CORDOBA--BRIDGE OVER THE GUADALQUIVIR--MILLS--QUAY--SPANISH
PROJECTS--FOUNDATION OF THE CITY--ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WESTERN
CALIPHAT--CAPTURE OF CORDOBA BY SAN FERNANDO--THE
MEZQUITA--BISHOP'S PALACE--MARKET PLACE--GRAND RELIGIOUS
PROCESSION--ANECDOTE OF THE LATE BISHOP OF MALAGA AND THE TRAGALA.
The grandeur of Cordoba, like the effect of stage scenery, ceases on a
near inspection. The city, as has already been noticed, stands in the
midst of a vast plain, bounded by ranges of distant mountains; but, on
entering within the gates, the prospect of the smiling valley and darkly
wooded sierras is altogether excluded, and, in exchange, the traveller
finds his view confined to the white-washed walls of the low and
poverty-stricken houses that line the narrow, crooked, jagged streets of
the once proud capital of the Abdalrahmans.
From the painful glare of this displeasing contrast, the eye in vain
seeks relief by turning towards the winding Guadalquivír; for, the
bridge once passed, not a glimpse of its dark blue current can be
obtained from any part of the city.
There is a suburb of some extent on the southern bank of the river; but
the city, properly so called, is altogether situated on the opposite
side. An old Saracenic castle, modernised and kept in a defensible
state, interdicts the approach to the bridge, which edifice is also a
work of the Moors. It is a solid structure of sixteen irregular arches,
23 feet in width, and 860 in length. Its erection is usually attributed
to the Caliph Hassim (son of the first Abdalrahman), towards the close
of the eighth century; and, according to Florez, that enlightened
sovereign was himself the planner and director of the work. I can see no
reason to doubt this respectable authority, although some English
writers have stated the bridge to be of Roman construction. It is very
possible that the present edifice may have been raised on an old
foundation, though the bridge built by the Romans is generally supposed
to have been higher up the river.
The summer stream of the Guadalquivír scarcely warrants its being
distinguished by so grandiose a name as the _Great River_--_Guad-al
Kibeer_, for its volume of water is but small, and, from being led off
into numerous irrigating conduits and mill-races, is reduced to so
inconsiderable a current that, during nine months of the year, the
greater part of the river's wide sandy bed is left perfectly dry.
Some of the mills "below bridge" are Moorish, and very picturesque; as
are also the crenated, ivy-clustered towers of the city walls
overhanging the river. On the right bank of the stream, above the
bridge, a handsome quay is (1833) constructing; but, as the "great
river" is navigable only for small boats, the sum expended on this
costly work appears to be an absolute waste of money, which ought rather
to have been laid out in sinking a channel, so as to render the river
practicable for barges and trading vessels down to Seville. If this were
done--and it was effected to a certain extent by the French, during
their occupation of the country from 1810 to 1812--a quay would soon be
constructed from the profits arising from the increased commerce of the
place. But the Spaniards generally begin things at the wrong end, and in
this, as well as most of their projects, they might derive great
advantage from the study of Mrs. Glasse's well known recipe for making
hare soup, beginning, "first catch a hare."
The precise date of the foundation of Cordoba is unknown. By Strabo, who
calls it the first colony of Roman citizens established in Boetica,
it is attributed to Marcellus, but which individual of that name is
meant it would be difficult to determine. It must, however, have been
founded very soon after the Romans obtained possession of Spain, since
the city is mentioned by Appian in the war of Viriatus, as well as by
Polybius in the expedition of Marcus Claudius against the Lusitanians.
We may suppose, therefore, that it was built by the Romans, to secure
their dominion over the country on the expulsion of the Carthagenians,
that is, about 200 years before the Christian era.
By Hirtius, Cordoba is spoken of as the capital of the country at the
period of Julius Cæsar's second visit to Spain; and, from that time, it
seems ever to have been a rich and powerful city, and the residence of
many noble Roman families. But the most glorious epoch in the annals of
Cordoba dates from the arrival of the renowned Abdalrahman, sole
surviving male descendant of Mohammed in the Ommiad line, who, being
forced to seek shelter from the enemies of his race in the deserts of
Africa, was called over to Spain, became sovereign of the country, and,
fixing his residence at Cordoba, assumed the title of Caliph of the
West, A.D. 755.
Abdalrahman repaired, strengthened, and extended the walls with which
the Romans had already encircled the city; built a splendid palace, and
commenced the celebrated mosque; and, during his long reign, so firmly
did he establish his sway over the rest of Spain, as even to force a
tribute from the hardy descendants of Pelayo, entrenched within the wild
recesses of the Asturian mountains.
The western caliphs continued to exercise great power for upwards of two
centuries, and, indeed, the prosperity of Cordoba was at its acmé during
the reign of Abdalrahman III., who flourished in the middle of the tenth
century. The days of its glory ceased, however, with the life of
Mohammed Almanzor, the celebrated vizier of the weak Hassim II., A.D.
998; and, not long afterwards, the caliphat of Cordoba finished, and
several small kingdoms were founded on its ruins.
The kingdom of Cordoba, in its diminished and enfeebled state, continued
to exist until A.D. 1236, when its proud capital fell an easy conquest
to Ferdinand III. of Castile, who, to merit the saintly title which
Spanish history has conferred upon him, drove the turbaned inhabitants
from their homes, and rendered the beautiful city a wilderness of brick
and mortar.
Cordoba never recovered the effects of this cruel and impolitic act; and
its population, which, during the caliphat, is reputed to have amounted
to upwards of a million of souls, at no after period reached a tenth,
and can now, at the utmost, be estimated at a twentieth part of that
number.
The circumvallation of the city is still very perfect, and embraces a
considerable space; but many parts of the enclosure are not built upon,
and the houses generally are low and but thinly inhabited. The once
flourishing trade of the place is now confined to some trifling
manufactures of leather, called _Cordovan_, which ill deserves the
celebrity it even yet enjoys.
We took up our abode at the Posada _del Sol_, than which a more wretched
place of accommodation, either for man or beast, the sun never shone
upon. Nevertheless, it was represented to us as being (and I believe at
that time was) the only eligible lodgment for _Hidalgos_ which the city
contained.[235] One advantage it did hold out, however, namely, that of
being immediately in front of the great and only _lion_ of the place,
the famed cathedral, or _Mezquita_, as it still continues to be called.
This remarkable pile has evidently been raised upon the ruins of some
gothic edifice, which again is generally supposed to have stood upon the
site of a yet more ancient Roman temple of Janus.
The _Mezquita_, in fact, may be said to be made up of the reliques of
those two nations, its architecture alone being Moorish. It was
finished by Hassim (son of Abdalrahman, its founder), towards the close
of the eighth century; but subsequent caliphs made great additions to
it.
The exterior of the building is extremely gloomy and unprepossessing;
its dark and windowless walls, and low engrailed parapets, giving it the
appearance of a prison, rather than of a place of worship. The
horse-shoe arches over the doors are nevertheless well worthy of notice,
and the principal gate is covered with bronze plates of most exquisite
workmanship. Of the four and twenty entrances that formerly gave
admission to the holy shrine of the prophet's descendant, but five are
now open, which may in some degree account for the gloom that pervades
the interior.
