  that  of  Ribalta. 

The  church  of  the  convent  of  nuns  is  of  a  good  architecture, 
and  has  some  good  painting*.  In  parts  of  this  church  are 
paintings  of  superior  merit,  for  instance  a  Descent  of  Jesus 
Christ  into  hell  by  Ribalta.  A  Conception  in  the  style  of 
Joannez;  a  Transfiguration,  a  Resurrection,  an  eternal  Fa- 
ther, &c. 

The  seminary  is  kept  in  the  ancient  house  of  the  Jesuits. 
In  the  church  is  the  monument  of  the  founder  of  this  house, 
by  Pedro  Mirallez,  a  native  of  Bexis,  whose  life  was  a  series 
of  singular  adventures,  by  which  he  became  very  opulent. 
The  statue  of  Minllcz  is  well  executed.  ;  Antonio  Ximcn,  a 
poet  of  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
Juan  Valero,  a  theologian  of  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
were  born  in  this  town. 

At  a  quarter  of  a  league  from  Segorbe  stands 
the  Charthusian  monastery  of  val  de  Christo 
founded  by  the  infant  don  Martin,  son  and 
successor  of  Peter  the  IV.  king  of  Aragon 
We  find  good  paintings  here  by  Vergara,  Çama- 
ron,  Donoso,  Joannez,  and  Oriente.  The 
monks  have  established  a  paper  manufactory  at 
Altura,  a  village  of  about  1500  inhabitants, 
which  belongs  to  them,  and  which  is  at  a  quar- 
ter league's  distance  between  their  monastery 
and  Segorbe, 


g66  VALENCIA. 


ROAD    FROM    VALESCI\     TO    SAN-FELIPE,    NINE    LEAGUES    AN» 
A  HALF. 

Three  different  roads  lead  from  V  dencia  to 
San-Felipe. 

The  first  has  already  been  described  from  Va- 
leneia  to  Jucar  on  the  road  to  Madrid.  Cross- 
ing the  ferry  on  this  river  we  turn  to  the 
left  and  arrive  at  San-Felipe,  after  travelling 
two  leagues.     This  road  is  nine  leao-ues. 

The  second  is  on  the  same  road  as  far  as  the 
Venta  del  Rey  and  to  the  village  Rocla,  where 
we  turn  to  the  left,  and  it  is  but  three  quarters 
of  a  league  farther  to  San-Felipe.  This  road  is 
also  nine  leagues. 

The  third  is  the  following;  half  a  league  lon- 
ger than  the  two  others. 

LEAGUES. 

Valencia  to 

Catarroja,  (a  village).. .. ... 1 

Silla,  (a  village) __.l 

.  Almosafez,    (a   village) 1 

Algemesi,    (a   town) 1 

Alzira,  (a  town) mJt 

f'arcajente,  (a  town) \ 

Cullada,  (a  village)   .. . 1 

La  PueLtlalarga,  (a  village) . . § 

Manuel,  (a  village) 1 

San-Felipe,  (a  town) § 


VAfcEXCtA,  267 

On  leaving  Valencia  we  go  through  the  fine 
countiy  which  surrounds  that  town.  A  league 
after,  we  come  to  Catarroia,  a  vil  lose  of  about 
three  thousand  inhabitants,  the  greater  part 
fishermen  ;  and  after  an  other  league  to  that  of 
Silla,  both  situated  near  the  lake  of  Albufera. 
YVc  afterwards  came  to«£he  village  df  Ahnosafez, 
and  the  lit  tie  town  of  Algemesi,  a  league  from 
each  other.  Proceeding  for  two  leagues  further 
we  arrive  at  Alzira. 

Alzjka  or  Aleira  (Sacré  under  the  Carthagi- 
nians, Scctabicula  under  the  Romans,  Algezira, 
or  Algecira,  under  the  Arabs)  is  a  considerable 
town,  of  about  ten  thousand  souls,  situated  ou 
the  Jucar,  which  surrounds  and  gives  it  the 
appearance  of  an  island.  It  has  a  parish  church, 
two  chapels  of  ease,  six  convents,  a  corregidor, 
a  hospital,  and  two  fine  bridges  on  the  Jucar; 
its  streets  are  narrow,  and  crooked.  It  gave 
birth  to  the  poet  Vincent  Gascô  de  Siurana, 
who  flourished  in  J 406,  and  who  was  highly  ex- 
tolled by  Lopez  de  Vega.  AX  half  a  league  from 
Alzira  we  reach  Carcagente,  a  little  town  of 
about  fow  thousand  son:  and  tolerably 

:i  built,   with  a  parish  chinch,   a  convent  Of 
monks,   and    one  ol    nun-.      In    another    league 
we    come    to    the     village   of   Cullada,    thena 
U>    ti>e    PueLU   laiga,    another     village.      la 

6" 


268  VALENCIA. 

one  league  more  we  come  to  the  village  of  Ma- 
nuell,  and  very  soon  after  arrive  at  San  Felipe. 

San-Felipe  is  a  very  ancient  town,  which 
was  famous  under  the  Romans  by  whom  it  was 
subdued  ;  it  then  bore  the  name  of  Setabis  :  the 
Moors  changed  this  name  to  that  of  Xixona  and 
afterwards  Xativa,  which  it  preserved  till  the 
commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when 
it  took  that  of  San-Felipe. 

Xativa  was  one  of  the  towns  most  exasper- 
ated against  Phillip  V.  and  the  most  obstinate 
in  their  rebellion  against  that  pi  ince.  The  town 
within  was  the  theatre  of  exploits  which  would 
have  done  honour  to  the  warriors  of  any  age,  if 
courage  and  honour  alone  had  directed  them. 

This  rebellious  town  was  besieged  by  the 
chevalier  d'Asfelt  in  the  month  of  May  1706. 
Its  garrison  consisted  of  some  battalions  of 
English  troops  only  ;  but  the  courage  of  its  in- 
habitants constituted  its  principal  force. 

Though  the  French  army  was  at  the  foot  of 
the  breach,  menacing  the  town  with  an  assault, 
the  inhabitants,  equally  deaf  to  the  fear  of  death 
and  to  the  offers  of  pardon,  would  not  yield. 
The  assault  was  made,  they  every  where  fought 
with  a  courage  supported  by  ungovernable  rage; 
but  at  length  they  were  overcome  and  the  town 
was  carried.  The  sword  was  raised,  the  inha- 
bitants braved  the  fury  of  the  soldiers,  and  pre- 


VALENCIA.  îl69 

fer  red  death,  they  said,  to  obeying  Philip.  The 
order  for  slaughter  was  given  ;  these  unhappy 
victims  of  obstinacy,  presented  themselves  to  the 
sword  and  mutually  animated  each  other  to  die; 
but  wishing  to  bury  their  town  with  them  they 
set  fire  to  it.  The  soldiers  seconded  them  ;  the 
sword  in  one  hand,  the  fire-brand  in  the  other, 
they  fought  and  set  fire  to  the  buildings. 

In  a  little  time  rivers  of  blood  filled  the  squares 
and  inundated  the  streets;  heaps  of  dead  and  dy- 
ing bodies  covered  the  surface,  volumes  of  flame 
rose  in  the  air,  the  cries  of  soldiers,  the  groans 
of  the  dying,  the  crash  of  falling  houses,  and  an 
atmosphere  on  fire,  formed  a  spectacle  of  horror 
sufficient  to  appal  the  most  insensible.  All 
perished,  men,  women,  old  and  young  ;  the 
French  general  could  save  only  a  few  women 
and  priests  ;  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  con- 
troul  the  soldiers.  No  more  of  Xativa  remain- 
ed, neither  ramparts  nor  edifices,  nor  inhabit- 
ants, nor  even  the  name  it  had  borne  until  then. 
A  new  town  arose  from  its  ashes,  and  it 
called  San-Felipe. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  new  city  have  not  yet 
forgotten  that  it  \\a>  the  French  who  destroyed 
Xativa;  and  their  resentment  is  transmitted 
from  father  to  son. 

ni  and  Situation.     'îhis  town  is  situated  on  the  side  o( 
a  calcareous    mountain,    and    below    tWO   ea  .lies    which    are 

■    ling  to  decay.    Its  extent  i*  considerable,  but  its  populs 


270  VAX  EN  G I  A» 

tiou  is  only  about  10  000  souls.     It  has  22  fountain  9,  a  pa 
manufactory,  and  suburbs,  in  which  there  arc  fountains  and 
walks. 

Administration,  Ecclesiastical  and  Civil.  The  ancient  Xativa 
liad  formerly  and  in  remote  times  an  episcopal  st •<?.     Modern 

San-Felipe  has  a  Collegiate  chapter,  the  ehureh  of  which, 
lately  built,  is  tolerably  handonie,  in  imitation  of  the  (iothic 
style,  three  parish  churches,  six  convents  of  monks,  two  eon- 
vents  of  nuns,  a  hospital  for  the  sick,  and  a  hospital  for 
poor  widows;  this  town  is  governed  by  a  corregidor,  and  an 
alcalde  mayor  for  the  administration  of  justice. 

It  is  commanded  by  a  castle  built  on  the  rock,  and  which 
has  in  it  a  convent  of  Pernardins.  It  contains  seme  cisterns; 
and  there  are  vestiges  of  the  works  of  the  Romans  and  Moors, 
and  several  Roman  inscriptions. 

Xativa  is  also  celebrated  for  the  distinguished  men  which 
it  has  given  birth  to.  The  celebrated  historian  Mohamcd- 
Abu-Amer,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Almoncarral  was  born 
here  in  the  eleventh  century.  This  historian  did  not  confine 
himself  to  doing  honour  to  his  country  by  his  writings, 
he  founded  an  academy  of  history,  which  was  celebrated, 
and  which  existed  until  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors.  Juan 
Mingues,  Jerome  Tamarit,  and  Francisco  Gutierrez,  theolo- 
gians of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  were  born 
here,  as  were  Francisco  Franco,  a  physician,  who  wrote  in 
the  sixteenth  century  on  contagious  diseases;  Jaeobo 
Beltran,  whose  poetry  is  in  the  Valencian  tongue.  This  too 
was  the  birth-place  of  Pope  Calixtus  III.  ;  of  Alexander 
VI.,  and  of  the  painter  Joseph  Ribera,  better  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Espagnolet  ;  he  died  in  1636. 

The  territory  of  San-Felipe  produces  every  kind  of  fruit, 
corn,  maize,  silk,  wine,  oil,  carobs,  and  particularly  rice, 
which  is  one  of  the  principal  articles  of  cultivation.  It  was 
formerly  famous  for  the  fineness  of  its  hemp,  its  flax,  and  es- 
pecially its  linens,  which   Pliny   placed  amongst  the   best  of 


VALENCIA.  27  î 

Europe,  and  which  Silius  Italicus  preferred  to  the  finest  of 
Arabia.  It  was  indeed  the  beauty  of  its  linens  which  caused 
the  manufactories  of  paper  to  be  established  at  Xativa  ;  these 
were  the  first  in  Europe.  They  existed  so  long  ago  as  the 
twelfth  century,  and  it  was  to  the  INIoors  they  owed  their 
existence   and  success. 

ROAD     FROM    VALENCIA    TO    THE    FRONTIERS     OF     CATALONIA*, 
TWENTY-ONE  LEAGUES  THREE-QUARTERS. 

LEAGUES. 

Valencia  to  _„__ 

S.  Miguel  de  los  Reyes,  (a  monastery) \ 

Tabernes,  (a  village). _. .__. j 

Casas  de  Barsena,  (some  houses) -J 

Albalat,  (a  village) -f 

Venta  del  Emperador , 

Masa  Ivlagrell,  (a   village) I 

La  Cruz  del  Puch,  (a  village) _ x 

Ara  Christi,   (a  Carthusian  monastery) { 

Mesones  de  Puzol _ £ 

Murviedro,  (a  town) . I  [ 

A  guilty,   (without  a  bridge) 

Almenara,  (a  town) _ if 

A  hamlet _ __ i 

«lunches,   (a  village) 

Nules,  (a  town) l£ 

Villareal,  (a  town) * || 

Mijares,  (a  river  and  bridge) 

Castellon  de  la  Plantj  (a  town) \} 

Casa* de  Benicasi,  (a  hamlet) % 

Oropesa,   (a  town) 

Venta  de  lu  Sanieta 1 1 

Torrcblanca,  (a  village).. _ ]^ 

A  gulley,  (without  a  bridge). 

Alcala d<  I il 


£72  VALENCIA. 

LEAGUE». 

A  hamlet ■£ 

A  deep  pulley,  (without  a  bridge) J 

Benicarlo,  (a  town) I 

A    pulley ___„ 

Vinaros,   (a   town) 1 

Serrol,  (    river  without  abridge) . / 

A  gidley.» | 

La  Cena,  (a  river  and  bridge) \ 

We  leave  Valencia  by  the  bridge  of  Serranos, 
pass  through  the  large  faubourg  of  Murviedro, 
and  for  some  time  travel  through  the  beautiful 
country  which  surrounds  Valencia. 

The  road  we  follow  is  the  continuation  of  that 
which  leads  from  Madrid  to  Valencia;  this  too 
is  fine,  and  extends  through  a  space  of  eleven 
leagues;  the  bridges  here  are  numerous  even  over 
the  smallest  rivulets,  and  there  are  many  cause- 
ways raised  with  brick  work  ;  parapets,  properly 
placed,  provide  for  the  safety  of  the  traveller  ; 
windings  are  managed  with  skill  on  the  decli- 
vities  of  hills;  handsome  houses  are  seen  at  in- 
tervals, mile  stones  are  placed  at  every  league; 
and  direction  posts  are  erected  wherever  ne- 
cessary on  the  road. 

We  soon  pass  by  the  monastery  of  San  Miguel 
de  los  Reyes  ;  and  perceive  on  the  right  the 
village  of  Oriols  ;  we  then  reach  that  of  Tabcr- 
nes,  after  which  we  cross  a  large  and  fine  bridge 
without  water.     We   come  afterwards   to   the 


VALENCIA.  273 

Casas  de  Barsena,  which  consist  of  a  row  of 
houses  forming  a  line  on  the  side  of  the  road, 
and  whence  we  perceive  at  three  hundred  paces 
to  the  left,  the  village  of  Foios. 

Wc  proceed  rapidly  toAlbalat,  a  large  village, 
the  houses  of  which  are  tolerably  well  built,  to 
the  Venta  del  imperador,  where  we  find  on  the 
right  a  long  row   of  handsome  houses,  and    a 
very  pretty  pavilion  which  we  perceive  on  the 
top  of  a   tower.     We  leave    on    the   left  the 
village  of  Museros.     We  then  pass  on  to  Masa* 
magrell,   a  very  long,  narrow,  and  ill  built  vil- 
lage, to   Cruz  del  Puch,  also  a  village,  and  to 
Ara  Christi,  a  Carthusian  monastery,   which  we 
see  on  the  left,  the  lands   of  which  extend  to 
the  road.     We  come  to  the  village  of  Rafelbunol 
also  on  the  left,  and  leave  the  town  of  el  Puch, 
very  near  us  on  the  right.     It  is  in  a  plain,  but 
turrounded   with  mountains;  it  has  a  convent 
monks   of    Mercy,    a  parish  church,  a  hospital, 
a  fine  square  with  a  fountain,  and  a  population 
of  three  hundred  families  01  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred inhabitants. 

All  the  places  we  have  named  are  within  the 
short  distance  of  a  league  and  a  half.  The 
plain  is  celebrated  for  the  victory  which 
Jame->  the  Conqueror  gained  in  \'2S7  over 
the  Moorish  king  Zaen,  and  which  led  to 
the  conquest  Valencia.  A  convent  of  monks 
Vol.  /. 


VA  I.  EX  i 

of  the  order  or'  Mercy,  occupies  on  a  small 
neighbouring'  hill  the  site  of  the  ancient  castle 
of  Puch  ;  a  collection  of  portraits  of  great  men 
is  preserved  here. 

Here  begin  forests  of  olives  and  vines,  which 
become  thicker  and  thicker.  We  perceive, 
fronting  us,  mountains  at  a  distance,  which  un- 
fold themselves  as  we  advance;  and  soon  after, 
the  eye  discovers,  but  far  off,  the  vestiges  of 
ancient  castles,  which  the  .Moors  had  erected  on 
the  ruins  of  ancient  Phenician  and  Roman  for- 
tifications. 

We  proceed  to  Mesones  de  Puzol,  where  we 
find  a  long  range  of  inns.  We  perceive  at  the 
same  time,  at  a  short  distance  on  the  right,  ihe 
town  of  Puzol,  which  was  only  a  hamlet  under 
the  Moors,  but  was  built  and  peopled  in  1042, 
by  Salido  de  Gudal,  to  whom  James  I.  gave  it; 
it  has  now  about  fifteen  hundred   inhabitants. 

The  ruins  of  ancient  Saguntum  gradually  ap- 
pear as  we  advance;  they  look  on  the  mountain 
like  seven  castles  one  after  another,  which  per- 
haps were  only  divisions  of  the  ame  fortress: 
some  of  them  are  completely  in  ruins,  while  the 
others  are  almost  entire;  formerly  they  had  all 
subterraneous  communications  one  with  the 
other.  Sublime  recollections  occupy  the  mind, 
and  we  arrive  at  Murviedro  without  perceiving 


VALENCIA.  1275 

the  length  of  the  road,  although  that  town  is  a 
league  and  a  half  from  Mesones  de  Puzol. 

Murviedro  is  a  long  and  narrow  town,  a 
league  from  the  sea  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain 
of  black  marble  veined  with  white.  It  stands 
at  the  extremity  of  a  vast  plain,  where  nature 
assisted  by  art  developes  abundant  riches,  where 
contiguous  villages  give  it  an  air  of  life  and 
motion,  and  where  we  perceive  at  short  dis- 
tances, the  villages  of  Fauro,  Benifayro,  Cuar- 
it'll,  Uenabites,  and  Santa-Coloma,  whose  in- 
habitants with  industrious  activity  vie  with  one 
another  in  fertilizing  fields,  formerly  tlowing 
with  the  blood  of  the  Saguntines,  Carthaginians, 
and    Romans. 

The  modern  name  of  Murviedro  is  said  to  be 

derived  from  muri  -ceteres  or  from  muros  vie/os, 

because   this    town  is   erected    on   the  ruins  of 

Sagnntum*. 

/  ,•>  and  Population. — Thi*  town,  situated  in  the  ancient 
country  of  the  Edetani,  is  surrounded  by  lofty  walls  and 
flanked  bv  Miiall  round  towers.     The  inclosure  has  several 


*  If  \vp  ;ire  to  credit  Livy,  de  hello  Ititpanico,  lib.  xxi.  c 
7;  Apollodorus,  Chronic,  lib.  ni.  ;  Pliny,  lib.  îtii,  chap,  ii; 
Silius  Italiens,  lib.  ii.;  and   Strabo,  lib.  in.     Saguntuni 
founded  !  ony  of  Grecians,  from  the  ill  Zante, 

whose  inhabitants,  called    ZaCinthiant,  srere   ;i  mixtan 
Arcadians  and    .  rhe  period  U  fi\n\  at 

. 

t  9 


£76  TALENXTA. 

gates,  which  arc  all  defended  by  square  towers  ;  the  interior 
is  disagreeable  and  dark;  the  streets  narrow,  crooked  and 
steep,  and  the  houses  have  a  bad  appearance.  The  suburbs 
are  very  extensive,  more  agreeable  and  airy  than  the  (own, 
and  perfectly  level.     The  inhabitants  amount  to  about  5000. 

Clergy.  Administration. — Here  is  one  tolerably  fine  parish 
church,  three  chapels  of  ease,  two  convents  of  monks,  one  of 
rigid  Franciscans,  the  other  of  Trinitarians;  (the  church  be- 
longing to  the  last  contains  some  pictures  by  Minana,  a 
monk  of  this  house,  who  united  a  taste  for  the  arts  with  exten- 
sive literary  knowledge)  a  convent  of  nuns,  and  a  corregidor. 
This  town  gave  birth  to  Joseph  Garcias,  a  tolerable  painter  of 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Commerce. — Here  are  some  distilleries  of  brandy,  which 
is  exported  to  the  north  of  Europe  and  to  America  ;  but  it 
bas  a  more  certain  resource  in  the  productions  of  the  neigh- 
bouring lands,  in  oil,  wine,  wheat,  barky,  hemp,  and  carobs. 

Antiquities. — It  is  impossible  to  go  over  Murviedro  without 
experiencing  a  sentiment  of  veneration  for  the  memory  of  its 
ancient  inhabitants  ;  at  every  step  we  take  we  are  put  in 
mind  of  the  courage  of  the  Saguntins,  the  triumph  and  the 
vengeance  of  the  Carthaginians,  and  the  grandeur  of  the  Ro- 
mans ;  we  cannot  examine  it  without  reflecting  at  once  on  its 
glory  under  the  Saguntins,  its  destruction  under  the  Cartha- 
ginians, its  magnificence  under  the  Romans,  and  the  annihi- 
lation of  the  monuments  of  the  luxury,  greatness,  and  power 
of  those  nations,  under  the  destructive  hands  of  the  Arabs. 

The  vestiges  of  the  Roman  power  which  we  now  find  here 
are  only  the  insignificant  remains  of  what  they  were  formerly  ; 
it  still  retains,  however,  something  impre;.sive  and  majestic. 

Celtiberian  and  Roman  inscriptions  are  seen  on  every  side; 
we  find  on  several  modern  edifices  and  in  ancient  fortifications, 
the  stones  on  which  they  are  engraven;  we  walk  over  them 
on  the  thresholds  of  the  doors,  and  on  the  stairs;  and  ofteft 


VALENCIA.  277 

Ument  the  ignorance  of  those  who  have  degraded  them,  or 
who,  by  putting  them  to  different  u>o  than  those  i  ie]  were 
intended  for,  have  reversed  or  destroyed  them. 

There  are  several  in  unknown  characters,  which  a:v  s.id  to 
be  Celtiberian  ;  at  the  entrance  of  the  cloisters  of  the  con- 
vent of  the  Trinitarians  at  tne  side  of  the  gate  of  la  Villa, 
and  on  the  walls  of  the  chapel  de  la  Sangre. 

Numerous  statues  ornamented  the  temples  and  the  other 
public  edifices  of  SagunKim,  most  of  which  have  been  desli  oy- 
ed;  some  of  them  have  been  conveyed  to  the  archiépiscopal 
palace  of  Valencia;  and  there  remains  at  Murviedro  only  a 
single  statue,  which  is  of  white  marble  without  a  head,  and  a 
fragment  of  another- 

Saguntum  had  its  temples,  of  which  very  few  vestiges  re- 
main :  thjt  consecrated  to  Diana  occupied  the  spot  ou  which 
the  Trinitarian  convent  now  stands  ;  but  not  a  trace  of  it  is. 
to  be  found.  It  is  said  that  part  of  its  ruins  Was  con?  rted 
into  materials  for  building  the  church  of  this  convent,  and  that 
of  the  monastery  of  St.  Michael  de  los  Reyes,  near  Valencia. 

We  find  the  ruins  of  three  steps  in  that  part  of  the  castle 
called  the  Ilerraita,  near  the  cistern  ;  they  are  "the  remains  of 
a  greater  number  which  led  to  a  temple,  the  bases  and  plinths 
of  tlie  columns  of  which  are  still  visible. 

Another  temple  seems  to  have  stood  on  the  spot  where  that 
part  of  the  castle  stands,  which  forms  the  third  division;  we 
still  see  its  foundations,  the  extent  ami  solidity  of  which  are 
admirable;  they  are  at  the  side  of  the  rums  <>i  an  immense 
cistern.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  dedicated  to  Hercules. 
An  adjacent  square  bears  the  name  of  that  demi-godj  and  m 
the  middle  of  the  square  there  is  a  tower,  half  destroyed^ 
which  tradition  reports  to  be  a  burial  place  of  a  companion,  of 
Hercules;  somci  with  mon  probability  believe  it  to  be  the 
burying  plate  of  a  Carthaginian  general 

Saguntum  had  a  circus»  the  walls  of  which  are  still  dfetin* 
gnisbable  in  thi  lower  pan  of  the  enclosure!  of  a  succession 
T  3 


27*  VA LEX CI A. 

of  orchards,  behind  the  convent  of  the  Trinitarians.  Tins 
circus  had  the  form  of  a  semi-ellipsis,  the  two  extremes  of 
which  terminated  at  the  little  river  Valencia. 

In  digging  to  make  a  road  from  Valencia  to  Murviedro  in 
1755,  at  the  entrance  of  the  latter  town  a  mosaic  pavement 
was  discovered  ;  it  was  entire  and  of  sucli  beauty  that  it  was 
thought  worthy  of  preservation:  Ferdinand  VI.  caused  it  to 
be  surrounded  with  walls;  but  the  king's  internions  were  not 
properly  fulfilled;  the  gates  were  suffered  to  rerhain  open, 
and  every  one  carried  away  some  part  of  the  pavement,  which 
consequently  soon  became  despoiled  ;  it  was  rectangular,  and 
measured  24  feet  by  1  -t.  There  are  still  some  fragments  of  it  in 
several  houses  at  Murviedro.  A  priest  of  that  town,  don  Diego 
Puch,  an  antiquarian,  took  a  drawing  of  it,  which  he  afterwards 
had  painted  at  Valencia  on  the  tiles  fabricated  there,  and  paved 
an  apartment  in  his  house  with  them.  It  was  likewise  copied 
with  the  greatest  exactness,  with  small  stones  perfectly  simi- 
lar, in  an  apartment  of  the  library  belonging  to  the  archié- 
piscopal palace,  as  we  have  already  stated. 

A  greater  portion  of  the  theatre  remains  than  any  other 
Roman  monument.  It  is  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  which 
shelters  it  from  the  south  and  west  winds,  we  still  see  the  se- 
micircle where  the  spectators  sat,  the  doors  by  which  the 
magistrates  entered,  the  judges'  seats,  those  appropriated  to 
the  lictors,  and  to  courtezans.  The  vomitoria,  or  passages  by 
which  the  public  came  out,  are  still  to  be  seen. 

Some  years  ago  a  corregielor  of  Murviedro  desirous  of  giv- 
ing an  exhibition  of  the  entertainments  formerly  represented 
there,  caused  the  parts  of  the  theatre  that  were  destroyed  to 
be  reconstructed  in  wood-work,  and  had  a  play  performed  in 
the  very  place  where  the  Romans  had  so  long  embellished, 
the  drama.  How  gratifying  must  it  have  been  to  the  specta- 
tors to  think  that  they  were  occupying  a  place  formerly  filled 
by  the  masters  of  the  world  !  It  was  probably  this  entertain- 
ment which  suggf  s'.ed  to  the  minister  D'Aranda,  the  idea  of 


VALENCIA.  £79 

of  appointing  a  keeper  to  take  care  of  tins  monument,  which 
would  otherwise  ;  aw  been  entirely  lost,  notwithstanding  the 
most  positive  orders x>f  the  court. 

The  Proscenium  was  already  crowded  with  thatched  cot- 
tages and  a  row  of  mulberry  trees  ;  and  the  stage  was  occu> 
pied  by  the  wheels  of  rope  makers;  every  thing,  however,  has 
been  cleared  away  by  the  assiduity  of  M.  d'Aranda;  and  the 
inhabitants  now  enjoy  the  sight  "f  an  edifice  which,  by  re- 
calling the  glorious  remembrance  of  ''  e  people  who  raised  it, 
ought  to  stimulate  them  to  imitate  their  virtues. 

On  leaving  Murviedro  \vc-  cross  a  large  gulley, 
which,  though  commonly  without  water,  be- 
comes dangerous  during  the  rains.  We  proceed 
to  the  right  along  an  immense  plain,  sown  with 
corn  and  planted  with  olive  trees,  and  Aines; 
and  on  the  left  we  have  mountains  which  we 
approach  and  leave  alternately.  After  three 
quarters  of  a  league  we  perceive  on  the  leit  a 
multitude  of  villages,  which  seem  to  stand  in 
clusters;  we  distinguish  particularly  Cuartell, 
Fauro,  Benifyaro,  Benabites;  and  Santa  Coloma. 
In  three  quarters  of  a  league  farther  we  come  to 
Almenara,  a  little  town,  situated  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain,  a  continuation  of  those  by  the  sides  of 
which  we  have  been  riding,  and  which  turns  round 
in  a  semi-circle  as  if  to  cover  it  ;  here  we  see  the 
ruins  of  an  ancient  castle.  This  town  is  sur- 
rounded by  waited  it  has  two  suburbs,  a  parish 
church,  and  a  Dominican  convent. 

till  pi<  deed  along  the  side  of  the  moun- 
I  4 


280  VALENCIA, 

tain  ;  and  going  over  a  little  eminence  on  (he 
right  by  a  short  and  easy  ascent,  discover  an 
immense  plain  covered  with  trees  and  habita- 
tions, and  terminated  by  the  sea;  to  the  left  are 
barren  mountains.  We  pass  on  to  a  hamlet, 
and  a  little  more  than  a  mile  farther  perceive  the 
village  of  Chinches,  which  we  pass  at  the  dis- 
tance of  two  hundred  paces.  Here  the  country 
widens,  the  mountains  retire,  and  we  find  our- 
selves in  an  extensive  plain,  where  we  see  only 
fields,  vines,  olive  and  mulberry  trees.  In  an- 
other league  we  discover  Nulez,  which  opens 
upon  us  agreeably;  we  enter  it  leaving  to  the 
left  Villavieja,  a  village  where  there  are  cold  mi- 
neral springs. 

Nulez  is  a  small  town,  and  has  the  title  of 
jnarquisate.     It  is  square,  and  surrounded  with 
walls  flanked  with  towers:  it  has  four  gates.  Its 
streets  are  narrow,  but  straight,  and  the  houses 
have  a  poor  appearance.     It  has  a  parish  church, 
a  convent  for  barefoot  Carmelites,  a  convent  of 
Carmelite  nuns,   a  hospital,  an  alcalde  mayor, 
four  regidors,   and  a  population  amounting  to 
about  three  thousand  four  hundred  inhabitants. 
We  enter  this  town  by  a  suburb,  which  has  a 
fine  street,  and  we  leave  it  by  another  suburb  in 
which  the  convent  of  Carmelite  monks  is  situated. 
This  town  declared  against  Phillip  V.  ;  but  inti- 
midated by  the  fate  of  Villareal,  the  inhabitants 


VALENCIA-  £81 

laid  down  their  arms,  and  surrendered  to  the 
count  de  Torrez,  in  1706. 

On  quitting  Nulez  we  leave  to  the  right  Mus- 
carell,  a  village  that  has  the  title  of  marquisate  ; 
and  we  discover  Villareal,  which  we  reach  after 
travelling  three  quarters  of  a  league. 

Villareal  was  only  a  pleasure  house  built  by 
James  I.  king  of  Aragon,  in  1272,  for  his  chil- 
dren: it  then  bore  the  name  of  placio  real  or 
royal  palace.  It  increased  in  the  course  of  time, 
became  a  town  ,  and  changed  its  name  to  that  of 
villa  real  or  royal  town  ;  it  has  now  the  title  of 
marquisate. 

This  town,  which  is  nearly  square,  retains  some 
vestiges  of  its  ancient  walls;  the  remains  of  the 
fortifications  which  defended  its  approaches  are 
still  seen  :  its  gates  are  modern,  but  they  are 
placed  on  the  same  spots  where  the  ancient  ones 
stood. 

Villareal  declared  for  the  archduke  Charles 
during  the  Mar  of  the  succession;  but  it  was 
taken  in  1706  by  the  troops  of  Philip  V.  who 
destroyed  the  walls,  put  the  inhabitants  to  the 
sword,  and  reduced  the  houses  to  ushes:  conse- 
quently we  neither  see  houses  nor  édifiées  of  an 
ancient  date  ;  they  are  all  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. 

B  tent  and  Population. — This  town,  ittuited  i&  the  plain  on 

the  banks  of  Mj  irff,    has  Mvu  convents   for  munks,    OtH    of 


•28a  VALENCIA. 

