A second journey in Spain, in the spring of 1809 ... with plates, containing 24 figures illustrative of the costume and manners of the inhabitants of several of the Spanish provinces

Front matter

A

IN

SPAIN,

Preface

The interest which within these two years has been powerfully excited in the cause of Spain, renders every thing relating to that country more or less worthy of attention. Men of widely different professions have been attracted thither by curiosity, or Galled by duty ; and clergymen and soldiers have given to the public their ideas of passing events or existing circumstances there. As a commercial man, I again venture to publish mine, on that small but interesting portion through which I had lately occasion to pass.

The route traced in the following pages includes Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada, three of the most important towns in the south-western angle of the peninsula ; and which, whilst any traces of them remain, can never fail to attract attention, from the sin-

PREFACE.

gular mixture which they present of Roman, Gothic, and Moorish remains. At the sight of these monuments the imagination is forcibly carried back to periods of great antiquity, and we see as it were before our eyes the successive triumphs of one nation over another, and of time over them all. The mountain waves, which chase each other with mighty roarings on the sea shore, and then vanish for ever, scarcely present us with more striking instances of instability.

I have not attempted, nor shall I. ever attempt, to give the minute measurement of columns and towers, or the exact catalogues of pictures and statues. Should the Reader, therefore, suppose that I have no relish or taste for the beauties of architecture, painting, or sculpture, he would do me an injustice* But my wish is to collect in my own mind the generai impressions made upon me by interesting objects, and to convey these impressions to others. How far I may have succeeded is not for me to determine ; yet I

trust the candid Reader will allow that I have

*

PREFACE. 7

on all pccasions avoided as much as possible prolixity and needless amplification. Had I been ambitious of making a large book, the following pages might with ease have been extended to double their present number. But other pursuits, which I must again offer as an apology for my defects in arrangement or style, have, perhaps fortunately, prevented a fault greater than them all. A great book* £ays the Grecian Sage, is a great evil.

Upon the whole, I cannot but indulge the hope that the favour shewn by the Public to my former two volumes on Spain, may also in some degree be extended to the present, I have had more leisure to collect and arrange my ideas than before ; the portion of country through which I passed contains many objects of great natural and political interest ; and should I therefore have fallen short of my former endeavours, I must allow the fault to be entirely my own.

The Plates are exact representations of the

Spanish costume in different provinces, and

in general strikingly characteristic, not m

8 PREFACE.

only of the dress, but also of the features, of the various peasantry of Spain. They are selections from upwards of a hundred figures in my possession ; and, I will venture to assert, are calculated to give a more correct idea of the Spanish costume than any of a similar nature which have yet appeared in this country. The small additional expense occasioned by these Plates will, I trust, be fully compensated by the interest which they afford. Although not immediately connected with the work, they cannot perhaps be regarded as inconsistent with the general design of this little work, to furnish, as far as it goes, a few sketches of the manners and customs of the Peninsula.

ROBERT SEMPLE,

London, Dec. 2, 1809.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES,

ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE COSTUME AND MANN BUS OF THE INHABITANTS OF SEVERAL OF THE SPANISH PROVINCES.

Madrid.

N° 1.

A Beau, somewhat above the lower orders, upon the Prado. The ribbons in his hair ; his embroidered jacket; and his Capote, thrown loosely over his left shoulder ; shew that he is going to some public spectacle ; most probably to the Bull-fights.

A Lady dressed for the Prado. Her mantilla serves at once as a cloak, and, if necessary, as a veil. The bunches of ribbons at each end shew her to be some* what of a coquette.

A Man of the middling class, with his capa, or cloak. It is thus that this indispensable article of Spanish dress is generally worn in cold weather, wrapped round the body, and thrown over the left shoulder.

b

MADRID.

This Female Figure is arrayed in h£r winter mantilla, which is wrapped close round the face as a protection against the cold. In her right hand she holds the fan, without which no Spanish Lady ever appears in public : it is the sceptre of her power: to flourish it, to open and shut it with a smart and graceful motion,. are accomplishments absolutely indispensable.