Never did the feeling of astonishment so completely take possession of
my senses, as on first entering this most extraordinary edifice. You
step at once from the hot and sun-bleached street into a cool and sombre
enclosure, of vast extent, which has not inaptly been likened to a
forest of marble pillars; and, indeed, to carry out the simile, the
arches, springing in all directions from these polished stems, present a
vaulted covering which, at first sight, appears as complicated in its
construction, as even a forest canopy of nature's own formation. One
soon discovers, however, that the thickly planted pillars are aligned so
as to divide the dark interior into regular avenues or aisles, and that
the arches springing from and connecting each column with the four
adjacent pillars (thus spanning both the main and transverse
intercolumniations) form arcades, extending the whole length and breadth
of the building. These arches are mostly of the Moorish, or horse-shoe
form, but some few are of the pointed gothic, and seem to me to be the
remains of a building of more ancient date than the time of the Moors.
The interior of the mosque is nearly a square, its dimensions being 394
English feet from east to west, and 356 from north to south. But on
attentive examination it becomes evident that the side which, correctly
speaking, must now be considered the width of the mosque, was originally
its length, an addition having been made on its eastern side, which has
given it greater extent in that direction than in the other, so that its
original interior dimensions were 356 feet from north to south (the same
as at present), but only 240 feet from east to west.
This space was divided by ten lines of columns into eleven aisles,
extending north and south through the building; the centre avenue, which
was directed straight from the great gate of entrance to the
_Maksurah_, or sanctuary, situated in the middle of the south wall of
the mosque, being (as it continues to this day) two feet wider than the
others. Each of these ten rows contained thirty-one columns, placed
about ten feet apart, from centre to centre; but they did not extend the
whole length of the building, a small space at the south end being
partitioned off for the apartments of the Imans.
By the addition which was afterwards made to the Mosque, (doubtless
rendered necessary by the increasing veneration with which it came to be
regarded) it gained 154 feet in width, and eight aisles were added to
the eleven already formed; and, as no part of this was reserved, it
required thirty-four columns in each row to fill up the space. These,
however, were not _throughout_ placed so as to align transversely with
those of the original portion of the building; which circumstance has
probably occasioned the discrepancies observable in the accounts given
of this singular building by different writers. Swinburne, whose
descriptions are generally very accurate, has fallen into error by
stating that the mosque was divided into but seventeen aisles, having
apparently overlooked the fact, that an avenue on each side has been
taken off since it became a Christian church, for the erection of
chapels dedicated to the divers saints of the Cordoban Calendar.
The mosque may, therefore, be considered as having formerly been divided
longitudinally into nineteen principal aisles or avenues of columns, and
transversely into thirty-five. But it is to be observed that the line of
columns which marks the division between the old and modern parts of the
building differs from the rest; being rather a series of clusters of
pillars (four in each pier), than isolated columns: and two similar
lines divide the interior also, transversely; so that in making a
calculation of the number of columns it formerly contained, these must
be duly taken into the account; and it will then be found that the total
number did not fall far short of the thousand it is rumoured to have
contained.
Although, as I have observed, the cross alignments of the columns in the
old and new portions of the building do not exactly correspond, yet in
some parts of the interior the arrangement of them is so perfect, that
the spectator looks down eight avenues from the spot where he stands;
four being at right angles with the walls of the building, the other
four bisecting these, and extending diagonally across the mosque.
The columns are of polished jasper, marble porphyry, and granite, and
offer as much variety in their architectural as in their geological
character; some rising doric-like from the pavement, others resting on
low bases; many swelling in the shaft in the early style of the
Egyptians, and some few ascending spirally, bespeaking the vitiated
taste of the middle ages. Many are capped with Corinthian, others with
grotesque, and some with purely Gothic, capitals.
All these varieties of colour, shape, and ornament, have, after a time,
a displeasing effect; but on first entering the building the spectator's
attention is so riveted by the novelty of its character, and the
vastness of its dimensions, that these violations of the prescribed
rules of taste are overlooked.
The columns, which are mostly eighteen inches in diameter, rise only
nine feet above the pavement; and even with the additional height of
their capitals, and of the arches springing from them, the roof is
elevated but thirty-five feet above the floor; a height totally
disproportioned to the extent of the building. On advancing further into
the interior, however, this defect is less conspicuous; for the roof is
found to be there raised in a singular manner--in steps, as it were--by
a second series of horse-shoe arches, that spring from square pillars
raised on the columns which support the lower arches; and thus--the
space between the two series of arches being left open--forming a kind
of double arcade, of a peculiarly light and fanciful kind.
In different parts of these raised portions of the roof, small cupolas
are erected, which admit the only light that the interior receives. The
distribution of light is, consequently, very unequal. But the effect
produced is remarkably well suited to the character of the building; as
the partial gleams of sunshine thus scattered throughout the complicated
architecture of the roof, by gradually diminishing in strength as the
long lines of columns recede from view, leaves them at last in a distant
gloom, which makes the avenues appear interminable.
The appearance of the interior is much spoilt by the erection of an
enormous Gothic choir, in the very centre of the building; for it
intercepts the view of nearly one half the columns, (the long vistas
between which constitute the great beauty and wonder of the place) and
offers nothing to compensate for the injury thus inflicted but some
carved wood-work, representing subjects taken from the Scriptures,
executed by one Pedro Cornejo. The life of the artist is said to have
been miraculously preserved until the very day on which he had completed
his pious undertaking. This Gothic pile was erected so late as the time
of Charles the Fifth, who seems to have taken a pleasure in disfiguring
every thing Moorish that his predecessors had not laid their intolerant
hands upon.
When in its pristine state, despite all its sins against good taste,
the interior of the _Mezquita_ must have presented a superb _coup
d'oeil_. The roof, composed of wood, and wonderfully well put
together, was richly painted and gilt; the walls were covered with
elaborate stuccoes, and the floor was paved with gaudy mosaics. But of
all this splendour little now remains. The all-destroying hand of Time
has long since robbed the vaulted aisles and graceful cupolas of their
brilliant tints; the not less destructive hand of Bigotry has stript the
walls of their tasteful arabesques and inscriptions; and to the fragile
mosaic pavement the change from slippers to shoes has been equally
fatal; for, excepting here and there, round the foot of some column,
scarcely a fragment of the bright glazed tiles with which it was
originally laid can now be discovered, amidst the bricks of which it is
composed, and dust with which it is covered.
From this sweeping destruction one small recess has most fortunately
been preserved, to afford the means of judging what the _whole_ must
have been in its original state. This little compartment is situated at
the south end of the mosque, near the sanctuary, and must have been
included within the portion of the building set apart for the Imans. It
was brought to light only in 1815, by the removal of some bookshelves
and a slight brick wall, which had, probably, been put up purposely to
screen it from the eyes of the superstitious multitude, and save it
from mutilation. By the Spaniards it is called the Chapel of the Moorish
Kings. Within it was found a tomb, containing the sword, spurs, and
bones, of one of the principal chieftains who accompanied San Fernando
to the siege of Cordoba, and at whose request, we were told, this
beautiful little nook has been permitted to retain its Mohammedan
decorations. In lightness and elegance of design it equals any portion
of the Alhambra, and from its high state of preservation may be looked
upon as the best specimen of Moorish workmanship extant. Indeed, it
would be difficult to imagine any thing more beautiful of its kind, such
is the perfection of its mosaic pavement, the sharpness of the fretwork
and brilliancy of the colouring on its walls, and the dazzling splendour
of the gilt stalactites pendant from its roof.
