FOOTNOTE:
[18] A suburb of Dublin, pronounced fibsborough.
CHAPTER XXVIII. GIBRALTAR.—Continued.
The road by which Gibraltar is approached from Spain is, for a considerable distance, completely level. The connecting isthmus is flanked by the bay and the Mediterranean, and the latter has been admitted, in the English territory, into extensive and deep excavations, which confine the means of access to a very narrow breadth. The face of the fortress on this side displays a stupendous and precipitous formation, in which galleries have been constructed, from the embrasures of which a fire of heavy artillery can be directed, sufficient, as I was informed by an officer of engineers, not only to annihilate a hostile force, but to destroy the avenue itself, whilst the occupants of those batteries would be almost completely exempt from retaliatory casualties. On entering the gate on the north front, a battery of about forty guns is passed, and it is known by the unpalatable designation of "The Devil's Tongue." Close to it, and forming part of the city, are two districts, of which one is named Portuguese town and the other, Irish town. I endeavoured to ascertain the origin of the Hibernian term for the latter locality, but my inquiries failed to elicit any information, beyond the fact of the name having existed for the place previous to the capture of the fortress by the British in 1704. The residence of the Governor was in former times occupied by a religious community, and it retains the appellation of "The Convent." A stranger is occasionally surprised by hearing that the Governor's lady has given a splendid ball, or that his Excellency has entertained a number of distinguished persons at the Convent. The gardens command a delightful view of the bay, and are remarkable for large bushes of myrtles and roses, beautiful fuchsias, and geraniums, whilst the finest grapes, figs, pomegranates, peaches, apricots, and melons are profusely produced without requiring artificial heat or the protection of glass. The climate is too hot for the growth of apples, pears, gooseberries, currants, or raspberries. Oranges are very abundant, but are not palatable when gathered from the tree, as they are all of the Seville or bitter kind, and are used for making marmalade, which is highly valued in the sultry months when butter is unattainable.
Although this interesting and impregnable possession is so generally termed the Rock of Gibraltar, there is a considerable portion of its surface highly capable of cultivation. The most prevalent weeds are the nasturtium, snapdragon, and convolvulus; and there is an indigenous pea, the blossom of which is exquisitely beautiful in appearance, but completely scentless. At the termination of the rainy season, a plant springs up in great profusion in the ravines and watercourses. It is about a foot in height, and the blossoms are very pretty, some of the plants bearing white flowers, some red, and others blue. The Spaniards call it "Don Pedro," and the English have named it "Four o'clock." The petals open about that hour in the afternoon, and the blossoms continue expanded, and diffusing a delightful fragrance until daybreak, when they invariably close up. The Spanish name is derived from a fable, which describes Don Pedro to have been a confirmed rake, who slept all the day and spent the night in revelling, until an indignant fairy transformed him into a plant, which retains his habit.
The east side of Gibraltar is washed by the Mediterranean, and there are very few guns mounted along that line, of which four-fifths are totally inaccessible. The signal station is at the summit of the mountain, and from the parapet wall, beside the flagstaff, a pebble can be dropped into the water with a direct fall of fourteen hundred and ninety-four feet. The rock formation on the entire territory is exclusively limestone, and I broke off some of it at the station, and found it a complete mass of concrete shells, whereby it is manifestly proved that the mountain must have been originally in a submarine position. The strait between it and Barbary is more than fourteen miles in breadth, and I was informed that the depth of water midway was three thousand six hundred feet.
Snakes and lizards are frequently seen in the Alameda, in private enclosures, and in the cemeteries. I was assured, however, that none of the former were of a venomous character, and I caught several with the utmost impunity. The lizards are almost all of a bright green color, and do not exceed a foot in length. The shape is precisely the same as that of an alligator. Monkeys were formerly rather numerous, but they have become almost extinct. Some of the oldest residents told me that they had never seen one. During my sojourn, the place was twice visited by flights of quail from Africa, suddenly coming in myriads, and as suddenly departing.