N

We behold here a different object. An honest Seller of Oil ; which he carries about in a skin at his back, and retails to his customers. On the ground stands a small tin pot, of the shape universally made use of in families for holding oil in small quantities.

As a companion to the former, we have here a Water- Seller. He carries the water in a porous jar, at his back; and in his hand a small frame, in which are two or three glass tumblers : he assures you that the water is cool, and fresh from the favourite fountain of the Prado ; and bringing the jar forward under his arm, by an inclination of his body he rinces the glass thoroughly, and for a trifle presents it to you full.

MADRID.— -MURCIA. li

N° 7 and 8.

Contrasted with the two former figures, we have here the light Bolero Dancers. The Man is preparing to spring, and at the same time to snap his castanets, so as to produce a sound exactly corresponding to his mo* tions. The Female, on the contrary, is coming down the dance, and endeavours, by her graceful attitudes, by the movements of her arms, and by her smiles, to divide with her companion the applause which is about to burst forth from the audience. The exertions of the Bolero Dancers are short, but violent.

To the observer of human nature, Madrid used to be chiefly interesting on account of the great diversity of provincial dresses and manners which it contained. Being isolated, as it were in the centre of the kingdom, the peasantry of the provinces, who resorted to it, had not to pass through those gradual and intermediate changes, all tending to ^me point, which have so great an elfect in communicating by degrees the ^urbanity of a metropolis to the remotest corners of an empire. They came, they remained* they departed as strangers ; bringing with them their own manners, and returning to their mountains unaltered. The ninth figure represents a Peasant from the Province of Murcia. His plaid, exactly resembling in form and use that worn by the Scottish Highlander, hangs upon his left shoulder. It is generally made of woollen, but sometimes of cotton ; and among the higher orders, of silk ; and is adorned by several coloured stripes in the centre, and at the extremities, which last are fringed. In his right hand he holds a long goad, with which he drives his oxen, whether on the road or in the plough. The sandals on his feet are generally made of strong and coarse canvass, and fastened round his ankles by thongs. These sandals are also universally worn by the peasantry in the Province of Granada.

b %

ARRAGOK. — CATALOSIA.

Behold a Peasant of Arragon ! Tall, robust, and wellformed, he preserves the free and open air which distinguishes him among all the Spanish peasantry. A slight degree of haughtiness should however be added to that brow. Like the ancient Scottish Highlander, his limbs are free and unincumbered by dress, and he carries on his left shoulder a large hoe, the principal instrument used in cultivating the vineyards, or the uneven sides of the hills. Were these peasants led on by men worthy to command, every village of Arragon would rival Zaragoza,

The wife of this Arragonese peasant appears to possess equal patience and hardihood with himself. She balances on her head a large jar of water, carrying at the same time one in each hand. Her hair rolled up, and ornamented with a bodkin, recalls to the traveller the head-dress of the females of Malabar, or of th^ Malay.

It is not solely the Peasant of Catalonia who pours in this manner the wine down his throat; it is a common custom in various parts of Spain. Mothers may be seen thus giving drink to very young children. They pretend that thirst is thus more easily slackened* and that the liquor falling upon the tongue and the throat produces greater and more pleasing excitement then when drank in the more usual manner. It is evident from the countenance of this peasant, and from his mattock which he has laid aside, that his daily labour is finished, and that it is not water which falls into his mouth in so small a stream.

ANDALUSIA-

IS

1 recognise in this figure one of my three friends who met me near the gates of Cordoba. By turns Smuggler and Robber, he eludes or defies pursuit, in proportion to the number of his associates. His blunderbuss is crammed with balls, and two pistols are stuck in his girdle, which also contains small pouches for his ammunition, his money, and the flint and steel for striking a light. In his mouth is a cigar, the greatest luxury of the Spanish peasant, or rather of the Spaniards of every class. Being frequently exposed to danger, and accustomed to traversing mountains and forests in the dead of night, these men acquire habits of the most hardy kind, aud sometimes assemble in such numbers, as for a short time to set the civil power at defiance.

