under them, were spread on the marble floor, and we had the luxury of clean sheets to dispose us to a comfortable night's sleep. Having so good a house, we shall spend the time necessary for seeing the curiosities of this place with less impatience than if we were worse accommodated; and though yesterday the weather was bad, and the night cold, we have this morning a clear sky, and a warm sun to enliven us.

LETTER XLVIII.

FERTILITY OF RONDA CRESTA DE GALLO MINERAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE

THIS city contains about twenty thousand inhabitants, who are a hardy race of people, and have much the appearance of the natives of the north of Europe: the complexion of many of them approaches almost to ruddy, but with those peculiarly expressive features which distinguish the middle and lower classes in Andalusia. The fertile fields and productive gardens which surround Ronda, afford to its people abundant means of subsistence; besides wine, oil, and corn, which they enjoy in common with other parts of the province, they have a profusion of all the fruits and vegetables of our more northern climate: the apples and pears with which the trees are loaded, equal or excel in flavour those of our own country; and the cities of Cadiz and Seville, while they are supplied with oranges, lemons, grapes, and pomegranates, from their more immediate vicinity, are furnished from this quarter with the vegetable luxuries of northern Europe.

while the rest of the country presented nothing but extensive woods of cork and oak trees, under which thousands of pigs were feeding on the acorns that had dropped. The cork tree is a species of oak, resembling those of England, but is neither so lofty nor so shady; the leaves do not fall in the winter, the acorns are somewhat bitter, and are not eaten by the people, but the swine fatten on them. There are two other species of oaks; one is an ever-green, but the other drops its leaves in the autumn; neither of them, however, grows to a very large size, nor are those in Andalusia calculated for ship-building. The ship-timber for the Spanish navy is produced in the northern part of the Peninsula.

We reached El Burgo, a town containing about 1,500 inhabitants, in five hours, and being most completely wet, were glad to surround a large fire, in company with an assemblage of muleteers, carriers, recruits, and contrabandists, who had taken shelter from a most tremendous storm. After some refreshment we left El Burgo, and ascended another mountain, of prodigious height. As we advanced towards the summit, we found that the storm, which in the comparatively low ground where we had encountered it had descended in the form of rain, had here fallen in that of snow; part of which lay on the ground, while the rest melted, and formed a torrent in the road. As we advanced to a still higher level, we found the snow had frozen, and become hard; and on the very highest part that we passed we just reached the line of perpetual snow, which, as I before noticed, is about 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, and is the highest elevation to which we ascended. On both sides of the

pass through which we got over the mountain the still higher points rose majes

tically above our heads, and we were informed that, occasionally, the frozen snow fell into the pass in such quantities as for several days to block the road entirely.

up

From the top of the pass we first saw the rich plain on which this city stands; for, though on an elevation of 1,500 yards above the level of the sea, the higher mountains around it give it the appearance of a valley, which is richly adorned with corn fields, fruittrees, and transparent streams. Four of the highest peaks, which in a clear day are visible at Cadiz, retain the snow, which is preserved through the summer in caverns, and is sent, packed in chaff, for the supply of Cadiz, Seville, and Gibraltar.

On descending into the plain, by tremendous roads, we got into a warmer climate, and were surrounded by trees of every variety of verdure. About a league from this city the ruins of Acinipo, vulgarly called Old Ronda, are situated: they are very extensive, and the vestiges of the wall, which formerly surrounded the city, are easily traced. Within this wall is a pile, which was evidently a Roman amphitheatre; though at present there are only eight rows of seats entire, there is reason to believe from the ruins, that the account we received of there having been originally twenty-eight, is not incorrect. It must certainly have been much larger than that at Italica, near Seville. One part of the outer wall is in a state which enabled me to form a judgment of its height, which I calculate to be nearly seventy feet: it is thrown down, and reclines against a hill, but the solidity of the cement retains the fragment together. Within these walls another edifice may be distinctly traced, which is

The plains in this district abound with cattle, and the hills with

game of all kinds; the roebuck and fallow deer are found on the sides of the mountains, and the wild boar is common among the woods. Wolves are very numerous on these mountains, and are sometimes so fierce, as to attack horses or mules, while the riders are on their backs, but they are alarmed at fire-arms; and, as I have before remarked, a peasant never goes from home without carrying a gun.

About a league south-east from the city, is the highest of the mountains, which is called Cresta de Gallo (the cock's comb) which has a very singular appearance, and is frequently the first land seen by navigators on approaching Cadiz it consists of two ridges, parallel to each other, and joined at the bottom; one is quite red, and though it is rather the highest, the snow never lies on it; the other is white, and its top is always covered with snow, so that when in summer it is scarce in other parts, a never-failing supply may be obtained from it. No trees grow on the white ridge, except oak or cork, and on the red ridge none but pines. The former contains iron ore in great abundance, and the latter almost mineral except every iron. The waters which issue from the white ridge are chalybeate, or vitriolic: and those from the red, sulphureous or alkaline.

A mine of black lead (molybdena) in these mountains was formerly worked, but within the last twenty years it has been totally neglected. Tin was also found here, but the manufactory for tinning iron plates having been so ill conducted as to make the plates cost more than those brought from England, both the mine and the manufactory have been suffered to decay. The great quantity of iron ore in these mountains, where it is found in small balls, not much larger than