Franciscans,  the  other  of  grand  Carmelite;  ;  a  convent  for 
nuns,  and  a  parish  church,  the  steeple  of  which  is  a  hand- 
some octagonal -tower,  very  lofty:  the  population  amounts  to 
about  5,500  persons.  It  has  two  suburbs;  we  enter  by  one 
and  go  out  hy  the  other,  and  cross  the  town  through  a  rery 
long  regular  street,  the  houses  of  which  are  tolerably  well 
built.  The  first  suburb  leads  too  gate  of  the  town,  which  is  a  fine 
structure,  having  two  Doric  pilasti  rs,  with  a  grand  balcony, 
surmounted  by  a  pavili  n.  The  other  suburb  is  perhaps 
larger  than  the  town  and  first  suburb  together. 

Francisco  Juan  Mas,  a  character  of  considerable  literary 
eminence  in  the  seventeenth  century,  <;il  .Trallench,  and  I)i- 
dax  Mas,  theologians,  were  born  in  this  town. 

In  less  than  halt  a  mile  from  Villareal  we  pass 
the  Mijarez  over  a  very  lotig  bridge  built  with 
free-stone,  furnished  with  stone  seats  at  regular 
distances,  and  ornamented  at  its  two  extremities 
with  two  small  circular  places,  where  four  in- 
scriptions engraven  on  large  squares  of  black 
marble  inform  us,  that  it  was  finished  in  1790, 
and  that  it  was  built  at  the  expense  of  some 
towns  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  there  named. 
We  begin  here  to  perceive  thesteeples  of  Caslcl- 
lo  de  la  Plana,  seeing  at  the  same  time,  to  the 
left,  the  village  of  (hula  and  the  little  town  of 
Altura,  the  population  of  which  amounts  to 
about  three  thousand  souls,  and  where  we  find 
a  manufactory  of  earthenware  :  on  the  right, 
between  the  road  and  the  sea,  we  observe  the 
villages  of  Almanzora  and  Burriana  :  the  latter 
(the -Medina  aladra  of  the' Moors)  was  the  birth* 


VALENCIA.  £S:> 

place  of  "Martin  clc  Viciosa,  an  historian  of  the 

sixteenth  century,  who  wrote  the  Chronicle  of 
the  kingdom  of  Valencia. 

The  soil  of  Alurviedro,  so  often  covered  with 
the  blood  of  the  Saguntins,  Carthaginians,  and 
Romans,  was  again,  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
drenched  with  that  of  the  Spaniards,  Catalans, 
French,    and  Moors. 

The  plain  of  Almenara,  which  we  have  just  pass- 
ed over,  was  also  bathed  with  blood,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  it  was 
the  field  where  Philip  V.  in  person,  and  the  ge- 
nerals of  the  archduke  Charles  had  a  sanguinary 
battle  on  the  <27th  July,  17(K),  where  the  cou- 
rageof  the  former  not  being  seconded  by  fortune, 
the  latter  obtained  a  victory  over  his  adversary  ; 
where  Stahremberg  remained  master  of  the  held 
of  battle;  and  where  thousands  fell  victims  on 
both  sides. 

It  is  impossible  to  pass  over  these  places  with- 
out thinking  of  the  events  of  which  thev  were 
the  theatre.  These  fields,  lovely,  smiling,  and 
fertile  as  they  DOW  air,  were  so  often  divastated, 
so  often  deluged  with  the  blood  of  innumerable 
warriors,  that  we  earn.  pe  the  painful  feel- 

ing excited  by  the  thought  of  their  owing  per- 
haps the  fertility  we  admire  to  the  torrents  of 
blood  which   have  flowed    over    them,    and    the 

thousands  of  human  bodies  which  have  mingled 
the  soil. 


2S4  VALENCIA. 

The  land  soon  becomes  bad  and  covered  with 
carob-trees.  Tor  three  quarters  of  a  league  we 
proceed  to  the  left  by  the  side  of  a  wood  of  firs; 
and  soon  after  arrive  at  Castello  de  la  Plana, 
which  we  enter  by  a  great  suburb,  and  proceed 
through  it  by  a  long,  wide  street,  but  of  which 
the  houses  are  low  and  badly  built. 

Castello  de  la  Plana,  called  Castalia  in 
the  time  of  the  Moors,  was  then  situated  on  an 
eminence,  half  a  league  farther  to  the  north  ; 
James  I.  king  of  Aragon,  after  having  conquered 
it  in  1233,  transferred  it  to  the  place  where  it 
now  stands;  from  which  time  it  took  the  name 
it  bears. 

Extent  and  Population. — This  town,  situated  in  the  middle 
of  •  an  extensive  plain,  and  half  a  league  from  the  sea,  has 
still  the  ruins  of  its  ancient  walls  and  of  some  square  towers  j 
It  has  eight  gates  and  two  large  suburbs  ;  several  of  its  streets 
are  straight  and  wide;  we  particularly  distinguish  the  calle 
mayor  or  great  street,  and  the  calle  del  medio  which  pass 
through  the  length  of  it  in  direct  lines.  The  houses  here  are 
simple  hut  welt  built,  and  of  an  agreeable  appearance.  There 
^are  two  great  squares,  that  of  the  town-hall  and  that  of  Ra- 
valet;  the  first  is  embellished  by  the  façades  of  the  town- 
hall  and  of  the  principal  church  ;  which  is  the  larger  of  the 
two.  Trees  were  planted  round  it  in  1701.  Its  population  is 
about  eleven  hundred  souls. 

Clergy.  Castello  has  three  parish  churches,  four  con- 
vents for  monks,  two  convents  for  nuns,  two  hospitals,  one 
for  sick  poor,  the  other  for  travellers  and  pilgrims,  and  three 
chapels  or  oratories. 

Caii  and  Militari/  Administration. — It  has  a  civil  and  mi- 


VALENCIA.  285 

litary  governor,  and  an  alcalde  mayor  tor  the  administration  of 
justice. 

Some  of  the  buildings  of  this  town  contain  objects  worthy 
observation. 

La  Ermita  del  C/ir/sto  is  a  chapel  out  of  the  town  ;  the 
vault  is  covered  with  paintings  in  fresco,  the  appearance  of 
which  is  agreeable. 

The  chapel  de  la  Sangre^is  a  little  private  church,  ornament- 
ed with  Corinthian  pilasters,,  covered  with  stucco,  the  chapi- 
ters of  which  are  gilt.  The  grand  altar  has  four  pictures  of 
a  middling  size,  relative  to  some  of  the  events  of  the  Passion  of 
Jesus  Christ,  by  Ribalu  :  some  other  paintings  by  this 
master  once  ornamented  this  altar,  but  they  have  been  lo>t 
through  the  negligence  of  those  who  suffered  them  to  be  de- 
stroyed by  the   worms  and  dust. 

The  chapel  of  the  Sepulchre  has  some  paintings  by  Ver- 
gara  ;  the  grand  altar  is  a  mass  of  gilt  wood,  where  a  sepul- 
chre is  preserved,  affirmed  to  have  been  made  by  ihr  angels  :  it 
is  covered  with  a  fine  painting  of  the  Transfiguration  of  Jesus 
Christ,  by  Vergara. 

The  town-hall  has  a  facing  of  free-stone,  with  three  stories 
of  architecture,  Doric  and  Corinthian.  A  fourth  story  w.i- 
begun  to  be  raised  at  each  extremity  ;  but  the  work  was  in- 
terrupted. This  façade  is  handsome  and  the  architecture 
good. 

The  tower  of  the  Bells  is  an  insulated  tower,  Bitual 
the  square  of  the  town-hall,  and  In*  i  d  nified  appi  tr- 
ance. It  is  octagon  and  has  five  itoriea  of  architecture!  each 
separated  from  the  other  by  cordons  i-li^btly  projecting.  The 
building  of  this  tower  was  begun  in  \'>$\,  and  ended  in  look 
It  is  nhorjt  2uo  feet  high,  and  1 1  '»  in  circum 

The  Igle*ia  .Mayor   is    also  situate. I    m    the  Mjuare  oi"    the 

town  -ball  ;  its  façade  appears  very  ancient,  of  free  stone,  tod 
in  the  Gothic  style  :   The  portal  is  a  composition  of  light 

airy  arcbv-.,  one  over  the  oilier,  but  in  such  »  way  that  tlici 


'186  VALENCIA. 

diminish  and  enter  gradually  from  the  (op  of  the  opening  to 
the  lintel  of  the  door.  The  church  baa  a  larg<  nave  of  beau- 
tiful Gothic  architecture,  but  disfigured  l>y  monstrous  orna* 
merits.  The  ailar  has  nothing  remarkable  but  tv.  o  small 
pictures  at  the  sides. 

This  town  gava  birth  to  Francisco  Jovcr,  a  theologian 
of  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  :  and  to  Andres  Ca- 
pero,  who  published  a  Collection  of  Sermons  in  1(>70. 

Castello  de  la  Plana  is  rich  in  the  quantity  and  variety 
of  productions  in  the  country  around  it  ;  in  no  part  do  we  see 
the  marks  of  poverty.  There  is  a  threat  deal  of  sail-cloth  ma- 
nufactured here,  and  rigging  for  ships.  There  arc  two  inns, 
that  with  the  sign  of  the  Lion  is  new  and  handsome  ;  one  is 
not  badly  accommodated  in  it,  nor  charged  very  high. 

The  line  road  we  travelled  from  Valencia  does 

not  go  beyond  Castello  de  la  Plana;  the  one 
wc  take  on  leaving  this  town  is  very  stony  and 
rough,  it  passes  through  a  plain  bounded  on 
the  right  by  the  sea,  at  a  distance  of  half  a 
league,  on  the  left  by  mountains  which  we  see 
at  a  distance,  and  before  by  other  mountains 
which  appear  nearer.  We  occasionally  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  sea,  and  should  have  a  full  view 
of  it  were  the  trees  not  so  numerous  :  these  are 
ail  carol;  i. 

The  road  keeps  continually  turning  to  the 
right,  so  as  to  be  always  at  the  same  distance 
from  the  mountains  which  seem  to  fly  before 
the  travellers.  It  is  sometimes  stony,  sometimes 
sandy,  and  always  bad.  The  land  becomes  dry, 
patched,  and  uncultivated,   but  covered    with 


VA  LEW  CI*.  287 

caiob  trees;  After  travelling  for  about  three 
leagues  from  Castello  de  la  Plana,  the  trees 
disappear  ami  the  sea  presents  itself  in  its  whole 
extent  at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  league. 
We  now  proceed  along  the  sea-shore,  and  perceive 
on  the  same  side  las  Casas  de  Benieasi,  a  little 
hamlet  where  the  Abbe  Bayer,  of  whom  we 
have  spoken  several  times,  caused  a  small 
church  to  be  built  on  the  plan  of  Don  Marc 
Ibanez  :  we  find  in  it  some  paintings  by  Joseph 
Camaron.  We  afterwards  come  to  one  of  the 
worst  Ventas  in  Spain. 

We  proceed  along  the  sea-shore  for  a  quarter 
of  a  league,  wb.cn  we  reach  the  mountains,  and 
go  up  a  steep  ascent,  where  heaps  of  rocks  very 
difiicidt  to  get  over  alarm  the  most  intrepid 
travellers.  We  ascend  along  the  side  of  a  pre- 
cipice, at  the  foot  of  which  the  waves  of  the 
sea  break;  a  simple  wall  crumbling  with  age 
is  the  only  protection  we  have  against  being  , 
ci  pi  ta  ted  to  the  bottom. 

We  now  descend  and  enter  into  a 
unequal  valley,  filled  with  cuts  and  sun  funded 
with  steep  rock)-  mountains  covered  with  shrubs; 
it  is  tilled  and  planted   with  carob-tr<  We 

leave   this  through  the     ra    \  ol  a  frightful  \ 

'-,  where  the  mountains  approach  each  other, 
where  great  itonej  that  have  rolled  do  .  p  lie  do 


CSS  Valencia. 

the  road,  where  the  irregularities  of  the  broken 
rocks  fatigue  and  bruise  the  horses'  feet,  and 
on  which  we  cannot  proceed  without  being 
violently  jolted  :  thus  we  arrive  at  the 
foot  of  an  eminence  on  which  is  situated 
the  small  and  ancient  town  of  Oropcsa, 
which  was  the  birth-place  of  au  excellent  critic 
of  our  days,  Bartolomé  Marti,  dean  of  the 
chapter  of  the  college  of  Alicant,  better  known 
under  the  name  of  Dean  Marti.  We  still  see  a 
part  of  the  ancient  fortifications.  Opposite  this 
eminence  we  find  a  Venta,  which  we  reach  after 
travelling  a  league  and  a  quarter  from  Benicasi. 
The  mountains  wre  have  just  passed  over  are 
covered  with  rosemary,  thyme,  lavender  and 
juniper  trees. 

The  road  improves,  the  country  expands,  the 
mountains  become  more  distant  to  the  left, 
they  disappear  on  the  right  ;  we  enter  on  an 
extensive  plain  that  terminates  in  the  sea,  which 
we  approach  and  proceed  along  the  shore  for 
near  a  mile,  at  the  distance  of  three  hundred 
paces  from  it.  We  leave  this  again,  and  pass 
over  land  almost  uncultivated,  with  carob  trees 
scattered  over  it.  At  one  league  from  Oropcsa, 
we  pass  a  house  That  has  the  appearance  of 
a  farm,  and  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after 
reach  the  Venta  de  la  Sanieta.     We  find  from 


VALENCIA.  289 

time  ty  time  parts  of  the  road,  very  stony,  rough 
and  rugged,  and  after  a  league  and  a  quarter  we 
arrive  at  the  village  of  Torreblâncà. 

Here  the  road,  becomes  still  worse:  at  about 
half  a  league  we  cross  a  gulley  where  there  is 
scarcely  ever  any  water,  but  it  is  dangerous  in 
times  of  rain.  After  travelling  two  leagues  and 
a  half,  we  enter  a  line  vale,  where  all  the 
ground  is  cultivated  and  covered  witli  trees  ; 
and  a  half  league  farther  we  arrive  at  Aleala  de 
Chi  vert. 

Aleala  de  Ouvert  is  a  very  little  town,  very 
close,  badly  paved,  and  still  worse  built;  the 
streets  are  almost  all  hilly,  narrow,  and  winding, 
the  houses  low  and  disagreeable.  It  has  neither 
squares,  nor  fountains  ;  every  one  is  a  labourer 
or  a  peasant.  It  has  a  parish  church,  a  convent 
of  Franciscans,  and  a  population  of  about  3600 
inhabitants.  It  belongs  to  the  military  order 
of  Montesa. 

The  pari-h  church  of  this  town  is  of  a  modern  construction  ; 
it  was  finished  in  17  6'6. 

The  façade  of  the  church  bas  three  porluls  ;  the  two  lateral 
smaller  ones  have  each  two  column*  of  the  Done  order  at  thr 
first  -itory,  and  two  pilaster»  of  th<  tonic  at  the  second.  The 
middle  onebasthn  i;  the  first  of  four  fluted  columns; 

the  second  of  two  Corinthian  fluted  columns  ;  the  ih.rd  of  two 
small  pile  d  which  a  window  m  medallion  il  sur- 

mounted by  an  attic  almost  triangular,  ornam<  oted  with  urnj 
and  bord<  n  l  ils  ol    a  go  d  art  bitectore  -f 

some  of  ttu   'stat  iblj  wellexi   uted,  ar<  Ian 

Vol     I  I! 


C'JO  VALENCIA. 

in  the  immensity  of  the  façade,  the  surface  of  which,  without 
ornament,   is  so  large  that  it  appears  naked. 

1  lie  church  is  large.  It  has  a  body  and  two  aisles  very 
light,  the  latter  are  covered  with  bad  paintings  in  fresco. 
The  dome,  well  shaped  and  lighted,  is  ornamented  with  Ionic 
pilasters  :  the  gilding  is  slightly  put  on.  The  grand  altar  is  or- 
namented with  some  ancient  pictures  which  have  merit. 

In  1792,  a  great  tower  was  built  near  this  church,  it  is  of 
free-stone  and  intended  for  a  steeple  ;  it  is  one  hundred  and) 
ten  feet  in  circumference. 

On  leaving  Alcala  de  Chivert  the  road  is 
not  bad  as  far  as  Vinaros  for  the  space  of  six 
leagues,  except  some  places  where  it  is  stony  or 
runs  over  bare  rock,  which  is  some  times  steep; 
there  are,  however,  very  few  ascents  and  de- 
scents. 

We  continue  to  go  through  the  same  vale  for 
a  length  of  time,  then  enter  a  cultivated  plain. 
After  travelling  three  quarters  of  a  league  we 
go  by  the  side  of  a  little  village  on  the  right, 
and  soon  after  cross  a  deep  gulley.  Three  quar- 
tersof  aleague  farther  on  we  see  the  sea,  which  we 
do  not  quit  again,  but  it  is  hidden  for  some  time 
by  the  trees.  The  country  here  becomes  much 
finer,  the  cultivation  richer,  and  more  taken 
care  of,  the  trees  are  very  numerous,  consisting  of 
olives,  carobs,  mulberries,  and  figs  :  travelling 
through  these  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  we  arrive  at 
Benicarlo. 

BENiCARi.ois  a  small  town,  situated  near  the 
sea,  in  a  rich  and  fertile  country,  which  is  wa- 


VALENCIA.  £91 

tered  by  water-carts.  It  is  surrounded  by  walls 
and  has  a  fosse,  an  old  castle  and  faubourgs; 
there  are  some  tolerably  straight  streets  in  it,  but 
they  are  narrow,  dirty,  and  ill  built;  tbe  houses 
have  a  miserable  appearance,  though  one  should 
think  this  town  ought  to  be  rich  from  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  country.  It  has  one  pà'iïsn 
church,  one  convent  of  Franciscan  monks,  situ- 
ated without  the  walls,  and  one  hospital  ;  but 
it  lias  no  fountains.  Its  population  is  about 
3200  inhabitants,  among  whom  there  are  a  great 
many  fishermen. 

In  leaving  this  town,  we  pass  a  gulley,  the 
bottom  of  which  is  full  of  pebbles.  The  road 
becomes  handsomer  ;  runs  along  close  to  the 
sea;  goes  through  a  fertile  and  smiling  country, 
and  brings  us  to  Vinaroz.  It  is  a  league  and  a 
half  from  Ben i carlo  to  this  town  ;  we  enter  it  by 
a  faubourg,  thé  street  of  which  would  be  hand- 
some if  it  were  better  built. 

Vinaroz  is  a  small  town  situated  on  the  river 
Servol  and  on  the  sea  side,  almost  at  the  end  of 
the  plain  we  have  just  passed.  There  are  some 
remains  of  its  gates  and  ancient  walls  ;  the  streets, 
paved  with  sharp  pebbles,  are  by  no  means 
handsome;  there  are  some,  however,  that  are  to- 
ler.  and    straight  ;  but  they  have  no 

handsome  build  very  few  of  the  houses  have 

•  tolerajble  ap£earanc<  ;  it  has  one  parish  church, 


-9-  Valencia. 

ornamented  with  marble  pilastres,  two  convents 
of  Franciscan  and  Grand  Augustin  Monks,  a 
hospital,  a  port-captain,  and  a  population  of 
about  5000  persons. 

Tiie  Duke  of  Vendôme  died  of  an  apoplexy 
in  this  town  on  the  1  lth  of  June  1712.  Philip  V. 
had  his  ashes  removed  to  the  tomb  of  the  kings 
at  the  Escurial. 

The  commerce  of  Vinaroz  has  greatly  de- 
creased since  that  town  was  included  in  the 
number  that  are  forbidden  importation.  It  has 
a  dock,  in  which  only  vessels  of  thirty,  forty  or 
fifty  tons  are  built.  The  coast  is  covered  with  a 
great  many  chalops  and  small  vessels  ;  there  is 
however  neither  port  nor  bay;  it  is  an  open 
coast.  The  principal  export  consists  of  brandies. 

We  scarcely  leave  Vinaroz,  when  Ave  ford  the 
Servol,  which  is  almost  always  dry  :  the  road  be- 
comes stony;  the  country  is  equally  so,  and 
the  cultivation  neglected.  Half  a  league  far- 
ther we  pass  a  gulley  which  is  generally  dry  ; 
another  half  league  on,  a  square  tower,  which 
marks  the  limits  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  is 
seen  to  the  right  ;  we  pass  the  small  river  Coma 
over  a  handsome  bridge  of  one  arch,  and  enter 
Catalonia, 


VALENCIA, 


STATISTICAL    ABSTRACT    RELATIVE    TO    THE 
KINGDOM  OF   VALENCIA. 

Population.  The  fineness  of  the  climate,  the  fertility  of  the 
lands,  and  the  lighter,  but  more  juicy  food,  of  the  south  pro- 
vince» of  Europe,  giving  more  play  to  the  vital  force  than  in 
the  north,  is  more  favourable  to  population.  The  number  of 
inhabitants  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  consequently  annually 
increases.  It  is  true  that  there  are  many  places  that  are 
now  almost  deserts,  which  were  formerly  inhabited  :  this  is 
owing  to  the  wars,  proscriptions,  and  political  banishments  of 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  which  considerably 
reduced  the  population  ;  but  since  that  time  it  has  increased 
more  than  double  what  it  was  then.  The  following  tabic 
contains  the  proof  of  it;  it  is  drawn  up  from  calculations 
made  by  the  kinsd».  command. 

«•  INHABITANTS. 

In    171 A 318,850 

1761  and  17b'-' 702,640 

In   176s 716,880 

fn    1-7.88  and  1789 783,084 

In  1795 932,150 

In  tli is  number  are 

Priest* -..- 17.T 

ilar  Priests.. - ',7  1 

Monks -..Ml 

N    ns   -. 1  ' 

Noblei 1 

Ad'.'  

Writer. 

Students 5*499 

Servants    


294  VALENCIA, 

agriculture.  Cultivation  here  is  the  best  attended  tor  and 
the  richest  in  Spain  ;  the  country  consists  of  orchards,  fields, 
and  gardens;  the  land  yields  its  gifts  in  profusion,  and  is  em- 
bellished by  the  land  of  the  industrious  cultivator.  The 
whole  is  fertile,  and  contains  a  germ  of  active  vegetation 
which  easily  developes  itself.  The  plains  are  supcrh,  the 
valleys  delightful,  and  even  the  mountains  enrich  the  labourer. 

Nothing  can  equal  the  beauty  cf  the  plains  of  this  pro- 
vince. We  have  already  described  that  which  surrounds  the 
town  of  Valencia  to  an  extent  of  twenty-five  league?.  There 
are  others  less  considerable,  but  which  almost  equal  it  in  beauty 
and  richness  ;  the  finest  are  those  of  Alicant,  and  Orihuela. 
The  former  is  two  leagues  long  and  one  broad  ;  the  latter  is 
not  so  large,  but  is  more  fertile,  and  richer.  Those  of  Mur- 
viedro,  Benicarlo,  and  Vinaroz  would  appear  very  handsome  if 
we  had  not  first  seen  the  former  ones  :  that  of  Liria  is  still 
handsomer  than  the  last  ;  but  none  of  these  small  plains  can 
be  compared  to  that  of  Gandia  :  it  is  a  league  and  a  half  in  di- 
ameter; it  is  enclosed  on  one  side  by  an  almost  circular 
chain  of  little  mountains,  and  terminated  on  the  other  side 
by  low  lands,  the  bottom  of  which  is  a  black  earth  that 
produces,  with  as  much  ease  ?s  abundance,  trees  of  every 
species,  and  fruits,  and  pulse  of  all  kinds;  there  are  more 
than  thirty  villages,  the  houses  of  which  are  confounded  with 
the  trees  which  surround  them,  forming  a  picturesque  appear- 
ance ;  the  whole  announces  ease,  and  has  an  air  of  felicity. 

The  valleys  and  dales  are  equally  fertile  ;  and  the  pro- 
ductions are  in  great  abundance.  We  travel  with  pleasure 
through  the  dales  of  Axpe  and  Elda,  the  valleys  of  Bunol, 
Alcala  de  Chivert,  Fuente  de  la  Higuera,  that  which  is  be- 
tween this  last  and  the  Venta  de  Alcudieta,  and  that  above 
Alberico,  and  which  is  watered  by  the  Jucar. 

The  country  is  not  so  handsome  as  we  approach  the 
mountains,  and  the  soil  becomes  less  fertile;  there  are  a 
tolerable  number  of  valleys  which  display  riches  and  beauties, 


VALENCIA.  295 

r.ot  commonly  found  in  many  plains  ;  the  mountains  them- 
selves are  often  covered  with  verdure,  embellished  by  trees  of 
different  species,  and  enriched  by  their  productions  :  we  travel 
those  near  Andilla,  near  Segorbe,  and  several  others  with  plea- 
sure. Those  between  the  village  Ibi  and  Alicant  to  the  north- 
east of  that  town,  are  covered  with  oak,  turpentioe,  mastic, 
custard-apple,juniper,  laudanum,  cestus, rosemary,  and  low  firs. 

The- Valencian  carries  cultivation  to  the  highest  part  of  the 
mountains  ;  in  some  places  he  makes  excavations  in  others 
sustains  the  lands  by  means  of  little  low  walls  which  he  builds, 
by  laying  stones  one  on  another.  A  .storm  often  destroys  his 
work  in  an  instant  ;  but  his  activity  and  patience  soon  re- 
place it. 

The  watering  of  the  lands  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  con- 
tributes to  their  fertility.  The  Valencians  turn  the  waters 
that  flow  on  every  side  to  the  greatest  advantage.  Eighteen 
large  rivers  run  through  this  province,  and  all  furnish 
branches  more  or  less  considerable  for  irrigation.  The  Guada- 
laviar  and  Jucar  fertilize  the  plain  of  Valencia;  the  Segura, 
the  fields  of  Orihuela  ;  and  the  others,  the  different  terri- 
tories through  which  they  run. 

There  remain  several  canals  which  were  the  work  of  the 
Moors,  and  which  are  preserved  with  care.  The  modern 
Valencians  are  no  less  industrious  than  their  predecessors 
the  Moors  in  the  art  of  making  canal  and  conducting  wa- 
ter, even  to  the  highest  places;  they  make  basons,  reservoirs, 
and  dams,  in  which  they  collect  water  to  be  distributed  where 
ever  it  is  wanted.  There  is  one  at  a  mile  and  a  hall  from  Va- 
h  ucia,  which  we  cannot  Ivut  admire.  The  great  bason  or 
Panthano,  mid»  in  the  mountains  for  watering  the  HuerU 
of  Alicant  is  no  leu  remarkable. 

This  almost  continual  watering  would  gradually  deprive 

:li.  (and  of  the  utine  parue!  .1  the 

1  nol  pr<vcnt    it    by  the  CMC  they  take  to  hate 

iiniied     They  make  u>e  of  l1.<   ding  from  tu<- 
'    4 


£96 


VALENCIA. 


stables,  the  sweepings  of  the  houses  and  streets  ;  they  colli  ct 
the  excrement  of  animals,  and  pieces  of  earth  which  they 
think  contains  the  least  excremental  parts  ;  by  this  means 
the  roads  are  spoiled  ;  they  make  holes,  at  the  least,  very  in- 
commodious, as  they  are  never  repaired. 

The  Valencians  never  leave  the  earth  at  rest  ;  they  plough 
the  fields  nine  or  ten  times  a  year,  and  are  sowing  every 
month.  Thus  in  the  Iluertas,  and  in  general  all  the  country 
to  the  east  and  south-west,  the  lands  yield  four  or  five  harvests, 
the  meadows  are  mowed  nine  or  ten  times,  the  mulberry 
trees  are  stript  from  three  to  four,  and  yet  are  always  covered 
with  new  leaves  ;  the  soil  never  wears  out,  but  is  constantly 
presenting  its  productions. 

Wines.  There  are  many  vines  in  the  valley  above  Elda, 
at  Murviedro  and  in  its  environs,  at  Segorbe,  Liria,  Quarta, 
Chiva,  Cheste,  Benigani,  Cosentana,  IMuro  in  the  county  of 
Carlct,  at  Porta  Celi,  Puch,  Benabites,  Nulez,  Valera,  Beni- 
fayrô,  Castellodela  Plana,  Cuartel  ;  or  Chinches,  Ara  Chisti, 
Santa  Coloma,  Benicarlo,  &c.  The  wine,  though  not  of  a 
very  superior  quality,  is  full  bodied  and  makes  a  good  brandy  ; 
that  of  Murviedro  is  esteemed  the  best. 

About  3,500,000  cantaras*  are  made  annually  upon  an 
average.  Thecantara  is  commonly  sold  for  5  Valencian  reals, 
Is.  3d.  sterling,  the  whole  giving  a  produce  of  17*500,000 
Valencian  reals,  (21S,750/.  sterling). 

Among  these  wines  we  distinguish  those  of  la  Torre,  a  de- 
pendence on  the  chartruese  de  Porta  Celi  ;  those  of  Mas  de 
Santo-Domingo,  Mas  de  Perales,  and,  above  all,  those  called 
Rancio.  The  last  are  common  ones,  but  of  a  superior  quality, 
the  age  of  which  add  to  their  goodness  :  proprietors  have  a 
long  range  of  pipes  each  >>f  a  different  year  ;  there  are  some 
of  sixty,  some  of  eighty,  and  some  of  a  hundred  years  old  ; 
they  always  draw  the  wine  from  the  first  pipe,  which  is  the 

*  A  Valencian  cantara  contains  about  tlircc  gallons  English  uiuu  mea,» 
pure,  the  former  being  7"5,  and  the  latter  231  cubic  inches, 


VALENCIA.  297 

oldest;  they  fill  it  from  the  second,  that  from  the  third,  and  so 
on  successively  to  the  last,  which  they  611  with  new  w  in*.  These 
wines  are  not  in  great  abundance  ;  nevertheless  they  send 
some  to  several  parts  of  Spain  ;  tli«_  prices  differ  according  to 
their  age  ;  the  inferior  are  soid  for  20  reai>  of  vellon  each  ean- 
tara,  and  the  superior  for  60  reals. 

The  territory  of  Alicant  produces  a  rich  wine  known 
throughout  Europe;  there  are  both  red  and  white;  the  ndis 
most  in  request,  and  the  dearest  ;  the  priée  varus,  according 
to  its  quality,  from  20  reals  of  vellon  to  120  reals,  each  cau- 
tara.  The  wine  is  distinguished  according  to  live  plants:  the 
vine  of  Muscatelle,  Fercallade,  Blanquet,  Panell,  and  Monas- 
telle.  The  wine  of  Alicant  comes  from  Muscatelle;  that  of 
Malvoisie  comes  hum  Muscatelle,  Forcallade,  and  BlanqoeL 
The  annual  exportation  is  computed  on  an  average  at  3*500 
measures  of  100  cantaras  each. 

A  kind  of  syrup,  which  they  call  arrope,  is  likewise  made 
here  from  sweet  wine,  which  they  place  for  half  an  hour  over 
a  low  fire,  and  add  to  it  oui -twelfth  of  calcareous  earth. 
The  liquor  is  clarified  and  boiled  till  it  conn»  to  the  con- 
sistence of  syrup:  they  pit  une  it  m  pitchers,  to  he  n-«d 
when  v.  anted. 