The air of this Woman, her attitude, her dress, announce the wife, or the mistress, of the Smuggler, She requires no comment.

In former days this was the Hero of the Bull-%hts» In his left hand he grasps the cloak with which he deceived, the sword with which he pierced the noble animal which lies dead behind him. He points towards it with his right hand, and demands the applauses of the spectators. The countenance, the air, the dress, of this figure, are all truly Andalusian.

n

CADIZ*

This is a Cavalier, armed for encountering the bull, and ordering his horse to be brought out to him. His limbs are in a manner swathed and stuffed round with various articles, both to resist the bonis of the bull, and also that in case of his horse being overthrown, he may escape being crushed. The lance which he grasps in his left hand appears more proper to wound and to irritate than to kill his fierce antagonist.

We beheld here a Spanish Belle, as she appears fully dressed upon the ramparts of Cadiz. The place of her mantilla is supplied by a slight lace veil, and by a large French shawl, which is now of course no longer the mode. The women of Cadiz are said to have a smarter air and walk than any others in Spain, and this, seems to be no unworthy representative of their general air and appearance. She is preparing to shut her fan smartly, in unison with the movement of her finger, and the glance of her eye.

This is the exact costume of a Man somewhat above the lower orders, dressed in his holiday suit. His silk cap, his new mantle, disposed with art so as to display his shape, and his ornamented breeches, the position of his hands, and his eyes glanced towards a favourite object ; shew a young man fully contented with his own appearance, and wishing to convey a similar impression to others. Were it not for the 9igar in his mouth the portrait would be deficient, but that renders it complete. Among those of his own class this man will be regarded with admiration, or with envy.

OLD CASTILE. — GRANADA, 15

A Carrier, or Muleteer, of the province of Old Castile. The slender stick in his belt is all that he uses for driving his mules. This dre?s, the greater part of which is formed of brown leather, is not peculiar to Castile ; it is that of the Spanish muleteers in general*

This Peasant Woman is arrayed in her best garments, and is ready for the dance. The expression of her countenance, and the position of her hands, would seem to indicate that she has been waiting for her partner, and is making him some reproaches for m> tardiness. The sound of the bagpipe and of the castanets, and the presence of her lover, wiH soon dissipate the slight chagrin which is visible on her lips.

n° m.

This Muleteer of Malaga carries, like the former, a slight stick, which marks his occupation ; but the general decency of his dress evinces the prosperity of a commercial town, and the vicinity of an English market. Instead of leather, his- jacket and breeches are made of English cloth, and his girdle and pouch are neatly ornamented. He positively refuses to yield up the goods behind him until he has received the price which he contends is his due.

IS

-Valencia.

This Bully of Sevilla seems prepared by his air and attitude to resent the slightest insult, or rather to invite one. His long rapier, which is more than half concealed by his cloak, is at the service of any man, for a trifling sum of money. He hires himself to shed blood ; and many of the cresses which mark the narrow streets of Sevilla are trophies of his midnight deeds.

We have here a young Peasant of Valencia, in his holiday suit, and apparently about to pay a visit to his sweetheart, if indeed she be not already near him. It is only for a beloved object that these flower* can have been arranged with so much care. They perhaps mark his occupation to be that of a gardener ; nor will they be less acceptable because reared, as well as gathered, by his own hand.

The costume of this and the preceding figure evidently partakes of much of that formerly prevalent in the Scottish Highlands. The former was the Valencian Peasant in his best clothes ; here he is presented to us in his working-dress. A tunic and a plaid form his only covering, and the latter, when thrown aside, leaves him perfectly unincumbered. His pipe, the stem of which is formed of a reed, serves still farther to distinguish him from the peasantry of most of the other provinces, where tobacco is used, either rolled up in the leaf, or in paper. We conclude with this figure^ which upon the whole is not uninteresting.

SECOND JOURNEY IN SPAIN,

CHAP. I. Voyage to Lisbon. — Lisbon.— -Portuguese Volunteers

The great events which in the year 1808 took place in Spain had in many instances entirely altered the relations between this country and the Spanish colonies. I was anxious to witness the effects produced on Cadiz and Sevilla, the two towns formerly most interested in the colonial commerce ; and hoped that even a rapid survey might open to me new views, which I could no where else obtain. With this intention I left Falmouth on the 2d of January, 1809, in the packet for Lisbon.

We sailed about sun-set with a moderate breeze from the north-west, which continued all night. At 12 o'clock on the ensuing day our favourable wind died away, and soon afterwards it came on to blow with considerable freshness from the south-south- west.

B

18 VOYAGE TO LISBON.

The wind continued contrary but moderate until the 7 th, when it blew a gale from the south-west. We handed all sails one after another, and at last lay too under the main and mizen stay-sails. The sea was tremendous. Towards morning a wave broke over us, carried away several of our larboard stanchions, and occasioned infinite confusion on board. At day-break we struck our top-gallant masts, and soon afterwards were preparing to strike our top-masts, when the gale gave symptoms of abating, and in the afternoon we were enabled to sway up our top-gallant masts, and set our double-reefed topsails.

We thus continued with wind constantly contrary, but not violent, until the night of the 21st, when it began to blow suddenly and violently from the west-south- west, and which increased by degrees to a perfect gale, with sharp lightning and heavy showers of rain. We again struck our top-gallant masts, and hove to under our main and mizen stay-sails until the ensuing mid-day, when it became more moderate.

Towards sun-set on the 23d we made the land on the coast of Portugal, between Aveiro and Cape Mondego. The coast here

Voyage to Lisbon* appeared of considerable height. When about four leagues off shore we sounded and found bottom at seventy-five fathoms, and continuing to run on and sounding twice afterwards, we found bottom at fifty, and lastly at thirty fathoms. On the afternoon of the 25th we made Cape Fisseraon, at day-break on the 26th saw the Burlings a- head, and on the ensuing day the Rock of Lisbon.

On the 28th at day-break a fishing-boat came alongside, out of which we took a pilot. Nearly a month had elapsed since our leaving England, and from the state in which affairs were then understood to be in Spain, our anxiety to know the fate of the English army under General Moore was very great. The information which we derived from our Pilot was however very unsatisfactory. Some of the English troops had marched towards the frontiers, others were embarked and ready to sail. The French had at one time obtained possession of all Gallicia, but they had been afterwards driven out by the Spaniards and Portuguese. Two things however were certain : the English merchants at Lisbon were embarking tHeir property, and the , inhabitants were all armed or arming. From these circumstances, we drew no favourable

M 2

VOYAGE TO LISBON, augury, and passed the day in a variety of conjectures.

It was not until the morning of the 29th that we entered the Tagus, passing close to the sands, which lie at its mouth, and on which the waves almost constantly break with great violence. The Portuguese flag was again waving on Fort St. Julien. As we sailed up the Tagus we passed a great number of transports riding at single anchor, and full of troops. This did not promise well, and before we went on shore nine passengers had already come on board, and with great eagerness secured their passage for England in the packet.

At mid-day I found myself once more on shore on the Southern Peninsula of Europe. It was Sunday ; formerly in Lisbon the most festive day of the week, but all now was dull and comparatively silent. I repaired to the same inn where I had before lodged ; but the former master of it, amidst the various changes of parties, had been obliged to make his escape, and it was now possessed by a stranger, who, aware of the precariousness of his tenure, durst venture into few expences. The house was consequently cold and cheerless ; and a week's residence at Lisbon only tended to confirm me how much this was the general case.

With regard to the British merchants of Lisbon, the full extent of the misfortunes in Gallicia was not yet known ; but it was understood that our army there had retreated ; that the French cavalry and light troops were making incursions nearly to the borders of Portugal, and had even penetrated, it was said, as far as Oporto. The paper money of the Government was at a depreciation of thirty per cent, whilst the general eagerness to transfer property to England, occasioned bills on that country to bear a high premium. Every Englishman was well aware that in case of the French entering Lisbon, his property would be the first object of search and confiscation, and that even his peaceful and mercantile pursuits might not suffice to protect his person from imprisonment. The doubts, the suspense, the alarm, the confusion which prevailed, may therefore be well imagined. Whilst such was the state of the English residents, the native inhabitants presented a different and more interesting spectacle. Equally in suspense, equally in confusion^ equally anxious after every fresh whisper of intelligence, they were yet chained to the spot by insurmountable ties, and obliged to wait at their post the issue of the contest. Hence a strange mixture of passions. Rage against the French who were advancing; rage against the English who were preparing to abandon them. The first was open and avowed ; the second secret and concealed, but only waiting the last moment of embarkation to have displayed itself in all its madness.

The conflict of contending passions ended in a burst of patriotism. When it could no longer be concealed that the English and Spanish armies in Gallicia were retreating; when it became evident that the English force in Lisbon was making every preparation to embark at the shortest notice ; and that those regiments which had marched towards the frontiers were rapidly retreating without having seen an enemy ; then the Government made an animated appeal to the people, reminded them of the former glory of the Portuguese name, and called upon them to assert it. The enthusiasm created by such appeals, and by necessity, was very great ; but had the French advanced, it would in my opinion have proved less fatal to them than to the stragglers of the English rear-guard. Happily this wao not put to the test. The 3 streets, the squares, the quays, were lined with ranks of volunteers, whose arms, equipment, and movements, were most various and whimsical. The greater proportion carried pikes ; some were armed with fowling-pieces, some with bayonets screwed on poles, some with small-swords, with daggers, with pistols, or with a single pistol. Here and there in the ranks were seen halberds and pikes of curious and ancient workmanship, which had probably been wielded in the wars of the fifteenth century, and after long lying in dust and darkness, were now dragged forth to light. The assortment of the men was as various as their arms. The tali and the short, the lean and the corpulent, the old man and the stripling, stood side by side. At the word of command, some turned to the right and others to the left, some parts of the line advanced whilst others remained stationary. In short, every thing was ridiculous, except their cause, and that was most sacred.

It is only necessary once to see these or similar levies, to be impressed with the folly of attempting to defend a country with them against a regular force. In a town or a pass they may be of great service ; but in the present state of military science, a State which trusts to them in any great degree for her

24 LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOtUNTEEES*

safety, when the hour of danger approaches, will inevitably be lost. The sure and hard test of good troops is the bayonet : how then can it be expected that new levies of citizens should stand this test, at the veryfirst time of their seeing an enemy ? and stand it they must, seeing that they have no other arms but those of hand to hand, a pike, or a halberd, or a sword.

But the mob of Lisbon was armed, and determined to shew that it was so. Every night, at least one Frenchman, or one suspected to be so, was discovered and dragged to prison, where generally his dead body alone arrived. I myself was witness to an Englishman being murdered in this manner, and strove in vain to save his life. An ^Englishman ! you exclaim. Yes, Reader, an Englishman. It was on a Sunday evening, and I w^s proceeding up the principal street, when having advanced a little beyond the head-quarters of the English General, I heard the shoutings of a great mob. They drew nearer, and I presently found myself enveloped in a furious crowd, dragging along a poor wretch in the English dress; his countenance disfigured with blood, and hardly able to stagger along from the blows which he had received^

I demanded his crime. They told me he was a Frenchman : but an English Officer who was in the crowd exclaimed, that it was his servant, and endeavoured to reason with some who appeared as leaders of the mob. At this intelligence I made my utmost efforts to get near the unfortunate man, and just arrived in time to seize with both my hands a pike, which some brave Portuguese from behind was endeavouring to thrust into his back, I called out to the Officer to assist me. He replied, it was the positive order of the General, that in all such cases no Englishman should interfere, and advised me to take care of my own life. I was in the midst of pikes f swords, and daggers, which seemed to be thrust about in all directions, as if through madness or intoxication. In spite of all my struggles, I was thrown down and nearly trampled upon by the mob, and at length with difficulty escaped from amongst them. Next morning I was informed that the poor wretch had been murdered in the course of the night. And this passed within owe hundred yards of the English head-quarters !

