HOMEWARD BY THE EAST COAST. MURCIA CADIZ TRAFALGAR GIBRALTAR-TANGIERS-RONDA-MALAGA-CARTHAGENA CADIZ FROM THE SEA. Cadiz is a bright, cheerful city. Its situation is perhaps unsurpassed in Europe. Even Genoa scarcely The great Atlantic waves roll in upon presents a finer aspect from the sea. its beach, or dash in masses of green crystal upon its sea-walls. Its houses of white stone, surmounted by Moorish turrets, domes, and pinnacles, have a most imposing effect. Steaming out from the Bay of Cadiz we soon find ourselves approaching Trafalgar. Passing Barossa-a name famous in the Peninsular War-the coast trends inwards, leaving a wide, open bay. Upon the flat shores, just * I was curious to learn the true pronunciation of this word. The usual Spanish accentuation makes it Trafálgar. But the seamen along the coast pronounce it Trafalgár, as in the familiar line of Childe Harold-" Alike the Armada's pride and spoils of Trafalgár." under the shelter of a range of hills stretching away far inland, lies the little white-walled village of Conil, over which a cluster of tall feathery palm-trees rise in stately beauty. A long, low, sandy spit, with a lighthouse at the extremity runs out to seaward. And then comes the bay in which British naval supremacy was secured for half a century. Sailing over the smooth, sunlit waters, with shoals of porpoises gambolling around, it was difficult to realise that just below us lay the shattered navies of two great nations. The enormous masses of the Atlas range on the right are soon confronted by the rock of Gibraltar on the left, and shortly we steam into the bay, and cast anchor beneath the British flag. To an Englishman who has been travelling, or residing abroad, for some time, it is not a little exciting to land on this bit of British territory, to see the British uniform, to be accosted in British speech in all the varieties of its vernacular, and to hear the familiar strains of "God Save the Queen," "Rule Britannia," or "The British Grenadiers." Except at Alexandria, there is perhaps no spot where so many and various nationalities meet as at Gibraltar. It is a perfect Babel of strange tongues. All the tribes of Northern Africa are there, from the negro of Soudan to the Jew of Tangiers. Every island and port in the Levant sends its contingent. The Peninsular and Oriental steamers bring visitors from the farthest east, and a Chinese mandarin jostles against a Lascar sailor. But amidst all these GIBRALTAR. various nationalities the Briton seems more than ever conscious of his superiority, and to verify Goldsmith's description: "Pride in their port, defiance in their eye, I see the lords of human kind pass by." The rock itself, its batteries, galleries, and caverns, and the magnificent view from its summit, have been described so frequently and so fully, as to make another description a work of supererogation. Those who do not object to three days in the saddle may advantageously take the route from Gibraltar to Malaga by way of Ronda. For a great part of the journey the road passes through magnificent mountain scenery; sometimes skirting the edge of a precipitous abyss, sometimes winding along the depths of a ravine, the steep sides of which almost shut out the sun, and then emerging upon some breezy table-land, with noble views of Spanish sierras and African mountains, and the blue Mediterranean lying between them. Ronda itself is one of the most picturesque cities in Europe. It stands on a steep rock encircled by the Guadiana, which foams and dashes through a chasm so narrow as to be bridged over. The bridge which spans the Tajo, or rift in the rock, is a most striking object as looked at from beneath. At a height of six or seven hundred feet above the Moorish mills 179 and castle in the valley, it seems as though suspended from the clouds. The beautiful river emerging into light and sunshine from the gloomy defiles through which it has struggled, leaps from rock to rock as though rejoicing in its emancipation. Ford may well wax enthusiastic, and exclaim, "There is but one Ronda in the world." MALAGA. Malaga, which may be reached in one long day from Ronda, is an active and prosperous city of one hundred and ten thousand inhabitants. It retains few traces of its extreme antiquity, except its name, which is said to be Phonician; though philologists cannot decide whether it comes from Melech, a king, or Melach, salt fish. Its cathedral, like that of Granada, is an immense but unimpressive pile, Græco-Roman in style, and much defaced by whitewash. From its great height it is visible far out to sea, and at a distance its size makes it an imposing object. Malaga is memorable in the history of Spanish evangelization. Half a century ago two priests, attached to one of the churches, were accustomed to retire to a secluded spot at a distance from the city where, unobserved, they might read the Scriptures and pray together. A young friend occasionally joined them. Suddenly they disappeared. What became of them could The young layman, their companion, escaped, and never be discovered. survived to see the day when he could openly and joyfully profess that Saviour whom he had faithfully served in secret. 181 |