Besides  the  vineyards  there  are  a  great  many  treillisesiu  the 
kingdom  of  Valencia,  which    yield   excellent  and   verj   I 
grapes;  there  are  some  bunches  which  weigh  six,  eight,  ten, 
and  t  vt  a  fourteen  pounds. 

ftaititu.  Another  advantage  is  derived  from  the  vine  :  rai- 
principally  towards  Liria,  Denis,  in  the  couuty 
ofCarlet,and  tfialltbi  part  near  the  sea;  the  quantity  is  com. 
pnterl  to  l.i  about  400,000  quintals  annually.  They  an 
m  rally  sold  for  about  two  p  >■  '  •  quintal;  which  amount 
to  a  turn  of  12,500/. 

jt  ib  pi  j  '■•  rent  method      ^  1 

in  Spam  to  dry  tin-  gi  apt  s.      [|]  tin   kin;  'i.,111  (/I  Vali  m    1  ih>  y 

make*  kind  of  lie  with  the  ishei  pfroscmarj  and  \  ine  branch  » 


298  VALENCIA. 

to  which  they  add  a  quart  of  slake  lime.  This  lie  is  healed, 
ami  a  vessel  lull  of  holes  containing  the  grapes  is  put  into  it. 
When  the  hunches  are  in  the  staff  desired,  they  are  generally 
carried  to  naked  rocks,  where  they  are  spread  on  beds  of  the 
field  artimesia,  and  are  turned  every  two  or  three  days  till 
they  are  dry.  In  the  kingdom  of  Granada,  particulaily  towards 
Malaga,  they  are  simply  dried  in  the  sun  without  any  other 
preparation.  The  former  having  a  more  pleasing  rind,  but 
a  less  mellow  substance  ;  the  skin  of  the  latter  are  not  so  su- 
gary, but  their  substance  has  a  much  greater  relish;  there- 
fore the  raisins  of  Malaga  are  preferred  by  foreigners,  and  are 
sold  at  a  higher  price  ;  to  this  their  quality  may  likewise  con- 
tribute, they  are  naturally  larger  and  more  delicate  than  those 
of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia. 

Oil.  There  are  a  great  many  olive  trees  here;  some  of 
which  in  several  parts  of  this  province  were  planted  in  the 
time  of  the  Moors:  they  are  principally  cultivate!  in  tlui 
territories  of  Coscentayna,  Albayda,  in  the  county  of  Carlet, 
at  Elche,  Valera,  Porta-Ceii,  G  a  to  va,  Marines,  Olla,  Liria, 
Puch,  Ara-Christi,  Cuartell,  Murviedro,  Benabites,  Santa-Co- 
loma,  Chinches,  Benifrayo,  Nulez,  Benicarlo,  Bunol,  Chiva, 
in  the  dales  ofOxpe  and  Elda,  in  the  valley  which  is  be- 
tween Fuente  de  la  Higuera,  and  the  venta  of  Alcudieta,  in  the 
fields  and  valleys  between  Elda  and  Villena,  &c.  The  olives 
are  good,  but  the  oil  is  generally  sharp  ;  which  is  owing  to 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  mad*.  The  olives  are  gathered  too 
late,  so  that  they  are  already  spoiled,  and  are  carried  to  the 
press  without  being  picked.  With  a  little  care,  the  oil  might 
be  made  equal  to  that  of  Provence.  There  are  some  cantons 
in  which  it  is  tolerably  good.  The  quantity  made,  annually, 
on  an  average,  is  computed  at  350,000  arobas  of  36  Valenci- 
an  pounds  (1 10,200  cwt.  avoirdupoise).  The  mean  price  for 
a  Valencian  aroba  is  three  piastres  or  pczos,  equal  to  i5  reals 
©f  vellon,  which  amounts  to  1,050,000  piastres  or  pezos. 


VALENCIA.  S:99 

The  cultivation  of  olives  might  be  of  more  importance,  and 
the  trade  in  oil  more  advantageous  to  the  province,  it  it 
were  not  prohibited  to  be  exported  from  the  kingdom,  ex- 
cept when  the  price  falls  to  'JO  reals  of  vellon  the  aroba, which 
rarely  happens;  for  the  Marseilles  soap  boilers  buy  it  chiefly 
on  account  of  its  acidity. 

Mulltny  Tree»  and  Silk.  The  mulberry-trees  are  of  great 
importance;  the  fields  of  Valencia  are  covered  with  them, 
particularly  in  the  environs  of  that  town,  in  the  dale  of  Elds. 
in  the  county  of  Carlet,  in  almost  all  the  places  situated  on 
the  sea  coast,  &c.  There  are  white  mulberry-trees,  which 
are  lopped  every  two  years. 

The  leaves  of  these  trees  serve  as  nourishment  to  bilk 
worms,  which  are  raised  almost  every  where  in  the  kingdom 
cf  Valencia  :  Aljcmesi,  Alzira,  Carcajente,  Castello  of  San- 
Felipe,  the  county  of  Carlet,  I'ndasuar,  Ga:uiia,  Denia,  Ori- 
huela,  and  all  the  villages  near  the  sea  are  places  in  which  the 
greatest  quantity  is  raised. 

The  silk  made  from  them,  is  the  finest  in  Spain  ;  it  would  be 
equal  to  the  best  and  finest  silks  of  Europe,  if  the  Valcncians, 
in  spite  of  the  vivacity  of  their  imagination,  did  not  obsti- 
nately persist  in  their  old  routine  in  the  skeining:  for  in  the 
skein  they  put  an  undetermined  number  of  threads  The 
government  bas  hired  a  man  the  mo-*  experienced  it)  this 
kind  of  work;  but  in  vain  dots  he  give  his  instructions,  the 
manufacturer.*  do  not  the  less  continue  their  bad  custom.  The 
quantity  of  silk  which  i>  annually  wound,  is  0D  an  average* 
about  1,300,000  pound-  of  1 .'  Yal<  QCiac  Ounces j  (1,31'J.JOO 
pound-,  of  l6  OUBCei  avoirdupois»')  ;  it  i3  commonly  s.. Id 
raw  lbr  50  reals  ol  yellon  a  Valenciau  pound,  which  give»  a 
total  of  7^,000,000  reals  of  vtllon  (73L,250£  sterling). 

Almond  Treett  The  climate  and  sod  of  the  kingdom  of 
Valencia  are  very  favourabll  I  I ■•<  cultivation  of  the  almond 
t~- •  ]    but  the  Valencia»,  attend  rerj   little  to  it.     There 


:300  VALENCIA. 

are,ho\vcvt  j-,  somet  e  •>  in  different  parts  of  this  province,  from 
which  the j  gather  annually,  on  an  average,  about  1,500  quin- 
tals of  almonds.  The  price  of  them  is  commonly  35  pezos  or 
5t5  reals  of  vellon  the  load,  which  i»  two  quintals  and  a  half# 
The  whole  produce  of  almonds  returns  915.000  reals  of  vellon 
(0813/.  15a\  sterling). 

At  Ilbe,  a  vjllage  six  leagues  north-east  of  Alicant,  there  is 
a  particular  method  for  cultivating  almond  trees.  There  are  a 
great  number  of  them  in  the  country  belonging  to  this  vil- 
luge  ;  they  are  almost  all  ingrafted  on  wild  almond  trees.  It 
appears  that  this  process  brings  the  fruit  to  perfection  ;  the 
almonds  they  produce  are  superior  to' all  others  inf Spain  j 
they  have  a  smooth  shell,  and  can  be  kept  for  several  years, 
whereas  the  others  are  spoiled  in  a  little  time. 

Dried  Tïgs.  There  arc  a  great  many  fig-trees  in  the  terri- 
tories near  the  sea,  and  in  that  of  Elche  ;  there  are  not  so  many 
in  the  other  parts  of  this  province.  The  people  eat  and  sell 
ripe  figs;  but  they  dry  about  2R, 000  quintal»  :  they  are  of  a 
tolerable  quality.  The  dried  figs  are  commonly  sold  for 
eight  reals  of  vellon  the  aroba,  that  is  to  say,  thirty-two  reals 
the  quintal,  which  make  896,000  reals  of  vellon  (5533/.  6s.  Sd . 
sterling). 

faims  and  Dates.  Tim  palm-trees  grow  in  different  parts 
of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia;  they  chiefly  abound  in  the 
territory  of  Elche,  where  there  are  whole  forests  of  them. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  country  chiefly  apply  themselves  to 
the  cultivation  of  this  tree,  which  is  their  principal  wealth. 
We  will  here  give  some  details  on  this  subject. 

The  palm-trees,  as  we  know,  grow  from  date  stones.  The 
planters  transplant  these  shrubs  at  the  third  or  fourth  year  into 
a  slimy  soil,  at  the  distance  of  six  feet  from  one  another,  taking 
care  always  to  place  one  male  palm-tree  between  two  female 
ones,  and  to  water  them  twice  a  week.  After  they  have  been 
planted  ten  years,  and  are  grown  forty  an,d  even  sixty  fee 


VALENCIA.  301 

high,  they  begin  to  bear  fruit,  which  are  distinguished  into 
sweet  fiuits  or  candits,  and  bitter  or  âcrelets. 

On  account  of  their  height,  the  palm-trees  give  very  little 
shade;  and  as  their  roots  are  very  short,  the  cultivators  inter- 
mingle the  plants  of  pulse  and  pot-herbs  with  them. 

In  other  puts  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  there  are  a  gn 
many  dwarf  palm-trees.     The  inhabitants  eat  the  roots,  which 
resemble  the  taste  of  an  artichoke.     Cattle  are  also  fed  upon 
them. 

The  women  and  children  of  Villa-  Nueva,  Silta,  Senija,  and 
other  places,  make  mat-work  of  their  leaves  and  stocks,  which 
are  tolerably  lucrative. 

The  cultivation  of  the  palm-tree  requires  constant  great  la- 
bour :  the  cultivator  is  obliged  to  climb  up  the  rough  and  waving 
stem  to  the  top  of  the  tree,  in  order  to  examine  the  flowers 
and  fruit,  and  turn  them  towards  the  sun.  This  work,  which 
is  often  repeated,  is  not  so  dangerous,  compared  to  that  for 
making  the  barren  branches  profitable.  In  spring  and  during 
the  month  of  August,  they  tie  all  the  branche*  in  a  single  bundle, 
which  they  cover  with  spart  :  to  make  this  bundle,  the  culti- 
vator is  obliged  to  leap,  as  it  were,  over  the  flexible  branches 
of  the  tree,  to  surround  and  unite  them  with  a  cord. 
first  operation  done,  he  places  a  laddi  r  at  the  bottom  of  the 
tree,  on  which  he  ascend*,  that  he  may  make  a  second  band  : 
he  then  places  hi*  ladder  on  tl  I  band,   and  a 

ascends,  and  ties  the  top  with  a  third  cord  :  his  bund 
he  thrown  away  his  instruments,  rep1  Idei  by  ■ 

dation  contrary  to  the  former,  and  descends  from  band  to  band 
to  the  stock,  from  winch  h<  slid*  i  rapidly  to  the  bottom. 

The  fruit  which  they  gatb<  r  from  them  ire  commonly  con- 
sumed  in  Spain;  thej  also  export  some  to  France.     Bui  the 
most  considerabli  ]  roducc  is  that  of  the  branches  of  the  mala 
trci  -,  which  are  w  m  t..  Italy,  where  they  a-e  used  at  tin  i 
1:10:  y  of  Palm  Sunday  ;   they  arc  aUu  made  into  ma' 


302  V.M.KNC1A. 

chairs,  and  o'bcr  utrr,:  ils.     This  mmmerre,  and  that  of  the 
fruits,  return  annually  about  oOC^OOO  reals  (6250/.  sterling). 

Carobs.  Carob-lrees  are  to  be  found  almost  every  wherein 
the  kingdom  of  Valencia  ;  there  are  whole  woods  of  them  of 
an  immense  extent,  often  on  the  most  indifferent  soil.  They 
produce  a  very  great  quantity  of  fruit. 

Fruits.  There  are  a  great  many  fruit-trees  every  where 
throughout  this  province;  they  grow  in  the  plains,  valleys,  and 
on  the  mountains  ;  the  greatest  number  ore  in  the  environs  of 
Valencia,  Orihuela,  and  S*»gorbe.  Fruit»  of  all  kinds  are  ga- 
thered here  ;  oranges  and  lemons  are  a  very  important  and 
considerable  articles  by  which  a  great  quantity  of  money  is 
made. 

ATocs.  The  cultivation  of  aloes  is  not  attended  to  ;  they 
grow  naturally  on  the  sides  of  the  roads,  and  in  the  interior  oi 
the  lands.  Their  filaments  ate  wrought.  It  is  an  object  of 
little  value. 

Sugar  Canes.  Formerly  sugar  cane?  were  cultivated  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  ;  they  were  given  up 
on  the  introduction  of  the  West  India  st:gar,  and  are  now  only 
attended  to  in  the  duchy  of  G  and  ft  and  the  places  near  it, 
where  the  canes  succeed  very  well.  The  method  of  cultivating 
is  as  follows;  the  planters  divide  the  field  into  two  parallel  parts, 
-arid  each  part  into  small  beds  intersected  by  parallel  and  trans* 
yerse  furrows  at  a  foot  distance  ;  they  plant  in  these  farrows,  at 
fire  inches  asunder,  joints  of  the  canes  of  the  prec<  ding  year, 
from  eight  to  ten  inches  long,  and  having  four  eyes  ;  they  water 
them  when  necessary.  When  they  are  about  fifteen  inches 
high,  the  canes  ought  to  be  earthed  up  with  the  monld  of  the 
bed;  this  work  is  continued  till  crop  time,  which  commences 
in  the  month  of  November.  This  crop  is  a  kind  of  diversion^ 
during  which  every  one  is  gay,  not  unattended  with  a  degree 
of  intoxication  produced  by  the  juice  of  the  cane.  The  crop 
is  disposed  of  to  Provençal  merchants. 


VALENCIA,  303 

Spart.     Spart  is  gathered  in  some  places,  particularly  in 
the  territory  of  I.iria.     It  is  an  object  of  little  importance. 

Barilla,  such,  aqua-azul,  and  salicornia.  Barilla,  soda,  aqua* 
azul,  and  salicornia,  are  productions  of  great  importance  in 
Spain.  Barilla  is  the  salsola  soda  of  Linnseus  ;  there  are  live 
kinds  of  soda,  the  mlsola  kali,  the  chenopodwm  maritimwn, 
the  ckcnopodium  album,  the  salsola  vi  rmicularis,  and  the  salsola 
rosacea  ;  the  aqua-azul  is  the  mescmbru  anthemum,  and  th< 
licornia  the  salicornœa  europea.  Barilla  is  used  in  the  compo- 
sition of  minors,  soda  in  making  soap,  a:id  aqua  azul  and  the 
salicornia  in  making  common  gla-<  ». 

Barilla,  soda,  and  aqua-azul,  are  cultivated  in  the  kingdom 
of  Valencia  ;  the  salicornia  grows  wild.  It  is  principally  found 
in  the  territories  of  Alicant,  Elphe,  and  Albatana. 

They  gather  annually,  on  an  average,  about  100 .000  quintal  s 
of  barilla,  '25,000  of  soda,  and  4000  of  aqua-azul  ;  the  quan- 
tity of  salicornia  is  undetermined.  Their  étmtnpn  price,  by 
the  quintal,  is  50  reals  of  vtllon  for  barilla,  40  m  ils  of  vellon 
for  soda,  and  24-  rtals  of  vellon  for  aqua-azul.  Which  gives  a 
total  of* 5,000,000  reals  for  barilla  (52,083/.  8».  Bd.  sterling), 
1,000,000  reals  for  soda  (10,416/.  i3.c  id.  Bterling),  sod 
96,000  reals  for  aqua-azul  (1000/.  sterling)  :  the  « 
amounting  to  S.<  ;  •  »U  [63',500l.  sterling). 

Barilla  gives  the  cultivator  a  great  d«  al  of  trouble.     A  kind 
of  beetle  often  lays  its  eggs  in  the  roof  of  this  pTant  , 
which  sre  eery  dainty  mouthed,  srould  i  at  up  in  oi 
whole  field  of  barilla,  M  Inch  often  obli 
the  nights  in  banting  that  animaV,  in  order  to  present  their 

bar'.  I 

Flax.    The  '•  rritory  of  «  >ri1  Imost  the  only  i 

the  kingdom  of  Val<  m  i  »  in  which  fl  •      grown.     I 
tity  gathered  \t  considerable  enough  : 

but  it  is  not  an  important  object.    Th 


304  VALENCIA. 

ab<  at  8000  quintals  of  it  ;  tlir  common  price  is  200  reals  of 
vellon  the  quintal,  which  gives  a  total  of  1,600,000  reals 
(16,066/.  13s.  M.  sterling). 

Hemp.  Hemp  is  cultivated  throughout  the  plain  of  Valen- 
cia, in  Ilia)  of  Castello de  la  Plana,  and  the  neighbouring  ter- 
ritories ;  it  is  of  a  superior  quality.  They  gather  annually,  on 
an  average,  about  300,000  arobas,  or  75,000  Vaflencian  quin- 
tals, which  is  equal  to  65,625  hundred  weight  avoirdupoise. 
The  common  price  is  three  pezos  the  quintal,  that  is  to  say, 
45  reals  of  vellon,  which  gives  â  total  of  900,000  pczos,  or 
13,500,000  reals  (140,025/.  sterling.) 

Oats.  Oats  are  very  little  cultivated  in  the  kingdom  of  Va- 
lencia ;  they  are  an  object  scarcely  attended  to. 

Barlnj.  Barley  is  cultivated  here,  particularly  in  the  terri- 
tories of  Elche  and  Alicant.  It  is  of  little  importance  ;  a 
small  quantity,  however,  is  exported. 

Maize.  Maize  is  also  cultivated  ;  and  is  in  great  abun- 
dance every  where. 

lilicat.  Wheat  is  cultivated  in  a  great  many  places  of  this 
province;  but  not  enough  for  its  consumption.  There  is  an- 
nually, on  an  average,  about  500,000  or  600,000  loads,  which, 
at  the  rate  of  14  t  reals  of  vellon  the  load,  gives  a  produce  of 
about  37,600,000  reals  of  vellon  (912,500/.  sterling). 

Rice.  Rice  is  one  of  the  important  productions  of  the 
kingdom  of  Valencia.  It  is  cultivated  in  great  quantities  at 
SanrFelipe,  Alzira,  Sueca,  Sollana,  Alberife,  Castello  de  la. 
Plana,  Cullera,  in  several  other  places  in  the  plain,  and  gene- 
rally in  the  neighbourhood  of  rivers,  along  the  sea  coasts,  and  to 
the  south  of  Valencia,  from  Gandia  toCatarrojo.  They  gather 
annually,  on  an  average,  about  I  10,000  loads,  of  ten  arobas 
or  two  quintals  and  a  half  each,  which  makes  1,470,000  aro- 
bas or  350,000  quintals  in  Valencian  pounds,  which  is  equal  ts> 
30C,2iO  hundred  weight  avoirdupoise.     The  common  price  la 


VALENCIA.  303 

J  50  reals  of  vtl'on  (or  ]/.  1 1*.  Z<L  sterling)  the  load  ;  which 
gives  60  reals  (or  ]Qs.  (id.  sterling)  the  quintal.  The  total  of 
which  is  about  1, ±00,000  pezos  or  CI  ,000,000  reals  of  vellon 
(213,750/.  sterling). 

The  following  is  the  manner  of  cultivating  rice  in  the  king- 
dom of  Valencia:  the  earth  is  prepared  by  being  turned  up, 
but  it  is  left  even  and  without  furrows  ;  the  rice  is  then  sown, 
covered  with  water  upwards  of  a  foot  above  its  surface  (the 
rice  grows  in  the  water),  and  left  so  till  harvest  time;  the 
reapers  then  cut  it  wading;  up  to  their  knees  in  water:  they 
put  the  sheaves  on  drays  which  follow  them  ;  it  is  then  trodden 
on  by  horses  or  mules,  which  serve  the  purposes  of  threshing. 
The  rice  remains  covered  with  its  husk,  to  disengage  it  from 
which  they  pass  it  through  a  mill  ;  these  mills  are  the  same 
as  corn  ones,  but  the  mill-stone  is  covered  with  a  coating  of 
cork. 

Hunt)/.  A  small  quantity  of  honey  is  made  in  the  king- 
dom of  Valencia  ;  it  is  of  little  importance.  That  gathered 
on  the  mountains  which  are  to  the  north-east  of  Alicant,  be- 
tween this  town  and  Ibi,  is  the  most  delicate  ;  it  is  in  such 
estimation,  that  it  is  sent  for  a  great  way,  even  from  Italy  :  it  is 
probable  that  it  owes  its  quality  to  the  aromatic  plant»,  espe- 
cially rosemary,  with  which  those  mountains  are  covered. 

Wool.  There  are  not  many  flucks  of  sheep  in  this  province  ; 
the  quantity  of  wool  they  give  is  still  less  considerable;  it  is 
even  insufficient  to  the  wants  of  the  country.  It  is  reduced, 
on  an  average,  to  about  20,000  quintals  annually,  which  if 
v.-oith  3,200,000  reali  of  vellon  (33,333/.  sterling),  at  the  rate 
of  1G0  reals  (or  1/.  13».  lc/.)  sterling)  the  quintal. 

Salt.  Salt  may  be  counted  among  the  production!  of  the 
kingdom  of  Valencia.     It  is  taken  from  ralt-pitt  near  Elche 

and  Villena.      It  is  enough  for  the  wants  <>f  the  province,  -uid 

atmut  6ooo  tons  arc  inmmllj  eiporu  d  of  it,  wh  i  wn 

of  888,000  reals  of  vellon 

Vm     I,  x 


" 


Y  Al   1  i 


A',  riin'x.     £ormes  is  gathered  Irnn  the  \rcr-   called'/;/ 

cyf  conffkra  ;  't  is  a  kind  of  worm  known  properly  by 
the  ikiiiiu  c&çcvjs  (the  gall  insect),  erf  which  the  ancients 
thought  so  much,  which  they  used  it  in  dying  flesh  colour, 
and  which  we  should  still  prize,  it  the  discovery  of  America 
had  not  procured  us  cochineal.  It  is  found  on  the  mountain.» 
where  the  villages  of  las  Aguas  and  the  mineral  waters  of 
Buzot  are  situated,  at  a  quarter  of  a  league  from  Alicant. 
The  peasants  gather  it,  and  sell  it  in  the  town  for  0  reals 
(\0s.  .)c/.  sterling)  (he  pound.  They  gather  about  200  quintals 
annually,  which  give  a  product  of  1,000,000  reals  (10,UG/. 
13*.  \J.  sterling). 

TABLE 

OF  THE  PRODUCTION'S  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  VALENCIA. 


Articles 




Wine  of  Alicant 
r.:us.>i)S    

Djcted  1 

Oil 

Almonds 

Dates  andPalpa 

Silk 

Wool 

liarilla    

Kali 

Aqua-Azul  •  •  • 

Flax   

Hemp 

Kiee     

K<T'I1CS 

Salt 

Wheat    


.  100  cantar. 


rwls  of 


40.000  quint. 
,00  i  quint. 

■  i  arobas 
4,500  quint. 


1,500 
20 

4, 


140 


6. 
600 


000  pounds 
10  quint. 

01  0  (juint. 

000  quint. 
00  quint. 

1  00  quint. 

01  l1  quint. 

oou  load 
200  quint 
000  ton 
,1  0(   load 


30 
3 2 

45 
210 


50 
160 


40' 


150 

■)U0O 


Total-. 


Reals  ol 
Vellon. 

Sterling. 

£. 

f.  A. 

96,250,000 

' 

10  0 

B00,000 

6  8 

1,900,1  00 

1<2,500 

0  0 

S%,000 

9,333 

6  i 

15,7 

164,062 

10  0 

945,'UH» 

1 

3  4 

000,000 

6,2  0 

0  0 

75,<  OitPfo 

761,250 

0  0 

3,'2OO,0OO 

33,333 

6  8 

6,691 

63,500 

0  0 

1,600,000 

10,666 

13  4 

1    ,500,1  00 

0  0 

21,000,000 

218,750 

0  0 

1  ,-000,000 

I0.4T6 

13  4 

8  B.OOO 

9,250 

0  0 

86,4! 

900,000 

0  0 

.  1 25,00( 

- 

10  0 

There  are  several  articles  left  out  in  this  table,  the  amount 
of  which  1  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain,  as  carobs,  sugar- 


V.AT  ENCJ  \. 

canes;  fruits,  spart,  kelp,  barky,  oats,  maize,  boni  y.  Though 
tht  amount  of  these  commodities  separately  is  trifling,  taker. 
t'  gi  tber  it  must  he  considerable. 

Notwithstanding  the  fertility  of  the  sr.il,  the  variety  and 
multiplicity  of  it  productions,  the  activity  and  industry  <>f  the 
inhabitants,  riches  are  very  unequally  divided.     The  \ 
pot  sess  scarcely  any  thing  :  they  easily  manage  to  live,  b<  ( 
they    subsist    upon    the    productions  which   srrow   to    their 
hands,  or  buy  them  at  a  low  price  :  but  they  do  not  in  any 
degree  share  in  the  opulence   o(  the  country  which  they  in- 
habit; the  farmers  are  in  narrow  circumstances,    mnnv  even 
poor;  this  i?  in  consequence  of  the  high  rents  of  farm-.  ■ 
arise  from  the  great  number  of  persons  applying  lor  them  ; 
the  almo-t  certain  effect  of  a  population  winch  is  perhaps  too 
numerous. 

Notwithstanding  its  wealth,  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  is  not 
able  to  support  itself  without  the  assistance  of  its  neighbour.-; 
it  has  neither  oxen  nor  a  sufficient  number  of  sheep  ;  the  corn 
which  it  grows  it  only  enongh  for  part  of  the  year;  it  maki  •> 
a  great  quantity  of  wine,  but  the  greatest  part  of  it  is  con- 
verted into  brandy  ;  the  remainder  is  not  sufficient  for  its 
consumption. 

Manufacture».    The  kingdom  of  Valencia  proc noes  littk 
wool,  yet  there  are  five  manufactories  off  iveoHena  and  i 
and  fine  cloths;  they  are  at    .\h.i    lia,   Rogner*,    B 

niente,  and  Alcoy,    The  amatt  woollen  itufis  are  pri 
pally  made  at  1. nguera  ;  nothing  but  the   coaraest  cloths  arc 
a  y  rente,  aad  ûnliniente.     Rhe  manu- 
,,iy  at  A'  Milerable  ;  the  cloths,  tl. 

finer,  ar.  • r  quality  foi  then 

with  h'tu   nap  upon  it  ;  the  finest  are  scarcely  . 
nor  to  the  1»  aalitul  ■  ion* 

(  are    tin.  r    ii t 

ManiseZ;  and  '••'•  ora.  I  ^lj- 

,.  II. at  ot    V 


305  VALENCIA. 

com  \$  the  largest  ami  inoft  important  ;  it  belongs  to  tin.'  fa- 
mily of  Arandi  ;  it<  earthen  ware  is  tolerably  fine,  though  it 
is  not  (.1'  the  first  qnality  ;  porcelain  is  also  made  in  it,  but  in 
«ma  1  quantities,  and  it  is  commun.  This  manufactory  might 
have  become  more  considerable,  but  the  count  d'Aranda  had 
entrusted  the  direction  of  it  to  ait  overseer  completely  unac- 
quainted with  the  business,  consequently  his  ignorance  lias 
been  injurious  to  the  progress  of  the  establishment.  I  do  not 
know  whether  this  has  been  changed  since*the  death  of  the 
count. 

In  Valencia  there  are  three  manufactories  of  earthen  ware 
tiles,  calUd  azulejos:  they  have  been  mentioned  in  the  de- 
scription of  that  town;  they  are  alsu  made  at  IWanisez,  but 
th<  y  are  inferior  to  those  of  Valencia. 

This  province  contains  seven  paper  manufactories,  one  at 
Ontiuiente,  one  at  Bocay rente,  one  at  Altura,  between  Se- 
gorbe  and  the  Carthusian  monastery  of  Vrl-de-Chiisto,  one  at 
San-Felipe,  one  at  Bunol,  and  two  at  Alcoy.  The  five  first 
are  the  least  important  ;  altogether  tiny  only  employ  abuut 
forty-five  mills  ;  those  at  Akoy  are  the  most  considerable  ; 
in  1799  tncy  nau*  forty-eight  mills  at  work.  The  paper  which 
is  made  at  these  manufactories  is  badly  beaten,  soft,  and 
without  consistency. 

Coarse  or  household  linen  is  made  at  several  places;  at 
Valencia,  Torrento,  Castello  de  la  Plana,  and  San-Felipe  ; 
very  little  is  made  in  the  two  first  towns,  more  in  the  third, 
but  a  great  quantity  at  San-Felipe.  There  is  no  establish- 
ment at  large  for  this  manufacture;  the  weavers,  dispersed 
and  detached,  work  less  on  their  own  account  than  for  indi- 
viduals, who  furnish  them  with  the  raw  materials. 

Sailcloth  and  rigging  are  made  at  Orao  near  Valencia,  and 
at  Castello  de  la  Plana  ;  this  manufacture  is  not  consider- 
able. At  Grao  there  is  also  a  dock-yard  where  vessels  are 
built  only  of  about  fifty  ton,  the  same  as  at  Vinaroz. 


VALENCIA.  509 

Bridles  for  horses  are  made  almost  every  where  with  the 
filaments  of  aloes;  this  i>  an  inconsiderable  article. 

At  Elche  and  at  Valencia  there  are  several  placet  for  cur- 
rying leathers,  which,  however,  are  nut  sent  out  of  the 
country. 

Galloon,  laces,  and  gold  and  silver  fringe,  are  made  at  Va- 
lencia ;  these  are  inconsiderable,  and  used  in  the  country. 

There  is  a  manufactory  of  potash,  or  vegetable  alkali,  at 
Valencia,  established  in  1790. 

There  is  another  manufactory  in  this  town  for  wire  and 
needles,  which  is  not  considerable. 

In  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  two  sorts  of  soap  are  made  ;  one 
black  and  soft,  which  serve-,  for  washing;  and  one  hard  and 
mottled  white  and  blue,  which  is  used  for  shaving  :  the 
former  is  made  every  where,  even  in  the  houses  of  individuals  ; 
there  are  two  manufactories  of  the  latter,  one  at  Alcoy,  the 
other  at  Elche. 

Spart  is  worked  here;  it  is  made  into  mats,  carpets,  co- 
verings for  plants,  ropes,  and  shoes  ;  this  is  frequently  the 
work  of  the  peasants  when  they  have  nothing  else  to  do. 

The  brandy  distilleries  are  objects  of  the  first  im- 
portance in  the  kingdom  of  Valencia.  There  are  a  gnat 
homber  of  them,  particularly  at  Torrento,  Liria,  Pedralva, 
Murviedro,  Xerica,  Segorbe,  Altura,  Aldaya,  Cbtva,  la  <>l- 
lena,  Cheste,  Benigani,  Ontiniente,  in  the  county  of  Carlet, 
ore.  In  1791,  it  exported  about  500,000  Cantatas  of  brandy, 
which  gave  a  return  of  upwards  of  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
thousand  pounds.  The  price  of  it  1-  generally  from 
reals  of  vellon  (from  k».  2rf.  to  St.  ■>(!.)  the  cantata,  which  i$ 
equal  to  ten  pints  and  a  half  Paris  mi  asure. 

The  -ilk  manufactories  are  sidl  mon   important  than  the 

distilleries  of  brandy  ;  they  are  extremely  numerous  in  the 

dom  ol  \  bU  n<  ia.    'I  bote  ol  the  town  oi  thai  Rame  have 

been  already  mentioned  -,  they  occupy  upwards  0/  three  thou- 

mod  iii  hundred  looms  for  Mik  ttufl», stockings    g  illoon,  and 


310  VALENCIA. 

silk  ribbonds;  and  a  great  number  of  little  articles  of  lace  are 
made  there,  ai  retz,  redezillas,  handkerchiefs,  bilk  lasbes,  &C, 
There  are  besides  two  hundred  and  forty-two  looms  for  silk 
stud's  in  several  other  places  in  this  province.  These  looms 
consume  annually  a  million  pounds  of  silk,  and  occupy 
twenty-eight  thousand  persons,  twenty-two  thousand  ut"  whom 
are  in  the  town  of  Valencia  alone. 

bilk  is  twisted  in  different  places  in  the  kingdom  of  Va- 
lencia, for  which  purpose  machines  and  mills  are  established 
at  Gandia,  San-Felipe,  Carcajente,  Orihucla,  and  Valencia  ; 
the  most  important  establishment  of  this  kind  is  at  Mdanesa, 
near  the  last  mentioned  town  ;  nevertheless,   these   machines 

are  not  able  to  furnish  as  much  as   the  manufactures  of  the 
f 

country  require  ;  part  of  the  silk  is  sent  to  Priego  and  Toledo 
in  Andalusia,  whence  it  is  returned  into  the  kingdom  of  Va- 
lencia to  be  worked. 

