Astorga—The Inn—The Maragatos—Habits of the Maragatos—The Statue.
We went to a _posada_ in the suburbs, the only one, indeed, which the
place afforded. The courtyard was full of _arrieros_ and carriers,
brawling loudly; the master of the house was fighting with two of his
customers, and universal confusion reigned around. As I dismounted I
received the contents of a wine-glass in my face, of which greeting, as
it was probably intended for another, I took no notice. Antonio,
however, was not so patient, for on being struck with a cudgel, he
instantly returned the salute with his whip, scarifying the countenance
of a carman. In my endeavours to separate these two antagonists, my
horse broke loose, and rushing amongst the promiscuous crowd, overturned
several individuals, and committed no little damage. It was a long time
before peace was restored: at last we were shown to a tolerably decent
chamber. We had, however, no sooner taken possession of it, than the
waggon from Madrid arrived on its way to Corunna, {319} filled with dusty
travellers, consisting of women, children, invalid officers, and the
like. We were now forthwith dislodged, and our baggage flung into the
yard. On our complaining of this treatment, we were told that we were
two vagabonds whom nobody knew; who had come without an _arriero_, and
had already set the whole house in confusion. As a great favour,
however, we were at length permitted to take up our abode in a ruinous
building down the yard, adjoining the stable, and filled with rats and
vermin. Here there was an old bed with a tester, and with this wretched
accommodation we were glad to content ourselves, for I could proceed no
farther, and was burnt with fever. The heat of the place was
intolerable, and I sat on the staircase with my head between my hands,
gasping for breath: soon appeared Antonio with vinegar and water, which I
drank, and felt relieved.
We continued in this suburb three days, during the greatest part of which
time I was stretched on the tester-bed. I once or twice contrived to
make my way into the town, but found no bookseller, nor any person
willing to undertake the charge of disposing of my Testaments. The
people were brutal, stupid, and uncivil, and I returned to my tester-bed
fatigued and dispirited. Here I lay listening from time to time to the
sweet chimes which rang from the clock of the old cathedral. The master
of the house never came near me, nor, indeed, once inquired about me.
Beneath the care of Antonio, however, I speedily waxed stronger. “_Mon
maître_,” said he to me one evening, “I see you are better; let us quit
this bad town and worse _posada_ to-morrow morning. _Allons_, _mon
maître_! _Il est temps de nous mettre en chemin pour Lugo et Galice_.”
Before proceeding, however, to narrate what befell us in this journey to
Lugo and Galicia, it will, perhaps, not be amiss to say a few words
concerning Astorga and its vicinity. It is a walled town, containing
about five or six thousand inhabitants, with a cathedral and college,
which last is, however, at present deserted. It is situated on the
confines, and may be called the capital, of a tract of land called the
country of the Maragatos, which occupies about three square leagues, and
has for its north-western boundary a mountain called Telleno, the
loftiest of a chain of hills which have their origin near the mouth of
the river Minho, and are connected with the immense range which
constitutes the frontier of the Asturias and Guipuzcoa.
The land is ungrateful and barren, and niggardly repays the toil of the
cultivator, being for the most part rocky, with a slight sprinkling of
red brick earth.
The Maragatos {321} are perhaps the most singular caste to be found
amongst the chequered population of Spain. They have their own peculiar
customs and dress, and never intermarry with the Spaniards. Their name
is a clue to their origin, as it signifies “Moorish Goths,” and at the
present day their garb differs but little from that of the Moors of
Barbary, as it consists of a long tight jacket, secured at the waist by a
broad girdle, loose short trousers which terminate at the knee, and boots
and gaiters. Their heads are shaven, a slight fringe of hair being only
left at the lower part. If they wore the turban, or _barret_, {322} they
could scarcely be distinguished from the Moors in dress; but in lieu
thereof they wear the _sombrero_, or broad slouching hat of Spain. There
can be little doubt that they are a remnant of those Goths who sided with
the Moors on their invasion of Spain, and who adopted their religion,
customs, and manner of dress, which, with the exception of the first, are
still to a considerable degree retained by them. It is, however, evident
that their blood has at no time mingled with that of the wild children of
the desert, for scarcely amongst the hills of Norway would you find
figures and faces more essentially Gothic than those of the Maragatos.
