JOURNEY FROM GRANADA TO MURCIA.--MURCIA.
The best mode of travelling this Road; Precautions necessary; the
Village of Huetor, and its Venta; Aspect of the Country; an
Encounter; Diezma; singular Scenery; Guadix; Journey from Guadix;
excessive Cold; Baza, and its Valley; Cullar de Baza; excavated
Dwellings; a probable intention of Robbery; Chirivel; Desolate
Country on the confines of Murcia; Puerto; the Vale of Lorca, Dress
of the Murcian Peasantry; Lorca Market; the Cathedral, and
Liberality of the Archbishop of Carthagena; Totana; a Dance;
Approach to Murcia, and extraordinary beauty of its Vale; Murcia,
its Streets and Population; Magnificent View from the summit of the
Cathedral Tower; Paseos and Environs; a ridiculous Observance;
Prices of Provisions; Manufacture of Salt-Petre; Silk Manufacture;
Agriculture.
I had always looked upon this, as the journey in which I might expect to
find the most privations, and that most abounded in hazard; and the
little information I was able to receive at Granada, tended rather to
confirm than to dissipate these anticipations. It is, indeed,
surprising how very little information I was able to obtain at Granada:
there is no commerce between Granada and Murcia; the communication
between the southern provinces, and Valencia, and Catalunia, is entirely
carried on by sea; and the few persons who pass from Granada to the
east, generally take shipping at Malaga, for Valencia. Every one was
agreed, however, that the road was execrable, and totally impassable
after rain; that the accommodations upon the road were as bad as they
could be; and that the probabilities of robbery outweighed the chances
of escape. The few persons who had travelled that road, had invariably
taken an escort; and this I was told, I could by no means dispense with.
I resolved, however, to be guided by the opinion of General O’Lowlor;
and, acting upon his advice, I engaged a _tartana_, a small covered cart
with one mule, and a muleteer, recommended by him as an honest man. An
honest muleteer is the principal security of a traveller; for I am
convinced from what I have subsequently heard, that an escort is
totally useless, unless it be composed of soldiers; and, in a long
journey, the expense of a sufficient escort will amount to as much as
one runs the risk of losing by being robbed; because no traveller in
Spain ever carries an overflowing purse. The best mode is, to pay the
muleteer a part, before setting out, and the remainder at the end of the
journey, which can, of course, be managed by carrying a letter of
credit; and the traveller ought to carry in his pocket only what may
suffice for his personal expenses, with as much more added, as will
satisfy banditti, in case of being attacked by them; for otherwise, the
traveller is exposed to violence. If one chooses to hire four soldiers,
the risk of robbery is entirely at an end; but this, in a journey to
Murcia from Granada, would cost thirty-five dollars; exceeding by at
least fifteen dollars, the amount of the purse which it is necessary to
have in readiness, in case of meeting with robbers. An escort of
peasantry is totally useless. Many instances have occurred, in which
travellers have been betrayed by their escort; and I could hear of no
instance in which the escort had stood to defend the traveller; but,
indeed, it is better that they should run away, as resistance would only
endanger his life. Resistance is a thing that no traveller in certain
parts of Spain should ever dream of: before setting out, he must make up
his mind to the probability of being robbed, and provide accordingly;
not by hiring an escort, or by loading his pistols; but, by putting
about twenty dollars into a separate purse, to buy civility in case of
need; and by obtaining a letter of credit upon the next town.
The distance between Granada and Murcia is not very accurately measured;
but it is computed to be about forty-seven leagues, which is nearly two
hundred miles. For this journey, I agreed to pay the muleteer
twenty-five dollars; which I thought a reasonable demand for a journey
of thirteen days. I did not intend to make much use of the tartana,
excepting for carrying my portmanteau, and a basket of provisions; the
mule walks the whole of the way; and the daily journey averaging only
about thirty-two miles, it would be no difficult matter to keep pace
with it.
