Spain in 1830, vol. 2

by Henry D. Inglis

With respect to political feeling in Barcellona, I may say that, among the upper ranks, there is a secret wish for some change,—for a milder government, less tyranny, and a free press; but there is no feeling in favour of what is called a constitution. At the time the French revolution broke out, there was naturally much excitement in Barcellona; but I found the universal opinion of the best informed classes to be, that the state of moral and political feeling among the Catalunians must prevent the progress of any movement in the province; and that no attempt in favour of greater liberalism has the smallest probability of success on that side of Spain, unless by foreign interference. When I was in Barcellona, there were many Carlists prisoners in the city; and before I left it thirty prisoners were brought from Zaragosa. It was generally thought that if the Conde de España had a carte blanche as to the disposal of them, many ran a risk of visiting Ceuta.

The public buildings of Barcellona are not deserving of much notice, with the exception of the custom-house and the cathedral. The cathedral is light and beautiful, in the late Gothic stile, with finely painted windows, and a choir of wood workmanship of singular delicacy. The convents, with the exception of the Dominicans, are without any attraction. In that convent there were formerly some curious records in the cloisters, of the heretics who had been burnt, from the year 1489 to the year 1726; but these the monks have thought proper to remove. I saw nothing in the convent to attract attention, excepting a picture of a certain saint who came from Majorca to Barcellona in six hours, with no other boat than his cloak. Great part of this convent was destroyed in the war of independence; and the monks are now erecting a large and handsome building for the reception of their library. The only other religious edifice worth a visit, is the church of the Jesuits, which is remarkable for the beauty of its marbles.

The opera house is also a respectable building, and the interior is large and handsome. I several times availed myself of the entreé to the royal box, presented to me by the Conde de España. The Conde is never seen in it; but it is always lighted in the interior, by elegant candelabras, and centinels stand at the door, as if ready for the reception of royalty, or its representative. The opera of Barcellona enjoys a considerable reputation among the European operas; and the inhabitants are passionately attached to it: but last year, it was considered below its usual strength. The whole of the boxes in the house, with the exception of five, are private boxes; and cost 50l., 55l., and 60l., according to their situation, for the season. This impresses one with no mean idea of the inhabitants of a provincial city, who can afford to rent the whole of the boxes in a large opera house, at so considerable a price. Single places too, in what is called the lunetta—a row of seats all round the front, and a little beneath the level of the boxes, are taken by the season; and it is rarely that one of these remains unlet after its commencement. These places cost fifty dollars, and many of the best seats in the pit, are also let for the season, at forty dollars. The first bass is paid the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars for the season, the first tenor three thousand dollars, the principal female singer two thousand four hundred dollars, the second two thousand dollars; and a benefit is worth eight or nine hundred dollars; for, upon these occasions, besides the free places, presents are made by proprietors of boxes.

While at Barcellona, I walked one morning to the hill and fortress of Monjuich, accompanied by Colonel Barry, then commandant of the citadel. I believe that if sufficiently provisioned, the fortress is considered to be impregnable. There are about two hundred brass cannon mounted, and an immense number of unmounted guns, and a large garrison. In descending the hill, and making a circuit towards the sea, some large stones with Hebrew characters upon them, were pointed out to me; but the inscriptions are now illegible. It is believed that this was the burying place of the Jews, and the name Monjuich seems to favour the supposition.

From Monjuich, after walking through the citadel, which is even a more perfect fortification than the other, though by situation, less strong, I continued my walk to Barcellonetta, the port of the city: the buildings are modern, and ugly; all built upon the same plan, and all constructed of red brick. A massive breakwater defends the entrance of the harbour to the south; it is already four hundred yards in length, and four hundred yards more are to be added to it. It is forty feet broad, and thirty feet high. There were few vessels of any size in the harbour, excepting two Spanish sloops of war, and a few foreign brigs. The foreign trade of Barcellona is reduced almost to nothing; particularly the trade with England. About thirty years ago, seven hundred British vessels entered the port in one year. Since then, the number has rapidly decreased. In the year 1825, fifty-three British vessels entered the port, and in the year 1830, only eleven. This decrease in the trade with England, is owing to several special causes. One of these, is the non-importation of English hardware, which used formerly to supply almost exclusively, the Spanish markets. This trade has changed its direction; and in place of hardware of British manufacture, it is now the manufacture of Germany that is used: they say it is much cheaper, and nearly equal in quality. Another cause of the decline of commerce between England and Barcellona, is a change in the direction of the fish trade. The Swedish and Norwegian fish are now preferred by the retail dealers, because, when steeped, they imbibe water, which the cod of Newfoundland do not; and, as they are sold by weight, the dealer finds his profit in this preference. Besides this preference, which has deprived England of an important branch of trade, the fish trade of Barcellona has suffered a general decline ever since the year 1826. At that time, a house in Madrid (Shea) obtained a monopoly of this trade in the Catalunian ports; and immediately, with a short-sighted policy, additional duties were laid on. From that time, the general import declined; and, although the duties have since been lightened, the trade has not revived; because, when fish was scarce and dear, the convents, where it is chiefly consumed, made use of vegetables in its stead, and have now become accustomed to this change in diet. Still another branch of trade which is lost to the commerce of England, is cotton. The Catalunians have discovered that it is cheaper to import cotton direct from Pernambuco, than to take it by way of England.

