Portugal and Gallicia, with a review of the social and political state of the Basque Provinces

Preface

Several years have now elapsed since the narrative of my Journey through Portugal and Galicia appeared in print ; still more have passed away since it was written. This narrative was originally meant to have been appended to a political treatise upon Portugal, published at a still later period ; in that treatise I endeavoured to give my readers some insight into the laws of Portugal, the municipal and judicial system of that country, the tenures of property, the actual state of her trade, and the relative strength and position of the political parties which then divided the kingdom. That work referred exclusively to those deeper and drier considerations which, however fraught with interest to the politician, are comparatively little congenial to the taste of the general reader ; but this narrative of my Journey through Portugal is of a lighter cast, containing some sketches of society, mixed up with personal adventures, and occasionally alluding to those peculiar habits, superstitions, and opinions upon which the political changes of the last few years can have as yet produced no sensible impression.

There was One indeed who had consented to receive this tribute of filial affection. To that beloved Parent I should have offered this little work, with a full consciousness of its many imperfec¬ tions, but with an earnest hope that it might shed a transient gleam of pleasure over some of those weary hours that marked the progress of declining strength. Circumstances however pre¬ vented its appearance at that time, and I subsequently dropped the intention of publishing it at all : indeed the narrative of my Journey through Portugal and Galicia lay in a dusty drawer for more than nine years ; and there it would probably have remained had not events in the North of Spain inspired me with the deepest interest and induced me to resume my pen. I then de¬ termined to combine my observations on passing occurrences in the Peninsula with my old Portuguese manuscript. Stirring events indeed occurred in 1835 ; a struggle arose in the Basque Provinces, paralleled only by the contests of the heroic ages. A

IT

PREFACE.

handful of men, among- the mountains of Northern Spain, resisted for years the combined efforts of three great monarchies, and Biscay became the scene of chivalrous loyalty, the refuge, as formerly the cradle, of Spanish liberty, and the centre and focus of universal interest. The eyes of Europe were rivetted on that comparatively unimportant spot of earth, and on its never-yield¬ ing population. In my mind the tidings of that life-and-death struggle awoke an interest I can hardly describe ; personal sympathies and political prepossessions were alike enlisted in favour of the Basques. I had lived in their land, I had broken their bread, I had haunted their thresholds ; I had learnt too to admire their character and to appreciate their institutions. I con¬ fess that my heart beat high as week after week intelligence reached our shores of the unremitting efforts made by those gallant but outnumbered men against the iron oppression of their central government. I rejoiced with them during their brief day of triumph ; I mourned with them over their long inherited but at length expiring rights ; and with the accounts of my slaugh¬ tered friends the impassioned feelings of my earlier days revived. In the Senate I expressed the indignation I felt when the woes and wrongs of Biscay were the theme of discussion ; hr my closet I eagerly took up my pen to give my English countrymen some insight into the real causes of the momentous struggle which was distracting parties I had personally known and mixed with, and desolating a country I had dearly loved.

But those days are past ; that excitement has subsided ; my feelings, though not really altered, have yet become tempered by the lapse of years. Indeed, without any precise change of view, the feelings entertained by considerate men of all parties in this country have, I think, undergone a material alteration with re¬ ference to the great points then at issue in the Spanish quar¬ rel. I do not mean to say that persons who, at the time of the great Biscayan struggle, entertained a distinct and reasoned opinion that Isabella was the sovereign, not only de facto but de jure , of Spain, are likely to have altered that opinion in conse¬ quence of any subsequent event ; but I say that, with reference to the practical bearings of the Spanish question, two circumstances have recently occurred which must exercise considerable influence on the view which any reflecting Englishman would take of Spanish politics, as affecting the interests of this country : in the

PREFACE.

v first place, in consequence of the alliance lately concluded be¬ tween the reigning houses of France and Spain, any internal revolution that might place the illustrious son of Don Carlos on the throne of his ancestors could hardly be considered, even by those who were once most hostile to his cause, as an event preju¬ dicial to British interests ; on the contrary, as far as human foresight can speculate on political results, such an occurrence would tend to check any preponderating influence which may have been acquired by France over the councils of Madrid, and to set right the balance disturbed, or supposed to be disturbed, by that event.

