As We Passed By The Scene Of The Butchery,
The Poor Fellow Wept, And, Though A Spaniard, Cursed Spain And
The
Spaniards, saying that he intended shortly to pass over to the
Moreria, to confess Mahomet, and to learn the
Law of the Moors, for
that any country and religion were better than his own. He pointed
to the tree where the corporal had been tied; though much rain had
fallen since, the ground around was still saturated with blood, and
a dog was gnawing a piece of the unfortunate wretch's skull. A
friar travelled with us the whole way from Madrid to Seville; he
was of the missionaries, and was going to the Philippine islands,
to conquer (para conquistar), for such was his word, by which I
suppose he meant preaching to the Indians. During the whole
journey he exhibited every symptom of the most abject fear, which
operated upon him so that he became deadly sick, and we were
obliged to stop twice in the road and lay him amongst the green
corn. He said that if he fell into the hands of the factious, he
was a lost priest, for that they would first make him say mass, and
then blow him up with gunpowder. He had been professor of
philosophy, as he told me, in one of the convents (I think it was
San Thomas) of Madrid before their suppression, but appeared to be
grossly ignorant of the Scriptures, which he confounded with the
works of Virgil.
We stopped at Manzanares as usual; it was Sunday morning, and the
market-place was crowded with people. I was recognised in a
moment, and twenty pair of legs instantly hurried away in quest of
the prophetess, who presently made her appearance in the house to
which we had retired to breakfast. After many greetings on both
sides, she proceeded, in her Latin, to give me an account of all
that had occurred in the village since I had last been there, and
of the atrocities of the factious in the neighbourhood. I asked
her to breakfast, and introduced her to the friar, whom she
addressed in this manner: "Anne Domine Reverendissime facis adhuc
sacrificium?" But the friar did not understand her, and waxing
angry, anathematized her for a witch, and bade her begone. She
was, however, not to be disconcerted, and commenced singing, in
extemporary Castilian verse, the praises of friars and religious
houses in general. On departing I gave her a peseta, upon which
she burst into tears, and intreated that I would write to her if I
reached Seville in safety.
We did arrive at Seville in safety, and I took leave of the friar,
telling him that I hoped to meet him again at Philippi. As it was
my intention to remain at Seville for some months, I determined to
hire a house, in which I conceived I could live with more privacy,
and at the same time more economically than in a posada. It was
not long before I found one in every respect suited to me. It was
situated in the Plazuela de la Pila Seca, a retired part of the
city, in the neighbourhood of the cathedral, and at a short
distance from the gate of Xeres; and in this house, on the arrival
of Antonio and the horses, which occurred within a few days, I took
up my abode.
I was now once more in beautiful Seville and had soon ample time
and leisure to enjoy its delights and those of the surrounding
country; unfortunately, at the time of my arrival, and indeed for
the next ensuing fortnight, the heaven of Andalusia, in general so
glorious, was overcast with black clouds, which discharged
tremendous showers of rain, such as few of the Sevillians,
according to their own account, had ever seen before. This
extraordinary weather had wrought no little damage in the
neighbourhood, causing the Guadalquivir, which, during the rainy
season, is a rapid and furious stream, to overflow its banks and to
threaten an inundation. It is true that intervals were occurring
when the sun made his appearance from his cloudy tabernacle, and
with his golden rays caused everything around to smile, enticing
the butterfly forth from the bush, and the lizard from the hollow
tree, and I invariably availed myself of these intervals to take a
hasty promenade.
O how pleasant it is, especially in springtide, to stray along the
shores of the Guadalquivir. Not far from the city, down the river,
lies a grove called Las Delicias, or the Delights. It consists of
trees of various kinds, but more especially of poplars and elms,
and is traversed by long shady walks. This grove is the favourite
promenade of the Sevillians, and there one occasionally sees
assembled whatever the town produces of beauty or gallantry. There
wander the black-eyed Andalusian dames and damsels, clad in their
graceful silken mantillas; and there gallops the Andalusian
cavalier, on his long-tailed thick-maned steed of Moorish ancestry.
As the sun is descending, it is enchanting to glance back from this
place in the direction of the city; the prospect is inexpressibly
beautiful. Yonder in the distance, high and enormous, stands the
Golden Tower, now used as a toll-house, but the principal bulwark
of the city in the time of the Moors. It stands on the shore of
the river, like a giant keeping watch, and is the first edifice
which attracts the eye of the voyager as he moves up the stream to
Seville. On the other side, opposite the tower, stands the noble
Augustine convent, the ornament of the faubourg of Triana, whilst
between the two edifices rolls the broad Guadalquivir, bearing on
its bosom a flotilla of barks from Catalonia and Valencia. Farther
up is seen the bridge of boats which traverses the water. The
principal object of this prospect, however, is the Golden Tower,
where the beams of the setting sun seem to be concentrated as in a
focus, so that it appears built of pure gold, and probably from
that circumstance received the name which it now bears.
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