diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/60992-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60992-0.txt | 7889 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 7889 deletions
diff --git a/old/60992-0.txt b/old/60992-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 03ec9a5..0000000 --- a/old/60992-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7889 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The letters of Richard Ford, 1797-1858, by Richard Ford - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The letters of Richard Ford, 1797-1858 - -Author: Richard Ford - -Editor: Rowland E. Prothero - -Release Date: December 22, 2019 [EBook #60992] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LETTERS OF RICHARD FORD *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - THE LETTERS OF - RICHARD FORD - - [Illustration: _Richard Ford_ - - _from a sketch by J. F. Lewis in 1832_ - - _Emery Walker Ph. Sc._] - - - - - THE LETTERS OF - RICHARD FORD - - 1797-1858 - - - EDITED BY - - ROWLAND E. PROTHERO, M.V.O. - - FORMERLY FELLOW OF ALL SOULS’ COLLEGE, OXFORD - AUTHOR OF “THE LIFE OF DEAN STANLEY” - “THE PSALMS IN HUMAN LIFE,” ETC. ETC. - - - WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS - - - NEW YORK - E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY - 1905 - - - - - PRINTED BY - HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD., - LONDON AND AYLESBURY, - ENGLAND - - - - -PREFACE - - -Sixty years ago, few men were more widely known in the world of art, -letters, and society than Richard Ford, the author of the _Handbook for -Spain_. A connoisseur of engravings, an admirable judge of painting, the -interpreter to this country of the genius of Velazquez, he had no rival -as an amateur artist. From his sketches Roberts made many of his best -drawings; some were reproduced by Telbin, others appeared in the -_Illustrated London News_ and the _Landscape Annuals_ of the day, or -supplied illustrations to such books as Byron’s _Childe Harold_ and -Lockhart’s _Spanish Ballads_. One of the first critics who appreciated -the beauties of the ceramic products of Italy, he formed a fine -collection of Gubbio and Majolica ware, and the works of Giorgio and the -Della Robbias. The contents of his Spanish Library, to which many of the -prizes of the Heber sale found their way, were as rich as they were rare -and curious. His taste was no less varied than sound, and few art -treasures in clay, metal, and marble, were beyond his ken. Nor was his -knowledge of the mysteries of cookery less profound, and Amontillado -sherry and Montanches hams were introduced by him into this country. -Well and widely read, gifted with a wonderful memory and a keen sense of -humour, possessed of an extraordinary faculty for happy, unexpected -turns of expression, full of curious anecdotes and adventures, he was a -delightful talker. Entirely without the jealousy of the professed wit, -he was an equally admirable listener. No man was a more welcome guest in -society, none had more friends or fewer enemies. - -His father, Sir Richard Ford (born 1759, died 1806), a friend of William -Pitt, M.P. for East Grinstead (1789), and for Appleby (1790), at one -time Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, became Chief -Police Magistrate at Bow Street, and the creator of the mounted police -force of London. His mother (born 1767, died 1849) was the daughter of -Benjamin Booth, whose wife, Jane Salwey, was the only child and heiress -of Richard Salwey of the Moor, near Ludlow, in Shropshire. To Lady Ford -descended the whole of the Salwey property. Herself an excellent artist, -she inherited from her father, not only his love of art, but a fine -collection of paintings, including examples of the Dutch and Italian -Schools, and of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and a number of the best works of -Richard Wilson, the landscape painter. - -Richard, the eldest son of Sir Richard and Lady Ford, was born at 129, -Sloane Street, Chelsea, in 1796. Educated at Winchester, and Trinity -College, Oxford, he was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1822. But -he never practised. He had inherited from his grandfather and mother a -love of the fine arts; his passion for travelling was strong; he had no -need to pursue his profession. To a young man of his temperament and -easy circumstances, the Continent, so long closed to English travellers -by the Napoleonic wars, opened an alluring field. He travelled in France -and Italy, where he laid the foundation of his own collection of books, -paintings, and engravings. His additions to the pictures which he had -inherited, chiefly belonged to the Spanish School. Among them were fine -examples of Zurbaran, Ribalta, and Velazquez. Of the latter, the -portrait of Mariana of Austria, second wife of Philip IV. of Spain, is -reproduced in this volume (to face p. 218). The picture was given by -Ferdinand VII. to the Canon Cepero, in exchange for two Zurbarans in the -Madrid Gallery. - -In 1824 Richard Ford married Harriet Capel, a daughter of the Earl of -Essex, who, as Lord Malden, had been an intimate friend of his father. -The remaining facts of his life are sufficiently told in his letters. - -The letters from Richard Ford printed in this volume are almost entirely -selected from those which he wrote to Henry Unwin Addington, who in 1830 -was Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of Madrid. -They were carefully preserved by Addington, and at his death were left -by him to his wife, with directions that she should leave them to the -widow of Richard Ford. It is by Mrs. Ford’s wish that they are now -published. - -For the Index I am indebted to Mr. G. H. Holden, Assistant Librarian at -All Souls’ College, Oxford. - - ROWLAND E. PROTHERO. - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER I: SEVILLE - -(NOVEMBER 1830-MAY 1831) - - PAGE - -POLITICAL CONDITION OF SPAIN--FORD AS A TRAVELLER--LIFE -AT SEVILLE--JOURNEY TO MADRID BY _DILIGENCE_--DON -QUIXOTE’S COUNTRY--RETURN TO SEVILLE 1 - - -CHAPTER II: THE ALHAMBRA - -(MAY-NOVEMBER 1831) - -THE ALHAMBRA--ADDINGTON’S VISIT--TOUR TO ALICANTE, -VALENCIA, BARCELONA, ZARAGOZA, MADRID--RETURN TO -THE ALHAMBRA 34 - - -CHAPTER III: SEVILLE REVISITED - -DECEMBER 1831-DECEMBER 1832 - -RETURN TO SEVILLE--EXECUTION OF TORRIJOS--QUESTION OF -SPANISH INTERVENTION IN THE AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL--TARIFA--SALAMANCA -AND NORTH-WESTERN SPAIN--SUCCESSION TO THE SPANISH CROWN 68 - - -CHAPTER IV: SEVILLE AND GRANADA - -(JANUARY-SEPTEMBER, 1833) - -SEVILLE--GRANADA--TETUAN--FESTIVITIES AT MADRID--RETURN -TO ENGLAND 109 - - -CHAPTER V: EXETER - -1833-1837 - -DEATH OF FERDINAND VII.--EXETER--PROJECTED BOOK ON -SPAIN--PURCHASE OF HEAVITREE HOUSE--MARRIAGE OF -LORD KING AND OF ADDINGTON--FIRST ARTICLE IN THE -_QUARTERLY REVIEW_--DEATH OF MRS. FORD 133 - - -CHAPTER VI: HEAVITREE, NEAR EXETER - -(1837-1845) - -LITERARY WORK--ENGAGEMENT AND SECOND MARRIAGE--ARTICLES -IN THE _QUARTERLY REVIEW_--PREPARATIONS FOR -A TOUR ON THE CONTINENT--PROMISE TO WRITE THE -_HANDBOOK FOR TRAVELLERS IN SPAIN_--DELAYS AND -INTERRUPTIONS--GEORGE BORROW--REVIEWS OF THE -_ZINCALI_ AND THE _BIBLE IN SPAIN_--SUPPRESSION OF THE -FIRST EDITION OF THE _HANDBOOK_--FINAL PUBLICATION--THE -_FELICIDADE_ 158 - - -CHAPTER VII: HEAVITREE AND LONDON - -1845-1858 - -SUCCESS OF THE _HANDBOOK_--_GATHERINGS FROM -SPAIN_--ILLNESS AND DEATH OF HIS WIFE--MARRIAGE WITH -MISS MARY MOLESWORTH--TELBIN’S “DIORAMA OF THE -DUKE OF WELLINGTON’S CAMPAIGNS”--FRANCIS CLARE -FORD AND THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE--DEATH OF SIR WILLIAM -MOLESWORTH--FAILING HEALTH--MARRIAGE OF CLARE -FORD--LAST ARTICLE IN THE _QUARTERLY REVIEW_, AND -LAST LETTER TO ADDINGTON--DEATH AT HEAVITREE, -AUGUST 31ST, 1858 201 - - -INDEX 221 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PAGE - -RICHARD FORD (ÆT. 35) _Frontispiece_ - _From a Sketch in Chalk by J. L. Lewis, R.A._ - -“JACA CORDOVESE,” 1832 _Facing_ 9 - _From a Sketch by J. L. Lewis, R.A._ - -BILL PAYABLE TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AGAINST MONEY RECEIVED -BY RICHARD FORD FROM THE DUKE’S SPANISH ESTATES _Facing_ 36 - -PATIO DE LOS LEONES “ 40 - _From a Drawing by Harriet Ford, 1832._ - -PATIO DE LA MEZQUITA “ 82 - _From a Drawing by Harriet Ford, 1832._ - -A SHOOTING EXCURSION “ 108 - _From a Sketch by J. L. Lewis, R.A. (Lewis rides in front, - Ford in the middle, José Boscasa on a baggage donkey.)_ - -HARRIET FORD, FIRST WIFE OF RICHARD FORD 156 - -RICHARD FORD (ÆT. 43) “ 172 - _From a Picture painted in Rome by Antonio Chatelain, 1840._ - -MARGARET HENRIETTA FORD “ 186 - _From a Water-colour Sketch by Marianne Houlton, 1854._ - -LADY FORD, MOTHER OF RICHARD FORD “ 206 - _From a Painting by Ramsay Richard Reinagle, R.A._ - -DOÑA MARGARITA MARIANA OF AUSTRIA, WIFE OF PHILIP IV. OF SPAIN 218 - _From the Painting by Velasquez in the possession of Richard Ford._ - - - - -CHAPTER I - -SEVILLE - -(NOVEMBER 1830-MAY 1831) - - POLITICAL CONDITION OF SPAIN--FORD AS A TRAVELLER--LIFE AT - SEVILLE--JOURNEY TO MADRID BY _DILIGENCE_--DON QUIXOTE’S - COUNTRY--RETURN TO SEVILLE - - -On September 15th, 1830, Richard Ford wrote from London to his friend -Henry Unwin Addington, the British Plenipotentiary at Madrid, announcing -his intention to winter in Spain. The letter was sent by the hand of Mr. -Wetherell, who had been encouraged by the Spanish Government to set up a -tannery at Seville. He imported workmen and machinery, and established -his premises in the suppressed Jesuit convent of San Diego. But the -Government proved faithless, its promises were unfulfilled, the convent -was taken from him, and the unfortunate Wetherell, with many of his -compatriots, lies buried in the garden near the dismantled tannery. - -Cea Bermudez, whose opinion Ford quotes, was at that time the Spanish -Ambassador in England. As Prime Minister under Ferdinand VII. he had -proved too Liberal for his master (1825); so at a later period (1832-3) -he showed himself, in the same capacity, too Conservative for Queen -Christina. - - LONDON, _September 15 [1830]_. - - DEAR ADDINGTON, - - Mr. Wetherell will take this to Madrid, on his way to Seville, - where I am shortly bound myself on account of Mrs. Ford’s health. - She is condemned to spend a winter or two in a warm climate, and we - have decided on the south of Spain for this year. We shall sail - very soon, as a friend of mine, Captain Shirreff, who is appointed - Port-admiral at Gibraltar, gives us a passage out. - - News we have none, as grass is growing in the deserted streets of - London; other news are not safely sent _por la delicadeza de las - circunstancias politicas_. But with them you are well acquainted by - the newspapers, which, if you could contrive occasionally to send - to me confidentially, and not to be shown, when at Seville, would - be the greatest favour our King’s representative could show to one - of his humble subjects on his travels. - - I am in hopes all will be quiet in Spain. Cea Bermudez thinks so, - and hinted to Lord Dudley, who told me, that they were going to do - everything that could be fairly expected by the Liberals. I am - praying the Queen may produce a son. - - I have seen much here of the Consul at Malaga, Mr. Mark; if I am - to believe him, Malaga is a second Paradise. The Duke of Wellington - says Granada is charming; he has given us a letter to O’Lawlor, who - manages his property at Soto de Roma. Washington Irving tells us we - shall be able to be lodged in the Alhambra, as he was, which will - tempt me to pass next summer there. - - It is a serious undertaking to travel into Spain with three - children and four women, and a great bore to break up my - establishment here, but it must be done. - - S[u] S[eguro] S[ervidor], - - RICHARD FORD. - - - -Political conditions, at the time when Richard Ford landed in Spain with -his wife and children, threatened the outbreak of civil war. In 1812 the -Cortes, sitting at Cadiz, then almost the only spot which was not -occupied by a foreign force, had promulgated the forms and phrases of -parliamentary government. Few praised, few blamed the new Constitution, -which was foreign in spirit and founded on French models; few asked the -reason why _Plaza de la Constitucion_ was inscribed on the principal -squares. To the mass of the Spanish people, constitutions were parchment -unrealities. Caring less for theories of government than for the just -administration of existing laws, they gained from the action of the -Cortes nothing that they desired. Their deepest convictions were -loyalty to the Church and to the Crown, and to these prejudices the -Constitution only opposed definitions. Every class that suffered by the -proposed reforms was mistrustful, if not hostile. The clergy, the -functionaries, the nobles, were either outraged in their opinions, or -attacked in their interests, or curtailed of their authority. - -When Ferdinand VII. returned to power in March 1814, he pressed his -advantage home. A restoration is often worse than a revolution. It was -so in Spain. Ferdinand rejected the Constitution, removed the -restrictions on his despotism, and restored the Inquisition. But he had -gone too far. Don Rafael del Riego stirred to rebellion the ill-paid -troops assembled on the Isla de Leon for the unpopular expedition to -South America. _El Himno de Riego_, the _Marseillaise_ of Spain, written -by Evaristo San-Miguel and composed by La Huerta, caught the ears of the -people; even the _Tragala_, or _Ça ira_ of Spanish revolutionists, was -sung in Madrid, and from 1820 to 1823 the Constitution was forced upon -the King. But with the help of France he had regained his despotic -authority, and used it with blind ferocity. - -In 1829 Ferdinand, till then childless, had married as his fourth wife, -Christina of Naples. The expected birth of a child alarmed the -retrograde party of extreme clericals and ultra-royalists which had -rallied round the King’s brother and presumptive heir, Don Carlos. At -the same time, the Constitutionalists or Liberals, encouraged by the -French Revolution of 1830, returned from exile, or emerged from their -hiding-places, and risings in favour of political reform agitated the -North and the South of Spain. The general unrest was increased by the -Civil War in Portugal, where the Liberal adherents of Maria da Gloria, -the daughter of Pedro IV., waged war against the Absolutists who -supported her uncle Dom Miguel. - -Threatened on the one side by reactionary tendencies, and on the other -by political innovations, the weak and bankrupt Government rested -securely on the torpor of the Spanish people. With all his faults, -Ferdinand, fat, good-natured, jocose in a ribald fashion, affecting the -national dress, feeding on _puchero_, an eager sportsman, devoted to -smoking his thick Havana cigars, and to his beautiful queen, had few -personal enemies. He knew the temper of his country well. He did -nothing, and it was the interest of neither party to precipitate the -impending crisis. He was “the cork in the beer bottle,” as he said -himself, and only when he was “gone, would the beer foam over.” On -October 10th, 1830, his daughter Isabella was born. In her favour the -Salic law of succession was set aside. Don Carlos retired to Portugal, -and the Cortes swore to Isabella the oath of allegiance as Princess of -the Asturias and heiress to the throne. Three months later (September -29th, 1833), Ferdinand died. Isabella was proclaimed Queen, under the -guardianship of her mother, Doña Christina. Civil war at once broke out, -the Liberals supporting Christina, and the Carlists fighting under the -standard of legitimacy. - -But, apart from disturbed political conditions, the moment at which Ford -visited the country was exceptionally favourable. Entrenched behind the -Pyrenees, isolated from the rest of Europe, Spain, in lazy pride, -watched from her Castle of Indolence the progress of other nations. Few -travellers crossed her borders. Travelling carriages were unknown -luxuries; it was only possible to post from Irun to Madrid. The system -of passports and police surveillance was vexatious. Except on the main -lines, the inns were bad, the by-roads were almost impassable for -wheeled carriages, the country was infested with robbers, and all these -obstacles were magnified by literary travellers. Thus Spain, repelling -intercourse with other nations, was thrown back upon herself. Yet this -isolation did not unite the separate provinces in any community of -national feeling. The contrary was the case. Bound together in -provincial clanship, the inhabitants knew themselves and their -neighbours, not as Spaniards, but as Arragonese or Castilians, -Andalusians or Catalans. The climate, soil, and products of the barren -dusty centre did not present more striking variations from those of the -rich luxuriant south than did the distinctive dress, language, customs, -and habits of the natives of the respective provinces. Here were the -sandals, the wide breeches, the bright sash, the many-coloured plaid, -the gay handkerchief of the half-oriental Valencian; here the red cap of -the Catalan, trousered to the armpits; here the broad-brimmed hat, -figured velvet waistcoat, richly worked shirt, and embroidered gaiters -of the Leonese; here the filigree buttons, silver tags and tassels which -studded the jacket of the Andalusian dandy, who starved for weeks on a -crust and onion that he might glitter in a gay costume, for a few hours -on a saint’s day, under his blue sky and brilliant sun. And everywhere, -in the foreground of every rural scene, stood the ass, the companion and -the helpmate of the Spanish peasant. - -Distinctions of dress were but the outward expression of a variety of -deeper differences. To the artist, the historian, the sportsman, and the -antiquary,--to the student of dialects, the observer of manners and -customs, the lover of art, the man of sentiment, Spain in 1830 offered -an enchanting field, an almost untrodden Paradise. In Ford all these -interests were combined, not merely as tastes, but as enthusiasms. He -revelled in the country and its people with the unflagging zest of his -richly varied sympathies. He learned to speak the Spanish of the place -in which he happened to be, and of the people with whom he chanced to be -talking. The inveterate exclusiveness of the aristocracy, the ingrained -mistrust of the lower orders, the professional suspicion of the bandit -or the smuggler broke down before the charm of his manners and -appearance. Quick to observe, and prompt to adopt, the customs, -ceremonies, and courtesies of Spanish society, he found the houses of -the grandees at his disposal. Rural Dogberries, jealous of their -authority, who could not be driven by rods of iron, submitted to be led -by the silken thread of his civility. José Maria, the bandit King of -Andalusia, made him free of his country, and over his wide district Ford -rode for miles, if not by his side, at least under his personal -protection. Even the smuggler, by the fireside of a country inn, laid -aside his blunderbuss, and, over a bottle of wine and a cigar, gave him -his confidence. He was, in fact, a born traveller. If necessary, he was -master of every intonation with which the mule driver of La Mancha can -pronounce the national oath. But with him these occasions were rare. He -knew that money made the mare and the driver to go, and that a joke, a -proverb, or a cigar, was the best oil for reluctant wheels. Travelling -mainly on horseback, he was independent of roads. Mounted on “Jaca -Cordovese,” threading his way by bridle-paths and goat-tracks, he -penetrated to the most inaccessible of the towns which were plastered -like martins’ nests against the tawny rocks of Spain. Never looking for -five feet in a cat, or expecting more from Spanish inns than they could -offer, he encountered every inconvenience with good temper, and -accumulated in his wanderings the mass of insight, incident, and -adventure, which he stored in his note-books and embodied in his -_Handbook to Spain_. - -Ford’s second letter to Addington (November 27th, 1830) announces his -arrival, and is dated from “Plazuela San Isidoro, No. 11, Seville,”--the -Athens and the Capua of Spain. The house which he occupied seems to have -belonged to the Mr. Hall Standish who left to Louis Philippe the fine -collection of Spanish pictures which were formerly deposited in the -_Musée Standish_ at the Louvre. - - We are all safely arrived at Seville, in spite of the Bay of - Biscay, and all the dangers and perils - -[Illustration: JACA CORDOVESE. - -[_To face p. 9._ - -“I [R. F.] rode more than 2000 miles on this Horse.”] - - supposed to abound in this quiet country by the good people in - England. We had rather a long passage--twenty days--but were in a - good ship with a good captain, an old friend of mine, who is now - employed in cleaning that Augean Stable of jobs and - mismanagement--the Bay of Gibraltar. We were as comfortable as the - wretched nature of ships will allow of; man-cook, doctor, cow, - sheep, and chickens contributed thereunto. - - We were right glad to be landed at the Rock, and spent eight or ten - days there very agreeably in seeing the lions and monkeys, guns and - garrisons, and in going to balls and batteries. When I come to - Madrid, I will let you into a few of the secrets I heard at the - Rock. The old general[1] and his lady (an old friend of my - mother’s) were very civil and good-natured to us. We found their - house very agreeable. Having clambered all over the Rock, we began - to feel the epidemic under which the garrison labours, namely, - _bore_, and the feeling of being shut up on so small a space. We - therefore took an English brig and proceeded to Cadiz. - - By the way, before you leave Spain, you should see the Straits of - Gibraltar. I never yet have seen any scenery to equal the African - coast, so bold and mountainous. Cadiz is charming, clean and tidy, - abounding in all good things, the result of _a free trade_,[2] if - you and the Spaniards would but think so. Thence in the steamer to - Seville, where we are finally settled in an excellent house which I - have taken of Mr. Hall Standish. It has the advantages of a garden, - a fireplace, and a southern exposure, which make it perfectly warm; - the climate delicious, everybody very civil. - - We have brought letters to all the governors and grandees, and one - from a gentleman who was of some consequence, the Duke of - Wellington, to his old friend, the Marquis de las Amarillas, the - _beau idéal_ of a Spanish caballero.[3] We intend spending the - winter here. - - I am in treaty for a _grande chasse_ near this place, where the - _assistente_ goes, and also am about to take the best box at the - theatre. You will think I have discovered a mine of gold; but all - this may be done for much less than the weekly bills in London, and - I hope to save at least half my income. - - Pray consider this house at your disposal if ever you may be - inclined to come to Seville; I think we shall be able to make you - comfortable. - -At Seville Ford remained for the next six months. There he laid the -foundations of his unrivalled knowledge of Spanish life. There, -sketchbook in hand, he studied the various styles of architecture, both -ecclesiastical and civil, of which the city was an epitome, sketching -the Prout-like subjects which every turn of the labyrinthine streets -afforded. There he studied the ceremonial, origin, and meaning of the -religious functions, nowhere more magnificent, and especially of the -quaint pageants of Holy Week. He learnt by heart the pictures in the -cathedral, the churches, the university, the museum, the private -galleries, and picked up for himself not a few of the treasures of -Spanish art. Under the crumbling battlements and long arches of the -aqueduct at the _Plaza de la Carne_ he watched the Easter sales of -paschal lambs, reminded of Murillo by living originals, as the children -led off their lambs decorated with ribbons, or as shepherds strode by, -holding the animals by the four legs so as to form a tippet round their -necks. With much gossip and cigar-smoking he ransacked the shop of the -Greek Dionysio, the tall, gaunt bookseller in the _Calle de Genoa_, for -rare volumes, or chaffered with the jewellers in the arcades of the -_Plaza_ for Damascene filigree and cinque-cento work, or bargained at -the weekly markets of _La Feria_ among the piled-up stalls of fish, -fruit, flesh and fowl. At Seville he learned the useful art of ridding -himself of the importunity of beggars. There also he masqueraded at the -carnivals, flirted with the Andalusian beauties in the _Plaza del -Duque_, and mastered, in the best of schools, the intricacies of the -art of bull-fighting. At the fair of Mairena he noted every detail of -the glittering dresses of the _majos_, the dandies who there displayed -their finest dresses and feats of horsemanship. He revelled in the -colours and costumes, the grouping and attitudes of the washerwomen, who -screamed and chattered in the _Corral del Conde_. He followed with the -keenest interest every step in the national _bolero_ at the theatre, -every movement of the wilder saraband, danced to the accompaniment of -castanets and tambourines by the gipsies in the suburb of _Los Humeros_. -Among the horse-dealers, jockeys, and cattle-dealers, who thronged the -_Alameda Vieja_, he had many friends, and from them probably learned -some of the secrets of horse-keeping which he knew to perfection. For -his pencil he found endless subjects on the sunny flats beyond the -Moorish walls in the groups of idlers, who, under the vine trellises, -played cards the livelong day for wine or love or coppers; or in the -suburb of _La Macarena_, the home of the agricultural labourer, where -the women, clad in the rainbow rags of picturesque poverty, and the -naked urchins, rich in every variety of brown and yellow, gathered in -front of their hovels behind their carts and implements and animals. - -Of society in Seville he saw as much as there was to be seen. Writing to -Addington in November or December 1830, he says: - - This place is dull enough for people inclined to balls and dinners; - but we are very well pleased. The climate delicious beyond - description, open doors and windows, with the sun streaming in. We - have had a good deal of rain, but no cold. I have a good fireplace - in my sitting-room, which is a rarity here, and indeed is not much - wanted. The habits of the natives are very unsocial, never meeting - in each other’s houses, and only going to the theatre Thursdays and - Mondays. Politics, and a want of money, contribute much to this, - and, more, their natural indolence and love of hugger-muggery at - home in their shawls and over the _Brasero_. Their customs are - droll and inconvenient. Nothing more so than that of visiting in - grand costume, white gloves and necklaces, from 12 to 2; then they - dine, and what they do afterwards, God knows. The day is pretty - well consumed in doing nothing. However, we dine at half-past 5, - and contrive to get a morning for walking, sketching, reading, etc. - - The principal people are very civil, especially the _Assistente_, - Arjona, and a General Giron, Marquis of Amarillas, a friend of the - Duke of Wellington. They talk politics to _me_; but that is a - subject nobody touches on here. - - As far as I can see, mixing much with bankers, _canonigos_, and - grandees, there is no appearance whatever of anything unpleasant, - and I am sure at Cadiz still less; either they do not talk about - these matters, or do not care. I am inclined to think the latter. I - saw a captain of an English brig yesterday, twelve days from - Plymouth, who says that everything is quite quiet in the south-west - part of England--no burnings or meetings. - - I have had no news yet from my _Whig friends_ in London. Now would - be the time for me to be looking out for something; but there are - ten Pigs no doubt for every Teat, and the Whigs are much more - hungry from long abstinence than the Tories who have been sucking - away this fifty years. I will venture to opine that they will not - meddle with you. Lord Palmerston is a great friend of Lord Dudley’s - and they were in office together, and I am sure Lord D. is a good - friend of yours. I hope they won’t for all sorts of reasons, and a - selfish one of looking forward to paying you a visit at Madrid next - April. - - I am going on Sunday to the Coto del Rey for a week’s shooting, the - _Assistente_ having ordered an officer to go with me and see that I - have the best of it and good lodgings in the _Palacio_. - - Mr. Williams[4] has a very fine collection of pictures of the - Spanish school, which I own disappoints me, a sort of jumble of - Rubens and Carlo Maratti. However, I have not seen much yet. - - My wife is better already, and the children in a wonderful state of - health; we positively live in the open air; the air is good, the - water better, and the bread superlative. I don’t see what they want - here except money, which is after all something, but nothing to so - _rich_ a man as your very humble servant is in Seville. - -A later letter (January 1st, 1831) is in the same strain:-- - - Many thanks for the Galignanis, always most acceptable, whether - early or late, many or few. One can’t expect in Spain to keep pace - with the march of intellect and English mail. I trust civilisation - will be long getting in here, for it is now an original Peculiar - People, potted for six centuries, as was well said. Luckily the - robbers and roads will stop much advance of improvement. I have too - much respect for Ambassadors and their privileges to presume to - expect anything out of the way. _La forme, il faut s’y tenir._ If - you can get me a Galignani, well; if not, well. I have a great mind - to write to Paris at once, as I see they never touch any of my - letters. If they did I should go to Arjona, who is a great friend - of mine. - - I am just returned from a shooting excursion at the _Coto del Rey_, - where he sent me, with a captain to attend on me; a magnificent - sporting country and full of woodcocks. - - We go on in our humdrum manner, for there is absolutely no society - whatever; dinners of course not, but not even a _Tertulia_ [“at - home” or _Conversazione_]. They meet twice a week at the theatre. - The great bore is the visiting for all the _fine ladies_ (what - would Lʸ. Jersey or Lʸ. Cowper think of them?). They have - condescended to quit their _braseros_ and call on my wife, partly - to see the strange monster they conceive her to be, and partly to - show their laces, white gloves, and trinkets. They call about 2 - o’clock, dressed out for a ball, with fans, and all their wardrobe - on their back; visits interminable. Some bring Mr. Fernando White - as their dragoman, which is rather droll, as his English is - infinitely less intelligible than their Spanish. Then we return the - visits, my wife in mantilla and white gloves, according to - etiquette. What a contrast between these fine ladies at home and - abroad! No Cinderella changes more rapidly. There they are, - squatting over their _brasero_, unwashed, undressed, cold and - shivering, and uncomfortable, wrapped up in a shawl in their great - barnlike, unfurnished houses; a matted rush and a few chairs the - inventory of their chattels. A book is a thing I have not yet set - eyes on, nor anything which indicates the possession of those - damnable, heretical accomplishments, reading and writing. They are - very civil and gracious, and everything is at our disposition, - especially as they see we have eyes, hands, and faces, like other - mortals. Of course I am considered to be a milor, and am known by - the name of the Don Ricardo. - - We have had many letters from England; all seem very uncomfortable - there about the way things are going on. After all, it will turn - out, as I said in England, the only place to be quiet in is Spain. - Lady Jersey is broken-hearted; Lady Lyndhurst ruined,--they have - just £1200 a year, which won’t pay her coiffeur. Lord Lyndhurst[5] - expected to the last to have been Chancellor; Lords Carnarvon, - Dudley, and Radnor indignant. The new Ministry thought to be very - Grey, too much so.[6] They will cut down all the good things, till, - as old Tierney said, it will be a losing concern to come in. Lord - Castlereagh used to say, in the good old times, in the dark days - of Nicolas, that “the cake was not then too large for the wholesome - aliment of the constitution.” - - Great doings in the cathedrals, churches, and convents: much - bell-ringing, processions, great consumption of incense, torches, - and tapers. I wonder how the lower orders manage to keep - themselves, as every day seems to be a holiday. The most active - branch of commerce is the sale of the water of the Alameda, which - seems to agree with the Sevillian as well as it would with a trout. - - Everything appears to me to be in a state of profound repose, all - dead and still. - -An enthusiastic sportsman, Ford found that the neighbourhood swarmed -with game--with partridges, hares, rabbits, quail, curlew, and plover. -Snipe and woodcock abounded. Within a mile from Seville, he could with -ease kill ten couple of snipe in a morning: in every half-acre copse he -counted on flushing five or six woodcock. Behind a pasteboard horse, or -concealed in a country cart, he stalked the bustards drawn up in long -lines on the plains that bordered the Guadalquivir. The Coto del Rey, a -royal preserve about thirty miles from Seville, abounded not only with -the smaller game of the country, but also deer and wild boars. With most -of the smaller winged game he had the field to himself, and his skill, -armed with a double-barrelled Purdey, and using detonators, seemed to -the countrymen almost demoniacal. The natives themselves rarely fired at -game in motion, partly because ammunition was extravagantly dear, partly -because, with their flint and steel guns, a quarter of a minute elapsed -between pulling the trigger and the discharge of the piece. Spaniards -shot rather for the pot than for sport. In partridge shooting decoys -were used, and the birds killed on the ground. Hares were shot in -cleared runs or on their forms, and rabbits as they paused in creeping -to the edges of woods. - -In the occupations and amusements which Seville and its neighbourhood -afforded, Ford passed his time agreeably enough. Though not yet the -vehement Tory that he became in later life, he congratulated himself on -having left England, then in the throes of Parliamentary Reform. Nor was -he alone in his gloomy forebodings. Even the prospects of Spain seemed -to him, by comparison, peaceful. Yet already revolutionary movements -were on foot within his immediate neighbourhood. In his next three -letters from Seville (February 2nd; February, undated; March 25th, -1831), he refers to the attempts of General Torrijos to stir up a -Liberal rising in Andalusia, their failure, and their punishment. - -From his safe refuge at Gibraltar, Torrijos had issued a proclamation, -calling on the Spanish people to rise against the tyranny of the -Government. On January 24th, 1831, he followed up this manifesto by -landing near Algeciras with two hundred followers. Confronted by -superior numbers, he was compelled to re-embark for Gibraltar. Six -weeks later, March 3rd, 1831, his emissaries won over six hundred of the -sailors and soldiers quartered at Cadiz. A riot took place: the -Governor, Oliver y Hierro, was killed; the movement threatened to become -general. But the rising was soon quelled. The mutineers endeavoured to -join Manzanares in the hills round Ronda. On their march they were -attacked by Quesada, the Captain-General of Andalusia, at Vejer, a -Moorish town scrambling up the rocky cliffs from the river Barbate, -sixteen miles from Cadiz. “Prodigies of valour” were performed by the -royalist troops, whose losses were one man killed, two wounded, and two -bruised. The rebels were defeated. A few escaped to the coast; the -majority were either killed with arms in their hands or as prisoners. -The followers of Manzanares had dwindled to twenty men; Manzanares -himself was murdered by a goatherd, and his companions were spared at -Quesada’s request. The only results of these badly planned invasions -were the creation of courts martial, the multiplication of spies, -wholesale executions, and the establishment of a reign of terror. - -Quesada, in spite of his magniloquent bulletin, was a man of mark. Under -Queen Christina’s regency he was appointed Captain-General of Madrid. -Borrow, who speaks of him as “a very stupid individual, but a great -fighter,”[7] was yet stirred to enthusiasm by the energy and courage of -the “brute bull,” to whom he devotes some of his most picturesque pages. -Almost single-handed, Quesada repressed the military riots at Madrid -(August 11th and 12th, 1836). “No action,” says Borrow, “of any -conqueror or hero on record is to be compared with this closing scene of -the life of Quesada; for who, by his single desperate courage and -impetuosity, ever stopped a revolution in full course? Quesada did; he -stopped the revolution at Madrid for one entire day, and brought back -the uproarious and hostile mob of a huge city to perfect order and -quiet. His burst into the Puerta del Sol was the most tremendous and -successful piece of daring ever witnessed. I admired so much the spirit -of the ‘brute bull’ that I frequently, during his wild onset, shouted -‘Viva Quesada!’”