All these are changes in the direction of the commerce of Barcellona, operating upon the trade with England; but, some of them not affecting the extent of Barcellona commerce; nor, with the exception of cotton, connected with its export trade. But the export trade of Barcellona has almost entirely ceased. This, which consisted in silk and cotton manufactured goods for the Spanish colonies, is now at an end, with the exception of the small quantity still sent to the Havannah; and the export of shoes also, which employed in their manufacture at Barcellona, before the loss of the colonies, upwards of two thousand hands, has also entirely ceased.

I had an opportunity, while at Barcellona, of being present at an execution—the first I had seen in Spain. The man had been condemned to the galleys for some previous offence, and had murdered one of his fellow-convicts; and, although this is not an agreeable spectacle, yet, as in every country, public spectacles, whether agreeable or the reverse, exhibit some peculiarities either of character or of manners, I resolved to be present. Three o’clock was the hour appointed; and all that morning, as well as great part of the day before, there was an unceasing noise of little bells, carried through the streets by boys in scarlet cloaks, with the bell in one hand, and a box in the other, collecting alms to purchase masses in the different convents and churches, for the soul of the felon. There is another thing worth relating, connected with the last days of a felon in Spain. A society, called the Benevolent Society, undertakes to soften the last three days of his existence, and to diminish the terrors of death, by the singular device of increasing the pleasure of life. During these three days, he may have every luxury he desires; he may feast upon the daintiest viands, drink the choicest wines; and thus learn, in quitting the world, new reasons for desiring to remain in it.

I obtained a good situation, close to the military who guarded the ground. Besides the platform, there was erected, at a little distance, an altar, upon which was placed an image of the Virgin and Child; and opposite to this, a cross, with an image of Christ extended upon it. I was much struck with the procession; the unfortunate felon was accompanied by upwards of two thousand masked penitents, who looked more like a train of devils than human beings; a black cloak entirely enveloped the body and the head, holes only being left for the eyes and mouth; a black pyramidical cap, at least eighteen inches high, crowned the head; and each carried in his hand a long white wand. This strange escort was the result of an indulgence published, and addressed to all persons conscious of secret crimes, and penitent; granting its benefits to such of them as submitted to the humiliation of accompanying the felon to the scaffold. Two accomplices of the felon also accompanied him, that they might benefit by seeing him hanged; and a friar of the Franciscan order, was his spiritual guide.

After having been led to the altar, and then below the cross, where he repeated a number of prayers, he ascended the platform attended by the friar, who carried a large cross in his hand. When the offices of religion were concluded, the man wished to address the people, and twice began “Mis Hermanos,” but his voice was instantly drowned by shouts from a crowd at some distance behind the platform, no doubt so instructed; and when he found that he could not be heard, he gave the signal, and the executioner immediately leapt upon his shoulders, and swung off the platform; while the friar continued to speak, and extend the cross towards him, long after he was insensible to its consolations. The spectacle concluded by the friar ascending to the summit of the ladder, and delivering a sermon, in which he did not omit the exhortation of contributing largely towards masses for the soul of the deceased. The exhortation was not without its effect; the little bells immediately began to ring, and hundreds obeyed the invitation to piety.

Barcellona has always been celebrated for the zeal of its priesthood, and for the pains taken by them to hoodwink the people; and even in these days, religious bigotry is far more prevailing than might be expected in a city so near the frontier; and which has had so much connexion with foreign nations. In another chapter, I related a circumstance that occurred eight years ago, when a peasant was condemned to ten years imprisonment in the citadel, because he said unthinkingly, that an image of some virgin was made of wood; and so late as the year 1827, another very flagrant example of religious superstition, and of the use made of it even in these days by the clergy, occurred at Barcellona. There was in one of the churches, or convents, an image of a Virgin, called I believe, the Virgin of St. Pilar, and this image was black. It was at this time, that an outcry had been raised against the liberals, who were called Negroes; (negro is the Spanish for black) and the rumour got abroad, that the negroes went to this church, to pay adoration to the Black Virgin. Such being the case, the priests and friars ventured upon and concerted a miracle which might have the double effect of strengthening the faith of the people, and of bringing the negroes into still greater discredit. One morning it was publicly announced, that the Virgin of St. Pilar, had changed from black to white; and the good Catholics of Barcellona were invited to go and see the miracle with their own eyes; and they went by thousands. Let it not be forgotten that this happened only three years ago.