Adjoining this invaluable little casket is the _maksourah_, or, as it is
called by the Spaniards, _el zancarron_[236] (the heel-bone): a name
which favours the supposition that it was the place of burial of the
founder or finisher of the mosque, rather than the sanctuary of the
Koran, as is generally supposed, although, indeed, it might have been
both.
The architecture and ornaments of this sanctum differ from those of the
rest of the mosque, being even yet more complicated and richly finished;
but it is by no means in so good a state of preservation as the recess
just described. The face of the arch that spans the entrance of the
_zancarron_ is elaborately worked in crystals of various hues, and
encompassed with moral precepts from the Koran. The interior is an
octagon, only fifteen feet in diameter, and is domed over by a single
block of white marble, carved into the form of a scollop-shell. Another
huge slab of the same material forms its floor.
The shrine of the caliph, descendant of the prophet, probably occupied
the centre of this recess; round which the feet of the numberless
pilgrims who visited the holy place have worked a groove in the hard
marble. It is situated _now_ towards the south-west angle of the
building, but in the original mosque it stood, as I have already stated,
exactly in the centre of its south wall, facing the grand entrance. On
each side were the apartments of the Imans; and in front, extending east
and west, across the building, a space of the width of two
intercolumniations was set apart as a chancel or _mikrab_, wherein the
officiating priests performed their mysterious ceremonies before the
people, to whom different portions of the rest of the building were
appropriated, according to their rank in life.
At the north end of the mosque is a spacious court, encompassed on three
sides by an open colonnade, and furnished with copious fountains. Here,
when occasion required, the Mussulmans purified their bodies by
ablutions ere entering the holy place, and, leaving their slippers under
the arcades, proceeded barefoot to the shrine of Mohammed's descendant,
making divers prostrations in the course of their short journey.
This court, now called the _Patio de los Naranjos_,[237] is the same
width as the mosque, and adds 200 feet to its length; making the
exterior dimensions of the building 574 (English) feet from north to
south, and 416 from east to west.
From the north wall of the court rises the _campanilla_, or belfry, from
the summit of which a fine view is obtained of the city. Beneath it is
an archway of more recent date than the mosque, called the Gate of
Mercy, through which a flight of steps leads from the street into the
court. This gate faces the principal entrance into the _Mezquita_.
The cathedral is rich in silks, jewels, candlesticks, and brocades; and
the altar of the chapel of Villa Viciosa is splendidly furnished.
The sacristy contains also some tolerable paintings, said to be by
Murillo, and other first-rate Spanish artists, but I doubt whether any
of them are originals; for the French, who have a nice discrimination in
these matters, twice sacked the city, and were on both occasions so
little expected, that the priests had barely time to carry off the
plate, and reliques of the churches, to places of greater security.
Besides which, the Spaniards are prone to call every black, tarnished
old painting a Murillo or a Velasquez.
The bishop's palace is an immense, and rather handsome pile, standing a
little removed from the cathedral, towards the river. The very face of
it shows, however, that of late years the prelates have appropriated the
revenues of the see to some other, perhaps more _legitimate_, though
less orthodox, purpose, than that of setting their house in order, for
it is in a very neglected state. The interior, which is not better
looked after, exhibits, in an eminent degree, that mixture of splendour
and misery so conspicuous in all things Spanish. A spacious, costly, and
particularly dirty marble staircase ascends to the first floor, whereon
are the state apartments; they consist of a suite of long, narrow,
whitewashed rooms, communicating one with another the whole extent of
the building, and each furnished with a prodigious number of shabby old
chairs, an antediluvian sofa, and some daubs of paintings in
poverty-stricken gilt frames.
The principal apartment, or _sala de la audienca_, is hung with
portraits of all the goodly persons who have worn the episcopal mitre of
Cordoba, from the days of _San Damaso_ (who flourished about the middle
of the third century) to the present time. Some of these paintings have
much merit; but, if they are _likenesses_ of those for whom they were
drawn, a disciple of Lavater or Spurzheim must either abandon his faith,
or admit that most of the beetle-browed, low-crowned originals, deserved
a gibbet rather than a bishop's cap. Nevertheless, several of these
peculiarly "ill-favoured" ecclesiastics are--so our conductor solemnly
assured us--now saints in heaven.
One old gentleman, who was not exalted to the episcopal see until he had
attained a very advanced age, by way of giving a sarcastic reproof to
his patron, had his portrait taken, with a grim figure of death placing
the mitre on his head. Another painting represents death holding the
mitre in one hand, whilst with the other he is directing a dart at his
victim's breast; leaving us to infer, that the bishop died whilst the
pope's diploma was yet on its way to him from Rome.
At the head of the bench is suspended a very good painting, and
admirable likeness, of the truly amiable Pius VII.; and over the
fireplace hangs an execrable daub, but an equally striking resemblance,
of the detestable Ferdinand VII.
The most noble part of the episcopal palace is the kitchen; which,
whether the bishop be at his residence or not, daily furnishes food for
2000 poor persons.[238]
The garden is laid out with taste, and contains some rare transatlantic
plants.
There is little else worth noticing in Cordoba. The king's palace is not
occupied; the royal stud-house, where, in former days, the best breeds
of Spanish horses were reared, is empty; the fine alameda, outside the
city gates, is unfrequented; there is not a handsome street, I may
almost say an edifice, in the place; and idleness, penury, and
depravity, meet one at every step.
The market is held in the _Plaza Real_, or _de la Constitucion_ (the
name varying according to circumstances), and the houses encompassing
it, like those in the market-place of Granada, are lofty, and furnished
with rickety wooden galleries, that have a very picturesque _Prouty_
appearance. Some of the old buildings, in the narrow Moorish streets,
possess the same kind, of sketchy beauty; but the houses of the other
parts of the city seldom exceed two stories in height, from which
circumstance Cordoba is, perhaps, the most sultry place in Andalusia.
The inhabitants are a diminutive race, and the most ill-looking I have
seen in Spain.
During our stay at Cordoba we witnessed the grand procession of Corpus
Christi, at the commencement of Lent, which is considered one of the
most holy and imposing exhibitions of the Hispano-Roman church. It was a
lamentably splendid sight; for a more heterogeneous, heterodoxical
mixture of bigotry and liberty, superstition and constitution, wax
candles and fixed bayonets, it never fell to my lot to witness. It moved
through the streets, preceded by a military band of music, which played
Riego's Hymn and the _Tragala_ alternately, with sacred airs and
mournful dirges. This was only in keeping with the rest of the
absurdities of the ceremony; but it was a crying sin to compel the poor
old bishop to parade through the streets, in his full canonicals, at a
_pas de valse_.
The _Cordobeses_ of all classes are held to be very religious, and
particularly "_servil_;" and this degrading exhibition was, probably,
got up by the _exaltado_ party, then in the ascendant, to bring the
prelate and priestly office into contempt.
On my return to Gibraltar soon after witnessing this indecent ceremony,
the Bishop of Malaga, then a refugee within the walls of the British
fortress, was publicly insulted by a shameless countrywoman (the _prima
donna_ of an operatic company then performing in the garrison), who,
placing herself opposite to him whilst seated on one of the benches in
the public gardens, sung the _Tragala_;[239] applying most emphatically
to him the word _perro_ (dog), with which each verse of the
constitutional ditty concludes.
