Spain in 1830, vol. 2

by Henry D. Inglis

After leaving La Granja, I passed through two other villages in a state of ruin. In one of them the tower of the church had been thrown down, and a rent a foot wide traversed the side wall. The whole of the way from Orihuela to Alicant, I observed that almost all the children, and very many grown-up persons, were afflicted with sore eyes. The people in the neighbourhood were unable to assign any cause for this, though I was informed at Alicant that it was to be attributed to irrigation; but as there is not the same prevalence of this complaint in the vales of Murcia or Orihuela, where irrigation is carried to as great an extent as in these smaller valleys, this seemed to me to be a conclusion scarcely sufficiently built upon experience.

The country is here extremely beautiful,—we traverse a succession of little huertas, as fertile as irrigation and a delightful climate can make them; every one with its village surrounded by orangeries and palm groves. After passing this line of villages, the fig-trees are so numerous as to seem almost a forest; and succeeding the fig-trees, a thick and extensive wood of olives stretches on all sides; here the olive is not the dwarfish tree we find it in the south of France, or even in other parts of Spain, but a fine branchy tree, which, but for the unlovely hue of its green, might vie with many of our forest trees.

And now we approached that most interesting spot on the route to Alicant, Elche, which has been called “the City of Dates,” and which, to all travellers who have never pitched their tents with the Arabs, must be striking, alike from its beauty and its novelty. Here I purposed resting until next day; and having alighted at the Posada de la Concepcion, and ordered supper, I walked out to enjoy the scenery.

Elche rises from the midst of a forest of palms, which encircles it and mingles with the buildings, and which occupies altogether nearly a league square. There is scarcely a vacant spot within, or about the city, that is not covered with them; they crowd the gardens, they fringe the banks of the stream, and in every direction are seen overtopping the houses. And beautiful is the palm-tree at this season,—its majestic stem rising to the height of eighty or a hundred feet, surmounted by the clusters of bright golden dates, and its broad canopy of fan-like leaves falling around like a circular plume. From a tower of the very ancient palace of the Dukes of Arcos, I obtained a view over the city and the surrounding country: this view was of so novel a character, that it will bear no comparison with any other; it was simply the view of a palm forest, which, from the great height of the trees, seemed unbounded, with the city embosomed in it. This is all that can be said by way of description; but the mere novelty of a view, embracing thousands, and tens of thousands of these strangely beautiful trees, cannot fail to delight the spectator.

I fared well in the posada, and drank delicious wines; and passed the evening in conversation with the host and his family, and a neighbouring grower and exporter of barilla, and other produce of the district. He was an intelligent and communicative man; and from him I learnt some particulars respecting Elche. Elche contains about 20,000 inhabitants, and may be called a flourishing city; for the surrounding country, besides its large produce of dates, abounds in barilla, of which the export is very extensive. Last year, the export of barilla from Alicant, but chiefly grown in the vicinity of Elche, amounted to no less than 200,000 quintals—twenty millions of lbs. The export of dates I could not ascertain; but I afterwards learnt at Alicant, that a great proportion of the dates imported to England as Barbary dates, are from Elche; and in proof of this, I was shewn some boxes in a warehouse, marked “Barbary dates.” The wages of field labour at Elche, are three or four reals; and every thing is proportionably cheap; barley bread, which is much used in this neighbourhood, is sold at two quartos (less than a farthing) per pound. Elche possesses one important advantage over most of the other Spanish cities: it is not overrun with priests and friars. It contains only two churches, and two convents; and the inhabitants are thus spared the expense of feeding the idle and useless incumbrances who are so great a burthen upon the market people of Murcia, Orihuela, Guadix, and other cities of the southern provinces. And besides this advantage, the proportion of the religious bodies in Elche is so small, that their influence acts feebly: self-interest has gained upon the dominion of superstition; for I was informed, that the after part of most of the holidays, enjoined, or recommended, by the Catholic church, is spent in field labour. The two convents of Elche are rich; and therefore have less interest in maintaining that dominion, to which others are indebted for their sustenance.