[8] A few days afterwards Quesada was murdered by the -nationals at a village near Madrid. Portions of his body were brought -back to the city, and in the coffeehouse of the _Calle del Alcalá_ the -mangled fingers and hand of the murdered man were stirred in a huge bowl -of coffee, which was drunk to the accompaniment of a grisly song. - - _February 2, 1831._ - - I send you a proclamation issued this morning. People do not seem - inclined to believe it, and think Torrijos had at least two - thousand men. If he had, there must have been a vast propagation - going on in the bay this winter, and armed revolutionists must have - sprung out of the seaweed like so many soldiers of Cadmus. When I - was there, I heard much of them from General Don, the Town Major, - and Shirreff (the Captain of the Port, who brought us out), and the - outside number was computed at six hundred, without arms or money. - I believe the people would have no objection here to a change, if - it could be accomplished by the act of God, or anyhow without - putting them to expense or trouble. They are afraid of everything, - I am told--hot water, cold water, shaving, talking, or indeed doing - anything. As for their ignorance, it is the result of leaving the - mind constantly fallow, and the sharpest Spaniard would get dull, - with their 2-o’clock dinners and habits of living. I find them all - _slow_ in the movements of mind and body. The climate of this place - is most delicious; the rains are over, and the last ten days have - been more charming than any July in England, the sun so warm as - really to be almost oppressive. Spring is coming on rapidly; the - trees are budding, and the vegetation makes gigantic strides. We - have not had above ten days’ cold all the winter, and that a degree - of cold varying between 36 and 46. - - I have had many letters from England, and fear that people are very - uncomfortable there. The tone and feeling I collect from the mass - of letters are far from satisfactory. I believe we are now in the - only quiet place. If ever you should see any real clouds in the - horizon, pray give me a timely hint, as I have a wife and three - children here, and Gibraltar is a very snug place in stormy - weather. I am going to write to Shirreff, and will beg him to let - me know the rights of this Spanish business at Gibraltar, and - communicate them to you. - - There is nothing doing; we live a humdrum life, never going out, - neither to the theatre, which is really insupportably dull, nor to - the _Alameda_. We dine late, and are much occupied with those - damnable heretical inventions--reading and writing, with those - incomprehensible ones to Spaniards--drawing and music, for not even - the guitar is played. I have made a large collection of drawings of - this most picturesque old town; my wife is hard at work with her - guitar, and will play you some real Spanish airs when she gets to - Madrid. - - There is no such thing as a _drawing master_. The natives are - interested and surprised at all our proceedings, and verily believe - we have all arrived from the moon. - - _February_ (undated) 1831. - - We are here blockaded by the waters, and almost cut off from all - communications. The country from the top of the Giralda looks like - Venice, and in many of the streets people go about in boats. The - state of the poor is very lamentable, and they are distributing - bread, etc. Still, the suburb of Triana has risen, and a troop of - soldiers has been obliged to be sent there. However, the rain has - ceased, and there is a prospect of better weather. I hear - occasionally from England, where things are settling down, but - people seem to expect a continental war, in consequence of the - Polish revolution. However, you are much more in the light than I - can possibly be. Is it true that Sir Frˢ. Burdett is dead? I hope - not, as he is a great friend of mine and a most agreeable and - perfect gentleman, tho’ _not_ a Tory, _con licencia de usted_ - [begging your Honour’s pardon]. People seem to think Parliament - will be dissolved after all. - - This is a sad, dull town for news, as I see nobody, and nobody sees - anybody. I have got into a mess by asking some of the _Grandees_ to - dinner, and giving them a Spanish dinner and using some _Spanish_ - plates. God knows I have neither plates nor plate. They have - thought what I meant as a compliment was meant to turn them into - ridicule. However, I have gravely explained the matter, and stand - right again, _rectus in curia_, having afforded conversation to - this excellent and industrious Capital for some few days. - - Certainly to us who have seen England, France, Germany, and Italy, - this _is_ a curious country, and the people are not attainted by - the march of intellect. However, I am much inclined to like them - better than the French, the Germans, or the Italians. - - My wife is _pretty_ well; she did not expect such a tremendous - visitation of rain and damp as we have undergone. As soon as she is - delivered of her precious burden, she will set out for Madrid, and - hopes to find your Excellency there. In spite of all our Whig - friends, I am a rank Tory in hoping to see you at your post, and am - not quite sure that some of the Tory principles I imbibed in very - early youth do not remain, in spite of Brooks’s, and the dangerous - company I have kept since marriage. I am not sure if I should not - prefer the Canning System to all others; you will despise that as a - half-measure. However, here I have no politics, nor care much to - have any anywhere. - - _March 25, 1831._ - - At length I am able to announce the safe confinement of my wife, - who on the 22nd presented me with another boy to consume my - substance in these hard times. My wife had an excellent time, and - everything was managed in the Spanish fashion, much to her - satisfaction. She is doing quite well. Owing to her confinement - having taken place so much later than we expected, I am afraid she - must give up all thoughts of coming to Madrid, as the journey is - too long for one so newly confined. I think of coming myself after - the raree show of the Holy Week here is over, so very likely may - set out in the _diligence_ about the 7th or 8th of April. - - We are all very quiet here. The Captain-General is come back, so I - conclude all the row near Gibraltar is put down. Indeed, the thing - seems to be rather ridiculous. We have a flaming account of the - _bizarria_ and wonderful gallantry of the troops--how they stood - firm under a most tremendous fire, the result of which was one man - killed, two wounded, one horse ditto, and two men with contusion. - They were in a sad stew the night the news of the assassination of - the Cadiz Governor arrived; but since that all has been most - tranquil, and now Quesada is come back, the Liberals will be in - such a fright as will even surprise a Spaniard. - - Many thanks for the Galignanis. The debates are most interesting. - It is a sweeping measure, and if the Ministry go out on it, the - country will go with them. Those who succeed will not be on a bed - of roses. I hardly think they can carry it, with the present state - of the House. - - I am in hopes, now Quesada is come back, that they will let the - processions go on as usual. There was some talk that this year - they would not; it would be a hard case not to see the whole game - played. - - I have just seen a friend of mine, Captain Bigge, who was very - ill-used at Cadiz, and threatened with arrest unless he left the - town. Quesada, the Captain-General here, is very civil to him. The - people in Madrid must be crazy to offend such a man as Quesada, - whose presence and name _only_ put down the affair at Cadiz. Here - they say that they have refused him the pardon he asked for for - some of the revolutionists. He is so annoyed that they expect he - will resign; if so, the Lord have mercy upon the ruling powers. As - long as he is here all will go right. They are arresting and - shooting away in Cadiz, and they say an order is arrived for all - those settled there since 1822 to leave the place in forty-eight - hours; they will all join José Maria or turn Liberals. Some low - rumours are afloat that Cadiz will no longer be a free port. _Quem - Deus vult perdere, prius dementat_. The only man to conciliate and - consult is Quesada, as far as this part of the world goes, as he is - a fair straightforward man of common sense, and equally respected - by all parties, and his name alone is a host in a country where - everybody is afraid of everything and everybody. - - Many thanks for your hospitable offer. I shall certainly come - alone to Madrid, and may Providence protect your Excellency from - the reductions of the Whigs for many a year! Depend upon it, the - general feeling in Andalusia is against these cold-blooded military - executions, and no one more so than Quesada, who is the _magnus - Apollo_ here, and the only person of whom the Spanish Government - might say _sic me servavit_. The processions of the Holy Week are - all stopped,--much to my sorrow, as I am told they were most - curious, delightful relics of superstition, which I am very fond - of, very picturesque and barbarous. - -In April 1831 Ford paid his proposed visit to Addington at Madrid. The -two following letters announce his intended departure (April 2nd) and -his safe return to Seville (May 14th). - -The _diligences_, though only introduced into Spain in 1821, were -admirably managed. Travelling over excellent main roads, drawn by teams -of eight, twelve, or sometimes fifteen mules, they were lighter, more -roomy, and faster than those in France. As compared with English -stage-coaches, a traveller[9] considered them to be more comfortable -than our own, and equally regular in their working. Posting was almost -unknown, and people who in England would have hired post-horses, -travelled by the public coaches. Even royal personages did not disdain -their use. The journey from Seville to Madrid occupied four and a-half -days, a few hours every evening being allowed for sleep on the journey. -The fares varied with the places, ranging from £9 in the _berlina_ to £5 -10_s._ on the outside. - -The living portions of the equipage were picturesque in the extreme. The -mules, whose harness was adorned with skeins and tassels of gay-coloured -worsted, were shorn smooth, except on the flanks and cruppers, where the -hair was allowed to grow in fantastic patterns. The driver wore a -sugarloaf-shaped, broad-brimmed hat over a bright silk handkerchief, -tied round his head so that the tails hung down behind. He was clothed -in a short jacket of brown cloth, embroidered on the back and arms with -vases and flowers, and breeches of blue plush, adorned with stripes and -filigree buttons, bound at the knees with cords and tassels of silk. His -neck was open, with a turn-down collar, and a gaudy tie passed loosely -through a ring. His waist was girt with a yellow sash. His legs were -encased in stockings and embroidered gaiters, and his feet shod with -brown boots of untanned calfskin. Mounting to his perch, gathering the -skein of reins in his hand, cracking his whip, calling on each of the -mules by her high-sounding name, he set his team in motion,--his helper, -a humble imitator of his master in the matter of dress, running by the -side of the animals, encouraging, reviling, or pelting them, with -unerring aim, from the stones with which he had filled his sash. So the -_diligence_ rattled past the Tobacco Factory out of the city gate, -under the Moorish wall, through an arch of the Roman aqueduct, and on to -the great high road to Madrid. - -One part of the journey, at least, was full of interest to Ford. He -carried _Don Quixote_ with him on all his travels, knew the book by -heart, and now found himself passing through the barren district of La -Mancha. Here was Argamasilla de Alba, the village of Don Quixote, and -the site of the prison in which, as tradition wrongly asserted, -Cervantes wrote his book. Here, with its neighbouring well, was the -_Venta de Quesada_, scarcely changed in external aspect since it was the -scene of the knighting of the “lantern-jawed” Don; here was El Toboso, -where Dulcinea lived; here the Sierra, where the knight did penance; -here, at the mouth of the gorge of Despeña-perros, was the Venta de -Cardenas, which perhaps suggested the name of Cardenio for the “Ragged -one of the Sorry Countenance,” and, above the pass, was the spot where -he told his tale. Valdepeñas was still littered with the wine-swollen -pig-skins, which Don Quixote attacked; the waterless uplands bristled -with windmills; and in every village toiled numbers of brown-clad, -sandal-shod Sancho Panzas. - - _April 2 [1831]._ - - I venture to take up a moment of your time, to say that I have - taken my place in the _diligence_ for Thursday next, and shall, in - due time, God willing, arrive in Madrid on _Monday the 11th_. I - accept with great thankfulness the offer you make of giving me a - room in your house, and will give you no trouble, I assure you. - - No doubt you have had a long protest, etc., etc., from - Brackenbury[10] on the subject of Captain Bigge’s ill-usage at - Cadiz. Now, as Bigge is an old friend of mine, I can tell you _en - confidence_ something about it. In the first place, he thinks - neither of Liberals nor Constitutions, but only where he can get - the best cigars. He was dining with me, and talking of his Cadiz - adventures, when he let out that he was a friend of Torrijos and - Calderon; that his passport was signed the _3rd of March_, the - fatal day; that he had told a girl he was dancing with in Cadiz - last Carnival to beware of the Ides of March, and not to venture - out on the 3rd. Now, all this being duly reported to the police, in - such a moment as this, was enough to make them treat him as a - suspected person,--very unjustly, but, still, on these sort of - matters Spaniards do not understand how _young_ men talk in - England. I just mention all this to put you _au courant_. - - We have also here a Captain Cook, a navigator[11] (but not _the_ - Captain Cook). He is a great geologist and stuffer of little birds, - a tall, stiff man, with a sort of philosophical hat, that Buckland - or Cuvier might wear. Now you know what you have to expect in - Madrid. - - I have had a most civil letter from General O’Lawlor, of Granada - (having sent him a letter his master, the great Duke, gave me). He - has procured me the refusal of the Alhambra; but it is represented - to be in a ruinous condition, and, as my children and English - servants have no taste for the Moorish picturesque, but a great - notion of the more humble gratification proceeding from a - comfortable house and well-appointed kitchen, I am rather inclined - to put up with the unromantic reality of some good ready-furnished - house. - - Meantime _vive valeque_! I hope very shortly to pay my personal - respects to your Excellency. - - SEVILLA, _May 14_. - - I arrived safely this morning here after a very prosperous journey, - and rather an interesting one, through Talavera, Merida, and - Badajoz. Talavera, a very curious old _Spanish_ town in a most - picturesque state of dirt and decay; Merida, where I remained two - days, full of Roman remains, an aqueduct grander than anything I - ever saw in Italy; Badajoz, well worth seeing, a magnificent - position, and fine old castle, which we have pretty well knocked - about. They were all rather in a fuss there (as being the frontier - town) as to what was going on in Portugal, and very particular - about all strangers coming in and going out. Thence to Sevilla over - the Sierra Morena, a glorious, wild, uncultivated, uninhabited - country, full of hawks, partridges, and cistus. The hills, being - covered with the white flower, looked like _Epinards sucrés_. I - found my spouse much better than I expected. - - Messrs. de Custine[12] and de Barbe are, I believe, still here. - They have been taking a great many people up here lately for - political reasons, but no executions. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE ALHAMBRA - -(MAY-NOVEMBER 1831) - - THE ALHAMBRA--ADDINGTON’S VISIT--TOUR TO ALICANTE, VALENCIA, - BARCELONA, ZARAGOZA, MADRID--RETURN TO THE ALHAMBRA - - -When Ford wrote to Addington in April 1831, he was hesitating between a -furnished house at Granada or rooms in the ruined palace of the -Alhambra. Poetry conquered prose; comfort gave way to romance. His -letter of June 7th, 1831, announces that he had installed himself in the -palace. - -Granada and the Alhambra are places which seem to rise above the prosaic -level of the working world and catch the last gleams of mediæval -romance. The very mention of their names conjures up pageants of -chivalry and splendid visions of departed glory. Soil and climate -increase the fascination and deepen the spell which is cast upon the -imagination. The verdure of a northern climate spreads itself beneath -the cloudless azure of the south. Olive-yards, orange-groves, and -vineyards clothe the hills, gardens embroider the valleys, billows of -corn wave in the plains, of that enchanted region over which hung the -celestial Paradise of Mahomet. Here, hemmed in between the mountains and -the sea, and narrowed within the space of ten years, till its events -assume the distinctness and unity of an epic, was concentrated the final -struggle which closed the drama of Moorish domination in Spain. Every -spot recalls some scene in the conflict, and the “last sigh of the Moor” -still whispers on the heights above Granada. In that Holy War historical -truth outrivalled romantic fiction; the manners, customs, creeds of the -East and the West contended for supremacy; the splendour of steel-clad -chivalry met the roar and crash of artillery; the Middle Ages were -locked in the death-grapple with modern civilisation. - -The journey from Seville to Granada followed the high road to Madrid as -far as Andujar. Leaving the _diligence_ at that place, the Fords drove -from Andujar to Granada by way of Jaen in a _coche de colleras_. Their -carriage was a huge machine belonging to the seventeenth century, -carved, gilded, and richly painted, set on wheels which were as -extravagantly high behind as they were low in front. It was drawn by -four mules, driven by the voice, whip, and stones of the driver -(_majoral_) and his helper (_zagal_). But the picturesque novelty of the -expedition was the guard of six _Miquelites_ who accompanied the -carriage. These men, drawn from a regular body which was organised -throughout Spain for the protection of travellers, are said to derive -their name from Miquel de Prats, a bravo in the train of Cæsar Borgia. -Well armed with short guns, swords, and pistols, dressed in a sort of -uniform of blue jackets trimmed with red, they were all young men picked -for their strength and activity. Many of them had previously been -smugglers or bandits, and were held in wholesome dread by their former -colleagues. - -Thus escorted, the journey was performed without risk, and Ford, with -his wife and family, safely lodged in the Alhambra. The palace, -whitewashed by the monks and purified from Moslem abominations, or -wrecked by Charles V. to supply materials for new palaces, had fallen -into neglect and decay. It had been an asylum for debtors, a hospital -for invalid soldiers, a prison for galley-slaves. From 1798 onwards it -was the official residence of Spanish governors, who made good use of -their opportunity for plunder. The dados were broken up to make firewood -for cooks and bakers; the tiles were torn up and worked into shop -fronts; the leaden pipes which supplied the fountains were sold. A -donkey was stabled in the chapel, sheep were folded in the courtyards, -poultry penned in the halls. The French invaders converted it into a -barrack, a powder magazine, a store for plundered goods, and, when they -evacuated it, blew up eight of the Moorish towers. The work of gutting -the place was continued by the Spaniards, who tore down doors, wrenched -off locks, and carried off panes of glass. When Ford was there -galley-slaves were at work converting, to the chink of their chains, a -part of the building into a storehouse for salt fish. The first real -attempt to restore the Alhambra was made by a peasant woman, Francisca -de Molina, the “Tia Antonia” of Washington Irving. - -[Illustration: BILL PAYABLE TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AGAINST MONEY -RECEIVED BY RICHARD FORD FROM THE DUKE’S SPANISH ESTATES. - -[_To face p. 36._ -] - -She worked with her own hands to repair the ravages of her predecessors, -cleared away rubbish, set the famous lions on their legs in the -courtyard, and reigned, with her two chattering mercenary nieces, the -crabbed Queen and lioniser of the Alhambra. In the rooms which she had -occupied Ford was lodged. - -From the Alhambra, more beautiful, probably, in its ruin than in its -restoration, most of the letters contained in this chapter were written. -Here Ford entertained Addington, and to the Alhambra he returned in -November, 1831, from the tour which he describes. - -Ten miles from Granada is the Sota de Roma, or Wood of the Pomegranate, -an estate of 4000 acres, conferred by the Cortes on the Duke of -Wellington in gratitude for his victory at Salamanca. Owing to -difficulties of exchange, Ford had arranged that the Duke should receive -his income in England, while he drew an equivalent sum from the Duke’s -Spanish estates. The agent was General O’Lawlor, an Irish gentleman in -the Spanish military service. Don José, as Ford calls him, had married a -wealthy heiress from Malaga, the “Dionysia” of the letters, and had made -profitable investments of her money in the lead mines of Berja. Ford -found the society of the O’Lawlors pleasant, as also were the -green-gages in the garden attached to the old rambling house which was -the agent’s residence. - -His letters show little trace of the disturbed condition of the country. -Yet all round him were signs of the reign of terror produced by panic of -rebellion. One execution struck him, in all its circumstances, as -peculiarly brutal. By express orders from Madrid, a young woman of good -birth, Mariana de Pineda,[13] was, in May 1831, garrotted at Granada. -Pardon was offered her if she would reveal the names of her accomplices. -She refused, and died by the hand of the public executioner. Her alleged -crime was the possession of a partially embroidered flag of green silk, -the Constitutionalist colours. Whether she was guilty or not seems to be -doubtful. It was at least alleged that the flag had been placed in her -house by a Government _employé_, Ramon Pedroza, whose suit she had -rejected. A column near the Triunfo now marks the site of her sacrifice -to a longing for liberty. - - ALHAMBRA, _June 7 [1831]_. - - DEAR ADDINGTON, - - I am almost tempted to go down a crumbling staircase, which leads - from my kitchen into the _Sala de los Embajadores_, to indite my - epistle from a _local conveniente a sa Ecc_. I am busy up here with - a troop of painters and carpenters putting the part of the Alhambra - given up to the Alcaide, and by him to me, into order: no small - task, I can assure you, for, what with time, the French, and the - barbarous Spaniards, all this enchanted spot is going the way of - everything in Spain. To attempt any account of it would be - impossible, either by pen or pencil. No previous idea can come up - to the exquisite beauty of the Alhambra. Here we are, with the - most delicious breezes from the snowy mountain above us, perfumed - by a thousand groves and gardens of vine, orange, and pomegranate, - carolled by nightingales, who daily and nightly sing in the dark - grove to the tune of “Ally Croker,”[14] all by the side of gushing - streams and never-failing fountains. Here summer cometh not--_not_ - in the way that it appears _not to come_ in Castille; but, while - all below in the town and _Vega_ are roasting, broiling, and - baking, we neither know it nor feel it. - - The journey here was very prosperous. _Esposa y sa servidor_ - started alone in the _diligence_ to Cordova. The heat without - intense, inside (_six inside_) infernal. Ecija, another hell, and - well deserves to be called _La sartenilla_ [the frying-pan] _de - Andalucia_. We remained at Cordova three days; in the ancient - _mezquita_ a wood of pillars, some eight hundred odd, to say - nothing of the holy chapel of the Moslems, _La Ceca_, which is - finer and better preserved than anything even here, owing to the - _purification of Sn. Fernando’s_ monks, which was simply daubing - over with plaster of Paris all the painted arabesque and delicate - damascene work of the Moor. A few years ago all this - impurification was removed, and the worshippers of Mahomet and the - fine arts made happy. Thence to Andujar per _diligence_. Thence in - a _coche_ with nine _Miquelites_ to Granada, by Jaen. The road to - Jaen through ploughed fields, uninhabited except by the gang of the - _Botiga_, the José Maria of Jaen; but we neither saw nor heard of - him, and duly arrived, well shaken, at the worst inn in Spain. Jaen - very striking and picturesque. I was much bored by the - _commandante_, one Downie, who has forgotten English, but came to - pay me a visit. - - Thence to Granada, through the mountains, the most beautiful road - (_quoad_ road) possible, a thing to delight Macadam. The scenery to - delight any son of Adam with or without a Mac, full of torrents, - rivers, rocks, precipices, goats, vines, figs, lights and shades, - etc., but wanting in good accommodation for man or beast. So we - went direct the seventeen leagues, seventeen mortal mountain - leagues, at a pull, twenty-three hours _en coche_; think of that, - Master Brook![15] The _Miquelites_, being well supplied with strong - cigars of the worst Royal fabrication, ran and sang the whole way. - - Arrived here at a most excellent inn, the best I have seen in - Spain, and forgot all our woes at - -[Illustration: PATIO DE LOS LEONES. - -[_To face p. 40._ - - Harriet Ford, 1832. -] - - the first sight of the Albaicin, Generalife, and Alhambra, with the - cold, snowy, sparkling Sierra glistening in the blue cloudless sky. - Then such an _airecillo_: not the one in the _calle Alcalá_ that - goes through your _Capa_ and upper Benjamin in the twinkling of a - bedpost, but a mild, gentle, refreshing, reinvigorating breeze. - Then such a profusion of tree and water. General O’Lawlor, very - civil, has procured me the Governor’s suite of apartments in the - Alhambra, one staircase of which leads into the _Sala de los - Embajadores_ (as aforesaid), where I hope and trust to have the - honour of receiving the present one of his B.M. The other leads to - the _Patio de los Leones_, which beat Pidcock’s lions, and are - lions worth seeing. - - All very quiet. They were prepared to rise had the thing succeeded - at Cadiz, but as that did _not_, they think little about it, but - eat their ices as usual. - - There has been a horrid execution here, which was calculated to - excite a revolution anywhere. A beautiful widow, connected with - high families, was _garrotted_, solely for a Constitutional flag, - with a half-embroidered motto, having been found in her possession. - She refused to give any account of it herself, or any accomplices. - The matter was sent to Madrid, and down came, to the equal horror - and surprise of every one, an order for her execution! a woman - executed for such an offence _anno_ 1831! They certainly manage - these things differently in Spain. - - If you come, you must do so _per diligence_ to Andujar, and thence - ride in two days across the country with three or four of these - stout _Miquelites_. You will find every comfort in the inn, and I - am now constructing a sort of a grate, the sweet vision of Your - Excellency’s excellent, super-excellent, _rost-bif_ ever floating - before my eyes as the hour of 6 approaches. I cannot promise such - fare as it was my lot to consume at Madrid, and which sent me back - to the conjugal embrace _Epicuri de grege porcum_. But you shall - dine in the fabled palace of the Moorish kings: the fountains shall - play, and a band of _Gitanas_ shall dance their half-voluptuous - dance around you; you shall drink the purest, coldest water from - the Moorish cistern, which is opposite my window, and which I am - supplied with _gratis_: (it costing to the public an _ocharo per - cantaro_);[16] you shall eat the delicious ice, the _Queso de - albaricoqui_; and, last of all, a most hearty welcome from - - S. S. S. y amigo, - - R. F. - - - - P. S.--_Mr. Sᵗᵉ Barbe_, _el ingles afrancesado_, and Mr. de - Custine, _el Frances inglesado_, being duly dressed as _majos_ by - Pindar of Seville, departed for Tariffa, where the Marquis tells me - he is going to write “some poem about the good Guzman.” They are - then coming here. I shall entertain them in the Alhambra, and be - immortalised in a note by this poetical Marquis. - - My wife thinks she can manage a room and a sort of a bed for you - and your man. It appears inhospitable in me to talk of the inn, but - the Alhambra is but a ruin; however, you shall choose yourself. - _Utrum horum mavis accipe._ - - ALHAMBRA, _June 15 [1831]_. - - I am very sorry that, at this distance from my worthy friend the - _Assistente_, there is no chance of extracting from him the - information you want, which I think I could have managed at Seville - in a _careless_ way. If I were to write to him, he would instantly - be alarmed, and attach great importance to it. I enclose a letter - to Lord Dudley for Mr. de Gersdorf (?) instead of one to Lord - Essex; a letter to Lord Essex would be of no use, for he has now - totally abandoned and shut up Cassiobury, which _was_ very well - worth seeing when he lived there; secondly, he lives entirely in a - set of his own, and I know from long experience hates nothing like - the sight of a foreigner;--as he expresses himself, “damn all - foreigners; none shall put their foot in my house.” - - I am comfortably settled here, after much painting and - whitewashing, and, if you can steal away from Madrid, can give you - a tidy bedroom and sitting-room, with a view out of the windows - quite unequalled. The difference in the thermometer here and in the - town below is some 6 or 8 degrees; then we have always such a - delicious breeze, and such a constant trickling and splashing of - fountains. I am sorry to say that the _Lions_ are all adry, and the - flowers in the courtyard past dying; a wall fell down the other - day, which supported the aqueduct, which used to supply these cool - courts. They are fast repairing it, but it is a work of great - extent, and the Spaniards do not do things in an offhand style here - any more than at Madrid. We have had a rare party of English - Tigers, looking at the Lions; they flock out from Gibraltar, now - the communication is again open, and astonish the natives in their - red jackets, redder faces, and the quantity of undiluted wine they - consume. Captain Pascoe, a gentlemanlike man, _aide-de-camp_ to - General Don, has been here. - - We are going to be regaled with more executions--two officers who - were found tampering with their troops. (They deserve it; but poor - Mariana! who might have been spared.) - - It is impossible to describe, either by pen or pencil, the - extraordinary freshness and beauty of this spot, so take time by - the forelock, and, as Ovid says: - - _Nil mihi rescribas, attamen, ipse veni._ - - - - ALHAMBRA, _Sunday, 14th June, /31_. - - I am delighted to hear that you are really coming here; you will - find at least a clean bed, and a clean dinner, with no oil or - garlic. - - You must put up with the unfurnished, whitewashed sort of way we - are living in, which is unlike the gorgeous mansion in Alcala - Street. - - Everything is arranged, and you will find a _coche_ at Andujar, and - a sufficient number of _Miquelites_. They have lately taken so many - robbers, executed some, banished others, that the road is quite - safe. I should recommend your buying some cigars at Andujar, which, - being duly distributed to the men, _majorals_, and innkeepers, will - act like magic. I expended a dollar in them on my journey, and am - celebrated in _los cuatro reinos_ as the greatest and most affable - milor ever seen since the ‘grand Lord’ commanded in Spain. - - I have written to Downie, to get the inn ready for you, and to - provide, if possible, some partridges, and not have you bothered - with ceremony, guards, or visits,--all which he nevertheless will - doubtless inflict on you, calculating by the Rule of 3 principle. - If he did such and such things for a simple milor, what will he do - for an _embajador_? - - I have duly instructed O’Lawlor on your being left quiet, which I - think you will be, at least in the Alhambra, as no Spaniard has - courage to face the hill, or any wish to see anything of their much - superior predecessors, the Moors. - - The 20th, or thereabouts, is the time to go up the Sierra Nevada. I - am thinking of taking my wife that trip, so you may imagine it is - not attended with much difficulty. It is a glorious mountain, - though the dog-days have played the devil with the snow. Still - there is enough left to swear by, and to cool one’s wine. By God’s - blessing, a quarter-cask of sherry has made its appearance in - Granada, otherwise you would have got nothing but _Bara_, a sort of - clarety-porty wine, not bad in water, but very disagreeable to - British officers, as they find it too weak to drink in goblets this - hot weather. The weather has been very hot, but getting - cooler,--down to 72 at night. - - You will have a terrible bad road to Jaen, and I should set out - very early, before 4, and get into Jaen before the great heat of - the day. Set out again early for Campillo de la Arena, half way to - Granada. I remained there four or five hours in the day, and came - on in the night, getting here very early in the morning. I would, - however, not recommend that to you. You had better sleep at - Campillo, where you will get _partridges_, on asking if there are - any to be bought in the village. - - By setting out betimes, you will get here in nine or ten hours, and - I will take care and have a _roast pavito_ [young cock turkey], - which is equivalent to a London fowl, ready for you. - - My wife is frightened at the thoughts of our cuisine, but I assure - her that you are an ex-dyspeptic, and not very difficult, rather - more in that you do _not_ eat than in what you do. - - My Spanish servant (who calls himself my _major duomo_) wants me to - borrow a service of plate, and have the dinners sent up from the - inn!! Lord deliver us! They are curious people, _muy Etiqueteros_ - (I can’t even spell the word), and think we are as great asses as - themselves. What we have here are delicious eggs--laid under your - window, fine fruit, tolerable mutton, good bread and water, and a - jack for roasting, the only one in Granada, to say nothing of cool - breezes, cool fountains (though they don’t play), much shade, many - nightingales (though they don’t sing now), and plenty of snow, and - a view, from the windows and all about, passing all understanding; - but you will see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears, so - no more for the present. - - ALHAMBRA, _June 22 [1831]_. - - DEAR ADDINGTON, - - I am going to give you proper and business-like answers to your six - questions, and I think satisfactory ones to all. - - 1. The inn is the best in Spain, but very crowded and very _hot_, a - long way from the Alhambra, and all up hill--quite out of the - question, except early and late. You may, to be sure, ride up, and - General O’Lawlor will send you a horse whenever you want; but I - enclose you a plan of my dwelling up here, which is very spacious, - and where I can accommodate you well and without the least - inconvenience. You will then see the Alhambra in your - dressing-gown, cool and comfortable, and never get heated or tired. - You will, too, be within reach of the Generalife, which, if - possible, is more beautiful than the Alhambra. It is about as high - above the Alhambra as the Alhambra is above the town; but a - tolerable shady walk through fig-trees, vines and pomegranates. - - 2. The getting here will be _easily_ accomplished in a - _coche_--that is, every bone will be broken, but, however, get here - you will. I should take the _diligence_ to Baylen, and thence in - one day to Jaen in the _coche_. The road, I am told, is tolerable. - I came from Andujar, which would be out of your way--the road the - most infernal ever seen. From Jaen to Granada it is magnificent; - Macadam never made a better, and the scenery most beautiful and - picturesque. We came in one day--that is, left Jaen early, 3 a.m., - arrived at Campillo de Arenas about 1, halted till 5, eating salad - and _Guisado de Perdices_ at the Venta; thence _per_ night to - Granada, where we arrived about 4 a.m. The whole journey from Jaen - takes about twenty hours _en route_. You might do it quicker - without _Miquelites_, as it is a long pull (seventeen leagues) for - men to walk in one day; thermometer at 3000, and up hill. Now if - your plans really do ripen into reality, what you should do is - this: let me know the day you leave Madrid; the third night you - will get to Andujar or Baylen. I will send over the identical - _coche_ which brought us, a roomy one with four mules, and an - excellent _majoral_, who will buy you partridges at the Venta, etc. - The cost will be 29 dollars for the six days there and back. I will - manage with O’Lawlor that a troop of _Miquelites_, eight or nine, - shall be picked men, and sent with the _coche_. I gave them 25 - dollars for nine men eight days. They generally get a _pezeta_ - apiece, but half a dollar is what they well deserve, as they are - fine fellows. - - 3. I know the _commandante_ at Jaen, who will choose the best. The - said _commandante_, Downie, the d--st bore in Jaen, Spain, or - anywhere, will call upon you and plague your heart out with bad - English, etc. - - My silver watch is excellent, and cost three dollars at Madrid. I - should think you might buy Mr. Pearson’s, who bought one too for - one dollar.[17] - - 4. I hear there is some shooting here; but August is very hot, - except up in the Sierra Nevada, where I propose going, as the view - is superb--Mediterranean, Atlantic, Africa, etc. The Pico de Valeta - is easily ascended in August. - - 5. The post comes in very regularly twice a week, and goes out the - day after--from Madrid in three days and a half. The letters do not - appear to be opened. - - 6. Plenty of hats, white and black straw and chip, in Granada; the - men here are the greatest dandies in Spain, and are not at all ill - dressed. - - I should not think you will be much bothered. O’Lawlor is a - sensible man, and does not bore one, but is very civil, and will be - of great use in every way, and a _banker_ besides. As he has to - remit money to the Duke of Wellington, he is glad of good bills on - London. - - Your journey here will take you six days; there is not much, I - believe, in Granada to be seen. I seldom go there, except in the - cool dark night, to eat ices. _This_ is the place; you will _see_ - it in a morning; but the more one lives in it, the more delightful - it is. The walks about are charming. If you live in the town, you - will not see much more of the Alhambra than those brutes the - natives, who think it _fabrica antiqua, obra de los arabes_, to - which they seem to have an antipathy. - - You must make up your mind to fare but indifferently here when - compared to your own good _ménage_; but we can, at all events, - serve you up a clean dinner, and without any poisonous matters. At - all events you must not think of going to the inn; you may as well - stay where you are, as far as the Alhambra is concerned. - - Ever most sincerely, - - RICH. FORD. - - - - _July 27 [1831]_, ALHAMBRA. - - I am afraid, as you say nothing about your journey to Granada, that - you have had bad news from home; all work and no play. How unlucky - all this business about the free trade of Cadiz, and the voluminous - speculations thereon by my friend the Proconsul; to say nothing of - despatches from Hopner to plague your heart out. Well, well! _no - tiene remedio_. I only mention all this, as it is considered - unlucky here not to ascend the _Pico de Valeta_ about this time, in - some of these three or four “glorious days” of July, glorious Dog - Days; _son en canicula_. However, we managed to keep our - thermometer under 80, which is not more than the heat at Paris, as - I see _per_ Galignani--for which accept my greatest thanks--that - true pabulum of an Englishman. The three received yesterday were - very amusing: the debate on the reform, Macaulay’s essay - oratorical, Porchester’s discourse peninsular and historical, - Wetherell droll and coarsish, some _lucid intervals_, as was said - of that part of his shirt which always appears between his breeches - and waistcoat; Peel sentential and sonorous in the Joseph Surface - school; and bravo! old Sir Francis Burdett, who gave him a sound - drubbing. For all that, I would vote against the bill, professing - myself a _bit by bit_ reformer. The Tories may thank themselves, - for the people could not but see, after that Bassetlaw job,[18] - that they would do nothing for them. - - Monʳ de Sᵗᵉ Barbe and A. Custine, Esq., have duly started for - Madrid with his unfinished MSS. By speaking bad English, the one is - forgetting his French--the other, the wholesome vernacular tongue - as expressed in Hampshire. I don’t think they took kindly to the - Alhambra; however, you will see and hear. I have begged the Marquis - de Sᵗᵉ Barbe to give you some account of my _Local_ and poor means - of receiving so great a personage as your Excellency. I can only - say that it will be _con muchisimo agrado_. Mrs. Ford has got a - Pajes,[19] and there is a dark glancing Spaniard washing clothes in - the Alhambra, to whom you may pour forth your amatory _rondeñas_. - - I rather think that, about the middle of September, I shall come up - to Madrid with my spouse for a very few days, show her Toledo and - the Escurial, and return by a short cut (to diddle _Castaños_) - through Zaragoça, Barcelona, and Valencia. This little trip will - occupy very well a couple of the autumnal months; and then on to - Malaga; and should any rows take place, and the consular protection - of the apostolic Mark be insufficient, I shall place myself under - the batteries of Gibraltar: so much for plans. If you have time, - you may let me have a line as to yours, whether we have any chance - of your visit. You really should come, for, depend on it, the old - woman of the Alhambra, in whose house we are living, will never let - the Governor turn her out again, and if you do not live in the - Alhambra, you may as well remain in the Calle de Alcalá. - -During Addington’s stay at the Alhambra, Ford, his wife, and their guest -ascended the Picacho de la Veleta, “the watch-point,” the second highest -peak (12,459 feet) of the Sierra Nevada. The greater part of the ascent -to the top of the conical peak, about twenty miles, was ridden, the -party sleeping for the night at the Cortijo del Puche. - -After Addington had left, the Fords started (September 9th, 1831) on an -expedition to eastern Spain, Mrs. Ford on a donkey, her husband on -horseback, and their servant Pasqual in a one-horse, two-wheeled, -covered cart. They made their way over the mountains by Elche, the “City -of Palms,” to Alicante; thence by San Felipe de Xativa, the birthplace -of Ribera (Spagnoletto) and Pope Alexander VI., and the prison of his -son Cæsar Borgia, to Valencia. - -At Valencia Ford stayed several days, delighting in the pictures of -Vicente Joanes[20] and Francisco Ribalta.