There is a cemetery just outside the city at a place called the "Ragged Staff." I could not ascertain how that name originated, but the cemetery is remarkable for a considerable number of tombstones placed over the remains of persons who died at Gibraltar from the effects of wounds received at Trafalgar. Each inscription commences with "Sacred to the memory of ——," and it proceeds to enumerate the virtues, personal merits, and intrepid deeds of the deceased. I remarked one stone placed upon the grave of James Dudley, by the direction and at the expense of his shipmates, who valued him highly for his kind and generous disposition, and for his undaunted courage in the closest and fiercest conflicts, as he always evinced great skill and deep penetration. It then states that he died of wounds received in the battle off Cape Trafalgar, where he acted as master gunner of His Majesty's ship, Colossus. I thought on reading this inscription, that "deep penetration" was a very natural attribute for the gunner of a line-of-battle ship.
In the beginning of July, 1861, a brig from America, bound for Gibraltar, and laden with ice, got ashore in a fog near Cape Spartell, on the Barbary coast, and just at the entrance of the straits. A Moorish boat brought speedy news of this disaster, and the Redpole steamer was ordered to proceed to the assistance of the stranded vessel. I requested the naval superintendent, the late Admiral Warden, to allow me to go over to the place in the "Redpole," to enjoy the novelty of the trip, and see the intended operations. He most kindly complied, and the officer in command provided me with a comfortable berth, and treated me with great hospitality. We found the brig aground, but uninjured; and when a few tons of her cargo were removed she floated, and was towed by the steamer to her destination. Several Moors came on board, and assisted in lightening the vessel for a trifling remuneration; and they afforded very great amusement by their gestures and exclamations, their expressions being interpreted by a Tangierine lad, who was employed in the steamer. They had never seen ice previously, and were inclined to believe it a supernatural or magical production. They were astonished at the coldness and hardness of the glassy blocks, and at their rapid dissolution when exposed to the rays of a Mauritanian sun; but they were very soon reconciled to the magical material, and seemed to appreciate highly the introduction of it to some sherbet and lemonade with which they were regaled, steadfastly declining any stronger potations.
During my visit to Gibraltar, I went to see bull-fights at Algesiras, San Roque, and Malaga. They are certainly national institutions, which I firmly believe could not be abolished or avowedly discouraged in Spain by any government, although their tendency is most undeniably debasing and brutalising. At the time to which my narrative refers, the bulls throughout nearly the whole province of Andalusia were procured from the domains of a very wealthy widow, whose name has escaped my memory. She generally attended the exhibitions in which the wild ferocity of her animals was considered a most desirable quality, and always received an enthusiastic welcome, even the most exalted and fairest of her own sex joining in the exclamation of "Viva la Viuda." (Long live the widow.)
At Algesiras I saw a bull in the Circo that evinced no fierceness or combative inclination. The poor brute tried to avoid his assailants, and to push back the door through which he had entered. His quietude excited the utmost indignation, and even the females joined in the cry of "Fuego!" (Fire.) Accordingly, darts were thrown at the animal, in each of which, close to the barbed point, there was a charge of gunpowder, connected in the interior of the weapon with a lighted fuse. When some of these charges exploded in his flesh, he became completely maddened, to the great gratification of the spectators, by whom, I have no doubt, the death of even a human victim occasionally, would be regarded as an exciting and interesting addition to their amusement.