Commerce,  The  commerce  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia, 
after  having  been  very  flourishing,  was  almost  annihilated 
by  the  civil  wars  :  it  had,  notwithstanding,  resumed  its  an- 
cient vigour;  but  the  shutting  of  the  ports  of  the  continent  to 
the  English  most  necessarily  be  prejudicial  to  it;  for,  inde- 
pendent of  the  interior  of  Spain,  its  commodities  were  carried 
to  Portugal,  Holland,  France,  England,  and  the  Spanish  co- 
lonies of  America. 

The  exports  of  this  province  consist  in  the  productions  of 
its  soil,  and  in  its  manufactures. 

Part  of  the  silk  studs  which  are  made  here  is  consumed  in 
the  country  ;  but  the  greatest  part  is  carried  to  Madrid,  and 
into  some  provinces  of  Spain;  the  remainder  is  exported  to 
Portugal  and  Spanish  America. 

The  tine  cloths  are  hardly  ever  sent  out  of  the  country  ; 
part  of  the  coarse  cloths  are  used  in  it  also*  and  the  rest  is 
aent  to  America  for  clothing  the  troops. 

The  earthen  ware  of  Onda  and  that  of  Manisez  remain  in 
the  country  ;  that  of  Alcoy  is  sent  into  Cataloma,  Aragon,  the 


VALKXCIA.  31 1 

kingdom  of  Murcia   aid  Castile:  it  is  almost  the  only 
which  is  to  be  found  in  Madrid. 

The  paper  serves  for  the  consumption  of  the  cocntr. 
the  greater  part  is  sent  into  New  Castile,   into  the  kingdom  of 
Marcha',  and  to  Cad:/.,  where  it  is  shipped  for  America. 

The  painted  earthen-ware  tile-,  or  afeulejosr,  aie  used  i:i  the 
country,  but  only  a  small  part  of  them  ;  a  great  many  are 
sent  into  the  interior  of  Spain  as  well  as  to  Cadiz,  v.  lure  they 
are  shipped  lor  Spanish  America  ;  and  to  Marseilles,  whence 
they  are  conveyed  into  Africa. 

Soap,  bridles  fur  horses,  linens,  galloon,  lace,  and  gold  and 
silver  fringe,  are  not  sent  out  of  the  province. 

Nails,  wire,  and  needles  are  sent  to  different  provinces  of 
Spain. 

Spart,  worked  into  rcpes,  coverings  for  plants,  mats,  car- 
pi ts,  i-  used  partly  in  this  province,  partly  in  Catalonia  and 
New  Castile.  A  g  re  at  quantity  of  it  was  formerly  exported 
raw  to  the  different  French  ports  of  the  Mediterranean,  par- 
ticularly to  Marseilles,  but  the  exportation  was  prohibited  in 
1783;  permissions  are  sometimes  given  to  individuals  te  ex- 
port a  specified  quantity  but  it  must  be  worked.  The  inten- 
tion of  this  condition  is  ju>t,  as  it  produces  another  employ- 
ment for  the  people.,  a  new  branch  of  industry,  and  another 
currency  in  the  province.  The  spart  thus  Worki  d  g*  -  td  the 
Coast  ot  Provt  DC)  . 

J'art  of  the  oranges  lemon,  and  other  fruits  arc  consumed 
in  the  country;  the  surplus  is  sent  into  New  Castile,  puiti- 
cularly  to  Madrid. 

P<dm   are  *  nt  all  over  Spain  and  into  Italy  ;  they  are  eon- 

•  n. 
Wool  .   exported  from  Alicant,  but  il  ii  produce 

of  the  kingdom  ol  Valencia;  it  is  sent  thither  from  tb 
bouring  pi"'. in 
Poi  |  :,d  quintal  ire  drii  d  upi  n    n  o  - 

r;  about  2,000  qu  mal      i  i  m  the 


312  VALENCIA. 

province;  nearly  4,000  are  sent  into  Catalonia  and  Castile  ; 
6,000  into  France,  and  the  remainder  to  England.  This  ex- 
portation produces  1,110,000  reals  of  vellon  (11,875/.  ster- 
ling). 

Nearly  4,500  quintals  of  almonds  are  gathered  every  year; 
about  500  are  consumed  in  the  province,  about  1000  quintals 
are  exported  to  Catalonia  and  Castile,  and  3000  to  Marseilles 
and  to  Holland.  The  common  price  being  210  reals  of  vel- 
lon the  quintal  (2/.  3s.  9d-),  the  exportation  into  the  interior 
produces  210,000  real  cf  vellon  (2, IS?/.  105.)  and  the  foreign 
exportation  630,000  reals  of  vellon  (6,541/.  13s.  4 J.) 

Barilla,  kali,  aqua-azul,  and  kelp,  are  exported  into  France, 
England,  Genoa,  and  Venice.  Upon  an  average  100,000 
quintals  of  barilla,  25,000  of  kali,  and  4000  of  aqua-azul  are 
sent  out  yearly.  The  port  of  Alicant  alone  exports  1  50,000 
quintals  of  barilla  ;  but  a  great  part  comes  from  the  king- 
dom of  Murcia.  These  articles  produce  a  total  of  5,000,000 
reals  (52,083/.  6s.  8<i.)  for  the  barilla;  1,000,000  reals 
(10,416/.  135.  4c?.)  for  the  kali  ;  and  96,000  reals  (1 ,000/)  for 
the  aqua-aznl. 

About  2S.000  quintals  of  figs  arc  dried,  almost  8,000  of 
which  are  consumed  in  the  country,  the  other  20,000  are  sent 
out  of  it;  4,000  into  the  Castilts  and  Catalonia,  and  16,000 
into  England  and  Holland.  A  product  results  of  610,000 
reals  of  vellon  (6,6661.  135.  4d.) 

Pates  are  sent  to  France,  England,  Holland,  and  the  north 
of  Europe.  This  article,  including  the  commerce  of  palms, 
amounts  to  600,000  reals  (6,250/.) 

Upon  an  average,  about  3,500,000  cantaras  of  wine  are 
made  yearly.  This  quantity  would  be  sufficient  for  the  con- 
sumption of  the  province,  and  would  furnish  besides  a  consi- 
derable branch  of  exportation  ;  but  that  so  great  a  quantity 
of  it  is  made  into  brandy,  that  there  does  not  remain  enough 
fir  the  use  of  the  inhabitants,  who  are  obliged  to  import  some 
from  Aragon.  However,  about  1,200,000  cantaras  of  it  were 
exported,  which  went  lo  Cadiz  to  be  sent  to  Spanish  Aune-t 


VALENCIA»  3;  3 

rica,  as  well  as  to  France,  to  Cette,  Bourdeaux,  Rouen,  and 
Ilavre-de  Grace,  and  to  England;  hence  results  a  product  of 
S',120,000  reals  of  velkm  (95,000/.)  The  wines  of  Murviedro 
are  preferred  for  exportation  into  France,  from  their  being 
very  full-bodied  and  high-coloured.  The  sweet  wines  of 
Alicant  are  sent  to  France,  England,  and  the  north  of  Europe; 
the  quantity  annually  exported  amounts  to  800,000  reals  of 
vellon  (8,333/.  6s.) 

The  greatest  part  of  the  brandy  made  in  the  kingdom  of 
Valencia  is  sent  into  England  and  Holland  ;  hut  that  of  France 
is  preferred,  as  being  les»  acrid,  and  both  mellower  and  plca- 
santer.  In  1701  five  hundred  thousand  canturas  were  ex- 
ported, which  produced  upwards  of  12,000,000  reals 
(125,000/.) 

The  harvest  of  rice,  upon  an  average,  produces  120,000 
loads;  40,000  loads  are  consumed  in  the  country,  the  other 
60,000  are  sent  to  the  two  Castilea,  La  Mancha,  Aragon,  An- 
dalusia, Catalonia,  and  Majorca:  this  article  amounts  to 
12,800,000  reals  of  ve'.lon  (133,333/.  6s.) 

There  is  no  foreign  exportation  of  hemp.  A  third  of  the 
quantity  produced  serves  for  the  consumption  of  the  country; 
the  other  two-thirds,  which  one  year  with  another  amount  to 
about  50,000  quintals,  are  sen!  into  the  interior  of  Spain,  and 
are  consumed  in  the  arsenal  of  the  royal  navy  ;  they  produce 
9,000,000  reali  of  vellon  (93,750/.) 

A  great  many  impediment!  are  thrown  in  tin  nay  of  the 
exportation  of  silh  ;  it  is  only  allowed  for  SIX  months  after 
file  fa ..,'.-  it  If  in  that  period  the  national  manufacturers 
want  it,  they  are  at  lib  rty  to  lake  a  from  the  merchant!  who 

hive  bought  it,  on  reimbursing  them  the  purchase-in y. 

with  six  per  cent  interest;  tb<  consequence  is,  thai  the  mer- 
chants, uncertain  whether  they  trill  be  allowed  to  export  the 
silk  which  they  bare  purchased,  no  longer  take  any  foreign 
commissions  Ibr  it,  and  thus,  this  branch  of  exportation  has 
fallen.  i  dut]   bai  been  laid  opon  the  silk  seal 

put  oi  ;.  ,.!<.,  ninerea        n    so  and  one  quartillo 


314 


VALENCIA. 


(\s.  M\d.  sterling)  on  every  pound,  of  twelve  Valencinn 
ounces,  winch  is  almost  a  fi fill  of  its  value  :  this  is  another 
obstacle  to  the  c\\n> nation  <i  it.  A  very  small  quantity, 
twisted  and  dyed,  is  «cut  into  Portugal. 

Generally  1/>00,000  pounds  of  silk  are  made  annually;  of 
uhieh  1,100,000  are  Consumed  in  (lie  province,  and  -i-00,000 
pounds  are  exported  to  Talavera  de  la  Reyna,  Requina,  ToU  - 
do,  Granada,  Seville,  Priego,  and  Catalonia.  From  this  re- 
sults a  product  of  '20,000,000  reals  (208,333/.  6s.)  Part  of 
this  silk  is  twisted  and  dyed  :   It  costs 

Raw  silk 50  reals. .10*.  Sfd,  sterling. 

Fur  twisting  it__ S  1     8 

For  dying  it  with  common 

colours 3  0     U 

(7T  12.v.   $.\<l. 

About  200  quintals  of  kernits  are  gathered  ;  nearly  20 
quintals  remain  in  the  country  ;  10  quintals  of  it  are  vent  into 
the  other  provinces  of  Spain  where  there  are  manufactories, 
and  40  into  France.  This  exportation  produces  900,000  reals. 

Six  thousand  tons  of  salt  are  sent  to  England,  Holland,  and 
the  north  ;  which  produce  8SS,000  reals  of  vellon  (9250/.) 

STATEMENT  OF  THE   EXPORTATION  OF  THE  KINGDOM    OF 

VALENCIA. 

rxi'onTATios  OUT  or  stain. 


ARTICLES    OF 

COMMM'.'  !.. 


Wine 

Wine  of  Alicant 

Raisons 

Dried  Figs 

Almonds 

Dates  and  Palms 

Barilla 

Kali 

Anqna-azul 

Kermès 

Salt 

Brandy 


QUANTITY. 


1 ,200,000  cantar 


34,000  «juin. 

16  oMdqum. 
3,000  quirk 


1 00,000  ( 

_•■..()()()« 

4,000  < 

1  10  quiii. 
(),000  tons. 
mo  cantar, 


>quin.  "J 
iquin.  > 
>  quin.- J 


VA  1. 1   K 


REALS    OP 

Yi.r.i,'  :•. 

9,  120,000 

800,000 

1,020,000 

ô  1 2,000 
6  .0,000 
000,000 

l,.':2t,000 

7 1  >0,000 

SSH,000 


£. 


95,000 

8,333 

10,6*25 

.5,333 
0,5  u2 
0,250 


0 

ti 
vO 

6 
10 

0 


15,S75     0    0 

7,2.(1     13    4 
9,250     0    0 


12.000  0   O  IJ.,000      0    0 


total.—  |'j:.7  •  I  000  289,52  )  le    8 


VA  I  EN  CIA. 


31. 


EXPORTATION     INTO    TUF.     lXTr.l!!OU    Ol"    SPAIN. 


m'Asrm'. 

VALUE. 

AV.JICtV.f    OF 
COMMERCE. 

■BALS  OF 

VF.  1  1 

•£.         s. 

Raisins   - 

Almonds  

Oil- 

Uice _.- 

4,000  quintals 
1,000  quint. 
-  u  0  arabes 
8O,00p  leads 

00  quint. 
400,000  pounds 
4,000  quint. 

10  quint. 

120,000 

2 1 0  OUO 

10,000 

12,800.000 

9,0 
20,000,000 
128,000 
200,000 

1,250    0  0 

7  10  0 

40,625     0  0 

133,383    6  8 

Hemp- 

Silk 

03,750    0  0 
208,833    G  8 

Dried    Figs 

Kermès 

1,333     ()'  8 
2, OS  a    6  8 

TOTAL    

46,358,000 

482,895  10'  S 

Foreign  Commerce.... 
Interior  c  •  mou  rçe 

27,704,000 

[h.:',    s  0 06 

289,520  H)  K 

10  S 

General  Total 

71,152,001' 

772,416  13   V 

If  to  this  sum  be  a  M<  I  the  produce  of  the  manufactures  and 
of  the  exportation  of  Spart,  and  of  fruits,  fur  winch  1  have  qq 
data  of  calculation,  the  amount  will  be  found  very  consider- 
able. Thesingle  articlt  of  silks  goes  a  great  way  towards  it; 
about  «lcren  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  silk  are  worked  ;  the 
productions  of  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  remain  in  the 
country  :  the  merchandise  arising  from  the  working  of  nine 
hundred  thousand  pounds  an  sent  i  ni  ol  il  ;  Ibis  quantity  of 
silk  is-  worth  54,000,000  ol   v.  linn   j    ;i.s,.   ,  namely 

-l  -,<■         Oi  :  i  »r  tin  raw  silk, 7,200,000  i 

;  for   twisting   it,   and   2,7*00,000,  («£.28,125)   for 
dying  it  with  common  colours»    I  !ia\ *  heard  the  lam  total df 
Ibis  i  Jtporiation  stated  to  bt 
and  it  a;- 


316  VALENCIA. 

are    person1    who   make   it   amount   to   210,000,000   real», 
(«£•0,500,000)   which  is  perhaps  a  little  too  much. 

The  kingdom  of  Valencia  has  likewise  an  importation,  but 
very  much  inferior  to  its  exportation.  It  receives  wine 
from  Aragon  and  Catalonia  ;  woollens,  fine  cloths,  trinkets, 
some  silks,  millinery,  and  wheat  from  France;  ironmongery 
from  France  and  England  ;  spices  from  Holland  and  France  ; 
linens  from  France,  Silesia  and  Switzerland  ;  scents,  perfume-, 
pomatums  from  France  ;  salt  butter  from  Holland;  and  salt 
fish  and  herrings  from  England  and  Holland. 

This  province  carries  on  this  trade  without  any  harbour; 
it  has  buta  few  roads,  one  of  which  only  is  good;  its 
coast  is  very  dangerous,  particularly  when  the  wind  blows 
violently  from  the  east.  The  trade  is  carried  on  through 
Alicant,  Cullera,  Grao,  Santa  Pola,  Gandia,  Denia  and  Vi- 
naroz. 

Alicant  has  a  very  safe  good  road,  which  large  vessels  can 
easily  enter  :  dried  fruits,  barilla,  kali,  wine,  and  woollens  are 
exported  from  it  ;  the  last  are  not  the  produce  of  the  king- 
dom of  Valencia.  It  receives  linens  from  Switzerland  and  Si- 
lesia, spices  from  Holland  and  France,  ironmongery  from 
England  and  France,  camlets,  woollens,  fine  cloth-,  trinkets, 
and  linens  from  France.  It  is  the  principal  commercial  town 
of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  and  the  residence  of  the  consuls 
of  other  nations.  A  great  deal  of  business  is  transacted  in 
it,  and  before  the  war  with  England,  the  flags  of  all  the  na- 
tions of  Europe  might  be  seen  dying  there  almost  all  the  year 
round. 

Cullera  has  only  a  bad  road,  where  there  is  very  little  im- 
portation ;  its  exportation  is  confined  to  rice,  which  is  sent 
to  the  island  of  Majorca  and  Andalusia. 

Grao  has  neither  road  nor  harbour;  it  has  nothing  but 
a  flat  shore,  where  vessels  are  unloaded,  in  a  very  in- 
convenient manner.  In  1792,  a  place  of  debarkation  was 
begun  to  be  built,  for  which  the  merchants  raised  a  subscrip* 


VALENCIA.  317 

tion  ;  the  bank  of  St.  Carlos  advanced  five  millions  of  real;, 
(£.52,083  Go-.  Sd).  and  the  government  also  furnished  funds  ; 
but  in  a  twelvemonth  the  works  were  neglected  and  even 
given  up,  and  bad  weather  has  so  damaged  them  that  the 
success  of  the  undertaking  is  become  problematical.  The 
trade  of  Grao,  both  exports  and  imports,  is  all  carried  on  with 
Trance  ;  it  receives  linens,  woollens,  ironmongery,  trinkets, 
spices  and  corn,  and  returns  wines,  dried  fruits,  barilla,  and 
kali,  nearly  to  the  amount  of  half  the  importations;  brandy 
is  likewise  exported  to  Holland  and  the  north  of  Europe. 
The  amount  of  the  exportation  in  I7T3  was  twelve  millions 
•f  reals  {£.  125,000). 

Santa  Pola  is  a  ?mall  port  fur  shelter,  and  has  no  com- 
merce. 

Gandia,  Denia,  and  Vinaroz,  are  merely  open  shores  with- 
out either  harbours  or  roads.  Their  importation  was  toler- 
ably considerable,  but  it  has  ceased  for  some  years,  their  cus- 
tom house  having  been  suppressed  ;  at  present  they  export 
brandy,  and  some  trifling  articles. 

Roads,  in/is,  and  modes  of  carriage.  If  we  except  the 
three  cantons  of  Biscay,  there  is  not  a  province  in  Spain, 
the  roads  of  which  are  so  good  as  those  of  the  kingdom  of 
Valencia.  We  have  given  a  description  of  the  road  which 
leads  from  the  gate  of  Ahnanza  to  the  capital  of  this  pro- 
vince, through  an  extent  of  thirteen  leagues  and  a  quarter  ; 
it  continues  from  Valencia  to  Castello  de  la  Plana,  a  dis- 
tance of  tf-n  leagues  and  a  half,  and  the  rich  fields  through 
which  it  lies  all  the   way  contribute  to  embellish  it. 

The  roads  of  the  interior  arc  by  no  meat»  so  good  ;  yet 
many  of  them  are  not  absolutely  bad  :  thai  which  leads  from 
Valencia  to  Maniacs,  that  from  the  same  town  to  Grao,  that 
from  Onbuela  to  Fuente  dr  la  Higuert,  here  and  there  ex- 
cepted, that  from  Alcala  d<-  Chiverl  to  Vinaroz,  and  a  great  part 
of  thnt  «rbk  h  leads  from  Valencia  into  Aragon,  ire  tolerably 
good;  that  from  Valencia  to  LiriaVAndellft,  Xericjj  and 
gorb»',  though  most  frequcn.lv  &9tt tBOvntalht,  »..  not  b*4> 


3]  S  VA  LIA  CI  A. 

The  roads  have  been  I  ah  en  cut  of  in  tln>  province  ;  Lut 
there  «re   nota  sulii  dooX   Dumber  ofJto'idges:    repass  *c- 

vi-ral  little  rivers  and  guUeys,  wh cli  in  rainy  seasons  bacooofl 
impetuous  torrent*  over  which  there  are  no  bridges  j  there  is 
none  over  the  r i \ «  r  lvda,  which  is  creased  three  times,  in  the 
road  i  rot  u  Qrihuela  to  Valencia  j  there  is  none  over  the  river 
Car.ales,  in  the  road  fro:;  Vienna  to  Segorbe  ;  there  is  none 
over  the  river  Servol,  nor  over  the  Llozobay,  nor  the  J  near,  on 
the  road  lVotn  Madrid  to  Valencia  ;  it  i>  true,  it  would  he  dif- 
ficult to  build  one  across  the  Jucar,  as  that  river  sometimes 
swells  so  much  asto  overflow  half  a  league  of  ground. 

A  custom,  perhaps  improperly  allowed,  considerably  rouiri* 
hutes  to  the  breaking  up  of  the  roads o!  the  kingdom  of  Valencia, 
particularly  the  cross-roads.  Peoph  continually  go  along  tin  m 
roads  picking  up  the  »  xi  it 'inents  of  animals,  to  convert  them 
into  manure  ;  at  the  same  time  they  raise  light  layers  of  earth, 
«hie!;  they  believe  to  be  impregnated  with  salt,  proper  for 
fertilizing  the  &oii  :  the  consequence  is  that  the  roads  become 
uneven,  excavations  are  farmed  in  them,  and  they  grow 
worse  and  worse  every  day. 

The  great  road  which  crosses  the  kingdom  of  Valencia, 
from  the  gate  of  Ahnanza  to  the  frontiers  of  Catalonia,  i» 
full  of  inns.  There  are  several  in  the  town  of  Valencia, 
amongst  which  the  Golden  Lion  and  the  Four  Nations,  are 
tolerably  good  ones.  The  other  inns  01  this  road  are  often 
called  vent  as;  but  we  find  tolerable  provisions  in  almost  all, 
we  are  well  treated.  The  venta  of  Alcudieta  and  the 
tenta  del  Rey  are  good  and  very  neat  :  we  are  tolerably  will 
off  at  Murviedro,  and  Vinaroz,  and  still  better  at  Castello 
de  la.  Plana;,  but  the  accommodations  are  very  hadat  Alcab 
de  Chivert  and   Benicasi. 

We  are  not  so  well  accommodated  in  the  inns  on  the  cross 
roads;  there  are  a  great  many,  and  they  are  generally  bad  : 
yet  there  is  no  want  of  provisions,  which  are  abundant  al- 
r.'.c^  every  where.  The  venta  de  Fucnle  de  la  I  liguera  i- 
toleiably  good  :  every  thiug  is  to  be  found  in  it,     A>   l£]«ke> 


VA  LEX CI A.  3\9 

though  rather  a  large  and  populous  town,  they  are  all  bad  ; 
Orihuela,  an  episcopal  town,  of  a  considerable  population  bas 
not  a  single  inn  :  even  tbe  posadas,  of  this  town  are  but  mid- 
dling; but  there  are  very  capital  inns  at  Alicant,  even  better 
than  those  of  Valencia.  The  prices  are  every  where  mode- 
rate :  in  the  large  inns  we  pay  two  piécettes  (Is.  8<f.)  a  din- 
ner at  the  tabic  d'hôte. 

The  kingdom  of  Valencia  nearly  vie»  with  Catalonia  in  the 
beauty  and  goodness  of  its  carriages  :  there  are  a  great  many 
coaches  and  calashes,  which  are  drawn  by  good  mules,  as 
are  the  carts,  which  are  large  and  well  made.  .Most  carriages 
are  drawn  by  mules  ;  yet  sometimes  asses  are  used,  but 
for  trifling  services.  Covered  waggons  regularly  set  out  once 
or  twice  a  week  from  Valencia,  Alicant,  and  Onhuela  for 
Madrid,  loaded  with  provisions  for  that  town.  There  are 
some  also  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  travellers,  whose  for- 
tune will  not  permit  them  to  take  more  convenient  carriages. 
Covered  waggons  also  set  out  from  Valencia  at  stated  periods 
for  Barcelona  ;  they  carry  merchandise  and  travellers  ;  these 
belong  to  the  Catalans. 

Natural  History.  The  natural  history  of  the  kingdom  of 
Valencia  is  not  yet  well  known.  At  first  it  does  not  appear 
very  interesting.  The  animal  kingdom  presents  nothing 
which  merits  attention.  There  are  no  mines  worked,  except 
some  iron  ones. 

Amongst  the  animals  of  this  province,  wc  are  only  abl<  to 
particularize  the  Kermcs,  or  gall  insect,  a  worm  which  i<  taken 
from  the  tree  called  quercus-COCCifera,  and  which  gives  the 
Ih  >h  colour  :  it  i»  Pound  upon  tbe  mountains  near  Alicant  :  it 
ba>  been  already  mentioned  in  speaking  of  tbe  agriculture  of 
the  kingdom  of  Valencia. 

The  vegetable  kingdom  is  here  very  rub  ami  important: 
the  Abbé  CavanHIas,  a  botauUt  alreadl  known  by  some  inte- 
resting works,  is  employed  m  describing  tl»«-  rare  plants  and 


320  VALENCIA. 

flowers  that  are  found  in  Valencia,  and  particularly  upon 
the  mountains  of  Mariola,  Pena-Golasa,  Mongo,  and  Aytana. 
A  Qoral  of  these  lias  been  published,  containing  a  great  variety 
<>t  genera  and  species. 

The  mineral  kingdom  presents  some  objects  worthy  the 
attention  of  naturalists.  We  may  mention  the  following  as 
the  most  important  : 

Amine  of  copper  in  sheets  of  slate,  full  of  white  and  red 
mica,  near  the  Carthusian  monastery  of  Val-de-Christo. 

Iron  mines  between  Biar  and  Villena,  to  the  south  ca^t  of 
Diar,  near  Fredas  and  la  Pobla,  near  Forçai,  Castelfort,  in 
the  Sierra  d'Espadan,  near  Canaret,  Ant  ilia,  Ayodar,  and  l>e- 
tw-een  Rotava  and  Marchuquera. 

lilood-stones  on  the  Sierra  Gitana,  four  leagues  from 
Alicant. 

Veins  of  red-lead  in  the  calcareous  rocks  upon  the  moun- 
tain of  Alcoray,  two  leagues  from  Alicant,  and  upon  the 
mountains  between  Valencia  and  San-Felipe. 

A  mine  of  virgin  mercury  among  calcareous  rocks,  in  a 
hard  white  and  calcareous  soil,  at  the  fo  >t  of  a  steep  mountain, 
near  San- Felipe.  It  was  given  up  a  long  time  ago,  but  was 
worked  again  in  IÏ93  ;  it  produced  from  a  quintal  of  mine- 
ral, thirteen  pounds  of  mercury,  twenty-one  pounds  of  cop- 
per, eighteen  of  sulphur,  and  of  arsenic,  and  a  hundred  and 
tweuty-eightb  part  of  silver.  But  it  is  s-aid  that  it  is  again 
given  up. 

Another  mine  of  virgin  mercury  in  separate  globules,  but 
very  abundant,  scattered  in  a  clayey  and  drossy  soil,  which 
crises  the  town  of  Valencia  from  cast  to  west  two  feet  in 
depth;  it  passes  under  the  houseof  the  marquis  de  Dos  Aguas, 
iu  the  square  of  Villarasa,  where  a  well  was  dug  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  prove  its  existence. 

A  mine  of  cobalt,  near  Ayodar  ;  but  it  has  been  neglected 

A  mine  of  alum,  near  Castel-Favi. 


VALENCIA. 

Of  ochre,  between  Villena  and  Biar,  to  the  south-east  of  the 
latter  place. 

Of  amber  in  small  quantities,  in  the  mountain  of  Alcoray, 
fifteen  feet  deep. 

Of  small  coloured  crystals,  with  two  very  regular  points  irt 
the  form  of  diamonds,  at  the  foot  and  to  the  cast  of  a  high 
mountain,  two  leagues  south-west  of  Alicant.  Some  of  them 
are  white,  some  red  and  some  yellow  ;  the  red  and  yellow 
ones  are  hyacinths. 

Of  IMadraporite,  in  the  mountain  Alcoray,  and  in  a  steep 
mountain  near  San-Felipe,  above  the  mine  of  virgin  mercun 
which  has  already  been   mentioned. 

Several  petrified  sea  substances,  above  the  same  mine  of 
virgin  mercury. 

Some  singular  fossils  on  the  mountain  Alcoray.  Some  halt 
petrified  shells  on  the  top  of  a  rock  upon  which  the  castle  of 
Alicant  is  built. 

Oysters,  and  other  bivalve  fossil  shells  on  the  Sierra  Gifana, 
and  on  the  mountain  of  St.  Julian  ;  thé  latter  are  inclosed  in 
a  bed  of  gypsum  surrounded  with  pieces  of  slate. 

Several  other  petrified  sea  substances,  as  oyster-shelh, 
muscles,  tellina,  buccina,  and  ursina,  in  the  environs  of  Ali- 
cant :  some  are  in  a  rock  of  lime,  others  in  banks  of  calcareous 
stone,  mixed  with  fine  sand,  others  in  banks  of  round  stones 
upon  beds  of  yellow,  red  and  grey  marl. 

Spiral  land  shells,  in  a  cave  in  the  mountain  of  Tufal. 

Chalk  in  abundance,  at  Picacente,  two  leagues  from  Va- 
lencia. 

Coloured  gypsum,  resembling  red  leaJ,  upon  the  mountain 
Alcoray,  two  leagues  from  Alicanl. 

A  beautiful  quarry  of  fine  red  uyp^um  w'th  white  \.  iri»,  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  of  Tural,  some  leagues  fr< 
cia,  as  well  a-  on  the  mountain  Vic 

Banks   •  ii  of  different  colouri,  in    the   ert 

Alicant,     undci  banks  ol    round  itonei,   in  which  some  I 

Vol.  i.  v 


VALENCIA. 

sea  substances  are  said  to  have  been  found;  they  are  of  grey, 
yellow,  red,  black,  chesnut  and  rose  colour. 
A  great  deal  of  silex  half  way  up  the  calcareous  mountains, 

between  lbi  and  Biar;   it  i*  mad.-  into  gun  flint.-. 

Tin  re  are  some  peculiarities  on  the  mountain  on  which 
the  castle  of  Alicant  is  situated.  Besides  the  fossil  shells 
vci.ch  are  on  the  highest  part,  and  which  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, there  are  on  the  cast  side  some  fragments  of  agate, 
enclosed  in  calcareous  rocks,  and  some  red  silex,  waved;  and 
on  the  west  side,  towards  the  town,  toiue  false  asbestos,  and  a 
little  lower  down  some  banks  of  tripoli. 

Haifa  league  to  the  north-east  of  the  same  town,  there  are 
some  fields  covered  with  a  great  quantity  of  those  stones  often 
called  lenticular  stones,  and  which  are  the  true  nummular!  ; 
the  country  people  call  them  the  Magician'*  money. 

The  kingdom  of  Valencia  contains  some  quarries  of  the 
finest  marble.  These  are,  first  to  the  east  of  San-Felipe; 
„'d.  at  Barclieta,  near  that  town  ;  3d.  at  Buscarrô,  which  is  not 
far  from  it;  4th.  on  a  very  high  mountain  three  leagues 
north-east  of  the  same  town;  5th.  on  mount  Sagarra,  near 
Segorhe  ;  tith.  at  Nincrola,  three  leagues  from  Valencia  ; 
7tb.  on  an  eminence  on  the  side  of  the  village  of  Naguera, 
three  leagues  from  the  same  town.  The  marble  of  Ninerola 
is  white  ;  it  was  used  in  making  the  statues  and  bass-reliefs  in 
the  house  of  Dos  Aguas  at  Valencia.  That  at  three  leagues 
north-east  of  San-Felipe,  forms  the  entire  mass  of  the  mountain  ; 
it  is  of  four  kinds;  white,  rose  colour,  yellow,  and  a  straw 
colour  or  paler  yellow.  Those  of  mount  Segarra  were  famous 
in  the  times  of  the  Romans,  who  dug  very  fine  ones  from  it. 
Those  of  Naguera  arc  of  a  dark  red,  full  of  very  fine  black- 
capillary  veins;  they  are  very  handsome,  very  hard,  and  sus- 
ceptible of  a  fine  polish. 