The next circumstance, which must in some degree modify the views of an English statesman with reference to the Spanish question, is to be found in the renunciation by Don Carlos of his royal rights, and their transference to his son. At the period of the Biscayan struggle, Don Carlos was the claimant, I think the legitimate claimant, of the Spanish crown. His title was, however, unhappily identified in the eyes of Europe generally, and most especially in the opinions of the people of this country, with the maintenance of absolute power. Those, indeed, who had ob¬ served the course of action pursued through life by this prince, with a more discriminating eye, were aware that his conduct was uniformly influenced by an unbending adherence to that which he considered right, and not by any abstract love of despotic principles. As his conceptions of right were, however, formed to a great extent on that which had been long established, he was erroneously considered an uncompromising enemy to freedom and improvement in every shape, because he was generally opposed to change, and especially to violent changes, foolishly proposed. That, however, which was the great cause of his unbounded popularity in the Biscayan provinces, his intrepid defence of their free and almost republican privileges against the encroachments of the Crown, clearly shows that the tendency of his mind was to support long-established institutions, without reference to their effect on the royal prerogative ; for it must be remembered that the court was at that time in the plenitude of its authority, and in the part which he then took he could be actuated by no per¬ sonal or selfish motive. The popular opinion of Europe, how¬ ever, unquestionably identified the cause of despotism and the interests of Don Carlos.

VI

PREFACE.

No such imputations can, however, attach to the illustrious Prince who has succeeded to his claims. His political tendencies are as yet unknown to the world generally ; his career has yet to be run ; but the peculiar circumstances of his early life, his early freedom from royal trammels, his adventurous escape from France, accomplished with so much courage, yet so much discre¬ tion, are facts which inspire a well-grounded hope that his future course in life will be practical and vigorous. Circumstances such as these not only show the mettle of the man, but develop all the latent resources of the mind, and cast it in a very ditferent mould from that in which the Princes of the earth were formed in the comparatively untroubled days of the old regime. Nor in his case has the school of adversity been wanting in its bitter but salutary fruits : those fruits are perceptible in the singular discretion which has distinguished his conduct since his arrival in this country, in the moderation of his opinions, and in the libe¬ rality of his sentiments. To these general dispositions is added a manly desire of inspecting whatever is practically useful in this country. These qualifications, combined with the known cha¬ racter of the friends by whom he is surrounded, combined too with his own increasing acquaintance with the most enlightened principles, as entertained in this country, on all matters connected with the science of administration, give sanguine hopes that, if ever this Prince should be called upon to wield the sceptre of Spain, he will fulfil his arduous duties with more credit to him¬ self, with more advantage to his subjects, and with a deeper sense of his high responsibilities, than any Sovereign who has yet held sway in Madrid.

In consequence of feelings, if not very generally altered, at least greatly modified, by the altered circumstances of the time, I have omitted whole chapters which were originally inserted in this work ; not that I am disposed to retract a single opi¬ nion I formerly held on the subject of Spain, but I feel that lengthened comments on the policy of her Majesty’s Ministers in past years, on the decrees of the Spanish legislature, and on the successive Governments which distracted Spain at that period, have lost their interest from the lapse of time, and can only tend to renew an irritation which in the present aspect of Spanish affairs it is most undesirable to excite.

I still, however, retain the brief account which I then pub-

PREFACE.

vii

lished of the social and political state of Biscay. An account of the history, laws, and habits of this remarkable people be¬ longs to no particular period or particular conflict, and is indeed a positive desideratum in European literature. I am quite aware that in my very short sketch I have most imperfectly and inade¬ quately supplied the deficiency ; still, however brief, I have endeavoured to draw up a connected statement of their gradually improving laws and liberties, and have referred my reader for every fact of moment to the chroniclers and historians of the time. The Basques, whose records are fraught with interest, and, politically speaking, I may almost say with wonder to every reflecting mind, although extremely influential from their vici¬ nity to the frontier and their almost impregnable country, occupy but an inconsiderable portion of the Spanish territory. From this cause, perhaps, no constitutional history exists of this most interesting people ; and the growth of their privileges, from the establishment of some elementary principles of liberty in the twilight of the middle ages, to the system of well-regulated but unbounded freedom which they have since enjoyed, is only to be traced through many documents, and in notices, copious enough it is true, but scattered through the works of many historians. — In those occasional notices of ancient manners and opinions, visible in the record of old transactions, the antiquarian may perhaps find matter of amusement.

