Instruction in the fine arts is also provided for in Valencia; and as this seminary is not affected by the imbecile policy of the government, and has escaped the superintendence of jesuits and friars, its results are more successful. I visited this institution one evening, and found much to please, and a little to surprise me. In one room I found fourteen pupils engaged in drawing the same figure, a Venus, a cast from the antique, which was placed upon a pedestal on one side of the room; and the pupils were ranged before it in a semicircle, so that owing to the different position from which each pupil saw the object, every drawing exhibited a different view of it. From this room I passed into another, where sixteen pupils, of a maturer age, were employed, some in drawing, others in modelling from a group intended to represent despair; the group was composed of real figures,—two men, entirely naked, standing upon an elevated platform. The stillness of the men was so perfect, that they might have been mistaken for statues; but for that hue of flesh and blood, which marble cannot imitate; and which at that time, strongly reminded me of the painting of Murillo and Velasquez. This drawing from nature has been lately revived; it was discontinued for some time, owing to the great difficulty in finding persons who were willing to assist the views of the institution; but lately, high remuneration has produced its usual results. The drawings appeared to be in general, executed with spirit and fidelity. In still another room, I found fourteen students of agricultural design. The institution is decidedly flourishing, and finds many disciples. In a large hall which I did not see, because before I had satisfied my curiosity in the other rooms, the hour of dismissal had arrived, there are no fewer than three hundred pupils of a tenderer age, who are there instructed in first principles, and in drawing separate parts of the human body. The school of Valencia has always maintained its reputation, and from time to time, has produced many great painters; among others Españoletto, Juanes, and Ribalta; and among the living painters, Lopez, and the author of “the famine in Madrid,” are both of this school.
I was not a long time in Valencia before I visited the cathedral, which is a pleasing and elegant structure of Greek architecture in the interior; but in many parts of the exterior, and in some of the chapels, displaying the Gothic style. It contains abundance of fine marble; and at the back of the choir, twelve bas reliefs in alabaster, representing our Saviour’s passion, will engage for a while, the attention of the passer-by. I noticed only three good pictures; one, a descent from the cross, by Murillo, but not in his best style, “the Adoration of the Shepherds,” said to be also by Murillo; and “the Baptism of Christ,” by Juanes. In the sacristy, and in the chapter-house, there are also two or three pictures by Ribalta, and one by Juanes, of singular merit. I was also shewn some of the relics, an arm of St. Luke, one of “the Innocents,” and a picture of the Virgin, by St. Luke, who, if we are to credit the keepers of the relics in almost every church, both in Spain and in Italy, has multiplied to a great extent, these specimens of his art. The cup out of which our Saviour drank at the last supper, is too precious, and too sacred, to be gazed upon by heretical and unbelieving eyes.
After satisfying my curiosity in the cathedral, I ascended the tower. The view of the plain is superb. Though not greener, or more beautiful, than the vale of Murcia, its immense extent, and great populousness, produce a more striking effect. I should guess the extent of the plain to be little less than thirty miles long, and twenty wide; on three sides it is bounded by the mountains, and on the fourth, by the sea; and throughout the whole of this vast extent, there is not an acre that does not produce its crop of grain, or vegetables, or rice. The olive, the mulberry, the ilex, the algarrobo, the orange tree, and the palm, with all of which the plain is thickly dotted, give to it the appearance of a union of garden and orchard; but the populousness of the plain is even more striking than its beauty and fertility. I counted in it no fewer than forty-two towns and villages, and sixty-four spires of churches and convents, exclusive of the sixty spires and towers of the city. The plain, the towns and villages, the mountains, the sea, the city, and the line of coast terminating in the hill of Murviedro (the ancient Saguntum), formed altogether a prospect, that in richness and animation, cannot be equalled in any other country.
The plain of Valencia produces every kind of crop that is congenial to the climate; two and three crops in the year are taken from it; and the greater part of the land returns as much as eight per cent. The rice crops are among the most valuable in this plain; they are chiefly found in the territory of Albufera, surrounding the lake of the same name; the nearest part of which is distant from Valencia about two leagues. This was the property first proposed to be granted to the Duke of Wellington; but the Cortes of Valencia objected to it; and the estates near Granada were substituted. The rice grounds produce only one crop in the year; but the return is from eight to ten per cent. The rice is put into the ground in June, and cut in September,—water is then let in upon the ground,—and when the stubble rots, the land is ploughed up; and no other manure is required. In Valencia and its neighbourhood, rice is in universal use by all classes; but the produce is much greater than the consumption of the plain; and the surplus is exported to the different ports of Andalusia. The whole produce is estimated at twelve million of arrobas (three hundred million of pounds), one half of which at least is exported; and the average price may be taken at fourteen reals, about 3s. the arroba, nearly 1½d. per pound; but the best rice for exportation is one dollar the arroba. The neighbourhood of the rice grounds is extremely unhealthy, being pregnant with all those maladies that originate in exhalations from stagnant water; for rice is sown in water, grows in water, and rots in water.
