BOOK CXXXIX. Xeres. Cadiz. place in the province to Ayamonte, lies at the mouth of the Guadiana; as it was formerly called Lucifer, it has been supposed that the god of light was worshipped in the town, it carries on a trade in wines, in the produce of the adjoining districts, and in different sorts of liqueurs. The neighbouring country is very fruitful, but on the opposite bank of the river, sandy plains as sterile as the deserts of Africa extend to a considerable distance. Rota, a place celebrated for its wines, rises on the coast. Xeres or Jeres de la Frontera, the ancient Asta Regia, stands at the foot of a hill in a very fruitful part of the country. The produce of the vineyards amounts annually to 7758 tuns, they are deposited in cellars which from their extent and solidity may be mentioned among the curiosities of the town. An old wall in which arcades and passages have been cut, divides Xeres into two parts. On one side of the wall, the streets are narrow, and the houses are ill built; on the other, the streets are broad and regular, composed chiefly of neat and well built houses. The royal castle, remarkable for its large towers, appears to be a very ancient building. Arcos de la Frontera, a small town with long streets, ill adapted for foot passengers, because they are wholly unpaved, rises at the distance of four leagues from Xères on the steep banks of the Guadalete. It is situated in the same district as the last town; antiquaries consider it the ancient Arcobriga. It is necessary to cross the Guadalete to visit Cadiz, that important city, whose inhabitants are said to be the most civilized in Spain, but who imprudently and without any chance of success erected twice the standard of independence in the course of fifteen years. Gaddir, which signifies a fortified place, was the ancient name of Cadiz; the same name was afterwards changed into Gades by the Greeks and Romans. Strabo attributes the foundation of Gades to the Phenicians; he compares it with the most powerful towns in Italy, although the inhabitants, says the geographer, possess only a small island and little land on the continent, they arm the largest and the greatest number of vessels that are employed in the commerce of the Mediterranean and the ocean. Cadiz, from the advantages of its position, may still be ranked among the most commercial towns in Europe. That part of the Spanish coast has undergone many changes since the time of Strabo; it is probable, however, that the natural mole which unites Cadiz with the island of Leon did not exist in his time, or that Gades was situated in an island, which has since become a Peninsula. This opinion appears to be confirmed by Pliny, who says that the town is situated in an island near the island of Juno, which can be no other than that of Leon. BOOK CXXXIX. tions. Cadiz is at present the chief town in one of the three Fortificamaritime departments in Spain. Defended on all sides by ramparts and bastions, nature as well as art have contributed to its safety. It is guarded by sand banks and rocks towards the north and the west, and on these rocks are the two forts of St. Catherine and St. Sebastian. To add to its security, the Cortadura or canal has been cut across the headland that unites it to Leon; by this means every communication with the island may be easily intercepted. The blockade made by the French lasted from the year 1809 to 1812, but the only inconvenience which the inhabitants sustained, was that of bringing water at a considerable expense from the port of St. Mary, for there are no wells or springs in the town. The houses are well built and Buildings. whitened with great care; their projecting roofs may darken the streets, but they serve as a shade against the rays of the sun. The town as a whole may bear a comparison with any other in Spain, but the edifices are by no means remarkable; the cathedral is small and shabby, the townhouse is an irregular edifice of very ordinary architecture, the prison is without doubt the finest building in Cadiz. The good order that prevails in the interior of the prison, and the discipline to which the prisoners are subjected, are creditable to the public functionaries. If it be considered that besides the foundling hospital there are five others, one of which contains 800 persons, who are cleanly and well kept, it may be allowed that the inhabitants are neither deficient in charity, nor injudicious in the Book III. chap. 5. 4. BOOK CXXXIX. Medina method of administering it. The people of Cadiz are said to be better informed than the other Spaniards; at all events, if they are not so, it is not for want of schools; it contains, besides many others, a seminary and college, of which the professors and teachers are jesuits; an academy of fine arts, a naval seminary, schools of mathematics, surgery and medicine. The island of Leon is separated from the continent by a branch of the sea 600 feet in breadth, which the Spaniards call the Rio Santi-Petri; a bridge erected over it communicates with the road that leads to Medina Sidonia, a small town on the summit of a conical rock, famous for its medicinal waters and a particular sort of clay, so well adapted for making bricks and earthen ware, that these articles are exported into most parts of Andalusia. The name of the town is of Arabic origin, but the number of Roman inscriptions renders it probable that it was the ancient Asindo. The town and harbour of Tarifa are situated towards the coast at five leagues from lake Janda in the southern extremity of Spain. It was the Roman Mellaria, a place of some repute for its salt springs in the time of