The attire of the mounted combatants at the bull-fights appeared to me to be far more gaudy than graceful. Their limbs, below the hips, were so thickly padded as to look as large as the upper portions of their persons; and in their encounters they did not ride rapidly forward, but merely opposed the lance to the onset of the bull. In each of eighteen collisions which I witnessed, the horse was frightfully gored and destroyed, his rider being saved by the matadores throwing their scarlet cloaks over the eyes of the bull, and plunging their swords to the hilt in his neck, so as to reach the spine. I am now tempted to quote a few lines from the first canto of "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," to which I shall subjoin an observation, from which it will appear that what I saw differed vastly in one respect from the glowing description extracted from Byron's romantic production—
"Hush'd is the din of tongues—on gallant steeds,
With milk-white crest, gold spurs, and light-poised lance,
Four cavaliers prepare for venturous deeds,
And lowly bending, to the lists advance;
Rich are their scarfs, their chargers featly prance;
If in the dangerous game they shine to-day,
The crowd's loud shout and ladies' lovely glance,
Best prize of better acts, they bear away,
And all that kings or chiefs e'er gain their toils repay."
Of the eighteen "gallant steeds" which I saw at the bull-fights, there was not one to which I would attach the value of five pounds. None of them essayed to "prance," and unquestionably if a horse equal to the best of them appeared on the streets of Dublin between the shafts of a hackney vehicle, his owner would incur the suspension of his license for plying a horse totally unfit for public accommodation.
The most picturesque assemblage that I ever beheld was the public market at Gibraltar on Sunday morning. Persons of the lower class in the parts of Spain which I visited, are, during the week-days, as poorly attired as any that can be found in a corresponding position in the towns of Ireland, but they are invariably provided with a suit specially reserved for Sundays and two or three festivals. The men have conical hats, round which rows of showy ribbons are twined; and their coats, waistcoats, and small clothes, of whatever colors they fancy, are profusely furnished with globular little buttons of bright metal. Sandals, shoes, or buskins display gilt or silvered fastenings. Gay neckties, and a brooch or chain, complete the holiday costume. I am not competent to describe the female attire, but it comprises a head-dress of lace, fastened with glittering clasps or buckles; boots or shoes gaily ornamented; and a gown of rich material, almost invariably encircled at the waist by a girdle of metallic tissue. Ornaments of gold and jewels, or their semblance, appear in abundance. From a thousand to fifteen hundred such persons may be seen at the market on Sundays, between five and six o'clock in the morning. Females of various ranks, wives or daughters of persons in the garrison, appear arrayed in their best attire. Boats from Tangier and Oran land their produce, to be disposed of by dealers wearing Moorish or Arabic costumes. Sailors from the ships of war and artillerymen mingle their blue uniforms amongst the scarlet-clad regimental soldiers. A similar scene cannot be exhibited in any part of the United Kingdom; and the diversity of attire is fully equalled by the diversity of language which is there to be heard.
Towards the end of May, 1861, the assizes for the city and territory of Gibraltar were held, and at their conclusion, the judge, Sir James Cochrane, asked leave of absence for two months, and I was appointed as his locum tenens for that time. I received several official documents incident to the position, and amongst them was the commission of a Justice of the Peace, which was not a temporary authority, and it is still in my possession. I am, perhaps, the only person in Ireland whose designation of J.P. is unconnected with any locality in the United Kingdom. My judicial duties consisted in hearing a few petitions from insolvents seeking discharges from imprisonment, and granting two or three fiats under an Admiralty jurisdiction, in reference to alleged collisions between vessels in the bay. Although my authority was of very brief duration, it imparted, during its continuance, rank next to that of the Governor. It devolved on me, accompanied by his Excellency's principal aide-de-camp, to wait on the present Empress of Austria, who arrived at Gibraltar in the royal yacht, "Victoria and Albert," on her way home from Madeira, where she had been staying for some time to renovate her health. I never beheld a woman of more prepossessing appearance, and I considered her deportment perfectly dignified, but also extremely courteous. She accepted the Governor's invitation to a dejeuner at the convent, but premised, that as she was returning to her family, happily free from any indisposition, she was desirous of first visiting the Catholic cathedral, to return thanks to the Almighty for the merciful manifestation which she had experienced. Accordingly, the streets were lined by the troops, and royal salutes from the principal batteries greeted her landing, and attended her return to the steamer, after the coaling and other preparations for continuing the voyage to Trieste had been accomplished.