There  are  also  some  large  veins  of  alabaster  inclosed  in 
white  calcareous  rocks,  between  Vilhna  and  Biar,  to  the  south- 
east of  this  last  place,  and  a  great  quantity  of  superb  white 


VALENCIA.  SS'3 

ttlubaster  at  two  leagues  from  Ahcant,  in  a  cavern,  of  which 
we  shall  presently  speak. 

There  are  several  caverns  in  this  province  ;  hut  only 
two  merit  attention  ;  one  is  in  the  mountain  of  Tufal,  some 
leagues  from  Valencia,  the  other  two  from  Alicant.  The 
former  is  particularly  remarkable  for  its  great  extent  ;  it  con- 
tains many  spiral  land  shells.  The  latter  is  full  of  handsome 
white  stalactites,  which  are  formed  by  drops  of  water  filtering 
through  stones  and  calcareous  earth  :  there  is  also  in  this  a 
most  beautiful  alabaster. 

The  Sierra  Gitana,  situated  at  four  leagues  from  Alicant, 
merits  particular  attention.  It  forms  a  high  chain  of  calca- 
reous rocks,  of  various  heights  ;  in  some  places  it  is  of  a  cal- 
careous earth  saturated  with  vitriol  ;  in  others,  of  a  metallic 
marble,  and  in  others  again,  of  an  earth  loaded  with  gypsum. 
This  mountain  is  subject  to  frequent  earthquakes. 

There  are  several  salt-pits  in  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  ; 
particularly  near  Elche,  Alicant,  and  Villena;  the  first 
i-  tolerably  large  ;  the  second,  called  de  la  Mata,  is  almost 
at  the  sea  side,  with  which  however  it  has  no  commu- 
nication; the  last  is  two  leagues  in  circumference.  A  great 
quantity  of  salt  is  obtained  by  evaporation  ;  the  water  is  left, 
to  be  exhaled  by  the  sun,  the  salt  crystalizes,  is  gathered, 
and  made  into  enormous  masses.  The  pit,  near  Alicant,  sup- 
plies the  most. 

Rock  salt  is  likewise  found  in  Valencia.  A  detached 
hill,  four  leagues  from  the  Salt-pit  at  Villena,  is  one 
IIlas^  of  r>.ck  salt,  covered  with  a  bed  of  gypsum  of  dif- 
ferent colours.  There  is  also  a  very  good  salt-pu  on  the  chain 
of  mountains  which  form  the  boundaries  towards  Aragon, 
near  the  Sk  ria  of  Vclticbl  and  tbat  of  Cubilla,  between  tbc 
■ourcj  of  the  two  liulc  riven  which  run  to  Andilla  and 
Bexis. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  mountain  on  which  the  monastery  of 
Esperanza     .  .  rrcar  Sego:b\  B  fountain  issu«-»,    thtJ 

v    9 


934  VALENCIA. 

water  of  whHi  is  said  to  have   a  petrifying  quality  :  it  ha» 
already  l>ecn  menti. 

Mineral    waters  are  not  very'   numerous  in  the  kingdom  of 
ncia  ;  there  are  only  three  cold  ami  I  wo  tin ■rmal  springs. 
The-  three  fir-  .ir  Navaja.-,  at  Villa  -Vieja  near  Nules 

and  at  Sai  ..ioha  in  the  territory  ofliuiml.  '1  his  is  called  the 
i-untain  of  S  t  Vineent.  The  two  hot  springs  are  not  far 
from  Alieanl  ;  one,  culled  Fuente-Caliente,  is  two  leagues 
soutb-west  of  the  town,  at  the  foot  and  to  the  east  of  a  hlfb 
mountain  of  lime  stone;  the  other  is  four  leagues  from  the 
town,  in  the  territory  of  Buzot,  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra 
Gitaua;  there  are  some  baths  in  this  last  ;  it  raises  Farcn- 
heit's  thermometer  to  10 1°.  It  is  pretended,  hut  without  any 
proof,  that  it  contains  iron,  and  Glauber,  salt.  None  of 
these  waters  have  been  properly  analiz»  d. 

Arts  and  Sa.  •  ■ .-.  The  learned  men  whom  the  kingdom 
of  Valencia  has  produced,  owed  for  a  long  time  their  success 
entirely  to  themselves  ;  they  found  in  their  country  no  estab- 
lishment consecrated  to  the  cultivation  of  the  sciences;  there 
were  only  some  spiritless  schools,  episcopal  and  monastic, 
where  nothing  was  taught  but  scholastic  theology,  Aristotle's 
philosophy,  and,  at  t;mes,  the  canon  law. 

It  was  not  till  the  fifteenth  century  that  universities 
began  to  be  established.  That  of  Valencia  was  founded  hy 
S.Vincent  Terrier  in  1411,  and  received  the  royal  sanc- 
tion in  1440.  A  second  was  soon  afterwards  established  at 
Orihuela,  and  Francis  Borgia  founded  one  at  Gandia  in 
J549. 

In  thc-e  three  universities  theology,  the  canon  and  civil 
law,  medicine,  and  philosophy  were  taught.  There  were  a 
great  many  professors:  that  of  Gandia,  which  was  the 
smallest,  had  eigbleen  ;  four  for  theology,  two  for  the  canon 
anil  five  for  the  civil  law,  four  for  medicine,  and  three  for  phi- 
losophy. 


EXCTA.  325 

Education  in  these  three  universities,  however,  was  incom- 
plete and  insufficient  ;  their  professors  were  ill  paid,  and  often 
iH  chosen  ;  their  schools  had  all  the  defects  of  the  other  uni- 
versities <•;  .  Kothing  was  taught  in  them  btrt  scho- 
lastic theology,  Galenic  med  cine,  and  paripatetic  philosophy. 
lime  was  lost  in  dis]  \v\i_:  en  nothing;  subrtiltfes,  Yt  rbo 
and  sophistry  tobk  place  of  learning,  eloquence,  and  truth. 

At  length  these  inconveniences  were  felt.  The  university 
of  Gandia  was  supero-ed  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the 
schools  of  ih.it  of  Orihuela  permitted  to  subsist  in  their  an- 
cient form  ;  but  the  faculty  of  medicine  was  entirely  sup- 
pressed. The  government  directed  it's  attention  chiefly  to  the 
university  of  Valencia,  whose  n  veinv.1  .menlod.    Se- 

veral useful  establishments  have  been  made  there;  a  new 
form  of  interior  administration  has  been  given  to  if,  and  new 
chairs  erected.  These  changes  were  made  in  1786  by  Charles' 
III.  We  think  it  the  more  important  to  show  the  actual 
-'ate  of  this  university,  as  it  is  the  only  one  in  Spain  whose 
form  can  become  useful  to  the  progress  of  the  sciences. 
-  There  are  now  fifty-eight  professors  in  the  university  of  Va- 
lencia, two  for  the  Latin  grammar,  one  for  poetry  and  oratory, 
two  for  Greek,  one  for  Hebrew,  six  for  philosophy,  two  for 
the  mathematics,  one  for  mechanics  and  natural  philosophy, 
one  for  astronomy,  eleven   for  medicine,  seven  for  the  civil 

five  for  the   canon   law,   one   for  ecclesiastic. d  ttféCrpime, 
.and  eighteen  for  theology.     They  are  all  for  life;  with  the 
exception  of  thr<  e  of  philosophy,  live  of  medicine,  two  ot 
civil  law,  one  of  th<-  cam  n,  and  seven  of  tbeohjgj    i  li.»  are 

substitute-,    to    ih  their   functions  constitute  a 

kind  of  noMciate,  by  which  they  khi  y  improve  their  leflffl 
and    i-:.w  r  themselves    able    to  fill    in    COWSe    of  t  rne    the 
■  .'s  ot  tb<  .  lor  life    All  tin  ^e  chairs  an    given 

Ml   11. 

•  .  :  these  professors,  and  thé  th intra 


326  VALENCIA. 

they  arc  to  teach,  have  been  fixed  by  a  regulation  issued  from 
royal  authority. 

The  course  of  philosophy  is  to  last  three  years.  In  the  first 
year,  the  professors  teach  logic  and  ontology  ;  in  the  second, 
metaphysics,  moral  philosophy,  and  the  elements  of  the  ma- 
thematics ;  and  in  the  third,  natural  philosophy  :  they  are  to 
follow  in  their  lessons  Jacquier's  Institutions  of  Philosophy. 

The  course  of  medicine  is  to  last  five  years.  It  is  entrusted 
to  eleven  professors,  one  for  chemistry  and  botany,  one  fur 
anatomy,  three  for  the  theory  of  medicine,  and  one  for  prac- 
tical medicine  :  these  are  all  for  life  ;  one  triennial  for  botany, 
another  triennial  for  anatomy,  and  three  others,  also  triennial, 
for  the  theory  of  medicine.  The  students  begin  their  studies 
with  botany  and  chemistry,  then  go  to  the  theory  of  medi- 
cine and  anatomy,  and  lastly  attend  the  lessons  of  clinical 
medicine. 

The  professor  of  chemistry  and  botany  is  to  teach  che- 
mistry during  the  autumn  and  winter  twice  a  day,  and  every 
day  an  hour  and  a  half  each  time  :  in  the  morning,  chemistry 
relative  to  mines,  arts,  and  manufactures,  according  to  the 
principles  of  Baume  ;  and  in  the  afternoon,  medicinal  che- 
mistry according  to  the  precepts  of  Macquer.  In  spring,  he 
lectures  in  the  botanic  garden  on  the  virtues  of  plants,  ac- 
cording to  Murray. 

The  professors  of  anatomy  teach  anatomy  during  the  whole 
year,  from  plates,  skeletons,  and  artificial  pieces  of  anatomy  ; 
and  give,  in  the  time  of  vacation  only,  thirty  lessons  on  dead 
bodies,  always  according  to  Heister's  Anatomy. 

The  professors  of  theoretical  medicine,  in  turn,  explain,  in  the 
the  course  of  three  years,  physiology  and  pathology,  according 
to  Boerhaave  ;  the  materia  medica,  according  to  Tessari  ;  the 
Aphorisms  of  Hippocrates  and  Boerhaave;  and  the  description 
of  diseases  from  Home's  Principia  Medicinae:  it  is  recom- 
irer.dcd  to  them,  in  their  explanations,  to  make  use  of  the 


Valencia.  :'>:t 

works  of  Van-Swietcn  and  other  good  author-;,  chiefly  nati 
ones. 

The  professor  of  clinical  medicine  is  to  give  his  lessons  in 
the  hospital,  morning;  and  evening,  and  then  carry  his  pupils, 
the  number  of  which  is  confined  to  twenty,  to  visit  the  sick. 
He  is  to  open  the  dead  bodies,  and  to  make  an  exact  journal 
of  his  observations.  This  mode  is  very  well  conceived  ;  and 
the  known  execution  of  it  must  be  of  the  greatest  utility. 

It  is  the  part  of  one  of  the  professors  of  the  civil  law  to 
teach  the  law  of  nature  and  of  nations,  taking  for  the  basis 
of  his  lessons  the  Institutionis  juris  natuns  et  gentium  of 
J.  B.  Alsaici.  The  others  are  to  explain  successively,  in  the 
space  of  four  years,  the  History  of  the  Roman  Jurisprudence, 
of  Ch.  Ant.  Martini  ;  the  Institutes  of  Justinian,  with  the 
commentaries  of  Vinarius;  the  Syntagma  Antiquitatum  Ro- 
manorum  of  the  same;  the  Pandects,  according  to  Reinec- 
cius;  and  the  civil  law  of  the  crown  of  Castile,  according  to 
Asso  y  Manuel. 

The  lessons  of  the  canon  law  have  for  their  bnsis  the  works 
Lackics  and  Van-Espen:  wha  regards  countries  unconnected 
with  Spain,  is  left  out  ;  the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Trent 
are  added,  and  the  ecclesiastical  laws  peculiar  to  this  kingdom, 
conformably  to  the  decrees  of  those  councils,  concordats,  and 
national  laws. 

One  of  the  professors  of  theology  explains  do  Locis  Theo- 
logis,  according  to  Juenia,  Nina,  and  Cano  ;  another,  Eccle- 
siastical History,  according  to  Laurent  Berti  ;  four  others  the 
Master  of  the  Sentences,  with  the  commentaries  ofEstibs  ; 
three  others  morals,  according  to  Genetto  and  the  books  of 
Wisdom;  and  two  others  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  lessons  on  ecclesiastical  discipline  have  fir  their  basis 

the  Christian  Antiquities  of  Selvagius;  those  on  mathematics 

the  works  of  la  Caille,  with  the  notes  of  Maria;  ami  those  of 

astronomy  tli<-  works  of  the  same  la  ('aille:  tin s^  last  o   jht 

•    on  spherical  trigonometry,    and    geometrical    utso* 

v  4 


3£S  VALENCIA. 

nomy.  Besides  these  lessons,  which  the  professor  is  to  g Lvq 
in  the  schools,  tin  re  is  one  twice  a  week,  in  the  night  time, 
a:  ih  observatory,  to  explain  the  use  of  the  instruments,  and 
to  mate  astronomical  observations  in  the  pc^îwc  of  the 

pupils. 

The  lessons  of  mechanic?  and  natural  philosophy  are  to  be 
given  on  statics,  hydrostatics,  hydrodinamics,  optic»,  catop- 
trics, diôptrios,  and  perspective  :  they  are  given  for  two  hours 
every  day  ;  the  first  hour  is  devoted  to  explanations,  and  the 
second  to  experiment. 

The  masters  are  excited  to  emulation  by  rewards.  The 
professors,  besides  their  appointments,  enjoy  a  pension  of  a 
thousand  reals:  of  yello»  (10/.  Ss.  <-</.  sterling)  aft  r  tw  ve 
years  professorship,  and  tlouble  that  after  twe;;;..  Pensions, 
of  a  thousand  reals  are  likewise  given  to  ;ny  prof)  .-.-or  who 
shall  publish  three  good  dissertations  un  the  subject  he 
teaches,  and  three  thousand  reals  u>  any  author  of  a  book 
thought  worthy  of  being  taught  in  the  schools.  Prizes  for 
the  pupils  are.  also  fixed. 

This  university  has  a  library,,  which  it  owes  to  the  gene- 
rosity of  the  abbey  Bayer.  It  does  not  contain  more  than 
fifteen  t'c  usand  volumes,   among  which   there.:.  ■   I 

works,  principally  on  medicine.  I  i.-  Miperintcnded  by  a  li- 
brarian and  two  under  librarian/,  and  i^  opi  n  to  the  public 
every  day,  except  on  holidays,  for  two  hours  m  the  naming, 
and  two  in  the  afternoon  :   it  is  very  much  impieniud. 

This  is  a  noble  establishment,  It  has  masters  of  ovtry 
k'md.  Education  is  easy,  and  freed  from  a  part  of  the  pré- 
indices  Vrhiçb  have  loug  paraliztd  tin:  schools  of  Spain.  The 
yoke  of  the  p  ripai.'  lie  ph  losophy  has  he.  u  ihro  n  (uf;  the 
form  employed  is  something  similar  to  that  of  the  schools  of 
other  nations.  A  school  of  clinical  medicine  has  been  added 
to  it,  the  plan  of  which  is  admirably  conceived.  The  greatest 
advantages  may  be  expected  from  it;  but  it  still  want.-  unr.c 
things   necessary   to  render   in^tiuction    completely  useful, 


VALENCIA.  329 

Courses  of  chemistry,  botany,  natural  philosophy,  and  astro- 
nomy are  given,  but  there  arc  very  fen  machines  and  instru- 
ments: there  is  no  laboratory,  no  botanical  garden,  and  no 
observatory,  except  some  rooms  in  the  building  of  the  uni- 
versity consecrated  to  astronomical  observations.  The  king 
has  settled  the  funds  for  the  construction  and  acquisition  of 
these  ani  les;  but  tiie  sinallness  of  tnese  funds  leaves  no  hope 
01  kbeir  soon  posses^")!  them. 

It  appears  too  that  the  professors  are  very  much  restrained 
in  the  choice  of  the   bo<.ks  firm  which  they  are  to  give  their 
lessons  :  they    are   also  deprived   of  tiie   assistance  of  those 
which  might  cuntam  a  more  clear  and  certain  doctrine,  new 
view»   and  discoveries  which  would  overturn  the    principles 
established  in  those  given  to  them  as  guides.     Tue  professor 
of  chemistry,  for  example,  is  obliged  to  follow  Butiné  in  che- 
mistry applied  to  the  arts,  and   Maquier  in   medicinal  che- 
mistry;   chemistry  has,   however,  since    tiie    publication   of 
the  works  of  those  chemists,  been  brought  to  greater  perfec- 
tion ;  it  is  enriched  by  many  modern  discoveries  and  dif- 
ferent principles  are  now  followed  to  what  those  books  con- 
tain.   Thi  i  f  Murraj  have  been  given  as  :l  guide  to  the 
r  of  botany,  who  is  not  enjoined  to  make  use  of  any 
ol  the  1)  toks  winch  contain  the  methods  most  generally  fol- 
i       d  hitherto,  neither  those  of  Tournejbrt,  of  Linna-us,  i.or 
of  Jussjeq.  The  physiology  and  patbologj  of Boprhaave, which 
have  ïov  a  long  timi  be<  n  almt  -i  forgotten,  are  directed  tube 
Jit.     In  determining  the  subjects  for  the  thème  of  the 
r  of  in1. i  ral  philosophy,  they  have  de- 
toe  |ib<  ;  wing  the  importai? 

:  .,ci  ii  c\|r  n.  c  nt- on  ;ur  and  lire,      (ienius 
;    heeoiiu  s  OMn 
ng  u  oieii  alone  eau  ac- 
celerate; the  | 

i  :   the   pro. 

j  ,:d  perform  cxperiw 


330  VALENCIA. 

twice  a  da}'  ;  they  have  imposed  a  task  on  him  which  the  most 
profound  and  experienced  chemist  could  not  perform  :  some 
cif  the  experiments  require  three  or  four  days  preparation;  how 
can  the  time  from  morning  to  evening  suffice  ?  their  lectures  of 
course  can  be  but  superficial  and  of  little  use.  'Hie  memory 
of  the  pupil,  who  is  not  equal  to  such  forced  labour,  is  also 
overburdened.  Not  more  than  three  lessons  a  week  have 
ever  been  given  on  this  science  ;  and  it  is  as  much  as  the 
greatest  chemists  can  do.  The  same  fault  with  regard  to  the 
course  of  natural  philosophy  and  astronomy  has  been  com- 
mitted. Another  inconvenience  is  the  smallness  of  the  ap- 
pointments of  the  professors;  the  most  considerable  arc  seven 
thousand  reals  of  vellon  (72/.  18.?.  id.  sterling).  At  this  price 
it  is  impossible  to  procure  good  matters.  It  must  neverthe- 
less be  allowed,  that  this  establishment  is  still  in  its  infancy  : 
it  is  much  to  have  taken  the  first  step;  time  will  show  these 
inconveniences,  and  the  same  zeal  that  directed  the  first  re- 
gulations, will  prompt  to  correct  whatever  is  defective. 

There  are  likewise  some  monastic  schools  in  the  k  ngdom 
of  Valencia,  in  which  philosophy  and  theology  aie  taught; 
but  the  professors,  absolutely  independent,  follow  at  will  the 
routine  which  they  have  drawn  up  according  to  their  masters, 
or  which  they  found  already  established  in  their  cloisters. 
By  this  means,  these  schools  have  all  the  inconveniences  of 
the  others  of  Spain,  and  have  not  the  advantages  of  those  of 
the  university  of  Valencia. 

The  library  of  that  university  is  not  the  only  one  that  offers 
its  resources  to  the  public;  the  town  of  Valencia  contains 
another  much  more  considerable,  that  of  the  archbishopric: 
it  has  been  spoken  of  in  the  description  of  that  town. 

The  arts  have  for  a  long  time  been  held  in  honour  in  Va- 
lencia. There  are  some  academies  now  in  this  town,  and 
some  schools,  in  which  one  can  instruct  and  improve  one's 
self.  I  could  only  repeat  here  what  1  have  said  of  them  io 
the  description  of  that  town. 


VALENCIA.  331 

The  kingdom  of  Valencia  is  one  of  the  provinces  of  Spain 
■which  have  produced  the  must  distinguished  men  in  the 
-sciences,  literature,  and  the  arts.  It  would  be  useless  to  re- 
peat here  the  long  list  of  those  whom  the  single  town  of  Va- 
lencia has  produced;  suffice  it  to  give  a  list  of  those  born  in 
the  different  other  places  of  this  province. 

The  theologians  have  been  the  most  numerous.  John  Va- 
lero of  Segorbe,  Ferdinand  de  Loazez  of  Alicant,  Francis 
Josser  of  Gasteîlo  de  la  Plana,  Cnristobal  Moreno  of  Mo- 
jente,  and  Juan  Mingues  of  Xativa,  were  born  in  the  sixteenth 
century  ;  Loazez  was  at  once  a  profound  theologian  and  great 
lawyer.  The  following  century  produced  Francisco  Cutticres 
and  Jerome  Tamarit  of  Xativa,  and  Didax  Mas  and  Juan- 
Gilles  Trench  of  Villareal  ;  Andres  Capero,  a  famous  preacher, 
who?e  sermons  were  published  in  l6"70,  was  born  at  Castcllo 
.do  la  Plana  ;  Anastasio  Vivez  of  Rocamora,  bishop  of  Se- 
gorbe, who  died  in  lr>74,  and  who  published  the  Synodus  Se- 
gurbiensis,  Mas  born  at  Orihuela. 

Francisco  Franco,  a  physician,  known  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury for  li is  writings  on  the  medicinal  use  of  ice  and  on  conta- 
gious diseases,  was  born  at  Xativa.  Bartolomé  Marti  of 
Oropesa,  a  judicious  critic,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Dean 
Marti,  on  account  of  his  being  dtan  of  the  chapter  of  Ali- 
cant, and  George  Juan  of  Elche,  who  was  at  once  a  good 
sailor,  an  exact  geometrician,  and  a  profound  astronomer, 
and  who  passed  the  equator  with  the  members  of  the  royal 
academy  of  sciences  of  Pans,  to  ascertain  the  true  fignre  of 
the  earth,  were  born  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

'1  !n  historians  of  th<  sixteenth  century,  Francis  Diagoand 
Mart. a  <1«-  Viciana,  m  re,  the  former  of  Vive!,  and  the  latter  of 
Buriana;  this  hist  wrote  the  chronology  <>t'  the  kingdom  (if 
Valencia.  The  historians  of  the  following  centurvi  Gaspard 
< .  tr.  i;i  .iiul  Francisco  Martinez;  were  of  Orihuela  :  the  latter 
wrote  th<-  history  of  bis  country.  The  Arab  Mahomed  ben 
Abdallamen,  who  u-  both  poet  and  histori  who  d*cd 


532  VALENCIA. 

at  Tremen  in  1213,  was  bom  at  Alicant  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury ;  be  wrote  the  Annals  of  Spain.  The  poets  Vincent 
>  de  Shiran»,  Antonio  Xinicn,  and  Jacobo  Beltram  were 
born,  the  first  at  A!/ira  in  the  B  urteenth  Century,  the  second 
at  Segorbe  in  the  fifteenth,  and  the  last  at  Xativa  in  the  six- 
teenth. The  rhetorician  Andres  Sarnpere  was  born  at  Alcoy 
in  1409s  and  the  orator  Damien  ( 'avallas  of  Orihuela,  flou- 
ri-hed  towards  the  year  1530.  Francisco  Juan  Mas,  who  di- 
rected bis  attention  to  different  branches  of  literature  with 
success,  was  born  at  Villareal,  at  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century. 

Among  the  artists  we  have  to  mention  Gaspard  San-Marti, 
a  monk  of  the  Great  Carmelites,  born  at  Lucéna,  who  was  a 
sculptor,  and  died  in  1641;  and  Ignacio  Vergara,  an  able 
statuary,  born  at  Alendia  de  Calet,  and  who  died  in  17'» I. 
A  brother  of  the  latter,  Francis  Vergara,  likewise  distinguished 
himself  in  painting  ;  Vincent  Victoria,  a  canon  of  Sun-Fe- 
lipe, Josef  Garzias,  and  above  all  Josef  de  Ribera,  belter 
known  under  the  famous  name  of  Espagnolet,  who  was  i  o:n 
at  Xativa,  and  who  died  in  1056',  had  all  followed  with  suc- 
cess the  same  profession  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

Character,  Manners,  Customs,  Dress,  and  Language.  "  The 
Valenciaus  are  gay,  ingenious,  studious, light,  fond  of  dancing, 

balls,  and  all  the  exercises  that  require  activity Some  of 

them  travel  through  Spain  and  gain  a  livelihood  by  dancing*.'" 
This  is  the  portrait  drawn  of  the  Valencians  by  a  Spaniard, 
Vlurillo;  it  contains  in  a  few  words  the  character  of  those 
people.  They  are  equally  gay  throughout  the  province, 
equally  swayed  by  pleasure,  fond  of  songs,  music,  and 
dancing,  readily  joining  in  all  the  exercises  that  require  acti- 
vity of  body.     They  love  work,  emulously  and  unremittingly 

*  Los  Valeaciatios  son  gente  jovial,  alegre,  ingeniosa,  aplicada  à  las 
litras,  ligero»,  dadis  a  clanzas  baylcs  y  otras  pruevas  «le  ligereza,  fa- 
ciles  Aljfunos  andan  ^or  i'spana  ganando  su  vida  dauzando. — Muri!^. 


* ALALIA.  333 

applying  themselves  to  it;  but  letting  no  opportunity  escape 
of  gratifying  their  taste  for  pleasure. 

The  description  I  have  given  of  the  manners  of  the  town  of 
Valencia  is  common  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  province,  respect 
hting  had  to  the  relative  differences,  the  tlL-iance  of  the 
places,  and  to  the  state  and  fortune  of  individuals. 

The  Yaîencians  aie  justly  reput  the  best  dancers  in 

Spain.  ?ûany  are  constantly  goi'.ij  into  the  different  pro- 
vinces of  this  monarchy,  where  their  dances  and  ballets  at- 
tract great  crowds,  and  who  return  to  their  own  country  to 
eujoy  the  money  they  have  gained  by  their  agi! toy.  There 
are  some  who  even  leave  Spain,  and  spread  tfctemseivea  through 
foreign  kingdoms. 

They  have  dances  peculiar  to  themselves  ;  among  the  rest, 
there  are  two  that  are  executed  in  the  form  of  a  ballet,  in 
which  they  chiefly  show  their  activity  and  precision.  In  the 
first  they  place  a  great  many  eggs  on  the  ground  pretty  close 
to  one  another,  and  dance  round  them  ;  they  appear  every 
moment  to  be  going  to  tread  on  them,  and  to  crush  thorn 
under  their  feet;  but  in  spite  of  the  variety  and  celerity  of  the 
.steps  they  dance,  they  never  touch  them  :  in  the  other  the 
dancers  are  each  provided  with  ft  small  stick  about  two  feet 
and  a  half  long  ;  they  strike  on  one  another's  sticks  and  thus 
mark  all  the  measures  of  the  music  ;  they  never  cease  striking 
in  all  their  movements,  in  adva  treating,  and  in  all 

the  possible  positions:  and  th  j  never,  lose  the  Pleasure; 
they  all  strike  at  the  same  moment;  they  sometimes  acceje* 
rate  their  blow-,  and    redouble  them   with   q*  .    but 

always  return  to  the  measure,  and  their  blows  fall  ia  perfect 
time. 

They  are  equally   practised  and  expert   in  equilibriums; 
tbey  sometimes  unite   m  several  i  on 

which  other   |  in»  pl&a 

number,  and   thai  :  -T  till  the 

ma . 


33*  VA  LENT  TA. 

in  diffèrent  positions,  but  combined  with  such  precision  as  to 
preserve  a  perfect  equilibrium  ;  this  mass,  which  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  walking  tower,  is  sometimes  considerably 
higher  than  the  first  stories  of  the  bouses.  They  carry  their 
agility  to  their  work  :  the  peasant  with  bis  spade  in  his  hand, 
the  mechanic  at  his  work  or  in  his  shop,  i>  constantly  active 

The  Valencians  are  accused  of  being  as  light  m  mind  as  m 
body  ;  of  being  inconstant,  and  little  susceptible  of  durable  at- 
tachments. I  have  already  answered  this  imputation  in  the 
description  of  the  town  of  Valencia. 

They  are  generally  ingenious  and  expert,  easily  entering 
into  the  spirit  of  whatever  they  undertake:  they  pursue  the 
sciences  with  success,  and  their  province  has  furnished  many 
learned  men  distinguished  in  various  branches;  but  their  ge- 
nius more  naturally  turns  to  the  arts,  in  which  they  are  suc- 
cessful. The  industry  of  the  people  is  chiefly  directed  to  agri- 
culture. We  have  seen  in  a  preceding  part,  that  it  would  not 
be  easy  to  carry  cultivation,  the  conveyance  of  water,  and  the 
irrigation  of  lands  to  a  greater  degree  of  perfection. 

The  Valencians  have  an  easiness  of  disposition  which  ren- 
ders their  address  open,  unconstrained,  and  agreeable,  in- 
fluences their  connections  and  affections,  and  makes  their  so- 
ciety pleasing  and  amiable;  but,  in  consequence  of  this 
easiness,  they  take  prejudices  as  readily  as  prepossessions; 
they  withdraw  their  affections  as  easily  as  they  grant  them; 
they  change  their  connection?  with  as  great  facility  as  they 
form  them;  and  take  disgust  to  things  and  persons  as  promptly 
as  they  become  fond  of  them. 

The  people  in  the  towns  are  civilized  ;  the  peasants  are  to- 
lerably gentle  in  their  manners,  and  appear  of  a  peaceable 
disposition  ;  but  on  occasion  they  discover  a  ferocity  «re 
should  not  have  thought  them  capable  of.  Their  quarrels 
are  always  attended  with  bloodshed,  and  a  very  little  thing 
serves  to  provoke  them.  The  pleasure  of  revenge  is  irre- 
sistible, and  a  gun,  a  daggT,  a  sword,  or  the  instrumenta  ©f 


VALENCIA.  335 

husbandry  are  the  weapons  with  which  they  satisfy  it  :  they 
fight  with  a  degree  of  rage,  that  may  be  termed  barbarism. 
The  treachery  which  sometimes  accompanies  their  revengr 
easily  leads  them  to  assassination.  It  is  well  known,  that  for 
a  long  time  there  ver«  many  mercenary  assassins  in  the  king- 
dom of  Valencia,  who,  for  small  sums,  charged  themselves  with 
the  vengeance  of  others.  There  are  none  of  these  now;  but 
murders  are  still  frequent  :  I  have  known  six  perpetrated  at 
Valencia  in  five  months  ;  in  a  small  town,  at  no  great  distance 
from  it,  there  were  fourteen  in  eighteen  months.  A  coun- 
sellor of  the  criminal  court  of  the  Royal  Audience  assured 
me,  that  there  was  nearly  one  a  day  committed  in  the  pro- 
vince. The  prisons  consequently  are  always  full  :  and  though 
there  are  ten  or  twelve  at  Valencia,  they  are  often  insuffi- 
cient. 

The  example  of  the  capital  influences  the  towns  of  the  se- 
cond order,  where  luxury  is  also  carried  to  a  very  great 
height  :  the  dress  is  the  same  as  in  the  rest  of  Spain;  but  the 
great  round  hats  and  cloaks  are  much  less  frequent.  The 
peasants  of  Valencia  are  habited  like  those  of  Murcia. 

The  Valenciansare  very  fond  of  the  festivals  of  the  church, 
which  are  celebrated  with  solemnity,  we  may  even  say  with 
luxury.  They  are  also  very  fond  of  processions  :  there  is  no 
province  in  Spain  in  which  there  are  more,  or  where  the  mix- 
ture of  profane  things,  and  additions  foreign  to  religion,  ren- 
der them  more  ridiculous  than  in  any  other  place  in  Christen- 
dom. Tiie  priest-  and  monk-;  have  more  influence  and  credit 
in  Valencia  than  in  the  rest  of  the  Spanish  monarchy;  the 
order  of  St.  Francis  particularly,  enjoys  a  great  preponde- 
rance. 

