Valencia is the more industrial province of the two. Albacete manufactures the dreaded navajas, or long knives; Murcia has silk-mills; Cartagena rope-walks and other establishments connected with shipping; Játiva has a few paper-mills; but Valencia and Alcoy are now the great centres of industry. The former {421} manufactures the plaids worn by the peasantry, silks and linens, earthenware and glazed tiles. Alcoy supplies most of the paper for making Spanish cigarettes.

Fig. 162.—PEASANTS OF MURCIA.

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The towns of Albacete and Almansa are important, as lying on the great high-road which connects the plateau of La Mancha with the Me­di­ter­ra­nean seaboard. But they cannot vie in wealth and population with the towns situated on the coast, or within twenty-five miles of it. Lorca, the southernmost of these towns, lies picturesquely on the slopes and at the foot of a hill crowned by a Moorish citadel. The old town, with narrow tortuous streets and the remains of Arab palaces, has been given up to Gitanos, and a new town with wide and straight streets built in the fertile plain irrigated by the Guadalentin. A fine road joins Lorca to the small harbour of Aguilas, twenty miles to the south.

In descending the valley of the Guadalentin we pass Totana, the head-quarters of the Gitanos of the country, and Alhama, well known on account of its hot springs, and finally enter the mulberry and orange groves which surround the capital of the province. Murcia, though an extensive city, hardly looks like it, for its streets are deserted, its houses without beauty, and the only objects of interest are the cathedral, the shady walks along the banks of the Segura, and the canals irrigating the terrace gardens. Far more interesting is the neighbouring Cartagena, which was destined by its Punic founders to become a second Carthage in truth, and its magnificent harbour certainly affords great advantages for commercial and military purposes. The discovery of the rich lead and silver mines near the town contributed much towards its prosperity. Successive Spanish Governments have attempted to restore to Cartagena its ancient strategical importance. They have constructed docks and arsenals, and erected impregnable fortifications, but, in spite of this, the population of the town is hardly a third of what it was in the middle of the eighteenth century. The character of its commerce is almost local, not­with­stand­ing its excellent port, and esparto grass, mats, fruits, and ore constitute the leading articles of export.

Alicante, though far less favoured by nature, is a much busier place, thanks to the fertility of the huertas of Elche, Orihuela, and Alcoy, and the railway which connects it with Madrid. Only small vessels can approach the quays and piers of the town, nestling at the foot of a steep rock crowned by a dismantled citadel. Larger vessels are compelled to anchor in an open roadstead. Other coast towns of Valencia, such as Denia and Cullera, offer still less shelter, but are nevertheless much frequented by coasting vessels. Formerly vessels which entered the Bay of Valencia during winter were bound to exercise the greatest caution, owing to violent easterly and north-north-easterly winds and fogs, for there existed not a single port of refuge. This want has now been supplied by the construction of a port at the mouth of the Guadalaviar, known as El Grao (strand) de Valencia.

Valencia, the fourth city of Spain in population, is the natural centre of the most fertile huertas. The “City of the Cid” still preserves its crenellated walls, turrets, gates, narrow and tortuous streets, balconied houses, the windows of which are shaded by blinds, and awnings spread over the streets to protect passers-by from the rays of the sun. Amongst its numerous buildings there is but one which is really curious: this is the Lonja de Seda, or silk exchange, a graceful structure of the fifteenth century. Gardens constitute the real delight of Valencia, and {423} the Alameda, which extends along the banks of the Guadalaviar, is, perhaps, the finest city promenade in Europe. The commerce of Valencia rivals that of Cádiz.[150]

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