[21] Thence he made his way by -Murviedro (Saguntum) to Tarragona and Barcelona. On the road from -Barcelona to Tarragona they turned aside to see Montserrat, spent a -night in the convent on the jagged saw-like hills, dropped down on -Manresa and the famous _cueva de san Ignacio_, visited the salt mines at -Cardona, rejoined the high road and the _diligence_, and so reached -Zaragoza. - -Zaragoza, the pilgrim city of Arragon, “the Ephesus of Mariolatry,” as -Ford calls it in his _Handbook_, has two cathedrals, the _Seu_, and _El -Pilar_. The latter marks the spot where the Virgin, standing on a jasper -pillar, bade St. James build a chapel in her honour. At the time of -Ford’s visit to the city its houses were still riddled and pitted with -shot-marks. They were the honourable scars of two memorable sieges, of -which Agustina, “La Artillera,” the maid of Zaragoza who snatched the -match from a dying artilleryman and fired upon the French, and Tio -Jorge, “Gaffer George,” who organised the peasants for the defence, were -the real heroes. The first siege lasted from June 15th to August 15th, -1808. Led, as they believed, by the Virgin of the Pillar, the -inhabitants fought with desperate courage. It was in the convent of -Santa Engracia that the French effected a lodgment. On August 15th, -those of the invaders who survived had retreated, after blowing up the -monastery and leaving it in ruins. The attack was renewed on December -20th. Four marshals of France directed the operations of the siege. Shot -and shell, plague and famine, did their work within the walls. On -February 20th, 1809, after holding out for sixty-two days, Zaragoza -surrendered to Marshal Lannes. - - _Saturday, 3rd Sept. [1831]_, ALHAMBRA. - - I hope you got quite safely to Andujar in that tremendous machine - you started in. We are off on Thursday for Alicante: Pasqual in a - _Tartana_, wife on the _Burra_, and your humble servant on - _Cavallo_. With a troop of Miquelites we shall, I trust, get safely - to Alicante, and publish in due time a rival account of Mr. - Inglis,[22] another traveller _ingles_. - - My wife kisses your hands, I your feet, offering you my - kitchenmaid, four children, and the _Burra_, and anything else. - - VALENCIA, _Saturday, 24 Sept. [1831]_. - - DEAR ADDINGTON, - - We arrived here yesterday, having ridden from Granada to Alicante, - and thence to Xativa, a most magnificent mountain ride, full of old - towns, perched on rocks, and sheltered by ruined castles, narrow - defiles, precipices and torrents. The accommodation and roads - infinitely better than we had been led to expect, so that my wife, - riding on the foal of an ass, arrived at Alicante hardly fatigued. - - San Philipe de Xativa is one of the most picturesque towns in - Spain, not even excepting Granada. The famous country about - Valencia may be very fertile, and rich, and extremely agreeable to - the eye of the proprietor, but very little so to the traveller, as - the mulberry and olive trees on each side of the road, in so flat a - country, completely intercept the view. - - I see in the papers that you have had to interfere for some English - artist, who was taken up for sketching the Palace at Madrid, which - you will probably have to do some day for me, as I was nearly taken - to the Alcalde for drawing some palm trees at Elche; but, on - telling the officer that he and the Alcalde might go to _Carrajo_, - and refusing to go, the thing passed off; to be sure, I had six of - the Alhambra invalids with me, and might have ordered them to bring - the Alcalde to me, which would have been the best way after all. I - shall remain here four or five days, and thence proceed to - Barcelona and Zaragoça, to either of which places, if any crumbs of - comfort fall from your table in the way of Galignani, they may be - addressed, at all events to the latter place, Zaragoça. - - I left Dionysia in great force, and Don José much delighted at the - honour of your Excellency’s visit. The Captain-General wrote me two - notes after you were gone, one addressed to me as _Gentilhombre de - S. M. Britanica_ and the second to Lord Ricardo Fort. There is no - saying what I might not have come to be had I remained there a few - days longer. - - Valencia seems to be a nice place; the women as pretty here as the - Granadinas are ugly. - - Ever most truly yours, - - RICHARD FORD. - - - - VALENCIA, _Wed., 28th [Sept. 1831]_. - - DEAR ADDINGTON, - - Here we are still, and shall remain until Friday, when we go over - to Murviedro, to potter about the ruined Saguntum till the Saturday - _diligence_ comes through to take us on to Tarragona. As far as my - _finances_ are concerned, I had perhaps better not have come here, - for I have been tempted by a certain picture of Ribalta, and have - given 11,000 reals for it, a large sum here, or anywhere; but it is - a stupendous picture, and of the very grandest finest class, and - worth £500. However, tell not this in Gath or Askalon, for I always - make it a rule _crier au pauvre_, which an extravagance like this - would infallibly contradict. I have just written to that worthy - Israelite, Ravasa, to send me a credit of 4000 reals to Zaragoça, - Burgos, and Valladolid in case of accidents, and have referred him - again to you to say a word as to my being a _solvent_ person, - though I am afraid, after the Gold Rosario of the Senora and the - Ribalta of Milor, you will rather hesitate this time. However, if - you still think me responsible, write a line to Ravasa to tell him - that he may venture his monies, and that I will honestly repay him - when I reach Madrid. - - We go to Barcelona, and by Zaragoça and Segovia to Madrid, where I - hope we shall arrive about the first week in November. - - This is a very nice place, and I regret that it is impossible to - convey my _impedimenta_ here, as I should much have liked to have - spent the winter here, instead of Gibraltar, where I take refuge to - escape the protection of His M. Consul at Malaga, from whom I have - had such a letter which I am keeping for your amusement. Chico’s - motto of “there is no conqueror but God”[23] is nothing to the - account Mark gives of himself. - - The pictures they possess here are endless, almost as many as at - Seville; but, if possible, even still more neglected and unknown, - not unknown only by the natives, but by the dignitaries and heads - of the churches, and going to ruin from neglect, damp, dust, and - smoke. No information of any kind is ever to be obtained; “_No sé_” - [I don’t know] the universal answer. The fine pictures are kept - merely as objects of idolatry, not as matters of art, and called as - such; if you ask for the Virgin of Juanes, the sacristan or curate - knows nothing about it; but ask for the _Purissima_ and up goes a - curtain in a minute. - - The women are very pretty indeed, fairer than the Andalucians, - quite as small feet and much better shoes, not so tight or pointed. - I do not know when the seventh commandment has run such risks. - - To-morrow, Friday, we go to Murviedro and thence to Barcelona. - - Ever most sincerely, - - RICHARD FORD. - - - - BARCELONA, _Oct. 9_. - - Your letter with the papers reached this place quite safely, as did - we some four or five days ago; and, being heartily tired of these - Catalonians, who are neither Spaniards nor French, are going to - set out to-morrow for the Salt Mountain at Cardona and the - monastery of Monserrat, and thence to Zaragoça, where we expect to - arrive the 16th, and proceed directly afterwards to Madrid, as we - find we shall have much difficulty in crossing the country to - Burgos. I hope we may manage to get to _La Corte_ about Saturday, - the 22nd, _si Dios quiere_ [God willing], and shall be both proud - and happy to be installed in the Duchess’s dry dock. - - This is a fine town, but not Spanish. The troops have shoes instead - of sandals, and, I believe, stockings. They can roast at the inn, - and have mustard and French wines. The women wear mantillas over - caps, and commit divers other equally un-Spanish atrocities; people - stupid and ill-mannered; a horrid language; all the discomforts and - prohibitions of Spain, without being made up for by the curious and - original people of the South; women ugly and coarse; men in large - high trousers, looking like Cruickshank’s prints of “nobody, all - legs.” Everything in perfect order and quiet. The name of the Conde - de España does here what that of Quesada does in Andalucia. They - are all frightened about the cholera, and the quarantine - regulations most severe. The Captain-General has sent to England - for _four gallons_ of Cajeput oil, which for a population of more - than 100,000 is a fair stock. - - ZARAGOÇA, _Oct. 18_. - - DEAR ADDINGTON, - - We arrived here quite safely on Sunday in a tremendous storm of - rain, having stuck in the mud divers times during our journey, and - being extricated by the spades of peasants and many supplications - to the _Santissima Virgen del Pilar_, whose effigy I have bought in - consequence. - - On our arrival here, to my utter dismay and discomfiture, I found - no letter from V. E., and, worse, no letter of credit from that - arch-circumcised dog, Ravisa, to whom I had written from Valencia - at the same time as I wrote you, but which letters must, from some - Spanish mismanagement, have never reached their destination. Well! - here we are with about 800 reals in our pocket,--no means of - getting any more, the bill to pay, and the places to Madrid some - 600 or 700 more. I had, like a fool, refused a letter of credit - from my Barcelona banker, trusting to that Philistine Ravisa. - Henceforward I have vowed before the _Pilar_ of Zaragoça never to - trust to Jew or Christian again. In this quandary, the post to-day - from Madrid having brought no letter, I have despatched my - eloquent, mellifluous-tongued Pasqual, who has persuaded the - _diligence_ to take us to Madrid without our paying here, my wife, - Pasqual, and the luggage to be detained in pledge at the office - until the dollars are regularly booked up. It would be a rare - opportunity for a husband who wanted to break up his establishment - to leave these tender pledges unredeemed; but I do not propose - doing so if your Excellency will interfere, and this is _dignus - vindice nodus_. My plan is to start on Friday; we are to arrive at - Madrid on Sunday, time uncertain, somewhere between 12 and 5. Will - you therefore be so good as to put up 600 or 700 reals in a paper - directed to me, and leave it with your porter? I shall get out at - the P. de Alcalá, pass your door, take the cash, and hasten to - liberate the pledges from the magazines of the _diligence_, and - proceed from their prison to the sumptuous quarters you have - prepared for us. - - We made an interesting tour into the mountains on leaving - Barcelona, first to Monserrat, where we slept in the convent, and - spent the next day in wandering about the rocks and hermitages,--a - most wonderful rock, and scenery well worth of itself the journey - to Monserrat from Granada. Thence we proceeded to Manresa, and on - to Cardona to the celebrated Salt Mountain, which stands out of the - ground like a huge lump of _confiture_, peach, apricot, and lemon, - all candied over with little pearly globules of salt--a true - Spanish mine, as they have absolutely nothing to do but knock off - lumps, put them into a bag, pound them and eat them--no salt-pans, - refining, corporations, or any other tedious processes. Thence we - rode over a wild mountain, sometimes up the bed of dry rivers, - sometimes through torrents, generally over rock, and never over - road, to Igualada, and so on in the _diligence_ to Zaragoça, a - gloomy, old, dirty, brick-built town, but truly Spanish; many - things very well worth seeing--the Virgen del Pilar and the - positions during the siege, the great lions. As to the siege, they - seem neither to know nor care much about it, though, really, here - the Spaniards might be proud of their truly Moorish exploits of - _fighting well behind a wall_. I met two well-dressed men on the - walk to Sᵗᵃ Engracia, and made Pasqual ask them (to prevent the - possibility of being misunderstood) where Sᵗᵃ Engracia was, and, - though it was close by, and the famous Quartel of the French, they - shrugged their shoulders with the true Spanish shrug, and muttered - out the usual true meaning of said shrug--_No sé!_ Fine, honest, - downright simplicity of ignorance! _Viva la España, viva la Stˢᵃ Vⁿ - del Pilar y S.E. mille años!_ But do not forget _los 600 reales_; - for, if my wife is knocked down for a dollar at the _diligence_ - sale of unredeemed pledges, it will be entirely the fault of the - want of these 600 _reales_. So farewell. - - Ever most sincerely, - - RICHARD FORD. - - - -A letter dated Saturday, November 19th, 1831, announces the return of -Ford and his wife to the Alhambra. - - We arrived safely at the Alhambra this afternoon, after rather an - uncomfortable ride from Andujar. As you predicted it would rain, it - did, and we got into Jaen wet one evening to set out the next - morning in a Scotch mist, which lasted all the way to Campillo, - where we put up in the worst posada in Spain, which pray commend to - Col. Oxholm, who has a list of them. At Jaen we saw Don Carlos - [Downie], whose heart, body, and soul are at your service. I called - on the _Intendente_ to enquire after his precious health, and - praise his cigars, both of which he felt, as he ought, highly - flattered, and Jaen is at your _disposicion_, whenever you choose - to have it. - - Don Carlos very fat, talking bad English and worse Spanish, - delighted with your visit and the dinner he gave you, which was, - like his _Tertulia_, a contribution from all the houses in Jaen, as - he sent round to everybody to say the great man was to dine with - him, and begging them to send him their best wine and the best dish - of their own dinner to his. I did not see “God’s Face,” which is - only shewn to representatives of Kings and Bishops.[24] - - We rode a pretty ride from Campillo this morning through Benalua, - which you may inform the Duchess of San Lorenzo is in a high state - of preservation; a sort of town on the side of a hill, which looks - as if giants had been pelting each other with pigsties. - - At Valdepeñas we fell in with three ’pon-honourish, well-fleshed - English, journeying on to the Corte, a trio, which will relieve you - when you have had enough of _duets_, the order of travelling in - Spain since the unnatural alliance of those modern Pyladeses and - Oresteses, St. Barbe and Custine, Eden[25] and Martin, Meara and - Heaphy, all hunting in couples, to say nothing of a more proper - marital couple, who have lately drawn so largely on your - good-nature and hospitality. - - I have not had time to throw myself at the feet of Dionysia, being - fully occupied with the joys of paternity, having a small - boarding-school now romping about, to the utter discomfiture of any - intelligible writing or spelling. - - Pray let us hear of that horrid cholera, whether the last news in - Galignani is confirmed. The smallest donations in that way - thankfully received. - - Excuse this scrawl, which is just to notify to you that we have - escaped José Maria and Botiga, and are always your secure servants. - What a sheet of paper to write, as Don Carlos says, “to such a - great man as we never had in Jaen.” You will become a Carlista. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -SEVILLE REVISITED - -DECEMBER 1831-DECEMBER 1832 - - RETURN TO SEVILLE--EXECUTION OF TORRIJOS--QUESTION OF SPANISH - INTERVENTION IN THE AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL--TARIFA--SALAMANCA AND - NORTH-WESTERN SPAIN--SUCCESSION TO THE SPANISH CROWN. - - -In December the Fords returned from the Alhambra to a house which they -had taken in the Calle de los Monsalvos at Seville. There they spent the -winter of 1831-2. A letter dated December 10th, 1831, announces their -return, and their life resumed its previous course. - - We have at length arrived here safely, God be praised! through the - deepest ploughed fields, worst _Ventas_, and stoutest gangs of - robbers in all Spain. We have been six mortal days on the journey, - doing some 36 leagues at an expense of 6000 or 7000 reals, having - to feed 29 persons every night, ravenous wolves who never ate - before and probably never will again, unless some _Milor_ or - _Embajador_ should make that journey. José Maria was _muy - politico_, and neither the chink of my dollars nor the black eye - and red lip of Sarah could tempt him to come down from a hill, - where we saw him and his drawn up in a line about a mile off, as we - passed through _his_ country--his it is in every sense of the word. - - When we passed through Jaen, we saw Don Carlos [Downie], who - regaled us with good English and better wine of the country, of - which he had prepared a choice barrel to be sent to your Excellency - _q. Dios guarde y Lord Palmerston_. - - I have got into a magnificent house, larger even than yours, and - very comfortable in every respect. It belongs to the Mˢ. de la - Granja, who, I believe, is General O’Neil (being interpreted). If - so, make my respects to him, and tell him I will use it well, and - pay the rent duly and truly on the appointed days, and it is such a - rent as will enable him to cut a figure at the _Corte_. Don José - [O’Lawlor] invited us to dinner, to our great surprise; grand - dinner _de cent Couverts_, to meet fiscals and the Lord knows who; - the dinner not bad, as he is a wise man, and knows how to deal with - Englishmen. - - Famous shooting here, I am told--snipe, woodcock, rabbit, - _chorlito_ [curlew or gray plover], _alcaravan_ [bittern], - bustards, etc. So if you like to put yourself in the _diligence_, - here is a _Casa_ at your _disposicion_, a warm, sunny suite of - rooms, and a decent bottle of sherry; an excellent clergyman, a - friend of mine, will provide you with books at a monthly - subscription. Captain Heaphy and his hairsplitting prigmatic friend - have, thank God! passed through into the keeping of that great man, - Don Brackenbury. I met the Polish polished Russian Cheffhttinschkwi - on his way up to the Alhambra. I could be of no use to him - _unfortunately_, as I was going to leave the town the next morning. - Captain Martin and Sir Eden are daily expected here. The _Gallego_ - Standish has bought two pictures here at tremendous prices--a - Murillo £400, a Velazquez £200. - - Have you ascertained the exact use of those curious spears we saw - in the Armeria? I conclude, when you have, you will draw on me by - the hands of that worthy Israelite, Don Ravarra or Ravisa (I forget - which, though often lectured for it by you), and I will duly honour - the bill. - - My wife begs to thank you for the good-natured way you put up with - the inconvenience a marital pair must have inflicted on your B.A. - habits. - - _Dec. 27, 1831._ - - My wife is very far from well, in a sad state of nervousness and - weakness, the result of over-excitement in travelling and - over-exertions in drawing in the Alhambra. The doctors leave all to - _naturaleza_ and asses’ milk, having a congenial feeling for that - animal. - - Sir Eden and Captain Martin are here, having taken up their winter - quarters in Seville. - - I am only awaiting an answer from my landlord, General O’Neil, to - put up a fireplace in the Quarto, which is destined for my - _despacho_ [office] and for your habitation when you come here in - the spring. I wished to make a necessary, a roasting jack, and this - fireplace, three things rather usual, and thought in England to be - rather necessary, in large houses. I have had great difficulty with - the _administrador_, who, after offering me his house, kissing my - hand, and laying himself at my wife’s feet, proceeded rather to - protest against these innovations, viewing them in the light of - dilapidations, especially the _comun_, which he assured me no - _clean Spaniard_ would use, as they preferred a pan in their - bedrooms, and that, when I left the house, he should be at the - expense of restoring matters to their former state of comfort and - cleanliness. - - The jack, however, is up, and the turkeys are roasting. - - The weather is delicious, fine clear sky, 66 and 67 in the sun, - open windows and doors, and plenty of dry crackling olive-wood - (cheap) for the mornings and evenings. - - Don Julian [Williams] in great force, in a consular coat with G.R. - buttons, which would shame an ambassador. We are going to Cadiz - (Don Julian and I) on a visit to a still greater man, Don Brackʸ., - to taste sherry at Xeres, and look after a few pictures. The - Alhambra we left in a _cruel_ state of repair, the _Patio de - Leones_ and _Sala de los Abencerrages_ one mass of ruin, rubbish, - and dirt. They are re-tiling the whole of it, and the ladders of - the _presidarios_ [convicts] are every day knocking off part of the - delicate stucco work. The Governor is going to repair the wall, and - remove the garden from the _Patio_. They say the powder will be - removed from the Palace of Carlos V. As the Spaniards do not work - with the rapidity of lightning, I take it a stray _Rayo_ may get - the start of them, and send old Frascita and Dolorosita to the - devil. - -Once more political troubles disturbed Ford’s peace. So long as General -Torrijos remained safe in his refuge at Gibraltar, he was a source of -uneasiness to the Government. A trap was set to lure him to Spanish -soil. A former friend, General Vicente Gonsalez Moreno, Captain-General -of Malaga, opened a correspondence with him, professing Liberal -sympathies, and promising the support of the troops. With about fifty -companions, among whom was a young Irishman named Robert Boyd, Torrijos -landed near Malaga, December 4th, 1831. Moreno was prepared for their -arrival. The farmhouse in which the party sheltered for the night was -surrounded by soldiers. Resistance was useless, and Torrijos and his -friends surrendered the following morning. Six days later, Sunday, -December 11th, all the prisoners were drawn up on the beach below the -Carmen Convent at Malaga, and shot. Moreno was rewarded by being made -Captain-General of Granada. Disgraced by Queen Christina, he -subsequently joined the Carlists, and was murdered at Urdax, September -6th, 1839, by some Navarrese soldiers, in the act of escaping to France. -It is said that he begged for a confessor and a brief respite. The only -answer to his prayer was that he should have such mercy as he had -himself shown to Torrijos, and he was instantly bayoneted and shot. - -Every reasonable effort was made by Mark, Addington, and Lord -Palmerston, to save Robert Boyd. But it was in vain. Boyd was the first -person buried in the Protestant cemetery outside Malaga, to the east of -the town. Up to this time Protestants who died at Malaga were buried on -the sea-shore beyond low-water mark. The new burial ground, laid out by -Mark, the British Consul, was the first spot in Spain which the -authorities allowed to be enclosed for the interment of heretics. - -The death of Torrijos relieved the Government from one danger. But -another cause of anxiety arose. Spain threatened to intervene in the -affairs of Portugal. In April 1831 Dom Pedro resigned the throne of -Brazil, and returned to Europe to vindicate the Constitutional Charter, -and restore to his daughter, Maria da Gloria, the crown which the -Regent, her uncle, Dom Miguel, had seized. In July 1832 Pedro occupied -Oporto, and held it for a year against all the attacks of Dom Miguel, -both by land and sea. Spain at first favoured the cause of Miguel and -the Absolutists. Her army of observation was assembling on the frontier; -armed intervention seemed imminent. But the health of Ferdinand VII. was -failing fast. At his death, it was plain that the crown would be claimed -by Don Carlos, who was in avowed sympathy with Miguel. Christina saw -that she must rally to her daughter’s support the Spanish Moderates, and -she was disinclined to aid the Portuguese Government to crush the party -on which she herself was relying in Spain. Thus the danger of war was -averted. - - _Janʸ. 11, 1832_, SEVILLA. - - I have had a magnificent, _grandis Epistola_ from Mark, who is gone - wild about the Malaga events, and the execution of Mr. Boyd. In his - heart, I believe he was as glad as a young surgeon to get a subject - for his new churchyard. He certainly has a hankering after my - wife’s body, not her live body, but, hearing of her ill health, - tried all in his power to get me to Malaga to have a pretty female - specimen in his sepulchral museum. I must try and get you a copy - of a letter, which is circulating here, from one of the monks of - the convent, where the victims were taken, to a friend here. Mark - is mentioned as coming in a _coche_ in uniform to take Mr. Boyd’s - body, over which he read prayers. Mark’s Epistle concludes with - crumbs of comfort for you. “No man of honour can be otherwise than - disgusted in serving near such men as are seen in command here, and - I shall use all possible means in my power _to quit the country_ as - soon as it can be done.” _Feliz viage y vaya v. con Dios_. Meantime - he threatens me with a visit, _cum duodecim Marcis_, pretty dears, - who will certainly convey their sweet persons to the _Fonda_, as I - can’t take in woman-kind. - - The weather is most delicious here, sunny and balmy, and winter is - gone. I am meditating a shooting excursion with Martin and Eden, - not having the fear of José Maria in my eyes. I understand the - officers kidnapped near Gibraltar have paid the fine; they had much - better cross over to Africa, where both travelling and shooting, - and indeed all the comforts of civilised life, are much more easily - obtained than in Spain. - - José Maria has sent to Quesada, offering to give up business on - being secured a pardon; I suspect he has sold the _goodwill_ of his - vocation to his second in command, one Juan Cavallero. Quesada - told me this, and that he took no notice of the application. - Everybody here outrageous at Don Moreno and the _Deshonra_ on - Spanish _buena fé_!! The English papers you are so beneficent as to - send me, as usual, are gone stark staring crazy about Don Boyd. - Certainly, if anybody of the party deserved shooting, it is a - meddling _Foreigner_, who must have known the existence of the - decree under which all rebels, taken _in flagrante delicto_, were - liable to summary punishment. - - I have taken no steps about your wine yet, as the dealer has shown - somewhat of the _Moreno_, a little _mala fé_, in some transactions - I have had with him. I hope soon to go to Xeres, and will then - taste all the wines in all the cellars, till I am carried off dead - drunk. - - My wife does not mend, and I am rather uneasy about her, and shall - be more so, if this delightful change of weather does nothing. I - shall take her down to Cadiz and try sea air, _sub consule Branco_, - who is detained at Gibraltar, not daring to go by land, as, if they - could catch a _consul_, they would ask more ransom than for the - whole staff of Sir Houston. - - We are all crazy here about pictures, such buying and selling. By - the time Mecænas Standish and that eminent connoisseur, Captain - Cook, arrive, the market will be cleaned out. Sir William Eden is - _muy pegajoso_ and _bizarro_ [very attractive and full of spirits]. - I did not suspect that he was such an amateur and collector. In - short, we are buying things here at double what they are worth in - England. - - I have received splendid letters from the Mˢ de la Granja and his - _sobrino_, the Colonel. The Marques in a sad way about the - dilapidations of jacks, fireplaces, and _comun_, damned English - revolutionary nuisances. The poor _administrador_ quite frantic - about changes in a house, which had remained in genuine discomfort - since the days of the Moors,--an argument he thought to put me and - my fire out with. “If,” says he, “these things had been wanted, the - very great families who always have lived here would have done - them.” - - Meantime, whenever you like to come here, you can really be - decently lodged and fed, and return by Badajoz and Talavera, a very - interesting route. - - We are expecting the Conde de los Andes here from Granada, where - Don Moreno, the “complete Spanish letter writer,” goes to replace - him. - - _Saturday 14th_ [_Jan. 1832_], SEVILLA. - - I think I can assure you, on the best authority, that no troops - have been sent from this place, or from hereabouts, to the - Portuguese frontier, and that, rather, they are diminishing than - increasing their forces, disbanding the militia regiments. At the - cannon foundry they are occupied more in repairs than in casting - cannon. I believe they have about a hundred pieces ready, with - carriages, etc., etc. - - Here all is, as usual, perfectly quiet and tranquil, I have seen - several persons this day, all of whom give the same account of the - absence of all military movements. - - There has been a fulsome address voted by the Chapter of the - Cathedral of Malaga to Don Moreno, which, with his reply, has been - printed. I am sorry Don Julio O’Niel considers me so troublesome; - but he will think otherwise when the term expires and he loses so - good a tenant and so excellent a rent. He has a sad character here - as to money matters, and as for his _administrador_ he is still - more; _arcades ambo_. - - We have had very fine weather lately, and I am meditating a week’s - shooting with Los Señores Eden and Martin, as we hear rare accounts - of the woodcocks. - - My wife does not mend. The doctors come daily, take their fee, and - say all must be _dejado a la Naturaleza_. Of what use are they, - then? - - I am sorry you see so many clouds brewing for the Easter week, as - we shall have a dull Carnival, and none of the Saints and - Saintesses will come out in the streets. Even war will be better - than the cholera. - - I have no news here. The days glide on in a sort of _far niente_, - with the tinkling of my wife’s guitar, and the crying of my - nursery, all of whose teeth have taken to plague them and their - parents. These are blessings you know not. _Fortunati nimium._ - - _Feb. 1 [1832]_, SEVILLA. - - Captain Martin and Eden are setting out for Badajoz and Lisbon, - where they will probably get into some disagreeable scrape; rather - a bad time to visit Portugal, to say nothing of the wet rain and - cold Ventas. - - We have an arrival of three officers from the garrison, two of - which were of the party taken up into the mountains by José Maria, - who wanted to rob them again, as, hearing they were at Xeres, he - proceeded yesterday to rob the _diligence_, thinking to catch them; - but they had luckily taken the steamer. This is a serious system - for travellers, now he finds the English will pay handsome ransoms. - - There is an order come here to prepare thirty cannon _forthwith_. - The number they have quite ready, with men, mules, etc., is not - above eight or ten; but I am told, if money was forthcoming, they - could soon get ready above a hundred. No troops have moved from - this place. - - The Conde de los Andes has not arrived here yet; I heard from Don - José [O’Lawlor], who is now performing the functions of - Captain-General at Granada, that Dionysia is rather ailing. - - We are all here going on in the usual humdrum way, _sin novedad_, - and without any news. The weather mild and open. The swallows - flying about, and the storks looking out for lodgings on the church - towers, all of which, the learned say, is a sign that winter is - over. - - I am expecting Shirreff from Gibraltar, to occupy the _Sala del - Embajador_ in my _Palacio_, where I hope in the summer you will - come and take up your quarters. They tell me this is a most - delicious summer house, and that Seville and the _Andaluças_ should - be seen in the genial month of May or June. - - SEVILLA, _Wednesday, 15 Feb. 1832_. - - They are all in a bustle here with _warlike_ movements and - preparations; artillery ordered off to Badajoz, infantry and - cavalry to Salamanca. I heard to-day that the militia regiments and - the Royalists are to be called out. Some of the troops went - to-day, and others are to follow to-morrow. The _partidas_ [parties - of soldiers] which were in _José Maria’s_ country are coming in, - and _he_ will then be _de facto_ absolute king of the countries - between Cadiz, Sevilla, and Granada. They say General Monet, of - Algeciras, a General O’Donnel, and the Captain-General of - Valladolid, are to command this _cordon sanitaire_ on the frontiers - of Portugal. All this will probably be stale news to you. I do not - think they can send much very effective stuff from hence, either in - cavalry, artillery, or troops. The _pesetas_ are unusually scarce, - and the _derechos de Puerta_ [tolls, _octrois_] weighing everybody - down. The Conde de los Andes has been here for a few days, and is - now gone back to his Quartel at Cadiz. Captain Martin and Sir - William Eden will be in the thick of the row, as they started some - ten days ago for Badajoz, with the intention of going on to - Portugal. If they fall into the hands of that truculent youth, Dom - Miguel, you will have to claim them, if alive, and Mark, if dead, - for his new burying ground. That eminent undertaker is on his way - to visit _me_ and Seville. I am much honoured, and only regret that - you should not be here to gain a “few hints” as to governing - Spaniards. - - I am quite sorry that you are bothered with so many - “suspicious-looking letters” for me. They are quite as unwelcome to - me. One of them was from a Valentian _azulejo_ [tile] manufacturer, - begging me to intercede with you to get him an order for painted - tiles from the Grand Señor at Constantinople. Many thanks for the - papers. The debate very interesting. Lord Aberdeen seems to be gone - demented, and the great Duke, if weak in body, perfectly sound in - his intellect. I suspect my friends the Whigs are rather at a - discount. There must be a screw loose. The only good of all these - _trastornos_ [disturbances] is the exchange on England being so - delightfully low. They are, here and at Cadiz, looking out for - bills on England, it is said, to remit them to Lisbon. - - My wife is busy as ever with the Alhambra, and is a little better, - but still most wretchedly thin and weak. - - _Saturday_, SEVILLA [_21 Feb. 1832_]. - - I enclose you an exact account of the military movements which have - taken place here; you will receive the same account by next post - from a _greater man_ from Cadiz. This is a copy of what Don Julian - writes to him this post; but, as possibly it may interest you to - have even this information without loss of time, I send it you - also. - - Don Julian (who is the best of God’s creatures) - -[Illustration: PATIO DE LA MEZQUITA. - -[_To face p. 82._ - - Drawn by Harriet Ford, 1832. -] - - never likes troubling any one, still less so great a man as your - Excellency, as his instructions are to correspond with Don - Brakenbury, otherwise he would, in these sort of cases, write - directly to you. - - The weather here is delicious, like English October. Ronda Hills - are covered with snow, which is unusual: Don José writes from - Granada that the Vega is wrapt in a fleecy mantle and the Picacho - inaccessible. Captain Cook duly arrived _per diligence_; we shall - shortly forward him to Cadiz. I wish I could say as much of Don - Mark, who is expected. - - My spouse mends very slowly; I wish she got on as well as the - Alhambra _azulejo_ drawings. - - (ENCLOSURE.) - - Wednesday, the 15th inst. (February 1832). Part of the Escuadron de - Artilleria Volante left this city for Valencia de Alcantara by the - Badajoz road, consisting of - - 4 pieces (8-pounders), - 8 furgones (artillery waggons), - 1 fragua (forge), - - with the Escuadron maniobrero del Regimento de Caballeria del - Principe, consisting of 115 men, well mounted, for the same - destination. - - Thursday, the 16th inst. The 2nd battalion of the Regimenᵗᵒ de - Ynfanteria de Africa 6º de Linea left this for Madrid, consisting - of nearly 900 men, including officers, having been completed with - men taken from the 1st and 3rd battalions. - - Observations. The Escuadron de Artilleria Volante, which consists - of 12 pieces, for want of horses, could only send off the 4 pieces - above-mentioned, although the orders were for the entire Escuadron - to proceed to Valencia de Alcantara. Exertions are making to get it - completed, that it may be able to proceed. - - The Regimᵗᵒ de Caballeria del Principe, although it consists of - above 300 men, could send only 115, also for want of horses. - - The 1st and 3rd battalions of the Regimᵗᵒ de Ynfanteria de Africa, - remaining here, have only from 300 to 400 men, and the battalion - that has gone to Madrid, it is said, will be replaced by one - battalion of Ynfanteria de la Regna, which is to come from Ceuta. - - The Regimᵗᵒ Provincial de Sevilla is to be called together as soon - as shoes and various articles of clothing, of which they are much - in want, can be got ready. - -At the end of February, 1832, Ford started alone on a riding expedition -through the south-west corner of Spain, visiting Tarifa, Algeciras, -Xeres, and Ronda. The story of Tarifa is the one great incident in the -wretched reign of Sancho IV., called _El Bravo_, King of Castile and -Leon (1284-1295). The castle had been taken in 1292 by Alonzo Perez de -Guzman, who held it against the Moors. His only son, a child of nine, -was brought under the walls of the castle by the Infante Juan, a -traitor and renegade. Juan threatened to kill the boy if Guzman would -not surrender to the Moors. Guzman drew his own dagger, threw it down to -Juan, and replied, “Better is honour without a son than a son with -dishonour.” The boy was murdered before the father’s eyes; but the -castle remained in Christian hands. King Sancho rewarded the defender -with the “canting” name of _El Bueno_, and with all the lands between -the Guadalete and the Guadairo. From Guzman sprang the family of Medina -Sidonia, who take their ducal title from the name of a hill fort some -twenty miles from Cadiz. - - SEVILLA, _March 31, 1832_. - - Since I wrote last, I have been scampering over the mountains of - Ronda, not having the fear of José Maria in my eyes. I went first - to Cadiz to see the consular pictures and drink the consular - sherry, both very fine, _cosas de gran gusto_. Thence by Vejer to - Tarifa to see the castle of Guzman _el Bueno_, and the eye of many - a dark Tarifenia. They go about there, as they do at Tangiers, - covering their faces with a black _manta_; one black eye shines out - and goes clean through one like a bullet. Thence to Gibraltar, - where your despatches have set the General and his staff on the - alert, and the dogs of war are looking forward to be slipped. The - first thing General Houston told me was how he regretted that - General Monet[26] _had left Algeciras for Seville_, which was news - to me who had come from Algeciras that morning, and was going back - to dine with the said General Monet. General Monet, all pacific, - and, as he has had some experience as to what took place in the - last business, his opinion was a fair set-off against _el ingles_. - However, they know as much about Spain in Gibraltar as people in - Plymouth do about Algeciras, or those in Algeciras about Plymouth. - - I was strongly advised by all my friends on the Rock not to venture - back into Spain, but send forthwith for my family. I did, however, - venture, and proceeded to Ronda, through a wild mountain country, - full of smugglers and robbers (though one implies the other). The - ride was very striking. The old Moorish towns with Moorish names - perched like the nests of eagles on almost inaccessible pinnacles. - Indeed, they are still Moors, talking Spanish. Ronda, with its - _tajo_ or cleft between the old town and the new one, is a thing - worth being robbed in order to have seen. - - Thence to Xeres through Grazalema, the hotbed of José Maria and - _contrabandistas_. I there had a long interview with Frasquito de - la Torre and his eleven robbers. They are now all _hombres de - bien_, _indultados y en persecucion de los malhechores_; they have - undertaken to clear Andalucia of _Ladrones_, a plant that all the - armed agriculturists in Europe will never weed from so fertile a - soil; a fine set of picturesque well-dressed _Majos_. I had, - however, six soldiers given me by General Monet, and would have - shown fight; but they showed me all sort of civility, giving me - wine and presenting me to their wives, who are not worth our pretty - _Sevillañas_. Thence to Xeres, full of sherry, which is better - discussed out of a decanter than in an epistle. The Duke of San - Lorenzo has a magnificent Alcazar there, and, were I him, I should - cut Madrid, and take to drinking dry Amontillado in my Moorish - palace. - - Mrs. O’Lawlor has presented the General with a little girl, born on - the 25th. Don Carlos Downie has presented him with twenty-four - robbers from the neighbourhood of Jaen, who will be duly hung, _si - Dios quiere_. - - All the authorities here, Arjona, Quesada, General Flegres (these - two know something about the Raya [frontier] de Portugal), are - quite confident about peace, and that Spain will not interfere. I - hope you will give me a hint, _verbum sapienti et ab Sapiente_, as - to when you think the climate of Gibraltar more favourable for the - welfare of my family than that of Seville. - - We have Captain Cook here. Sʳ. Eden has just returned from Lisbon. - Everything most perfectly quiet there. He was much struck by the - admirable appearance of the Portuguese troops. Pedro will get a - licking if he does not look sharp. I should not be sorry, who want - to remain another year in Spain; and then they may both go to - _Carrajo_ or _the Carracas_, or wherever and whenever they like. - - All perfectly quiet at Badajoz. - - I find my wife very unwell and in great anxiety about the little - baby (who was born at Seville last year). It has been alarmingly - ill within these few days, and I fear there is not much chance that - it will live. I am the more distressed on my wife’s account, as it - has thrown her back very much, and intercepted the slow progress of - her recovery. - -As the following letter shows (May 12th) Ford did not remain long in -Seville. Two months were spent in an expedition along the frontier of -Spain and Portugal and in the north from Lugo to Bilbao. The first part -of his road took him by Merida, with its magnificent Roman remains, over -the Tagus by the famous bridge at Alcantara, through Placencia to -Salamanca. From Placencia he rode over the hills to the Jeronymite -Convent of San Yuste, where Charles V., empire-sick, retired to die -(September 21st, 1558). In the same neighbourhood and also visited by -Ford, was the square-built palace of Abadia, where the Duke of Alva -withdrew from public life, in the society of Lope de Vega, to lay out -his gardens in terraces and adorn them with Italian statuary. - - SEVILLA, _May 12, 1832._ - - I am going to set out to-morrow for Zafra and Merida, and thence - through Placencia, Alcantara, Ciudad Rodrigo to Salamanca, where I - shall finish my education. If I see anything _interesting_ to you - on the _Raya_ of Portugal I will take care and forward a despatch. - If this finds you in Madrid, you will much oblige me by letting - Alphonso walk to that arch-Hebrew, Ravassa, to desire him to send - me a credit on Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca and Valladolid, and write - to me at Ciudad Rodrigo the names of the bankers. You may remember - what a state of poverty and destitution the Jew left me in at - Zaragoça for want of diplomatic _garantias_. I have written to the - circumcised dog this post. When I reach Salamanca, I shall settle - my future plans. Much will depend on whether the cholera should - take a fancy about that time to travel in Spain, in which case I - shall get back here through Madrid as quickly as I can, as I would - rather meet José Maria than the Cholera. - - My wife has relinquished all thoughts of leaving Seville this - spring, as our last baby continues in rather a precarious state, - and she is unwilling to leave him; otherwise we should have gone - to Malaga and Granada. Seville is free from English; Heaphy _el - feroz_, and O’Meara _el Majadero_ [gawk], (what a knack they have - at _soubriquets_!) are gone to Murcia; S Eden and Martin _per_ - steamer to England; Cook and Baring return to Madrid on Thursday. - They have been detained here by another ball I have been giving, to - the horror of the _dévotes_, during the _Rogativas_, for which, - they say, all those who attended will be carried off by a - particular and express cholera. Meantime the ball was very well - attended; and by most beautiful and bewitching _Andaluças_, as - Baring and Cook will tell you. By the way, we are expecting the - famous French dandy, Charles de Mornay, who is coming from Morocco, - where he has been as _Plenipo_. He will enlighten the Madrid - dandies by some outlandish Paris coat _couleur de cholera morbus_; - if you fall in with him, and can get over his outward appearance, - you will find him very tolerable. He is an acquaintance of mine, - and friend of my wife, which may be predicated of all his English - _connoissances_. - - SALAMANCA, _June 6 [1832]_. - - Here I am in this venerable university, completing my education, - and endeavouring to make amends for the sad waste of time during - the years mis-spent at Oxford in earning the honour of a M.A. This - peaceful habitation of the Muses is disturbed by the piping of the - fife and the beating of the “soul-stirring” drum. The empty - colleges are filled with soldiers, who are inscribing on the walls - _carrajo_, and the usual words by which that class of people show - their proficiency in the art of writing. - - Everything very quiet in Portugal; in Merida there may be 400 or - 500 men; in Placencia as many cuirassiers; in Ciudad Rodrigo a - company of artillery and about 1200 men. Here there are artillery - from Seville, some cavalry, and altogether about 4000 to 4500 men. - This army on the frontier, including Badajoz, I should state as - under 10,000. They are very well appointed in all respects, and - seem fine troops--full, however, of _quintas_ [balloted men] and - young lads. - - I have seen much of General Sarsfield, which is more than anybody - else has. He seems to think that there is no chance of anything - taking place in Portugal, except in case of a general war. - - This is a charming old town. I have been over the field of battle. - The identical guide who was with Lord Wellington lives still in - Arapiles.