Though  in  the  towns  every  body  t;dks  Spanish,  properly  so 

called,  that  is  to  say  Castillan,  tin-  people  of  Val<  ncia  have  a 
language  peculiar  to  then  elv<  ,  called  the  l'aie.  , .  Tongue, 
h  is  the  rinciriit  tongue  of  Languedoc  and  Provence,  which 

fL.'  French  Carried  into  Catatonia  at  the  tune  they  conquered 


33ft  VALENCIA. 

that  province:  four  hundred  years  afterwards  the  Catalans 
and  French,  uiuK  r  the  standards  of  the  Icings  of  Ar&gbin,  car- 
ried it  into  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  .vhere  it  is  better  pre- 
served than  in  Catalonia,  and  retains  almost  its  ancient  pu- 
rity :  its  terminations  and  pronunciation,  very  harsh  in  the 
month  of  a  Catalan,  are  very  soft  in  that  of  a  Valencian, 
and  particularly  the  women  ;  it  is  almost  the  same  language 
as  that  spoken  in  Catalonia,  hut  the  Valencians  pronounce  it 
with  a  delicacy  that  renders  it  6ofter  and  more  harmonious. 


337 


ESTREMADURA, 


GEXEfiAL  OBSEBVATIONS  ON  THIS  PROVINCJ 

JIjstkemadura  is  one  of  the  largest  provinces 
of  Spain;  it  would  perhaps  be  also  one  of  the 
most  fertile  if  it  were  not  the  least  populous, 
and  the  least  cultivated.  It  is  inclosed  between 
the  kingdom  of  Leon,  Old  and  New  Castile, 
Andalusia,  and  Portugal.  Its  length  is  fifty 
leagues  from  north  to  south,  and  its  breadth 
forty  leagues  from  east  to  west.  The  kingdom 
of  Leon  is  to  the  north  and  north-east,  New 
Castile  to  the  east,  the  kingdom  of  Seville  in 
Andalusia  to  the  south  and  south-east,  and 
the  three  provinces  of  Estremadura,  Beyra, 
and  Kntre-Trajo-et--Guadiana  in  Portugal  to  the 

This  province,  in  ancient  days,  attracted  1  lie 

i  Dtion  of  the  R<  etjesa  of  its  cli- 

--.  and  tb    fertility  of  its  soil,  rendered  it 

in  their  eyes;  tl  ded  it   ; 

!  of  puoi  1  he    '  on   «  how  ÛU 

..-•  .  iicd. 
Vol 


338  ESTEEM  A  DURA. 

had  the  same  predilection  for  il;  they  knew  its 
value,  and  flocked  in  crowds  to  people  it.  Their 
expulsion  was  the  epoch  of  the  almost  total  depo- 
pulation of  this  province  j  and  from  that  time  it 
has  remained  in  a  state  which  renders  it  of  little 
use  to  Spain. 

Estremadura  contains  three  bishoprics,  Ba- 
dajoz,  Plasencia,  and  Coria;  three  cathedral 
chapters  in  the  same  towns,  thirty  military  com- 
manderies,  four  hundred  and  fifteen  parishes, 
a  hundred  and  seventy-two  convents,  thirty- 
one  hospitals,  two  asylums,  two  colleges  for  the 
education  of  youth,  seven  cities,  two  hundred  and 
twent}'-eight  small  towns,  ninety-four  villages, 
one  grand  military  government,  eleven  particu- 
lar military  governments,  one  intendant  at 
Eadajoz,  and  a  royal  audience  at  Cacerez.  The 
principal  towns  are  Badajoz,  which  is  the  ca- 
pital; Plasencia,  Coria,  Mérida,  Truxillo,  Xeras 
de  los  Cavalleros,  Llerena,  Almatana,  Zafra,  Ca- 
cerez, Albuquerque,   and  Oiivenca. 

It  has  two  navigable  rivers,  the  Tagus  and 
the  Guadiana;  and  eighteen  others,  namely, 
the  Alagon,  the  Cuyar,  the  Sabor,  the  Savar,  (lie 
Allegrette,  the  Alamontc,  the  Guyar,  the  Na- 
vazo,  the  Naluenga,  the  Lentrin,  the  Rivillo, 
the  Guadajira  or  Guadajiera,  the  Cava,  the 
Mutachel,  the  Guadarranque,  the  Gevara,  the 
Albarragena,   and  the  Abrilongo.     Here  we  sec 


ESTREMADURA.  33f) 

very  elevated  mountains,  some  of  which  are 
considerable  branches  of  the  Sierra  Constantina, 
in  the  centre  of  the  kingdom  of  Seville,  which 
it  crosses  in  a  direction  from  the  north-east  to 
Ihe  south,  projecting  also  ramifications  into  the 
kingdom  of  Cordova,  and  uniting  to  the  north 
with  the  Sierra  Morena.  Here  too  we  distin- 
guish the  Sierra  de  Bejar,  and  the  Sierra  de  Gua- 
dalupe, the  latter  of  which  is  remarkable  for  its 
elevation,  its  immense  extent,  and  the  great 
number  of  branches  which  it  stretches  into  dif* 
ferent  parts  of  Estremadura. 

This  province  has  always  formed  a  part  of  the 
kingdom  of  Leon;  it  was  taken  by  the  Moors 
at  the  same  time  with  that  kingdom  :  being  af- 
terwards united  to  that  of  Castile,  it  became  in 
the  course  of  time  a  paît  of  the  Spanish  mo- 
narchy. 

Road  from   the  frontiers   of  New  Casiile  by  Talavera  de  la. 
Reyna,  to   the  frontiers    of    Portugal,     33    leagues    t; 
quarters. 

LHACL! -. 

La  C  ilcada  de  Oropesa  to 

"Naval  Moral  (a  village)    ......... .. 4 

Eipadanal  (a Tillage)  .... . 1 

Aim  iraz  fa  toun)     . . 1 

The  Tamils  (a  river)  ? 

hnô^f.  «it  Aluiai.  12      ) 

ita  Niieta    „.- , 1 

tl  Poerta ... ^) 

■  ■ 


310  7  ST  R  P.  M  A  DURA. 

LEAGUES. 

vccjo  (a  town)  > 

Alamonte  (.1  river  an-1  bridge)   * 

Puerto  de  Miravete  (some  bouses) \\ 

Troxillo  (a  town) 2 

Puerto  de  S'ama-Ciuz -- 2 

The  Pera'es  (a  torrent  or  gnlley  without  a  bridge) 
ÀJiqjadas  (a  village)  ) 

The  Burdalo,  (a  river  and  bridge)  J 

Venta  de  la  Aguia --'2 

San-Pedro  (a  village) 3 

Tru\iliaiio  (a  rfllage)  _. _ 2 

'rida  (a  town)    __ 1 

Badajoz  (a  town)*  7 

The  Guadiana  (a  river  and  bridge)  > 

Tlie  Caya  (a  liver)        j 

Frontiers  of  Portugal    S      z 

Soon  after  leaving-  Calzada  de  Oropcsa,   the 

last  village   of  New  Castile,  we  enter  Estrcma- 

dura,  and  the  country  over  which  we  arc  about 

to  travel  is  in  many  places  fallow,  in  many  more 

laid  out  in  pasture,  and  In  some  cultivated,   but 

1 

generally  in  a  feeble  and  languid  manner,  is  still 
less  furnished  with  trees  than  Old  Castile,  and 
frequently  intersected  by  mountains  more  or 
less  lofty. 

After  proceeding  four  leagues  without  meet- 
ing any  habitation,  we  come  to  Naval  Moral, 
a  wretched   village;  and  in  another  league  to 

*  Two  different  roaâfi,  each  of  nine  leagues,  lead  from  Méritla  K> 
joz  ;  they  will  be  each  BeparateJyxieseTibed. 


ESTIIF.MADURA.  341 

Espadaîîal,  another  equally  miserable  village. 
A  league  and  a  half  farther  we  enter  Aimaraz, 
a  small  town,  the  population  of  which  hardly 
amounts -to  one  thousand  inhabitants;  it  has  a 
parish  church,  the  portal  of  which  is  ornamented 
with  four  Doric  columns.  At  three  quarters  of 
a  league  from  this  town  we  pass  the  Tagus  by  a 
bridge  named  after  Aimaraz  :  it  was  built  to- 
wards the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  a 
time  when  the  Spanish  monarchy  was  in  the 
mo->t  brilliant  state.  In  beauty  and  solidity  it 
may  be  compared  with  the  best  works  of  the  Ro- 
mans. It  resta  on  either  side  oft  rocks,  and  is 
supported  by  enormous  pillars  resembling  very 
lofty  towers.  Trie  one  in  the  centre  is  .: 
built  on  a  rock,  is  higher  than  the  others,  and 
terminates  ou  both  sides  of  the  bridge  with  large 
semi-circular  projections  forming  a  sort  of 
square,  T]  •  ;  has  two  enormous  arches; 
the  01  rds  the  north,  through  which  the 

riw  .  rally  runs,  is  sixty-nine  feet  high,  and 

a  hundred  wide  ;   the  other  is 

sixty-six  fei  nd  a  hundred  and  nineteen 

fri !  ;.  e:  in  the  whole-,  ic  is  twenty-five  feet 
ami  a  half  wide,    five   hundred   and    i  .    in 

length,  and  a  hundred  and  thirty  four  high. 
On  one  side  we  see  the  arms  of  the  town  of 
Plasencia,  and  on  the  other  the  king's,  beneath 
which  I  an  inscription. 

7   \\ 


242  iSTREMADURA. 

A  league  from  the  bridge  of  Almaraz,  which 
ought  rather  to  he  called  Plasencia,  as  we  are 
informed  by  the  inscription  that  it  was  built  by 
that  town  in  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  we  find 
the  Venta  Nueva,  and  at  a  like  distance  las 
Casas  del  Puerto,  an  assemblage  of  houses.  We 
then  traverse  mountains,  and  at  the  end  of  two 
leagues  arrive  at  Xaraycejo  or  Jaraycejo,  a  small 
and  very  ancient  town,  which  was  formerly  in- 
habited by  six  hundred  families,  and  which  now 
can  hardly  reckon  nine  hundred  inhabitants. 
It  has  a  parish  church  and  a  convent  of  nuns  ; 
and  is  also  the  residence  of  a  vicar-general  to 
the  bishop  of  Plasencia.  It  is  the  birth-place  of 
Dona  Louisa  de  Carvajal,  who  died  in  London  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  whose  body  being 
carried  into  Spain,  was  deposited  in  the  convent 
of  the  Incarnation  at  Madrid,  by  order  of  Phi» 
lip  III. 

On  leaving  Jan^-cejo,  we  cross  the  river  Ala- 
monte,  on  a  bridge  of  nine  arches.  We  pene- 
trate again  into  the  mountains,  which  are  fre- 
quently rough  and  dangerous,  and  which  are 
a  continuation  of  the  famous  mountains  of 
Guadalupe.  After  ascending  two  leagues  we 
reach  the  Puerto  de  Miravete,  a  passage  consi- 
dered dangerous,  in  consequence  of  the  robberies 
which  have  been  committed  here  :  these  arc  not 
pow  so  frequent,  the  houses  that  have  been  built 


ESTREMADURA.  343 

here  and  there  have  in  some  degree  contributed 
to  the  security  of  travellers.  We  now  de- 
scend from  time  to  time,  get  a  full  si^ht  of 
Truxillo,  and  arrive  at  that  town,  which  is  situ- 
ated two  leagues  from  the  Puerto  dc  Mi  ra- 
ve te. 

Truxillo  is  an  ancient  town;  hut  there  is 
nothing  certain  with  regard  to  its  origin  and 
antiquity.  If  we  are  to  believe  some  Spanish 
historians,  it  existed  long  before  Rome,  under 
the  name  of  Scalabis  ;  which  name  it  lost  after 
the  erection  of  a  tower  supposed  to  have  been 
built  by  Julius  Caesar,  and  which  took  the 
name  of  Turris-Julia,  afterwards  given  by  it 
to  the  town.  According  to  other  authors,  tins 
town  is  the  ancient  Castra  Julia  of  which  Pliny 
speaks,  whilst  the  archbishop  Don  Rodrigo  has 
called  it  Tur  Gellun.  The  people  of  the  coun- 
try attribute  its  foundation  to  Hercules,  relying 
ou  an  inscription  which  was  formerly  on  one  of 
the  stones  of  the  fortress  ;  but  this  was  too  re- 
cent an  inscription  to  merit  any  confidence. 

This  town  passed  from  under  the  dominion 
of  the  Romans  to  that  of  the  Goths  ;   the  Moors 

took  it  in  713,  and  retained  it  for  520 years;  it 

v    i    *    r. c  11    from    them    in    1  1  Xj    by    AlphoÛSO, 
king  of  Castile  ;  but  this  king  ha\  oil;-  been  van 
quished    a  short    time    after   at    Sotillo    by    the 

wrecks  of  the  army  of  the  Almohades,  it  fell 

/  4 


344  ESTÏIT  MADlTRA. 

again  into  the  hands  of  the  conquerors  ;  it  was 
at  last  besieged  and  taken  from  the  Moors  in 
1233,  by  the  combined  troops  of  the  military  or- 
ders of  Spain  and  of  the  bishop  of  Plascncia. 

The  enclosure  of  this  town  bespeaks  it  to  lune 
been  rather  considerable  in  extent  and  popula- 
tion :  the  latter  is  now  reduced  to  about  four- 
thousand  persons. 

Truxillo  is  situated  on  the  summit  and  south 
side  of  a  mountain.  It  may  be  divided  into 
three  parts,  the  castle,  the  town,  and  the  city. 

The  castle  is  on  the  highest  part;  it  is  appa- 
rent that  it  was  extremely  well  fortified,  and 
provided  with  a  great  many  cisterns,  several  of 
which  still  exist;  we  also  see  a  grand  reservoir 
where  spring  water  is  preserved,  to  which  we 
descend  by  a  winding  staircase.  This  castle 
is  the  most  ancient  part  of  Truxillo  ;  here  it  was 
that  the  los  hombrcs  viaduros,  that  is  to  say, 
the  elders,  assembled  in  council.  This  circum- 
stance we  learn  by  the  registers  of  the  town- 
house. 

The  second  part  of  Truxillo  is  the  town,  built 
likewise  on  the  mountain,  and  attached  to  the 
castle;  it  appears  to  have  been  built  very  little 
later  than  the  castle;  it  is  surrounded  with 
walls,  flanked  with  very  high  towers,  and  hav- 
ing a  parade.  This  was  the  part  the  nobility 
of  the    town  formerly  inhabited  ;  wc  still  see 


ESTH  1VV.A  DURA.  345 

their  houses,  which  have  towers,  sarbacanes, 
parapets,  embrasures,  and  loop-holes,  and  are 
ornamented  with  the  escutcheons  of  the  pro- 
prietors. The  streets  are  crooked  and  very 
narrow. 

The  third  part,  or  the  city,  is  of  a  much  more 
modern  construction;  it  extends  from  the 
southern  si  le  on  the  declivity  of  the  hill  to  the 
plain  ;  the  streets  are  mere  regular.  It  has  one 
fountain  and  a  great  many  wells:  one  of  which 
is  twenty-live  feet  wide  ;  here  we  see  the  houses 
of  the  nobility  who  abandoned  the  ancient 
town  to  inhabit  this. 

Truxillo  was  the  birth  place  of  Gaspard  de  Meli,  a  theo- 
logian of  the  sixteenth  century,  of  Francisco  Carrasco-del- 
Saz,  a  lawyer  ;  of  Francisco  Diaz  de  Vargas,  who  pub- 
lished, in  1580,  a  history  of  the  Portuguese  war;  and  of  Juan 
Pedro  d'Aragon,  known  by  his  Discursos  de  la  Razon, 
published  in  1629.  This  town  also  gave  birth  to  two  cele- 
brated warriors,  who  did  honour  to  their  country  by  their 
splendid  exploits,  and,  still  greater  successes,  the  one 
Francisco  Pizarro,  the  conqueror  of  Peru,  the  other  Diego 
Garzias  de  Paredes,  who,  returning  from  the  war  against  the 
Turks,  died  at  Bologna,  aged  0  t  years,  and  vhose  body  was 
removed  to  Truxillo  in  1545. 

Truxillo  baa  five  parish  churches,  ibnr  convents  of  monks,  and 
four  of  nun-  :  admission  into  one  of  the  latter  requires  proof 
of  nobility;  on     I  where  children  are  brought  up, 

four  hospitals,  one  criminal  judge  one  alcalde  mayor  for  the 
administration  ofjustice,  a  municipality  composed  of  a  deter* 
i.  idors,  and  ■  board  ■>!  public  economy  ; 

ten  of  a  battalion  ol  ;  r  a  maul  militia,  :in<l 


$4:6  ESTREMADURA. 

the  place  of  residence  of  a  vicar  to  the  bishop  of  Plasencia  for 
the  exercise  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction. 

The  oily  has  a  square  built  in  lj^o*,  which  is  remarkable 
tor  its  beauty  and  regularity.  It  is  a  perfect,  square  ;  its  four 
sides  are  formed  by  porticos  which  open  by  arches,  borne  on 
columns  of  the  Tuscan,  Doric,  and  Ionic  orders  intermixed. 
Over  one  of  these  arches  called  del  pan,  the  city  arms  are  placed 
between  two  pilasters  of  the  Corinthian  order,  and  above  it 
a  statue  of  Justice.  In  this  square,  we  find  a  large  handsome 
house  built  in  1651,  which  belonged  to  the  counts  del  Puerto, 
and  is  now  turned  into  barracks  for  the  militia  :  it  has  a 
superb  front,  and  the  court  is  ornamented  with  piazzas  and 
balconies  over  them,  supported  by  forty-four  columns  of  the 
Doric  order. 

The  parish  church  of  St.  Martin,  situated  in  the  same- 
square,  is  built  of  free  stone.  We  enter  it  by  a  handsome  portal, 
ornamented  with  Doric  columns,  over  which  there  is  an  attic; 
it  is  large  and  has  no  aisles  ;  it  contains  two  pictures,  a  St. 
Peter  in  the  chapel  of  the  Regoilones,  and  an  Adoration  of 
the  Kings  near  the  sacristy  ;  the  latter  was  sent  from  Rome  by 
Cardinal  Gaspard  Cervantes  de  Gueta. 

St.  James's  church  has  a  grand  altar  of  four  Corinthian 
columns,  with  a  semi-circular  corona,  and  a  fine  statue  of  St, 
James,  executed  by  Gregory  Hernandez. 

The  church  of  the  noble  nuns,  called  de  Coria,  has  two 
remarkable  altars  ;  that  opposite  the  door,  and  that  facing  it  ; 
the  one  is  ornamented  with  Corinthian  pillars,  and  a  statue  of 
St.  Anne,  the  other  with  Doric  columns,  with  several  bass- 
reliefs  of  the  life  of  St.  John. 

The  church  of  St.  Mary,  situated  on  almost  the  highest 
part  of  the  town,  is  of  the  Gothic  style  ;  it  has  an  ancient 
tower,  which  is  said  to  be  the  Turris  Julia.  In  the  interior  of 
this  church  we  find  themausolt  i  in  of  Diego  Garzias  de  Paredes. 

The  town-bouse  has  a  very  fine  saloon,  in  which  are  some 
tolerable    paintings    amongst   others    an   historical   picture 


ESTREMADUEA,  S47 

representing  Alouzo  Guzman  the  Good,  witnessing  the  mas- 
sacre of  his  son  by  the  Moors  at  Tarifa. 

On  leaving  the  town  of  Truxillo,  we  proceed 
along  the  mountains  ;  still  ascend  for  three 
leagues  ;  pass  the  puerta  de  Santa-Cruz;  descend 
and  cross  the  Perales,  a  torrent,  the  bed  of 
which  is  often  without  water,  but  in  rainy 
weather  dangerous  from  the  great  quantity  of 
it,  as  well  as  from  the  violence  and  rapidity  of 
its  course.  Three  leagues  beyond  the  puerta  de 
Santa-Cruz  ;  we  arrive  at  Miojadas,  a  poor  little 
village,  after  which  we  cross,  by  a  bridge,  the 
river  de  Burdalo.  We  pass  on  to  the  Venta  de 
la  Aguia,  which  is  two  leagues  from  Miojadas  ; 
three  leagues  farther  on  to  the  village  of  San- 
Pedro,  and  two  leagues  more  to  that  of  Truxil- 
lano.  We  soon  begin  to  perceive  Merida;  it 
displays  itself  more  sensibly  as  we  approach  it, 
announcing  the  ancient  grandeur  of  the  town, 
and  it  {.resents  the  melancholy  vestiges  of  the  su- 
perb monuments  which  it  contained.  We  reach 
it  after  travelling  a  league  from  Truxillano. 

Mi  hi  pa.  This  town,  formerly  large,  popul- 
ous, and  one  of  the  most  flourishing,  now  pré- 
sents but  a  feeble  image  of  what  it  was  in  re- 
mote times  ;  the  Romans  were  very  fond  of  it, 
and  it  was  one  of  those  places  they  took  de- 
light in  embellishing,  one  of  those  where  they 
most  displayed  their  grandeur  and  magnificence  ; 


343  rSlREMALH  KA 

and  it  is  now  one  of  the  poorest  and  most  neg- 
lected towns  of  the  Spanish  monarchy.  Every 
thing  here  still  bespêfcka  its  past  grandeur. 
every  thing  announces  the  power  of  its  ancient 
masters;  we  cannot  proceed  a  step  without 
walking  on  the  remains  of  some  monuments,  or 
without  perceiving  on  all  sides  the  deplorable 
vestiges  of  its  ancient  splendour.  In  fine,  tra- 
versing it,  we  sigh  over  human  vicissitudes,  over 
the  decay  of  so  many  monuments,  and  regret  the 
neglect  with  which  they  have  been  treated. 

This  town  became  a  Roman  colony  under 
the  Emperor  Augustus;  after  the  war  with  the 
Cautabrians  it  was  peopled  with  soldiers  of  the 
fifth  and  of  the  tenth  legion,  took  the  name 
of  that  prince,  who  called  it  Emerila  Augusta, 
and  became  at  the  same  time  the  capital  of 
Lusitania,  that  is  to  say,  of  that  part  of  Spain 
which  included  Portugal,  the  kingdom  of  Leon, 
a  part  of  old  Castile,  and  a  great  part  of  Estre- 
madura  ;  its  inhabitants  were  called  Emcritenses. 
Ils  extent  was  eight  miles  according  to  some, 
according  to  other  six  leagues  in  circumference. 
If  the  descriptions  that  remain  of  it  be  true,  few 
towns  can  be  compared  to  it.  The  Moor  Al- 
bentcrique  gives  it  a  circumference  of  eight 
miles,  and  a  garison  of  80,000  infantry  and 
10,000  cavalry.  The  chronicle  ot  king  don 
Rodrigo  outdoes  Albenteriquc,  and  enters  into 


ESTREMADURA.  349 

move  extensive  details  ;   it  gives  it  a  circumfer- 
ence of    six  leagues,    fifteen   stadia  in  length, 
and     ten   in   breadth,   eighty-four    gates,   3700 
towers,  five  palaces,  straight  streets  opening  into 
the  grand  square,  and  furnished  with  pipes  which 
conveyed  water  from   a  principal  reservoir  into 
all  the  houses.     It  adds,  that  the  Moor  Musa, 
who  took  it  from  the  Goths,  was  terrified  at  its 
grandeur.   These  details  are  perhaps  exaggerated  ; 
however  that  be,  it  is  a  fact,  that  this  town  v. 
of  immense  extent,  and   the  largest  in  Spain, 
under  the  Romans.      Under   the   dominion  of 
the  Goths,    it   preserved    its    monuments;  but 
besieged  and  taken  in  7"-  by  the  Moors,  their 
destructive  hands    spared    nothing  they  could 
overthrow.     It   was  retaken  from  them  by  Al- 
phonso  IX.,  king  of  Castile  and  Leon,  in  1230, 
in   con-jequence   of    the  victory  which   he  ob- 
tained with  20,000 men,  over  an  army  of  80,000 
Moors.     From  that  period    it  has  been   alv. . 
attached  to  the  kingdom  de. 

Merida  is  in   that  part  of  S|  ti:i  which    the 
Roi  -ailed    Vetonia.     I:-  I  ion  ;>  I"  r- 

deiing  on  the  Gu.idiana,  ou  a  hill  whence  it  <  \- 

tends  far  into  the  neighbouring  plain,   but  this 
extent  has  dee,  to  such  a  '  that  at 

present   its  population  hardly  amounts  to  5000 
inhabitants.       I  the    Gothic    kin  re    this 

town  was  the  sec  of  aa  archbishop;  some  pro- 


vincial  councils  were  then  held  here,  àtnOHgst 
which,  that  of  the  year  666  is  the  only  one 
known  :  its  decrees  tended  to  repress  the  tyranny 
of  some  bishops.  It  was  also  under  its  arch- 
bishops that  this  town  was  the  focus  and  theatre 
of  a  conspiracy  against  the  king's  life,  to  crush 
the  catholic  religion,  and  render  Arianism  the 
prevailing  one;  it  burst  forth  in  587-  Already 
had  blood  begun  to  flow  under  the  swords  of 
the  Arians,  when  duke  Claudius  hastened  to 
the  support  of  the  king  and  persecuted  catho- 
lics, and  the  Arians  were  subdued  in  their  turn. 

The  archiépiscopal  see  of  Merida  was  remov- 
ed to  Compostella  by  pope  Calistus  IL,  under 
king  Alphonso  VII.,  whilst  this  town  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  Moors.  When  retaken  by  Al- 
phonso IX.  he  gave  it  to  the  military,  order  of 
St.  James,  who  provided  for  its  government, 
ecclesiastical,  military,  and  civil;  it  still  belongs 
to  this  order.  It  has  an  ecclesiastical  provisor, 
nominated  by  the  prior  of  the  convent  of  St. 
Mark  of  Leon,  of  the  same  order,  who  exer- 
cises ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  throughout  his 
whole  district  ;  a  military  and  civil  governor  for 
the  order  of  St.  James;  and  an  alcalde  mayor, 
who  administers  justice,  civil  and  criminal. 

The  town  had  also  a  king,  but  this  royalty  was 
of  short  duration;  the  Moor,  to  whom  the  king 
of  Cordova  confided  the  government  of  it,  re- 


ESTUEMADl'RA.  351 

belled  in  820,  and  caused  himself  to  be  crown- 
ed; but  being  vigorously  attacked  by  the  king's 
troops  in  8'-'4,  he  fled  and  took  refuge  in  the 
Asturias. 

Merida  took  as  arms  the  reverse  of  a  medal 
struck  under  Augustus  to  commemorate  its  erec- 
tion into  a  Roman  colony  ;  it  is  a  gate  of  a  town 
formed  by  two  arches  accompanied  by  two 
towers,  one  on  each  side,  with  a  sort  of  semi- 
circular enclosure,  which  extends  from  one  to 
the  other.  Merida  affords  considerable  wrecks 
of  its  ancient  magnificence  under  the  Romans, 
and  the  splendid  works  of  those  people:  the 
pavement  of  the  streets,  of  the  houses,  and  of 
the  churches,  are  so  many  traces  of  their  works; 
the  walls  are  covered  with  those  precious  re- 
mains, and  the  cellars  are  filled  with  them.  AVe 
find  some  also  out  of  the  town,  in  the  gardens,  in 
the  fields,  on  the  roads,  and,  in  .short,  every  where. 
Inscriptions  are  numerous,  and  the  ruins  of 
columns,  of  vases,  of  capitals,  frizes,  statues,  and 
bass-reliefs,  are  observable  in  every  quarter. 

Here  the  Romans  built  superb  bridges  and 
magnificent  temples  ;  here  they  erected  tri- 
umphal arches  and  beautiful  aqueducts  ;  here 
they  raised  edifices  necessary  to  public  feasts, 

to  the  games  and  pleasures  of  the  citizens  ;  a 
circus,    .1    theatre,    a   naumacbia.      We    still 

the  vestiges  of  tliese  grand  public  monuments; 


352  EST  ftEM  A  DURA. 

some  are  in  the  town,  others  out  of  it;  but 
they  were  all  comprised  within  the  ancient 
boundaries. 

Merida  had  several  aqueducts,  of  which  the 
remains  give  a  grand  idea  of  their  beauty:  we 
see  two  of  them  still,  as  well  as  the  vestiges 
of  a  fortress.  The  baths  are  in  a  better  state  of 
preservation  than  most  of  the  other  monuments. 

Two  other  fine  works,  which  are  also  attribut- 
ed to  the  Romans,  are  still  in  existence  near 
Merida:  these  are  two  very  large  reservoirs  full 
of  water,  appearing  like  two  lakes  ;  the  country 
people  call  them  Albufera  and  Albuera.  One  is 
uinety  feet  in  length,  and  fifty-one  deep;  it  is 
surrounded  by  thick  walls,  and  ornamented 
with  two  beautiful  towers,  a  very  fine  flight  of 
steps  leads  to  the  bottom  :  this  reservoir  is  a 
league  from  the  town.  The  other  reservoir  is 
two  leagues  ;  it  is  small,  but  the  Avails  which 
contain  the  waters  and  the  great  lower  which 
serves  it  for  an  apperture  for  air  are  much  finer. 
These  two  basins  are  supplied  and  filled  by  rain 
water  and  by  springs.  The  first  has  abundance 
of  fish.  Here  we  perceive  some  steps,  which 
led  to  a  supposition  that  these  reservoirs  were  de- 
signed for  combats  on  the  water,  and  that  these 
steps  were  intended  as  seats  for  the  spectators; 
but  there  is  no  authority  for  this  conjecture. 
May  it  not  be  supposed  that  these  basins  were 


ESTREMADURA.  $53 

destined  to  water  the  land?  May  they  not 
have  been  the  works  of  the  Moors,  who 
excelled  in  this  way?  AVe  still  find  similar 
ones  made  by  this  people,  in  the  kingdoms  of 
Murcia  and  Valencia. 

Merida  gave  birth  to  the  poet  Decianus,  who 
flourished  at  Rome  under  Augustus  ;  to  the  his- 
torian Juan-Antonio  de  Vera  y  Zuniga,  who 
died  in  1658;  and  to  Balthazar  Moreno  de 
Vergas,  well  known  by  a  history  of  his  country, 
some  researches  on  the  Spanish  nobility,  and  still 
more  by  his  notes  on  the  work  de  Xrita  et  Mira- 
culis  Pat  rum  emeritensium  de  P  aulas  Diaconus. 

To  proceed  from  Merida  to  Badajoz  we  have 
the  choice  of  two  roads,  both  of  nine  leagues. 
One  passes  by  Loban,  the  other  by  Puebla  d« 
la  Calzada. 


Pisad  from  Merida  to  Badajoz,  by  la  Puebla  de  la  Calzada, 
cine  leagues. 

MERIDA 

A  rivuk-t,  (with  a  bridge  ) . ...     \ 

Le  Puebla  de  la  Calzada,  (a  village)   ...... S  i 

The  Guadiana,  (a  river  and  bridge) 5 

Iiadajoz,   (a  town) • 

On  leaving  Merida  we  continue  on  the  light 
bank  of  the  river  Guadiana  half  way  to  Puebla, 
Vol.  i.  a  a 


55-1  ESTltEJIAtiURA. 

crossing  a  small  rivulet  by  a  bridge  of  one  arch, 
built  of  free  stone,  and  the  work  of  the  Ro- 
mans. Some  time  after,  we  perceive  to  the 
right,  at  a  little  distance  from  one  another,  the 
villages  of  Espar ragalcjo,  Garobilla,  and  Torre- 
Mayor  ;  and  to  the  left,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  those  of  Lobon  and  Talavera  la  Real. 
After  travelling  four  leagues  more,  we  arrive 
at  Puebla  de  la  Calzada,  so  named  on  account 
of  the  causeway,  or  Roman  military  road,  which 
led  from  Merida  to  Lisbon.  This  village  con- 
tains about  1800  inhabitants.  In  its  parish 
church  may  be  seen  several  fine  paintings  by 
Moralez. 