With respect to Portugal, I have dwelt but slightly on the cities, the churches, and the palaces, objects which generally and justly occupy so large a space in a work of this nature ; because I felt that eveiy building of importance, and almost every cir¬ cumstance of note, in the great towns of Portugal, has been accurately described by preceding authors within the last few years. I have chosen an humbler path, and have endeavoured to lead my reader over ground not wholly void of interest, though comparatively unexplored, to make him acquainted with the fairy fields of the Minim, with the gloomy superstitions of the wild districts of Alentejo, with the feudal state of society still lingering in the Traz os Montes, and to give him some insight into the peculiar habits of the virtuous but almost unknown Gali¬ cians. This little work will not assist the traveller through Por¬ tugal and Galicia as a guide, and has no pretensions to that cha¬ racter. As a guide, though a guide of no ordinary character, a

PREFACE.

viii

work of the highest merit has lately appeared. Profoundly versed in the ancient and modern histories of Spain, rich in an intimate knowledge of her literature and schools of art, her people and her politics, the author carries us along, impressed, at one time, with the grandeur of her Christian and Gothic temples, and at another fascinated by the beauty of her oriental halls ; but, more than all, lie is imbued with that genio loci , that spirit of the land, which no man can successfully evoke unless his mind be fitted by some¬ thing of a kindred nature to receive the spell. He has trans¬ ferred to his own glowing but accurate pages that vivid apprecia¬ tion which he so singularly possesses of all that is characteristic in Spain. Spain lives in his book, clad in her own peculiar and inimitable colouring. Those who wish to be acquainted with Spain in detail, with Spain in all her varied bearings, must consult this work of Mr. Ford, our great literary master on these points.

This work is not a detailed description of remarkable places, but rather a record of events that befel the author during his journey through the country at a very critical period, and of ob¬ servations growing out of that peculiar state of things. My mode of travelling was calculated to secure the kind of information I wished to obtain. From Corunna to Cape St. Vincent my journeys were invariably performed on horseback ; and I was thus enabled to deviate at pleasure from the high road, and penetrate into the most secluded districts, encountering at times great hardships, and even considerable peril, mixing with all classes, and often joining the peasantry as they collected around their evening fires.

These habits, combined with the distracted state of the times in which my expeditions were generally undertaken, occasionally involved me in suspicion, and led me into situations of consider¬ able embarrassment ; but perhaps enabled me to obtain some knowledge of the popular feeling, a knowledge which, in mo¬ ments of political disturbance, can seldom be acquired, except by personal and somewhat severe experience.

I must also admit that I may have been involved in adventures not strictly defensible on the score of prudence ; but it will be remembered, I trust, that many years have elapsed since their occurrence, and I was then at a time of life when difficulties to be surmounted and dangers to be braved are rather a source of pleasurable excitement than of wise and careful avoidance.

Highclere, Jan. 26, 1848,

C ix )

Chapter I

Voyage to Lisbon — Steam Packet — Lisbon — View over the Tagus — Cintra — Bay of Colares — Marialva Palace — Mr. Beckford’s Villa — Irish Mater¬ nity — Portuguese Games . Page 1

Chapter II

Road to Mafra — Conveut of Mafra — Convent of Alcobaqa — Monastic Sys¬ tem considered — The ill-fated Loves of Don Pedro and Inez de Castro — Politics of the Monks — Their Social Habits — Gloomy Magnificence of the Convent of Alcobaqa — Convent of Batalha — Society at Coimbra — System pursued at the University— The Garden of Tears — Melancholy Convent of the Carmelites — Spanish Anomalies — History of the beautiful Bride of Oporto — Arrival at Oporto . . . . . .15

Chapter III

Count and Countess of Villa Flor — Portuguese Society — Effect of the recent Changes on the Portuguese Character — Author leaves Oporto — Tremen¬ dous Storm — Fall of Locusts — Description of the Traz os Montes — -The Valentoines — Feudal Manners of the Nobles — Dinner at the Capitan Mor — Character and Mansion of the venerable Senhor Joaquim — Lamego — Hospitality of Senhor Ferreira — Superstition of the Enchanted Mooress — Return to Oporto ......... 42

Chapter IV

Author leaves Oporto a second time — Portuguese Authorities alarmed — Exquisite Beauty of the Entre Minho — Joyous Manners of the People — Dramatic Dances — Author loses his way in the Forest — Terrible Super¬ stition of the Bruchas — A Valentoine— Caminha — Author enters Spain — Antiquated Landlady of Caldas — Old-fashioned Inn at Santiago — Shrine of St. Jago de Compostella — Field of Corunna — Influence of the Monks — Passionate Patriotism of the Galicians — Ferrol ... 66

b

X

CONTENTS.