The venerable prelate listened most patiently until her song was
concluded, and then very composedly said, "_Gracias hija mia,
muchissimas gracias_;[240] in good truth, it is a bone fit only for the
mouth of a _perra_."[241]
The laugh was rather against the chaste Rosina, who, I should not omit,
however, to mention, received a hint, that if the bishop were favoured
with any more such gratuitous proofs of her vocal powers, she would
herself have a disagreeable _bone_ to pick at the town-major's office.
APPENDIX.
A.
The following brief notice of the numerous sieges and attacks, that the
celebrated fortress of Gibraltar has sustained, may possess some
interest in the eyes of many of my readers. It is extracted principally
from Don Ignacio Lopez de Ayala's "Historia de Gibraltar," which dates
the first arrival of the Saracens, and occupation of the rocky
promontory by Taric ben Zaide, A.D. 710, and attributes the erection of
the _Calahorra_, or castle, to Abdul Malic, A.D. 742.
The Fortress (which in early days must have comprised little more than
the enceinte of the present ruined castle,) appears to have remained in
the undisturbed possession of the Mussulmans for six entire centuries.
But Ferdinand the Fourth, at length, breaking through the mountain
barrier that defended the diminished territory of the Moors, laid siege
to Algesiras, and despatched a force under Don Alonzo Perez de Guzman to
1. attack Gibraltar, which very unexpectedly fell into his hands, A.D.
1309.
2. The Moslems, under Ishmael, King of Granada, failed in an attempt to
recover it in 1315.
3. It fell, however, to the powerful army brought over from Africa by
Abdul Malik (Aboumelic), son of the Emperor of Fez, who thenceforth
assumed the title of King of Gibraltar, 1333.
4. It was besieged the same year by King Alphonso XI.; and again, with
as little success, by the same heroic monarch,
5. who died of the plague under its walls, 1349.
It now again remained in the undisputed possession of the Moslems for a
considerable period, though it was wrested from the
6. hands of the King of Fez by Jusef, King of Granada, 1411.
7. The Spaniards again ineffectually attempted to possess themselves of
it, under Don Henrique de Guzman, Conde de Nicbla, 1436.
8. But it was finally taken from the Moors by Alonzo de Arcos, Alcayde
of Tarifa, 1462.
9. From him it was taken by Don Juan de Guzman, Duke of Medina Sidonia,
1468.
It remained in the possession of the House of Guzman, until the reign of
Ferdinand and Isabella, who claimed it for the crown, but, on their
demise, Don Juan de Guzman attempted again to
10. make himself master of it, 1516.
11. The town was sacked by a Turkish squadron, 1540;
12. and bombarded by the French, when affording shelter to an English
fleet, 1693.
13. The fortress was captured by Sir George Rooke, 1704;
14. and besieged the same year, by a combined French and Spanish force,
under the Conde de Villadarias and Monsieur de Tessé. By the Treaty of
Utrecht (1713), it was ceded to England, but, immediately on the renewal
of the war, was
15. besieged by the Spaniards, under the Conde de las Torres, when the
lines across the isthmus were constructed, 1727.
16. The last and most celebrated siege was undertaken by the Spaniards
and French in 1779, and lasted until 1783.
B.
"_Una estatua de San Josef, que por su corpulencia no se podia sacar
oculta la extrajo un catolico llamado Josef Martin de Medina, colocado
sobre un caballo à imitacion de una persona que lo montaba; la afianzó
bien, la embozó con una capa i la cubrió con una montera. Otro montado à
la gurupa ayudaba à sostener al Santo, i agregandose algunos combidados
para mayor confusion i disimulo salieron por la calle real sin ser
descubiertos._"
RIGHT
_Ayala, Hist. de Gibraltar._
C.
I suspect the _apes_ tempted Mr. Carter to jump to the conclusion that
Carteia was the Tarshish of Sacred History. Nevertheless, few places
have furnished more food for conjecture than this famed city: some
antiquaries, indeed, not content with Tarshish as a mere port, or even
country, maintaining that the vast continent of Africa was so called;
whilst others, differing _toto coelo_, imagine that the word implies
the wide or open ocean!
In spite of the great authorities arrayed against the vulgar opinion,
that Tarshish is the self-same city as that situated on the southern
coast of Asia Minor, and known in after ages as Tarsus, I cannot but
subscribe to it. The difference in character between the Hebrew and
Greek languages may, not unreasonably I think, be supposed to have led
to the change in the mode of spelling and pronouncing the name of the
place; (which in point of fact is not greater than between Dover and
Douvres,) for most Jews of the present day would still pronounce Tarsus,
Tarshish; whilst modern Greeks would as certainly call Tarshish, Tarsis.
That _both_ were ports of the Mediterranean sea will hardly, I think,
admit of dispute; since Jonah[242] embarked at Joppa (Jaffa,) to proceed
to Tarshish; and Tarsus was the birth-place of St. Paul,[243] and must
have been situated on the coast, but a short distance to the northward
of Antioch.
The chief difficulty in determining _what_ and where Tarshish was,
arises from a discrepancy in the two accounts given of the building of
_Jehosaphat's_ fleet, in the Books of Kings and Chronicles: the first
stating, that the King of Judea "made ships _of_ Tarshish to go to
_Ophir_ for gold,"[244] which ships were destroyed at Ezion Geber on the
Red Sea; the latter, mentioning that the ships were built at Ezion Geber
to "_go to Tarshish_."[245]
Josephus makes the matter still more perplexing by saying, that "these
ships were built to sail to _Pontus_, and the traffic cities of Thrace,"
but were destroyed from being so unwieldy, without mentioning _where_
they were either built or destroyed; thus differing from the account in
Kings, which says they were made to go to Ophir, and, by implication,
from the account in the Book of Chronicles, which states that they were
made on the shores of the Red Sea; since vessels to trade with Pontus
and Thrace would certainly have been built at the ports of Syria.
Now it is quite evident, that _two_ of these three accounts must be
incorrect; and it is more natural to conclude that the mistake
originated in careless writing than from ignorance; since, little as the
Jews (being neither sailors nor travellers) may be supposed to have
known of foreign countries, they could not, even with their limited
knowledge of geography, have imagined that a fleet sailing from Tyre, in
the Mediterranean, was destined to the _same_ country as another fleet
built on the shores of the Red Sea. And, if they were not destined to
the _same_ country, the two places to which they were proceeding would
certainly have been distinguished by different names.
It is not, I think, unwarrantable therefore to suppose, that the Hebrew
writers, in alluding to a fleet which all accounts agree was destroyed
at the very port where it was built, may (supposing always our
translations to be perfectly correct,) have fallen into a mistake in
stating the _destination_ of that fleet, and hence that, in the Book of
Chronicles, Tarshish has been written for Ophir. This appears the more
likely when we bear in mind that the Jews, after the destruction of
Jehosaphat's fleet, do not appear to have ever again engaged in any
naval enterprises, and consequently were careless, or had no
opportunity, of correcting this mistake in their histories. In support
of this supposition, it may be farther observed that, throughout the
Scriptures, wherever the commodities brought by the fleets from Tarshish
and Ophir are mentioned, the former is stated to have come laden with
the productions of Europe and Northern Africa; whilst the latter brought
only gold and precious stones, and algum trees.