A  quarter  of  a  league  in  the  country  we  dis- 
cover the  little  town  of  Montijo,  situated  on  the 
Guadiana;  it  was  formerly  more  considerable. 
It  has  at  present  a  population  of  3600  souls, 
a  parish  church,  and  another  which  was  formerly 
parochial,  under  the  name  of  St.  Salvador. 

Advancing  on  this  road  we  find  a  great  many 
gardens  ;  there  are  numerous  fruit  trees,  and 
verdant  carpets  in  succession  a  great  way  ;  the 
plain  we  pursue  is  otherwise  uninteresting  ;  and 
when  we  have  crossed  the  river  (the  Guadiana) 
we  arrive  at  Cadajoz. 


ESTREMADURA.  355 


Another  road  from  Merida  to  Badajoz,  by  Lobon,  ninr 
leagues. 

LEAGUES. 

Merida  to 

Lobon,  (a  village)...... .... --.».. ........  4- 

The  Guadaxira,  (a  torrent) - .... 

Talavera  le  Real  or  Tulaveruela,   (a  village)....  2 
The  Lentrin,  (a  river  without  abridge)........ 

The  Revillo,  (a  river  without  a  bridge).. . 

Badajoz,  (a  town) .......  3 

In  going  from  Merida  to  Badajoz,  we  enter 
a  large  sandy  plain,  formed  by  the  Guadiana  ; 
this  river,  running  in   différent  directions,  in- 
sensibly  wares  away  the  hills,  and  forms  in  itSv 
course  a   great  many  islands,  where  flocks  are 
fed.     After  travelling  four  leagues  through  the 
plain  we  arrive  at  the  village  of  Lobon,  situated 
on  the    banks  of  the   river  ;     it   has   a   parish 
church  and  a  convent  of  Franciscans.     Some- 
time afterwards  we  meet  with  the  Guadaxira, 
which   is  almost   always  dry,  but    impassable, 
or  dangerous  in  the  rainy  season,  there  being 
no   bridge.     We  arrive  at  a  village  of  little  im- 
portance, called  Talavera  le  Real,  and  also  Tala- 
veruela.    We  then  go  over  an  even  country,  little 
cultivated,  and  almost  all  of  it  in  pastures.  Hav- 
ing successively  crossed  the  livers  JLcntiin,   aud 
Itivillo,  we  arrive  at  liadajoz. 
a  a  % 


556  MTREMADCRA. 

Badajoz,  was  a  town  of  some  fame  under 
the  Romans,  who  gave  it  the  name  of  Pax  Au- 
gusta, whence  by  corruption  comes  that  which 
it  now  bears.  The  Moors  called  it  Beiedaix, 
that  is  to  say,  land  of  holiness.  This  term 
of  predilection  did  not  change  its  former 
name. 

This  town  was  formerly  situated  in  the  high- 
est part,  where  the  castle  now  stands,  and  was 
of  great  extent  ;  in  the  foundations  and  ruins 
we  recognize  the  different  styles  of  the  build- 
ings of  the  Romans,  Goths,  and  Moors  ;  wc 
likewise  find  on  the  site  some  deserted  churches. 
The  town  at  present  is  situated  lower,  and  ex- 
tends into  a  handsome  plain  on  the  bank  of  the 
Guadiana. 

It  has  always  been,  since  the  Romans,  a 
fortified  town,  and  is  now  one  of  the  barriers  of 
Spain  towards  Portugal,  from  which  it  is  not 
further  than  a  league  and  a  half:  it  consequently 
contains  all  the  fortifications  that  can  contri- 
bute to  its  defence.  It  is  protected  besides  by 
two  forts,  the  castle  of  S.  Christobal  to  the 
west,  and  that  of  las  Pardaleras  to  the  east. 

Badajoz  experienced  the  fate  of  its  province; 
its  ancient  town,  subject  to  the  Romans,  wa* 
conquered  by  the  Goths  in  the  fifth  century, 
and  by  the  Moors  in  the  eighth.  It  was  be- 
sieged and  taken  from  the  Moor*  in  1 168,    by 


T.STREMADUttA.  S57 

Alphonso  Henry,  a  prince  of  the  house  of  Bur- 
gundy, and  founder  of  the  Portuguese  Monarchy. 
This  siege  gave  rise  to  a  memorable  event  :  the 
Moors,  possessors  of  Badajoz,  placed  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  Ferdinand  II.  king  of 
Leon,  and  payed  him  a  tribute  ;  that  prince 
hastened  to  the  assistance  of  his  vassals,  and 
arrived  just  as  the  town  was  taken  :  he  immedi- 
ately laid  siege  to  it  ;  and  Alphonse»  Henry  not 
being  able  to  resist  the  king  of  Leon,  endea- 
voured to  escape  in  a  sortie  ;  but  failing  from 
his  horse  he  broke  his  thigh  and  was  made  pri- 
soner. Ferdinand  used  his  victory  like  a  hero, 
he  consoled  the  prince,  set  him  at  liberty,  and 
returned  the  town  to  the  Moors.  But  in  31  SI, 
Alphonso  Henry  besieged  it  again,  and  took  it 
from  the  Moors,  who  once  more  got  possession 
of  it  through  the  treachery  of  the  governor. 
At  last  in  1230,  according  to  some,  the  Moors 
were  for  ever  expelled  by  Alphonso  IX.  king  of 
Castile;  and  according  to  others,  in  1235  by 
the  troops  of  the  bishop  of  Plasencia  and  those 
of  the  military  orders  of  Spain. 

In  1660,  Badajoz  withstood  all  the  efforts  of 
the  Portuguese,  who  were  compelled  to  raise  the 
liege.  It  was  likewise,  during  the  war  fol  the 
Succession,  fruitlessly  besieged  in  170.3,  by  the 
combined  troops  of  England  and  .1, 

A  A   J 


558  ESTRÏMADUHA. 

Extent  and  Situation.  There  are  five  gates  to  the  town. 
The  streets  are  narrow  and  often  crooked.  There  are  no 
fountains.  There  is,  without  the  gate  of  las  Palmas,  on  the 
road  to  Portugal,  a  very  fine  bridge  over  the  Guadiana  ;  it 
was  built  in  1596,  with  a  very  hard  stone  ;  it  has  twenty- 
eight  arches,  the  largest  of  which  is  seventy-eight  feet  wide, 
and  the  smallest  twenty-one.  Its  length  is  1874r  feet,  and  its 
breadth  twenty.  There  is  a  fine  promenade  out  of  the  town 
formed  by  poplars  on  the  bank  of  the  Guadiana. 

Ecclesiastical  Administration.  The  bishopric  of  Badajoz. 
suffragan  of  the  metropolis  of  San-Jago,  comprehends  in  its 
diocese  a  cathedral  chapter,  arch-priesthood,  and  50  parishes. 
The  chapter  is  composed  of  seven  dignitaries,  twelve  canons, 
four  prebendaries  and  six  sub-prebendaries,  besides  twenty 
priests  ;  eleven  chaplains,  one  chief  vestry-man  and  several 
under  ones,  who  make  a  part  of  the  clergy  of  the  same 
church,  which  also  has  a  music  chapel,  three  orgainsts,  two 
sub-chanters,  five  musicians  for  chanting,  five  for  instruments, 
and  eight  young  choristers.  There  are  besides  in  this  town  five 
parish  churches,  seven  monasteries,  five  nunneries,  and  five 
hospitals. 

Military  Administration  Badajoz  is  the  residence  of  a 
captain-general,  and  intendant  of  the  province  of'Estrema» 
dura,  and  the  head  quarters  of  a  battalion  of  militia.  It  has 
a  military  and  civil  governor,  a  king's  lieutenant,  a  major,  z 
military  governor  for  the  castle  of  Christobal,  an  alcalde  mayor 
for  the  administration  of  justice,  a  principal  contador  of  war, 
a  military  auditor,  fourteen  companies  of  militia  belonging 
to  the  place,  a  garrison  more  or  less  numerous  according  as 
they  are  required,  and  an  arsenal,  called  la  Maestranza,  in 
which  all  kinds  of  arms  and  instruments  of  war  are  kept. 

Public  edifices.  The  cathedral  church  is  the  only  edifice 
that  is  tolerable  ;  but  it  deserves  little  notice.  The  choir, 
placed   in  the  middle  of  the   nave,    is  covered  with  orna- 


ÏSTREMADURA.  35<J 

aients  in  sculpture,  some  of  which  are  not  without  merit.  The 
organ  is  very  large.  In  some  of  the  chapels  there  are 
tolerably  good  paintings;  among  others  a  Magdalen,  thought 
to  be  by  Mateo  Cerezo  ;  there  are  also  paintings  in  the 
chapter  room,  and  in  the  other  churches  ;  some  are  attribut- 
ed to  Moralez. 

Manufactories.  There  is  only  one  manufactory  in  the 
whole  town  ;  which  is  one  for  hats  established  within  a  very 
few  years  by  a  Frenchman.  As  for  the  population  it  is  at 
most  from  fourteen  to  fifteen  thousand  persons. 

Abu-Mohamed-Abdalla,  who  has  left  a  method  of  writing, 
in  which  there  are  several  excellent  precepts  of  rhetoric  and 
poetry,  was  born  at  Badajoz,  at  the  end  of  the  ninth  century. 
It  was  likewise  the  birth-place  of  the  painter  Chrjstobal  Perez 
Moralez,  and  of  Fernandez-Bejara,  a  physician,  who  has  left 
some  writings. 

Here,  supposing  that  we  are  going  to  Portu- 
gal, we  leave  Badajoz  by  the  gate  of  las  Palmas  ; 
cross  the  Guadiana  over  the  bridge  that  has 
been  mentioned  ;  travel  througli  the  plain  for 
a  league  and  a  half,  and  ford  the  small  river 
Caya,  after  which  we  find  ourselves  in  Por- 
tugal. 


Boad  from  Almam  to  Talavera  la  Vieja,  three  leagues. 

LBACUXS. 
\lMaRaZ  tO ......... 

Belvis,  (a  village) 1    \ 

TbeTagas  (a  river  without  a  bridge»  a  ferryboat)  f     , 

Talavera  la  Vieja. ........ . I 

In  leaving  Almaraz,  wc   quit  the  great  road, 
a  a  4 


300  ESTREMAIHiRA. 

cross  the  country,  and  travel  on  to  Bel  vis, 
which  is  in  an  elevated  situation,  and  from 
which  we  discover  an  immense  extent  of  lands, 
and  the  chain  of  mountains  which  separates 
old  Castile  from  Estremadura.  Belvis  contains 
one  parish  church  and  two  convents  of  nuns. 
Soon  after  quitting  this  town  we  fall  in  with 
the  Tagus,  and  keep  along  its  banks  for 
near  a  league,  travelling  through  valleys  and 
over  agreeable  lulls,  watered  by  streams  and 
small  rivers.  We  leave  to  the  left  the  hamlet 
of  las  Casas  de  Belvis,  and  to  the  right  a  Fran-» 
ciscan  convent  ;  we  cross  the  Tagus  in  a  ferry- 
boat, and  soon  after  arrive  at  Talavera  la  Vieja. 

Talavera  la  Vieja,  or  the  old,  was  a  town  of 
which  the  Romans  were  very  fond  :  they  took 
delight  in  lavishing  their  works  on  it  ;  yet  there 
are  very  slight  vestiges  of  them.  There  are 
several  wrecks,  however,  which  show  what  it 
was;  there  is  hardly  a  house  in  which  there  arc 
not  some  to  be  found  ;  bases,  columns,  pilasters, 
fragments,  more  or  less  considerable,  capitals 
of  various  orders,  and  inscriptions  cased  in  the 
walls  ;  all  these  make  a  part  of  the  commonest 
houses. 

The  remains  of  two  temples  are  the  most  im- 
portant objects.  Don  Ignacio  de  Hermosilla,  pu- 
blished in  1762,  a  description  of  the  monuments 


ESTRF.iklADCRA.  26l 

of  this  town  with  engravings.  There  is  also  out 
in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  History  at 
Madrid. 

Talavera  is  in  a  delightful  situation,  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Tagus,  in  a  country  on  part  of 
which  there  are  vines  and  corn,  and  the  other 
is  pasture,  or  covered  with  a  small  kind  of  oak. 
The  population  of  this  town  is  small  ;  there  arc 
about  ,500  inhabitants. 


jRoad  from  Alrnaraz,   to  Plasencia,   Coria,  Alcantara,    and 
Cacerez,  and  from  thence  to  Merida,  fifty-seven  league*. 

tEACtiB. 

Almaraz  to ...... ---,. 

Tonl,  (a  village) ...Î? 

The  Tietar,  (a  river  without  a  bridge,  a  boat) 1 

Malpartida,  (a  small  town).... 0 

Plasencia,  (a  town) __1 

Villar  (a  village) 3 

Ambroz,  (a  river  and  bridge) "l 

Aldea  Nueva,  (a  village) . >  * 

Ambroz,  (a  river  and  bridge) ...  3 

Abadia   (a  village) . \ 

Ambroz,  (a  rircr  and  bridge) 

La  Cranja,  (a  Tillage) l 

Ambroz,  (a  river  and  bridge) 

Caparra.  ._ 

JLa  Olivu,   (;i  rUlage) i 

parcobotco,  (a  vill  ige) - 

AUK.   tjuetla,   (a village] ...I 


}■- 


36*2  ESTREMADURA. 

lEAOUEf. 

Xertc,  (a  river  and  bridge)  _. 


Cïalisteo,  (a  village)  _.._........_......« 

Coria,  (a  town)    .. .................   I. 

A  bridge  without  a  river  ......... ....... 

Tlie  Alagon,  (a  river  without  abridge).....,.,  i 

Pescueza,  (a  hamlet)  . .. ......... .  » 

Ctciavin,  (a   village) ..... ..........3 

Alcantara,  (a  town)  .... .._._....._..  )„ 

The  Tagu*,  (a  river  and  bridge)  ............ 

Villa  de  Rey,   (a  village). «... .-2 

Brozas,  (a  village)....-. ........ ...1 

Arroyo  del  Puerto,  (a  town)   ... . .* 

Çacerez,  (a  town)  ... . .... 3 

Merida,  (a  town).. . ............12 

In  going  from  Almaraz  we  leave  the  great 
road  of  Portugal;  and  travel  through  fields 
which  are  alternately  covered  with  oak  and 
pastures,  and  with  wells  and  lagoons  at  distances, 
which  serve  for  watering  the  cattle.  Leav- 
ing to  the  left  the  village  of  Serrajon,  and  to 
the  right  those  of  Saucedilla  and  Casa-texada, 
we  arrive  at  that  of  Toi  il.  Two  leagues  beyond 
Toril  we  ford,  or  cross  in  a  boat,  the  river 
Tictar,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  which  there  is 
a  great  quantity  of  oak  of  various  kinds,  cork- 
trees, &c.  The  country  then  becomes  desert 
and  uncultivated,  covered  with  heath,  except  a 
few  oak  trees  which  we  see  here  and  there  ;  we 
then  arrive  at  Malpartida. 

Malpartida  is  a  small  town,  containing  a 


±31  RE  MADURA*  363 

population  of  about  1C00  inhabitants.  It  is 
tolerably  well  built;  its  parish  church  is  hand- 
some and  built  with  granite,  brought  from  an 
adjacent  quarry  called  that  of  the  Five  Brothers. 
The  front  is  majestic  ;  it  has  two  stories  of 
architecture  of  the  Corinthian  order,  four  co- 
lumns in  the  first  aud  two  in  the  second  ;  orna- 
mented with  statues  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  PauL 

The  country  as  we  leave  this  town  is  any 
thing  but  agreeable  :  there  are  however  some 
oak  and  shrubs  of  different  kinds  here  and 
there.  Soon  after,  the  land  becomes  arid,  sterile, 
or  at  least  uncultivated  for  more  than  half  a 
league;  but  as  we  approach  Plasencia,  the  soil 
resumes  its  fertility,  and  we  enter  the  town  by 
a  very  rapid  descent. 

Plasencia.  This  little  town  is  situated  in 
the  middle  of  mountains,  in  a  narrow  valley, 
tolerably  fertile,  nine  leagues  long  and  which 
is  watered  by  the  river  Xerte;  on  the  banks  of 
which  the  town  stands,  partly  surrounded  by  it, 
as  if  in  a  peninsula.  Its  situation  is  also  em- 
bellished  by  an  agreeable  promenade. 

It  was  pretended  that  this  town  was  the  ancient 
Anibraeia  of  the  Romans,  and  this  opinion  was 
founded  oq  the  territory  bearing  the  name  of 
Ainbroz  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  also  be- 
cause the  river  which  passes  at  some  leagues 
distance     till    bears    that   name;  and   lastly  oq 


3ff4  ESTREMADURA. 

some  antique  inscriptions  ;  but  there  is  ground 
to  suppose  that  the  Ambracia  of  the  Romans 
was  more  likely  the  Capara  of  our  days,  which 
we  «hall  presently  mention. 

Plasencia  is  a  suffragan  of  San-Jago.  Its 
diocese  comprehends  a  cathedral  chapter,  and 
a  hundred  and  fifty-two  parishes.  The  bishop 
was  probably  very  powerful  formerly,  as  we  find 
from  history  that  he  several  times  levied  troops 
to  fight  against  the  Moors,  as  noticed  in 
treating  of  Truxillo  and  Badajoz.  The  cathe- 
dral chapter  includes  eight  dignitaries,  sixteen 
canonries,  and  eight  prebends  ;  besides  nine  be- 
neficed priests,  thirty-two  chaplains,  twenty 
young  choirists,  and  eighteen  young  boys  called 
miseros,  to  serve  at  masses.  The  young  choristers 
are  promoted,  after  taking  holy  orders,  to  the 
places  of  chaplains,  and  the  miseros,  who  are 
gratuitously  taught  chanting,  take  the  places  of 
the  young  choristers. 

This  town  is  the  chief  place  of  a  corrcgi- 
dorat;  it  has  a  criminal  judge,  an  alcalde  mayor, 
and  a  municipality  composed  of  a  certain  num- 
ber of  regidors.  There  are  seven  parish  churches, 
three  convents  of  monks,  four  of  nuns,  and  se- 
veral chapels  or  oratories.  The  church  of  the 
Dominicans  has  a  handsome  front  of  the  Com- 
posite order;  it  has  a  single  nave,  line,,  large, 
and  in  the  Gothic  stvle.  with  a  chief  altar  of 


E6TUEMADURA.  265 

tolerably  good  architecture.  -Among  its  chapels 
that  of  St  John  contains  the  tomb  of  Martin 
Nieto;  the  statue  of  the  deceased,  which  is 
armed  and  kneeling,  is  graceful,  noble,  and  lull 
of  expression  :  it  has  been  thought  by  many 
persons  to  be  one  of  the  tinest  monuments  exe- 
cuted in  Spain  since  the  revival  of  the  arts. 

The  cathedral  church,  built  with  granite,  was 
erected  at  different  times  ;  we  easily  distinguish 
in  it  the  taste  of  the  different  centuries  and 
epochs  of  the  progress  and  decline  of  the  arts. 
Its  front,  which  looks  to  the  north,  has  three 
stories  of  architecture  with  two  towers,  and  is 
loaded  with  a  whimsical  mixture  of  singular  or- 
naments. Its  interior  is  little  worthy  of  atten- 
tion ;  the  stalls  of  the  choir  are  confusedly  co- 
vered with  paintings  and  sculptures  in  bass- 
reliefs  of  figures  of  men  and  animals,  equally  ex- 
travagant and  ridiculous,  which  arc  multiplied 
without  end.  In  the  sanctuary  is  placed  the  tomb 
of  Pontius  de  Leon,  bishop  of  Plaseucia  ;  it  is  exe- 
cuted with  tolerable  taste.  The  chief  altar  lias 
three  stories  of  architecture  of  the  Corinthian 
order  ;  the  two  first  of  eight  columns  each,  on 
pedestals  ornamented  with  bass-reliefs.  The 
third  is  of  four  columns.  An  Assumption  of 
the  Virgin,  in  sculpture,  with  groupes  of  u  gcil 
and  apostles  occupy  the  middle;  other  Bta* 
tues  are  distributed  in  different  parti.      There 


566  ESTREMADVRA. 

are  also  some  good  pieces  executed  by  the  fa- 
mous Spanish  statuary  Gregory  Hernandez, 
The  high  chapter-room  also  contains  some  good 
paintings;  among  others  a  Betrothing  of  St. 
Catherine  in  the  manner  of  Rubens,  a  Nativity 
of  Jesus  Christ  by  Diego  Velasquez,  and  a  St. 
Augustin  by  Espagnolet. 

The  house  of  the  marquis  de  Mirabel  is  the 
principal  private  house  of  this  town.  It  has  a 
large  court  surrounded  by  a  double  row  of  por- 
ticos, one  above  the  other,  supported  by  co- 
lumns ;  but  the  most  interesting  thing  in  it  is 
a  fine  collection  of  antiquities,  which  are  kept  in 
a  gallery  of  this  mansion.  It  contains  urns,  heads, 
busts,  altars,  and  inscriptions  ;  we  notice  in  it  a 
colossal  head  of  Tiberius,  a  foot,  also  colossal, 
with  a  buskin  on  it;  a  head  of  Charles  V.  in 
marble,  one  of  Leon  Leoni,  another  of  Pompey 
his  son,  and  a  handsome  bust  of  Antoninus  Pius, 

The  situation  of  this  town  is  pleasant  on  the 
side  of  the  Xerte  ;  this  river  forms  a  kind  of 
island  covered  with  trees,  which  shade  charming 
walks.  There  is  also  a  very  fine  aqueduct, 
which  conveys  the  water  from  a  distance  of  two 
leagues  ;  it  has  upwards  of  eighty  arches. 

In  leaving  Plasenciathe  road  becomes  bad  for 
one  league  ;  we  are,  however,  in  the  valley  in 
which  the  town  is  situated;  in  half  a  league  we 
ascend  a  hill  tolerably  furnished  with  trees,  and 


£STREMADURA.  S6*7 

•n  descending,  enter  the  territory  called  Tra- 
sierra,  which  leads  us  to  Villar.  We  see  at  a 
distance  a  chain  of  mountains  which  extends 
from  Pena  de  Francia  to  the  mountain  of  Xalama 
on  the  frontiers  of  Portugal  ;  besides  these  two 
mountains  we  distinguish  those  of  el  Gamo. 
los  Angeles,  and  Guta.  Villar  is  a  village 
agreeably  situated;  there  are  Roman  inscriptions 
en  the  walls  of  several  of  the  houses  ;  the  en- 
virons are  full  of  chesnut  and  fruit  trees;  it  has 
great  advantages  from  the  abundance  and  ex- 
cellence of  the  waters  which  rise  in  its  territory  : 
the  Romans  conveyed  them  to  Caparra  by  an 
aqueduct,  the  remains  of  which  are  still  to  be 
seen.  We  pass  Aldea  Nueva,  a  village  of  1500 
inhabitants  ;  it  is  on  the  side  of  a  mountain  co- 
vered with  chesnut-trees  :  we  there  twice  cross 
the  river  Ambroz  over  two  bridges,  one  at  the 
entrance  and  the  other  at  leaving  the  village; 
this  last  is  called  that  of  Doncella.  We  go 
along  the  river,  perceive  to  the  right  the  Puerto 
of  Gunilla,  and  arrive  at  Abadia,  a  small  village 
belonging  to  the  duke  of  Alva,  whose  gardens 
are  ornamented  with  superb  fountains,  busts, 
and  statues  in  marble,  both  ancient  and  modern. 
A  little  after,  we  re-cross  the  river  Ambioz  over 
a  bad  bridge,  and  pass  a  convent  of  Franciscans  ; 
half  a  league  farther  we  sec  a  shattered  mile- 
stone, and  arrive  at   laGranja:  from  thence  to 


36S  ESTREMADURA. 

Caparra  we  are  continually  traversing  woods  of 
green  and  hard  oak.  We  leave  to  the  left  the 
hamlet  of  Villeria,  and  to  the  right  the  village 
of  Lazarz.i. 

Capakka.  This  place,  now  depopulated,  was 
the  Amhracia  of  the  Romans  and  some  of  the 
valuahle  remains  of  their  works  are  still  pre- 
served here.  The  town  was  situated  on  a  small 
eminence  on  the  bank  of  the  Ambroz,  which 
we  cross  over  a  bridge  of  four  arches,  also  built 
by  the  Romans.  It  is  now  reduced  to  a  state 
below  that  of  a  paltry  hamlet,  but  interesting 
ruins  cover  its  ancient  site.  There  is  a  triumphal 
arch  built  with  large  stones  on  the  Roman  mili- 
tary way,  with  some  fragments  of  an  inscrip- 
tion. In  quitting  this  place  we  continue  to 
traverse  woods  of  green  oak,  and  pass  through 
Oliva,  a  small  village  of  about  240  inhabitants, 
where  the  poet  Jnvencus  was  born:  we  then 
come  to  a  village  in  a  plain  quite  as  insignifi- 
cant, called  Carcaboso,  and  Aide  Huela,  which 
was  nearly  deserted  and  almost  destroyed,  but 
Which  has  been  re-built,  and  whose  population 
increases  every  day.  We  then  cross  the  river 
Xerte  o%-er  a  fine  bridge  of  seven  arches;  we 
ascend   and  arrive  at  Galisto*,  another  village, 

*  There  is  a  palace  here  of  fine  architecture,  ornamented 
with  many  columns  ;  its  structure,  of  tolerahly  good  taste, 
sêems*of  the  sixteenth  century.  It  belongs  to  the  duke  d'Arco; 


F.STRIIMADL'R*.  36*9 

of  about  1200  inhabitants,  and  which  is  in  a 
very  elevated  situation.  Tins  road  shows  on  all 
sides  the  traces  of  depopulation  and  the  ravages 
of  time,  but  still  leaves  something*  to  feed  the 
curiosity  of  the  lovers  of  antiquity  :  it  i-  almost 
entirely  covered  with  wrecks  of  Roman  gran- 
deur, which  are  seen  in  the  remains  of  monu- 
ments, inscriptions,  mile-stones,  and  fragments 
of  the  military  way,  all  which  occupy  the  at- 
tention of  the  traveller  to  Coria,  where  he  ar- 
rises through  a  plain  of  four  leagues,  lying  along 
the  right  bank  of  the  Alagon. 

Com  a.  This  small  town,  situated  on  the 
liver  Alagon,  existed  in  the  time  of  the  Romans; 
it  is  the  Cauria  and  Caurium  of  Ptolemy.  It* 
present  population  is  about  1500  inhabitants. 
The  limits  of  the  Roman  fortifications  still 
exist;  the  walls  are  of  large  stones  regularly 
placed,  being  twenty  feet  and  a  half  high, 
and  sixteen  feet  four  inch.es  thick,  flanked  at 
intervals  by  large  square  towers  of  the  same 
construction  :  there  are  fou:  gates,  each  thirteen 
feet  nine  inches  high  by  twelve  broad,  and  de- 
fended by  two  towers  ;  there  are  many  antique 
inscriptions  found  here. 

This  town  is  now  protected  by  a  very  incon- 
siderable fort,  but  which  i>  advantageously  si- 
tuated; it  was  built  in  the  fourteenth  century; 

Vol    \  v  b 


37<Ô  ESTHEMADLRA. 

we  ascend  to  it  by  a  flight  of  a  hundred  and  odd 
steps. 

Coria  is  the  see  of  a  suffragan  bishop  of  the 
metropolitan  of  St.  Jago,  whose  diocese  compre- 
hends a  ca-thedral  chapter  and  I99  parishes.  The 
chapter  of  this  cathedral  reside  in  the  town  ; 
they  have  succeeded  to  a  monastery  of  regular 
canons  of  St.  Augustin,  which  lias  been  secu- 
larized ;  it  is  composed  oi  eleven  dignitaries, 
fourteen  canonries,  and  six  prebendar ies.  There 
is  in  the  same  church  a  beneficed  cure,  which  is 
served  by  seven  ecclesiastics.  The  cathedral 
church  has  no  aisles;  it  is  large  and  in  the  Go- 
thic style,  but  neither  handsome  nor  majestic  ;  it 
contains,  however,  some  tombs,  which  merit  a 
little  attention  ;  they  ore  all  in  marble. 

In  leaving  Coria  we  pass  over  a  fine  bridge  of 
seven  arches  without  a  river;  it  was  built  over 
the  Alagon;  but  this  river,  changing  its  course, 
the  bridge  is  without  water,  and  must  remain  so 
unless  the  river  should  happen,  to  resume  its  an- 
cient channel.  We  ford  the  Alagon,  and  two 
leagues  after  arrive  at  Pescueza,  a  hamlet,  where 
we  leave  to  the  right  the  village  of  Cachorilla; 
at  a  little  distance  the  road  is  intersected  by  an- 
other, which  leads  to  Portozuelo*,  a  small  village 

*  The  council  cf  this  village  lias  a  singular  privilege  of 
giving  letters  of  qualification  for  the  exercise  of  the  different 
mechanical  and  some  liberal  arts  throughout  Estremaduraj 


ESTUIOfADUi-. 

at  the  distance  of  two  leagues».  The  country  to 
Célavin  is  covered  with  nothing  hut  useless 
shrubs. 

Celavix,  a  small  but  ancient  town,  which 
was  formerly  opulent,  has  no  more  than  about 
three  thousand  inhabitants,  who  attend  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  lands,  chiefly  vineyards:  they 
have  some  gardens,  which  arc  watered  by  gar- 
den engines.  We  travel  for  a  league  and  a  half 
through  the  midst  of  vineyards;  the  road  becomes 
narrow,  and  is  nothing  more  than  a  by-path, 
which  passes  over  uneven  rocks  ;  it  leads  by  a 
long  descent  to  the  bank  of  the  Tagus,  which  wc 
cross  in  a  bad  ferry-boat,  and  arrive  soon  after  at 
Alcantara. 

Alcantara,  according  to  some  authors,  j- 
an  ancient  town,  for  they  pretend  that  it  was 
the  Xorba  Ciesarea  of  Ptolemy,  the  Norbcnsis 
Colonia  of  Pliny,  and  the  Lancia  of  the  Romans; 
but  it  is  certain  that  it  did  not  exist  under  any 
of  those- nations;  it  is  a  modern  town  built  by 
the  Moors;  it  is  situated  upon  the  banks  of  the 
'Ja^us,  and  was  taLen  from  îjthem  in  1'Jls  by 
Alphonso  IX.  king  of  Leon,  and  given  u>  the 
military  order  of  (aiatra\a:  the  knights  of  this 
order  established  themselves  in  it,  and  in  the 

!'vi  lli.n  (; 
;   i'<  dro  -<  'lei  }\>  y  M«ririf  »1  ind 

u  b 


JTJ  ESTREMADÛRA. 

very  next  year  formed  a  distinct  order,  of  which 
this  town  became  the  chief  place,  and  gave  its 
name  to  it.  The  knights  of  the  order  of  Al- 
cantara bave  a  council-house,  the  building  of 
which  was  carried  on  during  four  reigns.  It  v. 
lx'oun  in  1503,  under  Ferdinand  V.  continued 
under  Phillip  I.  and  Charles  I.  and  finished  un- 
der Philip  II.  The  church  is  large,  and  has  a 
nave  and  two  aisles  ;  it  is  not  yet  finished  :  upon 
some  altars,  and  in  the  sacristy,  there  are  several 
good  pictures  painted  by  Morales. 