Chapter V

Curious Costume of the Maragattos — Don Felippe Moreda — The Author arrested — State of Parties in Spain — Anecdote of King Ferdinand — Journey to Santiago with the Royalist Volunteers — Ruinous Building — Robber Tales of the Spaniard — Superstitions of the Portuguese — The Escolar, or Wolf-impeller — A truly loyal Dame — Superstition of the Negro — Ludicrous Discomfiture of an Alcalde — Author released . Page 92

Chapter VI

Author arrested again — Description of Eguia, then Captain-General, the famous Carlist Chief commanding in Biscay — Eguia’s Tribunal — Author examined — Remains in Santiago on Parole — State of Public Feeling — Immense Power of the Clergy — Spanish Notions of Religious Freedom — Love and Devotion in Spain — Vigilance of the Police — Senor Atocha — Eguia’s Tribunal— Author restored to Liberty — Re-enters Portugal .......... 132

Chapter VII

The Author becomes six years younger than he was in the last Chapter — Distracted State of Spain in 1822 — -Slaughter of the Royalists at Cervera — Leaves Barcelona — Ascends the Mountain of Montserrat — Visits the famous Convent — The fated Town of Vila destroyed that very day — Wild Charge of a Guerilla Band — Author made Prisoner — Roar of the distant Fight — Precarious Situation of the Author — Fidelity of his young Guide — Desolate Venta— Author liberated — Guerilla Band and Chief described — The ludicrous Shock ........ 155

Chapter VIII

First Impressions confirmed — Surpassing Beauty of the Entre Minho — Superstition of the Bento — Convent of Thibaim — Guimaraens — Inhabit¬ ants of the Minho and Mountaineers of the Trazos compared — Break¬ fast in the Convent Parlour— Monkish Waggery — Return to Lisbon 180

Chapter IX

Opening of the Cortes — The Chambers — Dom Miguel’s arrival in the Tagus — Swears to maintain the Charter — Tumults — Melancholy Party at Bemfica — Progress of the Revolution — Policy of the Court — Emigration of the Imperialists — Interview with Count Villa Flor on board the Frigate — Visit to Costa — A Night’s Adventure . . . . .192

CONTENTS.

XI

Chapter X

Assassination of the Professors of Coimbra — Costa — Midnight Adventure — Visconde Sa da Bandeira— Departure of the English Army— Sir William Clinton— Dom Miguel . Page 213

Chapter XI

Author leaves Lisbon — Moita — Luxuriant Vegetation — Setuval— Wild Scene of Midnight Revolution— Arrabida Convent— Melides— Simplicity of the People Santiago — The Capitan Mor — W ant of Communication — Villa Nova— Sierra de Monchique— Beauty of a Portuguese Heath— Senhor Joaquim, Corregidor of Lagos — His Kindness and Hospitality . 224

Chapter XII

Visit to Sagres — Don Henry — Castle of Sagres — Cape St. Vincent — Portu¬ guese Ceremonial— Courtesies of Society — St. Vincent’s Chair — Villa Obisbo — Ludicrous Mistake — Return to Lagos — Juan the Borderer — Women of Silves — Marquis of Pombal — The Prazo — Faro — Tavira — Villa Real — Barbarity to Animals — Atrocities of Majendie — Alcoutin— Revolt at Mertola — The Lobishomens — Beja — The Alentejo — Religious Enthusiasm .......... 246

Chapter XIII

Revolt in the Provinces — Evora — Author arrested — Fury of the Populace — The Guard-room- — The Prison — Andalusian Banditti — The Corregidor — Confinement — Tumult and Defeat of the Troops — Author released — The Borderer — Andalusian Smugglers — Leaves Evora — Leaves Lisbon — Montemor — Superstition of the Beggars — Pegoines — African Adventure detailed — Arrives at Lisbon — Dom Miguel declared King — Quits Lisbon — Reflections on past Events — Returns to England . . . 273

Chapter XIV

Review of the Social and Political State of the Basque Provinces . 316

POETUGAL AND GALICIA.