Strabo. As a fortified place, it may be of considerable importance; but the inhabitants attempted without success to unite it to the small island of the same name, and from which it is only separated by the distance of three or four hundred feet. Province of The road that leads to the province of Grenada, the most Grenada. important province in Andalusia, is at one part not more than two leagues removed from Gibraltar, an almost impregnable rock that has belonged to the English since the war of the succession; an account of it shall be given in the description of the English possessions. In the rich country where the towns rival each other in industry, one may ascend from the low and burning plains on the Mediterranean to the cold regions of Nevada, to the principal chain which extends along the province. Cool springs temper the heat of the climate, the meadows are enamelled with flowers; the same province is intersected with delightful vallies, and better watered than any other in the Peninsula; it has been so much favoured by nature, that it was the last which the persecuted Moors determined Rouda. to abandon. Grenada contains besides several important BOOK towns; Ronda or the first on the road towards Madrid, is CXXXIX. divided into two parts by a frightful precipice, which reaches from the summit to the base of the height on which it is built. The chasm may be about five or six hundred feet in depth, and a torrent flows below it. The torrent was called the Gaudalvin by the Arabs, a compound word which signifies literally a hollow stream, but the Spaniards changed the name into Guadiara; it falls into the sea between Estepona and Gibraltar. Two bridges lead to both quarters of the town; the largest or the new bridge is so much elevated above the torrent that the passengers can hardly hear the noise of the waters. A stair consisting of 400 steps leads to the cascade of El Tajo. Ronda, as its name indicates, stands on the site of Arunda, a place mentioned by Pliny and Ptolemy. The ruins of the ancient Acinipo, the present Ronda la Vieja or old Ronda, are not more than two leagues distant. The remains of a theatre may be still seen; several inscriptions, medals and statues have of late years been discovered. Estepona, a maritime town, is situated at the base of the Sierra Merveja or vermillion mountains, well known for their mines of plumbago. Marbella, the chief town in a district abounding with minerals, might become an important place, if the roads were kept in such a state as to afford better means of communication; it exports different manufactures, and many vessels frequent the port on account of the fisheries in the neighbourhood. The streets are straight; it is adorned with several fountains and a fine public walk, from which the view extends along the Mediterranean. According to a tradition, the same view was so much admired by Ferdinand and Isabella, that the queen, struck with the beauty of the sea, cxclaimed, Que mar tan bella! which exclamation, say the chroniclers, accounts for the name of Marbella. Whatever the origin of its present name may have been, it cannot be doubted that the place is very ancient; it has been supposed that it was called Barbesola, but it may be considered more probable that it stands on the site of Cilniana, a town mentioned in the itinerary of Antonine. BOOK CXXXIX. Province of Vineyards It is only in the latter part of the year that rains are common in the fine climate of Malaga; in other seasons, the sky is almost always serene and cloudless. The base and sides of the mountain that enclose the bay on which Malaga stands, are covered with olive, orange trees, and fruitful vineyards, or varied with cotton fields and plantations of sugar cane. Thus the town enjoys the advantages of a fine climate and a convenient harbour. The men are affable and polite, the women are considered the fairest of any in Andalusia. Malaga is encompassed with a double wall, defended by bastions and a castle built by the Moors, on the summit of the rock which commands the town. Two extensive moles shelter the harbour against every storm; on one of them revolving lights have lately been erected. The inhabitants are supplied with water from a fine aqueduct, a work which Molina, a wealthy citizen, built at his own expense. Many Moorish houses have been replaced by modern buildings; the episcopal palace, a very large edifice, is built in the best style of architecture; the cathedral has been equally admired, its tower reaches to the height of 200 feet. The present town rises near the site of the ancient Malaca, a place of great trade, which Strabo affirms was founded by the Phenicians. The rich vineyards of Malaga produce annually about 13,340 tuns of wine. There are not fewer than thirty different sorts of grapes; they are classed according to the seasons in which they ripen. The early grapes are collected in June, they yield a thick and sweet wine which is prized by many; they are valuable, too, in as much as they furnish the best raisins, a very lucrative branch of the Malaga trade; but for that purpose they must be cut at the middle of the stalk, and allowed to dry fifteen days in the sun, they are afterwards packed. The ordinary grapes are gathered in September, and their produce form the strong and dry wines, which are exported into different countries. But the late grapes produce the best wines; one sort or the guindas wine brings the highest price; it has been so called from the buds of a particular cherry tree, which are put into the vats. The products of Malaga are exported by the nations that consume them; out of all the ships which |