The other chief produce of the plain of Valencia is the mulberry, once the source of great riches, through the silk manufactories of the city. This trade had been declining for many years; first, the French invasion was the means of destroying the mulberry trees; and then, the loss of the colonies, to which the silks of Spain enjoyed an exclusive trade, gave the death blow to this source of wealth. The first blow was remediable, for new plantations now cover the plain; but when these began to be serviceable, the second severer blow rendered them almost valueless. At present, the silk manufactories of Valencia do not employ one twentieth part of the hands that were needed, previous to the loss of the colonies; for these silks cannot compete in the foreign markets with the manufacture of France or England. The only manufactured silk that continues to bear a remunerating price, is the damask, and rich silks used in religious ceremonies. The produce of silk from the plain of Valencia, is computed to be about one million of pounds; by far the greater part of which is exported in its raw state; and the average price is from forty to fifty reals per pound (8s. to 10s.).
The export of fruit from Valencia is large, particularly of raisins; these are of two kinds, the muscatel, and an inferior raisin,—but neither are equal to the raisin of Malaga. These, like the lexia of Malaga, are used in England for puddings, confectionary, and wine; but since the introduction of cape wine into England, the manufacture of raisin wine has greatly decreased; and with it, in some degree, the export of raisins from Spain. This, however, is still very large. In the year 1829, 47,000 quintals of the best, and 42,000 quintals of the inferior raisin, were exported from Valencia;—in all, eight million five hundred and forty-four thousand pounds of 12 ounces. This export was exclusively for the English market. These statements I make upon the authority of Signor Trenor, the chief exporter of fruit from Valencia, and who has access to the export tables. The export of figs, oil, and wine, from the province and different ports of Valencia, is also considerable, particularly the latter, which is called Beni Carlo, and is exported from a town of the same name, lying considerably to the east of Valencia. This wine is sent chiefly to Cette, from whence much of it finds its way to Bourdeaux, by the canal of Languedoc, to give body and colour to the clarets.
The huerta of Valencia belongs, for the most part, to great proprietors; and many of the Grandees own estates in it. The Duke of Medina Cæli has a revenue of seventy-five thousand dollars per annum from his estates in the huerta. The families of Villa Hermosa and Benevento have almost as much; and in fact, there are very few persons who labour upon their own land. This is another explanation of the poverty that every where obtrudes itself in the midst of abundance. The price of labour is generally about three reals, and provisions are by no means remarkably cheap, considering the situation and advantages of Valencia. Beef is twelve quartos the pound of eighteen ounces, mutton seventeen quartos, pork a little more; a wild duck costs 10d. These are found in immense quantities on the lake of Albufera, a fowl costs 1s. or 1s. 3d. Wine, owing to the dues upon entry, costs in the city, three times its price in country; but bread is the dearest article in Valencia, notwithstanding the abundance of wheat: this is owing to a combination among the bakers, who are well known to bribe the corregidor not to interfere.
There are few good pictures in Valencia; I looked for them in the convents, but found scarcely any; and the only tolerable private collection is up five pair of stairs, in a remote alley in the house of a Peruquier. He has an extraordinary number of pictures,—some originals, but more copies: one picture by Alonzo Cano, and another by Juanes, are, however, sufficient of themselves, to repay the labour of mounting to the gallery of the peruque maker.
Society in Valencia differs little from society in other Spanish cities of the south. Many persons of high rank and great wealth, reside in Valencia; but they live without any display, and many of them even shabbily, sending to the wine shop for two bottles of wine, and to the cook shop for a stew. Among the middle classes, the Tertulia is universal; but its monotony is usually relieved by music and dancing. I had good opportunities at Valencia, of judging of the manners of the Valencian women; and I found among them, that agreeable vivacity—that ready wit—that perfect freedom from affectation—and that obliging disposition, which render them the most charming triflers in the world; and the graces of music and dancing, in which they almost all excel, greatly heighten the pleasure one finds in their society. But in Valencia, more than in any other city, I was struck with the absence of that mental cultivation, without which, vivacity, wit, and even good temper, must fatigue, or become insipid. I need scarcely say how much I was surprised, when one day showing a lady the beautiful sketch of the Alhambra, from which the engraving in this work is taken, she said, “what is the Alhambra?” It is a curious fact, that in Valencia society, professional men are not to be found. Neither law nor medicine carry with them any respectability in that city: I could obtain no explanation of this; but perhaps there, as elsewhere, riches are the best passport to society; and I was informed, that the fees paid to medical men are so low, that not one physician in Valencia makes 100l. per annum.
On the Sunday before I left Valencia, I walked to the port, which is situated about two miles distant from the city. Passing towards the bridge, I met a religious procession issuing from one of the churches, carrying with it the pope’s bull, published that day in every church of the city, granting permission to eat animal food during the approaching Lent: this resource of the papal exchequer, I should think fast declining. A fine broad avenue leads in nearly a straight line, from Valencia to its port, which is but an insignificant place, with a harbour, suitable only for boats; and a roadstead very ill protected against a south or south-west wind. The view from the end of the pier, laid open the whole reach of that wide bay which lies between Cape St. Antonio and the high lands in the neighbourhood of Propesa; but, excepting the charm of a calm sea, there was little more to attract. Between the port and the city, the country on both sides of the avenue is laid out in vegetable gardens, for the consumption of the town. At this season,—the month of December,—every kind of choice vegetable was seen upon the table, particularly cauliflower, and green peas, which I ate in the utmost perfection at Valencia.