Because they were armed, and the enemy was not at their gates, the Portuguese already began to utter rhodomontades. Every man finding a weapon in his hands, perhaps for the first time, performed with it a thousand deeds of heroism. But not merely what they were going to do, what they had already done against the common enemies of Europe, was the topic of their dicourses. They had gained (in conjunction with their English allies) the battle of Vimeira. It was a Portuguese soldier who made General Brenier prisoner, and they had beaten the French at Oporto. Lest there should be any doubt of these facts, an engraving of the battle of Vimeira, to be found in every shop, represented the dreadful Portuguese dragoons charging the enemy, and bearing away at least one half of the palm of victory. I know not which was the greater hardship upon the brave army which gained that battle, to be stopped in the career of victory, or to be.carricatured by such associates !

The enthusiasm of soldiers was communicated to the children of Lisbon. Boyish squads, with paper flags, and wooden guns, amused themselves in every street. They displayed an interesting picture of the facility with which the rising generation catches, with increased ardour, the predominant spirit of that which immediately precedes it. They broke, they formed, they charged, they turned to the right and left, under their puny officers, and imitated with fidelity, as an amusement, what they saw daily practised as a serious occupation. But perhaps the novelty of the occupation to their fathers, was the cause of their embracing it with such ardour : the children of soldiers seldom play at soldiers.

In the streets, if the people assembled, it was not to witness a rude fandango, or listen to ancient airs upon the Celtic bagpipe* The news of the day, more changeable than the passing breeze, or a national song full of Portuguese honour and of French cowardice, collected the crowd into various parties. Arms of every description were the great objects of sale. At every stall, heaps of pistol and musket bullets, newly cast, were piled up, together with flints, ramrods, ham* mers, screws, and old rusty arms, which, but for the present crisis, would never more have been called into use.

Unlike the Spaniards in the generality of thein towns (except Cadiz), where plays were suppressed at the commencement of the revolution, Lisbon still maintained its theatre. The former^sent their players, their jugglers^ their dancers, and their buffoons, to the army ; but the latter, although their Prince had been driven into exile, never even thought of passing such a decree. But the representations were very different from those of former times. Instead of a crowded house, I found only a dull and scanty assembly ; . and on the boards where Catalani used to charm, an indecent fandango was danced by two old characters, ill suited to the circumstances of the times. The ear, in recompense, was deafened by patriotic songs. The name of their enemy afforded an endless source of wit. He was c bono tirano/ but c mala parte.' The humour was doubtless exquisite — but the French, notwithstanding, were on the borders of Portugal.

The English have supported a Regency odious to the people, and have lost more by that, and the convention of Cintra, than they gained at Vimeira. The French are attacking, in all directions, old and corrupted establishments, ready to fall by their own weight. We fly to prop them up with the whole of England's strength. The natural consequence is, that the people of most countries execrate the French, but find it hard to condemn many of their measures; while, on the contrary*

LISBON. PORTUGUESE VOLUNTEERS. 2Q

the English are very generally beloved, and their measures execrated. The former Government of Portugal, of which the present Regency is the representative, was a very bad one. Its oppressions and its ignorance were alike notorious. Yet we have linked ourselves to this Government, and not to the people. We make no appeals, as it were, directly from nation to nation. All that we say comes to the people through the medium of magistrates, not beloved, nor respected farther than that they hold an arbitrary power in their hands.