[27] Would you believe it? not a single Spaniard, though - they have been here two months, has ever been over to see the scene - of battle. They, I suppose, know full well how very little they had - to do with it. - - I have been wandering over the mountains to the mines of Rio Tinto, - to Zafra and Merida, and thence across the uninhabited plain of - Estremadura to Alcantara, a magnificent Roman bridge in a most - picturesque situation, reminding me much of Toledo. Thence through - Coria to Placencia, and to the convent of Yuste, where Charles V. - died. The monks received me with great hospitality, lodged me in - the imperial quarters, and gave me a bed in the room in which - Charles died, and I did not see his ghost. - - Thence through Capara (a beautiful Roman arch) to Abadia, a ruined - palace of the great Duke of Alva. Thence over the mountains through - the romantic valley of Jurdes to the celebrated convent of Las - Batuecas, a mountain scene of the grandest description. Thence to - the ruined town of Ciudad Rodrigo, and so on to Salamanca; where I - have been living much with the Prior, a great ally of the Duke of - Wellington, and who furnished him with the most important - intelligence during the war. I am now going to Benavente, thence to - Santiago, Oviedo, Leon, and so to Madrid, _viá_ Burgos and - Valladolid. Please God, I hope to arrive in the _Corte_ early in - July. - - Pray be so kind as to put aside the Galignanis since May, as these - are most interesting times, and I am longing to read the debates. - If I can be of any service, _manda V. E. con toda franqueza a su - criado_; and write either to Lugo, Oviedo, or Leon, in case you - wish anything done in the mountains or a prayer said for your sins - at Compostella. - - I have good accounts of my wife at Seville, who is broiling while I - am shivering under the blasts of Castille, attended with cold and - rain--worse weather than the most inclement June in England. Sad - work for an artist, as the wind blows one’s paper to rags and the - rain wets it through, to say nothing of the chance of being shot as - a spy or laid in the Red Sea as the ghost of Mr. Boyd. - - MADRID, _Thursday [July 13, 1832]_. - - I arrived here this morning, having left Bilbao on Tuesday, which - is not bad work this warm weather. I am very sorry not to meet you - here, to talk over my pilgrimage and travels, which have been - rather interesting. I have been absent from my spouse and children - so long that my marital and paternal feelings are getting impatient - for Seville, where I hope to arrive next week, leaving this - _Corte_ on Tuesday by the _Malle de Poste_. This is an excellent - and most rapid mode of travelling, as we came from Vitoria nearly a - gallop all the way. I hope this autumn, if Dom Pedro allows you, - that you will come down and look at our pretty Sevillanas. - - I have been looking over the batch of Galignanis, and have many - thanks to give you for having preserved them for me; any you can - henceforth spare for Seville pray send me. I saw nothing worth - writing to you about on my tour in political matters. There are - about two thousand men at Zamora, and, altogether, I should reckon - the Spanish force to be about twelve thousand men--good troops and - well appointed with everything. The general feeling everywhere is - that they will not pass the frontier. - - MADRID, _Tuesday, 17th [July 1832]_. - - I am off this night _per Malle de Poste_ to Seville. I am very - sorry that we have not met in Madrid, but hope in the autumn we may - meet in the marble court of my house in the sweet south. You will - do well to come down and dissipate a little after your fatigues - with Dom Pedro. _Dulce est desipere_ in Seville. Will you be so - kind as to forward the enclosed to the Duke of Wellington, whenever - you have a safe conveyance? It contains a letter which a friend of - his gave me at Salamanca. - - A Mr. Lewis,[28] a clever artist whose father I know well, has been - recommended to me by Henry Wellesley. He is about to make a sort of - picturesque tour of Spain, having orders for young ladies’ albums - and from divers booksellers who are illustrating Lord Byron. Will - you be so good as to get his passport _viséd_ in manner that he may - not be shot or hung as a spy? I think, if it were _viséd_ in your - Embassy in Spanish, it would be quite sufficient in a sort of form - like this:-- - - “El contenido artista Ingles viaja en España con el unico objeto de - estudiar y debujar y siendo sujeto de confianse se le recommienda a - las auctoridades civiles y militares de su Transitu.” - - I had a sort of _visé_ like this from Quesada, which operated like - magic. To be sure, they took me for your Excellency in disguise, or - at least for a Field-Marshal. This place is very hot, dusty and - glaring, and I shall be glad to repose under my orange trees and - vines in the shade, and listen to the splashing of waters, the - domestic details of my spouse, and the crying of my children, all - which pass a single gentleman’s belief. - - I see nothing new except the Velazquez, which are more - extraordinary every time I meet them. - -Ford missed seeing Addington at Madrid, because the Ambassador was in -attendance on the Court at La Granja, where momentous events were taking -place which affected the destiny of Spain for the next half-century. - -In May 1713 the first Bourbon King of Spain, Philip V., had decreed the -establishment of a modified form of the Salic law of succession. Women -were not absolutely excluded from the throne; but, only if male heirs -failed, could they succeed to it. As the law stood, thus modified, Don -Carlos, the brother of Ferdinand VII., was the legal heir, rather than -Ferdinand’s daughter Isabella. - -But in 1789, on the accession of Charles IV., the Cortes was summoned to -take the oath of allegiance. When they assembled, the President informed -them that the King desired them to exercise their constitutional rights, -and to request him to decree the abolition of the Salic law of 1713. The -restoration of the old Spanish law of succession, which allowed females -to succeed, failing male heirs of the same degree, was welcome to a -nation which remembered the reign of Queen Isabella. The Cortes -therefore begged Charles IV. to abolish the Salic law and to restore the -ancient rule. But the enactment was never perfected by publication. - -Early in 1830 Ferdinand VII. had hopes of a child. It was therefore -determined to act on the address of the Cortes of 1789, and to publish -the decree. Accordingly, in March 1830, the decree was solemnly -proclaimed at Madrid; the Salic law was abolished, and the ancient rule -of succession restored. By this change Don Carlos could only succeed if -Ferdinand remained childless; if a child were born to him, whatever its -sex, it inherited the throne. Isabella was born in October 1830, and a -second daughter in January 1832. But the King’s health made it probable -that he would have no further issue, and round the legality of the -decree of 1830 centred the intrigues of two masterful women, Maria -Francisca of Braganza, the wife of Don Carlos, and Carlota of Naples, -the wife of Ferdinand’s younger brother, Francisco de Paula. - -At the end of the summer of 1832 Ferdinand seemed to be dying. Queen -Christina was nursing him at La Granja. Young and inexperienced, worn -out with fatigue, she was no match for the reactionary Ministers who -surrounded her husband. Their advice was plain and urged with -persistency. If the decree of 1830 were not repealed, Spain would be -torn by civil war, and deluged with blood. The King yielded. In -September 1832, on what was supposed to be his death-bed, he signed a -secret document, revoking his decree, restoring the Salic law, and thus -constituting Don Carlos heir to the throne. - -The news reached Dona Carlota among the bull-fights and receptions in -Andalusia which Ford describes. She hurried to Madrid, vehemently -reproached Calomarde, the Minister of Justice, extorted from him the -document, tore it to shreds, and soundly boxed his ears. Calomarde, -utterly cowed, could only murmur, “White hands, Madam, can never -dishonour.” The King recovered. New Ministers were appointed. The old -ones were dismissed. The Captains-General were displaced by men of more -moderate views. Thus Quesada was appointed to Madrid, the Marques de las -Amarillas to Andalusia, the Conde de España replaced by Llauder at -Barcelona, and Moreno removed from Granada. The Liberals were amnestied. -In March 1833 Don Carlos was permitted to retire to Portugal, and in the -following June Isabella received the oath of allegiance as Princess of -the Asturias and heiress to the crown of Spain. - - SEVILLA, _Aug. 1 [1832]_. - - My poor little baby (who has been a year struggling against the - organic injury received by his fall in the Alhambra) on Monday - evening was released from its continual and cruel sufferings, and - has been buried in the orange garden of San Diego, where the - remains of those English who die in this distant land are gathered - together. (I doubt if Mark will ever forgive me.) - - This melancholy event, though long anticipated, has upset my wife - more than I should have expected. I found her on my return very - much improved in health, and looking much better than she has ever - done this last three years--quite fat and stout. - - José Maria is now a _hombre de bien_, living like an honest - gentleman retired from an honourable and laborious profession, - enjoying the _otium cum dignitate_, the rich reward of meritorious - industry in Estefa. About forty gentlemen in his line have been - received into the society of honest Spaniards by an ample - _indulto_. The roads are in consequence quite safe for the present, - as long as the uneasy virtue of these gentlemen continues. It is - just possible that we may spend our autumn in Granada, and the - winter under the protection of Marco _el grande_, who is always the - conqueror. Malaga is a _rinconcillo_ [small corner] we have never - seen, and I am anxious to go over to Africa in the spring to see - the _real Moors_. Many thanks for the Galignanis, which tell us - something about Messrs. Peter and Miguel, a pretty pair, as the - Devil said. I suppose that thing must by this time be ended. Would - the cholera were! - - We have a man here, fresh from London, who says nobody there pays - the slightest attention to it, and if there were no newspapers its - presence would be unnoticed. - - The Infante[29] has been here, seeing bull-fights. The Infanta - very sulky, ugly, and cross, and insulting the Sevillanas. They - were coldly received, and at one time hissed (not kissed) in the - Plaza. The Alcazar is exquisite. What a palace it is now, hung with - the finest pictures in Seville, and furnished with the most - beautiful and costly furniture, old plate, etc., lent by the - principal families, all those who have saved anything since the war - of _de_pendence! The sheets on the bed, costing 5000 Rs., like Lady - Holland’s, edged with lace, and for the repose of such carcasses! - The consequence is that we flesh-eaters are paying the penalty of - these fooleries, two _cuartos_[30] having been added to the pound - of meat, and a tax here (and elsewhere), once put on, is never - taken off. - - SEVILLA, _Aug. 22, 1832_. - - We are now full of warlike reports; Juntas of _Realistas_; four - thousand are to march from this province, and two hundred - _valientissimos_ from Sevilla, who will eat Dom Pedro in a - _Gaspacho_ [a cold vegetable soup]. - - They say that the Spaniards are determined to interfere, which will - very much interfere with my remaining in Spain; but I hope, if you - think the horizon cloudy and bad for a gentleman’s health, that - you will give me a timely hint, to get a little sea-bathing at - Gibraltar. - - Spaniards deal so much in hyperbole, that one never knows what to - believe; they say that you and the Frenchman have taken down your - arms (if the Frenchman did his tombstones and cocks it would be no - bad thing). They also say that Sartorius[31] has taken Dom Miguel’s - ships, all except the large one. These news came per London - steamer. However, the _Realistas_ are certainly in a bustle; of - that there can be no doubt, and it looks warlike. God help poor - fallen Spain! The cholera and a French army marching in at once, - and the plentiful crop of weeds which will sprout up out of the - earth, like the armed men of Cadmus. The Liberals and discontented - are overjoyed; they are like Mother Cary’s chickens, which only - come out when there are symptoms of foul and dirty weather. - - I wish Dom Pedro was hung in the _Tripas_ of Dom Miguel, as the - Spaniards say of the English and French. - - Many thanks for your passport for Don Luis. He has written a letter - to me, full of thanks for your good nature to him, and will no - doubt draw your portrait _gratis_. - - We have nothing new here. Colonel Buller talking incessantly and - unceasingly of his uniform; if he does not make haste, they will - declare war before he gets it. His friend Mr. Horner sits in a - corner. - - There have been magnificent doings at the Alhambra, and I hear that - Dionysia’s dress and magnificence are the talk of the town. - Travelling is quite safe, as José Maria is looking after the - robbers instead of being looked after. - - SEVILLA, _Sept. 19 [1832]_. - - By desire of Don José I enclose you an account of the gay doings in - the Alhambra in honour of His Serene Highness Don Francisco de - Paula. You may depend upon it that, in knocking up their trumpery - lamps and chandeliers, they have cruelly injured the beautiful - Moorish stucco, and probably have whitewashed over the little - remnants of its former gilding. - - We have the supreme felicity of being honoured by the royal - presence, and have had a grand bull-fight (the cause and effect), - given by the Maestranza,[32] in which Don Rafael Gusman (a - descendant of Gusman _el Bueno_) killed a bull, who, in his dying - spring, bounded over the barrier and died between it and the - spectators, a _lance_ [a lucky event] considered by the - _aficionados_ [enthusiasts] as _algo raro_ [somewhat unusual], and - much applauded by His Highness and the _Majos_ of Seville. This - occupies much conversation, of course, and Dom Pedro and the - cholera are at a discount. As to Doms Miguel and Pedro, even the - Spaniards are disgusted at their want of fight. What two - blackguards, to disturb the peace of the Peninsula! - - Everybody here is satisfied that the King is to spend the winter in - Seville, and to set out as soon as he can be moved, as they make - him out to be very ill. Meantime Gutierrez the painter, who is in - high favour in Court (drawing _two hundred_ heads of the servants, - attendants, etc., in a blank book of the Queen’s), describes the - King as coming in and being very affable and good-humoured. - - We have no news whatever. Colonel Buller’s uniform is arrived, and - both are still remaining at Seville. Otherwise, God be praised! - there are no British subjects here. The weather perfectly - delicious; the walks of an evening and at night charming. My wife - has been very unwell, feverish, and relaxed. As soon as she is - confined, which I hope will be early next month, we think of - starting for Malaga to eat raisins and be under the protection of - Mark. - - Our great visitors are all to go the 24th, and say they shall - return next year much earlier. The people are so poor that they - have not been able to give them a ball. In the town they said I was - going to do so. You see how we apples swim, and what a great place - this is for little people; however, I prefer counting my dollars in - my box, _nummos in arcâ_. - - SEVILLA, _Saturday [29 Sept. 1832]_. - - As you have been so long “in at the death,” I will give you a - little _birth_ by way of a change. On Wednesday my wife was safely - brought to bed of a little girl, both mother and child doing - perfectly well. The birth was premature by three weeks, and brought - on by a severe illness which my wife has had, and which has thrown - her back sadly. I am in hopes that she will now recover her - strength for the journey to Malaga. - - They say, first, that the King is dead, and that he died on the - 17th; next, that he is eating chickens and smoking cigars, on the - 20th; and that he is coming here to a _dead_ certainty. - - The furniture of the Alcazar, provided for the Infante, which was - to have been sold, is ordered to be put away in case of being - shortly required. How is all this? Is there really any chance of - the King’s coming? If so, pray let me know (_quite privately_), as - I in that case would remain the winter, having the largest and best - house in the town, which I need not say is at the _Disposicion de - V.E._, and where I can give you a nice _little apartment_, with a - fireplace, and with no chickens to sing ovations on your arrival. - - Don Lewis is drawing the Alhambra, and Don José is speculating on - politics, about three weeks more behindhand than we are, which - might be expected, as he lives in an out-of-the-way mountainous - kingdom. - - I suppose you have had a rare time of it at the Granja. The running - up and down stairs and the stir of diplomacy will keep your feet - free from chilblains in that Mountain Court. The weather here is - beyond expression delicious. - - _November 10, 1832_: SEVILLA. - - I have moved out of O’Neill’s house to the one I formerly occupied, - which is warmer and smaller, and have just laid in 1500 cwt. of dry - olive wood, which I wish I could present you with. O’Neill’s - _administrador_, who is a regular skinflint, has taken to his bed, - in consequence of the loss of a tenant who paid 35 reals a day for - a _Caseron_ which will never again be relet. Here they say that he - is coming to Seville for his _Quartel_. - - Amarillas has been well received at Granada, where the joy at - having got rid of that scoundrel Moreno is unbounded; above 500 - prisoners have been let out of the dungeons there. In spite of his - passport, he ordered Mr. Lewis out of Granada at two hours’ notice, - but relented on an application of Don José. - - Mark, who is always the conqueror, has got all the original - correspondence between Torrijos and Moreno, which I hear beats - cockfighting. They say Moreno has fled into Portugal. - - Quesada is making rare reforms in the police, and the Andalucians - are dancing Fandangos with delight. - - I am expecting Mr. Lewis from Granada, and am going to take him - into my house. I look forward to his Alhambra drawings, and hope my - wife will make some good copies of them. She is, I am very sorry to - say, in a most delicate state, and cruelly pulled down. People are - all in high spirits and looking forward to changes and - improvements which they will never see realised. The Queen very - popular, and, if the King exchange a terrestrial for an immortal - crown, she will here have a strong party. - - SEVILLA, _Saturday, 15 [December 1832]_. - - As soon as I received your Walter Scott[33] prospectuses I sent one - to Arjona, the _assistente_, another to Quesada, and another to the - editor of the _Diario_. If you send any more, it will be as well to - add a postscript, saying who Walter Scott was, whether he was a - Frenchman or a German, whether he wrote Verses or dealt in - _Bacalao_ [dried cod-fish], as there is no one here who has yet - heard of him, and all, like Lord Westmorland when asked to - subscribe to the monument of Watt, are asking _what’s what_. - However, if he had written the Song of Solomon, and been as - notorious as the Cid, the devil a _cuarto_ would any Spaniard - subscribe, and I do not expect one _peseta_ from Andalucia. The - Major is occupied in buying a horse; Colonel Buller in buying cloth - for new trousers, on which he descants till even tailors cry _ohe! - jam satis est_. I am buying meat and drink for my family. All these - matter-of-fact expenses militate against handing over dollars for - the decoration of a bleak northern capital. - - We are about to lose Quesada, who goes to Madrid; but he is - replaced by a better officer and a far higher-bred gentleman, - Amarillas; so that, as far as we are concerned, we rather gain. - Madame Quesada is one of the most agreeable, _graciosas y - chistosas_ [gay] of all _Gaditanas_, and, if you fall in her way, - pray become acquainted with her. - - We are all going on here in our usual humdrum manner, my wife - certainly much better. I have just bought her a horse, and she is - having a splendid _Maja_ riding-habit made, which will make the - _Andaluças_ die of envy; black, with innumerable lacing and - tagging, and a profusion of silver filigree buttons. - - I have Don Luis staying in my house, he has made some beautiful - sketches of Granada, and is very busy with Sevilla. - - The wall of the Alhambra is not yet built up. Remember me and mine - to O’Lawlor, who, I hope, will pick up something in these times of - scramble and change. - -[Illustration: SKETCH OF SHOOTING EXCURSION. - -[_To face p. 108._ - - By J. F. Lewis, 1833. - -J. F. Lewis is seated on a Grey Horse. - -R. Ford with the coloured mantle. - -The Captain, José Boscasa, on a Baggage Donkey.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -SEVILLE AND GRANADA - -(JANUARY-SEPTEMBER, 1833) - -SEVILLE--GRANADA--TETUAN--FESTIVITIES AT MADRID--RETURN TO ENGLAND - - - SEVILLA, _Saturday, January 12 [1833]_. - - I did not answer your letter last post, as I was then in the Sierra - Morena, near Alcolea, on a shooting excursion. - - You will find a large engraving of the tomb of the Catholic kings - in the folio work published at Madrid in 1804 by Don Pablo Lorano, - and called _Antiquedades arabes in España_. - - Lewis, who is here, says, if you are not satisfied with that print, - that he will make a drawing of the chapel and tomb at Granada when - he returns. There are portraits of Fernando and Isabella in the - Generalife; but they are bad, and certainly not so old as the - period those personages lived in. At the Cartuja convent, near - Burgos, is a genuine and beautiful small portrait of Isabella, - which struck me very much when I was there, and is certainly of - the time, and in the manner, of Holbein. - - If you are acquainted with a brother of General Sⁿ. Martin, who has - just been named Bishop of Barcelona, he will probably be able to - put you in the way of getting a copy made of this portrait by some - artist at Burgos. The newly-elected Bishop was treasurer of the - cathedral at Burgos, and is a most worthy and good man. - - Don José O’Lawlor could get you copies made of the portraits at the - Generalife and of the tomb of Granada, and that musical artist - _Muriel_ will do the job in a manner that no one will recognise - them. - - So much for your Excellency’s commissions. - - We are all agog here with the arrival of Amarillas from Granada, - who will make an excellent Captain-General, quite as honest and - firm as Quesada, and much better and higher bred. If you see Madᵉ - Quesada, who is a most agreeable, charming, fat old lady, pray lay - me most devotedly at her feet. - - My wife has been far from well lately--a bad cough, pain in her - chest, and palpitations of the heart. I am not quite comfortable - about her, and have some thoughts of going to Madeira. The Colonel - is here as usual, and has lately set up a waistcoat, which he has - eulogised to all Seville. - - My wife wishes to know if you would like to have a _very, very - fine_ Pajes guitar. There was a talk of one being to be sold, and - it was mentioned to her. - - I have this instant seen the _Gazetta_, and that Don José is - appointed Captain-General of Mallorca. I suspected something was in - the wind when so prudent a gentleman undertook the journey to - Madrid. I am sorry for it, as I had eyes on the Alhambra for next - summer. - - SEVILLA, _March 6 [1833]_. - - I have been resisting during these last six weeks an _empeño_ - [favour] of my wife’s, but have at length yielded, as most men, - whether single or married, must to the constant battery of female - determination. She has bought a small silver filigree box, about - half a foot long and six inches high, which she is very anxious to - send to England, and to get it in without being broken up. She - wants to know whether you can or will help her in this matter. It - is a favour to be bestowed on her, and for which she will ever - remain your handmaid or handwoman. I have told her that _I_ do not - ask you, because you would say _no_ slap, and there would be an end - of it. As the box is so small, will it be possible to get Lady S. - Canning to take it back with her? I hardly like writing to Lord - Althorp about it, as the Whigs, of course, will never do a job. So - the matter stands. If you can do it, it will be a great favour to - her, as the nicknack is a very pretty one. If you cannot, then she - must bear it patiently--_no tiene remedio_. You will have heard of - us and of our masquerading from a tall major, who was as high as a - hill; he passed through with a stammering gentleman, who, I hope, - was not the talebearer, or it is not told yet. - - We are expecting a flock of Consuls from Europe and Africa--the - Brackenburys and the Drummond Hays, who are going to spend the Holy - Week, and a rare unholy one will they make it; as, where two or - three English are gathered together, there is envy, hatred, and - uncharitableness amongst them, and still more with that great class - of people His B.M. Consuls. The Hays, I hear, are the greatest men - alive. I am thinking of being off to escape the Consular deluge, - and to retire to the polished cities of Tangier and Tetuan. Mr. Hay - has made me offers for my house, and probably I shall make hay - while the sun shines. - - We have applied for the Alhambra, and, as soon as I can get an - answer, we shall prepare to set forth for Granada, having no fear - _now_ of José Maria, who came to Seville and paid me a visit of - which the whole town is talking. I received him as a man of his - merits deserves, and gave him a present of a pistol, with which - probably, if he meets me on the high road, he will shoot me. - Lewis, who is with me still, made a drawing of him--a fine handsome - fellow, and fit to be absolute king of Andalucia. - - If you have time to write, pray tell us what is _really known_ - about the cholera. Is it at Lisbon? What are you about at Madrid, - making the exchange to rise so? I am ruined by it. - - My wife begs to be remembered to you, and that her _empeño_ may be - remembered by you. - - Poor Don José! What a mess he made of his trip to Madrid, where his - Dionysia nearly miscarried, and he has completely. As far as we are - concerned, I am delighted to see him again at Granada. - - SEVILLA, _April 3 [1833]_. - - My wife begs me to thank you a thousand times for offering to send - her box. The size is 5 inches wide, 6 inches high, 8 inches long. - - If you think fit, I will send it to you, and you shall dispose of - the matter as you like. It contains a few odd Spanish trinkets, - about £50 worth, in which _materiam superavit opus_, and which she - wishes not to lose on account of the recollections attached to - them, being memorials of her travels. I am really quite vexed at - giving you all this trouble, thinking on the subject exactly the - same as you do, and wishing all ladies and their _empeños_ at the - devil. - - We are full of _Misereres_, _Custodias_, _Pagos_, and processions, - all the night and day work of the Holy Week, all unction, the - fruits of which will duly make their appearance, this day nine - months, in a plentiful crop of bastards for the _Casa de los - Expositos_. Lots of English from the Rock, of the regiment called - The Tiger; Consuls, Vice-Consuls, and Consuls-General, as thick as - blackberries, and quite as insipid. I am dying to be lodged again - in the Alhambra, and hear the ovation of the Tia’s chickens. Will - the troubled times permit your Excellency to come and see us again - this summer, when we will ride to Alhama and on to the Consul Mark, - _el siempre Vencidor, El Galib?_ - - We are all at a nonplus at what is going on in the _Corte_. His - Majesty’s letter to the Captain-Generals is a poser, and means in - English, “I want nobody but my little Cea Bermudez.”[34] However, I - am delighted to see that his Majesty is so well, as these decrees - speak more clearly than any bulletins, that he has no thoughts of - dying, and cares no more for Isabel than George the Fourth did for - Charlotte. I wonder you can have any doubts whatever as to what - will happen next. You will see the next word of command will be “As - you were.” - - It would be a pity that the march of intellect should get into the - Peninsula, or that Africa should cease to begin at the Pyrenees. - - SEVILLA, _Wednesday, 17 [April 1833]_. - - I enclose you the receipt of the _diligence_ for the small box I - sent you, in consequence of your kind offer to send it home for my - wife. Mind, I should never have ventured to bother you on such a - subject. The _diligence_ will arrive on Monday morning. If you will - send your whiskered _Chasseur_ with the enclosed paper, no - custom-house officer will dare to open it. - - I suppose Brackenbury will send you the news of the two packets, up - and down, which have met at Cadiz. The one from Malta brings the - news that the Russians have 7 sail of the line at Constantinople, - and 40 transports full of troops in the Bosphorus, and that Mehemet - Ali’s fleet, 5 sail, have hoisted the flag of independence.[35] - - The _Hermes_ from England, sent off at an hour’s notice by the - Admiralty, touched at Oporto, Vigo, Lisbon, with orders to all the - English ships of war to proceed directly to Constantinople, without - anchoring at Gibraltar. The _Malabar_, Captain Percy (with Sir - William Eden on board), is at Cadiz, and, ere this, in the - Mediterranean. Other English ships are in sight. Private - intelligence to “_the Proconsul_” says that the cholera is at - Lisbon. - - Will you be so kind, if you have time, to let me know when the box - arrives, and, if it goes to England, how and when? It contains £50 - or £60 of trinkets, the honey collected by my Queen Bee. - - Shirreff is uncertain as to his motions. He is agog at the thoughts - of a war and a three-decker. It is probable that he will turn off - at Ossuna and proceed directly to Gibraltar by Ronda. - - I hope to arrive at Granada next Wednesday, where, in case of - seizure or squalls, you have a house at your _disposicion_ to - retire to. - - TETUAN, _Saturday, May 25 [1833]_. - - Do not be alarmed at a letter from this land of lions, tigers, - deserts, and cannibals, for I assure you it is a paradise compared - to the garrison and gunfire of Gibraltar, almost as beautiful as - Granada, quite as civilised as Spain, and abounding with comforts - and accommodations, seeing that the houses of the Jews are more - handsomely and abundantly furnished than those of the grandees of - Seville. - - It is quite a mistake to suppose that there is any difficulty or - danger in travelling in Barbary, or that the condition of the Jews - or Christians here is so deplorable as gentlemen on their travels - have printed and published for the benefit of Mr. Colburn and - edification of the British public. Both are treated with great - kindness, and the proof of the substantial prosperity of the sons - of Israel is in the silks and jewels, domestic comforts and - luxuries, which are to be met with even among the poorest of them. - - I must go back a little in my letter. We left Seville in April, and - reached Granada in due time, in spite of the wind and the rain. We - thence proceeded to the town called by the English Gib, by the way - of Alhama _ay de mi_![36] Loja, Antequera, and Ronda, a fine - mountain ride, full of Moorish castles and fastnesses, the scene of - many a desperate conflict, all of which are written in the book of - Washington Irving. From Gibraltar we were conveyed by Shirreff to - Tangiers, a pretty little town situated in a sheltered bay. I need - not tell you how great is the change on landing, greater than that - between Dover and Calais. I will not say that, on coming from - Spain, it is coming from civilisation to barbarism, it being well - known that Africa begins at the Pyrenees; but still the change of - turbans for hats, _haiks_ for _capas_, camels for mules, wild Arabs - in their peaked _jellibeas_ for monks, is sufficiently striking. - The interior of the town is like a Spanish one--all dirt, ruin, and - bad pavement, the houses, low and windowless, looking like whitened - sepulchres; and the women, in their _haiks_ and muffled-up faces, - look like the ghost in _Semiramis_--a very appropriate population - for so sepulchral a city. From under the shroud, however, peep out - certain black, soft eyes, so full of life that a gentleman would - have no objection to be haunted in the night-time by one of these - spectres. - - The Jewesses do not hide their faces, and it would be a sin to do - so, as they are truly beautiful. Their costume is most fanciful and - oriental--a mass of brocade, golden sashes, handkerchiefs, and - jewelry, pearls, rubies, and emeralds, by no means the trappings of - a people said to be stripped to the skin by the Moors. If they have - any “_old cloes_,” they buy and sell them and do not wear them. - They are highly pleased at being visited, and show their finery - with great complacency. My wife has been admitted into the interior - of divers houses of the Moors, but does not give so favourable an - account of them as of the Jewesses. The newly-married women paint - their faces very much as we remember, in the days of our youth, - that facetious gentleman Grimaldi did. - - There is a very decent inn, much cleaner and better provided than - those in Spain. We were lodged at His B. Majesty’s - Consulate-General, and so changed houses with the Hays. From - Tangiers we rode to Tetuan, a pleasant ride through a rich country, - well cultivated, of about eleven hours. Here we have put up in the - oriental dwelling of a respectable Jew, who has two daughters, who - make me think every day better of Moses as a legislator--fair - complexions, dark black hair, and soft, mild, large, almond-shaped - eyes, rendered more oriental by a dark powder, with which the lids - are slightly blacked, which gives an indescribable soft expression - to them. We have been received by the Pasha in oriental state, - turbaned guards, Ethiopian slaves, cushions and couches, and much - green tea, almond cakes and sweetmeats. My wife was presented to - his lady, and presented by her with a scarf value ten shillings, - for which she gave her a musical snuff-box. - - The situation of the town delightful, on the slope of a hill - commanded by an embattled castle, and overlooking a valley of - gardens bounded to the north-east by the blue sea, and to the south - by a magnificent chain of mountains. It is a second Granada, and - the original founders who fled from Granada brought with them all - their love for agriculture and gardens, which are here the delight - of the Moors. The hills supply them with an abundance of water, - which under African sun and a fertile soil covers the earth with - the most luxuriant vegetation and every kind of fruit given to man - to eat. The town is like that of Tangiers, impressive when seen - from the distance, but ruined in the interior. The bazaars, and - especially the corn and vegetable markets, very African. Lines of - camels laden with dates from Tafilet, silks from Fez, Ethiopians, - wild Arabs, and muffled women, naked legs and covered faces, all - talking a guttural idiom which beats German to nothing. The wares - they deal with are as singular as the people: painted _couskousu_ - dishes from Fez, odd brown zebra-looking carpets from Rabat, - tricolour clothes for the Ethiopians, velvet embroidered cushions, - slippers and sashes from Algiers. Then the jewelry of the women. My - wife represents the Moorish women as one mass of pearls and - precious stones. I have seen the collection of a Jewish woman - which filled a decent-size box, about four times as big as the one - my wife troubled you with, and which I hope started safely for - England. Huge uncut emeralds seem to be the favourites. The houses - are full of small _patios_, arches, arabesque work, and tesselated - pavement, like the Alhambra, and the palace of the Governor, which - is in high order, gives one an idea of what the Alhambra must have - been once upon a time. We hope to set out to-morrow for Gibraltar, - and thence to Granada _viâ_ Malaga, and, having embraced His B. M. - Consul in that city, to get back to the Alhambra by the 6th of - June, _el dia de Corpus_, which is celebrated with great pomp in - Granada. _Adios_ ever, here and everywhere. - - GIBRALTAR, _Thursday, 30 [May, 1833]_. - - We have arrived here quite safely from Tetuan, and hope to be back - at Granada by the 6th of June for _el dia de Corpus_. - -Leaving his wife at Granada, Ford hurried to Madrid to be present at the -solemn recognition of Isabella as heiress to the Spanish crown. In spite -of the protests of Don Carlos, the oath of allegiance was taken by the -Cortes in the Church of Geronimo at Madrid (June 20th, 1833). The -capital was given up for days to magnificent festivities, which -culminated in a bull-fight, given in the Plaza Mayor on Saturday, June -22nd. The whole square was converted into a superb spectacle, the -windows of the houses being used as boxes. Under a gorgeous canopy in -the centre window of the Town Hall sat the King and Queen; on either -side of them were the royal family and the court. The King arrived in -state at 5 o’clock. The arena was cleared by halberdiers, dressed in the -costume of the old guard of Philip II. The four knights, who took part -in the fight, led a splendid procession round the arena. Each was -accompanied by his sponsor, in a state coach and six, attended by -running footmen. The sponsors, the Dukes of Frias, Alva, and Infantado, -and the Count of Florida Blanca, were followed by troops of gaily -dressed bull-fighters and their assistants, leading horses from the -King’s stables, saddled with silver trappings, and their manes and tails -plaited with ribbons. They were succeeded by four troops, each -consisting of forty men, one equipped as ancient Spaniards, the second -as Romans, the third as wild Indians, and the fourth as Moors. When all -had taken their places the bull-fight began. The bulls were let loose, -and each of the four knights in turn advanced on horseback clad in silk, -and armed only with a short javelin. Their safety depended on the skill -of the matadors who attended them. Care had been taken that the bulls -should not be of their usual ferocity; but, even as it was, one of the -knights was severely wounded.