I left Elche about sunrise on foot, the muleteer not being ready, and walked slowly through the palm forest, that he might overtake me. I noticed that the colour of the fruit varied much; some of the clusters being green, some of them yellow, some orange colour, or golden, and some brown; but the two latter colours were the most prevailing. The taste also differs. I threw stones at some of the clusters which were upon the lowest trees, and found the fruit I brought down, differ almost as much in taste, as in colour; the deep golden, verging upon brown, tasted the most agreeably. At a house on the outskirts of the forest, I purchased 1lb. for four quartos, (about one penny). After leaving the palm forest, we passed through a wild country, partially under tillage; and here the sea is first discovered upon the right; the castle of Alicant, perched upon its high rock, rising in front. From this point, we descended into a cultivated plain, abounding in almond trees; and then winding for a while among sand-hills, we passed along the straight avenue that leads to the gate of Alicant, which I soon afterwards entered, and alighted at the Fonda de las Diligencias.

After having breakfasted, I waited upon Mr. Waring, the British Consul at this port, and have great pleasure in acknowledging his hospitalities,—not easily forgotten by one who, after having lived upon Spanish stews since leaving Malaga, enjoyed the luxury of a true English dinner. To Mr. Adams, also, the Consul for the United States, I was indebted for many kind attentions, and much valuable information. I was much struck with the interior of some of the houses in Alicant; the spaciousness of the rooms; the magnificence of the staircases; and particularly, the beauty of the floors. These, throughout an extensive suite of apartments opening into each other, are covered with the Valencia tile, which is a kind of porcelain. The pieces of which the floor is composed, are about nine inches square, the ground white, and each having a flower painted upon it, with the utmost truth and delicacy; and the lobbies and staircases are paved in the same way. In some houses, the different rooms are paved with different patterns; but I thought it more elegant, where one pattern covered a suite of apartments.

The situation of Alicant pleased me,—though less than that of Malaga. Like Malaga, it lies at the foot of a bay; but the mountains behind it are comparatively diminutive: the castle, however, is singularly picturesque; the rock upon which it stands is eight or nine hundred feet high,—nearly pointed, and stands isolated from the other heights; and a precipice, reaching from the foot of the castle wall, overhangs the town. The rock is constantly crumbling; and fears are entertained, that it may some day overwhelm the city. I applied for leave to see the fort, but this was refused. The quay is fine and spacious, and a handsome row of houses fronts the sea.

The day after my arrival in Alicant chanced to be an important dia de fiesta; for it was no less than the day of the patron Saint of the city (Saint Nicholas), who is besides the peculiar patron of all young women who wish to be married. In the evening I went to the cathedral, which was illuminated, and was filled with spectators; some seated upon mats, some standing: and in front of the altar an elevated platform was erected, upon which sat the Governor, and high civil and military officers. The Saint stood in a niche, in the centre of the altar, surrounded by lights; above, was an image of Christ, and below, an image of the Virgin. After the performance of some selections of music, all the female part of the audience pressed forward towards the Saint; for she who has the good fortune to see the Saint with his eyes open, will certainly be married the same year. There was much eagerness and much merriment among the ladies; and as I chanced to be in the current, I was carried in the same direction. I found, that the merriment was owing to the difficulty of ascertaining what all were anxious to ascertain: for either the eyes of the Saint, or the lights, were so contrived, that it was impossible to determine whether his eyes were open or shut. After the ceremonies, a paltry engraving of Saint Nicholas was presented to each of the great men who occupied the platform, all of whom reverently kissed it. This was also the fee given to the musicians.

In Alicant there is an extraordinary forgetfulness or disregard of distinctions in rank; arising, no doubt, from the very limited society of the town. It is not at all unusual to see the daughter of the governor sitting upon her balcony in company with the daughter of the jailor. If there should be a deficiency of one or two persons to make up a game at cards, the most respectable of the inhabitants will send to any low person in the neighbourhood who happens to be skilful in the game, to supply the deficiency; and among the many examples of this, I knew an officer, holding a high official situation, who every night sat down to cards with his wife, and a tailor who lived next door, and who chanced to be an adept in their favourite game. The Spaniards, especially in the south, although not addicted to gambling, are extremely fond of cards: they play from the real interest which they feel in the game,—- its chances and its difficulties,—for the stake is generally so utterly insignificant, that it can scarcely add any thing to the interest. In truth, there is a miserable want of resource in most parts of Spain. The regimé of married life forbids those domestic enjoyments,—those home occupations,—that fill up so large a portion of the evening hours in an English family of the middle classes: books and study are almost out of the question; because, unless in the principal cities, public libraries are nowhere to be found; and private libraries are luxuries that few possess: Spain has not, like France, the resource of the coffee-house; nor, like England, the news of yesterday, to employ a vacant hour; and therefore the Spaniard seeks relief from ennui in cards, which are always at hand, and are at all times capable of producing the same enjoyment.