I left Granada at three o’clock, P.M., in order that we might arrive the
same night at a village called Huetor; from which an easy journey would
carry us to Guadix the night following. By any other arrangement, we
should have been obliged to rest every night at a solitary venta. We no
sooner got clear of Granada, than we were enclosed among the mountains;
and in a wild, uncultivated country, overrun with the Esparto rush,--the
Sierra Nevada lying on our right, and a range of other, and somewhat
lower, mountains on our left. The road alternately descended into deep
narrow valleys, and climbed the heights that separated them; but, upon
the whole, we gradually got into a higher country; and it was dusk long
before we reached Huetor. I noticed several fires blazing in remote
spots of the ravines; and one of these we passed so near, that I was
able to distinguish several persons around it: the muleteer told me that
these persons were migratory peasantry, who avoided the ventas from
economy; or, perhaps, houseless persons, who lived by the produce of
their gun. About half a mile before reaching Huetor, we passed a chapel
erected in a very dreary spot; a lamp burned before an image of the
virgin, and the light, shining upon the road, shewed me a monumental
cross standing by the way-side. Soon after, we reached the village and
its venta.
This venta was a bad specimen of the accommodation I was likely to find
on the road. Although only four leagues from Granada, I should have been
obliged to go supperless to bed, unless for the provision I had wisely
made against such an event. I superintended the boiling of some water,
infused my tea, got my bread and little jar of Dutch butter from my
basket, and cut into a most delicious ham, which had been presented to
me, and prepared at Granada. Sugar was the only thing I had forgotten;
but this the good people of the venta undertook to supply from the
village; and it was soon brought, in four separate papers, wrapped up
like powders received from an apothecary. Having made a comfortable
meal, I next went in search of a bed, and succeeded in finding a
mattress, which I laid upon six chairs; and, covering myself with my
cloak--of course, without undressing--I slept tolerably well till roused
by the muleteer, although the wind and rain beat in at the open window
half the night. When I went in search of the tartana, I found no fewer
than sixty-nine mules in the venta, some ready to set out, and others
standing in their places--the muleteers sleeping beside them: all these
were going to Granada, laden with the Esparto rush, which is extensively
manufactured into baskets.
After the night’s rain, the morning was hazy; but it gradually cleared
away, and fine weather succeeded. On the outskirts of the village, I
noticed these words inscribed upon a house in large letters, _Viva el
Rey absoluto_, “Long live the absolute King:”--and soon after, in a
little hollow, I passed a cross which recorded a murder, committed there
five months before, upon a traveller who had been so rash as to offer
resistance to banditti. When we left the village behind us, we left the
road behind us also: it was now no longer a road, but only a track of
the rudest kind, winding among the ridges of the Sierra; the ground was
entirely without cultivation. Mingled with the Esparto rush, lavender,
sweet marjorum and thyme, covered the lower part of the mountains;
which, higher up, were bare and stony; and the snowy peaks of the Sierra
Nevada, bounded the horizon. At a wild and desolate spot, where enormous
rocks were strewn around--a secure and admirable retreat for thieves--we
suddenly came upon two men seated in a hollow of the rocks, armed with
guns, and with pistols stuck in their girdles; and when I saw them leave
their places, and hasten down the rock towards us, I began to think of
feeling for the purse of twenty dollars. They, however, adopted a
different mode of supplying their needs,--thinking it safer to ask for
money, as guards of the road, than as robbers. I gave them a dollar
betwixt them, with which they appeared to be contented; and, giving me
in return, “_Muchas gracias_,” and the parting salutation, “_Vaya Vd.
con la Virgen_,” they scrambled up among the rocks. The salutation
differs in different provinces: before reaching Granada, it had always
been “Go with God!” now, it was, “Go with the Virgin.” From this spot,
the road continued to wind among the mountains, amid the same wild and
desolate scenery, till we arrived at Diezma, a small village, with a
venta attached to it. Here I again found my ham useful, and, with some
eggs and chocolate, I had no reason to complain of my breakfast. The
venta, however, seemed very miserable: they had to send into the village
for the small quantity of bread I required, and for a little wine. But
there was an excuse for the neglected state of this venta; the husband
of its mistress had been stabbed in a quarrel only the day before, and
had been buried that morning.
