The Rooms Were As Empty As Those Of Spanish Inns
Generally Are, And The Fare, Though Good In Its Kind, Was Plain And
Homely; But I Have Seldom Seen A More Imposing Edifice.
It was of
immense size, consisting of several stories, and was built
something in the Moorish taste, with a quadrangular court in the
centre, beneath which was an immense algibe or tank, serving as a
reservoir for rain-water.
All the houses in Toledo are supplied
with tanks of this description, into which the waters in the rainy
season flow from the roofs through pipes. No other water is used
for drinking; that of the Tagus, not being considered salubrious,
is only used for purposes of cleanliness, being conveyed up the
steep narrow streets on donkeys in large stone jars. The city,
standing on a rocky mountain, has no wells. As for the rain-water,
it deposits a sediment in the tank, and becomes very sweet and
potable: these tanks are cleaned out: twice every year. During
the summer, at which time the heat in this part of Spain is
intense, the families spend the greater part of the day in the
courts, which are overhung with a linen awning, the heat of the
atmosphere being tempered by the coolness arising from the tank
below, which answers the same purpose as the fountain in the
southern provinces of Spain.
I spent about a week at Toledo, during which time several copies of
the Testament were disposed of in the shop of my friend the
bookseller.
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