On one of many occasions that I had the honor and pleasure of enjoying the hospitality of the Governor, Sir William Coddrington, I sat next to the officer who commanded a Portuguese frigate, "The Braganza," that anchored for a few days at the New Mole. He was one of the Royal family of Portugal, and bore the title of Duke of Oporto. His Royal Highness spoke English tolerably well; and having heard me mention Dublin as my native place, asked me numerous questions respecting Ireland and the Irish. I suggested to him that he might induce his Government to let him have a cruise to our shores, that some of our bays were very beautiful, and that a run from Cork to Killarney would not require much time to accomplish, whilst it would assuredly afford him great gratification. At the close of our conversation, he said, "Sir, if you should at any time visit Lisbon, if I shall be there, I hope that you will call on me: I shall be happy to see you, and to endeavour to make the place agreeable to you." I expressed my warm thanks for his courteous expression, but I have not availed myself of his kindness, nor have I any intention to do so. He is now King of Portugal; but at the time when I had the honor of sitting beside him, there were, I believe, three members of his family whose respective claims to the throne were prior to his.
On a Saturday afternoon, in the beginning of July, 1861, I was passing through the hall at the Governor's residence, on my way to the garden, to which I was allowed the fullest access. The windows were all open; and groups of persons, including the Governor and some members of his family, were sitting beneath the trees, but within hearing of any expressions uttered in an ordinary tone in the hall. A naval captain, in full uniform, hastily entered from the street, and said to the servants in attendance, "Let the Governor be immediately informed that Captain Jones has brought The Scourge for him." On hearing this announcement, I exclaimed, "Good heavens! What has he done to deserve that?" This occasioned some laughter, in which, I believe, his Excellency participated. The Scourge was not unexpected, and its arrival was very satisfactory. On the 25th of the previous month, the late Sultan of the Ottoman Empire had commenced his reign; and Sir William Coddrington, having been the Commander-in-chief of our army at the conclusion of the Crimean war, was very judiciously selected to proceed in "The Scourge" steamer to Constantinople, for the purpose of presenting Queen Victoria's letter of congratulation on his accession, to the Turkish monarch. His Excellency left Gibraltar on his mission in two or three hours after Captain Jones' arrival, and a Lieutenant-Governor, Colonel Stehelin, of the Engineers, was sworn into office by me on the following Wednesday; but in the interim, my position, as acting judge, gave me precedence of all other functionaries, civil or military, in the territory. If I had been told, before leaving home, that such an elevation, even for a few hours, would occur, I should have deemed it incredible.
About the beginning of August, 1861, two vessels of the Russian Imperial navy, a frigate and a corvette, both steamers, came into Gibraltar, and anchored for the purpose of coaling. A considerable portion of their crews were indulged by their commanding officers with leave to come ashore; and certainly they could not have landed at any place more likely to excite surprise and gratify curiosity during a ramble of a few hours through it. However, they did not evince any anxiety for a close inspection of the fortress, or how its natural formation and elaborate constructions imparted unrivalled strength. Potency of a far different description engrossed their attention. They proceeded to some taverns or public-houses near to the boat-wharf, and only a few entered the premises, whilst the others remained in groups under trees or shaded by the walls. In less than an hour they were all drunk, and many of them were lying on the thoroughfare in the most helpless state of complete intoxication. The scene of their unrestrained indulgence was about one hundred yards from the residence of my friend, and the windows of his drawing-room, from which I had a full view of them, were all open. If I had been only half as far from them, without having them in sight, I should never have noticed their total lapse from sobriety, for there was no shouting, or singing, or quarrelling; in fact, their intoxication was a silent enjoyment, and formed a most thorough contrast to that of every liquor-loving group that ever came under my observation on any other occasion. They were taken down to their boats by parties of their shipmates who were on duty, and consequently constrained to keep sober.