On the discrepancy above pointed out--where there is evidently a
mistake--is grounded, however, the hypothesis, that in early ages two
cities or countries bore the name of Tarshish; for such a supposition is
not at all borne out by the accounts previously given in the same Books
of Kings and Chronicles of the fleets built by Solomon; it being
particularly specified in _both_[246] that that king made (or more
properly, perhaps, _launched_) a navy of ships at Ezion Geber, on the
Red Sea, which, piloted by Tyrian sailors, proceeded to _Ophir_ for
gold. The mention which is afterwards made[247] of Tarshish, seems
merely to have been introduced to account for the vast riches of
Solomon; shewing that he had other sources whence he procured gold and
other valuables, besides Ophir.
A slight discrepancy of a similar kind to that already noticed occurs,
however, in the two accounts, in speaking of the voyage of Solomon's
fleet to Tarshish; the Book of Kings stating, that he "had at sea _a
navy of Tarshish_ with the navy of Hiram,"--the Book of Chronicles, that
the King's ships "_went to Tarshish_ with the servants of Huram."
The difference in this case is immaterial. The probability seems to be,
that Solomon built a fleet on the Red Sea to go to Ophir, because he
could not otherwise procure one: but that he _hired_ vessels to trade in
the Mediterranean; which vessels, placed under the charge of Tyrian
pilots, proceeded with his own servants (or supercargoes) to Tarshish,
or Tarsus, on the coast of Cilicia, whither, once in three years,
returned the fleet of that port,[248] bearing the produce of the more
distant countries--Spain, Barbary, the Cassiterides, and England.
And Tarsus, we may suppose, was chosen as the entrepôt for the produce
of those countries, in preference to Tyre--firstly, on account of its
being a more commodious port; and, secondly, as being better situated
for the inland trade of Asia Minor.
END OF VOL. I.
LONDON:
F. SHOBERL, JUN. 51, RUPERT STREET, HAYMARKET.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Hallam.--Europe during the Middle Ages.
[2] The causeway that connects the city of Cadiz with the Isla de Leon
is said to be a _fragment_ of a work undertaken by Hercules; the castle
of Santi Petri (built on a rocky island about five miles to the east of
the city) to be constructed from the ruins of a temple built by that
celebrated hero, and in which his bones were deposited.--Traces of this
temple may be seen at low water, near the mouth of the San Pedro river.
[3] That of Cadiz is literally a ruin.
[4] The _Torre del Oro_, in which the precious metals brought from
Mexico were formerly deposited.
[5] The Lonja was built (as the word in fact implies) for an exchange,
but, from the fallen state of Spanish commerce, it is now used as a
depôt for the American Archives.
[6] The Province of Andalusia comprises, strictly speaking, only the
three kingdoms of Seville, Cordoba, and Jaen; but that of Granada is
generally included by modern Geographers.
[7] The kingdom of Granada was founded by Mohammed Abou Said, of the
family of Alhamares, A.D. 1236.
[8] The Vale of Granada is, _par excellence_, termed La Vega. _Vega_
signifies a plain.
[9] He who has not seen Granada--has seen _nothing_.
[10] _Cosas de España!_ is a common mode of expressing the uncertainty
of every thing connected with Spain. "_Affairs of Spain._"
[11] Far be it from me to disparage the information or undervalue the
exertions of this most estimable lady, to turn the precious time of my
_all-seeing_ countrymen to the best account: on the contrary, I can with
perfect truth and from much personal experience say, that I never met
with a better General Itinerary than that she has given to the public:
and though, as regards Spain, the amount of information is scanty, yet
it is nevertheless far more correct than that contained in works I have
met with, devoted exclusively to the description of that country.
[12] There are tastes which deserve a stick.
[13] A mountain road.
[14] It may be as well, ere I start on my travels, to explain that
there are three words in Spanish by which houses of entertainment are
designated, exclusive of _Parador_, which may be considered a generic
term, implying a _place to stop at_.--The first in rank is the _Fonda_,
whereat travellers are furnished with board and lodging, but which
does not extend its accommodation to horses. Next comes the _Posada_,
which accommodates man and beast, but does not always profess to supply
nourishment to either.--The _Venta_ is a kind of roadside public house,
where bad accommodation, and whatever else the place contains, may be
had for money.
[15] A muleteer.
[16] _Olla_--an earthenware vessel. The well known cognominal mess is so
called from being cooked therein.
[17] Fill himself with gazpachos.
[18] The word tar signifies also a ridge either of a house or mountain,
and might with great propriety have been applied to the strongly-marked
outline of the rock of Gibraltar as compared with the mountains in the
neighbourhood.
[19] See Note A in the Appendix.
[20] Peculiar Spanish cap.
[21] The original Spanish is given in the Appendix B.
[22] A Year in Spain, by a young American.
[23] Young American.
[24] _The Place_--the name, par excellence, by which the Spaniards
distinguish Gibraltar.
[25] Mountaineers.
[26] "We are all corrupt." Such were the words of Merino Guerra, at
his parting interview with the late Sir George Don at Gibraltar, on
proceeding--an exile--to South America.
[27] Napoleon certainly succeeded in making his Satraps honest. In his
latter days, Massena would not have dared to repeat the witty reply
made to the _First Consul_ before all the Republican Generals, on his
accusing him of being "_un voleur_." "_Oui, mon General, je suis un
voleur, tu es un voleur, il est un voleur--nous sommes des voleurs, vous
êtes des voleurs, ils sont tous des voleurs._"
[28] "_El Presidente e Individuos de la Junta de Sanidad de la Ciudad de
Gibraltar, que por la material pérdida de su plaza reside en esta de San
Roque de su Campo, &c._"--Such was the heading of the Bill of health,
with which I travelled when last in Spain.
[29] The punishment of death by strangulation is so called, from the
_short stick_, by turning which an iron collar, that goes round the
criminal's neck, is brought so tight as to cause instant death.
[30] The usual complimentary mode of expression amongst Spaniards, which
has no more meaning than the "Obedient humble Servant" at the bottom of
an English letter.
[31] He had fallen in with Capt. Tupper of the 23d Fuzileers (with whom
he was well acquainted) on his way to Algeciras, who had accompanied
him to San Roque. Poor Tupper! led away by a somewhat quixotic love of
strife, he was persuaded in an unlucky moment to throw up his company
in one of the first regiments in the British service, to become the
_Colonel_ of a regiment of adventurers, and was killed whilst gallantly
leading on his men at the first attack on _Hernani_ of fatal memory.
[32] A Spanish _pillared_ dollar.
[33] Blue blood.
[34] The term _Tertulia_ was originally applied to an assembly of
_Literati_, which met to discuss the opinions held by _Tertulian_, and
even to this day those who attend these, now festive, meetings, are
called _Tertulianos_.
The following lines contain a biting satire on the _Tertulians_ of the
olden time, (for they can hardly be applied to those of the present) and
might perhaps not inaptly be addressed to other self-appointed literary
judges in various parts of the world.