After leaving Diezma, we entered a very singular looking country; it was
covered with monticules, and pyramids of clay, sand, and gravel, from
thirty to a hundred feet high, forming a perfect labyrinth, through
which the road tortuously wound. This forenoon we had nothing to fear
from robbers, for our party was numerous, consisting of about fifty
mules and ten or twelve muleteers. I walked all the way along with the
muleteers, entering into conversation with them, and from time to time
assisting them in diminishing the rotundity of their wine-skins: a
traveller must never refuse to put the wine-skin to his mouth; to refuse
this offered courtesy, is looked upon as a serious affront. It requires
some practice, however, to use the skin without wasting the wine, and
deluging the bosom: and nothing but habit can teach this art.
This singular labyrinth continued about two leagues, when we reached a
small village, called Parillena, in the neighbourhood of which I
observed many hovels excavated in the clay banks--the wretched retreats
of the miserably poor. It did not surprise me to see no fewer than five
records of murder in this neighbourhood. Between this village and
Guadix, parts of the country are under tillage; and I saw some ploughs
at work, and several persons sowing in the fields, although it was
Sunday; but I never observed that, in the South of Spain, any
distinction is made between Sundays and other days. It is not as in
France, a day of recreation; every one plies his trade as usual. In the
towns, all the shops are thronged; and in the country, those who wish to
be industrious are industrious still.
Guadix, which is situated within half a league of the Sierra Nevada, is
approached through a fine avenue of trees; and the land on both sides is
rich, and subjected to irrigation from the small stream of the same
name. We reached the town, or city I believe, about sun-set, and halted
at the best posada the place afforded; but it boasted no provisions, and
being unwilling to draw too constantly upon my stores, I walked into the
market, and purchased a rabbit for four reals (eight pence), which,
stewed with potatoes, afforded me a comfortable supper. During the
night, I was awoke by sounds of quarrelling under the windows, and upon
rising and looking out, I saw a man lying upon the ground, and several
persons collected about him. Next morning, I learned that the man had
been stabbed in an affray by his brother-in-law, after having been
engaged in playing cards. Guadix is famous for its midnight frays; and
it is here, those murderous knives are made, which are in general use
throughout all the south of Spain. This is the only manufacture of
Guadix, the inhabitants generally being employed in agriculture. This
city is a bishop’s see; it has a cathedral, four churches, and seven
convents; and contains between five and six thousand inhabitants.
Next day, I left Guadix before sun-rise; the morning was fine, but
rather chilly. All the clay banks in the neighbourhood of Guadix, are
excavated into human habitations: the first league from the town, I
counted one hundred and sixty of these miserable hovels; and some of
their inmates, who looked from the outlets, exhibited the very acmé of
wretchedness.
After leaving Guadix, we entered a vast open plain, traversed by deep
ravines, and almost wholly abandoned to the Esparto rush: here and
there, I noticed some feeble attempts at cultivation; and some flocks of
sheep were feeding upon the lower acclivities of the Sierra, which
bounded the plain on the right. The venta, fourteen miles distant from
Guadix, was the first house we saw; and we therefore cease to wonder at
the neglected state of a plain in which there are no human habitations.
The venta at which we stopped furnished chocolate, and bread, and good
wine; and with my ham and butter-jar, I feasted luxuriously. I noticed
an improvement in the construction of the interior of this venta: there
was a circular stone bench round the place where the fire is made upon
the floor, large enough for a dozen persons; and it was indeed occupied
by nearly as many when we entered it; for there was the old man and his
wife, the son of the old couple and his wife, three children, and two
great dogs. Two very suspicious looking men were standing, apparently
about to leave the venta; but when I arrived, they sat down again; and
one of them put a number of questions to me, as to where I had come
from, where I was going, and if I had no companions. I had already
received a hint from the honest muleteer, not to answer questions of
that kind; and I pretended not to understand him. The muleteer, to whom
he immediately afterwards put the same questions, told him that I had
left Guadix an hour sooner than my companions; and that before we
arrived at Baza, we expected to be overtaken by four of my countrymen.