[37] - - MALAGA, _June 2 [1833]_. - - If you do not repent you of your hospitable offer of giving me a - bed, during the approaching shows and ceremonies, I should be - delighted to run up for a few days. As I should come alone, any - hole or corner in your house would be perfectly good enough, and I - should put you by no means out of your way. - - I hope to be at Granada by Thursday, and will consult Don José’s - tailor on the subject of a coat, something blue, turned up with red - and a few dollars of gold lace; you can pass me, in this decent - livery, as an _attaché_ extraordinary from the Pacha of Tetuan, or - a proconsul from his B.M. Consul-General at Tangiers. I hope in - this disguise to be allowed to stand behind your Excellency’s chair - at the different ceremonies, bull-fights, _rows_ (_si Dios - quiere_), and hold your dress cocked hat. - - My wife is not well, and much knocked up by this last journey, and - will do quite well to remain quiet in the Alhambra. Indeed, some - repose is absolutely necessary to her, both bodily and mentally. - - This is a warm spot; and having dined with the consul, eaten the - raisins, drunk the Malaga, and looked at the clay figures, nought - remains but to pack up the _Alforjas_ [saddle-bags] and be off to - Granada. - - I wrote you a letter from Tetuan, which I hope reached you, and was - less tedious than one of sixty pages from Mr. Edward Drummond - Mortimer Auriol Hay. - - I hear there will be no time for an answer to reach me at Granada, - as I must set out about the 10th to arrive the 16th. All sorts of - conveyances will no doubt be occupied, and I shall have to ride - over the interminable plains of Castille, and shall arrive as brown - as the Plenipo from Algiers. - -On July 1st, 1833, Ford was back at Granada. But he had now determined, -for the reasons given in the following letter, to return to England. -Addington was also leaving Madrid. Greville (_Memoirs_, ed. 1888, vol. -iii. pp. 14-15), notes on July 20th: “George Villiers is to go as -Minister to Madrid, instead of Addington, who is so inefficient they are -obliged to recall him, and at this moment Madrid is the most important -diplomatic mission, with reference to the existing and prospective state -of things. The Portuguese contest, the chance of the King of Spain’s -death and a disputed succession, the recognition of the South American -Colonies, and commercial arrangements with this country, present a mass -of interests which demand considerable dexterity and judgment; besides, -Addington is a Tory, and does not act in the spirit of this Government, -so they will recall him without ceremony.” The unfavourable criticism -is discounted by the last sentence. But there can be no question that -Addington’s successor George Villiers, afterwards (1838) fourth Earl of -Clarendon, was a man of much greater ability. Villiers remained at -Madrid till early in 1839. - - _July 6 [1833]_, GRANADA. - - I arrived here to dinner on Monday last, having left Madrid - Saturday morning at 2, passing through the _Prado_, which was full - of people eating gingerbread, and dancing to guitars and strumming, - a very proper and Catholic mode of keeping the _Visperas_ of Sⁿ. - Pedro. - - The journey here was severe, but rapid. I found Mrs. Ford much - better, very much better than I could have expected--so much so - that we have determined on returning to England in September, _si - Dios quiere_. I do not like the looks of things here, and, with the - Portuguese business and the cholera in the Peninsula, think it high - time to return to England. Indeed, it is high time for other - reasons. My wife is left alone without female society; my children - at this important age are brought up as heathens and Spaniards, a - pretty prospect for daughters; and I myself must purge like - Falstaff, and live cleanly like a gentleman, and take to that - gentlemanlike old vice, avarice, to save a little money for the - bad times which hang over England. - - We hear here that the expedition in the south of Portugal is - advancing prosperously, and that they pay as they go, which is a - surer way of making proselytes than all their charters and - constitutions. - - Don José has added another young lady to his family, Dionysia - having been safely brought to bed yesterday. This is her sixth - child of the female sex. - - The weather here delicious, mornings and evenings cool and fresh, - and all green, and trickling streams, shady over-leafy arbours, - with sweet singing nightingales; _per contra_ nothing to eat, and - no Valdepeñas or dinners. - - The wall in the Alhambra is rising most rapidly, and the Frenchman - equally expeditious in his painting of the _Patio de los Leones_ - for _Vista allegre_; indeed he had better make haste, for the - _vista_ of the future is anything but _allegre_. - - GRANADA, _August 24, 1833_. - - I was astounded in seeing in the _Revista_ that your ambassadorial - career in Spain is coming to a conclusion. As you have been long - prepared for it, and, indeed, rather surprised at its not having - taken place sooner, I need say no more on the matter except that - you will retire to enjoy your _otium cum dignitate_. They have been - very considerate to let you out of Spain just when the cholera is - coming in. We hear that it was at Huelva on the 10th, and will soon - be at Cadiz and Seville. This is bad intelligence for us, as we - were preparing to return to England that route. If it does not - reach Gibraltar by October, we shall go home in that packet. - - If you have time, in all the misery of packing up and departure, to - write me a line, I shall be very glad to know when you are going - and what are your plans. I am sure I am most thankful to the Whigs - for their forbearance, as I verily believe, had you not furnished - me with the Galignani (to say nothing of much and friendly - hospitality on all and many occasions), I could not have survived - in this land of darkness. The papers say George Villiers is to be - your successor. He is a very clever, high-bred man, _muy rubio_ and - an _elegante_; he will please the Madrilenas. I should doubt if he - knew a word of Spanish, which he will find a pretty considerable - _desideratum_. - - We are here enjoying the most beautiful weather, and one would - hardly suppose, on looking at the blue sky and bright sun, that - there was cholera in the world. - - The summer has been unusually warm, and old Picacho has taken off - his white nightcap in consequence of the heat. I went up to the - Barranco de Sⁿ. Juan with Head,[38] who is a well-informed, - agreeable companion, and is filling his portfolio and pericranium - with all sorts of Spanish _memoranda_. - - Don José is _in statu quo_, and has had another baby born to him. I - occasionally stroll with him in the Alameda, and listen to his old - campaigns and how the Duke “flaked” the French on all occasions. I - am reading the masterly work of Napier, and O’Lawlor is quite a - commentator. _Quæque ipse miserrima vidi et quorum pars magna fui._ - - You won’t be tempted to run down here in the _diligence_, and go - home in the October packet? - - Brackenbury was at Seville, gone to see the paintings of Mr. - Roberts, which I hear are very fine;[39] but the news at Huelva - sent him off per steamer to his post at Cadiz. - - I fear the wise Whigs will find their _protégé_ in Portugal in a - mess; we hear every day of the country rising against Dom Pedro. - O’Lawlor considers his troubles as now beginning. Your troubles - and mine are fast drawing to an end. - - _Sept. 21, 1833_, MADRID. - - We arrived here at last this morning, after a most distressing - journey, in consequence of the detentions and discomforts - occasioned on the road by the singular precautions taken in the - towns against the approach of the cholera. These are so very - absurd, and so totally calculated to defeat the object in view, - that I think some account of what took place may possibly interest - you. - - As I had to travel with a sick wife, four small children--one of - them only weaned a few days--I made many enquiries of General - Abadia and the _administrador_ of the _diligence_ at Granada - whether any difficulties would be offered on the road, with a view - of making some sort of preparation; but, having been assured that - none would, I ventured forth on Wednesday morning. We reached Jaen - without interruption, but on our arrival found a guard of soldiers - drawn up across the road, with many of the inhabitants behind them. - The _diligence_ was stopped, though it could only come from - Granada; and though all other carriages coming from Granada were - admitted at once, a precaution taken against the _diligence only_, - which on the contrary ought to have been the least suspected, both - from the forms of its institution and the decency of travellers who - proceed by such a conveyance. The _mayoral_ got down, and entered - into close communication with the soldiers and people, collected - all the passports, and gave them _into the hand_ of a person - appointed to receive them. The passengers then alighted, and - mingled with the assembled people until the passports were - returned. - - Next morning we proceeded to Mengibar, a miserable hamlet, where we - were detained by some wild-looking peasants and a nondescript - soldier in a _gorro_ without stockings, but with a sword in his - hand. The passports were received in the same way, and returned - duly _viséd_ by the _Junta de Sanidad_. In almost every town some - sort of detention took place, generally of about half an hour, but - varying in detail according to the plan laid down by each petty - Junta. - - At Guarroman a carriage, supposed to have a person from Seville in - it, was turned out of the town, and the passengers obliged to pass - the day in the sun, without food or communication, while some steps - were taken to procure them a _cortijo_. - - At Manzanares, where we arrived early, we were detained much - longer, as none of the peasants could read or write, and the - passports had to be taken to the _Escribano_, who was in bed, and - had left orders not to be disturbed. - - At Ocaña, where we ought to have rested some hours and supped, the - _diligence_ was peremptorily ordered out of the town. We were - driven out and left to ourselves; the innkeeper, who ought to have - provided food, not having done so because there might be some - difficulty in his getting paid. However, a party in the carriage - fared better: several ladies, attended by two officers of the - garrison with servants, came down to the _diligence_ with - provisions, remained with it an hour, and then returned to Ocaña - with the _very guards_ who were appointed to prevent all - communication. - - At Aranjuez, the next town, we were admitted without stoppage, - enquiry, or notice of any sort. - - It is needless to point out to you the absurdity of these - proceedings, so vexatious to travellers, and so utterly ill - calculated to produce any good effect. Persons suspected of being - infected are allowed to remain in full communication with - inhabitants of the town, before their actual freedom from disease - is ascertained. The commonest measures of sanitary precautions are - neglected. There was no bar, no rope across the road, no fixed spot - for the travellers to communicate with the guards, no receiving - papers or passports with tongs, or with vinegar, or any of the - usual disinfecting processes. - - Each little town seemed to act according to its own ideas, and all - absolute and peremptory; all in equal ignorance of what was passing - below and left in equal ignorance by the authorities at Madrid; - without orders or instructions, or one general simple plan to be - adopted everywhere, each petty village acting for itself as if no - other town existed, and without reference to the public good. - - Depend upon it, they are adopting the sure means of rapidly - communicating the disease, and _any one_ infected traveller will - bring it, to a certainty, to Madrid, if no better precautions are - taken in the towns nearer the disorder. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -EXETER - -1833-1837 - - DEATH OF FERDINAND VII.--EXETER--PROJECTED BOOK ON SPAIN--PURCHASE - OF HEAVITREE HOUSE--MARRIAGE OF LORD KING AND OF ADDINGTON--FIRST - ARTICLE IN THE _QUARTERLY REVIEW_--DEATH OF MRS. FORD. - - -On his way to England, at the end of September 1833, Ford passed through -Madrid. There he saw the funeral of Ferdinand VII., of which he gives an -account in the following letter written to Addington from his mother’s -house in London. - - [123, PARK STREET], LONDON, _Wednesday, 4th Dec., 1833_. - - I am afraid I shall have left town before your return, which I am - very sorry for, as I should have much liked to have had a chat with - you in this dull and dingy capital, and to have talked over that - fair land (_alias_ brown) beyond the Pyrenees. I should have had - more to tell you than will go in a letter of our perils by sea and - by land, moving adventures and escapes. Poor old Fernando, as you - predicted, died when we were there, and we saw him duly conveyed - to the Escurial in a _coche de colleras_, with his feet projecting - out of the front windows, and the _capa_ of the _Zagal_ hanging up - behind. Alva, Medina Celi, and other grandees, riding hacks, in - gold-embroidered coats and black trousers (the under man like an - undertaker; the upper, all the tinsel of Spain, which gilds those - mean hearts that lurk beneath a star). Sad dogs they looked, _tel - maître tel valet_. Old Alagon brought up the rear. It was - archi-Spanish, a mixture of the paltry and magnificent, and no one - caring one inch about any part of it. - - Villiers arrived with a good cook, and began his dinners, which - were good and agreeable. He has arrived at a rare difficult period; - but he is a very clever fellow and a complete man of the world. - - I am going down to Exeter, where I have taken a house for a year, - and am going to place my children in the hands of my brother[40] to - eradicate _Santa Maria_, and teach them the architecture of the - interiors of English churches. - - I met Grant the other day, who was on his way from Madrid to - Lisbon, _viâ Londres_. He told me that all your goods and chattels - were in the Downs, “all in the downs the goods were moored”; among - them is a silver vase and some coins belonging to your _servidor_, - and a _Maja_ dress with four million silver buttons belonging to - Mrs. Ford. A case of old books went at the same time, and probably - is among them; for them I wish to pay duty, if your agent would be - so good as to do so, and then all the _Roba_ may be forwarded to my - mother’s, with many thanks for all the trouble you have taken. - - Grant tells me that your pension is rather undecided! God forfend! - Ruin seems to stare everybody in the face; London half-deserted, - and the roads and inns of the continent encumbered with absentees. - We are patriotic, and come home in the time of need. - -The surroundings of his new home at Southernhay, Exeter, delighted him. -Writing to Addington, February 4th, 1834, he says:-- - - “This Exeter is quite a Capital, abounding in all that London has, - except its fog and smoke. There is an excellent institution here - with a well-chosen large Library, in which I take great pastime and - am beginning my education. There is a bookseller who has some _ten - thousand_ old tomes to tempt a poor man. However, here one has no - vices or expenses except eating clotted cream, and a _duro_ crown - piece wears a hole in your pocket before you are tempted to change - it. The dollars accumulate, and I am reading my Bible and minding - my purse. Spain is in a pretty state. Llauder[41] cannot be - trusted, as he has been true to no one, not even to himself. - Quesada is a violent man, without much statesmanlike tact; he is - piqued with what happened to him at Madrid, when they were fools - enough to set out with disgusting him. He is no Liberal in his - heart, hates the English, likes the French, believes in the - _Gazette de France_. I know him right well; he is _muy integro_, - and has a sort of straightforward common sense. - - “Amarillas is, without any sort of doubt, the first man in Spain, - and of the soundest political sentiments, a true friend to England, - and most anxious to recognise the Americas, which he always told me - _must_ be the first step to the welfare of Spain. He has property - in Andalucia which has been ruined by the non-exportation of their - oils. - - “My brother and his family (all most super-excellent people and of - transcendental goodness) are quite well, and _the five Miss Fords_ - are the dearest friends. - - “I amuse myself much with old Spanish books and old Spanish - recollections, and _have my pen in my hand_. The more I read, the - more ignorant I find I am, and how the middle age of life has been - mis-spent. I am rubbing up what I knew at eighteen and nineteen; it - is an awful thing, now the world is so learned and the lower orders - walking encyclopedias, to think of writing anything and printing. - _Nous verrons_.” - -Once settled at Exeter, Ford began to write an account of his Spanish -experiences. The pocketbooks, in which he had noted whatever had -impressed him in his travels or his reading, were brought out, and the -task was commenced with characteristic zest. But the book which he had -planned in 1834 was never written. Many circumstances led to the -abandonment of the design. For a time he was discouraged by Addington’s -criticisms. Then his literary ambitions were temporarily checked by the -passion for house-building and landscape-gardening; when these were -revived, they were fully occupied in the articles which, from 1836 -onwards, he contributed to the _Quarterly Review_. Finally the material -which he had collected was embodied in _The Handbook for Spain_ (1845), -and the _Gatherings from Spain_ (1846). - -The old pocket-books, filled with notes and sketches, revived pleasant -memories of Spain:-- - - EXETER, _March 10, 1834_. - - I have been rubbing up my notes on the coast of Andalucia, and have - been in the _Bottegas of Xeres_, drinking the golden Consular; - thence to Tarifa, and sucked a sweet orange with Guzman _el Bueno_. - Thence to Gib., round of beef and porter at Griffiths’. So to - Malaga; all sweet wine, raisins, and Consular uniforms. I cannot - say how much the fighting one’s old battles over again delights me. - I am afraid it will delight the gentle reader less. If I were to - write familiar letters like old Howell,[42] perhaps they might do, - but the times won’t stand that now. Penny Magazines are all the - order of the day. Well! well! _dulce est desipere in loco_. I often - think that one day would take me to Falmouth, and six to Cadiz to - the society of the fair Brackybrigas, and another day _per_ steamer - to the dark-eyed _Sevillanas_. Howbeit I have done with that - bird-lime to the human race, _viscarium Diaboli_, as old St. - Ambrose has it. - - EXETER, _March 15, 1834_. - - I sent Head a sample of my wares, to see if the article would do - for the public. He is a learned, dry antiquarian; that is not - exactly my line. You wish me to write an entertaining book (how - easy!!), _bagatella_, with anecdotes on men and manners. _Mores - multorum vidit et urbes!_ A lady wished for scenery and sentiment. - Heigho! true lovers’ knots and moonlight. I should wish to make a - sort of _Puchero_, an _olla Andaluça_, a little dry _vacca_ à la - Cook (that _cocinero_ has just turned out two volumes which I have - sent for), a little _chorizo_ [sausage] and _jamon de las - Alfujarras_, with some good pepper, _salsa_ [sauce] _de Zandunga_. - - Where you could most assist me would be in a droll account of life - at Aranjuez or la Granja, which I never saw. I am strong in - Religion (you did not know that), Arts, and all except the - Literature; but I have an excellent Spanish library, and could in - six weeks write such an essay on the matter as would appear to be - the result of a greater acquaintance with their authors than I - have. I have, indeed, turned over a good many pages in Spain, but - it has been odd out-of-the-way reading. - - If you feel up to this task, it will be a _very, very_ great - obligation, and will keep my book _correct_, and, I hope, cut out - all that is offensive. I hope not to insert anything on politics, - which I neither like nor understand. I must wait and see Captain - Cook’s book. It will be heavy and correct; no taste, much industry - (the plates ought to be _wood_ blocks): it will be very ligneous, - no _pyro_ligneous _acid_--as stiff and bolt-upright as a mainmast. - I do not see any possibility of getting the book done before next - spring; it will take a year to write. I care not for Captain - Heaphy, who will sail over the surface in an ice-boat. Captain Cook - will go down _pondere suo_. - - It is a serious matter; but I have leisure, and nothing to do. This - place is delicious: such a climate! such clotted cream! and an - excellent public Library with all good books of reference. - - EXETER, _March 26, 1834_. - - You should look at Captain Cook’s book (_Sketches in Spain_: Boone, - Bond Street), dry, painstaking and accurate, better than I had - expected by far. He understands the people better than the - pictures. There he breaks down lamentably. But he is without taste, - and does not know a Murillo from a mainmast. You will see a - splendid sentence on old Ferdinand’s patronage of the Arts in - giving the pictures to the Museum. I have always heard that it was - the deed of the _Portuguesa_ and the Ms. de Santa Cruz, who was - _Major duomo_. The D. of [?] told me that he and Santa Cruz spent - days in rummaging them out. Ferdinand had sent them to the Devil to - make room for some new French paper. - - EXETER, _April 20, 1834_. - - I enclose you a batch of MSS. which will remind you of the - despatches of Mark. - - The greatest act of real friendship you can show me is by not - scrupling to use your pencil as freely as a surgeon would his - knife, when he really thought the patient’s recovery required it. I - write in haste always, and am more troubled to restrain and keep in - matter, than for want of it. - - I want the book to run easy, to read easy, to be light and - pleasant, not dry and pedantic. I get on but slowly, and do not see - land. I feel the matter grow upon my hands in proportion as I get - on. It is like travelling in the Asturias; when you get up one - mountain, you see five or six higher before you. However, the coast - is clear, and that able circumnavigator, Cook, will be drier than - the Mummy of Cheops before my sheets will be dampt for printing. - - Do not forget to throw into an _omnium-gatherum_ any odd remarks - about Madrid. If you get a copybook, when any stray _dyspeptic_ - observation occurs, book it, and I will work it up, as a gipsy does - the stolen children of a gentleman, so that the parent shall not - recognise it. - -Addington’s criticism was in some respects discouraging. His diplomatic -caution was probably alarmed at Ford’s outspoken vigour, and he does not -seem to have read enough between the lines to recognise Ford’s real love -for Spain and the Spanish people. Ford’s reply shows his surprise at the -impression which he had produced on Addington. - - _Sunday Evening_, EXETER, _May 4, 1834_. - - Your letter has knocked the breath out of my body, the ink out of - my pen, the pen out of my hand. You have settled my _cacoethes_. I - had no idea I was anything but a friend to the Spaniards. I do not - think them brave, or romantic, but with many super-excellent - qualities, all of which I should have duly praised. You cut out my - wit! Head cuts out my poetry! and I shall cut the concern. What is - to be done? I can’t write like Cook; I really wish to take in a - very wide haul, and have very great materials. Religion must come - in, or the Arts must go out. Politics and Poetry I care nothing - for. Wit (if there is any),--it is not wit but a trick of stringing - words together, and I cannot write a common letter, or say - anything, without falling into these sort of absurdities. It would - not be my book, if it was not so. I have a horror of _flippancy_. - That is what I fear most, and am most likely to run into. There you - may carbonado me, and I will kiss the rod. If you read the MSS., do - not spare your pencil, and I will make great sacrifices to please - you. Remember you only see an excursion. My early chapters on - Seville will be historical, _prosaical_, and artistical. - - I should like you to read Faure or Bory St. Vincent,[43] and see - how _they_ handle the Spaniards,--or some of the older works. Mine - is milk and water to Napier. I always thought you prejudiced - _against_ the Spaniards rather than in their favour, poor - innocents! All about the grandees at Madrid, if you have stumbled - on that, I will cut out with pleasure. At the same time, if you - don’t agree in the book, I cannot be so right as I imagined, and - had better have nothing to do with the concern, but read other - people’s works instead of their reading mine. - - I have not the presumption to suppose my opinion to be worth yours - in many important subjects. On some I think it is,--the lighter and - more frivolous. I am a humble-minded author, as Head will tell you, - very docile, and not at all irritable. I care not how much you cut - out, as I have written for four volumes, and would rather write - _two_. - - We will talk over the matter when I come to town, which will be - soon. Meanwhile, read the MSS., and cut away. Spare not my - pungency, and correct my mistakes. Cut out all that is flippant, - personal, or offensive (the grandees, I admit, is both). Remember - you have only the rough sketch. I have two years before me, and the - lean kine of reflection will eat up the fat ones of the overflowing - of young conceit and inexperience. I wish to write an amusing, - instructive, and, more than all, a gentlemanlike book. I hold - myself lucky that you and Head see it, and will abide by your - dictations, and kiss the rod and your hand. - -But the discouragement was not great enough to divert Ford from his -enterprise. The criticism did not cool his friendship. He was eager to -persuade Addington to settle near him, and once more sings the praises -of Exeter. - - EXETER, _Saturday evening, 14 June, 1834_. - - Now that the show is over, and all the caps and gowns, stars and - garters no more, I venture to indite you an epistle from the green - fields of Devon; right pleasing and fresh are they after the dusty - treadmill of _la Corte_. There are houses of all sorts from £50 a - year to £_250_; one at that price is beautiful and fit for a - Plenipo. (I have not fixed on anything myself, having been chiefly - in bed with an infernal _urticaria_, _alias_ a nettle-rash.) The - women, God be praised! are very ugly. Meat at 6_d_. a pound, butter - seldom making 1_s_.; I am told in the London Buttometer it reaches - 18_d_. A Mr. Radford, who has a place to sell, has one gardener, - who looks after two acres and three horses, all for a matter of £15 - or so a year. Servants go twice to church of a Sunday, and masters - read family prayers, and make them work their bodies like galley - slaves, _per contra_ the benefit conferred on their souls. - - The town is _pueblo levitico de hidalguia y algo aficionado a la - Iglesia y al Rey absoluto_; otherwise quiet and literary: - clergymen, physicians, colonels, plain £1000-a-year folk, given to - talk about quarter sessions and the new road bill (if you will - allow them). Otherwise a man goes quietly down hill here, _oblitus - et obliviscendus_, reads his books (or those of the Institution), - goes to church, and gets rich, which is very pleasurable and a - novel feeling--better than the _romance_ of youth. - -Once more the manuscript passed to and fro between the friends. But a -new and absorbing interest for a time diverted Ford’s energies from -literature. In the late summer of 1834 he bought an Elizabethan -cottage, called Heavitree House, near Exeter, standing in about twelve -acres of land. Here he gradually rebuilt and enlarged the house, laid -out the ground in terraces and gardens with Moorish-patterned flower -borders, and planted pines from the Pincian and cypresses from the -Xenil. The first mention of the purchase, in his correspondence with -Addington, occurs in a letter written from Oxford, September 13th, 1834. - - I am wandering (he says) _inter Academiæ silvas_, to my great - delight, poring over old books in the Bodleian, and copying - barge-boards and gable-ends, in order to ruin myself as - expeditiously as possible at Heavitree. - -Within and without, as time went on, he made the house and gardens -express his varied tastes. Old houses in and about Exeter furnished many -of the treasures which enriched his home. Thus the fireplace in the hall -came from an ancient house pulled down in Rack Street; the gates, the -staircase, much of the panelling and carved woodwork were brought from -“King John’s Tavern.” The cornice of the bathroom had once adorned the -Casa Sanchez in the Alhambra; the old Register chest from Exeter -Cathedral formed the case of the bath. Here, too, he stored his curious -library and exhibited many of the spoils of his foreign -travels--pictures, etchings, engravings, and specimens of Majolica ware. - -For the moment books were laid aside for building and gardening. His -letters are filled with his new pleasure. In April 1835 the house began -to be habitable, although he is still “ashamed of it as _in presenti_; -there are beds but no kitchen,” and “it will hardly hold the -accumulation of books. I am sighing,” he adds, “to drink the sweet -waters of the Nile; and when my book is written, when my house is built, -and when I am ruined, shall go and economise in hundred-gated Thebes.” -Writing April 16th, 1834, he says: - - The move from Southernhay to Heavitree was accomplished in three - most sunny days. All the books and other traps duly conveyed into - Myrtle Bower to the tune of a triple bob major of the village - bells. I have already begun digging, and moving plants; to-morrow - comes my man of mortar to plan the kitchen. My pink thorn will be - out in a month: quite a nosegay. You can’t think how snug my upper - drawing-room looks, now it is full of books, ormolu, drawings, etc. - I expect to see you here very shortly, as London must be detestable - now O’Connell rules the land. - - The work of destruction (he writes a week later) proceeds as - rapidly as Dr. Bowring or Lord Johnico could desire. The removal of - the cob has let in a flood of light and a side view over my - extensive landed estate. A part is preserved, overmantled with - ancient ivy (the harbour of slugs, black-beetles, and earwigs), - which is to be converted into a Moorish ruin, and tricked out with - veritable _azulejo_ from the Alhambra. The myrtles only want an - Andalucian _muchacha_ to be shrubs worthy of Venus. The foundations - of the kitchen will be laid on a rock on Monday next. Meanwhile my - cook roasts meat admirably with a nail and a string. - - I have no vote, or I would go ten miles on foot to record my - contempt for that aristocratical prig, that levelling lordling. - - I have given up the pen for the hoe and spade, all a-delving and - digging. I hope, however, in a week or so, that the _obra_ will be - so far planned and definitely arranged as to send me back to my old - books, which I find the best and surest of resources. - -For one brief interval Ford was swept from his garden into the -excitement of political life. On April 8th, 1835, Sir Robert Peel and -his colleagues resigned office over the question of the Irish Church and -Irish Tithes. Under Lord Melbourne a new Government was formed, in which -Lord John Russell, as Home Secretary, was a member of the Cabinet. -Ministers offered themselves for re-election, and Lord John found his -seat in South Devonshire threatened by Mr. Parker. The contest was -keenly fought, excitement ran high, but in the end Mr. Parker won by -twenty-seven votes, and Lord John eventually found a seat at Stroud. - - HEAVITREE HOUSE, _May 3 [1835], Friday Evening_. - - We had a drenching rain this morning; it had not rained for many - weeks (it seldom rains except when testy gentlemen come down in - July), but just when Lord Johnny came forward, the heavens poured - forth their phials by buckets. The little man, “the widow’s mite,” - could not be heard for the sweet acclamations of “O’Connell,” “The - tail,” “Cut it short,” “Here’s the Bishop coming.” At every - sentence was a chorus, “That’s a new lie.” All Devon was assembled. - The Parker _mob_ very noisy and violent, but all yeomen and - substantial farmers. Johnny’s crew a sad set, hired at 2/6ᵈ per - man. He was supported by Lord Ebrington and Dr. Bowring. - - Bulteel proposed Johnny; seconded by Lillifant, a sort of a - methodist, a member of the temperance society, which occasioned - much fun and cries of “Heavy wet,” “Brandy.” Parker (a - dandy-looking youth) was proposed in a loud, bold, and successful - speech by Baldwin Fulford, Jr., and seconded in a quieter and - gentlemanlike manner by Stafford Northcote (_fils_, the - Wykehamist). By this time I was so wet that I made off for - Heavitree, and found my myrtles just washed by a shower, etc. - - I dined yesterday with all the Rads, and sat next to Dr. Bowring. - They do not seem over-confident. The Conservatives say that Parker - has a numerical majority, as far as promises go, of 700. They say - the Rads are spending money by sackfuls in inducing Parkerites not - to vote at all. - - I dined the other day with _Episcopus_, who made grateful mention - of your Excellency, and rejoices in the prospect of your arrival. - So you are in for it, and have nothing to do but to give me notice, - when my niggar shall stand at the _Ship_ in Heavitree to conduct - you to my _house_. It is in a rare state of external - mortarification; but the interior is tolerable, and there is ample - accommodation for man and beast, master and man, or nags, and - plenty of wholesome food for the mind and body. - -For the next eighteen months there are but few allusions in Ford’s -letters to his literary plans, and still fewer to politics. Heavitree -was the absorbing occupation of his life. - - “Since you have been gone” (he writes to Addington, June 21st, - 1833), “I have laid the axe to the foot of the trees, and have cut - down some twenty apples in my orchard, which has let in a great - deal of light and sun, and rejoiced the green grass below. The - weather delicious; thermometer 79 in the shade. I sit under my - drooping elm and cock up my head when I read the works of Socrates, - Plato, and Lady Morgan. - - “‘Les deux tiers de ma vie sont écoulés. Pourquoi m’inquieter sur - ce qui m’en reste? La plus brillante fortune ne mérite point les - tourments que l’on se donne. Le meilleur de tous les biens, s’il y - a des biens, c’est le repos, la retraite, et un endroit qui soit sa - domaine.’ There’s a black cat for your Excellency to swallow!” - -Beyond his cob walls Ford scarcely cared, even in mind, to travel. But -in the affairs of his friends he was still deeply interested, and -especially in the marriages of Lord King and of Addington. On July 8th, -1835, Lord King (cr. 1838 Earl of Lovelace) was married to Augusta Ada, -only daughter of Byron. - - “The Baron’s bride” (he writes in June) “will be worthy of himself - in name and fortune. I guessed who she was by his sighs and - unpremeditated discoveries. La Bruyère says, ‘In friendship a - secret is confided; in love _il nous échappe_.’ _Viva el Amor!_” - -A few days later Ford returns to the subject: - - ‘Ada! sole daughter of my house and heart!’ From the Baron’s - account she must be perfection, such a perfection as her father’s - fancy and fine phrenzy rolling would have imagined. She is highly - simple, hateth the city and gay world, and will not be likely to - turn up her nose at you and me, the respectable aged friends of her - lord. - - I believe the Baron has all the elements of domestic felicity in - his composition, and it will go hard even if he did not make a good - wife out of bad materials. But when the _prima materia_ is worthy - of himself, we must expect a scion worthy of the descendants of - Locke and Byron, the union of philosophical esteem with poetic - ardour. - - The book does not progress as much as the chimneys. I never go - beyond my cob walls, have never been out fishing, and probably - never shall until you reappear in these regions. - -Little more than a year later, Ford was writing to congratulate -Addington on his engagement. - - HEAVITREE, _October 13, 1836_. - - DEAR ADDINGTON, - - You are right. From 20 to 40 a man takes a wife, as a mistress; and - sometimes makes a mistake, gets tired, and wants to change horses. - From 40 to 50 (sometimes 55) a man hugs a spouse to his bosom, for - comfort and sweet companionship. When the hopes of youth, the - heyday of manhood, the recklessness of health and prosperity are - waning,--when he begins to know how few things answer, and how hard - it is to depend on one’s own resources to pass well through the - long day and longer night,--then it is not good to be alone. You - have felt that, and have now chosen the right moment. Your wild - oats are sown, a good crop of experience reaped, and you have found - (and there is no mistake) that the solitary, selfish system won’t - do. - - Happy, thrice happy are you to be able to bind yourself in those - golden threads, woven by friendship, esteem and love! For love, a - _sine quâ non_, must be tempered to become durable. _Felix quem - faciunt aliena pericula cautum._ - - You will find, after having had your own way so long, how much more - it tends to peace of mind to give up and be nicely managed and - taken care of. You may amuse yourself with the superintendence of - your cellar, and keep a bottle of Valdepeñas for those old friends - who may occasionally drop in, and twaddle about that fair land - peopled by devils incarnate, male and female. - - I have no news. I am content to dig in my garden; like Candide, _il - faut cultiver son jardin_--an innocent, refreshing occupation, - which gives health to the body, peace to the mind, oblivion for the - past, hopes for the future;--to do no more harm, if possible, and - as much good,--to bury resentments and cultivate peace and - goodwill, read my Bible and mind my purse, and thank my stars that - matters are no worse. - - The Elizabethan apartment is finished and furnished. _Esta casa - esta muy a la disposicion de V.E. y de mi Señora (cuyos pies beso) - la Esposa de V.E._ I beg you will speak kindly of me to your fair - bride, as I am anxious to stand well in her opinion. I have had the - good fortune hitherto to have lost neither of two old friends who - have recently married. - - If your Reading plan fails, there are really some very nice places - within 5 and 8 miles of Exon, cheap and delightful. You can make - the place your headquarters, if you have a fancy to look for - habitations amid the green valleys of Devon. - - So, with the best and sincerest wishes for the unmixed and long - happiness of Bride and Bridegroom, and it can hardly fail to be so, - believe me, - - Ever most truly yours, - - RICHARD FORD. - - - -Addington was married on November 17th, 1836, to Eleanor Anne, eldest -daughter of T. G. Bucknall Estcourt, M.P. Meanwhile Heavitree rapidly -approached completion. Three weeks later Ford announces (December 9th, -1836) that his house was ready. “Heavitree,” he says, “is finished and -furnished, and really is a little gem in its way. The _Episcopus_ has -been to dine here, and, as he dines nowhere, it is rather an honour and -has infused an odour of sanctity over my cell.” - -It is not perhaps singular, after so long a devotion to building, that -the first article which Ford contributed to the _Quarterly Review_ -should have been dedicated to “Cob Walls.” The substance of the article -seems from the following letter (February 27th, 1837) to have been a -paper read before the Exeter _Athenæum_. Among the audience was William -Nassau Senior, whose praise led Lockhart to ask to publish it in the -_Quarterly_. - - Cob, depend upon it, is indestructible. I am about next week to - read a learned paper on that very subject at the Athenæum, which I - will send you, with a chapter on Spanish Comedy. - - The house at Heavitree is now in really a very habitable state, and - the gardens beginning to put on their spring livery. I was heartily - glad to get out of that plague-stricken, foggy, - heart-and-soul-withering city of London, where I was detained more - than a month by the illness of my boy, who is still far from well - and unable to return to his tutor. I am occupied in the parental - task of teaching him chess and the Greek alphabet. I saw very few - of our mutual friends in London, as I was, like the rest of - mankind, under the lowering influenza. - - I have no news here,--leading a humdrum life amid my flowers and - books, with a clean tongue and dirty hands, _oblitus et - obliviscendus_. - -Ford’s article on “Cob Walls” well illustrates his literary methods. The -mass of miscellaneous learning, which is concentrated on an unpromising -subject, is so humorously handled as to be entirely free from pedantry. -He traces the use of the material from the time of Cain to that of -modern peasants in France and Spain, from the walls of Babylon to the -white villages of Andalusia. Finally he hazards the bold speculation -that it was introduced into the West of England by Phœnician traders. -But, interspersed with doubtful theories and historical and classical -lore, are clear directions and practical rules for the composition and -employment of a material which is almost indestructible, if it is -protected from damp above and below, or has, to quote the Devonshire -saying, a good hat and a pair of shoes. - -Encouraged by his success, Ford was already engaged on other literary -subjects, when his work was interrupted by the death of his wife, who -had long been in delicate health. The news is communicated to Addington -in the following letter:-- - - _Monday_ [_15 May, 1837_], 123, PARK STREET [LONDON]. - - You will be sadly shocked with the melancholy import of this - letter; indeed I am so overwhelmed that I hardly know how to - express myself. My poor wife died yesterday morning! She, as you - know, never was well, and latterly has suffered from excruciating - headaches which deprived her entirely of rest. Last Sunday week she - was seized - -[Illustration: Emery Walker Ph Sc. - -Harriet Ford - -first wife of Richard Ford - -1830.] - - with a sort of paralysis of the brain and loss of speech. She - remained a few days sensible and recognising those who came into - the room; but on Friday all consciousness was gone, and she - yesterday morning at quarter past 9 breathed her last. I am - dreadfully afflicted. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -HEAVITREE, NEAR EXETER - -(1837-1845) - - LITERARY WORK--ENGAGEMENT AND SECOND MARRIAGE--ARTICLES IN THE - _QUARTERLY REVIEW_--PREPARATIONS FOR A TOUR ON THE - CONTINENT--PROMISE TO WRITE THE _HANDBOOK FOR TRAVELLERS IN - SPAIN_--DELAYS AND INTERRUPTIONS--GEORGE BORROW--REVIEWS OF THE - _ZINCALI_ AND THE _BIBLE IN SPAIN_--SUPPRESSION OF THE FIRST - EDITION OF THE _HANDBOOK_--FINAL PUBLICATION--THE _FELICIDADE_. - - -By his wife’s death Ford was left with the sole care of the two -daughters and the son, who alone survived out of the six children born -to them. He continued to live on at Heavitree, planning improvements in -his house and garden, busy with his books and pen. During the first few -months of 1837 he contributed two articles to the _Quarterly -Review_.[44] He also published his first independent work, _An -Historical Inquiry into the Unchangeable Character of a War in Spain_, -in which he made a lively, vigorous reply, from a Tory point of view, -to a pamphlet written in defence of Lord Palmerston’s attitude towards -Spain, _The Policy of England towards Spain_. - -As usual, his work was submitted to Addington for criticism. - - In your miserable days of celibacy (he writes to his friend in May - 1837) you waded through much of my MSS. Now I only trouble you with - print, as you have less time to devote to those solitary - occupations. I send you the proofs of a review on Pückler Muskau. - Will you skim it over, and send it back _per_ twopenny post? If you - object to anything, or can add a barb or sting to any critical - fish-hook, do so. - - You will see “Cob” in the last number of the _Quarterly_. _Viva Don - Carlos!_ - -Addington’s criticisms were gratefully received, and his suggestions -generally adopted. But Ford could not, if he had wished, write otherwise -than he was. He had the good sense to know, and not to attempt, the -impossible. - - Many thanks for your valuable critical emendations, which have been - duly and thankfully introduced. I fear my _liberal_ education and - foreign travel will never enable me to spell either my own or any - other language. You can form no idea how very difficult it is for a - hasty, _currente calamo_, slipshod writer like me to form a - critical, sober, proper style. That stile is always in my way, as - it is in the country; I shall never, I fear, change my old into the - new stile, nor get my writing stile, _stilus_, sufficiently - pointed, although whetted on so excellent a bone as your Excellency - is. You are quite qualified to be the Editor of the _Quarterly - Review_, and I wish you were, for I wonder Lockhart overlooks the - manifest flaws you detect. - - I am by no means averse to the _limæ labor_, and am really anxious - to turn out my wares in a workmanlike manner; I often take more - pains with them than you or my readers will give me credit for. - -Between July 1837 and April 1838 Ford contributed nothing to the -_Review_. Beyond putting the final touches to articles already prepared -for the press, his pen was idle. He had become engaged to a lady whom he -had known intimately for several years, the Hon. Eliza Cranstoun, sister -of the tenth Lord Cranstoun. On October 7th, 1837, he writes of his -engagement to Addington: - - As the affair has been the unceasing nine days’ wonder of this part - of the world, it is no longer a secret, and has been duly - communicated to Lord Essex. Therefore you may participate to the - fair partner of your joys the important secret so long concealed in - the diplomatic depths of your silent bosom, “_un secreto de - importanza_.” I hope in due time that these ladies will meet, and - like each other, and be equally of opinion, that no men make such - excellent, super-excellent husbands as those who have lived in the - world, been in Spain, and _not been_ there for three or four years. - - Be assured that there is no truth in my selling my Alhambra. My - Sultana, who disposes of me, and my house, and all, is pleased with - the idea of leading a loving, rational, quiet life there. The - Moorish tower is finished, and covered with arabesque _Lienzo_ - work, and is prettier than the Puerta del Vino of the Alhambra. - -The marriage took place February 24th, 1838, and Mr. and Mrs. Ford began -life together at Heavitree. - - HEAVITREE, _March 6, 1838_. - - Your kind and friendly letter (as all indeed have been and are) was - duly and gratefully received by me, and dutifully communicated to - that sweet person in whose keeping I have placed myself and my - happiness, and, having done so, my perturbed spirit is at rest. - This ceremony took place on the 24th, at Stoke Gabriel, a beautiful - little hamlet in one of those quiet sequestered nooks on the Dart, - where the woods slope into the clear waters, a locality _dulces qui - suadet amores_. She was very nervous and affected, but went - through the trying scene with that purity, grace, and propriety - which mark all she says or does. I was nervous, but very collected, - and think few men were more aware than I was, how much and entirely - the future depends on the husband. I am not afraid of myself, and - less of her. We returned to Sandridge, and in the afternoon - proceeded quietly to this quiet cell, gladdened with the sunny - presence of a cheerful, contented mistress. She is highly pleased - with her abode _and_ (I am pleased to say) with the master. All is - placed at her _disposicion_. Indeed, since you were here so much - has been done, internally and externally, that you would not know - the place. I am in hopes, now there is a fit personage to receive - her, that some day _die gnädige Frau Gesandterrinn_ (_C.P.B._) will - honour this (her) house. The Moorish trellis-walk and the tower are - worth seeing. We are expecting Lord Cranstoun here to-day, and King - on the 10th. Strange that he should come to witness my hymeneals, - as we did his. We shall then proceed reluctantly to London. I have - got rid of my house in Jermyn Street at a sad loss of coin, but a - great gain of peace. I am still hampered with the _Casita_ in - Lowndes Street, where my children are. I hope this year to get rid - of that, and then to pitch my tent here, far from the _opes - strepitumque Romæ_. I am going to build a small Britzka, and have - bought another nag, which goes well in harness with my old horse, - you will remember. Madame rides well, and has a beautiful horse - which her brother has given her. We think of driving up to town, - and be not therefore surprised at an intimation that we may take - you in the way for a night. I will present you to my spouse, and - you will do me the same service by yours, to whom I in anticipation - offer my profound respects. I meditate an article on Spanish - Heraldry and on Bull-fighting. So farewell. Cherish your spouse, - and think no more of the past nor _las tierras calientes_. - -The two articles to which Ford alludes at the close of the letter were -published before the end of the year. Both were full of curious -information gleaned from a wide field. The article on “Bull Fights” is -remarkably complete and exhaustive, and is especially interesting from -the personal observation which lightens the historical details. Before -publication it had been submitted to Addington for criticism. - - HEAVITREE, _Aug. 16, 1838_. - - Many thanks for your tororesque notices. I have finished the - paper,--_opus exegi_,--having worked incessantly for a fortnight - five or six hours a day. The MSS. goes up with this to the - printer’s. I have begged him to send you a proof: will you be so - kind as to run it over, and forward it here _per_ mail _quam - primum_? Never mind correcting the press, except _the Spanish_. - - The article is long, and I am not afraid of your Excellency’s - shears, and will gladly avail myself of any proposed excisions or - additions. Any word or idea more pungent than my poor thoughts - might be pencilled in the margin. The article is extremely learned - and tororesque. I think the old subject is treated newly. I hope - Murray will treat me to £36 15_s._, as gaunt poverty flits about my - gilded ceiling. I wish you could see the dining-room, all blue, - red, yellow, and green _à la_ Mamhead, very gay and brilliant. - Madame is quite well and happy, and salutes your _dimidium vitæ - animæque_. We are going next week for a few days to Sandridge, a - place of her brother’s. I shall then hurry back to correct the - press. I intend _summing_ up with a few general remarks on the - moral tendency and effect on Spanish character produced by the - bull-fight. If you have ever philosophically cogitated thereon, - favour me with a few “‘ints.” My idea is that the Spaniards were - cruel and ferocious before they had bull-fights; that bull-fights - are rather an effect than a cause, albeit they reciprocate now; - that the savage part is lost on them from early habit; that the - sporting feeling predominates; and that strangers are hardly fair - judges, for they feel _first_ excitement, then bore, then disgust; - _bore_ the predominant. Still, the whole is magnificent, though the - details (like Paris) are miserable. I should like to have a neat - peroration, and am going to meditate on the subject in those shady - groves which hang over the clear Dart, where we as bachelors used - to toil and catch no fish, and where I caught that fish which has - swallowed up all others and all my cares besides. - -_Spanish Bull-feasts and Bull-fights_ created something of a sensation -in the literary world. It was noticed with high praise in the journals -of the time, and Ford writes to thank Addington for an extract which he -had himself overlooked. - - HEAVITREE, _December 5 [1838]_. - - The critique is so palatable, that I beg you will not think I wrote - it myself. Pray, as you will be in franking-land, let me know - whence you extracted it. I am delighted. I want people to think - that I _could_, if I wished, write a d--d, long, dry, serious - essay, which they would _not_ read. The political pepper flavours - the _Puchero_, and it is exactly _that_ that makes Lockhart write - to me that all the world cries “Bravo!” - - I am buttered by Murray, and considered a man of _deep research_. - _Dii boni!_ and people _regret_ that I “should _persifler_, and - amuse, instead of boring.” - -Ford had undertaken a review of Prescott’s _Ferdinand and Isabella_, “an -admirable book,” he tells Addington, “the _best_ book ever written by a -Yankee.” But he found the task difficult. On February 9th, 1839, he -writes to Addington from his mother’s house in London:-- - - Your letter followed me to this foggy, careworn abode of attorneys, - and men who sow tares in the corn of human happiness. I have been - up here nearly three weeks, to my infinite worry and the fret of an - absent and disconsolate spouse, about mortgages and the devil knows - what of my own and my mother. I hope to get back again to my - pleasant house _et placens uxor_ before the end of next week. - - All these breaks interfere sadly with literary pursuits. The - rolling stone gathers no moss. Prescott, promised half a year ago, - is not yet begun! In fact, I blink, bolt, shy and jib from the - task. Meanwhile, to keep my pen in, I have written a lightish - article on _Ronda and Granada_, which looks well in print, and will - come out in the next number, and Prescott in the June number. - - I have read Gurwood attentively, which took six weeks, and never - were six weeks better employed. Murray tells me that the Duke cut - out as much more as would have made six more volumes. What a pity! - But they will be printed when that great man is gone. _Serus in - cœlum redeat!_ - - Do you know that I am _up_ in the market, and that my articles are - thought No. 1, Letter A,--clear grit? I am fed by those who usually - feed lions, and curious people are asked to meet _me_. This is not - unamusing. I have seen “Sam Slick” (Haliburton); Scrope, who wrote - that charming book on _Deer Stalking_; Jones of the Alhambra, - Marryat, etc., and I do not know who. Murray feeds well, and his - claret is particular; “Bulls” £36 15_s._; so my papers rise in - value. Lockhart’s _Ballads_ are to be republished, and I rather - think that I am to edit them. All this looks like turning author. - Who would have thought it? and to have a character for most - profound reading and research! _Dii boni!_ - - I met a friend of yours yesterday at Lockhart’s--Mr. Best: we had a - pleasant dinner; Scrope and Lord Selkirk, great shooters and - fishers, whose healthy exploits gave a game flavour to the blue men - around them. If I remained here, neither head, nor legs, nor - _entrañas_ could do their work. It is all very well now and then. - But _oh rus! quando te aspiciam_? Not but what, if I had £5000 a - year, I would spend three months in this metropolis to rub off - rust, keep up acquaintances, and hear the news up to Saturday - night. - -Six weeks later he was still engaged on his task. He writes from -Heavitree, April 2nd, 1839:-- - - I have been occupied, since my return to these myrtle bowers, in a - review on Prescott’s _Ferdinand and Isabella_. I ought to have done - it long ago; but I deferred and deferred. _Mañana, mañana!_ I find - it a tougher job than I had expected, and almost think that I have - undertaken a task for which I am unfit. However, _stultorum numerus - est infinitus_, and I presume on people knowing less than myself. - It will be a mighty dull, learned, and historical affair. - - I am not very well, as I cannot sleep. I never can when I write, - and believe you are right to hunt and fish, the original - _délassement_ of a gentleman. - -At last _Ferdinand and Isabella_ was finished and published. The article -deals more with the subject than with the book. It is, however, -important from the new lights which it throws upon the period, drawn -from the writer’s intimate knowledge, not only of the history, but of -the country and the people. Some trace of effort appears in the unusual -elaboration. But another article which was printed in the same number -of the _Quarterly_ was in Ford’s most characteristic vein. This was a -review of _Oliver Twist_. In a letter dated April 29th, 1839, he had -asked Addington’s opinion of Dickens’ style, and given his own view. “I -am inclined to think it,” he says, “the reaction from the Silver Fork -school and the Rosa Matildas, ‘_car le dégoût du beau amène le goût du -singulier_.’” He also regarded the book as a product and a sign of -democratic times. Both the literary and political theories are developed -in the _Quarterly_, where he describes “Boz” as “a lively half-bred colt -of great promise, bone and action,--sire, ‘Constantine the Great,’--dam, -‘Reform.’” - -“Constantine the Great” is Constantine Henry Phipps, first Marquis of -Normanby, and the most distinguished of the “prattling scribbling -Phippses.” His kid-glove novels and romances, founded on actual -occurrences in society, tickled the curiosity of the public. Newspapers -still further pandered to the same taste; “Perry and Stewart led the way -by chronicling and posting the dinners, wooings, and marriages of high -life.” But a diet of water gruel palled, and the patient “clamoured for -beef and stout.” Sickened of the “smooth confectionery style,” -“disgusted with die-away _divorcées_ and effeminate man-milliners,” the -public fled in despair to “rude, rough, human, ‘Dusty-Bob’ nature.” Such -was Ford’s explanation of the appearance of _Oliver Twist_. As a Tory, -and an Irish mortgagee, he was no doubt pleased to treat the author of -_Matilda_, and _Yes or No_ as one of these “Catilines in politics and -literature” who had helped forward “a depraved taste” and “the -degradation of the higher classes, whether monarchical, clerical, or -aristocratical.” Not only had Lord Normanby changed sides and deserted -the Tories for the Liberals, but, as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland -(1835-39), his attempt to conciliate O’Connell, his patronage of the -Catholic Party, and his leniency towards political crime, had, in the -opinion of his opponents, endangered the very existence of law and -order. Politics apart, the review shows a keen appreciation of the -genius and faults of Dickens. It concludes with a just tribute to the -haunting power of George Cruikshank, for whom Ford demands admission to -the rank of a Royal Academician: “We are really surprised that such -judges as Wilkie, Landseer, Leslie, Allan, etc., have not ere now -insisted on breaking through all puny laws, and giving this man of -undoubted genius a diploma.” - -The last months of the year were spent in preparations for a tour -abroad. Addington and his wife were also going, and were to meet the -Fords at Rome. - - Many thanks (writes Ford, August 4th, 1839) for all your valuable - hints. I rather incline to cross over from Weymouth to Cherbourg, - or, if not so, from Southampton to Jersey and St. Malo. As I intend - to go through the south, it will be _autant de gagné sur la belle - France_. I take it we shall have bad inns between St. Malo and - Toulouse. _No hay atajo sin trabajo_ [no convenience without - inconvenience]. We shall follow your steps with due respect, and, I - hope, meet in the Eternal City. - - I progress greatly in design, and am washing in skies which are - heavier than lead. I reckon on _your_ portable library and beg to - tell you that I take Shakespeare, Burton’s _Rome_, and Conder’s - _Italy_, which will always be _á la disposicion de V.E. y de mi - Señora la Esposa de V.E. (C.P.B.)_ - - I have just bought a charming Britzka here which was made at - Vienna, and shall therefore jog down with all my traps, pictorial - and piscatorial. I am sorry that you do not take your rod and line. - How little room they will take! and _quien sabe?_ Who knows what - trout spring in Terni’s fall? I never was so agog for migration, - and intend to go the whole Continental hog. - - You will have the pleasure of seeing your old friend Sir Richard - Ottley at Naples,--he who asked us to dine at 5 to meet the Miss - Barings. We will not dine with him at Naples, be his macaroni - royal. His daughter has turned Roman Catholic: so much for taking - imaginative maidens into the glowing climes of Italian _Abates_. - - We have been all gaieties here. The great squires have been giving - _déjeuners_, with archery and pine-apples, under tents. We will eat - _polpette_, drink Orvieto in the Eternal City, and grow young and - forget years and care. - -Ford returned from the Continent in July 1840. Of his travels no account -exists, as he journeyed in company with Addington, who alone preserved -his letters. But he writes, September 7th, 1840, to welcome his friend -back to England from “the land of macaroni and sour crout.” - - Did you (he asks) get a letter from me at Milan? It contained an - account of my Sicilian trip and of our hurried flight home. We - drove through France as hard as four horses could go, and crossed - from Havre on the 14th of July--nine months to a day. - - Meanwhile we are slowly recovering from the vast scarifications and - bleedings of _Italia cum Gallia_. I am afraid to look at all the - items; I should like to see your sum total. _N’importe!_ It was a - gallant trip, and shed a flood of new light and sources of future - reading, writing, and drawing on one’s mind. - - When you were in Rome I asked you to lend me your _Minaño, - diccionario de España_. I am going to do a handbook for Spain for - Murray, and we have not been able to get a Minaño in London. I will - take the greatest care of it, and send you an early copy of the - book when written and when published--when!!--for your fee. Will - you pack - -[Illustration: - -Antonio Chatelain Pinx Emery Walker Ph Sc. - -Richard Ford - -1840.] - - it up and send it me _per_ coach? I hope to do the little book - before February. - -_The Handbook for Travellers in Spain_, here first mentioned, seems to -have been undertaken almost in jest. In 1839, when Ford was dining with -John Murray, the publisher, his host asked him to recommend a man to -write a Spanish guide-book. “I will do it myself,” replied Ford, and -thought no more on the subject. But, after his return from abroad, -Murray definitely asked him to write the book. His estimate of the time -necessary to complete the work proved far too moderate. Instead of six -months, the myrtle and ivy-clad garden-house at Heavitree, to which he -retired as a study, was for nearly five years the scene of his labours. -Week after week he sat at his inky deal table, clad in his Spanish -jacket of black sheepskin, surrounded by shelves laden with -parchment-clad folios and quartos, by pigeon-holes crammed with notes to -repletion, and by piles of manuscript which gradually encumbered the -chairs and floor. Here he entertained his visitors with his -book-rarities, and poured forth his complaints, half serious, half -humorous, of the slavery to which he had condemned himself. - -In spite of its modest title, the _Handbook_ is really a most -entertaining encyclopedia of Spanish history and antiquities, religion -and art, life and manners. But the slavery might have been less -protracted if it had been mitigated by fewer distractions. Nor had Ford -acquired the habit of prolonged labour on a lengthy subject. Review -writing had encouraged him in the short bursts of literary industry, -concentrated on a comparatively restricted field, which were most -congenial to his natural tastes and character. No doubt, as time went -on, and as he realised the magnitude of his task, he grew heartily weary -of the _Handbook_. But it may be doubted whether the form is not the -best that, under the circumstances, he could have chosen. At all events, -no trace of effort appears in the lively vivacious style which -communicated to the reader a prodigious mass of information in the -easiest possible manner. - -More than two months passed before the book was begun. Even then it was -interrupted by other literary work. - - HEAVITREE, _13 September, 1840_. - - The Minaños are duly arrived, and to-morrow will leave this library - for a den in a cottage here in my garden, where I am going to - retire and compose _Handbook_. What a mass of matter the said - Minaño contains, and how will it be simmered down into a gallipot - guide-book? - - I have no news yet of the macaroni; but it is in London. Let me - know how you feel as to sharing in the _rotuli_. There is no - delicacy in refusing, if the taste be swamped by eating German sour - crout, as there are more amateurs for that article hereabouts than - for Rafaello ware. By the way, I could indeed turn one honest penny - by those pots and plates, having been offered _guineas_ for what - cost _scudi_, and having weeded my collection very nearly to the - amount of the prime cost. The marbles are still in the agents’ - custody, as I have nowhere to put them here. But buying what one - does not want is the veritable malaria of the Via Babuino. - - The weather is so delicious that I have not the heart to begin - work. I take a lesson every day in drawing, and am going through - the whole of my sketches, which then will be put in a huge book. It - is wonderful, as in the case of Spain, how they carry you back to - scenes long forgotten, and awaken a million events hived in the - brain, which, like dewdrops on the boughs, only fall when touched! - There’s a go! - - I don’t wonder at the contending elements that are now fermenting - in your noddle. They will all settle down into a delicious elixir - to sweeten future existence, and make cheerful the domestic - fireside when a lull comes--which will happen, and indeed ought to - happen, as we can’t be always living on cayenne and lollypops. - - _November 6, 1840._ - - I assure you I have been so scared about war, and the exposed site - of Heavitree between Exmouth and Exeter, that I have been - meditating moving up land my Wilsons and _roba fina_. However, I - think the storm is clearing away. _Vive_ Louis Philippe! - - While you are hunting of foxes, I am going to hunt through Minaño. - I begin Spanish Handbook next week. - - _Wednesday, November 18, 1840._ - - The Minaños frighten me, like the great Genius did the Arabian - fisherman. How am I to get this mass into the small pot or - duodecimo handbook? - - Handbook lingers. I have made no progress, and am tempted to give - it up. I am all for the sublime and beautiful, sententious and - sesquipedalian. I can’t cool my style to the tone of a way-bill. - -Gradually the work shaped itself in his mind and in print. - - “Part of Handbook” (he writes, January 14th, 1841) “is gone to - press.” “I am meditating” (he says, February 16th, 1841) “a serious - go at the Handbook, and have got about forty pages of preliminary - remarks in print, which I am told are amusing. I have written them - off like a letter, _sermone pedestri_, without, however, forgetting - the _ajo y cibolla_ [garlic and onion].” - -On March 26th, 1841, the first batch was sent to Addington. - - “I send you a few sheets of Handbook. If your eyes will permit you - to run through it, pray correct any error or make any suggestion. I - have done about fifty pages (letterpress) more. The object I have - is to combine learning with facetiousness, _utile dulci_.” - - _April 11, 1841_. - - The print is damnable, and what is worse is the enormous quantity - it takes to a page. All this preliminary part, which will run to - two hundred pages, is an after-thought of mine. Murray only - bargained for distances and mere lionizing. It appears to me that - the traveller in a _Venta_ will thank me for an amusing bit of - reading. How often have I cursed Starke[45] for the contrary, and I - hope to give a true insight into Spanish manners. - - _May 4, 1841._ - - I have already expunged the bits that you objected to, and the - sheets read all the better for it. I grieve deeply that the print - is so execrable. But you cannot tell what a service your sound - censorship is. I write _currente calamo_ in a sort of - slip-slap-and-shod style both as to matter and language. It comes - boiling over like a soda-water bottle, and I cannot help it. I - daresay that, if I had more time, I should make it _worse_, as it - would be more laboured. - - _November 3, 1841._ - - I am not so bigoted a Carlist as to think all reform a wilderness. - But my antiquarian, artistical and _romantic_ predilections make me - grieve at seeing barbarous destructives overturning in an hour the - works of ages of taste and magnificence. This age can only destroy: - witness cheap, compo churches _versus_ cathedrals. - - I am getting very slowly on. But I hope it may be done by May or - June. I intend in a short preface to allude to the “state of - transition” of the moment. But some things are fixed--country, - ruins, battlefields, history of the past. All that can be pointed - out. I am only afraid it will be _too_ good. - - _November 18, 1841._ - - I am sick of Handbook. I meditate bringing out the first volume, - the _preliminary_ and the most difficult, early next spring. It is - nearly completed. It is a series of essays, and has plagued me to - death. The next volume will be more mechanical and - matter-of-fact--what Murray wanted; and I am an ass for my pains. - I have been throwing pearly articles into the trough of a - road-book. However, there will be stuff in it. - -Weary of the _Handbook_, Ford turned from it with relief to a subject -after his own heart. In 1841 George Borrow published his _Zincali; or an -Account of the Gypsies in Spain_. Interested both in the writer and his -work, his own mind absorbed in Spanish life, Ford laid aside the -_Handbook_ to write an article on the book, which he had himself -recommended to Murray for publication. His article ultimately appeared -in the _British and Foreign Review_ (No. XXVI., p. 367). - - I have made acquaintance (he tells Addington, January 14th, 1841) - with an extraordinary fellow, _George Borrow_, who went out to - Spain to convert the _gipsies_. He is about to publish his failure, - and a curious book it will be. It was submitted to my perusal by - the hesitating Murray. - - Borrow is done (he writes November 3rd, 1841), and I daresay will - soon be printed. I took the greatest pains with it, and Lockhart, - on reading a portion, wrote to me that it was “perfect”--a great - word from a man not prodigal of praise. - -In an undated letter to John Murray, he says: - - I have written a very careful review of Borrow’s _Gypsies_, with - which Lockhart seems well pleased. The book has created a great - sensation far and wide. I was sure it would, and I hope you think - that when I read the MS. my opinion and advice were sound. - - I have now a letter from Borrow telling me that he has nearly - completed his _Bible in Spain_. I have given him much advice,--to - avoid Spanish historians and _poetry_ like Prussic acid; to stick - to himself, his biography, and queer adventures. He writes: “I - shall attend to all your advice. The book will consist entirely of - my personal adventures, travels, etc., in that country during five - years. I met with a number of strange characters, all of whom I - have introduced; the most surprising of them is my Greek servant, - who accompanied me in my ride of 1500 miles.” - - The author writes again, November 8th: “_The Bible in Spain_ is a - rum, very rum, mixture of gipseyism, Judaism, and missionary - adventure, and I have no doubt will be greedily read.” - - I have some thoughts of asking him down here with his MS., and - pruning it a little for him. - -An early copy of _The Bible in Spain_ seems to have been given to Ford -by John Murray. In a letter[46] to the publisher he thus describes its -character. - - I read Borrow with great delight all the way down per rail, and it - shortened the rapid flight of that velocipede. You may depend upon - it that the book will sell, which, after all, is the rub. It is the - antipodes of Lord Carnarvon, and yet how they tally in what they - have in common, and that is much--the people, the scenery of - Galicia, and the suspicions and absurdities of Spanish - Jacks-in-office, who yield not in ignorance or insolence to any - kind of red-tapists, hatched in the hot-beds of jobbery and - utilitarian mares-nests. Borrow spares none of them. I see he hits - right and left, and floors his man whenever he meets him. I am - pleased with his honest sincerity of purpose and his graphic abrupt - style. It is like an old Spanish ballad, leaping _in medias res_, - going from incident to incident, bang, bang, bang, hops, steps, and - jumps like a cracker, and leaving off like one, when you wish he - would give you another touch or _coup de grâce_. - - He really puts me in mind of Gil Blas; but he has not the sneer of - the Frenchman, nor does he gild the bad. He has a touch of Bunyan, - and, like that enthusiastic tinker, hammers away, _à la Gitano_, - whenever he thinks he can thwack the Devil or his man-of-all-work - on earth--the Pope. Therein he resembles my friend and everybody’s - friend--_Punch_--who, amidst all his adventures, never spares the - black one. - - However, I am not going to review him now; for I know that Mr. - Lockhart has expressed a wish that I should do it for the - _Quarterly Review_. Now, a wish from my liege master is a command. - I had half engaged myself elsewhere, thinking that he did not quite - appreciate such a _trump_ as I know Borrow to be. He is as full of - meat as an egg, and a fresh-laid one--not one of your Inglis breed, - long addled by over-bookmaking. Borrow will lay you golden eggs, - and hatch them after the ways of Egypt; put salt on his tail and - secure him in your coop, and beware how any poacher coaxes him with - ‘raisins’ or reasons out of the Albemarle preserve. - - When you see Mr. Lockhart tell him that I will do the paper. I owe - my entire allegiance to the _Q. R._ flag.... Perhaps my - understanding the _full force_ of this “gratia” makes me - over-partial to this wild Missionary; but I have ridden over the - same tracks without the tracts, seen the same people, and know that - he is true, and I believe that he believes all that he writes to be - true. - -Before the book appeared, Ford had already begun a review of the -work,[47] the progress of which he reports to Addington: “Borrow has -got,” says a letter dated June 28th, 1842, “a very singular book coming -out--_The Bible in Spain_--the place where one would be the least likely -to meet it.” “How gat it there?” he asks later (November 21st), and -describes the book as “a sort of Gil Blas and Bunyan rolled together.” -His review came out in the _Edinburgh Review_ for February 1843 (vol. -lxxvii. pp. 105-38). - - I have been very busy (he writes, December 16th, 1842) about - Borrow’s _Bible in Spain_. It is a most curious book, and mind you - read it, if you can steal a moment. In the last _Quarterly_ there - is a paper by Lockhart, principally extracts, which will only give - you a slight notion of the contents of the _chorizo_ [sausage]. The - first sentence will amuse you, in which Lockhart grieves that he - let slip my gipsy paper.[48] I would have done one for the - _Quarterly Review_, but he only could give me five days. That was - enough to write with _a pair of scissors_, but not quite for such a - paper as the subject deserved. So I have done a _grandis et verbosa - epistola_, which has been offered to the _Ed. Rev._, and graciously - accepted with many civil speeches. It is very careful, enters into - the philosophy of Spanish fanaticism, etc., very anti-Gallican. - -Borrow, writing to John Murray, February 25th, 1843, alludes to the -_Edinburgh_ article as “exceedingly brilliant and clever, but rather too -epigrammatic, quotations scanty and not correct. Ford is certainly a -most astonishing fellow; he quite flabbergasts me--handbooks, reviews, -and I hear that he has just been writing a ‘Life of Velasquez’ for the -_Penny Cyclopædia_.” But Ford’s infidelity to the orthodox organ -provoked a characteristic note from the Duke of Wellington: “My dear Mr. -Ford,” he wrote, “you think the Lord will forgive your former -Whiggishisms: I daresay He may, but the Devil will have his due, and the -contributions to the _Edinburgh_ are items in his account.” With these -and many other interruptions, the _Handbook_ had made slow progress. -Still, in its first draft, it was approaching completion. - - HEAVITREE, _Jan. 10, 1843_. - - How you must have disported in rural idleness. _Oh Rus!_ Here we - have enough of it, and too much of local festivities. How the - excise can fall off I can’t imagine. Here Belly is the god of all - classes. The squires are not scared with the tariff, which by the - way has done me no good in any respect, nor any one else that I can - hear of, while the income tax is a real, tangible, awful evil. - - Drawing flourishes, and I am now making a Spanish volume, and have - begun with Toledo, glorious, rock-built, imperial Toledo! - - I meditate coming up to town at Easter with my two girls, who are - now assuming the _toga muliebris_, having discarded their - governess. The next step is a husband, and, when once a grandpapa, - I shall consider the 5th act of the _comedia imbrogliata_ as fast - approaching. I shall bring up the Spanish drawings, and, if any - should revive in your Excellency recollections of pleasant days - gone by, I shall be proud to make you any you may select for your - private portfolio. - - Borrow is a queer chap. I believe that an extra number of the - _Edinburgh_ is to come out next month, when my article will appear. - I have just got an application to write the life of Velazquez for - the _Penny Cyclopædia_. Murray will sigh for his _Handbook_ as you - do for the country; but I am so interrupted that I have never - fairly gone to work, and, as it is, at least two-thirds of what I - have got together must be exscinded, but they are a useful mass of - work got up for any future object. - - HEAVITREE, _27th Feb., /43_. - - The enclosed will amuse, if not _convince_ you. I believe Borrow to - be honest, albeit a _Gitano_. His biography will be passing strange - if he tells the _whole_ truth. He is now writing it by my advice. - - Have you found time to run through my paper in the last _Edinburgh - Review_, which the critic_ee_ lauds so much and _pour cause_? The - value of a thing is, however, just what it will _bring_, and the - thirty-two pages brought me £_44_, well and truly paid by the canny - Scot, Napier, who does not throw away cash without “_value - received_.” Verily the Whigs pay well, and will _do_ Murray by - seducing his light troops. Hayward (also a Quarterly reviewer like - me) figures in the last blue and bluff; _proh pudor! et nummos!