Chapter I

Voyage to Lisbon — Steam Packet — Lisbon — View over the Tagus — Cintra —

Bay of Colares — Mavialva Palace — Mr. Beckford’s Villa — Irish Maternity

— Portuguese Games.

I embarked on board the Duke of York steam-packet on the evening of the 28th of July, 1827, and quitted the harbour of Portsmouth at six o’clock. We glided rapidly along the coast of Hampshire ; the wind fell, the night was fine, and there was little motion on the water. I paced the deck till a late hour, and was joined by a gentleman, whose conversation, replete with Eastern lore, attracted my attention. I afterwards heard him announced as Mr. Wolff, the celebrated missionary, then pro¬ ceeding with his wife, Lady Georgiana, to the Holy Land. I was introduced to her in the evening, and could not but admire the unhesitating devotion with which she renounced her native country and her natural connexions to follow her husband’s for¬ tunes, and promote her religious faith in a distant and barbarous land.

We had passed the coasts of Hampshire and Dorsetshire during the night, and now saw, a few miles distant, but full in view, the dark-red shores of Devonshire. Immediately before us the Exe poured its noble stream into the Channel : we skirted the picturesque coves of Dawlish, but an unfriendly mist con¬ cealed them from our sight ; we glided by Berryhead ; we passed the furze-covered heights of Asherne ; and Start Point, stretch¬ ing boldly into the ocean, was the last British headland that greeted us over the deep. We then bore straight towards Ushant in a south-westerly direction, passed that island during

B

VOYAGE TO PORTUGAL.

[chap. I.

the following night, and entered the Bay of Biscay. The ideas of storm and dread, which the old song and nursery associations have so long connected with this famous bay, were not, upon this occasion, weakened by any unusual calm ; we were only im¬ pelled, it is true, by a light and favourable breeze, but the waters were sufficiently ruffled to contrast advantageously, in point of grandeur and size of wave, with the Channel which we had just left. A windy day was succeeded by a fine starlight night.

The following morning was calm, and the sea had a fine blue tinge. I finished, with regret, that delightful picture of Eastern manners, the ‘ Epicurean,5 one of the most fascinating works of an author who never fails to transport his readers into the scenes and climates he describes, as much by the justness as by the beauty of his imagery.

On the 1st of August we were skirting the bold and moun¬ tainous coast of Gallicia; we saw the lighthouse of Corunna in the distance ; we passed the picturesque island of Cisargas ; and the high hills in the background mingled well with occasional glimpses of the intervening sea ; we were borne rapidly along by Monte Boa Villana, and Cape Finisterre celebrated as the limit of the renowned Bay of Biscay. The hills are barren, and have that sandy appearance so characteristic of Spanish scenery. The villages are few ; and there is little wood on the coast, which we sometimes approached so nearly that we saw and heard the waves breaking upon its granite rocks. On the evening of the fol¬ lowing day we saw the large and little Berlines, two groups of bold and peaked crags, standing far out in the sea. Soon after¬ wards we hailed a ship proceeding to Gibraltar, and in a few minutes left her far behind. It is difficult to describe the effect produced on the mind by the rapidity of steam navigation in the neighbourhood of striking and varied scenery : objects fatiguing to the sight, if dwelt upon too long, appear enchanting when they pass before the eye in rapid succession, like shifting scenes on the stage. We were now in latitude 39’, and its influence was perceptible. We enjoyed the heavenly stillness of a southern evening, yet were not retarded by the universal calm. The setting sun shed a fine glow on the waters, illuminated the dis¬ tant sails of the ship we had lately hailed, and shed its last glories on the Berline crags, which presented themselves in many dif-

LISBON.

ferent but always in picturesque points of view, and at length sank beneath the horizon.

Early on the following morning I saw immediately ahead the rock of Lisbon : the hills of Cintra rose finely in the background, and the neighbouring coast was studded with villas intermingled with olive and orange groves. The entrance of the Tagus is fine : on one side the shore is crowded with palaces ; on the other, the hills, though neither very bold or varied, possess sufficient elevation to give character to the scene. The fort of Belem is curious, picturesque, and irregular, but without architectural beauty. We passed by the house of the British Admiral, Lord Amelius Beauclerk, and the palace of the Cardinal, a spacious edifice, with many turrets, but a very unpleasing display of slate roof. As we sailed up the river, the beauty of the view in¬ creased. The noble but unfinished palace of the Ajuda crowned the summit of a neighbouring steep ; and then the whole city of Lisbon, built on its seven sloping hills, and overhanging the Tagus, gradually revealed itself; and as its palaces and convents, interspersed with gardens, were seen rising above each other, it certainly formed a most imposing object from the water. En¬ tering one of the numerous boats by which we were besieged, and rowing across the Tagus, I landed at Pampoullia, and ascended a steep hill that leads to Reeves’s Hotel. Our voyage had only lasted six days, and was considered prosperous. The party on board exhibited a curious assemblage of persons, enter¬ taining very dissimilar ideas, and distinguished by very different manners — an assemblage that could hardly, under any other cir¬ cumstances, have been brought together ; and this discrepancy of tastes, habits, and opinions, sometimes gave rise to amusing and not altogether uninstructive scenes. Besides Lady Georgiana and Mr. Wolff, Mrs. Burgoyne was also a passenger, a lady of great taste and accomplishments, then sailing to Lisbon to join her husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Burgoyne, whose acquaintance I had afterwards the pleasure of making in that city, and am in¬ deed indebted to their society for many delightful hours. There was also a niece of Romero Alpuente’s, who was said to be dying, and two other ladies, one simplicity itself, and the other more remarkable for her beauty than for that youthful quality.

I secured rooms at Reeves’s, and remained stationary till the

LISBON.

[chap. I.

evening, when I was joined by my friend Sir Arthur Capel de Brooke, a young man of ancient family, and at that time well known in the literary world by his published travels ; since that period he has largely added to his reputation by his 1 Journey into Morocco,’ a work exhibiting an unusual talent for observa¬ tion, with a quick appreciation of the beautiful, and great general powers.

The view from my windows extended over Lisbon, over the river, with its numerous shipping, and a thousand latine sails glittering on its surface, and now lighted up by the last rays of the setting sun : few objects strike the beholder with greater ad¬ miration than these peculiar sails, which are exquisitely beautiful when seen in profile ; and when beheld in front resemble a but¬ terfly perched on a dark ground, with wings expanded. Soon afterwards the moon rose, and we rambled through the city by a light peculiarly favourable to every natural or artificial object that is grand in its proportions but defective in detail.

On the 9th of August I went with Mr. Forbes, to whose kind¬ ness I was indebted on a thousand occasions, to see the Aqueduct, which is perhaps unequalled in boldness and grandeur of effect by any similar monument of art. It supplies Lisbon with water ; it traverses a deep valley near the beautiful village of Alcantara ; and as I stood beneath the centre arch, and gazed upwards, it appeared absolutely stupendous : unfortunately, the arches are not uniform ; some are in the Gothic and pointed style, while others are semicircular, a discrepancy which mars the general effect, but less than might be supposed. Although this aqueduct stretches across the country for many miles uninterruptedly, no great extent of unbroken range can be seen from any particular position, on account of the extreme inequality of the ground.

That evening dining with our Ambassador Sir William A’Court, I found myself seated next to the Count da Puente, who was just nominated Secretary for the War Department, upon the retirement of Count Saldanha. He possessed great conversa¬ tional powers and considerable talent for debate, and at that time acted with the moderate and well-judging body of the Con¬ stitutionalists : and here, for the first time, I met Count Villa Flor, the representative of an ancient house, a man of high integrity, and universally looked up to by the stanch adherents

COUNT VILLA FLOR— CINTRA.

of the Charter. In the beginning of the year he had com¬ manded the Constitutional forces against the Miguelites, and the most distinguished success had attended his military exertions. On the following day I again met him at Sir William Clinton’s, where a large party was assembled to celebrate the birthday of King George the Fourth, at which entertainment our host ju¬ diciously contrived that the band should play Portuguese airs during dinner. The ‘ Bridge of Creus,’ a piece of music so called, after the action gained by Count Villa Flor, and composed almost on the field of battle, evidently excited some emotion among the chiefs who were then present and had fought on that day.