After leaving this venta, we continued constantly ascending, and soon
reached a very elevated and exposed plain, bounded by snowy mountains;
the cold was intense. I had never felt a more cutting wind in England;
and unless by quick walking, and even running, I found it impossible to
keep myself warm. Suddenly the plain terminates in an abrupt descent,
almost a precipice, and Baza was seen at the foot, with a fertile plain
stretching before it, and mingled with groves and gardens. The
transition from this region of snow, to the sheltered valley of Baza,
was luxury; and to my great surprise, I found myself soon established
for the night in an excellent posada, kept by a Frenchman, who I need
scarcely say, provided a supper that did not disgrace his country.
Baza was once a place of consequence and wealth; rich lead and copper
mines abound in the neighbourhood, and were formerly worked with profit;
but they are now closed, and will remain closed, until a new order of
things begets a spirit of enterprise. The inhabitants are entirely
occupied by agriculture, which, in this valley, is assisted by
irrigation; and is sufficient for the wants of the people. Baza is said
to contain fifteen thousand inhabitants: it is certain that it contains
many churches, and five convents,--one of these, St. Hieronimo,
possessing an income of eight hundred thousand reals (8,000_l._
sterling), meant for the support of the seven monks who inhabit it.
The market-place of Baza is adorned by nine columns, being the nine iron
cannon, by the aid of which, Ferdinand and Isabella took the city from
the Moors. Upon one of them, is the following inscription:--Estos tiros
son los que los Reyes Dom Ferdinando y Dona Isabella ganaron esta Ciudad
sobre los Mauros, anno 1489, en el dia de Sancta Barbara Patrona de esta
Ciudad.--“It was with these cannon, that Ferdinand and Isabella took
this city from the Moors, in the year 1489, on the festival of St.
Barbara, the patroness of this city.”
From Baza, which we left as usual about sunrise, to Cullar de Baza, the
country is wholly without interest; we ascended an inclined plain,
bounded by snowy mountains on both sides, and almost wholly left to the
hand of nature. The situation of Cullar de Baza is pleasing: it stands
upon the side of a deep ravine, almost wide enough to be called a
valley, which is cultivated to the utmost possible extent; and
doubtless, when spring clothes with its own fresh livery, this little
valley, Cullar de Baza will appear not only pleasingly, but beautifully
situated. This valley, a mile long, and about a quarter of a mile broad,
is the sole resource of the inhabitants.
In the neighbourhood of this town, the excavation of the earth, to form
dwellings, is carried to a greater extent than in any place that I had
yet seen; these present a very singular appearance in travelling below
the gypsum rocks that environ the town: they are formed in galleries,
one above another, and are entered by steps cut in the face of the bank.
I noticed several crosses before entering, and after leaving Cullar de
Baza; and it is worthy of remark, that these are more numerous in the
neighbourhood of the small towns, than in the more solitary places. From
this town to Chirivel, we passed over a high and very desolate country,
producing nothing but the Esparto rush, and aromatic plants: upon the
highest part of the ridge, Vertientes, and another small village, are
situated; there, some few fields are seen under tillage, and stunted
ilex is scattered over the neighbouring acclivities. At Vertientes, the
muleteer mistook his path, and we were under the necessity of several
times asking directions: this, is always to incur risk. It was already
dusk, and no road could be more solitary than that between this village
and Chirivel; the population seemed miserably poor, and many of them had
seen the unprotected vehicle pass, and knew its destination. As we went
forward, I noticed several fires in hollows not far distant from the
road, shewing the night camp of some houseless wanderers; and I was
somewhat startled when looking keenly along the road, lighted by a
glorious full moon that had risen in the east, I descried the figures of
two men, about two hundred yards behind us. The old muleteer seemed not
quite at his ease, when I told him what I had seen, and he urged on his
mule. I had little doubt that we were followed by some of the persons
who had seen us pass through Vertientes; and taking from my purse of
twenty dollars, a part of its contents, I slipped them, and two ounces
of gold, into my boot, and put in my waistcoat pocket, a purse with only
twelve dollars, which I thought sufficient for two peasants of
Vertientes, although so paltry a booty might be despised by the band of
Don José. Just at this time, something dark appeared before us, and
presently a train of some ten or twelve mules, and three men approached.