I believe that the population of Gibraltar, in 1861, was about 16,000 persons, exclusive of the officials and military. The Christian portion consisted of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Presbyterians. There was a considerable number of Jews, amongst whom several were reputed to be extremely wealthy, and there were some resident Mahometans. It might be supposed that in such a mixed community, religious bickering and polemical acerbity would be sometimes manifested, but my own observation, and the deliberate statements of all those with whom I associated or communicated, enable me to express my decided conviction that the place was as free from religious animosity or controversial skirmishing as Ireland is from toads or snakes. I have seen the funerals of persons belonging respectively to the various religious denominations; and although the covering of the hearse or bier, the presence of priestly functionaries in sacerdotal costume, or the direction in which the procession was moving, indicated the religion which the deceased had professed, all those who met it on the way to the cemetery, stood with uncovered heads as the corpse passed them, and offered to those engaged in the mournful ceremony a courteous but tacit mark of sympathy and respect.
Although Gibraltar has been deliberately recognised and acknowledged to be British territory by the Spanish Government, prominent members of political parties have repeatedly advocated a demand for its restoration to Spain, and there have been some Englishmen who expressed opinions of a similar tendency. Alfonso, who has recently been elevated to regal dignity in Madrid, introduced the subject in his address on assuming the sovereignty; and we may expect, if his realm becomes completely subject to his rule, and ceases to be the theatre of sanguinary intestine encounters, that a claim will be addressed to the British government for the cession of a fortress which was tremendously strong when it was captured, and has been, by consummate skill, and a profuse expenditure, rendered completely impregnable. A prompt and direct refusal will, I have no doubt, be the reply to all demands or requests for the transfer of this important possession; but I feel perfectly convinced that a British minister might safely refer the application to the decision of the inhabitants, the great majority of whom have been born in the place, and are, to all intents and purposes, British subjects. I do not think it possible for a population to be more attached to any government than they are to our rule; and if Spanish agents were permitted to canvass them, and proceeded to solicit their adhesion, they would find their mission replete with danger. In 1861, being one day in the shop of a bootmaker, named Finochio, I amused myself by pretending to argue with my friend, Dr. Williams, in the presence of some native residents, that the territory was really Spanish, and that it should be relinquished by England. I was greatly surprised, and in some degree alarmed, at the effect produced by my observations on the hearers. Finochio rushed impetuously to the door of his shop, which commanded a view of the signal-station, on which the British flag was displayed, and pointing to it he exclaimed, "I would rather endure to be bombarded or famished—I would rather see the whole town burned to ashes, than have that flag changed for any other. Let me tell you, sir, that if you talk to the people here about England giving them up to Spain, some of them will lose temper and insult you." The others approved fully of Finochio's observations. However, it is not difficult to ascertain the grounds and reasons for such attachment on the part of the native population. Their tenements are almost entirely held directly from the Crown; and although the leases are not in general granted for a longer period than twenty-one years, the rents are very seldom raised, or a renewal refused at the expiration of the term, if the tenant has been punctual and improving. Taverns and hotels are subjected to considerable licence duties, and there is some charge incident to the importation of spirits. These are the only taxes which, I believe, are levied in the territory. Wine, tea, sugar, coffee, tobacco, wearing apparel, and furniture, or materials for the two latter are freely admitted. The streets and roads are constructed by the military, and cleansed by convict labor. The places of worship are exempt from rents to the Crown, and the legal institutions are highly appreciated by the people, who regard the administration of justice, and especially the trial by jury, according to the laws of England, as forming a most favorable contrast to the proceedings before the Spanish tribunals in the cities and towns of Andalusia. I may add, that in 1861 there was a very extensive trade in English manufactures and many other productions, especially tobacco, carried on by smuggling vessels conveying contraband cargoes to Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the Balearic Islands. I believe, that in no part of the world are there more devoted, although not disinterested, supporters of English authority than were to be found navigating their picturesque latteen craft, laden with articles derived from the factories of Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, or Sheffield.
I have already mentioned several Spanish towns which I visited for the purpose of seeing bull-fights. I was also at some fairs; and although there are some points in the Spanish character and habitudes which I am far from admiring, I must, in justice to the people who came under my observations, state that I never saw one of them intoxicated, although wine and spirits are, in their country, to be had for less than half what they cost here. Some gentlemen at Gibraltar, who had travelled through Spain, told me that they believed there was more drunkenness in our small possession than in the entire kingdom. I never saw a Spanish person of respectable appearance, drink a glass of undiluted sherry. The addition of cold water in equal quantity seemed indispensable. I have seen muleteers setting out on a journey requiring an entire day for its completion, and they carried no animal food. Each man had a bottle containing a little more than a pint of red wine called Priorato, a couple of onions, and a large roll of bread made of two-thirds of maize, ground fine, and one-third of wheaten flour. They consider onions and bread, sliced and eaten together, as very nutritive diet, and their strong and healthful appearance justifies their opinion. The Priorato wine has a taste somewhat resembling Port, but I was forbidden by medical authority to take it at all, and I was told that the berries of the elder tree were plentifully added to the grapes in its manufacture.
Spaniards of the humbler class and of either sex, who bring edible commodities for sale in Gibraltar, demand a much higher price from any person whom they believe to have just arrived, and not to have acquired a knowledge of the marketable value of the articles, than they ask of those whose faces are familiar, or with whom they have had previous dealings. Nevertheless, they do not manifest any surprise or indignation at being offered, or any laxity in accepting, a mere fractional portion of the sum first mentioned. A milkman demanded two shillings and two pence for about three pints of goat's milk, which he left with me on being offered sixpence. A woman sold me muscatel grapes for a shilling, after having named eight shillings and eight pence for them. I had an opportunity of sending home to Dublin some Murcian melons, and proposed to purchase six which had been brought to market in a limber kind of basket or net-work neatly made of rushes. The vendor did not speak English, and I reciprocated his ignorance of my language by being equally unacquainted with his vernacular. He managed, mostly by signs, to apprise me that he required six dollars for his fruit. I regarded this demand, amounting to twenty-six shillings, as utterly unreasonable, and relinquished all expectation of acquiring a gratifying treat for my people, when Dr. Williams happened to approach, and on being informed of my disappointment, became an interpreter and negotiator between the Spaniard and me. His interference eventuated in rendering me the owner of the fruit and the basket, in which the melons could be very conveniently transmitted, at the very reasonable price of seven shillings. He told me that he had expostulated with the seller on his attempt to obtain from a purchaser more than three-fold the fair value of the articles; but the Spaniard considered himself fully justified in the course he had adopted previous to my friend's arrival, inasmuch as he believed me to be a complete stranger, ignorant of the language, and of the usual prices demanded for fruits, but that in any future dealings with me I should not be overcharged, although he was quite convinced that, like all other English gentlemen, I was very rich and well able to pay.
The mention of my friend's name reminds me that in Gibraltar there is no scarcity of surgeons and physicians possessing high professional qualifications. The more respectable classes of society avail themselves, in their ailments, of the aid which skill and experience can fully impart. The lower classes seem insensible or indifferent to the character or capability of those to whom they have recourse, and there are in the territory some practitioners who profess to repair human hurts or maladies, and also the injuries of certain inanimate articles. There is an inscription on the front of a small shop, that I venture to transcribe, even at the risk of mistaking the exact spelling of the Spanish words, and I subjoin an English translation:—
"Barbero, Sanguedor y Sacamuelas,
Se reparen abanicos paraguas y parasoles."
"Barber, bleeder, and Tooth-drawer,
Fans, umbrellas, and parasols repaired."