They are strong athletic men, but loutish and heavy, and their features,
though for the most part well formed, are vacant and devoid of
expression. They are slow and plain of speech, and those eloquent and
imaginative sallies so common in the conversation of other Spaniards
seldom or never escape them; they have, moreover, a coarse, thick
pronunciation, and when you hear them speak, you almost imagine that it
is some German or English peasant attempting to express himself in the
language of the Peninsula. They are constitutionally phlegmatic, and it
is very difficult to arouse their anger; but they are dangerous and
desperate when once incensed; and a person who knew them well told me
that he would rather face ten Valencians, people infamous for their
ferocity and blood-thirstiness, than confront one angry Maragato,
sluggish and stupid though he be on other occasions.
The men scarcely ever occupy themselves in husbandry, which they abandon
to the women, who plough the flinty fields and gather in the scanty
harvests. Their husbands and sons are far differently employed: for they
are a nation of _arrieros_, or carriers, and almost esteem it a disgrace
to follow any other profession. On every road of Spain, particularly
those north of the mountains which divide the two Castiles, may be seen
gangs of fives and sixes of these people lolling or sleeping beneath the
broiling sun, on gigantic and heavily laden mutes and mules. {323} In a
word, almost the entire commerce of nearly one-half of Spain passes
through the hands of the Maragatos, whose fidelity to their trust is
such, that no one accustomed to employ them would hesitate to confide to
them the transport of a ton of treasure from the sea of Biscay to Madrid;
knowing well that it would not be their fault were it not delivered safe
and undiminished, even of a grain, and that bold must be the thieves who
would seek to wrest it from the far-feared Maragatos, who would cling to
it whilst they could stand, and would cover it with their bodies when
they fell in the act of loading or discharging their long carbines.
But they are far from being disinterested, and if they are the most
trustworthy of all the _arrieros_ of Spain, they in general demand for
the transport of articles a sum at least double to what others of the
trade would esteem a reasonable recompense. By this means they
accumulate large sums of money, notwithstanding that they indulge
themselves in far superior fare to that which contents in general the
parsimonious Spaniard—another argument in favour of their pure Gothic
descent; for the Maragatos, like true men of the north, delight in
swilling liquors and battening upon gross and luscious meats, which help
to swell out their tall and goodly figures. Many of them have died
possessed of considerable riches, part of which they have not
unfrequently bequeathed to the erection or embellishment of religious
houses.
On the east end of the cathedral of Astorga, {324a} which towers over the
lofty and precipitous wall, a colossal figure of lead may be seen on the
roof. It is the statue of a Maragato carrier, who endowed the cathedral
with a large sum. {324b} He is in his national dress, but his head is
averted from the land of his fathers, and whilst he waves in his hand a
species of flag, he seems to be summoning his race from their unfruitful
region to other climes, where a richer field is open to their industry
and enterprise.
I spoke to several of these men respecting the all-important subject of
religion; but I found “their hearts gross, and their ears dull of
hearing, and their eyes closed.” There was one in particular to whom I
showed the New Testament, and whom I addressed for a considerable time.
He listened, or seemed to listen, patiently, taking occasionally copious
draughts from an immense jug of whitish wine which stood between his
knees. After I had concluded, he said, “To-morrow I set out for Lugo,
whither, I am told, yourself are going. If you wish to send your chest,
I have no objection to take it at so much” (naming an extravagant price).
“As for what you have told me, I understand little of it, and believe not
a word of it; but in respect to the books which you have shown me, I will
take three or four. I shall not read them, it is true, but I have no
doubt that I can sell them at a higher price than you demand.”
So much for the Maragatos.