We stopped to ask them how far we were distant from Chirivel--and while
the question was put and answered, I kept my eye upon the men behind,
who stood still in the middle of the road. I had now less doubt than
ever, of their intentions, and mentioned the ground of my increased
suspicions to the muleteer, who was so persuaded of their truth, that he
proposed to the men whom we had met, that one should go forward with the
mules to Vertientes, and that the other two, should return with us to
Chirivel, which was only about half a league distant. It is generally
indifferent to a Spaniard where he passes the night; and this proposal,
seconded by the promise of a few pecetas from me, secured us this
seasonable addition to our party. After we set forward, the men behind
followed us a little way, probably to ascertain our numbers; they then
stood still; and in another quarter of an hour, they were no longer
visible.
The posada at Chirivel was almost as bad as the venta at Huetor; but
being nearly independent of the larder of the posada, I both drank tea
and supped comfortably, with that miserable substitute for a sea-coal
fire--a brasero--under the table; but I had no talisman against the
fleas, and was overjoyed to find myself free from their assaults, and on
the road next morning.
From Chirivel, the only road is the bed of a river, in which we
travelled three leagues, till we reached Velez el Rubio. The banks of
the stream, then almost dried up, are in many places precipitous; so
that I had been truly told in Granada, that in wet weather it is
impossible to travel to Murcia. The situation of Velez el Rubio is
picturesque: a ruined castle looks down upon it, and the environs are
tolerably well wooded; this improvement in the appearance of the
country, continues only about a league and a half beyond the town, when
every trace of cultivation is entirely lost; and a range of the most
desolate hills I ever travelled through, stretches to the east; these
are the hills that divide Granada from Murcia. The pass through them is
twenty-two miles long; and the whole of this distance there is not a
single human dwelling. It is not by a road, nor even by a path, but by
the bed of a torrent that these mountains are traversed; and this bed,
for the first eight miles, is not six feet wide, and is strewn with
enormous rocks, which force the traveller to be a pedestrian. During the
whole day, after entering these mountains, we met only one person; this
was a Capuchin friar, driving his ass before him, laden with two large
jars of oil, the gift of the good Catholics of Lorca, where he had been,
to beg this luxury for the use of his convent at Velez el Rubio. Since
there are no houses among these hills, it can scarcely be expected that
there should be any cultivation; I did not see one rood of cultivated
land, nor a single flock of any kind, not even a few goats. But this
country, desolate as it is, has some charms of its own. Rosemary, sweet
marjoram, thyme, lavender, and a thousand odoriferous and sweet smelling
plants, fill the air with their fragrance, and by so pleasingly
addressing one of the senses, withdraw the attention of another from the
spectacle of barrenness. After ascending in the bed of one torrent two
leagues, we reached the summit of the ridge, and then entered the
channel of another stream, in which we descended three leagues to
Puerto, our rendezvous for the night. Approaching this place, I observed
several little boys herding goats, with only a shirt on, and that shirt
a very ragged one. This, on the warm shores of Andalusia, or in the
plain of Murcia, would excite little compassion; but here, scarcely out
of the region of the Sierra Nevada, it was pitiable to see these
shivering little creatures, the children no doubt of those wretched
persons whose hovels I saw excavated in the bank of the river.
In the posada at Puerto, I found very civil people, but nothing to eat.
They made me a blazing fire of rosemary and the husks of Indian
corn--another of the many uses to which this valuable plant is put--they
shewed me a good mattress, and the luxury of a bedstead, and they found
a peasant to accompany me to the market to buy something for supper. A
fowl was procured without difficulty; and this, stewed with rice, and
followed by some excellent wine, might have pleased a more fastidious
taste than mine. I had also the luxury of the prickly pear; I bought
three dozen for 2_d._, and found them delicious.
