the clouds, or covered with snow. The town of Fuengerola in the valley, and the small white houses, interspersed among the vineyards upon the rising ground, were admirably contrasted with the various green tints below, and the brown and red colour of the marble mountains which towered majestically above.

We reached the posada at Fuengerola about noon, and rested ourselves and our horses; the house was filled with tubs, in which they were salting Sardinias and anchovies. These fish, slightly cured, are packed in baskets, and conveyed on asses into the mountainous parts of the country, where they are considered a most desirable and luxurious repast. The price paid by the curers to the fishermen is about half dollar the bushel. We left Fuengerola at half past one, expecting, as the distance was only four leagues, to reach Malaga early in the afternoon; but we found the road most intolerably bad, which, how ever, was amply compensated for by the beauty of the prospects.

About one hour's ride brought us to the foot of a mountain, which we had to ascend; the road, or rather the pathway, is a mere fissure in the marble rock, worn by the rains, and through which the stream tumbles over the rocks in a very pleasing manner. By the edge of this stream the cattle have worn steps, up which our horses scrambled with the agility of goats; but when they had nearly gained the summit, we met a herd of oxen, which had been landed at Malaga from Africa, and which two Moors were driving to Gibraltar. As we were forced to proceed in single file, the Moors, with much difficulty, drove the cattle out of our way, up a craggy place almost perpendicular, when, after considerable delay, we got through the

pass.

The country then became enchanting, and was highly cultivated; indeed, richness and beauty are the prominent characteristics of the vicinity of Benalmeida. A clear stream of water turns a series of mills placed one above the other, which are appropriated to grinding corn, making paper, and fulling cloth; and from the height from which the streams descend, their power is very great, and would prove an invaluable benefit to an industrious people.

We descended from Benalmeida by a dreadful road, and continued two hours in a most dreary country, with the lofty Sierra on one hand, and a barren rocky soil on the other; rendered yet more gloomy by a number of crucifixes, placed as mementos of the travellers who had formerly been murdered in this savage wilderness. After passing a large building, in which a manufactory of playing cards is carried on by the government, whence this part of Spain and Spanish America is supplied, we reached the delightful village of Torre-molinos; and beyond it the plain, about eight miles in breadth, at the termination of which Malaga stands, was spread before us.

Torre-molinos abounds with beautiful streams of water, which are used in irrigating the sugar and rice plantations that cover the plain. These two articles, with cocoa, coffee, indigo, and cotton, are the most abundant productions. The latter is of a quality as fine as that known in England by the appellation of Sea Island, and which is raised in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The borders of the mountains, that surround this plain, are covered with fig, almond, plumb, and pomegranate trees; while the upper parts, to the very summit, are covered with vines. In no part of the world, not even in Arabia itself, is water held in greater estimation than in Spain; and

you

if ask a Spaniard the character of any town or district of coun try, his highest praise is "hay buena agua," there is good water.

In the Sierra, near to Torre-molinos, there are several large natural excavations, which are well calculated for places of concealment. In one of them Marcus Crassus was hid eight months, when he fled from the proscription of Cinna and Marius, in which his father and brother had suffered. Plutarch relates the narrative of his concealment at much length; by which it appears, that Crassus escaped from Rome, and landed here with three friends and ten servants; but finding, on his arrival, that orders had been issued for his death, he hid himself in a cave, and sent intelligence of his concealment to Vibius, whom his father, while consul in Spain, had patronised. Vibius wished to preserve him, but dreaded the rage of the tyrants: he directed one of his domestics to prepare provisions daily, and leave them at a rock near the cave: he charged him not to examine the cave, and assured him of his favour if he obeyed his orders, and betrayed no curiosity as to the cause of them. Crassus and his companions thus remained concealed eight months, till the death of Cinna was known, when he made his appearance, collected a small army of two thousand five hundred men, and, according to some accounts, seized the city of Malaga, and pillaged the surrounding country.

We passed over the plain, through a village called Churiana, where the rich inhabitants of Malaga have country houses, and gardens well stocked with the most delicious fruits; among others, with the pine-apple, and the chirimoya of Peru, which are cultivated in no part of Europe, except at this place and in the vicinity of Valencia.

We forded the river of Guadalmedina, which we found

very shallow, though it is frequently so deep and rapid as to be impassable, and arrived at the posada, de los quartros naciones, about six o'clock, where we had the unexpected pleasure of meeting two of our countrymen, with whom we had parted two months before at Seville.

.

During the whole of our journey from Gibraltar to Malaga, a distance of nearly one hundred miles, we did not meet a single horse, excepting one which an officer was riding. The flocks of goats in some places were considerable; the sheep were thinly scattered, and of a small breed, with black wool: and the oxen almost as scarce as the horses. Except on the beach, the road was formed by mere tracks worn by the hoofs of the asses and mules; but no appearance of the labour of man was visible. No part of the road was passable for wheel carriages of any description; nor do I believe such a contrivance was ever seen in these parts, There are no bridges, and in rainy seasons the travellers must wait on the banks of the rivers till the waters have subsided, or ascend the mountains by circuitous routes, to reach fords where they are passable. Every thing is car ried on asses, the race of which is very strong, and almost as high as our small galloways.

LIKE all Spanish towns, Malaga is a most beautiful object at a distance, but will not bear a near inspection. The Alameyda is the only part of the town which is handsome, and that is truly magnificent. It consists of a foot-walk in the middle, about eighty feet wide, with orange and oleander trees planted on each side: without these are good carriage roads, and on both sides a row of sumptuous and elegant houses. When the trees grow, to a size large enough to afford shade, it will be a charming spot, but at present they are not much taller than shrubs. At the end of this walk is placed a beautiful marble fountain, consisting of three basons ranged above each other, and gradually diminishing in size: from the lower bason a column rises, supported by beautiful female figures, on which the second rests: the third bason is raised on a similar column, supported by other groupes of figures, and the whole work is beautifully executed. It is said to have been a present from the republic of Genoa to the Emperor Charles the Fifth; on its passage it was captured by an

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