25 chapters
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25 chapters
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
M ANY ladies, some of whom even contemplate a visit to Spain, having condescended to signify to the publisher their regrets, that the Handbook was printed in a form, which rendered its perusal irksome, and also to express a wish that the type had been larger, the Author, to whom this distinguished compliment was communicated, has hastened to submit to their indulgence a few extracts and selections, which may throw some light on the character of a country and people, always of the highest interes
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
A general view of Spain—Isolation—King of the Spains—Castilian precedence—Localism—Want of Union—Admiration of Spain—M. Thiers in Spain. T HE kingdom of Spain, which looks so compact on the map, is composed of many distinct provinces, each of which in earlier times formed a separate and independent kingdom; and although all are now united under one crown by marriage, inheritance, conquest, and other circumstances, the original distinctions, geographical as well as social, remain almost unaltered
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
The Geography of Spain—Zones—Mountains—The Pyrenees—The Gabacho, and French Politics. F ROM Spain being the most southern country in Europe, it is very natural that those who have never been there, and who in England criticise those who have, should imagine the climate to be even more delicious than that of Italy or Greece. This is far from being the fact; some, indeed, of the sea coasts and sheltered plains in the S. and E. provinces are warm in winter, and exposed to an almost African sun in s
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
The Rivers of Spain—Bridges—Navigation—The Ebro and Tagus. T HERE are six great rivers in Spain,—the arteries which run between the seven mountain chains, the vertebræ of the geological skeleton. These water-sheds are each intersected in their extent by others on a minor scale, by valleys and indentations, in each of which runs its own stream. Thus the rains and melted snows are all collected in an infinity of ramifications, and are carried by these tributary conduits into one of the main trunks
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
Divisions into Provinces—Ancient Demarcations—Modern Departments—Population—Revenue—Spanish Stocks. I N the divisions of the Peninsula which are effected by mountains, rivers, and climate, a leading principle is to be traced throughout, for it is laid down by the unerring hand of nature. The artificial, political, and conventional arrangement into kingdoms and provinces is entirely the work of accident and absence of design. These provincial divisions were formed by the gradual union of many sma
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
Travelling in Spain—Steamers—Roads, Roman, Monastic, and Royal—Modern Railways—English Speculations. O F the many misrepresentations regarding Spain, few are more inveterate than those which refer to the dangers and difficulties that are there supposed to beset the traveller. This, the most romantic, racy, and peculiar country of Europe, may in reality be visited by sea and land, and throughout its length and breadth, with ease and safety, as all who have ever been there well know, the nonsense
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
Post-Office in Spain—Travelling with post-horses—Riding post—Mails and Diligences, Galeras, Coches de Colleras, Drivers, and Manner of Driving, and Oaths. A SYSTEM of post, both for the despatch of letters and the conveyance of couriers, was introduced into Spain under Philip and Juana, that is, towards the end of the reign of our Henry VII.; whereas it was scarcely organised in England before the government of Cromwell. Spain, which in these matters, as well as in many others, was once so much
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
Spanish Horses—Mules—Asses—Muleteers—Maragatos. W E now proceed to Spanish quadrupeds, having placed the wheel-carriages before the horses. That of Andalucia takes precedence of all; he fetches the highest price, and the Spaniards in general value no other breed; they consider his configuration and qualities as perfect, and in some respects they are right, for no horse is more elegant or more easy in his motions, none are more gentle or docile, none are more quick in acquiring showy accomplishme
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