We left Puerto half an hour before sunrise: a rapid descent was carrying
us from the regions of cold, into the sunny vale of Lorca, and the
transition was equally striking and agreeable. It was now the 2d day of
December, but the air was like that of a June morning in England; and as
the mist rose from the lower grounds, and disclosed the vale of Lorca,
smiling beneath the rays of the new risen sun, the earth, as well as
the air, seemed to own the dominion of summer. As we descended into the
vale, the change from the high lands, both in the temperature of the
air, and in the appearance of every thing around, became more striking:
the fields were covered with wheat, fresh and green; olives, and other
trees had regained their natural height: and aloes were again seen by
the way side. The whole of the vale of Lorca is under cultivation: to
the traveller who arrives by way of the snowy Sierra, it appears a
paradise; and the situation of Lorca, close under the mountains that
bound it on the left, and the fine old castle hanging over it, add
greatly to the beauty of the picture.
The best posada in Lorca I found worse than might have been expected in
a city containing twenty-five thousand inhabitants; and it was so
dirty,--certainly not a common fault in the posadas--that I breakfasted
in the yard. It chanced to be market-day at Lorca; and immediately after
I had breakfasted, I strolled through the town, and into the
market-place. Here I found many things new to me; for, as I have
observed before, the provinces of Spain differ greatly from each other
in dress, usages, &c. All the women wore a large square white woollen
shawl, thrown over the head like a mantilla; the men were seen with
short white drawers, untied at the knees, and reaching about two inches
lower; they had no stockings; upon their feet were sandals, made of
rope; and in place of the smart Spanish hat, they wore tapering black
caps, fitting close to the head, with a small rim turned up all round:
others, from the higher countries, were enveloped in blankets, generally
of gaudy colours,--some of them nearly approaching to tartan. All sorts
of things were exposed for sale: I saw an immense quantity of dried and
shell fruits; cloths and calicos of Catalunian manufactory; shoes,
especially rope sandals; quantities of the Esparto rush, and baskets
made of it; beads, rosaries, images, and trinkets; and, in short, every
thing that one either eats, or wears in the province of Murcia. In a
street in the neighbourhood of the market-place, the pig market was
held. I never saw a finer shew; for nowhere in the world, is the pig to
be found in so great perfection as in Spain--fed, as it is, in the
woods, upon the ilex nut. I asked the price of an enormous animal,
weighing one hundred and eighty-five lbs., and found it to be two
hundred and forty reals (about 2_l._ 8_s._); for a sucking-pig, they
asked fourteen reals. In Lorca, there is little beef; mutton sells at
twelve quartos; a fowl costs 1_s._ 8_d._, a hare 10_d._, bread 1½_d._
per lb. The price of labour in the vale of Lorca, is five reals, nearly
1_s._
I walked into the cathedral, but saw nothing worthy of notice, except
proofs of the liberality of the Archbishop of Carthagena, who has
published so great a number of indulgences, that the Catholics of Lorca
and other places in his diocese, may pray themselves out of purgatory
before they get into it. I saw one indulgence of forty days for every
paternoster, and an ave, said before the shrine of St. Francis; and
another of forty days for an ave, and a paternoster, said to St. Jago,
St. Anthony of Padua, St. Domingo, and St. Nicholas: but I saw nobody
taking advantage of these indulgences. The cathedral contains some
tolerable pictures by pupils of Murillo.
I left Lorca about mid-day, passing through a very spacious paseo,
surrounded by gardens; and after fording the river Gudalentin, and
traversing a long suburb, the road skirted the range of hills which
bounds the vale on the left; and about a league distant from Lorca, we
began to ascend, leaving the vale and fertility behind, and passing
through an uncultivated and unpeopled tract of land, to the village of
Totana. Here I was again greeted with the sight of orange trees, the
first I had seen since leaving Granada; and magnificent aloes and
prickly pear, shewed what the land is susceptible of. But the village
seemed very miserable; great part of it was in ruins, and most of the
children I saw, were clothed--if clothed it can be called--in ragged
shirts. Yet, this miserable village supports a convent of monks, of the
order of St. Jago. I saw one of their number walking in the
neighbourhood of the village, and might have pitied his forlorn
situation, but that I knew the minds of most friars to be devoid of
those feelings which would render a lot like his, intolerable to a man
of refined and cultivated understanding.
In this wretched place the price of labour is only two reals, less than
5_d._ Beef is rarely seen, but when brought to market, it is sold at
only five quartos per lb., about 1½_d._; mutton sells at eight and nine
quartos; and pork at twelve; but the pork is excellent.
After dinner, two village musicians introduced themselves: one played
the violin, the other the guitar; and thinking it a pity that no use
should be made of the music, I invited all the inmates of the posada to
my _sala_ to have a dance; and excellently well they danced their
fandango--snapping their fingers as a substitute for the castanet, and
displaying a grace in their movements and limbs, that would surprise the
audience in any of our minor theatres.
Next morning, I left this place with the intention of dining in Murcia.
We travelled along an execrable road, but through a country susceptible
of the finest cultivation, though totally uncultivated, to the little
village of Pedrilla; where at an enormously large posada we stopped to
refresh the mule and take chocolate; and immediately after leaving
Pedrilla, I descried at a distance the tower of the cathedral of
Murcia. Yet for three leagues the country continued wild, and but very
partially under cultivation; and then, at about a league from Murcia, we
entered its celebrated vale. I was delighted and surprised with the
prospect before me: a wide avenue, bordered by trees, stretched four
miles, terminating in the two lofty towers of one of the churches. On
both sides of this avenue, as far as the eye could reach, it rested upon
a carpet of that perfect green that is produced by irrigation,--but
there was variety too,--for the shades of the green were different;
there was the green of the young wheat, that in a thick crop had reached
the height of eight or ten inches; and the still brighter green of the
flax; and the green of the many beds of the various vegetables for the
market of Murcia; and over all the vale, fig-trees and mulberries were
thickly strewn; luxuriant groves of blood-coloured oranges speckled the
fields; and stately palms here and there lifted up their broad canopy.
It was altogether a most captivating prospect, and realized more than
any thing I had ever yet seen,--the idea of a continued garden and
eternal summer. The scene was animated too; for many country people,
with their short white trowsers, crimson girdles, and Montera caps, were
crossing the fields, returning from labour. Many carts, waggons,
carriages, and horsemen, filled the road; and every hundred yards, or
less, we passed a neat cottage, half hid in its own little orangery. All
this was very different from what I had been led to believe. I expected
to have found nothing but silence and poverty in the neighbourhood of
Murcia; and in place of these, the approach to it more resembled the
neighbourhood of a large and flourishing city, than any thing that I had
yet seen in Spain.
At the entrance to the city the custom-house officers, of course stopped
the tartana, and I was prepared with the usual bribe of a peceta to save
myself from the inconvenience of a search: but here the officers were
more ambitious, they would take nothing less than half a dollar; and
rather than submit to this imposition, I allowed my portmanteau to be
tumbled inside out, and thus saved my peceta. I arrived at the Fonda de
las Diligencias at five o’clock, much pleased that my purse of twenty
dollars might now be applied to some better purpose than to fill the
pockets of banditti.
The interior of Murcia surprised me as much as the approach to it. I
found clean pleasant streets, like those of Seville, and a population
not remarkable for poverty and rags. The best commentary upon this
assertion, is the fact, that I was not accosted by a beggar during the
three days I spent in Murcia. Like Seville too, the convent gardens
often skirt the streets, and the walls are over-topped by the heavily
laden orange trees, and by the branchy palm. In walking towards the
cathedral, I chanced to follow a friar carrying an image of St. Anthony,
which the children crowded to kiss; and some of the lower orders to whom
he held it, also bestowed upon it this mark of attention.