_ - his paper on “Advertising” is droll. - - I have invested my £44 in Château Margaux. - - _Handbook_ is done--that is, I have done my _own hobby_, and have - covered a haycock of reams with the past and present of Spain: - antiquities, art, history, manners, scenery, battles, and what not. - Now comes the _rub_, to cut out all that is good and simmer it down - to a way-bill. I _shy_ and “gib” like a Pegasus in a dung-cart. - - WEYMOUTH, _July 30, 1843_. - - I am here with all my family, first and second,[49] great and - small, having been dabbling in brick, mortar, and paint at - home--wild vagaries you will - -[Illustration: - -Marianne Houton, del Emery Walker Ph. Sc. - -Margaret Henrietta Ford - -1854.] - -say for a man who _lives_ on an Irish mortgage; but those who have read -Milesian and Iberian annals will take things coolly: _son cosas de -España y Irlanda_, where peace and order are the exception, not the -rule, and where row and blarney are as wholesome as fire to the -salamander. I, however, wish we had a _government_. It would have been -just as easy, instead of reading a sentence from a king’s speech, to -have declared mooting repeal high treason. - -There is no conciliating an enemy. Knock him down. “Hit him hardest in -the weakest point,” _once_ said the Iron Duke. Now enemies sneer and -despise, and good friends are cooled and stand aloof. Peel’s -unpopularity in the far west is daily increasing; _low_ prices will ruin -us all. - -I set out to-morrow for town, having a week’s absence. I shall bring up -Minaño, _con muchas y muchissimas gracias_. I have kept it an -unconscionable while; but it has produced a bairn, which I shall beg -your acceptance of: not much of a bairn, a Spanish parturition, a mouse -from a mountain. - -Minaño’s book, whatever people may say, is an admirable compilation. -_Handbook_ is _written_. Poor old Murray’s death has deranged the types -in Albemarle Street, and these _rows_ in Spain are - - not favourable to the man with the notebook; however, I shall - settle something this next week. - - HEAVITREE, _Oct. 10, 1843_. - - While you have been up to your middle in No. 6548, I have been - boating and catching mackerel at Weymouth, eating Portland mutton, - and dreaming of George III. Now the falling leaf has warned us to - see the warm household and penates. The _Domus_ has been painted, - and a new wing added, which is not paid for. The _placens uxor_ is - well and much improved by sea air; the _chiquilla_ is in stupendous - force, and rejoicing in a new hoop. - - We shall have the railroad open to this place next May, and then - you and Madame might run down and rusticate here amid the myrtles - and forget Downing Street. I was rather idle at Weymouth; ’tis the - quality of a watering-place; but now I am simmering and resimmering - at Handbook; which although done, waits the _imprimatur_ of Murray. - The times are out of joint as regards Spanish travelling. I met a - man yesterday at dinner just returned from a tour in Spain. Nothing - can exceed the dilapidation and demoralisation. This new outbreak - has come like the war after Ferdinand VII.’s death, to blight the - improvements which quiet was producing. That French influence and - Christina gold effected the matter, no one doubts in Spain. The - French are hated and the English not unpopular. - - Borrow writes me word that his _life_ is nearly ready, and that it - will run the _Bible_ hull down. If he tells truth, it will be a - queer thing. I shall review it for the _Edinburgh_. There is - nothing new here; the harvest has been splendid, and there is cider - enough to make the country drunk. The farmers are in better - spirits; if the Government did but know their strength and act, all - would go well, but the house is on fire in many places, and not a - bucket moved: _Vaya! vaya! il faut cultiver son jardin_. - - HEAVITREE, _Dec. 28th, 1843_. - - We are all here, pursuing the same uniform vegetable existence for - which Devonians are renowned, and none the worse for the routine. - It has been somewhat varied by my bringing out _two_ Daughters, - which, in point of satin slips, ball flounces, and trimmed - nightcaps, is nearly equivalent to a marriage trousseau. The bills, - combined with those of Eton, have reduced my _Irish_ 5 per cents. - to almost an unknown quantity. Such is the perverse tendency of - expenditure to advance in a more rapid ratio than increase of - income. Ireland just now seems quiet; so is Vesuvius. If Dan - carries the day, I shall be shot up, or rather be shot down, light - as the _scoriæ_ by which Pompeii was covered over; but I have no - fears whatever. - - _Handbook_ is about to be printed. All these civil wars in Spain - are not very attractive to the wayfaring man, who purchases in - Albemarle Street; but I dare swear that ere April the goodly - tomes--now two--will decorate Murray’s shop. The task has indeed - been severe, yet a serious pleasure, a great occupation,--somewhat - indeed too much, as the mind ought not to be kept on a perpetual - strain. I shall “_couper mon bâton_” and pen; when it is done, _his - artem cestumque repono_. - - _Asi va el mundo._ I am lamenting over the silent and rapid flight, - and the _desengaño_ of all things. It is lucky that there is no - _San Yuste_ in this Protestant land, or (as one, now _en la gloria - esta_, used to say) I might be tempted to turn hermit and count my - beads. What a charming place after all Sⁿ Yuste was! and what - capital trout fishing! - - OULTON HALL, LOWESTOFT, _26 Jan. /44_. - - _Handbook_ goes forthwith to press. - - I am here on a visit to _El Gitano_; two “rum coves,” in a queer - country. This is a regular Patmos, an _ultima Thule_; placed in an - angle of the most unvisited, out-of-the-way portion of England. - His house hangs over a lonely lake covered with wild fowl, and is - girt with dark firs, through which the wind sighs sadly; however, - we defy the elements, and chat over _las cosas de España_, and he - tells me portions of his life, more strange even than his book. We - scamper by day over the country in a sort of gig, which reminds me - of Mr. Weare on his trip with Mr. Thurtell (Borrow’s old - preceptor); “Sidi Habismilk” is in the stable, and a Zamarra - [sheepskin coat] now before me, writing as I am in a sort of - summer-house called _La Mezquita_, in which _El Gitano_ concocts - his lucubrations, and _paints_ his pictures, for his object is to - colour up and poetise his adventures. - -Writing to Ford from Oulton Hall, February 9th, 1844, Borrow says: - - Almost as soon as I got back from Norwich the weather became very - disagreeable, a strange jumble of frost, fog, and wet. I am glad - that during your stay here it has been a little more favourable. I - still keep up, but not exactly the thing. You can’t think how I - miss you and our chats by the fireside. The wine, now I am alone, - has lost its flavour, and the cigars make me ill. I am very - frequently in my valley of the shadows, and had I not my summer - jaunt to look forward to, I am afraid it would be all up with your - friend and _Batushka_ [little father]. I still go on with my - _Life_, but slowly and lazily. What I write, however, is _good_. I - feel it is good, strange and wild as it is. - -Ford’s correspondence with Addington is resumed. - - HEAVITREE, _May 23, 1844_. - - As your Excellency is naturally a studier of human character, I - think you will be edified by beholding me in a new phase, that of - Church-building and drawing up reports thereanent; so I enclose you - the particulars. - - Mrs. Ford and myself are about to quit these bemyrtled bowers on - Monday next: we proceed to Eton, where my son and heir is to figure - in the Montem Saturnalia, in a red coat, cocked hat and sword, and - to be brought back,--oh sight painful to parents! drunk in a - wheelbarrow. There is nothing like spending £250 a year in giving - one’s boy a liberal good education. Hawtrey has bidden us to the - feastings which he gives to sundry Papas and Mamas. - - _Handbook_ is slowly printing. The _Mañana_ of Spain has infected - even Albemarle Street; but we have got well to page 264 of Vol. I. - - The rail is now open, and Exeter is 7-1/2 hours from London. We - hope some day that you and _mi Señora_ (_c.p.b._) may be tempted - to come and see us and the New Church. - - I have been suffering from influenza in common with almost - everybody. The bright sun and cold north-east winds remind me of - Madrid. - -But Ford was not at the end of his labours. The first edition of the -Handbook was cancelled, in deference to Addington’s advice, at a cost to -Ford of £500 and the toil of re-writing a considerable portion of the -work. - - _Sept. 26, 1844._ - - Visions of Joinville, Narvaez, and the Pope breaking Murray’s - presses and _écrase_-ing my head have haunted me since your letter. - Alas! alas! the Preface which you condemn is drawn very mild, and - was written purposely to _soften_ more severe castigations on - events, historians, and nationalities. What is a man to do who - wishes to write the truth, when, at every step in Spain, he meets a - French ruin, and, at every page in a Spanish or French book, a - libel against us? - - I have told the _truth_. I wish I had not. I have, however, said - nothing more than Southey, Napier, Schepeler[50], and the Duke. But - I am quite averse to getting into hot water or ill words, and must - reconsider the subject, and either cancel much, or make - complimentary _amendes honorables_ in the subsequent sheets. - - My spouse thinks with you, and I have such a high opinion of you as - a man of the world and of sound judgment, and know you to be so - kind, true, and good a friend, that I am now going to write to - Murray. - -At first Ford hoped that he could substitute for the objectionable -passages artistic or antiquarian information. In December 1844 he writes -to Addington that already four sheets (_i.e._ 64 pages) had been -cancelled. He adds that “we are all in a snowy surplice.” This -description of a snowstorm was suggested by the attempt of the Bishop of -Exeter to do away with the black gown, and by the excitement which the -step had created in Exeter. He refers to the subject in a letter dated -January 20th, 1845. - - HEAVITREE, _Jan. 26, /45_. - - I enclose you a very characteristic letter from Don Jorge [Borrow], - which please to return. It would be well if he could allay the evil - spirit that is broken loose here; the flocks are rising against the - shepherds, more like wolves than lambs. The thing is much more - serious, and lies deeper than many imagine; it is no _mob_ affair. - The entire mass of the middling classes and rich tradesmen are the - leaders; the lower and better classes stand aloof. The disquieted - are not only urged by a violent, no-popery, protestant feeling, but - by a democratic element, probably unknown to themselves, which - resists dignities and anything, even a surplice, being dictated to - them. The mob, the real [Greek: polykephalon], is quiet, having - work and cheap food. The gentry attach no importance to the black - or white vesture, nor do their clergy ever, in fact, rule them. But - with the middling, and a numerous, class, these clerical crotchets - are not shadows, but realities and dangers. The church coach will - be upset, unless great temper and management be shown (and that - will _not_ be shown); the dissentients are ripe for a free church. - Philpotti has been considerably in the wrong; he would have made a - splendid Hildebrand or Loyola, but the age of railroads and steam - will smash mitres and tracts. The war of opinions which has been - now raged for ten years is coming to a crisis. I take our tradesmen - in Exeter to be types of those throughout England, and Foolometers; - and as they have acted, so will all their like. The train is laid, - and a spark may ignite it. - -Eventually Ford found that his wisest course was to withdraw the first -edition of the _Handbook_. He writes from London, where he was laid up -by somewhat serious illness, February 19th, 1845: “I have quite -determined on cancelling _Handbook_, and reprinting it _minus_ -political, military, and religious discussions, and to omit mention of -disagreeables, and only make it smooth and charming.” On these lines the -book was recast. - - _April 30, 1845._ - - I am leading the life of a true _Devoto á la Santissima Hygeia_. I - sleep at Exmouth, rise at six, walk on the beach, listening to the - ripple of the waves, and inhaling the morning sea-impregnated - breezes. I come home to breakfast at seven; at half-past mount my - steed, and come clipping over here, _ganando horas_, in about an - hour, nine miles, and such hills! then, while hot as a horseshoe, I - hiss under a shower-bath, and occupy the morning until two in - Handbooky and gentle exercise of the mind. At two I dine, _en - famille_, on _rôti_ and a pint of Bordeaux; after dinner is - dedicated to sauntering on the terrace and listening to the gentle - discourse of Mrs. Ford, when in a sweet disposition, and at other - times to lectures, _à la_ Mrs. Caudle, on gastronomic excesses and - consequent pains and penalties. At five I remount, and jog - leisurely back again through sweet, shady, and verdurous lanes. A - butter-and-egg pace favours meditation and sentiment which is akin - to the season, when Nature puts on her new livery of spring, which - we can’t. Arrived at Exmouth, I again wander on the lonely shore - and watch the sunsets, which are transcendental, the heaven and the - earth all crimson; then I count the pretty stars as they come out - coyly one by one for their evening’s pleasure, _tomando el fresco_. - All this air and _belles pensées_ naturally conduce to hunger and - thirst, and at eight I sit down to _two_ mutton chops, _nada más_, - _ni menos_, and another pint of claret. Then I peruse the _Morning - Post_ of the day, and soon the gentle, oblivious style and absence - of thought steal over my senses, and then to bed, to sleep sound - and short, and then up again: _asi gira la vida_. The most - pendulous uvula yields to such a bracing winding-up system: - _hominem sic erigo_. I will duly advise you whether Don Jorge will - meet me in London. - -The _Handbook_ was published in the summer of 1845. Released from his -labour, Ford was preparing to spend a holiday abroad, when Exeter was -convulsed by a famous trial, which took place at the July assizes. - -In February 1845 a Brazilian schooner named the _Felicidade_ was -captured in the Bight of Benin by H.M. _Wasp_. Though fitted for the -slave trade, she had no slaves on board. In charge of a prize crew she -was making for Sierra Leone, when she met the _Echo_, a brigantine full -of slaves. She captured the _Echo_, took on board some of the crew as -prisoners, and resumed her course. The prisoners from the _Echo_ -overpowered and killed the prize crew of _Felicidade_, seized the -schooner, and made off. The _Felicidade_, however, was recaptured by -H.M. _Star_. Suspicions were aroused, and ten of the prisoners were sent -home to be tried for murder on the high seas. Mr. Baron Platt overruled -the objections that the slave trade was not piracy by Brazilian law, and -that the _Felicidade_, being wrongfully taken, was not a British ship. -The jury found seven of the men guilty, and they were sentenced to -death. An appeal was however allowed on the legal points; Platt’s -decision was reversed and the prisoners released. Ford describes the -trial to Addington in an undated letter of July 1845. - - I will secure the _Western Times_. Nothing can have been so bad as - Platt, or his vulgar platitudes. The defence too, was miserable. - Manning, _un Burro cargado de leyes_, broke down, and Collier, a - young advocate, _proved_ his clients’ guilt, by over-examination; - and what think you of a peroration like this--“Will you hang up - these foreigners like ropes of onions (_? ajos_) and cast them then - as carrion to the crows?” Mr. Godson, who came down special, made - sad hash or ash with the Queen’s Alphabet: “Suppose this case Hay - and B. on the ’igh seas,” etc. The facts were too clear to admit of - a doubt, and seven have been found guilty. It is a sad thing for - our peaceable, _unslave-dealing_ city to be horrified with such a - wholesale execution, and they ought to be hung on the African - coast. If they are _not_ hung, the exasperation of the cruising - Jacks is so great that they will _Pelissier_ the next slave prize - to avenge their murdered comrades. A Frenchman on the jury did all - he could to save the prisoners from _la perfide Albion_. An - _attaché_ also of the Brazilian Mission was down here, abusing the - witnesses in their vernacular until stopt. What think you of the - Spanish and Portuguese Government refusing to pay for more than one - counsel, who was chosen because a nephew of the Portuguese Consul? - Thus ten men’s lives were risked to put 5 guineas in a relation’s - pocket. _Vaya! un empeño!_ Drewe was so annoyed that he retained - Manning (who understands Spanish) at his own cost. - - I forgot to say that these Spaniards were made a regular show of by - the magistrates, who gave orders by hundreds to see them in the - jail, until Drewe, the High Sheriff, stopt the spectacle. The - pirates thought that they _had_ been tried, and came here expecting - to be hung. One was a monstrous handsome fellow, and all the ladies - are interested for him, as he realised the Corsair, while his - bronzed cheek, raven locks and flashing eyes contrasted with the - pudding-headed, clotted-cream, commonfaced Devonians. Another - culprit was the facsimile of a monk of Zurbaran; the rest were a - savage South America set. Of course nothing has occupied people - here but _Cosas de España_, and your humble servant, _quasi_ one of - the gang, was at a premium and a sort of lion. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -HEAVITREE AND LONDON - -(1845-1858) - - SUCCESS OF THE _HANDBOOK_--_GATHERINGS FROM SPAIN_--ILLNESS AND - DEATH OF HIS WIFE--MARRIAGE WITH MISS MARY MOLESWORTH--TELBIN’S - “DIORAMA OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON’S CAMPAIGNS”--FRANCIS CLARE FORD - AND THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE--DEATH OF SIR WILLIAM - MOLESWORTH--FAILING HEALTH--MARRIAGE OF CLARE FORD--LAST ARTICLE IN - THE _QUARTERLY REVIEW_, AND LAST LETTER TO ADDINGTON--DEATH AT - HEAVITREE, AUGUST 31ST, 1858. - - - “Since July” (Ford writes to Don Pascual Gayangos at Madrid, - November 27th, 1845) “I have been wandering with my son in Germany, - and have visited those mighty rivers, the Rhine and the Danube, and - beheld the temples and frescoes of Munich.” - -He returned to England to find that the _Handbook_ was succeeding beyond -his own or his publisher’s expectations. In spite of its price, print, -and double columns, 1389 copies were sold in three months, and a second -edition was already talked of. The book had, in fact, created a -sensation. Under its unpretending title it gave a description of Spain, -past and present, which no other man living, foreigner or native, could -have produced. Men who knew the country intimately, such as Lord -Clarendon, Prescott, George Borrow, and Washington Irving, were as -enthusiastic as they were unanimous in its praise. “Surely never was -there,” wrote Prescott, “since Humboldt’s book on Mexico, such an amount -of information, historical, critical, topographical, brought together in -one view, and that in the unpretending form of a _Manuel du Voyageur_.” -Lockhart saw in the _Handbook_ “the work of a most superior -workman,--master of more tools than almost anyone in these days pretends -to handle,” and he found in its pages “the combination of keen -observation and sterling sense with learning _à la_ Burton and -pleasantry _à la_ Montaigne.” The book, in fact, took, and still holds, -its place among the best books of travel in the English language. Few -writers even now can touch on Spanish subjects without owing or -acknowledging a deep debt to Ford. Nor was his work merely a guidebook -to a particular country; it is a guidebook to all travellers, wherever -they might be, from its infectious capacity for enjoyment and the -richness and variety of its interests. - -The letter to Gayangos, quoted above, was written on Ford’s way back -from Oxford, where that learned Spaniard had once hoped to obtain a -Professorship. - - I am but just returned from Oxford, where I spent ten days. The - minds of the young men are perplexed with _Puseyismo y la Santa - Iglesia Catholica y Romana_. That evil, and a tremendous habit of - smoking cigars, seem to be the _features_ of the place, and perplex - the tutors and heads of colleges. - -Among the Addington correspondence is a letter, written November 25th, -1845, from Oxford itself:-- - - OXFORD, _Nov. 25, /45_. - - I propose leaving this learned city on Monday, and am about to - spend a week in Park Street, to settle some law matters for my - mother. This is the moment which is big with fate for the - Montanches Porkers, and I am about to write to Don Juan to forward - to me my annual adventure of _Jamones_. How do you feel disposed? - - This Oxford is indeed changed since my time. The youths drink toast - and water and fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. They have somewhat of - a priggish, macerated look; _der Puseyismus_ has spread far among - the rising generation of fellows of colleges. Pusey, the - arch-heretic, has indeed the true Jesuit look. I sang an anthem out - of his book and _with_ him last Sunday, having been placed in a - stall at Christ Church between him and Gaisford of Greek fame; but - I have not yet joined Rome, being still rather of the school of - the æsthetics than of the ascetics. - -Literary work was resumed. A second edition of the _Handbook_ had to be -prepared. Articles were written for the _Quarterly Review_ on such -varied subjects as “Spanish Architecture,” “Spanish Painting,” “The -Horse’s Foot,” “Spanish Lady’s Love.” In 1846 appeared his _Gatherings -from Spain_, consisting partly of the introductory essays to the -_Handbook_, partly of new material. The book was brought out at -lightning speed. - - I am glad (he writes to Addington, December 1846) that _Gatherings_ - have been deemed worthy of your perusal. The first part has indeed - been knocked off _currente calamo_, and almost without my ever - seeing the pages in revise. They were written against time, - composed, printed, and type distributed in three weeks. This is not - fair on the Author, as slips in style must inevitably occur. I have - almost written a new book as to half of it. - -The success of the book was great. - - The _Gatherings_ have taken wonderfully. All the critics praise - without exception. So I have sacked £210 by two months’ work, and - not damaged my literary reputation. - -Lockhart congratulated him warmly on the achievement. “You may,” he says -(January 5th, 1847), “live fifty years without turning out any more -delightful thing” than the _Gatherings_. Tho’ I had read the _Handbook_ -pretty well, I found the full zest of novelty in these Essays, and such, -I think, is the nearly universal feeling. Fergusson was at Lord -Clarendon’s in Herts at Christmas. Lord Clarendon said that he had had a -Spanish party a few days before--all highly pleased. One said it would -take, to get together the knowledge of this book, four of the most -accomplished of Spaniards. ‘Ah!’ said another, ‘but where could you get -_one_ that could put it all together in a form so readable?’ I forget -their names; but they were men of mark.” - -From 1846 onwards Mrs. Ford’s health became a cause of ever-increasing -anxiety. Changes of climate were tried without permanent benefit. For -months together Ford was separated from his library. He still wrote -articles for the _Quarterly Review_, but he attempted no larger work. -Addington had apparently urged him to write a life of the Duke of Alva. -His answer shows that he felt that a different standard of historical -writing was forming, and that he had neither the youth nor the freedom -from other duties to satisfy the new canons of criticism. - - As for Alva (he writes, December 14th, 1848), I imagine that _iron - Duke_ will form a prominent figure in Prescott’s _Philip II._, on - which he is hard at work. To write a _new_ and _real_ history, - State-paper offices, archives, and family documents must be - consulted all over the world. Neither eyes nor domestic businesses - permit a sufficient lucid interval. It is something for a man who - has idled away the best part of life to have put forth two red - tomes, and be acknowledged as competent. _Claudite jam rivos pueri, - sat prata biberunt._ - -Mrs. Ford died January 23rd, 1849. Six months later his mother, Lady -Ford, died at the age of eighty-two (July 13th, 1849). Business crowded -upon him, so that he describes himself as “hung, drawn, and quartered by -attorneys.” Solitary, depressed in spirits, worried by executorships and -trusteeships, he wrote nothing, and went nowhere. But gradually his life -resumed its usual course, though he made London, not Heavitree, his -home. His pen was once more busy. The marriage of his two elder -daughters interested and excited him. - - “Great events” (he writes to Addington from 123, Park Street, - December 1850) “have taken place here. My humble dwelling has - become a perfect temple of Hymen. Cupid scatters orange blossoms - _plenis manibus_. _Both_ my girls are going to be married. - Georgy,[51]--you know,--to _Mowbray_, son of our old friend, Henry - Northcote; Minnie[52] to Edmund Tyrwhitt, next brother to Sir - Henry, and cousin - -[Illustration: - -R.R.Reinagle R.A.S. Pinx Emery Walker Ph Sc. - -Lady Ford - -b.1767 d.1949] - - to my little Meta. So I shall be left, high and dry, to console - myself with _Jamones y seco_. Not but what a lady told me yesterday - that she heard as positive that _I_ was booked also. The ardent - imaginations of the best half of creation rush at conclusions, and - underrate the difficulties of fifty-four. After this, let no man - despair. Instead of making love, I have been pursuing a more - becoming task of writing articles.” - -In the summer of 1851, Ford married Mary, only daughter of Sir Arscott -Ourry Molesworth, Bart., of Pencarrow, near Bodmin, sister of Sir -William Molesworth, who had succeeded his father as eighth Baronet in -1823, and was at this time, and to the date of his death (1845-October -1855), M.P. for Southwark. Politically Ford was little in sympathy with -his brother-in-law, who was an advanced Liberal, and for many years the -leader of the “Philosophical Radicals.” Writing to the Dowager Lady -Molesworth, August 18th, 1851, Ford says:-- - - The pen seems to have passed from the fingers of the late literary - Mr. Ford into those of Mrs. Ford. She is now with her nose in her - blotting-book, diligently, dutifully, and no doubt delicately - inditing to you. _I_ generally leave her to the monopoly of the - inkstand, and take refuge in my paint-box, having begun a series of - Spanish views to decorate her room, in the hopes of keeping her - out of Spain by bringing the Peninsula to Park Street. - - Meanwhile we rub on pleasantly and much enjoy the repose of London - “out of town.” We vary existence by suburban trips of an approved - cockney and connubial character. One day we steam down to - Greenwich, champagne and whitebait; another, we float down the - beautiful Thames at Twickenham, to the disturbance of swans and - punters. - - You will have heard from Mary of all our sayings and doings. - Nothing could be kinder or more hospitable than Miss Molesworth[53] - was. She is a very superior and a right honest woman. We - fraternised and sisterised greatly. I suppose I have some old - hankering and a predilection for the name of “Miss Molesworth.” - Assuredly we shall repeat our visit, which our hostess so - repeatedly and really pressed. - - The lady of the Lodge gave me lessons in the cultivation and - concoction of flax, which she conducts with great profit, and I - hope I may do no worse when an _Irish_ proprietor. I shall grow a - small plot of hemp for Cardinals and Co. By the way, what an - excellent politician Miss M. is! - -In the spring of 1852 the most popular sight of London was Telbin’s -“Diorama of the Campaigns of Wellington.” On the battlefields -themselves, with Napier’s _History of the Peninsular War_ in his hand, -Ford had traced each move in the struggle between the English and French -in Spain. He had read every book which bore upon the subject; from the -lips of men who themselves had seen or taken part in the contest, he had -gathered details unknown to the historians; and he adored the Duke as -the greatest of Englishmen. From many of the places which the war had -made famous he had brought away his own sketches, and four of the -pictures (“The Night of the Battle of Talavera,” “The Capture of Ciudad -Rodrigo,” “The Victory of Salamanca,” “The Victory of Vitoria”) were -painted from his drawings. He also contributed the descriptive -letterpress, which was printed as _A Guide to the Diorama of the -Campaigns of the Duke of Wellington_ (London, 1852). His lively -descriptions of the battlefields are so vigorous that the following -extract from a rare book may be read with interest. It explains a -picture of “A Convoy intercepted by Partizans.” - - The predatory system of Napoleon, in forcing the countries he - invaded to nourish his armies, necessarily sapped the foundations - of military discipline and good conduct. This increased the French - difficulties of subduing the Peninsula, which cannot be done with a - small army, and where a large one must starve i Polf separated - from magazines. The Massenas, who trusted to gaining their ends by - impetuous advances, did not or would not attend to organised - supplies, the sinews of war. Strong only when in position, and with - no hold on the soil or hearts of the nation, their convoys, few and - far between, were always exposed to be cut off by roving bands who - waged a _guerilla_, or little war, which, congenial to their - country--broken and rugged, and to their character--warlike but not - military, was conducted with infinite perseverance, energy, skill, - daring, valour, and success. Lord Wellington, who knew by - experience the impossibility of any Spanish army, “in want of - everything at the critical moment,” carrying on a regular war, - pronounced their partizanship the real and best national power. - Unparalleled in a contest of shifts and devices, and without - discipline or drill, the _Guerilleros_ waged a war to the knife; - and circumventing the invader by fair means and foul, avenged in - his heart’s blood wrongs too many ever to be forgotten, too great - ever to be forgiven. These hornets swarmed around every movement, - and displaced a force equal to 30,000 men, who were required to - patrol roads and keep communications open. The success of these - irregulars sustained the flame of Spain’s patriotism, amid the - disgrace and defeats of her regular armies. The French, who - smarted, executed them as robbers, because, forsooth, they wore no - uniform. Can a Marshal’s embroidery transform spoilers of church - and cottage into heroes, or its want degrade the honest defender of - altar and hearth into a bandit? Throughout the war, the surprises - of French convoys afforded scenes no less frequent than - picturesque. Down Alpine defiles and amid aromatic brushwood, the - long lines of laden mules, cars, and mounted escorts tracked their - tangled way, now concealed in rocks and thickets, now glittering in - the sun and giving life to the loneliness; then, in the most - perilous point of passage and behind loosened crags lurked the - partizans; every blunderbuss loaded and cocked, every finger on the - trigger, every knife unclasped, each breathlessly awaiting the - signal; nor ever was priest or monk wanting to shrive the souls, - and hold out immediate paradise to these humble crusaders, who fell - gloriously in the holy war for God, King and country. Honour - eternal to these noble sons of Spain! However wild, undisciplined - and oriental their resistance, it rises grandly, an example to the - world, now the crimes and follies of their unworthy leaders in - cabinet and camp have sunk into deserved oblivion. - - Just now (Ford writes to Addington, May 7th, 1852) the old Tory’s - _Duke of Wellington’s Campaign Libretto_ is much talked of at the - Palace. Think of the F.M. going there _in personâ_, pulling out his - shilling, and buying a book, and carrying it off. - - The old Duke (he adds, May 11th) has been to the Diorama, and was - much pleased, especially with Lisbon, Salamanca, Vitoria, and - Sorauren. When the squares at the concluding Waterloo began to - move, he quite fought his battles over again. - - The Queen is illustrating the Diorama, the guide in hand. - -Ford also notes that a large-paper copy had been bought by Lord -Malmesbury, then the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He was -especially pleased with this purchase, because he was endeavouring to -obtain, through Addington, a nomination to the Diplomatic Service for -his only son, Francis Clare Ford. On leaving Eton, Clare Ford had -entered the 4th Light Dragoons. But military life was not to his taste: -he had sold out of the Army in June 1851, and was now studying in -France. By Addington’s advice a formal letter was written for submission -to the Foreign Secretary. - - I am most anxious (wrote Ford) to start my only son in diplomacy, - to be followed up as his profession. You know the youth. He was at - Eton, has learnt the world in the course of soldiering, speaks and - writes French excellently, is a clever artist, gentlemanlike and - good-looking, can keep a secret, and is aged twenty-three. - Hereafter he will have an independent fortune. - - I am fully aware that I have no right to apply to Lord Malmesbury - on private or public grounds; but, at least, I have always been, - and in the worst of times, a good Tory with pen and by mouth. - -Across the letter which Addington wrote recommending Clare Ford, Lord -Malmesbury scribbled in pencil: “If the son is as clever as the father, -he deserves advancement. I have put him down, and hope to name him.” In -due course the nomination came. Writing to Addington, July 10th, 1852, -Ford says: - - I really hardly know how _to thank you enough_. But I do _feel it - greatly_, and hope you believe that. Nothing could be more - gentlemanlike than Lord Malmesbury. In the middle of dinner--I sat - next to him--he said: “Let’s have a glass of champagne together and - drink your son’s health, whom I have just appointed an _attaché_ to - Naples.” - -Before taking up his appointment abroad, Clare Ford was summoned home, -and began work at the Foreign Office in London. “The young diplomat,” -says his father, August 13th, 1852, “works hard at the desk, and is, I -am sure, in real and right earnest, and I hope by 1882 will be G.C.B.” -The hope was realised in the spirit, if not in the actual date. Sir -Clare Ford became a G.C.B. April 29th, 1889. - -Hopeful of his son’s career and gratified by Lord Malmesbury’s -recognition of the young man as one of his “cleverest youngsters,” easy -in his own circumstances, established in his literary reputation, -preserving much of his extraordinary capacity for enjoyment, retaining -the freshness of his varied interests, a welcome guest everywhere in -society, counting his friends by the hundred, Ford seemed to have before -him many years of happiness. His pen was not idle. He wrote frequently -in the _Athenæum_ on subjects connected with art. He contributed several -articles to the _Quarterly Review_, notably that on “Apsley House” -(March 1853), in which he paid a fine tribute to the Duke of -Wellington.[54] He prepared a third edition of the _Handbook_, which was -in great part rewritten. He also was again busy with bricks and mortar -at Heavitree. - - We have been (he writes to Addington, September 14th, 1854) - ruralising and rusticating ever since we fled from the thick-pent, - pestilence-stricken city. The days and weeks flit past with wings, - and fast as my ducats, for, to the raw material of ruin (farming), - I have in my dotage superadded building, and towers and domes are - rising while the bankers’ balance comes down. We are great in pigs - and pears, but only so-so in potatoes, which are cruelly diseased; - all my fond hopes of getting home by these tubers are dissipated. - - I am pretty well, barring pocket;--early to bed and early to rise, - without, however, being wealthy or wise. _Handbook_ is at a - standstill; in fact, it is impossible to dip in the inkstand, or - remain indoors, when there is so much going on out of doors, and, - as I never admit either architects or nursery gardeners, there is - plenty for the master’s head to devise and eye to superintend. - -In the autumn of 1855 Ford and his wife were hastily summoned to London -by the dangerous illness of her only brother. Sir William Molesworth had -won for himself a brilliant position in English politics. To his -advocacy had been mainly due the abolition of transportation, and his -speeches on colonial questions were marked by profound knowledge of the -subject and a statesmanlike breadth of view. In January 1853 he was -appointed First Commissioner of Works, with a seat in Lord Aberdeen’s -Cabinet. Two years later (July 1855), when he succeeded Lord John -Russell as Colonial Secretary, he had gained the legitimate object of -his ambition, and held an office for which he was acknowledged to be -peculiarly qualified. But his health, always weak, broke down under the -strain. - - His system (writes Ford to Addington, October 21st, 1855), never - very strong, has succumbed to a long and late session, to which - the overwork of a new office was added just at the moment when - repose and the country were most wanting. He is in a _very critical - state_; but I do not quite despair, and I hope to-morrow to be able - to report progress. - - I have no heart now to enter on those matters which would have - filled my pages. Oh the vanity of vanities! Look at poor Sir - William, a young man, stretched on his bed and wrestling with death - with the heart of a lion, and this just at the moment when all his - honours were budding thick and the object of a life’s honourable - ambition gained. - -Sir William Molesworth died October 22nd, 1855. Ford’s own health was -now rapidly breaking down. His eyesight began to fail. He slept badly. -The fatal malady which ultimately caused his death--Bright’s -disease--was already developed in his system, and affected his nervous -condition. His letters lost their gaiety. A visit to Paris in September -1856, where his son was now an _attaché_, did not revive his spirits. -Writing to Addington, he says: - - One line from the most palatial Paris, the capital and centre of - general civilisation, where gold and gastric juice and the - insolence of health and intellect seem to be the things wanting, - and where the lust of the eye is indeed gratified. To those who - have not seen it for many years, the transformations are magical, - and the slaves of the lamp are at work day and night. - _Diruit--edificat_ is the imperial mandate. - - We, I fear, must mark No. 2 in many things, not only in political - matters. Our _prestige_ has sadly fallen on the Continent, and the - French, who claim all the glory of the Crimea, almost fancy we - exist at their sufferance, and that by saving us at Inkerman, etc., - they have wiped out Waterloo. Not a few call the English medal - which figures on the breast of many a Zouave _La Medaille de - sauvetage_, and compare it to that given by the Humane Society to - those who have rescued others from death and danger. - - My son is alive and busy. He has now an idea of what _work_ is, and - this mission at Paris is of a very different stamp from _Otiosa - Neapolis_. However, work is good for the young. The time will - arrive, and how rapidly! when we must all say _tempus abire_, and - happy those who are _en règle_, and are blessed besides, like you, - with a strong and philosophic mind,--both of which are wanting to - me, who would gladly prefer them to gold and gastric juice. - -In December 1856 Ford accepted the appointment to serve, with Lord -Broughton, the Dean of St. Paul’s, Michael Faraday, George Richmond, -and Charles Robert Cockerel, on a Royal Commission “to determine the -site of the National Gallery, and to report on the desirableness of -combining with it the Fine Art and Archæological Collection of the -British Museum.” But eight days after the announcement had appeared in -the _London Gazette_ (December 15th, 1856), he was obliged to withdraw -his consent to act, as he found that his health incapacitated him from -discharging the duties of the commission. The newspapers of the day bore -witness to the regret that was felt at his inability to serve. “We -expressed a fortnight ago,” says the _Illustrated London News_ for -January 3rd, 1857, “the general satisfaction that was felt in Mr. Ford’s -appointment. His place is not easily to be supplied. His practical good -sense, and the general esteem in which he is held, peculiarly fitted him -for the appointment.” - -Ill though Ford was, he was able to enjoy the promise of his son’s -success in the diplomatic service. Promoted to be a paid _attaché_ in -March 1857, Clare Ford passed an examination which, as his father -proudly reports to Addington, was “the most brilliant ever passed in -international law.” In the summer of the same year (June 22nd, 1857) he -married Annie, second daughter of the Marquis Garofalo, the head of a -family distinguished in the history of Naples. Ford was at his son’s -wedding; but after that date he went less and less into society. His -last article in the _Quarterly Review_, “Rugby Reminiscences,” which -appeared in October 1857, was a review of _Tom Brown’s Schooldays_. For -him - -[Illustration: - -Velasquez Pinx. Emery Walker Ph. Sc. - -Dona Margarita Mariana of Austria wife of Philip IV. of Spain.] - -the subject had two special attractions. Arnold was an old schoolfellow -at Winchester, and ‘Tom’ Hughes had married Ford’s niece, the daughter -of his brother James. It is interesting to learn that Arnold had not -impressed his contemporaries at school with any “great promise of future -excellence,” though his “love for history rather than for poetry, and -for truth and facts in preference to fiction,” was already conspicuous. -But Ford traces Arnold’s encouragement of games and attention to the -supply of proper food at Rugby, to his own experience of “the cheerless -condition of Commoners,” and “the ‘Do-the-boys’ dietary” which had -prevailed at Winchester. - -Ford’s last letter to Addington, dated December 20th, 1857, is written -from 123, Park Street:-- - - DEAR ADDINGTON, - - Many thanks for your old-friendlike and most _seasonable_ letter, - and, indeed, I most sincerely reciprocate in wishing you and your - dear wife every possible happiness, and in these wishes Mrs. Ford - most entirely joins. May the season be pleasant to you both, nay, - even “merry.” May you both enjoy that good old epithet associated - to the auspicious moment, to which your sound health and right - cheery mind so fairly entitle you. - - We dined last night with the Marshalls, and the turkey was indeed - most orthodox and succulent. Spring Rice dined there with _Bessy_, - and my son Clare with his _Bene_. They are preparing for Lisbon, - and will start in about a fortnight. _Bon voyage!