_Y entraron los Tertulianos--rigidissimos jueces, que
sedientes de Aganipe, se enjuagan; pero no beben._
which may be thus freely translated.--Thirsting, the Tertulians arrive
at Aganippe's fountain; infallible judges!--They rinse their mouths, but
drink not.
[35] Lit:--_a sigh_--a kind of puff made principally of sugar, which
dissolves immediately on being dipped in water.
[36] An open court. Most Spanish houses are built so as to enclose a
court or garden--which in summer is much used by the family, being
protected from the sun by a canvass awning.
[37] Widow of Sir Emanuel Viale--Roman Consul in Gibraltar.
[38] 1st Book of Kings, ch. 10. v. 22. See Note C in Appendix.
[39] According to Strabo, however, the original founder of this city was
Hercules, from whom it received the name of Heraclea.
[40] Pieces of Artillery.
[41] Large game.
[42] The Spanish term for a shooting party, where beaters are employed
to drive the game.
[43] This must not be confounded with the more celebrated _Genil_.
[44] _Aqui se vende buen vino_--Here good wine is sold.
[45] Posadero--keeper of a Posada--Innkeeper.
[46] Spaniards never say the Spanish grammar, the Spanish tongue,
&c.--but _La Gramatica Castellana_--_La Lingua Castellana_, &c.
[47] With every convenience.
[48] Little sister.
[49] Strictly speaking, _Knights_, but applied to all gentry.
[50] Parlour.
[51] Literally translated--people of _hair_, but here evidently meaning
people of _substance_.
[52] Infant God.
[53] A _hot_ Gaspacho, which consists of the same materials as the
_Gazpacho fresco_, but, when an evening meal, is usually heated at the
fire.
[54] Thieves.
[55] Chief magistrate, where there is no _Corregidor_.
[56] One does not depart a point from the truth.--Don Quijote.
[57] Fowling-piece.
[58] Black pudding.
[59] God assists him who rises early.
[60] A little charity, for the love of God.
[61] Quite correct.
[62] God go with you.
[63] Custom-house officer.
[64] There are various league measures in Spain.--1st. The _Legua
geografica_, of which there are 17-1/2 in a degree of the meridian;
2ndly, the _Legua de Marina_, or of "an hour's journey;" and 3rdly,
the _Legua legal_. Of the two last, a degree contains 20 and 26-1/2
respectively. The leagues on the _post-roads_ of Andalusia must
be calculated at the second of these measures; that is, at three
British statute miles, and 807 yards each: but on the cross roads the
measurement depends upon whether the leagues are specified as being
_largas_, _cortas_, or _regulares_, which may be computed at 5, 3, and
4 miles respectively, whilst that of "_una hora_" (an hour) may be
reckoned like a post league, at 3-1/2 very nearly.
[65] Friar's rock.
[66] Here, brother Sancho, we may thrust our hands (arms?) up to the
elbows in what are called adventures.
[67] So it is said.
[68] Publican.
[69] Off!--Jesus! Maria! Joseph!--my barley! my hemp! every thing will
be destroyed!
[70] Little market.
[71] On this subject see further at Chapter XV., vol. II.
[72] Gibraltar was recaptured from the Spaniards by Abou Melic, the
year following his arrival in Spain; and he assumed the title of King
of Ronda, Algeciras, and Gibraltar.--He fell at the battle of Arcos,
where his army was completely routed by that of Alphonso the Eleventh,
commanded by the Grand Master of Calatrava, A.D. 1339.
[73] And, in the course of time, the _Hisna_ trimming (Randa) has been
torn off, and the place called Ronda.
[74] Gentry--from _Hidalgo_ (_Higo de algo_). _Son of Somebody._
[75] A.D. 1735. Part of this bold arch is yet visible.
[76] Ficus indicus.
[77] A body corporate of the nobility, whose province is chiefly to
encourage the breed of horses.--The present male competitor for the
crown of Spain was Grand Master of the R. Maestranza of Ronda, during
the lifetime of Ferdinand VII.
[78] It was no unusual thing to send Regiments, that were very much in
arrears of pay, to garrison the lines in front of Gibraltar; and so well
was the reason of their being sent there understood, that sometimes
they would take the settlement of accounts _into their own hands_. I
recollect the Regiment of _La Princesa_ refusing--Officers and Men--to
embark for Ceuta, because they had not been allowed to remain long
enough before Gibraltar to pay themselves. The regiment was permitted to
remain three months longer, and at the expiration of that time embarked
perfectly satisfied: a rare instance of _moderation_.
[79] A bushel nearly.
[80] A real vellon is equal to 2-1/2 pence.
[81] At Ronda even an Octogenarian is a Chicken.
[82] May you die at Ronda, bearing pig-skins.
[83] Well planted.
[84] The Greek peasant may also perhaps be excepted.
[85] The word _Majo_ originally signified Bravo, or Bully, but is now
applied to such as court distinction by an extravagant style of dress.
It is almost confined to the South of Spain.
[86] _Haca_--a Pony--though the term is applied to horses of all sorts.
Our word _hack_ is evidently derived therefrom, and Hackney from
_Hacanea_, the diminutive of Haca.
[87] To a rogue, a rogue and a half.
[88] There is no vessel to measure tastes, nor scales, by which they can
be tried.
[89] The public walk of every Spanish town is so called.--The word is
derived from _Alamo_, a poplar.
[90] A small silver coin.
[91] Revoltingly as this exclamation from a lady's mouth would sound
to "ears polite" in England, yet it is in common use, even in the
first circle of Spanish Society. The different manner of pronouncing
the J, making it _Hèsus_, mitigates in some degree the disgust with
which it cannot but be heard by Englishmen: the word appearing to have
a different import, as it were, until the ear becomes accustomed to
its use. The vulgarisms of one nation are often thus passed over by
another,--most fortunately in some instances,--for with married couples
it frequently happens this "ignorance is bliss."
[92] Literally--Courses.
[93] Bull-fighters.
[94] An Amateur.
[95] Literally, _Jester_.--The term has probably been applied to the
bull-fighter's _assistant_, from the part he acts in drawing the
animal's attention.
[96] A long club stick, with which the shepherds and others keep
their flocks in order, and bring to the Bull-fights to signify their
impatience and displeasure, by striking it against the wood-work.
[97] Acenipo, according to Ptolemy. The ruined city was discovered A.D.
1650, and the coins, inscriptions, and statues, that have been found
there, leave no doubt of its being the Acenippo mentioned by Pliny
as one of the cities of _Celtica_, (Lib iii.) the situation of which
country had long been matter of dispute; some supposing it to have been
on the banks of the Guadiana.
[98] Carter, who it is clear never visited the spot, fancied it was the
Guadiaro itself that issued from the _Cueva del Gato_.
[99] Custom-house officers.
[100] All ashes and coal, like a fairy's treasure.
[101] With a clear and tranquil voice.--_Don Quijote._
[102] Wild olive.
[103] _Los Reyes Catolicos_--the title by which Ferdinand and Isabella
are invariably distinguished.
[104] The Pass of the horror-struck Moor.
[105] Mountaineer.
[106] Native of Cadiz.
[107] The niche which marks the direction of Mecca.
[108] _Dios guarde à usted_--God preserve you.
[109] _Road of partridges._ Any particularly wild and stony track is so
called in Spain, from such localities being the favourite resort of that
bird.
[110] A train of men and beasts, from the Arabic, _Kafel_.