The cathedral is not equal to many in Spain, but it is fine
nevertheless:--the architecture is mixed,--there is much fine marble,
and several of the Gothic chapels are worthy of a visit, from the
excellence of the workmanship found in them. There are no pictures in
the cathedral; and the riches in which it formerly abounded were almost
all carried off by the French. But the chief object of attraction is the
tower, which is ten feet higher than that of Seville; and like it, is
ascended by inclined planes. The prospect from the summit at once lays
open the character and extent of the celebrated vale. It is about
sixteen miles long, and eight wide, and is bounded on both sides by
mountain ranges. The whole of this expanse is one sheet of variegated
green, thickly dotted with mulberry trees, and sprinkled with clumps of
palms, and copses of orange trees. The whole of the vale is divided into
fields, separated from each other by small embankments about eighteen
inches high, to assist the process of irrigation, and by rows of
mulberry trees or shrubs of some sort, which give to the landscape a
lighter effect than that which is produced by the dark thorn hedges of
England. Towards the east, four leagues distant, where the vale
contracts into the narrow opening through which Alicant lies, I could
distinguish the spires of Orihuela. An isolated rock, crowned by a
Moorish castle, and a village beneath it, called Monte Agudo, and
another village charmingly situated under the mountains, called
Algesarez, were agreeable features in the landscape; while the cottages
and houses thickly strewing the plain, gave life and animation to it.
Walking towards the paseo by the river side, I observed a fine marble
column erected in the Plaza Real; and upon inquiring its history, I
learned that it was to be surmounted by a statue of King Ferdinand.
Farther on, I passed an hospital begun seven years ago, but still
unfinished; and still farther, I reached a fine aqueduct for conveying a
stream across the deep bed of the river Segura, to water the vale. This
promenade would be very delightful, were it not that in order to reach
it, it is necessary to pass through the lowest quarter of the city,
where the poorest and worst population are congregated. I was told that
the corregidor executes well the duties of his office, and that crime is
rare in Murcia. In returning from the paseo, I visited the Dominican
Convent, without finding in it much to attract my notice; excepting an
indulgence of two hundred and eighty days, granted to all who assist in
the ceremony attending the procession of St. Rosario.
In another walk, I visited a chapel where are presented in wood, many
passages in the life of Christ,--among others, the last supper; the
figures are well executed, and the attitudes natural. Seeing the table
covered with a cloth, I asked the reason of this; and was told,--that a
magnificent supper is always served on Holy Thursday, and that after
standing on the table forty-eight hours, it is removed, and given to the
poor; so that at times, even the most absurd superstitions may be
productive of good. Returning from the posada, I passed through the
market, where I helped myself to a handful of fresh dates, and
astonished the vendor with the princely recompense of a halfpenny! The
following are the prices of provisions in Murcia. Beef, per pound of 16
ounces, twelve quartos; mutton, eleven quartos; veal, ten; pork,
fourteen. Were it not for a heavy duty upon the provisions entering the
city, these prices would be at least one-half lower. A fowl costs 1_s._
8_d._; a chicken, five reals; a turkey, a dollar; a duck, 10_d._; a
hare, 10_d._ or 1_s._; a rabbit, three reals. Bread of the finest
quality is ten quartos per pound, and of an inferior quality, eight
quartos. Good wine is about nine quartos per bottle. The price of labour
is from four to five reals. A female servant receives a dollar per
month; a man, a dollar and a half, or two dollars.
While at Murcia, I visited the manufactory of saltpetre, this, and all
other manufactories of the same article, are farmed by government to a
company. The company is bound to furnish the article at six dollars the
arroba, (25 lbs.). At present, they make but 1200 arrobas yearly; but
formerly, they manufactured as much as 10,000. There were 70,000 arrobas
in the magazine when I visited it. The trade has lately been thrown
open; but I was informed that few have availed themselves of the
permission to enter it. I did not visit the gunpowder manufactory, which
is about a league distant from Murcia. It is bound to furnish government
with 10,000 arrobas every two months, but there is at present so large
a stock on hand, that it only produces 32,000 arrobas yearly.
The silk manufactories of Murcia, were once so extensive, as to employ
16,000 hands; at present, scarcely 400 are required. In Murcia, all the
silk is prepared by hand labour, and cannot, therefore, enter the market
with the Valencia silk, which is for the most part, produced by
machinery. The only other manufacture of Murcia, is a coarse cloth,
which, to a certain extent, is sure of a market. The city lives almost
entirely by agriculture; but the prosperity of the agriculturist, here
as in Granada, has greatly decreased since the loss of the colonies has
created a necessity for the imposition of new burthens upon land. The
land in the vale of Murcia produces two crops yearly: wheat and lentils,
wheat and maize, or wheat and beans; and may be computed to return about
five per cent.