Riding Tour in Spain—Pleasures of it—Pedestrian Tour—Choice of Companions—Rules for a Riding Tour—Season of Year—Day’s Journey—Management of Horse: his Feet; Shoes; General Hints. A MAN in a public carriage ceases to be a private individual: he is merged into the fare, and becomes a number according to his place; he is booked like a parcel, and is delivered by the guard. How free, how lord and master of himself, does the same dependent gentleman mount his eager barb, who by his neighing and pawi
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
The Rider’s Costume—Alforjas: their contents—The Bota, and How to use it—Pig Skins and Borracha—Spanish Money—Onzas and smaller Coins. T HE rider’s costume and accoutrements require consideration; his great object should be to pass in a crowd, either unnoticed, or to be taken for “one of us,” Uno de Nosotros , and a member of the Iberian family— de la Familia : this is best effected by adopting the dress, that is usually worn by the natives when they travel on horseback, or journey by any of the
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
Spanish Servants: their Character—Travelling Groom, Cook, and Valet. D ON Q UIXOTE’S first thought, after having determined to ride forth into Spain, was to get a horse; his second was to secure a squire; and as the narrative of his journey is still an excellent guide-book for modern travellers, his example is not to be slighted. A good Sancho Panza will on the whole be found to be a more constant comfort to a knight-errant than even a Dulcinea. To secure a really good servant is of the utmost c
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
A Spanish Cook—Philosophy of Spanish Cuisine—Sauce—Difficulty of Commissariat—The Provend—Spanish Hares and Rabbits—The Olla—Garbanzo—Spanish Pigs—Bacon and Hams—Omelette—Salad and Gazpacho. I T would exhaust a couple of Colonial numbers at least to discuss properly the merits and digest Spanish cookery. All that can be now done is to skim the subject, which is indeed fat and unctuous. Those meats and drinks will be briefly noticed which are daily occurrence, and those dishes described which we
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
Drinks of Spain—Water—Irrigation—Fountains—Spanish Thirstiness—The Alcarraza—Water Carriers—Ablutions—Spanish Chocolate—Agraz—Beer Lemonade. I N dipping into Spanish liquids we shall not mix wine with water, but keep them separate, as most Spaniards do; the latter is entitled to rank first, by those who prefer the opinion of Pindar, who held water to be the best of things, to that of Anacreon, who was not member of any temperance society. The profound regard for water of a Spaniard is quite Orie
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
Spanish Wines—Spanish Indifference—Wine-making—Vins du Pays—Local Wines—Benicarló—Valdepeñas. T HE wines of Spain deserve a chapter to themselves. Sherry indeed is not less popular among us than Murillo, in spite of the numbers of bad copies of the one, which are passed off for undoubted originals, and butts of the other, which are sold neat as imported. The Spaniard himself is neither curious in port, nor particular in Madeira; he prefers quantity to quality, and loves flavour much less than he
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
Sherry Wines—The Sherry District—Origin of the Name—Varieties of Soil—Of Grapes—Pajarete—Rojas Clemente—Cultivation of Vines—Best Vineyards—The Vintage—Amontillado—The Capataz—The Bodega—Sherry Wine—Arrope and Madre Vino—A Lecture on Sherry in the Cellar—at the Table—Price of Fine Sherry—Falsification of Sherry—Manzanilla—The Alpistera. S HERRY , a wine which requires more explanation than many of its consumers imagine, is grown in a limited nook of the Peninsula, on the south-western corner of
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
Spanish Inns: Why so Indifferent—The Fonda—Modern Improvements—The Posada—Spanish Innkeepers—The Venta: Arrival in it—Arrangement—Garlic—Dinner—Evening—Night—Bill—Identity with the Inns of the Ancients. H AVING thus, and we hope satisfactorily, discussed the eatables and drinkables of Spain, attention must naturally be next directed to those houses on the roads and in the towns, where these comforts to the hungry and weary public are to be had, or are not to be had, as sometimes will happen in t
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
Spanish Robbers—A Robber Adventure—Guardias Civiles—Exaggerated Accounts—Cross of the Murdered—Idle Robber Tales—French Bandittiphobia—Robber History—Guerrilleros—Smugglers—Jose Maria—Robbers of the First Class—The Ratero—Miguelites—Escorts and Escopeteros—Passes, Protections, and Talismans—Execution of a Robber. A N olla without bacon would scarcely be less insipid than a volume on Spain without banditti; the stimulant is not less necessary for the established taste of the home-market, than bra