_ - - The Indian news is well-timed. The worst is now past, and the - difficult task of reconstruction has begun. Your friend, Lord - Canning, seems to have done right well. Things seem to be - _bettering_ in the City; but I fear that there will be much - distress among our industrious operatives. The next three months - will be a terrible trial for the poor. - - God bless you, dear Addington! - - Ever yours most truly, - - RICHARD FORD. - - - -During the next few months the two old friends met frequently; but in -July 1858 Ford’s health had become so precarious that his son was -summoned home from Lisbon, where he now was an _attaché_. Richard Ford -died at Heavitree, August 31st, 1858. - - - - -INDEX - - -Abadia, General, 129 - -Abadía, Palace at, 88, 92 - -Aberdeen, Lord, 82 - -Absolutists, the, 5 - -Abu Abdullah, 59ⁿ - -Addington, Henry Unwin--Plenipotentiary at Madrid (1829-33), 1, 73; - leaves Madrid, 124, 126, 127; - his pension, 135; - his criticism of Ford, 137, 141-4, 159, 163, 164, 193, 194; - his advice as to Clare Ford’s future, 212 - -_Advertising_, Hayward’s article on, 186 - -Agriculture in Morocco, 120 - -Agustina, “La Artillera,” the Maid of Zaragoça, 55 - -Airecillo, the, at the Alhambra, 41, 44, 47 - -Alagon, 134 - -Alameda Vieja, the, at Seville, 12, 18, 23, 128 - -Albaicin, the, 41 - -Albemarle Street, 182, 187, 190, 192 - -Alcantara, 88, 89, 92 - -Alcaravan (bittern), 69 - -Alcazar, the, 100, 105 - -Alcolea, 109 - -Alexander VI., Pope, 55 - -Alforjas (saddle bags), 124 - -las Alfujarras, jamon de, 139 - -Algeciras, Torrijos lands at, 19; 84, 86 - -Algiers, 120 - -Albania, 114, 117 - -Alhambra, the, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, - 51, 59ⁿ, 65, 72, 102, 108, 112, 114, 126, 146, 148, 161 - -Alicante, 54, 56, 57 - -Allan, Sir William, R.A., 170 - -“Ally Croaker,” 39 - -Althorp, Lord, 111 - -Alva, the Duke of, 89, 92; - life of, 205 - -Alva, Duke of, 122, 134 - -las Amarillas, Marques de, 10, 13, 98, 106, 108, 110; - the first man in Spain, 136, 137 - -Andalusia, rising in, 19 - -los Andes, Conde de, 77, 80, 81 - -Andujar, 35, 40, 42, 45, 49, 56, 65 - -Antequera, 117 - -Apsley House, article on, 214 - -Aqueduct at Merida, 32 - -Aranjuez, 131, 139 - -Arapiles, 91 - -Architecture, Spanish, article on, 204 - -Argamasilla de Alba, 30 - -Arjona, the Assistente, 13, 14, 15, 43, 87, 107 - -Armament, the, for Portuguese expedition, 83 - -Armeria, the, 70 - -Arnold, Dr. Thomas, 134ⁿ, 219 - -Arrests for sketching, 57 - -Ass, the, 7, 56 - -Asses’ milk, 71 - -_Athenæum_, the, 214 - -Athenæum, the, at Exeter, 155 - -_Ay de mi, Alhama_, 117 - -Azulejos, 82, 83, 148 - - -Babylon, walls of, 156 - -Bacalao (dried fish), 107 - -Badajoz, 32, 77, 79; - artillery ordered to, 80; 81, 88, 91 - -Bara, 46 - -Barbate, the, 20 - -Barbary, travelling in, 117 - -Barcelona, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60; - description of, 61; 110; - Llauder expelled from, 136 - -Baring, 90 - -Barings, the Miss, 171 - -Barranco de San Juan, the, 128 - -Bassetlaw job, the, 53 - -Batushka (Borrow), 192 - -Baylen, 49 - -Benalua, 66 - -Benavente, 92 - -“Bene” (Mrs. Clare Ford), 220 - -Benin, Bight of, 197 - -Berja, lead mines at, 37 - -Bermudez, Cea (or Zea), 1, 2, 114 - -de Berry, la Duchesse, 99ⁿ - -“Bessy,” 219 - -Best, Mr., 167 - -_Bible in Spain_, the, quoted, 20, 21; 180-4 - -Bigge, Captain, 27, 31 - -Bilbao, 88, 93 - -Boabdila, 59ⁿ - -Boars, wild, 18 - -Bodleian Library, the, 146 - -Bodmin, 207 - -Borgia, Cæsar, 35, 55 - -Borrow, George, on Quesada, 20; - _Zincali_, 179; - _Bible in Spain_, 180-4; - his Greek servant, 180; 185; - his biography, 185, 189; - at Oulton Hall, 190, 191, 192; 194, 202 - -Bory de Saint Vincent, 143 - -Botiga, the, 40, 67 - -Bowring, Dr., 147, 149 - -Boyd, Robert, 73, 74, 75, 76, 93 - -Brackenbury, Sir John, Consul at Cadiz, 31, 72, 76, 83, 112, 115, 128, 138 - -Brasero, the, 12, 16 - -Brazilian Slave Trade, the, 198, 199 - -_British and Foreign Review_, the, 179 - -“Brook, Master,” 40 - -Brougham, Lord, 17ⁿ - -Broughton, Lord, 217 - -la Bruyère, quoted, 151 - -Bull fights, 102, 103; - in honour of Princess Isabella, 122; - Ford’s article on, 122ⁿ, 163, 165, 166, 167 - -Buller, Colonel, 102, 103, 107, 110 - -Bulteel, Mr., 149 - -Bunyan, John, 181, 183 - -Burdett, Sir Francis, 24, 52 - -Burgos, 59, 61, 93, 109, 110 - -Burra, 56 - -Burton, Professor Edward, his _Antiquities of Rome_ (1821), 171 - -Burton, Robert (author of the _Anatomy of Melancholy_), 202 - -Bustard, the, 18, 69 - -Byron, Ada (Lady Lovelace), 151 - -Byron, Lord, 95, 117ⁿ, 151, 152; - _The Corsair_, 199 - - -Cadiz, the Cortes at, in 1812, 3; - free trading at, 10, 27, 52; - riots at, in 1831, 20, 27, 41; - assassination of governor, 20, 26; - the _Malabar_ at, 116; - cholera at, 127, 128, 138 - -Cain, the originator of cob walls, 156 - -_Ça ira_ of the Spanish Revolution, the, 4 - -Cajeput oil, 62 - -Caldero, 31 - -Calle de Alcala, in Madrid, 21, 41, 45, 54 - -Calle de Genoa, at Seville, 11 - -Calle de los Monsalvos, at Seville, 68 - -Calomarde, 97, 98 - -Campillo de la Arena, 47, 49, 65, 66 - -_Candide_, 153 - -Canning, Lord, 220 - -Canning, Lady Stratford, 111 - -Canning system, the, 25 - -Capara, 92 - -Cardenas, the Venta de, 30 - -Cardenio, 30 - -Cardinals & Co., 208 - -Cardona, the salt mines at, 55, 61, 63, 64 - -Carlos, Don, 4; - retires to Portugal, 5, 98; 74, 96, 97; - his wife, 97; 121, 159 - -“Carlos, Don:” _see_ Downie - -Carlota, Princess, of Naples, 97, 99ⁿ, 100 - -Carmen Convent, the, at Malaga, 73 - -Carnarvon, Lord, 17, 181 - -Cartuja Convent, the, near Burgos, 109 - -Casa de los Expositos, the, 114 - -Casa Sanchez, the, in the Alhambra, 146 - -Cassiobury, 43 - -Castlereagh, Lord, 17 - -Cavallero, Juan, 76 - -Ceca, La, 39 - -Cemetery at Malaga, the, 73, 74 - -Charles IV., and the Salic Law, 96; - his wife, 99ⁿ - -Charles V. at the Alhambra, 36, 72; - at San Yuste, 88, 92; - founder of the Maestranza, 103ⁿ - -Charlotte, Princess, 114 - -Château Margaux, 186 - -Cheffhttinschkwi, 70 - -Cherbourg, 170 - -Chico, el Rey, 59ⁿ - -Cholera, the, 61, 67, 89, 99, 103, 113; - at Lisbon, 116; 125, 127; - precautions against, 129-32 - -Chorizo (sausage), 139, 183 - -Chorlito (curlew), 69 - -Christina, Queen, 2, 4, 5; - degrades Moreno, 73; 74, 97, 99ⁿ, 107, 136ⁿ - -Ciudad Rodrigo, 89, 91, 92; - capture of, Ford’s picture, 209 - -Clarendon, Lord, 202, 205; - and _see_ George Villiers - -Cob walls, 147, 151, 152, 155, 156, 159 - -Coche de colleras, the, 35, 49, 134 - -Cockerel, Charles Robert, 218 - -Colburn, Mr., 117 - -Collier, Mr., 198 - -Compostella, 93 - -Conder, Josiah, his “Italy” (1831), 171 - -“Constantine the Great” (Lord Normanby), 169 - -Constitution, the, 3; - rejected by Ferdinand VII., 4; - and Pedro IV., 74 - -Constitutionalists, return of the, 4 - -Consuls, English, 112, 114 - -Cook, Samuel Edward (afterwards Widdrington), 31ⁿ, - 38ⁿ, 77, 83, 88, 90, 139, 140, 141, 142 - -Cordova, 39 - -Coria, 92 - -Corpus, el Dia de, 121 - -Corral de Conde, at Seville, 12 - -Cortijo del Puche, the, 54 - -Coto del Rey, the, 14, 16, 18 - -Couskousu, 120 - -Cowper, Lady, 16 - -Cranstoun, Lord, 160, 162 - -Cranstoun, the Hon. Eliza (second wife of Richard Ford), 160 - -Crawford, Oswald John Frederick, 186ⁿ - -Cuarto, the, 100ⁿ, 107 - -de Custine, Marquis (Author of _L’Espagne sous Ferdinand VII._), 33, 43, 53, 66 - - -Danube, the, 201 - -Dart, the, 161, 165 - -Daubeny, Professor, 31ⁿ - -Dennis, G., his _Summer in Andalusia_, 28ⁿ - -Despeña-perros, 30 - -_Diario_, the, 107 - -Dickens, Charles, 167, 170 - -Diligences in Spain, 28, 29; - stopped on account of cholera, 129, 130, 131 - -“Dionysia” (Mrs. O’Lawlor), 37, 58, 67, 80, 87, 102, 113, 126 - -Dionysio, bookseller at Seville, 11 - -Diorama of the Campaigns of the Duke of Wellington, Guide to the, 209-12 - -Dog-days, at the Alhambra, 52 - -Dolorosita, (niece of Francisca de Molina), 72 - -Domestic appliances, at Seville, 71, 77 - -Don, General Sir George, 9, 21, 44 - -Downie (“Don Carlos”), the commandante at Jaen, 40, 45, 50, 65, 67, 69, 87 - -Dress, in Spain, 6, 7; - in Morocco, 118; - at state funerals, 134 - -Drewe, Mr., High Sheriff of Devon, 199 - -Drummond-Hay, Edward William Auriol, H.B.M. Consul at Tangier, 112, 119, 124 - -Dudley, Lord, 2, 14, 17, 43 - -Dulcinea, 30 - - -Ebrington, Lord, 149 - -_Echo_, the, 197, 198 - -Ecija, 39 - -Eden, Sir William, 66, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 79, 81, 88, 90, 116 - -_Edinburgh Review_, the, 183, 184, 185, 186, 189, 214ⁿ - -El Bravo (Sancho IV.), 84 - -El Bueno (Guzman), 85, 103, 138 - -El Feroz (Heaphy), 90 - -El Galib (Mohammed I.), 59; - (Mark), 114 - -El Gitano (Borrow), 190 - -El Majadero (gawk), 90 - -El Pilar, 55, 62, 64 - -El Rey Chico, 59ⁿ - -_El Santo Rostro_, 66ⁿ - -El Toboso, 30 - -Elche, the city of palms, 54, 57 - -Election, parliamentary, for South Devon, 148 _seq._ - -Ephesus of Mariolatry, the (Zaragoça), 55 - -Escribano, the, at Manzanares, 131 - -Escurial, the, 53 - -de España, the Conde, 61, 98; - replaced by Llauder, 136ⁿ - -Essex, Lord, 43, 160 - -Estcourt, T. G. Bucknall, M.P., 154 - -Estcourt, Eleanor Anne (Mrs. Addington), 154 - -Estefa, José Maria retires to, 99 - -Estremadura, 92 - -Eton, school bills at, 189; - Montem, 192; 212 - -Exeter, 134, 135, 136; - its library, 135, 140; 144, 145, 146; - old furniture from, 146; - railway to, 192; - July (1846) assizes at, 197 - -Exmouth, 175, 196, 197 - - -Falmouth, 138 - -Faraday, Michael, 218 - -Faure, 143 - -_Felicidade_, the, 197, 198 - -Ferdinand VII., 1, 4; - his restoration, 4; - his marriage, 4; - his character, 5; - his health, 74, 79, 98, 114; - his children, 97; - restores the Salic law, 97; - winters at Seville, 103; - his letter to the Captains General, 114; - his patronage of art, 140, 141; - his death and funeral, 133, 134, 188 - -_Ferdinand and Isabella_ (Prescott’s), reviewed by Ford, 166, 168 - -Ferdinand the Catholic, 109 - -Fergusson, 205 - -Fez, 120 - -Flax, cultivation of, 208 - -Flegras, General, 87 - -Florida Blanca, court of, 122 - -Foote, Samuel, 39ⁿ - -Ford, Frances (wife of Thomas Hughes), 134ⁿ, 219 - -Ford, Francis Clare, 155, 212, 213, 214; - his examination in international law, 218; - his marriage, 218; - G.C.B., 213, 214; - at Naples (1852), 213; - at Paris (1856), 216, 217; - at Lisbon (1857), 220 - -Ford, Georgina (wife of Mowbray Northcote), 206 - -Ford, James, 134, 137, 219. - -Ford, Mary Jane (wife of Edmund Tyrwhitt), 206 - -Ford, Meta (wife of O. J. F. Crawford), 186ⁿ, 207 - -Ford, Richard, as a sportsman, 18, 19; - birth of a son, 25; - his son’s death, 98; - birth of a daughter, 104; - his return to England, 125, 133; - at Park Street, 133, 166, 203, 206, 207, 208, 219; - at Southernhay, 135, 137; - his pocketbooks, 137, 138; - illness of his son, 155; - his second marriage, 160, 161; - his daughters, 185, 189; - their marriages, 206; - his church building, 192, 193; - his third marriage, 207; - Bright’s disease, 216; - visits his son in Paris, 216; - Commissioner on the site of the National Gallery, 218; - his death, 220; - and _see_ Reviews - -Ford, Lady, her death, 206 - -Ford, Mrs. (the first), her Pajez guitar, 53; - her health, 15, 70, 74, 76, 78, 82, 83, 88, 93, 98, 104, 106, 110, 123, 125; - her riding habit, 108, 135; - her silver box, 111, 113, 115, 116; - her death, 156, 157 - -Ford, Mrs. (the second), 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 188, 192, 196; - her health, 205; - her death, 206 - -Ford, Mrs. (the third), 207, 208 - -Fords, the five Miss, 137 - -Fowling-pieces, 18, 19 - -Francisco de Paula, 97, 99, 102, 103ⁿ - -Frias, Duke of, 122 - -Fulford, Mr. Baldwin, jun., 149 - - -“Gaffer George,” 55 - -Gaisford, Dr., 203 - -Galignani’s newspaper, 15, 26, 52, 57, 93, 94, 99, 127 - -Game, at Seville, 18, 19 - -Garofalo, Marquis, 218 - -Garofalo, Annie (wife of Clare Ford), 218 - -Gaspacho (soup), 100 - -_Gatherings from Spain_, 138, 204 - -Gayangos, Don Pascual, 201, 202 - -_Gazette de France_, the, 136 - -Generalife, the, 41, 48, 109, 110 - -George III., 188 - -George IV., 114 - -Germany, 201 - -Geronimo, church of, in Madrid, 121 - -de Gersdorf, Mr., 43 - -Gibraltar, 9; - Torrijos at, 19; 23; - officers kidnapped at, 75; 85, 121, 138 - -Gil Blas, 181, 183 - -_Gipsies in Spain_, the (Borrow), 179, 183ⁿ - -Giralda, the, 23 - -Giron, General, 10, 13; - _see_ Marques de las Amarillas - -Godoy, 99ⁿ - -Godson, Mr., 198 - -Gorro, the, 130 - -Granada, the Duke of Wellington on, 3; - climate, etc., 34, 35; 40, 49, 51, 90, 99, - 108, 109, 110, 116, 117, 121, 124, 125, 129, 166 - -Grant, 134, 135 - -Grazalema, 86 - -Greenwich, whitebait at, 208 - -_Greville Memoirs_, the, 17ⁿ, 101ⁿ, 124 - -Grey, Lord, his ministry, 17 - -Griffiths’, at Gibraltar, 138 - -Grimaldi, 119 - -Guadairo, the, 85 - -Guadalete, the, 85 - -Guadalquivir, the, 18 - -Guarroman, 130 - -Guerilleros, 210, 211 - -Guisado de Perdices, 49 - -Gurwood, Lt.-Col., his _Wellington Dispatches_, 166 - -Gutierez, 103 - -de Guzman, Alonzo Perez (El Bueno), 84, 85, 103, 138 - -Guzman, Don Rafael, 103 - - -Haliburton, Thomas Chandler, author of _Sam Slick_, 167 - -_Handbook for Travellers in Spain_, the (1845), 66ⁿ, 138, - 173-9, 184, 186, 187, 188, 190, 192; - first edition cancelled, 193, 194, 195, 196; - (1846), 197, 201, 202; - second edition (1847), 204; - third edition (1855), 214, 215 - -Hats, in Granada, 50, 51 - -Havre, 172 - -Hawtrey, of Eton, 192 - -Hay: _see_ Drummond Hay - -Hayward, Abraham, 186 - -Head, Sir Edmund, 128; - his book reviewed by Ford, 128; 139, 143, 144 - -Heaphy, Captain, 66, 70, 90, 140 - -Heavitree, 146 _seq._, 150; - Elizabethan apartment at, 154, - finished and furnished, 154, 155; - the garden-house at, 173 - -Heraldry, Spanish, article on, 163 - -_Hermes_, the, 115, 116 - -Hierro, Oliver y, Governor of Cadiz, 20 - -Hildebrand, 195 - -Himno del Riego, el, 4 - -_Historical Inquiry into the unchangeable character of a war in Spain_, 158 - -Holbein, 110 - -Holland, Lady, her sheets, 100 - -Holy War, the, 35 - -Holy Week, 112, 114 - -Hoppner, Mr. R. B., 52 - -Horner, Mr., 102 - -Horse’s Foot, the, article on, 204 - -Houston, Sir William, Governor of Gibraltar, 76, 85 - -Howell, James, his _Epistolæ Ho-elianæ_, 138ⁿ - -Huelva, cholera at, 127; 128 - -la Huerta, composer of the Hymn of Riego, 4 - -Hughes, Thomas, 134ⁿ, 219 - -Humboldt, 202 - -Hurdes: _see_ Jurdes - - -Ibrahim Pacha, defeats the Turks at Konieh, 115 - -Igualada, 64 - -_Illustrated London News_, the, 218 - -Income tax, the, 184 - -India, after the mutiny, 220 - -Infantado, Duke of, 122 - -Influenza, the, 155, 193 - -Inglis, H. D., his _Spain in 1830_, 56 - -Inkerman, 217 - -Inquisition, the, restored by Ferdinand VII., 4 - -International Law, Clare Ford’s examination in, 218 - -Irish Church Question, the, 148 - -Irun, 6 - -Irving, Washington, 3, 36, 117, 202 - -Isabella, Queen, 96, 109 - -Isabella, Princess, birth of, 5, 97; - proclaimed queen, 5; 96, 98; - recognized as heiress to the throne, 121; 99ⁿ, 114 - -Isla de Leon, 4 - - -“Jaca cordovese,” 8 - -Jaen, 35, 40, 46, 47, 49, 50, 65, 69, 87; - cholera at, 129 - -“Jamon de las Alfujarras,” 139 - -Jamones, 203, 207 - -Jermyn Street, Ford’s house in, 162 - -Jersey, 170 - -Jersey, Lady, 16, 17 - -Jewelry, of the Moors, 118, 120, 121 - -Jews, the, in Morocco, 116, 117, 118, 119 - -Joanes (or Juanes), Vicente, 55, 60 - -Joinville, 193 - -Jones, Owen, his _Plans, etc., of the Alhambra_ (1842), 167 - -“Jorge, Don” (Borrow), 194, 197 - -“José, Don,” _see_ O’Lawlor - -José Maria, _see_ Maria - -“Juan, Don,” 203 - -Junta de Sanidad, the, 130 - -Jurdes, 92 - - -“King John’s Tavern,” Exeter, 146 - -King, Lord, his marriage, 151, 152, 162 - -Konieh, defeat of the Turks at, 115ⁿ - -Kutayah, Treaty of, 115 - - -de Laborde, Alexandre, 143ⁿ - -Ladrones, 37, 99 - -Lady’s Love, Spanish, article on, 204 - -La Granja, 96, 97, 105, 139 - -La Granja, Marquis de, 69, 77 - -Lambert, Abbot of S. Rufus, quoted by Ford as St. Ambrose, 138 - -Landseer, Sir Edwin, 170 - -Lannes, Marshall, 56 - -Larpent’s _Journal_, reviewed by Ford, 214ⁿ - -Las Batuecas, 92 - -Leon, 93 - -Leslie, Charles, R.A., 170 - -Lewis, Mr. J. F., 95, 102, 105, 106, 108, 109, 113 - -Lewis, Mr. F. C., 95ⁿ - -Lienzo work, 161 - -Lillifant, Mr., 149 - -Lisbon, 79; - the _Hermes_ at, 116; - the cholera at, 116; 212 - -Llauder, General Manuel, 98, 136 - -Locke, John, 152 - -Lockhart, John Gibson, 155, 160, 165; - his “Ballads,” 167 179, 182; - on the _Handbook_, 202; - on the _Gatherings_, 204, 205 - -Loja, 117 - -_London Gazette_, the, 218 - -Lorano, Don Pablo, his _Antiquedades arabes_, 109 - -Los Humeros, 12 - -Louis Philippe, 8, 176 - -Lovelace, Earl of: _see_ Lord King - -Lowestoft, 190 - -Lowndes Street, Ford’s house in, 162 - -Loyola, 195 - -Lugo, 88, 93 - -Lyndhurst, Lady, 17 - -Lyndhurst, Lord, 17ⁿ - - -Macadam, 40 - -la Macarena, 12 - -Macaroni, 171, 174 - -Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 52 - -Macklin, Miss, 39ⁿ - -Madeira, 110 - -Madrid, riots at, suppressed by Quesada, 20, 21; 93, 94; - exchange at, 113; 193 - -Maestranza, the, 103 - -Magazines, penny, 138 - -Mairena, fair at, 12 - -Major, the, 127 - -Majoral, the, 35, 45, 49, 130 - -Majos, the, 43, 87, 103 - -_Malabar_, the, 116 - -Malaga, 2, 3, 37, 54, 59; - Torrijos lands at, 73; - Carmen Convent at, 73; 74, 78, 90, 99, 104, 121, 123, 138 - -Malle de Poste, the, 94 - -Mallorca, 111 - -Malmesbury, Lord, 212, 213, 214 - -Mamhead, 164 - -la Mancha, 30 - -Manning, Mr., 198, 199 - -Manresa, 55, 63 - -Manzanares (the rebel), 20 - -Manzanares, 130 - -Maratti, Carlo, 15 - -Maria da Gloria, 5, 74, 101ⁿ - -Maria Francisca, of Braganza, 97 - -Maria, José, Bandit of Andalusia, 7, 27, 40, 67, 68, 75, 79, 81, 85, 86, 89; - his retirement, 99, 102, 112, 113 - -Maria Luisa, wife of Charles IV., 99ⁿ - -Mark, Mr., Consul at Malaga, 2, 3, 54, 59, 73, - 74, 75, 81, 83, 98, 99, 104, 106, 114, 121, 141 - -Marryat, Captain Frederick, 167 - -Marseillaise of Spain, the, 4 - -Marshalls, the, 219 - -Martin, Captain, 66, 70, 71, 75, 78, 79, 81, 90 - -Massenas, the, 210 - -_Matilda_, 169 - -Meara: _see_ O’Meara - -Medina Celi, 134 - -Medina Sidonia, 85 - -Mehemet Ali, 115 - -Melbourne, Lord, 148 - -Mengibar, 130 - -Merida, 32, 88, 89, 92 - -_Merry Wives of Windsor, The_, 40ⁿ - -Mexico, Humboldt’s book on, 202 - -“la Mezquita,” at Oulton Hall, 191 - -Miguel, Dom, 5, 74, 81, 99; - his fleet destroyed, 101; 103 - -Miguelites: _see_ Miquelites - -Milan, 172 - -Milman, Dean, 218 - -Mina, General, 136ⁿ - -Minaño, Diccionario de España, 172, 174, 176, 187 - -Miquelites, or Miqueletes, the, 35, 36, 40, 42, 45, 49, 50, 56 - -Mohammed I. (Ibn-al-Ahmar), 59ⁿ - -Molesworth, Sir Arscott Ourry, 207 - -Molesworth, Miss Caroline, 208 - -Molesworth, Miss Mary (third wife of Richard Ford), 207 - -Molesworth, Sir William, M.P., 207; - in the Cabinet, 215; - Colonial Secretary, 215; - his last illness, 215; - his death, 216 - -Molesworth, Dowager Lady, the 207 - -de Molina, Francisca (“Tia Antonia”), and the Alhambra, 36, 37, 54, 72, 114 - -Monet, Don Juan Antonio, of Algeciras, 81, 86, 87 - -Monserrat, 55, 61, 63 - -Montaigne, 202 - -Montanches Porkers, 203 - -Moreno, Vicente Gonsalez, Captain-General of Malaga, 72, 73; - of Granada, 73; 76, 77, 78, 98, 106 - -Morgan, Lady, 150, 151 - -de Mornay, Charles, 90 - -_Morning Post_, the, 197 - -Muchacha, 148 - -Munich, 201 - -Murcia, 90 - -Muriel, 110 - -Murillo, 11 - -Murray, John, 164, 165, 167, 172, 173, 177, 178, 179; - Memoir of John Murray, 180, 184; 185, 186; - his death, 187, 188, 190, 193, 194 - -Murviedro, 55, 58, 60 - -Musée Standish, the, 8 - - -Nagle, Jane Francis (Mrs. James Ford), 134ⁿ - -Napier, Admiral Sir Charles, 101 - -Napier, Sir W. F. P., his _Peninsular War_, 128, 143, 193, 209 - -Napier, Macvey, Editor of the _Edinburgh Review_, 186 - -Napoleon, his system of supplies, 209 _seq._ - -Narvaez, 193 - -National Gallery, the, 218 - -Nicholas I., 18 - -Nightingales in the Alhambra, 48 - -“No-popery” disturbances in Devonshire, 194, 195 - -Northcote, Mowbray, 206 - -Northcote, Stafford, 149, 206 - -Norwich, Borrow at, 191 - - -Ocaña, 131 - -O’Connell, 147, 149, 170, 190 - -O’Donnel, General, 81 - -O’Lawlor, General, agent for the Duke of Wellington (Don José), 3, 32, 37, - 41, 46, 48, 49, 51, 58, 69, 80, 83, 87, 102, 105, 106, 108, 111, 113; - his tailor, 123; - birth of a daughter, 126; 128, 129 - -_Oliver Twist_, reviewed by Ford, 169 - -Olive wood, for burning, 105 - -O’Meara, 66, 70, 90 - -O’Neil, General, 69, 71, 77, 78, 105, 106 - -Oporto, occupied by Pedro IV., 74; - the _Hermes_ at, 116 - -Ormerod, Miss, 208 - -Orvieto, 172 - -Ossuna, 116 - -Ottley, Sir Richard, 171; - his daughter, 171 - -Oulton Hall, 190, 191 - -Oviedo, 93 - -Oxford, Ford at, 146, 202, 203 - -Oxholm, Colonel, 65 - - -Painting, Spanish, Ford’s article on, 204 - -Pajez, Juan, his guitars, 53ⁿ, 111 - -Palmerston, Lord, 14, 69, 73, 159 - -Palms, the city of: _see_ Elche - -Palo santo (wood), 53ⁿ - -Paris, 216 - -Parker, Mr., M.P. for South Devon, 148, 149, 150 - -Partizans, convoy intercepted by, 209 - -Partridges, 46, 47, 49 - -Pascoe, Captain, 44 - -Pasqual, 54, 56, 62, 63, 64 - -Passports for Mr. F. J. Lewis, 95, 102; - and cholera, 130 - -Patio de los Leones, the, 41, 72, 126 - -Pavito, roast, 47 - -Pearson, Mr., his watch, 50 - -Pedro IV., 5; - resigns the throne of Brazil, 74; - occupies Oporto, 74; 88, 94, 99, 100, 101, 103, 128 - -Pedroza, Ramon, 38 - -Peel, Sir Robert, 52, 148, 187 - -Pelissier, Marshal, 199 - -Pencarrow, 207 - -_Penny Cyclopædia_, the, 184, 185 - -Percy, Captain, of the _Malabar_, 116 - -Perry, James, of the _Morning Chronicle_, 169 - -Philip II., 122; - Prescott’s _Philip II._, 205 - -Philip V., 96 - -“Philosophical Radicals, the,” 207 - -Philpotts, Dr. Henry, Bishop of Exeter, 149, 150, 154, 194, 195 - -Phipps, Constantine Henry, first Marquis of Normanby, 169, 170 - -Phœnicians, the, introducers of cob walls, 156 - -Picacho de la Veleta, 50, 52, 54, 83, 128 - -Pidcock’s lions, 41 - -Pilar: _see_ El Pilar - -Pincian, pines from the, 146 - -Pindar, of Seville, 43 - -de Pineda, Maria, 38, 41, 42, 45 - -Pirates, execution of, at Exeter, 199 - -Placencia, 88, 89, 91, 92 - -Plato, 150 - -Platt, Mr. Baron, 198 - -Plaza de Alcala, the, 63 - -Plaza de la Carne, the, at Seville, aqueduct at, 11 - -Plaza de la Constitution, the, 3 - -Plaza del Duque, the, at Seville, 11 - -Plaza Mayor, the, at Madrid, 122 - -Plazuela San Isidoro, the, at Seville, 8 - -Poland, revolution in, 24 - -_Policy of England towards Spain_ (pamphlet), 159 - -Polpette, 171 - -Pompeii, 190 - -Porchester, Lord, 52 - -Porrit’s _Unreformed House of Commons_, 53ⁿ - -Portland mutton, 188 - -Portugal, civil war in, 5, 74; - armament against, 78; 79, 83, 88, 91, 126 - -Prado, the, at Madrid, 125 -de Prats, Miquel, 35 - -Prescott, W. H., his _Ferdinand and Isabella_ reviewed by Ford, 166, 168; - his _Philip II._, 205; - on the _Handbook_, 202 - -Presidarios, the, 72 - -Protestants buried at Malaga, 73 - -Puchero, 5, 139, 165 - -Puerta del Vino, the, at the Alhambra, 161 - -Punch, 182 - -“Purissima,” the, 60 - -Pusey, Dr., 203 - -Puseyism at Oxford, 203 - -Pynes, 206ⁿ - - -_Quarterly Review_, the, 122, 128, 134, 137, - 138, 155, 158, 159, 160, 169, 182, 183, 186, 204, 205, 214, 218 - -Quesada, Captain General of Andalusia, 20, 21, 26, 28; - of Madrid, 20, 98; - Borrow on, 20, 21; 61, 75, 87, 95; - reforms the police, 106; 107, 108, 110; - his character, 136 - -Quesada, Madame, 108, 110 - -Queso de albaricoqui, 42 - -Quintas, 91 - -_Quixote, Don_, 30 - - -Rabat, 120 - -Rack Street, Exeter, 146 - -Radford, Mr., his establishment, 145 - -Radnor, Lord, 17 - -Rafaello ware, 174 - -Ravasa, or Ravisa, 59, 62, 70, 89 - -Reading, 154 - -Reform Bill, the, 52, 53 - -Register chest from Exeter Cathedral, 146 - -Retford, East, borough of, 53 - -Reviews and Articles, by Ford:-- - Apsley House (_Quarterly Review_, March 1853), 214 - _Bible in Spain_ (_Edinburgh Review_, February 1843), 182-6 - Cob Walls (_Quarterly Review_, April 1837), 155, 156, 159 - Horse’s Foot, the (_Quarterly Review_, June 1846), 204 - Larpent’s _Journal_ (_Edinburgh Review_, July 1853), 214ⁿ - _Oliver Twist_ (_Quarterly Review_, June 1839), 169 - Prescott’s _Ferdinand and Isabella_ (_Quarterly Review_, June 1839), 166, 168 - Ronda and Granada (_Quarterly Review_, March 1839), 166 - Semilasso in Africa (_Quarterly Review_, July 1837), 158, 159 - Spanish Architecture (_Quarterly Review_, March, 1846), 204 - Spanish Bull-feasts and Bull-fights (_Quarterly Review_, October 1838), - 122ⁿ, 163-5 - Spanish Heraldry (_Quarterly Review_, June 1838), 163 - Spanish Lady’s Love (_Quarterly Review_, September 1846), 204 - Spanish Painting (_Quarterly Review_, June 1848), 128, 204 - Spanish Theatre (_Quarterly Review_, July 1837), 158 - _Tom Brown’s School Days_ (_Quarterly Review_, June 1848), 134ⁿ, 218 - _Zincali, or, The Gipsies in Spain_ (_British and Foreign Review_, - No. XXVI.), 179 - -Rhine, the, 201 - -Ribalta, Francisco, 55, 58 - -Ribera (Spagnoletto), 54 - -Richmond, George, R.A., 218 - -del Riego, Don Rafael, 4 - -Rio Tinto, mines at, 92 - -Roberts, David, his sketches, 128 - -Rome, 171 - -Ronda, Manzanares at, 20; - snow-clad hills at, 83; 84, 85, 86, 116, 117, 166 - -Rubens, 14 - -_Rugby Reminiscences_, 218 - -Rugby, school food at, 219 - -Russia, protects Constantinople, 115 - - -Saguntum, 55, 58 - -St. Ambrose, “viscarium diaboli,” 138; - _see_ Lambert - -St. Barbe, M. de, 33, 43, 53, 66 - -St. Malo, 170 - -St. Veronica’s handkerchief, 66ⁿ - -St. Vincent, Cape, 101ⁿ - -Sala de los Abencerrages, the, 72 - -Sala de los Embajadores, the, at the Alhambra, 38, 41 - -Salamanca, 37, 80, 88, 89, 91, 92, 95; - Ford’s picture, 209, 212 - -Salic Law, the, set aside in favour of Isabella, 5, 96, 97 - -Salsa de Zandunga, 139 - -_Sam Slick_, 167 - -San Diego, Jesuit convent at, 1; - Ford’s child buried at, 98 - -San Felipe de Xativa: _see_ Xativa - -San Fernando’s Monks, 39 - -San Ignacio, Cueva de, 55 - -San Lorenzo, Duchess of, 66 - -San Lorenzo, Duke of, 87 - -San Martin, Bishop of Barcelona, 110 - -San Martin, General, 110 - -San Miguel, Evaristo, 4 - -San Pedro, vespers of, 125 - -San Yuste, convent, 88, 92, 190 - -Sancho IV. (El Bravo), 84 - -Sandridge, 162, 164 - -Santa Cruz, Marques de, 140, 141 - -Santa Engracia, convent at Zaragoça, 55, 64 - -Santiago, 92 - -Sarah, 69 - -Sarsfield, General, 91 - -“la Sartenilla de Andalucia” (Ecija), 39 - -Sartorius, Admiral Sir George, 101ⁿ - -Schepeler, his _Histoire de la Révolution en Espagne_, 193 - -Scott, Sir Walter, 107 - -Scrope, William, his _Art of Deer-stalking_ (1838), 167 - -Segovia, 59 - -Selkirk, Lord, 167 - -_Semilasso in Africa_, Ford’s article on, 158 - -Senior, William Nassau, 155 - -Seu, the, 55 - -Seville, Mr. Wetherell’s tannery at, 1; 11-12; - Game at, 18, 19; - spring climate, 22; - floods at, 23; - taken by Mohammed I., 59; - carnival at, 79; 94; - cholera at, 127 - -Sheets, at the Alcazar, 100 - -Shirreff, Captain, port admiral at Gibraltar, 2, 22, 23, 80, 116, 117 - -Sicily, trip to, 172 - -“Sidi Habismilk” (Borrow’s Arabian horse), 191 - -Sierra Leone, 197 - -Sierra Morena, the, 33, 109 - -Sierra Nevada, the, 46, 50, 54 - -Smiles, Samuel, his _Memoir of John Murray_ quoted, 181, 182 - -Socrates, 150 - -Sorauren (or Sauroren), 212 - -Soto de Roma, Duke of Wellington’s property at, 3, 37 - -Southampton, 170 - -Southernhay, Exeter, 135-7 - -Southey, Robert, his _History of the Peninsular War_, 193 - -Spagnoletto, 54 - -Spain, political condition of, 3-5; - description of, 6; - fresh outbreak in, 188 - -_Spanish-Bull-feasts and Bull-fights_, Ford’s article on, 163, _seq._ - -Spring Rice, Mr., 219 - -Stalking-horse, the, 18 - -Standish, Mr. Hall, 8, 10, 70, 76 - -_Star_, H.M.S., 198 - -Starke, Mariana, her _Travels in Europe_, 177 - -Stewart, ----, 169 - -Stoke Gabriel, 161 - -Stroud, returns Lord John Russell, 148 - -Style, Ford’s, 139-44, 159, 160 - -Surplice, the white, 194, 195 - - -Tafilet, 120 - -Talavera, 32, 77; - battle of, Ford’s picture, 209 - -Tangier, 112, 117, 118 - -Tariff, the, 184 - -Tariffa, 43, 84, 85; - women at, 85; 138 - -Tarragona, 55, 58 - -Tartana, 56 - -Telbin’s Diorama, 202 - -Terni, falls at, 171 - -Tertulia, 16, 65 - -Tetuan, 112, 116, 119; - description of, 120 - -Theatre, the Spanish, Ford’s article on, 158 - -Thurtell, Mr., 191 - -“Tia Antonia”: _see_ Francisca de Molina - -Tierney, 17 - -“Tigers, the,” 44, 114 - -Tio, Jorge, 55 - -Tiles (_azulejos_), 82, 83, 148 - -Toledo, 53, 92, 185 - -_Tom Brown’s School Days_, 134ⁿ; - reviewed by Ford, 134ⁿ, 218 - -Toreadors, 103ⁿ - -de la Torre, Frasquito, and his robbers, 86 - -Torrijos, General, 19, 21, 31, 72; - lands near Malaga, 73; - surrenders, 73; - death of, 73 - -Toulouse, 170 - -Tragala, the, 4 - -Transportation, Sir W. Molesworth and, 215 - -Travelling in Spain, 6, 28, 29; - in Morocco, 119 - -Triana, suburb of Seville, 24 - -Triunfo, the, 38 - -Twickenham, 208 - -Tyrwhitt, Edmund, 206 - -Tyrwhitt, Sir Henry, 206 - -Tyrwhitt-Jones, Sir T., Bart., 206 - - -Urdax, Moreno murdered at, 73 - - -Valdepeñas, 30, 66, 126, 153 - -Valdès, General, 136 - -Valencia, 54, 55, 57, 58; - pictures at, 60 - -Valladolid, 59, 81, 89, 93 - -Vega, the, 39, 83 - -Vega, Lope de, 89 - -Vejer, fight at, 20, 26; 85 - -Velazquez, 96; - Ford’s Life of, 184, 185 - -Venta de Cardenas, the, 30 - -Venta de Quesada, the, 30 - -Vera, capture of, 136 - -Via Babuino, the, 175 - -Vigo, the _Hermes_ at, 116 - -Villiers, George, Minister at Madrid, 124, 125, 127; - his dinners, 134 - -“Viscarium diaboli,” 138 - -Visiting, 16, 17; - in Morocco, 119 - -Vitoria, 94; - Ford’s picture, 209, 212 - - -_Wasp_, H.M.S., 197 - -Watches, cheap, 50 - -Water at the Alhambra, 42, 44, 47 - -Waterloo, 212, 217 - -Watt, James, 107 - -Weare, Mr., 191 - -Wellesley, Henry, 95 - -Wellington, Duke of, 3, 10, 13, 32, - 37, 51, 82, 91, 92, 94, 128, 167, - 184, 187, 193, 209, 210, 212, 214 - -_Western Times_, the, 198 - -Westmorland, Lord, 107 - -Wetherell, Mr., his tannery at Seville, 1 - -Wetherell, Sir Charles, 52 - -Weymouth, 170, 186, 188 - -White, Mr. Fernando, 16 - -Widdrington: _see_ Samuel Edward Cook - -Wilkie, David, 170 - -Williams, Don Julian, Consul at Seville, 72, 82 - -“Wilsons,” Ford’s, 176 - -Winchester, 219 - -Women, the “viscarium diaboli,” 138 - - -Xativa, San Felipe de, 54, 56, 57 - -Xeres, 72, 76, 79, 84, 86, 87, 138 - -Xenil, the, cypresses from, 146 - - -_Yes or No_, 169 - - -Zafra, 89, 92 - -Zagal, the, 35, 134 - -Zamarra, the, 173, 191 - -Zamora, 94 - -Zandunga, salsa de, 139 - -Zaragoça, 54, 55; - the Maid of, 55; - first siege of, 55; - second siege of, 56; 57, 59, 61 - -_Zincali_, Borrow’s, 179, 183 - -Zouave medals, 217 - -Zurbaran, 200 - - -_Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury, England._ - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] General Sir George Don. - -[2] The free warehousing of goods at the Port of Cadiz was permitted -from 1828 to 1832, when the increase of smuggling led to its -abandonment. - -[3] The Marques de las Amarillas, who had been War Minister in 1820, -was nominated by Ferdinand VII. to the Council of “Regency.” He was -appointed Captain-General of Andalusia in 1832. - -[4] Don Julian Williams, Consul at Seville, and, in Ford’s opinion, the -best judge of Spanish pictures then living. - -[5] Lord Lyndhurst, according to Greville (_Memoirs_, ed. 1888, vol. -ii. p. 69), expected that the Great Seal would be put in commission, -and that, after a few months, he would fill the office again. -Brougham’s acceptance of the Lord Chancellorship upset his calculations. - -[6] Greville makes the same criticism, and enumerates six members of -the Grey family who were provided for in the distribution of offices. -(_Ibid._, p. 80.) - -[7] _Bible in Spain_ (ed. 1896), vol. i. p. 181. - -[8] _Bible in Spain_, p. 204. - -[9] _A Summer in Andalucia_ (G. Dennis), vol. i., p. 264, 2 vols. 8vo, -London, 1839. - -[10] Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Brackenbury, the Consul at Cadiz. - -[11] Samuel Edward Cook, Captain in the Royal Navy, assumed in 1840 the -name of Widdrington. He published in 1834 _Sketches in Spain during -1829-32_ (London, 2 vols. 8vo). He paid a second visit to Spain in -1843, accompanied by Professor Daubeny, then Professor of Botany and -Chemistry at Oxford. Of this visit Captain Widdrington gives an account -in his _Spain and the Spaniards in 1843_ (London, 2 vols. 8vo, 1844). - -[12] _L’Espagne sous Ferdinand VII._ Par le Marquis Astolphe de -Custine. 4 tomes, 12º, Bruxelles, 1838. - -[13] “Widow of a Brigadier” at Granada, says Captain Cook (_Sketches in -Spain_, vol. i., p. 327). - -[14] “Ally Croaker” is a song in Foote’s comedy _The Englishman in -Paris_ (1753): it was sung by Miss Macklin to the guitar. - -[15] Alluding to the name assumed by the husband of Mrs. Ford in _The -Merry Wives of Windsor_. - -[16] Half a farthing the pitcher. - -[17] Probably Ford had advised Addington to wear a cheap watch for fear -of brigands. To have no watch at all was construed as an attempt to -cheat the robber of his legitimate reward, and exposed a traveller to -worse treatment than a slender purse. - -[18] In 1830 the Parliamentary area of the corrupt Borough of East -Retford was enlarged by the addition of the Hundred of Bassetlaw, -in which the delinquent borough was situated (1 Wm. IV. c. 74). The -borough electorate was thus increased by the forty-shilling freeholders -who already voted in the elections for their county. (Porritt’s -_Unreformed House of Commons_, vol. i. p. 16.) - -[19] The guitars made at Cadiz by Juan Pajez, and his son Josef rank -with the violins of Stradivarius. The best have a backboard of dark -wood called _Palo Santo_. - -[20] Vicente Joanes, or Juanes (1523-1579). - -[21] Francisco Ribalta (1551-1628). - -[22] _Spain in 1830._ By H. D. Inglis, 2 vols. 8vo, London, 1831. - -[23] Mohammed I. (Ibn-al-Ahmar), 1238-71, is said to have begun the -Alhambra in 1248. When he returned from the surrender of Seville, his -subjects saluted him by the title _galib_ or conqueror. He replied “_Le -galib ile Allah_” (“There is no conqueror but God”). The words are -everywhere introduced in the building as the founder’s motto. _El Rey -chico_ was the name given to Abu Abdullah (corrupted by the Spaniards -into Boabdila), the last Moorish King of Granada. - -[24] _El Santo Rostro_, the impression of our Saviour’s face on the -handkerchief of St. Veronica, was only shown to the public on great -festivals. - -[25] Ford’s _Handbook for Travellers in Spain_ is dedicated to Sir -William Eden, Bart., “in remembrance of pleasant years spent in -well-beloved Spain.” - -[26] Don Juan Antonio Monet, appointed Minister of War October 1832. - -[27] The village of Arapiles was the Duke of Wellington’s position at -the battle of Salamanca, July 22nd, 1812. - -[28] The visit which John Frederick Lewis (1805-76) paid to Spain -(1832-4) was a turning-point in his artistic career. Till then he -had devoted himself almost exclusively to animals. His _Sketches and -Drawings of the Alhambra_ were published in 1835, and his _Sketches -of Spain and Spanish Character_ in 1836. Frederick Christian Lewis, -the father of “Spanish” Lewis, was a well-known engraver and landscape -painter. - -[29] The Infante, Francisco de Paula, youngest child of Maria Luisa, -wife of Charles IV., was said to be her son by Godoy. He married the -Princess Carlota, sister of Queen Christina and the Duchesse de Berry. -His son was King Consort of Isabella II. (1846). - -[30] _A cuarto_ is a copper coin of the value of four _maravedis_, i.e. -about a farthing. - -[31] Captain (afterwards Admiral Sir George) Sartorius, was in 1831 -appointed to command the Portuguese fleet acting for Maria da Gloria -against Dom Miguel. His command was successful. But the final blow -was struck by Captain (afterwards Admiral Sir Charles) Napier, who -succeeded him in June 1833. Napier destroyed Dom Miguel’s fleet off -Cape St. Vincent, July 3rd, 1833. The news reached London on July 14th, -“to the great delight of the Whigs and equal mortification of the -Tories” (_Greville Memoirs_, ed. 1888, vol. iii. p. 9). - -[32] The _Maestranza_ was a corporation of gentlemen, instituted by -Charles V., to improve the breed of horses, encourage equestrian -exercises, and control the management of amphitheatres. Men of rank -and good family, like Don Rafael Guzman, rarely adopted the profession -of _toreador_. But the Infante, Don Francisco, was at the head of a -movement to revive the art of bull-fighting. - -[33] Sir Walter Scott died September 21st, 1832. - -[34] See page 1. - -[35] The Egyptian troops under Ibrahim Pacha, son of Mehemet Ali, -defeated the Turks at Konieh, December 21st, 1832. The Sultan appealed -for aid to the Czar, who ordered 30,000 troops and 12 sail of the line -to go to the protection of Constantinople. Further hostilities were -averted by the treaty of Kutayah, May 1833. - -[36] The capture of Alhama, the key to Granada, February 28th, 1482, -prepared the way for the expulsion of the Moors. _Ay de mi, Alhama!_ -(“Woe is me, Alhama!”) is the refrain of Byron’s “very mournful ballad” -(_Poems_, vol. iv., pp. 529-34, ed. 1901). - -[37] _Spanish Bull-feasts and Bull-fights._ By Richard Ford. _Quarterly -Review_, No. CXXIV., October 1838, pp. 395-6. - -[38] Sir Edmund Head wrote, among other works and translations, _A -Handbook of the History of the Spanish and French Schools of Painting_ -(London, 1848), which was reviewed by Ford in the Quarterly Review, No. -CLXV., June 1848, pp. 1-37. - -[39] A volume of the sketches of David Roberts was published in 1837, -under the title of _Picturesque Sketches in Spain_. - -[40] James Ford (1797-1877) was ordained in 1821, and became a -Prebendary of Exeter Cathedral in 1849. A good classical scholar, he -was a voluminous writer, chiefly on religious and moral subjects. In -1825 he married Jane Frances Nagle. Their eldest daughter married -Thomas Hughes, the author of _Tom Brown’s School Days_, which Richard -Ford, himself a contemporary of Arnold at Winchester, reviewed in the -_Quarterly Review_ for October 1857, the last article he ever wrote. - -[41] General Manuel Llauder commanded the Royalist troops against the -Liberal leaders Mina and Valdès in Navarre, and by the capture of -Vera, October 1830, had suppressed the rising. As Inspector-General -of Infantry, he was chosen by Queen Christina, in October 1832, to -replace the Conde de España, an avowed Carlist, as Captain-General of -Catalonia. Ford probably means that Llauder, who at first had been -inclined to moderate Liberalism, grew reactionary in his views. It was -his later political opinions which made his appointment as Minister of -War in 1835 so unpopular, and in July 1835 led to his expulsion from -Barcelona. - -[42] James Howell’s _Epistolæ Ho-elianæ; Familiar Letters, Domestic and -Foreign, etc._, 4 vols., 1645-55. - -[43] The _Itinéraire descriptif de l’Espagne_ (par Alexandre de -Laborde, 5 tomes, Paris, 1806-21) was edited by Bory de Saint Vincent -in 1827, who, in 1823, had published a _Guide du Voyageur en Espagne_ -(Paris, 1823). - -[44] The two articles, one on the Spanish Theatre, the other a review -of _Semilasso in Africa_, appeared in No. CXVII. of the _Quarterly -Review_ (July 1837), pp. 62-87 and 133-64 respectively. - -[45] Mariana Starke wrote _Travels in Europe for the use of Travellers -on the Continent, and likewise in the Island of Sicily. To which is -added an account of the remains of ancient Italy_. (1st Edition, 1820; -8th Edition, 1833.) - -[46] Reprinted from the _Memoir of John Murray_. By Samuel Smiles, vol. -ii. pp. 491-2. - -[47] _The Bible in Spain._ By George Borrow, London, 1842 (2 vols. -12mo). - -[48] “Mr. Borrow’s book on the _Gipsies of Spain_, published a couple -of years ago, was so much and so well reviewed (though not, to our -shame be it said, in our own journal), that we cannot suppose his name -is new to any of our readers.”--_Quarterly Review_, No. CXLI. (Dec. -1842), p. 169. - -[49] ‘Meta’ Ford, born October 1840, the only child of Richard Ford’s -second wife, married Oswald John Frederick Crawford, and died in 1899. -She inherited much of her father’s wit, love of art, and conversational -ability. - -[50] _Histoire de la Révolution en Espagne._ 3 vols. Leipzig, 1829-31. - -[51] Georgina Ford married the Rev. Mowbray Northcote, third and -youngest son of Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, Bart., of Pynes, near -Exeter. - -[52] Mary Jane Ford married Edmund Tyrwhitt, second son of Sir T. -Tyrwhitt Jones, Bart. - -[53] Miss Caroline Molesworth, Mrs. Ford’s aunt, was a distinguished -botanist and meteorologist, whose scientific papers were edited by Miss -Ormerod (_Cobham Journals: Meteorological Observations_, London, 1880, -8vo). - -[54] He also reviewed Larpent’s _Journal_ in the _Edinburgh Review_ for -July 1853 (vol. xcviii. pp. 216-40). - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The letters of Richard Ford, 1797-1858, by -Richard Ford - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LETTERS OF RICHARD FORD *** - -***** This file should be named 60992-0.txt or 60992-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/9/9/60992/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |