for them, nor will be while we are in the country. They usually take place during the warm weather not earlier than May. The building itself is very similar to the Amphitheatres of the ancient Greeks and Romans, but are built of wood instead of stone. Only such towns as contain twelve thousand inhabitants are allowed by law to luxuriate in a bullring. There is a large circle around which are ranged tiers of seats rising one above the other and receding towards the top. In the area are screens behind which the Matadore can retire when the animal turns upon him; there is the entrance for the spectators and the one through which the animals are brought from their stalls. We were shown the pointed stick with which the man fights, and the sharp stick filled with fire-works thrown at the bull to enrage and goad him on. To a novice, or one unused to them, the spectacle is described as sickening and horrible in the extreme, but to see all this array of seats filled with the popu lace, both high and low, that throng to enjoy the bloody scene, must be a glorious sight. The ring we visited occupies the ground formerly the garden of a convent, the chapel of which has been converted, the lower part into a carriage-house, the upper into a room for concerts, exhibitions, &c., while the cloisters and refectories make fine baths and reading-rooms. "To what base uses do we come at last."

After dinner, Mr. R. came again for us to take a walk out of town. We went about two miles into the country and were delighted with the beauties and novelties that met us. at every step. We passed fields filled with a species of prickly-pear, cultivated chiefly for the cochineal insect found upon it, and made a source of great profit; though past the season, we succeeded in finding a few of the insects, which most assuredly in their ugliness give no promise of the beautiful dye formed from them. The hedges dividing the fields from each other and from the road, were of geranium filled

with bright scarlet flowers; other hedges were of pricklypear; these form an almost impenetrable barrier and bear a fruit much esteemed by the natives. On our way we stepped into a mill, the machinery of which was all of the most simple and primitive kind, at the same time sufficient for the purpose. At length, we reached a point where an enchanting view broke upon us; behind us were the mountains, "nature's palaces," rising one above the other till they were lost in the blue sky that was their canopy, or in the soft veil of haze that draped their sides. These were richly cultivated and beautifully undulating: each knoll and hillock, too, bore its pretty villa as a crown, while houses, purely white, gemmed their sides, contrasting richly with the emerald verdure that crowned every spot of the mountains from their towering summits to their very foot; "deepclad in the green sandals of the freshful Spring.”

On

Before us, at a little distance, was the town, its harbor filled with vessels in orderly array: at one point its fine, tall light-house towering above the masts; the long mole extending out on the opposite side, enclosed and gave shelter to the port. The beautiful cathedral seemed distinct and apart from all, and made a magnificent appearance. the heights above, the fortress of Ghibelfaro formed a picturesque feature, retaining, as it does, sufficient of its ancient formation to show its Moorish origin. Far as the eye could reach, stretched the trackless and immeasurable main, its cerulean surface dotted with many a snowy sail; while the sun, throwing his departing beams from behind a mass of clouds, made every thing still more beautiful. Very near to us, but on lower ground, so that we may look down into it, was the cemetery, unlike any we have seen in any country. A large, square piece of ground is enclosed by walls of perhaps eight or nine feet in thickness, painted within and with. out in white. On the inside of these walls were four rows

SPANISH CEMETERY.

311

of small niches, resembling pigeon-holes in a dove-cot; and in these are placed lengthwise the coffins containing the bodies of the dead, which when thus filled, are closed up with mortar. This is kept of the purest white, and contrasts well with the green sod of the enclosure, in the centre of which is a round building, with a dome, or spire, and two wings, very similar to the mausoleums of the sultans at Constantinople. This serves both as a chapel and a dead-house, prior to the interment. There were also one or two columns within the square, and the whole formed one of the most singular objects I have in a long time seen; and things must be exceedingly curious and novel, to strike with much force after having seen so much that is strange and new. I inquired of Mr. R. if no one was buried in the ground of the enclosure. He said "Yes, perhaps a few too poor to buy a niche." Certes--I envied the poor man his poverty that allowed him the privilege of being covered by the green sod of the valley, and to have his grave waved o'er by the soft boughs of the evergreen pine. But now

"The night is stealing on,

And the day takes its farewell, like the last tone
Of hallow'd music in a minster's aisles,

Heard when it floats along the shade of elms,

In the still place of graves."

So looking our adieux upon the silent resting-place before us, we turned our faces towards the city of the living. Mr. R. led us through orange groves, the trees of which are now laden with fruit, ripe and ready to fall, at the same time that the branches are filled with buds just opening into pretty white flowers, and sending forth an odor that fills the air with fragrance. In one of these orchards a man was busy irrigating his field. Trenches are dug in every direction, and by means of these, water is conveyed to all the trees: a little embankment is raised at the various turnings, and

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NATURAL SCENERY.

these are removed and replaced, as they fill with water or require filling. Oh! how delightful every thing was; enjoying nature in such a way is luxury indeed. So great indeed had been my delight that though our walk had been a long one in addition to the fatigues of the day, I felt not a whit weary.

"We had seen in the vast and the minute,

The unambiguous footsteps of the God
Who gives its lustre to an insect's wing,

And wheels His throne upon the rolling worlds."

VIEW OF THE TOWN.

313

LETTER XXXIV.

ROYALISTS

SHOT-SPANISH REVENUE CUTTERS--SERVICE

IN THE CATHEDRAL-DEPARTURE FROM MALAGA-GIBRALTAR-SOLDIERS--THE GALLERIES-A DRIVE ON THE

ALAMEDA.

Cadiz, March.

WE had been in Malaga long enough to see all that was most desirable, and in fact to have the time hang somewhat heavy in expectation of the arrival of the steamer, that was to bring us letters and bear us onward; and at dinner on Saturday the good tidings were brought us that she was in sight. As soon as she had anchored, Mr. C., accompanied by the consul, went on board to secure berths, and see if there was any possibility of obtaining our letters; but as they were directed to Gibraltar, they were enclosed for that place, and we must wait till our arrival there. The steamer brought news of the surrender of Alicant; the chief of the insurgents had deserted, but was taken and shot by the royalists. Forty-two of the insurgents were killed, and a Spanish steamer that was in port was much damaged by the shot. After their return we sallied out together, and extended our walk to the extremity of the mole, on which the light-house stands, whence we had a fine view of the whole extent of the town, and of the bay within and without the mole; we then descended the rocks that form the foundation of the warning light; awhile

"We wandered on the pebbled beach,

Marking the sunlight of the evening hour,

And hearkened to the thoughts the waters teach—
Eternity Eternity and Power!"