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Spanish Doctor: his Social Position—Medical Abuses—Hospitals—Medical Education—Lunatic Asylums—Foundling Hospital of Seville—Medical Pretensions—Dissection—Family Physician—Consultations—Medical Costume—Prescriptions—Druggists—Snake Broth—Salve for Knife-cuts. T HE transition from the Spanish ventero to the ladron was easy, nor is that from the robbers to the doctors of Spain difficult; the former at least offer a polite alternative, they demand “your money or your life,” while the latter in
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CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Spanish Spiritual Remedies for the Body—Miraculous Relics—Sanative Oils—Philosophy of Relic Remedies—Midwifery and the Cinta of Tortosa—Bull of Crusade. T HE Reverend Dr. Fernando Castillo, an esteemed Spanish author and teacher, remarks, in his luminous Life of St. Domenick, that Spain has been so bountifully provided by heaven with fine climate, soil, and extra number of saints, that his countrymen are prone to be idle and to neglect such rare advantages. Certainly they may not dig and delve s
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CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
The Spanish Figaro—Mustachios—Whiskers—Beards—Bleeding—Heraldic Blood—Blue, Red, and Black Blood—Figaro’s Shop—The Baratero—Shaving and Toothdrawing. F EW who love Don Quixote, will deem any notice on the Peninsular surgeon complete in which the barber is not mentioned, even be it in a postscript. Although the names of both these learned professors have long been nearly synonymous in Spain, the barber is much to be preferred, inasmuch as his cuts are less dangerous, and his conversation is more
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CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
What to observe in Spain—How to observe—Spanish Incuriousness and Suspicions—French Spies and Plunderers—Sketching in Spain—Difficulties, How Surmounted—Efficacy of Passports and Bribes—Uncertainty and Want of Information in the Natives. N OW that the most approved methods of travelling, living, and being buried in Spain have been touched on, our kind readers will naturally inquire, what are the peculiar attractions which should induce gentlemen and ladies who take their ease at home, to adventu
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
Origin of the Bull-fight or Festival, and its Religious Character—Fiestas Reales—Royal Feasts—Charles I. at one—Discontinuance of the Old System—Sham Bull-fights—Plaza de Toros—Slang Language—Spanish Bulls—Breeds—The Going to a Bull-fight. O UR honest John Bulls have long been more partial to their Spanish namesakes, than even to those perpetrated by the Pope, or made in the Emerald Isle; to see a bull-fight has been the emphatic object of enlightened curiosity, since Peninsular sketches have be
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CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
The Bull-fight—Opening of Spectacle—First Act, and Appearance of the Bull—The Picador—Bull Bastinado—The Horses, and their Cruel Treatment—Fire and Dogs—The Second Act—The Chulos and their Darts—The Third Act—The Matador—Death of the Bull—The Conclusion, and Philosophy of the Amusement—Its Effect on Ladies. W HEN the appointed much-wished-for hour is come, the Queen or the Corregidor takes the seat of honour in a central and splendid box, the mob having been previously expelled from the open are
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CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Spanish Theatre; Old and Modern Drama; Arrangement of Playhouses—The Henroost—The Fandango; National Dances—A Gipsy Ball—Italian Opera—National Songs and Guitars. H AVING seen a bull-fight, the sight of Spain, those who only wish to pass time agreeably cannot be too quick in getting their passports viséd for Naples. A pleasant country life, according to our notions, in Spain, is a thing that is not; and the substitute is but a Bedouin Oriental makeshift existence, which, amusing enough for a spu
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CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Manufacture of Cigars—Tobacco—Smuggling viâ Gibraltar—Cigars of Ferdinand VII.—Making a Cigarrito—Zumalacarreguy and the Schoolmaster—Time and Money Wasted in Smoking—Postscript on Stock. B UT whether at bull-fight or theatre, be he lay or clerical, every Spaniard who can afford it, consoles himself continually with a cigar, sleep—not bed—time only excepted. This is his nepenthe , his pleasure opiate, which, like Souchong, soothes but does not inebriate; it is to him his “Te veniente die et te d
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