Alcantara  lias  a  separate  military  and  civil 
o-overnor  for  the  order  of  the  knights,  a  king's 
lieutenant,  a  major,  and  an  aide-major  for  the 
same  order,  and  an  alcalde-major  for  the  admi- 
nistration of  justice.  Its  population  is  about 
3000  persons.  In  this  town  there  is  a  superb 
bridge  over  the  Tagus,  a  magnificent  work  of 
the  Romans:  its  height  is  175  feet  8  inches 
above  the  ordinary  level  of  the  water,  or  211 
feet  10  inches  above  the  bottom  or  bed  of  the 
river;  ils  length  is  576  feet  11  inches,  and  ils 
breadth  27  feet  and  a  half:  it  is  formed  of  six 
unequal  arches  ;  the  two  middle  ones  are  94  feet 
wide,  and  their  piers  S2  feet  8  inches  thick. 
There  is  a  triumphal  arch  in  the  middle  of  the 
bridge,  extending  the  whole  of  its  breadth;  it  i- 
40  feet  and  a  half  high,  and  is  built  of  huge  gra- 
nite stones,  each    three  feet  and  a  half  long  U 


ESTRF.MADURA.  375 

■one  foot  three-quarters  wide.  At  the  end  of 
this  bridge,  on  the  side  of  the  town,  there  is  a 
small  temple  of  similar  construction;  it  is  20 
feet  h'uh  by  12  and  a  halt'  wide,  and  is  built  of 
a  small  number  of  enormous  stones.  In  the  in- 
terior is  the  tomb,  which  contains  the  ashes  of 
Caius  Lucius  Lacer,  the  architect  of  the  whole 
work.  This  little  monument  has  since  become 
a  chapel  dedicated  to  Saint  Julian. 

The  Moors,  besieged  in  Alcantara,  demolished 
in  their  defence,  the  smallest  arch  of  this  bridge  ; 
Charles  the  First  had  it  rebuilt  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  On  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  the  Portu- 
guese, who  were  obliged  to  evacuate  this  town, 
blew  up  two  arches  of  the  bridge  :  they  were 
rebuilt  by  Charles  III. 

On  quitting  Alcantara,  for  three  leagues  we 
travel  through  a  country  most  of  which  is  pas- 
ture, pass  Villa  de  Rey,  a  small  village,  and  af- 
terwards Brozas,  a  small  town,  which  contains 
about  2500  inhabitants,  with  two  churches  and 
two  convents.  It  has  an  alcalde-major  for  the 
administration  of  justice  :   it  is  the  birth-place  of 

Francisco  Sanchez,  known  by  his  writings  on 
grammar,  the  art  of  poetry  and  oratory.  We 
afterwards  enter  a  ver)  thick  wood  of  oaks,  and 

travel  through  it  for  upwards  of  three  leagues; 
it  leads  to  Arroyo  del  Puerco,  a  town  of  about 
.0000  inhabitants,  in  which  th<  ood 


J  "  4  E  8  T  R  L  M  A  D  C  R  A . 

cloth  manufactories.  Its  parish  church  is  onia- 
mentetl  with  sixteen  good  paintings  by  Moralez. 
We  go  two  leagues  further  through  plantations 
of  oaks,  and  come  to  a  place  where  wool  is 
washed  for  the  manufactories  of  A  nova.  The 
country  soon  after  begins  to  be  Cultivated  and 
attended  to,  the  fields  appear  better  kept  as  we 
approach  Caceres,  where  we  arrive  in  three 
leagues  and  a  half  from  Arroyo  del  Puerco. 

Caceres.  This  town  is  ancient;  it  was  a 
Roman  colony  with  the  name  of  Castra  Cœcilia  ; 
the  building  of  it  is  attributed  to  Quintus  Ceci- 
lius  Metellus.  The  town  of  Caceres  is  situated 
upon  an  eminence  ;  it  has  four  parish  churches, 
and  seven  convents.  It  is  the  residence  of  a  vicar- 
general  of  the  bishop  of  Coria  for  the  exercise 
of  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction;  it  has  a  royal 
audience,  which  includes  Estremadura  in  its  ju- 
risdiction, and  which  has  been  only  established 
since  1791.  It  is  the  chief  place  of  a  corregi- 
dorat;  it  has  a  penal  judge,  and  an  alcalde- 
major.  Its  population  is  about  8000  persons. 
This  town  is  neither  large  nor  well  built;  it 
boasts  of  no  edilice  that  is  worth  the  attention 
of  the  traveller  :  yet  we  must  remark  the  court 
of  the  hospital  of  Mercy,  which  is  surrounded 
by  a  double  portico,  one  over  the  other,  sup- 
ported by  columns  of  the  Doric  order.  Besides* 
several  vestiges  of  Roman  inscriptions,  it  has 


ESTREMAPVRA.  575 

some  antiquities,  amongst  others  there  is,  in  the 
square,  a  marble  statue  larger  than  lite  ;  it  has  a 
cornucopia  in  the  left  hand,  and  its  head  is  co- 
vered with  its  mantle. 

Notç.     There  is  a  cross-road  from  Caceres  to 
Merida,  its  length  is  twelve  leagues. 

STATISTICAL     ABSTHACT     RFLVT1VE     PARTICULARLY    TO     EST11E- 
MADURA. 

Population.  The  population  of  Estremadura  was  consi- 
derable under  the  Romans;  it  continued  so  under  the  Moors, 
and  gradually  decreased  under  their  conquerors  :  in  short, 
it  diminished  every  day  under  their  successors.  According  to 
the  return  made  in  1787  and  173*,  it  only  contained  416\9'.!'2 
inhabitants  ;  yet  it  is  '2000  square  leagues  in  extent.  On  com- 
paringthis  with  the  population  of  Galicia,  which  i»  n<  t  fur  from 
it,  we  shall  be  astonihed  at  the  enormous  difference  ;  the  latter 
is  only  1660  square  leagues,  and  has  1,345,803  inhabit  int.-, 
and  that  too,  notwithstanding  a  continual  emigration.  Con- 
sequently, m  Estremadura,  we  travel  through  immense  spaces 
without  meeting  a  settlement,  a  house,  or  a  man,  and  without 
perceiving  a  tree  or  an  atom  (  f  c.ltivuti  d  land. 
In  the  population  of  this  province,  there  are, 

Parish  priests    ._ 34| 

Priests    2,111 

Monks 2,060 

Nuns Ijftfl 

Nobles 3,794 

Advocat»  - _ •> 

Writer» 505 

Studml-.     |,+M 

.nt- II  A'lo" 

Th-   depopohttion  of  tbii  province  it  generally  attributed 

to  the  no  >t<j,  that  is  to  l»y,  1 1 . «    «  u-tom  of  n  c<  mng  in  uiuu  r 

j.  b  4 


S76 


ESTREMADI1RA. 


/locks  sent  from  some  provinces  in  Spain,  and  of  sending  the 
flocks  of  Estremadura  some  where  else  in  the  summer,  The 
-.number  of  men  who  are  employed  for  this  amounts  to  40,000, 
who,  continually  travelling,  never  marry,  and  are  thus  lo>t  in 
the  scale  of  agriculture  and  population. 

Besides  this,  proprietors  who  sell  or  let  out  their  pastures, 
find  it  more  agreeable  to  draw  an  income  from  them  without 
being  obliged  to  have  them  cultivated;  from  this  neglect  of 
cultivation,  the  labourers  are  not  able  to  obtain  work  ;  and 
the  productions  of  the  land  being  extremely  limited,  are  con- 
sequently sold  very  dear.  The  peasant,  who  does  not  other- 
wise obtain  employment,  is  not  able  to  procure  the  necessaries 
of  life;  he  languishes  in  misery,  he  grows  weary  of  his  coun- 
try, he  leaves  it,  and  seeks  in  another  the  employment  which  can 
furnish  him  with  the  means  of  subsistence.  Thus  this  pro- 
vince daily  experiences  fresh  losses  of  its  inhabitants. 

Some  other  causes  have  likewise  conspired  to  produce  the 
same  effect.  A  great  number  of  the  Moors  inhabited  Estrc- 
madura;  their  final  expulsion  in  1614,  left  a  great  many 
.houses  and  villages  completely  deserted.  Pistant  wars,  during 
two  centuries,  tore  a  great  number  of  soldiers  from  the  coun- 
try. The  discovery  of  America  injured  the  population  of 
Estremadura  almost  as  much.  The  conquerors  of  the  new 
world  were  natives  of  this  province,  they  inflamed  the  ambi- 
tion of  their  fellow-citizens,  they  strongly  persuaded  them  to 
fight  under  their  standards,  and  to  obtain  the  riches  of  the 
country  which  they  had  conquered.  The  emigration  from 
this  province  was  greater  than  from  any  other  province  of  the 
Spanish  monarchy. 

There  i?  no  doubt  that  the  suppression  of  the  westa,  or  at 
least  ?ome  modifications  of  its  system,  would  have  the  effect  of 
clearing  the  lands  ;  and  the  re-establishn;ent  of  agriculture, 
giving  a  new  birth  to  emulation  and  industry,  would  be  the 
means  of  re-peopling  a  province  which  might  be  able  of  itself 
to  supply  food  for  a  third  of  Spain. 


EST  It  E  M  A  D  U  B  A .  377 

Agriculture.  The  Romans  were  fully  sensible  0>  the  value 
©f  Bstremadura,  and  the  Moors  made  a  garden  of  it.  Its  -.oil 
is  of  the  most  fertile  earth  :  it  abundantly  contain»  the 
principle  of  a  rich  vegetation,  which  developes itself  with  the 
greatest  activity  ;  the  heat  of  the  climate  is  favourable  to 
growth  :  and  the  numerous  rivers  which  run  through  this 
province  are  ready  to  produce  an  increase  of  fertility,  and 
scatter  round  the  richest  abundance:  but  the  earth  is,  as  it 
were,  given  up  to  itself;  if  it  yields  some  productions  it  dors 
not  owe  them  to  the  industry  of  man,  bot  to  its  own  vigour; 
and  frequently  the  natural  germ  which  would  in  time  em- 
bellish it,  is  by  the  ignorant  husbandman  stifled  in  it's  be- 
som. It  is  almost  completely  reduced  to  the  lamentable  state 
of  rank  pasturage.  Zavola  calculates,  that  in  the  district  of 
Badajoz  there  is  a  space  of  twenty -six  leagues  long  by  twelve 
broad  of  waste  lands. 

Throughout  the  whole  province  there  are  scarcely  any  gar- 
dens or  orchards  to  be  met  with  ;  neither  fruit,  mulberry- 
trees,  nor  hemp  ;  wheat  and  rye  are  almost  the  only  pro- 
ductions. These  arc  generally  sufficient  for  the  support  of 
the  population,  because,  as  has  been  said,  it  is  exc«  edingly 
small,  and  because  the  principal  part  of  the  country  people  eat 
very  I  :  tile. 

Olive-trees  are  but  thinly  planted  ;  vines  arc-  not  much  more 
multiplied  ;  cbesnut-trees  arc  more  numerous,  happily  for  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  win»  partly  live  upon  th«ir  fruit. 
It  is  the  neglected  state  of  agriculture  which  ruins  thepopuhv- 
tion.  '1  in  pi  oprietors  find  th-ir  account  in  m  ither  ploughing  nor 
sowing  th<  n  lii  Ids,  a-  they  run  no  ri^k  of  hud  barvesti  :  their 
income  ia  always  the  same,  and  always  equally  certain,  by 
keeping  their  lands  in  grass,  which  they  let  to  feed  the  no> 
merous  flocki  ienl  into  the  province  every  year  about 

autumn,  and  n  main  througb  the  w  inter  ;  the  number  1 1  meat 
Limited  OOhead.    It  it  easy  to  imagine  what 

eatery  foi  tin  d>«     Bui  what 


ft  ESTRLMADLRA. 

will  appear  Mtonifihiag  is,  that  in  tins  nun. Her  of  flocks  that 
the  province  supports  foe  six  month.-,  it  has  not  a  suiheicut 
quantity  of  its  own  to  improve  its  soil. 

Yet  there  are  cantons  vhicli  furnish  different  sorts  of  pro- 
ductions in  abundance  ;  for  example,  there  is  a  great  number 
of  gardens  and  fruit-trees  between  the  Puebla  de  la  Calzada 
and  Montijo,  in  the  Vera  de  Plasencia,  &c.  a  great  number  of 
olive-trees  at  Banos,  a  great  number  of  vines  at  Talavera  la 
Vitja  and  Ranos,  numerous  plantations  of  oak,  chesnut,  and 
other  kind  of  trees  round  Talavera,  between  las  Brozas  and 
Arroyo  del  Puerco,  in  the  Vera  de  Plasencia  and  its  valley  ; 
lastly,  near  Ervas,  Banos,  and  Bejar.  The  sides  of  the  moun- 
tain of  Guadalupe,  near  the  monastery  of  that  name*,  are 
covered  with  trees,  and  are  particularly  full  of  medicinal 
plants.  There  are  also  some  cantons  where  we  find  a  cultiva- 
tion directed  with  more  care  and  skill;  such  are  the  environs 
of  Caceres,  of  Plasencia,  the  valley  in  which  that  town  is  si- 
tuated, the  Vega,  which  is  separated  from  that  valley  by 
mountains,  upon  which  vines,  olive,  mulberry,  lemon,  cedar, 
and  all  kind  of  fruit-trees  are  every  where  found  in  abund- 
ance. In  the  valley  of  Bejar,  the  people  even  appU  great 
labour  to  agriculture,  there  being  great  difficulties  to  surmount 
in  the  soil,  from  the  mountains,  hills,  and  gnlleys;  but  we 
every  where  see  fields  raised  one  above  the  other,  forming  so 
many  terraces  supported  by  walls  ;  in  looking  at  them,  we 
might  believe  ourselves  transported  to  the  mountains  of  the 
kingdom  of  Valencia.  But  these  extraordinary  cantons, 
which  form  an  exception,  are  also  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
rest  of  Etremadura. 

*  This  is  a  monastery  of  Jeroniir.ites,  very  famous  in  Sp-'iin,  and  very 
rich.  In  the  treasury,  hesides  a  skiver  throne  for  the  Holy  Virgin,  two 
large  anjcls  of  the  same  metal,  and  a  quantity  of  gold  and  silver  shrines  and 
relics  enriched  with  precious  stone*,  there  is  a  ca>ket  of  silver  silt  With 
beautiful  bass-rëfiefa  in  enamel,  a  silver  tabernacle  weighing  î  it  mark*, 
and  a  gold  cru  iûx  weighing  tour  marks,  ôùc. 


ESTREMAIU'RA.  379 

Manufactures  and  Commerce.  The  excellence  of  the  soil 
Iiaving  principally  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Moors,  their 
industry  was  more  directed  towards  that  than  to  manufactures. 
It  does  not  appear  that  this  province  ever  had  large  establish- 
ments of  this  kind;  yet  it  possessed  during  several  centuries 
some  good  manufactories  of  broad  cloths  and  other  woollens  ; 
those  established  at  Alhanchel  were  the  best,  but  have  beeu 
long  shut  up  from  the  want  of  workmen,  and  of  vents  for  sale. 
Some  manufactories,  which  are  still  carried  on,  are  so  unim- 
portant, that  they  scarcely  deserve  to  be  mentioned.  They  con- 
sist of  a  manufactory  of  hats  established  ten  years  ago  at  Ba- 
dajoz  by  a  Frenchman,  two  similar  manufactories  at  Zafra,  a 
great  number  of  tanning  yards  also  at  Zafra  and  at  the  hamlet 
of  Caceres;  and  a  manufactory  of  broad  cloths  at  Arroyo  del 
Puerco.  There  are  besides  some  single  looms  for  second 
cloths  at  Ervas,  and  for  common  cloths  at  Began  This  last 
establishment  is  the  most  considerable  ;  it  furnishes  CastiU 
and  Andalusia  with  a  certain  quantity  of  these  cloths. 

A  province  which  produces  hardly  any  thing,  which  manu 
factures  still  less,  and  which  must  receive  every  thing  from 
other  countries,  cannot  give  an  idea  of  advantageous  com- 
merce; every  thing  most  be  imported,  every  thing  must  be 
burdensome  to  it;  its  impoverishment  must  daily  increase. 
I»y  Considerable  tillage  and  rational  agriculture,  which  would 
multiply  productions  of  the  best  quality  to  be  exported,  or  t<> 
obtain  raw  materials  proper  for  different  manufactures,  it 
might  be  thought  that  commerce  would  in  this  case  flourish 
with  a  certain  vigour^  yet,  it  must  he  allowed,  that  one  ob- 
stacle wouid  appose  great  success,  which  is  the  difficulty  of 
exportation.  Estremadura  is  inland,  far  from  the  tea,  aud 
rromalli  ivigation;  merchandizes  can  only  be  trans* 

ported  m  mall  tart--,  and  in  many  places  on  the  basin  of 
mutes.  This  obstacle,  however,  ia  not  insurmountable  j  the 
province  is  on  the  bonk  n  ol  Portugal,  which  would  furnish  ■ 

the  kingdi  in  of  Sc\  iUe,  whi- 


3S0  ESTREMADURA. 

ther  merchandizes  and  commodities  might  be  transported, 
and  afterwards  shipped. 

This  commerce  would  he  an  addition  to  the  great  resources 
of  Spain,  would  be  very  active,  if  the  Tagus,  which  runs 
through  Estremadura,  and  the  Guadiana,  which  also  runs 
through  it,  were  both  navigable.  The  latter  might  easily  br 
rendered  so;  the  former  was  once  so  ;  boats  of  a  considerable 
6ize  went  up  and  down  from  Toledo  to  Lisbon.  So  useful  an 
undertaking  will  no  doubt  engnge  the  attention  of  the 
government.  A  society  of  public  economy  established  at 
Truxillo  appeared  to  be  occupied  with  the  means  of  encou- 
raging agriculture;  but  nothing  hitherto  appears  to  hate  been 
done  which  answers  the  aim  of  its  institution. 

Roads,  Transport,  and  Inn.?.     Nature  has  formed  the  roads 
of  Estremadura,  art  has  scarcely  contributed  to  them  at  all. 
The  grand  road  which  leads  into  Portugal  is  the  best  kept; 
it  was  repaired  every    time  that  any  of  the  royal  family  of 
Spain  and  Portugal  were  going  to  travel  that  way,  which  has 
happened  more  frequently  since  the  two  families  became  al- 
lied by  marriages.     This  road  is  neither  good   nor  bad,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  some  parts  more  difficult  than  others,  it 
is  very  passable  ;  it  is  even  rendered  in  some  degree  pleasant 
by  bridges  being  built  over  all   the  rivers  as  far  as  Merida. 
Of  the  two  roads  which  lead  from  that  town  to  Badajoz,  that 
which  passes  by  Lobon  is  the  pleasantest  in  rammer;  but  it  is 
sometimes  dangerous  in  winter,    in  the  time  of  the  rains,  on 
account  of  a  torrent  and  two  rivers  which   must  be  passed, 
and   over  which   there  are   no  bridges.     The  other  roads  of 
Estremadura   are    more    neglected  ;  there    are  even  a  great 
many  of  them  almost   impassable,  and  others  where  no  car- 
riage can  possibly  go. 

The  traveller  in  entering  E.»tremadura  should  arm  himself 
with  courage  and  patience;  the  inconveniences  which  he  has 
experienced  in  the  pr^adas  of  the  other  parts  of  Spain  are  no- 
thing compared  to  those  which  attend  him  in  this  pioviuce. 


ESTREMADURA.  381 

These  houses  where  the  traveller  seeks  shelter  and  repose  are 
for  the  most  part  like  bad  stables:  the  rooms,  the  kitchens, 
the  persons  who  inhabit  them  are  all  Glthy  :  we  are  sometiincb 
by  the  side  of  a  hog,  an  ass  or  a  mule  ;  the  bedsteads  are  not 
equal  to  a  truss  of  straw:  we  find  nothing  to  eat  in  the  po- 
sada,  and  frequently  nothing  is  to  be  bought  in  the  pla 
where  they  are  situated. 

The  carriages  are  generally  drawn  by  oxen,  scarcely  any 
by  mules  :  no  other  coaches  are  to  be  seen  than  those  which 
come  from  Madrid  on  the  way  to  Portugal. 

Natural  History.  The  mountains  of  Estreraadura  would 
furnish  an  interesting  pursuit  to  a  naturalist  if  they  were  « 
amined  with  care.  They  have  tdl  now  been  neglected  . 
Bowles  is  the  only  person  who  has  observed  any  part  of  them. 
The  particulars  known  respecting  their  natural  production»; 
are  limited  to  a  very  small  number  of  objects,  and  may  be 
reduced  to  the  following: 

Klines  of  Copper  in  several  parts  of  Estremadura:  one  is 
particularly  noticed  in   the  mountain  of  Guadalupe,  t"  I 
south  of  the    village   of  Loyrosen  ;  it  is  in  a  blue  and  green 
mixed  stone. 

A  mine  of  lead  upon  an  eminence  called  Vadija,  or  valley 
of  las  Minas,  two  leagues  and  a  half  from  Logrosen,  on  ii:  : 
toad  of  Zalamea  :   it  has  been  worked. 

Another  lead    mine,  a  league  from  Alcoccr,  in  a  plain    in- 
fected   by   banks   of  calcareous    stone   and    slate  I   it 
never  been  worked. 

Blood-stones,  near  Nabal  Villar. 

A  vi  in  of  phosphoric    stun.-,   which   obliquely    eross.-s  the 

road  from  north  to  south,  on  leaving  the  Tillage  of  Logi 
at  tin;  foot  of  the  Sierra  of  Guadalupe  :  to  is.  wbitiafa 

and  tasteless  :    when  pounded  and  put   upon  burning  coal    it 
takes  fire,  and  glfCJ  a  bllM  flame  without  any  imelL 

A  black  earth*  upon  a  p  mountain,  on  the  road 

fio.n   Alco.cr  io  Nabal   Villar;  it  becomes  ibiniog   v»L«n 


382  ESTRElIADimA. 

nibbed  between  tlie  hands.  It  is  a  mine  of  refractor}  iron 
from  which  nothing  ean  be  obtained. 

Blood-stones  upon  the  same  mountain.  A  mine  of  iron 
between  Ateoeev  and  Orellosa  :  it  is  in  a  sandy  stone  which 
contains  very  fine  red  ochre. 

A  blackish  mineral,  so  hard  that  it  striked  fire  with  the  steel. 
Mr.  Bowles  considers  it  as  a  unfnsible  iron  :  it  contains  a  real 
emery*  It  is  in  the  mountain  of  Lares,  three  miles  from  the 
•lain  that  has been  mentioned,  which  is  a  league  from  Al- 
cocer.  'Ibis  mountain,  upon  which  the  ruins  of  a  fortress  of 
the  Moots  are  still  to  be  seen,  is  composed  of  a  brown  free- 
stone mixed  with  quartz  :  this  mine  was  worked  by  the 
Moor.-». 

A  smooth  emery,  without  grain,  near  Alcocer;  it  contains 
a  small  quantity  of  gold  ;  this  was  likewise  worked  by  the 
Moors. 

Silver  Mines  upon  the  mountain  to  the  north  of  Logrosen, 
making  part  of  the  Sierra  of  Guadalupe,  and  upon  an  emi- 
nence called  Chantée,  towards  Zalaiw-a,  two  leagues  from 
the  eminence  which  has  been  noticed  by  the  name  of  Vadija, 
inclining  towards  the  south.  The  former  is  in  a  whitish  stone 
•uhb  a  white  mica*  The  latter  is  without  lead,  in  a  rock  of 
granite  cut  against  its  natural  direction  ;  the  vein  likewise 
contains  spar,  quartz,  while  and  yellow  pyrites,  and  a  black 
shining,  crumbling,  and  pyritous  matter.  This  has  been 
v.  orked,  but  having  filled  with  water  it  was  abandoned  ;  it 
appears  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  dry  it. 

There  is  an  intermitting  fountain  a  quarter  of  a  league 
from  Acebo,  in  the  diocese  of  Coria,  in  the  vineyards  near 
a  convent  of  Franciscans;  it  has  no  regular  periods. 

Several  of  the  mountains  of  Estremadura,  particularly 
that  of  Guadalupe,  are  covered  with  medicinal  plants  of  all 
kinds.  Various  animals  are  to  be  found  on  them,  that  oS 
Guadalupe  among  others  has  a  good  many  .stags  and  roebuck*. 


i:>trfmaduha.  38S 

There  are  five  principal  mineral  spring*  known  ;  four  arc 
coU,  the  nab  is  tbermah  The  first  are  tho=e  of  Chalet*  nine 
leagues  from  Tulavtrala  Real  ;  the  Fuente  del  Carra^co,  near 
the  village  of  Ahtrah  urin,  the  Fuente  de  las  Aguzaderas, 
near  Z  .fra.  npi.a  the  mountain  Castellar,  and  the  Fuente  de 
Bernardo  Estevard,  near  Barearrota,  a  snvdl  town  seven 
k.iLTUes  from  Ba&joz,  and  a  quarter  of  a  league  out  of  the 
road  from  los  Caxallcroa;   this  appears  to  be  chaly- 

beate. The  last  16  thermal  ;  it  is  by  the  side  of  the  hermitage 
of  St  Bartolomé.  near  Alange,  a  town  three  leagues  to  the 
east  of  Mcrida.  It  is  very  copious  and  has  baths,  which  were 
very  much  frequented  in  the  time  of  the  Romans:  the  re- 
mains of  a  bason  and  an  oval  edifice  with  four  niches  and 
four  flights  of  steps  which  lead  to  the  bath,  are  still  to  be 
seen. 

Arts  and  Science»  in  E.strcmadura.  This  is  the  most  neg- 
lected and  most  backward  province  of  Spain  in  the  arts  and 
sciences  ;  it  may  perhaps  in  this  respect  be  placed  by  the  side 
of  la  Mancba.  It  has  neither  schools  nor  establishments  of 
any  kind  ;  the  people  live  in  ignorance,  particularly  of  any 
thing  relative  to  these  different  objects,  they  have  no  d< 
for  knowledgi  ;  and  have  no  idea  of  appreciating  the  works 
of  the  fine  arts.  The  inhabitants  of  this  province,  fonder  of 
war  than  sciences,  have  always  disregarded  or  neglect»  d 
study  ;  and  if  any  of  them  have  deserved  to  be  greatly  distin- 
guished, it  ia  as  warrior.-,  and  not  as  learned  men.  Vet  with 
respect  to  literature  thib  province  has  produced  some  persona 
who  ought  to  be  noticed,  for  instance*  Gaspard  de  Mclo,  a 
theologian,  Francisco  Cairasco  del  Sug,  a  lawyer;  the  hit» 
tonan  brancoz-lq-diaz  de  Yajgas;  the  netaphjrsiciaii.Juan 
PLzarro  de  Arayon,  all  bom.  at  Truxillo ;  the  poet  Decianus. 

tl*  historian-  Juan-Antonio  de  Vera  )  ZtUUDga  ami  lialr. 
Moreno  de  Vargas,    all  of  Merida,    the  in    .  -  lh .in  ou-  author 
laj  Bro^a»  ;  t|ae  phjuit   an  .M-tey  Fer- 


384  ESTREMADUltâ. 

ratifiez  Egara,  ami  the  painter  Christobal  Perez  enraies, 
bothofBadajoz.  At  the  end  of  the  ninth  century  this  town  was 
the  hi  rth -place  of  the  Moor  Abu-Mohamed  Abdalla,  who  pub- 
lished the  principles  of  rhetoric^  We  may  also  mention  an 
able  lawyer  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Gregorio  Lopez,  a  native 
of  Guadalupet  who  has  left  a  commentary  on  the  code  of 
laws  of  las  siete  part/dits,  and  lastly  the  comic  poet  Bartolo- 
méNaharrOj  a  priest,  born  at  Torre. 

Character,  Manners,  Customs,  and  Habits.  The  inhabit- 
ants of  Estremadârà  live  in  a  country  which  seems  to  be  in- 
tilated  from  every  other,  and  where  opportunities  of  com- 
municating with  the  different  parts  of  the  Spanish  monarchy 
ire  not  frequent.  Hence  this  province  appears  to  be  con- 
centrated in  itself,  and  to  think  only  or  its  own  existence* 
The  people  of  it  neither  know  the  comforts  or  the  conveniences 
of  life,  nor  the  means  of  procuring  them.  Little  habituated 
to  the  world,  they  dread  mixing  with  it,  and  avoid  society. 
Hence  they  appear  taciturn,  and  are  perhaps  the  gravest  of 
all  the  Spaniards.  They  fear  to  be  accosted  by  strangers, 
shun  their  company,  and  take  a  pleasure  in  confining  them- 
selves all  their  lives  to  their  own  province.  A  certain  dis- 
taste for  employment  and  the  want  of  knowledge  keep  them 
from  work,  and  make  them  constantly  idle. 

They  possess  in  other  respects  excellent  qualities;  they 
ure  frank,  sincere,  full  of  honour  and  probity,  slow  in  plan- 
ning enterprises,  but  firm  in  their  projects  and  consistent  in 
their  notions.  They  have  always  been  excellent  soldiers  ; 
they  are  strong,  vigorous,  and  robust,  supporting  without 
murmuring  the  fatigues  and  dangers  of  war;  they  have  always 
displayed  an  astonishing  courage;  they  prefer  the  cavalry  to 
the  infantry. 

This  province  has  produced  several  great  captains,  who  did 
honour  to  their  country  by  brilliant  exploits.  It  gave  birth 
to  the  famous  Garcias  de  Paredes,  and  to  several  of  the  con- 


rSTREMADURA.  3S5 

querors  of  America,  Fernando  Corte»,  Francisco  Pizarro,  the 
marquis  del  Valle  de  Goanaea,  and  some  other  of  their  com- 
panions in  arms. 

The  labourers  or  workmen  of  this  province  are  likewise  ac- 
cused of  an  excessive  sloth.  The  charge  appears  to  be  true  ; 
but  they  ought  to  be  treated  with  indulgence,  when  it  is  known 
that  they  are  necessarily  led  into  the  habits  of  idleness,  being 
in  spite  of  themselves  without  work,  without  resource  for  two- 
thirds  of  the  year,  and  without  any  means  of  industry  to  sup- 
port their  existence.  Being  paid  for  their  work  a  very  mo- 
derate price,  living  in  a  country  where  commodities  are  very 
dear,  and  out  of  their  reach,  without  hope  of  ameliorating 
their  condition  or  their  lot,  they  sink  into  listlessness.  If  hey 
are  observed  when  they  are  employed,  they  will  be  found, 
alert,  indefatigable,  working  without  relaxation  at  noon-day, 
in  a  burning  climate,   and  under  a  scorching  sun. 

No  kind  of  dissipation  or  pleasures  are  known  in  Estremadttra, 
there  is  no  variety,  every  thing  is  regular,  and  melancholy. 
Persons  of  high  birth,  and  those  who  have  fortune  or  are  at 
their  ea-c,   seldom  associate  and  that  but  accidentally. 

It  is  still  worse  with  the  common  people,  they  are  so  poor 
that  they  are  constantly  experiencing  deprivations  of  every 
kind,  and  often  want  tin  necessaries  ol  life,  without  looking 
forward  to  any  favourable  change  of  this  pitiable  Condition. 
This  excess  of  poverty,  which  ipn  ids  from  family  to  family, 
oppresses  the  soul  and  enervates  the  body.  What  I  situation 
to  *tek  for  pleaMire,  and  to  be  .bit  to  give  ones*  If  up  to  the 
gaiety,  which  attend 

We  find  in  this  province  :i  lingular  example  of  uh.it  maybe 
called  a  democratic  constitution,  which  excludes  ill  superi- 
ority of  men  over  on<  mother.  The  inhabitants  of  the  little 
town  of  (  I        sa%  tuolc. 

in  nuini"  00  pel         consider  (hen  i  Ivi  -,  among 

each  otl  \§i  in  rank,  quality  and  condition;  they 

Voi.  f.  c  c 


$$6  ÏSTREMADURA. 

►take  tbe  greatest  care  to  prevent  this  equality  ever  being  al- 
tered by  any  exterior  sign  of  honours  or  distinction.  In  short 
they  have  carried  their  vigilance  in  this  respect  so  far, 
that,  some  yearn  ago,  they  had  an  inscription  which  had 
been  placed  over  the  grave  of  one  of  their  fellow  citizens 
removed,  though  he  was  generally  "steeoned  and  regretted 


FND  or  VOLUME  ;. 


Fruited  by  J,  G.  Barnard,  Skinner  Street,  London. 


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«nov  oi  am, 


I    I-:  ■     ■        .  ,  ,    » 

LOîj  ANGELES 


Jvi 


3   1 


58  00306  7880 


UÇ  SOUTHERN  SEGlONA 


A     000  036  967