[111] The cry by which muleteers keep their animals on the move. This
word is the root of the term _arriero_, applied generally to the drivers
of beasts of burthen.
[112] A cigar, made entirely of tobacco (in the usual way), is so called
by the country people, who very seldom consume "the weed" in that form.
[113] _The cross of astonishment_--meaning the hurried cross which a
devout Romanist describes upon his person, whenever unexpectedly exposed
to danger.
[114] Literally, a _man of whisker_--but meaning a bold fellow.
[115] Very bad people.
[116] God give you a bad Easter--_desunt cætera_.
[117] How droll the squint-eyed fellow is!
[118] He-goat--which, in allusion to his horns, is used as a term of
reproach.
[119] Fortune always leaves a door open.
[120] A corruption of the word _Arabes_.
[121] River of the city.
[122] The fans mostly used are made of kid-skin, richly gilt at the
back, and painted on the other side.--A Spanish belle does not hesitate
to expend thirty or forty dollars on her fan, though she should have to
live on _Gazpacho_ for a month, to make up for her extravagance.
[123] De situ Orbis: Lib. 2. Cap. 6.
[124] Treasury.
[125] The name given to cigars composed of chopped tobacco rolled up in
_paper_, the latter item furnishing by far the greater portion of the
_smoke_.
[126] Punch and eggs.
[127] Without cares.
[128] Buffo.
[129] Literally, _strong houses_. They are brick forts of small
dimensions, presenting, generally, a bastioned front on the land side,
and a semi-circular battery, en barbette, to the sea.
[130] The _village_ of Alcaucin, erroneously placed in Lopez' and other
maps _on_ the road, is situated about half a mile from it, on the right
hand.
[131] Woe is me, Alhama!
[132] The accounts of the founder of the kingdom of Granada differ
materially.--Florez says that he was but a common ploughman, and that
the surname of Alhamar was given him from his ruddy complexion.--Others,
however, (and I think with greater appearance of truth,) maintain that
he was a distinguished inhabitant of _Arjona_, of which place he made
himself Lord previous to founding the kingdom of Granada, and that he
belonged to the tribe of Alhamars, from Couffa, on the Red Sea.
[133] _Torre de la Vela_--the loftiest tower of the Alhambra.
[134] Al Hamara--the red.
[135] A small Spanish coin.
[136] This is the court of the Lions.
[137] Of most volume--meaning importance.
[138] A kind of drum, having a small hole in the parchment at one end,
through which a close fitting stick is worked up and down so as to
produce a noise like that made by a wheel requiring grease.
[139] The point to which Mohammedans turn when praying.
[140] Seat of the Moors.
[141] The _little_ unfortunate, in allusion rather to the size of his
person than the extent of his misfortunes.
[142] Watch Tower.
[143] The handsome.
[144] Florez--España Sagrada.
[145] From the Arabic word _suk_, a place of sale.
[146] Dost thou know me?
[147] The husband of this lady was at the time of which I write, as
he has lately again been, Prime Minister of Spain. Though universally
admitted to be a man of great talent, his views are considered too
"_confined_" for "the circumstances of the country;" and he has each
time been obliged to make way for more "_stirring men_."
[148] I have already warned my readers, that in publishing the journal
of my various wanderings, it did not form part of my plan to specify
dates with any precision. I should perhaps state, however, that it
was _not_ on the occasion of my first visit to Granada that I saw the
Marquis of Montijo, nor, indeed, do I think he had then retired from
public life. But, at all events, if his so doing be considered a matter
of history, it is so unimportant a one, as to excuse my here describing
him eight or ten years older, and much more infirm, than he really was
at the time of which I write.
[149] War to the knife.
[150] I certainly am right in calling the old lady gover_nor_, since we
pray in our churches for "our most gracious queen and governor."
[151] St. James; the patron saint of Spain.
[152] Though you dress up a monkey in silk, a monkey he remains.
[153] I speak only of the officers of the _Regular_ army, not of the
_Guerrilla_ chieftains, who, without performing the prodigies of valour
_stated by themselves_, often behaved most gallantly, manoeuvered with
great skill, and did good service to the general cause.
[154] The name of an estate granted to the Duke of Wellington.--See
Chap. xiii., Vol. 2.
[155] The amount of population in Spanish towns is calculated by
vecinos; the term in a literal sense meaning neighbours, but in this
case implying _hearths_, or _families_. Each _vecino_ is computed at six
souls, unless they are specified as being _escasos_, (scanty) when five
only are reckoned for each.
[156] _Hirtius--de Bello Hisp._
[157] The Eton Atlas, however, places _Ulia_ on the spot where _Castrò
el Rio_ now stands, and gives the name of _Silicense_ to the River
Guadajoz.
[158] _That_ Spanish gentleman.
[159] A very small parlour.
[160] A common ejaculation of all Spaniards.
[161] Real Habana cigars are so called, though those made at the Royal
Manufactories in Spain more properly deserve the _lawful_ distinction.
[162] _Cuidado_--care! meaning be careful. The Andalusians invariably
slur over, or altogether omit, the _d_ in the final syllable, which
forms the past participle of most of the Spanish verbs. I once heard of
a dispute between an Irish and a Scotch soldier, touching the _true_
pronunciation of the name, _Badajos_,--one maintaining that it was _Bi
Jadus_, the other _Baddyhoose_. The question was finally referred to
an Andaluz contrabandista in company to decide. The Spaniard, after
gravely listening to both modes, declared that, of the two, Sandy's was
the nearer approach to the _real Castillian_, which he pronounced to be
_Ba'jos_, Anglice _Bah-hose_.
[163] The smoking of a cigar.
[164] With perfect confidence--and it is astonishing and highly
flattering to our national character what confidence all Spaniards
place in us on a very slight acquaintance. A remarkable instance of
this occurred to my friend Budgen (whose name I have once before taken
the liberty of mentioning in these pages), when returning home alone
one afternoon, from shooting in the Almoraima forest. A well dressed
and well mounted Spaniard, who had trotted past and eyed him very hard
several times, addressing some common-place observation to him on each
occasion, at length, having ascertained to his satisfaction that, in
spite of a half Spanish costume, he was an Englishman, reined his
horse up alongside, and said he had a particular favour to ask. "It is
granted, if in my power," was the reply. "I have here, then," added the
Spaniard, "a number of doubloons," mentioning a very considerable sum,
"which I want to smuggle into _La Plaza_, for the purchase of various
goods. Your person will not be examined by the custom-house officers at
_the Lines_, whereas mine is sure to be. Will you, therefore, oblige me
by carrying them in for me, and lodging them at the house of ---- and
Co.?" "Did you ever _see_ me before," demanded my astonished friend,
"that you ask me to do this?" "No," replied the other; "but I see
_you are an Englishman_." Thanking him for the compliment paid to the
national character by this proof of trust, our countryman added, that he
must nevertheless decline doing what was asked of him, as the confidence
shown by the Spanish government in suffering Englishmen to pass into
Gibraltar without examination would be badly returned by such an act.
The Spaniard (fully appreciating the high sense of honour that dictated
this answer) expressed a hope that he had not given offence, wished him
good day, and rode forward.
[165] Scorpions.
[166] "_What about Religion? stuff!_" Many of my readers may suppose,
that this sanguinary and summary mode of establishing a constitutional
government is an _original_ project of my own, put into the mouth of
_Tio Blas_; but I can assure them it is _word for word_ a _translation_.
[167] To strut the streets like peacocks.
[168] The Andalusian peasants usually wear a handkerchief round the
head, under the _sombrero_, to absorb the perspiration.
[169] In England the state of the roads is such, as to enable us to
dispense with an adjective signifying _passable_ for a carriage; the
Spaniards have not an equally good excuse for this deficiency in their
vocabulary: I venture therefore to translate the expressive Italian word
_carrozzabile_.
[170] Chief magistrate of a town, who is never a native of the place.
[171] The names of these places, though communicated to me in the first
instance, are now withheld, at the narrator's particular request.
[172] Something between a town and a village.
[173] Surname.
[174] In an open country.
[175] To preach in the desert.
[176] Address as _you_.
[177] She is now in heaven.
[178] It is a common saying amongst the _Serranos_, "Kill your man, and
fly to Olbera for safety."
[179] The daughter badly married than well maintained.
[180] Literally, with outstretched foot--at his ease.
[181] I can fancy some hypercritical persons quarrelling with this
expression of the worthy Señor Blas; since Ceuta is not actually an
island. But it is cut off from the main land by so wide a salt water
ditch, that I think he was almost warranted in using the word sea-girt.
[182] Scarecrow.
[183] Band.
[184] To gain friends is to put money out to interest, and sow on
irrigated soil.
[185] With closed eyes--i. e. without hesitation.
[186] I interrupted the Señor Blas here, asking him if Valencia was not
an _open city_? "Yes, _Señor Critico_," he replied, "but have not houses
walls?"
[187] Holyly into the house.
[188] Conceived without sin--the invariable _acknowledgment_ of the _Ave
Maria_ which a devout Spaniard pronounces on crossing the threshold of a
house, be it even to commit murder.
[189] Raw garlic and pure wine make one travel safely.
[190] To an old dog you need not say _tus tus_.
[191] A nickname for Frenchmen.
[192] More wind than fire.
[193] Charcoal furnaces.
[194] Quarter.
[195] For him who sees so well, one eye is enough.
[196] Literally, _do you expend tobacco_?
[197] Punk made of a dried fungus that grows round the roots of the cork
tree.
[198] Bomb-cigar.
[199] Literally, bulls and canes--i. e. high words.
[200] Throw that bone to another dog.
[201] A precipice before, wolves behind.
[202] Scare _wolves_.
[203] Strike the iron whilst it is hot.
[204] Sash--The Spanish peasants carry their money wrapped up within the
folds of their wide sashes.
[205] Literally, _make the fig_, that is, thrust the thumb between the
fore and middle fingers in sign of contempt.
[206] Give a quittance.
[207] Feet uppermost.
[208] Peculiar sailing boat.
[209] It was founded by Ferdinand and Isabella, whilst laying siege to
Granada.
[210] Most Spanish houses are built in a square form, enclosing an open
court, or _patio_. A servant "answers the door," by raising the latch,
by means of a pulley, and demanding your business from the gallery of
the first floor, a plan which would be attended with _considerable
inconvenience_ in London.
[211] Arm-chair.
[212] Fire.
[213] Cat for hare.
[214] In the mouth of fame.
[215] Where envy reigns, there virtue cannot live.
The lines of Burns,
"O wad some pow'r, the giftie gie us,
To see oursels as others see us!"
often occurred to me in the course of Señor Blas's story.
[216] Of extracting the teeth from one who has been hanged.
[217] Old crony.
[218] _Pépé_, short for Josef.--_Alamin_, faithful.
[219] Without stoppage.
[220] To wit.
[221] An olla without _bacon_--an essential ingredient for its
well-being.
[222] Dress worn by the herdsmen, made of sheepskins.
[223] He who neglects to take a rope may be drowned.
[224] To the deed with a good heart.
[225] Making the salaam.
[226] Literally, by who God is.
[227] Gipsy.
[228] Wild boar.
[229] The _moderates_ were distinguished by wearing a ring--whence the
term.
[230] An olla that boils long loses much.
[231] This was the general opinion amongst the Spanish _liberales_.
[232] "_Well then_"--a conjunctional expression with which, and sundry
_conques_ (with which), a Spaniard takes up and links together the
different portions of a _cuenta_, the narration of which is generally
interrupted by the necessity for lighting a fresh cigar, striking a
fresh light, or getting rid of a superabundant supply of smoke. I have
been purposely chary of these expressions, not to prolong a story which,
even without them, many may think is somewhat tediously spun out.
[233] Which may be thus literally translated (_si se ofrece algo_)
if any thing occurs, ( ...) a hiatus that is filled up with a shrug
of the shoulders; an expansion of the hands, palms outwards, and
corresponding contortion of the muscles of the cheeks; all of which,
like Lord Burleigh's shake of the head, has a wonderfully comprehensive
meaning--viz., in which I can in any way serve you, (_ustedes no tienen
que mandar_,) you have but to give me your orders.
[234] My house, my wife, my servants--every thing I possess is at your
disposal.
[235] A much better, indeed a very good inn, has since been established.
See chapter 2, vol. ii.
[236] _Zancarron de Mahoma_ is a contemptuous way of speaking amongst
Spaniards of the bones of the prophet, which the Mussulmans go to visit
at Mecca.
[237] Court of the Orange-trees.
[238] This was previous to the present civil war.
[239] "Swallow it;" the substance of the song being, if you do not like
it (the constitution), you must swallow it, dog!
[240] Thanks, my daughter, many thanks.
[241] A female dog.
[242] Jonah, ch. i., v. 3.
[243] Acts. ch. ix., v. 11.
[244] 1st Kings, ch. xxii., v. 48.
[245] 2nd Chron., ch. xx., v. 36.
[246] 1st Kings, ch. ix., v. 26., and 2nd Chron., ch. viii., v. 17 and
18.
[247] 1st Kings, ch. x., v. 22, and 2nd Chron., ch. ix., v. 21.
[248] Ezekiel, ch. xxvii., v. 12.
* * * * *
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
Zefaraya Mountains=> Zafaraya Mountains {pg v contents}
An English Conntry Dance=> An English Country Dance {pg vi contents}
Occnpied by a Cavalry Regiment=> Occupied by a Cavalry Regiment {pg vi
contents}
the commerce of the country detroyed=> the commerce of the country
detroyed {pg 4}
vous etes des voleurs=> vous êtes des voleurs {pg 40 n.}
They rince their mouths=> They rinse their mouths {pg 52 n.}
eluded his viligance=> eluded his vigilance {pg 98}
bright eyed-acquaintances=> bright-eyed acquaintances {pg 128}
the first days _corrida_=> the first day's _corrida_ {pg 133}
the stangers=> the strangers {pg 134}
answering his decription=> answering his description {pg 168}
that protuded above=> that protruded above {pg 184}
by the rapid progress of the christian arms=> by the rapid progress of
the Christian arms {pg 203}
Genaralife=> Generalife {pg 259}
encicle the traveller=> encircle the traveller {pg 282}
have given orders not be disturbed=> have given orders not to be
disturbed {pg 381}
foothpath to the river=> footpath to the river {pg 382}
I solemly protested=> I solemnly protested {pg 400}